Week #8 - O que você disse? (What did you say?)

Monday, February 24, 2020

Lago Sul - Learning our way around the city!

Hello friends!!! 

Crazy that I've been here in Brasilia for two weeks. Also crazy because I UNDERSTAND NOTHING!! Holy cow, that has definitely been the hardest thing for me here... but every time we go and eat with members, they always want me to pray (since I'm the American that doesn't know Portuguese) and they always are surprised that my Portuguese is actually pretty good haha. I love speaking it and can say a few things, but I just never understand it.

This week was a crazy one. My companion got some sad news about her nephew (a baby) being in the hospital and he almost didn't make it. That was super hard for her so we were not able to go out and teach while while he was so critical and she processed that information. He is doing so much better now. It was hard for me because we didn't go out and teach and that's all I wanted to do. But I guess it was good to have that breather to get organized and ready to work hard. The best day this week was Friday and Saturday. 

Friday:

We went to lunch with some members and then afterwards were waiting at a bus stop and realized half an hour later it was the wrong bus stop... right when we were about to leave a lady came up to us and was saying how pretty we were and then saw our missionary name tags and went on and on how much she loves missionaries and wants to learn more. Then all of a sudden her bus was coming, and really fast she told us her name and where she worked and told us to come find her and teach her. So we did exactly that the next day: We went and found her and her work, talked to her and she was so receptive and excited, and she wants to learn more!! Talk about miracles.

Food!

A member taught me to make pastels, my new favorite food!

We took an Uber home later that day and the Uber driver told us he wanted to learn more. So we had that contact. We went and ate food at a cute restaurant and a worker there told us she wants to take the missionary lessons. We kind of taught a lesson to a lady named Ruth, and we also gave her a Book of Mormon. I was able (in Portuguese) to testify to her about it and she understood me! She said she would read it!! Literally so many miracles that day. 

On the bus - trying not to get lost!

Saturday:

Saturday even we felt like we needed to go and visit this one family, the Barros. We got on the bus and started our journey (remember we are both new to the area, so its hard to find our way around). All of a sudden I look out the window and realize we are not in our area at all and were in the middle of Brasilia--lost. (We reported it to the Zone Leaders so they could know as we are supposed to do.) We ended up finally getting to the right bus and eventually got to the stop we really needed. We were still pretty lost then, our phone was dying, and it was raining and pitch black dark outside... so we finally found the houses where the Barros lived, but didn't know which house was their house. Then we looked through one of the windows and there on the fridge was a picture of the Sao Paulo temple! We knew we had found their house! We later found out that the lady who lives there, never opens her curtains to the room that we could see into where we saw the picture of the temple.  But that day, the lady noticed that her mom was acting so lonely and felt like that day they needed to open the curtains to let in the light and have her mom be able to see outside. And that was what allowed us to find them! It was such an awesome experience to follow the spirit like that!

Our Chapel in Lago Sul

Lago Sul is definitely super hard, but it is so amazing here and I love being able to feel the spirit so strongly here. I hope this week you all are able to feel the spirit in anyway!! 

Eu amo sendo uma missionaria e falando português! Eu não entendo nada mas eu amo ouvir outro pessoas falam português. Português é difícil e eu preciso paciência! Eu te amo!

Love you all!

Sister Guilott :)

I love it here!

Practicing my Portuguese to these Brazilian cats!

View Pictures of Lago Sul

 

We walk A LOT!

 

This is a house across the street--we are in a really nice area!

Lots of rain, not too hot, and on purpose I didn't send a bug bite
picture.....Too many!!!

Loving it! It's hard, but it's where I want to be!

Week #7 - Hello Brasilia!

February 17, 2020

Sister Cunha and me in Lago Sul

HELLO BRASILIAAAA! 

Holy cow I cant believe that I am here in my mission. I LOVE IT HERE! My area is called Lago Sul and it is the richest area of my mission. Our ward is 50% Americans... So I guess I won't learn Portuguese as fast as I had hoped. Hahaha. With the Embassy nearby, there are a lot of government people who live in this area from all over, so that is why we have an English-speaking ward in this area. But it has been fun to go to lunch at members houses. One day we go to a Brazilian couple making rice and beans, and then the next day its Americans making breakfast burritos. This week was definitely a crazy one though. 

My companion is Sister Cunha and she is amazing. She is from Sao Paulo and knows both Portuguese and English. She is a blessing from God.  She and I both are new to this area. So that is interesting and fun! She has been out 7 months and also loves to sing! When we walk around (trying not to get lost as we learn our new area) we love to sing hymns in Portuguese and that is so much fun. When I arrived on Tuesday, I quickly met with the Mission President and his wife, and then Sister Cunha and I arrived at our area to move in and unpack. 

I was the only American who arrived on Tuesday!
The elders and sisters who came with me from the CTM and the office elders.

Wednesday was our first day to go out and it was so fun. I didn't understand a single thing and still don't, but I feel the spirit here. Wednesday night we found out that we would be getting another sister in our companionship for a few days who burned her hand really bad named Sister Robison who is also American. She has been serving for 7 months. She wasn't allowed to go out in sunlight for 6 months... so that meant we had to stay inside and not go out and teach for a few days. That was so difficult for me because all I wanted to do was go outside and teach people and learn the language. Then the next day we got a call from our mission president and he told us that she would be going to live in the mission home. I was sad because we had become good friends, but also happy that I could go and be outside and get to know my area. She did give me hope about learning the language. She said, first I will understand my companion; then the other missionaries; then the members; then the investigators; and finally everyone else. I am starting to understand my companion....

Sister Robison - with us for two days

The next day, Saturday, we went and met with members and people in the city. We met two investigators whose names are Jaceleine and Joaquim. They are amazing. They had baptism dates with the other sisters and then they didn't anymore. Not quite sure what happened. But they love our gospel and I have a lot of hope for them.  Joaquim came to church on Sunday. That was exciting!

We also met a neighbor named Michal Joseph who is from England that we talked to for 45 minutes about his theory on life. He also made us English "tea" and was asking us so many questions about our church and just talking about his view on life. He wants to just have Star Trek come to life and live in space. He was telling us about this tv show on Netflix about space that I had never heard of, and he told us if we watched it, he would read The Book of Mormon... We told him he didn't have Netflix... so we will pray that he will read the Book of Mormon. We feel his spirit so strongly, even though he said a lot of strange things. People are looking for the truth!

Sunday at church was so fun because it is half Americans that don't know Portuguese and half Brazilians that don't know English. So that is interesting. A talk was given in English, and a Portuguese woman stood next to the person giving the talk and translated it into Portuguese. We had four investigators at church, so that was exciting since we had only had three days to get to know people in our area. 

I was expecting the Brazilians not to really notice me since I look so young and foreign. The few times we went out in Sao Paulo, it seemed like they didn't like any of the Americans. Like they literally ran away from me. But I'll tell ya.... I have never received more attention in my whole life than this week in Lago Sul because I am an American girl. An older man came up to my companion and told her that he wanted to take me to his city and marry me. I have had countless guys wink and just smile and stare at me or call me an angel... Flattering, but no hahaha. I wasn't expecting all that. 

I honestly love it here in Lago Sul and I feel the Spirit all the time here. I know that what I am doing is where I am supposed to be right now and that I am teaching about the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The hardest thing right now for me is learning Portuguese. I don't understand it that much, so pray for me to learn it!! I love you all so much!

Sister Guilott <3

It's not too humid or too hot. Happy about that!

Awesome street art!

Many of our member dinners/lunches have fallen through-haha!
So we eat out sometimes!

In our kitchen, making food!
Our apartment is nice!

This street is called "friendship" street

Cute sandwiches Sister Cunha made for us!

Walking in my area Lago Sul

It's beautiful -- we walk, take the bus, or members drive us.
They drive crazy here -- I don't think I will ever get used to it.

5 bites I got the first time we went into a home to visit people...
Don't worry mom, I am going to start using the bug repellent. 

Week #6 - Leaving the CTM tomorrow for Brasilia!

My District - I will miss them all so much!
I am the only one going to Brasilia.

This week has been a crazy one... MY LAST WEEK AT THE CTM!! The CTM experience has been so fun, but one thing I always remember that my mom told me: "The CTM is not your real mission. It's the practice run." I literally cannot explain my excitement to go to Brasilia... TOMORROW! The only bummer is that I have to say goodbye to my district, and to literally everyone here. But that is something that I will have to get used to while being here on a mission. The other hard thing is that I have to wake up at 3 am to leave for the airport. And if you know me, I am not a morning person. So pray that I will be okay haha. 

So last Wednesday, there was some crazy stuff that happened here at the CTM. You may have heard or read about it online or on the news. A man tried to sneak into the CTM early on Wednesday and had a weapon trying to attack the security guards. The police were called and the man then tried to attack the police, which then ended up with the police shooting and killing the man inside the CTM who was trying to attack everyone.

Luckily no one got hurt and also I wasn't here, I was at the Temple when it all happened. But the spirit was strong, and we all felt safe that night. It shook us up a bit, but we are so thankful for the prayers on the behalf of missionaries. That night we had a devotional to welcome all the new people that got here that day. I had been asked a couple days before if I could sing. I was having a hard time deciding what song to sing, then I decided on I Know that My Redeemer Lives. And my friend from home, Sister Gustavenson played the piano for me. After I sang, I looked out and everyone was crying... I was a little scared wondering why, and then I just got hit so strongly with the spirit as I was told: "It's because of your testimony through music." Then I started to get teary eyed. It was a beautiful experience at the CTM. It made me realized once again how amazing music is and how much you can feel the spirit through it. I am so grateful I have already had such amazing experiences with music on my mission! 

We had our last classes with our teachers this week. At the end of our last class of the night, our instructor had a testimony meeting with us in Portuguese. We all shared such beautiful testimonies and it was awesome to think that 6 weeks ago I only knew how to say "hi" or "thank you" in Portuguese, and now I can share my testimony or teach a lesson. SO AWESOME!!

I love being a missionary, and I am excited to start sharing what I believe with the people in Brasilia. I am sad to leave my companions, but I know that I need to focus on the work that I am about to start. I love you all so much and I know I wouldn't be able to do this without the love from all of you guys.

Lembrar sua Salvador ama todos. Eu amo voces! 

Love,

Sister Guilott :)

My instructor-He taught me so much!

We had a "movie night" and these were our treats!

Week #5 - It's My Last Week Here in the CTM!

*NOTE FROM MOM: Many have asked about what happened at the CTM yesterday. She told me she was counseled not to write home about it, but as it is all over the news now, it seems appropriate to address it here. This is part of an email all parents who had children in the CTM in Sao Paulo received: "This morning a man with a knife entered the missionary training center. Security guards were able to detain the man near the reception desk until the police arrived. He tried to attack the police and ended up being shot and killed by the police. None of the missionaries or MTC staff were harmed." (The story is on KSL and in the Church News.)

I spoke with Caroline before reading the above email and she told me about the experience (she had returned from being at the Temple right after it happened) and she sounded like herself. She told me, "Mom, the protection I feel right now is almost physical--like angels are literally hugging us tight and we are all happy, upbeat, and the work is going on." She told me she had been asked to sing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" that evening at a devotional with all 350 missionaries. Her cute friend from PGHS, Natalie Gustaveson, was going to accompany her.  Thank you for all the prayers for missionaries to be safe! Miracles happen every day--especially when you a missionary.



Wednesday, February 5, 2020

My CTM instructor Irma Gisely

Oi friend and family! 

Crazy news... ITS MY LAST WEEK HERE! And I am so excited and nervous to be leaving the CTM. This week has been super long and fun. This week we had divisions which is when we pair up with other missionaries and prepare lessons to teach other missionaries here like they are investigators. It was so fun to hear people fluent in Portuguese and hear them talk super fast. I didn't understand them, but it was still fun to hear them. This week I have been able to speak more Portuguese and I have been able to speak from the heart. I am starting to be able to speak better. I have had more confidence in myself. I have been able to speak from the heart and not have to look at anything to speak Portuguese. I know that when I get to Brasilia, I will learn the language so much faster since I will be interacting daily with Brazilians. On Sunday, one of our branch presidency members was talking to us and told us that we need to learn as much Portuguese as possible in the CTM in order to have fun with your trainer. So this week I am going to try and memorize so many words, it's gonna be crazy!! I can't believe its my last week. My district is still super fun. I will miss them all so much. 

My study desk set up

This Sunday I found out I was going to teach Relief Society literally right before I taught... That was fun. And the best part is that our CTM President's wife was in my class. Talk about stress zone. I also bore my testimony in the Fast Sunday Meeting this week and that was fun. I was able to talk without reading anything and that was an awesome experience. My testimony has grown so much while being here at the CTM. Even though I am sad to be leaving, I have never been more excited to start my adventure in Braslia! 

Since it's our last week here, we have 3 TRCs a day... And they are getting easier and actually getting more fun!

Today was my last time going to the temple for the next 18 months... I was so sad and yet felt so much peace while at the temple today.

My wonderful district

I love you all so much and I love being here as a missionary! 

Something funny about this week... NO BUG BITES! Good news for me and bad news for you guys since I know you enjoy "Sister Guilott's weekly bug bite pictures."

Love,

Sister Guilott

Selfie with the comps

 

One of my roommates who left already - I adore her!