Sunday, May 24, 2009

Funny moments and Finding People to TEACH!

Here is the latest and greatest installment of the "Sister Ray Jounrey!" There are TWO letter below, so - Enjoy!
- Ridiculouslygoodlooking

P.S. Oh, and WRITE HER!

"Sister (Irma) Sarah Ray
May 17, 2009

Well,

I did just talk to you yesterday, so I don´t have a whole lot of new things to let you know about. Portugal is still here, despite our best efforts to get the whole country translated, the people just don´t cooperate. Sad day. As far as Braga goes, we are just keeping on.
Funny moments of the week:

Guilierme (The flower man) struck again! I have no idea how this guy has any idea where we will be passing and when, but I swear he must be a witch! We go city blocks out of our way to avoid his cafe, and as we are cutting through a garden with the express purpose of avoiding him, there he is waiting, to give me flowers again!!! minha nossa! Now I have just taken to hiding behind trees and Irmã Egbert to avoid being seen.

We were told Tuesday that we would have to marvelous opportunity to do the musical number at zone conference on Thursday. It actually went pretty well...we adapted a piano arrangement that we found to work with vocals and it ended up working out.

I took out stiches...who said I was getting a break from nursing. Elder Decottinies managed to cut quite a lot of his arm up and as a result had stiches for a while. He also decided he didn´t want to go to the hospital to get them taken out, so we took them out in the kitchen of the chapel with embrodary scissors. Don´t worry, We had betadine too. It was interesting...reminded me of Ecuador- make do with what you have nursing. Woohoo.

Anyway, that is about all I can think of. We are probably going to Coimbra for a baptism this week, so that will be cool. We also found out that we are going to have just a missionary meeting with Elder Perry next week, so we are all pretty excited about that. Thank you for your prayers and support. THe church is true, the gospel is worth it no matter how many people laugh at us on the streets.

Irmã Ray


Sister (Irma) Sarah Ray
May 17, 2009

Well, this week has been absolutely nuts, and is just the prelude for the week that is coming. SO, good news is that we actually found a new family here in Braga to teach...funny news...the husbands name is Paco. Yes, I had to try really hard not to laugh at that. We are actually really excited about them, and Vinda (the wife) was really excited to get the book of Mormon. She really wants a Bible too, but since we don´t have boxes of those in our apartment we have to wait until we go to Porto tomorrow. THe funny thing is when I pulled mine out to teach, she got so excited and started thanking me, so she still has my Bible until we get her another one. I´m not quite sure if I will ever get it back, but I think trading her will work.

So it seems that we have had a bit of a stomach bug going around, and both of my companions got it. Poor Irmã Egbert got really sick at a members house for a family home evening with his brother that is investigating. She spent the whole night on the floor of their bathroom, and then on the way home had to ask him to pull the car over and I got the hold back her hair and skirt while she threw up on the side of the road. Needless to say that meant a lot of time in our house this week.

Then Saturday we went back to Coimbra again for a baptism. It was quite a bit of traveling but we made it. Of course then the woman getting baptized was over an hour late to her own baptism (very nervous missionaries) and so we ended up having to leave before she even got baptized. THe sad part was is that we still ended up missing the train, and didn´t get home till after midnight. Ooops. It was definitely a go with the flow day since everything fell apart. The good news is that she did actually get baptized, we got home safely, and even had the pleasure of babysitting an Elder who had to travel to Porto alone from Coimbra. One of the few that can say he did a division with the Irmãs.

I think that is about all the interesting things for the week. We continue to be laughed at, yelled and and called all sorts of crazy things, but that is okay, life goes on and the church is true. We see miracles every week. The Lord is preparing people though, our new family is definitely a miracle. She was an investigator about a year ago, and had been thinking about us recently but had no way to get in touch with us. About a week ago she had a dream with her cousin who had died about a month ago, who asked her why she wasn´t going to church. That week she found our pass along card and called us and asked us to start coming back. Unfortunately she still didn´t come to chruch yesterday and we don´t know why yet. She hasn´t answered her phone. I´m sure it will end up good though. We have a lot of hope for the family. Love you all, thank you for the support.

Irmã Ray"

The Best way to write Sarah is:

1) On the internet go to dearelder.com website.
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.

This site does require US $.94 Postage. You can set up an account and it will deduct the postage each time you write.

2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through regular US mail is below. This method requires US $.94 postage for letters.

Sister Sarah Ray

Rua Padre Antonio Vieira

Nº91 5º Tras

Braga 4710-374

Portugal

Monday, May 18, 2009

P.S. I missed a few weeks...

I guess I forgot to post a few from a few weeks back that I DID get... So, these are the ones from like two weeks ago - Enjoy!
- Ridiculouslygoodlooking

"April 20, 2009

Well, exciting news for the week is that I am officially taking on the title of trainer this coming Thursday. This also means I am going strong for 4 transfers here in Braga. I´m not entirely sure how I feel about it yet, but there is good news. Irmã Polito is staying in Braga too to help me train, so I am in a tripla again. Go team. It will definitely be interesting, but at least I get to stick around for Stake Conference(with Elder Perry) and the baptisms of two people we have been teaching (provided they actually happen). I am a lot more excited about training with the language expertise of Imrã Polito, but I still have to admit I am way scared. The only thing we know about her as of now is she is American. We won´t know who it is till we pick her up on Thursday. However, we decided she is bound to be cool because she is going to be with us, and it is a requirement!

As for our goal this week, I am happy to report that we blew our own expectations out of the water as passed our goal of 40 by 10. Looks like we have to make higher goals now! It was actually a really good week....I think the fact that we set such a high goal really motivated both of us to talk to every single person we see. It also meant that we had to leave 10 times the amount of time to get anywhere, but that is okay. We actually had a lot of fun, and ended up taking the two girls in our ward preparing for missions contacting with us. It took them about and hour to get up the courage to even stick by our sides street contacting, but eventually Joana even made a contact who actually marked an appointment with us. She was really excited and it totally reminded me of my first couple weeks here when I was scared to death to contact people. She is putting her papers in next month and we are really excited for her. She just barely hit one year after baptism and is pretty much one of my favorite people ever.

Speaking of contacting, we actually had someone contact us on the street this week (besides Jehovah´s Witness, we don´t count them). While usually this would be a good thing, we passed this person to the Elders. He was waiting in the door of his café, which we pass everyday, to jump out at me, give me a rose and try to kiss me. Luckily we were able to satisfy him with a panfelto de Restoração and escape without hurting anyone´s feelings. He seemed fairly interested so we will see how the Elders do with him.

In studies this morning I had a really interesting thought. I was reading in Acts and thought that chapter five verse 41 was really interesting and I thought about those sections in D&C and how all of it relates to the mission. It really is amazing how every single day something happens that is frustrating, or sad, or annoying or makes me want to scream or something, but even with that there is someone who knows exactly how we are feeling and has already taken care of everything. I don´t think I will ever fully understand the atonement, but I am more and more thankful for it every day.

Anyway, thank you everyone for your support. It is great to hear from you!"

April 27, 2009
Okey doke,

So first off, as for the news here work wise, we keep on going. it is definitely slower training, but it is good. Our new companion is Sister Egbert from Logan, Utah who was studying at UVSC to be a nurse....go team. She has really helped me to see how blessed I am with my language ability. I don´t want to sound like I am bragging with that but I hadn´t realized how well I actually spoke now, or when I got here until I was watching her. She is definitely scared to speak Portuguese, but we are working on that.

Both of our marked baptisms got moved back this week. One because she still hasn´t been to church and one because Portuguese people in general are obnoxious and our Bishop is particuallarly difficult to communicate with and he forgot to send the letter to Salt Lake about a re-baptism.

The good news is that we are going to have a general authority at zone conference this week and that we are also going to have Elder Perry at stake conference, and maybe a special missionary meeting with him. That would be way cool.

Other than that, we are just really trying to find people to teach who really want to hear what we are saying. We have several investigators but the mostly seem to try and dodge us and we are pulling teeth to get appointments with them. Oh well, the work goes on. We pray hard, work hard, and trust in the Lord right. I have to admit this has been one of my frustrated weeks, but that is okay. I´m sure that it will get better. It is just weird when I feel like I am not getting anything done.

Irmã Ray"


Sarah's Address Options:

1) On the internet go to dearelder.com website.
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.

This site does require US $.94 Postage. You can set up an account and it will deduct the postage each time you write.

2) The alternate way for sending anything (i.e. letters, packages, etc) through regular US mail is below. This method requires US $.94 postage for letters.

Sister Sarah Ray

Rua Padre Antonio Vieira

Nº91 5º Tras

Braga 4710-374

Portugal

Awaiting the Transfer...

I haven't received group emails from Sarah in a little while, so here are pieces of the letters that she has written to me that I know she would not mind me sharing... Hope you enjoy and have been making time to write her. If not, her address is posted below - she is just about to hit her halfway mark, so I say better late than never! :)
- Ridiculouslygoodlooking

P.S. There is a picture of Sarah and some of her comps! Her companion, Irma Polito, actually sent it to me this last week - I received a random, very sweet email from Sister Polito and it sounds as though she really loves and cares about Sarah - thank goodness for great companions! :)

"May 11, 2009

Yesterday was so good!!! I got to talk for an hour and I even got to talk to Bryan a bit. It was really cool. Andrew was too much of a time difference to work around church and everything, but it was great to just hear their voices. Now starts the long stretch until Christmas. It is crazy to think I have already had two of my 3 calls home from the mission field. CRAZY...I swear someone has hit fast forward on my life. I had a crazy realization that if I wasn´t on a mission I would be trying to find a real job right now and that is scary, especially with the economy. Apparently there is even a hiring freeze in all of Intermountain Healthcare. What a blessing that I didn´t graduate a couple weeks ago.

..... Heavenly Father is looking out for you. Trust in him and everything will work out.

As for my family, the are amazing examples of faith to me. I am continuously amazed at how optimistic and trusting they are with the Lord´s plan... He really does have a full time job as the Bishop - too bad he doesn´t get paid for that...that is what tithing is for right...oh no, wait, that is Portugal´s mentality. Opps, I got confused.

Portugal: is hard. We have a few investigators but they seem to only get to a point and then don´t go anywhere. We have several who have testimonies of the Book of Mormon, of the Church of everything, but just won´t do anything about it. Won´t go to church, therefore can´t be baptized, and really just don´t want to change. It is really frustrating, but week keep on trying. Such is life as a missionary. It is probably the most discouraging frustrating thing in the world, but is also totally worth it. Weird how that works."

"May 18, 2009

Okay, I had a freak out moment the other day when I realized that I am only about a month away from my half way point...AHHH. Time sure has flown hasn´t it. It is amazing to think that last year at this time I was in Ecuador. Weird. Life sure is funny. It is amazing how everything works out so differently than you could ever imagine when you leave it up to the Lord. Who would have guessed that I would be in Portugal now...I really do have a testimony that the Lord is looking out for all of us, and that he really does have a plan for us that is fantastic. We need to make sure that we don´t shortchange ourselves in the Potential department.

Anyway, keep me updated with the new crush...I am happy for you, and happy to report that I don´t have any of those here in the mission. Probably a good thing right. I just have to avoid crazy flower man and I am good. It probably won´t be too much of a problem though because transfers are the first week of June, and after 6 months in the same area I am pretty much guarenteed a transfer. That could be good...I think I am about to go crazy in Braga....something new would be appreciated....and not training would be even better. I think that everyone is just destined to hate their trainer because it is always hard the first transfer and they make you do things you don´t want to do. Mom says it is like parenting and I believe it. Maybe that is why we call our trainees our daughters. Anyway, I have to run, but I LOVE YOU!!!"

Thank you for all the support you have given and will give Sarah! Y'all are the BEST! :)


Sarah's Address:

Sister Sarah Ray
Rua Padre Antonio Vieira
Nº91 5º Tras

Braga
4710-374
Portugal