October 28, 2019

Nephites and Lamanites

I am liking the Spring here! The sun is hot but there is normally a good breeze and it cools down at night and in the morning. Also, my tan is coming back so that is nice.

Shout-out to my really incredible cousin, Sofia, who celebrated being cancer and fungus free after a very long, difficult 5 year journey. She is an example of strong faith, resilience, and strength in the Lord. She really exemplifies the verse ´´I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.´´

Last week Sister Costa and I said farewells as she returned home and I received my new companion, Sister Conceição! She is awesome and very funny! She is from a state close by called Meninas Giras and she talks a lot and is always very positive about life, she is great.

We worked a lot this week and one day we were able to talk to 45 people! Only about 10 people were interested in hearing more about the Book of Mormon and Sister Conceição calls these people ´´Nephites´´ while the others ´´lamanites´´. Hahhaha it is so funny because she will ask in our morning prayers that the people we meet will be Nephites, their hearts open to hearing the gospel. So we end up having days where the people are more like Lamanites and days where the people are more like Nephites. 

We were able to meet some members that haven´t been to church in some time and one of them is Yasmin, who is 15 years old and wanted to come back to church. Sunday we went by her house to walk with her to church, and after church when we were walking back with her she was super happy and was already planning to wear a skirt next Sunday. The Lord truly knows our hearts and and desires and He wants to bless us.

 A group of member missionaries in our ward went and visited a less active and his family to see if they were needing anything. The father said he felt uncomfortable coming to church because he was still not married to his girlfriend but that they are living together. He wants to get married soon so that he can worthily partake of the Sacrament and be more faithful to the Lord. I am so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is preoccupied with each one of us and wants us to sincerely thrive and grow in this life as it is a time to prepare to be worthy to live in His presence one day.

I invite each of us to think of new ways to serve those we minister to and pray to our God to know what they are needing, so that we can be better instruments in His hands this week and show that we want to follow His commandments with faith and love.

My week was really great!! my companion is super great and we laugh a lot! She has a strong accent with the ´´r´´ so I am learning how to say ´´r´´s with more force, it is cool. We made a ton of contacts and visited our couple that will get married next Saturday and be baptized the day after so they are excited! We got a new missionary leader who is excited to work and plan activities so that will be super helpful in helping our ward grow! I had to jump over a cockroach that almost tried to climb up my leg Thursday night as we were walking home, but other than that I was bug free. I am not an STL this transfer but Sister Miller told me I will be one soon...... We met a man yesterday that had visited the church one time and liked it but it had been awhile since he went. We gave him a book of Mormon and asked if we could visit him and his family and he agreed and as we were walking away, he started reading the book. it was so neat to know how much peace will come into his life because of that book. I know that it is the word of God and is an instrument in this great work!

Love you all! 

-Sister Giles


fotos: one week for the kittens! and there is a really delicious fruit here in Brasil called Jabuticaba and it looks like a giant blueberry but you only suck out the insides....it is super fun and good!

October 21, 2019

transfers!

Today is transfers and I will stay in my area! Yay! But Sister Costa is flying home tomorrow because of health problems so we are both sad, but know that the Lord is watching over her and wanted her to serve for this time.

We had a good last week together and were able to teach Rafael and his mother about the importance of baptism. His mom has been against him being baptized until he turns 18 which will be next October, but I felt inspired by the Spirit to share my experience of baptism when I was 8. After, the mom looked at us, paused and said that she accepts him being baptized but not until February which is after the holidays......Rafael was still a little disappointed but we all agreed it was better than in one year haha. It was really special to see how our experiences are meant to help and strengthen others. 

Don´t be afraid to share your experiences to others who need to know that they are not alone.

We had a family home evening last night with the family we live with and it was so great to be gathered around and hear them bear their testimonies to one another. What a blessing it is to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to connect us to one another in a sweet spirit of love and joy.

On Saturday, a woman we are teaching and she has been reading the Book of Mormon every morning to start the day in peace, and she was telling us how incredible Nephi was to be so faithful even in his hardships. 

God really does love us and wants us to be happy. I think that is what I have seen the most here on the mission, is that God has a great Plan of enduring happiness for us if we are faithful to Him in all that we do.


Look for ways to lift up others this week and keep reading the scriptures and praying as a family! Have a great week!


-Sister Giles


1) an Elder in our district is leaving to go home so he ´´died´´ haha
3) a really great couple in our ward that do so much for missionary work
4) the members we live with have a cat and it gave birth to 5 baby kittens yesterday night. They are so cute and tiny!

October 14, 2019

Growing in small ways

Olllllllá!

What I really am so grateful for is a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of His children individually and that His timing really is certain.

Because this week we saw that with this wonderful family we are teaching! The mom, Adelia, has been coming to church almost every Sunday all by herself for 3 months, so finally we were able to talk with her and she heard about seminary and she wanted her two boys to start going! We went with an Irmã to pick them up Tuesday night and they had a really great time! Then they came back on Wednesday. Then yesterday, guess who came to church?! Their WHOLE family!! It was so cute and special!! The 5 of them were all dressed up so nice and they were so happy to be there, and Sister Costa and I were freaking out and were so happy!! All they need is to be married soon and we are praying that the process will go quickly, they are such a special family.

Then on Friday, we went and taught these 10 year old twins- John and Mary- and they are so funny and love learning about the gospel! Seriously, they are so cute and want to be baptized soon. That same day it was super hot out and we were dying so we stopped to get some açai (delicious and refreshing) when we started talking with a lady who was selling jewelry nearby and we talked about the Book of Mormon and she opened up about some depression she had had a few years ago and how it had strengthened her faith and she knew that God was with her. We shared with her Ether 12:27 that God strengthens us in our weaknesses and she was so happy to read the Book of Mormon so she started there and will read during her breaks. 

It was a tender opportunity to share about the Hope we are assured of through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

I encourage you this week to pray for opportunities to share the gospel in small ways, and see the joys and blessings that come forth. 

I am grateful for all of you and I know that Jesus is the Christ and we are His hands.


love, Sister Giles


these are rings made from the shell of a coconut!

October 7, 2019

Olá família e amigos!


Well, I know what you may be thinking, ´´Fangirling over Nephi?´´ But it is true, Nephi is an incredible example of courage, faithfulness, and obedience. AND the actor who plays Nephi in the Book of Mormon videos is actually a missionary in my Zone. So when we had Zone Conference on Wednesday President Miller asked him to bear his testimony about his experience making the videos and that was super inspiring!! He said 3 things that really stuck out to me:

1) The part in the 2nd video (1 Nephi 3-5) when Nephi tells his brothers the idea to go and get their gold and treasures to trade for the plates with Laban, he said that the director told him that at that moment, he received inspiration from God to give that idea. However, the plan did not go well and they had to leave their gold and treasures with Laban and still did not have the plates. Why did God´s plan fail? Why did they have to do all that for nothing? As a matter of fact, them not being able to get the plates WAS part of God´s plan. It was a plan for Nephi and his brothers to show their faith and trust in God. And they did. So the next time when Nephi went alone, he already had an experience of faith and had more confidence in the Lord and knew that this time would still go the way the Lord wanted.
2) Nephi was 15 or 16 years old at this time and his 2 older brothers were 32 or 34 so there was a big age gap and they were not exactly the nicest older brothers. So, for Nephi to stand up to them took A LOT of courage. Nephi loved the Lord and wanted to follow him faithfully and righteously in all things. Do we at sometimes have road blocks of fear or uncertainties that we feel we cannot overcome? Remember, that when we call on Christ, He is there with us to strengthen and be our aid. He is always with us if we trust in Him, like Nephi did.
3) We can all be like Nephi! Valiant, courageous, obedient, and faithful in keeping the commandments and trusting in our Heavenly Father.


On Friday, 2 youth came and did contacts at a little lake in our area with us and it was so fun!!! We had a really great time together and they even made a contact with a girl all by themselves! Her name is Kaylane and she wants to hear more about the church, so the girls did a super awesome job and they were super happy after wards! The joy of spreading the gospel is true and real! Just like Elder Uchtdorf said yesterday in his talk, we need to share the gospel with everyone in our path so that they can join the journey and path that leads to happiness forever. We can leave our comforts behind like Bilbo and explore new ways to help others on the road to discipleship. 

General Conference was really amazing and spiritually filling! At the end of Elder Holland´s talk on the Saturday session, the Portuguese translator guy began to cry and it was very spiritual. I loved Elder Uchtdorf´s talk about the Hobbit and how it is so important to share the gospel and go out of our comfort shoes. Let us follow the counsels we individually received from the Prophet and the apostles of Christ. Look for ways this week to put them into practice and keep reading the Book of Mormon and Come, Follow me to be filled with the Spirit and light of Christ!


Our investigator Adelia shared her testimony to us about eternal families and how she wants her husband and her 3 kids coming to church every Sunday with her, it was very special! I love being able to see testimonies grow and mine as well! I love the Book of Mormon and know that it is true!

Thank you for all your support and love! I love you guys! Have an awesome week!
love, Sister Giles


1&2&3) Zone conference! all the sisters, me with Sister Jeppson (she´s from California too!) and with a super fun Elder who is leaving this transfer
4&5) little Elana who celebrated 1 year and we got her a baby Mulan doll that she didn´t stop hugging, she is super adorable!
6)with Rebecca and Isabella- they are so fun!
7)thanks for sending the family shirt mom! i love it!