October 22, 2012

Hello family and friends,

Wow, what a week. A TON happened this week. So...for those of you dont know...actually I have no clue who doesnt know about my life...but its all good. Ive been having some serious back problems the last 7ish months. Finally it got to a point that we (President Tavares, Sister Tavares, the mission doctor, me) had to think real hard if I should stay in the mission and finish the 1year and a half, or I should come home early so it doesnt get worse. Well President fasted and decided, and Im coming home this week! Its been a whirlwind of emotions and feelings this week. Because this ward here was with me in the beginning, it was hard to explain everything time and time again...but I did it anyway.

And the bishop in this ward likes me a lot and so he asked me to bare my testimony at the beginning of the meeting yesterday. It was I think an OK testimony, but I wanted to thank everyone for all the help that they give the missionaries. It was sad to say goodbyes to everyone and everything. Like its something that I just LOVE to do..... . I tried to have a more thick skin you know? After 5 transfers youd think Id do better....but this one, going home, is going to be the hardest...........FOR SURE!

Also, we had a phone conference with all the sisters and with president and sister tavares. Talking about things specific for sisters. BUT.....at the end Sister Tavares announced that I was leaving and everything so all the sisters could say goodbye to me and say what they wanted for me...ya...talk about hard. I didnt know it was possible to cry so often as I have these last 2 days. And I had to say goodbye to all the sister missionaries and bare my testimony. Sister Tavares said that she cried and even President cried! Ya..Im touching everyone everwhere I go!!!! Bahahahaha (Rach, I really did laugh this time...I had to, cuz this is hard)

Also, we had a couple of inactives go to church this sunday. It was super cool. One inactive member, he is 15 yrs old and he has some problems but really we have created a friendship with him and he came to church! We were super pumped that he came and he even took out his gages for church! He said that he wants to take them out for good :D

We also had an investigator in church too. She is a sweet lady and she loves hearing about the gospel. We marked her baptism for next sunday. Im super sad that Im going to miss it. But Im planning on keeping in contact with some people in the ward so Ill hear allllllll about it!

And now...the thing I hate the WORST!!!! Packing my dang bags! But...the good thing is that it doesnt matter, I can put however much weight I want and I wont get charged. Im actually dreading tomorrow. Saying goodbye to Brazil...ya...how SAD! But what can I do?

What can we all do when things like this happen? When we have changes in our lives? The only peace that Ive found is looking to Heavenly Father. He loves us and wants to take REALLY good care of us. And He will. But He cant if we are focusing on doing this life on our own. We NEED all the help we can get from Him. So we put our trust in Him, and pray REALLY hard...and have faith...and then get moving.

I love this gospel and Im so grateful for everything that Heavenly Father has given me. And most importantly right now, Im grateful for Brazil and for this mission. But dont worry all of you....Im planning on finishing my last 6 months after I get healthy again :D :D 3 months of training and doing treatment and Ill be back in the field :D

Love you all and thank you all for the support and love you have given me!

-Sister Empey

October 15, 2012

Hello everybody!

I want to first and foremost say thank you for all of you and what you have done for me in my life. Many times the people I come in contact with say that my parents raised me the right way. Because the influence of all of you, I am who I am. And thank you for all of the support and love that you have shown me. And especially alllll the prayers! Keep them going. And Im praying for all of you often tooo :)

So this week was an interesting week. I thought I was going to Maringa, but I got there and some of the situations changed. So we hauled allll of my luggage (it keeps on getting bigger) up 4 flights of stairs, only to bring it alll back down again 3 hours later. Sister Tavares drove us to Maringa, and then my companion stayed there with the other companionship and I rode back with Sister Tavares to come back to Aeroporto. Im super excited to be here and work here for a while. And really, I dont know how long Ill be here. Anyways. It was kind of cool to be with Sister Tavares for a long time. And I just want to say that she is AWESOME! She does so much for all of the missionaries and everything. So I felt special to ride in the car with her. We talked about a ton of stuff...but obviously...we focused on our purpose as missionaries :D

Anyways so it was a little interesting to come back to an area I've been before, and actually I lived out of a suitcase until this morning because I was afraid that I would get transferred again... haha. But I bit the bullet and right now...Im more organized.

Anyways, last night we had a lesson with a couple that was being taught by the missionaries before we got there. And they LOVE those elders. So its hard to show them that WE are cool tooo! And they are ready for baptism but hadnt received an answer yet. BUT! We had a member with us last night in the lesson and they like this member a lot. He came home from a mission like 1 year ago. So we taught with him. She opened up a lot and she said that she recieved an answer and she wants to be baptised! All because of that member haha! But Im super happy about that lesson and we are going to win them over this week and they will see that we are awesome sisters too. This shows you all the power of members! So members....get excited to get into the work....you all can be awesome tools for those missionaries. WE NEED YOU! :) We can always do more to help the missionaries. like Elder Nelson said....just ask the missionaries !!!! :)

Love you all! Until next weekkkk!

-Sister Empey

October 8, 2012

So....I got transfered. You alllll know that.

But what you dont know is I actually stayed in Londrina for one more week. It was super cool. Because we had to switch houses, because elders were getting moved in our house in Centro Civico and the house in Aeroporto opened again for sisters. Which means I roamed around my first area again. It was super cool. I helped the sisters that will stay here to get acquainted with the area and stuff. And we visited some members. There was a couple that wanted me to stay. Until the point that they said they would call for Sister Tavares or Pres Tavares and complain to them that I should stay more than one week. Haha. But it was super fun and I liked it a ton. I got to see some people and stuff. Ya...and then the weekend was AWESOME!

Sister Jex-Landoe is a sister that is in Ibipora (the same stake as Aeroporto). So the whole stake goes to the same place to watch conference. Shes from Spokane. And obviously we wanted to watch in English. So we did a division and we were companions for general conference. Wahoo. Watched it in english. It felt so cool because I could undertand everything. BUT with that said, it was kind of funny because I couldnt understand English for like 3 minutes...then it clicked really fast :D

Anyways it was a like a party for a week...in missionary standards haha!!!

I have to go...this week was super fast sorry! Next week...I will write from Maringa!!!

Love you all and have a fabulous weeeeeek!

-Sister Empey

a note:  [Sister Empey was VERY excited with the prospect of her younger sister having an opportunity to go on a mission right after she gets home in April from her mission...Sister Empey's words, "It would be the best thing in her life!  She would LOOOOOVE a mission!"  Sister Empey stayed the extra week in Londrina to finish up her physical therapy.  I asked her how her back pain was doing...and she said, " My back is the same thing......always......it doesnt change....."
 We will continue on in faith.  My prayers have changed now...not so much to have the pain taken away, but that she will have the ability to endure the pain that she has, so that she can continue to do the work she's been called to do.  Sister Empey is such an example of perseverance, patience, and long suffering (she endures it all without any complaint.  I'm not sure I could do that...)  She's excited to begin her work in Maringa, and she will be joining 3 other Sisters there] 

Monday, October 1, 2012

Im getting transferred......AGAIN!!!!!!!

I think Heavenly Father is giving me EXACTLY what I dont like doing....packing up! I got transferred to Maringa. Its close to Londrina. Like 2 or 3 hrs away. But ya. Ive heard really good things about the area.  Some people have said that this area in Londrina that I'm leaving wasnt good for teaching, but really, I loved it a lot.  Its all about your attitude.

We had a baptism yesterday! Wahoo! It was really good! Ill send a picture. She is a sister to our recent convert and ya. It was reallllllly cool :) Sister Huinao and I sang..hahaha..it was all good!

Lets see. Oh this week, my email will be based off of yesterday.

So we needed to go get our investigator and it was really far away. So we took a bus, but we had to wait forever because its sunday. Eventually we got to the terminal and then we took another bus but took the wrong bus and we didnt get to the house until 9:15. How annnnnnnoying! But we just laughed it off. And then we got to their house and only half of them went to church. And then we get to church and there was like 5 investigators in the church. Yay! I was suuuuper happy. And there was an inactive family in the church that was there tooooo! And we had a baptism yesterday. Wow...we were super excited and happy that day. And also our recent convert recieved the priesthood yesterday. Ya...super awesome. Seeing everyone in the church. It was sooo worth everything. It was like the best going away party we could have had :) It felt sooooo good!

Ya anyways. What else happened? I really dont know a whole lot more. Im just a little bit shocked that Im getting transferred....again....I really cant believe it. But the work goes on!

Oh remember that butterfly/moth thing that came into our house, ya this week we had a bird get in. This week was a little bit cold and I think the bird was cold...so it came into the house to warm um a little bit. Ya...really strange really. Haha but we were just waiting for the next thing...maybe a mouse or rat? Haha good thing we are leaving before we see that happen!
[Sister Tavares called our "butterfly" last week a Mariposa - which is Spanish for butterfly, or Portuguese for moth.]

Ok, I think Ill close up for this week and send a couple of pictures.
Secretly, it always feels good to know when people miss me haha. So secretly, I hope that people will miss me in this ward. Oh also...its changing for elders in this area again...
[Lori Carrell tells me her son Elder Josh Carrell, is moving into Sister Empey's old area (and apartment) in Londrina..knowing Sister Empey like I do, he'll find things VERY organized!)
Love you alll and have a fabulous weeeeek! Until next week!

-Sister Empey

ps:  last week Sister Empey needed a recipe to make homemade Karo syrup - which I sent her promptly.  They don't have Karo in Brazil.  She ended up making carmel popcorn for all of her district last week!  She said: "They looooooved it. They ate it soooo fast!" Sister Empey loves to make treats for the Elders - haha, she says they'll eat anything! :) 

Juliana, our baptism!

 

 

September 24, 2012

This is me...always running...funny, funny Sister Empey!  (nice neighborhood - very clean- Mom likes that!)

Hello!  Like always, I am running to finish this letter in the one hour mark. But oh well. Its all good.

This week was a super good week. Tuesday, we made a cake for Sister Huinao and another elder in our district. They had their birthdays this week. But the cake was super strange!!!! Super super strange. And it tasted funny. But the funny thing was that the elders... ate it all the same.

Anyways and we had the conference with Elder Godoy this week. It was super good and it was a lot of fun. It was fun to see all my friends and stuff. The night before, we had 4 extra sisters sleeping in our house. CRAZY! And the Conference was super good. Elder Godoy asked to interview me! How nerve wracking. During the interview I got all hot and sweaty really fast. Haha it was funny. But it was super cool.  I was the only sister that got interviewed.  The conference was really good and we learned a ton!

I dont know what else happened this week...it was a pretty good week. Oh! We gave talks in the ward yesterday. Everyone loved the talks a lot! I talked about missionary work (really was there even a question) and sister huinao talked about Jesus Christ and she sang, "I know my redeemer lives" at the end. It was cool and the spirit was really strong there. Wahoo!

Also, there was a less-active family that came to church yesterday. THEY LOVED church! They said they were really happy and it was a good experience for them. They hadnt been to church in like a year! Holy cow. Really cool. The whole ward was super happy they were there too :) Good times!!!
That sister of our new convert baptism is getting baptised this weekend.  Wahoo!!!

Anyways...times up!

Love you all! Have a fabulous week!!!

-Sister Empey

[Ps:  I have to share with you this totally funny thing...I can just picture this!  Sister Empey shared a short story and pictures with me and I just have to share it with you...this is SO Katelyn!!! 
"The story of the butterfly. Ok...this butterfly was HUGEEEEEEE! With it flying, it was the length of both my hands. And I woke up one morning this week...with this thing in our house. I walked out lazily out to where I do my excercises and this black thing started flying. I got so scared (because I never saw something that big - like a butterfly). So I thought it was a bat. So I ran into our room (away from this thing) and jumped onto Sister Huinaos bed! And I covered myself with a blanket. Haha I really could not not not leave with that thing flying around....the end of the story....we both got scared and we THINK she found her own way out because we didnt have the guts to kill it or get near it...... :)"  The more we stared at this picture, we realized that Sister Empey DID find her "butterfly"!  It's a giant moth!  I would run and hide too!!!

My Zone "cleaning up" after the Conference



My District this week!

Me and Sister Marques at the Conference with Elder Godoy

 

 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Hello family and friends!

This last week we had a couple of miracles...among others. Well first of all. We had a baptism yesterday! His name is F. And he´s great. We helped him a lot this week. You know that when you dont accompany people, Satan does. So we visited him every day to get him prepped for baptism. Last Sunday he said he prayed and received an answer to his prayers that he should be baptized. So logically, we helped him to get ready :) Anyways. It was super cool. And he has a really cool personality. He is 28 years old but he looks way younger than that!  But hes great. He had a lot of difficulties this week with some people. There was a lot of people that said he shouldnt be baptised and he was making the wrong decision. But he was seriously super strong in his decision and he knew what he wanted. He wanted to be baptised! Wahoo. So obviously...we helped him with that :)

Also, we had another miracle with one of our investigators. She is super special. Her brothers were baptized a couple of weeks ago, but she was delaying it a little bit. So anyways, she said that she doesnt want to get baptized right now and everything, and she said she felt like she isn't recieving answers. But this weekend, she wanted to go to Curitiba but didnt have the money. So she prayed really hard so that something could happen so she could go visit her friends and family. Welp...her boss gave her money early. And she felt this was an answer to her prayers. So she told us that when she gets back this week, she will get baptized. Because God does answer prayers!!!! Anyways, really cool!

Sorry this is so short. I want like 3 hrs to write to you alllll...but cant! So this week we are having a visit from Elder Carlos Godoy. We are all super pumped and preparing for it for this Thursday.   Love you alllllllllll!!!!  The gospel is true!

Have a fabulous week!

-Sister Empey

PS: General Conference is coming up! And maybe Ill get to watch it in English this time! Wahoo!

 

Our our awesome baptism yesterday. (the younger guy on the left) Wahoo!!!

 

 

 

September 10, 2012

Hello everyone!                                                                                                                                                                                        Not a whole lot happened really exciting this week. I found a cooking store with powdered sugar and chocolate chips! I was SUPER giddy about that! Thats about it haha. But I decided to spend it on sending pictures!

..lifes good in Brazil!!!! Dont forget that Im still smiling, laughing, and doing the work that I know I need to do! :)

Love you allllllll!

Sister Empey

(Sister Empey spent all the rest if her email time sending us pictures...so here they are!)

Hey, I'm picking oranges!!! :D

These are my amazing, stylish running shoes that Mom just sent me.  Don't  I look fabulous?!

The guy in the black tank top is our latest baptism.  "Hes the coolest guy ever!  And his brother next to him was baptised like 3 days before we got in the area. They are on fire. Really cool!"

This is my care package from Irene and Sara...love themmmmmm!






..

September 3, 2012

MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My email got deleted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111 Oh no! And my hour is up! How horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Im so sorry I dont know what to do! Its gone forever! Ill write a hand written letter this week and send it to you! I HATE technology sometimes! IM SORRRRRRRYYYYY!

But really quick! We batized a kid this week! He has 19yrs and he wants to serve a mission in a year! YAY! We are going to help his sister be baptized hopefully in a couple of weeks. Hes suuuuppper cool! Love you!

Again...Im so sorry!
Love,
Katelyn

A note from Mom:  This week Sister Empey received two packages, one from her dear friends Irene and Sara, and the other from our family!  In her words, "I got a package (medium size) from Sara and Irene!!!!! How awesome huh??!?!?!?! Oh how I love them!"
We sent her some comfortable shoes that she desperately needed for her back problems.  She has been suffering for several months now and has received quite a bit of very specific treatments to help alleviate her pain....all of which have not helped :(  Sister Empey is becoming discouraged... I can tell, but she won't admit that (she's quite stubborn).  More than anything, she has a great desire to serve and to continue on with her mission until the end;  so she is living with the continual pain.  She is having an MRI tonight.  Please...if you could remember her in your prayers, and pray for Heavenly Father's sustaining Holy Spirit to be with her.  She's tough, and I have no doubt she'll make it.  I have great faith in the power of prayer, and the sustaining power of love that suppresses all fears and embeds deep in the soul -giving you the power to go on.
My love to you all for your continual love and support,
Jennifer

Monday, August 27, 2012

Hello family!

This week was a crazy one. I think I could just talk and talk about this week:) Lets see what I can get in in a short amount of time.

So I got transfered. I have a new companion, Sister Huniao. She is from Chile. And she has 4 months in the mission. She just finished being trained. Its been a learning experience for us so far, but its been good. Its actually really funny because I think of her as a Brazilian. Because in my mind, if shes not American, shes Brazilian! But I also forget that she has trouble with Portuguese still. Haha its actually really funny because she tries to say something and then she starts talking in spanish. And her Portuguese is REALLLY fast because she talks fast in Spanish. Haha its just really funny. Her accent is really fast. I forget that Spanish is hard too, to get translated to Portuguese. But shes still probably at where I was at when I had like 8 months in the mission. Oh...that was like 2 months  back....haha

So we opened a new area. And we moved into the house that was habited by elders.......enough said.....WOW...the house was SUPEEEERRR dirty. They left SO much stuff. They left so much stuff there that I called Sister Tavares to ask where we should put their clothes they left and stuff, and she got really mad. And sent the zone leaders to our house to take all the trash, clothes, and all other things and throw it away. And thats not all! Haha after that, she was mad enough that she took money out of the account of those elders that lived there before us and had someone come clean the house before we could live there. Haha it was really funny. But the house it great now! It will be a work in progress with the cleaning, and repairs that we will need to do. Ill give it until the end of the transfer. The end of the transfer...it will be great. Ill send you all a picture of our view from our doorway next week. I havent taken the picture yet. :)

So we met some members this week. We live on the same street and actually really close to a member familly. And they have an ice cream shop. Free ice cream whenever we want. So much for losing weight.......And we also met another family that I just love. They live on the very edge of our ward. And they have a bit of rough land :) So it reminds me of home a little bit. The air is a little thinner...dirt exists :) Anyways its pretty cool. And the mom is always cooking something delicious. She loves us already! I can see why...those elders....haha jk. Anyways, she is my new mom in the mission. I love her. And she and her husband love talking to people about the gospel. She is the BEST member missionary. Shes already helped us with a family and will continue to do so. Shes given us a lot of references and already went to visit investigators with us. Ya...she pretty much rocks in the mission world :) Anyways.....ya...

We had lunch (you know like lunch that missionaries have with all the members...like every day) with President and Sister Tavares. A little strange...but the food was SUPPPPPPEERRR good. It was great. It was cool just to sit in their house and just talk like they're normal members. Na....theyll never be just members to us haha. They're awesome.

Also, we had Stake Conference yesterday. Whoop whoop! I saw a lot of members from the first area where I served (same stake). It was awesome to talk to them and understand everything they said. Ya...time passes by really fast. I cant believe it was 6 months ago that I left that area. CARAZZZZY!

 

[Yea!!! When she was there last, she was fresh out in the mission field and couldn't understand anything! It is an incredible blessing how these missionaries pick up languages so very fast!]

Anyways....the 1hr is up.

Love you allll! Until next weeek. Hope this week will be a good week for all of you!!!

Love,

Sister Empey

A package from Sister Empey!

Last Monday we received a most wonderful package from Sister Empey!  When we first saw it, we were shocked that all the contents were there, because it was ripped and gaping open.  We knew from her letter inside that most, if not all of it, had made it's long journey clear from Brazil!  She had selected sandals for her sisters and me, and flip-flops for her Dad :)  She also included TONS of Brazilian candy that were some of her favorites, quite of few packages of Brazilian "koolaid", and a precious cd of pictures clear back from the beginning of her mission!!!  Here are just a few selected by me.  I hope you enjoy!

Sister Empey and friends.  I love this picture of her!  She's doing what she does best...loving people :)

Packages and letters from home!!!

Delicioso!

 Sister Empey is always mentioning how she loves to cook and learn Brazilian dishes from the members!

All the homes have gated entrys.  When you want to enter, you clap your hands (instead of knocking on at the door)

For Sister Empey's birthday, we "inked" the little hands of two of her little nieces, and measured ribbon the length of their armspan...with a note saying they were sending a BIG HUG for her birthday!  She LOVED it!!!

Your guess is as good as mine...any ideas???

Sister Alisha Checketts and Sister Empey on a very rainy day :)

Ummm, not sure what this is...Maybe Sister Checketts knows?!  Maybe it's related to the picture of Sister Empey's leg below!

This picture disturbes me...both legs were the same!  Mosquitoes?



This is a beautiful view overlooking the city of Londrina

August 20, 2012

Hello family and friends!

Welp....Im getting transferred AGAIN! So me and Sister Bullen won´t be together for another transfer. Im getting transferred to another area in Londrina. Haha I think Im going to stay in Londrina for all of my mission. Or close anyway. So I moved back to an area in the Londrina Stake. And me and my companion (I dont know who it will be yet, but not Sister Bullen) will open an area! Ahhh! It was open but for Elders. So we have a new ward and all that kind of stuff. So the area is called Centro Civico, in the central part of Londrina. And guess who is in our ward?!?!?!!? President and Sister Tavares! And now I dont have a choice! I HAVE to work hard and I have to have investigators at church and we have to be on our best behavior. How nerve WRACKING! And you know how there is a member in the ward that always cooks for us every week. Welp....we had lunch with Sister and President Tavares this week in their house. Haha I never thought that would happen. Anyways....things are always moving and changing huh? Im going to miss our ward. Its a great ward and they always cook really well. Oh Im a little bit nervous to open an area for sisters. I hope they like us!!!!!

Also, this week was a little different. There was a lot of things going on. Friday, we went to Londrina for the WHOLE day. We went to a couple of doctors appointments for my back. And I did my first session of Acupucture. CARAZZY! And we had lunch with the President and Sister Tavares because we were going to these appointments with Sister Tavares. And I received a priesthood blessing from President Tavares and the Assistants. I won´t lie, I felt the power of the Priesthood. It was an experience really special. Also, I felt the humility of the President and the power that he has. That all men (+12 years) have. He talked a little bit about Jesus Christ and how he accomplished a lot of miracles during his ministry. And how he gave that power to the apostles to do the same miracles. And how we have that power today. That men have the power of the Priesthood to have miracles happen in our lives. It was really cool to think about. The only difference between us and Jesus Christ is our faith and our dignity. I know the Priesthood is real and that miracles are possible in our lives.

So it was a special and different kinda day and I told Sister Bullen that she shouldnt expect a day like this again in the mission haha.

Also, there was 2 families that are inactive that were at church Sunday! It was super cool! I was super happy to see them! It was really exciting for me to see them. Also, all of the returned missionaries in the ward (and us) sang in a choir yesterday for a special musical number. Oh it was SOOOOO cool and everyone cried haha. It was really really awesome. They all brought their name tags and wore their name tags. And the thing that was funny was that they were so proud of their name tags and that they were missionaries, a lot of them kept them on until the end of sacrament meeting. It helped the young men to get excited for missions too. Anyways, it was cool.

Another hour gone. I love you all and I hope that this week is awesome for you all!!!!

Good luck!

-Sister Empey

August 13, 2012

Howdy all my family and friends.

How are you all this week?!!! Im doing just great in Brazil!

Im trying to be really creative with my email this week....but nothings comin... haha. This week was a good week. But we used up $26 R (thats money here) on traveling the city bus. We went to Londrina 5 out of 7 days this week! It was just a LITTLE bit annoying. But ya....poor Sister Bullen, the week was anything but normal for our normal schedule. She always asks what we are doing for the day because its always something different. Anyways we got a new district leader this week. And he shouts a lot on the phone. Our cell phone broke and its probably because its tired of him shouting. Its never bad...its just him being his excited self. Hes always asking if we are excited. Its kind of funny. ANYWAYS hes great and hes really excited to work! Word to the wise: as a mission leader (zone leader, assistant, district leader) its always better to be excited. Ya because we rode the bus sooo much, the bus driver knows us...ya how sad haha.

This week went by really fast. I feel like nothing happened of REAL importance. But I guess I can tell you all a sad story. One day this week, we got a phone call from the other sister missionaries. They needed help with a FHE because nobody was there and the family needed more people. And she said that there would be a bbq too so we should come and stuff. We were really far away...but for a BBQ of course we would go!!!! So we went....and we got there so late, we could only share a message and then leave to get home on time....so we DIDNT get a BBQ. HOW SAD! I was super hungry too....for some good meat you know? Bah....maybe this week we will get something done :D

Also...we made a cake for our ward mission leader for Father´s Day because he was complaining saying that he has a son out on a mission and they should get a chance to call the dads on fathers day haha. [yesterday was the Brazilian holiday for Father's Day] Anyways....we made a cake for him and told him he was our dad here. Haha it was fun and he was really surprised.

Good times good times. You all have a fabulous week ok??!?!?!

Love you alllllll!

-Sister Empey

[I thought I'd pass on some fun info from Katelyn's companion Sister Bullen.  She seems to include "more" info than Katelyn does...so it's nice to get a different take on Katelyn's happenings in Brazil - so these are Sister Bullen's words]

"Sister Empey and I along with Sister Gomez and Sister Passos were supposed to get back a little early to put up some decorations and get food together. But we had a really good lesson with a family that went longer that we had hoped. We have been trying to teach a daughter to a couple in our ward. The couple is married, and waiting to get sealed in the temple. But one of her daughters she has hope that she will be baptized, so she can be there too. So we´ve been trying to teach her, but can never catch her, or other things. But the Grandma who has previously not been interested or would leave the room when we were there, etc has started to really like us. So its been really neat to see how sometimes when one door isn´t open we have other opportunities. But anyways, we came by the house, and the only person at home was Grandma, but she not only invited us in, but we talked for a while. It was really good and she enjoyed talking to us. We even talked about how she loves fish and I talked about halibut and tried to explain the fish, but told her how big they can get, [Sister Bullen lives in Alaska] etc and it was fun. But while we were talking a couple of other family members came by and we had an opportunity to teach them too, so it was really good. When we left we walked into one of our investigators, [R]. It was the first time I had met him, because he has been really hard to get a hold of, and I think he just recently moved. But we met him along the high way walking home. And it was literally perfect timing, because of the directions that we were both going. But he is really cool and he knows this gospel is true and he and his wife want to get baptized but they have some things to work out first, so it was really neat to talk with him. So we ended up arriving at the house a little later than usual and rushing to get things ready, because the others were late too. So Sister Marques waited with Sister Moura at the gate and then downstairs while we finished getting things ready. But it was such a neat experience, because there were several moments that night where we had perfect timing, And it was so cool to see that no matter what you plan for, the Lord has a different plan in store. And even though we were late for Sister Moura, it was a good thing, because we were doing what we are supposed to be doing and talking to people that normally we don´t get to."

August 6, 2012

Hello my loved ones!

And so...I would like to start off this week talking about the weather. Everyone was worried about me because they thought that it would be really cold during the winter....but really....Im dying right now of heat. It hasnt rained in almost a month here so its even hotter! Probably after it rains it will cool off for about 2 weeks. But seriously....it wasnt all of what I expected. But Im greatful for it. Because its hard to walk in the cold. But then again, its hard to stay excited in the hot. So I decided Im never really happy haha.

But this week was a good week. We had a lot of fun. Guess what? I have a little bit of humor once and a while :D Crazy I know. But this week during lunch I said a couple of things and then one of the sisters that lives with us she laughed so hard she couldnt stop. Ya....Im even funny in portuguese....haha... SOMETIMES!

But lets see. We had a couple of really spiritual lessons with investigators this week. It was really good. Last night we had a FHE with a family that has dad thats not a member (yet) and a mom thats a returned missionary, and a daughter thats engaged to a nonmember. Wow...talk about stress in the family (especially for the mom). Anyways the lesson was super good and pretty much the whole family was crying by the end. Ya....we're good. :D

The more Im on a mission, the more I see the importance of our decisions. Seriously, how we need to be careful with the serious decisions in our life. And if we DONT use the Spirit and Heavenly Father in these decisions, its like, we are forgetting the most essential part and we most likely will be blinded with our own ideas of what WE think is right, and not what is actually the right decision for us.

Also. this sunday at church was a little crazy. We got a ton of references from members during church. And we also missed Relief Society because we were going after less actives for church, investigators, and all of it. Phew...and in the end...the investigators that went to church, were investigators that other people brought haha. Funny how that happens. But we really did all we could.

This week is going to be a REALLLY good week. I love mondays. Besides the obvious...that its P-Day...its a great day to sit back and think about how this next week will be. And make new goals and be ready for the upcoming week. But seriously. I know that if we try all we can, God will help us and we will see miracles in our lives.

This work is tough, I wont lie. And there are constant ups and downs (physically, emotionally, and mentally). But I know that its the work of the Lord and nothing can stand in its way. So we keep going and keep doing what we think we need to do...and what happens....happens because God needs it to happen.

Hope you all liked my letter today. Its a little bit longer today:D My next letter will be a little bit shorter because Ill be doing some other stuff for a baptism we are going to have (I dont know who it will be that we will help be baptized) but there is someone waiting!!!!!!!!!! And miracles happen every day!!!! Haha oh no! I think Ive turned into a geeky missionary! :)

Love you all! Have a fabulous weeeeeeek!

-Sister Empey

July 30, 2012

Hello family!

Time just flies by sometimes. I feel like it was 2 days ago that I was writing another email.

I cant write all that happened. But Ill write a couple of experiences fast.

1) Im forgetting my life before the mission haha. I am actually forgetting how to talk in English. Every day we have language study where we help our brazilian sisters that are living in our house with english and they help with portuguese. But I am learning...as is everyone else that I am forgetting english and that I no longer am a good teacher for pronunciation, but they have to ask Sister Bullen haha. Its actually really funny. And everything here is normal for me now. People ask me what its like in USA, but I dont remember.

2) Sister Bullen is great! She is a great missionary already! (I dont know what they are doing in the CTM/MTC, but they are getting better as they come!)

3) We visited with an investigator this week. And we seriously broke some ice with her. She is really stubborn and its hard for us to explain the importance of baptism with authority, and the importance of going to church. We had a really good lesson with her talking about the importance of baptism and not drinking coffee more. And I think it finally clicked. For a least a little bit. And she said that she doesnt want to get baptised right now...but eventually. Thats a lot better than last time we talked to her! And she prayed at the end of the lesson and it was an AWESOME prayer! She asked for help and guidance and all that kind of stuff. I was super pumped after. The spirit was strong!

4) Also...another investigator....a type of eternal investigator. We had a lesson with her. And afterwards she said....wow, if you two keep talking...youll get me converted really fast! Heck yes!!!!!

5) "I ran into 2 posts this week...." [I have to add...as a Mom of Sister Empey...this is normal for her haha!!!  She is forever tripping or running into stuff...it's actually pretty hilarious...we as a family, just shake our heads :) ]

6) We had a lot of investigators in the church the week. And a lot of them were kids to watch a baptism of their friends. And we sat in the back. Seriously....I thought I would go hide in a corner because it was so crazy watching like 6 kids running in and out of the sacrament room. Ya....I thought you would all laugh at watching me. [ya...I can picture this too!]  "So glad Im not having any kids ANY time soon" [don't be fooled...she LOVES children!!!]

But anyways....so much for an hour huh?

Gotta go! Love you all! Have a fabulous week! And everybody... think of me walking in Brazil making everyones life better hahahahaha!!!!!!!

Love!
-Sister Empey

July 23, 2012

Hi family!

This hour always happens really fast and I wasnt really focused when I was reading and doing things. SO this letter will be really fast. Sorry!

But this week was a good week. It was really busy and we had TONS to do and that didnt get done. We found an investigator (in reality, the assistants found him) and he lives at the VERY edge of our area and down a hill. And so this weekend we walked up and down hills like all day. My body is really really really really really tired. I cant wait for this afternoon...to sleep! And I had a lot of stress this week. So you know how your body sometimes just gets run down and you crash? If it wasnt for Heavenly Father helping me, I would have already crashed haha.

But this tuesday was really cool. We had a training/conference with all the sisters in the mission. It was in Londrina. It was really cool being together with all of us. We learned a lot and want to start putting all the things into practice. I will admit it was really funny because there was like 20ish sisters and then 2 assistants (because they were giving training all day). Haha. Really funny because they felt a little out of place. But it was really cool.

Lets see....ya I ran out of things to talk about....but the work is going really well here in Londrina. And our mission is seeing A LOT of miracles happen.

The church is true....I love you all...and this week is going to be a week of miracles. For ALLLLLLLL of us!

Good luck with this week! Sorry this is so short! Next week Ill have a million of stories to tell! I promise Ill be focused next week!

-Sister Empey

My "Hump Day" party...I'm half way!!!

All the Sisters in our Mission at a Training Conference last week.  It was awesome!

Halfway mark this week! July16, 2012

Hello my loved ones!

How are you all doing?!?!?!?!?! Wow this week was crazy! Remember when those elders were working in our area. Welp...we were teaching a 10 yr old (his mom is a less active member) but the parents of this kid weren't allowing him to get baptized....because he was so young. But through some miracle, the elders being the crazy guys they are...they got permission for this kid to be baptized! And so we baptized and confirmed him this week!!!!!!! He has a lot of spirit and is a handful. But it was super cool to be able to see him baptised. And his parents went to the baptism tooo! The mom afterwards said that he will be the pride of their family and he will grow up to be an example for everyone else. How exciting! Anyways...hes really cool and he is liked a lot...obviously! Haha. Anyways..he is a "Present" for the ward from us :D

Anyways so Im training. In the picture Ill send is a picture of me and Sister Bullen and Sister Neves and the boy we baptized. Sister Bullen is from Alaska. And she has a really good spirit. She has a really strong will and desire to learn portuguese and to be a good missionary. I hope that she likes me and I can help her! She doesnt say it...but Im sure she is a little stressed out because of the language....ya, that was me just a few months ago! But she is really awesome and she is going to be a powerful missionary. The other night...she fell asleep with the lights on before she was praying....haha I forgot how tiring the field is at first. Now that Im an "old person" in the mission, I can say that I am experienced and know what it feels like....hahahahaha just kidding! Geez....sometimes we feel so inadequate and feel like, "what was I thinking?" or "what is Heavenly Father thinking?!". But I know that nothing in our life happens by circumstance and Heavenly Father really is shaping our lives and our spirits for His Kingdom.

Anyways....sorry it was so short...I feel like my time in the field...time in the day....is literally running by and I never have time to do all I want to do. Oh well...welcome to life!

Love you all and have a fabulous week!

-Sister Empey

My new companion, Sister Bullen is by my side, and Sister Neves with our baptism this last weekend!

A bunch of Sister Missionaries getting together!

July 9, 2012

Hi family and friends!

Guess what??!?!?!?! Im going to be a trainer for 12 weeks! Ya....talk about responsibility! This person is BRAND new in the mission. And Ill have to train her the ropes on the mission and stuff. WOW...these 12 weeks will be interesting! Im a little scared....haha

And look...I told you I would have a good week!

So what happened....welp...Ill tell you!

This week was super good. The Zone leaders and Assistants were thinking about helping out our zone. And they decided on helping out our area for a few days. So Thursday-Sunday, we had 2 elders helping us out. So they ate lunch with us with the members and then they just worked. Contacting people, talking to our investigators, and helping find people to be baptized this weekend. It was super fun and I think they liked it too. The first day was with an assistant and our zone leader. The next day was an assistant and other zone leader, and the next 2 were the 2 assistants. It was really fun and it helped us too. It helped us because we got excited during the day and we really were excited to work and talk to people. So it was really fun and really good too. It was also good because our area has only had sister missionaries for like 4 years. So they could do some work and talk to people and teach people that we cant do. So they had a lot of success.

Anyways. Remember me talking about that family that was inactive but the mom is a really good cook? :) Well they are coming to church every Sunday now!!! AND her son got ordained and he passed the sacrament yesterday. It was super cool and I was really really happy to see that! Success!

Also...we were going after a reference given to us by a zone leader in Londrina. So we found the house and the lady that answered is actually a member....but really inactive. So we talked to her for quite a while. She is super awesome. She is one of like 11 kids in the family. And the only member. Talk about hard. And she gave us food :D And the whole family live close together. Its really cool. They are a huge family and it is really cool to be able to see that. So I hope we can help her and her family. But its gotta be hard to be the only member in a family so big! Also...we taught part of the family 2 days ago. It was SO cool! Her son was there and listening A LOT! He was a rebel when he was younger...but we talked to him and invited him to church. He accepted and he showed up...by himself! And then during church he said he was praying to receive an answer...and he said yesterday that he received an answer and he wants to change and be better and change his life. WOW! SOOOO FREAKING AWESOME! So we were really pumped and excited! Go him!

Anyways....I forgot to mention...but I started to dream in Portuguese! Go me! Haha

Anyways...Ill get going but I hope you all have a fabulous week! Love you alllllll!

-Sister Empey

Yup...that's all!  (my favorite candy...how sad...it's all gone, and Mom just sent this to me!)

So this was us together with the 2 elders that helped us out. These are our 2 assistants. But Elder Angerbauer (the blond) is leaving this week for his house! Anyways....ya....good times

July 2, 2012

How are all of you doing this week?!

This week was good for us! And holy cow it was hot again! I was sweating this whole week! Its always like this! The Saturday and Sunday of fasting just happens to be the hottest day of the week and month haha. But anyways. It was super good.

But anyways...happy 4th of july! Dont worry, probably here Ill get fireworks too. They go off like every night. Especially on the weekend. Its because of soccer games that are going on. Haha. When the team that the people are rooting for score, they light off fireworks. Its kind of crazy...but welcome to Brazil. EVERYONE loves soccer. EVERYONE. And you know what team a person is with what they show in their house, what they wear, what they have in their car. Hahahahaa its really funny. But anyways...Happy 4th. Maybe Ill wear red or blue or white on 4th of July just to commemorate :D

Anyways this week we started visiting and teaching a girl and her mom. They are awesome. I love them. You can always tell if an investagator likes you if they cook for you. Did I mention that already? I think I mentioned that before like 10 times. But anyways, these investigators cooked dinner for us. It was super simple but it was perfect :D And this week the daughter ( 14yrs old) said that she and her mom likes it when we come to visit them :D The mom. Wow the mom is soooo busy all the time. And one night she was having some serious problems with her family when we came to visit and she was SUPER stressed out. BUT we talked to her, we read the BOM with her and when we left she said she felt sooo much better and was super happy we came by. But her problem is she is so busy she doesnt want to go to church!!! Haha she said she has too much to do and doesnt want to go. BUT we will keep working with her so that we talk her into going. Once she goes, she´ll never look back :D And she has a son that is like....HUGE!!!!! Like 7 feet tall I swear. And their family eats A TON! Like when we filled our plates (when we ate dinner with them)...they were all flabbergasted because we had so little on our plate. But really...we had a normal amount. But ya...really funny.

We have a recent convert here. She is 12 yrs old. And she is reallly awesome. But she was a little weak this past couple of weeks. And we found out why! She wasnt reading the BOM! But we made a plan with her to read every day. Anyways, it was reallly good. This last sunday we didnt have to wake her up for church. She was waiting outside of her gate for us to pick her up. And she is really excited because she wants to work with us this week. Like walk and teach with us. So we are really excited. Because she lights up when she can show others that she has a testimony. Anyways...our focus this week...lessons with members!

Ill send you guys a picture of our zone conference now!

Anyways, you all have a fabulous week! I know I wiiiiiiillllllllllllllllll!

Love,

Sister Empey

Our Zone - check out the really tall American Elder in the middle - he's our District leader -he's hilarious! :D

June 25, 2012

How are alllllll of you?!

This week was a really good week! We had Zone Conference Tuesday. It was really fun to be with President and Sister Tavares and the assistants and things like that. We learned a whole lot this week to put in practice in our work. We learned about the story in the bible about that one king or army leader that had leprosy and he wanted a prophet to come heal him and instead the servant came and told him to take 7 baths in the river. Anyways it was really cool learning about that. And then we put that in the mission work and that we have ideas of 7 things that we need to do to have success in our missions. One of these that has been our focus is lesson with members present. Its sometimes hard to have members in our lessons. So we have been thinking really hard on how we can have more members. So we are going to have members do the work with us...walk with us, do lessons and all that kind of stuff. Anyways also...we are trying to do more FHEs. And have investigators, less actives, and members in all of these FHEs to help them be more strong in the gospel and have friends at church too. So we are excited to see what will happen this week in our area.

We had lunch with a family saturday. And it was really cool because I talked to the son that is 18 years old for quite a while. In Brazil, young men can serve when they are 18. But he wants to wait until after he does some college before he goes on a mission. And I talked to him for quite a while about how he should go on a mission now and not wait and stuff. I think I FINALLY convinced him! Haha in Portuguese!!! I was super happy. He walked up to me at church and said that he is thinking about starting his papers in about a month so that he can leave soon. How exciting! Anyways I was proud of myself about that :D

Anyways...we had an FHE this week with a family. They have 3 boys. The mom is strong in the church and the dad isnt a member (yet of course). But shes a little weak right now because she feels like she is raising her boys alone in the church (logical because the dad isnt a member). Anyways...it was an AWESOME FHE. It was a good lesson (it was about choices and choosing the right). We had a fun game. And everyone was laughing and having a good time. We left away really positive and good about that. And we thought FOR sure the dad would go to church sunday....but he didnt. But thats ok....NEXT WEEK!

Anyways why is my hour taken up always soooo fast?! Its time to go for the week. Sorry...a little lame I know! Next week I will concentrate on doing better. I promise!!!! :D

Love you all and wish you all a fabulous week!

-Sister Empey

"Showing off my new look for the winter time here...haha a little ugly eh? But what can I do?!!! :)"

(Sister Empey is having to wear her running shoes because of minor back issues)

June 18, 2012

Hello family!

Well this week was really interesting believe it or not! We got a phone call from President Tavares at 10:15. He said that Sister Brooks (who was living in the house with us) was getting transfered...the next day! (It was Friday night we got the phone call). And she was leaving at like 6 the next morning. So she had to pack everything up. The house was in a complete wreck and us four didnt get to sleep until like 1 oclock because we were helping her get packed up. And Sister Dos Santos...my companion traveled with her to pick up her ner companion. So I have a new companion for 3 weeks! Sister Neves. She is actually doing a mission that is like a mission before her mission. They do this in Brazil. So she is 20yrs old and she is from a city within the Londrina Mission. And a president of the mission (in this case Pres Tavares) calls a young woman or young man that have more or less the age of a missionary that is thinking strongly about serving a mission. And they are come and help out the missionary. So they do everything that normal missionaries do, but they havent gone through the temple and they dont have an official calling and they didnt go through the CTM. But they are set apart and everything. So anyways, President Tavares said that after this transfer (that will end in 3 weeks) she will go home to start preparing to put in her papers. Anyways pretty cool. And shes a really good missionary so Im excited to work with her for 3 weeks.

This week we made a fancy birthday cake. It was chocolate with like a filling in the middle and a huge chocolate layer on top. Actually it didnt turn out really good.....BUT now I know how to make it better :) It was the birthday of an elder in our district. Anyways...it turned out pretty good. I have a picture with us and our cake that I will send you guys :)

Also...yesterday we had a lot of investigators in the church. It was really exciting to see. And a couple of inactive members were there tooo! And we are seeing a lot of good things happening in this area. We have 2 investigators right now that can be baptized this Sunday. So we are exciting about that. We will see what will happen! We need to do all we can to help them to get things moving. And its intersting because you can really see the hand of God in our work. Because really we are doing almost NOTHING. But its Heavenly Father that is actually really helping us a lot. Anyways. This week looks really promising and exciting. We have some really good investigators that want to learn and go to church and want to study more. Thats always a really good sign! We have Zone Conference tomorrow. Its going to be really good. The food is always soooo good! Anyways...I dont have any more time! Ill send that picture!

Love you all! Hope everything is going well for all of you! Brazil is doing great and little chilly too :) Great for walking a lot! Haha anyways...until next week!

 

-Sister Empey



We made a birthday cake for an Elder in our District...it didn't turn out as good as we hoped, but it got eaten!

 

June 11th, 2012

Hello family!

Another fast email week! Sorry! But I did want to tell a couple of things. I only have about 10 minutes left and this keyboard...pain in the butt...anyways!

the Manaus temple was dedicated yesterday! Whoop whoop! We got to go to an extension of the dedication service in our stake building yesterday! How coooooool! It was awesome. I felt such a spirit there :D President Uchdorf dedicated the temple. Man for some reason yesterday, he was funny. Anyways, it was such a good experience. And you could really feel the sacrifice that the people in Manaus and all of Brazil put into that temple. I think sometimes us in the US take for granted that we have temples so close. But it was really cool. This was my favorite dedication that Ive seen so far. Maybe because Im on a mission in Brazil, or Im getting older and I understand a little bit more the significance of a temple, or maybe I could feel the spirit more for some reason or another...haha but in any case...it was really neat. And I miss the temple. One of the first things we are doing as a family when I get home....going to the temple (and Madie...you cant drive anywhere when we are in the session ok?)

Also..we had a ward activity this Saturday that we were in charge. It actually turned out really good. And I dont know if you guys remember or anything, but the game where you are all holding hands with your team in a line and then you sqeeze the persons hand when your other hand gets sqeezed...its called Shock i think. Anyways........ya....haha try explaining that game (that I can barely explain in English) in Portuguese...haha great fun :D Anyways good stuff. It turned out well. And the lesson was given by me and one of my companions. It was really good and I actually looked at people in their eyes (a big improvement for me compared to before my mission :D)

Ok I think thats all I have time for! Wow already 1 hr?! Sorry....more experiences next week!

Love you allllllll!

-Sister Empey

June 4, 2012

How are alllllllll of you?!


So I have some really good news! We had 7 in-active members in church yesterday! Talk about exciting! How awesome! It was super exciting to see all of them there! A couple were miracles for sure. But it was really good. That family I told you about, they were there! So that was good :) I always feel so bad because with these people, inactive members that come to church, we as missionaries dont always have time to talk to EVERYONE and to say hi to all the people that come to church. And we cant say, congrats for being here for everyone that we see. So really...if there is one thing that Ive learned and Ive already said this before...is the importance of MEMBERS! We definitally cant do this work alone! So be a member missionary. Missionary work isnt just about baptizing people. Its about helping those inactive members, or strong members too! So when the adversary is beating against someone, they have a higher probability of succeeding because it wont be fighting against just one person, the adversary will fight against a whole group or ward of people!

Also. we found a less active member this week. Wow he is amazing! He has a testimony, he just forgot. He has parents that are actually really firm in he church right now. He is 19 years old right now. Hes been inactive for more than a year. Anyways we talked to him for a while and he has a desire to go on a mission, just needs to fix a couple of things first. But wow! He is really awesome. Hes really bright and he loves challenges...so we are giving him challenges right and left :) If we can help him return to church so he can serve a mission. Wow...I will be a happy person. But let me tell you what. I saw just a little bit of the love that parents have on this earth for their kids. It was really humbling to watch and listen to his parents talk about him (after he left the house for a dr appt). Man...all parents are like that. Mom and dad, I hope I never put you guys through this kind of pain and hurt. They talked and cried and talked about how they are praying and fasting for him to come back to church. And how they are trying to stay firm in the church to help them. Anyways, it was really good. We talked about the importance of trying to do everything in their power. like going to church, staying firm in the church, and doing those basic things for them. Anyways...it was really good. and we will continue visiting them.

What I have learned these last couple of weeks. I have learned that this mission is not my own. Ive had some good enlightening experiences this week. I have learned that Im am trying my hardest to be the best missionary I can be. And because of this, I am serving with all I have. But at the same time, I have challenges, I have trials. I experience trials every day! Why, why do we have trials...especially on a mission?! Im trying to serve, why are things happening to me like that (dont worry mom, nothing serious)? But I have learned that Im doing the work of the Lord. And really, he could do this work alone. He has all power, he has everything, so why cant he do it alone? But he is giving us this opportunity to have this time to learn and grow and be better people for all of our lives. So at the end of our life, after the end of all the crappy stuff we go through, through the firery furnace, we can be polished, ready to meet our Savior and our Father in Heaven and ready to be like them. So this mission isnt my own. And Im doing....more than ever, I can feel I am doing his will. So all the trials...everything that happens, has a purpose and a reason. And the Lord is in charge of our lives. Especially for me right now serving a mission.

Anyways...just from the thoughts of a Sister Missionary :D And at the same time from a mind that is really confused switching from Portuguese to English all the time! Haha

Anyways I love you all!

Until next week!
-Sister Empey

Note:  I asked her if she could understand people when they talk really fast.  This was her response:
" I can understand people...when they talk fast, I get almost all of what they say...not all, but most of it...and the other part...lets just say Im getting really good at my poker face :D"

May 28, 2012

Hi family and friends!

How are all of you!

Man there was so much information to weed through this week I dont have much time to type a letter this week. So we had transfers this week. It was kind of strange. But anyways. Really I dont think there was a whole lot of changes in the mission. BUT....dont you all worry. I will stay here for at least 6 more weeks. Im exciting because we can get to work. And I have the same companion. I will send a picture of the 4 people that are in the same house, me and my other companions.

Also, we divided the area this week. Im super pumped. Because most of the investigators were from the other side, where the other companionship is right now, so we have almost nobody for our investigators pool right now. BUT...thats good because we can find more and we can start from scratch! :) I love starting from scratch. Also...in this picture....notice my skirt. I bought it last week in Londrina! And I like it a lot :D A good thing about having the area divided (because we have 2 fully working companionships) is that we can really focus on the people in our area. We can visit them more often and we can get to know the members better. Also...there is a lot of area that we were ignoring because there was SOOOO much area, but NOW, we can focus on our area and help our area to grow.

Also, we had stake conference yesterday. It was really good. I learned a lot about temples. The stake really wants to focus on temple work and getting people to the temple (well from what I got out of it). And so when we visit members (especially recent converts) we need to emphasis the importance of getting to the temple. Its great to know we have the blessing of temples. That the things we do here wont end after this life...its for FOREVER!

We are working with a less active family. They are awesome. And the mom, is soooo sweet and her food is awesome! She is the sweetest lady and shes so tired and a little bit discouraged. We had a family home evening with them and she cooks amazing! The food was incredible. I would have eaten a lot more than I did but we were late and we literally had to run home. But it was good. And the only problem is they ALWAYS say they will go to church...but they never do! And the dad isnt a member. Man...so many families to help in this area. Anyways...so as far as helping less-actives, we really want to focus on reactivating them, because of all families, they need to be active in the church. So we will continue helping them and visiting them (and eating) :)

Haha anyways, I must go. Its already an hour. Ill send that picture!

Love you all
Until next week!

-Sister Empey

 

I thought you all would like what I woke up to this morning :)

(is that fog???)

 

Ya we all decided to get together in the Mission Office. Haha funny story....there was a TON of people in a little office. Oh good times...always times for photo ops :D

 

Four of us in Riveira

(her companion is on her left)