WEEK 31: January 14, 2019 “Once upon a time there was heaven and earth”

Old picture, but she didn't send any pictures this week :(

OIIIIIII DE BUTIÁ!!!!!!

This week was my first week in the new area so I don't have a ton to report on but let’s see..

OHHHH THERE WAS A HUGE MIRACLE THIS WEEK!!! So I arrived in the area and there is one investigator that REALLY wants to be baptized. But he has a problem with question 4 (for all my missionary friends that knows what’s going on with that). So he had to wait to get permission from the prophet. But he also smokes. So we had to work with that. But we thought we would have a ton of time before the prophet would respond to his letter so we were taking it slow with him and the smoking. But on Wednesday we got word that his letter arrived from the prophet already!!! GUYS OUR PROPHET IS AMAZING! HE RESPONDED IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS!!!!! And so he got permission to be baptized!! He got so excited. But we told him that he had to quit smoking. And he committed to stop. Guys. This week he went from 30 cigarettes each day, to 0!!!!!!! HE NOW HAS NOT SMOKED IN 2 DAYS!!!! And so that was a miracle!!!

We also had one of those "the lord protects His missionaries" moments this week. We were walking in the sun. It was super hot and I was dying. Then suddenly. Clouds rolled in in 30 seconds and there was lighting and lightning and lightning. And because here the houses are super short and so are the people, the lightning just strikes everywhere. We had one lightning that struck the street only like 30 feet in front of us. I felt the shock run through my body. It was super scary but we lived and made it home without worry. But it was a scary moment. Very scary.

Also here, is a branch of the church. It is not a ward. But they don’t have a pianist so guess who is the official pianist of the branch here..... ME!!!! The president was super excited when I told him that I played the piano. And I am even going to try and teach some members here so that when I leave they aren’t left without piano haha. And I get to translate a bunch of cards that the president got from SLC because it has been almost a year since an american passed through here. Everyone is super excited that I am here. I am excited for this transfer!!

This week my challenge comes with a story. It is the conversion story of my comp. So her brother worked in a business and one of his coworkers sent a invite to all of the coworkers to visit the church. And a few days later, on a Sunday, he passed by the church and remembered the invite and decided to enter. The next week he invited his family and 2 weeks later they were all baptized!!! So I want to invite you all to just send an invite to someone. Even if it is just an invite to read a scripture or watch a video from the church. Just send an invite on social media. I promise that it won’t be weird or it won’t come across as annoying. Just do it. you never know when someone was prepared from God to receive your message.

I love you!!!

I can’t send photos this week because my memory card is freaking out. So wait until next week! I love you guys!!!

Com muito amor e carinho,
Sister Becca Hammond

Mom questions:

Do you live near the church building in your new area? (Please send pictures of your new apartment and the name of the street you live on. It’s fun to look it up on Google earth and imagine what you are doing.)
I don’t leave near the building. I live in the center of this tiny town. That is barely a center actually. I will take more pics this week of the area and my street. We live behind a business called, "Paulos Lanches" if that helps.

Does your whole district live in that small urban area around you? (I heard from Sister Rosenberg’s mom that you guys are in the same district!)
No. Everyone lives super far away. We have to travel 1.5hrs to get to our district meeting. It is all super far. There are two companionships in Butiá and then there are a bunch of other tiny towns in the district. And YES we are in the same district! WE ARE SUPER EXCITED AND HAPPY! IT IS WONDERFUL!!!

Do you live in an apartment with other sisters again? That is so fun! Who are they?
Sister De Dato and Sister Silvério. Both from Brazil

How long has Sister Rodriguez been out? Tell me a little about her personality and history.
She has been out for 10 months. She is super sweet and we really lead together the area. She doesn’t boss me around or anything and we are always conversing and switching ideas. She is an awesome companion. She has been a member of the church for 5 years. But she loves the church and has a burning testimony. She is amazing and I am super excited to be here with her.

Did your other two companions in Cassino stay in that area? Do you miss them?  You guys seemed to get along well.
Yes. I miss them tons. they called me on my 7 month anniversary and I almost cried. I miss them tons and I miss the area also. I was the first missionary to open that area so it was super hard to leave.

What was Julio’s baptismal program like?  Did you decorate and provide refreshments?  What is Julio’s family like?
YES! We decorated with balloons. But there were so many people that we had to move the sacrament room. We made a cake and an elder made a casserole thing. It was amazing. His mom is a member and was baptized [6 months ago in Venezuela]. She was so excited that she wouldn’t be alone. They moved from Venezuela because of the situation there. He also has 2 other brothers that will hopefully be baptized soon!!

How’s the work so far in your new area?
It’s good!! This is a really great area. We are going to have tons of miracles here.


What were the high and low of this last week?
The high was ARNALDO!!! He needs to quit smoking and he officially went from 30 cigarettes to 0 for TWO DAYS!!!! The low is just the heat. The heat is way worse here than in Cassino and I am literally melting.