Hi hi, I'm going to do my best to make this swift so I can get to my spiritual thought
P-day always comes at the perfect time because I feel like every Sunday night, I'm limping home
also! today I chopped my hair I feel like a little like Dora
my week:
mission tour
december 13
this week we went Itajaí for a mission conference! it was half of the mission with some speakers. It's always nice to see other missionaries because we can't do that in this mission. we stayed at an STL (sister training leaders') house, and I just love every time I can talk with some more sisters.
-there was a missionary whose almost finished w the mission, he was in the Army before. I asked which one was harder and he said the mission. he was dead serious.
-Sister Bird and I also somehow ended up as the only missionaries at the table for lunch with the President, his wife, and the guest speakers.
the lunches with members are always a highlight I love being in their homes, and learning about their lives and the culture here
this family has 100 chickens!
the dad said next time he's going to make us sausages made from the blood of a pig which is amazing, and I will not be attending. At times like I wish didn't understand Português
Edson: I don't like when people overuse the word "elect" on the mission. but this week we were walking on the street and some guy yelled out his window and said, "Mormons!" he called us in and wow. but this guy was an elect.
he said everyone prays for riches and gifts, but "I am hungry for knowledge." Golden words to hear as a missionary. we spent over an hour with him, and he was hanging on to every word we were saying. his name is Edson, he's in his 40s. he was injured as a child and in a wheelchair and paralyzed most of his life. but now he's walking and you could never tell. I am very excited to see where it goes with him.
we also marked a date with Zulu! we met him when he helped us try to find the address of our other friend. he's a nice old grandpa who wants to take us to get ice cream. he's been to church every Sunday since we met him!
...
December 13
12 years ago, my angel brother Cannon returned to his heavenly home
I remember everything
the funeral
the burial
being picked up in the middle of the night to go hold my brother one last time with my family all around me
his blue eyes
his fuzzy hair and scalp I'd pick at when I held him
we took him to Gatorland
he loved piano music, the same I listen to everyday on my mission
he loved when my mom sung You Are my Sunshine
his fuzzy socks
the Seattle Children's visits
wearing color changing lip gloss at his burial with tears down my face
my dad would take too fast of turns and Cannon would be halfway out the car seat, and we'd just flip him back in
I liked to rescue kittens, and they would always end up snuggling Cannon
Ethan and I feeding him through his feeding tube when we were only 7 and 10
the first day I went back to school after his death, I stopped at the door of my 2nd grade classroom and said a prayer for peace
everyone wore yellow at his funeral
I'd be lying if I said it isn't still hard to talk about
I'd be lying if I said December 13 isn't still heavy
I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry at a bus stop with Sister Bird the night of the 12th
it's hard to know that I understood grief and death at such a young age
but
in the Book of Mormon, a sign of Jesus Christ being born was during the night the sky didn't go dark
Jesus Christ is the light of the world
because of him our dark nights can be turned to light
because of him our bitter can turn to brightness and joy
we celebrate Cannon's life, and we know we can be with him again because of the Savior of our world
the gospel of Jesus Christ has turned grief into gratitude and pain into peace for my family
the veil is thin here
I am honored to be his earthly and eternal sister
I still deal with grief, but I have never lacked peace
I love this gospel
with this day coming up, I was really worried about how I was going to work the entire day and keep it together. I prayed really hard because there is no choice and I was blessed with a day full of peace. And, I wore yellow 💛
🤍sister copeland
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