There are Crazy Crazies Here. I’m Serious.
May 7, 2012 email
Oh, holy cow!! I can’t believe it’s ONE MONTH away from June! The month of May snuck up on me like a robber in the night. To answer your question, Mom, we get our letters twice a month, no matter when they arrive at the mission office. I get to go back to the mission office to finalize my address change and get a Brazilian ID card in 180 days from last week. We got to carry back my box you sent, as well as Sister Soneghet’s. (I think I spell her name wrong every time.) She has a boyfriend… like she’s literally engaged, unofficially. He really wanted her to go on a mission. :) He sent her a box of love… ya know, peanut butter, haha, and the essentials. I guard MY box like I’ve NEVER guarded anything IN MY LIFE!! I am a hoarder. I can’t believe it, but it’s true. Why fight it? To answer another question, my nametag says “Sister.” I have four, and one is magnetic. I feel like the most spoiled person in the world.
EMMA IS SO CUTE! Holy cow, I miss that lady. [Lady. She’s only 8 months old.] And I laughed SO HARD about the story of Brennan locking himself in the bathroom. “Oh, you’re in!” Brennan is a hoot. And little Annelise is using the word “precarious”! What a word! I love babies. My companion picks babies up all the time and plays with the kids. I’ve probably been labeled as the “No Touchy American Sister Missionary,” but I’m trying to follow the rules… and I don’t want lice. There I said it. OKAY? Apparently, the sister before me was a messy missionary; and she had lice. AND I’m sleeping in her old bed. Fab-o. It’s okay, though. I’m just a nice cozy home for one of God’s creatures for a year and a half. As long as it doesn’t slow me down. Haha! I’m so lucky to have clean sisters living with me now.
We had a stellar day this past week. It was Thursday. We taught 6 lessons with a member present—a 16-year-old lady whose boyfriend is being taught by us. He plays on the Campo Grande pro soccer team as a goalie. I love it so much because I get to teach tons of sports analogies that he remembers. Sadly, the DL [District Leader] said we have to give him up because he’s technically zoned for the other sister missionaries; but Mateus said he wants to be taught by us. :(
There are crazy crazies here. I’m serious. They’re all over the rua [street]. Up the wall hahaha. They can’t ever look at me straight… literally… and most of them have been smoking or drinking. One in particular said he was Christ, and I had a big sin I was hiding because I didn’t talk much. He only talked to Sister DeO and asked for her name like 4 times. Whenever she tried to say anything, he said, “Olhe. Olhe.” [Look. Look.] Then, after he said he was Christ, Sister DeO let him have it. She said we were representatives of Christ, and he needed to listen now. She told him to go home and share this message with his family: stop drinking. He then tried to say more, but she said we were pressed for time and left.
Another guy interrupted our lesson at someone’s door. He didn’t have a shirt on; and when he walked up, I felt all sorts of uncomfortable. It’s not because he was in any way unkempt or dirty, but he didn’t have the Spirit with him. After trying to teach the stuff he knew about religion, his neighbor—whom we were teaching—told him to go put a shirt on. He tried to speak with me and Ane, the 16-year-old. His spirits calmed when he realized I was American and then tried to say he knew English…. uuuuh huhhh…. We met him again on the rua later, and he had a shirt on and a leather jacket. He apologized for earlier and then tried to talk to me. He said he wanted to talk to me in English. I said, “Pode” [you can], but he still didn’t. My companion started explaining that we were missionaries, and he tried to brush her off. He said he lived there. I said I know. He said something about a girlfriend, and I was like, “Oh, you have a girlfriend. Cool.” He asked, “Do you have one?” “Me? Nope.” Then Ane said, “He wants a valentine.” Cool beans. I then did the same thing as my companion. “We are representatives of Jesus Christ.” He tried to talk over me, so we left. They were laughing at me, so I didn’t talk or look at them for a while. I’m learning patience. MUCH patience. And I’m learning to open my mouth and express my opinion because, for once, I am very opinionated.
JAZZZY!!!! You get out there and learn to teach the word of God. Oh, if only I had the scriptures I wanted at the tip of my tongue. You will be talking with the tongue of angels; so open that mouth, and let that tongue fly. You already have access to the Gift of Tongues, so use it! And don’t get frustrated at the slow progress at first. Have daily goals of what you want to learn, and use the language as much as possible. English fasts really helped me. It was difficulter, yes, but I learned what I really needed to study to get by.
Loves, cheers, YEA for missionary work.
P.S. The members here are whoopin’ your behinds with being member missionaries. Get to work.
Oh, holy cow!! I can’t believe it’s ONE MONTH away from June! The month of May snuck up on me like a robber in the night. To answer your question, Mom, we get our letters twice a month, no matter when they arrive at the mission office. I get to go back to the mission office to finalize my address change and get a Brazilian ID card in 180 days from last week. We got to carry back my box you sent, as well as Sister Soneghet’s. (I think I spell her name wrong every time.) She has a boyfriend… like she’s literally engaged, unofficially. He really wanted her to go on a mission. :) He sent her a box of love… ya know, peanut butter, haha, and the essentials. I guard MY box like I’ve NEVER guarded anything IN MY LIFE!! I am a hoarder. I can’t believe it, but it’s true. Why fight it? To answer another question, my nametag says “Sister.” I have four, and one is magnetic. I feel like the most spoiled person in the world.
EMMA IS SO CUTE! Holy cow, I miss that lady. [Lady. She’s only 8 months old.] And I laughed SO HARD about the story of Brennan locking himself in the bathroom. “Oh, you’re in!” Brennan is a hoot. And little Annelise is using the word “precarious”! What a word! I love babies. My companion picks babies up all the time and plays with the kids. I’ve probably been labeled as the “No Touchy American Sister Missionary,” but I’m trying to follow the rules… and I don’t want lice. There I said it. OKAY? Apparently, the sister before me was a messy missionary; and she had lice. AND I’m sleeping in her old bed. Fab-o. It’s okay, though. I’m just a nice cozy home for one of God’s creatures for a year and a half. As long as it doesn’t slow me down. Haha! I’m so lucky to have clean sisters living with me now.
We had a stellar day this past week. It was Thursday. We taught 6 lessons with a member present—a 16-year-old lady whose boyfriend is being taught by us. He plays on the Campo Grande pro soccer team as a goalie. I love it so much because I get to teach tons of sports analogies that he remembers. Sadly, the DL [District Leader] said we have to give him up because he’s technically zoned for the other sister missionaries; but Mateus said he wants to be taught by us. :(
There are crazy crazies here. I’m serious. They’re all over the rua [street]. Up the wall hahaha. They can’t ever look at me straight… literally… and most of them have been smoking or drinking. One in particular said he was Christ, and I had a big sin I was hiding because I didn’t talk much. He only talked to Sister DeO and asked for her name like 4 times. Whenever she tried to say anything, he said, “Olhe. Olhe.” [Look. Look.] Then, after he said he was Christ, Sister DeO let him have it. She said we were representatives of Christ, and he needed to listen now. She told him to go home and share this message with his family: stop drinking. He then tried to say more, but she said we were pressed for time and left.
Another guy interrupted our lesson at someone’s door. He didn’t have a shirt on; and when he walked up, I felt all sorts of uncomfortable. It’s not because he was in any way unkempt or dirty, but he didn’t have the Spirit with him. After trying to teach the stuff he knew about religion, his neighbor—whom we were teaching—told him to go put a shirt on. He tried to speak with me and Ane, the 16-year-old. His spirits calmed when he realized I was American and then tried to say he knew English…. uuuuh huhhh…. We met him again on the rua later, and he had a shirt on and a leather jacket. He apologized for earlier and then tried to talk to me. He said he wanted to talk to me in English. I said, “Pode” [you can], but he still didn’t. My companion started explaining that we were missionaries, and he tried to brush her off. He said he lived there. I said I know. He said something about a girlfriend, and I was like, “Oh, you have a girlfriend. Cool.” He asked, “Do you have one?” “Me? Nope.” Then Ane said, “He wants a valentine.” Cool beans. I then did the same thing as my companion. “We are representatives of Jesus Christ.” He tried to talk over me, so we left. They were laughing at me, so I didn’t talk or look at them for a while. I’m learning patience. MUCH patience. And I’m learning to open my mouth and express my opinion because, for once, I am very opinionated.
JAZZZY!!!! You get out there and learn to teach the word of God. Oh, if only I had the scriptures I wanted at the tip of my tongue. You will be talking with the tongue of angels; so open that mouth, and let that tongue fly. You already have access to the Gift of Tongues, so use it! And don’t get frustrated at the slow progress at first. Have daily goals of what you want to learn, and use the language as much as possible. English fasts really helped me. It was difficulter, yes, but I learned what I really needed to study to get by.
Loves, cheers, YEA for missionary work.
P.S. The members here are whoopin’ your behinds with being member missionaries. Get to work.