What a great year it’s been!!!

Hello friends and family!!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! And a happy New Year’s this week!

I've always heard that Christmas on the mission is a Christmas you will never forget. Well, I'm certain that is true for me! This has been such a great Christmas!!! It started Sunday at church. Literally everyone was so happy and excited, and hugging and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. It was a little bit crazy, but it was so fun! And then, Celia, the Relief Society President called us 4 missionaries over, and gave us a GIANT BOX filled with tons of goodies that all of the women in the ward put together for us. It was so so sweet, and I might have cried a little bit. Then, Sunday night (and a little bit on Monday as well) the four of us missionaries went Christmas caroling to as many members in the ward as possible! I think we just about visited everyone. We sang a Christmas hymn, took a cute picture with them, and then gave them a plate of Chocolate Chip Cookies! Everyone we visited was super surprised, and it was so fun to see how happy they were!

Sunday night when we got home, we put all of our mattresses in the living room, and had a "Christmas sleepover". And it would've been perfect, had it not been for the drunk people partying next door, and scream singing funk music at 3:00 in the morning. Oh well. Hahaha! When we woke up the next morning, I made pancakes, and we all just kind of sat around eating and talking. What a blessing to have Christmas on P-Day!

But probably the best part of this Christmas was getting to Skype with my cute family yesterday!!!! It was oh so great to see and talk to them all, and realize that they actually exist, and aren't just emails on a computer!!! I struggled the first 20 minutes with speaking English, but after that, it was fine. Hahaha. Just ask my family. They were all laughing at my poor English, and my sister even said, "Wow Jess, English is your second language now." I guess that's a good thing though... I'm learning Portugeuse! :)

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas! (Although it felt more like the 4th of July because of the weather, Hahaha!)

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and a very, very happy New Year!!!!

Lots and lots of love,

Sister Shelton

Pictures: Our cute Christmas package from the ward!

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Monday!

This week has been great!! We worked really hard, and we found lots of great new people to teach! It was a little bit rough starting off, because after a baptism, it's almost like you have to "start over"; and so, the past two weeks have been a lot of starting from the beginning again! But, we're starting to see results, and it's oh so great!

Transfers are this week, and guess what... I'm staying in Boa Vista with Sister Gomes!!! I'm excited to have one more transfer with her, and I'm super grateful to not be guiding in this area yet! Haha! We did have a change in our house though. Sister Carvalho is being transferred to RIO DOCE!!! She'll be in my old area with all my investigators!! I'm so excited for her! I'm sad that she's leaving us though. But! Sister Jaburek, who I was living in the same house as in Rio Doce, will take her place; so we'll be living together again!!! I'm excited to see what this transfer brings!!

This Sunday we had a really great experience at church!! The ward has been preparing for, and talking about this past Sunday ever since the day I arrived in this area. We called it "Um Lugar para Salvador" ("A place for the Savior") Every single week for the past two months, the members in the ward have been going out every Sunday afternoon and visiting less active members, and inviting them to this special Sunday. And so, as a result, the church was packed with people!!! It was so incredible! All three hours were centered around Christ, and how we can make him more a part of our lives. We even had Elder Campos of the Seventy (the Elder Campos I ate lunch with that one day) there, and he gave a very powerful talk on Christ. The spirit was so strong, and during all three hours, even though there were more people, everyone was so reverent. It honestly was just an incredible Sunday!

Well, I guess that's all for this week. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas this week, and you remember to "Make a place for the Savior in your lives"!!!!

Love, 

Sister Shelton

Scripture of the week:

Moses 6:34- "Behold my spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me."

Fotos:  My District!

So good to be a Missionary!!

Happy Monday everyone!

This week was pretty fantastic!!! Remember Zuleide? Well, SHE GOT BAPTIZED ON FRIDAY!!! :D It was such a special baptism, and I might have cried a bit. She's been cigarette free for over a week now, and she says she's not even feeling the craving to smoke anymore. It's incredible to see what a difference the gospel can make in someone's life! When she got baptized, she was so nervous, that the moment bishop said "amen" she threw herself back into the water, forgetting to plug her nose! Haha! I love her. :)

It was also the baptism of Miguel, the wonderful 10 year old grandson of a member that we've been teaching. There were tons of people there to support him, including his less active dad, and it was so sweet to see him get baptized. When we asked him afterwards how he felt, he smiled super big and said, "bem!" (good!) 

Both of these baptisms just help remind me of my purpose as a missionary, to help others come unto Christ. I am SO grateful for this year and a half that I have to be here in Pernambuco Brazil, serving these wonderful people, and helping them come closer to their Savior. I wouldn't change it for anything!

In Mosiah 9:18 it says, "And God did hear our cries and did answer our prayers; and we did go forth in his might..." God is our might, and he will help us along the way. Of that I am certain. I've felt that over and over again, as I've prayed for help, and tried to do His will, I feel a strength beyond my own, and I know I am being blessed. But it's not just a promise for me as a missionary. It's a promise for every single one of you.

I love you all, and I'm so incredibly grateful for the love and support that I feel from each of you! I hope you have a wonderful week, and a wonderful continuation of the Christmas season!

Love,

Sister Shelton

Batismo!!

What a Great Week!!

Oi Gente!!!

Well, this week was a great one!! We had an addiction activity to help Zuleide on Wednesday, Zone Conference on Thursday, and then found an incredible family on Friday! 

The addiction activity- We invited all of the members in the ward that had addictions before they were baptized, and we did kind of an "alcoholics anonymous" type of activity with all of them and Zuleide. Sister Avila and I sang a hymn arrangement, we watched a Mormon Message on addictions, and then we opened it up for people to talk and share their experiences- leading them with questions to get started. It went SO well!! The spirit was really strong, and everyone shared really heartfelt and powerful testimonies. And, I think it really helped Zuleide, because ever since Saturday morning, Zuleide is cigarette free!!! It's a literal miracle, and I have so much hope for her! Also, I made "authentic American cookies" for the activity, and everyone LOVED them. Lot's of them had never even eaten a cookie before! WAT? Haha, but it went so well!

Zone Conference was wonderful like always!! I always feel so much more prepared to teach the gospel after Zone Conferences! I'll try to hurry and finish writing this letter, so I can send pictures!

Our incredible family this week!- We found them, because of my sister Emily. ;) Haha! We were doing our studies in front of a house one day, and a girl named Emily walked out the front door, so we started talking to her, and we made the connection of her name being the name of my sister. The next day we went back and talked to the whole family. The mom was baptized when she was 10 years old, but doesn't remember anything about the church, because she was raised by her Protestant grandma two years after being baptized, and never went to church again. We were able to visit them several times this week, and they are just so prepared to hear about the gospel! I'm so excited to keep working with them, and I'll make sure to keep you all updated on their progress!

This week I was reading in Alma, and a scripture we used to help Zuleide really stuck out. Alma 46:21 "And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God..." They came running! They were so excited and so bold to defend what they believed in, and to fight for what they wanted. We made a "Title of Liberty" with Zuleide, of all the things she's fighting for, and why she will quit smoking, and it's now hanging up in her house. It stays there as a reminder for her, and as a reminder for us of why we do what we do. Why do you do what you do?

I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week!!!

Love,

Síster Shelton

Our little "Christmas photo shoot" in the park today!

               

                  Garanhuns goes all out for Christmas!!!

More from the park!

What happens when the ward members send pizza at 10:00 at night!!!

Sister Pradera (From my home stake!) and I at Zone Conference!!!
 I finally got to see her here in the mission!

Sister Dykes and I! Sister Dykes is really close
friends with my roommate from BYU!

 Me and my comp!

   

My comp and the other sisters we live with!

Doing each other's hair! :)

One of the Sisters I live with has money from all "our" countries!

The year without a Thanksgiving…

Hello!!

How are you all?! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season!!

It was kind of weird waking up on Thursday and realizing that it was Thanksgiving. If I hadn't written it in my planner, I would've forgotten about it all together! But, it was still a really great day, and even if I didn't have a "holiday" to express my gratitude, I'm still incredibly grateful for the opportunity I have to be serving a mission in Brasil, and for the experiences and opportunities that I'm having. But, I also received a tender mercy this week, because our lunch on Thursday was with 6 missionaries (due to a baptismal interview of the other sisters), and it was at the house of a member that cooks REALLY well, and made tons of food. Including a dessert that was an awful lot like pie. So in reality, I guess I did have a Thanksgiving, because there were lots of people, and lots of food! :)

Update on Zuleide: she's progressing really well, and her testimony of the gospel is SO strong! She has such a strong desire to be baptized! But she's also still stuck on 2 or 3 cigarettes a day, and can't seem to stop smoking. But, we're working everyday with her, and I know she'll be baptized soon! We're planning an "alcoholics anonymous" activity for this week, (but for all addictions) to hopefully help her find the drive and support she needs to quit smoking for good. I'm super excited for it, and hope that it'll do a lot of good for Zuleide, and for the other people we've invited to participate. Keep Zuleide in your prayers this week!!

Also, another update, I found out this week that the wonderful Elaine, my investigator in Rio Doce, was baptized this week!!! I love her so much, and even though I couldn't be there for her baptism, I'm so grateful to see the change the gospel made in her life!!

This week I was studying the part in the Book of Mormon when Christ appears to the people in the Americas, and one verse really stuck out to me. It's 3 Nephi 11:5 "And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were toward the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards Heaven, from whence the sound came." I love that the people had to open their ears and their eyes in order to understand. We need to do our part to be spiritually in tune with the spirit, and to "steadfastly" look for answers. If we do this, we will receive guidance and direction in our lives.

I love you all, and I'm so grateful for all your love and support! Have a wonderful week!!!

Love,

Sister Shelton

 Giant avocado!!!!

The baptism of Josefa! (an investigator of the other sisters)

(picture I took of a picture) Elaine's baptism!!!

Lunch with a General Authority

Hello!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  It's weird not to celebrate Thanksgiving- I almost forgot that it was this week! Eat lots and lots of food for me!! :)

 This has been a really great week here in the beautiful Boa Vista! I'm starting to get comfortable in this area, and getting to know all of the members, and it's been so good! I'll try to keep the email short though, so I have time to send pictures!

First things first, the subject line. We arrived at the house of a young couple in the ward this week for lunch, and when we walked in, there was Elder Campos, a member of the seventy, sitting on the couch! Turns out, he's the father of the girl we were having lunch with, and he and his wife had just arrived from Recife. It was a super cool to get to talk to him, and hear about some of his experiences. It was pretty intimidating though when it came time to give the spiritual thought. Haha!

This week was also great, because we worked tons with the wonderful Zuleide! I can't remember if I talked about her in last week's email, but she's this amazing woman that has been meeting with the missionaries a little over a month. She's super converted to the gospel, and has a real desire to follow Christ. She just needs a little more help with overcoming a smoking addiction. We've tried SO many things to help her, but after going from 30 to 3 cigarettes, she's stuck on 3, and can't seem to overcome this small barrier. If you could remember her in your prayers this week, that would be awesome. Her baptism is set for Saturday, and we're going to do everything possible to make sure she can be baptized!

And finally, I'm really learning tons about how to love other people, and how to serve the people I love. There's a great scripture I read in Mosiah this week that I wanted to share with you all. It's Mosiah 23:15 "Thus did Alma teach his people, that every man should love his neighbor as himself, that there should be no contention among them." The more we strive to love and serve the people around us, the more peace, joy, and love we will have in our own lives.

Thanks for all the love, support, and prayers in my behalf. I love you all, and I hope you have an incredible week! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love,

Sister Shelton

Jess and her companion, Sis. Gomes

Lunch with Elder Campos!

We went to Marco Zero again for my last P-Day in Rio Doce!

Casa da Cultura (Marco Zero)

 My last Family Night in Rio Doce

 Emmanuelly- my recent convert

Members in Rio Doce!

Members in Rio Doce!

Members in Rio Doce!

 Elaine and Rodrigo, our Golden Investigator of Rio Doce!

Marcia (recent convert)

More members in the ward!

Sister Trindade and I's last meal together.

My companion, Sister Gomes, and the Sisters we live with,
 made a cake to welcome me to the area!

We had money for lunch one day, so we made hamburgers and 

had lunch in our living room on top of the ironing board!

All of the missionaries at Stake Conference!