the last one: 532 days later

5/28/18

Tudo bem?

So this past week has been kind of an emotional roller coaster. It seems like every time that a big change is about to happen, Satan tries really, really hard to make you doubt everything that you've been through. I was feeling a little bit like a failure last week,comparing myself to other missionaries and thinking that this year and a half hasn't come to anything. And then one day I decided that I was sick of feeling like nothing as a missionary. So I prayed and told Heavenly Father how I was feeling and opened up my Book of Mormon and read the first verse I saw: And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end. 

And I felt an immense sense of love from Him. I was anything but the perfect missionary but He blessed me with so many miracles and I'm so grateful for being able to be a representative of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for every companion and area and member and investigator that I was able to meet. 

 A lot of people have been saying this past week. "Make your mission worth it when you come home." And so the important thing is not to forget everything that has happened here (like that one time a guys let his rabid dog lose on us, or that time that we bought a TON of açaí and the guys gave it to us for free, and all the other stuff) and be the person that I tried to teach about.

Maybe this is a little dramatic but I love love love Brasil so much and I'm super excited for when I come back one day ;) I'm so grateful for my mission and everything I have learned and the love I have felt from my Savior. I know that this is the true church of Christ and that He is our Redeemer and does everything He does because He loves us.

Thanks for all the love and prayers, until next week!

Tchau ♥

Todo meu amor,

Sister Morata

"I finally found what I've been looking for after so long"

5/21/18

real quick Tamires got baptized on Saturday and it was so great! The above quote is what she told us the day after she was baptized. 

also hahaha I have no more time left but I promise I'll send a better email next week!

todo meu amor,

Sister Morata

happy belated mother's day!!!

5/14/18

Hellooooooo so Tamires is doing great and Sister Labra and I are doing great and I love lvoe love being a missionary. Tamires is super super excited for baptism and we are super super excited for her. Miracles are happening every day here! I don't know what else to say but have a wonderful week!

todo o meu amor,

Sister Morata

pictures:

including: a giant Book of Mormon at leadership conference and lots of hilarious kids after church :)

4th transfer in my 4th area ♥

4/30/18

Transfers were today! And I'm staying round 4 here in Américo to finish training Sister Labra!!! We're working super well together. I'm so excited! 

Tamires is preparing for baptism this week and is on fire. She's loving church and is getting really well integrated with the members here! 

And this week I was reading a lot about dilligence and enduring to the end. One of the most important things that I've learned on my mission is to perservere (is that how you spell it?). Things are hard and trials are hard and sometimes you just want sit on the sidewalk and cry in the beating sun after talking to 23492348 people who rejected you - but when you try just a little harder, talk to just one more person, miracles happen. The Lord blesses us in our efforts and the reward for pushing ourselves just a little more is so much greater than what we hope for. And it's a promise from our Heavenly Father that, if we do so, we'll one day gain eternal life with Him. I know that this gospel is true and that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of every effort we make and is very happy with us when we choose the right. 

I love being a missionary! I love Brasil! These next few weeks will be fantastic!! 

todo o meu amor,

Sister Morata

fotos: varied pictures from us in the church to us in Aguaçatonga (a little plot of land that one of the members here took us to for our Pday) to us at the leadership council and all that​