Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Cow Stomach, Transfer Calls....you´re not gonna wanna miss this one ;) 2/1/16

Hello everyone! Happy February! Can you believe we´re already through a full month of 2016?? This has definitely been the hottest, most exhausting, most rewarding January I´ve ever experienced.

Once again, thank you to everyone who sends e-mails, reads the blog, prays for the missionaries, etc. Your support is felt and appreciated and I love you all :)

This week has certainly been a wild one!! The craziness started on Wednesday, when we showed up to lunch and smelled something other than rice and beans. To my suprise, the irma, bless her heart, made a special delicacy..."stomach of the bull"...yep. For anyone who knows me, I´m the kind of person who orders the same meal at the same restaurant every time. But, as has become a tradition here in Brazil, God is determined to mold me into something better :) So in only 11 months from now, you can all look forward to seeing a lovely video of me eating cow stomach! If you can get past the sliminess, it really isn´t that bad... I didn´t even throw up! 
Also on Wednesday, we got to teach a sweet lady who owns a little cart with candies on the street. She´s never home, so we teach her in cart. She usually doesn´t want to hear a full lesson, so we have previously only left pamphlets and invited her to read. However, as we talked with her this time, it was different. She explained that her husband used to work with her in the cart, but that he had passed away 8 years ago, leaving her to work in the cart alone. As I was able to testify to her that families can be together forever and that she can live with her husband again after this life, her face lit up. A hope glowed in her countenance, and I could´ve sworn there were angels with us there in the rain. She innocently asked if she would be able to see her parents again too. It made my heart burn within me to again testify that she could see them again and that they could be a family forever. God´s plan is so marvelous. What a blessing and privilege we have to share this message, to be able to give hope to the broken-hearted. 

Fran and her two sons, Gab and Nik are progressing very well and loving the Gospel. I love to teach them and watch them soak up everything. I really do love that family. Fatima came to church for the second time this week and loved it just as much as the first :) I love it when people love church!

Last night, we received transfer calls. To our dismay, Sister Bundy and I are being separated. We knew that moment would come eventually. It will be hard to say goodbye to my mission mom, but I know that we´ll be friends long after the mission. It´s been a great 4 months together :) 
I will be staying in Cidade Lider with a new companion, who I will be picking up tomorrow morning. She is Brazilian, so it will be an adjustment of cultures living together, but I am excited to improve my Portguese and get to know another daughter of God :) I´ll let you know more about her next week!

Hope you all are doing well and remembering to pray and study the scriptures daily. They´re little things, but they make all the difference! Keep being awesome :)

All my love,
Sister Doyle