To Be is Never Done

Hello, Northern Hemisphere!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jennifer Molnar!! I love you!

Lots and lots and lots of rain. 15 or 16 days of rain, nonstop. My
shoes will never dry. Ever.

Lots of beer encounters this week, haha--one thing I'm learning here
in Bahia is how to talk to drunk people (it's kind of like talking to
2-year-olds).

Thanks to a wonderful letter I received last week, I've been thinking
a lot lately about the concept of "To be," as in the talk by Lynn G.
Robbins in April of 2011. We are here in the earth to BECOME more like
Jesus Christ. To do this, we need to do the things he did. To do and
to be are very linked. One thing Elder Robbins says is that "To be is
never done." I love this. This life is a process, and my mission is
really helping me push along and refine myself and become more like
Christ.

This last week, in an attempt to get people to go to church on Sunday,
we focused a lot on the link between the Atonement of Jesus Christ an
the partaking of the Sacrament. "Do you think there's anything more
important than remembering the suffering of Christ for you?" I asked
several investigators. They said no. Then I said that going to church
was the best way for them to show this faith and love for the Savior.

Thanks to this week of thinking about the importance of the sacrament,
when I finally went to church on Sunday and partook of the sacrament
myself, it was very poignant and very special for me. I thought of the
torn flesh and spilled blood of Christ for me, and with bowed head
thought of His love for me and for all His children.

I invite everyone to take the sacrament seriously, because it is a
beautiful opportunity to remember Christ. It is the way He has asked
us to remember Him.

Another quick thought -- I am learning here more and more the
importance of fathers. We are teaching a wonderful family who's father
is completely involved, reading the scriptures diligently each day
(he's in JACOB), and motivating the rest of the family to do the same.
There are so many problems in the world due to lack of strong fathers
in the home. I have gained even more appreciation for my father, and
more motivation to marry a strong father who will set an example to my
sons--so they in turn will be strong fathers.

I love you all and I love the mission. I have 53 or so (I counted) bug
bites below my knees, and my feet are still wet, and I just want to
walk on a un-cobblestony street, and sometimes I have to talk to drunk
people, but I love this mission with all my heart and soul. I am truly
becoming what God wants me to become.

I have never regretted this choice, and never will. Thank you to all
who have supported me.

Much love,
Sister Petty