Another Week in the Wonderful Cristalina!!

Time is flying by here in Cristalina! I’ve been here long enough that’s it has gotten to the point where I see so many people every day and we are talking to so many people that I see so many familiar faces, but can’t remember for the life of me where I know them from, ha! But this past week was a very good week!

On Monday we traveled to stay the night with the Sisters in Santa Maria and Tuesday morning we had our interviews with President Lundgren and it went really well! We were able to talk about everything that is going on here in Cristalina and we were able to help him get a better idea of the work and how our group is doing. It was also nice to meet everyone in my zone for the first and last time, ha. 

But this week was full of dropping people and finding new people to teach. And yesterday we had a nice surprise! So a couple of weeks ago, me and Sister Costancio were walking to an appointment when a man walked by and asked us who we were. I love it when people do this! So we talked to him for a bit and explained to him. So we set up an appointment to return and teach him. So that day arrived and he wasn’t home. So then a couple of days later we tried again and ended up finding his sister who said she has been wanting to change religions. So we thought, perfect!!! So we started teaching her. But then yesterday in Church the man, whose name is Denis, showed up in church, not his sister. So we visited him last night and it was perfect! He explained to us that for a while he has been visiting a lot of churches but just hasn’t felt right in any of them. But in our church he felt so good and was surprised when our meetings ended, ha. So we taught him the first lesson last night and invited him to be baptized. He accepted and will be baptized on the 20th!!! We are extremely excited!! But I’m trying not to get my hopes up, ha. So we will be visiting him a lot and helping him a lot to stay firm :)

Saturday night we did an activity with our group and it was so good! Sister Costancio and I planned the activity of the Tree of Life. It started out kind of as a mess because no one was listening to the Holy Ghost and all of our members where following the voices of the world ha. But in the end they made it all to the tree and ate the fruit which was just chocolate. But it was really good to help them all understand the meaning of everything and how important our lives are!

Well that’s about it for this week! I hope you all have had a wonderful week and I hope that you all have a fabulous week this week! Remember to always read the scriptures and say your prayers! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Steadman

Sister Costancio, Natália and Me

Coincidences and a Pit Stop in Águas Claras

Well this week was sooo good!!! And I am officially staying here in Asa Norte with Sister Brito :) We are extremely happy!

First off I’ll start with Eduarda! We set the date for baptism last week then ended up visiting her on Tuesday. We didn’t have her planned in our visits but we just thought we’d stop by really quickly and see how she was doing and finish teaching her the lessons. It was funny because right as we were walking to the door of the apartments, she was walking out to walk the dog, the first coincidence. Turns out she was having some major doubts. She had stopped reading the Book of Mormon and was afraid of all the changes that were going to take place in her life. So we walked with her for a bit and right as we were up to an apartment building it started to pour so we quickly ran underneath it and talked to her some more. It turned out to be so perfect for her. We were able to answer all of her questions and help her feel more comfortable about things. And because of the rain, our FHE for that night got cancelled so we were able to spend more time with Eduarda. Second coincidence. Her baptism was Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful! We were afraid that people wouldn’t come and support her but people ended up coming and it was so great! She was so happy and excited! The spirit was so strong and it was a really good meeting :)

This week we also came across a girl named Julianna. But first I will tell about our lesson with President Lundgren. We hopped on the bus to Lago Norte and got talking to people on where we needed to get off because we still haven’t worked a whole lot in Lago so we don’t know the area very well still. But we found a girl who just happened to need the same stop as us to we stuck with her and she helped us out. So we arrived in the president’s house and then headed to his friend’s house. It was a really good meeting with them, ha. I guess you would call it a meeting because it wasn’t really a lesson. But we got there and got to know them for a little bit. Their names are Roberto and Silvia. They are both super smart and have the biggest hearts. And he sure loves to talk! So we talked about a whole lot of things and just got to know them. It was really good and he wants us to return! So we will be returning there with the president! I’m not exactly sure when yet because he is super busy with work right now but we will return! But after our visit with them, president gave us the address of his mission president so we walked to go meet him. On our way there I had to use the bathroom really bad! Typical.... So we made a quick stop in the gas station. We gave one of the workers a pass along card and as we were walking away a girl said to us, "hey I’m a member of your church.... Julianna". So we met Julianna Wednesday night. She has been less active for many years now. So we sat there in the parking lot and talked to her for a while and she told us her whole life story, ha. She was a ballerina in the USA for a while and studied at Julian arts, got baptized there, married, divorced and returned. She now is here as an event manager. But it was so good to meet her and she has such a strong desire to return back to the church! So we are going to start working with her. And she happened to give us a ride to the president’s house :)

So we had a nice little trip to Aguas Claras yesterday, ha. As of right now I haven’t been in my apartment for 28 hours, ha. So during one of our lessons here in Asa Norte yesterday it started to rain really hard. So after we headed to the bus stop. As we were walking across the road we saw a bus sideways and one part of the road was completely flooded. So none of the buses were able to pass by. We had no idea what to do. But a lady on the other side of the road asked for help so we went and talked to her and she ended up giving us a ride. So we ended up in Aguas Claras for the night because that’s where she lived. So we stayed there for the night and returned this morning to Asa Sol for the transfers. So it was crazy but we are happy we made it here this morning safely and that we are staying here in Asa Norte. The Lord truly watches over us and puts things in our path for a reason. I know for a fact that everything happens for a reason. We just have to take it as it comes and trust in the lord.

I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week! As you’re preparing for the holidays, remember the reason for the season and help spread the true love of Christ to everyone!
Sister Steadman

Update: The Last Two Weeks

Well I've been transferred and so far I'm loving it! But I will go back to my last week in Palmas and go from there :)

Last p-day was our zone activity and it was a lot of fun! We did a talent show and all ate lunch together! In the middle of our email time the assistants called and told us they were headed to our house ha! Sister Alves freaked! We weren't with the other sisters and were far from our house ha. So we quickly got to our house and showed it to President Lundgren. Our house was a mess! Normally we wake up and p-days and clean it and usually it’s a little cleaner then it was today. But we had to wake up pretty early for our activity and didn't have time to clean it and things were everywhere. It was a mess but at the same time it was pretty funny!

On Tuesday we had a training with the assistants and President Lundgren. It was so good and exactly what our zone needed! They talked a lot about just focusing on those who are really interested in the gospel.

We spent a lot of time walking around this week, not finding people in houses but we met some awesome people on the street!

Saturday we got a call at 6:45 in the morning saying we would find out the changes for the transfer in 15 minutes ha. We were all freaking out. But we didn't find out til noon and only I and Sister Alves were in the house at the time so we found out first. I knew I was going to get transferred. In our training on Tuesday, when president was saying goodbye to everyone, he said bye to all the missionaries but when he said bye to me he said see you soon... someday ha. In that moment I knew I was getting transferred. So I spent my last day teaching Jorge and Fransica and it was really good. We were able to answer all of his questions and finish the plan of salvation with them. And as us four sisters, we spent our last night eating pizza and packing together :)

My last Sunday in Palmas was so good! During sacrament meeting I looked out the window because I saw movement in the corner of my eye and saw Eduardo!!! He came to church! I looked back at Sister Alves and instantly teared up! It was a miracle seeing him there! We spent the afternoon saying goodbye to members then caught the bus at 7 that night. The bus ride was a lot better than the first one ha. The ride was 14 hours and we were super late for the meeting with the president. We walked in as they were singing the last hymn ha. But I was able to see Sister Dixon which was awesome! And I am now in Aza Norte or the north wing of Brasilia. My area consists of Aza Norte, Granja do Torto, Varjao and Lago Norte, so my area is huge ha. But the climate is a lot cooler here and it’s a lot more modern. The sisters before us left us with nothing so the work has been a little bit harder but I love it here! Wave spent a lot of time trying to get to know the area and the people. The people here are a little richer so it’s hard to get them to listen to us sometimes, but we were able to come across some awesome people and mark dates to visit them again. We had a couple of lessons and Sister Brito invited every single one of them to baptism ha. I absolutely love working with her! Our areas are really far from our house and in some areas we can’t be there past 5 in the afternoon so we’ve been trying to make a lot of contacts by our house. Which is all apartment buildings so it can be a little difficult but it’s been fun and interesting. Aza Norte is full of apartments, Lago Norte is mainly mansions, and we have yet to travel there ha. Varjao and Granja are more normal homes. It’s been interesting comparing here to Palmas, its soooo different but I'm super excited about it! Last night Sister Brito and I got caught in the rain. It wasn't a strong rain like Palmas, but it was enough to drench us. Luckily we were close to our house so we were able to take cover under the apartment buildings. We were trying to find some people in our area book, so in between apartment’s buildings we would run as fast as week could, clinging on to our purses ha. It was so funny, we were laughing our heads off and splashing each other in the puddles. It was a lot of fun and we were able to finally contact some people!

Church was so good yesterday! I walked in with Sister Cabanilla because the other sisters had to vote. And as soon as I walked in the stake president pulled me aside and started giving me names of people to visit! I'm so excited and am so ready to help this ward get excited about missionary work again!

I'm in an apartment with four sisters and I love it! Sister Brito, my companion is from Fortaleça and has 7 months on the mission, Sister Oliveira is from Sao Paulo and has 8 months, and Sister Cabanilla is from Ecuador and has 3 months. We have so much fun together!

Well that’s it for this week! We are just trying to find some investigators right now and are trying not to get lost ha. Remember to always read your scriptures and now that you’re heavenly father loves you

Sister Steadman

Three Months Down

Hello everyone! Hopefully everyone had a good week! Mine was a little different but super good!

Monday: P-Day was great as always! We also got to talk to Luci and it was so funny! I can’t remember what scripture she read but it was one in the bible talking about only serving one God and not idols or something like that. But the word it uses is close to the word Mormon so she was super worried about that and thought it was bad that she was reading the book of Mormon ha.  But we cleared things up with her and she is actually reading the book of Mormon now!! We are super excited!

Tuesday: President Lundgren came to visit today and it was so good! We had interviews with him and got to talk with his assistants which were so nice! We are struggling right now with trying to find some new investigators and they had some really good ideas so it was perfect and just what we needed! So we spend the afternoon making contacts and trying to get to know more people who live close to the church and our quadrant.

Wednesday: President Jairo Mazzagardi from the 70 came and visited us today and it was so good! He is like a little version of Elder Holland. He gave us a lot of great advice and had some super cool stories! It was the perfect motivation for us! And we even got to eat in a Chinese restaurant with him! But it was so good! We left the chapel around 3 in the afternoon with a little sprinkle, but when it rains here it doesn't stay as a little sprinkle, ha. So for the rest of the night it was on and off rain but it was so nice! It’s so dry here so it was nice to get a little bit of rain!

Thursday: My 3 month mark!! So weird to see how fast time has gone by! But I’m loving every minute of it!! We celebrated the birthday of one of the investigators of the other sisters today. We went to a restaurant with a member in the ward and spent a little bit of time with him. He got baptized on Sunday. We also had a lesson with one of our neighbors today and boy was it interesting ha. The people here are extremely religious, which is great because they are very open to hearing our message. But with some people when we start talking about the book of Mormon and Jesus Christ visiting the Americas they get so defensive and say that the bible doesn't talk about either one of these things all it all goes downhill from there ha. Oh it made me so mad! But we have to remember that people have the gift of agency and we have to respect that.

Friday: Today we did another split and I had Sister Carranza from Peru come and stay with me! Sister Alves was so worried about me ha. I’m not sure why because I know the area now and understand people better now but she made me review my day with her like a million times ha. It was funny. But I loved my time with Sister Carranza! I learned so much from her! We had a lesson with a lady who lives in the apartments buildings across the street from us and it was interesting ha. Sister Alves and I came across her the other day when we were making contacts in the street. She was super friendly and wanted to hear our message, so Sister Carranza and I started teaching about the restoration. The beginning was really good and she was super receptive to our message. Then her friend walked in..... We got the part about Joseph Smith and she had a hard time with the idea of God and Jesus Christ appearing to Joseph, not because they are separate beings. Then Sister Carranza talked about how Joseph got the priesthood from the apostles and she did not like that. In her religion they don’t believe in a spirit world and they believe that when we die our bodies turn to dust and stay here on the earth with our spirits. So I went on to explain how our bodies and spirits are separated but she did not like that and her friend was starting to fight us on this. So we moved on to the book of Mormon. They didn't like either. We tried to show them scriptures in the bible and invite them to pray about it and read the book of Mormon but over and over again they told us the bible is sufficient and they don’t need anything else.... so we left a little disheartened. But I now have plenty of scriptures in the bible to use if this happens again ha. We got Luci to set a date for baptism finally! Now we are just trying to make her feel more comfortable and making sure she understands everything. She has a really hard time concentrating on one thing at a time so we have to work slowly with her sometimes ha.

Saturday: We spent the afternoon at a member’s house having a family home evening with the sisters and their investigators and it was super good! It was exactly what their investigators needed!

Sunday: Today was Bruno’s baptism! The investigator of the other sisters. It was super spiritual and he was so excited! I love seeing how happy and excited they get! He bore his testimony at the end and sang a song. It was so beautiful!

I sure love the work here and the people. It’s hard seeing people not accept this wonderful message but we have to respect there agency and hope that one day they will accept it. I've noticed how strong the spirit is when I testify to people. It’s such a good reminder for me that I know this church is true. I know that we are children of a loving heavenly father. I know that Jesus Christ is our brother. I know that he lives. I know that because of him and his sacrifice, we can repent of our sins. He knows how we feel. He knows our weaknesses, and is here to help us. I know that because of him I can return and live in the presence of my heavenly father. I’m so grateful for this gospel and the role it plays in my life. I’m so grateful for this wonderful opportunity I have to be here, teaching my brothers and sisters about this gospel. I love this church and I know it is the only true church on the earth today!

Sister Steadman