Alyssa and Sister Villatoro in front of the temple
Alyssa and Sister Quispe with a friend at the ward party
Alyssa and Sister Quispe in a member’s house
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with their new braids in their hair
Basically, all this week was a big holiday here in Brasil Nordeste, called São João meaning Saint John. And I literally had no idea what it was or why it was being celebrated. 2 weeks ago, I was at the doctor’s office and heard a lady talking to the receptionist about why São João is better than Christmas so obviously, my curiosity was peaked. After spending the last 13 days asking every member and investigator I’ve met, I was finally blessed with answers yesterday at the last minute.
Basically, it’s John the Baptist’s birthday. Get it? Cause it says in the Bible that he’s 6 months older than Jesus so if we celebrate the birth of Christ in December, gotta celebrate the birth of his cousin in June. If I could describe what the holiday celebrations look like I would say imagine Cornbelly’s (if you know what that is), take away the maze, and that’s the holiday. Everyone is dressed up as scarecrows and lumberjacks and making every conceivable corn based dish. What does John the Baptist have to do with corn? Good question.
Anyways, everybody thinks it’s really funny to throw exploding fireworks at the meninas dos Mórmons and they’re literally louder than gunshots. Sister Quispe (my new companion for about 2 weeks) and I have gotten quite a few street contacts just because people feel bad when they see us jump from what we think are bullets being blasted in our direction.
Speaking of Sister Quispe, here’s what I know about her.
23 years old
She is from Peru
Has 5 months in the mission
Doesn’t have the “habit” of sleeping with a pillow (my head still can’t compute that)
Has never been to McDonald’s so I’m taking her today
The only reason she wants to learn English is to be able to sing along with Adele and not just hum
Wanted to ride the robotic bull at the ward party but was not allowed to by “mission rules”
That’s about all I got until now, we’ve only been together for 2 days. Sister Villatoro gave one final “tchau” Friday and went home to Guatemala. There was a little mini shift in companionships because the transfer isn’t over yet, so we’re in temporary reassignment until July 4. We may only have 2 weeks but we’re gonna get miracles!!!
Scripture of the week:
Doctrine and Covenants 123:17 – “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”
Key word: cheerfully
We have the responsibility to not only teach the gospel, but to live it. It’s a gospel of peace, of hope, and of happiness. People need to feel it and see it before they’ll really be able to understand it. Be cheerful disciples of Jesus Christ 😁
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with Samual, his brother, and his mom before his baptism
Eduardo Samuel and his brother in the font with a big thumbs up
Yeah!!!!!! It’s another week and it was great! We had a very special baptism this week and I want to tell y’all about it.
The first Sunday that Sister Villatoro got here, a missionary serving from this ward returned home due to health issues. He was reassigned as a service missionary but unfortunately, there are very few opportunities for service missionaries here as they are relatively new. We knew he was having a rough time adjusting and we decided to visit him.
As we visited him, we got to know his family (none of which are members) including his 8-year-old brother Eduardo. We invited him to church that following Sunday and he came. Little did we know that Eduardo had seen his older brother teaching, baptizing, and serving the Lord which left him with the desire to do the same. Sunday morning, before coming to church, Eduardo told his mother he wanted to be baptized. After church, he told us and we marked his baptism for the following Sunday.
Eduardo is intelligent, honest, and so anxious to learn the gospel. After our visits, he asked his missionary brother to help him mark the scriptures we had read so he could reread them before the next lesson. His brother happily taught and retaught whatever his brother needed in preparation for this day.
Two days before his baptism, it started raining so hard that nobody could leave their houses due to the flooding. We prayed as a district that Eduardo would be able to make it to church Sunday for his baptism. Luckily Sunday is “Sun”day and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky all morning. Eduardo, his missionary brother, and his mother all came for his baptism.
The last baptism that Elder performed in his mission and his very first confirmation was of his little brother. In his confirmation blessing, he said something that stuck with me. “Please always follow the example of your big brother, Jesus Christ.” Many people could argue that this 8-year-old was just doing what he saw his brother doing, but I know and feel that Eduardo was following the footsteps of our perfect brother, whose example will always lead us on the path of righteousness.
2 Nephi 31:9 – “And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, [Jesus] having set the example before them.”
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro in a selfie with another sister
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with a student from English class giving a big thumbs up
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with big cups of acai
Saturday night, the Bishopric asked me to speak, and now that talk I scrambled to write is my weekly email. Enjoy!
>*Fast forward to introduction blabber*> I would like to start my talk by reading a story called “Too Hurried to Serve?”:
In his monthly ward newsletter, a young bishop wrote of a group of religion instructors at a theological seminary who were taking a summer course on the life of the Savior – one focusing particularly on the parables.
When the final exam time came, the students arrived at the classroom to find a note on the table stating that the exam would be given in another building across campus. The note said that the test must be finished within a two-hour time period that was starting at that moment.
The students hurried across campus. On the way, they passed a little girl crying over a flat tire on her new bike. An old man hobbling painfully toward the library with a cane in one hand, spilled his books on the sidewalk. On a bench, by the union building, sat a shabbily dressed, bearded man with a sign: “I need money to eat. Please help me.”
Rushing into the other classroom, the students were met by the professor, who announced that they had all failed the final exam.
The only true test of whether they understood the Savior’s life and teaching, he said, was how they treated people in need. Their weeks of study at the feet of a capable professor had taught them a great deal of what Christ had said and done. But nothing they learned in class was as effective as the lesson learned from the professor’s exam.
–Author Unknown
If we are true disciples of Jesus Christ we have to do what He did, not just know what He did. We know that Christ taught that we must first love God and secondly, our neighbors, that these are the two Great Commandments. But are we doing so?
The prophet Nephi in the Book of Mormon wrote: “He said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?” (2 Nephi 31:10)
Are we following Christ by keeping these commandments? How is our desire to love our neighbors? I’ll be honest, for my part, there are days that are very difficult for me to love everyone. As missionaries, people reject our message, mock our faith, laugh at my accent, and tell me that “no one wants you here.”
In these moments I want to scream “How come you don’t understand my love? I left my country, I left my family, and I learned your language, to bless your life and your family. Don’t you see my love?” But love is not something you debate or discuss, it is something you feel.
I think a lot about how I can “love my enemy, bless those who curse me, do good to those who hate me, and pray for those who mistreat and persecute me.” I also ask how is it possible to reach everyone when I am just weak and inadequate me? One answer can be explained in the story called “The Starfish”:
An old man was walking along the beach. In the distance, he saw someone who seemed to be dancing along the waves. As he got close, he saw a young man picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean.
“What are you doing?” the old man asked.
“The sun is coming up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”
“But young man, there are miles and miles of beach with starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The young man bent down, picked up a starfish, and threw it back past the breaking waves. “It made a difference to that one.”
The young man’s actions represent something in each of us. We are all gifted with the ability to make a difference. Each of us can shape our own future, and each of us can help others reach their potential.
–Author Unknown
We don’t need to do something big or complicated, the small things we do will make a difference in someone’s life.
Alma 37:6 states, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”
Christ taught us to love everyone, which is a process, it is a journey to get to the point where we can say that we really love everyone. Today, we just need to try to love more people, more sincerely than we did yesterday. How can you do that? You can:
Write a letter to someone who is sick
Invite a neighbor over for dinner or family night
Express more sincere gratitude to employees at the grocery store, at the office, and on the bus
Call relatives who live far away and show that you are aware and care about them
For young people, start today by preparing to serve a mission. The best thing you can do to prepare is read and pray about the Book of Mormon.
Participate in service activities in the Church and community
Help your children or siblings read and learn more about Jesus Christ
And visit the friend who didn’t come to church last Sunday, even if you’re not his ministering brother or sister
The big things we do, brother and sisters, are appreciated for sure, but it’s the little things we do consistently that transform our desires and change our hearts.
Let us be true and simple followers of Christ. Let us be disciples every day, through our thoughts, desires, words, and actions. Let’s make a difference for the one, and we will see the miracles and blessings that come.
I know that God is a God of love, that he is our Heavenly Father, who sent his son Jesus Christ to set the perfect example for each of us. I testify, brothers and sisters, “that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;” and our own souls will be filled with joy and love for God as we serve and love our neighbors. Heavenly Father and His Son love us, and I love them. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with members of the English class
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro give a big thumbs-up
Alyssa gives a big thumbs up on a calculus book she was given
Alyssa and Sister Villatoro with the other sisters
To be perfectly honest, this week flew by. It’s all just a big blur in my mind that I’m not quite sure what to write about. I just asked my companion and she’s given me a few ideas.
Music 🎶
First, we had a lesson with a teenage girl who is very spiritual but for a few reasons, will not be able to progress, at least not with us. During said lesson, we saw the girl really open up, she started out very timid and then came out of her shell. By this, I mean that in the middle of a discussion about Joseph Smith, she realized that I was American and decided to show me her best Rhianna impression. She may not understand a single word in the song “Shine Bright like a Diamond” but she knows them all and now, I do too.
Secretary 💻
Remember how I’m a secretary of media references? Well after next week I won’t be. Our mission just got a lot of new service missionaries who will be taking over the office and we’ll go back to street contacting. What was sad is that we had an hour-long meeting with the secretary of media from the Provo MTC, where we learned tons. Then the next day we learned that we wouldn’t be applying any of it. But oh well, it will really be a good thing for our area and our friends who are progressing.
Sacrament ☀️
We had 6 friends come to sacrament! This week was quite the surprise because we literally had no one to teach until Saturday but thanks to the power of Fast and Prayer, we saw miracles. We haven’t marked any for baptism yet, we feel they need a little more time, but they all have potential and are developing their testimonies steadily.
Now some final thoughts from Sister Villatoro…
De Hermana Villatoro: quien diria que iria terminar a mision con una americana jaja, Sister Grace é incrível, a maneira pela qual conseguimos fortalecer nossa Fé juntas é muito sagrado! Saibam que sua filha é uma missionária poderosa e sou grata por estar com ela nesta ultima transferencia! Saludos hermanos!!😁🤙
