Today. District P-Day, We all ate lunch together. :)

 We ate Brazilian food. :) Ha

Paloma´s Baptism at the river!

 Same place. Just with me down on the rocks. :)

 Me and Sister Briggs. We were together as we were waiting for our "daughters" :)

 Or, our "greenies" :) This is in Seixal.

 Zone Conference

 Free Bifana´s at Continent 

( A supermarket) (free sandwhich´s

 Gorgeous! In Seixal. (Where our church is at)

 Me and Sister Decker- in the last moments

 Eating McDonald´s.

On the train after dropping off Sister

Decker at the mission office. She left me! :(

Family!!!!

so this week was so blessed!!! We got a new investigator named Jose. He was a reference from our member. For he is her boyfriend. Can I just say that it was already part of the plan for him to receive the gospel in his life. And when we taught about the restoration. The spirit filled that room completely! It was so thick I am sure you could have cut it with a knife. It was a very emotional lesson. And the joy that it brought monica is undescribable. Jose´s conversion, is definitely an emotional one. And what is so amazing is he is doing it completely for himself. Not for her. He got emotional as well. And he definitely felt the spirit. He already has a testimony. He is marked for the 23rd. :) And we initially weren't even praying about that date. We had three other dates picked out. But then after praying we felt that it should be sooner. And that we didn't need to wait. So we prayed about the 23rd and we both felt good about it. When we talked to Monica about it. She said that that date was incredible because it was the only weekend she had off work and it had only just recently happened. All the other weekends/days wouldn't work out. She even said what a miracle that was. And when we gave him the invite to be baptized, he knew it was coming because we showed the picture of Christ´s baptism. But he didn't hesitate a second to say yes. The spirit was sooo strong! Can I just say how much I love being able to be a part of these kinds of experiences. Seeing lives change and see the light of the gospel literally just bless the lives of everyone who is willing to listen and act. I truly believe that I am one of the most blessed and even spoiled person on earth. Oh right! So we had transfers! And.... I am staying!!! and sister Decker is leaving. She is going to Porto. So way up North. We were both super sad.... And I am going to be training!!!!! I am excited and nervous. Ha. It will be hard being the one that has to hold pretty much all the responsibility and have a comp that won't understand the people. So I will probably be talking most the time in our lessons. It will be weird when I will look at my comp. to say something and then realize, right, she probably isn't following very well.... I remember that when I was here at the beginning of my mission. I used to think. I have no idea what these people are saying! Haha. I felt bad for my comp because I couldnt' help out much... So now, I will be on the other end of it. It is funny. Cause I told Heavnely Father that I was completely ok with not ever training. In fact, I never really wanted too.... But of course. The time finally came where I couldn't get out of it any longer. Ha. But it will be good. I am actually super excited. We will see miracles! and we will make a ward here in Quinta do Conde. That is our goal. :) (Cause the Stake President wants to skip the branch and go straight to a ward) Anyways, I am super happy! I am currently with Sister Briggs. cause she will also train. (We are in the same district) And we told each other that we have to pray for each other. Ha. We are both a little nervous. So prayers would be wonderful! Well, I hope you know how greatful I am for all of you and for the strength you have. I love you so much! Stay safe!

Love Always,

Sister Amanda Stokes :)

 me and Sister Decker on the stairs at the train station. Today!

Lego apartment! Thats what I thought when I saw it. ha

 Last One

Train Tracks

Family!

This week was good! Though nothing too exciting happened. We are still stuck in the house most the day.... But, Vasil looked sooo good at church! He looked like he had been a member for years in that spiffy suit! Ha. We just had to take pictures. :) He truly is so amazing! I love him so much. Another miracle happened! We ran into Janete! We had marked her for baptism in the past. But she ended up going to her cousins house in Lisboa. We were so sad! But she came back! She said she was done making the trips back and forth. And apparently she isn't feeling to good and she was on her way to a clinic to get checked out. but we are going to start teaching her again! She is super cool as well. We are excited! So even with our difficult situation and Irmã feeling terrible, the Lord is still blessing us more than we deserve! I never realized before just how much the Lord wants to bless his children. And that when we are being as obedient as we possibly can, the blessings just come down-pouring. It is a huge testimony builder and I can't thank the Lord enough for helping us so much. I am getting more and more sad because I am not able to fulfill my full purpose as a missioary at the moment. But then I realized that being a disciple of Christ is much more than just focusing on those out of the church, or new to the church, or our members. But sometimes, the person we need to serve, help, and sacrifice for is our very own companions. I already knew that. But to this point, I haven't had to sacrifice so much for my companion before. It is really hard, cause being a missionary and not sharing the gospel like I want to is super super hard. But I have learned sooo much from this experience. I should change that, I have learned so much from my companion. She is so strong. She has so much pain, and we both don't understand why the Lord doesn't just take it away. She has had blessings, and has taken many medications. But in and through it all. She trusts in the Lord, and knows she can get through anything with His help. It won't be easy. But she doesn't have a bitter bone in her body for her lot, even if it means she will be dealing with these pains for the rest of her life. She is incredible. I am so blessed to have been put as her companion. I love you all so much. I hope you are all doing well! From the pictures I got looks like you are all still happy and loving life! Ha. Stay that way! And never forget just how loved you each are by our loving Heavenly Father. And that no matter how hard of a trial we may face in life, He will always be by our side, giving us just enough strength to surpass it. He never said He would take it away, but that we will be able to bare it. :) Just like my fabulous companion! Love you! Have a fabulous week!  

Love Always,

Sister Amanda Stokes

 Me and my comp. First berries, then kumquats :)

 Me and my last comp! Sis. Cardoso! 

We are still in the same zone. :)

Masks!!! Yes! haha

 haha. It is so creepy!

Me and sis. Decker!!!

 We got haircuts! ;)

 Yes, we just had to take a silly face picture :)

Family!

This week was amazing! Why? Vasil was confirmed as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!!!!!!! Oh it was amazing! And afterwards he told me, "O espírito é tão forte!!!" "The spirit is so strong!!!" He basically then bore testimony that this is the true church. It was so precious! He has grown soooo much since the first day we got here in Quinta do Conde when we met him on the street. It is truly amazing how the Lord works, and it is such a huge blessing to be able to be a part of His work! I am so greatful to be a missionary! I love this work! I know that this work it true! And I am strengthened everyday by so many people! Including my companion. She is truly amazing. She is one of the strongest people I know. I am learning a lot from her~- even just by her example in pushing through even when she has every reason and excuse to just stay home. she really tries her best to do as much as she can! It is incredible. And almost no one can see that. Only her companions truly know. Thank you so much for everything you guys do for me. Thank you for being such amazing examples for me and for others throughout the years. I am blessed beyond words to be able to be a part of our family. I love you all so much. Stay safe and have a blessed week.

Love Always,

Sister Amanda Stokes