Sarah seems to be doing really well, but she currently told me that she has not been receiving much mail, which I guess is actually common to missionaries... HOWEVER, let's change that! PLEASE take some time this week to send her a little not of love! You can even do it via a website, for very cheap and it only take a few moments - Instructions are below!
Thanks for all you do and the prayers you send her - y'all are awesome! -Ridiculouslygoodlooking
"From Sister Sarah Ray
February 14, 2009
Oi!
Okay boa noticia nº 1: We are now on day 7 of beautiful blue skies and sun and 60 degree weather!!! I am a very very very happy missionary.
As for this week, it was really good. I don´t know if it is the fact that it is finally sunny and we aren´t miserable outside or if our work is just finally starting to pay off, but Irmã Polito and I are taking Braga by storm. We have found some really awesome people who seem to be converting themselves, we just get to watch. It is really amazing to see how the spirit works in people´s lives. Quite the testimony of the gospel, because there is no way we could do this ourselves.
Of course we still have the sad moments, like when the bus driver wouldn´t let us on the bus because we took 30 seconds to talk to a woman in the bus stop. We felt like we needed to talk to her, so we did and just left a Plan of Salvation panfleto com ela and it turned out that she had just left the hospital where a family member was really sick. No such thing as coincidences. Well, as a result the bus driver was closing the door as we turned around, and he wouldn´t let us on. HOWEVER, those that are with us are more than those that are with them and after a mad dash out of the bus station and around the MASSIVE round-about (picture two missionaries sprinting across the cobblestones in the rain, everything flying around, I´m surprised no one died)...we arrived at the next paragem about 30 seconds before the bus did. We triumphantly boarded the bus to the shocked look of the bus driver and made it to our next appointment on time. GO team Irmãs!
We also had the wonderful opportunity to do what we call a blitz with our district. After our meeting in Guimarães this week we picked a street and we all knocked doors on the same street...covering the whole place with missionaries. Woo hoo. We had a grand old time despite the man who told us that no one would ever talk to us, or the man who was too busy beating off devils with his stick to talk to us... There are always interesting people to be found here! Funny how I love them all though.
We ended the week with a bang too. We were the ONLY missionaries who got permission to go to COimbra this week because Irmã Polito was singing in the choir before she was transfered. THus, we made the 4 hour treck, and I really like the city. It reminded me a whole lot of Barcelona, MOm, you would love it. We also went to stake conference and had the opportunity to listen, and sit next to Elder Bednar for two days. IT was an amazing experience, and I really learned a lot. He talked about agency, and it was great to BE taught versus doing the teaching for a while. He also let people have it with respect to missionary work. Hopefully that means it will take a jump here as we can work more with the members. We pretty much wanted to stand up and cheer him after about 20 minutes of how we can all work together to help other people. I´m really excited about the possibilities. I have such a testimony that the Lord really does still speak to us today, and it was amazing to hear the power in his testimony. I am so thankful for the power of the gospel in our lives. I can see it work miracles on a daily basis and I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of his children.
Love you all,
Irmã Ray
If you want to drop Sarah a line, and you should - no probaly about it... Here is what you ca n do:
1) You can use the dearelder.com website. This requires Postage to Portugal (94 cents). You will need to set up an account with money in it and then it will subtract the correct postage from it each time you send a letter .
2) There is a drop down box on the right hand side down just a couple inches. Enter her mission which is Portugal Porto and then click "write a letter" just below where you select the mission.
3) On the next screen enter your return address and Sister Sarah Ray in the address line, add your email in the email box below the envelope.
4) Write your letter in the text box and then hit the "send letter" box under the text box to send it on.
5) Again, this requires postage so you have to set up an account and put money into it and then it will subtract each time you write.
OR
2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through the mail is below. This is her address in her current area (Braga):
Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras
Braga 4710-374
Portugal
PLEASE take the time to write her... It will mean so much to her and she has not been getting enough mail! Thanks! :)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Clear Communication and an Appreciation for Noah...
Hey y'all! Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to write Sarah for her birthday or send me letters for her package. I mailed the package last week, so she should have it on Wednesday or Thursday of this week - a little Birthday/Valentine's love from all of us! Keep on writing and praying for her, and all our missionaries - have a great day! :)
- Ridiculouslygoodlooking
"From Sister Sarah Ray
Hello once again from Portugal! I´m sorry to report that nothing really exciting has happened here this week. The rain continues and actually we had the wonderful experience to go tracting in a hail storm a couple times this week. Definitely an interesting experience. The good news was is we made friends with all the other people taking cover underneath the freeway overpass and we are going to teach some of them. The bad news is we found out hail has a bad habit of putting runs in your nylons...That is just not acceptable! The Portuguese have a superstition that if it doesn´t rain of 2º Fev. then it will rain every day for the rest of the month. Little did we know what our one P-day of sun was signing us up for!! I think I am actually starting to buy into superstition. Irmã Polito and I are considering building an ark because at one point we were walking in 3 inches of water that covered the streets and the sidewalks. I have a whole new appreciation for Noah now. We have been having all sorts of fun.
Believe it or not, the whole communication thing is actually going pretty well. Since I am the one who knows the area I have to be the guarder of the cell phone. That means I actually have to talk on it, which can be quite difficult to uderstand. I did feel very good about myself though when one of the members couldn´t tell if they were talking to me or to Irmã Polito. WOOHOO. The one sad thing is that also means the great Portuguese accent that I was being complimented on has started to turn Brazillian. (Yes- BG, Steven, Dustin, Kirk and everyone else who served in Brazil I know you are excited) However, the other day I don´t even know what I said but I had three people laughing at me so hard they could hardly stay seated at the bus stop. It was a bit discouraging. We are hoping for a baptism eventually. Ludimila is not really looking like it is going to happen. She hasn´t been able to meet with us in 3 weeks. Hmm---- I am learning over and over again, the Lord gives you the power to do what you are called for. The church is true, so we just have to keep up the work! Well, I think that about sums it up for the week. Have a marvelous week, stay warm for me and hope that everything goes well for everyone!
Beij
Irmã Ray
Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa, Lynda, The Winters Family and Claire for the birthday wishes. I received the cards this week! They were very welcome!
Irmã Ray"
The following are the options for writing Sarah. Here is what to do:
1) You can use the dearelder.com website. This requires Postage to Portugal (94 cents). You will need to set up an account with money in it and then it will subtract the correct postage from it each time you send a letter .
2) There is a drop down box on the right hand side down just a couple inches. Enter her mission which is Portugal Porto and then click "write a letter" just below where you select the mission.
3) On the next screen enter your return address and Sister Sarah Ray in the address line, add your email in the email box below the envelope.
4) Write your letter in the text box and then hit the "send letter" box under the text box to send it on.
5) Again, this requires postage so you have to set up an account and put money into it and then it will subtract each time you write.
OR
2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through the mail is below. This is her address in her current area (Braga):
Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras
Braga 4710-374
Portugal
- Ridiculouslygoodlooking
"From Sister Sarah Ray
Hello once again from Portugal! I´m sorry to report that nothing really exciting has happened here this week. The rain continues and actually we had the wonderful experience to go tracting in a hail storm a couple times this week. Definitely an interesting experience. The good news was is we made friends with all the other people taking cover underneath the freeway overpass and we are going to teach some of them. The bad news is we found out hail has a bad habit of putting runs in your nylons...That is just not acceptable! The Portuguese have a superstition that if it doesn´t rain of 2º Fev. then it will rain every day for the rest of the month. Little did we know what our one P-day of sun was signing us up for!! I think I am actually starting to buy into superstition. Irmã Polito and I are considering building an ark because at one point we were walking in 3 inches of water that covered the streets and the sidewalks. I have a whole new appreciation for Noah now. We have been having all sorts of fun.
Believe it or not, the whole communication thing is actually going pretty well. Since I am the one who knows the area I have to be the guarder of the cell phone. That means I actually have to talk on it, which can be quite difficult to uderstand. I did feel very good about myself though when one of the members couldn´t tell if they were talking to me or to Irmã Polito. WOOHOO. The one sad thing is that also means the great Portuguese accent that I was being complimented on has started to turn Brazillian. (Yes- BG, Steven, Dustin, Kirk and everyone else who served in Brazil I know you are excited) However, the other day I don´t even know what I said but I had three people laughing at me so hard they could hardly stay seated at the bus stop. It was a bit discouraging. We are hoping for a baptism eventually. Ludimila is not really looking like it is going to happen. She hasn´t been able to meet with us in 3 weeks. Hmm---- I am learning over and over again, the Lord gives you the power to do what you are called for. The church is true, so we just have to keep up the work! Well, I think that about sums it up for the week. Have a marvelous week, stay warm for me and hope that everything goes well for everyone!
Beij
Irmã Ray
Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa, Lynda, The Winters Family and Claire for the birthday wishes. I received the cards this week! They were very welcome!
Irmã Ray"
The following are the options for writing Sarah. Here is what to do:
1) You can use the dearelder.com website. This requires Postage to Portugal (94 cents). You will need to set up an account with money in it and then it will subtract the correct postage from it each time you send a letter .
2) There is a drop down box on the right hand side down just a couple inches. Enter her mission which is Portugal Porto and then click "write a letter" just below where you select the mission.
3) On the next screen enter your return address and Sister Sarah Ray in the address line, add your email in the email box below the envelope.
4) Write your letter in the text box and then hit the "send letter" box under the text box to send it on.
5) Again, this requires postage so you have to set up an account and put money into it and then it will subtract each time you write.
OR
2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through the mail is below. This is her address in her current area (Braga):
Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras
Braga 4710-374
Portugal
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Now Really - Do You Actually Read These???
You had better! Haha... Sarah has called you out if not! Haha...
I hope y'all took the time to send her some Birthday lovin' this week - she turned 23 last Friday, the 30th! If you sent me a letter/paragraph already then thank you so much, and I did include it in her package - I printed them tonight and am mailing the package tomorrow. If not, then you had BETTER send her some love ASAP! :) - Ridiculouslygoodlooking
Here is her latest from Braga (For those who don't know, she is currently leading the area!):
"From Sister Sarah Ray
February 2, 2009
Dear World,
Hello once again from Braga. For all of you who get these and don´t really read them, have a nice day from this point out, the rest of you will get your have a nice day at the end.
Braga update #1: Irmã Polito is great. We are really excited for this next transfer, and already have great plans. It is a little intersting for us to communicate at times but for the most part it is pretty smooth. I think it is going to be a great companionship and I know my Portuguese will be way better at the end. We are way alike so I am kinda scared if Braga can handle it....we will see.
Boa Noticia #2: IT IS SUNNY TODAY which is good becasue we are trying to go to Bom Jesus...one of the big cathedrals here that overlooks the whole city. Should be cool. I´ll have to send pictures.
3ª Noticia: not so good news. Mayuza´s husband has finally decided to make public his war with the missionaries and he has forbidden her to see us more. She sent her daughter out to us with a letter the other night telling me that next time she has a day off and he isn´t home she will call us, but for now all we can do is pray. We haven´t bit been able to tak to Ludimila for a week now...we are a bit afraid she is trying to avoid us which would make the whole baptism thing a bit hard in 2 weeks. Boo... The good news out of all of this is that I am learning a lot more about praying for those people who don´t like you. Irmã Polito and I fasted for Mayuza´s husband this month, and it was quite the interesting experience. I also have a much firmer testimony that everything needs to be done in the Lord´s time. He has a plan for us that is better than the one we have, we just can´t see it from where we stand. What a comfort to know that there is someone looking out for us!
4ª Boa Noticia: We found out today that Irmã Polito and I can go back to Coimbra (where she was before) for Stake Conference in two weeks. This is cool for two reasons...
1. I get to go to Coimbra for 2 days
2. Elder Bednar will be there, so we get to talk to him with the other missionaries. We are pretty excited about it.
5ª Noticia or shout outs in other words: Thank you to those who send birthday wishes. I recieved letters from Bev Jones, Jon, Aunt Linda and both grandparents that were greately appreciated. Oh, and Congratulations to Tammy and Paige on the engagements. I expect pictures!
LOVE YOU ALL and (as promised) have a GREAT day!
Irmã Ray"
The following are the options for writing Sarah. Here is what to do:
1) You can use the dearelder.com website. This requires Postage to Portugal (94 cents). You will need to set up an account with money in it and then it will subtract the correct postage from it each time you send a letter .
2) There is a drop down box on the right hand side down just a couple inches. Enter her mission which is Portugal Porto and then click "write a letter" just below where you select the mission.
3) On the next screen enter your return address and Sister Sarah Ray in the address line, add your email in the email box below the envelope.
4) Write your letter in the text box and then hit the "send letter" box under the text box to send it on.
5) Again, this requires postage so you have to set up an account and put money into it and then it will substract each time you write.
OR
2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through the mail is below. This is her address in her current area (Braga):
Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras
Braga 4710-374
Portugal
I hope y'all took the time to send her some Birthday lovin' this week - she turned 23 last Friday, the 30th! If you sent me a letter/paragraph already then thank you so much, and I did include it in her package - I printed them tonight and am mailing the package tomorrow. If not, then you had BETTER send her some love ASAP! :) - Ridiculouslygoodlooking
Here is her latest from Braga (For those who don't know, she is currently leading the area!):
"From Sister Sarah Ray
February 2, 2009
Dear World,
Hello once again from Braga. For all of you who get these and don´t really read them, have a nice day from this point out, the rest of you will get your have a nice day at the end.
Braga update #1: Irmã Polito is great. We are really excited for this next transfer, and already have great plans. It is a little intersting for us to communicate at times but for the most part it is pretty smooth. I think it is going to be a great companionship and I know my Portuguese will be way better at the end. We are way alike so I am kinda scared if Braga can handle it....we will see.
Boa Noticia #2: IT IS SUNNY TODAY which is good becasue we are trying to go to Bom Jesus...one of the big cathedrals here that overlooks the whole city. Should be cool. I´ll have to send pictures.
3ª Noticia: not so good news. Mayuza´s husband has finally decided to make public his war with the missionaries and he has forbidden her to see us more. She sent her daughter out to us with a letter the other night telling me that next time she has a day off and he isn´t home she will call us, but for now all we can do is pray. We haven´t bit been able to tak to Ludimila for a week now...we are a bit afraid she is trying to avoid us which would make the whole baptism thing a bit hard in 2 weeks. Boo... The good news out of all of this is that I am learning a lot more about praying for those people who don´t like you. Irmã Polito and I fasted for Mayuza´s husband this month, and it was quite the interesting experience. I also have a much firmer testimony that everything needs to be done in the Lord´s time. He has a plan for us that is better than the one we have, we just can´t see it from where we stand. What a comfort to know that there is someone looking out for us!
4ª Boa Noticia: We found out today that Irmã Polito and I can go back to Coimbra (where she was before) for Stake Conference in two weeks. This is cool for two reasons...
1. I get to go to Coimbra for 2 days
2. Elder Bednar will be there, so we get to talk to him with the other missionaries. We are pretty excited about it.
5ª Noticia or shout outs in other words: Thank you to those who send birthday wishes. I recieved letters from Bev Jones, Jon, Aunt Linda and both grandparents that were greately appreciated. Oh, and Congratulations to Tammy and Paige on the engagements. I expect pictures!
LOVE YOU ALL and (as promised) have a GREAT day!
Irmã Ray"
The following are the options for writing Sarah. Here is what to do:
1) You can use the dearelder.com website. This requires Postage to Portugal (94 cents). You will need to set up an account with money in it and then it will subtract the correct postage from it each time you send a letter .
2) There is a drop down box on the right hand side down just a couple inches. Enter her mission which is Portugal Porto and then click "write a letter" just below where you select the mission.
3) On the next screen enter your return address and Sister Sarah Ray in the address line, add your email in the email box below the envelope.
4) Write your letter in the text box and then hit the "send letter" box under the text box to send it on.
5) Again, this requires postage so you have to set up an account and put money into it and then it will substract each time you write.
OR
2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through the mail is below. This is her address in her current area (Braga):
Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras
Braga 4710-374
Portugal
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