Thursday, December 29, 2016

Just Like the Movies

Feliz Natal!!!!

My Christmas week was great!!! To start off, we had a fantastic Christmas Conference! Presidente and Sister Campos really outdid themselves this year! It was the whole works with a talent show, a play of the life of Christ, a musical rendition of the life of Christ, the best lunch I've had in my 8 months here, a balloon release and to top it all off Santa came and visited all the missionaries and gave everyone a new leather back triple. At the very end we went to sing Christmas carols at a bus terminal, but as we were leaving the chapel someone had the idea to sing right there in the parking lot (the chapel is surrounded by tons of highriseing apartment buildings) and as we sung the windows started opening and people started watching and filming​​ and it was just like the movies.

On Christmas Eve we went to the Ilg family's house and I learned how to make churrasco! It was fantastic. They also had a little Christmas puppy there that was soooooo cute! and liked to bite lol.



On Christmas we saw so many miracles! Our star investigator was there at Sacrament meeting which was fantastic! and we also did some tracting after lunch before we skyped and we were able to spread some Christmas cheer with a few little kids who live in pretty sad conditions. It's amazing to see how the love of Christ can permeate across all boundaries if you only let it. As we were walking to the members house to skype, we were running really really late and we ran into a recent convert who was walking alone. We were able to talk to her and she told us that she feels like God has left her and she no longer wants to go to church and that she is falling into depression and all sorts of things and there at a little bus stop me and Sister Alves got the opportunity to bear our witness of the Savior's love for her. As we finished up, she told us that maybe God hadn't abandoned her after all because she knew that she had 2 representatives of Christ in front of her. At a time when I was really really hot and running really behind and I knew that my family was waiting for me, I'm glad we took the opportunity to talk to her.

And as always, your Sister Jolley is always having a few adventures (or better yet misadventures)
Today we went to the doctor and as we were on the bus coming home, we both fell asleep and all the sudden my comp wakes me up and says Sister we missed our stop, we need to get off of the bus. So, we stop the bus, get off the bus and as I'm still waking up, I realize that we're not even in our area and that we're really far from home. We got to walk and walk and walk some more until we got home. HAHAHAHAHAHA and it was so hot outside.


Have a great week!

Love you guys
Sister Jolley

Friday, December 23, 2016

Feliz Natal!!

Alrighty everybody we had another killer hot week (literally) here in Neopolis
So this week turned out to be fantastic just like they all do!
I'll cut right to the miracle of the week okay!
So for like 2 transfers we've been praying and praying to find a really solid family to teach and yesterday at 4 o'clock we found an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC  family to teach! They have 6 kids and wowe they're all so cute and so great and we marked baptism dates with all of them!!! CHRISTMAS MIRACLE y'all!!
Also my comp has some sort of spine problem so we travel to the center of town every P Day to visit doctors and today we got to get all dressed up in these ugly clothes for her CAT scan. HAHAHA it was great


LOST IN TRANSLATION (ha y'all thought these were over but if only)
So I translated the ward Christmas party in sign language last week and instead of telling them that we came here to make friends I told them that we came here to KISS friends. HAHAHAHAH I died laughing when I realized 3 DAYS LATER!!! 
But on the Portuguese side of things I got asked what part of Brazil I was from so that was great! 

I love being a missionary and I love the opportunity I have everyday to share the saving message of the restored gospel and testify that Jesus is the Christ! 


MERRY CHRISTMAS
SISTER JOLLEY

Sunday, December 18, 2016

the temple

ALRIGHTY FOLKS THIS WAS ONCE AGAIN ANOTHER FANTASTIC WEEK IN THE BEST MISSION IN THE WORLD!!! 
Despite the fact that we ended up discontinuing almost all of our investigators, we had tons a miracles! We found some great new people to teach this holiday season. Right now we're teaching Mauricio! He was found knocking doors almost a year ago and his wife was a less active member. He was addicted to just about everything and they weren't actually married; they just lived together. With time, the sisters here discontinued him because he wasn't ready to commit to change but he still went to church every week. A month ago they got married legally and in a few weeks he'll be baptized! It's so amazing to see how the Lord prepares people to be taught. The sister who found him knocking doors a year ago got transferred to this zone again and it's so cool to hear just how much he has changed to be worthy to be baptized.


We found some other people really special this week and I'm so excited to be teaching them!

My companion, Sister Lima is a convert of 2 years and  last Tuesday we were able to take the names of her mom and grandparents to the temple. It was such an incredibly special experience. Missionary work is being done on both sides of the veil! 

I'm really excited for Christmas and today we put up the Christmas tree! Took all of 5 mins but NONETHELESS WE HAVE A TREE!!! The weather here is killer and I've never been told more times in my life to put on sunscreen cuz I'm white. HAHAHA 

Line of the week
*teaching the law of chastity to a couple*
The guy*completely taken aback* so you guys actually live that way?

line of the week part 2
*giving me a hug* Sister Lima: "I love hugging white people"
Sister Santos "Ha I love hugging all people"
Sister Alves "But you (missionaries) don't loving hugging men, okay"


HAHAHA THIS LIFE NEVER GETS OLD

MERRY CHRISTMAS

com amor
Sister Jolley

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

the christmas tree

​​So last P day we went shopping in the center of Gravatai and I wanted to buy a Christmas tree and Sister S. Santos told me it was a waste of money. I nearly died. And then I bought it. It's really small, like 12 inches, but it'll do!




So once again I'm running out of time so here are the highlights

Taught 2 lessons in sign language this week
Bought fabric to have a seamtress make a Christmas dress (woot woot)
Had a killer stake conference and the one and only President Campos spoke. It was the bomb.
We have a some fantastic investigators who are progressing really well. 
My comp was sick this week and I took her to the hospital, and lemme tell y'all something, I know missionaries don't talk about political stuff but government run healthcare is the pits. 



WE'RE GOING TO THE TEMPLE TOMORROW AND I'M PUMPED

Have a great week!

love,

Sister Jolley