Last week of the mission!! Thanks for all your support & love!

Olha Minha Querida Familia!

Então Jason... Eu gostaria de falar Português mas não da tempo... Mas eu vou te escrever em português tabom?

Oh my goodness! Thanks for the wonderful e-mails I love them all! I will try my best to write yall back but if I don´t have the time next week for sure. After all this is my last e-mail but not my last P-day... 

So now my time is running out. but can you believe it the mission is ending? I sure can´t. I love being a missionary and well been truly a huge blessing in my life. This transfer has been different than the rest. Its been full of knocking doors and just searching for those people needing the gosple in their lives. Its been super tough and well a transfer without baptisms, full of zeros in our numbers, freezing cold, and well just being super tired and well worn out. but I´ve learned a valuable lesson and thats how true this gospel is. If I´ve gained anything in this past year and half that how much our Father in Heaven really loves us and answers our prayers. How our savior literally is by our side. Really our prayers are answered daily if we pay attention. and well sometimes you´ve got to knock 20 more doors in the pouring rain on the coldest night to find that last house to teach a special family. Its interesting but before the mission I thought oh here in the next year I´ll have everything down! I´ll speak portuguese perfect. Ha that didn´t happen still to this day I get strange looks. I´ll know where to go, who to teach, I´ll be a pro missionary! nope daily its a struggle. But thats life. we will never have life down or know exactly to do. If we were perfect, spoke perfect and knew exactly what to do why are we here? Life is meant to be a struggle and to learn how to keep moving and progressing along. I´ve learned that time and time again here on the mission. We´ve got to humble ourselves before the Lord daily in prayer asking for fogiveness and those experiences to strengthen us and lift those around us. The mission has been amazing and really opened my mind up to how the gospel really is in action. How its so important to apply the atonement in our lives. So yeah life is difficult but hey its important to laugh and remember to be positive! Thats something my mission president and his wife taught me. To always smile! haha because if we can´t have happiness in our lives then what are we doing here. what have we really learned? Because of the atonement of our Savior we can  become clean daily, we can try again and again to be perfect daily. Because of the gospel the restoration of the church we have a prophet who leads us and guides us in this difficult world bringing us the light we need in our lives. and because of the restoration we have knowledge that our families can be together forever! I love this part! we have the power to seal our families together forever! also we have a book called the book of Mormon that if we let it, it can be the answer to all our problems in life and that happiness we are needing. So why be sad in life when we can smile and be happy that all of this is here on earth for our benefit to bless and strengthen us daily. I know our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ lives and Loves  us. These past 18 months have shown that to me clearer. I´ll forever be grateful for these past 18 months and just being able to be a witness to many miracles and an instrument in Gods hands. I´ll miss this time like crazy here in the next bit. but I know this time has been well spent and I would reccomend this for everyone. Its tough, but the most rewarding thing I´ve done so far in my life. and I know without a doubt that it because of these 18 months I am more ready for what lies ahead of me. Also I want to thank everyone for the love, support, packages, e-mails letters and mostly your prayers. They really have sustained me as a missionary. Your words and just the thought to send something my way always lifted me up! I´m going to miss opening up my e-mail weekly full of e-mails! haha you just might have to keep sending them my way! haha jk but really thanks for everything I´ll never forget how loved I was as a missionary! Can´t wait to see a few of yall Saturday!!! THen few more the following week!! then the rest back in Utah!! I love you all!! Te amo!! Até logo!!

mia nossa como eu vou sentir falta da missão!!

com muito Amor!

-Sister Gregory

A little trunky but working hard!

Olha Familia!!
So we got word about transfers.... So Sister Neves is getting
transfered like we figured and I´ll be getting a new comp tomorrow.
Should be exciting because this will be the last transfer and last
comp for the mission. Man how time is just flying by! oh and did I
tell you how I´m not training again! Whoot Whoo! Man if I trained
again I´d feel bad for the sister. Because I´m getting ready to head
home and well she´d be just getting here! so yeah what a blessing! So
I want to send yall some pictures so I´ll see what I can do about
that. 

But thanks for sending me pictures of Bradley and Anna´s
wedding! Everyone looks so great and just well all grown up! Goodness
I think I´ll need some help when I get home with the new fashions and
stuff everyone is like all fancy! haha And looks like the wedding

really was a fairy tale come true!! I can´t wait to see more pictures

and just the wedding video if they made one!
So it was amazing talking to all yall yesterday! And don´t worry mom
you guys didn´t make me trunky! President Swenson said its alright if

you get trunky just don´t die. If you can still work hard and

being trunky doesn´t affect the work then your doing great. So yeah
I´ll be honest I´m just a tad on the trunky side but super excited to
see what this last transfer is going to bring my way! hehe! its going

to be an amazing one I´m just feelin it! Full of baptisms, miracles and

probably tears...oh boy... 

So we weren´t able to visit Catia this past week but this next week
we´ll for sure get there! Its just hard at times meeting with people
when they can only meet with us on the weekends. but we did find
Carloine! I told you a bit about her yesterday but I´ll explain about
her better in this e-mail. well we were kinda exploring new streets
and stuff the other day and well headed down one road that I thought
was pretty cool and exciting. haha well Caroline was sitting out in

the front of her house watching the little girl she nannies. It was

pretty cool. well we asked if we could share a message with her and
she let us in! We talked about the restoration and focused on the love
God has for us. It was a pretty spiritual lesson and just amazing
teaching her. She was grown up with parents that are catholics but no
one practices the catholic religon reguarly so she was open to
learning more. we invited her to be baptized and she acepted right
away! She also asked if she had to read the book of mormon a certain

order after I marked a chapter for her. I said nope! Its yours. you can
read it backward frontwards or however you want. its your book! haha

well I could see how she was just interested and wanted to start
reading and learning more! We mark an appointment with her this
wednesday so that should be pretty exciting!

So guess what? last night we found a pretty sweet family doing street
tracking. it was pretty amazing! I asked if they had a visit from the

missionaries before and they said not yet. like they had been waiting
for us to visit them! The dad was doing all the talking and asked
before I asked him if we could come visit them. I was a little shocked
and was like sure! I got explaining about how our families can be
together forever and just the wonderful plan of salvation. Well we

marked a visit for wednesday! Can´t wait! There are some promising

things for this next transfer! I´m praying for a wonderful transfer
and just one that I´ll never forget!

Still a little stuck in the road with Juci and her family. They didn´t

come to church yesterday so we´ll have to give them a call or
something today. I´m pretty sure they didn´t come because they didn´t
have a ride or were celebrating Mothers day. I hope things keep moving
along smoothy for them this transfer! They want to be married so bad!

Hmmmm what else is happening? oh I want to explain about this new

program we created and will start this next week. So things have been

well difficult the past little while. like things aren´t progressing

like they should be here. SO the light turned on thursday night after
an interesting ward counsel meeting this past week. Well I got talking

and talking and ideas just started coming out. Sister Neves started

putting our heads together and just realized that we´ve been slacking

big time and well the past missionaries here. Well the goal for the

District here is for them to turn into a stake. They´ve been praying
and praying always for this. Well president and sister swenson in the
last district mtg told them all to start in the home by doing the
small and simple things.like family night, family pray and scripture
study. well we also realized that the name of this branch is Uniâo
which means `Branch United´ well the strong members are super united
with one another but them with us missionaries or less actives not so
much. so we got thinking more and realized lets do something to
motivate everyone to get them working more with everyone! SO we are
doing a month long save your buddy activity thing. we split the branch
into three groups by where everyone lives. for this month every
visiting teacher visit, home teacher visit, or family night with a
less acitive family or investigator they get points. If they invite us
sisters they get more points. they get points for giving us

references, bringing friends to church that aren´t members etc. So yeah

they are all trying to one get points but more important activate this
branch so in the next year they can turn into a ward because there
are like 200 or so ward members but like 20 are active. super sad

huh?! So yeah we are going to get very excited and ready to work

hard!! I´m excited to see what happens! We did something similar in
Fragata and well it worked out really well so yeah wish us luck! and
well this little Unitied Branch is needing lots of help and just ways
to be a lot more stronger! I´ll keep updated with how things go!
Well gotta run! Love you all!
-Sister Gregory

OLHA MINHA QUERIDA FAMILIA QUE ME AMA!!
So I just feel so loved! Almost everyone wrote me a e-mail! Thanks so

much! So before I get to responding to your e-mails I just have to say

guess what!!! On April 27 ELDER HOLLAND IS COMING TO VISIT US!!!! oh
how exciting huh?!! The entire mission is getting together so I will
get to see all my buddies here in the mission and also in the Porto
Alegre North mission! oh I will get to see sister Wegener and
Dangerfield!! Did I ever tell you Jeremy that Sister Wegener is a cool
sister? She worked at a running store in Sandy! hehe You just might
meet her... haha so yeah I´m super excited!! I´ll have to contain my
excitement this week and next. oh goodness! So kristina is heading
home already? man that went by super fast! I´m so glad she really is

loving the time she had in Ecuador. Really its so true as a missionary

or doing humanitary service like kristina you get attached and I can´t
imagine how it is or will be when its time to say good-bye. I hate
good-byes. i hope this time doesn´t come anytime super soon...But

kristina plan on telling me about everything ok?! and showing me all your

pictures! Can´t wait!! And well kristina I can´t say I´ve ever been in

your exact shoes about coming home after working in Ecuador. But

saying good-byes is tough and moving on to new areas or just the next
thing in life. My only advise for you is to stay busy and to lean on

the Savior Jesus Christ. Remember that your work and time in Ecuador

their preparations for the wedding and marrage. I can´t say everything

is super easy teaching this family or preparing stuff legally for
their wedding but the Lord is helping us more than everything this

time. Sisters have tried and tried to get Juci baptized in the past.

but things never worked out. But this time I just can feel and see the
hand of the Lord working in this work! its so amazing!! Man I love
being a missionary and instrument in the Lords hand! by the way things
are running like 100x smoother than two weeks ago. Sister Neves and I
are working so much better together. We made personal goals this past
week during our weekly planning and then after we always share and ask
each other to help out. well guess what? our personal goals were like
pretty much the same! haha gotta love it!
well gotta run but I love you all! and not to be trunky but yesterday
I was talking with Viviane the branch presidents wife and she asked me

alot about you guys coming to pick me up and such. she got to telling me

what other sisters have done when their parents came to get them which
gave me a lot of fun ideas for yall!! but I will keep it all a secret

till it gets closer to when yall will be coming ok! well I hope you

all have a wonderful week! oh before I go.. I got Bradley and Anna´s
wedding announcement this week! CONGRATS!! hahah I love the announcement!
I´m so happy for you two! A letter is coming your way! and I will
keep my eye out for a good wedding gift!
TE AMO! E uma BRAÇO!!
-Sister Gregory

Fun times in Brazil

Walking and walking and walking

Olha!! Thanks so much for the wonderful e-mail mommy, daddy, Jeremy
and Grandma! Its always wonderful hearing from you all back at home!
So am going to try my best to get some pictures sent to you all! Its
just takes a bit longer for the pictures to get loaded! I need to get
my pictures on a Cd or something... But anyways! So its sounds like
your week was wonderful like always! Thanks for the wonderful
quote/story mom I really liked it! It really puts a perspective on
missionary work and lets you know that your efforts really are doing
something! so this past week was wonderful yet so exhausting! mia
nossa! So we walked and walked and walked! I am use to walking like
crazy here in the mission but in the heat and up and down hills all
day is just a bit different. Also here in Porto Alegre its been the
hotest summer they´ve had so yeah just imagine us sweating all the
time. Sister Neves said its pretty much the same temperature that
she´s use to in Forteleca so yeah its way too hot! haha but we are
managing! our investigators Fabiano, Juci, Samara and Oliverio made it
to church yesterday! it really makes your whole week worth all the
walking and working your tail off when your investigators make it!
Fabiano is a nephew to a young man in our branch. we taught him and set
a baptism date this past week. He is super quiet but yesterday was the
third time he´s made it to church so we were pretty excited! He will
be baptized 31th of March! whahoo! Then Samara our little 8 yr. old
will be baptized march 24 and probably along with Juci. She is a mom
of 10 kids thats really had quite a tough life. She was living with
her husband but this past week he has been treating her not the
greatest so well she kicked him out because she wants to be baptized
more than anything. She knows the church is true, the book of mormon
and that there really is a prophet here today. She really is amazing!
well she is willing to do all that it takes to get baptized so well
she kicked her boyfriend out. We aren´t sure its the greatest thing
because she had a few kids with him but well she feels good about it
so yeah now we don´t have to worry about her getting married! haha
well she came to church yesterday and was so happy! Its crazy how you
really get to see the promises of the gospel come to life in your
investigators! I love this lady and tonight we will have a family
night with some ward members and her big family. we will figure out
things for when she will be baptized. I am pretty postive that she´ll
be baptized in the next little bit. Oliverio is a crazy old man that
well his daughters and sister-in-laws and well alot of family is
baptized and strong members. so whats left is him and his wife. He has
a hard time walking but really loves the church. He has come these
past two weeks. its pretty funny because he always comes dressed up in
his gaucho clothing! but hey he loves the church and so we will start
teaching him this next week. he has promised us a bbq at the end of
this month so lets see what happens! haha well can you believe that
General conference is coming up? I can´t! I´m so excited! well that
pretty much is it for this past week. oh we had a Leadership conference
here in the mission this past week. I was told to come because I am
training. well we had to leave at 6 in the morning to get to Porto
alegre at 9 in the morning. well guess what? we woke up at 5:15 when
we were suppose to wake up at 4:30! it takes a half hour to walk to
the bus station! well we missed our bus and had to catch the next one
at 7. well we were an hour late to the conference. oh goodness! we´ve
got to get our alarm working! also I feel bad because sister Neves
isn´t use to walking and running so it was a struggle to get moving
quick! but hey we made it save and sound!
well thats it for this past week. we are just working our tails off
here and trying to keep up with all these 11 people preparing for
baptism and the huge bucket load of less actives! wish us luck!!
have a wonderful week!!
-Sister Gregory
Happy birthday!!! My Second Mommy Kelley, and Melody!!
hope its a wonderful birthday for you two!!
LOVE YOU ALL!! TE AMO!!
oh did i tell you that we are now teaching english? well we are every
friday at 7:30 at night. Lets see if my english comes back and that we
find some new peopel to teach!

Olha! so thanks so much for the wonderful e-mails! I´m really not sure
how much time I´ll have today to reply to e-mails. but tell Mark and
Denee and their family thanks so much for the e-mail! I was actually
thinking of them this past week and how I need to write them! So yeah
it was nice to hear from them! I will try to squeeze in the time today
to reply to their e-mail.
So I really am a bit tired! Its been pretty hot this past week so it
been pretty tiring. also this morning we visited the beach! cool huh!
a ward member that is like our mom/sister here took us to the beach to
take pictures and just see the beach here. we took a lot of pictures
that I will send to yall probably next week because I don´t have my

cord to hook in the computer. So yeah it was some great fun but.. I'm

just on the tired side.
So yeah this past week was pretty great. I can´t say our numbers were
great but the baptism for Anderson really happened! It was on the
stressful side but it did happen. So Thursday we planned to have his

baptism interview 6pm at the church. well he has difficulty arriving

on time to things so about 7pm after the Elders had arrived late also,
we called him up but he was just barely leaving his house. So since we
had a family night planned with a family in the ward at 7 I figured it
would be best to reschedule the interview for the following day. It
was a risky move since it would be the same day as the baptism. so

yeah the following day Friday we had a conference with our Zone. So

President and sister Swenson came into town. the Conference was super
good! I always love these conferences! By the way thanks for the
package! I wasn´t expecting another package! I was thinking I wouldn´t
be getting any more! but yeah towards the end of the conference
President asked everyone who would have a baptism that night. well
sister Tamily and I were the only missionaries! He then said that him
and sister Swenson would be watching it tonight. He asked was time,
where, who and what about the baptism. I was pretty nervous! It was

scheduled to happen but things could move and change after the

interview also I was worried that Anderson would be pretty late
showing up to the interview and baptism. Man I was just pretty
stressed out. Also was worried that there wouldn´t be that many people
to show up to watch the baptism. well anywho to get to the point of
the story we called everyone in the ward, Anderson did show up about
one hour late to the interview but right on time for the baptism!
Things really did turn out wonderfully and president gave us congrats
and just was proud of us! So yeah It was great. Then Sunday came
around church started and Anderson wasn´t there! oh my goodness got
stressed out again. I was thinking man this kid has got to show up or

he won´t get confirmed! and one week without being confirmed is pretty
risky. well in the end he showed up along with roberto, and all their
family right as the sacrament was being passed. He then got confirmed

after the sacrament. So yeah as you can tell I was a little stressed
this weekend! haha but I learned that I need to trust in the Lord just
a bit more and have more faith in my investigators. I am trying hard
to improve these things. but yeah really this week was a great one!
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! I have to do something fun like make heart
shaped cookies or something tomorrow. and guess what else! I´ve
officially been out here in the field for 1 year! can you believe
that! how cool!
oh so Cris and Ekesle are still scheduled to be baptized feb 24th. we
tried rescheduling things for this past week but they said they didn´t
feel ready and thought it would be better to be baptized after the
youth conference this weekend. so yeah feb 24 will be the baptism for
them! I am so happy for them. They are progressing right along!
I´m glad to know that Hannah Butterfield got my letter! I really
didn´t plan on it coming the week that you guys did your mini mission

but how cool I could be apart of everything! Thats great to know

that one more missionary is heading out from our ward. Go Troy Gajdos!
So the goal for 8 baptismal dates is really the mission goal for each
week. but this past week and now one more week its the mission focus.
We are doing a thing called Operation Salvation. Each week we have a
new focus. If we are able to accomplish the goals each week at the end
of the month we will get rewarded by having a party with pizza, ice
cream and soda. Also we work in teams. Our teams are our districts so
yeah we each have to do our part or our Disitrict will loose. so yeah
Its a little bit of pressure but its helping the mission progress a
bit!

Thanks for letting me know when its Jane b-day! I'll put that date on my

calendar so I won´t forget!
So there are offically two more weeks left of this transfer! We will
have transfers Feb. 27. I am really thinking I´ll get transfered
because I don´t know but I just have the feeling that my time is up
here. so yeah I am trying my best to finish things up here in my
beloved Fragata!!
Thanks for sending over SIster Kemps e-mail! Its been a long time
since I´´ve heard from her! I sent her a letter but its been a long
time coming to get her reply. I hope shes doing great! It sound like
we both are having the same feelings about loving the mission and how
things are sure passing by.

Thanks for the updates with the politics and such. I'm rooting for mitt

Romney! Hope things work out.
Sorry my e-mail is on the boring side. I will try better next week.
But sure do love you all!
Well thanks for everything! Till next week!
-sister Gregory

Baptisms!

So this past week was pretty great!! We are preparing Anderson for his
baptism this friday. we met with him this past friday to figure out
the situation and what happened with his mom. well she got pretty
upset that he didn´t come home ontime. also found out that she doesn´t
really believe in anything so she wants to make sure that Anderson is
prepared well and really wants this for his life. I did get the chance
to talk to her on the phone and let her know that she doesn´t need to
be worried. we will prepare him well and make sure that he is ready
for baptism. well on friday we also remarked his baptism. he was
pretty upset becuase he wanted to be baptized this past saturday. I
was a little sad too! but we explained to him that it would be best to
wait for a bet longer. it had also been a week since we had seen him
and guess what! he had read and kept praying to know if this church is
true! We were so happy to find this out! he so wants to be baptized.
We will keep preparing him and friday will be his baptizm!

Oh remember Jeferson? we baptized him in November. well guess what! he

blessed the sacrament yesterday! oh my investigators are just growing

up! haha its great to be able to see things like this! hahah

so we are still preparing Cris and Ekesle. They are such a wonderful
family! They both are reading and praying daily. And Cris writes down
what she reads so she doesn´t forget it! then shares with us after. We
were able to see a good change in them also. Our first visit with them
they were pretty not depressed but not happy. then this past week our
vist Saturday night Cris had done her makeup and just was super happy.
Ekesle talked alot more with us and started to joke around with us. It
was so cool. I also bought one of the hats she makes and sells for
Jane. ITs pretty cute. so yeah any who. They came to church and loved
it yesterday. Cris has a sister that is a member also and they came to
church yesterday to! her sisters name is Quelen. This family has been
less active for awhile. but once we found Cris this started to change
a bit in this family. Quelen and her Family have been going to church
straight for the past three weeks. their oldest son (same age as
Ekesle) got the aronic preisthood, and tuesday night we have planned
to do a huge family night with these two families. So yeah the Lord
really is blessing us! We re-marked their baptism for feb 24th because
the youth will have their youth conference the 18th and Ekesle gets

to go! also becuase their will be a carnival this weekend. So there will

be no one here in fragata pretty much. but actually we are thinking of

moving their baptism date to this friday. they really are progressing

right along and really there is no need to hold off for two more
weeks. we will see how today and tomorrow goes and follow this spirit
about re-marking their baptism. but it could happen! Also this week
the mission is focusing on marking 8 baptisms for each companionship.
so this will be our goal! As of right now only cris, ekesle and
Anderson have baptism dates! So we are putting our trust in the Lord
that we will find these elect people this week! oh goodness wish us
luck!! I´ll let you know how all this goes. Hope you all have a
wonderful week!! Its been raining non-stop these days so I hope at
least the sun is coming out for yall!!
love you!
-Sister Gregory