Super Emotional Goodbyes

This past week was a super emotional week... Iva and João Vitor were baptized on 

Saturday, João told this week that he felt super strongly that he wants to go on a mission!!!!! The best news everrrr... their baptism was super spiritual <3

And Sunday was my last day in Cristalina, such a hard day with lots of tears and goodbyes... definitely my hardest area to leave, I practically had to drag myself away from Paula and get on that bus. She is definitely somebody that has changed my life forever, I'll never forget her.

And transfer today... I'm going back to Tocantins!! Gurupi, a different area. To get there I'll take a 16-hour bus ride to Palmas, and then another 4-hour bus ride to Gurupi. Looking at the weather forecast this week... a lovely 104 degrees F :) :) :) :) :) #sunscreen #andmoresunscreen

It's a branch that's trying to become a ward, I'm excited to start working there and know that we'll see lots of miracles!! My companion is Sister Margenta, I'll see her tomorrow when we get there.

I know that the next couples weeks I'll be super homesick for Cristalina and the people there that I love so much, I didn't ever want to leave them...but the Lord has another plan for me!!! 

I love you all so much, se cuidem!!

Muito amor,

Sister <Braz>Hill 

The POWER of Visiting Teaching!!!

This week has been a super powerful testimony-builder to me <3

Last Sunday I gave a training to 6 wonderful sisters of our little group who have been chosen to start the real visiting teaching here. With about 20 sisters, these 6 have been designated to visit all of them.

I gave the training and was really praying that it would help them to really feel the importance of doing their visits and taking care of our tiny Relief Society here...

and they're doing them independently, I am sooooo proud of them and truly feel of the joy that I know Heavenly Father feels to know that they have taken the calling of Visiting Teacher so seriously <3

The other day I went with Aline and Adriana to visit 2 different sisters who live a far distance away, and nobody having a car we went on foot... as we were sliding down little dirt hills and crossing along the outside of a tiny lake and me seeing these amazing young sisters doing this because they KNOW that the Lord expects this of them, it was such a humbling experience for me to see this in them. I know that they are true pioneers here in Cristalina.

Needless to say.. I have a testimony of visiting teaching!! Do we make the sacrifices necessary that the Lord expects of us?

After I have seen the sacrifices that these young sisters are willing to make here... using their only day off of work to go and visit a sister who lives far away on a farm, leaving their small daughter at the house of a friend to go do visits...

no sacrifice is too great for the Lord.

I'm still leading the hymns in sacrament meeting, and I've fiiiiinally gotten the hang of the CD player. Yes, I've finally learned that you have to turn the volume allllll the way up or you won't hear it over the congregation singing haha. And yes, there is a super awkward pause in between every verse. But it is such a great experience 

This is a super short email and not a lot of details about the week...but some highlights, Iva, João Vitor and her nephew Italo will be baptized this Saturday, I am super super excited because they were truly prepared by the Lord, they have been to Church every Sunday for 3 weeks now, and they come by themselves...we don't have to go pick them up.

The people who have truly been prepared by the Lord...will make any sacrifice to keep His commandments and follow His plan!!

Gotta run, we're having a surprise party for a sister in the ward (and she's our next-door neighbor too)...

buuuuut I'm pretty sure this is the last email I'll be sending from Cristalina  #transfernextMonday

But I'll be praying a lot this week and maybe the Lord will let me stay here one more change... lots and lots of prayers. :)

Love you all, have a fantastic week 

Sister Hill

Charity: Service project with the YW... success!!

This week was just preparing preparing preparinggg for the service project on Saturday with the young women of the group... we collected lots and lots of toys and games for some children at a nearby orphanage.

The children in this orphanage aren't actually orphans, right... their parents have tons of problems with drugs and alcohol and stuff like that, so the children are taken from their problem homes and taken to this orphanage that takes really good care of them.

Saturday morning we were all running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to finish all of the bajillion snacks we were going to take there haha.

And enfim... it was a success!! After lots and loooots of work on our part, and the other 90% was from the Lord...it worked out and everybody left their happy and smiling. :) Our small YW organization of 4 young women is incredible. I admire them a lot.

Iva and João Vitor are really progressing... we visited João Vitor (18 years old) for the first time this week with Paula, he is truly an elect. He has truly been prepared to receive the restored gospel in this moment. He comprehends everything super well, too. Iva is supposed to be baptized this Saturday the 17th, João Vitor we're helping him to prepare for the 24th since he hasn't been home at all when we visited Iva... pray lots for them that they can continue going to church and reading the Book of Mormon and praying and receiving answers 

Lenaise is the sister of some members of the ward, she's here until December... and she said that she would never be part of the Church and she went to Church on Sunday (no, it wasn't easy for her to get there...), and she has a baptismal date for the 24th too... she's super super good, I'm excited for her and I love her a ton.

This week I finished the Book of Mormon. Mormon and Moroni are so inspirational to me, it is amazing that they were so faithful to the Lord in such a hard, hard time of the world... Moroni chapter 8 is so inspired to me, the Lord truly knew that this time would be one in which the world would pervert so many ways of Jesus Christ, especially baptism. I am so grateful for the restored gospel!!

The hugest thing I learned this week was charity.

When we always say that charity is the pure love of Christ, that has always been in my head ever since I was little... but just this past week that it really, truly dawned on me what charity is.

Charity is the love that my Savior had for me when He bled from every pore for me.

Charity is the love that He felt as He hung on the cross and died so that I could live with God again.

This is charity.

It is the love that the Savior and Redeemer of the world had for each one of us to give His life so we could be saved. So we could repent and come unto Him. So we could change.

This is the same charity that we have to have in our own lives.

We show charity for others as we help them come closer to the Savior.

We have charity as we put other people before ourselves.

I'm so grateful for every tender mercy I have here...every new thing that I learn, the little changes that the Lord makes with my heart.

Muitos beijos, amo todos vocês...espero que todo mundo tenha uma boa semana, não esqueçam-se de ter caridade! 

Sister (Braz)Hill 

#ilovegeneralconference

I absolutely love general conference...such a special spirit it always brings. Especially with this special session where 3 apostles of the Lord were called. I don't know almost anything about Elder Rasband, Elder Stevenson or Elder Renlund... but I know that they have been called of God! I am so grateful for the Church's organization. The organization of the Church of Jesus Christ is something that I have truly gained a testimony of here in the mission...the fact that Jesus Christ established His Church 2,000 years ago when He was on the earth, and that now in 2015, the Church is the SAME. Nothing changes. Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Iva (wife of Donizett) went to conference with her son! I called her that morning to confirm that everything was OK for her going...and she said that Donizett had gone to the farm. But she said that it was 'super close' #pertinho to her house...about 20 minutes walking uphill. And she came and it was amazing!! And we finally got to meet her son João Vitor, and he loved it too. Such a special meeting.

Maxwell went too. It was super good to see him there. Susiclei is still in Bahia (her home state) and will be there a couple more weeks...and he loved the conference a lot, he's still struggling a bit with the Word of Wisdom because he's a truck driver and they have a different lifestyle, but he's making an effort to be good and I'm proud of him.

This week in my Book of Mormon reading I read about Jesus Christ coming to the Americas... what a blessed passage of scripture. I love it. It is such a strong witness to me that the Book of Mormon really is the word of God, wth how perfectly Christ quotes Isaiah and Malachai (am I spelling that right?...). 

But I think one of my favorite parts of this amazing story (TRUE story!!) is when the people are confused about what to call the church.

And Christ teaches them:

 5 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? Forby this name shall ye be called at the last day;

 6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

 7 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake.

 8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name?For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

How blessed I feel to know that Christ's Church is here on the earth today. I know that it is His because it carries His name. Because the name that I carry on my heart every day is His name.

I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly God's kingdom here on the earth today. There is not a doubt in my mind about this. I know that the things I have learned since I was little are true. I know of these things because every time I remember I pray and ask God to confirm these things in my heart... and He always does. 

I am grateful every day to be a part of this work. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that God loves His children. I know that the work and glory of Heavenly Father is truly to help us on the path that will take us to live with Him again.

I love my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Muito amor e beijos pra todos 

Sister [Braz]Hill