Is That a Peacock?

July 30, 2012

So, our new house is... unique.  I'm actually starting to love it!  First off, we have more room to run around, and we have stairs up to the roof/balcony thing.  I LOVE roof/balcony things here.  When I first saw one, I wanted it so bad; and now we have one!  However, we don’t go up there too often because we are greeted by 

an atrocious smell of the illegal birds our neighbors are raising. Apparently, they sell the poop, too??  There is some sort of illegal bird/duck/peacock there, also.  I was talking about it with Sister Diller while we were waiting for President Lima to set up his presentation before our interviews (so, unfortunately, there was an audience); and one of the Brazilian sister missionaries blurted out, "O que é COCK?" Eeeeeeekey!  Sister Diller and I started laughing, and I started blushing for the sister.  She said it again, and Sister Diller put her hand over the sister’s mouth and shushed her. Then, she whispered the definition to her.  Baaahaha, I bet the elders around us were trying really hard not to bust up.  
[At times, a new language can be... embarrassing.]

Rio de Janeiro Mission President Lima and his wife.

This week was ridiculous.  We moved Monday AND had to work that day.  

We had interviews with President Lima on Tuesday; and we recruited the help of a brother and sister (teenagers), which resulted in finding 2 families, 4 lessons with member present, 1 other, 8 new investigators, and references.  I love teenagers. 

Thursday, we organized an interview with the cousin of the teenage boy we baptized 2 weeks ago.  Our poor DL [District Leader] had some rash he thought was chicken pox that he contracted from a service project.  The DLs arrived late to our meeting because the pregnant wife of their investigator pretty much almost died.  Elder Briglia (Elder Jenks is our new DL) held her convulsing body as they zoomed to the hospital.  Sheesh. 

Elder Claudio R. M. Costa

Friday, we had a conference with Elder Claudio R. M. COSTA [First Quorum of the Seventy].  Elder Rogério G. R. Cruz [Area Seventy for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] was there, too. Elder Costa rocks my socks.  Basically.  I liked him before, but this seals it.  

This is the apartment in Jacarepaguá. It looks pretty niiiice.

Elder Rogério G. R. Cruz

The conference was split into 2 groups, and we stayed at Jacarepaguá [a large suburb of Rio].  We spent the night in the same apartment where I had stayed my first 2 nights upon arriving in Rio with 10—count ‘em—10 SISTERS.  We were given permission to have a sleepover, heehee, because we would have to wake up at 4 AM 
in order to get to Jacarepaguá in time for the 8:30 AM conference.

ALSOOOOO, I was specially chosen to sing "Oh, How Lovely Was The Morning" 
[a.k.a. "Joseph Smith's First Prayer"] at the conference.  I was the only alto.  
It was nerve-wracking, but I loved the opportunity.

Picture taken on February 21, the night before Sister Nelson entered the MTC. By that time, Sister Taylor had received her mission call to Rio; so the two friends knew they would be seeing each other eventually.

Our ride home was fun because I sat with Sister Taylor, yeeeee; but it was way embarrassing because on our first bus, my extra backpack and bedding got stuck in the turney thing [turnstile] in the bus.  My backpack was open and coins fell out everywhere.  Elder Winterholler, luckily, was behind me and acted like it was no big thing (even though I was holding up the bus and the whole zone from getting on the bus).  There were even a few people on the bus who were laughing at me.  Go, Sister Nelson!  I should have bowed. 

Yesterday, Carlos, the cousin of Marcos, was baptized.  Marcos is the grandkid of the less-active women we have been working with.  Carlos always goes to church with his uncle, but it wasn’t until a missionary of another church told him he'd "vai por inferno" if he's not baptized that he wanted to get baptized.  Carlos had attended his cousin's baptism and wanted to do the same thing.  They’re both interesting characters; but I have faith that if we baptize all their family members, this family will be a family of gold.

Love,
Sister Nelson

P.S.  We don’t go door-to-door.  Sister Diller and Sister Carréra did that last week because they just COULDN’T get any new investigators.  The mission goal is 15 new investigators.  Our week's numbers were great for once!  This week was crazy, crazy, crazy... in a good way.
11 lessons with members
12 others
1 reference received
17 contacted
17 new investigators
4 lessons with less actives
WHEW!  GO TEAM!
My chacos are fraying at the area where it meets the sole... but I love not having the toe strap.