Serving in Sao Paulo East : Week 21 -Guarulhos, São Paulo

Sister Cordner and Sister Saavedra in front of the Sao Paulo Temple.....

Same place where her Dad sat 25+ years ago with a family that he taught and baptized. I love that they get to share this common bond.

Bom dia minha família bonita! Esta semana foi cheia com muitas muitas coisas boas!! (Good Morning my beautiful family! This week was filled with many, many good things!) Seriously I do not know where to start! The days pass by so quickly and the weeks even faster! I cannot believe that I have almost already been out on the mission for five months! Well, last P-day we asked Presidente Andrew for permission to travel all the way to São Paulo Centro to see all of the old buildings (which was way cool) and the road 25 de Março. Okay...I cannot even explain to you all about this road. All of the things you could ever think of are sold here at the lowest prices ever. Imagine thousands of people speaking Português on one skinny road with so many little trinkets that are worth nothing and will break the next day. (We all know how I feel about little trinkets) haha It was way cool but I will never go back haha.

The next day we had our Conferência de Zonas! I learned so many things from our amazing assistentes and Presidente and Sister Andrew. The preisthood leaders in our life really have authority and power to recieve revelation for us in our trials. I know this to be true. We were able to watch "Meet the Mormons" (in Português of course) and let's just say that all of the missionaries were in tears! It was absolutely amazing. If any of you have not seen it, watch it today!

We have been trying to increase our group of investigators and it has been amazing to see the hand of the Lord in our efforts. We have been picking specific roads prayerfully to make contacts and have been praying to find people or have the Lord lead the people to us that have been prepared. We were walking making so many contacts in one of the neighborhoods that we picked and finally we were heading back to an investigator's home when we saw a girl in a park nearby with her head in her hands. We felt strongly that we needed to talk to her. She said that she was going to be moving all the way to Lorena the next day and was going to start college there. She was leaving all of her family here in São Paulo and did not know what to think about all of it. She is only 17 years old, and I was able to relate to her so much. I told her about my experience and how I worried so much about moving away, but in the end everything works out and we wonder why we ever worried in the first place. I could tell that her heart was opened after we talked to her for a little while and we shared the Restoration with her and sent her off to college with a Book of Mormon in hand. I pray so much that she will find the missionaries there and recieve an answer from God about the Prophet Joseph Smith. Sometimes (almost all the time) we do not know why we do things or say things that we are prompted to, but I trust that this is God's work and He knows exactly what He is doing.

OH MY! We were also able to go to the temple this week with our recent converts in the ward and all of the youth to watch them be baptized! Our recent converts have been working so hard to find all of their grandparents and great-grandparents names...(just the names!) They had so many miracles in the process and it was an amazing spiritual experience watching them be baptized. Words cannot describe the feelings that I have while I sit in the House of the Lord. It is where I always want to be.

And finally, yesterday we had our NOITE AZUL and it was so great. Many of the baptisms fell through, but we are not on our timing, we are on the Lords so we should not be sad or worry. A our investigator was baptized, and he was so happy! He could not stop smiling! He is not married and he does not have children but He loves the Lord and He wanted to do the right thing! I am so proud of him and there is such a joy that I cannot describe when you help someone become a little more like Jesus Christ and be baptized!

I am sorry I do not have time for a spiritual thought, but I love you all with all of my heart! Have a wonderful week!

Com muito amor, Sister Cordner