June 28, 2010

What an incredible week......I can´t even stop smiling.  wooo!

Valmir was BAPTIZED!  It was such a beautiful baptism.  The spirit was so strong.  His co-worker (that gave us the referral) came down to baptize him.  They are really good friends.  His wife and son was there.  I could almost see her heart opening up to accept the gospel and want to be baptized as well.  :D  I came up to her and asked if she would say the closing prayer.  She wanted to so bad....because she knew how much it would mean to him, but there were a lot of people there and got nervous at the last minute and asked me to say it for her.  It´s been hard for her to progress in the gospel as well, because the family owns a little store that they run.  Because Valmir was determined to come to church, his wife and son ended up working in the store every Sunday so he could come. They didn´t want to close it Sundays because, unfortunately, Sunday was one of the days that they earned the most money, and they relied on that.  BUT......ahhh what a good day, yesterday, in the Gospel Principles class, the bishop taught a class on Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.  It was such a good lesson.  The spirit was strong and the bishop was so bold and clear about what we should and shouldn´t do on Sunday and why it was such an important commandment.  I was sitting next to Valmir.  At the end of the lesson, Valmir turned to me and said "Sister...I decided.  I want to keep the Sabbath day holy, and I want my wife and son wife me, here in church on Sunday.  I´m going to close my store on Sunday.  The Lord will bless us I know"  He looked so determined!!!  woooo! I wanted to leap in joy......only I didn´t because I´m a missionary...but anyway!  It was so good.  I know the Lord is going to bless him and his family so much because of his faith.  He accepted every aspect of the gospel so well.  He was one of those people that the Lord had prepared so well, and was kept from the truth "only because he knew not where to find it".  I thank Heavenly Father every day that he led the Sisters to find him and his family.  I feel, that very soon.......his wife and son will be baptized too. I pray daily for them.  (their names are Naildes and Vinicius if you want to pray for them too :)  )  Man....the day they get sealed in the temple....I sure want to be there.  I love them all so much.

The happiness I feel now, is worth any heartache or trial I´ve gone through on the mission.  The Lord is so good.  I love the gospel so much.  I love the new joy people find in their lives when they live it.

Love you all!

Sister Hulse

June 21 2010

Yeah the weather really did a turn around on us.  Though this week was a little warmer than the one before.  But I have a feeling, we have a whole bunch of warm days ahead. 

I can´t even say how much I love Sister Santos.  She is the only member of the church in her family.  And when she left for her mission, it was really hard on her family, they didn’t write at all.  President even let her call home once after a number of months without word from them, and her mom refused to talk to her.  It´s been quite a rough journey for her, but her faith is incredible.  She knows why she´s here and she knows that Heavenly Father will bless her and her family because of her faith and service.  Things have gotten a little better.  Her family writes her e-mails once in a while to let her know how things are going.  She is very humble, and doesn´t feel like she has all the "missionary techniques" down very well.  The way she works and teaches is a very simple, straightforward, and clear manner.....and I just love it.  It has been so good to be her companion. 

Love you so much!  I am so grateful to be here. 

Sister Hulse

June 6, 2010

SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK!!!
First off......the World Cup is coming up.  Brazil is going crazy.  The roads are lined in Yellow and Green.  People are painting the roads....their houses....themselves.  YELLOW AND GREEN EVERYWHERE!   You´d think these people like soccer or something :)
We had multizona this week and it was WONDERFUL.  President talked about Humility and Pride.  He taught us about the effects of the Fall and why it is so important that we be humble.  The spirit was incredible.  I felt like my heart was going to burst into light.  I felt like Heavenly Father was teaching me personally through the spirit.  It was wonderful.  And everything I needed to hear.  I am so grateful for a President who carries the spirit with him so strongly and seeks inspiration.
On Sunday, we had Stake Conference.  Only it was a regional stake conference and they did it from Salt Lake over satellite for all the stakes in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.  It was SO good!  It was in all Portuguese....no translators.  Elder Christofferson (speaks Portuguese really well), and Sister BECK!  (who knew???) and a couple other members of the seventy gave talks in Portuguese.  Even the little words that come on the screen with the name and calling of each new speaker were in Portuguese!  I LOVED it!  Their talks were so uplifting, and directed exactly at what the Saints in Brazil need to hear.  The members afterwards came up to me and were like "what......do everyone in the States speak Portuguese???"  haha, it was really good.   Everyone loved it.
Dayana accepted baptism this week!  She is going to be baptized on the 26th of June.  She has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon already.  She truly was an answer to my prayers. 
Last of all......HUGE news.... I just got a call (like 2 hours ago) from President Jackson.  I´m getting transferred.  TODAY.  Right after I finish using the e-mail I have to go to the office to be picked up by my new companion.  Sister Santos will be my new companion!  She was my other roommate in the CTM and I always hoped I´d have the chance to be companions with her.  She is a sweetheart.  I´m going to St. Tereza in Parque Pinheiros.  It came as a huge surprise.  But I feel it´s time.  The only sad part is, I´m going to miss Dayana´s baptism :(  
I love you all.  Thanks for your love and your prayers.  I love the gospel so much.  I know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can find solutions and peace and hope in any problem we are facing.  I know that the Lord uses the Book of Mormon to enlighten our minds, lift our spirits, and give us spiritual strength in whatever challenge we are facing.  The gospel truly is incredible.
Sister Hulse

May 31, 2010

So, end of May.  It´s starting to get pretty chilly here. 

Dayana is progressing REALLY well.  She reads more of the Book of Mormon than we mark, and is doing everything she can to learn more about the church.  She won´t accept a baptism date yet, but I feel like she will real soon. 

Haha....so funny situation happened here.  A family of members, decided to let their youngest daughter, Paula, wait a while after her 8th birthday to be baptized.  They wanted her to be older, they felt that she was a little too young to decide already if she wants to be baptized.  They want to make sure she was sure she wants it.......(I don´t completely agree with the situation, I think 8 is old enough to know what she wants...but whatever, it´s not for me to decide) anyway, Paula is going out of her mind she wants to be baptized so bad.  AND she turns 9 years old on Wednesday.  Which means, that the ward can´t baptize her anymore, so we, as missionaries, have to teach her all the lessons and she has to be interviewed by my District Leader to be baptized.  We marked her to be baptized on the 19th of June.  She is ecstatic. :) Even though I had absolutely nothing to do with her conversion, I´m excited to help her be baptized.  I feel like the whole situation is a little tender mercy from the Lord.  And I am grateful.

Love you all!  Please remember me in your prayers.  These past few weeks have been really rough.

Sister Hulse