Email: February 27, 2017

Hello!!

Thanks mom for the adage! I learned a few in portuguese and the people always laugh when i use them. Well this week was amazing! We had a tour of our mission and elder and sister Leimer came and spoke to us. I learned SO much and felt a spirit so strong. I had so many questions answered that i didn´t even know i had. One thing that REALLY stuck out to me was when they talked about the people who we are teaching, or family members or friends who don´t accept the gospel fully in this life. It´s hard for us here because we love these people so much and just want the best for them. But Elder Leimer explained that one day they will be talking with jesus and probably jesus will say "Hey john. You´re a friend of Sister Hulsey, and Sister Hulsey is a friend of mine, let´s talk". The only thing we can do it our part!

This week started off great because we started teaching Anabela. She is a reference from the elders and she wants an answer sooo bad. She is reading, praying, and coming to church so i know that heavenly father will respond!! She calls us every day to see how we are doing. She also bought us flowers this week. she is amazing!

We also were able to mark Rosa e Henrique for baptism! Rosa is 15 and Henrique is 13 and they were very excited to choose a date to be baptized. Rosa wanted it to be a little bit sooner than the 18 of march because she has a lot of tests in school and wanted the help of the holy ghost, but in the end she chose 18. Isabel, their mom understands that she has to get married before she can get baptized, which she was a little bit sad about but she said she has a lot of faith that one day she will be baptized. What a privelege i have to learn and grow with these people here in Portugal!

Transfer calls came yesterday and I will be staying here in Braga with a new comp named sister Macedo from....Brazil! I think she has one more transfer here on the mission than i do! I am excited for  an opportunity to start fresh! It amazes me how much im learning about the atonement here on the mission. I am very grateful for this opportunity! Glad you had a good experience at the temple! That is one thing i REALLY miss but that´s ok. I can always remember my covenants. Good job Eli for swallowing pills!!!

Love you Guys!

Sister Emma Hulsey

Email: February 20, 2017

Hello! 

Another week bites the dust. This week was pretty cool we got to do a division with some sisters in guimaraes and i got to work with sis Maingot!!! (the sister that lived in our house in porto when her leg was all broken) and it was so good to be with her! and to see her walk! we also invited people to be baptized on the street because our president challenged us to do 2 baptism invites with a date per day. Also this week we had a fabulous lesson with Isabel, Rosa, and henrique. Isabel REALLY wants to be baptized! the only things is she needs to get married...and that will take at the least like 2 months because she needs papers from angola! but we will continue with her. She is so incredible! she reads the book of mormon on the bus on her way to work and she explained to us one day she was embarassed to take out the BoM and read because people always look at her so she said she said a prayer and after she felt as if she were alone, and that she knows heavenly father answers prayers! Seriously it is such a privelege to teach people with such great faith! I learn SO much from these people here. Because almost all of these people are catholic (or evangelical) sooo they have a lot of faith in Jesus Christ they just have to be pointed in the right direction. 

Also on Saturday we had a very special experience. We have been trying to contact lots of less actives and on friday we called Rosa Maria who in the end finally said we could come visit her the next day. So we went and she explained that even though she is less active she still always prays and listens to motab. She said that on thursday night she was feeling down so she turned on motab and felt something so strong inside of her to go to the church. it was really late so she didn´t go. but then all of the sudden the next day we called!! In the end we invited her to church and she said that maybe she will go. Then on our way to church we found her walking too! she said it felt good to be back in church. I know that the Lord always knows every single one of his children!! 

We have transfers coming next week. OOO and we are excited for this week because elder limeiur is coming to do a mission tour. 

Love you guys and love our Savior!

Love

Sister Hulsey

Photos Received February 18, 2017

Celso Marcelo Pinho Grando sent these pitures today through facebook.

Celso Marcelo Pinho Grando enviou essas fotos hoje através do Facebook.

Email: February 13, 2017

Ola Familia!!!!!!!

We had a fantastic week. The Lord blessed us this week to be able to serve a bunch of people! and it was awesome. we got to help a woman in our ward unpack her things for her new house, we helped the elders with one of their investigators, we helped one our investigators Belmira clean up her house. Oh so belmira is the ex investigator that we found a few weeks ago but she wants to meet with us again! She has some problems and was involved with drugs but we cleaned her room and now we have new clothes! It was really cool because she said she tried to get help from lots of other people but in the end who were the ones that helped? the missionaries! 

HAHA so last wednesday we were doing studies and we got a knock on the door. It was some peeps to do an inspection for the gas in our house. They did the inspection but we didn´t pass! so they turned off our gas and i don´t think we will have it on again until this thursday! So we haven´t had any hot water and can´t use our stove. The cold shower hasn´t been fun because our house is already soups cold but i brought the heaters into the bathroom and it wasn´t too bad. haha a bunch of members have offered to let us shower there but we figured it´s either walk in the rain or just take a cold shower. but all is well!!

so funny story...the owner of our apartment came to our house to fix the leak on our stove. We were getting ready to leave and i had to go brush my teeth. So  i went to my bathroom (first time in my life i have my own bathroom!) and the door was cracked open so i entered but only to find antonio (the husband of the owner) sitting on my toilet leaving me a surprise!!! he screamed and i screamed and this his wife said sorry, forgot to tell you he was in there. OH man it was awkward but im still laughing about it. (oh and then when we got home that night i realized he didn´t flush!!!)Then that same day we got a phone call from ana from our ward and we scheduled to meet with one of her neighbors. she said after you´re done visiting her "voces vao almocar aqui" (have lunch here) so i told her awesome and that we would be coming soon. what a blessing because we didn´t have gas in our house!  Well we tried the neighbor and after we called ana again to see when to come over. I asked her when lunch was and then she explained to me that she had said "me calçar" (help her put on her shoes) OOPS i told her we would be right over! she laughed and i laughed and i think my comp almost killed me. 

We saw miracles and had 5 investigators at church yesterday!!!! gloria para deus!!! I feel like every week i am coming to know our savior more. I am learning more how to rely on him. Also i just love the book of mormon. I read in mosiah 18 a few days ago and i love that we have the opportunity to take the sacrament every week and remember our baptisms. I love our savior and know that he has already suffered for us. 

HBD MEGAN ESSA SEMANA!!!!!!!!!!!!! megan i would make you a sign too but i forgot my camera but parabens for doing well in stake conference and for having a good date with alex. 

LOVE YOU GUYS!!! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! (i think we are going to heart attack a bunch of our peeps) 

Sister Emma Hulsey

--so this was from my first transfer and now we are serving together

Email: February 6, 2017

Hi mom! and everybody else,

it rained a loooooottttt this week. my cute rain boots were FILLED with rain . i heard that we had a tornado here. which makes sense because there was tons of wind and rain but we continued to work. On saturday NOBODY was in there house but finally at the end of the day we taught this family and finally were able to teach the father of this family. Then yesterday we didn´t really have anyone to visit so we quickly made some cookies and delivered them to members and investigators who were sick and it was super fun! Also we too had a wonderful sacrament meeting yesterday. it was super spiritual and our investigators isabel, rosa e henrique came to church! they are from angola and are awesome. And i love what you said about the fast offerings mom. the lord knows EVERY effort we put in to try to be obedient. 

and a very happy birthday to eli this week! i will send a picture for you guys to print out for him. i love you and am always praying for you guys! 

Sister Emma Hulsey

Email: January 30, 2017

hello family!!! 

I love hearing from you guys! but i don´t like responding, nothing against you guys just im not very good at writing. Anyways....this week was cool!! To start off the missionary schedule changed! we now can choose when to do comp and language study and we plan in the morning. Its been a little funky to adjust but i love having time to relax before bed! we had a worldwide missionary broadcast and it was SO good. i learned so much and i know that our prophets and apostles are inspired. Something that i am really trying to focus on this transfer , well ok to not focus on, is numbers. But to really help my peeps progress in this gospel. In this broadcast we learned that we are not just here to preach but to really establish the church and to baptize converts! this will take patience and more sensitivity to the spirit but it is #worthit!!! we were still able to teach some peeps this week which is a blessing! but we had i think 10 appointments fall through this week which was a bummer but we will continue. Also yesterday we were knocking doors and we found this really sassy girl and it was probably one of the most awkward contacts ever but when i think about it i just laugh. She did NOT want to talk with us but she kept responding (very rudely) to the questions we asked. I don´t really know how to explain it but just know that i am sitll very awkward and probs more awkward in portuguese but i always have a reason to laugh. Wowzers is has been raining quite a bit here but i love the rain and it  always makes me think of all the blessings we have and also that song i like to look for rainbows.

anyways i am doing well! every day  i hope to be a more consecrated missionary. 

Love you guys with every thing that i am! 

Sister Emma Hulsey

we aren´t allowed to ride on horses...

Email: January 23, 2017

Querida familia 

This week was muito fixe! First because we had like 5 meals with members this week which was a blessing because we didn´t go shopping last pday! alsoooo because we found this awesome family this week! when we knocked on her door she was apprehensive to speak with us but after talking a little bit more with her she opened up and we were able to return! and teach her 2 sons! her one son miguel was so adorable and when we gave him a pamphlet of the first lesson he immediatley grabbed it, read it and tried to draw it. And her other son said the closing prayer! the lord is blessing us here. I LOVE teaching whole families. it is such a privelege! Also i am really growing every day more to love my personal study time. This week i was reading in Jacob and dang he is such a great example. he explained that he was ready to answer for the sins of the people. He felt comfortable standing in the presence of god saying yes, i did ALL that i could to help this person. What love he must of had for those people he was teaching! I want to work harder to get to the point that jacob was at. Also my testimony was strengthened a lot about church attendance. First because sis gouveia and i have been studying about how we can get our investigators to church and also because this week at church i received so many answers and felt a spirit so strong. 

Funny story sis gouveia like to always scare me and turn out the lights when im in the bathroom (because here in portugal the lights for the rooms are outside of the room) so this week i was praying before bed and i though sis gouveia was already in bed because the lights were out and there was a lump in her bed. Then i hear the door creek so i just started praying harder because i was flipping scared but then realized it was sis gouveia. Also while we were knocking doors we found sooo many people who were taking baths. Only slightly awkward!! 

Love you Guys

Sis Hulsey 

THANKS FOR THE PACKAGE AND THE PJSSSS !!!!!!!!!