February 17, 2020
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| 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.
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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....
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| 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!
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