Week #2 - Amazing Moments from Sao Paulo

Como vai! 

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since I've left home. It definitely feels longer and also it feels shorter. But... This week was crazy fun. We have classes all day every day except for P-Day (our "day off" to take a break from things, and do things like laundry, go to the temple, write letters, etc.) and Sunday, but we still have to study all the time. I am starting to understand more Portuguese each day. Our instructors here are making us start to speak only in Portuguese in the classroom, so that makes us have to learn faster. And you remember my companion Sister Hernandez? Well she isn't my companion anymore--lol. Since she's fluent in Spanish, she is now companions with a Brazilian and is leaving for Brasilia in two weeks. We are the only two in the CTM going to Brasilia. So I am now in a trio with sister Anderson and Sister De Mille. I love them both so much. It is way easier to be in a trio (than I thought) and we have the best of times. We also just started this week something called "TRC" which is when we have a random instructor act like an investigator and over the next few weeks we have to teach him in Portuguese like he has never heard of our church before. I was so nervous the first day and we didn't do too good. The next day was our second one and we did AMAZING! Some cool stories from this week:

We had to go to the Federal Police Department to verify who we are and to get fingerprinted. We were there just sitting for like 3 hours. But I saw Sister Platt there! I was so happy to see her. She is serving in the visitor center at the temple and is loving it there. But while me and Sister De Mille were waiting for Sister Anderson, a random Brazilian guy was walking past us, stopped, and just stared at me. I was kinda creeped out so I smiled and waved. He then came up to me and asked in broken English "Where are you from?" I then replied, "Utah."  He then asked what I was doing there. So I replied: I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (in Portuguese) and pointed to my name tag. He stared at my tag, then my face, said nothing and walked away. My first real missionary interaction with a Brazilian outside of the CTM! 

Today we got to go to the Campinas Temple. It is so beautiful. While waiting there, a lot of people showed up and were talking to everyone. All of a sudden, a Brazilian girl randomly came up to me and my companions and starting asking us about our Portuguese. Then we made eye contact and I realized it was my friend I met on instagram from my mission, a girl name Luiza. I mentioned her in my farewell talk (story added below) and I didn't know if I would ever be able to meet her, since she would be leaving to the CTM a week after I'd get to Brasilia. But she was there. It was really her!  We screamed and hugged each other and everyone looked at us weird. But I felt the spirit so strongly when I saw her. I knew that God had planned that encounter and it was amazing to be able to meet her in real life, in front of the Campinas temple.

I love being a missionary. I have never felt so happy doing something in my life. I will talk to you all next week!!

Love Sister Guilott <3

With Sister De Mille and Sister Anderson at the Campinas Brazil Temple

*Story of Louiza: "When I received my mission call in early September, I excitedly looked on social media at sites reserved for those who have received their call. You can look up others going to your same mission.  I posted that I was going to Brasilia and a young girl named Luiza reached out to me and said she was from Brasilia and was so excited I would be serving in her country and city. We started to correspond back and forth, which was difficult with the language barrier as her English was limited and my Portuguese consisted of four words. She started asking me how I knew that I wanted to serve a mission and then asked me about the specifics: like how do you start your papers, what is the process. I shared with her my story of my experience and my excitement to be serving a mission. We continued to correspond as she made that first appointment with her bishop and started her papers. She would text me about her progress. She received her call last month and texted me and made sure that her mission call opening would be at a time that I could participate and watch. It was such a tender moment to watch my new friend open her call, and in a foreign language I have hope to one day understand, receive her call to Mexico City. She leaves in February and I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to meet her in person, but we were able to strengthen one another through this experience as we both are preparing to serve missions, to become missionaries. Her love for me, a stranger from Brasilia, Brazil, has blessed my life." 

Thank you Mindy for the awesome clothesline!  I love it!

Daily exercise at 9:00 AM - it's soooo hot!

Bug Bite Picture #2

Note from Mom: The following picture was posted on the FB missionary site for Caroline's grandfather's (Brazil Sao Paulo Mission - President Beitler) mission site. The CTM President, Presidente Milder posted this picture and said, "Ela será Sister Guilott. Neta do Presidente Baitler. Filha de Juliet Beitler, que foi missionária na Missão Lisboa. Sister Guilott servirá na Missão Brasília." He served as a missionary under Caroline's grandfather. We loved getting that picture of her, and cherished the opportunity to reconnect this past week with so many wonderful missionaries who I knew in Brazil where we lived for 3 years while my father was the mission president in Sao Paulo, one of the 4 missions at that time (now there are 36).