Got a little math for ya, if 

Alyssa + July 9, 2023 = Sister Grace

Then,

Sister Grace + July 9, 2024 = Old

That’s right folks! This last week I hit the infamous year mark and honestly, it’s brought a lot of unexpected emotions. Mostly just the feeling that I’m close to losing something I’ll never get back and that I’ve just started to discover. But enough of that talk, let’s look at what the last had in store for me.

• Sister Grace

• Comps: 8 (from the following countries)

• Areas: 6

• Brazil x2, USA x2, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras

Countries people have thought I’m from: 

• Australia

• Argentina

• various states in the south of Brazil

• Japan

• England 

• Norway

• Mexico

• Venezuela

• Italy

• and the most common of them all: Germany

Cool things I’ve done:

• been on the radio

• taught English class

• played piano in sacrament meetings, zone conferences, and baptisms 

• made balloon animals to get street contacts 

• ridden a mechanical bull

• killed scorpions (real scorpions) in my house

• learned Portuguese 

• Helped people come closer to Christ 

I started this week feeling very confident and excited for the next 6 months and I still am but this weekend was pretty rough which just goes to show ya, you’re never exempt or past receiving trials but you’re also never exempt or beyond the help of Jesus Christ.

“… Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you;… a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you,… yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ.” (Alma 5:37-38)

I’ve made it this far on the mission and I’m still called to serve so there’s no backing down or giving up. We all gotta keep going so that when He calls, we’re ready to answer.

Com amor, 

Sister Alyssa Grace

Ipojuca, Brasil

It’s been a minute since I’ve written this but I got transferred! I left my Jardim América in the very capable hands of Sister Quispe and met up with the powerful Sister Flores to open an area called Ipojuca! It’s my first branch and it’s been pretty great so far. The missionaries who got transferred out left a list of people ready for baptism and we baptized one of them yesterday.

Paulo, our friend who was baptized, is very cool. We were looking for his house the first night and I saw in his profile that he’d already been to church a few times (aka a very good thing), to my surprise, however, when we found the house, the man who opened the door only had one leg. Brasil in general, but specifically Barsilian sidewalks, were not made wheelchair friendly. But nothing stops Paulo, be it cobblestone streets or unsupportive family members, he was decided, determined, and baptized. 

Yesterday night at the church they held a missionary night where they talked about how the Branch could be doing better at sharing the gospel. There are about 15-20 active members and they want to become a ward so bad. We sure have our work cut out for us but I was filled with so much fire coming out of that meeting that we’re gonna baptize a whole ward out here.

Here’s the scripture of the week that was found in the Come, Follow Me studies.

Alma 21:12-17: “… And they did preach the word unto many, and few believed on the words which they taught. Nevertheless,… they went forth again to declare the word,… and they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God… and it came to pass that the Lord began to bless them, insomuch that they brought many to the knowledge of the truth.”

I like these verses because even though sometimes I feel completely lost out here and nobody wants to hear our message, I just have to keep going and things will work out. They always have. Amém.

Com amor, 

Sister Alyssa Grace

Ipojuca, Brasil