Queridos Amados Irmãos e Irmãs, 

I hope everyone is having a great October so far. Today is my 3 months anniversary and it is so weird to think about because I honestly forget what day of the week it is most of the time so remembering the months is frankly impossible. CTM feels like a lifetime ago but I also can’t remember most of yesterday. Time flies when you work and work and work some more.

Today was my last day with my trainer Sister Perri. Around noon we left Bom Conselho, rode in a van to Garanhuns, and said goodbye. Sister Perri and another sister, Sister Souza, (I got to do an exchange with her this week, it was awesome) got on a bus to Recife and I’m currently with Sister Murrillo until Friday. Sister Murrillo and I entered the field at the exact same time and both of us are learning Portuguese as her first language is Spanish and mine is English. We’ll be temporary companions until Friday when our new trainers will come and I’ll go back to Bom Conselho. Send prayers that Sister Murrillo and I can survive.

Anywho, this week my go-to phrase was “Por que não” or “why not.” Almost every day Sister Perri would turn to me and ask me a question and I would respond with “por que não.” It was really funny for me, probably annoying for her, but it was just how I felt. Our plans kept changing on us, like always, and we found ourselves in situations where we would say, “why not help this family clean for 20 minutes” or “why not go to the birthday party of one of our investigators.” It was mostly with little things in our plans but we found a doctrinal principle for “why not” too.

During my exchange with Sister Souza, we unmarked a family for baptism which was really frustrating and disappointing. I just sat there with nothing really to say. The family didn’t want what we were there to offer and I frankly didn’t understand why Sister Souza still went ahead with the lesson. She taught about Christ, the necessity of his atonement, the gift of repentance, and the blessing of baptism. For me it was really bold, she straight up told the family all the blessings and miracles they would miss by not being baptized. She also testified however that she knew they could always come back and be welcomed into the church with open arms.

The family didn’t change their minds or anything miraculous like that, but my approach to teaching shifted. Instead of asking people to make commitments almost apologetically like I have been doing these last few weeks, I should testify without shame about the power of Jesus Christ. Jacob 4:12 says “And now, beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ.”

As a companionship, Sister Perri and I strived to talk about Christ more, even in circumstances that we normally wouldn’t. We talked about Christ and his restored church to the lady who sold us popsicles, the bus driver, the stumbling drunk guy, a group of transgender people, our very catholic next-door neighbors, and with each other more often. I felt more power and more confidence as missionary work became more than just clapping (we don’t knock) at closed doors and teaching to stubborn hearts, it became a lifestyle. 

The more you talk of Christ the easier it becomes and the sooner you start the more you’ll learn and be able to share in the future.

That’s all folks, love you lots and hope to hear about more missionary experiences from the folks back home. Tchau tchau for now!

Love,

Sister Alyssa Grace

Garanhuns, Brasil

E ai pessoal! This week was really good, especially with Conference. I’ve been looking forward to it all transfer but our President said we could only watch it if we had investigators to watch it with us. That was all the motivation I needed and this week we talked with more people than I think we did in my first 3 weeks combined. We got to watch Conference in the chapel with several new friends and I even got out my headphones and was able to listen to the prophet in my own language.  

In addition to conference making this week different, we had a number of interactions with people that were just odd. First, we were walking down the street, passing a bunch of little shops and stores, when two ladies pulled us into a glasses shop. They had been taught by the previous two missionaries before us but they didn’t have much interest in going to church or progressing. They were interested however in me and my reaction to absolutely everything. They kept giving me candy, telling me to speak in English, and asking me a billion questions about Utah. One of them said, “You look like a princess,” which, of course; made me smile. That is until the other one said, “No she doesn’t, she looks like that orphan.” Luckily I knew she meant Annie but it was still pretty funny.

Another time we were standing on a corner just reporting a lesson we finished when a lady walked up to me and asked, “Where are you from?” Normally, they wait until I’ve butchered at least a few sentences in Portuguese before asking this to be polite. But not this lady. She knew the answer even before I gave it and started talking in the English she knew about how much she loved America. She said, “Abraham Lincoln is my hero!” To which I agreed, Honest Abe is awesome. Then she followed that statement with, “and Madonna is my inspiration.” This one threw me off guard and I just continued nodding while she explained how Madonna was and is still “the queen of pop.”

Lastly, we were just sitting on a bench, trying to do some studies when an old man came up to us and asked a bizarre question. “Is one of you named Adolf Hitler?” I completely understood his question but thought to myself that there is no way he is actually asking that. I just sat there very confused while he repeated his question and Sister Perri tried explaining we were missionaries. He turned to me and said, “to me, that means Adolf Hitler,” and then he walked away. 

Moving on from the funny things, I wanted to share just one insight I had from my conference experience. Although my Portuguese is improving every day and I tell myself that I am understanding most things, I felt very lost in conference. The translators talk at you not with you which is not the Portuguese I’ve been practicing all these weeks. It was hard to sit in a chapel full of people taking notes, reacting to what was being said, and ultimately having a spiritual experience while I just sat there with a headache. 

Sometimes I think life is like that. We look at all the other members, friends, missionaries, and family members who seem to be in tune with spiritual promptings while we are struggling to keep up. It can be discouraging and frustrating. For me, what made it bearable was the music of conference. Nobody else in that chapel stood up with the choir and congregation to sing, but I did. They hummed the melody or tried to find the lyrics in Portuguese but they did not understand the words they were hearing. 

Just because we don’t show or experience the Spirit in the same ways as everybody else, does not mean we aren’t feeling it. Some people’s methods of hearing Him will seem more impressive or more sure than ours, but that should not deter us from seeking more experiences with the Spirit. I don’t have inspired dreams, I don’t see pillars of light, I don’t hear a voice in my head, but I know how I feel when the Spirit is communicating with me and that’s all that matters. Follow the counsel of our spiritual giant of a prophet and “choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.”

That’s all folks! Send me your favorite quote or talk from conference and I promise I’ll read it but no promises that I’ll respond within the next P-day, desculpa.

Tchau Tchau for now.

Love, 

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil

A Party in the Streets of Bom Consehlo

Bom Dia! Today marks exactly 1 month in the field! It has been hard and rewarding every single day and though the challenges aren’t becoming easier, I can feel myself getting stronger.

This week was quite an adventure for me and Sister Perri. Beginning with last Monday and continuing all the way through last night, we had a week of constant inconsistency. For those who don’t know, a big part of every morning in the mission field is planning. We pray together as a companionship for inspiration about where we need to go, who we need to visit, and what we need to teach. We then take half an hour to write down exactly what we are going to be doing every minute of the day. In weeks past this has been a very effective and productive activity as we followed these plans almost to the letter. This week however that did not happen.

We had so many strange events come up that we had to replan every single day this week at least 3 times and even then what actually happened never was what we had prepared for.  More than a few times we would leave teaching appointments that were only supposed to be 15 minutes which ended up being 50 minutes. On Friday our phones refused to function and we ended up spending a lot of extra time in the house trying to contact our references. Many times, we’d plan to bring a member with us to a lesson and they’d have to cancel moments before. Once Sister Perri tried making breakfast while I washed the dishes. My hands were covered in soap and hers in eggs right as they shut off our water (we don’t know why, it just happens sometimes.)

Another time we were out waiting to meet up with some youth who wanted to go finding with us when we got a phone call from the mission office. They told us we had to go home and help unpack our new beds. We didn’t ask for new beds, and now we have 6 (2 old, 4 new). We also currently have two fridges, microwaves, blenders, and sandwich makers. None of these were things we asked for and the one thing we did ask for, a new spatula, has yet to arrive. Needless to say, the bed adventure took us away from our appointments for an hour and a half.

The interesting thing, though, is that even with all these changes and failed plans, I was never frustrated or upset, I was cheerful. In Come, Follow Me this last week we learned about being “a cheerful giver”. To me, this means a cheerful giver of my plans and will to God. Not everything that we think is good for our lives aligns with God’s plan. But He only ever wants the best for us so taking His wisdom with a smile and patient heart will only lead to blessings.

Well, that’s all folks. Another long and eventful P-day that maybe I’ll write about someday. Tchau Tchau for now.

Love,

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil

Olá todo mundo! This week was far better than last in almost every way. I woke up on Tuesday morning and just decided to dive in. I worked harder than ever and it made everything feel more enjoyable and fun. I still struggled with the language and with accepting other people’s choices, but I have come to love the work. I started trying to learn everything I could this week. I am figuring out my way around the area, I know how to best plan our day and what lessons people need, and I know how to maximize our time to find the most people. My companion sensed my increased desire to learn this week and made a few well-intentioned but poorly-timed choices to help me grow.

On Monday, we ordered pizza for dinner. I was super excited and waiting for it to come when Sister Perri got in the shower. I figured the pizza was probably going to take a minute anyway so I didn’t worry about it. That is until all the phones started ringing at once (which I couldn’t answer because you have to be with your companion to use the phone) and I saw the pizza guy walk up the stairs and pass our door to give our pizza to the neighbor. I started panicking, our pizza was so close yet about to be lost forever and my companion was still in the shower. Eventually, I worked up the courage to open the door and the neighbor pointed at me and the delivery guy realized it was my pizza. I am glad to say disaster was avoided and the pizza was eaten by two very happy missionaries.

The second time my companion decided to let me figure things out on my own was while we were tracting. We were talking with some guys in a barbershop when a drunk guy came up and put his hand on my shoulder. My companion took a look at this (which is already breaking the rules, we are supposed to limit contact with men to only a handshake) and thought, “This will be a great time for Sister Grace to practice Portuguese.” She turned to the side to talk to another guy in the shop leaving me to handle the drunk guy. It ended up being a great practice indeed for my Portuguese. He asked me things I knew like where I was from, what church I represented, where it was, and when our meetings were. As we finished the conversation, he took his hand off my shoulder and stuck it out for a handshake which I gladly gave but just as I was doing this, he pulled me into a hug and kissed me on the cheek. My companion turned around exactly at that moment and quickly ended the contact to take me away and tell me “Sister Grace you can’t do that.” I responded with an honest “I didn’t do anything,” and we laughed it off and finished the night without any more surprises.

Well, that’s all folks, I literally have 1 minute left of P-day and need to send this before we get back to work. Tchau tchau for now.

Love,

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil

Boa Tarde Amigos!

On Wednesday morning I woke up and began going about things as I normally would when Sister Perri says, in Portuguese, “We gotta get ready quick and meet Bishop at the Radio.” The word “radio” in Portuguese is spelled “rádio” and is said “haud-gee-oh”. I understood everything my companion said except for the very last word. In my head, I saw the word spelled out perfectly and I thought to myself, “‘Rádio’, that’s spelled almost exactly like the English word ‘radio’. I wonder what it means.”

This week was quite eventful for me. First, it was the Independence Day of Brazil on the 7th, I officially hit 2 months as a missionary on the 9th, my companion received her VISA for Japan (don’t worry, she is stuck with me until the end of the transfer), and President Nelson turned 99! Something else happened this week that I never thought would happen in my life, let alone only 12 days into the mission field; I was on the radio. The whole event was very fun and very confusing, let me explain.

Half an hour later, we are walking into a radio station. I think to myself “Oh we are meeting Bishop here at the radio station, and then probably going somewhere else close by for a meeting.” To my confusion, however, Bishop gets there and just sits down next to us in a little waiting room. The three of us chat about our English classes which start that night until a technician comes over to us and says time to go. He leads us to a door, tells us to be as quiet as possible, and then lets us in the room.

The room is a recording studio. There is a man in front of a keyboard with a hundred different switches, microphones all around a little table with comfy chairs, and a glowing sign that says  “no ar”=”on the air”. The technician sits me down in one of the chairs in front of a microphone and I realize that I am about to be on the radio, in a language I can barely speak, and I don’t even know why. 

It ended up being about our English classes. We were there to announce that they were starting, they were free, and that we had a native speaker there to instruct (that’s me!). I said approximately 10 words in Portuguese before the interviewer decided it would be better to ask me to answer in English and have Sister Perri translate. Overall it went well and over 1,500 Brazilians heard me share my testimony at one time. The rest of the week, people would message us about the classes or stop us in the street because as the only American in town, it’s safe to assume that I was the one on the radio.

As fun as the radio was and the other events of this week, I really struggled at times. My Portuguese is to the point that I can teach almost every point in a lesson and can even make simple conversation outside of doctrine language. So yesterday, when Sister Perri asked me to be the one to extend the invitation of baptism to one of our friends who is progressing very well, I thought I had it. The time came, when I was feeling the Spirit, and I asked in near-perfect Portuguese if they would be baptized.

You’ll never understand what it feels like to have someone from another culture, another country, in another language, choose not to progress and further their relationship with the Savior until you experience it. It hurt me more than I can say when they said no. To me, I had failed and my heart broke. My companion comforted me as best she could, and we witnessed other miracles that day that should’ve lifted my spirits, but I was down. Until this morning that is when I read 2 Nephi 2:2 which says

“Nevertheless, … thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.”

I don’t know everything but I do know that through God, impossible things can happen. I know that what feels like the end of the world, is but a small moment that will strengthen my faith and help me grow. It’s hard, and it hurts, but it will all be worth it. I’m ready to bounce back and try again today, tomorrow, and every day. The path ahead is full of disappointments but the miracles will overshadow them 10-fold. 

Remember to let God make you what you need to become. That’s all, folks. Tchau Tchau, Valeu, Beijo!

Love,

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil

Isaiah 52:7

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

Fun fact everyone, missionaries don’t have beautiful feet. At least, I don’t. Right now my feet have blisters, tan lines, calluses, mud spots, half-gone nail polish, and a dozen or so mosquito bites because they’ve never had American food before and now they’re addicted. This scripture has been in my head all week as I’ve looked at feet and tried to figure out what is so beautiful about them. I realized it’s not my feet that are beautiful, it’s the miracles these feet are taking me to that are beautiful. Let me tell you about one miracle I experienced this week.  

This week we prepared and baptized a little boy named Fernando. He is about 10 years old and comes from a convert family. When the missionaries originally found his family, about 4 years ago, they embraced the gospel with open arms. His family consists of a single mom and 4 children all of whom were baptized 4 years ago except little Fernando. He was only 6 years old and we were told by the ward members that at the baptism of his family, Fernando cried because he could not be baptized with them.

Fast forward a year and a half and Fernando is nearly 8 years old, the age of baptism. But, the last year and a half of membership has taken a toll on his family and they have fallen away. Inactive and unreceptive, Fernando’s family doesn’t allow him to be taught or baptized by the missionaries. His family struggles with financial problems, family relationships, and other serious difficulties for the next 2 years, all the while, little Fernando is hoping that one day, he and his family will go back to church.

That brings us to about a month ago, when the sister missionaries here before me, found Fernando and his family in their reference book and knocked again on their door. This time, instead of turning them away, they welcomed them into their home. The sisters taught them all, focusing especially on Fernando, and invited them all to come back to church. They accepted and for the last 4 weeks, they have worked, studied, prayed, and partaken of the sacrament trying to restore their faith in God.

On Saturday, Fernando was baptized! His mom was in tears, he had the biggest smile on his face, and his siblings couldn’t stop hugging him. When he went into the font, he was laughing! What a difference 4 years make, the last baptism he went to, he cried and now here he is laughing with joy.  

It’s experiences like this that make me grateful to be here. I’m at a point where I understand what is going on and I want to contribute but the frustration is figuring out how to say things. It can be discouraging when I can sense that a person isn’t progressing or isn’t interested and I worry that it’s because I am not able to fulfill all my responsibilities yet as a missionary. If I could just speak and be understood, maybe they’d be truly converted. But I have to believe that there are people, families, here that I can reach without knowing all the right words. 

Sunday night we had a little party for Fernando at his house. There his mom gifted me a little decorative towel with my name on it and as we hugged goodbye, she asked me to find more families to make whole. That is my goal, to bring families unto Christ and I can’t wait to go out and find them.

Some other experiences this week that were just fun or silly:

– A man asked me if I was German and seemed disappointed when I said I was from the USA.

– Members like to ask me what the English equivalent of their name is. It always makes them laugh to hear it.

– A lady grabbed my hair and held it next to hers to try and see if they were close in color. It wasn’t but I told her it was “Quase”=”almost” the same.

– Accidentally told Sister Perri we need to “garden” over the fence instead of “climb”.

– Got used as a jungle gym by a little toddler in a lesson and didn’t know what to do so I just let him. His mom seemed cool with it, she didn’t try to stop him.

– I get called “Sishter Gwache” by almost everybody here. It’s really cute and makes me smile.

Well, that is all for now folks. Gotta go, gotta work. If you feel so inspired, please pray for some new friends we marked for baptism yesterday, that they can keep this commitment. Obrigada. Tchau tchau.

Love,

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil

Olá a todos,

It has been a very long, very fast, very hard, and very good week. I am in the field now and my new companion\trainor is Sister Perri (pronounced Pe-Hee). She is from Menause which is in the middle of the Amazon region. She speaks perfect English because she attended BYU-I last year. She is currently learning Japanese as her original mission is in Japan and she is only here temporarily while she waits on a visa. I love her already and it has been great learning from her example. Our area is Bom Conselho, which is about in the middle of our mission and more south than Recife. It has lots of hills, churches, horses, stray dogs, music, and people. In English ‘Bom Conselho’ means “Good Advice”. This week I received a lot of good advice through the many different experiences I had.

During my last few days at the CTM it hit me really hard that I was about to be out in a foreign country with nobody there to help except for a companion who might not speak English (luckily she does but I didn’t know that until I got to the mission home). I felt like my Portuguese was weak and I struggled with it more than I ever had the 4 days leading up until we left for the airport. I kept myself mostly composed though because of the words of one of my CTM roommates. She reminded me that there has never been a more dramatic change like this ever in my life. This week I have had more ‘firsts’ than I can count and remembering that has helped me have a little bit more patience with myself.

Friday night I learned to enjoy trying. We had been in the mission home all day, getting taught by the mission secretaries and doing interviews, and that night we slept in a hotel. Sister Murrillo and I shared a room. Sister Murrillo is from Ecuador and does not speak English. I am from Utah and do not speak Spanish. Together, we both barely speak any Portuguese. Yet that night, we stayed up talking and laughing with each other as if we had been best friends for years. We were speaking some sort of Spengliguese (Spanish + English + Portuguese) and loving every little mistake we made. From this, I learned that I could make connections even with the language barrier. 

Saturday I learned that saying something wrong is better than saying nothing at all. We were standing outside the door of an investigator. It was my first one and Sister Perri showed me what principles she wanted to teach and asked what I could share. I stared at the list and realized I couldn’t say anything. I started stressing out, and overthinking. There was no way I would be able to teach a single person here because I couldn’t even accurately explain a single principle on that list. My companion comforted me as I tried to calm down. It ended up being that the investigator wasn’t even home that day so we couldn’t teach her anyway. We walked some more until we found another investigator’s home. We came in, and all I said was “Boa noite”, and Sister Perri began the lesson. I didn’t understand a lot but I got the gist. I was caught off guard when Sister Perri turned to me and asked me to share my testimony. I was still recovering from my little panic moment earlier and said no. I regretted it immediately and wished so badly that I would’ve just said something. Since then I have learned that when I try and mess up, people smile or laugh, when I try and succeed, people tear up and feel the spirit, but when I say nothing at all, people feel nothing. I am not here to help people feel nothing, I’m here to bring happiness and hope. Since then I have participated in every interaction, whether it has been saying a prayer, bearing my testimony, reading scriptures, or trying to connect with people through simple phrases and smiles. In just one day, I think I became twice the missionary I was on Saturday. 

The members here are so loving and open. The first thing Sister Perri told me when I met her at the transfer meeting was, we’ve got to hurry, we have baptisms tonight. Our area is about 5.5 hours away from the mission home and we needed transportation if we were going to make it. Luckily, a local member from Recife offered to drive us all the way out there even when he would just have to turn around and go all the way back. His willingness to help when it greatly inconvenienced himself was inspiring. When we got to our area, I met most of the members who were there preparing for the baptism. I got hugs from complete strangers and was thanked for coming to their country to teach their friends. I didn’t even know Portuguese which was very obvious from the permanent confused smile on my face, but they still were so grateful for my presence. I admired the faith of the mother and daughter who were baptized that first night. They bore their testimonies in such a way that I felt as though they were the missionaries and I was the one there to learn about the mercy of Jesus Christ from them. People here are not wealthy, most don’t have doors on their houses or anything other than foot flops on their feet, yet they are looking for Spiritual nourishment, not physical. From them, I learned to discover what my priorities are. Do I still give thanks and worship God for his mercy when I feel at my lowest? Do I care more that my possessions and standard of living are maintained rather than my testimony? Is my faith dependent on my comfort?

There is still a lot I have to learn here, from the people, the members, my companion, and my Savior. I am excited for this opportunity and even though it has not been, is not, and will not be easy, I know that God is guiding my steps to make me an effective missionary. 

That’s all folks! Tchau Tchau for now!

Love, 

Sister Alyssa Grace

Bom Conselho, Brasil