Trials and Tribualtions - May 27, 2008

So this has been a week full of trials and tribulations in one form or another. First of all I got a suprise email from my mom last week saying that $800 has been withdrawn from my bank account, and I knew that it was´t me. In the position I´m in as a missionary and being in Brazil, there´s not much I could do but worry. Sister França suggested we call our Mission President, but his "advise" didn´t really help.

He suggested I had been the victim of a credit card scam, and most likely someone had recorded me withdrawing money inside a bank here and now had my pin number and credit card number. He suggested I cut my card and send all my receipts to my parents so they could open an investigation with the bank. That day I don´t think I could possibly conseguir the spirit to be with me to teach, I was so caught up in thoughts of what I had done wrong, and who was watching me. Let me reveal here and now that it was actually not a credit card scam, but a withdrawel of money to pay for my mission- how ironic is that?

Anyways, so that night I basically cried my eyes out. I was already having a hard time accepting what my mission president has told me earlier about my struggles with the language. He suggested there exists something inside of me that I must "give up" in order to fully take on this language, what that thing is, he suggested, only I and Heavenly Father know. And if I try to give up that thing, and stay obedient at all times, I will be blessed. My thoughts with this advise, and with the credit card continued to focus on "Why Me?" I kept thinking, I am a good person, I am a missionary, I have already decided to give up a year and a half of my life to serve the Lord, and then someone steals $800 dollars from me? Sister França gave me the most forwarded talk I think I´ve ever gotten. It was not sympathetic, it was not "I´m so sorry", it was: "You cannot look at everythink bad or difficult in your life and think "Por Quê?" (Why). Instead you must look at every situation and think "Para Que?" (For What). For What will this struggle, this trial benefit me. What will I learn from it? Will I moan and complain and continue to question the Lord, or will I press forward and use this experience for good?" I have already been blessed to find out that I was not a victim of credit card scams, and each day that I don´t look at my struggles with the language is a blessing. Press Forward Saints!

This week has also been particularly troubling/trialing with our investigators. We found Claudia in front of the Church last Sunday. She is a drug addict to crack, just had a baby 2 weeks ago, but he is in the care of the State because of her drug abuse, and she is only 19 years old. She knows that she needs help in her life and she is searching for God through religion. She lives with a man of about 65 years old (don´t ask me the situation between them, because we honestly don´t know). We had the most wonderful week with her, teaching her the first lesson, the spirit was so strong and so powerful. Sister França came up with the idea to have a "Day of Beauty" for her so we went over one more and did her nails, skin and hair. She loved it! The next day was Saturday and was the first Day that I began an English class at the Chapel (we had three members in attendance, hopefully it will grow quickly). Claudia came to the class and afterwards we made her lunch at her apartment. When Nelson came home they got in a huge argument in front of us about money (she's on a home-rehab drug to get of crack) but was asking more money (bad news bears). Sister Françca gave her a stern talking to, and all I could say was "remember that everything you do right now is an indication to yourself and to the social worker who has your baby of what you want in life- drugs, or your son". The next day we went to pick her up for Church- Nelson said she had left the night before and hadn´t returned- we called again last night, and she still hasn´t come back. All we can do is pray for her.

Otaviano also had Saturday marked for his Baptism. He had his interview and everything and was ready to go. Saturday we call him to figure out the details and he drops a bomb "My wife says I´m not ready, and I want to take my grandson to the beach today". What? He is in someways strange beyond what Sister França and I can comprehend. We are still working with him. Our prayers are for him, and our fingers are crossed.

There is much to write about, but not much time!
With much love,
Sister Tittelfitz

P.S. Sister França and Sister Tittelfitz are in much need of a package. Sister França has fallen in love with my lotion "Sensual Amber" from Bath and Body works, and we need another bottle. Also the Soundtrack music to "Pride and Prejudice" (2005 ed) (please a copy, not the original CD) would be very nice, as it is approved by the Mission President. Candy is always accepted. Letters to missionaries = Blessings, bear that in mind!

Cinco dias em casa ! (Five days in a house!)

So our first transfers were today. Sister França and I are continuing in our area. Both of us had the feeling after our interviews with the mission president last week that we would be continuing on. What this means is that we are not moving areas, that we will be companions in the same area for at least another 6 weeks.

Today we did a split and Sister França went with Sister Todd´s companion to Sao Paulo for her transfers (i.e. Sister Todd got a new companion). We went to the market and while we were there ran into some members from the United States. They asked for our phone numbers at home, so Mom and Dad you will probably get a call from some strangers sometime soon saying that they say me in the city Santos.

This past week we got almost no work done and stayed at home for nearly five days straight. Why you ask? I´ll tell you why. Sister França had not been feeling very well for a number of days straight. We had to travel to Sao Paulo one day for a conference for all new missionaries (me) and the next day travel for our interviews with the President. Traveling is very waring on missionaries, and so we were pretty beat up. She had not been feeling well and had been running a low temperature for a few days. One day we rested at home because of her fever, and at night we went to the 1st Counselor´s house to return the keys that we had borrowed to the chapel to have our District Meeting earlier that morning. We stayed there for awhile and were invited to eat dinner. On the way home we passed in front of the public hospital. Sister França sat down and said 'Sister, you need to call the Elders'. 'oh great' I thought, she really is sick, because she wants to go to the hospital. The Elders told me to call Sister Teixeira, but she was in Curitiba with Elder Bednar for the Temple Dedication that will be there in a few weeks. Her phone was turned off. So I try to call the Elders back to check if Sister França can use the hospital we're in front of, and what her Health Insurance policy is (Brazilians and American missionaries have different policies here, and I don´t even know what my policy is with the church!). Right then our phone card ran out. So we decided to walk back to the members house. When we got to the door, I asked to use the phone and the member said her's didn't work, but her sisters', who lives upstairs (in an apt complex) did. I turned to go upstairs, and the member yelled 'Sister!' I turned around to see Sister França completely collapsed on the floor. So we get her body situated on the floor and I run upstairs to call the Elders (I knew she would be okay, because apparently this has happened 3 times before in her mission). No luck, the Elders phone was busy. So I get back downstairs, and it's complete mayham! Sister França has come too, but can't really talk, and the two member families are all crammed into the living room surrounding her and speaking to me in really fast Portuguese and asking me all these questions. I had no idea what anyone was saying! But I handed over the phone numbers, and the members called the Elders, got Sister Franças insurance policy and found a hospital that would accept her policy. Two hours later, when she could walk and after we had found her I.D. hidden in her belongings in the house (she couldn't remember where it was) we walked to the hospital (yes, walked, because no one owns a car). On the way there she collapsed again into my arms. I wanted to pick her up and carry her but the three member men that were with us were like 'NO' (I think they thought I couldn't carry her- pssh!). And men are not allowed to touch us/carry us, so yeah, I stood there with her limp body on mine for like five minutes until she came too again. We were in the hospital for about 2 hours while they gave her a drip bag of fluids. They wanted to keep her overnight and give her another bag, but she refused, asked for a prescription and we finally made it home around 1:30 a.m.
Apparently she had a virus, and was so weak, she passed out. We stayed at home for the next three days, and we had so many kind members bring us food. It was ridiculous, because I don't think I've ever eaten so much food in my life. When you are stuck in a one-room apartment for 16 waking hours with nothing to do but read scriptures, watch your companion sleep, and eat food- missionary work starts to look really good, i.e. I was so stoked yesterday when she was well enough that we could leave the house to make appointments!

I want to bear my testimony of this situation briefly. Not even the day before it happened I had my interview with the mission president, and he briefly talked to me about what to do in case Sister França passes out. Talvez he was inspired to do this? And I am so happy that I felt the urge to go back to the members house to make the phone call, and not buy another phone card, and walk all the way home. If we had made this decision, it is very likely Sister França would have collapsed in the street, and with my limited Portuguese, we could have ended up in a messy situation! I am so thankful for the members here and how caring and loving they have been with us. Sister França cannot be forgotten in our ward now!! Hahaha!

I think that is all for this week! Love your missionaries in your area, and always be ready to serve, because 'When you are in the service of your fellow being, you are only in the service of your God' (I forgot how this goes in English- see Mosiah 2:17).

Love,
Sister Tittelfitz

got to talk to my momma!!!

Ola,

So I got to talk to my family for Mother's Day. Was wonderful to hear their voices and know that they're all doing great. And Grandpa's got a table reserved at the new Applebee's in town for the next 15 months until I get home!

The work is going along. We were so wonderfully blessed yesterday when some members in the ward decided to extend a helping hand. They bought a box full of necessary foods for the family we are teaching with 10 children, and drove us out there to deliver it! It was so kind of them, and I can't help but feel so blessed for the members that are so interested in our work!

We are still teaching Otaviano, and we are pushing his baptismal interview back, as he's had some complications with keeping the word of wisdom. We have some wonderful new investigators that we are working with, but they have some big changes to make in order to be ready for baptism (i.e. stop stealing electricity and water from the city!) For most of my life I never really thoguht about the gospel from an outsiders perspective. Being raised in the church it´s been my "culture". But now having investigators that we are "responsible" for, I´m always thinking about how we can better teach the gospel in order that they understand. Also, never before have I been so aware of everything going on in a ward.

My companion gets so nervous every Sunday with what the teachers say and how members treat their callings and resposibilities! Its come to my attention how crucial the members are for the success of an investigator/recent convert. Without the appropriate and consistent support and teaching from the members, an invesitgator/recent convert will become lost. The church is the doctrines of Jesus Christ, but wihtout members following the commandments and fulfilling their callings with real intent, the church is simply a building with people in it (D&C 88:77-78).

I loved the March Ensign- so full of powerful talks and testimonies of Christ. There is a great talk from our new Apostle, L. Todd Christopherson that talks about how we can be witnesses of Christ. I love the scripture 3 Nephi 18:24. Our light is Christ, and we too can share in HIs light by keeping His commandments and following his example by striving to have his attributes. WE are witnesses of Christ each and everyday when we do the things he would have us do! I forgot to bring wonderful scriptures and excerpts from "Jesus the Christ" to share, so instead I will tell a story that a young man in our ward shared during Fast and Testimony meeting last week.
There was a farmer who had a horse, and he would feed the horse occassionaly and take care of it. One day he went out to the barn and the horse was dead. So he went to town to the auction to find a new horse. At the auction he found an exceptional horse, but it was already sold. The farmer asked the owner if he could buy the horse for double what he sold it for. The owner agreed, but said "This is a very special horse". To make the horse walk you must shout "Stop" and to make the horse run to must shout "Hallelujah!" and to make the horse stop you must shout "Ainda Bem !" (Fortunately)So the farmer bought the horse and started to leave the auction when some assaultants came up to the man and started to beat on him. He got onto the horse and yelled at the men "Stop" and the horse started to walk. He remembered that the horse was special just then and so shouted "Ainda Bem" and the horse started to run. The assaultants chased after the man, and as he approached a cliff he yelled "Ainda Bem". The horse stopped just short of nearly falling off the cliff. The man was so suprised at his miraculous escape he shouted "Hallelujah" and the horse jumped off the cliff to both of their deaths.
The moral of the story is that your work is never down in the gospel. Sometimes we get close to the edge, the edge of temptation, the edge of sin, and then we think we're just fine and comfortable enough to shout our praises for having not fallen. But what we didnt realize is that we're already too close, and we fall into temptation. I think that's how the story goes, at least that's how I translated what he said. Pretty clever for a 12 year old kid though, I thought!

Love you all, have a great week!
Sister Tittelfitz

May 6, 2008

First of all, we had Zone Conference, which is a once in a six week conference in the Zone where all missionaries gather and The President and his wife talk about how to strengthen the mission, what we can do and how we can improve ourselves. It was a very pleasant suprise because Sister Todd is in my Zone! We got to chat it up about our last three weeks in the field. She is doing great! Sister Franca and I also wore our "twin" outfits (we bought the same shirt and skirt the previous p-day). It was so wonderful to be able to speak some English with the other Americans, and to finally meet my Mission President. However, he has been called to Serve in the Quorom of the 70 and in six more weeks we will have a new mission President, President Richardson. He has 12 children!!! But only 4 will be moving to Brazil with him and his wife. Sister Franca is devastated because she absolutely loves Sister Texeira, and will miss them, as evidenced by her sobbing during Conference when they spoke about leaving.

So this week threw us some unexpected challenges. We has visited Alzenir for two nights in a row. We were going to talk about the Word of Wisdom both times, but she slammed us with personal stories for an hour both times. We could barely get a word in, and when we did it was "lets say a prayer", "this is a good scripture" "goodbye". The third night we went back determined to talk about the Word of Wisdom, and the first thing she says is "Sisters, I don´t want to be a liar, so I have to be honest in saying I don't need your church. I read the Book of Mormon says the same things as the Bible, and so I'm going to keep going to my Church" I was shocked. I bore my testimony right away that the Book of Mormon does not say the same things as the Bible, because where is the Bible does it talk about Christ visiting the Americas, about all the prophets that the Book of Mormon contains, and especially the promise contained in Mormon 10:3-5. Yes, we believe in the Bible, but no, the Book of Mormon is not a copy of the Bible. She apologized and said "oh, okay, I will read it" a little passively. I was so crushed, mostly because she is so confused! She kept saying "Don´t be sad, Don´t be sad" and said we were always welcome in her home, but we are sad. Sister Franca said that she probably had been speaking with a friend about us and the friend said some things that scared her away from wanting to hear more about the Gospel. Her doors are always open though, so we will one day return!!

Otaviano is progressing and will have his baptismal interview this Friday. He seems a little nervous and was suprised that he could be baptized this soon, he says he wants to be baptized another week, but we said he is ready. He still has trouble with the reading, but I found out from Sister Franca that he is a Real Estate Agent (something I didn´t pick up in a conversation) so we know that he CAN read, but we think that he chooses not to because he doesn´t like to.

We also have an amazing couple that just showed up to Sacrament Meeting Last week, and this Sunday the Mom returned again. They are out of our area, so we referenced them to the Elders, but the Elders didn´t follow up, so we left our area yesterday to go and teach them. Their son got a pass-along card from the Elders on the street and showed his parents, so they decided to find the church and attend. They have 10 children, 8 which live with them between the ages of 5 and 18. We are going to ask for special permission to keep teaching them. They are an amazing family, very special and ready for the Gospel! I wanted to add a special part from "Jesus The Christ" that talks about miracles (pp. 147-149)"Every miracle is a sign of God's power; and signs in this sense have been demanded of prophets who professed to speak by divine authority, though such signs have not been given in all cases. . . .Miracles cannot be in contravention of natural law, but are wrought through the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized. Gravitation is everywhere operative, but the local and special application of other agencies may appear to nullify it- as by muscular effort or mechanical impulse a stone is lifted from the ground, poised aloft, or sent hurtling through space. At every stage of the process, however, gravity is in full play, though its effect is modified by that of other and locally superior energy. The human sense of the miraculous wanes as acomprehension of the operative process increases. . .future possibilities, the development of the gasoline motor, aerial navigation. . .these are no longer miracles in man's estimation, because they are all in some degree understood, are controlled by human agency, and moreover, are continuous in their operation and not phenomenal. We arbitrarily classify as miracles only such phenomena as are unusual, special, transitory, and wrought by an agency beyond the power of man's control. In a broader sense, all nature is miracle. . .In the contemplation of the miracles wrought by Christ, we must of necessity recognize the operation of a power transcending our present human understanding. In this field, science has not yet advanced far enough to analyze and explain. To deny the actuality of miracles on the groun that, because we cannot comprehend the means, the reported results are fictitious, is to arrogate to the human mind the attribute of omniscience, by implying that what man cannot comprehend cannot be, and that therefore he is able to comprehend all that is. The miracles of record in thhe Gospels are as fully supported by evidence as are many of the historical events which call forth netiher Protest nor demand for further proof. To the believer in the divinity of Christ, the miracles are sufficiently attested; to the unbeliever they appear but as myths and fables. To comprehend the works of Christ, one must know Him as the Son of God; to the man who has not yet learned to know, to the honest soul who would inquire after the Lord, the invitation is read; let him "Come and see".
Come and See, Everyone, the Gospel of Jesus Christ Restored to the Earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. All are Welcome!

Com Certeza, Amor, Paz, Alegria and every other word in Portuguese that is Good!
Sister Tittelfitz