April 28: 3, tres, 1-2-3... TRIO

Oi cute family!! How is everyone doing? Thank you so much for the WONDERFUL emails this week. Seriously. Loved every single one. You are the best :) Sounds like you guys are busy as every with the yard and everything else. Lots of work! Summer cleaning haha.. we are preparing to take on the winter here :) But how great to hear that everyone is well. Jess, way to go on your talk :) I know you did wonderful, because you have such a powerful testimony that it doesn´t even matter if you were nervous because your testimony was certainly carried into the hearts of everyone there :) Love hearing about all the mission calls. Crazy things are happening! The Lord is hastening the work. So cool to see it all rolling forth. 

Everything is going great on this end of the world. One sister who lived with us went home this week because of health problems, so we are in TRIO now :) Haha I´ve never heard anyone speak highly of a trio, and admitedly it´s not proving to be my favorite thing in the world. I think we have 3 of the most opposite personalities in the world. But it really is going well :) We are laughing up a storm in the streets. We´ve started a new game that we play in the streets.. it´s a word game, it´s rather ridiculous, but we never cease to laugh throughout the day. It´s good to keep our spirits hight, no matter how ridiculous our ways are :) Our teaching as a trio has definitely got some work to do... but we´ll get there. Besides it´s only going to be for two weeks until transfers. 

We´ve got a great group of investigators right now. We have two baptisms set for this week. One is the mom of the young girl we baptized a few weeks ago. She is SO special!!! Ah, she brings such joy to my heart :) The sweetest spirit is always present when we teach her. They are truly the humblest of families. This family has nothing. Nothing. But they are deeply rooted in their faith in Christ and find joy in what matters most. It´s going to be such a special baptism! Yoohoo!!

Yesterday was a conference via satellite with the 4 (i think) southern states of Brazil. We heard from various area leaders and then from Elder Richard G. Scott. Oh, he´s so wonderful :) He speaks Portuguese... he also speaks Spanish... and sometimes he forgets which language he´s speaking and mixes the two :) Hahaha is portugues is very difficult to understand, but it was great anyway. He´s such a dear! 

In other news.. I have athlete´s foot... hahahah seriously Brazil is not doing much for my beauty or for my feet. Gross. But... I´m treating it and it appears to be getting better. (Thank goodness for that first aid kit you sent with me mom! It had exactly what I needed :) ) 

Passed 5 months in the mission this week...can you believe it?? Holy cow. It goes fast. 

This week I studied the sermon on the mount again. It´s so beautiful. If you´re needing something to study this week, study that. It´s great. So applicable. Also if you haven´t read Our Search for Happiness, READ IT. It´s perfect. This goes for family, friends, members, and non members. This book is perfect. It will help your faith and answer any questions you have about the gospel and the church :) 

Well.... I think that sums up the week okay. I am one happy little missionary. Life is wonderful in the service of the Lord :) 

Have a wonderfully happy week!! Know that you are all in my prayers. Thank you for your love and example! I feel your prayers and support daily. I LOVE YOU, family!!! 

Sending ALL my love from Brazil, 

Sister Kane

April 15

Bom dia familia! 

Thank you so very much for all your emails and wonderful words of wisdom :) I love you! So great to hear about all the happenings back home. You all sound wonderful. Keep the good news coming, okay?:) Did you guys enjoy conference? How´s school, work everything going? Mom, glad you got connected with the branch president here!! It will be so fun to have that link! He´s great and loves talking to our families :) 

Então... I´m here in São Borja!! It´s going great! So much to tell... let´s begin eh? Well, leaving Parque Pinheiro was very difficult... I cried, Sister Nascimento cried, we all cried :) A lot. But, eventually we had to just rip of the bandaid and I had to leave my little family there and my mommy and head on to new adventures! I don´t know if tranfers get easier over time, but I hope so! Haha because it felt like I was leaving home all over again. And leaving behind our investigators was one of the hardest parts.. to now leave them in the hands of other missionaries after you develop such a love for them and desire for their well being and progression in the gospel. But I suppose that´s the way the mission goes huh? And of course, Heavenly Father kees a close eye on all of them. But, we arrived here late Tuesday night and entered into the nightmare of a house we live in :) it´s horrid, but.. i was also very spoiled with the house in Parque Pinheiro, so... I guess it´s only fair to have a crappy house now haha. But it´s right next to the chapel which is SO nice. Everything is very close to home here which is great. We live in the city here.. it´s refreshing.. civilization :) It´s a nicer area here than the other area.. there´s some beautiful homes here! And there´s stop lights.. also something we didn´t have in the last area haha :) My companion, Sister Prisbela is great. She works so hard! She has a huge desire to talk to everyone, to teach everyone. I think that she and Sister Nascimento are possibly the two most opposite sisters in the mission :) But she really is great, and I know I`m going to learn a lot with her. She has a great love for the work and for the Lord. 

We had two baptisms yesterday! It´s a little different because I met them just a few days ago and haven´t been a part of their journey, but it´s still wonderful to see people take this step in their lives and to see the happiness that shines from their eyes :) I´ll send pics. 

This week has been a little bit of a whilrwind and I´m not completely settled in yet. But I really am very excited to be here. The Lord always knows best, and though it was a huge surprise and challenge to be transferred, I know the Lord has great things in store here in São Borja and that the timing of the change was wisdom in Him. It was time for the baby bird to leave the comfort of the nest :) The Lord is truly in the details of our lives. Every little thing. He organizes it all. And with so much care and love. I know that this is truly His work, that the gospel brings a deep joy and happiness that nothing else in the world can bring. I know that our Savior lives and that He sacrificied everything that we might have JOY. The Lord desires nothing more than our happiness in this life and the life to come, and the gospel is the way to obtain it :) 

Have I mentioned how great the mission is? :) It´s really really great.

I love you to the stars and back, cute family. You are my light and joy! Thank you for the prayers, love, and support. I feel it daily and couldn´t do this without it! Have a most wonderful week, FULL of joy and laughter :)

Sending all my love from Brazil, 

Sister Kane

April 8

Bom Dia Familia!! Como vocês estão?? 

Well, I just had a whirlwind of a moment... I logged on, was reading emails chipper and carefree as can be... then we got a phonecall from the LZ... I´m being transferred! Holy cow... I´m in a little bit of shock right now... We thought we were safe :) President had told us both that we´d be together until the end, all our leaders ensured us yesterday that we´d stay together until Sister Nascimento goes home after this transfer... but..... the Lord has other plans it looks like :) Bah... I´m a little shaky and the tears are fighting to come out. I´m headed to São Borja tomorrow morning... 6 hours from here. My new companion is going to be Sister Prisbella, a Brazilian. Very sweet. A little bit nervous based on some of the things I´ve heard, but.... we´re walking forward with faith :) I´ll say tchau to my sweet companion tomorrow morning and hope to see her again at some point after the mission. She is an angel. Funny how the Lord works... I sent an email a couple weeks ago feeling stressed and frustrated with the companionship, and now I´m sitting in tears at the thought of having to say goodbye to her. We´ve grown closer than ever this past week and half or so and are genuinely the best of friends at this moment. Ah, minha nossa. But, here we go :) This is the mission and I know the Lord knows what´s best for me. I know that I´m headed onto a new area, new adventures, and new experiences. It´s going to be great! Faith in every footstep. :)

Okay, anyway... thank you so much for all the emails! Everyone sounds wonderful! Joe, look how cool you are on TV!!!! I had a feeling you´d be interpretting for conference finally :) How neat. I really wanted to watch conference in ASL.. but the other Americans weren´t all over that idea :) But what a neat experience! You are incredible! Glad to hear you guys had such a wonderful time in St. George :) 

This week was great. Really. Sister Nascimento and I had more challenges and more difficulties, but more laughs and friendship than ever before. We have some wonderful people here that we are teaching and I know Sister Nascimento will continue to help them progress to baptism. It´s been a wonderful, wonderful journey here in this area and ward. 

Conference!!!!! Yoohoo!! Oh, it was so so so wonderful. I was on cloud nine all week anticipating conference, and on cloud ten the whole weekend. It was amazing. Conference was a little different than sitting at home on the plush couches with the smell of mom´s homemade food, but it was just as wonderful and sweet. We watched it in English which was the first greatest blessing :) I was a little worried that we wouldn´t be able to. But we had 6 of us americans crammed into the ward secretary´s office and watched it online :) It was so great. And we only spoke english while we were in there which was also great haha. It´s refreshing once in a while :) But the talks were absolutely incredible. Exactly what I needed. And definitely powerful for our investigators as well. Oh, how I love this beautiful gospel. What a blessing to have the truth. What a blessing to have a living prophet and apostles. THIS is true, and everlasting happiness that ONLY comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Well, my mind is a jumble right now so I´ll leave at that for this week :) Until next week from São Borja.... bah. Send prayer please, I need them :) I love you to pieces. You are the light of my life! Thank you for all your love and support! 

I LOVE YOU!! 

Sister Kane

March 25

Hello cute family! How are you doing?? So lovely to hear from all of you! You are such rays of sunshine. Time is super short so I apologize in advance....

This week has been a little slow.... Lots of walking, lots of trying to find new people. But its been good. Lots of learning and trials this week, which always brings a little bit of growing pain, but it´s been good :) The weather is a little nuts... hot, and cold, hot and cold. Sound familiar, utah? :) 

We found a very special family this week! They have great desires to change and accept the gospel fully in their lives. We found them when they were at the lowest of lows, the dad without a job and food nearly running out, and they were desperately searching for some light in their lives. Good thing we´ve got light to share :) The dad has since found a job, they are growing happier each day, the son will be baptized this Saturday, they are preparing to get married and the rest of the family will be baptized in April :) They are wonderful. 

This week has placed many challenges in our way, and the difficulties of a companionship have shined through many a times this week. As much as we love each other, there´s always going to be difficulties. But each difficulty presents a new way to learn and to better ourselves! 

The Lord is completely in control of our lives. He is in the details of every day, every moment. He knows our thoughts, our feelings, our difficulties, our desires, everything. And He knows exactly how to help us as well. He stands ready to help us and walk with us. But it all depends on us--it depends on our faith, our willingness to do our part, our diligence. And it´s only after we exercise our faith and do our part, that the miracles come. That the changes we desire come. It all comes down to faith and work. But I´m certain that when we do what He asks, He jumps at the chance to help us in every single way. 

That´s been the majority of my thoughts during this week. Lots and lots of learning. And lots of outpouring of love from Heaven :)

Thank you so much for all your support! For the many emails of love and support I received this week. I am so very blessed! 

I´m sorry this email is so short... and boring.... :/

I love you all so much! You are incredible! You are always in my prayers! Have a most wonderful week, filled with joy and blessings and lots of laughs :)

Sending all my love from Brazil, 

Sister Kane

Pic from March 18

March 18

Oi queridos!! Tudo bom?? Can you believe it´s P-day already? Holy cow. I think I say that every week. But this week went especially fast!

So lovely to hear from you all! My goodness, Bentley is darling. So stinking cute. I die every time I get a new picture! So so darling. Is he signing yet? :) You all sound wonderful though! Becoming an apple family are we? ;) Que legal.

Okay so new rules on emailing! First rule, we only have 40 minutes now... boo. Just FYI. I´ll be even more rushed now, but going to do my best to send a decent email out, tá bom? :) Second rule, the first presidency just changed the rules this week for all missionaries everywhere that we can email friends, recent converts, whoever we want now. Interesting! Don´t now why the change, but kind of cool! So friends, feel free :) I´ll do my best to be in contact with everyone! I love hearing from all of you.

But don´t worry, family, you definitely come first :) Always and forever.

So.. this week... we had two baptisms on Saturday! Our little eleitinhos :) Rafael e Ricardo. I´ll send photos. They´re great. Little powerhouses.

The work is going. It´s a little slow right now.. We have 3 families that we´re working with that are all very special. Two I´ve already talked about, that have received the missionaries several times. But they´ve both committed to try again and that they want to progress and prepare for baptism. They are incredible families! Theyre just very very slow to take action and to actually progress. But we´ll see what happens. All in the Lord´s hands :) The other family we found this week. They have 3 sons. They are very humble, very sweet. And searching for the truth. They are ready for the gospel! We just have to wait for the parents to get married legally which takes at least a month if not more, and then I´m certain they´ll be baptized! They have great faith and huge desire to follow Christ. Perfect, right? :) Just have to deal with that marriage thing first. Nobody here is legally married... it´s very rare to find it. But the other 2 families already were married! Yoohoo!

Umm... what else. Oh, COLD. Winter has begun. It´s very early here to start with the cold. But it has definitely begun. Last week we were dying of heat during emails, and this week we´re bundled up in boots and scarves. Seriously. It´s FRIO. Nighttime is sooo cold. Thermals, leggings, sweats, 3 blankets... that´s what I used last night :) Haha at night when the sun goes down, we cling to eachother in the street with shattering teeth just trying to keep warm until the next house. But I love it! I love this weather! Life is good here in Santa Maria :)

Well.... that´s about it for this week. Not much too exciting! My English is a joke. Yes, my english. You´re going to laugh when we talk on Mother´s day. Holy cow.. can you believe how soon that is? Almost 4 months in the mission already... sheesh!

I´m going to attach photos now. Sending all my love!!! You are the best! Anjos do céu. Thank you for all your support, love, and prayers! Miss you!

Hugs and kisses from Brazil,

Sister Kane

March 11

Oi queridos!

Thank you so much for the emails! How wonderful to hear from each of you. You are the coolest! Seriously. I love hearing all the cool things you´re doing and all the great experiences you are having. You are such rays of sunshine. I love ya with all my heart!

Mom and Dad, can´t wait to hear about your cruise and see pictures!!! How fun for you. I´m excited to know everything that you did! And mom, so so cool about your experience with the Book of Mormon! Look at you! So very cool. I´m so proud of my missionary mom :) Really, that is so neat. That she accepted with tears in her eyes, and full of gratitude. Please write me and tell me all the details of that experience!!

Baby Bentley gets cuter and cuter every single week. Seriously. Oh I want to hold that cute little face!!! Minha nossa, he´s going to be running and talking and signing by the time I get home... crazy. By the way, it´s half way through March... did you know that? I cannot believe it! Where is the time going? Holy cow.

Okay, well admidetly (I don´t know how to spell that word...) I don´t much to report this week! It was a rather slow week here... most of our plans every day fell through and our investigators are slow to progress. But we found some really great people this week too! The other day we were in a neighborhood, second day in a row, trying to make contact with two young men that have gone to the church several times already, but we´ve yet to find them at home. We had just knocked on Rafael´s door and no one answered, but we knew there were people in the house. We walked away with the idea that he wasn´t interested and we were going to have to find others. We were talking about how we wanted to find more "Henriques" (he was our baptism last month and was just so powerful, so prepared). Next thing we know, we hear "Sisters!" from down the street and turn around to see Rafael. Long story short, we ended up teaching him and his mom, and he is SO powerful! He´s only 13, but he is an outstanding kid, I tell ya what. So humble, so well mannered, understood everything we taught perfectly. Then right after we went to teach the other young man, his friend as well, Ricardo. Also outstanding and powerful and ready for the gospel. We´re hoping to baptize the two of them this saturday :) We´re calling them our "mini Henriques" or "eleitinhos". (Eleito means elect in Portuguse, but you can add ´´inho´´to mean little... our little elects haha).

Anyway, they are great. We´re excited for them. We´re also working with a wonderful family of 6, who already seem to be members. They are awesome and have a very strong faith. They´ve already received the missionaries many times, but I think we´re going to be able to succeed this time. They seem to be ready now. Ah! A family!

Satan is working hard here in this area. The ward has a lot of issues, and probably triple the number of inactive members than there are active. If not more. But, we´re going to bring them back! Lots of work to do!

Things are going well.. the other sisters are powerful and very hard working. We´re just trying to keep up with them haha. They´re great. It´s a little tough having two in the same area because we knock on the same doors and visit the same members sometimes, but the Lord needs us all here and so we´re making it work!

Hmm... I´ve been trying to remember other things...... But know that your daughter is well and happy! How grateful I am to Heavenly Father for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime.

Time is winding down.. gotta run. I love you with all my heart! You are incredible! I thank Heavenly Father every day for giving me such a wonderful, strong family. What a blessing. Truly. That so many people don´t have. Thank you! I LOVE YOU!!!

Have a marvelous week! Filled with light and faith!

Sending all my love from Brazil,

Sister Kane