I've Got a Stamp in My Passport!
Sister Nelson hasn't been able to send any photos while she has been in the São Paulo CTM. Most of the pictures posted here are from online searches and other missionary blog sources. When she is able to send her own photos, a separate page of pictures will be posted.
When it comes to serving missions in Brazil, many love to quote President James E. Faust, who served his mission in Brazil.
"There are two kinds of missionaries — those who have calls to Brazil and those who wish they did."
April 4, 2012 email [first email from Brazil]
When it comes to serving missions in Brazil, many love to quote President James E. Faust, who served his mission in Brazil.
"There are two kinds of missionaries — those who have calls to Brazil and those who wish they did."
April 4, 2012 email [first email from Brazil]
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So, on March 28, Elder Morris and I flew together from the Provo MTC to Georgia, where we “enjoyed” the super confusing, looong walk to our other portal. Seriously, we walked through hallways that looked like hospital halls. Then, when we got to our terminal, we realized we COULD have gone a shorter way. Oh, my life. It’s cool, though, because we had 5 hours to kill! About 1.5 hours before we flew out, we found an Elder Reidhead, who had a 6-hour layover. (I almost said hangover…same thing, right?) WHYYY didn’t we find him earlier!?! Having him there made the companionship much less awkward. I had been used to hanging around 2 elders from being a solo sister in the Provo MTC; but, not gonna lie, being with only one elder... was WEIRD. We did enjoy the live piano player in the food court for a few hours, though. It gave me one last pump of SOUL before I went to BRAZIL. Shortly after finding Elder Reidhead, SISTER DICKSON yelled at my elders, completely oblivious to me. YEYEEEEEEE! I didn’t think we would be on the same plane together, but I DID remember that she would report at that time. It brought peace to my heart, and I FINALLY had a companion!!!
The flight to Brazil was crazy. I sat with a mother and daughter. The daughter was Mom’s age, and they pretty much told me their life story. The mother brought out a bridal book from her son’s recent wedding, and they gabbed about how many family members they had. The mother kept speaking Portuguese to me as if my language skill would pick up any second now hahaha. Luckily, the daughter translated some for me. It was so humbling and terrible. The mom talked about her son, who was a priest, and how she loved the Bible. All I could say was “tudo bom!” [All good.] Gak!!! |
The weather here hasn’t been very terribly hot. I was impressed at how adjusted I was. Today was the first day we went to the temple AND was the first day I got acquainted with the Brazilian sun. We were taking pictures outside, and THANK GOODNESS FOR CLOUDS! However, when there wasn’t a cloud, it was impossible to keep my eyes open; because even though the sun was behind us, I COULD NOT KEEP FROM CRYING! It was so intense! What the hey??? |
The track here is PUNY, but we make due. It takes about 14 laps to make a mile, but it is a really good facility. I LOVE how well they keep up the grounds here. It’s muito linda [very nice]. I SWEAT SO BAD when I am working out. Seriously, most of my clothes are drenched when I get back to the room. Ick.
Brazil has so many different smells, tastes, looks, and feels to it. The Brazil CTM definitely has a… “Hey, I’m alive, and that’s all that matters” feel to it, even though I literally feel like this was my FIRST week learning Portuguese. I have only had one meltdown, and that’s wonderful for anyone who knows me. They are actually TEACHING us Portuguese here, as opposed to the Provo MTC. Sheesh, there we were just left to our own accord the first week. Here, I feel like I will feel when I get into the field. Oh, p.s., most tiny English words mean something completely different in Portuguese. For example, “pull” is “puxe,” but you pronounce it as “push-ee.” FAB-O! That makes complete sense. And “no” means “on”… I’m gonna die. My teachers here are great. Irmã [Sister] Korth is the sweetest thing and really helped me out on the first day here. I can’t conjugate verbs to save my life, and it is crazy how much more ahead Sister Sessions is from being here one week more than I was. I did finally get a good night’s sleep since my “hangover” the first night. The Thursday after I got here [March 29], I put my head down during a break for class and woke up 15 minutes later because my teacher, Irmão [Brother] Costa was calling me, “Waaaake uuup, sunshine!”
Okay, back to the smells. The cleaning supplies smell like… pumpkin baby food plus candy plus sweat. EVERYTHING smells like food here. And all of the desserts have the same consistency: flan with different types of fruit or dehydrated candy puffs… it’s weird. For p-day, we get to go out into the world! It’s so weird to hear a dog barking outside my window… and to hear it above my head. [Above?? What does that even mean?] I LOVE it, though. You don’t even know what good it does to my heart to be able to open the window. We open it every night… and, thus, have bug bites from it hahaha. Actually, I have one… so far… knock on wood. Oh, and I had a dream that we went out tracting… I’m kinda freaking out about the prospect.
Okay, back to the smells. The cleaning supplies smell like… pumpkin baby food plus candy plus sweat. EVERYTHING smells like food here. And all of the desserts have the same consistency: flan with different types of fruit or dehydrated candy puffs… it’s weird. For p-day, we get to go out into the world! It’s so weird to hear a dog barking outside my window… and to hear it above my head. [Above?? What does that even mean?] I LOVE it, though. You don’t even know what good it does to my heart to be able to open the window. We open it every night… and, thus, have bug bites from it hahaha. Actually, I have one… so far… knock on wood. Oh, and I had a dream that we went out tracting… I’m kinda freaking out about the prospect.
Love,
Sister Nelson
P.S. Dad, you are the cutest. I’m glad my bedroom window is clean.
Guess what?? David Archuleta reported to the Provo MTC the day AFTER I left for Brazil.
Sister Nelson
P.S. Dad, you are the cutest. I’m glad my bedroom window is clean.
Guess what?? David Archuleta reported to the Provo MTC the day AFTER I left for Brazil.
Introducing you to a fantastic website: missionties.com
This important message is brought to you by The Mom:
On the very morning Sister Nelson's flight touched down in Brazil, I started searching for pictures and information on Sao Paulo and the CTM. I was curious, okay? A website that kept coming up was missionties.com. I looked at it and thought it was a VERY ingenious idea, but I wasn't sure if it was legitimate. The business operates in conjunction with the shop directly across the street from the CTM, Mr. Cheney Cookies. Since the CTM will not accept any packages, an order is placed through missionties.com, and a message is delivered to the missionary to go to the shop on p-day to pick up the order. Good idea!! I spent the next week asking about it, but no one had heard of it. Undeterred, I decided I would give it a try anyway. However, I first needed to make sure it WAS NOT against the rules for the missionary to leave the premises. If you notice, Sister Nelson answered my direct question in her email above. "For p-day, we get to go out into the world!" BINGO!! I'm going to surprise her! WooHOOOO!! Then, the next day, I received the following scanned message in my email. WHAT?? She already found out about the shop, but I'm still going to surprise her! HAhahaha!!! |
This picture is taken from the viewpoint of the CTM front gate. It's THAT close. Please, tell your friends about missionties.com.
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April 4, 2012 scanned and emailed by Izabel
Half-sheet form filled out by missionary with MissionTies.com and logo across the top
First p-day? Yes/No
Name, Mailbox #, District #, Mission, Birthdate, Email address to send the letter to:
MESSAGE FROM THE BEST MISSIONARY in the MTC-Brazil
Your message here:
(handwritten by my daughter)
This is the equivalent to DearElder here, but it costs money. If it’s cheaper than sending letters, DO IT! I don’t know… actually I don’t think it will work after the CTM, but it’s cool [It DOES work after the CTM] :) It’s a cookie shop across from the CTM, and I get a free cookie for sending this to you! It’s real, I promise. You can email, I’ll get it, and then they’ll scan my letters every week :)
I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks, Rachel, for the awesome clothes, OH! and The Christine. Sister Sessions borrowed my blue dress yesterday and got SO MANY compliments. The temple’s AWESOME!
At the bottom: THIS IS A FREE TRIAL TO GET TO KNOW THIS SERVICE
Want the easiest way to send a care package to your missionary? Visit missionties.com/carepackage to learn how.
Half-sheet form filled out by missionary with MissionTies.com and logo across the top
First p-day? Yes/No
Name, Mailbox #, District #, Mission, Birthdate, Email address to send the letter to:
MESSAGE FROM THE BEST MISSIONARY in the MTC-Brazil
Your message here:
(handwritten by my daughter)
This is the equivalent to DearElder here, but it costs money. If it’s cheaper than sending letters, DO IT! I don’t know… actually I don’t think it will work after the CTM, but it’s cool [It DOES work after the CTM] :) It’s a cookie shop across from the CTM, and I get a free cookie for sending this to you! It’s real, I promise. You can email, I’ll get it, and then they’ll scan my letters every week :)
I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks, Rachel, for the awesome clothes, OH! and The Christine. Sister Sessions borrowed my blue dress yesterday and got SO MANY compliments. The temple’s AWESOME!
At the bottom: THIS IS A FREE TRIAL TO GET TO KNOW THIS SERVICE
Want the easiest way to send a care package to your missionary? Visit missionties.com/carepackage to learn how.
I want you ALL to know that this business is AWESOME! The manager, Izabel, truly enjoys the missionaries and is absolutely delightful! She will even take pictures of your missionary and email them to you. We have spoken on the phone and communicated through emails; I have a new friend! Please, if you know someone who IS or WILL BE serving a mission in Brazil, have the family and friends check out the website! I'd LOVE to help their business grow!