Week 11 - Suzano, Brazil - December 15, 2014

First time at the Sao Paulo Temple

Bom dia minha família! 

This week has been a crazy one, but it has been wonderful! We started out the week in beautiful Lorena.  It was so peaceful and clean with everyone riding bikes around on a beautiful spring day.  It was pretty much Paradise.  On Tuesday we were able to make a journey to do a session in the São Paulo temple. This temple is such a light in the middle of a huge, busy city.  As soon as I stepped foot on the temple grounds I felt so much peace.  I cannot even describe the love that I feel for the temple and for my covenants.  The temple is where we need to be.  There we are able to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to its fullest.  There we are able to be the closest with God.  There we can be with our families forever.  What an amazing experience it was.  I started out the session listening to English with little headphones and then I noticed that I was just trying to listen to the Portuguêse! So I took them off and went through the whole session in Portuguêse.  The Lord has blessed me so much with this language.

This pictures shows the life of a sister missionary walking in the rain all day.  I swear I get ready in the mornings and look good, but from then on, it is down hill. (Not!  She looks beautiful!)

 We were able to have our first lesson with S this week.  She is so amazing.  She is so eager to learn everything about this gospel. The first thing she wanted to know was why Joseph Smith was so important and why we have the Book of Mormon. We watched the Joseph Smith 20 min movie with her.  The spirit was so strong.  I know that she felt the power that was there because I felt it so strongly. We will keep teaching her.  She has a really cute seven year old boy.

This weekend was conference for our stake - Mogi Das Cruzes.  We have such a strong and faithful stake made up of eight wards.  Saturday night was the adult session and was focused on missionary work.  Many returned missionaries shared experiences from their missions.  It was so encouraging to hear their amazing stories.  All twenty of us missionaries (eighteen elders and me and my companion) sang for the meeting.  Bless the Elders hearts! In every practice we did not sound very good at all, but in the performance they sounded like men! It was amazing.  I had a little solo in the middle of the song.  There were so many people there and they didn't have a microphone so I had to sing with all of my soul! I will send pictures of all of us in our red and green Christmas colors.  For the Sunday session we drove with S.  She even called us before hand and asked us if we were still planning on going! She is so golden! I cannot wait to see where she will be in one month.  Every talk was just perfect for her.  They spoke about finiding your own testimony through prayer and revelation.  It was perfect.  God is really blessing her because of her desire to follow Him.

Mogi Daz Cruzes Stake Conference Missionary Choir

Tomorrow I will have a new companion! Today we will be going to O Centro to buy a few things for Sis. Tillman's family - little souveneirs.  I am really nervous about this next coming week, but I know that even if things are a little slower than usual with finding homes and streets and busses, God will help me all along the way.  I know everything will work out.

I read a talk yesterday from General Conference.  Elder Goday (from São Paulo) asked a great question: "If you continue to live as you are living, will the blessings promised in your patriarchal blessing be fulfilled?"  I thought a lot about this question as I have been studying my Patriarchal Blessing.  I have made goals for this next transfer - things that I will focus on and things

that I will start doing, so that the blessings that my Heavenly Father has promised me can be fulfilled.  I am so grateful for the plan that our Heavenly Father has for each one of us.  This plan will lead us to the temple.  In this plan we can only find happiness and eternal life.  I love this Gospel with all of my heart.  This work is hard, but it is oh so worth it.  

Have an fulfilling week full of good things! Make it to the temple this week!

Love, Sis. Cordner