Tag: New Companion

All things work together for good

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My new companion is Sister Ribeiro II! [She is Sis. Ribeiro II here on the blog because Sister Faulconer was previously companions with Sister M. Ribeiro (the missionary who is a wonderful photographer)]. She is from Sao Paulo, just like Sister M. Ribeiro!  Until now she was serving in the city Guaranhuns with Sister Nogueira — so she had to travel for about eight hours to get here!

Sister Ribeiro II enjoys the fast food lunch at mission leadership council while Sister Faulconer looks on.
Photo, Courtesy Sister Lori Houseman

This week is Carnaval.  Carnaval is mostly celebrated on the other half of town that isn’t our area, so we have been mostly following normal hours here.  We have seen a lot of burras [donkey costumes] and bois [oxen costumes?] in the street as well as some other costumes that are hard to remember the name of. Look up images for “burrinha carnaval Pernambuco” and you should get some good pictures.  They walk around with a few people banging on drums and occasionally people with saxophones and marching band/battle standard-like banners.  But three guys with drums sound like two entire marching bands–those drums are powerful! 

We marked our investigator Rafaela* for baptism this week, which was great!.  Last week we were excited because she went to church, read the Book of Mormon, and progressed after being molle [soft = not very interested, doesn’t keep invitations to read, go to church, etc., consistently] for a while.  Unfortunately, at the last second she ended up going to the beach with her employer for a week and wasn’t able to go to church last week or next Sunday.  So that was too bad; it’s amazing how these things always happen with marcados [people who have committed to be baptized]!  But we re-marked her for two weeks later, so hopefully it will work out in the end.  But it was too bad because although we had a number of people who said they would go to church, no one did–not even the very long-time investigator who always goes. 

It was not the first time no one has come to church, but it is always too bad.  That morning we invited some people in the street to go to church and accept visits.  No one was very interested. There was one couple who was very against eternal families–they said what everyone here says: we will all be brothers and sisters after this life. There won’t be special marriage and family relationships.  I shared that experience in the talk I gave in church that day. A brother who works at the temple with FamilySearch mentioned my talk and talked more about eternal families.  It wasn’t until later we found out that a new family that had moved in had brought their son, who has been marked for baptism but not baptized, and the mom’s sister to the meeting.  The mom’s sister had a Book of Mormon and described feeling a great desire to read more and more!  She said that she had been deeply involved in the Catholic church — she taught crisma [confirmation] classes, etc.  But she had always had a few questions about Catholic teachings–like why we won’t be able to recognize or remember our family members after this life.  So all things worked together for good!  Our negative experience that morning helped her feel the spirit and recognize the truth at church!

Here is a scripture I like.  There are lots of sayings and quotes that talk about being in trouble, persecuted, etc., but not vanquished. What I like about this one is how Paul mentions feelings.  Although the trials he went through caused negative feelings (he was perplexed) all was not lost (he was not in despair)!

8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Approaching Christmas

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Commercialism is international. Image, Needpix.com

How was Thanksgiving?  I might buy some sweet potatoes here for a belated Thanksgiving mashed sweet potatoes.  It’s funny– there isn’t any Thanksgiving here but there is Black Friday!  There were lots of signs with “Black Friday” and “Black Week” “Black Month,” etc., all in English.  Commercialism is international!  There are also tons of Christmas lights — that has been the case for many weeks already.  It is funny to be in a place with skyscrapers.  I don’t remember having been in a big city at Christmas time before.  People in skyscrapers decorate their own window.  So all of the windows have different lights!  I thought there were tons of Christmas lights, but this week on Sunday a member said there are very few lights nowadays which just goes to show the lack of belief in Christ.  I guess I would have liked to see Christmas in Recife several years ago!  I am always surprised at just how many people believe in Christ (and post signs and stickers proclaiming said belief on cars, houses, stores, etc.) so it was an interesting viewpoint to hear.

Documents are important for marriage in Brazil. Couples who live together need to be married before they can be baptized. Image, Pixabay.com

This week was great!  We had a new investigator at church this week — Bruna.*  After teaching her we found out that she had already been to church four times and has a family member who is a member.  She is ten and likes to be taught.  Unfortunately our other investigators mostly didn’t manage to go, but there were two long-time investigators who always go.  I am grateful that they persevere!  Hopefully one of them ( Juliana) went to the marriage office today to start the marriage process (or at least see what she needs to be able to start).  The other one ( Daniela)’s husband had a little change of heart.  When I got here she said he didn’t want any documents at all (makes it hard to get a job, let alone marry) and now he does want documents.  Good first step!

New sister missionaries (including Sister Nogueira in the white shirt and Sister Faulconer in the red striped dress) arrive in Recife, October 2018, Courtesy Lori Houseman

My new companion is Sister Nogueira from São Paulo, Brazil.  She is awesome.  We actually got to the mission together.  It’s funny, because when people ask us how much time we have left or when we got here we have the same answer! I’ve never had a companion who got to the mission at the same time before.  

Our investigator Jeniffer is progressing a lot.  She had said she was reading the scriptures but had difficulty in remembering a part that she had liked and said she was still awaiting an answer from God.  This week she opened a scripture she said she especially liked the part around 2 Nephi 2:25.  She had truly had a spiritual experience!  Later someone randomly mentioned to her baptisms for the dead [longer, in depth discussion of baptisms for the dead] I was initially a little sad that our lesson was interrupted with that because it didn’t seem like the right moment.  But it was cool to talk about baptisms for the dead after having refreshed my memory with the Come Follow Me reading of the week.  It was amazing because she was initially confused about the concept and had been convinced that people don’t live in families after this life.  But after talking about family history and baptisms for the dead, she started thinking about family members who had already passed that she thought ought to be baptized!  She seems a lot more confident about her baptismal date as well. We are excited!  She definitely felt the spirit of Elijah.

We had less time in the area this week because I was in Jardim Massangana until Wednesday but we managed to find a lot of new people to teach.  Hopefully we manage to find them at home this week and they turn out to be really great!  This week we will go to the Mission Leadership council.  We are also going to do a division with the sisters from the city of Escada.

We are having a fun time thinking about creative things to do at Christmas — we are going to try knocking on a few doors and caroling this week.  Caroling is not a tradition in Brazil but we are hoping that the general good-feeling and belief in Christ means people will appreciate it.  We are also planning an activity to show people the new Christmas video “The Christ Child” (It is super great!) and give out free cake (as a lure).  It sounds like the Christmas zone conferences will start pretty soon.  I can’t believe it is Christmas already! 

One Christmas tradition here is Panettone.  It is like a cross between bread and cake. You cut it like a cake and it is quite sweet but has a bready texture.  It has dried fruits or chocolate chips and is very tasty.  I have only eaten it twice but liked it both times.  

Panettone. Image, needpix.com

Davi [recently baptized] still needs prayers — we still haven’t managed to see him.

*All investigators’ names are changed for privacy.

Woe is me if I preach not the gospel

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I spent two days with Sister Figueira.  On Wednesday my new companion showed up — Sister Barros!  She is from a state in northern Brazil — not too far from here.  Talking to her has made me realize that some things I thought were Sister Delmiro’s personality and individual voice are actually the north/northeastern accent (Sister Delmiro is from Fortaleza–also the Northeast).  Sometimes when I get a new companion I think — whoa my companion has the same voice as  xxxx missionary!  Then I realize it’s not the personality, but that they are from the same place and therefore have some of the same mannerisms and accent.  It is cool to live with people from so many different places.  Sister Barros is great!

[Sister Barros is not in fact gaucha (from the South of Brazil) but this pic of Sister Barros and Sister Faulconer was featured on a Casa Forte area restaurant’s Instagram. They got the Americana part right.]

Fun fact — did you know that if you leave spices or popcorn kernels in closed containers for two weeks you might come back and find out they have mold or insects trapped inside the container when you get back?  I did not.  Fun facts about a humid climate!  I think maybe it is safer to just leave everything in the fridge.  

Other fun fact — I can understand a bit of Spanish.  It is very strange, because in my head Spanish is a language I don’t know — but because I know Portuguese I can sometimes understand some things people are saying on the street!  
Right now we are trying to get more good investigators— several of the good people we have moved or had other problems.  So we are working on finding more people this week.  A member helped out and it sounds like Caroline and Luiz have a proof of residence and they are planning to go to the marriage office today to start the marriage process!  

Awesome moment from the week — Wilian went to church!!!  I talked about him three weeks ago.  He is the only referral who has worked out for us until now.  He wants to get baptized, reads the Book of Mormon, keeps the commandments.  He just had to go church, but he had to help build an extra bathroom for many Sundays.  Then he said he could go several times but his wife and her mom pressed him into service at the last minute a couple of times and he ended up not going.  But yesterday he managed!  And he is marked for baptism on the 21st of this month!  Iara also went to church.  I am still sad she is going through some hard things and feels that now isn’t the time for her to have lessons but it was great that she went to church this Sunday!

Unfortunately, on Tuesday night we went to visit a recent convert and discovered that he won’t go to church for a month because he is working to buy a cellphone on the weekends.  Also, he is going to his mother’s church every week.  We knew that, but we did not know that he considers himself a member of both churches. We explained that he can visit other churches but that he needs to know which church is teaching Christ’s doctrine correctly — which church is the restored church of Christ.  He said he needed to make a choice; probably to stay with his family, united in his mother’s church. I felt really bad about that.  Last Monday the weekly mission newsletter was about how to better teach and follow up with recent converts. Although I had read the journal last week and thought a lot about it throughout the week and how I could better teach recent converts, we hadn’t visited him last week because there are a lot of recent converts in Madalena and Casa Forte and I did not prioritize visiting him. So that was frustrating–I had felt like I was doing a better job of recognizing the Spirit and his inspiration for my investigators in my studies, but apparently that did not carry over to recognizing a prompting to visit our friend. Anyway, hopefully members will visit him and he will pray and think more about this.  I think it will work out.  

Recently i have been thinking about a couple missionary-related quotes from Paul:

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

1 Corinthians 9:16

  
We have to share what we know!

My new home & new sisters: Gravatá

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On the left, Sister Centeio from Cape Verde, in the middle, Sister Faulconer from Provo, Utah, on the right, Sister Broadbent from Ogden, Utah. In the background, the very rainy streets of
Gravatá, Pernambuco, Brazil. [courtesy Amy Dawson Broadbent]

Now I have two companions!  I did not know I would be in a trio — it was a big surprise!  Apparently there are a few trios of sisters right now.  I don’t know why — President doesn’t want to open more areas right now?  Lack of houses to rent to missionaries? Revelation?  But it’s cool to be  in a trio.  I especially appreciate how much faster doing the Area Book is.  The Area Book is a large binder with forms that you update for every visit with investigators.  It also has forms where you write the information for every new person who wants a visit and forms we give to the Ward Mission Leader about the help our investigators/recent converts/other members need from the ward.  I do not enjoy doing these forms and having three people means it’s that much faster.  It is also cool just to have two people to talk to and do stuff with.  It’s different teaching lessons together – I was so used to having one companion!

Sister Centeio and Sister Broadbent [courtesy Amy Dawson Broadbent]


I really miss Sister Arce and want very much to know what is happening in Palmares (we were teaching a couple of people who were really progressing that I hope might get baptized and continue as strong members of the church).  But Gravatá is great!  It is a little cooler at night and I can tell that I am sleeping significantly better here . . . when I am not being eaten by mosquitoes.  There are a lot of mosquitoes in our house and I am their favorite snack.  My first night here I woke up unbearably itchy, covered in bug bites and my companions were untouched!  I don’t know why it’s so much worse here than in Palmares.  But luckily the anti-itch cream saved the day (thank you, Mom).  I am going to have to go to bed wearing repellent.  

My new district


It’s a ward rather than a branch here so there are a lot more members.  There are a lot of great people in our ward.  

I gave a talk this Sunday.  It was very mais-ou-menos because I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare it and I didn’t write out all the words but it could have been a lot worse;  I’m sure it was better than the testimony I gave my first month in Palmares! 

Gravatá is a tourist city, so it’s a bit bigger than Palmares and has more stuff.  I am anxiously awaiting the six-reais [Brazilian currency] acai I plan to eat later today.  I told Sister Arce I was hoping to get blessed one day with an area with cheaper acai and I got my wish!  It is a lot less hilly here and it has been raining like crazy. 

Drenched! Dad always says that when crazy things happen it means you have good stories to tell. It’s an adventure! [Photo, courtesy Amy Dawson Broadbent]

We were drenched yesterday;  I loved it, although it is a bit inconvenient sometimes because our stuff gets all wet, we were wearing skirts, and the streets here turn into small lakes.  There were a couple of times we had to walk through some very sketchy water and I was telling my companions about how Dad always says that when crazy things happen it means you have good stories to tell.  It’s an adventure!  So we had an adventure to remember yesterday walking through the sheets of rain and lakes of sketchy water.  

The streets of Gravatá. But it is only the beginning of the rainy season!

Miracle from this week — I was on the bus from Caruaru to Gravatá during the transfer.  At one point, I was praying for my new area and companion (did not know I would have two!) — that we could be led to the people who were ready for the Gospel, etc.  I found out later that at the same time I was praying that we could be led to the people ready for the Gospel, Sister Centeio and Sister Broadbent were walking down the street.  Suddenly, a man, call him “Danilson,” yelled out to them and asked if they were selling copies of the Book of Mormon.  They explained that we are happy to give free books away (click here for your own free copy).  He had read online about the Book of Mormon and really wanted a copy!  We will visit him today; let’s pray that he will recognize the spirit and that his heart will be open to follow its promptings.  

The Book of Mormon is really special — Helaman 15:7-8 is a scripture that touched me recently about the importance of scripture study. Alma 17:2-3 has the story of people who changed their lives through their scripture study!

As you might imagine, I am super excited about the announcement this week [about a rule change allowing missionaries to contact their families on their weekly preparation days].  We called our District Leader that morning because we had marked someone for baptism and he said “Have you guys talked to any members recently?  You should, you will like it!”  We convinced him to tell us about it, but the cellular started having troubles with sound.  We could tell something exciting happened but couldn’t hear to figure out what!  Finally he started half-yelling in English — Sister Broadbent and I were stopped in the middle of the street huddled around a tiny cellphone and I was trying to translate for Sister Centeio — it was difficult because we were all so excited!  It was really hard to wait until today to talk to you guys.  We kept imagining what it was like at home — I bet Facebook in Utah was exploding.  

Yes, an avocado!

I had thought about how cool it would be if the rules changed, but I didn’t expect it to actually happen!  I should get to do a video call with you guys soon!  I was all mentally prepared to wait until Mother’s Day.  [Update: Sister Faulconer attempted a video call Monday afternoon, but the LAN house (internet cafe) didn’t have a working camera or speakers, so it was simply texting with enthusiastic waving at the camera on the part of her family at home in Utah. We hope for the miracle of sound and video in the weeks to come!].

Pancakes for Valentines day — I made these with self-rising flour and something that might be baking powder or baking soda and chocolate drink mix and some other stuff!  Topped with fresh coconut from a member. 

New Companion: Sister Arce

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Sister Arce and Sister Faulconer with the hills of Palmares in the background.

Oi!

This week has been great.  I love my new companion–Sister Arce from Argentina. She is kind and we are getting along really well.  She has the most beautiful accent.  We worked really hard this week and we are visiting a lot of people who haven’t been visited recently enough.  The other day we walked up 240 steps and a huge number of hills!  Sister Arce has disillusioned me—apparently not all the other areas in our mission have this many hills ;).  Fun fact about her: she is “viciada” [addicted] to “Cremosinho” a creamsicle sort of yogurt frozen thing that comes in plastic bags.  You bite off the corner and eat it.  It’s very good. 

Lots of miracles happened this week. I am extremely grateful that we did not get very lost and that I did not terribly mess anything up while showing Sister Arce the area [At home, Sister Faulconer has a reputation for having no sense of direction and getting lost very easily]. We went the wrong direction once or twice but not for very long.  We haven’t been lost and we got to several hard-to-remember places without a hitch!  My memory of places is mais-ou-menos [sometimes better sometimes worse] but nothing that bad has happened and it hasn’t been a big problem.  Definitely a blessing to remember some of the confusing routes to different places.

Also, one of our investigators I thought wasn’t interested said she was going to challenge herself to only smoking tobacco once today.  In the not far distant past she was smoking 28 cigars!  She really wants to change.

Sister Faulconer with new friends from the Palmares branch

I hope you all have an awesome week!  Love from Brazil!