Lauren's Brazilian Adventuretime!: Guided to a Less Active Hearing Impaired Member

October 7, 2013

Sooooo I didn't plan this out at all!! So this will be a biiiiig mess of an email! haha.

First of all... OMG Conference was amaaazing! I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've stayed up for every single session... ahem--confessions. haha. It was pretty cool though cause I really got a lot from every single one. Man! I can't even remember which ones were so amazing! But I will bring my notes next time. I do remember there were a bunch about member missionary work and over coming trials. I loved them. It was so good and exactly what i needed to hear personally and what i think the whole ward needed to hear this week.

It's such good timing too, because I have just been assigned to talk this coming Sunday... onnnnn--you guessed it!--Missionary work! haha. Luckily it'll be a youth speaker, me, Sister Roberts, and the Ward mission leader. so that's good I don't need to take up THAT much time. but I'm still so nervous... ughhhh.... we have suuuucha huge ward that I figured I'd be able to get away with out speaking until I left for Brazil and the people would be much more forgiving because I'm just learning the language :)

buuuuutt oh well, I guess it's good to have the missionaries talk about missionary work and how truly easy it is for members to do! We had a huge training on that in Zone conference about how We have to talk to EVERYONE and we have the hard part. but the members, dang, you all just have to talk to the nice people. be people's friends and ask them if they would be willing to listen to a brief presentation on how families can be forever or how we have the restored gospel or whatever principle and how we know its true. and if not then, it's okay. go on your way and just keep being friends! haha. we were like yah! they got it easy!! haha. but anyway that was an awesome part of conference and now I get to use some of it in my talk! woo hoo!

Another amazing thing happening this Sunday is something called the Why I Believe fireside! It's where a bunch of new converts have been selected to give a talk about how they came to know the church was true, basically giving their story and everyone can hear them bare testimony and stuff. Idk I haven't been to one yet but apparently everywhere else it's been sooou suuuuper successful and suuuuper spiritual. I can't wait. cause we have some AMAZING new converts who are truly converted and will be amazing helps for our investigators seeing they arent the only ones going through a hard time and in the place their in right now while investigating the church. It's gonna be amazing. I cant' wait!!!!

Sooooo I feel really bad I can't remember anything I was supposed to answer! ):

sighh maybe email me all the questions next week hahah. I will try to write a letter today after I reread your dear elders! Everything is crazy today, because we were going to go to another city, Oatman, to see the donkeys and ghost town for pday but the lady who was going to take us ended up tricking us into doing service at her home instead... It was really strange. hahahah. We were all ready and in the car and stuff and she's like sooooooooo I dont feel good. We're like oh no it's okay we can go another day and she's like GREAT! Well, while we're all here, I need service! and we were like uhmmmm we aren't SUPPOSED to do service on mondays (mission president likes us doing things we can't do on mondays and service other days) and she's like okay well its okay and next thing we knew we're at her house cutting grass with scissors and picking lettuce leaves and sanding chairs hahahah... for 3 hours.. so we just got back and are now here and I don't have most of my stuff that I prep for writing emails but hey! fun stuff! haha. mission stories... hahaha.

Oh! Cool story this week! We were on exchanges and got lost looking for a house and ended up in this crazy far out area called Lazy YU and ended up at an inactive members' home! It was awesome! They are soooo cool and you can just TELL they are dying for the gospel and want the spirit back in their lives but for some reason --we haven't been able to find out yet--they don't want to go to church. I think its people reasons.. but they've been inactive since they moved here 10 years ago. They have home teachers and visiting teachers and everything and they LOVE us over and want lessons and prayers and everything --like they're asking US. but they just live soooo far out. it's hard for us to go up there cause we monitor our miles. but the wife is hearing impaired and is an interpretor! So we got to sign with each other! IT WAS SO HARD I DONT REMEMBER ANYTHING!!))): but I told her about everyone at home who taught me ASL and how we would translate songs and prayers for them and she was so excited cause she does that too for schools and stuff! She gave us a cool dvd of a ASL choir where they all sign the song in unison! SO COOL! So, it was awesome being able to bond with her over that. Tell everyone at home I said thank you for all they taught me and help prepare me for those hearing imparied people I meet here in Kingman! :) how amazing how the Lord works! !

Anyway, The Kunsmans are a family here, I dont know if I've told you about them yet, but really quickly--We don't technically know this yet--but bishop, who is Kunsman dad's doctor, told us that he is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis or something where he will die within the next 5-10 years and his daughter has it too. We've been teaching them about the plan of salvation and until recently didn't know that this was their situation. They are the most amazing family ever. Seeing how much complete love they have in their family just breaks my heart knowing that they are living with this burden on their minds not knowing that we can live with our families forever after this life. It's hard to meet with them cause they are so busy, but I am so excited to talk to them about eternal families and how one of the most amazing hopes that this gospel brings us is the fact that death isnt the end, and that because of this gospel, we can see all of our loved ones again and be with them forever in complete happiness with our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ no matter WHAT happens in this life. This mortal life ends, but it doesn't have to be a sad event. I'm so excited to help them truly understand this principle and gain that testimony for themselves. I can't wait to see the hope and light that this Gospel will bring to their lives once they truly understand it. I love this gospel soooo much! I love my family SOOO much and can honestly say that this is one of the GREATEST blessings in my life, having this knowledge of the restored complete gospel and all the blessings it offers!

I'm glad Kei had a good bday!! and got to see conference! soo cool! I didn't get to see them on the balcony, but its okay. I waved anyway :) haha jk. but how fun!! Honestly, the first session was my favorite. soooo great!! I'm so jealous! I wish I could have been there!!!! I hope you had fun and got a goood bday dinner!:) I was gonna send this suuuper cool hula dancing card for your bday but the inside message was... not missionary appropriate haha. :P the card was so cool though..... it danced when you opened the card. man. anywayy.... HOPE you had a GREAT bday!!!!

Tell everyone how much I love you all and appreciate the letters and support and prayers! You are all the best!!! love my home ward family, friends, family! Miss you all!!! You're all in my prayers! <3

Ate a proxima semana!!!

-Sister Yoshimoto!

ps. i found a few members who speak Portuguese!!! RM's from Brazil or Portugual! woo woo! practice buddies! haha. yeah right.. we'll see :)