Team Justic and Mercy

Well what a week it was! Everyone told me that after 9 months in the mish, it all flies by so fast. For me, now is when it really is starting to fly by! I seriously can’t believe where the time is going! But it seems to be Monday before I know it! But, here´s a little bit about our week :) Let’s see how much I remember ha...

Here in the mission we are really trying to strengthen the church here. Strengthen the members and help reactivate the less active. So, this week we tried to really put that into practice and it seemed to work out well :) We have been trying really hard to get the members more involved in our work, and they are slowly helping ha. But it was better this week.

First off we have Raimundo. We taught him in the church this week with a member and it went really well :) I was really surprised with this member because he is a quieter guy but he has such a strong testimony and the spirit was so strong. He was asking him all sorts of questions. It was so perfect! Then another night we taught him about the BOM with another member and once again, it was awesome! He really was progressing! But, unfortunately he wasn’t in church yesterday. So in the middle of sacrament we went to his house to see what was happening and we ended up talking to his mom a bit. Turns out he has been drinking a bit. But he called us later and explained a little more as to why he wasn’t in church. But he is still preparing to be baptized. So we will meet with him tomorrow to really see when the best time for him to be baptized is.

Jerffeson..... Sometimes I just don´t know what else I can do to help him. He made a goal with our District leader to be baptized on Saturday, but he is still smoking. So we are still in the battle of the cigarette. But we have hope, ha. One day it will all work out.

This week we also taught Eduardo in the church with a member. We planned to teach him with one of the sisters but she wanted to practice the piano, so we taught him with her granddaughter who is 9, ha. But it was an awesome lesson! She helped a lot! She has a huge testimony and told him about some Mormon messages that he could watch that would help him, ha. It was super funny! But Eduardo is still having a lot of doubts. He has a date for baptism in our church this Saturday and on Sunday in the other church. And in our lessons he is kind of wanting to teach us. So we are really focusing on helping him understand that there is only one true church.

But yesterday in church we had some of our less active members there so we were happy about that!

This week we are noticing that sometimes we really have to be very blunt with people and straight up with them. And my comp sometimes has a hard time with that, ha. So she tells everyone that we are team justice and mercy. I’m the justice and she’s the mercy, hahah! But it’s true. And everyone tells me that I look like someone who would be straight up with the investigators, ha. But someone’s got to do it!

Well that’s about it for this week! I hope you all have a marvelous week! Here´s a scripture for you all too read this week Mosiah 2:41. One of my favs. Well always remember to read your scriptures and say your prayers! Love you all!

Com Amor,
Sister Steadman

4 Transfers Together

Well last night we got the phone call of the transfer and luckily..... we are staying together here in Guará! And we are very happy about it, :) so we will spend four transfers together! So today I left my planner at home so I don’t remember much from this week but I will try.

So we’ve got a couple of investigators who are really progressing and we are super excited!!!! First off Raimundo who has a date for the 15th! We taught him this week and he asked us, "So when is my baptism again?" ha, so he is doing well! He was in church yesterday and he is really liking everything!!

Jerffeson is doing well. I learned this week that I have been spelling his name wrong, ha. But he is lessening the smoking which we are super happy about and is continually preparing for baptism! So just keep praying for him please!!

We have also been teaching a man named Eduardo. He is super awesome and really interested in our message but he still has his doubts. So we are really trying to explain everything to him very simply and really trying to help him understand the basics. So we will see how this week goes.

We didn’t do any splits this week so it left us with more time to really work more in our area. Which was nice. But the splits should be starting up again this week.

Well thank you all for your emails and updates! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Sorry it’s short I’ll be better next week! Love you all! And remember to always read your scriptures and say your prayers!

Com Amor,
Sister Steadman

Guará

What a wonderful week is was here in Guará! Here’s what happened:

This transfer we have been trying really hard to get the members to give us referrals and we haven’t had much success. But this week we received a ton!!! Not from the members but from other missionaries so that was a huge blessing! We were super happy about that, :) 

This week Jefferson was able to talk to our district leader and he set a goal to be baptized on the 15th of August! So please keep him in your prayers that he will be able to stop smoking and be baptized this date! He really has a desire to be baptized and everything, he just needs to stop smoking! So please remember him in your prayers!

This week we didn’t get to visit Maria a lot because she wasn’t home, but we visited her one time with a sister here and it was sooooo perfect! We were only able to teach her half of the plan of salvation because she talks a lot but she loved it! She lost her dad when she was little so she never understood why. She also never understood why life is so hard and why we have so many trials. It was seriously the coolest thing to answer her questions and give her a different look on life. I love it when this happens!!! She also has a beautiful Huskie named Céu. Which is heaven so when we visit her we also play a bit with her dog. But seriously she’s the most beautiful dog I have ever seen! 

This week as we were making contacts in the street we met a man named Kleve Eduardo. He's about 25ish. So we went to visit him and Saturday and he was super happy to see us and a bit surprised because he didn’t think we would actually visit him. Well when we first met him we just gave him a pass along card about the Book of Mormon. So when we arrived in our appointment he started off right away asking about the Book of Mormon! We were super excited! So we taught him the first lesson explaining everything to him and he understood it all really well!!! And he kept saying, "Ya, that makes sense", ha it was so perfect! But during our lesson a drunk man kept trying to talk to us and kept interrupting us, it was a little annoying but it didn’t seem to budge Eduardo. So we were super happy about that! And he even was in church yesterday! He only stayed for sacrament meeting, but he really liked it and was asking a lot of questions and making a lot of comments! So please keep him in your prayers as well!

A couple of weeks ago we made a contact in the street with a man named Raimundo. At the time he was drinking so we just made a quick contact and left. We tried to visit him again but in the end we started to visit his neighbor who we are still visiting. But we found him again in the street and set another time to visit him. That same day we found him again so decided to teach him in the street really quick and invited him to church. Well out of the blue he was in church yesterday!!!! He stayed for all 3 meetings and really liked it! At the end he was asking our ward mission leader about baptism and what he needs to do to be baptized!! We were super happy about that! Finally our hard work is paying off, :) 

This week we did splits in Cristalina which was super cool! I loved being able to go back to the little town and seeing everyone and everything again! I got to see some of my recent converts and one of the people I was teaching I think was baptized on Saturday so it was super cool to see that!

Well that’s about it for this week! Thank you to all of you who continue to email me and give me words of advice! I really appreciate all of the love and support you all give me, :) I know my time is short here in Brasil, but I’m working my butt of till the end! I’ve still got Children of God to find, :) I love being a missionary. :)

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember to always say your prayers and read your scriptures! There you will find the things you are needing. :) Love you all!

Com Amor,

Sister Steadman :) 

Miguel and Bea

Wisdom Teeth, Splits, and Investigators

Well this week was super crazy, but in the end it was really good, :)

Tuesday we got to participate in mission counsel and it was the best! It was so cool to gather with all of the leaders of our mission and discuss everything that was going on! It’s really cool to see how these missionaries really are inspired by God and to see how my president is as well! This truly is the Lords Work!

Wednesday I spent the morning with another sister because she was having some teeth problems so we went to the dentist. And she ended up having to get her wisdom teeth pulled out on Friday. But we took advantage of our day with them and did a split. I don’t know what it is about me but I must have bad luck! Because almost every time I do a split nothing works out ha. But, in the end it’s always good, :)

We also did another split with some of the Sisters in Branslandia, which is another small town! I loved spending a day there, :) But I spent the day with Sister Heck who is from Idaho so that was super cool!

This week was a little rough in our area, but we did end up finding some more awesome people! In the beginning of the week we met a woman named Maria. So in our first visit she told us how she was searching for the truth and she didn’t like any of the churches she has already been too. She was reading the bible for the second time, trying to learn more. And she told us that she prays often because she only trusts God. I almost fell over when she told us all of this. We have been looking for someone like her!! So we taught her the first lesson and she was emotional the entire lesson! We were so excited! Then we went back again and she remembered everything that we had taught her! So then we gave her the Book of Mormon and she was so excited! So I’m pretty excited about her!

Also when we were in Asa Norte for Mission Counsel we met a woman at the bus stop who lives in our area. So we visited her this week and it was kind of an interesting visit, ha. We got talking to her, getting to know her and everything and it was going so perfect! Then a little boy came running in telling us that her son had gotten hit by a car. So we all ran out to help and turns out that he was ok. The car hit his bike and he just fell. But we will be returning this week to continue our visit!

We also met a woman named Ana Paula. She was just a contact in the street and so we were invited into her house and taught her. But it was really good with her. She has recently stopped smoking and was really looking for God. We didn’t have a ton of time to talk to her but it was enough to see that she has a lot of potential so we got excited!

The other day Sister Alves found a scripture that she thought described our relationship, ha. We were at subway eating lunch and she decided to open up her scriptures to share a message and she opened up to 4 Nephi 16

16. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

Haha so basically my comp and I don’t really have any problems with one another and we get along really well, :)

But this week my comp made a really cool comparison. So we were returning from a split and we were at the bus station to catch our bus. So we saw 2 that were headed to our area. In Guará there is Guará 1 and 2. We live in Guará 2. So we saw that one of the buses passed in our part first so we took that bus. Well in the end that bus ended up not passing close by our house so we ended up walking a ways to our house. But she just compared it to how sometimes we see a path and at first it seems good and a lot easier. But most times in life, the short easy paths aren’t the right paths. We see that the Lords path is a little bit harder or a little bit longer, but its ending is a lot better. So in life we have to always make sure that we are choosing the lords path. The Lords path isn’t going to be the easy path of the path that seems happier. But in the Lords path we learn the most, we grow the most and we find a happiness that can’t be found anywhere else. We find eternal happiness.

I am so grateful for this gospel and for my Savior. I’m so grateful for my Heavenly Father and the love that he has for me.

Well I love you all and hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember to read the scriptures and to always pray, :)

Love,
Sister Steadman

"I Still Haven´t Found What I´m Looking For" ~U2

Thanks to hearing this song in the street this week, I got my title for this email, :) Because we just still haven’t found what we are looking here which would be our golden investigators. But I still have hope that we will find them.

I made a nice list of everything that happened this week, but I left it at home, ha. So I will do my best to remember everything, :)

Well as being a Sister Trainer that means we deal with all the needs of the sisters. That also means when they have a problem they call me to call Sister Lundgren and translate everything over into English. And I have learned this week that, that is very hard for me, ha. But with practice I am getting better! But it was crazy! At one point I was speaking in Portuguese, then I would have to try and figure out how to say it in English. But in the end it all worked out and I only accidentally said a few things in English to my comp, ha.

This week we really tried finding some new people to teach and tried to visit everyone from the week before. Not too many good results, but we did end up finding some new people last night who seemed really interested so we were excited about that!

Wednesday we did a split with the sisters in Gama Sul and I stayed in my area with Sister Stratford who is from Sandy, :) So it was cool to be with an American! She is in her second transfer of the mission. But I felt so bad for her this day because all of our appointments fell through. We had a feeling that this would happen so me and my comp made a backup list of a bunch of people we could visit. But as the day went on, no one was home. And it was cold and rainy, ha. But she was a super good trooper about it all so it still was a good day, :)

We visited Jefferson this week a little bit and explained the temple for him and he really liked that! Makes me really miss the temple, ha. But he is still going to church and reading the book of Mormon. Yesterday in church he stayed in all three meetings for the first time!!!! We were super happy, :)

This week we also met a young couple, Everaldo and Tainará. They were super interested in the Plan of Salvation and we taught the first part of the first lesson. We will be visiting them again tonight. So I´m pretty excited about them!!

This week we also met a less active family. The mom and her two daughters are members but her husband and his son aren’t. So we got to know them a little bit and just casually invited them all to church. And yesterday in church they showed up! It was a huge surprise to us and we were super excited!!!

Friday, we did another split but this time we both went to the city of the sisters because it was so far away. So we traveled to Cabeceiras. It’s a little small town and it reminded me so much of Cristalina, :) I loved it, :) ha, but at one point we took a one hour bus ride into the town and it was so full of people that we had to stand the whole time and hold onto the railing on the ceiling. For a missionary this is no big deal. But about half way through the trip Sister Alves turned to me and was like, ya know, the atonement pays for this as well. Ha, it made me laugh but it definitely got me thinking. The atonement really pays for every little pain and affliction we go through in this life. I feel like this is something we all forget too easily.

This week I was thinking a lot about our testimonies. As human beings we have a tendency to want to know the whys and because of everything that happens. But when it all comes down to it, our faith is what matters most. As we see in the past and even today, we as human beings are not perfect. Every single one of us makes mistakes. Including leaders of our countries and church. But this should not change how we feel. We must always trust in the Lord and the faith that we have. I know that one day, everything will make sense. One day we will receive our explanations, but as for right now these things just aren’t important. I know the Lord has a plan for every single one of us. But we must stay firm in our faith and stay on the right path.

Well I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember to always read your scriptures and say your prayers!!!

Love,
Sister Steadman

This Sisters in Guará sang as they walked.... and walked..... and walked...

Well the title of this email basically explains how my week was, ha. Our week included a lot of singing in the streets and a lot of walking.... but I just remind myself, walking is good for the health, ha. But my singing mostly consists of humming because I still haven’t memorized all the hymns in Português, :) Also I got told several times this week that my accent is a lot better and I’m sounding more and more like a Brasilian! And yesterday in church I got told that I look like the girl from Harry Potter, Emma... I forgot her last name but I’m sure you all know who I am talking about, ha. But here’s a quick update on the week.... I´ll try to remember everything, ha.

This week I spent a day in Águas Claras [with] Sister Paiva. Águas Claras is a big city that is full of apartment buildings. So it was a little different for me. At least here in Guará there are houses as well. But it was really fun to get to know here and spend some time teaching with her!

Jefferson is doing well. He still has some problems with smoking but he brought his girlfriend to church yesterday and she loved it! They are reading the Book of Mormon together and everything! But we just got to help them keep the commandments because they both smoke. but they are really trying!

We made a visit this week for a young lady that we met earlier in the week and when we make contacts in the street we make it very clear that we are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.... but somehow this girl didn’t quite understand that. So when we went to teach her she thought we were from the Catholic Church... ha it was an interesting lesson.

Lately we´ve been teaching Antonio, the husband of a convert. And this week was super good with him! We had a lot of lessons where we could just see the spirit working within him! It was super cool! But, he didn’t go to church yesterday. So we will be visiting him tonight.

So funny moment of the week. So we were walking in the street one day, and I am very grateful to be with Sister Alves again because we seem to have the same sense of humor and she laughs at my jokes.... so it makes me feel good, :) But I had just gotten done talking on our phone and I put it back in my purse. But the phone didn’t lock and I guess I was bumping it and pushing buttons when all of a sudden a deep manly voice started talking, ha. It really scared me, ha. So I pulled out my phone and was like sister! There’s a man inside of our phone! Haha I know way dumb but it was really funny in the moment...

But I just wanted to share a quick scripture with you all. It’s in Mosiah 2:5-6

5 And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons, and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest, every family being separate one from another.
6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tent sand hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;


I like this scripture a lot, because we all need to have our families centered around the prophet’s teachings and around the temple. My challenge for you all this week is to really center your lives around the temple more and do all that you can to visit the temple more. Well I love you all and hope you all have a fabulous week!

Love,
Sister Steadman

The City Life

I´ll be honest, it’s a little weird seeing sooo many apartment buildings and so many fancy cars ha! But, it’s good to be back in Brasilia. :) Here’s a little bit about this week!

Monday: We went and visited the bishop and I can’t even explain my happiness!! It´s so nice to have a bishop again ha! It’s a big relief that’s for sure. :) But he gave us a bunch of names of less active members to look for and find out if they were still living here or not. But he is very active in our work and is so willing to help us out! So this transfer will be really good!!! 

Tuesday: We had lunch with Irmã Eulita and she is the cutest old lady! As we were leaving she asked us if we could iron some clothes for her because she has some back problems. So we spent about the next hour ironing her sheets and hand towels, ha. But we spent most of the day looking for the less active members and I spent most of the time trying to figure out where I was. Ha, it’s hard because it all looks the same!

Wednesday: We had lunch with an Irmã who served a mission and it was super cool to hear some of her stories! I love mission stories! But this day I met one of the investigators here, who has been going to church since 2000. And he already knows everything and has a strong testimony. And you’re probably wondering why he hasn’t been baptized yet? Well, let me explain. Irmão Sebastião is an older gentlemen who is afraid to be baptized. I don’t know if any of you have heard about the mark of the beast of the chip. In revelations (at the moment I have forgotten what chapter) it talks about the mark of the beast. So all of the evangelist here have been saying that this chip that the government wants to put inside of us is this mark and it’s a huge deal to them. So he talks a lot about this chip and it’s really confusing sometimes, ha. But our district leader is going to do an interview with him this week to see what he really is needing so we can continue to help him. :)

Quinta-Feira: We had our first split!!! So because I am still very new in the area I went to Gama Centro and worked there with Sister Goncalves which was super awesome!! I absolutely loved getting to know her more! But we were able to find some awesome people for her to teach! It’s so nice being around sisters again. :)

Friday: We spent a little bit of time in the afternoon helping the sisters here set up for an activity so it was nice to get to know more members. I also met another one of our investigators. His name is Jefferson and he is super awesome!! He has a date for June 11^th. But he already knows everything. The sisters have been visiting him for about the last year, ha! He just needs to stop smoking! But he is doing a lot better and I really believe that he will be able to be baptized on the 11^th. :)

Saturday: This day I received the quote of the week from Sister Alves “If the devil were to have one good quality, it would be that he is a hard worker. He is very diligent in his work" haha haha. She makes me laugh! But this is so true! We see so much how hard the devil works! But we also see how much the lord works! That night I got to meet one of the families we are teaching and they are so perfect! They have 3 little boys 11, 7 and I think 4. But up to this point, we haven’t had much success with the dad. But the mom, Gilcelene, said Saturday night that she and the boys would go to church whether her husband, Assis, would go or not. So she showed up in church yesterday and loved it! The boys loved it as well! So we visited them again and set dates for the 29th. But we don’t know if they are legally married or not, ha!

I have only had one week here so far but I am already seeing so many miracles! I am really able to see the Lord’s hand in our work. There have been moments where I can really feel the spirit so strong and we leave a lesson and I have no idea what we said, ha. But I know the spirit is doing his job. :)

This week I was also reading in the ensign for this month and came across a talk that I really liked. It’s called "How we Preach of Christ in our home" I would like to challenge all of you to read it and study it and see how you can change the atmosphere in your home. :) 

Well I hope you all have a fabulous week! Love you all!

Sister Steadman