It's Not Abnormal to Feel Like Manure
July 22, 2013
Mother deary, you are one heck of a woman. I think I am acquiring your selfless attitude, but it has taken quite a while. And multi-tasking is definitely improving.
What’s On The Menu?
A Primary kid from home wrote and asked what I have eaten that’s strange, and I am now answering.
So baaaaaack in Cabo Frio, I had mocotó [calf’s foot jelly] at Vangela’s house in two forms: in the feijoada [traditional Brazilian bean dish] and as a dessert jell-o. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was any bit strange until I served here in Niterói, where even Brazilians have told me that they’ve never tried it. Not gonna lie, it was pretty chewy. The jell-o was more pleasing.
Fred and Cássia, who are friends of ex-Sister Lima, are from Pará [a state of northern Brazil in the Amazon region]. They made:
tacacá, a soup that’s made from jambú [a.k.a. the toothache plant because there’s an analgesic agent in the leaves and flower heads] that is yellow, very bitter, and tastes like seaweed;
pupunha, a vegetable that tastes like Potato and Corn had a baby;
and my favorite…
maniçoba, a foliage that’s cooked [for a week in order to remove the cyanide that it contains] and looks like it was run through mud and manure.
What was GOOOOD was frango no tucupi com jambú and creme de cupuaçu [chicken in tucupi sauce with jambú and cupuaçu cream].
I have definitely been packing away my Brazilian meal Food Storage; and even though I got madly sick and went 3 days on hot homemade teas and honey, I got even fatter. I’m not quite sure what’s happening to me; but I think I understand why women only serve for a year and a half, and men serve for 2 years. Lol.
‘Cuz You’re Hot, Then You’re Cold
Weather here has been quite a maniac. Cold (everyone thought I was crazy because during the cold days I still wore short sleeves), then hot. Then, rainy and hot. Now, it’s just plain hot; and I’m not too happy. My body was soooooo much waiting for winter. COME BACK! COME BACK ALI’S SISTER!!!! [For all you Homestar Runner fans.]
Mother deary, you are one heck of a woman. I think I am acquiring your selfless attitude, but it has taken quite a while. And multi-tasking is definitely improving.
What’s On The Menu?
A Primary kid from home wrote and asked what I have eaten that’s strange, and I am now answering.
So baaaaaack in Cabo Frio, I had mocotó [calf’s foot jelly] at Vangela’s house in two forms: in the feijoada [traditional Brazilian bean dish] and as a dessert jell-o. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was any bit strange until I served here in Niterói, where even Brazilians have told me that they’ve never tried it. Not gonna lie, it was pretty chewy. The jell-o was more pleasing.
Fred and Cássia, who are friends of ex-Sister Lima, are from Pará [a state of northern Brazil in the Amazon region]. They made:
tacacá, a soup that’s made from jambú [a.k.a. the toothache plant because there’s an analgesic agent in the leaves and flower heads] that is yellow, very bitter, and tastes like seaweed;
pupunha, a vegetable that tastes like Potato and Corn had a baby;
and my favorite…
maniçoba, a foliage that’s cooked [for a week in order to remove the cyanide that it contains] and looks like it was run through mud and manure.
What was GOOOOD was frango no tucupi com jambú and creme de cupuaçu [chicken in tucupi sauce with jambú and cupuaçu cream].
I have definitely been packing away my Brazilian meal Food Storage; and even though I got madly sick and went 3 days on hot homemade teas and honey, I got even fatter. I’m not quite sure what’s happening to me; but I think I understand why women only serve for a year and a half, and men serve for 2 years. Lol.
‘Cuz You’re Hot, Then You’re Cold
Weather here has been quite a maniac. Cold (everyone thought I was crazy because during the cold days I still wore short sleeves), then hot. Then, rainy and hot. Now, it’s just plain hot; and I’m not too happy. My body was soooooo much waiting for winter. COME BACK! COME BACK ALI’S SISTER!!!! [For all you Homestar Runner fans.]
So, our dear ex-Espírita [a spiritualist] seemed to be giving us a cold shoulder, so we trained his nephews to use missionary techniques to get him to church. He went to our Festa Julina, loved it, asked to take a picture with the missionaries, so he could send it to his mom (his mom is a member), and so she could be proud of him. Even in your 60’s, you want to please your mom. It’s a known fact. His brother-in-law (somewhat less-active) told Sister Rodrigues that he wants to help Adilson get baptized and wants to BAPTIZE him and read the Book of Mormon with him. Sunday, he again loved the visit and even asked for a priesthood blessing, which was something we already PLANNED ON with our WML [Ward Mission Leader]. Yes, miracles happen. Fred and Cássia hadn’t been followed up on since last week, and it had been two Sundays |
in a row that they didn’t go. I stayed sick at home for much of the week and was crazy worried to get to their house. We ended up going to their house Sunday. We called them from the wall. Fred appeared in the kitchen window and looked past us commenting on the fire....? We yelled again. Cássia came to the window and affirmed the fire... okay, I SWEAR they saw us waving. We called them, and it seemed like they turned up the music. Shoot! Whadidwe do? Okay, Sister Rodrigues rang the upstairs doorbell that was William and ex-Sister Lima. (Sidenote: the night before I stayed in the house sick, I dreamed that we went on a division with Mom and a lady from Largo da Batalha, Nury. The next day, we ended up scheduling a division with ex-Sister Lima and the president of the RS, who lives one level above us, Vera Barros. I love déjà vu dreams that tell you what you should do.) William had to come down and yell at them from the side wall until they heard. PHEW! So, it wasn’t just us. We stayed there 2 hours, even though Fred was on his way out. Lol. He can’t resist a good chat.
WHAT WAS GOD THINKING!?!?
I love being a Sister Trainer. Okay, so sometimes it feels more like I’m acting as Drama Control and Gossip Guru, and I feel even more pity for these poor elders who don’t speak Woman... because neither do I. HOWEVER, despite feeling lost and unsure how to give counsel sometimes, I had a breakthrough. Sweet Sister Wells, from Virginia, has been in the field for two weeks and admitted she doesn’t love the mish. She waited [for her visa] for one transfer serving in the states. That’s just enough time to forget everything she learned, and she’s quite lost. We had interviews with Presidente this Friday; and there’s no doubt about it, I cried. I think it’s just a time I allow myself to let it all out; and, usually, EVERYTHING comes out. Poor Prez.
As we were waiting for the other sisters, I was giving Portuguese Class off to the side. I must admit, that yellow card is Celestial; but until you understand how to use it, it’s of no worth. So, as I was teaching Sister Wells high school level Portuguese when all she needed was middle school instruction, we chatted about her biggest barriers.
If you could bottle up the energy and longing to serve of a fresh missionary and sell it, no one would need to drink energy drinks. The only downside is this wonderful energy is like a firework: it goes in all directions and isn’t strong enough to light a fire. I explained to her that, with time, you’ll catch on to what you can do to help. But, for now, just LOVE your companion because she’s just as lost and worried as you are.
Second, I explained to her that with more responsibility and stress comes the feeling of usefulness (which was something the Spirit explained to me in the moment). Once you figure out a tiny bit, God gives you more to do so you can grow… like Miracle Gro. Sometimes you feel like God just dumped a whole lot of manure on you; but as you sit there and let the experience sink in, you begin to grow faster than ever. I explained to her that that’s why God held her in the states: to show her that she is USEFUL and an AWESOME missionary. And as soon as she knew a tiny bit, He gave her more. I explained that it’s not abnormal to feel like manure, but you should feel privileged because He TRUSTS you to grow some more; and, thus, He gave you more responsibility. This is what God has been doing with me. It’s like the rich man who asked what he can do to follow Jesus Christ, and He said keep the commandments. When the man said that he has been keeping the commandments since birth, Christ got to the nitty-gritty and said that he had to give up his riches and follow Him. When this chance comes to us—a chance to give up all that used to define you and jump off that cliff of faith—we shouldn’t get scared or sad, but we must press forward in order to grow our wings and be something else that we weren’t before.
Thirdly, I told her when the stress gets to be too much, that’s when you do like Minnie Driver and say, “WHAT WAS GOD THINKING?!?!” She had never watched Return to Me. (I almost cried but kept up my composure... I super miss using movie quotes.) But she liked it and promised she would go “yelling” to make her happier.
WHAT THE????
Happy 17 months??????????????? WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAhHHHHAAAAAAAAAA :(
[If you’re keeping track... that is exactly 17 months TO THE DAY!!! One more month!]
WHAT WAS GOD THINKING!?!?
I love being a Sister Trainer. Okay, so sometimes it feels more like I’m acting as Drama Control and Gossip Guru, and I feel even more pity for these poor elders who don’t speak Woman... because neither do I. HOWEVER, despite feeling lost and unsure how to give counsel sometimes, I had a breakthrough. Sweet Sister Wells, from Virginia, has been in the field for two weeks and admitted she doesn’t love the mish. She waited [for her visa] for one transfer serving in the states. That’s just enough time to forget everything she learned, and she’s quite lost. We had interviews with Presidente this Friday; and there’s no doubt about it, I cried. I think it’s just a time I allow myself to let it all out; and, usually, EVERYTHING comes out. Poor Prez.
As we were waiting for the other sisters, I was giving Portuguese Class off to the side. I must admit, that yellow card is Celestial; but until you understand how to use it, it’s of no worth. So, as I was teaching Sister Wells high school level Portuguese when all she needed was middle school instruction, we chatted about her biggest barriers.
If you could bottle up the energy and longing to serve of a fresh missionary and sell it, no one would need to drink energy drinks. The only downside is this wonderful energy is like a firework: it goes in all directions and isn’t strong enough to light a fire. I explained to her that, with time, you’ll catch on to what you can do to help. But, for now, just LOVE your companion because she’s just as lost and worried as you are.
Second, I explained to her that with more responsibility and stress comes the feeling of usefulness (which was something the Spirit explained to me in the moment). Once you figure out a tiny bit, God gives you more to do so you can grow… like Miracle Gro. Sometimes you feel like God just dumped a whole lot of manure on you; but as you sit there and let the experience sink in, you begin to grow faster than ever. I explained to her that that’s why God held her in the states: to show her that she is USEFUL and an AWESOME missionary. And as soon as she knew a tiny bit, He gave her more. I explained that it’s not abnormal to feel like manure, but you should feel privileged because He TRUSTS you to grow some more; and, thus, He gave you more responsibility. This is what God has been doing with me. It’s like the rich man who asked what he can do to follow Jesus Christ, and He said keep the commandments. When the man said that he has been keeping the commandments since birth, Christ got to the nitty-gritty and said that he had to give up his riches and follow Him. When this chance comes to us—a chance to give up all that used to define you and jump off that cliff of faith—we shouldn’t get scared or sad, but we must press forward in order to grow our wings and be something else that we weren’t before.
Thirdly, I told her when the stress gets to be too much, that’s when you do like Minnie Driver and say, “WHAT WAS GOD THINKING?!?!” She had never watched Return to Me. (I almost cried but kept up my composure... I super miss using movie quotes.) But she liked it and promised she would go “yelling” to make her happier.
WHAT THE????
Happy 17 months??????????????? WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAhHHHHAAAAAAAAAA :(
[If you’re keeping track... that is exactly 17 months TO THE DAY!!! One more month!]