June 8, 2009

Folks, sorry I wasn´t able to write last week. We went out with the other Sisters to a really creative and different museum called "Sabina" that is focused on the "Meio Ambiente" or what I think in English is taking care of the earth. There were some really cool physics exhibits, a simulation of what a tornado would be like (it ruined all of the blow drying and flat ironing that the sisters had done that day) and a bunch of stuff about the big bang theory and we got to play with baby sting-rays!! It is a closed museum that only lets organized tours of schools come in, but we used our sisterly charm and the fact that three of us are Americans, and the other three are from far away states of Brasil, the fact that we´re missionaries and POOF, we entered with a tour guide for FREE. Yes, take that Elders !


Gildete and Pedro were married on May 30th in the church!! We got so caught up helping in the kitchen to prepare the food that Gildete thought we hadn´t come at all. They were so happy and thanked us so much for all of our help!! Gildete was lovely (see photo)!! We are now teaching her and she´s loving our visits but is having a hard time accepting that her baptism in her other church wasn´t "valid". She likes the church but has been in her church for so many years that a few hard transitions will be necessary for her to fully convert.



We unfortunately "lost" our investigators Sonia and João. We had some incredible lessons with them and really saw some break-throughs with Sonia. However, her lack of humility in sincerely praying and asking for a response from the LORD and her constant search for everything wrong with the church and persistent searches on the internet finding everything incorrect and completely apostate about the church lead her away from wanting to learn more. She invited us to come back to her house so that she could "teach US the TRUTH". I will keep praying for her, and know that the seed was planted. It just lacks water and a LOT of sunshine.

However, we found another Sonia about two weeks ago and her crazy and hyper-active three grandchildren. They went to church with us last week and are all looking forward to a baptismal goal of June 21st. However, Sonia has to stop smoking first. Her grandchildren- Wesley, Hellen and Izabelle (11, 9, 7) pick up on everything so fast and even the members thought that the kids were members visiting from another ward when they went to Primary because they were already talking about Joseph Smith and knew the books from the Book of Mormon. We are also teaching their mother, Adriane, but she unfortunately works every Sunday in a supermarket. We are going to see what we can do to help her find another job so that she can get to know the church as well, but it may take another few weeks.

We are also teaching "Senhor José" aka "Barba" (Beard). He is a crazy, totally hippy fun-loving man that owns a ice cream shop close to our house. Sister Brito made a contact with him nearly 3 months ago and Sister Zanella and I started to teach him. He was making little progress as he understands EVERYTHING but wants to take baby-steps in everything that we teach him, aka instead of ready the chapter that we give him he was ready verse by verse. He knows a bunch of members and went to the chapel one Wednesday night to talk with the Bishop´s counselor about some questions he had that he didn´t want to ask us (he told us later he has doubts about whether he can sell beer in his ice-cream shop if he were to become a member and how he can pay tithing if the store is part his and part his wife´s). His wife is super not-receptive, but we were able to teach her the first lesson. She told us she doesn´t want to read anything we left for her because she doesn´t want to confuse anything with the Bible. José tells us every day to pray for her because he want´s her to understand the same things he is learning. He has questions about everything and was afraid to go to church because he doesn´t want to have to use a suit and tie. On Sunday he arrived at 9:10 entered into the chapel and saw the Elders Quorom, everyone with tie and suit. He ran back to his car without anyone seeing him and stayed there for the next 50 minutes. He said he battled it out with himself for that time deciding if he should enter or not. When he saw a young woman enter into the chapel with a mini-skirt he decided that he could enter as well. The Bishop caught him in the hall and guided him to the "Gospel Principles" class where we found him. He loved the class, but couldn´t stay for Sacrament Meeting as he promissed his wife he wouldn´t be gone long because they fought that morning about him going to church. He took the Gospel Principles Manuel home, and yesterday when we went to teach he had already read the first 11 chapters and said that he´s loving how everything makes sense, using the Bible, Book of Mormon. He already wants Doctrine and Convenants and Pearl of Great Price so that he can look up all the other references as well. We have found an elect folks. Please pray for him, because it´s going to require a lot of bravery for him to take upon himself the decision to be baptized, to follow the strong answers he is receiving from the Holy Ghost!!

I love this work, I love the people we are teaching and the people we are finding!! I love being a missionary!! I just hope that next 9 weeks of my mission pass by so SLOWELY so that I can absorb every moment of this wonderful work!!

Have a great week everyone!!
Sister Tittelfitz

From May 26 - Patriarchal Blessings

I learned a lot this week. At the beginning of last week I was very
nervous because I became Senior again and not "co-senior" and felt the
responsibility fall on my shoulders again. My companion is a sweet,
little (5´0" tall) sister that hardly talks. It was such a drastic
change in companionship, but I am already loving her, and she´s
starting to talk more. She is from Rondonia and is in the mission for 6
months. We´re dividing the load more evenly now and we´re seeing the
work continue in this area.
We had the most crazy day and amazing experience on Sunday. Sunday
morning was a rough go. We
went to pick up some investigators that either slept in and didn´t want
to answer the door or left early and didn´t advise us because nobody
answered the door. At the chapel we waited for a few investigators who
said they would come by car, but never made it, and after a phone call
to their home we discovered nobody was at home too. Gildete came, the
woman who will be marrying Irmão Pedro on Saturday in the Church. She
has such a sweet heart and confessed to Sister Zanella and I that if
Pedro had invited her to the church 5 years ago she would probably be a
member today, but since he never said anything she went to find another
religion and was baptized in another church. However, we have high
hopes for her, and know that it is never to late to discover the Gospel
of Jesus Christ restored on the earth.

Right after
church there was a suprise baptism- Irmã Viviam´s children, who Sister
Brito and I had taught a few lessons to help them prepare. Viviam had
told me their baptism would be on the 24th, but I seemed to have
forgotten which Sunday was which. Viviam was totally unprepared and she
had not invited anyone to the baptism, neither asked people to give a
talk, but she had held onto a Baptismal Reunion Outline that I wrote
out for her and with the help of the Bishopric everything came together
at the last minute. Our lunch appointment fell through because the
Irmã´s blood pressure sky-rocketed and her husband rushed her to the
hospital. The Bishop invited us to have lunch with him at the last
minute and we literally ate a plate full of food in 5 minutes and left
running to Sonia and João´s (the couple who were assaulted in the
parking lot) because we made an appointment with them and the Patriarch
was going to meet up with us as Sonia met the Patriarch Lazaro when he
was hospitalized in 2006 after a heart attack. He is the sweetest and
most spiritual little man, I think I´ll name my first son after him. I
was super nervous because of the rush at church, I had eaten really
quickly and because I was expecting Sonia to put up a fight again over
the fact that she doesn´t believe the Book of Mormon to be true or that
there is a living prophet or apostles. Because the lesson started she
said she wanted to say something that she thought would make me happy.
The day before she had gone into the other city to leave here son at a
class and while she was waiting she ran into her sister-in-law that is
a member of the Church. She invited Sonia to go to an Institute class
with her, and Sonia absolutely adored the class. She finally understood
the purpose of the Book of Mormon and started to read!! I started to
cry, and she said she knew I would cry because she had put up a "good
torture session" with Sister Zanella and I many times of questioning
our testimonies and saying that we had been brain washed. She smiled
and said that she loved me.

We taught the Plan of
Salvation again to Sonia, this time with her husband present. She
didn´t even argue with us!! João understood almost everything and was
even teaching Sonia a few things based on the scriptures from the Book
of Mormon!! The Patriarch taught them about Baptisms for the Dead and
Sonia said she didn´t know how she had read the Bible so many times and
had missed out on the details about this sacred ordenance!! Sonia still
has a lot of questions and refused a Baptismal Goal, but we will be
passing there again tonight to teach them about the Word of Wisdom and
to help them continue to progress!!

Folks, the work
is hard, but it is so worth it. I will fight until my dying day to
defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that this Church is the true
church with the restored doctrines. I know that families can be sealed
to be together for all eternity. I know miracles exist, and always come
after the trial of our faith. Keep on believing, because it is simply
when we think it is impossible and want to give up that the Lord places
a miracles in our path.

Have a wonderful week,
Sister Tittelfitz 

From May 12 - blessings!

Our first wedding in the Mission! Pedro and Gildete!

Bowling with the Elders

Greetings to all! We continue to be working hard and helping a lot of people that are confused about various religions and why there exists such controversy between the various beliefs.

To leave a short email/story with you all:
We are teaching a couple, Sonia and Joao. They have two young adult sons (20 and 26) but they aren't too interested in hearing our messages and usually tell Sonia after we leave that she should stop receiving us. Sonia and Joao frequented another church for eyars, but stopped attending after they saw many things wrong with hypociscy between teh members. Sonia likes to "bible Bash" a little bit with us, and always offers food and a hug and kiss afterwards. Saturday night we watched "Testaments" movie with them and it started to poor. Joao Offered to get his car out of the parking lot close to their house where they pay to park their car, and he would return in 5 minutes to take us home with Sonia. I was running a low fever and Sonia didn't want me to walk home in the rain. Joao was taking forever and Sonia thought myabe he had got lost. It was already 9:15 at night and we had to get home soon, so she left to the parking lot. Five minutes later Sonia called and talked with her son briefly. He told us there was an emergency, that her mother fell drastically ill and that they were talking her to the emergency room. We tried calling a few membesr to see if they could pick us up, but no one was at home. We decided there was no other option and to walk home in the rain.

The next day at church Sonia and Joao didn't show up. We suspected her mother was still ill. At the end of the meetings a member came up to me and said "There's a man and a woman, Sonia and Joao, wanting to talk to you in the parking lot." When we went out there Sonia was crying and Joao said in a very serious voice "We came to tell you taht we lied." MY heart sank, and I had a terrible feeling they were going to say something horrible. Sonia's mother had not fallen ill, and they did not take her to the hospital. They had been mugged and helt at gun point in the parking lot. Miraculously Sonia convinced the muggers to let her call and lie to her son so that we would leave their house and not try to find them in the parking lot and held at gunpoint. as well. Nothing was taken, as they hadn't nothing with them, and the muggers moved onto other cars and ended up stealing 5 cars from the lot. Sonia was crying because she said she felt so sorry that I had to walk home in the rain!! What a sweetheart, my heart melted. I asked them if they would agree to receiving a blessing of comfort, and they agreed. After her blessing Sonia turned to us and said "I don't know if I'll ever be a member of your church, but you two are two lights in my life, followers of Jesus, and I love you both!"
We have a good feeling they bother be making more progress in the gospel, and maybe they won't be baptized, but we know that the power of the Priesthood was able to bless them.

I know the Gospel is true. I'm so thankful to be a missionary and to be seeing miracles here in my mission. I'm thankful to be so blessed by the Lord and to be able to help others come unto Christ!

Have a great week everyone,
Sister Tittelfitz

In the Soccer Stadium in São Caetano with Bete!

Bowling with the Elders:

MY STRIKE !!!

From May 5

Jenelle sent a lot of information about what our family needs to know when we travel down there, that this is what she ended up with enough time to say (and no photos this time either):

"...I´m doing great! We are working so much, I might not even get time to write an email to everyone or send photos. So if you don´t get any photos today, it´s beacuse I didn´t have time to send them. I LOVE my mission, let everyone know that I´m doing GREAT. My hair is hanging in there and I´m feeling great."

REALLY short

Folks, everything is going especially well here in the area. We are up to our eyeballs in work which leaves little time to have solid communication through my emails. We are finding amazing people in this area, fasting, praying, working hard, trying to be 100% obedient in all that we do and working to be instruments in the Lord´s hands so that His will can be done in this area.

I continue to learn amazing things with my companion each and every day. We had an amazing opportunity on Sunday to see how the light of Christ has the ability to literally change the appearance of a person that is depressed, that has been completely deceived by the enemy into believing that short-lived happiness is better than personally exerting oneself to find true happiness in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After a harsh but straight forward lesson calling the investigator to repentance, we literally saw the light of Christ enter, a smile on her face, and hope and a desire to continue in her assemblance (I don´t know if this is English).

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary. I know that through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Church of Christ was restored to this earth in this latter days. I know that we have a living Prophet, and 12 Apostles, I know that THIS is the true Church of Christ. I know that the only way to find TRUE and EVERLASTING happiness is by following our Lord and Savior, excercising true faith in Him, Repenting of our sins and weaknesses, taking about ourselves His name, being Baptized with the Authority of the Priesthood, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the END!!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!
Beijos,
Sister Tittelfitz


Daniela and Felipe - 10th wedding anniversary celebration (members that I helped reactivate with Sister Brito and Felipe was now called to be our Leader of the Missionary Work in our ward)!



Cookie Night and the group of Cookie Makers!

Sister Zanella's chocolate and junk food!

New Scribe

Here is Jenelle's email from this week addressed to me. She apparently didn't have time to write a nice long email to send out to everyone else, but that's ok, I'll share mine with all of you! She has someone sending this to us who doesn't speak any English! It appears that Jenelle hand wrote a note and had her friend, Bete (Elizabete), actually type it out and send it. I didn't edit it because I think it's pretty cute the way it is!
(That is Bete in the photo above with Jenelle and her new companion).

I`m sending an email through Bete,my new scribe,because I did"nt have time today to write
and I didint want you to get womed.
We went to a historic city today called Paranapiacaba.I found a great place for us to like
and swim in natural pools and watesfalls in August when we all return.I`m send more
information next week when I have more time.
we are having a lot of sucess here in our area and are loving being companions .The
Gospel is astonishing in its ability to change lives and bring souls for Christ .
I love you,send hugs and kisses to everyone! Until next week..
Love,
Jenelle......


Jenelle and her new companion in Paranapiacaba with a new "friend".

Are our eyes open to see miracles?

This has been an incredible week. I received my new companion, Sister Zanella, that I swear was one of my good friends in the pre-existence. We have hit it off immediately and are loving working together. She came to the area and immediately recognized a lot of the weaknesses that this area has, and where I had fallen and become weak as well. She first was an example to me of how I could improve in a lot of things, and when I came forward and admitted a lot of my weaknesses she was eagerly excited to talk with me and work about how we could drastically change the area and see MIRACLES!!

We talked with the Bishop about the lack of activities in the ward and Sister Zanella originally had the idea that I would teach a cooking class about how to make Tacos. I knew the ingredients would be expensive, and instead suggested cookies. Agreed. We passed a list around in the Relief Society for the sisters to help us and everyone got really animated. We expect to see nearly 50 members tomorrow night, eager to learn how to make cookies!!

We will also be starting our English class (finally) on Saturday. There is an American in our ward that married a Brasilian that is going to help us teach, as he was helping the Elders nearly a year ago give the class and still has all of the materials that he used!

We are picking up on a few investigators who were getting lazy, and Sister Zanella called them to repentance and invited them to make a baptismal goal with Heavenly Father. Everyone excepted!! She is such an exemple to me of quiet dignity with an incredibly strong testimony. I hope to learn a lot from her in the next month!!

Easter was great. We received a suprise Easter Basket from the Sisters in our ward with an amazing amount of chocholate, and other goodies. I think dieting is out of the question for the next few weeks.

We also found an investigator on Saturday. It was a pretty funny experience. We were making a contact with her neighbor in the street, and all of a sudden this old lady standing in her door started to yell at us and ask us what church we are from. We went to talk to her and she invited us in to talk with her as she is extremely lonely. Her name is Maria do Socorro. She was baptized in the church "Avivamento Biblico" 50 years ago and is an active member. We hardly got through the first lesson as everytime we said the words "Heavenly Father" or "Christ" or "Bible" she started to chant things like "Oh Deus, o Espirito Santo" blah blah blah. Instead of trying to explain the Book of Mormon to her, we invited her to go to church with us. On Sunday we got a member to take her by car to the church. In the Relief Society I got up to conduct the hymn "Mais Perto Quero Estar" (I forgot the name in English). I sang the first line outloud to help the Sisters find the right note, but Maria do Socorro thought we already started to sing and burst out singing in the most off-key, loudest voice possible. The other Sisters looked shocked and extremely confused. Sister Zanella quiety reassured Maria that the hymn hadn´t actually started and that we would begin 'now'. During all of the prayers as well Maria would "pray" outloud. Overall it was a unique experience in the mission, but I think Maria liked the church.

Hope that it was a wonderful Easter for everybody and that everyone was able to focuse on the Atoning Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!
Sister Tittelfitz

Our Easter Basket surprise from the Sisters in our ward!