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
Monday, October 22, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
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
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
Monday, October 8, 2012
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]
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
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! :)
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! :)
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Juliana, our baptism! |
Monday, September 24, 2012
September 24, 2012
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| This is me...always running...funny, funny Sister Empey! (nice neighborhood - very clean- Mom likes that!) |
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!!!
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| My Zone "cleaning up" after the Conference
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| Me and Sister Marques at the Conference with Elder Godoy |
Monday, September 17, 2012
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!
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| Our our awesome baptism yesterday. (the younger guy on the left) Wahoo!!! |
Monday, September 10, 2012
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!)
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| Hey, I'm picking oranges!!! :D |
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| These are my amazing, stylish running shoes that Mom just sent me. Don't I look fabulous?! |
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| 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!" |
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| This is my care package from Irene and Sara...love themmmmmm! .. |
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