May 8, 2017

What a wonderful week full of blessings and full of lots of food :)

Almost all the pictures from this week involve food! 

My companion Sister Salvador and I

 

Tuesday I had splits with the Sister Training Leaders! I got to spend the day with my first companion of the mission Sister Ferreira! 

 

Tacos... 

 

Ice cream on the stairs.... 

 

Pizza breads... 

 

Tacos PART 2... 

 

 

Umbu Juice. I don't recommend it ;) 

 

As much as feasting on food is important... More important is feasting on the words of Christ! 

2 Nephi 32:3  Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

If you are not currently reading the book of Mormon, Today is a great day to start! If you aren't reading the Book of Mormon every day. I invite you to start reading every day.

I know that through reading the Book of Mormon everyday we will be able to receive personal revelation and the strength we need to deal with ALL of our problems and difficulties in our life. I love this gospel and I love that I am a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I find strength in reading the Book of Mormon everyday! I love it! Every time I read it, I find something new that I didn't notice before. Eu sei que esta igreja é verdadeira. Eu SEI que Deus nos ama e que Ele mandou seu filho Jesus Cristo para tomar sobre si todas nossos pecados, dores e aflicoes. Eu sei que Ele sempre esta proximo e sempre vai nos ajudar se buscarmos!!! **

Amo voces!!! Ate mais! :)

-Sister Hancock

 

** (Translation)I know this church is true. I KNOW that God loves us and that He sent His son
Jesus Christ to take upon Himself all our sins, pains and afflictions. I know 
He is always around and will always help us if we seek Him !!!

Love you!!! See you! :)

 

April 17, 2017

Transfers were today! I am staying in the area Ala II (2nd ward)!

Bishop and his family

Sister Hulme got transferred to a neighboring area but a different zone. 

My new companion is Sister Salvador! She is from somewhere in Curitiba! She has three weeks on the mission! She is super nice! It is a little weird only speaking Portugues now, but it will be super good! :) I am super excited! 

This past week was pretty great, 

I don't really remember everything that happened. On Wednesday - Thursday I went to Curitiba to renew my visa! I went on a charter bus for 2.5 hours and then met up with one of the older sister missionaries there in Curitiba. I stayed in Curitiba and then we got up super early to go to the police station.

Tereza and Albari :) 

We were talking to one lady and her son and we had about 10 minutes until we had to go to lunch! I had the thought to just skip right to introducing the Book of Mormon and then about 20 seconds later my companion Sister Hulme pulled out a Book of Mormon from her bag. It was cool that we both had the same prompting.

Sister Hulme and I were planning to have a Christmas celebration when it got colder here, but then she got transferred today! we have been singing Christmas songs all week to lead up to our Christmas celebration! This morning after we finished cleaning we had about 10 minutes until we had to leave so we decided to have a quick celebration and ate hot chocolate and sang a Christmas hymn! We were already wearing green and red without even planning it!

"Christmas Celebration"

Have a great week! 

-Sister Hancock

April 10, 2017

Everything is going super great here in Brasil! :) 

We had a baptism of Guilherme a few weeks ago! He is a member of the Oliveira family! They are an incredible family and have all gotten baptized in the last 3 months or so! 

 

This week went by so quickly! We found a few more people to teach this week and we are finally adjusted to the area, and can walk to places without getting lost! 

On Tuesday we had the chance to go to the Temple in Curitiba! 

 

 

 

On Wednesday we found our favorite friend near the house of our investigator! She is our  investigator's dog and comes up to us and tries to lay down in front of us when we are walking. 

 

At church on Sunday a less active woman came to church and brought her husband who is not a member. He was talking to us and was telling us and everyone that came up to church that we were the ones that brought him to church. He said that after the message that I shared at lunch he had the desire to come to church. And then he started telling us that he wasn't baptized and I said well there is still time! And he said yes, yes, there is!... The Spirit really is the true teacher! :)

At conference last week I was able to learn so much from the words the Prophets and Apostles spoke and through the Holy Ghost! 

At one of the sessions of general conference at the church the sound cut out for about 3 minutes. We were all sitting there in silence and then our bishop jokingly said "I am hearing it..." ("EU estou ouvindo!..."). Then everyone stayed in silence and only my companion and I started laughing. Haha we were the only ones that laughed at his joke... 

We need to listen with our spiritual ears! Our bishop wasn't hearing the sound but maybe he was hearing the voice of the Spirit testifying of the truth. We must act as soon as we receive revelation from the spirit without delay. If we ACT based on what we receive from the spirit we will receive more and more inspiration, answers and guidance each day! Stay close to the spirit and the spirit will stay close to you. 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!!! 

-Sister Hancock

 

 

 

 

 

March 20, 2017 HALFWAY!

I got transferred about 2 weeks ago to a new area called PONTA GROSSA! I didn't expect to get transferred because I was in my first area for 6 months and in the second area for just 6 weeks! My companion, Sister Hulme, and I were transferred together to our new area Ala 2! 

 On the last day in Pinhais Centro we visited as many investigators as we could! 

  Jose's dog that loved me so much!

  Saying goodbye to some missionaries that would be staying in Curitiba!

 

 

The ward mission leader, Antonio, (Right) and his assistant Augusto! They helped us so much and are so great!

 

 

Oliveira Family! (Sorry it is a little dark)

 

Irma Angela and her daughter

 

 

 Ponta Grossa!!!

 

I love Ponta Grossa! This area is so pretty and the people here are amazing! I wore a cardigan yesterday so I think it will start cooling down soon! 

These past 10 days have been crazy! Since my companion and I are both new to the area we are a little lost with what to do and where to go, but it is already getting a lot better! The first week we didn't have a map, so we got lost a few times. The ward is so great and the people are so willing to help us here. 

Ponta Grossa is known for all of its hills, so the walking here is going to be a bit tougher but it's worth it because the people here are so great!  

We don't know very many people yet, but we did meet a family of recent converts that are so humble and so excited about the gospel. We have a baptism planned for one of the kids who wasn't baptized yet. They are a family of 8 in total which is rare in Brazil. 

I hope you all have a great week!

-Sister Hancock

March 6, 2017

Normally when you think of Carnival in Brazil you think of huge parties and lots of crazy things! But here in Pinhais it means that literally everyone will leave the town and you don't find anyone in their houses, and there will be nobody in the streets and nobody at church. From about Friday-Wednesday it was really challenging to find people in their homes! But it was still a great week! 

On Monday night we had family home evening with a family that we are teaching. They are such an incredible family! After the message we made cookies!!! They also had a dog who had 10 puppies!!! 

My last companion, Sister Muniz got her Visa about a month ago to go to her actual mission in FLORIDA FORT LAUDERDALE!!! I got to say goodbye to her on Tuesday morning at a meeting and then she flew to Florida that afternoon! 

We found a lot of great people to teach this week and we had a few super great lessons! 

One day this week we knocked on a door and a guy answered. Then a little puppy that was inside the gate walked up to my foot. I bent down and picked it up and then was like "Hi we are missionaries! Can we share a message?" (Holding the puppy...) He and his wife invited us in and we shared the incredible message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Another day we knocked on a door of an potential investigator that we had been trying to get a hold of. His mom came out and then ended up letting us in. She kept saying "Wow you are angels! You guys came here to help us?! How wonderful! How incredible!!!" 

We said a prayer and shared a short message.
I shared the scripture Matthew 11:28-30 

 28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

She has been going through some challenges and she told us that us being there had made her feel a little lighter. I could feel the spirit so strongly and a portion of the great love that Heavenly Father has for this woman. 

I testify that through Christ our burdens can be made lighter. I know that he loves each and everyone of you so much. Trust HIM! Don´t give up!!! If you are going through a difficult time in your life trust in Heavenly Father because he knows what he is doing. He gives us difficulties and weaknesses so that we will be able to come unto him and humble ourselves. I know that Christ lives and that he is always waiting with his arm outstretched to help lift us up when we are down. 

I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week!!! 

-Sister Hancock 

February 13, 2017

I am loving being here in Pinhais, Brasil. I am meeting so many amazing people and learning so much! 

Outside our apartment

We have a new mission schedule which is wonderful and gives us a little more flexibility! We wake up at 7:30, exercise, get ready, plan, personal study and then from 11 am - 10 pm we have an hour of lunch, then choose when to have 1 hour of companion study, 30 mins of language study and then the rest of the time we spend teaching lessons and finding people. 

Baptism of Jose do Espirito Santo!

He is so incredible! He said that he will help bring more people to church because he wants everyone to know about the church and how it can help our lives become better! 

Sister Hulme and I have been spending a lot of time knocking doors and are having lots of great, interesting and quite amusing experiences!  

One time we were talking with a lady and she asked where we were from. For some reason my mind went blank and my companion wasn't responding so I ended up saying ``Uhhhhmarrica...`` Then the lady with a confused look asked ``Ahh are you guys speaking brasileiro well?`` and I said ``Yes, I just forgot how to say America or Estados Unidos for a second.``

Another time we were talking with a women and asking if we could return and give a message. She said yes and so I asked ``Voce tem um dia que é bom para voce?`` (Do you have a day that is good for you?) and she said ``Obrigada! Voces tambem!`` (Thanks! You too!). She thought that I was saying that I hope she has a great day, and we didn't know how to respond to that, so we just ended up saying see you later and walking away. 

Another time a woman tried to slam the door on us but the door got stuck on the ground about half way... So that didn't work very well for her.

Mission Conference 

It is a great life!

``If we knew that God already had at least one person prepared to receive the gospel because of our efforts we would have more faith!!!``

I know that God is preparing people to learn about the Gospel and we can each share the gospel with everyone! We can pray for the desire to share the gospel and be good examples for everyone around us! There are people all around us who are searching but don´t know where to find it! 

January 30, 2017 - Transferred

I was transferred! Now I am in Pinhais Centro. My new companion is Sister Hulme. She is from Las Vegas and has about 4 months on the mission! 

 Sister Hulme and I

 

Here are some pictures from my last few days in my other area: Autodromo

 

 

Lunch at a member's house

 

Last day with my companion Sister Muniz! She got here visa and will be going to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida mission in 1 month!!!

 

On last Monday I started packing my bags because I had the feeling I would be transferred! On Tuesday night I finally got the call the I would be transferred!

Everyday in my new area it has poured and even with umbrellas we ended up getting soaked! 

We got SOAKED!

 

I LOVE my new area, the members, my investigators and my companion! 

My new companion Sister Hulme: 

``God loves us the way we are, but He refuses to leave us that way.`` 

I know that God loves us all so much and that he has a plan for each one of us. He sent us to the earth so the that we could learn and grow. Through our trials and difficulties we can learn to rely on our Savior and grow to be better each day! 

I love you all so much and hope y'all have a great week!!!

-Sister Hancock