Transfers this week

Sorry, Everyone. Suzie had transfers this week so there is no post. I'm sure she'll be back on track next week. So, tune in next week...same bat time, same bat channel. :D

If you don't want temptation to follow you, don't act as if you're interested. Richard L. Evans

well, here I am, pday again. If my suspicions are correct it will be my last pday here in Janaúba. Who really knows, but no one has heard of anyone staying in one place longer than 6 months.. and Ive been here 6 months. But I wouldnt mind staying longer. I love this town. I love this branch! The people here have become like family to me. There is a girl here name carol that got baptized 2 weeks ago (she is AWESOME) she went with me yesterday on a division *Maria José went with Sis. Lima* and she was telling me that if I´m transferred she will get so sick that Pres. Frei will HAVE to send me back.. it was sweet. In a strange way, granted, but still sweet.This past week has been interesting. In that it was full of good and bad. Good because we´re finding and teaching a lot of new awesome people. For example: Yesterday Leia told us she believes God has told her this is the path she should take! Woo!!!!! I love it when people are actually progressing!Bad because a baptism that we worked really hard for fell through. It was sad. And there isnt anything more we can do. But that´s life on the mission. there are ups and there are downs.. that´s life in general come to think of it..The trick is just putting into practice good knowledge and using the past to help you create the future you want.*Easier said than done though, eh?*
Anyway, so completely off that subject, today Sis. Lima and I primped ourselves. She put something creamy in my hair to do something or other good to it. Then we used the masks that we got for christmas from chelsea *thankssss!!* It was a riot! we laughed until we cried.
Apparently someone called in to ask for a family booklet (from the pass along cards that we give out) but with my name. No, not with SISTER blandon, but with SUZANNE blandon. So it was apparently someone who knows me pretty well (but not well enough to get the house number right.. they were close. estranho..)
Anyway, Sis. Lima is done with her internet jazz so Ive got to run. But let it be known that I am well and happy. I love this work. I LOVE seeing members of the church bear their testimonies and feeling the veracity of it. I love learning new things from things that Ive read all my life. I love that the cycle of learning never EVER ends- but that it all depends on our faith that God will always teach us new things, and our capacity to seek diligently.What truth did you miss learning today because you didn´t take the time to search the scriptures? Don´t let a day pass by without learning something new.This day is precious.com amor- sb0d

And so it goes...

Heeeeey there.
So life is good. This weeks adventures begin in a small house on the edge of town..
we´ve planned divisions with the members like 3 or 4 times this week and EVERY time it fell through because Katielle at the last moment had some sort of excuse for why she couldn´t leave with us. Bummer. But it was bittersweet news, because we needed the division- but I divisions. They stress me out of my mind. They´re good for me though, I learn a lot. I still them. I´m trying not to. So far so good (since they haven´t worked out at all this week..)
Oh, let me explain. A division with the members means that 2 members leave with us. One goes with one sister, and the other with the other. So, for example:
Maria José will go with me, and I will teach all the lessons and start every conversation, answer every question and resolve any doubts or confusion- and she´ll bear her testimony at the end that the church is true.

yep.

This week I found a scripture: Romans 8:35 Its talking about separating us from the Love of Christ. Nothing can separate His love from us- but what are we placing between us and RECEIVING that love?? It’s a profound concept. Let your mind boggle that one for a minute. See where the letters fall. (when was the last time you played boggle? That game reminds me of Grandma..)

On Saturday we had “New beginnings” at which, Jussara received a medallion thing.. it’s the gold on, not the fire-face one… (I was obviously very involved in these programs as a yw..) but it was SO cute, she cried as she bore her testimony *when she received it* and she said “But I´m not crying because I´m sad, I´m crying because I´m so happy.” She’s adorable. She’s the ONLY member in her family, and she’s firme forte na igreja.
Also, Wellington came to that same activity and church the next day ( I may, or may not have bribed him with a ring that he wanted..) It was good for him. I’m praying he’ll be there the upcoming Sunday. *in case anyone doesn’t know, or forgot, Wellington is a teenage kid who sis. Sorenson and I taught that hasn’t been too strong in the church since he received the Holy Ghost and Aaronic Priesthood. And by ‘too strong’ I mean he hasn´t been back since.. until this last Sunday!*

anyway, things are rolling a long. I can´t believe i´m in the FIFTH week of this transfer!! There is a joke going on that I´ll stay here in janaúba another 3 months (because if I stayed another transfer I would have to “kill” Sis. Lima, and then I´d have to stay another transfer after she went home, to show the next sister all the roads and how the whatnots function in the branch.) We´ll see. Its HIGHLY unlikely (that’s why it’s a joke) But who knows what the Lord has in store for me. In any case I love janaúba. The PLACE where i´m called has never been whats most important- its how I am utilizing the experiences and opportunities IN that place to further the Lords work.

Random fun fact: I dreamed Sis. Lima arranged to do a division, and when we got to the church it was Mark Johnson who would work with me that day! It was so much fun! Man I miss that kid! The whole time we kept asking “but how does this work? Aren´t I only allowed to leave with the sisters of the ward? Oh well..” haha. Que saudades.

Welp. That’s all. KLOVEYOUBYE

Now we're up to date!

So, tell me honestly: In the past week, how many times have you written “2008” ??jkAnyway, So here I am, chilling in Janaúba. This week has been awesome! It started off with a family home evening at the branch president’s house. The snack afterwards was a hotdog something or other, and so he made me an egg. It was SO cute. He came out with a plate, especially for me, with this grin, like he was so proud of himself! I love our branch president, he´s so sweet. The other cool thing about it was that a less active member, Rita came. It was hard though, because I LOVE Rita. She’s SO so sweet, and she just stopped going to church one day, and started going to the church she use to go to. BUT she came to the FHE, and we talked to her a LOT. She didn’t however, go to church on Sunday : ( But the rest of the week went well. We had 2 other fhe´s in member’s houses. And they were FaNTASTIC! It was such a cool experience. I was assigned to give the lesson at the first one. I planned a lesson from a Liahona that I had recently received, but once I was there, and we were about to start I felt like I needed to re-evaluate the lesson. So I skimmed through the liahona REALLY fast, and stopped at a page that talked “defeating our own goliath’s” so, I stood up and just let the spirit teach this family about defeating their goliath’s. The reason why it was so interesting, was this:I had planned to teach Maria (alves), Erica and possibly Nilde. But it was raining like CRAZY that day. And I mean, CRAZY (and I would know, seeing as I walked there from planalto to veredas- 5 neighborhood’s away). And because of the rain, ALL of Maria’s kids were there. (so, what I had planned PLUS: 3 or 4 guys from ages 18-23. )And they all LOVED the lesson, and the games we played after- so much that they came to the family home evening at Maurina´s house the next night! And Nilde- who on Sunday had said she wasn’t going to go to our church anymore (even though she got baptized a little over 3 months ago) has decided she DOES want to go to church. Yeah, the guidance of the Holy Ghost is pretty much the coolest thing that has ever happened to me. Ever. Another awesome part about this week was Sunday morning. We had EIGHT people come to church!! In Janaúba- this is a miracle! They were all rad people too. There is this 17 kid we´re teaching, and he´s so cool- he was explaining to us what he understood about life after death, and pretty much taught us the whole 2nd lesson, and THEN some (like deeper doctrine about what´ll happen in the millennium. It was so cool!) We marked a baptismal date with him-And then he told us he´s leaving TOMORROW on a month long vacation to go visit his mom in the bahia. Bummer for us, but I´m sure when he get´s back he´ll finish being taught by the sisters here and be BAPTIZED!! His cousin and sister are being taught too, but yesterday we were only able to catch him at his house.
I´d like to say happy birthday to lisa carter- woo! Yay for birthdays!
This week´s awesome quotes:
“Are you one of those in the “I hate to” family?How often one hears people use that phrase. If you are guilty of using it, try to break yourself of the habit. It doesn´t reflect a strong, healthy, vigorous mental attitude. IT suggests pettiness, querulousness*, a lack of the “I will” spirit. The way to conquer a disposition to “hate” so many things is to cultivate a cheerful, resolute, beneficial frame of mind. If you fill your heart with love of your fellow mortals and are possessed of a consuming desire to be of a service in the world, you will have little room left in you for “hating” this, that, and the next thing or person. The forceful person, animated by the right motives, starts more sentences with the words “I like to” than “ I hate to.”Get this thought into your mind. If you are constantly “hating,” the cause lies within yourself.” – B.C. Forbes
"This is the true test of love- to respect and serve those who can be of no use to us at all." - Anonymous**Wrap your brain around that one a little bit**
“The trouble with an opportunity is that is always comes disguised as hard work.” – Will Rogers
“Many of live´s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” –Thomas Alves Edson
“Work is the true elixir of life. The busiest man is the happiest man. Excellence in any art or profession is attained only by hard and persistent work. Never believe that you are perfect. When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.” –Sir Theodore Martin
“The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated” – William James **This one really struck me, because I thought to myself “Wow, that is so true.” Thinking of myself, and then I realized that every SINGLE person around me is looking –in some way or another- to be appreciated. So if one wants to make their home a more peaceful place, to make their ward or neighborhood more united, to make the WORLD a better place- strive to help the people around you feel appreciated. It´s the little things that make a huge difference. The big things do too though… But all in all, it´s not the size of the item or time, it’s the amount of heart you put into it. So go on. Share some love with the world.**
But my ALL time favorite- I LOVE this quote, I just pray that SOMEONE catches the meaning in a deep-life-changing way
“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year, while another gets a full year’s value out of a week.”- Charles Richards
Anyway, I wanted to apologize for writing “Even though most of you don’t write me...” I had just found out something that put me in a very bad mood, and I took it out on the faceless “you”È verdade, sinto muito falta de muitas de vocês, mas isso não quer dizer que NINGUÈM me escreve. Ontém recebi uma carta de Sister Underwood! E minhas irmãs me escrevem, e minha mãe nunca falta. Então, quero pedir desculpa porque fui out of line.. I don´t know how to say out of line in portuguêse. I suppose it´d be something like “mal educado” or something like that. Anyway point is, sorry, that was immature and stupid. Just because there are some people that I´d LOVE to hear from that I HAVEN´T, doesn´t mean that NO one is writing me. I appreciate those of you who have written, and I´d like to say, I know how it is- it´s hard to find time to sit down and write. But on the other hand, I´d like to say that it´s NOT easy for me to write either.I understand everyone has their busy schedule, but please do try to squeeze in 5 or 10 minutes in your week to scribble me a note. At the bus stop, in between classes, while you´re chilling, watching tv, or instead of 10 minutes of facebook/myspace.. (Yes you. You know who I´m talking to.) missionary.com is pretty sweet, the way I understand it, you just send it like an email and they mail it FOR you. None of that sealing the envelope, finding a stamp or the right postage nonsense- just throw in the addy, and probably some form of payment for the postage!
anyway, I’m really tired, so I’m going to go now. But I’m grateful for this gospel. I haven’t a single doubt that it is true. My testimony of the Book of Mormon and its veracity grows daily. I invite every single one of you- whether you’ve done it countless times, or not enough to even count once- to read a chapter and ask God if it’s true. I’m grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who never ceases to communicate with His children. I´m grateful for my amazing family- and for the ONES THAT ARE ON THE WAY!!! WOO!! *cough* I mean, you know… there in the future..(I´m praying someone has twins sometime soon, cause that would just be rad. A boy and a girl. Name them Gabriel and Gabriella.. lol.. actually I really love those names.. DIBS!)
TCHÃO! Com amor -sb

A week late

Sorry that this message is a week late. I had technical difficulties last week.

D&C 109:8
Well, I don’t know about you, but I personally am disappointed in the Utah science department. They predicted that huge earthquake, and were ENTIRELY wrong. It makes me wonder what ELSE they’re wrong about..Anyway, other than that, I’m grateful that that giant earthquake DIDNT come this year. Can you believe this year is OVER!?!? I know I can’t. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be thinking 2008 for another 10 months, and then as soon as I get the hang of 2009- it’ll be 2010..So things are going well here. It’s hot -as usual- but not unbearable, so that’s been nice. Last Sunday Pres. Izael (the branch president) gave a FANTASTIC talk. I’m excited to see how the branch will apply it.Yesterday I did my FIRST division (with WARD members!) So I went with Maria José and Sister Lima went with Talitta!Maria José is a regular; she leaves with us every Tuesday. She’s already served a mission, so she’s a good one to take with us. She has a tendency to stress over tiny miniscule things, but all the same, I love her to death. Talitta just moved back from São Paulo, and is thinking about serving a mission. She’s caught between wanting to serve the Lord and wanting to play in the world- so I think it was a really good experience for her to leave with us. She’s ADORABLE. She’s spunky and fun. Anyway, it was a good experience. I learned a lot about my capabilities, and what I need to work on.
I’ve been thinking a lot about who I am, and who I want to be. There is a book that Sis. Sorenson left that I’ve been reading a lot. It’s “the missionary’s little quote book”Here are some rad quotes that I hope EVERYONE will really internalize and soak in.
”You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time.” – J.s. Knox
“So long as a man is angry he cannot be right.”- a Chinese proverb
“Temptations and worries are a bit like the birds of the air. You can’t prevent them from flying around your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” – Martin Luther
“We are NOT human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Tielhard de chardin
“I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances.” – Martha Washington
“Don´t get discourage if you hit hard times. The hard times will teach you more than the good times will. Nothing is too tough to get through.” –Gwen Dutcher
So, all in all- I´m working hard to use these gems of knowledge and become the person I want to be.
Gotta run!! I love you all!







Even though most of you don’t write me...