As my dear sister Lisa likes to say, "OH MY HECKFORD!!!" I did not see the prophet's announcement coming! Boys can now serve at 18 and girls at 19! That announcement would have been really convenient 3 years ago!!! Haha but I know that the Lord's timing is everything, and I am supposed to be serving right now. I am serving in a country where boys were authorized to serve missions at age 18 because of military requirements and such, so I have seen how the 18 year old missionaries serve. I feel like they are just as capable as any 19 year old missionary. I was shocked when President Monson announced that 18 year old boys from every country would be able to serve. My head was still reeling when he announced that girls can serve at freakin 19 YEARS OLD!!!! My hands literally flew to my mouth to keep me from letting out a huge gasp. My first thought was my little sister who would make an awesome missionary, but didn't know if a mission would fit into her plans if she had to wait two years. My second thought was actually a confirmation that we are truly living in the last days. The Lord is building up his missionary army. The gospel is going to go much farther than it has ever gone before. We will be receiving reinforcements of willing and prepared 18 year old boys and 19 year old girls here in our missions. I am sure that this announcement was an answer to many prayers.....prayers of youth wondering if they should serve a mission and the prayers of the people that will be found, taught, and baptized by these younger missionaries. I still can't believe it. I am proud to say that I was serving a mission when this monumental announcement was made.

As for other news, yes I was transferred. I am now in the area Fernandes which is a neighborhood in Canoas. I already served in downtown Canoas, so I returned to the city. My companion is Sister Matiaco, the first American companion I have had since I was made Senior. This is her 3rd transfer, so she is still pretty fresh from the MTC. Her Portuguese is really good already. To tell you the truth, I was really nervous to have an American companion. I feel even more pressure to speak Portuguese better now. I don't have a Brazilian companion to lean on if I need help. Things are going ok. I am learning about patience and charity and reliance on the lord right now.....but that is what a mission is all about. There are always things to learn from each companion we have. Sister Matiaco is very in tune with the spirit and very obedient. 

Conference was awesome. I loved it. It talked so much about being disciples of Christ. We all need to be better disciples of Jesus Christ. We had an investigator there at conference that said a worry and pain that she has had since she was much younger was lifted off of her shoulders. I know that the prophet and his apostles are called of God and are very inspired! 

I don't have much time, but as always, will write more next week! I love you all! 

 

Sister Autumn Barnes

Dear Family and Friends,

It is P-Day, my birthday, Day before transfers, and a rainy day. 

So here is the big news.....I have been transferred! After 4 months here in Montenegro, it will be good to have a change. However, with transfers always comes the nervousness as well. I don't know what the next transfer holds in store! I am holding out for the areas, Canela (like the Park City of the Rio Grande do Sul) and Elizabete (which is actually in the city of Porto Alegre, close to the temple). We will see! I will for sure let you know where I am when I find out! Pray for me!

My companion, Sister Marques, was really bummed when she found out that she would be staying here. She doesn't like Montenegro or many of the members. I have to admit that this was a really hard area, but I survived and came out of it an even better missionary than I was before. I know that President Wright is an inspired man. I know he has authority to lead this mission. He told Sister Marques that he knew that she didn't want to stay. He said that he knew that she hates Montenegro. But he also said that there is someone here in Montenegro that only she will find. She has to stay here right now because there is a soul (or many) that are waiting specifically for her. She cried when she found out that she has to stay, but after she heard that, she was impressed by the inspiration of President Wright. 

This week, was one of those "I am really grateful that I am serving a mission right now. I guess I am actually making a difference here" weeks. Yesterday, an investigator named Maria came to church. She lost her husband a few months ago and has been feeling really empty. She LOVED church and was made right at home by all of the members. She told me and Sister Marques that she has felt so much happier since the day that we knocked on her door. She said that we have beautiful spirits and that she can tangibly feel the spirit when we talk about the gospel. I really feel like she will make it into the waters of baptism.....I won't be here for it, but I thank the Lord for the chance that I have to bring a special message of happiness to people that are suffering. 

This week is a week of anniversaries. Yesterday was my 10 month mark on the mission, today is my birthday, yesterday was 4 months in Montenegro, and Thursday will be 9 months since the last time I stepped on U.S. soil. Time is time. It keeps on moving!  

I don't know what I will do for my birthday today. Pack my bags and maybe eat something cool! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Love you all!

Sister Autumn Barnes

Greetings from Brasil!

This week I was able to experience the biggest holiday here in the Rio Grande do Sul......Semana de Farroupilha. This holiday celebrates the time when the Rio Grande do Sul rebelled against the rest of Brasil because they wanted to be their own country. Obviously, they lost this battle, so I don't know why they celebrate defeat.......but whatever floats their boat. Anyway, it was pretty awesome (besides the fact that NO ONE wanted to listen to the missionaries that day). All of the men dress up in traditional Gaúcho clothing (cowboy hat, boots, bandanas, etc. I will send pictures) and the women in dresses called prendas. They have this huge parade with about a billion people on horseback carrying flags of the Rio Grande do Sul. I think it is a cool tradition. I enjoyed myself! We had District Meeting that day, so the Elders dressed up in their traditional Gaucho clothing. I am working on buying all of my traditional Gaucho clothing. One piece at a time. (I am a poor missionary). BUT, I have a pair of traditional pants called bombachas and a pair of traditional shoes called sapatilhas. 

One more week until transfers! After 4 months here in Montenegro, I am kind of looking for a change in scenery, but I will do whatever the Lord and President Wright want me to do. Also, one more week until my birthday! Praise the heavens that my birthday fell on P-Day. I am quite content with that fact! 

I am counting down the days until General Conference! I love it soooo much! I can't decide if these last 6 months went by fast or not, but I am just happy to be able to hear the words of the prophets again!

Sister Marques and Sister Castro have said that I have been talking in my sleep BIG TIME lately. Every night practically. According to them, I have introduced myself as Sister Barnes, tried to hold our weekly planning session, and talked about one of Sister Castro's investigators in my sleep. I am also eating A LOT lately. I have problems! 

This week, a 25 year old guy in my ward got his mission call. He was baptized 2 years ago and has been working since then to be able to pay for his mission. However, after he sent his mission papers in, he soon after heard from Salt Lake saying that they wouldn't be able to issue his mission call until he lost about 40 pounds. He has been working, exercising, dieting, praying for MONTHS to lose this weight so he would have the opportunity to serve the Lord. After months, he had only lost about 20 pounds. I saw him cry multiple times, discouraged that he would never be able to serve a mission. The other day, I got a phone call from him. I answered and he said, "I'm going on a mission to LONDRINA!!!!" (another mish in Brasil). His mission call came as a surprise in the mail the other day! I am so happy for him! I know he will make a great missionary because he will not take a minute of his time on the mission for granted! 

Love you all! 

Sister Autumn Barnes

 

McDonald's! Never really liked it at home, but I was in the mood for American Fast Food!

Stuck in a rainstorm!

My district in Gaucho clothing. 

 My Zone Leader, Elder de Oliveira. He will be going home in one week. I am wearing bombacha e sapatilhas. (traditional pants and shoes)

A traditional Prenda dress

Horses in the parade

 

Beloved Friends and Family,

I am still alive! Last night we had the worst storm that I have seen here in Brasil. Lightning, thunder, wind, and rain falling sideways. We got caught in it......there were times when Sister Marques and I literally couldn't move because the wind was blowing so hard against us. We had to link arms and push through the wind. We camped out at home because it was super dangerous to be out there. But, we survived.....and today is a beautiful day!

Today is Sister Marques birthday! 23! I think we are going to a salon and she will be getting her hair done. By the way......I am going blonde! Blonde! The sun is so crazy strong here that it is burning my hair to a crisp!


We found a guy named Marcos this week while knocking doors. He is 26 years old and you can tell he has had a rocky past. Tatoos up the wazoo, longish hair, various holes in his ears where he once had piercings, etc. I think he talked to us at first because he had the hots for Sister Marques. But after we taught him a little, he became interested in our message. We went back a few days later and he had read the pamphlet and prayed about it. We also gave him a Book of Mormon and while we bore testimony of it, the spirit was SOO strong. Sister Marques and I felt it, and there is no way that he couldn't have felt it as well. I always pray that my investigators will be able to submit to the spirit and resist temptation. I hope that he has submited to the whisperings of the spirit and has been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon!! I know it will make the difference that he is searching for in his life!!!.....I know it makes all the difference in my life!

Who is excited for General Conference? I am!!!! I wonder where I will be when Conference comes  round?! I have a feeling I will be transferred here in about 2 weeks! We'll see!

This week we had a conference in Canoas with an Area Seventy of Brasil, Elder Mazzagardi. It was super good. I could sit there and listen to him forever......although my fanny was starting to hurt a bit near the end. But wow......I was really surprised when he spent a huge chunk of time talking about the Law of Chastity. Not the law of chastity as it applies to our investigators........but to us. It scares me to death to know that a group of MISSIONARIES had to be warned of the all the dangers of breaking the law of chastity. He spoke very strongly about this. One thing that really stuck out to me is that he said that there is no distinction between the words "Law of Chastity" and "Exaltation." But anyway....the conference was awesome! I was also able to see a ton of past companions, friends, and President and Sister Wright!

I love you all! I am beyond grateful for the gospel! It has made all the difference in my life, family, and goals!  I love sharing it! Don't be afraid to open your mouth and share as well!

Love,
Sister Autumn Barnes

Family and Friends! 

 

Rain, rain GO AWAY!!!!

My word, it has been raining so much lately! Yesterday, Sister Marques and I left our apartment to meet with an investigator, Marcus, to take him to church with us. It wasn't raining at the moment, so we didn't think about taking umbrellas. Yeahhhhhhhh......as we say in Portuguese, "A gente tomou banho de chuva." We took a shower in the rain. And to top things off.......Marcus didn't come to church because he had visitors. Awesooome! Another common mission saying, "The more you get rained on, the hotter your future husband will be." Oh yeah! 

This Friday we had a Zone Conference in a nearby town, Sao Leopoldo. President and Sister Wright were present, so it was good to talk to them. Sister Wright likes to use me as her translator. She is the cutest lady I have ever met. I love her to pieces. The four of us sisters in our Zone sang a musical number. We sang a Child's Prayer. Sister Young and I started by singing the "Heavenly Father, are you really there?" part in English and Sister Marques and Sister Castro followed by singing the "Pray. He is there" part in Portuguese. Then we sang  the separate parts at the same time, Sister Young and I in English and Sister Castro and Sister Marques in Portuguese. We ended by all singing in Portuguese. (hahaha that probably doesn't make any sense, but yeah).  It turned out awesome, if I do say so myself. Judging by Sister Wright's tears, it seems like she liked it as well! 

My last transfer seemed to drag by, but this transfer is flying by! Sister Marques and I are working a lot! We get home so tired that we plan for the next day, and then fall into bed! It is a satisfying feeling to be so exhausted from walking and talking all day! I often wonder where my strength, energy, and endurance comes from! However, the answer is simple.....from the Lord! The Lord loves his missionaries. He strengthens his missionaries! He sustains His missionaries. I know that he is personally strengthening and sustaining me each and every day. 

This week I received 9 letters and 2 packages! Paradise!!!!!!!! I tried to eat my flamin' hot cheetos slowly to prolongue my joy.........but NO! After months without flamin' hot cheetos, I devoured them! Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive in writing and such! I depend on your counsel and encouragement more than you all know! 

One thing I never understood before the mission.......the importance of home and visiting teaching. As a missionary, I see the duty we have as members of the church to strengthen others! Everyone do your visiting and home teaching! I have truly gained a testimony of its importance! 

I love you all! I love this work! I love the Lord!

 

Sister Autumn Barnes

 

Getting my nails done! Brazilians are so picky about nails!

Our quartet! We all live in the same apartment. Sister Young, me, Sister Castro, and my companion Sister Marques

With Sister Wright. Isn't she adorable? BTW.....I feel like a giant in this pic. 

During transfer at the bus station in Porto Alegre. This little girl is a member and wants to be a sister missionary one day! She came up to me and asked for a picture with me. Really, really cute.

August!!! What the crazy.....

I am doing well! I have realized that a mission is always hard, but it is so nice to have a good companion to help you get through all of it. I am really liking a Sister Marques. She is beautiful, talkative, and cheerful! She also knows English. She is the only Brazilian sister in our mission that speaks english fluently. Guess how she learned it? She never took a formal class or anything. TV, movies, and music. She knows all the slang.....which is really awesome.

So I am pretty sure that Sister Marques and I were visited by an angel or one of the Three Nephites. We were walking the other day (something we do quite often in fact) when we were stopped by a man. He started talking about how he learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a few years back. We talked a little bit, and set up an appointment with him. We went to his house for the appointment a few days later, and we saw him look through the window to see who was at the gate, and turn around. He didn't answer the door. I thought, "That is it. I will not come back if he doesn't want to talk to us." But, a few days later, I had the impression that we should try going to his house again. We arrived at his house, and he let us teach him. A few days later we go to his house and he tells us that he has some friends that live nearby that he wanted us to meet. We didn't have very much time, but we decided to go to his friends' house anyway. We got to the house and it was full of people. We started talking to all the people, and come to find out, half of the people there were members of the church that live in a different town. The couple that live in the house have already been to church with these friends. They were interested to hear about the details of church here in Montenegro....what time church starts, where it is, etc. We also found out that they aren't legally married yet, but they are just waiting for a birth certificate to make everything legal! A couple that wants to be married out of their own free will! That is a bit rare here in Brasil! Anyway, they are a really special family, they have friends who are members of the church, they will soon be legally married, they wanted to know about church............so they are super prepared! I will keep you updated on them. The miracle of this story.....we went to the house of the man that stopped us on the street and introduced us to this family like two days after this happened. His house is completely empty! 

This week I went to the baptism of a boy I taught when I was in the trio. He technically lives in the other area, but I got permission from President Wright to go to his baptism because I taught him while I was covering both areas in the trio. His name is Jonathon and he is 22 years old. He loves Americans because he is learning English right now. The baptism was awesome, and he even bore his testimony in church the other day! 

Sister Marques and I are teaching SOOOO much right now! We are working super hard, walking a lot, sweating up the wazoo, talking with everyone. I know we will begin to see the fruits of our labors. 

Another cool thing that happened........I have been holding on to this one investigator named Malena. I have been teaching her for almost three months, and in these three months, she hadn't been to church once. It is definitely a no-no to spend precious time teaching people that aren't progressing when you could be out finding people that will progress. I have held on to her this long because I love her so much and I didn't want to give up on her. But, I really felt like I needed to drop her and move on. So, I went to her house and told her that I couldn't keep teaching her because she wasn't keeping her commitments. I was shocked by what happened next. She started crying. A lot. She got up to go to the bathroom to get tissue, so I gave her a hug. I told her that I loved her, and she said, "I WILL go to church this week. There is nothing that will keep me from going." Guess who arrived at church 20 minutes early yesterday. Malena. I was so so happy! I think she liked it, so we'll see what happens now! 

I know that God is a God of miracles! He is always waiting with miracles reserved for those who are willing to first exercise a little faith! 

I love you all! 

Sister Aut Barnes 

Jonathon's baptism

Some of the sisters and Sister Wright at the Bus Station in Porto Alegre. 

I finally met someone that can do the same thing with her thumbs! 

Helping Sister Holladay with her luggage!

Surprise!!

I forgot to tell you all last week that my P-Day has been switched to Monday. So...it will be on Monday from now on. I think it will be good! Before the mission, Sunday was a day of rest. Here in the mission field, Sunday is the hardest, most tiring day! You have to worry about investigators going to church. You end up walking in circles on Sunday because everyone is either gone or has family over and therefore don't have time to talk to you. P-Day on a Monday will be a good for my soul!

I was totally wrong about my companion! I knew that would happen. My new companion is Sister Marques from Curitiba, Brasil. She has a little over 6 months in the mission field and spent it in Canela (the area that everyone lusts for). I am learning a lot from her. She is studying journalism, so she is super outgoing and really knows how to talk to people and catch their attention. She literally stops people in their tracks in the street to talk to them, something that I don't do very often. She makes me laugh a ton. Yeah, so things are going well with her. This week, we pretty much focused on finding new investigators by knocking doors, making contact on the street, and asking for referrals. We are sifting through the people here in our area to find the elect! This is a really stupid analogy, but I will tell it anyway. I feel like a gold miner. I go out to work everyday with the objective of finding gold.....a golden investigator. However, I have to sift through a lot of mud, dirt, and sand before I find those few particles of gold. We are talking to a lot of people. Most of these people don't want anything to do with us. However.....we have to talk to everyone in order to find those few that are golden! 

There is also another new American that lives in our apartment, Sister Young. She is from Oregon and went to BYU-I for 3 years before leaving for the mission. She is really cool! 

I can't believe that General Conference is almost here! Just one more month! I can't wait! My first General Conference in Portuguese was a bit interesting because I didn't understand everything that they were saying. I am sure it will be a little better now! Oh how I love to hear the words of the prophets! 

Sorry this is a lame email......but my brain is absolutely dead right now! Oh, Vanderlei is still going strong! We visited him yesterday, and he was telling us about how he has been reading from the Book of Mormon everyday before work to start his day off right. One day he wasn't able to read before he left for work, so he called his girlfriend Monica and asked her to text him a verse from the Book of Mormon so he could at least read that much! I was very touched by that. He definitely recognizes the difference that it makes in his days! 

Today I was studying in Preach My Gospel. There is an activity in there that asks you to write down how the gospel affects how you look at your life and the world around you. I had the hardest time writing this down. Not because I didn't have anything to write, but because I had so much to write. The gospel isn't just a part of my life, it is my life. It defines every decision I make. It is so hard to make people understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't just a church that we go to on Sunday. It isn't just a building that we go to on Sundays to worship. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church that Jesus Christ established. Why did he establish it? To fulfill the will of the Father. And what is the will of the Father? To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint teaches EVERYTHING we need to do to return to the Father and gain exaltation. It isn't just a church we go to on Sunday if it is convenient. The gospel of Jesus Christ is EVERYTHING!!!! 

 

I love you and pray for you all everyday! Choose the Right! 

 

Sister Autumn Barnes