Can't waist blessings

Week 32

Sister Robyn Perez in Campinas, Brazil

Received 08/18/14

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Communicate with Robyn:

 

Email at   robyn.perez@myldsmail.net>

 

Or MissionTies (this is not a sales gimmick!), a letter service in Brazil for faster delivery! Login in as my guest and you can send a letter or quick note free of charge!

 

www.MissionTies.com

Use login ID: roobensmail@yahoo.com

Use password: guest1

Select the: Send Letters/Photos Option (right side menu options)

Write your letter and then click “Send Letter” The letter is printed, stuffed in an envelope and mailed from theMissionTies office in Brazil. It’s fast, easy and free for you!  

 

Or Robyn’s new address:

Rua Duque de Caxias 645

Centro-Campinas 13015-310

Brasil

 

 

This week was...well...it didn’t go as planned. But that’s ok! We've been working really hard onone of our investigators...and he is literally breaking my heart! One night he had his cousin over and shared the most awesome testimony! Then yesterday, we saw him in the street withcigarros!!! He was smoking one!!!! AHHHH! He walked up to us and of course we were all sad...he just smiled and laughed. I didn’t even say a word, and Sister Moura did all the talking. After we left him, I told Sisters Moura and Mitillo "this must be what it feels like when your child is choosing not to live the gospel." He had the potential to be such a strong member and this is why the adversary is working so hard on him right now. We just got to keep helping him see his true potential!

 

We had interviews and zone meeting this week too! My interview went well...I said more than 3 words! Ha, ha. And at our zone meeting I sang with a few other missionaries. We sang I am a Child of God, but it was a different version...and on the ukulele!!! :) Then our Zone Leaders did an amazing training. It was about the atonement! They had one Elder come to the front and he had us each write down a blessing we had received or needed. My blessing was the ability to speak Português. After he had gotten each of our blessings, he explained that in order for us to receive the blessing we had written down, the Elder up front would have to do 10 pushups. At the beginning it wasn’t hard for him, but as he kept doing more and more he got more tired. He also wasn’t a really liked Elder in our zone, so when my Zone Leader asked if we wanted our blessing, some would say ‘yes’ superfast. Others said no, and the Elder doing the pushups always said "no, I’ll do it for them." It was so hard to see him struggle for us. Because of course we needed our blessing, but we hated seeing him suffer! Towards the end he was doing like 2 at a time and we were all crying. The spirit was so strong in the room. The purpose of that was to show us that Christ suffered a lot for us, and we must not waste any of our blessings. That wemust do everything we can to show our gratefulness towards him. Our Zone left a lot stronger after the meeting. 

 

 Sometimes all our plans fall through...but we just have to keep working really hard. Right now all our baptisms are disappearing... but I just keep telling myself that it’s just a trail of our faith...Heavenly Father just wants to see if we are gonna keep swimming or give up...But we are fighters and when the rain comes pouring down we'll keep on walking!! (that seriously happened to us this week...) 

 

Amo vocês

 

Sister Perez

 

Scripture of the week:

 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 

                                  

        

                                 

                                 

      

There aren't enough hours in our days!!

Week 31

Sister Robyn Perez – Brazil Mission

Letter received 08/11/14

So I decided to write out my email last night so I wouldn’t waste time thinking of all the things that happened this week...Mom, you'll be so happy for this :)

Now that Sister Moura stopped putting us through her crazy training...things are awesome. I’m not stressed at all...and our area is booming! But I’ll start with some sad news first. Alex wasn’t ready to be baptized yet, but we’re working with him and remaining hopeful!!! When we found out, you could tell he was sad...but we gave him a pump-up lesson and he said he would work to be ready for baptism for sure. We made him a few reminders to put up in his house! The following day he tried to bring us breakfast, but we missed his call. Later that same day he met us at the park with his friend that he's been trying to bring to church. We talked to them for a good bit and then Alex bought us some dolce. He’s awesome doing missionary work and he won’t even be a memberuntil this Saturday! And as of today, he is doing super, super good!! 

As for Mauricia e Josimar...pelo amor! We cannot get them to church!! Mauricia really wants to get baptized, she even told her mom, but you can’t be baptized...yet alone get sealed in the temple, if you can’t make it to church. So, this week we’ll try a little bit harder and hope they make it to church Sunday.  

We have a ton of pesquisadres (investigators) that all have baptism datesscheduled...but our problem is church attendance! We started teaching about the importance of O Dia do Senhor..but then I remembered my state-side mission and the power of the Book of Mormon. President Batt was so right to push the Book of Mormon right at the beginning of teaching...lol..because if we get our pesquis to read and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon the rest will all follow (church, baptism, knowledge that Joseph Smith was a profeta (prophet) and that this is the only true and living church). So now we are reading and helping ourpesquis understand and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon...well,we will be starting this tomorrow! I’m so grateful for my state-side mission!!

Since Sister Moura is my Sister Training Leader, she gave me a few things to work on. She pretty much said I’m way too loving and not bold enough. I’m bold with my pesquis (investigators)...but not with my companions and members, so I worked really hard on that this week. I've realized that she just sits back and watches and waits for me to do something. For example at one of our lunch appointments Sister Mitillo tried pouringjuice that she had already drank from back into the container. When I saw what was happening I told her that she can’t do that! Sister Moura told me she was silently cheering me on and then I told her after that I was silently repenting for saying that to Sister Mitillo. She told me that one day I’m going to get a comp that is going to need a lot of help doing the right things and I have the ability to help them boldly with lots of love. Ha, whoknew being too nice was a bad thing!!

Ah! I forgot to talk about our lesson with a recent convert/inactive family. The other night we went to just read the Book of Mormon with Beatriz e Leticia. I had no clue exactly what was going to happen, but Sister Mouratold me to just start the lesson and they'll go with the flow. So I thought how we are trying to plan a FHE and watch the Restoration filme, so Ipicked 2 Néfi 3 that talked about Joseph Smith. Ok, first off that was totally inspired by the spirit. The whole chapter talks about keeping the commandments and remembering the covenants you've made and it was just perfect for Leticia because afterwards she opened up to us and told us why going back to church is hard for her! Ahhhh!! Gentes....you seriously need to have the spirit all the time or you can’t help your people!!! I love my job as a missionary and I love this gospel!!

Until next week meu povo!!

Sister Perez

 

       

Crazy... She's crazy!

Week 30

Sister Robyn Perez – Brazil Mission

Letter received 08/05/14

Meu Povo!! (MY People)

Ok...so last week and this week sister Mitillo and I were super worried about our companion, Sister Moura. She was super unhappy and a bit annoyed and sometimes mad. We tried everything. I literally prayed to have more patience and love so I could help her be happy. I even talked to Sister Perrotti (mission President’s wife) about her! I mean she drove us nuts, when she refused to participate. We were just stressed! Well today it all came out that she was doing it on purpose. It’s her form of training us to become better independent sisters.....oh my goodness! After she said this I was ready to throw something at her...and so was Sister Mitillo. But in a weird way her craziness worked on us. We learned to get things done no matter what. I learned to pick up the phone and call people (which I hate). I learned to help out Sister Mitillo, in a loving way spend less time in the bathroom. Overall, we learned that no matter how lazy or rebellious our comp is we need to be super obedient and do what we know is right. It was a tough 2 weeks....but I think we, Sister Mitillo and I are better missionaries that we were 2 weeks ago. I’m still learning to be more brave, but I have a lot more confidence now. I love Sister Moura now...and this week will be awesome!!

Hopefully, Alex will be getting baptized this Saturday! We are still working with our other families, Mauricia and Josimar. They are now really good friends with Alberto e Ariane. AndMauricia is already doing missionary work and she’s not even a member!! She invited one of her friends to her house so we could teach her!! Once she gets baptized she has the potential to be such a strong member! 

On a funnier note, the teacher for the Sunday School class for the teenagers asked me to go in and talk about something super complicated in English.....so I went in and I attempted to talk about how certain foods you eat affect your blood sugar levels...well, I repeated myself so many times because I honestly couldn’t remember English. At the end I was like....I can’t remember anything and they all laughed. It’s much easier for me to speak Portuguese now!!

Here is our chapter for our trio Jacob 7...we live by it now! 

Fiquem Firmes (stand firm)

te amo!

       

                                 

          

Finding That Balance

Week 25

Sister Robyn Perez in Campinas, Brazil

Received 06/30/14

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Communicate with Robyn:

 

Email at   robyn.perez@myldsmail.net>

 

Or write using www.MissionTies.com, letter service in Brazil for faster delivery! Login in as my guest and you can send a letter or quick note free of charge!

 

Use login ID: roobensmail@yahoo.com

Use password: guest1

Select the: Send Letters/Photos Option (right side menu options)

Write your letter and then click “Send Letter”

 

The letter is printed, stuffed in an envelope and mailed from the MissionTies office in Brazil.

It’s fast, easy and free for you!  

 

Or write and mail via US Post Office:

Sister Robyn A. Perez

C/O Brazil Campinas Mission 
Rua 10 de Setembro, N. 38, Cambui
13023 Campinas SP, 
Brazil

(Ruben’s note: Another week of soccer interrupting missionary work!)

 

In reality every week is a good week. It’s just that some weeks are really awesome, things happen; other weeks are normal with no big news. So in other words this week was a good normal week. Just a lot of menos ativosand batando portas (knocking, or better said, clapping at doors)!

 

I’m no longer sick!!! Yay! and Sister Pontes and I have started doing Insanity (exercise routine) at 6 in the morning! 

 

Life is good down here in Brasil! And I love being a missionary!

 

Gentes...te amo!!!!

 

       

      

      

      

Hello Missionary Training Center (MTC)!!

Hi! Christie (Robyn's older sister) here, I'll be updating her blog and keeping you all informed about her mission while she's gone!

Robyn departed chilly Memphis, TN at 7:30am headed to an even chillier Provo, Utah via Delta Airlines, non-stop! Annie (older sister) and Oliver (nephew) picked her up at the Salt Lake City Airport and headed straight to Walmart to buy a few more essentials. Robyn’s debit card didn’t work, so Annie paid the bill! They then went to grab a quick lunch and headed for the Missionary Training Center (MTC).  They were greeted by a missionary couple who put a post it note on the front windshield, pointed them to an unloading area and told them they had 2.5 minutes to say goodbye and take a picture. She was really excited to finally arrive!