March 2016 - The 'Thrill of Hope'

1 March 2016

Muito obrigada for all your emails!!! your all excellent humans <3

Okay………… this was like the most humbling week of my mission, okay maybe not my mission but that I’ve had in a long time! :(
This week I remembered that missions are actually hard as, BUT it was a great week to learn right??
SO it was a mixture between hectic heat and the most extreme rain you have ever seen in your life or in your wildest dreams, it rained heaps as!!
Because of the loco weather, our Baptism for Angelica fell through since shes so sick! Poor thing, and I was so devo as well, but I have the biggest hope for this week to come. Hey hey.

Since we are opening our area again, (as we lost half of our area and heaps of our solid investigators) I had a lot of time to think to myself why we spent our days knocking doors?  I thought of you Mum, and how you always quote to me that line from the hymn Silent night,
“The thrill of hope” 

I know you always said it to me when we were talking about boys, but I applied your wise wisdom into missionary work this week.
The thrill of hope: in finding people to talk to, people to teach and people to BAPTISE.
This week I needed to change the way I thought about working.
I thought about my all converts and the very first time I met them and how you do always get that “thrill” when you have a really good conversation about the Gospel and they tell you that you can come back.  I sought to find that feeling as we went finding, all week to have that “Thrill”,  that feeling of strong excitement to come back and to teach that person again.

(Faith and) Hope is essential as a missionary. I loved these verses in Ezekiel 36:26-28 <3 <3“ A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
(…) and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
I felt the hand of the Lord this week in giving me that new hope that I needed to really work this week.

Since we pretty much spent our week finding don’t really have lol stories for you all BUT I’ll write some highlights of this week:
- I saw my first snake in Brazil this week, lol! I hid behind Sister Curtis. HAHAH, I'm the worst companion, take her life instead of mine plzz mr snake, we laughed about this after.  But we laughed even harder when we realised that the snake WAS DEAD!! ahahhahaha!

-With hectic rain we saw “A DOUBLE RAINBOW” Seriously, two rainbows, and they were so impressive.

-I got both hectic sunburnt and drenched in the rain this week.

-We are teaching a FAMILY that I love so much and he made us Mexican food, hehehe, (But seriously this family is gold!! The dad is an in-active member and he wants to return, and for his family to be baptised. AAAhh, we can help you)
-We ALWAYS find at this bus/train station near our house, like everyday, but now the people who work there are heaps good friends with us, and there is this one old mate named João who sells chocolate.  We literally see him every night, but he's a crack up because he's just this cute old man with literally ONE tooth and he always gives us free chocolate…. Okay now that I've typed this, it kinda sounds creepy but he's not, he’s the best and we will baptise him.

I KNOW that this week coming will be a week of GOLD, we knocked on so many doors so we can knock less this week :P hahah and teach a million lessons!!!

Sister Bennallack 

hectic rain and hectic sunburn!!!

8 March 2016

Buenos dias

1 Néfi 17:47
“....Behold, I am filled of the spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.”

This is pretty much my current feelings right now, so beautifully said by Nephi.
This was a crazy week with such highs and lows… ^.^

Angelica didn’t get baptized yesterday, I honestly don’t know what happened, I maybe cried Saturday night (BUT it was the first time in ages that I cried okay!? haha, I’m heaps tough remember! hehe). We spent the whole week teaching, preparing her for Sunday. We fasted TWICE! She was in such a good place.. then we went with the Elders to her house Friday night for her baptismal interview and…….(insert that cricket noise)
No one was home/answered the door and we called her two numbers like 1.3 thousand times. But she didn’t answer. The worst part is that we still haven’t been able to get a hold of her. I’ve literally broken my own heart over this, BUT I still have the highest hope for her, we’ve had way to many spiritual experiences and she knows that what we are teaching is true, she was always telling us how “light” she feels, she  honestly is just so elect, one of Heavenly Father's set apart daughters I swear, but …?

“Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.” –Mosiah 23:10. 
All in his timing.

Butttt a little bit of a lol story…so when we were out the front of Angelica's house with the LD´s trying  to call her, Elder Alvim my district leader could see on our faces how stressed out to the max we were getting, but he’s a legend and told me to chill and told us that it will all work out and that “we are going to wait all night if we have to!!!"...okay we can't actually do that, but we are going to wait until 9pm (if we have too!) Hahha, then he disappears with his companion and brings back pizza and coca-cola <3 I'm not going to lie, it eased the sting a little bit.  He also gave me his phone so Sister Curtis and I had one each and told us to “eat and keep calling”.
Elder Alvim is such a good LD, like he’s such a legend, he’s only been a member for two years and has one year already on the mission!!!

Last district meeting we just got hectic and made the highest goals and everyone got so pumped, BATISMO!!!!
So this week sister Curtis and I literally got so ballsy and just started inviting everyone on the street to be baptised! It was so fun, we got into probs more Bible bash’s than we should have, but we also found some SOILD new investigators. <3 <3 AND  this one man accepted to be baptised!!!! From a street contact, so now we are teaching him and he knows that we are preparing him for baptism. <3 <3

But finding is always interesting, Sister Curtis and I always find at the bus and train station (thanks to working at 'Educate Yourself' lol) but just last night we had so many hilarious stories, 

-Sister Curtis burnt this old lady in a hectic bible bash
-a man accepted a baptismal date in the first contact!!!
-I got kissed on the hand twice
-I got asked out for icecream lel
-a man was selling deodorant and I told him that we can’t buy it because it's Sunday, and that it's the day of the Lord… long story short as I was walking off, HE LITERALLY THREW deodorant at me!!! And it splatted all up my leg, hahaha, oh my goodness, I just looked at Sister Curtis.. what even is my life. #damission

-We talked to 100 people in 1.5 hour. Whatttt uppp mate ;)

Ahhh, this week it was hectic rain, but I'm not even bothered about it, as long as I don’t get sick. We got given clothes by our investigator and when Brazilians try and give you something you just accept it, or else you’ll be saying  “no thank-you” 500 times before they give up! hahah, aww, love Brazilians <3, but anyway, one of the things we got given was this ugly as, swade red blazer, but one day after we got RAINED on we went back to our apartment to change and I was so cold that I just used that red jacket, hahahhaha this is probably a 100% you had to be there moment, but it was soooooo funny. Sister Curtis   “what are you wearing? you cant be serious!” hahahhahah call me sistaaaaaaaaaa ;)

Anyways, I now love that jacket (because it's so ugly) and I wear it all the time. 

But this week was hard as, but Heavenly Father needs his most courageous daughters to serve him so I know that this all has a purpose, but pray for me and Angelica plz <3

Sister Bennallack



14 March 2016

Today is 14^th March, is the exact day I went through the temple a year ago!!!!! Woooooooo, it feels like yesterday.  During studies today, we were talking so much about the temple and how perfect it is. How grateful I am for the House of the Lord and how remembering my covenants and the promised blessings has been such strength to me on my mission. I heaps want to work in the temple when I get back <3 ps. how old am i now? hahahah

What I random week I had………It rained so much and because of this, my beloved companion Sister Curtis got mad sick. :( it’s the worst watching someone be sick and you can’t do anything, but I tried being you mum, and made her toast and sat on her bed with her, hahaha. BUT despite Curtis' dying, we still saw some miracles!!!!!! 

Also this week, my dreams came true and I had a trade off with….get ready for this… SISTER GUDGEON!!! AHhh, I was so excited all week, haha, how much love I have for that woman. It was such a crack up day, but it was so cool seeing how much we have grown since the MTC. Truly, we will be sisters forever, and she’ll be the most easiest to visit after my mission, hehe.

Sister Gudgeon and Sister Bennallack

We also had a conference this week with one third of the mission, it was so good! HOW INSPIRED is President?? He knows exactly what to say!! He talked so much about obedience firstly, since our mission had some heaps apostasy things going on and people went home ect, but it's all goods now. But President talks with such love! He also talked about the Godhead and how we as missionaries need to explain who the Godhead is before we teach anything else, how our investigators can’t really be converted if they didn’t understand this simple doctrine .
THEN we did role plays, Ohhh how I have a love/hate relationship with role plays. BUT I loved them at this conference, it was SO HELPFUL, one of them was when people have things that randomly come up for the day of their baptism and how we can save the baptism. SO GOOD. Like when they need to work, or will go on holidays ect. Sister Curtis and I had a role play that this boy had to play soccer. (lol so brazil) that day and he forgot that it was the final ect ect. It was so funny, first time I promised that if he gets baptized that morning he will play soccer the best he’s ever played, hahhaah but it was so in the moment and so fuuny. But President and one of the assistants was there and they loved it, haha…….. but way to make me nervous. But it was just a good activity.

WE COMMITED a woman named Marina to baptism!!!!! One of the mircles while Sister Curtis was dying <3   She's a catholic so it's been a process with her, but ahhh <3 <3 <3 it was such a good lesson and we helped her realise that she already knew this is true “yeah you're right, I do feel that way”.  But we still have to work with her on some things…..lol normal

ANGELCIA!!!! No, she didn’t get baptised. BUT we finally got to talk to her and she went to church with us yesterday!!!!!!!! Love her, but she's having some mad depression and that day she was so down and didn’t want to talk to anyone, but that makes so much sense. We taught about the atonement, like only the atonement again, I LOVE when we have to really study for our lessons and how we probably get more out of the lesson. But it was such a spiritual lesson and how the atonement literally carries us through EVERYTHING. 

So much love in this photo!  All three companions from the mish so far...

This was such a random, heaps FAST week but between my sicky companion and too much rain I saw the Lord's hand in our work here and couldn't be a more happier missionary <3 <3

Sister Bennallack



22 March 2016

Wow, another week down, this was just a solid week, like I would like this week on replay please.

Firstly let talk about Angelica:
I had such a weird day on Saturday, like I totally lost my swag, haha, I was so nervous about our baptism interview with Angelica that night, I was doubting hardcore, i.e. in myself that this will actually happen. I taught so average that day and even said a word in ENGLISH in one of our lessons. ^.^ But my lovely companion was perfect, like she had enough faith for the both of us. 

We said so many prayers on the street together. As we prayed in this random street in Brazil, I honestly could say to the Lord that I have done everything that I can for Angelica, I put my total: my whole heart, might, mind and strength. I have never said so many prayers or FASTED so many times for any of my investigators on my mission. But knowing that we have literally done our all, we pleaded with the Lord and told him how now it’s his turn to do his part, we knew we could ask for a miracle, and ohhhh we asked.

After we prayed our guts out I felt a little but better, but still Angelica wasn’t answering the phone.
“but we went it faith” with the Elders to her house for her interview…… for the 3 time… haha and while we were walking the other sisters that we live with called me just to say that everything will be fine, that it will all work out and not to stress. AWWWW OBRIGADA SISTERS <3 (deffs answer to a prayer)

We got to her house and she was HOME and she had her interview.. nearly two hours later she came out with THE BIGGEST SMILE.  I literally felt the biggest calming spirit come over me. It all worked out.
ANGELICA  WILL BE BAPTISED ON SATURDAY AT 7PM <3 <3 <3 <3

She came to church yesterday and invited people to her baptism and then she came back for this fireside Sunday night aswell.
I still will be praying my guts out this week that all will work out and it will go perfectly for this Saturday.

The rest of my week was THE best, on Thursday Sister Curtis and I were giggling our heads off in our beds in awe about our day, like did that really just happen? A few weeks ago we knocked doors in the rain…. But on Thursday we went to that street and visited everyone that said we could come back. We taught 4 new people that were like GOLDEN, in four houses in a row!!! IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!! By the fourth house we were joking around about how perfect this day was and how we are going to meet another elect and invite him to be baptised…..next minute we are teaching this man who lives at this house named Antonio and it was such a good lesson and HE ACCEPTED baptism.
What da hell mate.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 Blesssingggggggggs. #ÔHGLÓRIA! 

Sunday was such a mad day, since we are still working in two wards, we are mostly going to the other ward because that's where our investigators are, but this week we had such a miracle week that we knew we would have investigators here as well.   We had a trade off yesterday with the sister who live with us, I went with Sister Das Graças to the other chapel and Sister Curtis stayed here. We had two new investigators come to church here! 

I'm not going to lie though, Sunday will be SO much nicer when I get back, and when I can actually focus on the sacrament and Jesus Cristo and not be freaking about investigators and whispering to members to talk to them. Ahh one day <3 haha will be nice.

OH but because we are working in two wards this means we have more people who can come out and teach with us! It’s the best, we have two RM's from this other ward that taught with us this week, it was so good, I love hearing how other missionaries/people teach. Plus they speak Portuguese pretty good as well ;) hahaha

THIS is one thing that I have also learnt on my mission, how to be a member, like when I get back I’m so excited to be that member who's always down to help, and to serve and to go out with the missionaries. Lol, I was such a crap member before.. I didn’t go to anything and always planning my primary lessons in sacrament..  But I'm excited to help build the kingdom of God in Australia...

LOl stories from this week:
I was making contacts and stopped this man, we were talking about how we have a message about Jesus Christ ect ect. He stops me so dramatically… and starts pulling his sleeve up…. I waited.. and waited… then BAM! he reveals his arm heaps dramatically and tattooed to his arm he has GIANTLY written “JESUS CRISTO” It was such a suspense and he showed me so dramatically and it was SO huge that I found my self saying “WOW” and touching his arm hahahahha then I remember who I am and repented hahaha. But good try mate in following Jesus Christ, but we have a message about how to really be a true follower of Christ”- (we are visiting him tonight. Lol)

THEN,
on the way to church at 8am in the morning I had this guy talking to me at the bus stop proposing marriage to me.. “ sorry I’m a missionary ect ect…!” Then he tells that he is a missionary too and take his arm out of his sling (he has a broken arm) to take his jacket off to show me his HUGE tattoo of Jesus and Mary….
hahhahhah what the crazy is going on?
Sister Curtis just looks at me… “its going to be an interesting day lol”

BUT I think that’s all I can think that happened to me this week, it really was such a good week!!!

Sister Bennallack 

29 March 2016

ANGLEICA WAS BAPTISED!!!!
Oh my goodness, this happiness I felt was so crazy, but this week was so crazy, we worked so hard and prayed so hard for this to happen.
I hope you´re ready for this hectic story….

So last Saturday was her baptism interview right? And she just had to stop drinking coffee for this week to prepare, she was doing GREAT and we talk to her to follow up every day. Then Wednesday –Saturday she disappeared…..
like didn’t answer her phone and wasn’t home.
I can’t tell you how discouraged I got on Friday night, just seeing this baptism fall through, I was so sad- seriously guys haha this isn’t funny, I ate nearly a whole cake, hahaha, I DON’T EVEN LIKE cake.

Saturday morning (the day of her baptism) we still hadn’t been able to catch her. We went and taught English like we do every Saturday morning and after tried to call her. Nada.
I sat with Sister Das Graças in the sacrament room so disappointed, and confused!!! Then we kneeled and Sister Das Graças offered the most perfect prayer of my life, our last humble plea. She has the impression to go to Angelica's house like in the exact moment. We had already been to her house so many times this week (and she lives at the end of the worlddddddd) but we skipped our lunch apt and just the other Sisters went, and Sister Das Graças and I went to her house. I had the strongest hope, we got the house and she had JUST got home. SHE WAS IN HER CASA!!!!!!!!!!!! 

We told her we are going to lunch and for her to get ready while she was getting ready I call a new convert Caio who had depression as well but finding the gospel helped so much, anyways we told him to come to lunch as well and we all met up. We talked and every word Caio said was so PERFECT - he's never met Angelica in his life. She said how she wants to be baptised and SHE WILL but she didn’t feel ready because of her problems, but she was so prepared and overcame her coffee addiction this whole week!!!! She was still not really solid but I had the impression just to go to the chapel. I called the Elders to meet us at the chapel and to fill the baptismal font. (hehe  I had so much faith mate) and when we got there we sat in the sacrament room and she opened up, and we shared scriptures and sung to her (lol we are such Sister missionaries) and then when Elder Alvim arrived he finished his interview - just following up on her coffee and she left that room with the biggest smile!!!! MY HEART MELTED. Elder Alivm just screams “get that jumpsuit ready, Angelicia wants to be baptised.”

Angelica, the newest memeber of a Igreja de Cristo<3 <3 <3

It was such a CRAZY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
but I know that the Lord heard every single one of our prayers and pleas. This was the craziest miracle of my mission - like this week tested me in ways that I never thought I could be tested.
But if was the best moment to hear Angelica say she wants this, not because we know this gospel is true and WE know it will bless her - but she wanted and was ready to take this step and start her jouney in be a follower of Christ.
Sunday was so beautiful as well, when she recived the gift of the Holy  Ghost her blessing was so perfect and personal, was so her.
MATE this church is just so true.

Ahhhh hahah, writing this I was just reliving this week and felt so stressed again.. haha
Angelica was pretty much the highlight of the week and took up a lot of our time but we did meet some really cool people this week AND have our other investigators are progressing.

My brazilian food brings all the boys to the yard

YESTERDAY this family we are teaching came to church!!! A WHOLE FAMILY!!! I love teaching  families the most.  Anyway, I have probably told you about this family already. Helder and Vanha and their two children. We Met Vanha weeks ago on the street. (One of those “its nearly 9pm let talk to a few more people miracles”) and she told us that her partner used to be a member of this church and when we visted them, Helder was SOOOO happy to have us in his house and had the biggest desire to come

back. But they had some crazy trials and was a bit hectic but he changed jobs and NOW HE DOESN’T WORK SUNDAYS and they all came to church yesterday. AHHH Church was so on point yesterday, like the lessons and the speakers <3 <3 It was so perfect; Vanha and the kids loved church! We just need them to get married!!

I’m so happy, seriously this week, well really just Friday, was the worst and I got a little home sick, but after watching someone accept the gospel it makes all those hard times SO WORTH IT.

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things…”

Sister Bennallack

February 2016 - think with 'Holy Eyes'

2 February 2016

BOM DIA!

Okay...hands down this week was the CRAZIEST WEEK of my mission/life.

Like it was so dramatic….at times I think I need that 'GoPro' strapped to my head to show what happened in my day.

This week was the week filled with the most miracles and the most trials of my whole mission. “by the trial of your faith…”

BUT WHAT AN AMAZING WEEK

Okay… so last Sunday, being Missionaries we were asked to teach Sunday School for the youth… In this class we discovered that there was a young women aged girl named Isabelle who has been visiting for 3 weeks who isn’t baptised..
(Since we both opened this area, it's so hard to know who is who and who isn’t a member or even in our ward since there at two wards here at the same time).

When you have a non-member visit church you make sure you get that address ;) anyways Isabelle was so warm to us and told us that we could visit and that she is liking our church but she has her own religion ect. 

On Tuesday we went to Isabelle’s house FASTING, and we were so confident that through our obedience we could see a miracle. We taught about Jesus Christ and his baptism and asked Isabelle how she shows her love for Jesus Christ and how she wants to follow him? Ect ect, it was such a spiritual lesson, she pretty much taught herself. Then we committed to her to be baptised for that SATURDAY (in like 4 days)…that perfect silence after you invite someone to be baptised is so perfect, like so nervous but being filled with the spirit.

SHE ACCEPTED. Oh My Goodness! MIRACLES <3

We then spent this whole week teaching her all the lessons (and she lives a million miles away, hehe) and preparing a baptism. Goodness, there were so many problems with her baptism and since we don’t even have a Bishop it was soooo complicated, but long story short, SHE WAS BAPTISED in a different chapel, the stake centre here that is so fancy pancyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! it was hands down the most spiritual service of my mission. 

Baptism of Isabelle

Wednesday: We had so much to do!!!!!! So many appointments, but none of them were close to each other. Haha, but since we fasted Tueday with no water and we walked the whole day in 40 degrees heat, Sister Curtis had the worst migraine but we still tried and walked to this mad important new investigator LUCIA.  We nearly got to her house which is a 40 min walk and Sister Curtis was dying! Awwwww daughter <3 <3, sorrrrrrry.  So she rested, ate food and slept it off so we could work later in the afternoon.

We did teach Lucia after and wowowowoowow, she’s so golden, she's a firefighter. HOW COOL but she works at lot of Sunday's so it’s going to be tricky to get her to church but she’s wants to go and promised she will get the next Sunday off.

Thursday: KARMA hit and I woke up at 4am vomiting my head off… NOOOOOOOOOOOo PORQUE?????? I’ve never prayed so hard in my life, for strength to continue the Lord's work for this day. So I causally threw my guts out while Sister Curtis studied, then I showered and continued our day. I knew that maybe it wasn’t a 100% smart idea to work but this week we didn’t have time to stop and be sick…
LOL after I stopped throwing my guts up we went to lunch, and for lunch was a Brazilian dish name Feijoada (google it )which is THE BEST but probably the worst thing you could eat after been sick, but I kept it down <3 <3

We saw so many miracles that day, we had the most spiritual experience in one of our lesson with our investigator Marina, we committed Cristina to baptism (this Sunday) and also had heaps of good lessons with Marli and Victor, a Mother and son we found on our first week here, and taught Isabelle 4 lessons in one. We couldn’t even believe our day! But the most interesting part was at exactly 9:30pm that night I starting feeling so off again. But how crazy grateful I am that Heavenly Father answered my prayer and I was able to have enough strength and health to work that day!!!! (….and to eat Feijoada hehehe)

The rest of the week was just as dramatic as the start, from getting so lost looking for an address in the jungle-ish part of our area, then praying, then out of nowhere a 10 year old child appears and takes us to Cristinas house. WHAT THE MIRICLE??? 

To then leaving early Sunday morning to meet our investigators to walk to church with us… once we got to their houses all of them had excuses, so we went to church maybe 2% sad when next minute, this guy who we had talked to on the street the night before randomly decided to come to church, and two other people come to church to ask us about our English class!!!!

I don’t even know if what I’m saying makes sense?? Like this honestly was such a crazy week, A HARD week but also the best week of my Mission. I’m so grateful for my calling and the opportunity I have to be a Missionary here in Ribeirão Pires and to help people here realise their true potential, how there is a plan of happiness that God himself created for their lives. But more importantly I’m so grateful that every day through the good, hard and plane crazy times, I get to know my Saviour Jesus Christ a little more.

Sister Bennallack xxxxxxxx

10 February 2016

BOM DIAAA!

First thing is,  <3 <3 Oh my gosh! It was so good seeing Tom and Jordan yesterday. I was so nervous/ EXCITED and when I saw him, I literally couldn't even talk in English! hahahah! oh my gosh! I don't even speak English anymore, hahahaha! so awkward!

My brother Tom and his wife Jordan

Eating beans and rice together!

It was just the best afternoon, I literally couldnt stop smiling. We met at the mission office because I really wanted Tom and Jordan to meet President and Sister Broadbent which they did and ahhhh, it was so lovely. But I tripped out to the max, like every two seconds, it was like two worlds mixed into one. 

My mission and Brasil mixed with my Australian family. BUT IT WAS THE BEST.

We ate lunch at the shopping mall that we aren't normally allowed to enter but President told us to eat there, haha and I was SO HAPPY teaching Tom and Jordan about Brazilian food, heheheh all of us eating Rice and Beans together <3 <3 so happy.

A suitcase of goodies from home...

How much do I just love my family!! l am so grateful right now and it was so cool catching up and hearing the family news and seeing photos of everyone. 

Okay this week, was such a good week but kinda disapointing as well, but still a goodie. Normal as a missionary, that hectic up and down emotions of highs and lows. So Cristina didn't get baptised on Sunday, we prepared her all week, she had stopped drinking coffee and we talked about her being baptised all week and how she was excited ect ect
But then, when we and the other Elders came to her house (which is a hike and half) she had disappeared? She wasn't home when we had just taught her that morning, ahhhhhhhh.. my heart broke a little. And we still haven't even been able to catch her to talk about what happened. But now that I think about it, I think it was the same with those churches in Joseph Smith's time, how they where close to God with their lips but their hearts were long from God. I think this is the same with Cristina, perhaps she likes the idea and us and the attention she received at church but I don`t think she really has felt that 'song of redeeming love……..'  like she says she prays and reads, but I don't really know.  We will pray about what to do for and about her.

So we spent the week getting ready for this nearly baptism but we also had other GREAT times with our other investigators..

I have hit my 9 months mark, 50% of my misson…what? that went so fast!!!!!!!! but what a blessing, I still have 9 more months <3 <3

Also, I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in Portuguese this week, how I just treasure the Book of Mormon!!

Com Amor, Sister Bennallack 

16 February 2016

Tuchu 20 year old sez

BOM DIAAA

So, today actually isn’t p-day since tomorrow we are GOING TO THE TEMPLE <3 <3 <3

I'm so crazy excited, heehhee, early birthday present!

This was such a weird week…. Like the weirdest week ever, it seemed like we walked for days and it was so hard to find people in their houses. But we had a magical day Saturday and caught like everyone in their houses and had one of those epic perfect days <3 <3 which saved our week!!!!!

This week I learnt heaps about how Heavenly Father really has a purpose for everything!! Like we now have two new solid investigators that we found through other investigators that weren’t really progressing.

The first is Angelica, we taught her brother Fabio in the street when we were “finding” and we thought he was golden!! That is, we taught him three lessons in one since he was so excited and asked about so many things, but then….he was NEVER home. Like, never, ever, ever, treverrrrrrrr

Sad. But through this we met Angelica, his sister, who would also answer the door.  She was always heaps nice but we didn’t ever really think about it much since we were always so focused on teaching Fabio. But then one night while planning we randomly (zero percent random, that spirit guiding us, hehe) planned to visit her and not her brother. We taught her the next day and she is progressing so fast and went to church yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bigger picture, we have to think with holy eyes, like God's eyes and not only what makes sense to us.

The next is a FAMILY we are teaching, <3333333333 love 

We found Andrea through one of our RICH investigators Aline who we found knocking doors.  We think that Aline really won't progress, but she just had a baby and is always home so she loves when we visit. We visited her “randomly” this one afternoon in the first time in like two weeks. When we got to her house she had heaps of visitors but since she likes us, she told us to come in. Anyways, hahah 'winner, winner, chicken dinner', we shared a message that was heaps light, cute and fluffy about God that we KNEW that everyone would love, then we got everyone's address! We didn’t stay long or even think much about it. Then one night we “randomly were knocking  in this street and remembered that we have people who live on this street. Andrea. We knocked on her door and her husband answered, she wasn’t home but he told us that she told him about us!!!! Yayaya, and that he used to learn English at the chapel with the other Elders last year. How cool, he told us to come back that weekend. And we did….! We had such a good lesson, like I could tell that they could understand my portuguese perfectly, like 100%, a gift of tongues moment, the lounge room was filled with the spirit and tears were shed. Saturday was a day of miracles.

This family still has a long way to come, but they are open to learn and when you have a open heart and a questioning mind you know what happens

MIRICLESSSSSSSSSSS (and baptisms, heheehe)

SO, I had the most dramatic thing happen yesterday… we get to church and the two wards were randomly joined together for sacrament meeting and the Stake President and the Bishop from another ward and chapel was there and we knew that something was about to go down.

Remember how I told you how my ward was pretty small…and we didn’t even have a Bishop at the moment?  Well yesterday they released our Bishop who is in America and then…

RELEASED EVERYONE ELSE. Oh, my goodness! Ward Ribeirâo Pires doesn't exist anymore!!! They took 3 wards and made 2. 

So my day got just a little bit more complicated…. 

The saddest part is the chunk of our area that 99% percent of our investigators live in is now a part of the Elders ward……………………… I could cry thinking about giving them our baptisms. So the whole meeting my mind was racing 100000 KM per hour thinking what we are going to do… like, do we stay here with the other sisters or go join the Elders with all our investigators which is a tad far????   Stress city..

But then I called President Broadbent after church, hahahah “Sister calm down, calm down!” 

hahahhhhhhh! okay 'soz' Pres.

So right now we are just going to work in our area as normal and if we have investigators that need to go to the other chapel now, we go as well and if they need to go in the other chapel we go to that ward. SO pretty much we don’t belong to a ward right now but it's kinda cool/freaky as well..

But transfers are next week and I told President yesterday how he might need to open another area in the long run to help the other Elders, so now I'm nervous but he knows how much I want to stay here and with sister Curtis :-)

SPEAKING OF WHICH, I love sister Curtis…. So since spending that afternoon with TB and speaking English for days. she's in love with the Australian accent! wooooo!

And this whole week, I've been trying to remember aussie phases to teach her but now the word 'Bogan' is in our everyday vocab….it's all Portuguese with us except when we say aussie phrases hahahahahah
"Ele é um Bogan” 

She tried all of my Australian foods and she's is the first American in the history of mankind that likes VEGEMITE <3 <3 <3 yayyayyayayay! She wasn’t sure about Milo but she loves vegemite!

“the fact that I like vegemite makes me worthy to marry an Australian” ahhahh, love her.

So she's been smashing the vegemite and I've been SMASHING the peanut butter and jam combo, how Americana of me :P

Have a GREAT WEEK everyone, AND EAT A CHEESEBURGER on my birthday in remembrance of me! haha!

Sister Bennallack 

23 February 2016

Minha nossaaaa I just had the time of my life reading all your love you sent me for my birthday hehehe, thank you so much <3 <3

Wooooooooo I have 21!!! 

Honestly, my day was GREAT, Sister Curtis made me brekkie and then at night when we returned home, I walked in to Sister Moura making me pancakes (Brazilian style, not sweet, but with cheese and beef and happiness) anyways she calls me into the kitchen and  SMASHHHHHHHH, Sister Das Graças smashes an egg on my head and then Sister Moura throws flour at me, lol pretty much was making a cake on my head…. 

Egg..and flour! 

But this means I'm officially a Brazilian since (they told me) that happens to everyone on their birthday here. But it was the surprise of my life but also the best, like I love these girls I live with so much <3

Then I showered and washed my hair 2.5 times, when I get out of the shower one of the Irmãs in the ward called me to come down stairs, when I answered the door she had a Cake and Fanta for me, awwwwww how cute!!! Felt so loved.

But during the day I did get mad homesick, like not really homesick but just thought about home for the first time in ages. But all goodz mate. Haha

No seriously I’m so happy here and I was so grateful that I got to spend my 21^st birthday doing something completely selfless. It is seriously so different to what I would have done for my 21^st at home, probs would have had some party or ran away to Bali with Ella, but instead I got to preach this great message and serve my God on my birthday. That I’ll always remember.
(Plus I’m in Brazil, so my life rules, hahaha)

My District celebrating my birthday after the Temple.

This week was the best with the highlight being ANGELICA!

I think I talked about her last week how we meet her because we were trying to teach her brother? She is 24 and SO prepared. We have been teaching her in another irmãs house that lives on the same street. We had such spiritual lessons with her. At times I think I might like pass out with happiness.

We had a lesson marked with her to teach the restoration and she nearly cancelled on us since she had hectic pains in her arms, but we still went to her house and when she was talking with us she agreed to come anyway. We had such a good lesson, and afterwards we asked how she felt and she told us she felt light and good. And then she us told with complete surprise how she didn’t have pains in her arm anymore!!! What a blessing.

We gave her chapters to read in the Book of Mormon and the next lesson we had with her she had already read, and when she told us she was SO HAPPY and excited. 

We invited her to be baptised but she's still a bit reserved since she has already been baptised in a different church but we prayed hard and shared a story in the Bible when the apostle Paul returns to his people and tells them to be baptised again and not only in the water but to receive the Holy Ghost. It was so perfect and the spirit was so on point. She agreed to pray about it and then went to Church with us yesterday.

SO this week since the ward changes we had to go to a different chapel, which meant she needed to take two buses (so much more complicated) But she was happy to, how much do I learn every day from my investigators, like she didn’t complain or doubt, she was there in sacrament meeting when it changed and she trusts that God wants her to go to the other chapel. AND SHE'S NOT EVEN A MEMBER!!! Ahhhhhhh that obedience. Just love her!!!
We have a date for her to be baptised this Sunday, I know she’s ready and I know that with faith and prayer, miracles happen. <3

Okay, it's soooooooo hot at the internet café place, hahaha, I'm boiling my head off!

Até next week 

Sister Bennallack

Our District before transfers..

PS. It was 'transfers' last night, but no news really because Sister Curtis and I ARE STAYING HERe TOGETHER !!! SO HAPPY!!