One way to get all the missionaries in one picture...shoot from

in front of a big glass window.

How about some seafood tonight?  Just sayin!

Wonder if we just ran into the water a little bit...oh no you don't

:)))))

Pondering the many mysteries of the great outdoors. 

June 28, 2016

Dad,
I still havent gotten my debit card, but usually these things take 2 weeks or so to arrive and then I get it when we have some kind of conference or when my district or zone leader goes to Santos to pick up things in the mission office. It should probably arrive soon!

We had a great mission conference yesterday saying goodbye to Presidente and Sister Cabral, which was actually pretty dang sad, but super great. We have another conference tomorrow to meet Presidente Obata, so that should be awesome as well! So you saw the video of us singing? hahahah Soooo many missionaries and yes, you probably at least saw my hair, I was in the second row close to the end of the line on the right hand side if you're facing the photo....I pretty much always end up in the same placce.

Man! One of the things I miss most is Musicals!! And I LOVE the song Luck be a Lady, because I always listened to a lot of Frank Sinatra and I just wish I could be there to see Guys and Dolls! Also, I just wanna see Wicked again and Phantom of the Opera, and I want Chess to return to broadway and a whole lot of other things, but who knows where life will lead hahahhaa

So this week we had lunch at this irmão from the wards house and THEY ARE LOADED. Literally, we had to walk to a pretty far part of our area and wait for them at a gate to come pick us up in their car and literally it is the fanciest house I have ever seen in my life. It is like a smaller version of the beach houses we rent, but even fancier, sitting on this hill over the ocean and WOW. But walking there, while trying to take pictures I dropped my camera and now it isnt working correctly.....when I get my debit card I'll take it to some place to see what the problem is, because its working, its just the zoom isnt opening or closing, so I cant take pictures, but we have some pictures here from the camera of Sister Costa, so I'll send what I can hahahaha

LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Até mais, Pai!!! Te amo demais!

Sister Neal

​

Mom,

I am alive and healthy and gooooood! Hahahahah honestly, this has happened a few times and usually it is like a day. I don't really throw up a ton of food, usually it ends up mucus and such, so for me it doesn't seem like an infection or flu kind of thing.
 Mom, I read in a Liahona the other day that you can request the Patriarchal blessings of deceased family members!!! Just go to apps.LDS.org/PBrequest and I want you to send me Grandma Shelton's and others if there are more! That would just be amazing if you could:)  I wish soooo much I could have seen the musical, foreals! And, I also miss how our family is just always partying and doing something! You and Dad really are pretty dang awesome and foreals, how did you raise all 8 of us to stay in the Gospel, because you know that does not happen a lot in the church. Also, how did you know Dad was following the Gospel and was truly going to stay firm and wasn't being too influenced by being in love with you? Being a missionary, I now think a lot about these things, especially Dad's conversion and you all getting married and such. hahahahha I want answers! Especially from your perspective-being the person who truly introduced him to the Gospel and ended up raising this family together. You guys are just the best and I love the mission, but wow I am excited one day to come home and go to Rikishis too! Also, HAWAII woohoooo hahahahha! Tomorrow, we meet the new Presidente so that will be crazy! I'm sure I'll have all sorts of updates next week! LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH and also, I made the pancakes and the chocolate cake and they both made a big hit hahahaha always great! 

And yes, I am fat. 

Much love,

Sister Beans Neal 

Also, someone please introduce the missionaries from Crestwood 2nd ward to Chris! You all can tell him that I said he needs to meet with the missionaries at least 3 times if he wants me to ever talk to him again. You can even print this and prove to him that I said this.

LOVE YOU GUYS 

A little daydreaming on their P-Day...can you tell they are

wearing jackets and sweaters.  Is now winter time there.

Not quite sure why the blond hair sticks out in Brazil. :)

A small island out in the water.  Beautiful view for sure

Wonder what she is thinking...hmmm, about 8 months from now

I'll be on the beach in Hawaii.  :)  Till then, I will enjoy the view. :)

Talk about golden hair!

                                              Alina with her fellow missionaries

                                                           Alina with Sister Tesch

                                 Alina's new area where she is serving in Enseada, Now how
                                                              tempting is that? :)

Letters 6/20/2016

Send me Grandmas pancake and maple syrup recipe if you can real quick. 

Also, how do you substitute for butter milk, because they dont have that here?

I'm good on shoes, just freezing TO DEATH, but I think it would be dramatic to ask for you all to send me a coat, since I should probably buy one here. I'll buy it when I receive my new debit card, because the one I have now isnt working, but thats as to be expected hahaha

LOVE YOU 

Life is good here, just preparing to receive a new Presidente on the 29th, so I have no idea what my lifes gonna be like a couple weeks from now and honestly not at all prepared for the change lol, we shall see.....

We're teaching a really great family right now where the husband is a less active and we're teaching his wife, though they're not actually married, and their two teenage kids who are awesome and more motivated than their parents a lot of the time. The worst part is that it is the less active husband who doesn't want to get married and yet his dream is for his entire family to be baptized and be part of the church, sooooo we pretty much talked about the plan of Salvation yesterday and laid it on the table for them. The best part was when Sister Alencar looked at them and said, "As parents, are you all doing what you should so that your family can live in the Celestial Kingdom one day?" DIRECT BAM. They looked pretty ashamed and even though it was probably more of a rhetorical question, they both answered no out loud, so here is to hope and prayers. Pray for Alessandro, Ivanilda, Laizla, and Kaique for me pleeeaasssseeee.

All is well and life is delightful even though the exclamation mark doesn't work on this keyboard, so I can't fully express my excitement and feelings, but as is LIFE

Much love,

Sister Neal 

June 14, 2016

                                   Picture sent from Sis Cabral, Mission Presidents Wife
                                        from her Zone Conference this week.

Baptism of Ana Carolina and her daughter Leila

I guess you can get kisses while serving a mission. 

Alina in her last area with Sis Rodrigues and other Sister

Missionaries and Bishop Lorena

Hard to leave the little ones when you are transferred. 

Alina with her new companion Sis. Alencar

Alina in her new area with their new Bishop.  Was his birthday

so candy was provided.

Alina at her last zone conference with President and Sister

Cabral and fellow Sis. Missionary Sis. Tesch.  Alina is now

serving in Enseada.

I probably am forgetting english depending on the moment hahahaha and also I just type as fast as I can on my emails, so even when I notice really dumb typos I dont correct them ahhahahah, yep my punctuation as well has really gone down the drain. Bahhahahaha I havent lept into the sea and swam to A.B. yet, but I still have moments when I consider it, but I had a really great moment when we were teaching the wife (or live in wife because WHY GET MARRIED right!!!!) of a less active and I had the feeling really strongly that I'm here in Enseada for a reason, and even though it is hard, and the work is totally different here, and everything, I'm here for a purpose and that woman is part of my purpose. Also this week one member ( a single lady of like 30 years old that is super cool was baptized about 5 years ago) told us, "You all as missionaries don't comprehend how special you are and how important. If you understood you would go home because you wouldnt be able to handle the pressure." So that was pretty intense, but the mission literally is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life, but even when I'm just exhausted and depressed and want to just hop a plane and go home, I'm so stinking happy I came, because my life will literally never be the same. 

Kawê is okay, I think hahaha, probably a little traumatized, but he'll be okay. I was talking to Sister Garcia the other day and I asked if he'd gone to church and finally received the Aaronic Priesthood and she said yes and that he was really good, so I was super happy to hear that! The bishop is working with him on preparation to serve a mission and he actually is doing good, well from what I know at least hahahaha! The best part of the mission is seeing people change so much. Their countenance literally changes so much! The first day we met Kawê he was depressed, still smoking a decent amount of weed, and without a whole lot of purpose for his life and now he's going to church, reading the scriptures, preparing for a mission and worthily holding the Aaronic Priesthood, so miracles exist if we're willing to put in the work! 

Thanks for all the stories and photos!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!!! And tell Mike gosnell, I said thanks;)

LOVE YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUHHHHCCCCCHHHHH MOM!!!!!!!!!

I received all packages and all sweets are already devoured seeing as I now live with 3 other sisters instead of just one. Its like college, but a whole lot more spiritual, with a WHOLE LOT LESS down time....in fact we never have time to relax, but thats life, I'll relax 8 months from now. We had a zone conference with Presidente and it was amazing! That man knows so much doctrine and at the end we had a 30 min question and answer session with him and it was just super cool. I'm actually getting super sad that they're gonna leave and it is going to be really strange to have new mission presidente, but we shall see!!! 

This week all 4 of us gave talks in sacrament meeting and it was awesome. I used that talk by Presidente Uchtdorf that he gave on the last general conference about the city that was destoryed Dresden and how we are all lost lambs. Love that talk! I was talking about how we all feel that way, and only can find true happiness and repentence through the Atonement and true and complete Gospel of Jesus Christ. I talked abou that and then asked how we can be so selfish then and NOT share the Gospel. Knowing that we have the true Gospel of Christ, the only thing that can make a person feel whole in this life and we don't share the Gospel. Lots of times as members, after a while we "ficamos paradas" meaning, we get stopped. We stop progressing, but if we're not progressing, if we're staying the same, our faith is actually decreasing and we're in danger of losing our testimony even if we dont notice it. Intense stuff, man!!

I hope all goes well and that your knee feels better! Take care of yourself Dad!!!

LOVE LOVELLOOVe YOU SO MUCH!!!! Thanks for everything!!!! 

Letter from June 6, 2016


Sooooo I cried SO MUCH Monday after arriving in my new area  that's completely different and actually I've just cried more this week than in the entire rest of my mission combined, but TUDO BEM! Foreals, I have moments where I just want to go back to Areia Branca, buy a house, and live there for the rest of my life, but I'm learning to love the newness of Enseada,  the members are nice SOOOOO I will be okay one day and stop wanting to swim across the bay to Areia Branca one day. This ward is smaller, the frequencia of Sacramente meeting was like 16/80 or something like that, but the Bishop is great, so I have faith that all will go well. We've already had like three meetings with him and our ward mission leader here trying to organize everything and find the less-actives and the incomplete families, so all is well and life is OKAY!!!!

I received my new shoes and they were a BLESSING because the other ones were dead hahaha but after using them for one day they already have a substantial covering of mud I need to clean since it has been raining a lot, for foreals THANK YOU! I'll probably get my other package at zone conference this week. The last Zone Conference with Presidente and Sister Cabral! I don't even have time to remember that a new president is coming soon, so I have no idea what it's going to be like or even what to expect. I'm so pumped to hear you guys aren't being so lazy as missionaries anymore;) It really is awesome and you never know who is ready, or who will be ready soon!!!

LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! In all your prayers, mention Sister Neal and the word BAPTISM and I'll be happy, alright!!!

Sister Neal