Tuesday, November 29, 2016

God has a plan ...11/14/16

Hello everyone!

Sister Rocha is doing well, thank you for all your prayers for her and her family. We felt them. 

I learned more this week than probably any other week on my mission. Heavenly Father has really been teaching me how to "mourn with those than mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort." I am so blessed to have so many experiences here in Brazil to teach me a little more about my potential and what God expects of me. On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to go to the Temple (the four of us who live together) and it was a really great experience. 

Sister Rocha has been so incredible in dealing with her father´s passing, and a big part of that is our belief that God has a plan for all of His children, and the main goal of that plan is that one day, we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father and our familes forever. I truly believe that families can be together forever. 

In other news, we have been as busy as ever, teaching a bunch of people (all of which need to get married, mrrh.) We have such great friends here. We´ve also got a lot of really great ward and stake activities coming up in December, so we´re excited about that. 

Anyways, I´ve gotta go, but I hope you all have a great week and find comfort in the fact that God has a plan for you and your family :)

All my love, 
Sister Doyle

Passing of Sister Rocha's Father 11/7/16

No general email was posted by Sister Doyle on 11/7 due to the sudden passing of Sister Rocha's (Sister Doyle's companion) father.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Rocha and Sandez family of Tocantins Brasil.

Friday, November 4, 2016

I´m learning a lot... 10/31/16

Hello everybody!

This week was a little crazy because we traveled to the other side of the mission to help a companionship that´s opening a new area, and then we did two divisions here in Monumento, and then the other two sisters we live with had a division as well. But it was good! All in all, 11 sisters passed through our house this week!! And only one bathroom....

We are having some really amazing experiences here :) Personally, I had a great learning experience yesterday. We had made a contact with a lesbian couple (M and E) earlier in the week and we marked to visit them Sunday afternoon. I was kind of nervous about the experience because I didn´t want to say or do anything that would offend them; I´ve never had much contact with women with this tendency. M has the appearance of a man, with masculine hair and clothes, tatoos, and a really gruff voice. As we were teaching them in their front driveway, a man from the street came over and was acting really strangely with me. I was really uncomfortable and didn´t know what to do. We tried giving him our card, but nothing was satisfying him. Then M went over to the man and calmly and patiently talked to him for a good 20 minutes and helped him out until he went away. 

I was so impressed. Here is a woman who I could have judged because of her lifestyle or appearance, but she was so Christlike and kind with this man on the street, and so thoughtful to help us out in a moment of distress. I was very humbled and I realized that we can never judge anyone by their appearance or lifestyle. We´re all children of God, we all have the same purpose here on this earth, and we were all given the light of Christ to help us along the path. I felt so much love for this woman, because of the beautiful spirit she has. I´m really grateful for experiences like this one that help me to overcome my own weaknesses and understand how to more fully love those around me. 

God is so good. He knows exactly what we need. I hope we can all take advantage of the learning experiences God gives us each day so that we can turn more and more into the people God knows we can become. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

All my love,
Sister Doyle

Hot hot hot :) 10/24/16

Hello everyone!

Whew! This week was crazy hot!! On Wednesday, I saw that the city thermometer read 39 degrees Celsius! I´m not sure what that is in Faranheit, but it was super hot!! 

However, despite the intense heat and some emergency transferring of sisters, we had a really fantastic week! We are finding a lot of new investigators and seeing a lot of miracles. I am so grateful to be here in the service of my fellow men. There are some really incredible people here in Monumento. 

We were able to mark 7 people for baptism this week, but not one of them went to church yesterday, so we´ll have to re-mark their baptisms. It´s really hard to help people get to church. A lot of people work on Sundays here in the city. But we´ll find a way :) 

My mom suggested I talk about a few of the differences between the United States and Brazil, so every week, I´ll talk about one difference :) I think one of the biggest differences is the amount of physical contact between strangers. For example, today, we talked with a woman at the bus stop on the way to our meeting. During the contact, I think I probably touched her arm, she probably touched my hair and commented that it´s super blonde, and before leaving, I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. And that´s completely normal, even with someone you met 2 minutes ago. I like that the people here are very loving and open with each other, and it makes it a little easier to communicate the love that Christ has for each one of the people that we meet :)

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well and have a fantastic week! And don´t be afraid to let your light shine and share the love of God with the people around you. EVERYONE needs a little more love in their life. 

All my love,
Sister Doyle

Temple week!!! 10/17/16

Well, we went to the Temple, and it was incredible!! I was so happy to be there. It feels like years since I had the opportunity to go :)

We also had a really great week in our area!! We are finally finding some new people to teach, and they are all so special. And of course, we´re still teaching Deniese and Fritho, who are like my pride and joy. I love them so much. If all goes well, we will be planning their wedding soon :) 

I know this Gospel is true. I love to testify to everyone that they have a loving Father in Heaven who has a plan for them and for their families. That He sent His Son to die for us, and that through Jesus Christ, we can be made clean of our sins and can be strengthened in our weaknesses. It´s true. 

I hope you all have a great week and I invite you all to look for the good in the world, because it is there for you to find :)

All my love,
Sister Doyle

Muitas coisas :) 10/10/16

Hello everyone!!!

Wow, this week was crazy!!!! I´ll give you a general rundown of what happened:

Sunday and Monday - helping Sister Rechetnicou pack up everything, saying goodbye, helping with transfers, preparing two trainings (one for the trainers and one for the newbies) 

Tuesday - all the newbies and their trainers arrived! Helping them feel comfortable, giving trainings, resolving any issues with transfers, receiving my new companion Sister Rocha!

Wednesday and Thursday - zone meeting, helping Sister Rocha move in and learn about the calling (She´s great! She´s like 4 foot something and super cute and funny and we already get along really great. She was with Sister Martinez last transfer!), and preparing EVERYTHING for the big council on Friday!
                                           
Friday - Leadership Council with all the leaders in the mission!!! We gave a training on contacts, inspired questions, and companionship unity, and it went pretty well! Super exhausting but fun at the same time :) 
Sister Nunes stayed the night with us, and then we woke up at 3:30am to get her ready and send her off to the airport to go home!! It was cool to spend her last night together :)

                                                         
Saturday - we finally worked a full day in our area! There is a lot of work to be done here in Monumento, so we´ve got a lot on our plate! Right now, we´re focusing on Deniese e Fritho (they need to get married, they´re awesome, I love them so much!), Vitor (son of a less-active, super cute and awesome), and Cecilia, Felipe, e Silvana (family we found recently, lots of faith, super receptive, just need to go to church!).

Sunday - church, visit members, meeting with ward mission leader, and return home for weekly planning and calling all the sisters to do weekly check-ups!

Today - meeting with President and Sister Silcox all morning, and then we made pancakes with the Assistants and Secretaries :) And now I´m here writing all of you lovely folk :)

So yeah, way busy :)And I´m always exhausted, but I am so happy :)

We get to go to the Temple tomorrow!!!!! I´m soooooo excited!!! We are so blessed to have Temples in our time. What a blessing! 

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the blessings of the Temple in your lives :) If you´ve never visited a Temple, visit this site to learn more:


They´re amazing! You´ll love it :) Have a great week!

All my love,
Sister Doyle

What a great weekend! 10/3/16




Hello everyone!!!

Wow, what a privilege we had this weekend to hear the words of a living prophet and his apostles and counselors. I really received a testimony this weekend that Thomas S. Monson truly is a man called by God to lead us today. And it´s funny, because I didn´t even get to hear him give his talk (we were running to get a key to open a baptismal font). It´s amazing how God can touch our hearts and answer our questions in His own way and time, independent of the situation of our lives. If we truly seek Him, He comes to us. I also learned a lot about Jesus Christ, the mercy of our Heavenly Father, and faith. I have a lot of things to improve, but I can totally make it with heavenly help. 

If you did not have the opportunity to watch this amazing conference, here´s the site where you can access talks and music that will uplift and inspire your spirit:


We were able to do a couple exchanges this week, and we saw lots of miracles! God is truly preparing the hearts of people in this area to hear the message the restoration of His Gospel. At one point, we helped an elderly lady and her assistant get home and then her assistant let us in and we were able to teach the whole family! There are such great people in this world. 

Also, I just have to say, I saw my brother on TV this week! I freaked out a little bit and made all the Elders watch it again to see him :) My family is so cool!!

In other news, transfers will be happening tomorrow. My companion will be transferred to another area, which is sad, but it will be good for her. She´s really excited :) And I will be receiving a new companion! Crazy! This transfer flew by! I was sad to say goodbye to some of my good friends this week. 

Anyways, I hope you all have a great week and look for every opportunity possible to enjoy this life and to help your brothers and sisters everywhere do so as well :) Each one is important to Our Father. 

All of my love,
Sister Doyle