Lindsay, CJ

Hey everyone, I'm going to make this one short as I don't have a ton of time, but I wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive and working hard! The highlight of the week: we baptized Wanderson! We were able to baptize the rest of his family the first Sunday I was in Brazil and it was so incredible to see him make the same decision as the rest of his family! Everybody's conversion to Jesus Christ is different, and for some it doesn't happen at as quick of a pace. For Wanderson, it took just a tad longer, but with the same result. It's like the parable of the workers in the vineyard. While the different workers started at different points in the day, the promised wage was the same for all once the day closed (Matthew 20). Exchanges, or divisões here in Brazil, happen a bit different than they do in the US (or most other missions, that is). Because of the great distance between areas in a mission as remote and big as the Brasil Teresina, a companionship will...

Good dia pessoal, Eventful week. I'll have to start out with the highlights, though. Everybody in Raimundo Nonato's family is now baptized! His daughter, Amanda, last week (along with his sister-in-law, Daniele) and yesterday his wife Benedita! She was baptized along with a friend of ours, Iyan, during an absolute downpour of a rainstorm.  Everybody was absolutely soaked coming out of there (including the visiting Bishop and Stake President), but with a big grin on their face (except when we took the photo, because we can never manage to get everybody smiling at the same time when we take them). Raimundo had previously received the Melchizedek Priesthood, so was able to confirm his wife after the baptismal service. It was such an incredible experience. It was my first baptism in the rain. Iyan is already planning on going to a Church youth camp in February and Benedita has said multiple times to Raimundo during the week, "when we get married in the temple." I just lov...

Hey Mom and Dad! How are things? I'll be able to use the computer in the chapel today, so I'll probably be able to talk longer!  I have a couple ideas for talking today: 1. I can call at 10am my time (6am there) and talk to the whole family then before you all get ready and/or 2. Call Q and Carissa around 3:15pm my time, Mom and Celeste can go out to lunch and I can call them around what time?, and then I can call dad around 4pm my time (noon there) I know it's like 4:30am where you're at, but I'm not allowed to send messages through Messenger and hope you're able to see this before 6! Love you all SO much. I am SO excited to see and talk to you all! 

Bom dia y'all, Pretty cool week. We were able to have some pretty cool experiences here in Itapecuru-Mirim. The highlight of the week was definitely yesterday when we had the opportunity to baptize four of the folks we have been teaching these last few weeks.  Raimundo Nonato's daughter and sister-in-law, Amanda and Daniele, were both baptized along with a recent-convert's friend: Casio. Carlos (aka 68-year-old Bob Marley or "Rippie" (hippie) as he's known around here) was also baptized along with them.  Saturday we spent an hour looking for a nice, not steep, scenic place for them to be baptized and found one close to the church. On our way there they started saying it wasn't a good place because there was sewage in the water there. I explained that there are several other cities upstream that had probably dumped sewage into the water before coming here to which they insisted "but it's fine because that water has been hitting the rocks for many k...

Hey everybody! This is going to be another short and sweet one, but I've got very BIG news! MY TRAVEL PLANS CAME IN! And with only 6 days to spare! Pending a negative COVID test tomorrow morning, I will be leaving Utah Thursday afternoon and will arrive in Brazil Friday morning! Utah has been such and incredible experience for me. I have met some incredible people, had some great companions, and have (hopefully) been able to impact some lives for the better! I am so excited for what Brazil holds in store and look forward to joining all of my MTC companions in the field down there! I know it won't be easy - the change in cultural, language, climate, etc. - but I know the Lord will be with me every step of the way. I am so excited to see what lives I will be allowed to help and how I will be able to grow personally. If you would, I would ask that you all keep me in your thoughts and prayers for this test tomorrow. This new variant has been rolling rampant down here in the Utah Va...

Happy New Year everybody, I had to put the date up there just because it is so odd to think that it is already 2022. While 2021 certainly had its ups and downs, I absolutely loved it, and I am certainly looking forward to what this new year will will bring! The highlight of the week is one I'm absolutely thrilled about; Cooper has accepted a baptismal invitation, been interviewed, and now it is just a matter of time before he enters the waters of baptism! It has been so exciting to have been able to teach him since the first lesson, and I sure hope we are able to get him baptized this weekend! Even if I am in Brazil by the time he is, though, I will still be so happy for him. He is a perfect example of how Heavenly Father has been preparing souls out here for the message of Christ's restored gospel, and I am so excited to be a part of his progress closer to Him. That was by far the most exciting news, but things have still been great down here in the UOM! While I have not yet r...

Good afternoon y'all! Happy 2023 for all of you! I can hardly believe we're already here! 2022 was the first year in my life that I did not once set foot in Big Wonderful Wyoming, see family face to face, or pass a day without wearing a white shirt, tie and a name tag with my Savior's name on it. While it was by no means easy - full of highs and lows, peaks and valleys, and many successes and failures - it was probably the most incredible year I've had in my life so far.  There's definitely been a lot of growth that's happened eith me since 01.01.2022. The highlight this week was by far getting to baptize Ivonete: one of the most incredible people I've met so far on my mission. She had an unwaverable desire to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be baptized before she even met us thanks to Antônia and Glaucy conversing with her. She accepted every lesson without hesitation and even bought a white dress because she thought she w...