Hiiiii! I love you lots! The pictures of the Preston Rodeo and Parade looked so fun! I sure miss you all. I can't believe how much everyone has changed! Looks like it was a real Mann Family Hoot, complete with archery in the hills above Hyde Park. :)
Things are peachy keen here in Mangabeira! Sister Granata, my companion, and Sister Yslas will both be going home next week and those two have gone nuts trying to cram as much fun, craziness, and mission as they can into these last few weeks. Ha ha :) We are going to have a surprise farewell for them on Saturday, but it is kinda hard to do a surprise for someone that is with you 24 hours 7 days a week. :) I super love the sisters that I am with. I feel like I have always been really blessed in that respect. I love every single one of my companions and the other sisters I've lived with.
Anywho, it was a good week. We payed a visit to our dear friend, Natan. Can I just tell you what a cool kid he is? The kid is a miracle! I love talking to him and his faith is incredible. We are teaching him English because he really wants to learn. I really admire his thirst to learn and desire to live the fullest life he can despite his inability to move from his shoulders down. He is truly an inspiration to me and my good friend.
While we were coming home from Natan's home (which is located in the middle of nowhere and is super far away), we were waiting for the bus and found an AWESOME family. We were waiting for the bus for over an hour and a sweet, young woman had pity on us and brought us two chairs from her home. We started talking to her and she became interested and went back into her house, got another chair for her, and stayed with us for a long time. It was awesome. She said that she knew she and her family needed religion in their lives, but she hadn't found one where she really felt peace and comfort. She's been going to a church that she likes because they aren't loud and play guitar and drums and stuff like that, but they use a lot of statues of saints that they pray to and she doesn't like that. We assured her that none of those thing play part in the house of the Lord. We believe in peace, the power of the sweet and soft voice of the Spirit, and truth. Her eyes lite up as we were talking to her. The Gospel does that. :) We marked an appointment with her and I am so excited to teach her more and how she can find peace. Real, lasting peace.
The Gospel offers healing and can solve even the gravest challenges we can encounter in this life. I had a very sacred experience with a sister from our ward who has been less-active for quite some time. She served a mission, married in the temple, has two wonderful little boys, and a testimony of the church. Due to the hustle and bustle of life, she started putting off the simple things like family night, family prayer, and scripture study. Pretty soon she found herself staying home on Sundays and little by little, leaving the church. It started with just simple things, but ended up being a slippery slope into in-activity. She told us now is has escalated the point that she is having problems with her husband and they are thinking of separating. She explained now she's so far away from the church, she doesn't know if she can go back. She told us this in tears and my heart ached for her. It can be really hard to get back on the right track when you've strayed far enough from it, but it is possible.
We told her how much Heavenly Father loves her and longs for her to come back. It doesn't matter how far you go from the truth, or how much you distance yourself from embracing love of our Heavenly Father, His arms are always open and stretched forth waiting for you. The Atonement of Jesus Christ offers a life without guilt and new start. Grace, which is the help and strength of the Atonement, can be accessed in any time of your life, in any place, but your heart must be sincere and true. He's paid the price and has done his part, and now it just lacks your part. Go to Him in prayer, in reverence, in humility, with a repentant heart and you will find forgiveness and peace. That is the miracle. She told us she would go back to church. It was a beautiful sight to see her family on Sunday, all together, enjoying the blessings of the sacrament and Atonement as a family.
This truly is the Church of Jesus Christ, the very church He left on the earth when He walked upon it. How blessed we are! :)
I love you so much, family! Miss you like crazy. Thanks for eating some rainbow doughnuts together on my birthday! I loved the pictures. :) Have a lovely week!
All my love,
Sister Mann
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