***Info for sending packages***

Customs taxes in Juiz de Fora (From mission president)

 As many of you are aware there is a risk of paying a tax when receiving a 

packages from outside Brazil. In an attempt to help those of you who will be receiving 

future packages I would like to explain a way that could help to avoid paying the 

customs tax. The following will explain how and why they take the packages. 

Explanation: The package upon arriving in Brazil is weighed and determined if the 

value of the packages is correct, if anything suspicious Is detected the packages will be 

opened and examined to evaluate the true value of the objects within. When the 

package is examined and a certain object of high value is not declared on the 

box/package, the package will be taxed and the recipient will have to pay the allotted 

value in “Real” to receive it. 

The following precautions should be taken to avoid paying the taxes. Do not 

forget to explain to your families the process in order to avoid this problem in the 

future.     

Precautions:

1. The receipts of all items placed inside the box should be saved until the 

missionary has received the package. All other items that were not bought in a 

store, should be declared as the store price on the package.   

2. A photo should be taken of all the items that will be sent inside the package, it 

should include all the items in a single photo.

3. All items inside the package should be declared when sending it. If an item with 

high value is not declared and the package is taxed, the tax will almost always 

be at a very high price.  

4. If a package is sent at a high price, it has a bigger chance of getting held by the 

Correios. (Brazilan post office). In order to avoid this a smaller package would 

be cheaper and less likely to be held by the Correios.  

If a package is held, the mission office will contact the missionary and advise him how 

much it will be to take it out. The missionary should be in contact on the next P-day 

and ask the family the value of the items inside the package.

If the packages continue to arrive with a high customs fee we can show them that the 

tax is too high and the package will be given to the missionary for free.

Tough Week

this week was a pretty tough week and it seemed like everything was going wrong and no one wanted to listen to us. some of our recent converts were starting to have doubts and also some our investigators that have baptisimal dates werent wanting to go to church, things were just looking bleak. my companion and i decided that we needed to fast so we did and it was amazing.

after we fasted things got much better, the people didnt necessarily change but i think that we did, we had more spirit with us and we were able to teach more effectively. i think that we were kind of losing faith because everything seemed to be going wrong but i realized that the enemy works hard but we cant let it get to us, we have to work harder and remember that the Lord is on our side. He is constantly with us, we just need to have faith. through faith all things are possible, but we also need to remember that faith without works is dead. it doesnt suffice to say that we beleive, we also have to show through our actions that we beleive. 

i have such strong faith in my Savior, and although sometimes my faith wavers He is always there to help me strengthen it. im so greatful to be here sharing the joy of this Gospel with others, and im greatful that i can learn so much in each day, im truly being edified by my Savior. i know the hand of the Lord is in our lives everyday, we just have to recognize it, and we can do that by being obedient so that we may be able to be sensitive to the spirit.

eu amo vocês muito

Sister Hair

Attributes of Christ

This transfer I've been focusing on the attributes of Christ, I've been studying one each week and practicing them throughout the week and this week was patience, as i was studying i realized that all these attributes of Christ come when you love your proximo (neighbor). the greatest commandment is to love God above anything else and the second is to love your neighbor as thyself, i think i always knew that everything we do comes from these two commandments but i think that now i truly understand that when we love our Heavenly Father and our Savior we will want to keep the commandments and obey, and not just because its right but because you truly love them. Its amazing too because Christ loved all of us so much and all his attributes came from that love, so when we learn to love our neighbors as ourselves those attributes will start to come naturally  and we will start to more fully follow the example of our Savior.

I think that if i had to describe missionary work in one word i would use love, because that is the start of everything and its love that motivates us to serve our Father in Heaven. i cant explain to you how much i love the people here, i never knew i could love so many people that i just met, but when you serve them and truly love them you begin to see them as our Heavenly Father would and you begin to see their potential and its the greatest blessing in the world to be able to be participating in the Lord´s work.

i hope that all of you are doing well and striving to be better each day.

com muito amor 

Sister Hair

in this pic were wearing rain coats haha its been raining a lot lately and when it rains its like all of heaven is coming down haha 

Tiago! Baptism

Esta semana was the best! for a long time it felt like sister nascimento and i were working hard and not much was happening but this week we had a baptism! it was a miracle! tiago was an old investigator that backed out on the day of his baptism but we started teaching him again and he was so receptive, and he told us that he was finally willing to let go the thinges of the world to be baptized! his baptism was one of the happiest days! it was amazing to see a son of God be baptized and start a new life!

missionary work is very hard but theres no other feeling in the world like helping people recieve the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. im so grateful with my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be here serving in Itatiaia and teaching His Childeren. 

Another great thing that happened this week is that we are teaching um rapaz (young man) that we had to stop teaching becasue he said that he wasn´t interested in finding out if the Book of Mormon was true, it was very sad because he knew that if he prayed he would recieve and answer and that is why he wouldn´t pray. so we had to tell him that we couldn´t go to his house with as much frequency. but then a miracle! He has started going to church and he was friends with Tiago so he went to his baptism and he said he felt the spirit! he is still a little hesitant on having a baptismal date but we are working with him. its amazing how his heart has changed and how the Lord is preparing him! 

im so grateful to be serving the Lord and im so greatful for each of you in my life, i love all of you and you have all been an example to me in my life. remember to always keep the comandments of the Lord and then everything in your life will fall into place. 

eu amo vocês muito!! 

Sister Hair

the one in the army shirt and beanie is Felipe!

Batismo!

hola! esta semana foi uma semana de milagres! we have a pesquisador that had a baptism date and a an interview and everything andthen he backed out on the day of his baptism, we have been reteaching him and we found out that he was scared to be baptized and then sin again. we taught him about the atonement and about having faith in Christ and how he will also have the gift of the Holy Ghost after he is baptized. he is now getting baptized on saturday and he said he was really comitted this time and that he knew the Lord was going to help him. it was incredible cause he also went to the bar where he drinks at and paid everything he owed and said that he wouldnt be coming back because he was changing his life. it was incredible, definitely a miracle. also on sunday a member brought his cousin to church for the first time and his cousin wants to be baptized! just going to church he said he knew it was what the Lord wanted! so he has a data for march 5th and we are going to teach him and help him to get ready! its so amazing to see the Lord at work, i love this gospel and im so grateful that i get to be a part of building up Gods kingdom 

im so grateful for all you in my life, each of you has helped me in so many ways i love all of you and i know that true happiness can only come through the gospel of Jesus Christ. remember to always put Him first in your life and then everything else will fall into place.

com muito amor 

Sister Hair

Sister Leader Trainadoras

A member that feeds us a lot!

We found a bus so we had to take funny pictures

Fofinha! (cutie)

When I got my Christmas package!

Meu Distrito

Shoe tan line 

Lightning Bugs

Hola! this week was very good!! we were able to talk to so many people! its been rough the last few weeks cause it was carnaval and literally the people go crazy here... its basically a holiday were everyone is drunk for 2 weeks straight haha  but its over now!! wooho! 

we have two investigators right now that are really great and so receptive but they are going through hard things in their life so they think that the solution is to get drunk, we try to expain to them that they just need to use the atonement of Jesus Christ and then everything will be ok and they will feel comfort in their hearts but they are lacking faith, they believe in Christ and have a testimony they just have a hard time beleiving that Christ can heal them, its very sad, but if you guys could help me pray for them i would appreciate it so much! and i know that miracles will happen, their names are Helen and Jacqueline. 

this week we had a family home evening at irma Janaina´s house and it was very fun and we felt the spirit very strong and also we saw a buch of lightning bugs in front of her house!! it was so cool, i have never seen any before and it was like a scene in a movie haha we were able to catch them and then let them go and the whole yard had specs of light everywhere, im so greatful for nature and the tender mercies of the Lord, its incredible to see how much he loves us, there are miracles in our life everyday, we just have to open our eyes and see them.

im about out of time again but i want you all to know that i love you all and im so greatful for each of you in my life 

com muito amor 

Sister Hair

First Companion and Trainer