Carnaval time!!!

2/24/14

Oi Familia!

Another incredible week full of miracles has flown by! Work is exploding in Freguesia! We are helping 4 families now to get married and eventually baptized! The most difficult thing in Brazil in relation to the work is that no one is legally married and it takes a LONG time to get married and it is very expensive! But Heavenly Father is very mindful of His children here and He is preparing a way!

We had an INCREDIBLE experience with Lidiane and Ademeer this week! My goodness I love this family SO much! We were talking with them and following up on if they have been reading and praying and Lidiane got this big grin on her face, her face completely lit up, and she told us she got an answer!!! Both she and Ademeer kept talking about the blessings they have been getting from Heavenly Father since they began reading the Book of Mormon and praying as a family and going to church. They are recognizing the blessings and they are continuing to read and pray! What an incredible experience it has been to work with this family! I have truly seen how much this gospel and the spirit changes hearts and blesses families!

There is another family we have been reactivating and the change I have seen in the Father is incredible! We had zone conference this last week (which was AWESOME) and the main thing I got out of it is how we need to allow the spirit to change us. As we go about experiencing new things and learning and growing every day we need to allow the spirit to change us. Life is all about change! If we don´t change we don´t learn anything! I am grateful for everyday I have to change and to be better! I am grateful for everyday I have to serve my Heavenly Father and His children here and to witness the change as these people receive the gospel. 

I know that this is the ONLY true gospel on the earth today. It is literally the same church Christ established when He was on the earth. What good news we have to share! Eu sei que Jesus Cristo vive! Eu sei que ele fez um grande sacrifiçio por cada nós! Nós podemos voltar na presença de Deus com nossas familias porque ele fez isso por nós!

I Love you all so much! Thanks for your love and support and examples!!!!

Love,

Sister Tingey

P.S. Mom- we eat lots of rice and beans and chicken! Yum yum! :) The members usually feed us at least 4 or 5 days a week. The food is delicious!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

The festas have already begun! It´s going to be a crazy week this week!

When it rains it pours

2/17/14

Hello Family!

Another week in Brazil has passed by! We have been basking in the glorious rain for a little while. It is such a blessing to have some clouds to cool it down a little bit down here! Last night with about an hour left of proselyting it started pouring and it felt so good to be out soaked in the rain! It´s so different down here and I love it! The reality of being in Brazil and a little bit of culture shock settled in this week but I am learning and loving it! 

Mom, to answer your questions; my companion is awesome! Sister Rocha is from Florianopolis and is tons of fun and very bold with everyone. She doesn´t let anyone give excuses and she is a really great teacher. She is just an all around amazing missionary! It is such a blessing to be serving with her. I am learning so much and we have a lot of fun together! My apartment is great! Every building in Brazil is just tile floors - a little different but real nice because of the heat. We share an apartment with two other sisters; Sister Araújo and Sister Sasine. Sister Sasine happens to have randomly been in my EFY group years ago when Catherine Howard and I went to Amherst! Crazy,small world. Our ward is great! Lots of fun. Very Brazilian haha. Everyone talks a lot and just has fun! The more Portuguese I learn the more I get to know the members. (still working on that haha) Portuguese is coming. I learn and understand and can speak more and more everyday! I still kind of get lost when people are speaking really fast but I can generally follow what is being said and I am speaking more and more. I´m learning to just speak and not worry about grammar. Mas tudo bom! Oh and also, sandals are awesome! They are saving my feet!

This week was great! Our zone did a `Casa Aberta` which means we all went around the church inviting anyone and everyone to come to the church and look around and see what it is like. We talked to SO many people and saw a few miracles! One in particular was a woman named Sueli. She said she has often walked by our church and wanted to know more but didn´t know when meeting where or how she could learn more. Sister Rocha and I `knocked` on her door and she was SO happy. She said she had been waiting and waiting for missionaries to come by! She lives in the other sisters´ area but she is wonderful!

We are working with a family now that are just incredible! Their names are Lidiani e Ademeer. They aren´t married (like the rest of Brazil) but they are so prepared! We taught them this week and as we were teaching them the restoration and as I was reciting the first vision Lidiani began to tear up! I was reminded that it doesn´t matter if I can speak the language very well or not. The spirit will teach, the spirit will testify. This is the LORD´S work, not mine. 

I feel so privileged to be serving a mission. Sunday was a beautiful day. Two families that we are teaching came to church!!!! It is really hard to get people to church and to have people follow through on their commitments but they came!!! And all of the members welcomed them in so warmly.

This gospel is truly the only true gospel on the earth today. We have a modern day prophet who leads and guides us today! We have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the SAME gospel Christ established when he was on the earth! What a glorious message I get to share with everyone every day. What a glorious gospel we have! Heavenly Father truly loves His children. Living the gospel principles is the only way to have eternal happiness! I am so grateful to have an eternal family and i want that for everyone. I love you all!!!!!!!!!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey

P.S. People to pray for:

Juliana

Humberto, Silvia, e Camila

Barbara, Edgar, e fam

Elieza, Leandro, e fam

Marisa e fam

Lidiani e Ademeer

These people are so wonderful, I love them so much!!

hot, Hot, HOT!!!

2/10/14

Oi Familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Estou aqui no Brasil!!!!!!!! Minha nossa what a week it has been! I have had so many ups and downs it´s crazy mas ta bom thus is  the life of a missionary!

My first week in Brazil! I can´t even begin to describe how much  I love it here! The people are just incredible! My companion is Sister Rocha! She is from Florianopolis, Brazil and she is INCREDIBLE! She really is an amazing missionary and I am learning so much from her, not only in the language  but in the work a s well! The area I´m serving in is called Fregeusia! It is beautiful and crazy and fun! We have a very rich part in our area and a very poor part in our area and we spend most of our time in the poor part. The people here are so much fun!

I have had many moments of frustration this week with the language but I try to be patient with myself and remember that I have only been here for 1 week. The gift of tongues is real! I have noticed that it is more difficult for me to understand people when we are just talking but when we are in a lesson or talking gospel, I understand much more and I can say more as well! It´s also been a bit tough to get used to how this mission works and the goals they are working towards because it´s a bit different than Washington. mas tudo bom!

This week was filled with miracles! We are working with a lot of families with parents who aren´t married and here in Brazil it´s either too expensive to get married or it takes FOREVER to get permission to get married for free. It´s a big problem here! BUT we received a call from an investigator this week who has been waiting and waiting and waiting to get what she needs to be married for free and miraculously there is an office that is giving out permission for anyone who comes to be married for free!!! È realmente um milagre!  We ran around this week to all of the families we know that aren´t married to go to the office today and receive the certificate!

I really feel truly blessed to be here! I have been learning and growing so much! i have been extremely blessed with a wonderful companion, awesome roommates,  an incredible ward and amazing people in my area! I have met the sweetest families and am blessed to work with the greatest people!

This is the only true church on the earth today. Everyone needs this gospel! I am privileged to share this message with everyone around me all day everyday! I am so happy! Eu sei que Jesus Cristo  é meu salvador. eu sei que o livro de mórmon  é verdadeiro. eu sei que joseph smih foi uma profeta e ele realmente reestabeleceu o verdadeiro igreja de Jesus Cristo.

I love you all so much! Thanks for the love and prayers and support, they are greatly needed! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey   

First letter from Brazil

Missão Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Feb 4, 2014

Good Afternoon,

Your child has arrived today in the Rio de Janeiro Mission.  His day of preparation is on Mondays. Attached is a letter that your child has written for you.

Thank you,

Elder J.Lima

Secretário da Missão/ Mission Secretary

Missão Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Brazil anyone???

1/27/14

Hello Family!!!!

I can't hold it in anymore.....I'M GOING TO BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Monday February 3, 2014 I will be joining Mike in Brazil!!! Tuesday night we got a text from President Weaver asking us where we were and if we were close by to the church. Immediately we turned around and went straight to the church because any chance we get to see President we take! We got there and waited a bit and he finally came in with a big smile on his face. He gave us big hugs and just started talking to us. While he was talking he was scrolling through his phone looking for something, then all of the sudden he looked up at me and I knew what he was about to say to me so I just started crying! He said, "Sister Tingey, I got this e-mail today, what does it look like to you?" I looked and it was a plane ticket for me to fly to Atlanta, Georgia and then on to Brazil on the 3rd!!!!!! I still can't believe it! It doesn't feel real!

So this news kind of threw this week off a bit but it was still a great week! Things are picking up slowly but surely! Sister Stucki and I have been busy visiting everyone we know who expressed even a little bit of interest! It has been fun! We've met some pretty incredible people and things are looking up!

Miracle this week: Well, me getting my visa haha, but with the work in beautiful Steilacoom - we got to have a church tour with a man named Dennis. At the beginning he was telling us about he was just coming back to the catholic church and how much he loved it there and how he loved how catholic churches are so beautiful. As we continued on the church tour with him, the member we brought with us (who was baptized two years ago and just went through the temple with his family) bore his testimony and shared how he felt when he got baptized. Immediately there was a change in Dennis and he said he got chills and he was just quiet and observant and soaking in everything we said. It was such an incredible experience!

Jenna unfortunately feels at this time the church is not for her but she is still very open and interested in investigating the church at a later time. She is so wonderful, I am not worried about her at all! She will find it someday! 

This week really has been a week full of miracles and tender mercies. We have found a few really incredible people for the next sisters to teach. I have felt so much love for and from the people I am serving here!

This weekend Sister Stucki and I had the privilege of speaking on Anderson Island! My talk was based on hymn #335 "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy" and how Heavenly Father has trusted us to be the lights along the shore that lead those that are lost safely back to the Lighthouse, or Christ. So Arise and Shine! Be that light, that example and open your mouth! Share this good news!

I have been feeling strangely calm and peaceful all week! My head is jumping around like crazy thinking about Brazil and leaving Washington, but my heart has been very calm and peaceful and I know it's because it's time. The Lord now needs me in Brazil and I am so excited to go and see what awaits me there! I will miss Washington with all of my heart, but I am so excited to go serve the people in Brazil!!!!

I love you all so much!!! I probably won't be able to write you next week so I'll let you know how my first week in Brazil goes!!!!!! HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Sister Tingey

Missionary Fireside in the Wa-Tac

1/21/14

Hello Family!

Another week has flown by! I can't believe January is almost over! It's amazing to me how days seem to last forever and weeks pass so fast! I am fast approaching my 5th transfer in the mission field and loving every minute I have to serve!

This week was another slow week. Not much happened, but we worked hard and Heavenly Father blessed us and we were able to keep busy. I am learning a whole new meaning of persevering to the end haha! But we meet fun interesting people every day and continue to do the Lord's work! It's been fun to be creative with the work! Every night we come up with something new and different to do to find people to teach or to reach out to less actives. Knocking has become one of my favorite parts of the day because it's our chance to find and share with anyone who will listen! It's been a blast lately because not many people have wanted to talk to us so we try a new approach at every door. It's been such a blessing to have this time to change things up and try new things! I am amazed how much Heavenly Father is in the details of things and how things always work out for us to learn what we need to! The work is hard, but I am HAPPY! :)

This weekend we were invited to participate in the Missionary Fireside in the Gig Harbor Stake. We did one a few months ago also, but missionary firesides are meetings we have with all of the stakes in the mission. The mission puts it on and basically we just sing as a choir of missionaries and a few missionaries bear their testimonies. It is always so powerful! It's one of my favorite things I have been able to do on my mission! Singing with all of the missionaries feels like a powerful choir of angels! The spirit is always vibrating in the room! It is such a spiritual uplift and an incredible experience to be a part of!

Sorry it's kind of a short one today!

Thanks for all of your e-mails and love! I love you all so much!!! Have a FANTASTIC week! And don't forget to always share the gospel, and when necessary, use words!

LOVE YOU!

Sister Tingey