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 

May 30, 2016

The latest...new transfers this week:

This week was a week full of miracles! We were teaching a woman with two children a couple weeks ago and it was amazing and they were progressing greatly, but suddenly dissapeared. It was devestating, but we felt so strongly that this family would still be baptised before transfers. We prayed and prayed and prayed and fasted and fasted more truly asking for miracles and continued going to her house, trying to find them. It was really hard as well, because they live in a part of our area thats pretty far that we have to go by a small boat. Suddenly on Wednesday we received a call from a member that lives near her that she'd run into her and that our investigator, Ana Carolina, wanted to see us really badly. Needless to say we RAN there hahaha and by so many miracles, that I don't have time to explain all of it, she and her oldest daughter were baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday!!! I LOVE this family and I am going to miss them soooo much because I've been transferred to Enseada in Guarujá!!! I'm going back to the Guarujá stake and I am really excited to get to know Enseada, but VERY sad to be leaving Areia Branca. I truly feel at home here and love the converts, members, and investigators here and only cried a little bit yesterday hahahahha......But life continues and the mission is great and SÓ BATISMO!!!! 

This computer isn't letting me send photos, so until next week everyone. 

Love,

Sister Neal