Letter from 11/17/2014

Hey everyone! I didn´t like this week at ALL until Sunday! It was one of those weeks that feels AWFUL while you´re living it, but once you look back, it actually was pretty fantastic. We worked worked woooorked and WORKED and saw lots of success. We got 7 people to come to church with us and one of them was a contact that we´d made the week before. We contacted him and he said he didn´t want to hear a message, but we invited him to church anyway and he decided to go and he loved it :) We´re seeing tons of miracles in Ananindeua, and it´s AMAZING to be a part of this ever growing work. I´ve learned that if we just do what we´re asked and TRUST in our God, we WILL be blessed. Every time. Just trust in Him and have hope. I love you all, have a fantastic week! If you could, please keep praying for Arthur and Kelly. Thanks so much and Love ya!!

Sister Neal

She and Seth were having a conversation about her giraffe

Sis. Neal and Sis. Domingues

Letter from 11/10/2014

Hey everyone! I loved this week, it was wonderful. We´re working hard and seeing results. This area was dead and now it´s super alive and we´re loving it! We´re really having a blast. Thanks for the prayers...Arthur DID recognize an answer...but he´s still wanting to wait on baptism. We invited him to pick a day...and he picked the 20th...a thursday. Silly goose. Oh well, we´re praying for that!! Kelly made it to church with us and is keeping the commandments, thanks so much for the prayers.

I´ve been learning that if you wanna see results, you gotta be willing to do what you´ve never done before. I was reading in Alma today about the war where the bad guys were upset because the Nephites were super prepared and were doing stuff they´d never seen before and couldn´t win....I´d go into more details but time´s short...so we´ve been trying to think of new ideas of what we could do differently to help this work along. We decided to sing a hymn before every lesson, and it really has brought about miracles. The spirit is a lot stronger during the lessons and the people can feel a difference between our messages and the messages of other people. It´s been wonderful. 

I´ve also been thinking about the phrase ´if you want to go to God´s presence, you gotta repent.´ I´ve learned that that phrase is wrong. It should be ´You´re gonna go back to God´s presence whether you´re prepared or not. You should repent.´ It´s the truth...we´ll go back no matter what, and it´s our job to work so we´ll b comfortable there. It´s a good thing that we have the Atonement, what a blessing! We can always be clean and always prepare. Christ is with us every step of the way. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week, keep keeping the faith!!  

elder of the angels (elder dos anjos our district leader) hahaaha

 

Merry early Christmas!

Kelly at church!

Sis. Domingues and I

Me!

we wanted a cool walking picture and the elders kept ruining it

 

Letter from 11/3/2014

I´m loving this area everyone! We´re having tons of fun and tons of success. We're having tons of lessons and seeing lots of things change in this area that everyone said was awful. It´s amazing to see the hand of the Lord in the work.

Sorry, I ran out of time....no time for details, but if you guys could pray for Arthur that he might recognize the answer from God that he already has, and for Kelly that she might have strength to keep the commandments. I LOVE YOU ALL. have a WONDERFUL week!!!

Letter from 10/27/14

GENTE. I was transfered!!! Guess where?!? Zone: Cidade Nova, Ward: Providência, City: Ananindeua Companion: MY TRAINER, SISTER DOMINGUES!! It´s her last transfer and we´re serving together again! How often does that happen?!? NEVER. But this is gonna be sweet!!! We´re having so much fun and it´s super cool that she gets to see my progress, and I can actually talk correctly now and really contribute! It´s amazing! We´re gonna make lots of miracles.


We got TONS of work done this week, made a whole new group to teach, got people to church, and made TONS of contacts. S. Domingues´s goal is to baptize 6 people before she leaves....so we´re gonna get it done. in 5 weeks. At least that´s our goal...and we´re gonna do it!!! We´re super excited!! We´re really focusing on families, because a family baptizm is the best thing EVER. and we want them to be eternal. I know that families can be together forever, and there is NO GREATER GOAL. I love you all, have a fantastic week!!!!

Sister Neal with Sister Domingues who trained her!

Letter from 10/20/14

So, this week was kinda stressful. Everything went PERFECTLY until Friday. Igor, who was supposed to get married, ran away on the day of the wedding. We followed up the entire week..and he was excited...but it just didn´t go how it was supposed to. Antonio and Rodrigo also decided at the last minute that they weren't ready for baptism...but that they´d continue going to church to learn more. So...that was a blessing. They recognize the importance of the commitment and want to learn. We had an old investigator come to church this week, and he´s feeling a lot better about baptism, and we´re working for his baptism this Saturday.

I know that everything has a time and a place! I feel the Lord in the work! When all of our appointments fall through, the Lord provides us with someone who´s waiting to here. I know He loves us, and just expects us to be obedient and try our best. I´m thankful for all of the blessings that Heavenly Father gives us and all that He has waiting for us. I´m excited to be here and try to prove to Him that I love him through obedience. I love this work!!

Love you all, have a fantastic week!

Sister Neal

Little lizards that are everywhere. 

Also, there´s this huge thing happening....círio...where all of the catholics adore mary and other saints. i learned that there is SO much faith in the world...but focused on the WRONG THING. people walked from castanhal to belem holding a cord and walked with the saint...and then they have the guts to say they don´t worship idols:?!?!? WHEN, tell me, do catholics have a giant party for Jesus?:! NEVERRRR. ugh. so much faith focused on the wrong thiiing. oh well. love you guys! bye!

Letter from 10/13/2014

Miracles!! So there´s this man that´s been going to the church for a while (he was attending the other ward in the building) and his name´s Igor. He´s been going to church with his family and he´s been loving it. The woman he´s with is a member, but he´s not. So we went to go teach them, and we were kinda bummed out because they´re not married and we wanted him to get baptized...but he said that the date´s set to get married THIS FRIDAY and he´ll be baptized this Saturday!! It was WONDERFUL! I know I didn´t explain that very well, but it made me happy anyway :)

Also, we had plans to have investigators come to church...and, like almost always, they all fell through. BUT The Elders found two people in the street who they invited to church...and they live in our area, and they´ve already been to church once, and they absolutely loved it. I know that when we have goals, a plan of action, and lots of faith, Father WILL help us! He always provides a way. Our goal for this month is to baptize 2 men and 3 people in total...and The Lord is making it happen. Our plans fall through, but He presents other people. This work is amazing, and I truly see the hand of God here, helping us out. I know there are angels helping us. 

Thanks for all the prayers!! Have a wonderful week!!

Love,

Sister Neal

Picture notes (from Laura): They have 6 missionaries in the ward and it was someone's birthday. That's all I know about these pictures, but enjoy!

Letter from 10/6/14

This week was great! We started this thing where we teach all of the members in our area the Restoration to get them feeling what the felt when they first heard it. We´re doing this to be able to get more referrals, and it´s really working! The spirit is so strong during the lessons, and it really strengthens the members too. 

We had investigators at conference, and it was wonderful. They loved it and learned a lot and want to learn more about prophets and how the church works. Everything went wrong for them and everything seemed to be getting in their way to get to the church, but they didn´t give up and they made it and loved every second of it. 

I loved the talk by Tad R. Callister when he talked about how we need to arm our families with prayer and help them be prepared to fight in the world every day. Then I read Mosiah 9:16-18 and it talked about just that. He prepared his army with every thing he had, and then they went and fought, constantly crying to God, and they won with the Lord´s help. That´s super inspiring to me and I know that it´s true! Our families need to be protected and prepared, and the only place they´re gonna learn that stuff and get that preparation is in the home. 

The talk that was given in Portuguese was AMAZING. WIth the translations, sometimes the whole idea isn´t given, and a lot of the emotion of the speaker isn´t there...but this talk was incredible. I loved it and I love the new program where everyone can talk in their own language.

I know we have living prophets to guide us in these latter days! They are real, and they know exactly what we need to return home! We have all of the materials necessary to return, we just need to use them. Pray! Read the scriptures! Go to church! Live this true gospel happily, and we´ll be blessed with the greatest gift of all, eternal life.

I love you all!!

Sister Neal

She got her camera and emailed a few pictures. I love them!

Cristo

Cristo

Cristo in panoramic

Young Women. She loves them!

Young Woman

Church in Castanhal

Church in Castanhal

Letter from 9/29/2014

This week was full of learning again. S. Nascimento and I have been seeing that when we study something in Preach my Gospel in the morning, we ALWAYS get to apply it during the day. We were studying about really listening to people the other day...and that same day I think we found ALL of the hard hearted people who live here in Castanhal. No one wanted to hear our message, the just wanted to talk about the doctrine THEY wanted. So we listened. And a part of listening is to NOT form answers while they´re talking, but to really listen, and then wait for the spirit to give you words. And it was incredible! I bore my testimony so much this week, and it grew. I was able to teach with the spirit and really touch their hearts. It was an awesome learning experience.

Also, there´s one family here in our ward who basically makes up the entire ward. There´s only one brother who´s not a member, and his name is Paulo. His problem is that he knows that the church is true and has a wonderful testimony...but can´t stop drinking or smoking. Every single time we talk to him, he starts crying, testifying of the truth...and so broken and sad because he says he can´t stop and follow Christ. We just started crying with him, because we could just feel his spirit struggling, and wanting to leave drinking and smoking. We had an awesome experience talking to him. We invited him to say a prayer, and he was scared because he hadn´t prayed in a long time. But he did it, and it was the sweetest and most sincere prayer I´d heard in a long time. He felt a lot better after, and more motivated, knowing the love God has for him. It´s going to be awesome to see the repentance process in his life, and see him change into the man he wants to be.

I love this mission and seeing people´s lives change! It´s the best feeling ever, I am so blessed. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sister Neal

A Picture Someone From Brazil Posted Sister Neal's Facebook Messages

I wish I had more details about the picture. It was sent from a sister in the ward in Castanhal where Sister Neal serves. She says she is a great person and hopes she doesn't have to leave soon.

Letter From 9/22/2014

Oi gente!!

This week was great, and full of lessons to learn. My companion and I have been studying more about Christlike attributes, and we´ve been seeing tests every day about the attribute we study. One that really hit me this week was hope. 

Hope is AWESOME, and actually really hard to have sometimes. We had a member make visits with us after lunch...and we walked and walked and for 5 hours, ALL of our appointments fell through. Every single one. That´s just not normal...and I was kinda freaking out, because it was getting late and we were in a bad part of town. So we decided to head back, and we were super stressed out. The member decided to leave because nothing was happening...tchau, lessons with a member...and we were alone, with 0 lessons and the day almost ending. It wasn´t very good. But then I´d remembered that we´d studied about hope...and hope includes that you know that trials are for your good, and you stay optimistic in every situation. So, we did that. Right as we remembered that, we saw someone in the road that we had taught 2 months ago and wanted absolutely nothing. She said that our message hadn´t left her head, and she wanted to talk to us again. She said she wouldn´t be able to go to church because she was travelling somewhere, but we marked for this week. THEN we saw a Less active person that I talked about a few months ago...and she invited us in and said she´d be going to church the next day. Then we knocked on doors (or clapped, really) (which is really super ineffective) and made the new investigators that we needed.

Church was awesome, we had 3 investigators there and they all loved it. Sacrament meeting was absolutely inspired for the less active person...her and her husband absolutely loved it, and we´re started to teach them and helping them get a testimony of the Book of Mormon. 

We can´t ever lose hope! We can´t forget that God has an eternal perspective and knows exactly where we need to be, when we need to be, and why! We gotta trust in Him and just really be instruments in His hands. I´m so thankful for the lessons I´m learning here, and for the work and miracles that are happening. 

I love you all, have a fantastic week!

Sister Neal

Letter From 9/15/14

I loved this week, it was incredible! My companion and I saw that as we did our very best, God did the rest. This week we found this man who was absolutely horrible. He invited us into his house, and instantly started getting angry. We said ´can we start with a prayer´ and he was already upset. He started yelling and telling us that Joseph Smith wasn´t  a prophet and started getting pretty violent and hitting stuff...so we ended up just walking out. But the feeling I got when he said that Joseph Smith was a false prophet was indescribable. My companion and I felt really strange and then we were able to bear our testimonies, and we actually felt powerful. It was actually really cool. Of course he didn´t hear any of it, but it really strengthened our testimonies. I know that Joseph was called as a prophet and restored this Gospel, and it is the only true and complete gospel on the earth!

But anyway, right after that we walked into a wonderful little family. They were so perfect, and we´d actually talked to the dad in the street the week before. They loved the lesson, and they have baptismal dates.

On Saturday, we had so many people from the passed weeks confirm that they´d be at church on Sunday...but that always happens, so we went to go pick them up. And guesssss whatttt. EVERY ONE of our old investigators said no. All of them. Just flaked out and said no. So, we were super disappointed, and we went to catch the bus because we were late to church. When we got on the bus, we saw one of our investigators from that week was sitting there with a huge smile on his way to church too! That´s so crazy, because Castanhal is really big! And he was there! Then we went and picked up that family that I talked about earlier, and they were all dressed and ready to go! And THEN we were in Gospel Principles and one of our investigators (Neide) from the day before walked in! It was a huge miracle! None of our investigators from the passed week went, but our new ones from this week did. That never happens! It was a miracle, and Neide is getting ready to be baptized this Saturday. Woohoo! If you guys could pray for her, that would be lovely!

So it was amazing. Oh, and the reason Neide walked in late was my fault...I´d called her that morning, and I understood completely incorrectly...I thought she said she wouldn´t be able to go...but she actually said something like `yeah I´ll be there, just pass by so I know where it is!´ HAHA. Language barriers. Oh well, she figured it out and absolutely loved it :D

Have a wonderful week!!

Sister Neal

Letter From 9/8/14

This week was fantastic, and I really gained a huge testimony of service and how extra service projects really help the work. 

We baptized Talison, and he has a friend named Klebson who just wanted to get baptized with all he had. He wouldn´t drop the topic. The only problem was that his mom wasn´t having it. This poor kid´s family lives in a bar and he´s seen things that no one should ever see. He doen´t even sleep at his house, he spends all of his time at Antonio´s house ( He´s a recent convert) And Antonio teaches him about the Gospel and what he should and shouldn´t do. He´d been going to church, but his mom didn´t want him baptized. So we went and talked to her again at her bar. And we have a lesson about the Gospel and the importance of baptism..and the bar was all ears. Everyone was looking at us and participating, and the Spirit was incredibly strong. They loved it. Then some one there, (Maria) said something about having to work in her yard and how it was really difficult. So we said we´d be there the next morning to help out. No one believed us. So we left and went to her house the next day. When we got there, 3 people who were at the bar were there to help too. So we did A BUNCH of work in her hard (they don´t have any electrical stuff...so it was interesting...and reallllly really burning hot...) but we helped! And then Klebson´s mom called and asked if we were actually there...and when she heard that we were, she got emotional and said that her son could be baptized.

We stopped by her house, and she said ´our life is like this (gesturing to the bar) but we can and will change. we just need your help.´ WHAT. This was a huge change! I know that service and really showing that we care opens people´s hearts. Through the example of her son, she is being changed. We´re so excited to work with her.. Miracles are real!

Also, I really love 1 Nephi 17:51. Nephi has so much faith in God´s power. If He can do so many miracles, why can´t he help me build a boat? If God wants something done, He´ll help us...we just have to be diligent and do our part. 

Love you all!!!

Sister Neal

Klebson, who was baptized on Saturday

Letter From 9/1/14

This week was just one huge miracle! Our district of 4 sisters had a goal to baptize 9 people this month, and we DID IT! We only had 8 until the night of the baptism! Andre showed up and said he wanted to be baptized! It was beautiful. We had 4 people baptized on Saturday. Lindalva´s kids and André and an old woman (78 years) named Isabel. It was so spiritual. They were all confirmed yesterday. The ward is really growing now, and the members are helping so much. There´s one man in our ward who´s goal is to baptize his whole street, and he´s getting there! He´s already got 5! So we´re getting a lot of referrals from him, and they´re all helping out. I love this work, and I see Father´s hand in every part of it! We worked very hard this month and were very blessed for it. WOO HOO!

I was also reading D&C 58, and it was super good. I learned a lot about how we have our agency, and we choose to do good! We need to use our angency and choose to serve our God! Let´s show him that we´re willing to do His will in all things! I love you all!

 

Sister Neal

Letter from 8/25/14

Oi gente! This week was fantastic! Lindalva got baptized!! Her baptism was so perfect. She was so well prepared to take this step in her life. She had such a great understanding of the covenant she was making. After she stepped out of the water, she gave me a big hug and said that she felt amazing and new and ready to start her new life. It was so beautiful! Her two kids are getting baptized on the 30th. She didn´t want them to get baptized yet because she wanted them to get personal responses. Her daughter, Taynara (14) went to mutual and absolutely loved it, and started telling everyone there that she was getting baptized the next week. So...that surprised us, but of course we were happy :) And her son, Talison (12) was super difficult. Probably just because he´s 12...but whatever. He would  never pay attention to any of the lessons, and never answered any questions, so we were never sure about him. But right before his mom´s baptism started, he ran up to us saying with the biggest smile on his face that he wanted to be baptized. 2 MIRACLES, GUYS. We´re so blessed, and we´re having such an awesome time helping these people. 

So, I was studying D&C 50 this week, and I absolutely loved it! It taught me a lot about how us, even as missionaries, are ALWAYS developing our testimonies. During this mission, I will grow more than I will in my entire life because I´m always testifying and trying to use the spirit to guide. My companion and I are always trying to develop our teaching skills with the spirit, and my testimony really has grown. I love it!  I also started reading in Moroni. The end of the Book of Mormon is so sad, but I absolutely love Moroni´s example of faith and diligence. Everyone who believes in Christ is dying...but Moroni says bodly that he will NOT deny the Christ, and he walks alone, not knowing whether or not he will die...and he continues writing in hopes that it will bless people later. Look at that faith! We need to always stand up for what we believe, and always be obedient to the commandments, even if we don´t understand them right then. I love the Book of Mormon, and I know with all of my heart that it is true. We have it as our map, we have SO many examples of prophets and good people, and if we just follow the instructions that are written, we will be saved! It´s our choice! I love you all and I hope that you guys have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Neal

Letter from 8/18/14

This week was wonderful and full of miracles! Ávilla was baptized. But, as you guys may or may not know, something bad always happens the week of the baptism. She started getting super doubtful, not knowing what she wanted to do. But my companion and I went and visited her, and were able to take away all of her doubts. It was incredible how scriptures just kept coming to our heads and the right words to say came to help her out. She loved it. It really showed me the importance of personal study and letting the holy ghost work through us. It really strengthened my testimony. 

Also, we have a woman named Lindalva getting baptized this Saturday. she really is a miracle. She has such a huge desire to be baptized. Her kids will too. We´re super grateful for them, and it´s so great to work with them. 

We were also super protected this week. My companion and I got robbed, but nothing bad happened to us. We lost some stuff...like our cameras..because it was the day of the baptism....but we were safe. After the guys who stole our stuff left, I felt so much peace. Worse stuff could have happened. I know that the Lord is on our side and protecting us in this work! I love being here as a missionary, and am absolutely loving the miracles we´re seeing. No impure hand can stop the progress of this work. I love you all!!Have a wonderful week!

Sister Neal

Letter from 8/11/14

Hey everyone!

This week was another great week. We have an investigator named Ávilla, and about a month ago she came to church all by herself because someone invited her. Now she´s getting ready to be baptized. This shows that some people are just waiting for the truth, but they don´t know where to find it...our purpose as members of this church is to invite people come unto Christ! An invite doesn´t hurt anyone...and miracles happen. Sunday we also had a family just show up to church because a member invited them too. You guys help so much in this work, but we definitely need your help. 

The field is white and ready to harvest...but it´s also a really BIG field...and missionaries that come from far away don´t know where to look. Work can happen randomly...but it´s a LOT easier and way more effective when the members show the missionaries where to go. References are AWESOME.

Miracles are really happening! We´re working on baptisms this Friday for Ávilla, her sister Patricia, a woman named Lindalva and her 3 kids. We´re having such a good time and getting some great work done. I´m learning more all the time. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

Sister Neal

*She sent 6 pictures this week with no captions.