The Adventure Continues!

Hello Everyone! 
 
I hope you all had a wonderful week! This week went by so fast for me (once 
again :) ) 
 
We had another batismo this week! It was the man who got married last week. It 
was an adventure though. So Friday night we found out that we still don´´t have 
water in the capel (it has been about 2 weeks now) and so we could not have the 
batismo there, but we called the elders in Lagarto and they said we could have 
the batismo there. So Saturday afternoon me, S. Lopez, Josè (who got baptized), 
his wife and the member who baptized him headed out to Lagarto where our 
wonderful LZ´s had the font filled and ready. It was just us who came in the car 
and our LZ´s at the baptism, but the spirit was the same. We sang, I gave a 
talk, there was the baptism and we had bolo afterward. One of our LZ´´s 
conducted the meeting. It was small, but it was such a wonderful day for all of 
us. We then took the hour ride back to Itabaiana. I am so grateful for wonderful 
members and that everything worked out. He recieved the Holy Ghost yesterday and 
it starts their one year wait untl they can be sealed in the temple :) 
 
We are also teaching a ready class here in the branch. It is us 4 sisters 
teaching it. We don´t have alot of people, but it is so worth it. A part about 
working in an interior is that pretty much no one over the age of 30 knows how 
to read or write. It is so rewarding to teach them and I am so grateful that I 
can help. Here I am speaking and writing in a second language and they don´t 
even know how in their first languge. They are so wonderful! 
 
Nothing else crazy happened this week... we are still teaching people and loving 
life here in Itababiana! 
 
I know this church is true and that Jesus Cristo é nosso Salvador! I know He 
lives and will return on day! 
 
I hope you all have a great week!! I love you and miss you all!! 
 
Com amor, 
Sister Chilson 







Sister Lopez and Sister Chilson




President and Sister Gomes

Wedding Couple with Missionaries

 

 Wedding Couple Baptism

 

 Baptism 15 year old boy

Birthdays, a Wedding and a Baptism

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous week! I cannot believe that another week has passed by! It feels like just yesterday I was here emailing all of you! This week went by so fast and we had alot of exciting things happen.

First, my companion celebrated her 20th birthday Saturday and another sister we live with celebrated her 21st birthday a week ago today. We had cake obviously and celebrated each one of them. I am now officially the only one in our house that is 19. I am still the youngest. The other sister is 20 também.

Sister Lopez and I had a wedding this week! We got up at 5:30 to leave our house at 6:30 to head to a members house to get her ready for her wedding. Here, getting married is so complicated and can take a while, so I think that is why pretty much no one is married legally... They had to be at the place at 8 in the morning. We didn´t actually get to see the wedding. It was them and 2 other couples and they all got married at the same time. I don´t know exactly how it all works, but they are married now! We had a little celebration at church that same night with cake, we took a bunch of pictures... it was so much fun! I will send pictures next week because I can´t send pictures from this computer, sorry! The woman who got married is already a member, but her now husband is not and he will be baptized this coming Saturday. They are so sweet and it was fun to be apart of a wedding :)

This past Saturday Sister Lopez and I had a baptism too! It was a young man who is 15 years old. It was so special to have a baptism. While we were waiting for him to have his interview, Sister Lopez, the companion to our district leader and I starting singing hymns with parts and it was so amazing! Here, people don´t really sing that well and sometimes it is without a piano if they don´t have one. I was singing soprano, S. Lopez sang alto and the elder sang tenor. The elder has an amazing voice and he played the piano while we sang. I felt right back at home singing with them and it was so amazing to hear the beautiful chords! I am still a music lover at heart :)

We taught a bunch of people this week too... overall, such an amazing week! This past week, I have been especially grateful for the Spirit that we can feel. The Spirit is so wonderful because it can help you do hard things, but have peace at the same time. It can be hard to accept the will of the Lord sometimes, but with the Spirit we can have peace with whatever happens. I am so grateful to be apart of this church, to be serving here in Itabaiana and helping move forward the kingdom of God here on earth.

Sometimes S. Lopez and I walk away from a lesson and we just look at each other and say ´This church is true. How can it not be true?´ When you feel the Spirit and see how this gospel touches people´s lives, there is no doubt that this is the true church of Christ.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!! I love you and miss you!!

Com amor,

Sister Chilson

I love being a missionary!

Hello Everyone!

Nothing too crazy happened this week, Brasil lost 7-1 which was really hard and everyone was pretty mad here and they lost on Saturday too... But at least the states played well this year! Anyway, it is good that Argentina didn´t win because there would be alot more people angry because there is always the rivarly with Argentina.

This week though I had a Zone Meeting in Lagarto and us four sisters are the only sisters in our zone, so that´s fun. Also, after we had almoço with the four elders in our district in their area because we were just going to eat almoço in casa and it is an hour ride back, so we asked and they said sure (after they checked with the irmã of course :) ) 8 missionaries... we wook a picture becasue the family was so happy to see sisters. We are a rare thing in some parts here :)

I got to play the piano at church yesterday and it made me so happy. That is one thing that I miss you much- just being able to play the piano (and a good piano) when ever I want and play whatever I want, but I am grateful for the opportunities I have to play here and everyone is always so grateful.

The transfer is going by so fast! I cannot believe that this week is week 4 of this transfer! Luckily this transfer is 7 weeks, so we still have 4 more. The days go by so fast with Sister Lopez as my companion and the weeks go by even faster! Being a missionary is so amazing! The one goal that I had before my mission of what I wanted to be better after was be better at following the Spirit. I think it is a lifetime thing, but this week I was able to feel the joy more when I followed the Spirit. Don´t worry, I always follow the Spirit the best I can, but this week there were experiences where I could look back and say- Wow, that was the Spirit telling me to do that and I did it and this amazing thing happened and I feel so amazing. Oh, how grateful I am for the Spirit!

I am so grateful to be serving here in Itabaiana! I love being a missionary and watching the gospel change people´s lives. This gospel is amazing! The church is true!

I hope you all have a fabulous week!! I love you and miss you!

Com amor,

Sister Chilson

Church meeting house

Itabaiana

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July!! It was hard to be away from home because I LOVE the 4th of July, but Heavenly Father blessed me with an American companion this transfer and we enjoyed the 4th together as well as shared some American traditions with our Brazilian roommates :) I wanted to send pictures, but I don´t know how, so I will try to send them next week... sorry! We made a traditional meal with chesseburgers, watermelon, lemonade, potato chips and smores for dessert. You may be wondering how we managed smores- we just lit the burners on the stove and roasted the marshmellows that way. The creativiy of missionaries :) We also got the hear fireworks because there was a jogo do Brasil the same day and Brasil won (yeah!!) so there were fireworks. Not the same as in the states, but still a great day :)

I met my new mission presdient this week- President and Sister Gomes. They are super sweet and I am excited to get to know them better. President shared his new vision for the mission and I am so excited! I will have an iterview with him in a few weeks and them get to know them better. I still love the Gonzagas, but I know that the Gomes´ are called to serve here for a reason.

I love working in a branch and an interior do Brasil, but that means that things are far away, like we had our District Meeting at the capela where our DL meets and it is an hour away- one way by bus! It is fun though to travel and see different places. I love working in a Branch too. It maybe smaller in size, but it is strong in Spirit and there are wonderful members here and I am so excited and grateful to learn from their example of service and dedication.

Sister Lopez and I also taught a bunch of people this week too. I was thinking this week about how a mission is hard, and at times I wish I could go home because my life would be a whole lot easier that way. I then get to thinking though about all the people I never would have met if I didn´t serve a mission. Not just the other missionaries, but all of the members, the people taught... I start to tear about just thinking about what a blessing it is to know these people. Even if they don´t get baptized, I still am so grateful to have met them and I still remember them. Each person I have met, I will remember. I love the mission and it is hard, but oh so worth it! Our Hevaenly Father is merciful, loving and oh so wonderful! I am so grateful for the experiences I have had thus far on the mission.

I hit my 8 monthes mark this week and now I can say that this month I will be half way done with my mission... How crazy is that?! I think time has been going by so far and these past monthes were the slow ones!

I love this gospel. I know that our Savior lives and loves each one of us.

I hope you all have a great week! And if you live in the Rochester area, please go to Pageant for me! :)

Com amor,

Sister Chilson