Pray Always

this week started out AWESOME!!! my companion builded up all her courage and decided to call alexandre´s mom and just causually ask her if he could be baptized. 

so we call and start talking to her and sister castro starts by asking if she´s okay with him visiting our church and she said ``of course!! its good for him to learn more about God`` so then sister castro asks ``and if he wants to be baptized...`` and then she said ``i think he´s a little young right now. but it thats what he wants-`` then we could hear alexandre in the background yelling ``I WANT TO!!`` haha so she gave permission and we were super happy!!!!!! and he stayed at his moms house for the rest of the week and got home yesterday night... so we visited him and he said ``yeah i dont know if i want to be baptized anymore...`` 😨 so we talked to him a little and it was because while he was at his moms he wasnt reading his scriptures, he missed going to church 2 weeks in a row and so his spirit was weak and he broke the law of chastity and now feels like being baptized isnt what he wants. RIGHT AFTER HIS MOM GAVE PERMISSION!! Satan is real, and when we stop doing those simple things, he will have a bigger influence on us. but then in the middle of the lesson his grandma called us to talk to her and she was so frustrated with alexandre and she goes ``all he talked about was being baptized and now that his mom gave permission he doesnt want to. i dont even know what to do.`` so she invited us to come over tonight to talk to him about whats going on. so everythings gonna be okay :) God is more powerful than Satan.

 Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

Alma 37: 46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

Never be slothful in doing the simple things! 

Love you all!! thanks for all the support

tchau tchau! 

-Sis Lloyd

good ol´ cuiabá

WOW this week was a good one!!!! 

Alexandre... (i learned that his name is actually alexanDRE not alexanDER haha) we have to ask his mom for permission for him to be baptized... but alexandre said shes super closed and he doesnt know her address... but look how amazing Heavenly Father is!! we were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and in the middle of the lesson his Step Dad came over and started talking to us and we asked him where he lives and he said ``im not from here.... im just passing by....`` (hes a little different) then he started quoting scriptures and me and sister castro finished the verses with him and then sister castro said ``thats exactly what we´re teaching your son right now!!!!`` so he gave us his address to visit him and his wife... SCORE!!!! 

also this week we had ``festa junina`` which is basically the 24 of July for Brazil. and there was a family there thats super awesome!!! theres a mom, and 3 boys that are 14, 12 and 10. we visited them on saturday and taught the restauration and after sister castro asked if they would come to church with us on sunday, and one little boy that´s 12 responded ``LOGICALLY!!!`` hahaha it was super funny. BUT sunday morning came around and we went to their house and knocked and knocked and called and called and no one answered. :( so we visited them after church and she said that everyone slept through the morning but that they´ll be there next week!! they are super sweet. i already love them. 

also the sun here is so strong (im using sun screen, dont worry) that my hair is turning white. everyday it gets lighter and i have streaks of white. I can´t wait for summer here!! hahaha

its so amazing to see how the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. Im so so so happy to be here. even if the sun is dying my hair. :)

and thats about all the excitement this week!!! 

love you all!!! thanks for all your support. 

-Sis Lloyd

Raimundo and Heloiza

Gift of Tongues

this week was another amazing one!!! we had 2 baptisms on saturday, Raimundo (an elderly man that lives in the homeless shelter) and Heloiza (the young woman that was baptized a year ago and never confirmed) SO we cleaned the baptismal font friday so that the water would be crystal clear- while we were cleaning..... the church ran out of water. SO bishop called for someone to come fix it and it was a stressful day. then during the night bishop called and said we had water again and that he would fill the font with water. awesome everythings back in order. SO we had a lesson in the church so we go there and open the doors to the font excited to see how our efforts of cleaning paid off and............ the water was brown. brown brown brown. so we raced to bishops office and opened the door and he looked at us and calmy asked ``you guys saw the water?`` hahaha yeah. the water in the church is now brown. BUT saturday came around and no one complained or said anything about the water. all was well. 

oh and alexander talked to his mom and she wont let him be baptized- but when he told us i felt peace and i know he will be baptized soon. and so were gonna visit his mom with bishop and see what happens!! 

also this week i learned something a little freaky and a huge testimony builder. almost all of the other churches here speak in ``tongues`` and a lady was asking us if we believed in the ``gift of tongues`` in our religion and so we explained a little bit about it and then she told us that in her church all of them speak in ``tongues`` that while the pastor is talking spirits enter into them and they start talking in different languages- but heres the thing- no one understands what theyre saying. and then she said when the spirits leave they feel a happiness that cant be described. so obviously by this point my eyes are huge and my heart is pounding with fear. but we gave her a book of mormon and she started reading it the moment it entered her hand. BUT then later we asked our ward mission leader about this ``gift of tongues`` and he said on his mission he had a companion from tonga and they walked passed a church that was speaking in ``tongues`` and his companion stopped and said ``wait!! theyre speaking my language!!!`` and then his companion started crying and wanted to leave that very moment. his companion said they were all speaking profanities about the Savior and saying horrible things. I AM SO SO SO GREATFUL TO BE A PART OF THIS TRUE CHURCH!!! i know that this ``gift of tongues`` is a tool the devil is using to decieve thousands of people. i am so greatful that the Lord is blessing me with the true gift of tongues to be able to help these people here understand the goodness of God and learn about His true gospel!! 

speaking of the gift of tongues, my district leader is going to campo grande this week with the new mission president and he said ``im gonna see sister fernandes!!`` so i said ``OH!! tell her how much i love you!!`` and then it went dead silent.  and i corrected myself and all was well again. hahahaha

thats all this week

tchau!!

-Sis Lloyd

Preparing the next generation

this week was awesome!! we taught a bunch of Mateus´ friends (the 14 year old that was baptized last week) and we had planned to watch the restauration video but we forgot it and i looked at sister castro and said ``do you have faith??`` and then we opened the dvd player and what dvd was in there??? the restauration!! haha but then the TV wouldnt work and sister castro just looked at me and whispered ``the devils workin hard... we have an elect in the room..`` so we just shared a scripture and our testimonies and then one of Mateus´ friends, alexander, said he wants to be baptized. and alexander lives super close to our house (hes practically our neighbor) and sister castro told me that he lives with his grandma and she REALLY wants him to be baptized in another church and she´s super strict (she´s already yelled at us once. haha)- SO we prepared a lesson for her to realize the importance of baptism and that alexander wants to be baptized, etc. SO we walk up to the house and his grandma comes out and just starts talking and she said ``alexander is going to his moms this weekend but told me he doesnt want to because he wants to go to church on sunday because he wants to be baptized in THIS CHURCH. so i want you guys to come here more often and help him prepare and ill make us all snacks, okay?`` and i literally just stood there with my mouth open. 

and yesterday we were teaching a bunch of youth and alexander was there and he said ``one day i´ll be an elder.`` and one of the young women that was with us said `´but you´re not even baptized!`` and then he stood up and said ``YEAH!! IM GONNA BE BAPTIZED!!!!!........ sisters... whens my baptism??`` hahaha it was super funny. 

Almost ALL of our investigators are youth. sister castro and i are convinced that in 5 years somethings gonna happen and the Lords gonna need a lot of strong missionaries. 

I am so greatful for this gospel!!! i know it is true with all of my heart!! everyday on my mission something has happened that makes my testimony grow even more. a mission is the best thing in the world. 

much love

-Sis Lloyd