3 meses em casa

 Exactly 3 months ago today I took off my name tag for the last time and with that started my life as a returned missionary. Needless to say coming home from a mission is a very...interesting experience. In a year and a half lots of things change, including you. So coming home means you kind of have to figure out who you are again.

Some things I've learned since being home...

   1. I dont like being idle. Sitting around is just so boring and its a complete waste of time.

   2. The little things are and will always be important. Like....studying (not just reading) the scriptures everyday, praying through out the day, serving others as much as possible, and just being a friend. These things make a huge difference and I know I need to do these things to keep me happy :)

   3. Heavenly Father has perfect timing at all times. He knew when I needed to get a calling, when I needed to start hiking with an awesome group of friends, and He knows when I need to get married...which is good since I definitely dont. He knows everything, which brings me so much comfort. Someone has my life under control.

   4. Having time to bake again is awesome!...but eating half the batch by myself....not so awesome.

   5. Portuguese and English dont mix very well...I still find myself switching words around.

   6. RM friends are great! I love my returned missionary friends (as well as my other friends!). They have given me the best advice since coming home. I've had a lot of hiking adventures with a certain group and its been so fun!

   7. I can still help people like I did as a missionary. Listening and caring will always be important.

   8. Hugs are awesome! Ha ha

   9. Its important to be happy where we are. I can be happy as an RM...being single...as a student...as a member of the university ward...and any other title I have now :) We should just be happy!

   10. I can always be a missionary! And I plan to always be a missionary, just without the white handbook and name tag. Sharing the gospel brings joy!

Anyways life has been great so far. I am about to start school again and I'll also be working so life will be crazy busy and stressful again, but I'm looking forward to it :) I know Heavenly Father will help me through whatever comes my way and that He really does have a plan for my life that is perfect for me.

Keep on smiling!

Kaycee

week 76 Sexta-feira :)

September 29, 2014


Oi!

 Well...it turns out I have a little time to email today :) But I'll be home on Friday so I will keep this really short!

 Coming home is a bitter-sweet thing. I love my mission and I will definitely miss this a lot! But as I've learned my entire mission Heavenly Father knows what is best for me, He knows me better than I know myself :) and so I will keep singing "I'll go where you want me to go".

 I guess the last thing I want to mention is last night I finished O Livro de Mormon! My goal since coming to Brazil was to finish it and a lot of people basically told me I wouldnt be able to, but I set the goal which means I had to try! I know Heavenly Father helped me to understand what I was reading and I am so grateful that He gave me the ability to finish. I believe in the gift of tongues. 

 Well...have a wonderful week! I love you all so much and thank you for all of your help and support! See you soon :) Tchau, ate mais!

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

week 75 Vai com Deus

September 22, 2014

Oi!

 Well this week was definitely not the best week, but I've decided I'm not going to focus on that, and I'll only focus on the miracles :)

 We had zone conference this week and it was so great! We had a few small classes and in one of them we were given 5 minutes to write a  talk on repentance, and we were told that President Young would chose one of us to share our talk. Imagine my surprise when I am called to give the talk! But it went well :) Then imagine my surprise when we walked into church on Sunday and our bishop asked me to give a talk! I was so nervous and worried that no one would understand me. But I prayed and felt so much comfort that everything would be ok. Heavenly Father answers our prayers, no matter how small :)

In case your wondering, I am pretty sure this is my last opportunity to email all of you, because next Monday we will be going to Vitoria. I just want to say how much I love my mission. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how our purpose is to help others come unto Christ. But the miracle of a mission is that as you are helping others come to Christ, you become closer to Him also. You learn that He really is our Savior and also our brother. And as you learn about Him, you learn about yourself too and realize you do need His help every minute of every day. I am so grateful I decided to serve a mission. Its been a crazy, fast, hard, but amazing 18 months and I have learned so much. People keep telling me that my mission is basically over but really its just begun. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true, we have a living prophet, the Book of Mormon is the word of God, my family is eternal, Heavenly Father loves us no matter how many mistakes we make, and Jesus Christ is my Savior and He knows exactly how to help me because He's been through everything I am going through. I am sad to go home but I know Heavenly Father has a plan for me when I get there.

 Well I really hope that made sense :) I hope you all have a great week, I love all of you so much! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- "vai com Deus" means "go with God" everyone here says it :)

week 74 Verao... 17 months

September 15, 2014

Ola!

 Well...guess what? Its basically summer (verao) here which means its is unbelievably hot! Seriously I feel like I'm melting ha ha.

 We did a lot of tracting this week because we dropped all of our investigators last week. Tracting when it is really hot is so hard but I know Heavenly Father definitely heard and answered my prayers. I would pray to just have an opportunity to get out of the sun for a little while to teach a lesson, and with in a few minutes someone would let us in. Definitely a miracle to me. 

 I think one of the highlights of the week was yesterday we had a lesson with our investigator Rodrigo and his family (who are all members). Well all the adults were all talking or cooking and I was left alone for a few minutes with Rodrigo's 7 year old daughter- Isabella. She talked to me for a little while then decided she wanted to sing, so she went and got 2 hymnbooks and then we sang together. The spirit was so strong while we were singing. I am so grateful for hymns and how much they can help us feel the spirit. 

 Well I think that's it for right now. I hope everyone is having a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

week 73 Luz?

September 8, 2014

Alo!

Well today definitely started a little different...the computer lab we usually use was having problems with the internet, so we tried to find another one close by. Nope...there wasnt one. Then we tired the church...nope. But here I am now, emailing all of you. Being a missionary is full of adventures!

One adventure this week. We were on exchanges with the sister training leaders and around 6 pm we were in the middle of a street contact when all of the sudden all the electricity in Cacheiro went out! But not just in Cacheiro but in the entire state of the Espirito Santo! It was out for about 40 minutes and during that time we walked to visit our recent convert Iago. Heavenly Father definitely helped me to walk in the dark with out tripping over anything. (I just a little bit clumsy ha ha).

I think one of the best parts of this week was in our lesson with Iago. It turns out Iago, his mom, and step dad are going to be sealed in the temple in November! I am so happy for them :)

Another  highlights this week was a less active family we have been working with for 2 months came to church this Sunday! We had stopped visiting them for about 3 weeks but this week we stopped by to see how they were doing, invited them to church, said we would call Sunday morning and then they came! It was so great to see them there and I know if they keep coming they will be so much happier! Going to church every week really does help us through the rest of the week.

Well I hope you all have a great week! I love you all so much and am very grateful for all of you. Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kc Davis

week 72 Looke-che-me

September 1, 2014

Alo :)

Well we had quite the week...it was a great week! We had interviews with President Young. He said he wishes I could stay longer and help with other missionaries. A part of me wishes I could stay too. President Young interviewed me in English and let me tell you my English was pretty bad! I said the prayer at the end in English and almost couldn't pray in English ha ha. Hopefully this means my Portuguese is getting better :)

 I think one of the miracles this week was we found a family to teach! We really have only taught the wife and the 2 little girls because the husband works. She loved the first vision and read it again after we left. They came to church Sunday and Sister Belo and I got a little nervous when our Bishop started talking about tithing for the 5th Sunday lesson. But they liked it! I am so grateful for this opportunity to teach this family. 

 I am so grateful for the gospel! I know it changes lifes and helps us have so much happiness! The gospel of Jesus Christ is true.

Well I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you and am so grateful for all of you. Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- last night we had a lesson with our investigator Rodrigo. Almost everyone in the room tried to speak English. "Looke-che-me"...look at me...ha ha :)

Week 71 Os dez mandamentos...

August 25, 2014


Alo!

 Well its been another week...it went really fast! We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week and meet some of our goals so that was great!

 So this week I found one thing I can teach really well here in Brazil... os dez mandamentos! (10 commandments) In WA I learned some hand signs to help me remember what order the commandments are in. This week we taught Iago (our recent convert) and an investigator the commandments and it went really well. It felt so good to teach! 

 One night I was feeling a little discouraged and I looked at quote on our wall that I've read probably a hundred times. But this time it really hit me- "voce nao e invisivel para seu Pai Celestial. Ele ama voce." -Dieter F. Utchdorf. In English :) "You are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you." I am so grateful that Heavenly Father will always be there to help me. Sometimes being a missionary in Brazil is very lonely, especially when people choose to not understand you even when you speak clearly. But I know I am never alone. Heavenly Father loves me, and will always listen to me when I pray. 

 Well I hope you all have a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Com amor, 

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

week 70 Ultimo transferência...

August 18, 2014

Alo!

 

Tudo Bem?! How is everyone doing? Well...this week starts the last transfer of my misson...I'm not sure how I feel about that ha ha. We got transfer calls last night and we are both staying in Cacheiro.

Things that happened this week: 

Sister Belo's birthday was Thursday. I made a cake for district meeting and then we had cake again that night. 

It rained a lot! For almost 4 days we didnt see the sun. 

We got to help make some decorations for the ward activity next week. It was suppose to be this week but got cancelled because of the rain. We always ask after almoço if we can help and usually people say no. So it was kind of nice to get to help someone, even with something as simple as decorations for the ward activity.

Last thing. Yesterday a member of our ward found out that I basically have 2 missions. She asked- 'wouldnt it have been easier to stay in WA?' I have been thinking a lot about that question. Yes. It would have been easier to stay in WA. But there is a reason Heavenly Father sent me to Brazil. There are things I couldnt have learned in WA that I have learned here, and things that I learned in WA that I couldnt have learned here too. In the end Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, even if it doesnt make sense to us at the time. I am grateful for my mission and the things I have learned.

Well I hope you all have a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

week 69 16 meses

August 11, 2014
Alo!

 Well...I'm not sure what to say this week because I cant remember much of what happened ha ha...I do remember for some reason this week I was really hungry and thirsty all the time and really tired...hopefully this week will be a little bit better ha ha :)

 One great things this week was we taught more lessons than we usually do, which was great! I love teaching about the gospel and getting to share my testimony!

 The sister training leaders came to our area this week and I got to spend the day with Sister Peterson who was in my MTC district. The amazing thing? We spoke in Portuguese basically the whole day. I definitely believe in the gift of tongues. I have learned a lot of Portuguese in a short amount of time, it a miracle. Heavenly Father definitely blesses us when we have a desire to do what is right. 

 I finished Alma this week and can I just say, I love the book of Alma! It has so many examples of missionaries and good leaders who have strong faith, always trust in the Lord, and always are thinking about the welfare of others. These examples make me want to be better. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the things I learn from reading it.

 Well I hope you all have a great week! Good luck to all my nieces and nephews who start school this week :) Keep on smiling everyone!

Eu amo voces muito!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- I hit my 16 month mark yesterday...time is going so fast! 

week 68 Pia de batismal...

August 4, 2014

Ola!

 Tudo bem?! We have definitely had some adventures this week. I think the best part of the the week was our investigator, Iago, got baptized and confirmed! He is a really great kid and I know this was the best decision he could have ever made. 

 Iago's baptism ended up a little bit stressful because of the pia de batismal...when we got to the church the font looked clean, so we started filling it up...it wasn't clean. Then we realized the drain wasn't working. So using a bucket and some rags we cleaned and emptied the font. Well today, I looked at the font (hoping the drain was working) and it was still completely full of water! So while my companion was emailing I emptied part of the font. Can I just say, you never realize how much water is in a font until you have to empty it by hand ha ha. I think I will be sore tomorrow. 

Last comment for today...I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. I can really say that I love that book! The Book of Mormon has helped me so much lately. There are some days when we come home and I am exhausted and a little discouraged, but then I read the Book of Mormon and I feel so much better. 

Well, I hope all of you are having a good week! Keep on smiling :) I love all of you so much!

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- Picture...Iago, his mom- Samara, and Johnathan (Iago's step-dad). 

week 67 Paralelepipedo...

July 28, 2014

Oi!

Well this week was just like any other week...except...its been raining for 3 days now. But all is well :)

We had a great lesson with our 9 year old investigator Iago this week (his parents are already members). The spirit was so strong and it looks like he will be baptized this weekend! Just seeing this family smiling and so happy filled me with joy! The gospel is true and does improve our lives. 

This week we also went to a party for a missionary coming home. Let me just say...it was weird. It was weird knowing that that will be me in 2 months. But as I keep telling everyone, I still have lots of time! I am here to work for the next 2 months, there is a lot that needs to be done in the next 2 months and absolutely no time to be trunky :)

Another short story for this week...we walked into the chapel yesterday and the RS president came up to me and said they needed me to play the piano for sacrament meeting! What?! Well I really didn't know what they hymns because the titles are in Portuguese, but I prayed and was able to figure out what the hymns were. I only played with one hand but I guess that is better than nothing. That was definitely an example to me of how Heavenly Father will always help us. 

Well have a great week everyone! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.-Sister Belo and I have been learning lots of new words this week, Portuguse for me and English for Sister Belo. Paralelepipedo-paving stone. Really hard work to pronouce but I can now :)

week 66 Pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked....

July 21, 2014

Ola!

Happy almost Pioneer day! As the subject line of this email suggests we walked, and walked, and walked, and walked this week. Our bishop wants us to find a lot of less actives and since our area is huge we end up walking a lot. But we did find some less actives so that was great!

Yesterday we had a noite familiar (FHE) with a less active family and our bishop came with us. It went really well and the wife and husband really want to come back to church. But its a hard transition, especially since the husband suffers with depression and hasnt left their house in a long time. But I really think that they will come back, they just need some good friends to help them. The miracle was what happened after we left. It was about 8:30 and to get to our house is a 45 minute walk so we were trying to walk really fast when suddenly a car pulled up next to us...it was the family we had just visited! The husband left the house! So amazing.

Lets see, the other thing that I will mention is I am still working on my goal to finish the Book of Mormon in Portuguese before I get home. I finished Mosiah last night so that was exciting. I am understanding a lot more and I dont have to use my english scriptures side by side with my Portuguese ones as much. So I guess my Portuguese is getting a little better. I know its only with Heavenly Father's help that I've been able to learn this much Portuguese. 

Well I hope you have a great week! Keep on smiling everyone!

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

week 65 Bem-vindo Sister Belo!

July 14, 2014

Oi!

Well this week we had transfers. My new companion is Sister Belo, she is from Brazil and has been out for 7 months. President Young told me at the transfer meeting that he felt that I needed to be senior companion. I am grateful for this oportuntity.

So this was really the first official transfer meeting I've been to since last time transfers were just at the bus station. So imagine my surprise when one of the AP's stands up to conduct the meeting and announces that "Sister Davis and Elder Thomas will now bear their testimonies"...What?! It went fine but I was definietly nervous. But I guess my Portuguese is getting better because the missionaries I knew at the meeting said my testimony was perfect. Heavenly Father definitely helps me a lot. I know He will never let me fail as long as I am trying my hardest.

Also I tried something new this week...figado de boi...liver! So gross! That is not something I really want to eat again.

Well I hope you are all have a great summer! And...HAPPY BIRHTDAY to my awesome dad! I love you dad! Keep on smiling everyone :)

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

Week 64 Fica!

July 7, 2014

OI!

Tudo bem?!

One of the best parts of the week was we got to meet our new mission president and his wife- the Young's. They are awesome and I love them already! We are actually in the mission office today because the departing missionaries had to get interviewed (my companion is headed home) so I got to talk to Sister Young for a long time. I am so excited to learn from them. I know Heavenly Father put the Young's into my life for a reason. He has a reason for everything.

Oh! By the way...did you know Brazil celebrates the 4th of July? Ha ha, actually Brazil was playing in the world cup on the 4th of July and we had to be in our house for most of the day. But there were some fireworks and lots of parties going on, so really everyone celebrated with me and they just didnt know it :)

We have transfers this week and I am staying in Cachoeiro. I am happy I'm staying (fica=stay).

Annnddd....HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD! I love you so much!

I hope you all have a great week...keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

week 63 Plaqueta

June 30, 2014
Oi todos pessoas!

We had a pretty good week, slow, but good. I have been trying to focus on the small miracles I see everyday, so here are a few :)

-I lost one of my nametags when I got transferred and was a little sad. Well Heavenly Father definitely answers even the simplest of prayers because I found my nametag...in my suitcase and in a pocket I had already looked in. But I found it :) That experience definitely reminded me that Heavenly Father is mindful of all of us and He loves us so much!

-I finished Jaco (Jacob) in O Livro de Mormon! 

-I made a perfect pizza for a FHE we had last night with our ward missionary- Lorenna and her family who are not members of them church. I got volunteered to make the pizza by my companion. Most of the food I've tried to cook here hasn't turned out the way it is suppose to and so finally cooking something perfectly was exciting!

Yep. Lots of small miracles. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and the help He gives me everyday. Being a missionary is not always easy and focusing on the small miracles helps so much.

I hope you all have a great week! Keep on smiling :) 

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- I like Baylee's...I mean Sister Davis' idea about everyone sending us their conversion story! Please do!

Week 62 2 meses em Brazil!

June 23, 2014

Ola!

I really cant believe its already Monday, last week went really fast! I think the best thing that happened was I accomplished my goal of finishing 2 Nefi this week. I had to read a lot but I finished it! 

Last week our bishop called a few new ward missionaries. One of them, Lorena, has helped us a lot this week. She is 19 and joined the church last year and wants to serve a mission. I really have a testimony that missionary work is so much better when members are involved. Lorena introduced us to some people she knows and we were able to teach them and one of them came to church on Sunday! That was awesome.

Everyone here is watching the world cup and so usually when we go into a house the tv is on. Yesterday we visited a less active and the U.S was playing Portugal. Well right before we left I glanced at the tv right in time to see the U.S. score! Ha ha I might have yelled a little bit, it was pretty exciting :)

Today marks my 2 month mark in Brazil. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the opportunity to come here. It is definitely different then the WKM but I love it :)

that

's about it. I hope you have a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

P.S.- yesterday we met another drunk man, and he kissed my hand....gross!

Week 61 Cartas!

June 16, 2014

Ola!

 

This week was kind of different. We had zone conference and then the next day Brazil played in the World Cup. We have to stay in our apartment 2 hours before the game, during the game, and 2 hours after. So that was kind of weird, but I made the most of the time and studied a lot! I am so grateful for that extra time to study. Really though, I love studying about the gospel!

 

Zone Conference was in Vitoria so we had to ride a bus for 2 1/2 hours there and back, it was a long day. But it was awesome! There were 3 zones at this conference and I got to see so many people I know. I really didn't understand much of the actual meeting but that's ok. After the meeting we got our mail! Thank you mom, Baylee, and Sister Rasmussen for the letters, that definitely made me happy!

 

I read a talk this week by Jeffrey R. Holland and part of it really stuck out to me...`Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world.` I know this is true. I may not speak Portuguese but I can love people and show them love by my actions. A lot of people make fun of me because I don't understand a lot of Portuguese and I`ve really had to just keep smiling this week. I know Heavenly Father understands how difficult it is to learn a language and I am grateful for the love He shows me. These experiences also teach me that its so important to love everyone, no matter what trials or difficulties they have.

 

I hope you all have a  great week! Keep on smiling!

 

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

week 60 14th month Nao beijos por favor!

June 9, 2014

Oi!

Well we had another interesting week, full of lots of walking and lots of prayer.

Everyone here is getting ready for the World Cup and so over the course of this last week people have been painting curbs, poles, and some of the streets with green and yellow paint. Its kind of cool to see, people here are definitely proud of their country.

My district here has 2 American elders and this week we were talking and they warned me about drunk men and that we shouldnt talk to them. Well last night we were walking and a drunk man stopped us and started talking to us. Long story short, he was very excited that I'm American and we got his information so we can see him a different day and we were trying to say goodbye and he kissed both of us on the forehead....gross!!!!!! Ha ha I am so glad I at least had some kind of warning. 

We had conferencia da estaca (stake conference) this week. It was a broadcast and it was in Portuguese. I understood some of it, but definitely not everything. Elder Ballard and Elder Scott spoke. One of them talked a lot about how Heavenly Father is our loving father. I know this is true! Heavenly Father loves us so much and I am so grateful that He loves me enough to answer my prayers and listen to me all the time. He has answered so many of my prayers.

Well I hope you have a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo voces!

-Sister Kaycee Davis

week 59 Cachoeiro

June 2, 2014

Oi!

Well this week ended up being really crazy. I got transfered to Cachoeiro, and so did my companion- Sister Leite. So we got doubled in and we are opening a new area too. There is usually 4 sisters covering this area but for some reason there is just us. So we have been busy with trying to figure out our area. Definitely an adventure!

I think one of the best parts of my week was at the transfer site (which was a bus station) I got to talk to some of the members of my MTC district in Provo! That was so awesome! It is really cool to see how the elders I talked to have changed in almost 14 months.

We had almoça (lunch) with our bishop and his wife this week and I shared the spiritual thought at the end. After I finished the bishop asked me- "do you know the reason you are here?" I said I dont know yet. He responded with something like- "there is someone here only you can reach, someone only you can help." I know there is a reason I am in Brazil right now, I may not know that reason until after my mission. But Heavenly Father has something for me to do here.

Well I hope you have a great week! Keep on smiling :)

Eu amo vocês!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis

Week 58 Tchau Marcilio!

 May 26, 2014 


Oi!

Well, we got transfer calls last night and I am getting transfered. But that's ok, I am really hoping I'm not in a trio this time. The strange thing here is that when you get transferred you have no idea where you are going or who your companion is going to be. So this will be exciting!

The sister training leaders came to our area on Wednesday and we went on exchanges. One of the STL's is sister Peterson from my MTC district in the MTC! That was great because I was able to ask her some of my questions and get some more suggestions on how to study Portuguese. I also was able to help teach 2 of our lessons which was really nice. I miss teaching so much and in my trio right now I don't really get to teach or talk.

We had a baptism this week- Nelton. I really don't know him at all, but we were able to do service for him. I think when you serve others you are able to love them more. 

Oh, before I forget...I made pancakes last Monday. They were interesting ha ha but my companions liked them and they loved the syrup I made.

I think that is pretty much it. I know Heavenly Father is helping me so much, and I am so grateful that he answers my prayers. Have a great week and keep on smiling everyone!

Eu amo voces!

 -Sister Kaycee Davis