Do you know what blessings are? September 3, 2012

Well. Let me just tell you this week has been FULL of miracles. :) First and foremost, I would like to say that the OTHER sisters had a baptism this week. Thanks to us. We marked the baptism for them last Sunday and he got baptized 2 days ago. hahaha. He´s a kid who has been taught A LOT by sisters and we finally got him to sit down and admit what he wanted in life. :) He's a sweet kid. RICARDO! :)

Other than that, I am also attaching pictures of the 2nd Noah's Ark downpour from last night. We were sitting under a tree training a member and out of nowhere started DOWNPOURING. We had to run into a bar for shelter. When we finally decided it wasn't letting up, we swam our way home. hahaha. I'm kidding about the swimming, but the puddles were pretty huge. People were running out of their houses to take showers in the rain. And the whole city lost power. It was kind of neat. We lost our last hour of teaching last night, but luckily we had decided to leave the house an hour early to teach. :) It was cool.

So we visited 2 inactive families this week and they both showed up for church and bore their testimonies. :) It was really awesome. One of the families,.. I'm not sure why they ever went inactive. I guess when she got pregnant 7yrs ago she just forgot to go to church? Haha. Well this Sunday she went with all of her 4 kids and husband. It made me SO darn happy! The other family is an inactive mom with 2 kids. When we went to teach her this week, it was like a Liahona moment. I wasn't sure what scripture to use, I was just SO sure that the only scripture in my mind was wrong, but after we read it, she was crying. We were so blessed to be able to have that experience with her. The spirit was SO strong when she bore her testimony in church. I know that the Lord was giving her trails so she could find peace in her life. What a loving Heavenly Father we have!

Also, transfers are this weekend and my mini will be going home. Sad. BUT I'm excited to know what is going to happen! Who I'll recieve... Hmmm!

Also, President Oliveira challenged our whole mission to have 10 new investigators with 10 baptism dates marked... And last week we had 12 new investigators. SO basically our plate was really full this week, but we ended up with 15 new investigators and 5 more dates marked. I'm not too disappointed. I feel like the Lord understands we tried our best.

Also,.. This is the third paragraph I've started with also.. hahaha. Um. So I really feel like I can see how much I've grown in the mission! Especially in teaching! I didn't know I was applying so much! But now I feel like I really understand how to teach by the spirit. It's basically the best thing I've ever learned. :) Heavenly Father is so great for helping me.

Other than that.. It's our companionship's turn to cook in the house. I'm pretty excited because that means more Cape Verdian/American food again. :)

Soooo that's it! Until next week! TCHAU!
Sister Buhler

Ternas Misericordias (Tender Mercies) August 27, 2012

So I don't remember if I said anything about Igor in an email, but let me give you a little background on him. He is an investigator that we received when we FIRST got here to Fogo. Took us forever to help him realize that he needs to be baptized and FINALLY after a few weeks he was like, Yeah, I need to be baptized. We took him to get an interview and in the interview he said he didn't want to get baptized anymore. It was super sad because we had worked for a long time with him. We continued to pass by like once every week to see how he was doing. And this week, a little less than 2 months later HE GOT BAPTIZED! Wanna know why? Let me tell you.

Well, last Monday my companion and I were on the road walking to a Family Home Evening that we had planned. We had plans to stop by his house and another investigators on the way. When all of a sudden I felt the need to invite a less active to go with us. He wasn't exactly on the way. In fact, we had to completely turn around and go into a different zone to get him. And on top of that, the last 2 times we tried to visit him he was never home. But you know, if the spirit's talking, you gotta listen. So we turned around to go get him and WHAT DO YOU KNOW, he's home! And had nothing to do and was SUPER excited to go with us! And the whole night he helped Igor find scriptures during the lesson, he introduced Igor to people and made him feel welcome. Towards the end of the night one of the members turned to me and was like Is Igor getting baptized this weekend? I was like, I dunno. Ask him. Then I turn to look at Igor and he has the HUGEST smile on his face and he's shaking his head up and down. AH! And what do you know, Saturday he was baptized. :)

The picture of me with a little girl getting baptized, that wasn't from our area, but she's an old investigator from the other area. He name is Clarice. Clarice couldn't get baptized because of her family situation. Last transfer she came up to me saying, "I'm not going to church anymore. I don't want any of this!" I gave her a hug as she started to cry and told her that it was just a trial and that she needed to stay strong and that I knew that Heavenly Father loved her so much. She came RUNNING up to me in the street 2 weeks ago, "BUHLER BUHLER! Eu vou batizar proxima semana!!" AHHH. I'm so happy for her. :)

As for news from this week, my companion's grandma died Saturday. So she went back to her city Sunday to be with her family, but she's back today. I passed Sunday with my friend Lu as my companion. Lu is leaving for a mission in Brazil soon. :) It was alot of fun. :)

ALSO! My companion and I made Cachupa this week! MMMMM. Delicious!

It's been raining alot this week. Which is super awesome because it means that we occasionally get cooled off when we're walking or it'll be alot colder at night. :) I love the rain!

AND everyone should be happy to know my companion is teaching me alot of creole. We have a wall in our kitchen where we write portuguese words for the greenie in our house. There is currently a creole translation square! But sometimes we doodle... I attached a picture of the doodles.

Anyways, thats it for this week! I hope all is well over there! I haven't heard anything about it yet, but Gator football should be starting up soon right? Someone should keep me updated on that. :)

Love, Sister Buhler

I'm a mom to a mini! August 20, 2012

So Sister Gomes left Fogo yesterday. She'll be home soon! And I recieved a mini missionary! Sister Silva! I was already friends from her from last transfer and now she's my companion!! I'm very excited to have her. She's really dedicated to the work, which is super great because that means we can work super hard and accomplish alot! :) I'm also excited to have a filha! Hooray posterity! hahaha.

This past Thursday we threw a dance for the branch. It was alot of fun and alot of people showed up. :) Hahahah. These people are hilarious when it comes to dancing. I really wanted to rip of my tag and start dancing, but I didn't. haha. One more year and I'll be able to bust some moves!

So Thursday and Friday I had a TERRIBLE stomach ache. Which is dumb because I'm never weak in the stomach. I thought I was developing a milk allergy like some folks do on the mission.. but nope not a milk allergy. A fish allergy. Wanna know how I know its a fish allergy? Because I broke out in hives at 1am Friday night. I thought a swarm of mosquitos was eating me alive! I had to hop out of bed, take a cold shower, rub benedryl itch relief cream ALL OVER, and I slept with the ice pack from our freezer in my bed. One of the worst nights ever. hahaha. But apparently its the fish I ate those two days. My companion says it was "Serra." Alls I Knows is that I ain't eating that fish again. hahaha.

So we had the baptism of Djoni and Victor this week. I love baptisms. We're working on reactivating Djoni's family. They're some really nice people. :)

Apparently, there are some problems with companionships in the mission... Because president asked all of us to fast and repent. Hahah. I love my comp, but I hope everyone else is getting better!

Also, our district went to the beach today for pday. It was alot of fun. And I was FINALLY able to play soccer!! YESSS! It was alot of fun. I also made pizza today because it's our member friend, Lu's birthday! :) MMM.

Anyways, that's all that is interesting this week!
Tchau!
Sister Buhler

Zone Conference Delayyy August 13, 2012

So sorry this letter is super delayed, but we had zone conference yesterday and so pday is today!

We didnt have any baptisms this week, but one of our investigators in our old area before the division got baptized! Danny!

Anyways, there isn't a whole lot new about this week. We have been on a mad hunt for new investigators. But with zone conference yesterday, MAN! I am so pumped to find more. It's all about listening to the spirit, ya know? After we left zone conference yesterday, I felt like I was walking with new eyeballs. We contacted a kid with a busted up foot from a motorcycle accident. He's really nice. I have a good feeling about him. We'll see. :)

Other than that... we had some other sisters stay at our house last night. Man. I love people from Mozambique. hahahaa. They are funny.

My companion is leaving this upcoming Sunday before church. She's going back to Portugal. SOOO I'll be getting a new comp soon. I tried to see if President was going to tell me yesterday at Zone Conference... Nada. Hahaha. He's a smart man. Honestly, my mission president is one of the most powerful men I know. He's awesome. I'm really lucky to be in this mission.

We had the blessing this week to contact a whole house of inactive members who are keeping most of the commandments! The mom (she's not married) and her 2 kids and nephew went to church. MAN! It felt really good to walk with a family to church. :)

Anyways, other than that I'm in good health. No funny stories. Maybe next week.
Love Sister buhler

FOGO! August 6, 2012

Well, last week when were still working in 2 branches, we made the goal of 2 baptisms-one for each area. So when we got assigned to Branch1, we had a goal of one baptism... Guess how many we had? FOUR! HA! YES! THAT! IS! RIGHT! :) We already had Fabio prepared for baptism and then old investigators of different missionaries in the past just CAME OUT OF THE WOODWORKS! It was amazing! I'm not sure why they weren't baptized before, but holy moley. So Raul (nickname-Psico), Edmilson, Edmilson (is really named Adilson), and Fabio were baptized!! :D We had marked 2 of them for baptism next week but they insisted that they wanted to be baptized this week and that they'd meet with us everyday to prepare. I'm telling you. It's just SO true that the Lord is preparing the hearts of these people. :) It's a great time to be a missionary!

So other than that.. Not a whole lot has been going on. Alot of preparation for baptisms. Alot of sweating. hahaha. I got mail this week! And I should be getting some in the upcoming week if anyone is interested in writing me a letter. haha.

OH! So apparently there is a video on youtube about the Cape Verde Mission about the 1st Stake that opened in April here. I watched it and HOLY MOLEY. If you haven't watched it--you should. It's a PERFECT description of our mission. And by the looks of it, before I leave my mission I will be able to see the opening of the 2nd and 3rd stakes here! One in Sao Vincente and one in FOGO!! :) YEAHHH!

Oh! And everyone in my branch, They can say Buhler.. correctly! :) I feel really special that they took the time to learn it. I really feel at home here with our branch. They're super nice. :)

I've included pictures of the baptism and a lovely view of the horizon.. You can see Brava in the picture.. But I guess that'll have to wait.
Until next week!
Sister Buhler

Sao Paulo? July 30, 2012

Óla everyone! What a week. Basically, it's hot here in Fogo.. Like everyday. haha. Transfer calls were last night AND..... I'm staying! And I'm going to kill off my companion. She's very excited to be going home. Trunky? Yes.. A bit. haha. But not alot so that's good. :)

We're staying in Branch 1!!! Hooray!! Except that most of our work was in Branch 2.. :( I'm very sad to be leaving my investigators from Branch 2. BAHHH. But Branch 1 is happy to have me stay. :) The Branch President yesterday was telling me that he doesn't want me to leave. Hahaha. Nice guy.

OH! I gave my first talk in the mission field yesterday!! Hooray! It was on forgiveness. :) The Branch Pres called me up Saturday night and asked if I could fill in. I was so happy! When it came around to the time to give it I was praying "pleasepleaseplease let them understand my Portuguese" Not that I have bad Portuguese.. they speak creole and sometimes, depending on how you talk its hard for them to understand. ANYWAYS, so I get done and some 15yr old boy comes up to me and is like, "You need to practice your Portuguese."
Me-Be Quiet! I'm working on it!
kid-You need to speak Portuguese like her. *points to my companion*
Me-She was RAISED in Portugal! I can't speak like her!
kid-Where were you raised, São Paulo?
Me(Not understanding)-No! The United States!
kid-Oh! So you know English! You'll have to teach me sometime! *and walks off*

So I leave this kid thinking, Darn.. My Portuguese wasn't good. So then I go to tell my companion what happened and it clicks... São Paulo is in Brazil. He thought I was Brazilian. ...YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! So long story short- My Portuguese is good, but I have a Brazilian accent. :) YES! Brazilians have AWESOME accents. :)


Well, we had the baptism of Pierre and Rosa this week! I'm so happy for them. :) Pierre is 23 years old. We met him two Sundays ago when he showed up for our branch. I sat by him because... well... I could tell he wasn't a member. Actually, he kindof looked like he was on drugs. BUT he was very nice! So One thing leads to another and BAM! Baptized! 2 weeks later. I'm telling you he was prepared by the Lord. :) He wants to get the priesthood and serve a mission and I'm just so proud of him! :)

Rosa is the cousin of Erica that was baptized a few weeks ago. But they're basically sisters. haha. She's a sweet girl. FINALLY! We've been waiting forever for things to fall into place! :)

They were also having an activity at the other branch and we ended up doing a little part on missionary work. It was really fun! I love their branch! And apparently they really like us. One member told the Elders that if I asked him to marry me, he'd say yes. HAHAHAAH. Funny. I'm not even sure who the kid is.

Other than that... Sister Routson is leaving Fogo and that makes me sad. Sister Arlete will train an American. (She didn't want to be training. hahahah.) SO! I hope the new American is cool like Routson!

Um.. Well.. That's all I can think of.
So Yeah. I'm doing good. And eating healthy. And drinking lots of water. And killing lots of bugs. And if anyone asks, I love my companion. :)
Until next week!
Sister Buhler

ps. no photos this week bc the computer stinks. :(

"I just washed my hands!" *looks at hands* "..Oh sick what is THAT?" July 23, 2012

Well, this week... Let's just say I'm glad transfers are soon. hahahaha.

But first with the good news! Carlos was baptized this week!!
(Yep, our other baptisms fell, but they are just being moved to this week.)

Carlos is the brother of Branch1's president. He's cool. We're really proud of him. Now the branch president can say that almost all of his family are members! :) It's pretty cool.

We have a goal of 5 baptisms for this week... I'm not sure what's going to happen, but one thing is for certain... Alot of work. hahaha. We have alot of progressing investigators and after this week, our dupla will be assigned to only one branch. Which is super sad!! I wanna keep all of my investigators!! They're all so cool!! AGH! We'll see what happens.

Something cool about Fogo that everyone should know is that we, in fact, have sledding. It's true. I saw it yesterday. A kid was on top of a sheet of refrigerator coils bent up on one side, and was sliding down the road. Hahahaa. Oh man. If I had a camera.

ALSO! Saturday we taught this woman who is the mother of a member of the Branch. My companion was complimenting her on her head scarf that said " <3 Jesus." The lady was like "Oh, Thank you!! You've got to see this!" So she starts lifting up her apron. I think she's going to reveal a shirt with Jesus' face on it. Nope. Continues lifting up the apron to reveal a dog shirt. She pulls down the collar of her dog shirt. I think "Oh goodness. Does her bra say something about Jesus?" Nope. But pinned to the INSIDE of her bra is a Jesus button. She's a very nice woman. She gave us 4 mangos at the end of our visit. Probably the most interesting visit I've had all week. hahaha.

Today we went to see the beach. It was fun. The sand is black. What a heck of a battle getting it off my white skin. hahaha. But it's kinda cool bc if you keep going past Brava on the horizon, eventually you'll hit Florida! "HI MOM!" Haha.

The conference President gave was pretty cool. Every time I talk to our mission president, my Portuguese stops working. I forgot the word for "drive" then the only word I could think of was "ride" so.. hahaha. I'm sure he thinks I'm having problems, but no. Just in front of him.

In two days, I will hit my 6 month mark in the mission! WOO HOO! Everyone excited?! I am. I found Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix, 2 weeks ago. I've been saving it. :) MMMM!

Anyways, that's all I can think of. I hope everyone has a GREAT week! :)
Love, Sister Buhler