JOABE

Last week a lady in our ward told us about someone she had for us to
teach, this week we went there to teach him and WOW. I have never seen
someone SO prepared to receive the gospel!! His name is Joabe, and we
taught him about the restoration and gave him the pamphlet. The next
time we taught him I asked if he had any questions about our last
visit and he goes ``yeah.. I was studying the pamphlet you gave me and
some of the questions at the end I was having a hard time
answering...`` before that moment I didn?t even remember that there
was questions at the end of the pamphlets. NO ONE EVER ANSWERS THEM!
But he is super ready and wants to know everything about the church.

He´s dating the daughter, Regiane, of the member, Irene, who gave us
the referral. And Regiane has a 2 year old daughter, and while we were
teaching him this week, the two year old came over and bit my wrist
super hard. haha it was red the whole next day... also this week I was
holding a water bottle in my arm pit and the water bottle didn?t have
a lid, and we were teaching an old lady, she was sitting and we were
standing, and when we finished I bent over to give her a hug and
DUMPED WATER ALL OVER HER!!! But luckily I?m in Cuiabá so she just
thanked me and told me she was wanting to cool off.... but needless to
say we haven?t gone back there..

and that was my week!

OH also this morning I broke our sink.

this week was a little rough. hahah

love you all!!!

-Sis Lloyd

baptism, general authority, and everything in between

August 24, 2015

Sorry that I didn?t write last week, we went to a farm for P-day and I
didn?t have much time to write.

BUT last week we had 2 baptisms. Thayná and André, they´re siblings 10
and 9 years old.... teaching them was the hardest thing ever. THEY
DONT SIT STILL!!! but I love them to death. The other day I was
playing ball with André and he was super happy and he said to me
``this is so fun!!! no one has ever played with me before!`` their
family situation isn?t the best, but I am just so grateful that now
they have the gospel in their lives.

And this week, Elder Mazzagardi of the seventy, visited us!! It was
sweet! I learned a ton. Something he taught us that I found super
interesting is that exaltation and chastity are two things that go
together. and he talked about the importance of families and temple
marriage. One thing that I have noticed is the decrease of family
values. Almost no one is married here and there?s 12 year old girls
pregnant, or living with their boyfriends. With all of the youth that
we´ve been teaching, the biggest difficulty I?ve noticed is with the
law of chastity. It is super super sad.
Elder Mazzagardi said that this is why Satan is attacking families
so much... because living the law of chastity qualifies us for
exaltation. I am so grateful for the example of my parents and my
siblings of the importance of marriage and of families.
Also for this conference every single one the missionaries here in the
north came, and there was an elder that was in the MTC with me and
when he saw me he said ``wow sister!! you´re a little chubbier!!`` So
I don?t think I?ve lost those 8 kilos yet. haha

and that?s all that I can remember!!!

Thanks for everything, love you all!!

-Sis Lloyd

August 24, 2015

Sorry that I didn?t write last week, we went to a farm for P-day and I
didn?t have much time to write.

BUT last week we had 2 baptisms. Thayná and André, they´re siblings 10
and 9 years old.... teaching them was the hardest thing ever. THEY
DONT SIT STILL!!! but I love them to death. The other day I was
playing ball with André and he was super happy and he said to me
``this is so fun!!! no one has ever played with me before!`` their
family situation isn?t the best, but I am just so grateful that now
they have the gospel in their lives.

And this week, Elder Mazzagardi of the seventy, visited us!! It was
sweet! I learned a ton. Something he taught us that I found super
interesting is that exaltation and chastity are two things that go
together. and he talked about the importance of families and temple
marriage. One thing that I have noticed is the decrease of family
values. Almost no one is married here and there?s 12 year old girls
pregnant, or living with their boyfriends. With all of the youth that
we´ve been teaching, the biggest difficulty I?ve noticed is with the
law of chastity. It is super super sad.
Elder Mazzagardi said that this is why Satan is attacking families
so much... because living the law of chastity qualifies us for
exaltation. I am so grateful for the example of my parents and my
siblings of the importance of marriage and of families.
Also for this conference every single one the missionaries here in the
north came, and there was an elder that was in the MTC with me and
when he saw me he said ``wow sister!! you´re a little chubbier!!`` So
I don?t think I?ve lost those 8 kilos yet. haha

and that?s all that I can remember!!!

Thanks for everything, love you all!!

-Sis Lloyd

TCHAU SISTER CASTRO!

Sister Castro is back in GUATEMALA!!! She was such an awesome missionary and example to me! i learned a bunch from her. and this week, when she was leaving i had to stay with her during all of the activities for the missionaries going home and everytime president or sister Oliveira said something for the missionaries going home, they looked to me and said ``not you. dont listen to this yet.`` haha and sister castro and I got to sleep in Presidents house and it was definitley THE NICEST house i´ve seen yet in Brazil. then we woke up at 3 AM the next day to go to the airport, said our goodbyes, then went back to presidents house. just me, President and Sister Oliveira.. i was on my very best behavior. haha BUT the good news is president gave me permission to sleep until 7. then i woke up and we went to the office and i spent my day there waiting for my companion. 

My companion is a Part-Time missionary because our mission doesnt have sufficient sisters- SO she is from a ward super close to my area, Verdão, and shes just staying for this transfer. i was a bit scared to have a part-timer because that means she didnt pass through the MTC and she knows nothing about the rules or how to teach the lessons. President told me i´d basically be giving all the lessons and doing everything alone. Then she arrived, her name is Sister Amorin, and the first thing she said was ``look. dont be afraid to make me walk a lot, okay?? we´re gonna work this transfer.`` and WOW. she is AMAZING!!!! she has so much love and excitement to be here serving the Lord. it seems like shes already been a missionary for some time, and i forget that she knows nothing, so sometimes i start doing something or saying something and shes goes ``wait. what is that?? what are we doing??`` its pretty funny. haha but I´ve seriously been so blessed with the companions i´ve had and Sister Amorin is no different. Shes going to get her mission call while shes here with me and she´s gonna have her bishop bring it to her so she can open it with me. Its amazing that just in one week we already have made a strong friendship. i dont have a picture of her but ill send one of us next week!! :) 

also this week i learned something interesting... Mosiah 3:19 

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

SO. if we have a ``natural man`` we also have a ``spiritual man`` and when we do the things our natural man wants, our spiritual man is getting weaker, and likewise, when we do what our spiritual man wants, our natural man gets weaker. yesterday during Gospel Principles class, the teacher said that ``our bodies are instruments for our spirits`` and i thought about this verse about the natural man. 

i also had the thought that often times, we get that backward and our spirts turn into the instruments of our bodies. 

how often do we feel the desire to read the scriptures but watch tv, or do something else instead? 

how often should we wake up early for church or seminary/institute but end up sleeping in? 

how often do we have people to visit, church lessons to prepare, spiritual tasks to do, but put off these things until after we have served our natural man? 

it was a super big eye opener for me. I definitely need to strengthen my ``spirital man`` more, so that he can be in control of my ``natural man.`` not the other way around.

Have a great week! love you all!! 

-Sis Lloyd 

This week Alexandre and Brenda were baptized!!!!! 

Brenda was supposed to be baptized July 18 but on the 17 her aunt took her on a suprize trip so that postponed her baptism- BUT she came back and we made sure everything was good, and she was baptized :) Brenda is super awesome. she lives in a home that has a LOT of messed up things. She´s seen and been raised with things no one deserves to be around. and shes only 13 years old. when elder freire was interveiwing her, he said it was the hardest interview he´s had and that during the interview he had to give her a blessing. after her baptism she told us that she felt ``happy and light``. I know that now, she´ll change her life and her future. 

also this week i have divisions with..... SISTER CAMARGO!!!!! and it was her birthday so every house we went to, had cake. it was the best. and im another 8 kilos heavier!! 

aaaaaanndd.... thats all this week. 

tchau tchau!!! 

i love you all. 

-sis Lloyd