And now it's real life.

Hey everyone,

So this week was quite the week. There were definitely a lot of tears shed. It finally hit me that things are coming to an end with my time here in Uruguaiana. (Not to mention the time on my mission... but that's another story that I won't address for at least the next six weeks...) It's possible that I will stay here for my last transfer, but I'm thinking no. It's already been six months here! I would absolutely love to stay here to finish up, but we will see what happens. We have transfer calls on Friday, so I will let you all know next week.

But just in case, yesterday, I bore my testimony in Sacrament Meeting and thanked all the members for the help that they have given me. It wasn't until about halfway through my testimony that I actually realized that I might be leaving these people. I feel like I have truly become a part of this ward and this town. The members tell me every week that I need to just take in all my documents and declare myself "Uruguaianese." Haha. I definitely could. I've served with my all here, and the love that I have developed for these people and for this city is absolutely incredible. I truly feel as if they have become my family. 

And not to mention all the tears shed from our investigators and recent-converts... I don't even know for sure if I am leaving yet, and they all just BAWLED. So that was heartbreaking. This week, if I really am going to be transferred, is going to be rough...

I had an incredible week though. I learned so many things. We spent a few days with President and Sister Parrela. Interviews and trainings and things. It was so fabulous. I want you all to know how truly grateful I am for my Mission President and his wife. They are two inspired people who have honestly changed my life for the better. I am so grateful for them and for the help that they have given me. I know that one of the reasons that I was sent here to Brazil was to learn and grow from them. 

I am about out of time, already! But thank you all so much for your love and your support in everything that I do. I don't think that I can express how much I appreciate it. 

I hope you all know how much I love being a missionary. I can only say this for a few more weeks, so I will continue to say it as much as I can. (Wow, that brought tears to my eyes...) I love this work. I love being a part of it. I love seeing the Atonement change others, including myself. I love learning and teaching the gospel doctrines and then watching others apply it in their lives. I love who I am and I love who I am becoming. I love serving as a missionary and I am eternally grateful for the decision that I made, almost two years ago, to serve. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ and showing everyone that I meet that I truly know Him and that I love Him. There is no better feeling in the world. I love everything about what I am doing.

I hope you have a beautiful week. I miss you all and continue to pray for you all. I'll see you all soon. LOVES.

Sister Card

xoxo

Fastest week of my life.

Heyyyy,

So this week literally was the fastest week of my entire life. They go faster and faster. I can't even begin to describe how I'm feeling. It's a whole big mixture of emotions, that's for sure, but I think the principal feeling is depression. For real. I think I cried every day this week because of how quickly this year and a half has gone. Just pray for me.

This week was REALLY cold. Granted, it's nothing like my winters in Logan, but it's still dang cold here. Haha. And the worst part about it all... our hot water went out. LAST Monday. We were forced to take ice cold showers all week long. It was honestly the worst thing that has ever happened to me. While washing my hair, I got some killer headaches and spent my mornings and nights drinking hot chocolate, almost in tears because of how cold it was. Life was great this week (;

So this week was a little... difficult. Things were falling through like crazy and we spent most of our days making contacts, knocking on doors, and with members to get referrals. I don't think we have ever worked so hard before. So here I was, with all my lack of faith and all, wondering why in the world things weren't going right. And as I was studying and working and trying to figure out what else we needed to do so that we could find some success, I figured it out.

I always imagined that the end of my mission would be easy. I figured that I would know exactly what I needed to do and be exactly who I needed to be. And for a while, actually, things were going that way. I was seeing miracles and people were just put into our paths. I was loving my life, but I didn't feel as if I was growing. So I began to pray that I would be able to prepare myself for that tough transition home.

It wasn't until this week that I realized that Heavenly Father was answering my prayers. Because of these things that were falling through, I was able to grow in patience, reliance on Him, diligence, charity, knowledge, and faith. There were many other things that I was able to learn this week, but those are just a few. Sometimes we pray for the ability to develop these characteristics, expecting Heavenly Father to just pour out some miraculous change in our hearts. But that's not how it works. When we want to learn and grow and pray for those opportunities, be ready to receive those opportunities. As I prayed for patience, things got tougher so that I would be able to use more patience. That's how it has to be.

So instead of ending this week with feelings of negativity or heartache, I'm ending this week absolutely filled with gratitude. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father answers my prayers. He loves me so much and is always giving me opportunities to learn and grow. I'm so beyond thankful that I am in the process of becoming the woman that He wants me to be. I'm grateful for the challenges that I receive each and every day, because they help me to get just a little bit better.

I love you all so much and am so grateful for each one of you and your examples to me. Thank you for everything. I love you all so much and can't wait to see you all again soon. Loves.

Sister Card
xoxo

Way Too Happy

Hey everyone!

Such a great week! I can't believe how quickly the weeks are going now... Like they are going even faster than they were going before. And I have such a lovely companion who sings the hymn "O Fim Se Aproxima" (I don't remember what it is in English...) and seems to remind me of how soon I go home every single day. Hahaha she is the worst sometimes. But I do love her a lot. This morning she woke up and said, "SÓ NOVE SEMANAS SÍSTER. Sua missão já acabou." Terrible. I still have a long time, right? 

Anyway, this week was fabulous. I'm far too happy with the work that we are seeing and the miracles that are taking place. We are in desperate need of new investigators though. We are working our tails off and they just aren't coming... Sister Ponce and I have made a few plans that we are going to put in practice this week to get going with that though. Just pray for us so that we can really do so! 

Juninho got baptized this week (: (: (: Finally!!! After three months of coming to church every week, his dad finally said yes. We died. I was so beyond happy. I don't think I can express how grateful I am to see that there are so many people who are truly able to work hard for the gospel. I saw that in this boy. He truly had the desire to work hard and to follow Christ and he did just that. Because of his dedication to the Lord, he was baptized this week. I hope that I can follow his example and show my dedication and diligence to the Lord. He is incredible.

We are seeing so much growth and progress in the people that we are teaching as well. HOLY COW. We have two more teenage girls that are preparing to be baptized on August 2. We are SO beyond excited for them. Yesterday, Shayani (one of the girls) came up to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Sister, I am going to get baptized on the 2nd! I am so excited for it!" It brought me to tears. Wow. There really is no greater joy in seeing the happiness that the gospel brings and the enthusiasm that these people are feeling because of the decisions they are making. 

I feel grateful every single day to be a missionary. It's the very first thing I thank my Heavenly Father for in my prayers. I love this work. I love my calling. I know that I am exactly where I need to be and that I am doing exactly as the Lord would have me do. This is the happiest that I have ever been. I can't imagine feeling any happier or any better than I do right now. But I know that this is just the beginning. I know that Heavenly Father has even greater things in store for me. It's hard to believe right now, but I know that there are so many things that are going to take place. I am excited for the future. And that is HUGE for me to say now. I know that the Lord is directing my life and that things are going to work out exactly the way that they need to. I love you all so much and I think of you often. I continue to pray for you. I love you all. Have a fabulous week (:

Sister Card

xoxo

Jose and Miguel

Why is he the cutest thing ever (:

Juninho's baptism (:

Noite Familiar with all those we love so dearly.

Sisters and Jose's Family