Maio

Hello wonderful family!
Thank you so much for all the updates and pictures. Tearisa is absolutely adorable!!
It´s fun to see my cute little Mark as a lovng dad. Aww...I can´t believe my little
baby´s all grown up and a father now! :)
In other news, Stake Conference was wonderful. I received lots of instructions from the
Lord how to improve. I am striving to look for the good in my apartment companion. I´m
doing my darndest to try to love her and serve her and thank her for every little thing
of good she does. It seems to be helping our relationship already (aos poucos).
Also, Dad shared a saying that goes like this: It´s really easy to please God, but much
more difficult to satisfy Him. I thought this was very poignant. When we succeed in obeying
Him or do a good deed, He has that surety that we can do what is right and He´s only going
to want our best from then on! What a deal!
Everyone loved meeting Dad. EVeryone has been telling me time and time again how they know
he is a man of God. I just smile and say thank you. :) HAHAHA! One thing that Dad really
focuse on was Isaiah 55:8-9. God´s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither our ways, God´s
ways. His are much higher. This work and gospel are His. We need to do this work according
to His will if we are to have success.
I just wanted to thank Dad for what he said in the Priesthood session. This helped one of
the men in our ward, Pablo, feel the desire and need rekindled to serve a mission. He´s a
great guy and really has all the makings to be an amazing missionary. Yet, every time we
hinted at him serving a mission, he said that he didn´t have the desire to serve and
therefore it wouldn´t be right to go without the desire. Now, he knows more that ever, that
he needs to serve a mission! I´m so excited for him! He really is going to help so many
people and he himself will learn a lot. What a blessing the Spirit speaks through us,
right, Dad?
So, Mark--I´m totally game for that bike trip. Wanna hold off and do it july 2010?! ;)
Thank you so very much, Mom, for the suitcase loaded with goodies!! I was in heaven (and
all my companions too as I shared with them). :) They loved the chili and are wanting the
recipie. Could you send it please? Thanks for the recipie of the chicken. I´m excited to
make it the next time lunch falls through. I´m so excited for our phone call! I´m glad
you liked the bookmark. I saw such pretty flowers and always thought of you. Then I had the
great idea to start pressing them in my scriptures and make bookmarks. My companions thought
your bookmark was so cute, they started pressing flowers too and are making bookmarks for
their moms! :) Your mother´s day card will arrive a little late, ok?
Happy Mothers Day to all my wonderful sisters and sister-in-laws! I am so blessed to have
yáll in my family. I´m so grateful for the way you are raising my adorable neices and nephews.
Muito obrigada!
In other news, we are working with some families close to Irmã Marlene. We taught one of her
clients (she´s a hair dresser), JOanita. Her husband, Figueredo, is liking the messages a lot.
She´s so happy to see how the gospel is already blessing her life and she wants to keep
progressing to become a member of the Church! We taught her son and his family too, Roni.
They are so amazing. What a beautiful family. We taught them the first lesson and they loved
it. They offered to give us dinner, but we had to run home to make it on time. They saw us
running away and came after us in their car to give us a ride home. It was so sweet. What
a blessing it is to come to know such wonderful people! What a blessing to come to know so
many of my spiritual brothers and sisters. ´We are family!!´
In other news...my companion and I had a chocolate cake food fight today which was hilarious!
Kinda messy...but really funny. We got a video and lots of pictures. :) Don´t worry, we
cleaned it all up. Dad--did you know that the elders promised me chocolate cake if I
introduced them to you? Hahahaha! How funny is that?!
Life is wonderful here on the mission. I love you all more than words can express.
-Sister Ellis