The Astonishing Adventures of Sister Hannah Hiatt

So not to brag or anything, but I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Like, seriously. Not only did I get to hear from Elder Uchtdorf in person in the MTC a few months ago, but he also came here to Brazil this week and I got to hear from him again. The difference was that this time all the missionaries in São Paulo Sul and our neighbors in the São Paulo Interlagos mission got to line up and meet him. Long story short, I got to SHAKE HIS HAND and say "Welcome to Brazil" and that was the highlight of my week UNTIL he started speaking and he gave a talk and the Spirit was ridiculously strong and I learned a ton and it just got better and better. He is without a doubt a man called of God. He (and two members of the 70 who were very awesome and spiritual too) spoke about how we can improve as missionaries, and I came out pages of notes and goals. We need to start each day with enthusiasm and passion, and display this in everything we do. Each prayer should be passionate pleadi...

So the high point of this week was that we got to go to the temple (!!!) which was awesome (like it always is). The place was full of missionaries and the Spirit was super strong, and I was proud that I understood almost everything (in Portuguese! See? I am learning), and afterwards I received some answers to my questions, and made some goals with the Lord. I know that the temple is the house of God and that He knows and loves me. It was such a blessing to get to go this week. We got to go to the Visitor's Center in São Paulo too, which was super neat. I can't remember what the Visitor's Center in Provo is like, but I think it's pretty similar? There were displays for each of the missionary lessons and a lot of interactive games and things for kids to learn and feel the Spirit, too. It was really cool. 10/10 would recommend for everyone, if you ever happen to be in Brazil. The rest of the week was not quite as awesome as the temple, but we did have an adventure Sunday m...

Missionary Profile Name: Sister Hiatt (pronounced Hai-ACH, EYE-chee, HIE-tch, etc) Time in mission: 3 months (but only half in Brazil) What I miss the most: Baked goods. Don't get me wrong, the members are very good to us and I'm not hurting for sugar. We get a ton of ice cream, and plenty of pudding and other deliciousness besides. But sometimes you just really want a cookie, you know? Also my family. Miss them too. Weirdest experience: So one of my first days here my companion stopped at a little roadside stall thingy and said some things and the man there pulled out two big ol' sticks and worked them into a machiney-thingy and turned a wheel super duper fast and out the other end came some kind of liquid, dripping into a carefully placed bottle, out of which we then drank. I don't have a clue what kind of wood it was but the juice stuff tasted good, so.... Biggest surprise: It does in fact get a tiny bit chilly here sometimes. Now I know that most of you are burried ...

So last week I mentioned we got two new Sisters, and I gotta say, the only downside of having four girls in one house is the 30-second showers. They're both native Brazilians, super fun, and awesome missionaries. It's super nice having more people to talk with, and I have since learned the proper way to make rice (they're willing to put a lot more effort into it than I am). Also this week we were teaching a lesson and my companion showed a video (which I cannot find but it's on the MormonChannel Youtube and the cover picture is an eye, I think, if you want to look for it) and it was really powerful. It was a bunch of different analogies for sin and the atonement (sin is like disconnecting a phone from the charger, and repentance is returning, etc) and a voice-over explaining how Christ thinks of us. I was struck at the simple, clear way it portrayed Christ's love for us, and the reason behind His sacrifice. Repentance really isn't a punishment or even a conseque...