My "Permanent Thumbs Up"
April 18, 2012 email
It’s 3:00pm right now, and I didn’t find him [Agenor]. Sad face. We went to a restaurant like the one in Provo. Ugh! I can’t think in English and can’t type! I hyperextended my thumb playing volleybally last week, and I got to take a nice trip to the doctor’s. Quite an adventure! We got a flashing disc like at Chili’s. I started getting hungry lol. Aaaand, not to mention, one old man… when I said hi to him, he winked at me. I can’t type!!! My half-cast is coming off tomorrow. I’ll send a letter to Mr. Cheney’s instead. This is too ridiculous. Plus my nails are super long. I hardly have time to wash my hair these days. I love it much more here. I am having fewer meltdowns and more English mistakes, which is a good sign. I wish Agenor were here. I thought of him in the temple and was so excited to see him. Sad face. We “proceletismo’d” this Monday. Hardest thing I’ve ever done. No wonder I wasn’t sent to an English mission. This would be a cinch for me in English, and I wouldn’t rely on the Lord so much. There was one lady who we really liked. She was waiting for the bus, and I flashed my “permanent thumbs up” cast at her that says “esteja positivo(a),” which means “stay positive.” She laughed, and we kept going but turned around to |
talk to her. At first, she said she didn’t want the Book of Mormon, but we kept talking like we didn’t understand… or MY COMPS kept talking because THEY REALLY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND. When we talked a little more and gave it to her again “de grasas,” she was like, “AAAAwwww, thank you. You have made me so happy. A present for me?? You are all so happy. Thank you.”
On the left is the delightful and pregnant manager of Mr. Cheney Cookies, Izabel. She has sent all of these photos. THANK YOU, my friend!!!
Left to right: Izabel, Sister Ward a.k.a. Birthday Girl, Sister Sessions, and Sister Nelson with her "permanent thumbs up." |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sister Ward! That is QUITE a cookie!
It's a good thing you have TWO companions. They are the BEST helpers. (Wink, wink) |
I’ll write more in my letter. Thanks for the gift certificates. I haven’t run into Mary Ann yet, but I WILL soon. It was too bad I didn’t see Agenor today (sad face), but today was p-day; so we were out and about at the temple for the morning.
Loves
P.S. HAPPY B-DAY, DADDY!!! Sister Ward (pronounced war-gee) has your same birthday.
Her mom sent her a gift certificate through the Cheney Cookie store, too, for her birthday.
LOVE YOU!! Mom, thanks again for that letter. I love it still... a lot.
April 18, 2012 letter scanned and sent through MissionTies.com at the Mr. Cheney Cookies shop
Hi!
Hi!
Missionaries: people called of God, who say good-bye to what they know best, a home they know well, and people they love most. They are sent to live in a foreign place and somehow stay alive ;) While away from home, they learn independence, maturity, charity, responsibility, dependability, selflessness, and humility. They not only prove to God, but, most importantly, they prove to themselves that what they’ve learned and what they know is true. Trials, insecurity, pain, and sorrow are realized and the Atonement, in the minutest increment, is personally endured. How? By living for 2 years what Christ lived His whole life. I am just now grasping the true meaning of mortality: living like Christ, sacrificing for the salvation of others, mourning over the choices of others that do not bring the greatest of joy.
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It has been a struggle of mine to deliver a message of joy and peace when my face is contorted with pain as I spew out words I hardly entender [understand]. My whole body is flooded with happiness because I have been living a life centered on Christ; but that joy, those experiences that radiate from every fiber of my being must be funneled, quartered, pinched, and squished into my mouth—oh yeah, and don’t forget to mention translated. It’s the most imperfect process ever. It’s like trying to portray the Sistine Chapel with the medium of water—it simply can’t be done! I’d much rather use the universal languages: music (which we don’t have access to for our lessons… unless… we try to sing it in Portuguese :/), body language, and feeling--otherwise known as the Holy Ghost. The only body language I accurately pull off is this: my constipated face means I’m trying SO HARD to say what I want to in your language, but I’m about to explode from the effort.
I apologize for the mess I might make on your couch. :) |
Sister Dickson had a great epiphany today that she shared in the 7-sister festa in the bathroom tonight. Bathroom festas are the BEST! Eet’s fanTASteek! She said we get to learn again what we know to be true because we have to learn it in a different language; thus, we get to perfect and add to with more conviction the concept that “I am a child of God, and he has sent me here” to Earth. He has given me a family and parents who love me. Family love and family bonds are stronger than anything else in this world because families are gifts from God to help us realize just how much God loves us because… just because… He is our FATHER. Do you realize that?? Do you really realize that?? You have a Dad who is called GOD. He is all-knowing, including all-knowing in terms of knowing us, our talents, our traits, our characters, our weaknesses, our flaws, our quirks, our strengths, our apprehensions, our desires, our hearts. He knows what we like and what we don’t like (or who we like or don’t like). He cheers us on in our track meets. He laughs when we’re silly. He’s proud of us when we get an “A” in Trig. He scolds us when we don’t do what He asks us to. He is our DAD! And we all are His children. I don’t know how He does it, but He keeps track of us ALL and comforts us when we come running to Him.
Sister Nelson traveled from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro on Monday, April 23, 2012.
We didn't receive an email for that week.
We didn't receive an email for that week.