I Love His Love

2-13-17

One last Bom Dia! (I arrive back home February 22)

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It has been 18 months. And I kind of can´t believe that. It has been 18 months of high intensity growth and learning and serving. It has been 18 months of many tears and a lot more laughs and moments of great joy. Many changes, many people, and much love.

It seems as though the time passed quickly, but when I remember back to the beginning of my mission, it seems like another lifetime. I can see now, how the Lord has changed me along the way.

I have come to love Him. I thought I believed in the gospel and that I knew lots of things about God, but I only really started to know Him when I began to serve Him. He humbled me and showed me how much I really have to learn.

I have seen His miracles and His love all around me. I have witnessed Him change the lives of the people around me. His light has filled me. I love representing Him. It has been my honor and privilege to wear the name of His Son every day. I love my Savior, His gospel, and His Church. He has prepared the truth here for us so that we may have complete joy and know the way back home.

I am grateful for the question of a young boy in 1820 that spurred the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. His complete and full truth is here again upon the Earth. His authority to preach and teach and heal and baptize is here upon the Earth. The Book of Mormon is His true word that compliments the Bible, expands our knowledge, and guides us to the truth.

I asked of God (James 1:5) and He answered me. It is the key. It shows us His way.

I love being a missionary.

I love Brasil.

I love His love.

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

This is the Dream

2/6/17

Bom Dia!

Another great week here in Conjunto Ceará!

Karla was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints yesterday! woohoo!

This week was FUN! Sister Ribeiro and I pass the days laughing and i LOVE her <3 This week we started teaching a young man who is part of the 7th Day Adventist faith. He is incredible. When we met him, I couldn´t figure out how old he was because he has a young face but a very mature and big presence. Turns out he´s 17. He is a very hungry investigator. We love teaching him because he loves learning. He comes with real questions and his only priority is to do God´s will. We are hoping he will be able to come to church with us next Sunday.

Yesterday we met a young mom in the street with her (cute and chubby <3) 2-year old daughter. We shared a short message with her and I remembered again why the gospel is so important. We talked about eternal families. The love she has for her daughter. God promises to us joy without end, but is it really possible to be happy without our families? Surely not. She started to cry and I could feel the importance and the eternal blessings that are possible to us. If we are faithful and we do the will of God here on earth, Heaven will be ours. We will live with Him again. We will know Him. We will live together forever.

I´ve been pondering a scripture in Mosiah this week: 

Mosiah 5:13

“For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?”

I love my mission because I have the opportunity to serve Christ and know Him. I can keep Him close to me and feel His love more purely.

This is the dream!

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

 

I Am So Happy

1-31-17

Okay, I´m calm.

But seriously, this week was awesome.

We had a huge mission conference on Wednesday. We knew something big was up because usually we have divided conferences - the city and the interior. But this one was everyone together and we were advised that there would be a worldwide missionary transmission from Salt Lake.

Big news, the missionary daily schedule got a remodel. It´s deluxe. Instead of planning at night when we get home, we can go straight to getting ready for bed <3 and now we plan in the morning. Pday was also extended, now starting at 8am instead of 10am.

So that was a big switch. So far it has been great.

The rest of Wednesday we had conference with President Bonini (who´s the best person EVER) and I was asked to give a training with Sister Myers entitled "be of good cheer!". It was really fun and went well. We talked about excitement and happiness and faith and finding the good even when it seems like there is none. I made everyone hold up their hands in the shape of triangles (shout out to Kovar´s <3) and we talked about our windows of optimism. 

President and Sister Bonini

President and Sister Bonini

Karla got baptized yesterday and it was BEAUTIFUL.

SHE WAS SO HAPPY

I AM SO HAPPY <3

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

Frog Prince

1/23/17

Bom Dia!!

This week was like lightning 

Monday and Tuesday I caught a weird 24 hour flu with the works. But by Wednesday morning I was all good and normal again. So glad that passed.

This week we have been working closely with a really awesome family! Emanoele who´s 12 and her mom, Vania. I love these ladies. They went to church with us last week and loved it. Emanoele is preparing to be baptized in two more weeks. We want to help her mom too, but she lives with her husband and he said he doesn´t want to get married... so we have to wait on that one for now. 

Karla! Karla is our neighbor and is so happy! We love Karla. She went to church with us yesterday and said she felt so happy and welcomed. It was awesome. And we had a surprise guest waiting at our sacrament meeting – Mission President Bonini! He was the last speaker and he killed it. I love that man. 

Karla is preparing to be baptized next weekend! 

Preface: This week I started getting a bunch of crap from all the sisters and the members about how I´m getting close to getting home, how they´ll all be waiting to get my wedding invitations in a few weeks and blah blah blah.

This morning I woke up and came to my desk and there was an old plastic water bottle with a post-it on it - "your prince"

I looked at the water bottle and all of a sudden a tiny little frog jumped up on the wall of the water bottle (i screamed haha)

So now i have a little frog friend (we´re going to let him go later today) named Feijão (like the pet frog beans from cheaper by the dozen).

Sister Matos caught him in the street last night hahaha

I love Conjunto Ceará and Sister RIbeiro and the Book of Mormon and being a missionary! This week is going to be awesome.

 

Love from Brasil

Sister Chamberlain

 

 

 

I Love These Days

1/16/17

Bom Dia!

Not much to say today.

Conjunto Ceará is awesome!

The smell of baptisms are in the air.

This ward is awesome.

I met a little girl who´s 3 years old who looks exactly like me when i was little. It was crazy! I showed her the picture i have of me and dad when i was 4ish. 

me: "wow! when did you meet my dad?!"
Ruby: "he came over and i met him!"
me: "my dad came here?? did you hug him?"
Ruby: "yeah i did!"

Even she was convinced by the photographic evidence.

cute stuff.

I´m very impressed by the strength of this ward and the power of their recent converts. All of the recent converts have callings. It´s so great!

Loving these days

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

Diligence = Miracles

1/9/17

Bom Dia!

 I´ve started kind of dreading writing these emails. I feel like lots of stuff has happened and i never know what to write.

We found an awesome girl and her mom this week! When she was 12 she got hit by two stray bullets in her back and lost all function of her legs. She´s now 17 and uses a wheelchair and is super awesome and independent. She told us - if laying in my bed and crying all day would make my legs able to walk, you´d better believe I´d be locked in my room crying. But it won´t change anything being sad and crying about my life, so I´m happy.

We love this family a lot. I´m a little sad because i got transferred  today and I won´t be able to accompany their progress and baptism, but there will be pictures :)

I learned a little bit more about diligence and how miracles only come after the test of our faith. We had all of our plans fall through and no where else to go, but we started knocking on some doors close by and met this lovely girl and her sweet mom. Miracles! Yay.

 Love from Brasil,

SIster chamberlain

Feliz Ano Novo!!

1/2/17

FELIZ ANO NOVO!!

 

This week was a whirlwind.

I went on a surprise division with Sister Cowles. Wow. I love meeting new people that I love right away. She´s awesome. We were suposed to switch back on Saturday morning, but Sister Cowles woke up super sick so i got to take her to the hospital. Turns out she had a strong case of the "nuncas".... 10 days. wow. so she got a special treatment and she´s all fixed haha. 

 New Years Eve was low key. I made cookies.

Sunday we watched the Bible videos with our zone.

I feel like so much has happened and i have nothing to say...

Sorry

 Learning more and more that love is loyalty. Our loyalty and our obedience is the greatest way we show our love to God (and our mission president <3).

 "Nobody and nothing in this world can impede the blessiongs of God when we´re obedient"

 I really really love Brasil and all of the people and blessings. It is  just so wonderful!

 Happy 2017

 Love from Brasil,

 Sister Chamberlain

Christmas Skype Call 2016

Christmas Skype Call 2016

Feliz Natal

12/23/16

Bom Dia!

and Feliz Natal!!

GUYS IT IS CHRISTMAS. WOW.

okay. pause. everyone stop what you´re doing and go watch this video.

Bring your tissues (did I cry in a 2 minute church christmas video: yes. who am i? :)

https://youtu.be/mJmAV0gTp_Q

#LIGHTTHEWORLD

Anyways, two divisions made the week fly by. We spent Tuesday in Itapipoca and Friday in Aguanambi. 

This week´s going to be a party because christmas conference and christmas! woohoo

 5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to alleternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shalldwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mightymiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk,the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner ofdiseases.

 6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts ofthe children of men.

 7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, andfatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold,blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickednessand the abominations of his people.

 8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven andearth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall becalled Mary.

 9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto thechildren of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this theyshall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him,and shall crucify him.

 10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth tojudge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteousjudgment might come upon the children of men.


Loving Christmas time and Christ

Here´s another video because CHRISTMAS!

https://youtu.be/e5Q5STibJUQ

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

 

 

On Loyalty and Love

THIS WEEK WAS TOP

 

Basically the greatest week ever because Jamyli and Daniel got married on Friday! We got to go to the "courthouse" with them and it was magical <3

Saturday was Jamyli´s birthday and also the day of her baptism! She was born again on the day she was born! How cool!

Roberto didn´t end up being baptized last week, but he decided to be baptized yesterday! It was kind of a last minute thing and it was awesome. 

I <3 BATISMO

There´s a part of the missionary handbook that I´ve been thinking about a lot this week - my loyalty belongs first to the Lord, then to President Bonini (who is the greatest person ever), then to other missionaries. Our loyalty is a demonstration of our love for Him and for the truth. 

James 4:17 says - "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin"

Doing what we know to be true is following Christ. Standing up for what is right is really hard sometimes, but defending the truth shows love for Heavenly Father and appreciation for His ways. 

 

Love From Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

 

Ps. will be staying in Jardim Guanabara for another transfer with S. Breisch!

#6monthsinGuanabara

 

Pss - #lighttheworld will be kicking off this week on mormon.org. Go check it out!

Bibles and Buses and Miracles

Bom Dia!

 

This week went by so fast! 

We (Sister Myers and I) went to Itapipoca for divisions and I got to see my convert Erenice! Wow. I felt so loved when I walked into her house. It was a mad reunion <3

 

Miracle of the week! Last month when we were coming back from Itapipoca, I left my Bible on the bus. With all of my pictures from home, and notes from old companions and all kinds of good stuff. Heart breaks. I tried calling the company to get it back but they didn´t have any information. I finally gave up and just bought a new Bible. Then this week we were getting on the bus to go to Itapipoca and the driver stopped me and asked if I had lost my Bible - UH YEAH!

He told me he had found it and stored it in the garage in case i came looking for it. He told me to come back today and it would be at the ticket desk at the bus station.

I LOVE MIRACLES! YAS!

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There´s not much time this week.

Hope everyone has a gut-busting Thanksgiving <3

This week I am very very thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

Do You Want It Now or Do You Want It Right?

Bom Dia!

 

THIS WEEK WAS HUGE.

I´M AN AUNT X2.

USA HAS A NEW PRES.

I WENT 7 DAYS WITHOUT A COXINHA. 

 

Roberto is on track to be baptized this Saturday (yessssssssss)!

We saw lots of blessings of obedience and diligence this week.

I read a funny article in the Liahona this week about patience. The author compared it to grilled cheese, which i found amusing. Anyways, here´s the link.

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2016/10/youth/the-miracle-of-medium-heat?lang=eng

I´ve learned a lot about patience in these last couple transfers. We were seeing few results and it was really hard for me to not lose faith in our efforts. We had a few good investigators, but nobody that could give immediate fruits. I liked the question that the writer asks - Do you want it now or do you want it right?

I´ve had to wait for true, interested, converted investigators. I wanted to be able to help everyone believe and accept in 2 weeks, but every person receives his testimony at a different time. The Lord has a perfect timetable and He lets things happen perfectly. Patience helped me learn more gratitude and trust in all things that the Lord does. 

This is the greatest work I have ever been a part of.

I love everything.

XO from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

Oh Remember, Remember

Bom Dia!!

This week killed (in a good way). We´re pumped. Jamyli and Daniel have an officially official wedding and baptismal date (YAS), we found a brother-and-sister duo that are awesome and came to church with us on Sunday! And our investigator, who I will be nicknaming Marty because his name is crazy, is starving for more and more truth! We love teaching him. These next few weeks are gonna be "top".

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I was pumped out of my mind to vote and I had my absentee ballot all ready to roll (#patriotic) and then I read that my letter had to be at the Placer County voting place by this Friday. So I gave up on it because Brasil is 5ever away and there´s no way it would get there in 4 days. I just wanted to be a good citizen :(

Anyways

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This weekend was awesome because our homie Roberto received his answer at church! He has been praying for a few days to know if the Book of Mormon is true and he said that yesterday he went to church for the first time but he felt like he´d already been there before. He said it felt familiar. In John 14, we learn about the Comforter who brings things to our remembrance. In the Premortal existence we heard the gospel and the plan presented, and accepted it. We have passed through forgetfulness and now must remember what we already know to be true. That is when the Holy Ghost helps us feel what is right. That is why the gospel feels familiar and true to new visitors like Roberto. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and I love that it can help us in everything we do

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Love from Brasil,

Sister CHamberlain

Call me MOM!

HEYYYYY

HAPPY MONDAY!

This week was cool because I turned into a mom!! (I have a "daughter" now--aka my little greenie comp). Sister Breisch is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. She likes working so I´m all over that. We´re going to destroy. She´s from São Paulo and we have the same birthday (destiny?).

I´ve been able to see Heavenly Father blessing us with so many little miracles throughout the day. I feel the quiet whisperings of the Spirit coming with greater ease and more frequently. I am learning so much.

I´m loving this ward more and more everyday. Everyone is so great.

The work is starting to blossom. I can see so many people with so much potential. We went to visit a young woman with Camyli from the ward and it didn´t work out because she wasn´t home but Camyli was like - hey my friend lives one street over! Let´s go there!

So we went and turns out that Camyli´s friend is actually so interested in the gospel and we´ve had 2 really spiritual lessons with her. She went to church with her sister yesterday and the two of them received confirmations from Heavenly Father that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he restored the Lord´s church. They both have baptismal dates for the 16th and I´m actually so pumped.

It has been hard to see people drowning in their difficulties. If they would just take a step they would fall into Heavenly Father´s loving embrace. And yet they do not act. We promise blessings and plead with them and invite them to just experiment with the promises of heaven. And they trust not. Blinded by their struggles and suffering they fail to see how the Savior is so close and willing to relieve them, if they would just come unto Him (Matthew 11:28).

Faith isn´t really faith unless we put it into action (James 2:26). We may pray every single day for God to send rain. But if we don´t leave the house with an umbrella, do we really have faith?

The Lord will never fail us. If we do what He asks of us, the promises of heaven will be forever around us.

The gospel is so great <3

Love from Brasil,

General Conference & Marriage Prep - not mine - lol

Bom Dia!

Raissa, a friend from the Monte Castelo congregation came to visit me at General Conference

Raissa, a friend from the Monte Castelo congregation came to visit me at General Conference

Last monday we went to the town hall place (still can´t remember what the heck this word is in english) to mark Jamyli´s wedding. When we got there, we were super sad because she didn´t have an updated birth certificate so she couldn´t mark without the new one (probably the equivalent to a marriage license). We left there in poor spirits because Jamyli is from the suuuuper interior of Ceará, and we knew it would take a while to get the updated document. The next day, Jamyli started tracking down the town hall in her little town and turns out that some guy who works there was planning to come to Fortaleza on Thursday and promised to bring the birth certificate! Literally two days later, this guy showed up with a perfect, beautiful, new, updated birth certificate for Jamyli!! Friday she went back to the town hall center place and scheduled her wedding for October 28th!

My companion and Jamyli

My companion and Jamyli

This week´s miracle! <3

We went on splits this week and after we visited one of the sisters´ investigators, he asked if he could give us a Buddhist thank you. We were like "uhhhhh......". Before we could think or reply, he was down on all fours and kissed both of our feet. So that was interesting.

One of my favorite General Conference moments was from Elder Gary E. Sevenson´s talk.
You can Watch it here  -Conference Talk Link

He said "as we look to the Book, we look to the Lord". The Book of Mormon is the iron rod and it leads us as long as we let it. I have come to love it so much. As we seek to understand and be strengthened by it´s pages, we learn of God´s love and feel His protection in every moment.

I love everything <3

Love from Brasil,

SIster Chamberlain

Choose the Right Way and Be Happy

*cue - wake me up when September ends*

Exhausted. But somehow like really happy still? How does this work? 

THIS WEEK.

Jam packed.

Tuesday we went on splits and I went to Aguanambi again. I´ve discovered the best popsicle. It´s filled with condensed milk. <3

The sisters had a baptism

We had interviews with President Bonini and I love that man so much.

This week I got to feed the parakeets at a recent convert´s house. She has about 25 in a huge cage. She let me grab a handful of bird seed and stick my hand in the cage. They all came in swarming haha i had about 10 parakeets perched on my fingers eating birdseed out of my hand and it was the happiest moment.

We´ve been finding some amazing families and we´re excited to see how they progress and let their testimonies blossom.

We will be going to the city hall to mark Daniel and Jamyli`s wedding today! I. AM. SO. PUMPED. FOR. THIS. WEDDING. Jamyli is the greatest person and so prepared and excited to be baptized.

Nephi taught that we "are free to act for (ourselves) - to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Nephi 10:23). Some interesting situations from this week have caused me to think about our power of choice. Heavenly Father gave us agency so that we may be obedient by choice, not by obligation. It is not, however, a right to do whatever we please. We are free to choose. But we cannot determine the consequences that come after. I love that Heavenly Father trusts us to choose what is right. 

I love playing a role in His plan. Even though many of His children will not accept the gospel, i am helping give them an opportunity to choose.

 

I love being a missionary!

 

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain

'Tis the Gift to be Simple

Bom Dia!!

This week was slow w w w...

But it ended on a huge note.

Saturday Sister Pontes and I were fed up with slow sluggish days so we decided we would talk to every single person that passed in front of us and we prayed, asking Heavenly Father to put someone, anyone in our path who was ready to hear the Gospel. It was awesome! I was so happy the whole day. Like I was so focused on letting everyone in Fortaleza know that they should come to church that I couldn´t think about anything else. Haha! And we found several new people to teach so we are very happy 

Yesterday was Stake Conference and it was BIG. Elder Geraldo Lima (that 70 that visited a few weeks back) and Elder Marcos A Aidukaitis of the 70 was there too. Our stake president was released and my bishop was called to be the new stake president. Big changes here in the Litoral Stake. Elder Aidukaitis gave an awesome talk and shared a story from the Old Testament of the military captain Naaman the Leper. 

So Naaman the commander of the Syrian army and he's also a leper. A servant girl tells him to go to the prophet Elisha who can heal him.

Elisha instructs him to wash in the river Jordan seven times and he would be healed. This makes Naaman angry. Shouldn't Elisha do some great and amazing act, vocally call upon the Lord, or tell him to wash in rivers that are greater than the lowly Jordan? Why can't he wash in those rivers and be healed?

Just as Naaman is about to turn away, his servants stop him, saying, "If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, wash and be clean?" Just try it, Naaman. What do you have to lose?

So Naaman bathes in the river Jordan as Elisha instructed "and his flesh came again like unto the flesh or a little child, and he was clean."

Elder Aidukaitis explained about faith. The way is simple and it is prepared for us. Just like Naaman, we may think that it is ridiculous that simply keeping the commandments of the prophets will cleanse us and make us whole, but when we trust in those that God has chosen, we will see the blessings come. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Boa Semana

Love from Brasil,

Sister Chamberlain