July 16, 2019

Olá família e amigos!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Tuesday we had a young woman in our ward do contacts with us and we visited a family in our ward and sang `´Families can be together forever´´ , it was really great! A less active family has started coming back to church and one of the boys, Lucas, is 13 years old and is reading the book of Mormon and has a strong desire to be baptized! We will mark a date with him this week! Lucas, his brother and father started singing in the choir and Sister Silva and I joined too and have been practicing to sing in ward conference this next Sunday....let´s see how my singing in Portuguese turns out hahaha 

I had my first encounter with, not one, but three lovely dogs who decided to attack each other and use me as a shield. We were in the street talking with our investigator, Sergio, when they all ran at each other barking and trying to get at each other, haha but I only got a scratch and a bruise. Our investigator saved me by pulling me away from them. 

Saturday the ward had a festival and there were a lot of people and food, it was fun! I love this great opportunity and time to really serve the Lord and the people here in Guarulhos! We have had some really neat experiences where the Lord has placed us in the right place at the right time to visit a less active family or meet a person in the street that was needing someone to talk to. I encourage you to look for someone in need and go and act. You will feel so much more happier and see the Lord more in your life. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Giles

July 8, 2019

Service

A great gift that I think God has given us is the opportunity to serve! What a blessing! The principle of service is recorded in Mosiah 2:17." And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.´´
Service really is the way to feel the love of God more profoundly in our lives. What can we do to give service to someone? There are endless and creative ways but one really awesome is a little precious book called The Book of Mormon. :) I challenge each of you, as a family or individually to think of someone right now who needs to feel or know the love of God more in their lives, and this week give them a gift more treasured than all. I promise that you will be able to bring joy into that person´s life, you will feel a deeper love and understanding of the love God has for you, and your family will be more united and happier. Pray and ask God for strength, for He will give it to you. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen. D&C 4:7


Mission life is going well here in Vila Galvão! It was ridiculously cold this past weekend and I slept with 2 blankets, 3 long sleeves, 2 pants, and 3 socks......I did not know Brazil got so cold! We are loving working with the members and teaching our investigators that Christ is our only way to receive pure happiness.


For the 4th I made scrambled eggs and chocolate milk, then we went to the mission office for interviews that we have every transfer. There were a couple of other American Elders there so we talked about America so that was a good. It rained for 2 days straight and is ridiculously cold. 

Our ward is so incredible and really are excited to help us with this great work! We have a couple Sabrina and Carlos who live together but are not married but are doing the paper work now and are ready for baptism! We don't know how long the paper work will take and they don't have a lot of money to pay for it so the Bishop talked to the people of the ward and will help pay for their wedding and we will have a ward fast for them this week! Our Bishop is super involved in mission work and wants to help with our investigators and less actives.

We have a less active family that has started to return to church and one of the boys is 13 and has already received the lessons from the other sisters, we just need the permission from the mom for baptism and he will be baptized this month! We have lots of ideas to help unify the ward and it is a fun time here in the city, a different way of life than the interior where I was. Lots of people live super close or on top or under neath each other so we are always meeting new people and still getting to know the members.

One older lady in the ward always gives money to the missionaries for lunch, but she had a surgery in the hospital so we went and visited her this past week. She hadn't had the missionaries over in years and we talked about family and we had the impression to sing to her ´´How Great Thou Art´´ and after wards she said that was always her husband´s favorite hymn, he passed away 2 years ago and she cried because she was so grateful to hear us sing it for her and felt him. It is so special to hear the promptings of the Spirit and see how closely God knows each of His children.


Have a great week! 

Love, Sister Giles

July 1, 2019

Mountains, mountains, mountains...

Olá July!!

With President Nelson coming the first of September to São Paulo, President Miller has challenged the mission to prepare for his visit by reading the Book of Mormon completely and marking the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. If you have not already done this, I encourage you to start now!

Wow, my knowledge and testimony in the gospel has grown so much just in reading First Nephi because of the deepened understanding the Holy Ghost reveals when we truly ´´feast on the words of Christ.´´I promise a sincere growth in your testimony that Christ really is the Son of God and that He is the only path that leads to eternal happiness when we follow His example and press forward with hope.

My whole area is basically the street in California called ´´Mulhulland Drive´´ and the ride at Disney California Adventure land ´´Mulhulland Maddness´´ because it is all crazy hills and random turns (my legs are almost like Gastons in Belle). Why do we feel that mountains sometimes block our paths or stop us from progressing? If we follow the Savior with faith in His promise of eternal life when we keep His commandments and serve others of our own free will, we will be able to continue on the path ahead, even when there are mountains to climb. James 5:11

Sister Silva and I met with the Bishop this past week and he is very enthusiastic about missionary work and we are very excited to work with him and the members here in Vila Galvão! I love this great work of the Lord and know that He has a marvelous plan for each of us.
Have an awesome week and 4th of July!!

-Sister Giles

1) it was a hotter week so we bought açai to cool us off :)

June 24, 2019

Transfers and Changes

Olá family and friends!

I was transferred to another area and picked up my new companion, Sister Silva, from the mission office, fresh from the MTC. Yup, two Sister Silva´s in a row hahaha! We are in Vila Galvão, Guarulhos, more of the São Paulo city feel here than the country side where my other area was.

It is a cool change, we have some really great investigators the other Sister´s left and we met some really neat people to teach as well! The members have been really sweet and have welcomed us with much love, we are very grateful! It was a week of getting to know the area and members and less actives and investigators and was crazy all around.

My birthday (20! wow I feel old) was Friday and Sister Silva made a fantastic American breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, and cereal. It was great! That night we met with the bishop and went to the seminary class there at the church building. The bishop´s wife taught about the Gift of the Holy Ghost, how really the Holy Ghost is a marvelous gift! He lends us comfort, warns, brings peace, and testifies of truths and of Christ and Heavenly Father! After wards they ordered pizza and sang several times for me both English version and Portuguese version, it was very sweet and fun! 

Yesterday, the Stake President came and reorganized the whole Bishopric haha so now we will get to know the new Bishop! It is so wonderful to see the changes the Lord has in store and to place people in situations to build their faith and testimony.

Trust in Him! Have a wonderful week!

love, Sister Giles

June 17, 2019

Hello there!

Another week and another transfer down! I will be transferred to Guarulhos, but I really enjoyed Villa Ema and my time here. The ward members were really great and we met some really incredible people! It will be sad to go, but part of the mission life.

This last week, on Friday, Elder Bassett (an area Seventy) did a tour of our mission and we had the opportunity to have a conference with him. It was really good!!! Only that same day the buses went on strike and we normally take 2 buses to the chapel where the meeting house is. But Heavenly Father paved the way for us to get there in time through many tender miracles. The other transit that we sometimes take are the Vans that do the same route of the buses, so we hopped in and only had our cards to pay for the transit, but all did not work on the machine. The lady was super sweet and said it was no problem. First tender mercy. Second tender blessing is that we fast walked for 10 minutes and went up this hill and at the top a member of the other ward drove by and asked if we needed a ride somewhere, we said yes and she was very sweet to take us to the chapel. Third miracle, we made it to the meeting on time, which Presidente had asked that we all come on time. I am so grateful for our Father in Heaven that is very aware of all of us. And even more special was that Elder Bassett talked a lot about and emphasized how each and every one of us are children of God, loved by Him. Moses 1:39 sums up the purpose God has for us: to help us be worthy of eternal life.
I know that God exists and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that They are always with us and will lead and guide us through this life. Trust in Them. Have a great week!


-Sister Giles


1) drank out of a coconut for the first time, whoot!
2) we had lunch with Irmão Paulo and Irmã Angela. They are missionaries for BYU Pathways and something he said really stuck out to me:`´I learn and practice English because I tell myself that Christ will speak to me in English, so I really want to be able to converse with Him when He comes.´´
3)photo of the conference with Elder Bassett

June 10, 2019

Fé: the first principle of the Gospel
Happy Monday!

Wow, it is cold, folks! I wear a jacket during the day and a jacket at night because our house is cold!! Sister Silva and I drink lots of hot chocolate to stay warm haha

This week we met Maria, a woman with incredible faith! A few years ago she started losing her vision and had a surgery to get it fixed but it went wrong and she can only use one eye now and it is difficult for her to see. But one of the first things she told us was her unwavering faith in God. She reminds me of chapter 12 in Ether that gives the many stories of when people had faith in the Lord and acted, like Moses, Nephi and Lehi, etc. But the part I think is so incredible is because of the faith of the people here in the Americas that Christ showed Himself unto them after He was resurrected. How beautiful!

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

7 For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world.

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

Maria invited Sister Silva and I to have tea with her and her daughter Sunday afternoon and we were able to share with them the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how faith is the first principle. Why is faith the first principle? Because without faith, we are lost. With faith, we will be able to see our resurrected Lord and Savior when He comes again. I am so grateful for this opportunity to share with others this glorious news of Christ, that through faith in Him, we can be saved and live with our families when we make and keep our covenants with Him.

Have a fantastic week! Love you all!

-Sister Giles

didn´t take many pictures this week, but here is one of Sister Silva with a churro. We gave the churro man a copy of the Book of Mormon last week and this week we followed up with him, so obviously we bought a churro :)

June 3, 2019

Bem Vindo June!

I think Camarillo weather followed me to Brazil because ever since June came it has been mostly overcast and rainy, but that might be because it is getting into winter here soon....

We are teaching some great people and are hoping they will come to church next week. Praying and fasting is our daily quest! I really testify that fasting is a gift from Heavenly Father and brings about miracles. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve! One restaurant we were passing by had these giant ribs cooking around the fire and I thought this would be a cool idea for your future bbq/smoker restaurant (Dadio)! hahaha

We had a good week of sharing the good news of the gospel! Tuesday Sister Silva and I were invited to the Relief Society activity which was a ´´Pajamas´´ theme, and had a good time talking with the Women and getting to know them better. They are so fun! Wednesday night we got a phone call to renew my vista the next morning in São Paulo, so we got up early and took the bus to SP. 

Then Friday Sister Silva and I went to visit William, a less active, and his mother was there and wanted to hear the lesson and understand what it is what we believe. She stopped smoking 14 days ago and is wanting a change in her life, she has a desire to have a better life and wants to come to church this next week! 

I love how the gospel of Jesus Christ is about bettering ourselves, every day. It is a progression, a constant effort to change. But with daily learning, we grow. A scripture that really stuck out to me this week is Moroni 8:25-26. I am grateful for the gospel of hope and how Christ is our Redeemer and Savior. I know He lives and will come again soon!


Have a great week everybody!


the last picture is at zone conference 2 weeks ago


love, Sister Giles