Giraffes, Haircuts, and Priesthood Power!!!

Hey fam! How's everyone doing? I hope you all enjoyed General Conference this weekend! It was a bittersweet one for me. It's hard to believe that the next conference I'll already be home! The time is passing quickly. But this conference was super special, because Marcos was baptized Saturday in between sessions! He came to the church to watch conference, and after the first session we had the baptismal service. It was so great! He's so happy and so changed. Exciting times!!


Giraffe!

Conference was really good. We watched all the sessions at the church. I watched two in portuguese and two in english with the other american sisters. More than anything, I felt such a great feeling of gratitude to know that we aren't alone here on Earth, that Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent us His servants, the prophets, who guide us in our modern-day trials. We are so blessed to have this guidance, and I hope you all took great advantage of the opportunity.

This week, we're praying a lot for Manuel and Bianca. We're not sure what happened, but Manuel changed completely. Bianca still wants to be baptized, but he doesn't. So she doesn't know if she wants to be without him now. Please keep them in your prayers. Well, know that I love you all infinitely much! You're the best family in the world. Thank you for all the support and love. Have a wonderful week, beautiful people!



My dear family,

I hate cars. Seriously, I'm shaking just imagining Skyler's experience this week. Don't worry about me, knowing that he and Alex are okay is more than comforting. But even more comforting is hearing his beautiful testimony, that certainty he has that it was Heavenly Father who protected them and all the other people involved in the accident. My heart is so full of gratitude that they were protected from worse injuries than they received. That experience just tops off the experiences we've had with the power of the priesthood this week.

Tuesday, Sister Pereira woke up feeling super sick, so the Bishop came over to give her a blessing. She's still not feeling 100%, but we're doing better. Other news, Bianca went to the hospital last Monday, and she's been there ever since. She's had a fever and pain in her leg that aren't leaving. Her white blood cell count is suuuper low, and the doctors have no idea what it is. On Saturday, she had been waiting at a little hospital in Fazendinha to get to a bigger hospital. We visited her twice there, and she asked for a priesthood blessing. So Saturday morning we went over with the Elders, and they gave her a blessing. Within one hour, she called us and said that there was an opening in another hospital and she was leaving immediately. As of yesterday, there were still no results, but we're hopeful. Her faith is growing incredibly through this experience. She has 5 Liahonas and the Book of Mormon to keep her company, and she's praying every hour.


Haircuts! The two of us on the bus :)

The priesthood is literally the power of God here on the earth. We're gonna sing "Love is Spoken Here" with the Elders for sacrament meeting, and every time they sing we literally feel the power of the priesthood in their voices. It's something that's super hard to explain. But I am so grateful for the priesthood. Without a single doubt, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church of our Savior. I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for your faith and your examples. Have a wonderful week, loves.

All my love,

Sister Kashmir Janae Ramsden

Walking in Sunlight, Proverbs 3:5, and President's Plan for Keeping Sisters Ramsden and Pereira Together Longer!!

Hey family! How are you all doing? Sorry we couldn't write yesterday. Momma's birthday is Brazil's Independence Day, and everything was shut down yesterday. Happy birthday, Momma!! I love you!

So my transfer guess was off. Sister Pereira and I are still here together in Fazendinha! Hallelujah! I don't know what I would do without her. Last week we had interviews with President Fernandes, and he called the two of us in at the same time which was a big surprise. He told us he really wanted to keep us together, so he thought up a brilliant plan. He proposed that I would become Sister Training Leader but Sister Pereira would still be senior companion in our area, and he asked our opinion. We were a little confused with us both being seniors, but we agreed with the idea! So the transfer call wasn't really a surprise Sunday.

I can't even say how grateful I am that I'm gonna stay with Sister Pereira as I get used to being STL all by myself. I'm feeling a bit of weight on my shoulders already, but I know Heavenly Father will help me. I only have 3 companionships to take care of, and I already love them all! Love makes everything easier :)

This week, we set a baptismal date with Rosicler! She was a referral from the bishop's wife, went to church for the first time Sunday, and accepted baptism with no hesitations! We're also teaching two couples who need to get married before baptism, but we're working on that, and they're super excited! There's also a girl who just got home from her mission last week whose mom isn't a member, and we're teaching her and there's no doubt she'll be baptized too!

I have no doubts that this gospel is true. It's the only way that we can get back to our Father's presence and live together forever as a family. I feel such a desperation to help these people understand these things, but unfortunately many people don't get it. But fortunately many do! Still seeing miracles :) I love you all so much, and I feel so blessed to have you in my lives and to know that we will be together forever according to our faithfulness. Stay strong and stay happy and healthy, loves!



Hey family! Sorry things changed up a little and we ended up emailing today. This week was really good!

Marcos is gonna be baptized this Saturday, and Manoel and Bianca the next! Let me tell you the miracle that happened with Manoel and Bianca. Bianca is Maria Antônia's daughter and Manoel is her husband. So we set a date with them once, but it fell cuz Manoel didn't go to church one Sunday. So we re-set it, but they weren't super serious about it. One day, the elders were gonna teach for us cuz we already had another appointment, but it didn't work out that way. We got the lesson plan they had made and we were gonna teach it, but we felt like the elders should. So this week it finally worked out! They went there to teach, and it was exactly what Manoel and Bianca needed to feel more solid about their baptism.

On Tuesday, Bianca had won a prize at a church activity. Wednesday, Manoel asked her if she was gonna be baptized and she said she didn't know. So she said a prayer and grabbed a scripture card that she had won. The scripture was Proverbs 3:5. She took that as an answer that she needed to trust God more, but she didn't fully understand what it meant. She set the card aside and was determined that sometime she would figure it out. When the elders went over to teach them on Friday, they used that same scripture, and Bianca felt a burning in her chest that she couldn't deny was an answer from God.

Now she is super excited to be baptized, but Manoel was a little iffy. Yesterday was ward conference, and seriously everything was directed to him. He himself said that he felt like everyone was talking directly at him. He's still not super solid, but he says he's "pretty sure" he'll get baptized too, with Bianca, on the 11th. Miracles!!!

Sister Pereira and I are determined to make our last 3 weeks together the absolute best. Heavenly Father is so good. I know He loves us and will always provide for us when we ask, seek, and knock. The Church is true, I don't have a single doubt. I love you all so much, and I'm so happy that we have an eternal family. Have a wonderful week, loves!


All my love,

Sister Ramsden

Learning to Juggle, Overflowing With Love, and Transfers Approach!

Hey family!!

How are you all doing? I can't tell you how great it was to hear from you and know that you support my decision to stay another transfer. It's the best feeling in the world! This week was super productive. Sister Pereira and I are learning to juggle (figuratively) with all of the recent converts, plus continuing to baptize, plus finding new investigators, etc. It's not easy, that's for sure! We got an e-mail from the general missionary headquarters that we need to work closely to the recent converts for 3-4 months after baptism and stay close for a year. With 6 of our own recent converts plus the other recent converts, we have been thinking a lot about what we can do to keep them progressing while still bringing others to the gospel. But it's been fun!

This is the last week of the transfer, and most likely one of us will be leaving, and it'll probably be me. We're gonna cry all week because neither of us wants to leave Fazendinha, and neither of us wants to leave each other. Seriously, I feel like a lot of our success was dependent on our relationship with each other. We know that the Spirit can't reside in contentious relationships, and the two of us never fought these last 8 weeks. We've become close friends through the experiences that we've had together. I'm trying to write down everything that we did to see success here and bring it to the other areas I'll serve in.

This ward is amazing. The members help so much, and we all just feel a great love for each other. Yesterday at church, I was just filled with this feeling of great love for everyone. Sister Pereira and I were overflowing with happiness to see the progress of our recent converts: Leonardo was called to be a counselor in the Sunday School Presidency, André was called as assistant in the priest´s quorum, and Alessandra was called as a family history consultant. It's amazing to see the fruits of your labor. But in all things, we recognize the hand of the Lord. There's no way we could've seen all these miracles if it hadn't been for much prayer and fasting and putting our trust 100% in our Father, who knows what is best for His children.

My heart is so full of happiness and love. This week will be a great end to the transfer, I'm feeling it. Please keep us in your prayers, and keep Leonardo in your prayers too. I love you all immensely! You're the best family in the world. :)

Love always,

Sister Ramsden