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

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

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

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

transfers

ALRIGHTY PEOPLE I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PLAN THIS EMAIL SO HANG IN HERE WITH ME 

Highlights of the week

I didn't get transferred! So I'll be staying Neopolis (more commonly referred to as Heaven here) during Christmas and I'll be finishing the training of Sister Lima! SISTER COREY GOT TRANSFERED TO THE ZONE SO ITS ABOUTTA BE A PARTY

We now have a deaf investigator, which is legit so cool, so I'll be learning libras (sign language) on super speed now!

Also guys this week we went to a training in Porto Alegre and Presidente Compas was there and in passing he said "Sister Jolley isn't learning portuguese anymore, she speaks it already" I NEARLY PASSED OUT I WAS SO HAPPY so shout out to Irmao Jaques and Irma Sunaga the best portuguese teachers the CTM ever had! 

I had a great birthday!! thanks for all the birthday wishes!! Sister S. Santos and I got caught in a thunder storm (on my birthday people) and homegirl had never been in a thunderstorm before and it was just about the funniest thing that ever happened. All she said was "my hair, my hair, Sister, my hair" She straightens her hair 3 times a day and I just laughed and laughed and she thought we were gonna die but we just arrived at a meeting very wet. I have a great video and some killer pictures but yours truly forgot the cord to pass photos so just hang in there 'til next week.

PEOPLE miracles are happening here in Brasil and I'm so happy to be apart of this great work to spread the Gospel. If I had more time you could know more but just hang in there and next week I'll organize things better.

Love you guys!!

Sister Jolley

The third language

Alright people! This week was absolutely full of miracles! The Lord is sending so many blessings to our area!!! And I'm so excited and so humbled! 

On Saturday we  went to eat lunch at a the home of a part member family, and the bishop had asked me to begin teaching the husband because homeboy needs to get baptized. Anyway we showed up and some miracles happened but I'm short on time so I'll cut to the good stuff. HOMEBOY ASKED US TO TEACH HIM, TOLD US HE WANTED TO GET BAPTIZED ASAP AND I'M JUST FLOORED Y'ALL. The only problem is he likes to drink, but we'll get that cleared up. ALSO IF THE WEEK COULDN'T GET BETTER OUR OTHER INVESTIGATOR HASN'T SMOKED SINCE TUESDAY. Y'ALL HOMEBOY WAS SMOKING A PACK A DAY 30 DAYS AGO. MIRACLES ARE SO REAL. AND HE WANTS TO GET BAPTIZED TOO!!! 

Also the ward I'm serving in is really special, in the past 6 months the missionaries here have baptized 4 deaf converts! And on Saturday one more was baptized! It was super spiritual! He was baptized by another convert who is deaf and it was all in sign language! So GUESS WHAT? I'm learning sign language now! And next week I'm gonna translate the gospel principles class!!! 

so I had a lot more typed up the computer erased it all :(

but have a fantastic week!

com amor,

Sister Jolley

CHURRASCAO

ALRIGHTY FAMILY AND FRIENDS Y'ALL DON'T EVEN WANNA KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I GOT ASKED ABOUT DONALD TRUMP- or as the Brasilians say it "Trumpy" it's really funny. And every time I got asked I remembered that line in the Missionary Handbook that talks about how we cant talk about politics- so in the end I just told everybody that I didn't know anything- which is pretty much true. 

But on the other hand this week was really great! My comp and I are in heaven! or as we always say it "Neopolis é o ceu" The members here are fantastic.

 Highlights of the week

Took a bath in the rain this week! 

Had pancakes and syrup at our district meeting--thanks mom!

Went to a baby shower and gave a message about eternal families

Sang a solo at a baptism service

SUNDAY WE HAD CHURRASCAO!! 

This week when we asked our investigator how his day was he answered "It's not worth it to complain" and pretty much that's the line of the week here- we just say it all the time when life gets rough and laugh and laugh and get to work! 

The work is moving forward here in Neopolis and we're seeing miracles everyday!!! ​​

I've been studying Ether 12 a lot this week and it's the bom.com! 

Have a killer week

Sister Jolley