HAPPY DAY... TUDO BEM!

So you know how every thing good has a theme song? As it turns out the voting for Brazil is coming up here in the beginning of October. And the way they vote is every candidate has a number. So like they have a husband and a wife running and their numbers are 5555 and 55555. So when you go to vote, you dont have names there you just vote for the number? SO they have these cars that pass by every couple of minutes with a little jingle about their numbers (SUPER LOUD), our current favorite is 7777. "seite... seite... seiteSEITE."  BUT the point of this story is that we have our only little theme song that we sing like 10,000 times a day. "And should we DIE, before our journeys through, HAPPY DAY, TUDO BEM!" 

Now you are probably thinking- thats awful! But im gonna tell you why we love it. We were running in the street the other day to make a huge activity and it started to rain. And I mean POUR (you have a little inkling of what thats like lately I think!). We didnt have coats with us or anything because it was after a conference in a different city so we came home and just went to work. We were SOAKING wet but we couldnt exactly not arrive in the church, so we were trying to run in between every covering we could find. Slipping and sliding and just thinking- ONLY ON THE MISSION would you do this. So you know the phrase YOLO? I always say- "YOMO" (you only mission once) and we just do whatever it is that is hard. But this day, we needed a little more pioneer encouragement. So ever since we start singing, AND SHOULD WE DIE, BEFORE OUR JOURNEYS THROUGH? HAPPY DAY! TUDO BEM!

So this theme continued the next day when we were walking to our lunch appointment. They dont have trash cans here. Like in the states you put your trash can out on the curb and the trash man picks it up right? WELL, here, everyone has a metal bucket? And a couple days a week people run around behind a truck and collect it all. Another important detail- Brazillians are SUPER short. So we are walking along talking about something or other and my companion WHACKS her head on one of the lixeiras that was like... floating in the air right where her head was? So she starts to bleed profusely. Like its all over her arm and hand and head and she is just chilling there like... AND SHOULD WE DIEEEE BEFORE OUR JOURNEYS THROUGH!!! Hahaha. So Im trying not to laugh because im thinking- shes gonna need stitches! So I start batendo portas (knocking doors) and asking really strange things like- "irmão, is there a woman in your house? No?! Okay just kidding! Tchau!" So we go from house to house with the whole street starting to panic until we find a woman in a house (we´ve got rules ya know?) AND we manage to get it to stop bleeding and she didnt even need stitches! BLESSINGS! Buuuut she still has a huge egg on her head where she hit. But its all good because the next day we passed by for her to pose for a picture there! Youll be recieving that soon!

In other news I tried to kill a moth by slamming our bedroom door, the moth made it back inside (FAIL) but the door got stuck... So at like 10:25pm my companion was stuck outside of our room taking a shower and I was stuck inside. WITH A MOTH! So my companion is like THROWING herself again the door and Im on the other side freaking out on the phone with the mission secretary. Im all- Elder Curtis DONT REPEAT this! He goes- yeah right this is going in the mission newsletter! AAAAND as it turns out ALL the office elders could hear because it was on loud voice! OOPS! Desculpnaodesculp! The good news though is that we found where elders in the past chipped away the wall (so not the first time?) and we managed to wedge the door open with a screw driver! BEM VINDO A BRASIL! HAPPY DAY! TUDO BEM!

Oh and we had a miracle baptism. Its fine. This week has been pretty legit. Her name is Giovana and the elders taught her like 5 years ago. I have a huge testimony in baptizing people in the area book so against the will of all my companions we visit everyone that has already been to church. ANDDD Giovana didnt have any interest the first time. We marked to come back. And she was all- I was reading the Book of Mormon and I had a dream that its all true. She went to church and then we baptized her all in 20 days. Sister Conley kept saying- this is a MIRACLE! And Im just like- when is ANYTHING in our life not a miracle these days?

Com amor,

Saudades,

Sister Haley Mills

PS we survived transfers, our next goal is to die here together. ONLY 1 MORE TRANSFERRRRR! AHHHHH.

 

Multi-Zone Conference

Giovana Baptism

 

 

Lets start a church or something

So lets start with the sad. Our baptism for this week (Ashley) decided the day of the interview that she didnt want to be baptized anymore. She still came to be interviewed but spent the hour explaining to our District Leader that she just doesnt want to be baptized. (She had been super excited now for 2 months to be baptized.) Sooo em fin we cancelled the baptism. We think someone talked her out of being baptized, buuuut she wont own up to who so all we can do is hope and pray that when the time is right she´ll remember her testimony of Jesus Christ and where she can find him. It´s amazing to me how much the Lord loves us. That as we continue to sin and make bad choices the Lord continues to lead us in the right direction with continual chances. He sent His Son to die for us because he so loved the world. So its hard to leave Ashley like this but I know she is in the hands of the Lord, who knows best.

Speaking of the Lord knowing best. One of the biggest blessings of my whole mission happened this week. In the way of a small simple miracle. We planned to break in our new branch mission leader taking him to a lesson with a recent convert. We get there and the house is pitch black without any windows open. We call him and it turns out he forgot? Normal. But awkward with members there. So we decide to just go to our next lesson and we invite our branch mission leader and his wife along. Hoping and praying that our next appointment would be there and would have interest enough not to be weirded out by 4 peoples clapping at their door. So we show up and the wife goes- I was reading the Book of Mormon and what a marvelous book! She goes on the say she believes in everything. That wasnt the miracle part (this is brazil after all) buuuut what was so amazing was our branch mission leader baring his testimony about how he came to know the truth. I have confidence that it was the first time in 10 years he bore his testimony. And it blew me away. He spoke of the day 10 years ago he saw 2 teenage boys in white shirts and ties selling something in the street (or so he thought) they passed the house and then returned and knocked their door. They gave them a book (FOR FREE) Haaaaaa. And he read it and HE KNEW. I know that we can all read it and know. That´s why this was such a miracle. It reminded me of the little things.

In other news we´ve decided to move people to our city. If we cant baptize enough to make a ward here we will just move people who have already been baptized? So now everytime we pass houses for sale i take a picture and write down the address. Then every Sunday we give the list to our Branch President (who doesnt live here....) Everyone here has a phrase- (if God wants) "se Deus quiser" and my companion and I always say- "Ele quer" (He wants) Hahaha. But seriously. We can help out a little riiiight?

Also fun fact. Here in the lon house where we write our families the guy who runs it LOVES 80s music from the US. So every Monday I hear Betty Davis Eyes and under my breath sometimes I sing/hum the words. My companion is QUITE impressed with my 80s pop music knowledge. She is also SUPER excited to see the snow shovel and cheese grater dance moves that go along with it (Dad).

Wooof sorry this email is like 10 million pages long. BUT I saved the best for last. WE ARE GOING TO START A NEW BRANCH OF THE CHURCH IN A VILLAGE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!!! Let me explain. We have a less active member that sent a Book of Mormon to her sister. And her sister has a HUGE family. So they asked for another. Then they started reading the Book of Mormon to the whole village? (Ohhh Brasil) So then they started calling our member (Neide) every week to move there and start the church for them? So thank goodness she has her wits about her and called us up. She is like- sooo we need someone with the priesthood to go baptize this whole village. Because I told them about the church and how you have teenage boys with white shirts and ties that go around preaching. So this whole group went to the middle of their village and waited in a park for weeks on end to see these missionaries. Then they started going to the nearby villages to find a church. As it turns out the nearest church is 5 hours away (we called the zone leaders to look it up for us) ANNNND now our President will need to call that mission President and maybe we´ll baptize a whole town. Miracles na? But fo´reals. Only in Brasil.

Amo vocês.

Saudades de vocês.

Sister Haley Mills

NOSSA!

The weekly cockroach kill count was 4 here. 4 is a week high, I think they like the heat. THE ONLY ONES THAT DO! And by the way im starting to regret leaving Montana.... thats when you know its hot.

Highlights from this weeeeek... other than the cockroaches.... just kidding.

So my companion had the stomach flu! Our week was mainly spent dying without food in our house. With lots of throw up. What blessings right? But actually it was awesome because I got to read the Liahona! I read ALL of the past general conference in one day and was chomping at the bit to go tell people about what I had learned. We also gave talks about obedience in the branch Sunday. That's the problem with... I mean BLESSING of branches- you get to speak like once a month! I told about when Jessica Andrew Josh and I went camping and Jessica got stuck in that bush. How you told us we couldn't leave sight of the camp, but we did it anyway. I talked about how God gives us commandments because he knows better than us. Just like parents with children, he is OUR father. So I brought it back together talking about how we need to trust that our Father has more perspective than us. And if we cant see the danger on the other side of creek, it doesn't mean its not there! Obviously everyone loved it, and afterward I received a ton of parenting advice! HAAAAA.

Also this week our branch called a branch mission leader! The good news is that he has been returning to church after 10 years of inactivity? The bad news is he was inactive after like 3 months of membership so we get to field questions like- for the baptism you need 3 priesthood members... could it be women?!

HAHAHAHA. But we love him so much and he is really excited. We´ll just have to start a weekly apostasy list of things that happen. You are gonna LOVE ITTTT!

Also we saw a TON of miracles this week with one investigator asking - But how can I KNOW which church has the authority of God?! GOLDENNNN. 

Also I know I always have to include a good story about men trying to kiss me. So this time Ill tell you about a man that stopped on his bike and almost fell over trying to kiss me on the lips? The good news is that he said he´ll go to church Sunday! HAAAAA. Also, he wants to marry me, which here is like 300 dollars. So at least he isn't super poor? You always knew I was a gold digger!

But in all seriousness. I know that God loves us. I know that he wants us to return to live with him. I know the purpose of this world is to have families and seal them together for eternities to have eternal happiness and joy in the life to come. I know that without this the world would be utterly wasted, and for this I am here sharing that message with the world.

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Sister Haley Mills

 

Sisters Conley and Mills

 

I'm crazy but you like it!

So my companion and I are flighty and trunky TOGETHER because we both received our flight plans this week. And we BOTH fly through Atlanta. And like... 30 more sisters. So you can say that will be a party, and you definitely wont be wrong!

I'm so glad you already reserved my spot so SOON after I get home to speak! Ive been practicing my English a little bit lately praying, so I hope I'll be able to talk normal? Just no one make fun of me okay? The other day Sister Conley and I were practicing different ways to invite people to be baptized in the street and she goes- I think we need to be more (in Portuguese)... "sneaky" (in English)? and I go... "sleuth" (in English)? Then we have a 2 hour conversation about if the word sleuth is a real English word or if we are going crazy. So... that's just a little sneak peak at what you all are in for!

Also, we will have Christmas in casa?! I can't even believe my little ears! Does that mean we have to buy presents? What do you guys want from Brazil? I think I'll just bring home Paçoca, Goiabada, and Coshinhas. Ask Sister DePaula about them, they are the best things in the world! 

Anyway, lets get to the good stuff. We baptized INGRID this week! It was probably the cutest baptism of my whole life! She was so excited to be baptized! She told us after I'm baptized (with hand motions) "I can't SMOKE, and I can't DRINK, not even BEER!" CUTEST THING EVER. Also, she was praying after a lesson we had with her and she goes- "Please bless me with... i have no idea (sei lá! Saude?!), health?!" ...maybe you had to be there? It was hilarious in Portuguese.

Also, favorites of the week are one man stopping us in the road to ask for my hand in marriage and I'm just chilling there drinking my açai. My companion is literally freaking out (because she is only understanding half of what he is saying) but she knew it was something about my beautiful eyes and hair?? Hahaha. So I wait for him to finish and go- thanks so much, but we are running late, you are always welcome in the church. Then my companion goes- I don't think I understood what he was saying....? Hahaha. 

In other news it turns out the 7th of September is the 4th of July here? WOOHOO for learning Brazilian history? ALSO, as it turns out NO ONE goes to church? Including members? So our little branch had like 20 people and half of them are from other cities who have callings to come help a gente out. It was so sad because this branch has literally been dying for 12 years, and yesterday everyone saw how bad it is. People started giving DYING cliché testimonies like... "I know the church is true, We just have to keep hoping more people will see that." It was awful because our little baptism was like- why is everyone so sad? There are a TON of people here! A little perspective can turn any situation for the better right? Also we taught an orphanage and a pastor this week, so we are thinking we can just have a big baptism of like... 100 people at once?

One thing Elder Audikitis said when he was here- "God is happy with you, but he is not satisfied." I was thinking about the implications in our lives this statement has. He is happy with you, but is he yet satisfied with you? We can do more, we can be more, and it is my testimony that this comes through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Saudades de vocês,

Te amo, BEIJOS,

Sister Haley Mills

The week of MILAGRES (miracles)

Okay, lie- they are ALL weeks of miracles, but this week- WOO did we see the milagres!

The first can be that I already knew about baby Jade on SATURDAY! We were on our way to our baptism with a recent convert named Sofia. She is fluent in English and her DREAM is to live in Mesa, Arizona (I have no idea why- but its just so perfect that we live there righhht?) So she said she was trying to find me on Facebook and she found DAD. And he had a picture with a baby! So she goes- you want to see I downloaded it for you! BABY JADEEEE! Ohhh que benção! I am so happy that it all happened so simply for Ali and that we have one more bebezinha in the family! She´ll be fun soon I just know it!

But really- our week- it just rocked! We baptized Maria Eduarda and it was so awesome! She was terrified of the water and it hasn't rained for a long time so our swimming pool (slash baptismal font) was filled like... to my knees. So we used the biggest man in the branch to just drop her down there and literally lunge her back up! HAAAA! But it was amazing how the spirit was there even though the situation was... a little less than perfect. But Maria Eduarda is really such a gem. She was laughing about the swimming pool after and being such a good sport. On Sunday she received the gift of the holy ghost and in her blessing they said she would be a huge help for this branch! So everyone is excited about that! And now the branch has two young women! HA!

Also, this week we had mission tur! AKA Elder Aidukitis (sp?) came here and did a little fireside/devotional with us! It was AMAZING. Did you know that when members of the 70 talk the spirit like... swirls around them? Just kidding... sort of. He was SO inspirational and he taught us so much! One thing I loved that he talked about was when he was a mission president one set of elders brought 100 non members to church in a little baby branch. And everyone was freaking out because they didn't have room for all of them in the church. This was less than 15 years ago and now they have 3 wards there! So me and Sister Conley go... VAMOS! 

So our goal now is to have the whole building filled with investigators.... we´ll see how this goes! HA! I think it would be better to have the whole room filled with baptized members? We´re working on it. We have 2 baptisms planned for this week and mais 1 for the next week! WOOOOO!

OH and the other day we talked with this group of teenagers in the street- we are like- can we come by another day and visit? They go- ya, there are a ton of us in the orphanage! HAAA! So essentially we are going to fix a whole bunch of broken families and there will be a bonitinho happy ending!

ALSO, in the lon house right now... Do you really want to hurt me- is playing. Like from the 80s. DAD you would love it here!

I had a ton more, but for some reason I am becoming boring as well!

Amor, beijos, e saudades!

Sister Haley Mills

Sisters Mills, Mayorga, Sares, and Armstrong

WOOHOO KISS ON THE LIPS!

So lets start off this week with the best news ever.

I got kissed.

An open mouth kiss from a drunk woman in the street.

Just... your welcome.

So in real news, I'm in Happy Harbor! Or in good ol' Portuguese - PORTO FELIZ! Thats right, 5 months later I finally moved and OH was it time. I loved Santana de Parnaíba, but now I have a new challenge! My new companion is Sister Conley from Nevada City, California and she has been here in Brasil for only 3 months, BUT has the same time in the mission as me! AKA we are a party!  And by party I mean she is like an obedient diligent robot who I LOVE. She visa waited in Eugene Oregon, so we have some great freezing to death stories to share. Which is perfect because OH MY GOODNESS it is HOT than inferno here! 

Our mission is split into two halves (teams) The winners (wherever I am) and... JUST KIDDING. The interior and the capital. So everyone always wants to serve in the capital because it has Walmart, temple trips, and well... people? So I WAS there and now I've been banished to the interior of São Paulo! And as it turns out it is SO HOT here! It was freezing in the capital! I already have tan lines from like 4 days here! We have a baby ramo here that hasn't really had any baptisms in years, BUT the good news is that we already have HUGE plans here and people to bring to the truth!

The first is Maria Eduarda! She has 15 years... I mean she is 15. Awkward. And she will get baptized this week! We asked her why she wants to be baptized and she said- I want to be clean and follow Christs example. If that isnt the cutest thing you've ever heard... youre cray. So when I arrived she was a little scared off by the church because the sisters tried to baptize her in a week, but I made some jokes about how we just want everyone to be happy with us and she accepted a date to be baptized this week! WOOOO! Then in church the President said- and we have a baptism this week, the name of the young woman is Duda. Stand up! HAHAHA. I pat her on the back and say- DESCULPA, how embarrassing! MAS, desculpnãodesculp, she will help this branch so much! I know that this church is true, and that its Gods will for it to grow!

Buttt other than that we walked. A LOT. I've never worked so hard in my life. And im new blood here so the bug bites will start to die off here in the next few weeks! As it turns out white skin is their favorite flavor? 

TE AMO! Saudades de vocês!

Sister Haley Mills

PS tell Jade to come OUTTTT she has to be fun before I get home!

 

Sisters Mills and Mayorga

 

One moreee!

"Sooo remember that time when all we ate were... tangerines... dooo dadooo da dooo dooooo." - Regina Spektor.

But really. 

You know there is something really hard about writing every week, because the mission is one of those- you had to be there things. I try to explain in the best I can but its just one of those things you have to understand. There were 6000 ups and 6000 downs and interestingly enough the words "up" and "down" don't exist here. its the same as above and below... sooo fact for inquiring minds.

Jade will come! I have faith that little baby will jump right out of there when the time is right. PROBS on Dads birthday to upstage him! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! Also, I cant believe Josh will serve a mission in New York! That's so cool! Tell him congrats, its the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole life, but at the same time I wouldn't give a second back. AND tell Uncle Baloo CONGRATS when the time comes. Being a Grandpa is something I will never know anything about, but I'm sure its almost as cool as being an Aunt.

This week we set a goal in our zone for everyone to baptize ONE more person than they already had. (My idea) (just kidding- idea of the spirit) so we all go out and start finding people who have already been to church who fell through for some reason or other. We think about the neighbor of a less active so we call her and ask if we can come visit. Then we receive a call from someone in a different ward who used to live next door to them as well and he says- have you ever visited Felipe? Ive been thinking about Felipe. So this is all obviously a sign right? So we go there AND we mark a baptism for Sunday of Felipe. WOOHOO right? Sooo he is a teenager who has already been to church something like 5 times, but the missionaries never even visited him because he literally lives in the boondocks. So we mark a date and the next day it is POURING rain and we didn't have money for the bus. So we are walking the 4km to his house and we get a call- his mom retracted permission. HE CANT GET BAPTIZED. And he is DEPRESSED and we are DEPRESSED. And my companion is screaming in the rainy dirty street- does she even LOVE her son?! It was like a Travis Mills film you know? HAHA. So we all calm down a little and say a prayer. We decide it is best to turn back. Not to visit. So yesterday we decide its time, and we make the trek there and talk to his mom. She is like- okay- he can GO to church he just cant get baptized yet. SO that's a step. We´ll work with it! Small victories every day!

On another note my companion has announced to the whole world that I am a full-fledged Brasilian. I CANT eat without rice and beans. Like- I don't get full, people ask what we eat in the US and I start to think... I don't even know how anyone gains weight there without eating a kilo of rice and beans at every meal. Its a problem. Also, recently its been SUPER dry here. Like... Arizona dry. People complain about it and I'm just like- NORMAL.

The other sisters moved in this week and President called me yesterday to say we are going to have 2 more in our house. Transfers are today so we will see who stays for it, but just imagine 6 sisters in one house. Our bishop was like- I've never even seen that happen. Its gonna be CRAZY. I told president to pick the other two sisters with wisdom. If anyone likes to pick fights we are DONE FOR. Also, when we were talking to President apparently he was talking in English and we didn't even notice. So after Sister Armstrong and I are like- WOW that's so cool 3 sets of missionaries in one ward. And our companions are like... WAIT WHAT HAPPENED?! Hahaha. I think I've had one of the most unique missions you could even have. When I start putting it all together people are just dumb-founded. Ive also lived with Sister Armstrong now for 5 months, in 4 different houses 4 different times. Its cool. We are besties. 

My President in Montana one time told me- some people need the mission more than the mission needs them. Lately I've been feeling like I need the mission more than it needs me. I cant even remember who I was before this great test in my life, but I never want to go back. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior. That he is OUR Savior. He only could unlock the gate of heav´n and let us in.

With amor,

Sister Haley Mills

PS - say cururuquara 6 times fast. (Its one of our cities.) OR carapicuíba.