week 60 . transfer week

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[mom note: After posting last week's letter we got pictures (a ton of pictures) from Megan of her adventures at the beach.

The rest of the pictures have been added to the post week 58 . suddenly i SEA]

This week was the infamous . . .

TRANSFER WEEK

+ I stayed in Potengi! Thank goodness. If I had only stayed one transfer for the second time in a row I would've gone crazy. And probably called President crying haha. I'm excited to work another transfer here. I love the area, the members, our investigators, the recent-converts, everything!

+ Sister J. Silva was transferred! To Urick Graff 1 (Mossoró)!!!!! Aka, my birthplace. She's going to die where I was born. So she'll die happy. I was bummed that I won't be able to spend another transfer with her, but I'm also pumped for her. 

+ My new companion is Sister Castilho!

      // ABOUT HER //

> She is from São Paulo. Surprise surprise. (my 7th companion paulista!) 

> She has been out on the mission for 11 months.

> We were in the same district when I was in Caicó!!! We didn't get to know each other super well, but I liked her a lot. She's a sweetheart. 

> When she left my district we were still in the same zone! haha and she lived with Sister Hernandez (my twin and mission bestie) and Sister Hernandez loves her and she loves Sister Hernandez so I was pumped when I heard she would be my companion. 

> She loves to dance and I'm going to ask her to teach me to dance like a Brazillian. Watch out world. 

> She's fun and crazy and we are already having a blast together. 

Since transfer week is sort of crazy I'm going to try to organize this email by the days of the week to have some sort of structure. . . 

MONDAY // A normal, chill pday, but at night when Sister J. Silva and I were getting ready for bed, she wasn't feeling too well. And then she went to the bathroom and threw up. And from that point on (about 10pm) it didn't stop. She was really sick. I was panicking a little bit. We didn't sleep a wink. She ended up getting a priesthood blessing from our neighbor (who is conveniently the bishop's counselor) and then she took some medicine that helped a lot. Around 4 am we finally got to sleep.

TUESDAY // You can imagine how great I was feeling after Monday night, and Sister J. Silva was worse off than I poor thing. She ended up sleeping a good portion of the day and woke up feeling a lot better. After the transfer call we went and said goodbye to her recent-converts and some members.

WEDNESDAY // We got to the rodoviaria [mom note: bus terminal] at about 8:30 am for Sister J. Silva to catch her bus. And Sister Castilho only got to Natal (from Sousa) at 8:30 pm. I spent most of my day there (until about 4 o'clock). I was wishing I had brought a hammock to take a nap haha. But honestly it was fun to see friends there. On transfer day the rodoviaria in Natal is like a beehive full of missionaries. Everyone must think that the Mormons are taking over the world. But I got to see a ton of people there. It was way fun to catch up. 

Megan with Sister Moraes, a previous companion

And from 4-8:30 I stayed in trio with the sisters from Alecrim . . . Sister Lencini and Sister Rios!!!! Party. They're my homegirls. Sister Rios had spent half of her mission in Zona Caicó so she was happy to be in the capital and have a change of pace. Fun to spend some time with the two of them. And their investigator bought us french fries. Woot woot. 

And since I was in Alecrim (close to the mission office) I got to pick up my package. Mom you are the absolute cutest person in the world and I (and many many missionaries here) love you. The "you are my sunshine" package was a hit. Just Sister Castilho and I would never be able to eat all of the yummy treats so it's good the other sister's are going to sleep over tonight (mission conference tomorrow) and I'll share with everyone. LOVE YOU MOMMA. 

THURSDAY // FRIDAY // SATURDAY // The first days with Sister Castilho have been great. I think we're going to work really well together. We were teaching Antonio and Otavio these last few days, preparing them for their baptism and they have honestly been so prepared by the spirit. They love the church. They spend every day there at activities, they are both going to seminary, they have honestly jumped headfirst into the gospel. And the best part is seeing how their family is supporting them in this. Their grandma is a less-active member of the church and their mom spent a long time going to church but wasn't able to be baptized. But she remembers everything! When we taught them about the Restoration she taught the lesson more than we did. An elect family. 

#minhavida // We decided to do a contact with two women and a man who were sitting on the sidewalk in front of their house. Little did we know that it would be probably one of the funniest contacts of my mission. The women were talkative, nice, friendly, etc. The man was a little bit drunk. He started to "speak English" which was mostly Portuguese with small phrases in English. And then he started talking politics with me and saying how he wanted his country to copy my country. Then he started telling Sister Castilho how beautiful she was. He was going on and on about how she was "his princess" with his wife sitting next to him! But instead of getting jealous or offended she was apparently worried about my self-confidence. "They're both pretty dear. Both of the girls are pretty." He agreed with a shrug of the shoulders and went back to praising Sister Castilho and trying to hug her. Hahaha poor girl. She half yelled that missionaries can't hug and he backed off. But don't worry I've recovered from the blow to my self-esteem.

SUNDAY // Best sunday ever. A ton of investigators at church (and they all went by themselves!), great lessons in sunday school, a beautiful and reverent sacrament meeting. Antonio and Otavio's entire family was there in the front row with us and an irmã [mom note: sister] gave a talk about "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". It was perfect. The baptismal meeting was spiritual and so special. The members gave a warm welcome to the boys and there were a few members who recognized Antonio and Otavio's mom (Aquelice) and grandma from when they used to go to church and gave them hugs and welcomed them. It's exactly what we want to see the members do when we bring people to church. It makes all the difference. 

After our perfect Sunday morning we ate a fabulous lunch at the Bishop's parent's house. (the Bishop's dad looks exactly like Gordon B. Hinckley it's weird). I ate so much I thought I would die. And there was even homemade ice cream for dessert. I was in heaven. 

Overall it was a wonderful week. So happy to be here. 

I love my life. 

xoxo

Sister M. Baker

Megan's new Zone after last week's transfer

 

week 59 . "here come the girls from the mormon church"

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This week we saw so many miracles here in Potengi. Sister J. Silva and I really tried to dedicate ourselves 100% to the work and to our investigators. We aren't perfect but God saw our effort and blessed us and our area. 

Some of the (many) miracles that happened // 

+ Remember that man, Aleanderson, who lost his brother and we ended up teaching everyone in his family except for him?? Well the spirit touched him this week! We walked by the house and were talking to Almira and Katia and they said that he had seen us coming down the street and said "Here come the girls from the Mormon church, I'm going to talk to them today." And he did. He really opened up to us about how he's feeling with the death of his brother and we taught him about the Plan of Salvation. What a sacred experience. We also watched "Together Forever" with him and his wife and baby girl. Despite the slightly cheesy outfits and fabulous hair in the movie, it was so great. It was clear that he got really choked up at the idea that his family could be happy and united forever. The other day when we were leaving he stopped us and thanked us and said "You two have no idea the difference you have made here in this house." It's the kind of thing missionaries love to hear. I LOVE THIS FAMILY. [mom note: this video clip is not the video Together Forever that Megan showed her investigators but it is a short video that shares the same message...families can be together forever.]

+ We were on our way home after a long day and exhausted. But as we were about to enter our street Sister J. Silva stops and says that she's craving churrasco. A couple streets before our house there's a little restaurant type place that sells meat-on-a-stick that's fabulous. So we backtracked and went to go buy some. As we were walking down that street we saw two men talking in front of a house and we decided to stop and invite them to church. As we started talking one of them in particular was super interested. Asking a bunch of questions about the church and the Book of Mormon. Then he called his wife over to mark a day for us to visit! They're an adorable young couple with a 5 year old girl. We're so excited to teach them!

+ Another miracle contact. This time the man practically took the Book of Mormon out of my hands with how interested he was. He told us that he wanted us to go to his house and explain everything in detail (he's from the elders area so we're sending them over there). And then when we left he told us that our faces are different, almost saintlike. hahaha. Don't know about that, but it's wonderful to see people recognize the spirit that we carry with us. Not because of us but because of our sacred calling. 

Basically this week was the missionary dream come true. Here's to hoping that this week is just as good and that I stay here in Potengi with Sister J. Silva in the transfer!!! Fingers crossed. 

I love you all! 

Sister M. Baker

week 58 . suddenly i [SEA]

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Sorry that I'm sending the email so late this week. It's because this morning. . . 

WE WENT TO THE BEACH (with Sister Soares! [mom note: Mission President's wife] Don't worry I'm being obedient I promise haha)

It was the first time that I've seen the beach on the mission and I can now say for myself that California beaches don't compare with the beaches here in Natal. I'm spoiled now. Sister Soares took Sister J. Silva, Sister Weatherford, Sister Nóbrega, Sister Antunes, Sister B. Pereira and I to pass the morning with her at the sand dunes and beach. Best pday ever. We took lots of pictures (just for you momma!) which I will send as soon as possible. I got a solid sunburn and sea salt in my hair and I'm pumped about it. (and planning on buying aloe vera when I leave the internet café haha). I love Sister Soares so much, it was great to spend some more personal time with her and have fun with the sisters. 

Sister J Silva and Megan 

Sister J Silva

Sister Weatherford, Sister Nobrega, Sister J Silva and Sister Antunes 

Sister J Silva

Sister J Silva and Megan

Megan and Sister Soares

Sister J Silva and Sister Soares

Megan, Sister J Silva and Sister Antunes

Megan and Sister J Silva

Bob Marley/Jamaican shout out to Megan's sister Emily

Megan and Sister Pereira

Sister J Silva

This week passed by so fast and left me exhausted. I don't believe that this transfer is almost over. [mom note: A transfer is 6 weeks long. The current transfer ends next week on Wednesday and then Megan will only have 3 more transfers until she is home] I'm hoping to stay with Sister J. Silva and "kill" her, but we'll see what the Lord has planned for us. We're going to take advantage of this last week and talk to everyone. Our teaching pool is struggling a little bit, but we're going to work with the people who are progressing and find plenty of new investigators this week. 

Reginaldo is having a rough time leaving his addictions behind. I want so badly to help him and I'm praying that he can start to make some small changes in his life to make room for the giant change that the gospel can make. 

On Sunday morning we were running around like crazy, as usual, and we decided to stop by Brendon's friend's house. (Jonas). We asked him if he would like to go to church with us. He looked at us without saying anything for like 20 seconds and then said, "I'm not doing anything better right now. I'll go." Hahaha got to love the enthusiasm. But he ended up loving church and said next week he'll go again! We're excited to work with him!

On Saturday there was a hard-core church cleaning going down. The chapel here was needing it. Us and a bunch of members went and we cleaned the church like I'm pretty sure it's never been cleaned before. Sister J. Silva and I only cleaned one room in a couple hours, to give you an idea of how detailed it was. We cleaned every nook and cranny. I left the church a little light headed from breathing in the smell of so many cleaning supplies haha. But I was having flashbacks to all the Saturdays that I cleaned the church with the family. Good times. I'm grateful for parents who were always willing to serve in the church and made it fun. Mom and Dad, you two are the actual best. 

#minhavida //

+ Yesterday after church I was exhausted. So tired there are no words to explain it. We went to teach two recent converts (young women // Ju and Maria Eduarda) and I sat down on the couch and basically died. I think I might have actually died and then ressurected afterwards because I don't remember anything. And when Sister J. Silva woke me up I was so confused and I just started saying, "I can't feel my hand, I can't feel my hand!" The girls started dying laughing. 

And to finish up this email, I just wanted to wish the happiest of birthdays to Mr. Luke Baker [mom note: Megan's little brother] 14 years old! Congratulations buddy! Hope it's the best day ever. 

cheiros.

Sister M. Baker