CONFERENCE IS LIKE CHRISTMAS

Oi!! Wow, wasnt this week awesome!! S. got her mission call!!! Ahhh I'm so happy for her. Guess what? Remember A.? The woman who I taught, and who got baptized in Michigan? Yep, shes from Kentucky. She is gunna LOVE it there. The people are amazing. So happy for her and her decision. The mission is the best. Wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

General conference. Can I just say, for missionaries it is like Christmas is coming. haha We were dying of excitement. It was such a neat experience hearing conference in Portuguese for the first time. It was a tuffy though for my brain being able to understand the translator and the person speaking. My brain went back and forth a ton with the different languages. How awesome that we have new apostles! I can't even imagine the nerves being called to that calling and then having to speak after the profeta.

This week was full of conferences and revelations! We had a zone conference in Alegrete on Thursday, and man it was fun. 

Zone conference in Alegrete! 

I loved seeing all of my friends and talking about who got baptized and seeing how everyone is doing. It was so fun seeing my friends from Santa Maria, all of them were so shocked at how much I've changed. It is crazy how a mission changes you in just months. 

My friend I served with in Santa Maria. He is from Ecuador, 

so we chat a lot about his city (Guayaquil) where I served before the mission in the orphanages. 

I learned so much at the conference and Presidente P. responded to a ton of my questions. 

Presidente P.! We love him.

E.-she will receive her papers for marriage any day now and I'm dying with excitement for their marriage and her baptism. She is so so so special to me. She's one of those special people that I know I was meant to teach and bring the gospel to. 

L.-texted from her phone that she set a baptism date. We keep nagging her to set a date and pray to know what day because she has nothing in her way, but she always says "I'm still praying. I dont know what day yet" and when we try to set a day she doesn't follow through. So we were so happy that she said she had a response! She will now be baptized on the 31st of this month!! Ahhh! Answered prayers!! Happy Halloween for sure ;)

K.- we are working with a woman who was baptized by water, but not by the spirit. After her baptism, she went home and smoked…um, ya...can't do that. haha So we are teaching her and set a date for the 24th of this month and she accepted! We are so excited.

I want to share a few thoughts that I had from conference. First off, the music was so powerful. I got teary eyed listening to the children singing my favorite primary song, "I feel my Saviors Love." It was so powerful. I loved how the messages were focused on families, the sacrament/atonement, and also women. I have been thinking a lot about these things lately. As a missionary, I see how Satan is literally trying everything to destroy families. He is very real, but that is why God gave us the gospel. A map, so that we can know how to ignore Satan and follow His guide. I am so grateful that we can make promises with Him and how He allows us to work towards becoming like Him, and someday receive the peace and happiness that He has in store for us. He wants to give us all! I have been thinking a lot about the influence of our parents and how our mothers impact our lives. The missionary age change wasn't by chance. God is preparing more mothers to be more strong in their faith and preparing them to teach the gospel more powerfully to their children. The Savior is coming soon. We need to prepare. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have right now to be serving and learning so much. May we all remember our covenants and strive to be stronger for our Heavenly Father! I love you all!!!

Sister Porter

Reunited at last with my buds from the MTC and my dear Sister Hansen