Sister Hillam in Portugal: Week #6

One week more, another week another destiny. This never-ending road to Portugal!!! (Les Miserables, with some words changed)

I GOT MY FLIGHT PLANS FOR PORTUGAL!!!!!! I'm so excited to finally go to my mission!! I leave next Tuesday at 4:30 in the morning. I'll be calling when I get to the airport :) We fly from SLC to Detroit, then to Paris to Portugal. I can't wait!!!!

Anyway, more on that later! This past week we had companionship exchanges so I was with Sister Savage for preparing and teaching lessons. Other than that we still had our old companionship. It was really interesting. We taught Paulo and I literally think we asked the same question 4 times in a different way. It was a good experience to see how different people teach, study, and plan for lessons. I loved this experience!

We got a new district of 14 people all going to Brazil. 6 sister and 8 elders. We as STL's and ZL's had a meeting with them to which we introduced ourselves and took them on a tour. I love the sisters so much!!! They are a great group of girls! Found out yesterday that 2 of the sisters got their visas so they leave the same day as us! I was super happy for them!! So that was Thursday night that we had that meeting and then we go back to our room and were locked out. None of our keys worked, the door handle was jammed and it was time to be in our room. We called the front desk and they sent a security guard to try her keys, and they didn't work. So they ended up calling a locksmith to come. By the time we actually got into our room it was 10:40. We sat in the hallway for over an hour waiting for our room to unlock. It was an adventure for sure!! The door works now though :)

On Thursday we also had In-Field Orientation. It was a good experience but suuuuuper long!!! I got the "golden contact" (twix) in one of the breakout meetings and then I was also chosen to be an investigator in front of the whole group. That was exciting.

We Skyped with a Brazilian on Friday. This time was a MUCH better experience! I taught with Sister Savage and Fabio was so kind and spoke slow. I loved talking with him! He got back from his mission in October and is doing online college from BYU-I. I love the connections that you can make with people from all around the world! He's a really great guy! Also on Friday, we went to teach Devan (our real investigator) and come to find out she's a member and was just playing the part of a non-member!! It actually made me really happy because I loved teaching her and was going to ask her to get baptized. She's actually going on a mission to Nampa, Idaho in April!!! She's speaking Spanish! SO EXCITING!!! ----Sunday I played and sang in sacrament meeting! I played "I Need Thee Every Hour" with Sister Young who played the flute, and then we (Sis. Savage, Sis. J., and me with Elder Hunt at the piano) sang my mission farewell song "Savior Redeemer of My Soul" with "Called to Serve" medley. I sang the called to serve part but we changed it to Portuguese! We got lots of compliments and lots of people were crying. I was so scared that day! It was the first time I'd accompanied anyone. I loved being there and bringing the spirit.

Our teacher Irmao Crestani's last day to teach us was on Monday.

I'm going to miss him for the last week that we're here. We get a new teacher name Irmao Belshore. He's from Mozambique and has some crazy stories. We're excited but we're going to miss Irmao Crestani. We also had to say goodbye to Elder Hunt and Elder Buhler that morning at 3:30. I can't believe how fast these 6 weeks have gone!!! It needs to slow down!!! I'm going to miss everyone so much. We found that class was extremely quiet without those two but I missed laughing with them and talking during lunch. They we excited to go and I'm happy for them to go! One week more and I'll be in the field too! Yesterday Sis. J and I taught Samuel, which was probably one of the best lessons we've had. The spirit was so strong, and we were all on the verge of tears. We taught about seeing God's hand in our lives and how we need to endure to the end through our trials and that God will never leave us during our times of need. Even though we couldn't speak very well, the message was still the same. We were so excited!!

Our title of liberty scripture for our Zone is Alma 26:12. We are to memorize it in Portuguese. I love this gospel.

Every day I just think of how I was able to be here on the mission and all the things that lead to this. I look back at all I did and I can only now see how the Lord was preparing me for this opportunity- Cedar Badge, Sports, Family, Music, experiences, etc. I'm reminded everyday of this when I speak and testify. They say the mission is hard, and I know it will be, but I've been so blessed to be here. I know the Lord helped me immensely before I came and I'm so humbled by the fact that I can be here. I want to make this mission the best experience I can. I'm scared out of my mind to go and speak to the Portuguese and be with a trainer, but I know the Lord will take care of me. "The Lord does not ask about our ability or inability, but rather our availability. And when we show our dependability, He will take care of our capability." -Neal A Maxwell (I think, I don't have my note book with me but I think that's how it goes and who it's by) I know this is true. I've been beyond blessed in life. I love my Savior, and I know he loves me and pours His blessings on us everyday if we just ask. I love you all so much. Thanks for your example in my life!

Sister Hillam