September 19, 2016 - The Best 18 Months!

                                                                   Rayane's Baptism

                                                 Sister Monteiro, Irma Zeze and Courtney

                                                      Courtney and the Sao Miguel Valley

Hi everybody!

Things are rolling strong here, we had Rayane’s baptism this Sunday morning which started late as usual and the man who baptized her, his white jumpsuit popped open showing his garments because of his pot belly, but it was yet another soul saved at the end of the day! She is 12 and has been going to church with her aunts and uncles who all live on the same street, since she was a little kid.

As for Irmã Maria José and Gessiara, they are progressing perfectly, got on the bus early Sunday morning and came down to the chapel all by themselves. They started spreading it all around for everyone to hear that their baptisms will be this Saturday! Irmã José tells everyone she sees that her life has been changed ever since her ´´two angels´´ (me, obviously, and my companion) have come into her life. She tells about all these great things that are happening that never did before. She told us the story of her life, how she had her own cell at the jail and drank and smoke like no other, how she was always in street fights, and lots of other things. She said that ever since she went to our church all of that anger and hatred inside of her melted away and she doesn’t know how it’s possible. It is amazing to me how merciful the Lord is and how simple it is-the exact moment we decide to stop doing what’s wrong and start being obedient, the blessings automatically flow. It’s simple!

Our other miracle was with a young couple we´re teaching, Alda and Neto who are friends of members. They went to church and we marked to teach them. As we taught the restoration and invited them to pray to know if the church is true, Alda said ´´I don’t feel like I need to pray. I’ve never felt such a peace like I feel inside of that church. I feel like I’m in a different world, like all of my cares just melt away when I’m there.´´ The spirit flicked me in the head because the same church meeting that I had been spacing out and waiting for it to end, was the same one that someone had received the personal witness that Christ has a restored church here on the earth. I learn here that we really do so little to help in the work of the Lord, that He has been preparing these people a lot longer than we have been here and will guide them a lot after we leave. They are a really special couple!

What I love about my mission is that I finally feel like my life has a real purpose- I feel like I’ve found my real purpose on the earth, and I only came to find that when I stopped thinking about myself and if I was hungry or sleepy or hot or grumpy, and started thinking about others. These people teach me so much-this week was about generosity. I have never seen the kind of generosity these people show us. I learned that generosity isn’t just give when you’ve had enough, or give whatever is left over, generosity is giving to others when you don’t have enough for yourself, and not thinking twice. You just gotta imagine the look on Irmã José’s face when we accept the food she offers us- a little old woman who takes care of her son and 2 granddaughters financially, who live in a one room and one bedroom house, offering everything that’s inside of her refrigerator with a door that comes completely off its hinges every time you open it. Some things I see here are so special to me, it just doesn’t do it justice to try and explain it over email. Whether its oranges, bananas, eggs, bread, whatever she has she is more than happy to give it to us.

I know I would not be able to have these same experiences or gain this knowledge that I have if I had stayed at home. I love my mission! And I love you guys! Be good missionaries this week-be nice to the investigators the sisters bring, it was a triumph for them to get people in the church and it’s our job to help keep them there! You can do it! vocês conseguem!!

Ate a próxima semana! Beijos!

Sister Walker

September 12, 2016 - Rollin In The River

                                                 2 Districts In Their Zona Litoral

                                              Courtney, Sister Monteiro And Rubia

                                              Courtney And Sister Monteiro

Hello to the good people of Federal Way!

Wow I can’t believe we´re already in September. We had a zone conference this week with all the missionaries in Alagoas, and it was so weird talking with the elders I got here with that all were saying ´´wow Sister Walker the time is ticking! You’re already getting on your flight home!´´ I said: can it you weirdos I still have a whole lot of time here thank you very much! I can’t really process coming home yet because I 1. Don’t know where I will be living or studying or 2. If I know how to do real life stuff anymore.

This week was really great, we had been praying and fasting that we would find people to teach, but not just any people, but people prepared to be baptized. And the Lord heard our prayers! It is amazing what a difference sincere prayer makes in our life. They can be repetitive and boring and your life will become so, but if you take the time to really talk to Heavenly Father you can have your eyes opened to how much you were missing before. Anyways we found a great little family, there’s the grandma Maria Jose who is known as the angriest crabbiest old lady on the street, her son Vagner who is a little lost in life, and his daughter Gessiara who’s the sweetest and most spiritual 9 year old you’ve ever met, that all live together. If we weren’t friends with them, I would be very scared of Irmã Maria Jose tbh. She tells about how much hate and anger she has inside her heart that she can’t seem to get rid of. And she’s never liked any sort of church. But in one lesson she felt so alleviated when we came to her house, she felt like we had something different that all the other churches that came to her door never had. We said that’s because our church is true! And she said ´´for the first time in my life I want to go to a church!´´ and they went! It was great. We actually had 8 investigators there yesterday which was a blessing. But Maria Jose said during sacrament ´´now THIS is a church! Are we gonna get baptized today or is it next week?´´ haha; slow and steady missy!

We´re also teaching the niece of a big family in the ward, Rayane, whose dad finallyyy will let her be baptized this Sunday! She is so sweet, she started crying in the closing prayer when she told us he let her be baptized. And at the end of the prayer she ended it ´´in the name of Jesus Christ... of latter day saints amen!´´ hahaha. So cute.

Another funny story about prayer, we were teaching a big group of people and at the end we always have one of them give the closing prayer. I picked one guy and he said he didn’t know how to pray so I showed him in the pamphlet the steps to pray, where it explains how. But what I didn’t know is that his prayer would be literally reading the steps out loud... haha. It went like this *everyone with their eyes closed and head down* ´´address your Father in Heaven. Express the feelings in your heart and your gratitude and ask things you are in need of. End by saying in the name of Jesus Christ amen.´´ Prayer is important people!! Got to start somewhere.

I also got some very nice letters in the mail this week from my nice family! It’s funny, the other missionaries saw all the papers and I said yeah all my siblings wrote to me and they say ´´wow I wish my siblings all wrote to me...´´ and I say ´´yeah its actually my mom that forces them to but it’s the thought that counts´´ and they say ´´man I wish my mom would force people to write to me...´´ lol. Go mummer!

I hope you all know how much I love you and appreciate you! I can’t think of anywhere else I am meant to be right now but here, forgetting about myself for a short period of time to just focus on the needs of others. That’s where the real magic starts. I know that the Lord is with us as we choose to follow in His footsteps, that He knows and loves us. An infinite power is waiting for us if we choose to ask for it. The church is true! I love you all!!

Sister Walker

And here’s a pic of 2 districts in my zone, Zona Litoral, a less active girl Rubia that put dread braids in my companions hair, and us enjoying an ice cold drink from a coconut on the side of the road!

September 5, 2016 - 14 Month Mark!

                    President & Sister Gomes, Sisters Steele, Estela, Courtney and Sister Monteiro


Hi guys!

What a fast week, I feel like I don’t even remember anything that happened it was all just a blur... I guess I should start taking more time to reflect on it all but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I also can’t stand still for more than 6 minutes anymore which also doesn’t help. haha

This week I was on splits 2 days, one of which I got to stay in the area called Farol, which is where the mission office is and everything-one of the real city life areas in Maceió. (mahh-say-ohh). I had been thinking about how cool it would be to serve in an area like that, I got so incredibly excited to see tall buildings and paved roads with lots of cars, lots of shops and places to go, I had forgotten that all existed. I thought ´´wow how cool it would be to teach real people (not that my investigators aren’t real people oops...) but a different level of people´´. Then I went and tried to help the sister there do contacting on the street and teach their investigators and I got a whole lot of hand in the face that day. We went to teach a 22 yr old rich girl who is already a lawyer or something and I got super nervous teaching and was stumbling over my own words... then I went back to São Miguel the next day and felt a renewed love for my area, for the members here, for my investigators. They might not be rich and they might all breast feed in front of me, but they know the real essence of the gospel. They don’t question everything, they listen first and then ask God if it’s true and they are humble so they are much more in tune with the spirit and can recognize an answer a lot easier. I thought I was a city girl... I don’t stink so!

In other news, there’s a little boy in the ward who’s 6 named Thomas who has glasses and refuses to talk with anyone who is over the age of 12. My goal since I got here was to make friends with him and get him to talk to me. And this Sunday after church he ran over to me, pushed a piece of paper in my hands and ran away. I opened it up and it was a picture he had drawn for me with the chapel and a sun and a missionary. Wiener!!

I found out my address to tell dad to look up on google maps if you can find it, its rua jose claazans n. 43, centro, são miguel dos campos, alagos brasil 5724000. You can walk in my footsteps woohoo!

But really I feel so happy to be with these people, testimony meeting was great yesterday here. I see how much faith they have, because when trials and tribulations come to them, their first reaction isn’t to blame God or doubt their faith, it’s to cling tight to the things they know are true. Their first reaction isn’t to give up, it’s to push through. That is a real lesson for me. Because I know a lot of times I ask ´´why me?´´ or I become doubtful. They teach me that real faith means that you trust in God and continue to do all the right things, not just when it’s easy but when everything is falling apart.

And thank you for helping the sister’s investigator who lived with a gang in Phili, he has been waiting his whole life to come to know what he knew in the preexistence, and you guys will help give him the stability to stay at the church and feel welcome! That is the best help you can give!! I love you all, more than I can say!

Boa semana a todos e sejam missionários excelentes! eu amo vocês!

Sister Walker

August 29, 2016 - Buckets Of Fun...

Baptism of Mayse, Maycom and Maxwell

Sister Missionaries and Irma Nayara

                                                 Courtney Draining The Baptismal Font

Hi family!

So this week was a fast one because we were running running so that some of our investigators could get baptized this week. After lots of bumps in the road, people who got scared or wanted to wait more time, or moms who were mad at their kids for being obnoxious, we got 3 of our amazing investigators baptized, Maycom, Maysa and Maxwell! The others will shortly follow. But it was a great week! I felt like I could finally catch my breath a little bit finally, that our work was finally showing its fruits. The baptisms were great; I have never seen people SO Excited to be baptized!! They were all nervous and antsy saying ´´is there gonna be a lot of people there? Do they all know our names and who were are already? Am I gonna have to give my testimony in the front on Sunday? Are we already members of our church?´´ They are really great. It was also a great opportunity to finally get their parents to step foot inside the church, and now we are working on getting them married and at the church on Sunday!

The high of this week was that we went to fill up the baptismal font Saturday morning. We had heard it might be filled since the last baptism which was a few weeks ago but we went just to try and drain it ourselves. Turns out ´´draining´´ this font doesn’t mean just pressing the little button, it means you get to take out all of the dirty smelly stinky water full of bugs and new species of bacteria unknown to science, bucket by bucket. haha. It’s funny now that I write it out but it was not so funny in the moment! lol. We spent about 3 hours throwing buckets of sick water out the window or down the toilet just to be able to fill it back up again. Adventure is out there! Am I right?!

This week I also noticed that the bishop here, when the people are going over their time limit as dad would say during their talks, the bishop raises the pulpit up and down a little as a secret signal haha. Classic Bishop Henrique.

Let me also just make it publically known how much I enjoy Jared’s weekly life updates now, seriously he puts in a recap of pretty much every day of his week which makes me feel like I’m right in the moment with him haha. #jerryshoutout

But other than that things are pretty laid back here in São Miguel. The city elections here started so it’s a whirlwind of campaigning and shallow promises and sad music jingles that will never come close to ´´vote me maybe´´. I don’t know how another week already passed by. I feel like the world works in weeks now and not days, the time passes so quickly. All I know is that I love this work! I love feeling so close to the spirit and knowing more about my Savior every day. I feel closer to Him than I ever have, and that’s not despite the hard moments but exactly because of them. I know He has a real and living church here on the earth! And when others find out about that they will understand why we are the way we are! A nice and peculiar people.... work hard to share something about the gospel with someone this week! We don’t understand how much others are searching for the missing puzzle pieces we have. I am glad to have gained my real testimony here on my mission, a place and time that I will never get back after December 27! I love you guys so much! Have a wonderful week! se cuidam!

Sister Walker

Ps. here are pics of the baptisms this week, one picture of all of us with Irma Nayara who’s our friend in the ward, and us with the nice brother in the ward who helped us clear out the sick nasty water in the font with buckets!

August 22, 2016 - Dearly Blub Blubber...

Look who got hitched this week woohooo!! Thank you to the people who sent me pics of the event and not just pics of barrels and burlap bows. Very much appreciated. Congrats to Syd and Austin Corry!!

So I don’t have a lot to say... (name that movie) because transfers are in and I’m staying in São Miguel with Sister Monteiro another transfer woohoo! We helped the sister we were living with get off to Maceio today to go home tomorrow, which was a whirlwind of work I had forgotten about. But luckily I planned it well enough that I got to spend some time with Sister Estela before she leaves tomorrow. Not sure if it was a good idea or a bad one to surprise her in her apartment because she started crying when I walked in haha. It was a hard moment for my fragile heart this week but I’m glad I got to see her.

Anyways who else heard that Brasil won the big gold one in the Olympic soccer game?! woohooo I was so pumped!! It was the worst thing ever trying to teach during the Olympics when literally everyone was watching, but this week when Brasil won, everyone in the city started cheering and went out on the streets yelling (including me) and it was great. Viva Brasil!!

Hey who has ideas on where I can live at BYU this January?? Any ideas will be welcomed thank you... I’m thinking Liberty Square but who knows if I’ll even have money to pay for that place. Is it too early for Sydney and Austin to have a house pet?

Anyways I’m doing really good in this area, our teaching group is falling and restarting as usual but that family that went to church went again and we´re trying to work faster than the adversary to get them firm for their baptism on September 11. I really see clearly now how the little actions in our life make such a difference, or represent how converted we are to the gospel, just by our attitudes or how we react to a situation. I never perceived how the people in my own ward have varying levels of conversion, and that helps you understand why they do the things they do. Interesting all the things the spirit will help you understand if you just listen. Anyways that’s all. Sorry my letter is so short, but have a great week, happy last week of summer!! I love you all lots!!

Sister Walker

August 15, 2016 - "Why Can't I Be A Prophet?"

                                               Funeral Program For Missionaries Leaving

                                                  Going Away Party For 2 Missionaries

                                                The Socorro Family Attending A Baptism

JARED HAS OFFICIALLY WRITTEN TO ME ONE TIME ON MY MISSION PEOPLE, LETS ALL TAKE A MINUTE TO RECOGNIZE THAT. YAY JERRY!!

Anyways this week was so amazing and crazy busy. I went on splits with 2 different sisters and they were both new on the mish, and I forget that I’m not anymore... I remember when the sisters told me they had been on their missions a year and I felt like a big noob... now I have one year but have yet to shake the feeling of still being a noob. We´ll see.

Well the going away party for the missionaries was a success. They were all surprised, and we made a special lunch for them at the church. We planned it all like it was a funeral for them and we all bore our testimonies and it was great. I had even made up a program with their pictures on it that said ´´in loving memory of... Elder Zeron and Sister Domingues´´ with lots of scriptures about death and all that. We killed it.

The family that went to church last week went again this week. We are trying to get the elders in Maceio to go visit the oldest sister so she can be baptized with her brothers when she comes back home this weekend. But elders aren’t super reliable unfortunately. All the elders are a little scared to get a phone call from me here. We also were teaching a man and his wife who basically was meeting with the sisters before us just to say he already knew everything about the Mormon Church. I didn’t teach anything else I just told him he had to ask god specifically if Joseph Smith was a prophet to take away his doubts about the church. And he said ´´I’m not gonna ask god, I already believe he was! He talked to god, received revelation, and was a prophet. I too, talk with god and receive revelation, so I too am a prophet, just like you and you and all of us!´´ So then came the long conversation of why he can’t be a prophet because he doesn’t have the priesthood or the ability to receive revelation for the whole world, and he kept saying ´´but a prophet prophesizes, and I receive revelation!! Why cant I too be a prophet??´´ So we kinda just left him on that one..

And this week is gonna be a special one because Sydney’s getting hitched everybody!! I will throw my own bouquet up into the air just to feel like I am there in the action. Wait does this mean that in 2 years I have to get married in August too, because it seems like it’s a Walker family tradition by now... to be continued.. But this is the last week in this transfer so we´ll see if I stay here with Sister Monteiro or if I leave. But I love it here! I’d be sad to go. Anyways just know how much I love you all and am so grateful to know my sister will be getting married in the temple this week. That is a true gift in and of itself to have my family on the right path. I am so grateful to know that the lord loves us enough that he gives us the choice to choose the right rather than just forcing us to do that. He trusts in us SO MUCH that he knows we are capable of doing what’s right without being forced. I am so grateful to know that and know our Father in Heaven has a perfect plan for us. This church is true and His gospel is true and perfect. My doubts are taken away every time I have the courage and humility to ask about it! I love you all, make sure to put my head on a stick and put it on lots of pics!! parabéns para o casal do ano!!

Sister Walker

August 8, 2016 - The Lucky 13!

                                               Courtney & Sister Monteiro With A Family
                                                             Of Investigators At Church

Helllooo from the other side! That is an Adele reference for all you old folk.

What a great week holy cow!! We were working every second of every day and I didn’t even see the week go by. We met an amazing new family that all went to church with us. They live with the 8 kids and the mom, but the only one that works is a daughter who’s 22 and she works as a maid in someone’s house over in Maceio and only comes home for 2 days and then stays there 15 days. This family is amazing people, you have no idea. I’m sending a pic of them to prove it. So our area is kinda far away from the chapel which makes it hard for people to go to church but they usually pay 50 cents to take a van down and back up afterwards. But this family doesn’t exactly have that to spend. So we went and picked them up Sunday morning and they all (the youngest being 8 and the oldest 22) walked with us the 40 minute walk completely downhill to the church, and then at noon in the hot hot sun walked more than an hour back up hill to get home. THAT IS REAL FAITH PEOPLE. I was so amazed, they didn’t even complain or anything, they said ´´it’s really good to go to church, let’s go see what this one is like´´ and went! They are amazing! The youngest is Maxwell and he was the only one that had remembered to pray and ask god if the church was true. We asked how his prayer went and he said ´´it’s true. Its true what you guys said;´´ and we said ´´how do you know?´´ and he said ´´well I prayed before I went to bed and said ´´Jesus, is it true what the ladies said about this church?´´ and then I had a dream that night where Jesus was coming out of heaven on a stairway made of clouds and he told me it was the right church. That’s how I know. ´´ When he told us I just sat in awe and hugged him trying not to cry. These people are amazing and there are so many of them waiting for the gospel to clear up so many questions and doubt about religion and gods plan for us!!!

And in Relief Society this week they taught about family night and how it should be held and the purpose. I couldn’t help remember how most of my fondest memories of all of us together where during family night-whether it was going to west fenwick park, or to play bball at the church, or playing jenga or when it turned into wrestle mania and mom always got mad. And let’s not forget the beloved moment when mom and dad played just dance and danced to that Rihanna song... but I realized in such a simple act how much a family can be strengthened, that most of the things I learned about the gospel, or the questions I had, weren’t answered at church but at home with my parents and my siblings, even Spencer putting his feet in my hair. I am really grateful for those memories mom and dad supplied (forced) us to make. How smart is the church? I was thinking about the devotional they had here in Rio de Janeiro that was about personal progress and duty to god-I thought about how much personal progress showed me I was capable to do hard things, that I could and should break out of my comfort zone. Because one day we will all be accountable for not just the things we did here but the person that we became, and personal progress helped me in that effort.

I guess that really it for this week! The super Christian families are alright, one we found out is a super famous pastor and the other went to church with us this week! He already knows the church is true he just doesn’t want to admit it yet. But we will keep trying with them!! I love you all. Have a wonderful week in good ole Utah!!

Sister Walker