Well I gotta say, this week has been very interesting!
We started the week off with an awesome street contact. We talked to a lady and she immediately invited us into her house to talk with her. We ended up teaching her a full lesson and getting a return appointment! Such an awesome start to the week!
The next day, we took a bus to a town outside of Viseu to contact a referral. We didn't get to meet with the referral but we met a super awesome lady that said she saw Jesus so that was super cool! After that contact, we went back to the bus stop and waited for a while but the bus never came. So we ended up walking almost two full hours back home on the side of the street. My legs were dead after the long day but it was all worth it bc we got to talk to super cool people and teach about Christ!
Also, we had a goal not to speak any English all day which was a challenge but definitely a learning experience:)
So this is where my email title will start making a little more sense. Thursday morning I woke up with a weird pain in my left side. A couple minutes later I ended up passing a kidney stone. We did basically nothing all day and I ended up passing another kidney stone at 6 am the next morning. If you've never had kidney stones, let's just say it's not super fun. There's lots of throwing up, nausea, and fun things like that!
The next day, we went to zone conference which was in Coimbra (about an hour and a half on a bus away). Zone conference was great as always but quite painful if I'm being honest. But thanks to help from a Priesthood blessing and several super awesome missionaries, I was able to go and come back without any problems. Let's just say, I know the power of the Priesthood is 100% real!! And so is the power of prayer.
Since then, we've done very little work bc I've been stuck in the house with lots of nausea and sickness. It's not a good feeling at all not being able to work. I never thought I would hate being house ridden so much. I've learned that my perspective is super super important! Just because my body hates me for the time being, doesn't mean the world is ending. I've learned that sometimes we just have to have patience, bear through challenges, and have a bigger perspective. Soon enough, I'll be out working at my 100% best again, it might just take more time than I had hoped.
So yeah, not today Satan!!
Besides that, yesterday we were able to go teach a lesson with a couple members. We taught a lady named Maria. She's a sweetheart but I can hardly understand any of her Portuguese bc her accent is so thick. At the very beginning of the lesson I said a prayer in my head and asked for the gift of tongues because I wanted to understand her so bad. Near the end of the lesson, I started to bear my testimony to her about the power of the Priesthood, but I had a complete loss of words. I just kinda sat there embarrased bc I completely forgot Portuguese suddenly. She smiled and looked at me and said, "it's ok, you can talk to me in English if you'd like." I, being completely shocked to hear English, was like "ok!!" And I was able to get my point across.
It was super funny learning that she can understand English and speak just fine. It took me a little bit by surprise but it made me feel much more relaxed.
In other words, God answers our prayers always. Just not always in the way we think He will.
Sorry for the long email. This week was quite the party over here in Viseu!
Please know that I'm praying for all of you! Keep pushing through lifes challenges and looking at the bright side. Whenever the adversary tries to get you down, just remember:
"Hoje não satanás!" -- "Not today satan!"
Go give someone a hug today:)
Love you all♡
Sister Tay Cannon
Pics:
The Viseu district
Absolutely stunning Viseu
Describes the majority of this week
The sisters of the Coimbra zone
