Baptism and Buckets :)

Renata and her 5 sisters!

So this week was good!! And interesting. 

I don´t know if the family remembers my awkward tan lines on my arms...well I still have them and I think they might be getting worse. But now I have two tan lines. One where my shirts are on my arm and the ones from last summer. Oh it is way funny!! Haha, a lot of people point them out...awk hehe it´s a conversation starter to say the least! 

So something funny, we had a contact that gave us an address and marked an appointment with us, when we got there the next day it was a demolished house....it would have been easier if she just said she didn't want it. But oh well, makes for a funny story. 

So we are working with Maurício and he is on date for baptism this Sunday the 23rd!! And we had a couple lessons with him this week and then on Saturday he called saying he wanted to move his baptism to later. On Sunday we had a lesson with his right after church with 3 members, a return missionary, a young women, and another single adult women. The lesson was good and everyone bore their testimonies. After the lesson we had Maurício say the closing prayer and ask if he needed to get baptized this Sunday. We were all kneeling down and the spirit was so strong. We knelt in silence for about 2 minutes, the 2 girls were crying because the spirit was so strong and Maurício said he knew that he needs to get baptized. It was such an amazing experience!!!

Alex, Eliane, and Nicolas got home from their vacation on Friday and we had an appointment with them that day too. Eliane called us to reschedule for today Monday because there were a lot of people in her house. When my companion said oh then see you Monday, Eliane said, no, Sunday, at church!!! Ohhh it was so amazing!!! Alex and Nicolas came to all the meetings and then Eliane brought her little daughter Sofia for sacrament (we have sacrament last) and it was so amazing!!! We have this returned missionary Felipe who was waiting by the door to the chapel for Alex and Nicolas to enter. And then when they did he invited them to sit with his family!!! Ahhh I want one of him in all of my wards I serve in! But it was so amazing!! They are also having a joint FHE with them tonight. So hopefully everything goes well!! We are hoping they will be baptized this Sunday as well!!

Soaking Wet! (Good thing it wasn't a white shirt!)

Sooo Friday it finally rained. After almost a month of Hot Sun, it finally rained. And then it rained all day and it still is raining on and off. but it was so good!! I love rain. So we were walking home when it started raining on Friday and when we got there we were literally completely soaked. It reminded me of when we used to play in the rain with everyone :) it was so funnn!!

the bucketssssss :)

Sooo you probably are wondering while my title included buckets. Well so let´s start with Renata was wonderful this week!! Then we had her baptism on Saturday!! But remember how it started to rain on Friday?? so the chapel in Ponta da Praia kinda flooded. So the sisters there called us to help. We got there and we were un-flooding the chapel as we were filling up the baptismal fount with yes Buckets. It was kinda funny not gonna lie. 

Then Sister Menezes and I left to go pick up these little gifts we had ordered for Renata, which were about a 30 min walk away. In the rain. We got soaked even with our umbrellas. When we were almost there there was a little block of Carnival. So really loud music and people screaming, drinking, smoking and covered in foam. And this noise that sounds like a mix of gun shots, fireworks, and thunder that makes a lot of smoke. And there were so many people. The place we had to go was in the middle of this.....So, we had to go through. It was not good. And then Sister Menezes said this is a little bit of how Carnival will be. Oh boyyyy haha. But it´s all good. 

Anywho we got there and they weren´t done. so we returned and then the other sisters wanted to go back to the apartment to take a shower. But Sister Menezes and I were exhausted so we decided to stay. Good thing because we looked in the fount a little later and the water was low again. There´s something broken so it was draining slowly. So we started to fill it with our buckets again. 

Renata and her boyfriend Ricardo who baptized her!

BUT after all of this, we had a beautiful baptism. and Renata was so happy!! It was wonderful!!

This week we had so tough times, but at the same time I can see how the Lord showers (sometimes literally) blessings upon us everyday. I am so grateful for everything that I have and the support and love from my Family.

Lots of Love!!

Sister Amanda Peterson