Alina's Update March 7, 2016

Life is good and we've been finding some great new investigators this week! The only hard part is one of our investigators Bruno and truly his fear to let go of the life he was living and take harder, but more rewarding path of the Gospel. We were talking about the law of chastity with him (for the second time) and he said something like, "but its just so hard!" and he'd been complaining a little bit and acting like a child and I was just so mad hahahah! You know I'm not someone who gets angry often, but I was just so annoyed with the way he knew everything was true and just didn't want to put in the work to live it and I just got super serious and he could tell by my face that I was kind of ticked. I said, "Bruno, in life there are two roads. You can do the uphill climb and it's going to be hard. You're going to have to work constantly, but you're going to arrive at the top of the mountain with only happiness, seeing all you accomplished and seeing all the dangerous things you avoided with a clearer perspective. Or. You can take the road downhill and it's going to be easy. You're just going to have fun all the time and it is a path that doesn't take very long, but at the end you're at the bottom left with nothing, only able to look up and see all that you missed and it's going to be even harder to arrive at the top once you've realized what you've done. Only two roads, Bruno, but it's your choice." He started thinking a lot after that one and said, "Wow...you made me think a little bit there." So I'm just praying that he finally works through these things and gets baptized already!!!! Life is good overall though and I'm happy!!!!

LOVE YOU DADDDDD!!!!!

Sister Neal

My companion took this photo when we were walking down a reeeaallllly big hill (mountain kind of) that we had to climb to get to lunch.

My companion told me to pose hahahaha 

Thanks for your prayers! I'm trying to stay healthy, but WOW Brazilians like to fill you up with food and after you're so full you could throw up they say, "I hope you saved room for dessert!" hahahah but foreals this is why I'm a little chunky!!! 

SO GLAD YOU GUYS ARE ALIVE AND WELL!!!! Please don't die while I'm gone because that would be too traumatizing for me. Woohoo Mom! Way to be a missionary!!! I love that you told him to find a nice Mormon girl to marry hahaha I pretty much do the same thing with any male investigator when we talk about the Temple. I LOVE talking about the temple and eternal marriage with people, its pretty much the best hahha!!!

Does this mean I get the queen bed???? Did it fit in my room?  How is my room? Life is good here, with not much new stuff! Just one of the women in the ward had a dream that me and Elder Glover were in a horse drawn chariot together, so that was pretty entertaining when she told us (luckily just me and my companion, she didn't tell the elders) hahahha we laughed A LOT about that one. Keep praying for the investigators, especially Bruno, José, Gilmara, and Serigo e Paula and their boys Pedro e Thiago. 

YOURE THE BEST AND I LOVE AND MISS YOU TONS!!!!

much love,

Sister Neal 

Alina's collage when explaining the gospel

Feb. 29, 2016 Pic - All that walking can get to your toes!! :(

Feb 29, 2016

You better help the missionaries out, because missionaries are the best! I am glad to here that you guys agreed when the missionaries asked if they could use your names when going to contact them, because that is one of my biggest pet peeves when you ask members for references and the members say, "Well you could visit this person, but you're not gonna tell them we sent you right?!?!" Why is everyone so afraid of missionary work???? You would be helping in the work of salvation! Do you want your friends and loved ones to go to the Celestial Kingdom? Wouldn't anyone want to be a part of helping someone get baptized? For sure before the mission I had a lot of the same fears, but now I don't know what I was so afraid of! Tell everyone about the church and send the missionaries to literally every person you know! You never know who is ready or needing it right now, so just send the missionaries and keep on sending! In the world wide training they talked about how a much greater percentage of baptisms come from references from members rather than our own finding as missionaries. Imagine what would happen if every member gave a reference or two every month. So many more of our friends and neighbors would be baptised, thats for sure. Don't be ashamed of the Gospel, people! It's the best thing you have in your life!!!! 

Well thats my rant for today hahahaha way to go for giving references, Dad! Never let the missionaries leave without giving them at least one address, at least one person to visit. They should ask, but if they don't, remind them hahahha! 

Honestly just keep praying for our investigators here, especially Bruno. He is feeling the Spirit so strongly and knows its true but is giving into fears about leaving his old life behind. My district leader (thats in our area too, so he knows all of our investigators that have gone to church) asked if we needed anything (they ask every day so I like to think of fun responses hahaha) and I said it would be great if he could just throw Bruno in the baptisimal font for me. He suggested that we do it in the polluted canal closer to Brunos house, so maybe that'll happen this week. 

THanks and love and miss you TONZ!!!!

Sister Neal 

I totally cried when I saw the pictures of Nahiomi coming home! hahahhaa I cant believe 18 months have already passed for her, and that 6 months have already passed for me! The time on the mission truly flies foreal. I can't wait to come home and actually talk to her! hahahah Looks like you cooked plenty of food the other day. And you thought you were busy when you had only 7 kids in the house at the same time. ;) Its funny because people are always asking me how many kids I want to have (investigators and such) when I say I love children and I usually answer, "Oh, well atleast 5, like 7 maybe" and everyone looks at me and talks about how crazy Americans are, but foreal I MISS HOLDING BABIES SO BAD. Its the worst rule ever!!!! 

Tell Sister Arteaga that I love and miss her so much and tell her to tell Yoselin to write me! 

This week I dont have tons of time, mainly because I have another space bar not working, but thanks for everything and I love that picture of Nahiomis feet! hahhaha Literally all of us!!! 

LOVE AND MISS YOU MOMMY 

My feet are good now but they had some issues hahahah

A collage I made and cut into a puzzle to explain how the gospel has many parts

Alina at her Zone Conference 2/2016 Thank goodness for Dr Rich and Dr Babcock :)

Chapel where Alina attends Church in Areia Branca....and 13 year old convert that the Elders Taught.