The miracles that come from fasting!

Ola my dearest family

Something I learned this week is that not only are we here to help the people be active or be members but also for the people who ARE members and who are strong but just need continuous support and love. Because I was talking to someone and just because I enjoyed being with her (and we were giving out fliers for the open house together) I said You would be the BEST companion ever!! 2 hours later she and a senior misisonary came up to me and said that I was an answer to their prayers because now she wants to serve a mission (she is 25 years old) and just because of that simple remark of expressed love for her she wants to serve. How SWEET is that?!

Because now even if Im not the best missionary ever, I helped a person choose to serve a mission and therefore SHE can be an incredible missionary and I also will receive happiness and joy from this, that I was able to play a little part in her mission.

So this brought me Quite a lot of joy and its really making me realize how much I can effect people (positively) just by loving them and being their friend.

Because really love is basically the best ay to share the gospel because when we truly love someone and are sharing this onderful treasure of the gospel with them, it will touch their hearts and they will recognize that we really are there for them.

Something else I learned is how great fasting is, just comparing a week with and then without fasting is just incredible. With fasting we had 10 people in church, the next week I forgot to fast and we didnt have anyone in church (which was a bummer but then things worked out where we were able to do certain things such as focus on the members in the ward that we wouldnt have been able to do being preoccupied with caring for our investigators) such as: we were asked to sing for the young men (I think around the age of 15) the song I am a child of God which was a really neat experience. Really we have amazing young men. And because we dont really have many Men in the ward, these young men have callings that are just extraordinary our 16 year old and 17 year old boys I believe are the bishop's secretary or young men advisor, I dont really remember exactly but its pretty awesome. 

Oh and the cutest thing so we had one of our boys Sam Gabriel (15 yrs) give a talk and before the talk he was excitedly explaining for me that it was a talk that President Spencer Kimball gave, and so that was pretty neat because this kid is just really happy all the time and grinning and just a fun kid.

And then he went to give his talk and I have never seen someone more nervous to do just about anything in my life, he was so so so so nervous and just about everyone was moving to be closer to him giving him thumbs up and smiling and nodding and encouraging him, and when he as done he came down to sit with some of the youth and he gave a big old excited "I accomplished and conquered the world!!" smile and everyone was patting him on the back and cheering him on as quietly as possible but it was just adorable. I just really liked it because I feel like in another situation a person would have been really embarressed about it because people would be embarresed for him or something and not say anything, but not in this ward oh no, it was the oposite, almost like he just ran a big old marathon and everyone was thrilled and proud of him. It was just the sweetest thing.

But I sure love our ward I love the people here and I just am so happy to see their successes.

Also our bishop asked us (the sister missionaries) to pray for him to get a job, and we did, and he got one :)!!

That is really wonderful because I love love love our bishop!! He is just the happiest best bishop a missionary could ask for. (Him and my other bishop in Brazil)Ive just been really blessed in my life having good bisops, good leaders, AMAZING incredible extraordinary parents and siblings, and mission presidents and leaders.

Okay my district leaders have Always been incredible but right now e have a district leader Elder Piava who literally is a blessing in our lifes like the amount of support and help we receive from him are incredible but its the fact that he is uterally concerned and desirous for our success that hasd really beyond earned our respect.

Its made me think alot about leaders, and also about being a missionary because its just so clear when someone really is truly trying to help you because of love. It makes me want to do a lot better at expressing how much I truly want the blessings to enter into the lives of our investigators.

Especially Aline, and Jonathan right now. Wow I would love nothing more then for them to be able to fully know the Gospel is true and to be able to be firm in the faith all their lives.

I know as we continue being obedient and faithful that we will see Miracles occur here.

I love you all! Have a wonderful day

and thank you so much for your love and support

alsoooo happy birthday to Cody!!!! I sent him a birthday letter I hope he received but if not I hope he knows Im thinking of him :) 

Sincerely,

Sister Kimball

and with LOTS of love!!

The power of fasting and prayer

my wonderful family I just have so much to tell because this was one of the most amazing weeks of all my mission, well they have all been incredible but we really saw miracles working in our lives this week. At first the week was pretty rough because we havent hardly had anyone visiting thne church and therefore no one progressing or being baptized but we just decided that we would just continue working our hardest and I was just praying and planning and I fasted on saturday which was a really good experience because Im strengthening my testimony in fasting. Because before I always felt like it was a good thing to do but now Im really seeing the miracles that come from fasting. And basically without fail every sunday that I have been fasting I feel the spirit more strongly and I have more things touch my heart and help me in the week. Also a really cool thing about being a missionary on sunday is that when we bring someone to church we just are praying with all our hearts that the teachers will teach things well and that what is being said in church will help them and they will have the opportunity to feel the spirit. And especially yesterday I just witnessed ful,l on how much people giving lessons are inspired. Hopw wonderful to have teachers and people giving talks who are sincerely following the spirit and sharing theire testimonies its just really neat. But wow I have so much back story to explain. Because the other day I wrote in my journal friday night kind of planning out our day on saturday because I realized that we just need about a million and 5 different miracles small and big to happen. Because we had planned quite a few lessons with members that we KNEW were crucial to have in order to help our investigators be in church the next dfay. And I started writing this list and it got to the point when I was praying and fasting that I basically just poured my heart out to our heavenly father because I really dint know WHAT to pray for because there were SO many things that NEEDED to happen and that we honestly completely had no control over. I really noticed because of this how much we need our Heavenly Father. And so some of the things we needed were to not have rain, so that our member Leisa could be in the lesson with us and that aline could be home and so many things. And it turned out to be a day of MIRACLES because there was not a single drop of rain which is in and of itself a miracle because the sky can be perfectly blue and then all of a sudden youve got rain pouring!!! Kind of like Hawaii. But the rain Doesnt stop!! haha. So anyways there wasnt any rain and the lesson went Amazing! Also during the lesson with aline she said something about how her church teaches really good things and I just got the clearest truest revelation I have ever gotten. To look up in the bible dictionary/topical guide about john the baptist. And the first sentence said that John the Baptist was called to Prepare the world for Jesus christ and then in the first chapter of john he explains to the people that He is Not Christ or a prophet but that he was called to prepare the people for when christ would come. And I just testified to Aline that her backround in religion WAS preperation for her to make the changes she needed to be READY for the blessings of the plentitude of the gospel. And because of that She IS able to feel the spirit she IS able to know its true, she has already made plans to marry and all ready stopped other things in her life. And it was just so amazing. So right now she has a testimony of Jopseph smith and the book of mormon! ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD she came to church!!!!! WAHOOOOOO with our member frined Leisa which was perfect.

So not only did aline come but she brought her husband robert and 3 kids around the ages of 9-11 that we are always talking to on the street who usually visit the other church with aline but they all came and it was so cool! Also I love love these 3 boys they are precious (and call us aunty and are always asking us to talk in our native languages haha) they are sweet.

So basically we had

10 people in church!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS is a MIRACLE

anddddd they ALL want to come back!!

IO LOVE THIS WORK! And I loveeee our members because that would have been and IS impossible without them!

Also we had an Incredible experience with a young man (jonathan) that we are teaching) he has 19 years, and when we arrived the other day we asked how he was (just normally) and he was like

well things are really good, except for one thing-

I dont know if you both have noticed but I smoke

and I Want to quit Ive been praying to quit.

I was blown away. We havent said a single thing about the word of wisdom and he just on his own felt (by the spirit) that this was a thing that wasnt of God. And so we taught him about the word of wisdom and really about how we are here to help him, made plans with him to withstand and he gave us the only pack of cigarets her had in the house. WOWWW

and then he prayed. Sincerely pleading for help to finish.

And in this moment the spirit testified to my heart that this is exactly the reason we are here. To help Gods children make changes in their life with the help of our savior Jesus Christ, that they are unable to do alone.

It was just incredible, just everything.

Also I now understand why Jesus Christ had all the children come to him. Children are INCREDIBLE soooo good and so desirous to do the right thing. I loveee it! 

Well I love you all so much and Im grateful to be here, and Im grateful for your support!

Love you all!!

Also Vinicius will be baptized this saturday :)! (as long as his mom returns in time from her trip)