10 things.

I dont believe this day has come. I think every missionary imagines the day when they will come home. Watching so many of my mission friends go home, I never thought it would be my turn.

But, here I am, my last p-day and my last email. 

I was thinking of what I could share. And I just want to share with you guys real quick, a few of the things I have learned in these 18 months. I am sure I could go on forever (you guys know how much I love to talk) But i will spare the long email, and just share 10 things I have learned. 

1. A good leader goes a long way. 

Throughout my mission I have had the plesure to work with some AMAZING leaders. My mission president, his assistants, my Zone Leaders, my District Leaders, My Sister Training Leaders. Bishops, Ward Mission Leaders, Stake Presidents.. ect. I have seen the difference a good leader makes. A leader who worries about the people they serve, a leader who loves the people they serve, a leader who is humble, a leader who loves the Lord and wants to do his will. A leader who listens and does what he says. I am thankful for my leaders who taught me how to be a better leader, I am thankful for their examples and love they have showed me. I know good leaders in the church is what helps the church grow. We need leaders who people want to follow and who people trust. 

2. Little acts of service go a long way.

My whole life I have heard this. Just a smile can makes someones day. Helping someone carry their bags to their car. Listening when someone needs a friend, or giving a hug. I have seen this in action. I have seen some of the hardest hearts be soften by service. Our Savior Jesus Christ was a perfect example of service. He seriously served EVERYONE. While on my mission I wanted to serve. I LOOKED for chances to serve, whatever I could do. And there are chances everyday we can serve. By serving others I feel closer to my savior, and I know that i am helping other people feel the love he has for them. When we listen to the Holy Ghost he will tell us how we can serve and be the answer to someones prayer. 

3. I can do hard things, and I can do them with joy.

The other day was one of those days where NOTHING was going right, my comp and I were going from house to house and no one was home or letting us in. Then it started to rain. We looked at eachtoher and just started to laugh. I said, of course it would rain right now. And we laughed and laughed and laughed and kept working. I am so thankful that even when a day doesnt go right, we can FIND a reason to be happy. Things arent going to be easy, things that are worth it arent easy, but when we can do hard things with joy, we learn and it makes the hard things easier. 

4. Miracles are real, and we make them happen with our faith. 

I learned that if I want to make a miracle happen I need to do something. Miracles are real and WE make them happy with our faith. When we do everything we can and use our faith, the Lorn will bless us with the miracle we are waiting for. We cant lose faith. 

5. You can relly get to know someone, and love someone in 6 weeks.

I love my companions. Every single one. I was able to learn so much about each one of them, and grow to love them with a real love, in just 6 weeks. We dont need TIME to love someone, we just need the desire and an open heart. 

6. When we study, and are worthy, the Holy Ghost really will help us know what to say. 

There were so many times when I would study something in the morning and then get in the house the of person we were teaching and what I studied was what they needed to hear. There were times when I didnt feel ready to say something in portuguese and then it just came out and the person understood what I said. I learned on the mission, that I am not the teacher, that I am the tool of the teacher. The Holy Ghost is the teacher, and I need to be worthy to be his tool. 

7. We need to study the scriptures EVERYDAY. 

The scriptures are SO cool. I love reading them. I love having the chance to study everyday for 2 hours non stop. I have learned so much and really see how they help us in our day to day life. I love reading and seeing how the stories apply to me. How the lessons apply to me. While reading I recieve answers to my prayers. 

8. We need to follow the counsel of our prophets. 

PEOPLE WE HAVE A PROPHET WHO SPEAKS WITH GOD. We need to listen and study what he teaches us. He is telling us exactly what our father in heaven wants us to know. I have such a strong love for our living prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know he is a real prophet of God. and he helps us. 

9. I am so blessed to have so many temples near me, and I need to go to them often. 

There isnt a temple in my mission. I have seen people travel 5-8 hours just to visit the temple for one day. Before the closest temple was built people traveled 5 days and nights without stoping to get to the nearest temple. I look at these examples and feel horrible that I didnt go to the temple as often as I could when it is 10 min from my house. WE NEED TO VISIT THE TEMPLE. As often as possible. I am so thankful to have so many temples near me, and will make the time to visit.

10. Going on a mission didnt change me, the gospel of Jesus Christ changed me. 

I thought going on a mission would change me. I would be serving people 24/7 and in a bubble of spirit. It is true, serving a mission changes people. I feel that it was the gospel of Jesus Christ that changed me. It was the study and the practice, it was the faith building experiences it was sharing my testimony and helping others understand how this gospel is so amazing. I learned the gospel simple, i studied it deeply. I am thankful I let the gospel change me to be a better person. 

I am sad to leave, but happy to see my family. I am eternaly greatful for the people I have meet and the people who have changed my life. I am thankful for each one of your support. The emails and letters of encouragement. Thank you for your love and prayers.

I am thankful for my amazing family, my parents who have supported me through it all, for their amazing examples and love for me. I am thankful for my brothers and their love and support and example.

I love you all. I know this church is the only true church on the face of the eatch. I know the book of mormon is real and helps us have a better life.

Thank you. 

I will see you on friday.

With all my love,

Sister Hernandez

wedding planner

This week was BUSY.

We started off the week having interviews with President Soares. He is
doing his last round of interviews because he will be leaving next
month. (it is so werid to me that him and sister will be leaving the
Brasil Natal Mission. He was the frist president) I sat down to talk
to him iand he said "Sister Hernandez, I dont have anything more to
say to you, you have been an amazing missionary. Now just keep working
hard for these next short weeks." Then we both started laughing and
talking about how fast the time has gone. My interview was short cause
next week will be my final interview. But i was amazing to talk to him
a little. He has been an amazing President. I am thankful to have
served with him.

We have been working hard. We are still working with Joice and her
family. She wants to be baptised, but her mom is having a hard time
because she goes to a different church. We went to their house and
taught an amazing lesson about The Restoration and how we now have the
preisthood authority to seal families for eternity. The spirit was
strong, and testified to their hearts that it is true. I am praying
that Jose (Joices mom) can soften her heart and let Joice be baptised.
And that we can help Jose and her "husband" get married and start
their eternal family.

We are still working with Cledie. She is amazing. She goes to all the
church activities and is super acvite in the church. She acts and
looks like she is already a member. She would have been baptised this
week but her husband (who is a recent convert) was in the hospital
becuase of a heart problem. Cledie wanted to wait to be baptised until
her husband could watch. So we marked the baptism to be this week once
he comes home. She is amazing. I am so excited for her.

On my mission there have been times when I have felt like a wedding
planner, trying to get everyone married. (Because there is a problem
here where no one wants to get married, everyone is just together)
This week, my title as a wedding planner went to another level. The
Elders had a wedding. They helped and amazing couple get married and
baptised. The members of the ward threw an amazing party to celebrate
this special moment. Sister V. Lopes and I were in the middle of
planning this party, and on the night of the wedding we were all over
the place serving dinner and cake and the little treats, we were
passing out soda and water and juice.

It was alot of fun to be a part of such a special day to such a
special family. We were very tired after it was all over.

I am working hard and excited to have another week to give all I have.

I love you all!

xoxo
Sister Hernandez

Feliz dia das mães.

HAPPY LATE MOTHERS DAY!

It was amazing to talk to my family yesterday.  I love you all so
much, even though you are all very trunky. ;) It was crazy to me to
see you all, because I will be coming home so soon. But it made me
excited to work had for these last two weeks of my mission.

This week was full of miracles. I am super excited cause we are
teaching an amazing family.

There is a recent convert names Joicer. He has a house FULL of people
to teach. He has an amazing story. When the sisters first met him he
was a drunk that didnt want anything to do with anything. The sisters
invited him to come to church and be bapised. He never drank again. It
has been about 2 months since he has been baptised and his whole
family is seeing the change in his life and want to know what the
"mormon" church is all about. We started teaching his wife, Cledie,
his daughter Raquely, his Brother Nazaraino, his niece Joice and his
sister in law Jose.

Cledie goes to another church (Deus de amor (Gods Love)) and Jose goes
to the church Universal. They were both very closed minded about the
Church of Jesus Christ, but both warmed up to the idea after seeing
the change in Joicer.
Joice has already been to church a couple times and is preparing to be
bapised this week. She is amazing. She is a young women who has so
much faith and the biggest desire to do what is right. This week we
took her and her dad on a special tour of the chapel. The spirit was
so strong as we showed them the baptismal font and talked about
baptism. They both want to be baptised. Nazaraino needs to get married
first. But it is amazing so see a family come closer together throught
the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We invted Jose to visit church this sunday, and she did NOT want to.
Sunday morning we passed by there house to invite one more time.

So we went to church without them.. I was sitting there. A little sad
that they hadnt come with us. And I heard the door open. I saw EVERY
SINGLE ONE OF THEM come in and sit with us. It was a miracle. I
humbley said thank you to my Heavenly Father and almost jumped for joy
in the middle of the meeting.

I love being a missionary. And I love teaching families.

This week was our leadership meeting. It was so fun to see everyone
for my last leadership meeting. At the end of the meeting they opened
the time for the people who will be going home this transfer to bare
their testimonies. It was a powerful moment when we all got up and
were able to share the amazing experiences that we all had. I felt a
feeling of peace when i bore my testimony. I felt happy to know that
my Heavenly father is happy with the work I did.

I love you all so much.
Here are some pics from our leadership meeting.

xoxo
Sister Hernandez

Little Children

This week was amazing, it was busy with alot of work.

I did splits with Sister Morais. She is in the ward Pirangi, an area
where I have already worked. It was AMAZING to go back and see my
recent converts and the people that I love so much who live there.

I was able to see Ramon, who is now preparing to serve a mission here
in a few months. He is super active in seminary, he is amazing.

I was able to see Gilcelia, who is serving in the primary and going to
the temple to do baptisms and planning the mission of her 3 year old
son.

I was able to see other people who I started to teach and werent
baptised but then were baptised after I left.

I love going back to old areas and seeing the fruits of our labor.

This week was Stake Conference. It was amazing to watch and learn from
the local leaders. There was one leader who spoke about when Jesus was
teaching and the little children tried to talk to him. The diciples
pushed the little children away and Jesus invited them to come to him.
She asked the crowd the moments when we feel like little children.
People commented things like "When we are coming back to church" "When
we are a recent convert" "When we dont know what to do with our
children" "When we are scared"

She then related this statement to us, as adults, that we need to
allow the "little children" come unto Christ. We need to help the
people who are struggling to come unto our savior. WE need to help
them realize that they are welcomed in the church, and they are
welcomed in our homes, and that we are here to help them.

It made me take a step back and look at my life, the moments when I
felt like a "little child" and when someone helped me. When they
really were living what they believed and helped me feel the love my
savior has for me.

I am so thankful for this gospel of second chances.

I love you all so much! Thank you for the love and support! :)

xoxo
Sister Hernandez

Here are some pictures of me and my district.
Elder C. Silva, Elder Mehl, Elder Petter, me and Sister Lopes

Alecrim

I WAS TRANSFERED. I had a feeling I would be. I was going into my last
transfer, that would only be 5 weeks. But the Lord needed me in a new
year to finish strong. I am excited. My new comp is Sister V Lopes
(BRASILEIRA WHOO!!!)  After being with Americnas so long I am excited
to be with a brasileira.  She is super sweet and we are opening our
area so we are both here excited and ready to work. We will be taking
care of ALOT of sisters. so we will be working alot and i am excited.

This week was a week of travel and leaving Urick Graff. It was sad to
say goodbye to so many people that I love. I hope to see them all
again soon.

One of the young women we were teaching in Urick Graff was traveling
when I left so we werent able to stop by and say goodbye to Sara. Out
of no where I got a call Satuerday night from Sara. The last time we
taught her she had alot of doubts. I made a deal with her and she
agreed to pray and ask if the church is true. In the phone call she
told me that she prayed, and she KNEW that the church is true. I was
SO EXCITED. I asked her what she was going to do next. she paused a
moment and said "be baptised" I asked her when... she said she didnt
know. So I said "do you want to be baptised tomorrow? and she said
YES!!! SARA WAS BAPTISED. I feel sad I couldnt be there, but so honred
I was able to help her come to know the gospel. (i attached pics of
her baptism.)

Sister V. Lopes and I got here and looked at eacher and said, lets get
to work. We have been working HARD talking to EVERYONE. We both have
the desire to change this area and make it better then it already is.
I feel so excited that I can finish my mission with new excitement
opening an area and with that faith that opening an area requries.

This week was the birthday of Sister Soares (the presidents wife) and
sister v lopes and I had the crazy idea to take a book of Mormon and
get the fav scritpure of EVERYONE o the mission and give it to her as
a present. I wish I could have recored as I called every LZ in our
mission asking them to help us. And I was so touched by the
willingness they all had to help us do this special surprise. We
called satuerday night and needed all the scrpitures sunday afternoon
and we were able to get them. I am in the worlds best mission with the
most amazing leaders.

We then were able to get a few missoinaries and throw her a little
surpise party sunday night. she was so happy to spend her birhtday
with us and i felt so happy to make her so happy. This 1.5 year away
from my mom has been hard, but i have been blessed with Sister Soares
who has been my "mission mom". I am so thankful for the amazing women
in my life, like my mother and my mission mom who who me by example
how to live the gospel and be a powerful women in the church.

I love you all so much. Have an amazing week.

here are some pics from my last area with sister miller and my new area.

some members who I love from Mossoró and an action shot with Elder
Aguiar and Elder Mello.

Pics above^ sister Brown, Trage, Barbosa, Me, V. Lopes.. the surprise
party, Sis. Soares and Presidente
Saras baptism!! With Sis. Thomson (my last comp) Sister Muira, and Claudio.

After your faith..

I cant believe it is ALREADY p-day. Time goes by so fast when you are
working hard. This week is the week of transfers, So tomorrow I will
know if I will stay in Urick Graff or if I will go to antoher area. I
have been here for 5 months and wouldnt complain if I stayed.

This week I took some time and studed faith. I felt like for a couple
weeks my faith weas lacking a little. I had  "faith" the simple easy
faith that we all say we have. But I think I was doubting if the Lord
would REALLY do miracles in our area. (I am embarassed to admit, but
thankful the Lord turns our weaknesses strengths.) So I started to
study faith.

Once I started to study faith I started to get excited again, I
started to see the little miracles that God does in our life EVERYDAY.
Once I started seeing the little things he was doing for me. The big
miracle that we were waiting for came.

Leo. He is 17. He has gone to church MANY times. And is going to
semanairy everyday. He is reading the Book of Mormon everyday. He is
what we call eleito. He loves the gospel. But his mom is from a
differenet church and doesnt like us even a little. She lets him go,
but made it clear from the start that she WOULDNT let him be baptised.
So we just let him keep going to church and waiting. This week his
parents allowed his baptism. It was AMAZING. He was so happy and all
the youth from the ward was there to support him. I am so happy that
Leo could be baptised and that I could be a part of this miracle.

We found a miracle street of tons of people who want to learn about
the gospel. Who have NEVER  seen sisters before. I dont know HOW cause
this area has been an area of sisters for over 3 years. But everyeone
is so excited and ready to hear the truth.

The moral to the story is, I know that when we are lacking faith, or
humility, or charity, or love, or hope, or ANYTHING, if we turn to the
Lord he will make us stronger. If we ask for help, he will help us. He
will never leave us alone. We just need to look for him. I am so
thankful for the chances I have to learn and apply these things in my
life. And the love I know Heavenly Father has for me.

Here is a pic of our district and my trio. Sister Thomson (blonde) and
Sister Miller

xoxo
Sister Hernandez

ps. sorry for the typos.. this keyboard is giving me a hard time.

"Just tesitfy of Joseph Smith"

This week was amazing!

FIRST OFF: CONGRATS TO MY BABY BROTHER KORY!! I am so excited that you
will join the Lords army, and even better that you are coming to the
promised land, BRASIL!!! You are going to be the most amazing elder.
Watch out Brasil, the hernandez family is coming for you.

This week we had our leadership meeting that was AMAZING. I love when
we can all get together and talk about how we can become better
missionaries and a better mission. Presidente Soares was telling us
about some of the goals he has in his life, he said "I am 65 years
old. Everyday for the rest of my life, I will pray for a temple here
in Natal. And once the temple is annouced, I will come here, and we
will all come back, and know we helped these people recieve the
blessings of the temple."

Me being me just started to cry, as I thought about all the people who
I love so much here in Rio Grade do Norte. The biggeset desire of my
heart, is to have a temple here in Natal.

This week was full of teaching and trying to help people understand
the imprtance of the restored gospel.

We are teaching a young women named Sara. She is really smart. She
loves to read the bible. We started to teach the first lesson and I
was a little nervous. Cause she kept trying to throw scritpures to us
and I felt like it was going to turn into a bible bash. So i said a
prayer, I asked to help to touch her heart and help her understand WHY
we have a prophet today and WHY the book of mormon was important. I
felt the spirit tell me "just testify of Joseph Smtih"

When I started to explain the story of Joseph, I felt the spirit enter
the room. I felt the spirit guiding my words, as I explained that he
had a question and just wanted to know WHAT church was the church of
Jesus Christ. I could feel that Sara also had wonders what of all the
churchs was true. I resited the first vision, and then bore my
testimony, saying that I know Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet,
I know he saw God, the father, and Jesus Christ. I know.

The spirit was so strong as I promised her that she could also know,
if she prayed and asked.

I know this is the church of Jesus Christ.  I feel honored to serve
and testify of what I know. I am so excited for my brother Kory, and
the honor he will have doing this same service.

I love you all!

xoxo
Sister Hernandez