Winter has Arrived

Winter in Brazil = rain, rain, and more rain. 

But seriously guys. Every day. So much rain. But it´s all good, it´s nice to take a little break from the sun! And it also means that people or more likely to be in home for us to find them and teach them! Haha

This week was super good! Thursday was our Zone Conference and Sunday was stake conference! And guess who showed up at stake conference! None other than... Della!! Turns out that last week she had travelled to São Paulo and that´s why she hadn´t gone to church! It was definitely an answer to prayers for her to show up again :) And once again it was so sweet to see the Spirit work with her. She loves the church and has such a strong desire to learn! After the conference, I took her to meet President and Sister Bigelow and they invited her and anyone else from the Chinese Consulate to go with them to a performance of the BYU Young Ambassadors that´s going to happen here in Recife this week! She´s super excited to go and I´m excited for her as well! :) 

In our Zone Conference this week President Bigelow taught about repentance in a way that really makes it more than just a "5-step process". He said that we can think about it like we are living in the darkness and Christ is the sun. When we´re far away from Him, we can´t see anything. But the closer and closer we get, we´re going to start to see a "stain on our sleeve" or a "tear in our pants"-- we´re going to start to see our imperfections, sins, and weaknesses. There´s a scripture in the Book of Mormon in Moroni 7:48 that says, 

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." 

As we start to see Christ and how He is, we´ll have a desire to change and be "purified even as he is pure." We´ll have a desire to repent and make the necessary changes in our lives to become more Him. The more we learn about Him and the more faith we have in Him, the more we´ll be able to recognize these things in our lives. But the miracle that happens after, is exactly what it says in Ether 12:27-- "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

I know that through Christ we can make ANY change in our lives because of His ongoing and constant love, support, and hope!

Love you all! 

Sister Anderson