Excited for CONFERENCE

Olá!

I am so excited for General Conference this weekend that I think its all I'm going to be able to talk to people about. We get to hear from God's LIVING PROPHET AND APOSTLES on the earth! Woohoo! I hope that you all enjoy all of the wonderful and inspiring words we will hear this weekend!

This week has been an adventure of trying to find new people to teach. We knock on lots of doors, ring lots of doorbells, and even clap a lot. Culture fact: lots of houses (not too many here in Parnaiba, it was more in my past areas) dont have doorbells so instead you clap your hands loudly for the people in the house to know there is someone at the door. Im not sure if I mentioned that in a past email, but its quite an adventure. :) We've been able to teach the message about the Restoration a lot (seriously, A LOT) this past week, which is great because it is unique and life changing and everyone deserves the opportunity to hear it! 

Funny stories of the week: my companion, Sister Reis, is obsessed with animals. She's always meowing at the cats and talking to the dogs and its super funny to watch their reactions :) Havent been chased yet, so thats good. :)

Another funny story: our district leader told me yesterday that they had been trying to find the family we had contacted the other day who lives in their area. They went to the address the lady had given me only to find out that it was wrong. The lady, Jesus (nickname for Maria de Jesus) had said we could stop by and share a message. SO when the Elders knocked on the door and a lady answered, one of the Elders asked "Are you Jesus?" and the poor lady was so confused and it was a hilarious situation. They clarified that they were looking for a Maria de Jesus and even though it wasnt her ("No sorry my name is Camila...") they were able to share a bit about the gospel :) 

Scripture of the week, in honor of General Conference, is the wonderful Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."

Have a wonderful week!

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

Tem SISTERES em Parnaiba!

Olá!

This week was absolutely an adventure and full of many many miracles! On Tuesday we had our trainer meeting and after lunch we had a few hours to just talk to people and invite them to church! It was great fun, I was with Sister Patrocinio, who is hilarious, so we had a blast. But the best part of the day was when we got to meet the new missionaries! My companion is Sister Reis, from São Paulo, and she is AWESOME! Seriously, she is such a great missionary it doesnt feel like she is brand new because she is so calm and teaches so well. On Wednesday we were able to travel to our new area: Parnaiba! We are working in Ramo 1 (Branch 1) and I know that we are going to see SO MANY miracles this transfer. We share an apartment with Sister Robins (the same sister I was with in Cidade Jardim six months ago) and the new sister she is training, Sister Lockhart. Fun fact: three Utah sisters in one house means lots of pancakes. :) haha Sister Reis is helping us with our Portuguese, but don't worry, in our house its SÓ (only) português! :) Its been kind of a shock for Parnaiba to have us here because the last sisters were in Ramo 3 and over 6 years ago (the last time Ramo 1 had sisters was more than TEN years ago). One guy said to us "You're the first women missionaries Ive seen in my life, I didnt know you existed! I thought it was just men!" hahaha :)

Our house here in Parnaiba is wonderful: we live on the top (third) floor of an apartment and its small but easy to keep clean and the walls are light blue! (The favorite color of the other three sisters, and I aboslutely love blue walls) Its REALLY windy here, so our house makes lots of sounds and we have to be careful with our skirts as we walk :) haha But its wonderful because now is the hottest time of the year, and its like having a giant fan following us wherever we go, so Im a big fan (pun not intended) of the wind. 

The branch here received us super well! I already love everyone here! We havent had any lessons by ourselves yet because we always had a member helping us out and teaching us where to go. Our angel of the week has been Priscila, who went with us three days straight. But seriously, our branch is so awesome and so excited to have sisters here that I know we are going to work really hard. 

Funny Portuguese word story: so my companion, Sister Reis, cut her hair today and now she has a cute afro. When we told Sister Lockhart how to say afro in Portuguese she about died laughing because afro in Portuguese is "black power". Seriously, no joke. :) Thought that you all would enjoy that new word.

Okay, now on a more serious note: I wanted to share a bit of what our district president said in sacrament meeting yesterday. He was talking about how easy it is to get distracted with our technology and smartphones and such and how distraction is one of the most powerful tools of the adversary. It made me think of a conference talk I studied last week that I wanted to share (Ill post the link since Im out of time): https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/stay-by-the-tree?lang=eng

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I know that the Lord works miracles in our lives every day! 

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

Tchau Maiobão e olá Parnaiba!

Boa tarde!

This email is a day late due to TRANSFERS! Woohoo! I absolutely love Maiobão (the wind, the bakeries, the wonderful people, the AMAZING WARD etc.) and my companion, Sister Espinola, and I am quite sad to leave. BUT I am super super excited for this next transfer because its an adventure Ive been praying for my whole mission: I get to train again AND open a new area! Ive been assigned to work in Parnaiba, a city in Piauí that is a delta and has pretty beaches and is very windy apparently, training a new sister! In two hours I get to meet her, because all I know right now is that Im going to train, the rest is a suprise! :) And I get to open a new area, along with Sister Robins, who will also be training! IM SO EXCITED! And Parnaiba hasnt had sisters in 6 years (since the Teresina mission was formed). I was talking yesterday to a sister from Parnaiba (a member waiting for her mission call who is going to serve in São Luís as a sister for a transfer) and she was so excited and said that all the members pray to have sisters there again. :D Seriously, I am so excited its kind of ridiculous. More stories to come next week!!

Funny story of the week: this was the week that everyone in Maiobão decided to comment on my appearance. I died my hair a little darker and everyone said that I look much more Brazilian now. And the other day we were waiting for the bus when a woman told me that I had the prettiest nose she had ever seen that (direct quote) "looks like it was made by hand". Cool, thanks :) haha My companion laughed a lot about my "pretty little nose" the rest of the day. 

The spiritual thought of the week is something that President Melo is always reminding us missionaries. Its found in 2 Corinthians 3:3 which reads "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." I love this scripture because when we promised to take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we promise to be an example at ALL times and in ALL things and ALL places. We can do this as we beome living epistles of Him who sent us. We can act and speak in ways that those around us will be invited to come unto Christ. And truly, there is no happier way to live! 

Have a wonderful week! Next email will be from Sister Knapp in PARNAIBA! :D

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

Flautas e feriado

Olá!

Our voyage to Teresina was wonderful, including mission council where we learned a lot and were able to take some great training about recognizing the Spirit to our zone. :) Zone conference was great as well and we've worked really hard this week. We still werent able to mark new baptismal dates with D and M, but we are doing our best and trusting in the Lord's timing. 

Culture thought: this week I was thinking a bit about the names of the people we talk to. I feel like names basically fall into two categories: common names (example Maria, Raimundo, Raimunda, Francisco, Francisca etc) and names that I have to ask "how do you spell that?" at least three different times. :) But either way, I love the names of the people here and especially the people to whom those names belong to! :)

Fun story of the day: today is Brazil's independence day! Our ward is having an all day celebration at the church and Sister Espinola and I were able to participate a bit this morning. We also have a new exciting addition to our lives: RECORDERS! We went to the music store this morning and each of us bought a recorder. We went to the church where (unplanned) we found Hislane, a sister who returned recently from her mission, with her recorder and we played a few hymns together! Sister Espinola is learning fast (which is good because transfers are in a week)  and soon we are going to be playing duets. One of my favorite things about being here in Maiobão has been sharing music with the ward and my companions. :) We gave a message this morning in the activity about the importance of music and hymns and I found a neat scripture about music in Colossians 3:16 :) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" I invite all to read it and pay special attention to the hymns that are sung in Family Home Evening and all other church meetings this week. 

Have a wonderful day!

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

Milagres e paciência!

Olá!

This week has been pretty great, as usual! haha Last Monday was basically the best birthday ever: Sister Espinola and I ate sushi and saw the worlds largest collection of Barbies (great way to celebrate turning 20 right? :) haha), we taught Marcone and his family with the Elders Quorum president and his family AND the Relief Society president and her husband where we talked about eternal familes and temples, AND then (the best part) we had a FHE dinner with half the ward and some investigators and recent converts. I basically cried the whole lesson because it is such a privilege to have my wonderful second family here in Maiobão. The friendships we make as missionaries are wonderful! :)

This week we also had a miracle with M L (a less active member who hadnt been to church in years) and her nonmember husband who we visited on Saturday and came to church on Sunday, and they are excited to come next week too! Woohoo!

Funny story of the week: Sister Espinola and I were talking about an investigtor who had been so excited to come to church the first time we taught her, and she showed up to church  few weeks ago and said she loved it, but then started asking if we could give her money and when we explained that we couldnt she didnt come to church anymore and wasnt ever home.... Anyway, we came to the conclusion that we need investigators with real intent and not "real" intent (seeing as "real" is the currency in Brazil) :) haha Okay, I thought it was clever, hopefully it made someone smile :)

Our baptisms for this week of D and M fell through, but we are praying and working hard for a miracle and trusting in the Lord's timing. This week I was able to study a bit about patience (there is a WONDERFUL article in the August Liahona/Ensign about patience that helped me a ton). I love that patience truly is an attribute of Christ, and that as we are patiently doing our very best and trusting in the Lord's time, everything works out for the best as we watch His hand work miracles. <3

Lastly, I wanted to share a quick miracle of the week. I wrote a few weeks ago about J, right? The contact we found and who came to church? Basically, she is amazing. She has SO much faith and desire to learn about the gospel and come closer to God. When we first taught her I felt really strongly to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon, and I am sure glad I followed that prompting!
J LOVES the Book of Mormon and says that it is truly the word of God and that she feels so good when she reads it. Seriously, she is progressing so much! More updates on the miracles of Maiobão next week!

Alright, I'm out of time and we have to run to the bus station now because Sister Espinola and I get  to go to Teresina (7 hours bus ride) for mission council! :) Have a wonderful week!

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

Barbie ... missionary?  Well, she's a doll!

10 meses e 20 anos

Olá! Bom dia!

Greetings again from Maiobão! This week has been marvelous, full of great events and more to come! I've passed my 10 month mission mark and today my 20 year life mark (mission birthdays are the best, by the way) and we had zone and stake conference! Woohoo!

Our zone conference on Friday was super great, and Sister Espinola and I got to teach a bit about the Book of Mormon and also teach with the Zone Leaders about obedience and "burying our weapons of war" (Alma 24:17). Ive been learning so much on my mission about the importance of obedience in ALL things, and that it truly brings blessings! Our challenge, which I extend to all of you as well, is to make a few goals about what weapons of war we have in our lives that we can bury to better serve the Lord. (examples: lack of patience, yelling, not studying on time (mission life :) ) and many more) I know that as we strive to follow the commandments, not only do we draw closer to God, but we are happier! Mosiah 2:41.

Funny story of the zone conference: we had ice cream as a treat, and when I went to  help serve it I was informed by Elder Amado (a missionary from Cabo Verde, Africa) that there were no spoons. He said, "Sister, if you find a spoon, I'll give you R$20!" So I started digging through the cupboards and guess what I found? A spoon! The only issue with the spoons that I found is that they were very tiny, the size of my finger, and wouldnt exactly work to serve ice cream. BUT it was a spoon, nontheless! All the missionaries laughed at Elder Amado's reaction as he tried to defend that it was too small to be a spoon, and it didnt count but... A spoon is a spoon no matter how small! haha :) I didnt get my R$20 (he gave me instead a piece of paper with R$20 written  on it) but the laughter was worth it. :)

Another funny story is while we were on the bus, a guy proposed to my companion and we gave him a Plan of Salvation pamflet. :) He also told everyone on the bus to "clap your hands if you love Jesus!" 

Stake conference was perfect as well, with M and his wife F coming with us! They LOVED it and we are excited to continue working with them to baptism! And MIRACLE, we sat on a bench by a lady in a blue dress. I asked what her name and ward were and she said "Maria Evanilde from Vila Palmeira." I almost cried when I realized she was the same woman I wrote about a few weeks ago that I found with Sister Maria and who was baptized! Tender mercy! <3

I'm out of time, so  I will share more miracles next week. Have a wonderful week, read Mosiah 5 (my current favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon) and smile!

Muito amor,

Sister Knapp

10 meses y 20 años

Aniversários das Sísteres!

Olá!

In the house of the Sisters of Maiobão, August is a very special month, due to the fact that 3/4 of us have BIRTHDAYS! And this past Tuesday was the day of Sister Quespaz and Saturday of Sister Espinola. :) So needless to say, we had lots of cake this week, including cake at a suprise party/ Family Home Evening on Saturday. It was great fun!

Speaking of Family Home Evening, our FHE last with with M and L and their family was AWESOME! N and F, the newest Recent Convert couple of our ward, came with us and we had an awesome lesson on eternal families. Everyone loved it and we have another FHE with them tonight! haha They are progressing SO MUCH and even though there are a few challenges to overcome before baptism, they are so ready to make changes to follow the Savior and become members of His restored church! 

Another family who is progressing a ton is the family of M, his wife F, and their son P. We taught them about the law of chastity, which was a great lesson, especially because they are already married! (Its pretty rare to find MARRIED COUPLES who are interested in listening to our messages.) M came to church yesterday and became instant friends with the Elders Quorum president, and he is excited to come to stake conference next week. So many miracles! Working with members makes life so much better! Yay for members!

Another miracle this week was J, the next door neighbor of a family we are teaching, She wasnt too interested when we talked, but we felt really strongly to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon and invite her to church. She said she'd try, which usually means "No thank you" but guess who was in Relief Society yesterday? J! AND shes reading the Book of Mormon! :D

Yesterday we were also able to go with some members and meet some references that they gave us: FIVE different famlies who live in the same two streets! Along with contacting a lady I met on the bus last week, we now have what we call "A quadra de ouro": The block of gold! Looks like we're going to be working in that part of the neighborhood for a while! :D

This week I was also able to work in Maiobão with Sister López (a new sister that my past companion Sister Lima da Silva is training) and Sister Patrocínio. I love being STL because I get to go on exchanges with other sisters! We had lots of miracles in those two days, but Im going to share my favorite which happened with Sister López. We went to teach a family and when we got to their house, they were busy decorating for a birthday party for their son. We helped them decorate a bit and they asked us if instead of teaching them now we could come back that evening and teach everyone that would be at the party. Um YES YES WE CAN. So we went back that night and when we got their, J (the father), invited us in and announced "The sisters are here and have a great message! Everyone listen up!" He had everyone put their chairs in a semicircle and we were able to teaech about the Restoration to not just one, but FOUR different families. :) It was pretty great, especially because when we talked about the apostasy everyone started not paying attention, but when I was able to share about the First Vision and bear my testimony, it was silent. Everyone paid attention and in the end everyone accepted the invitation to pray about what we shared. So many miracles in Maiobão. :)

Fun culture fact for the week: here in Maranhão everyone is obsessed with a soda called Guaraná Jesus. Its bright pink and when I got to Teresina, a Sister gave me some to try and I thought it was the NASTIEST beverage on planet earth, with a flavor between bubble gum, cinnamon, and Childrens Tylenol. But here in Maranhão there is no way to escape, and I have come to love this interesting drink. Its quite funny though, because people ask when we visit a house "Do you like Jesus?" and usually theyre talking about the soda. :) But either way, I love Jesus! And as great as the soda is, the Jesus I love more is my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for His Atoning sacrifice, that through Him we can be cleansed from sin, that all mistakes can be forgiven and we can become pure and perfect and able to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father with our families for eternity. I am so grateful to be able to share the message of His Restored Gospel with my brothers and sisters here in Brasil and truly, there is no place Id rather be. <3

Have a wonderful week!

SIster Knapp

B-day party for her companions

P.S. Yesterday we had an exciting event in our ward: Bruno, a recent convert, opened his mission call! He is going to be serving in Brazil Goiania! :)

The famous soda!

Bruno and his mission call!