#58 - Family Members :)

Familyyyyyy!!!! :) :) :)

It was SO wonderful to talk to you last night and see your lovely faces! You are real! And just as goofy as ever. :) What a beautiful sight you are. :) One of my favorite parts was right at the end when little Taila made a hand heart for you all and you all made one back. How precious it was to see that. :)  I find it interesting how different it was from last night and Christmas. I remember that I had to have a roll of toilet paper sitting next to me because I was crying so much.  But last night, it just felt so happy! There was nothing to get teary about. And we even ended it off with a cinnamon roll. It couldn't have been more perfect. :)

The family we were with last night loved you all. Ha ha! :) They said that you all are very beautiful. :) Sister Alcilene was so sweet! She made dessert for us and Brother Osvaldo was a great tech man.  He just about had a heart-attack when Sister Melonakos couldn't get Google Hangout to work. But we got there and it all worked out. What a great family to put up with two very anxious missionaries for that long. :) I am so grateful for awesome members! 

We have had tons of help from the ward this week and it has made all the difference. Members are the key! :) We've been really trying to get the ward pumped about missionary work and it's been working. I thought we would win their hearts by leaving messages about missionary work with them and having activities, but while that was all great, what really seemed to be effective was love. We have been serving and loving our ward to pieces and they have been loving us right back.

We went on visits with a young lady in our ward the other day and she just loved it! She made immediate friends with all the investigators and it was so great. The day after she sent us text that said, "Sisters, I don't know if I should go on more visits with you... It's altering my life plan. After we said goodbye yesterday, I cannot stop thinking about serving a mission. I really think I might serve when I finish school." We were so happy to get that text! :)

Another member in our ward, Roberto, is just ON FIRE with the work! He helps us in every aspect. He gives us food, he gives us mission advice, and BEST of all he give us referrals! :) He gave us 3 super referrals and we visited ALL of the 3 families in one night. It was super crazy and super awesome. Tomorrow we are going back to visit them all. I hope everything goes smoothly because member referrals mean a lot to us! Referrals are sacred to us.

We have two members in our ward, Sandro and Ewani, who I LOVE. They are literally famous singers. Like they have a giant bus with their faces on it and they go on tour and they have backup dancers and glittery costumes. It's the real thing! :) And while they are famous and have tours, they are still loyal, devote members of the church. It's so awesome. They give us rides in their awesome car that has their faces plastered on the side. It rocks. :) You can look them up on youtube I think! I believe that it's Castro d' Sandro or something like that. Maybe it's Sandro d' Castro. Yeah. They are awesome and also go on visits with us. :)

Sister Sonia sends a big kiss to you all! She was a surprise because she walked up to us one Sunday and started speaking English to us! Turns out she is an English teacher and is completely fluent. She signed us up to go to the school she teaches at and help out. We need to call President to see if he will let us, but I think he will be fine with that. She also knows how to make brownies which was another surprise. We just love her and her awesome family. :)

We had Pancake Night Version 2.0 Mangabeira this week! :) This ward has not had an activity in a LONG time, so our numbers were few. It ended up being a total of nine people, all of whom are already firm in the gospel and are already helping in the missionary efforts. So, it ended up being a big thank you for all those who are already are helping! Not our intent, but it was still so fun and they LOVED the pancakes. The bishop praised our pancakes in the pulpit on Sunday. Ha ha :)  We hope to do another activity and make it better advertised. 

I love the members here! There are no words for how much I love them! They are my family her in Mangabeira. :)

Usually I talk about our investigators in my e-mails and the members get thrown under the bus, but really, they are one of the BEST parts of missionary work! Every member has power to help in the missionary effort and change hearts! This week, I talked about my family here in Mangabeira because they are huge examples of member-missionaries and they are the reason we have investigators to teach. I love them so much. The members are the keys! :)

I love you, family! So very much! Have fun eating waffles and cookie butter! I love you FOREVER!!!!! :) :) :)

All my love and a pancake with condensed milk because we don't have syrup,

Sister Mann