"IT'S SOOOO GOOD!"

so this will be fast. long story but basically we dont have a full hour to do email...

um... so this past week... um, the work is moving along... slowly but surely. this is our last week of the transfers and i donno if im staying or going... duh. i will be fine with either. um... this past week was zone conference so i got a TON of letters thank you everyone that sent me stuff!!!! youre awesome i LOVE getting letters and updates about your lives :) keep em coming. i am working on writing back... it will take a while, but dont worry i WILL.

um...this week we marked a guy for baptism for this coming friday. im pretty excited other than the fact that hes kinda a jumpy fidgety guy, so im praying and hoping that he wont be like that with the baptism. um... weve just been working. nothing super exciting or interesting. sorry this email is lame... partically because we dont have much time and because i hate the keyboard because its really hard to type.

anyways, zone conference was AMAZING i learned so much and the spirit was so strong!!! i love zone conferences its like general conference but just for us! its SOOOOO GOOD!!!

this week i have been studying about desires... (sounds weird i know) but how when we desire something and we exercise our faith and work to make our desires reality thats exactly what will happen. it sounds really weird, but it is so awesome. i have been evaluating my desires and making sure they are in line with the Lord and His work here and then this week i am studying faith in accordance with this whole topic... its really weird to explain and doesnt make much sense when i try to explain it but ITS SO GOOD. i am learning so much and i can feel it changing the way im working. it is also strengthening my testimony so much! right now as im sitting here typing there are just so manything s that i want to write you about! cool things that i learned ways that i have grown and ways that my testimony has grown and been strengthened! I know that Heavenly Father loves us, really honestly this tiny fact makes such a difference in my life and the lives of others. Because He loves us so much He sent His Son to DIE for us. What a sacrifice... what an act of love. This week I have also thought a ton about the atonement as well... I am so grateful for the atonement. I am understanding just how important it is to use the atonement in everything in our lives especially the small and simple things. As a mission we are reading the BOM in portuguese in 60 days. it is amazing. i was reading in 2 nephi 4 just a couple days ago... where Nephi is talking about how he is a sinner and everything and his gratitude for the Savior and atonement... i LOVE that part in the book of mormon. its amazing! anyways, have to go. I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior, our Brother. I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves us and wants us to return to live with HIm.

thank you for everything. i love you all so much.

irmã graf

Ms. Wedding Planner!!!!

this week has been amazing!!! so i got to play wedding photographer, decorator, planner, baker, bridesmaid, maid of honor and EVERYTHING. it was so fun. i attached some pictures from the wedding and baptism of Sonia... she is the most amazing lady in the world no joke. she really is such a strong and has such strong faith. they have no money, but they took a leap of faith to pay for the civil wedding and once they did EVERYTHING feel into place... well, Heavenly Father laid it gently into place actually. Luis, her bf, now husband, didnt have a job and she has a health problem so she cant work... but after she decided to get baptized and married (duh first things first... marriage) he got a job. then someone in the ward let her borrow a wedding dress and shoes, someone else GAVE them the wedding rings... which are like 250- 300 euros here. then the whole ward helped with the food and decorations. someone else who owns a salon here got her ready... hair (colored it too) make up, nails... everything! and then someone else was the chafeur (however you spell it)... and then someone else bought them a hotel package thing for their honeymoon. it was so amazing to see how much Heavenly Father really helps when people make the right choices.


the work is going, its hard... of course. but its all good i didnt expect it to be a peice of cake. I dont really like cake anyways. Something that always help me have a better perspective when things fall through or it seems like we are working super hard and getting nowhere is about Jesus Christ and His atonement. Something that an elder always said and it has stuck with me is this... the atonement wasnt easy... for that matter the life of Christ wasnt easy either... why do we think that ours should be? when in comparison with the life of Christ, my trials look ridiculous and pewny (haha donno how to spell anything anymore). I am so grateful for His sacrifice for me; for all of us.


um... so the pics... some from the wedding... some with some cool people that are in the ward that i love. and then the last one (i think... thats if it went through) is from where we went this pday... its part of my area! sweet huh? Sintra (my area) is soooooooo gorgeous and has soooo much to see its awesome!!! we also took some pictures last pday... we went with our whole zone to belem... but we im almost out of time and i dont want to have to find that camera card... seeing as i took about a bazillion pictures this week... but i am sending some camera cards home this week or next week so you will see them!


well, i love you all and thank you for your support love and especially prayers! :)


have a fabulous week!


irmã graf

Beautiful Belem!

so fast email... because it just deleted the email i was writing to you guys with tons of pictures and everything... lame and annoying... anyways...




some pics from Sintra, its part of our area. its AMAZING. you can look it up to find out more about it. but it was gorgeous. tons of caves and cool buildings. it was someones summer house.


the area here is so awesome and beautiful! today we are going to Belem... so im excited!


i think that as long as im here in Mem Martins I wont be writing much and written letters... theres soooo much to do here on pdays! its awesome!


well, the work is going great. we have a baptism/ wedding this weekend so its gonna be pretty busy and awesome! and other than that we just really need to work on building this area up!


the work is slow but good and im definately learning and growing a ton.


well, love you all! have a great week! be safe! im sick of hearing about people being hurt, dying or doing dangerous stuff! :)


love,


irmã graf

An e-mail from Chauntelle's old companion/trainer....

haha oh irma west! i love getting mail from you!


so, mem martins is great... i think that the lord is trying to tell me something... every area that ive been in (besides miratejo) its right after theyve had a ton of success, but they havent built it up... maybe heavenly father is trying to tell me to better my contacts and finding skills... anyways, the work is slow and irma howard is struggling with stuff right now... shes really depressed and doesnt have much faith in herself and in turn the work... so its kinda hard, but its strengthening me for sure. i have been so grateful for heavenly fathers help and i can see how i have been prepared for this transfer and how this transfer will help me in other transfers... the mission is so crazy how it all works.


we have a baptism this weekend and a wedding too! (she has to get married before she can get baptized...) its been a ton of work but shes one of those elietos! its awesome!


the miracles that i have seen over the last week... i had gotten out of the habit of contacting with nkutxi and so i decided that i needed to get better. i was back to square one like i was with you... but i told irma howard that we were going to the chapel (on a main road here) and she was going to make calls and i was going to stand outside the chapel and contact everyone that walked by. it was INCREDIBLE! i could really feel my faith and trust in the Lord grow as words began leaving my mouth that i didnt have previously planned. Also, another miracle, well a lot of miracles has to do with our companionship... i have had more faith, strength, love and patience with her and i have really seen how the lord has helped me step up to the plate to carry the burdens of the work, but also her burdens a little more.


i havent kept up running.... sadly, i really wanted to... but its all good. ive still lost weight... like 5- 10 pounds. woo hoo!


youre teaching seminary? how fun!!! thats got to be awesome! and a guy?!?!?! what do tell me more! haha. i hope it goes well!


the other irmas are doing great! de almeida is in oeiras, geiger is in lapa, morrison and perez are in the açores, and coelho is in odivelas.


i saw bishop from miratejo 2 transfers ago for a second... he said everyone is doing well. next week we have conference in miratejo so im hoping to run into some people. i havent heard about anyone else... other than helder that one guy... hes a golden investigator and has helped tons of people find the gospel... thats a miracle in and of itself... remember him?


other than that everything is going great! well, gotta go write the fam! i love ya have a great week!


irmã graf



On Mon, Sep 6, 2010 at 10:29 AM, Rebecca West wrote:

Ola minha querida Irma Graf,
Well another Pday is here, can you believe it!
So, how are things in Mem Martins and with Irma Howard? What miracles have you seen over the last week? How is the running going too... hope you are keeping that up! You know that running is not my thing but I am walking every day!
Well, life is good for me, I started teaching seminary today, feels like I have been up for hours already!!! They are a good class though, I know we are going to have a lot of fun :o)
I am busy with job hunting too, went for a job interview last week so will see what happens with that.
I met a guy aswell last week at the conference, I was meant to have lunch with him last week but he was sick so am hopefully meeting up with him tomorrow.... we will see! He seems really nice, a normal guy for once, so fingers crossed that he will not cancel tomorrow!
How are the other Irmas? Where are they all serving now?
Have you seen or heard anything of anyone in Miratejo?
Well, hope you know that I love you.
Ps I am so sooooo sorry for the delay with your memory card, it is in the post.
Love you
Irma Bex West!!!

developing PURE christ-like love

so.... now that ive been saving up for the past little while all the good stories and everything... hopefully this email will be good haha.


so... first off, remember the lady that was deaf that i baptized in Odivelas? well, shes been having a really hard life lately and everything has been falling down around her in her life. she felt really alone and like heavenly father wasnt there for her. so like the end of my time in Odivelas this was all happening so we went over to her house to talk to her... and help her. basically to make a really long story short she was really resistant and didnt want anything... but finally she gave in and broke down crying and talking about how she felt like heavenly father had abandoned her. it was the hardest thing for me to see her in so much pain... i was bawling... but i specifically remember that i was just praying that heavenly father could take it all away and just give it to me. and two thoughts entered my head... one was that story about me, mitch, ashely and the rose thorn... for those that dont know it or dont remember it...


so when i was probably 8 or so and ashley was 6ish... we were over at our cousins house and we would always play pioneer and house in the front yard. well, one day we were playing by the rose bushes, i think we were playing pioneers and mitch was the bad guy or something stupid. (i dont really remember all the details.) but he picked a thorn off the rose bush and started walking towards ashley and grabbed her and started to try and prick her with the thorn... she started crying and screaming so i came running to see what was wrong with my little sister. i started yelling at mitch to stop and of course, he didnt. so finally i said, mitch prick me with the thorn! i cant remember if he ended up pricking me or not, probably he did haha.


but this story came into my head. i just wanted to do the same for Ilidia... i just wanted to take the pain away... the second story that came into my head was Jesus Christ and how He suffered in the garden for us and on the cross... i thought about how He had really take the pain upon Himself because of His love for each one of us...


the reason that this entered my head again this week is because i have been studying about charity... the pure love of Christ. And how we always need to have it for everyone in our lives... i had felt it for my sister... and i always have it for her. i would do anything for ashley, i love her so much and always will no matter what she will do. and i felt it for Ilidia... i love her and wanted to do all that i could plus a little more just so that she can be happy.


this is my goal for my mission... not to baptize a million people, but to love, really truly love these people that i come into contact with. i want to do all that i can to help them be happy.


i am so grateful that i have this opportunity to serve these people here. it is so hard at times, but really, it is what we need to do. love those that hate us... serve them and help them have happiness... eternal, lasting happiness that we can only get through the gospel of Jesus Christ.


Have a great week everyone! I love you all!


com amor
irmã graf


ps- so, what happened with Gary? is he going to be okay? can anyone please give me more details? I really hope he will be okay. Ill pray for him.

Wedding Planner....

so... im here in mem martins. its a lot colder here... it even was raining here! its really pretty though!! in my area we have castles and stuff thats really awesome... we will be going next pday. my comp is irma howard from mn. she goes home in dec, shes cool and im looking forward to working with her. in this picture w all the irmas shes the one closest to me.


we are planning the wedding of a investigator right now so its kinda fun. today we did the pictures for the invite and i made an invite... it was frustrating because i dont have a good camera and dont have photoshop. but its all good



the ward is great. they are basically all brazilians... so its cool.


the work is good. dont have much time again today...


this transfer i am really trying to just perfect all the areas of the work and for this past week it has been going great. im loving my time here!


just want to say good luck to kaity and ashley, congrats to kelsi and good luck, miss you love you and remember who you are to my lil sis that is now living on her own!!! weird!!


well, lame email again... sorry... maybe next week will be better.


irma graf