Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Water Water Everywhere, and Bittersweet Goodbyes.
Happy Sunday/Monday/Pday :)
Ma, those notes were amazing! Loved it. To answer your questions, there is only 1 store that has Peanut Butter. It's really expensive & they run out all the time. If I get that extra suitcase I will stock up. We got a bunch of visas come through. Everyone through the 1st group in Nov. So Ben, (I hope) should get his this next week or the next. So wait for the Christmas packages maybe....it'd be cheaper to send with Ben. No, we haven't gotten pizza yet. They have pizza night every wed at the CTM but it's pretty nasty stuff. All the Brasillians say it's way different outside the CTM. Yes, I've done the sheep noise for her. Chalula is the hot sauce I love to put on my eggs. It can be used as salad dressing too. The peanut butter is amazing. Thank you! It made my week :)
I loved this: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time. So much of your talents & money, and so much of your work; I want you. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don't want to only prune a branch here & another branch there; rather, I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me. The whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants & wishes & dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me & I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself & in exchange I will give you myself. My will shall become your will. My heart shall become your heart.." --Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis p.167
And here's a poem one of the Elder's grandmas wrote to her son (his dad) when he left on his mission.
"As I sit looking through the window, a tear still in my eye, I see the family & friends I love as we say our last goodbye. the ride is long & tiring, as two questions plague my mind. "Do I want the life that lies ahead, or the one I left behind?" [Eighteen] months is such a long time for going door to door. In my reflections I thought to myself, "There really must be more." I climbed down from the airplane & looked longingly at the beach. But a man turned me the other way & said "[Sister], go find & teach." I sit reflecting once again as this day is my last; I say "Lord, this just isn't fair; [18] months goes much too fast." As I sit looking through the window, a tear still in my eye, I see the missionaries & friends I love as we say our last goodbye. The ride is long & tiring as two questions plague my mind, "Do I want the life that lies ahead or the one I left behind?"
--Joanne Stinett
We watched a video this week. They sent 10 missionaries in the early days of the church to the "Sandwich Islands", modern day Hawaii. When they arrived, the living quarters were bug infested & dirty. The food was strange & the language almost nonsensical. By the end of 6 months, half of the missionaries had gone home including the presiding Elder. But the youngest, at 23 years old, (I forget the name) fasted & prayed to be able to master the complicated Hawaiian language. When he left 4 years later, 3000 Hawaiians had been baptized. I think it said 38 or 48 stakes. Holy Carrumba. We really don't know the good one person can do. Oh & he helped translate the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian.
Also last week, when I did my frog noise in class, the reason my teacher laughed so hard is because he had his back turned & thought I farted! "Sometimes it just slips out" He said. haha. I had a goal not to hit the snooze this week. Did it . :)
Have I mentioned there are cockroaches everywhere here? I read preach my gospel on wed a.m. instead of the Book of Mormon like I usualy do & I was SUPER anxious all day until I read them. It went away after 3 verses.
It's so wierd but sometimes I can literally feel your prayers.
I've never had such extreme emotions before! I'm so happy I cry, I feel the spirit & cry! It's crazy!
So we use the word "verdade" a ton, right? Truth. You bear testimony a ton with that word & I have heard Elder Nascimento say that word at least 50 times haha. Also I've said my lst name in Portugese- "verde" which Nacsimento also knows. Irmao Costa was in the room answering questions & someone says "verde". Another person says "verdade" & Costa is explaining the difference between the 2. I take a big mouth full of water & am about to swallow when Elder Nascimento says "wait, verde is verdade?!" Keep in mind, I'm hysterical. I start laughing, trying not to spew water everywhere so I turn toward the wall & end up choking on the water, causing me to open my mouth & the water to come out my nose as well, plus it hurt so my eyes water. Still choking, I run out of the room, leaving a spot of water on the floor which I had let leak out of my mouth when I opened it. Sister Caldwell sees all of this & is keeled over her chair laughing so hard she can't explain what happened & all the boys see is the water on the floor. So they thought I had peed a little & ran out of the room. Sister Caldwell finds me in the bathroom coughing & laughing so hard I'm crying. Oh man. Why do wierd things happend to me? Sister Caldwell thougth I was going to die.
They were very good to us on Thanksgiving. They even decorated the cafeteria! They made turkey & stuffing, it was great! I got Ashlee's invitation finally. Gorgeous & classy as always. I said she has the perfect life. Sister C. said, "well she should with a face like THAT!" In a good way. If any of my guy friends (especially with blue eyes) want to wend me a pic I could easily get them a hot Brazillian woman. JK. Kinda :)
One of our "investigators" was Alexandre. Real person is Alexandra. That was the one Irmao Costa pretended to be. He told us the beautiful story of her conversion & we got a new "investigator". The first day we got here we had a guy come in as an investigator whose name was Igor. Igor talked about how his dad was abusive to his mother & him. How he didn't believe in God because a God wouldn't let that happen. He told how his mom kept taking his dad back & finally he gave his mom an ultimatum that if she took him back again, Igor was moving out & wouldn't come back. She took him back, so Igor left. The "Igor" turned out to be Irmao Costa, but our new "investigator" is Igor. I'm stoked. It's like finishing a story. The fake investigators we have here are based on the real investigators our instructors had. So we will get to hear what happened with Igor when we leave. The instructors get super into our roles, so you actually start caring about these fake people & thinking of them when you study.
I'm telling you Ma, these people over here are so strong in faith & ah! I just love them! They are so loving too! All of these guys have an amazing love story with the girl waiting for them & they aren't even embarrassed about it! One girl gave her man a round shoe box that was decorated. It said something like 730 inspirational momentos. This girl had written a note on 730 [# of days on mission] teeny pieces of paper, rolled them each into a little scroll & tied a ribbon on each one. Incredible.
Loved your letter Ma.
Elder Whittakers district came & visited our after the workshop last night. We (SIs C. & I ) asked E. Whittaker how he was so awesome. He said, "I wasn't always this awesome. Just be awesome." Words of wisdom. He made a face & noise for us somewhere between a handicapped baby and a velociraptor.
I'm getting better and better at volleyball. Some days I still suck but I'm getting better. The ball was coming at me yesterday and I straight up punched it over the net. Everyone was laughing but what else was I supposed to do? We got the point :) Also, some Elder was racing his companion on the track & lost his footing at the end. Split his head (just a gash), got a concussion & a broken nose. The kid went to the hospital & is getting surgery today. They have to take skin form the back of his head & graft it on. I hope he at least won the race.
I'm sending a few pics. One is the government photo we took at the beginning. We had just been up on a plane all night & weren't allowed to smile. So we've started coming up with captions. I want to hear some of your guys' Some good ones have been, "attacked by a rabbid animal", "Just been abducted by aliens" or "Laman & Lemuels wife after travelling in the wilderness, having babies and then finding out they have to build a boat."
Tell Ash BIG congrats this weekend! Give her a big hug for me & take some pictures of how beautiful she looks.
I asked one of the Brazillians here if a lot of the men are gay like in the US. he smiled and said "the women here are too beautiful for a man to be gay." Sweet :)
Iv'e never seen so much graffitti in my life!
Our favorite group left today. Favorite Brazillians, favorite Americans including E. Whittaker & the guys who always had a funny TRC. I teared up saying goodbye to my favorite Brazillian at the CTM. We call him Africa becasue he's going to Mozambique. He still hasn't gotten his visa, so I think they're sending him to Sao Paulo. He told us that we are what makes him happy at the CTM. We gave him a makeshift bday gift on sunday for his bday & tied it with a bow made from a plastic bag. He kept the bow and said he reads the card every night. Here in Brazil they often say "Vou a sentir falta" which literally means I am going to feel you missing. Like something will be missing in my life when I go away. I love that! I feel bad I didn't cry saying goodbye to family & friends but I can't help crying when I say goodbye to my Brazillians. I want Ben to come so bad so he can feel this experience. Wow both Sister Caldwell's & I's english is so bad right now. Our sentence structure is suffering. I hope my letters make sense.
It's raining pretty hard today. It was a good morning at the tmeple. Sis. Caldwell & I just brought our blessings into the celestial room after initiatories. We read & it was so quiet & peaceful & the first time we'd been there alone so we had a hard time staying awake but the spirit was strong. There were some interesting things I noticed in my blessing. We're supposed to get about 30 new missionaries today. North Americans. We leave with the Brazillian group that comes this week. So crazy. When new people come they have a blue dot sticker on the tag so people know they're new so we call them smurfs. It's so funny! Africa [Our favorite Brazillian] loves the word hot dog. He'll say "oh my hot dog!" when he's surprised. Did I spell that right? It was funny last night though cause we were stiing practicing music & there was a moment of silence & we just hear "hot dog" form somewhere in the crowd. Sister C. & I giggled. ha. Thats all the good stuff that happened this week. Just pluggin along. We feel discouraged, inadequate & scared but I know it'll come. We'll be okay I think. Love you guys!
Sister Green
P.S. Thank Sis Hemmingway for the letter & tell the Bishop HI!
Ma, those notes were amazing! Loved it. To answer your questions, there is only 1 store that has Peanut Butter. It's really expensive & they run out all the time. If I get that extra suitcase I will stock up. We got a bunch of visas come through. Everyone through the 1st group in Nov. So Ben, (I hope) should get his this next week or the next. So wait for the Christmas packages maybe....it'd be cheaper to send with Ben. No, we haven't gotten pizza yet. They have pizza night every wed at the CTM but it's pretty nasty stuff. All the Brasillians say it's way different outside the CTM. Yes, I've done the sheep noise for her. Chalula is the hot sauce I love to put on my eggs. It can be used as salad dressing too. The peanut butter is amazing. Thank you! It made my week :)
I loved this: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time. So much of your talents & money, and so much of your work; I want you. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don't want to only prune a branch here & another branch there; rather, I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me. The whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants & wishes & dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me & I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself & in exchange I will give you myself. My will shall become your will. My heart shall become your heart.." --Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis p.167
And here's a poem one of the Elder's grandmas wrote to her son (his dad) when he left on his mission.
"As I sit looking through the window, a tear still in my eye, I see the family & friends I love as we say our last goodbye. the ride is long & tiring, as two questions plague my mind. "Do I want the life that lies ahead, or the one I left behind?" [Eighteen] months is such a long time for going door to door. In my reflections I thought to myself, "There really must be more." I climbed down from the airplane & looked longingly at the beach. But a man turned me the other way & said "[Sister], go find & teach." I sit reflecting once again as this day is my last; I say "Lord, this just isn't fair; [18] months goes much too fast." As I sit looking through the window, a tear still in my eye, I see the missionaries & friends I love as we say our last goodbye. The ride is long & tiring as two questions plague my mind, "Do I want the life that lies ahead or the one I left behind?"
--Joanne Stinett
We watched a video this week. They sent 10 missionaries in the early days of the church to the "Sandwich Islands", modern day Hawaii. When they arrived, the living quarters were bug infested & dirty. The food was strange & the language almost nonsensical. By the end of 6 months, half of the missionaries had gone home including the presiding Elder. But the youngest, at 23 years old, (I forget the name) fasted & prayed to be able to master the complicated Hawaiian language. When he left 4 years later, 3000 Hawaiians had been baptized. I think it said 38 or 48 stakes. Holy Carrumba. We really don't know the good one person can do. Oh & he helped translate the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian.
Also last week, when I did my frog noise in class, the reason my teacher laughed so hard is because he had his back turned & thought I farted! "Sometimes it just slips out" He said. haha. I had a goal not to hit the snooze this week. Did it . :)
Have I mentioned there are cockroaches everywhere here? I read preach my gospel on wed a.m. instead of the Book of Mormon like I usualy do & I was SUPER anxious all day until I read them. It went away after 3 verses.
It's so wierd but sometimes I can literally feel your prayers.
I've never had such extreme emotions before! I'm so happy I cry, I feel the spirit & cry! It's crazy!
So we use the word "verdade" a ton, right? Truth. You bear testimony a ton with that word & I have heard Elder Nascimento say that word at least 50 times haha. Also I've said my lst name in Portugese- "verde" which Nacsimento also knows. Irmao Costa was in the room answering questions & someone says "verde". Another person says "verdade" & Costa is explaining the difference between the 2. I take a big mouth full of water & am about to swallow when Elder Nascimento says "wait, verde is verdade?!" Keep in mind, I'm hysterical. I start laughing, trying not to spew water everywhere so I turn toward the wall & end up choking on the water, causing me to open my mouth & the water to come out my nose as well, plus it hurt so my eyes water. Still choking, I run out of the room, leaving a spot of water on the floor which I had let leak out of my mouth when I opened it. Sister Caldwell sees all of this & is keeled over her chair laughing so hard she can't explain what happened & all the boys see is the water on the floor. So they thought I had peed a little & ran out of the room. Sister Caldwell finds me in the bathroom coughing & laughing so hard I'm crying. Oh man. Why do wierd things happend to me? Sister Caldwell thougth I was going to die.
They were very good to us on Thanksgiving. They even decorated the cafeteria! They made turkey & stuffing, it was great! I got Ashlee's invitation finally. Gorgeous & classy as always. I said she has the perfect life. Sister C. said, "well she should with a face like THAT!" In a good way. If any of my guy friends (especially with blue eyes) want to wend me a pic I could easily get them a hot Brazillian woman. JK. Kinda :)
One of our "investigators" was Alexandre. Real person is Alexandra. That was the one Irmao Costa pretended to be. He told us the beautiful story of her conversion & we got a new "investigator". The first day we got here we had a guy come in as an investigator whose name was Igor. Igor talked about how his dad was abusive to his mother & him. How he didn't believe in God because a God wouldn't let that happen. He told how his mom kept taking his dad back & finally he gave his mom an ultimatum that if she took him back again, Igor was moving out & wouldn't come back. She took him back, so Igor left. The "Igor" turned out to be Irmao Costa, but our new "investigator" is Igor. I'm stoked. It's like finishing a story. The fake investigators we have here are based on the real investigators our instructors had. So we will get to hear what happened with Igor when we leave. The instructors get super into our roles, so you actually start caring about these fake people & thinking of them when you study.
I'm telling you Ma, these people over here are so strong in faith & ah! I just love them! They are so loving too! All of these guys have an amazing love story with the girl waiting for them & they aren't even embarrassed about it! One girl gave her man a round shoe box that was decorated. It said something like 730 inspirational momentos. This girl had written a note on 730 [# of days on mission] teeny pieces of paper, rolled them each into a little scroll & tied a ribbon on each one. Incredible.
Loved your letter Ma.
Elder Whittakers district came & visited our after the workshop last night. We (SIs C. & I ) asked E. Whittaker how he was so awesome. He said, "I wasn't always this awesome. Just be awesome." Words of wisdom. He made a face & noise for us somewhere between a handicapped baby and a velociraptor.
I'm getting better and better at volleyball. Some days I still suck but I'm getting better. The ball was coming at me yesterday and I straight up punched it over the net. Everyone was laughing but what else was I supposed to do? We got the point :) Also, some Elder was racing his companion on the track & lost his footing at the end. Split his head (just a gash), got a concussion & a broken nose. The kid went to the hospital & is getting surgery today. They have to take skin form the back of his head & graft it on. I hope he at least won the race.
I'm sending a few pics. One is the government photo we took at the beginning. We had just been up on a plane all night & weren't allowed to smile. So we've started coming up with captions. I want to hear some of your guys' Some good ones have been, "attacked by a rabbid animal", "Just been abducted by aliens" or "Laman & Lemuels wife after travelling in the wilderness, having babies and then finding out they have to build a boat."
Tell Ash BIG congrats this weekend! Give her a big hug for me & take some pictures of how beautiful she looks.
I asked one of the Brazillians here if a lot of the men are gay like in the US. he smiled and said "the women here are too beautiful for a man to be gay." Sweet :)
Iv'e never seen so much graffitti in my life!
Our favorite group left today. Favorite Brazillians, favorite Americans including E. Whittaker & the guys who always had a funny TRC. I teared up saying goodbye to my favorite Brazillian at the CTM. We call him Africa becasue he's going to Mozambique. He still hasn't gotten his visa, so I think they're sending him to Sao Paulo. He told us that we are what makes him happy at the CTM. We gave him a makeshift bday gift on sunday for his bday & tied it with a bow made from a plastic bag. He kept the bow and said he reads the card every night. Here in Brazil they often say "Vou a sentir falta" which literally means I am going to feel you missing. Like something will be missing in my life when I go away. I love that! I feel bad I didn't cry saying goodbye to family & friends but I can't help crying when I say goodbye to my Brazillians. I want Ben to come so bad so he can feel this experience. Wow both Sister Caldwell's & I's english is so bad right now. Our sentence structure is suffering. I hope my letters make sense.
It's raining pretty hard today. It was a good morning at the tmeple. Sis. Caldwell & I just brought our blessings into the celestial room after initiatories. We read & it was so quiet & peaceful & the first time we'd been there alone so we had a hard time staying awake but the spirit was strong. There were some interesting things I noticed in my blessing. We're supposed to get about 30 new missionaries today. North Americans. We leave with the Brazillian group that comes this week. So crazy. When new people come they have a blue dot sticker on the tag so people know they're new so we call them smurfs. It's so funny! Africa [Our favorite Brazillian] loves the word hot dog. He'll say "oh my hot dog!" when he's surprised. Did I spell that right? It was funny last night though cause we were stiing practicing music & there was a moment of silence & we just hear "hot dog" form somewhere in the crowd. Sister C. & I giggled. ha. Thats all the good stuff that happened this week. Just pluggin along. We feel discouraged, inadequate & scared but I know it'll come. We'll be okay I think. Love you guys!
Sister Green
P.S. Thank Sis Hemmingway for the letter & tell the Bishop HI!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Love My Family and Friends :)
HI!
Wow that was very nice of Pam's family and Dirk to come to Ben's farewell!
About the food-we avoid the breads, we only have rice sometimes & we rarely have desserts. We have half our plate with salad then meat & fruit. No dressing, just lemon juice, cilantro & a little olive oil. I don't have cheese ever casue I'm allergic. The best purchase I've ever made since being here was the 8 dollar peanut butter I splurged on. Now for breakfast, we have an apple & banana with peanut butter.
It's been pretty chilly here plus the boys love the room at 17c so it's a constant battle for the AC box.
I DID get my camera and debit card. THANK YOU!! The pictures on the camera were great. It was just like I was driving down the street! Thanks for doing that Ben! The Brazilians are amazed at how calm our roads are. Loved the note too & the awesome story. And I actually will (i have faith he'll come) be able to hug Ben. This CTM is very small and everyone knows everyone. Most people know I'm waiting for him and I asked the President, so yeah! :)
I truly feel so overwhelmed with gratitude for the family I have been blessed with. Kris, you hot pregnant mama!! I hope you are feeling better this time around! It killed me the stories of Anya. I love them. And she still remembers me!! YAY!!!! Is she asking for Ben? Say hi to Blaine. Love you. Angie, you are so brilliant. Why didn't I think of that before since there are no high fives here? I think the first person I'll try it on is the President. "President....Butt five!" He'll love that. His wife too I bet. Maybe I should get them both at once while they are walking next to each other. Jersey shore spinoff? Yuck. Team Delemona.... wrong. But you get it :) I have the same comp the whole time, but we get along so well, so it's okay :) Love the Anya sneak sneak sneak. I can just see it. I bet Jason loves that. Love you. Jani, I love you and thanks for the letter. I'm glad you are learning things and feeling the spirit. Dad, that is crazy about the storms! Probably from hurricane Sandy. I'm sorry it's your busy time. About the gang wars-I hadn't heard but about five or six a.m. one morning it's rumored that there was a gang shooting outside of the CTM. I heard 3 shots and a car screech. Yes, Keep track of movies, but no R rated ones :) I actually don't miss facebook or phone except for being able to see pics & talk to my friends. The language is slowly coming. Love you Ma. I can just imagine Ben playing the drums with all the little kids around him. I miss him. Prayin he comes. Dad-Look up the Brazil national anthem. Sweet. Kris-One elder has gained 30 pounds here. Crazy.
Now for the Main course.
Okay, I can't hold it in any longer! Sister Caldwell & I have kept it a secret for days! We talk to one of the Old missionaries here cause he's awesome & works at the MTC and it's his 3rd mission in Brazil. He might try to sneak us in some pizza because I guess outside of the CTM Sao Paulo is known to have better pizza than Italy of anywhere else. The pizza in the CTM is poo poo. But the pizza places open at 7 p.m.! Anyway, that's our secret :):)
I heard 20 states petitioned to succeed form the Union? Only to send a message to the Federal Government, but still kinda big. Our Brazillian roommates left this week :( We all cried. Sister Caldwell & I only a little. It was mostly one Brazillian....We took them in the stairwell (it has nice acoustics) and sang the portugese "God be with you til we meet again" and harmonized. I must say it was a beautiful and very sad experience. We did another English fast & it was easier.
I've been sick & it's something that's been going around. I'm better now, but it was bad so I snuffed (like a druggie, aren't you proud ma?) some salt water. The directions say "for a moment you will feel like you are drowning but that will pass" It felt like I had breathed in the ocean ha. It worked though! Also Sister Caldwell gags every time she brushes her teeth. It's hilarious. She wrote to her man and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon. I'm so proud of her!
Our instructor Armazon told us that some Elders in his district sang a hymn once for an investigator who wasn't progressing or keeping commitments. They started to sing & she began to weep. When they were finished she said she had a dream that angels were singing to her (a while ago). She said it was so real and beautiful. She couldn't remember the words, only the melody and that was the hymn the Elders had sung.
Sister Caldwell and I have a new record. We have had our own room for 24 hours! We got new Brazillians. They're cool but they talk much faster. Also one of them smells. Like gasoline perfume. Every time we walk in the room it's really bad. Really.
Steven, Tressa and Ben will understand this. I made my frog throat noise for Sister Caldwell and she had me do it in class. It was a good one. Everybody was laughing really hard and my instructor dropped his board marker and leaned on the white board he was laughing so hard. Oh my many talents. I literally spill on myself every meal. I have a little pile of food on my lap when I'm done. It's wierd. Good thing I have Tide-to-go! Sister Caldwell and I like to visit the bathroom often to char and we also like singing in there. Our Elders call it "the portal" because they are sure that it transports us somewhere magical.
Okay so there's this kid. Skinny White ginger kid named Elder Whittaker who Sister Caldwell and I love. I'd even venture to say he's my favorite American Elder. he bunny hops up the stairs, sings to himself constantly, does little dance moves randomly and it's just......amazing. I took a volleyball to the face yesterday. Nice. Still love it. Still suck at it.
Now for dessert.
Our area President, Elder Costa came and gave a devotional on wed. He was converted when he was 28 years old. Since he was 18 his family were members but he didn't want it. He moved home for a while waiting to move somewhere for school & his father was the ward mission leader. So he had missionaries in his house all the time. he said lots of missionaries tried to convert him but he said no. He said one day two sisters werre in his home teaching a woman about the first vision. Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. he was in the next room eating dinner and heard what they said. The sisters had left a Book of Mormon on the table so he went in his room, locked the door, and all night would read a paragraph, kneel and pray to know if it was true. Repeated for 14 hours until he had finished. He went to the sisters house and sat on the porch for hours until they returned home form lunch. They approached & he said "I read the book, I KNOW it is true and I want to baptized today. The sisters said "you can't today. We have 7 lessons to teach you and you have to go to church." Is was saturday. He said, "let's go to church now, you can teach me all the lessons today and I will be baptized. I can't wait another moment. I must be baptized TODAY" The sisters said "you can't for at least a week, there is too much to do!" He said long story short, I was baptized the next day. He siad, the first day I stepped into a Church was the same day I was baptized. Elder Costa talked about the importance of opening our mouths. The Lord needs missionaries to open their mouths. Use the 3 hours of church to connect with members, gain trust, build relationships and get referrals. Don't just "go to church".
Elder Costa shared that he opened the Manaus misison and was a president there. There was a missionary that had at LEAST a baptism a week. He was excellent and nobody knew how. (before preach my gospel and cell phones) President Costa got a call from a man in his stake. he said "my brother lives in a small village in the area of Manaus mission. You haven't opened the mission area yet, but my brother really wants to be baptized. He has every manual and literature of the Church there is and for the last 3 years he has waited to be baptized. president called the area 70 and they got permission to send 2 missionaries there to baptize that man only & then return to the mission. They hadn't opened that area yet. So the excellent missionary was sent. he wasn't too happy becasue he was preparing 20 people for a baptism meeting. But he went. The president didn't hear from them for 2 weeks. he thought they had been eaten by a Croc on the boat ride. Finally one of the missionaries borrowed a phoen and called the President. The man they went down to baptize had been going door to door for the last 3 years preaching the gospel every day. He said, "President, tonight we are teaching a group of over 140 people and we are baptizing 38 tomorrow." That's a branch. The President went down to the area. On the boat ride he made friends with the man he sat next to. When he arrived he decided they needed to build a meeting house. So the President was taken to the nearest lumber store and it was his friend from the boat that was the owner! He drew up a chapel and the man said he could get all the wood he needed for this for 5,000.00. The President called the area president and explained the situation. They were given 10,000.00 for the project. The missionaries president and the new members worked together to build a big beautiful meeting house. The Lord needs missionaries and members who open their mouths. that same day, Sister Caldwell and I were fasting for her boyfriend & we watched the first vision. The spirit was SO strong all day!
HaHa today the Branch President met with us and shared with us the report of the week form the teachers. He said "it says here everyone needs to take more notes....execpt Sister Green. She just needs to de-stress" LOL I don't want to miss anything, so I take a ton of notes! It was said in a very nice way. :)
If Ben comes, send Peanut Butter! Sister Caldwell is almost out & requests it. It's real pricey here.
To end on a good note, Elder Whittaker. In this weeks TRC his group were "Investigators" again & we watched the video. Everyone in his group took their shoes off except for him. One companion asked "Elder Whittaker, why don't you take your shoes off?" E. Whittaker pauses for a moment...then says, "because if a man came through that window (points) I'd be the only one that could defend us & kick him". We laughed so hard!
All of our roomies are reading the Portugese Book of Mormon every night. (erica draws stick figures of all the girls in the room then says) Wow... I'm so good at drawing, I can't even take it.....NOT.
I'm still selfishly praying Ben will come. It's holiday again today so most stores are closed. Brazil sure loves their holidays!
I was talking to one of our Brazilian roommates and was talking about how I had to fight not to cry when Anya was blowing me kisses at the airport. She just said, that I left little Anya so that other little Anya's can go to primary & the temple & know God loves them. She was crying. It warmed me up inside. I was asked to translate a conversion story in R.S. on sunday. It's so amazing, most of the Brazilians are converts, or their parents were. People with so much faith.
Love you all and a HUGE thanks for the emails/letters! They really are like GOLD!
Love
Sister Green
P.S. This thanksgiving I am thankful for my family and friends. I have never felt so loved being so far away. I am grateful for the gospel & the peace & love it brings into people's hearts. I'm grateful for my friends, new & old who can make me laugh. Some from this far away! I feel so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I love the gospel, my Father in Heaven, and you all!
NOW I'm done :)
Wow that was very nice of Pam's family and Dirk to come to Ben's farewell!
About the food-we avoid the breads, we only have rice sometimes & we rarely have desserts. We have half our plate with salad then meat & fruit. No dressing, just lemon juice, cilantro & a little olive oil. I don't have cheese ever casue I'm allergic. The best purchase I've ever made since being here was the 8 dollar peanut butter I splurged on. Now for breakfast, we have an apple & banana with peanut butter.
It's been pretty chilly here plus the boys love the room at 17c so it's a constant battle for the AC box.
I DID get my camera and debit card. THANK YOU!! The pictures on the camera were great. It was just like I was driving down the street! Thanks for doing that Ben! The Brazilians are amazed at how calm our roads are. Loved the note too & the awesome story. And I actually will (i have faith he'll come) be able to hug Ben. This CTM is very small and everyone knows everyone. Most people know I'm waiting for him and I asked the President, so yeah! :)
I truly feel so overwhelmed with gratitude for the family I have been blessed with. Kris, you hot pregnant mama!! I hope you are feeling better this time around! It killed me the stories of Anya. I love them. And she still remembers me!! YAY!!!! Is she asking for Ben? Say hi to Blaine. Love you. Angie, you are so brilliant. Why didn't I think of that before since there are no high fives here? I think the first person I'll try it on is the President. "President....Butt five!" He'll love that. His wife too I bet. Maybe I should get them both at once while they are walking next to each other. Jersey shore spinoff? Yuck. Team Delemona.... wrong. But you get it :) I have the same comp the whole time, but we get along so well, so it's okay :) Love the Anya sneak sneak sneak. I can just see it. I bet Jason loves that. Love you. Jani, I love you and thanks for the letter. I'm glad you are learning things and feeling the spirit. Dad, that is crazy about the storms! Probably from hurricane Sandy. I'm sorry it's your busy time. About the gang wars-I hadn't heard but about five or six a.m. one morning it's rumored that there was a gang shooting outside of the CTM. I heard 3 shots and a car screech. Yes, Keep track of movies, but no R rated ones :) I actually don't miss facebook or phone except for being able to see pics & talk to my friends. The language is slowly coming. Love you Ma. I can just imagine Ben playing the drums with all the little kids around him. I miss him. Prayin he comes. Dad-Look up the Brazil national anthem. Sweet. Kris-One elder has gained 30 pounds here. Crazy.
Now for the Main course.
Okay, I can't hold it in any longer! Sister Caldwell & I have kept it a secret for days! We talk to one of the Old missionaries here cause he's awesome & works at the MTC and it's his 3rd mission in Brazil. He might try to sneak us in some pizza because I guess outside of the CTM Sao Paulo is known to have better pizza than Italy of anywhere else. The pizza in the CTM is poo poo. But the pizza places open at 7 p.m.! Anyway, that's our secret :):)
I heard 20 states petitioned to succeed form the Union? Only to send a message to the Federal Government, but still kinda big. Our Brazillian roommates left this week :( We all cried. Sister Caldwell & I only a little. It was mostly one Brazillian....We took them in the stairwell (it has nice acoustics) and sang the portugese "God be with you til we meet again" and harmonized. I must say it was a beautiful and very sad experience. We did another English fast & it was easier.
I've been sick & it's something that's been going around. I'm better now, but it was bad so I snuffed (like a druggie, aren't you proud ma?) some salt water. The directions say "for a moment you will feel like you are drowning but that will pass" It felt like I had breathed in the ocean ha. It worked though! Also Sister Caldwell gags every time she brushes her teeth. It's hilarious. She wrote to her man and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon. I'm so proud of her!
Our instructor Armazon told us that some Elders in his district sang a hymn once for an investigator who wasn't progressing or keeping commitments. They started to sing & she began to weep. When they were finished she said she had a dream that angels were singing to her (a while ago). She said it was so real and beautiful. She couldn't remember the words, only the melody and that was the hymn the Elders had sung.
Sister Caldwell and I have a new record. We have had our own room for 24 hours! We got new Brazillians. They're cool but they talk much faster. Also one of them smells. Like gasoline perfume. Every time we walk in the room it's really bad. Really.
Steven, Tressa and Ben will understand this. I made my frog throat noise for Sister Caldwell and she had me do it in class. It was a good one. Everybody was laughing really hard and my instructor dropped his board marker and leaned on the white board he was laughing so hard. Oh my many talents. I literally spill on myself every meal. I have a little pile of food on my lap when I'm done. It's wierd. Good thing I have Tide-to-go! Sister Caldwell and I like to visit the bathroom often to char and we also like singing in there. Our Elders call it "the portal" because they are sure that it transports us somewhere magical.
Okay so there's this kid. Skinny White ginger kid named Elder Whittaker who Sister Caldwell and I love. I'd even venture to say he's my favorite American Elder. he bunny hops up the stairs, sings to himself constantly, does little dance moves randomly and it's just......amazing. I took a volleyball to the face yesterday. Nice. Still love it. Still suck at it.
Now for dessert.
Our area President, Elder Costa came and gave a devotional on wed. He was converted when he was 28 years old. Since he was 18 his family were members but he didn't want it. He moved home for a while waiting to move somewhere for school & his father was the ward mission leader. So he had missionaries in his house all the time. he said lots of missionaries tried to convert him but he said no. He said one day two sisters werre in his home teaching a woman about the first vision. Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. he was in the next room eating dinner and heard what they said. The sisters had left a Book of Mormon on the table so he went in his room, locked the door, and all night would read a paragraph, kneel and pray to know if it was true. Repeated for 14 hours until he had finished. He went to the sisters house and sat on the porch for hours until they returned home form lunch. They approached & he said "I read the book, I KNOW it is true and I want to baptized today. The sisters said "you can't today. We have 7 lessons to teach you and you have to go to church." Is was saturday. He said, "let's go to church now, you can teach me all the lessons today and I will be baptized. I can't wait another moment. I must be baptized TODAY" The sisters said "you can't for at least a week, there is too much to do!" He said long story short, I was baptized the next day. He siad, the first day I stepped into a Church was the same day I was baptized. Elder Costa talked about the importance of opening our mouths. The Lord needs missionaries to open their mouths. Use the 3 hours of church to connect with members, gain trust, build relationships and get referrals. Don't just "go to church".
Elder Costa shared that he opened the Manaus misison and was a president there. There was a missionary that had at LEAST a baptism a week. He was excellent and nobody knew how. (before preach my gospel and cell phones) President Costa got a call from a man in his stake. he said "my brother lives in a small village in the area of Manaus mission. You haven't opened the mission area yet, but my brother really wants to be baptized. He has every manual and literature of the Church there is and for the last 3 years he has waited to be baptized. president called the area 70 and they got permission to send 2 missionaries there to baptize that man only & then return to the mission. They hadn't opened that area yet. So the excellent missionary was sent. he wasn't too happy becasue he was preparing 20 people for a baptism meeting. But he went. The president didn't hear from them for 2 weeks. he thought they had been eaten by a Croc on the boat ride. Finally one of the missionaries borrowed a phoen and called the President. The man they went down to baptize had been going door to door for the last 3 years preaching the gospel every day. He said, "President, tonight we are teaching a group of over 140 people and we are baptizing 38 tomorrow." That's a branch. The President went down to the area. On the boat ride he made friends with the man he sat next to. When he arrived he decided they needed to build a meeting house. So the President was taken to the nearest lumber store and it was his friend from the boat that was the owner! He drew up a chapel and the man said he could get all the wood he needed for this for 5,000.00. The President called the area president and explained the situation. They were given 10,000.00 for the project. The missionaries president and the new members worked together to build a big beautiful meeting house. The Lord needs missionaries and members who open their mouths. that same day, Sister Caldwell and I were fasting for her boyfriend & we watched the first vision. The spirit was SO strong all day!
HaHa today the Branch President met with us and shared with us the report of the week form the teachers. He said "it says here everyone needs to take more notes....execpt Sister Green. She just needs to de-stress" LOL I don't want to miss anything, so I take a ton of notes! It was said in a very nice way. :)
If Ben comes, send Peanut Butter! Sister Caldwell is almost out & requests it. It's real pricey here.
To end on a good note, Elder Whittaker. In this weeks TRC his group were "Investigators" again & we watched the video. Everyone in his group took their shoes off except for him. One companion asked "Elder Whittaker, why don't you take your shoes off?" E. Whittaker pauses for a moment...then says, "because if a man came through that window (points) I'd be the only one that could defend us & kick him". We laughed so hard!
All of our roomies are reading the Portugese Book of Mormon every night. (erica draws stick figures of all the girls in the room then says) Wow... I'm so good at drawing, I can't even take it.....NOT.
I'm still selfishly praying Ben will come. It's holiday again today so most stores are closed. Brazil sure loves their holidays!
I was talking to one of our Brazilian roommates and was talking about how I had to fight not to cry when Anya was blowing me kisses at the airport. She just said, that I left little Anya so that other little Anya's can go to primary & the temple & know God loves them. She was crying. It warmed me up inside. I was asked to translate a conversion story in R.S. on sunday. It's so amazing, most of the Brazilians are converts, or their parents were. People with so much faith.
Love you all and a HUGE thanks for the emails/letters! They really are like GOLD!
Love
Sister Green
P.S. This thanksgiving I am thankful for my family and friends. I have never felt so loved being so far away. I am grateful for the gospel & the peace & love it brings into people's hearts. I'm grateful for my friends, new & old who can make me laugh. Some from this far away! I feel so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. I love the gospel, my Father in Heaven, and you all!
NOW I'm done :)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Two posts :)
(ericas email)
Yay for being a missionary!
YES I got the mission ties email. I replied with a letter just for you guys :)
Angie, yes obama sucks
I'm so very happy now that I can write through mission ties haha. ah its like a vacation. The food is okay. I stopped worrying about bugs. It's still all fattening.
Yeah I'm super sad about Ben, I pray all the time that he'll at least be able to make it.
I'm working really hard at learning the language. I bought an ensign in portuguese (thats all they had) and I'll just have to try and translate the talks. But its good because it will force me to use my dictionary and learn english. I've stopped reading the english BOM and am now trying to read only the portuguese. I may not feel the spirit as strongly or read as much because I"m looking up words every two seconds but its getting easier. I can read mail any day I get it BTW but I can't send until tuesdays here. Its been raining lots lately.
I'm excited for your letter! I miss Anya way bad and everyone. Tell dad I expect an extra long paragraph about him next time.
The hardest adjustment has been not being able to run :( as long as I want anyway... their track is really weird here... I'd take a picture of it but we are only allowed to take pictures in certain areas here.
Thank you for everything you do for me. I know you love me lots and I can feel your prayers from here. I"m sorry that I'm so expensive.
Ammon and Christ didn't have much on their missions and I have what I need. If I'm starving or naked.... then I'll let you know. But you've already spent enough.
I'm glad kris's job is back to normal (Kristin, her sister works for the airlines). The weather sounded pretty crazy.
Oh man I can't think of much else to say. And I've got 5 minutes left! I think I included everything in my huge letter is the problem. don't worry, I wrote it on the bus to the temple and during free time on sundays. Sundays are the best we get like 3 hours to take a nap or do whatever. In the field its your busiest day though so I'm enjoying it now.
Anyway I hope I answered all of your questions. Kirsten Mills. I am STILL waiting for your address you slacker.
If you get a chance tell Bron (Breanne) that I'd like the singles ward bishop's wife's address.... that probably didn't make any sense....
Also I lost an address of a friend at work. Mary Goodell she's the HUC on wed thurs fri and sat so if you work thurs (she works nights) call up and please ask her. I don't want her to think i forgot about her.
Its kinda strange right now with the language. Its like I'm at a point where I'm forgetting the words in English and can't remember the portuguese words. So I"m stuck in this awkward stuttering, mime phase. Its super weird and pathetic.
Also Sister Caldwell is realizing how weird of things I do. She just laughs. At least it makes her happy. I love my companion! Also I'm tripping more than a normal person should. Love you can't wait for your letter!!!!!!
Love you love you love you.
Sister Green
(Her letter)
Ben, PLEASE come to the CTM when you can! (her brother Ben, went to the provoe MTC, visa waiting) It is the best way to prepare for the language. ALso I Miss You and didn't get to say goodbye! The CTM is really fun! Plus you get to leave on P-day which is super nice. Plus, this temple is so much cooler, and the people here are way cooler (me :)) So Come, badumyoubum! Only one guy in your group got his visa out of like 40 and there are a bunch still waiting at Provo, like 75. They come in groups so probably in the next week or so. I'm hoping :( The CTM (brazils MTC) is small, so you're like family & you make friends & talk with so many people. It is really beautiful here.
I'm getting used to the climate slowly. I Love hearing about Anya (Erica's niece) I'm glad she went pee and poo on the big girl potty! I haven't been so interested in somebodys body functions since I worked at the hospital! Congrats Kristin on being pregnant with a little dude!
So Ma, with Ben's visa not getting there, that Elder you found that you don't know is the only Elder out of about 40 people who got his visa. Tender Mercy (we had to get Erica a new debit card, so we posted on facebook and found an Elder in washington through one of Ben's EFY counselors from 2 years ago). Tell gram hi & I miss her & think about her often. I'm glad she's safe & that the protection was extended to her as well. I want PICTURES! I didn't bring enough and would love more please :)
Something for you Ma and Angie, The secretary & choir director here is is her second mission in Brazil. She has collected over 80 of her favorite recipes from different Brazillian things (ward parties etc) and the one thing I DID remember was a flashdrive. You're welcome :) I will send them wehn I can plug into a computer.
Charlie-the movie- is the story of the Patriarch in Sister Caldwell ward. So crazy.
Well you have been asking so here is my daily schedule. Every day we get up, get ready, eat, personal and companion study, then usually gym, lab, which is like rosetta stone & the gospel, then practice & study & lunch. Breakfast is usually rolls, some sort of meat that's a little questionable, cheese that looks like a block of feta. Lunch is 3 types of meat or pasta or something, salad, beans & rice. And rolls. Dinner is the same. After lunch, you have class with an instructor. OUrs in Armazon. He used to have gages & piercings in his nose & lips. He converted. He is super nice. After dinner, we have Costa. He speaks english really well and is SO funny! We really enjoy him. We teach only in Portugese. Next we teach investigators. We are given a little background on them. It is recorded & then goes to a database where you can watch & evaluate yourself or you can watch other people. There is this redhead kid in another district who we LOVE. He is so awkward and adorable, so we always look for his videos. One time he did a less talented gangham-style type jump dance thing all around the room & his companions weren't even phased. Sister Caldwell & I were dying. But this is the best one yet. So with the camera rolling, the "investigators" open the door. So they all sit down & the missionaries are at week 2, so not a lot of portugese. Se the missionaries are offered a snack of cookie dip. All of this is in portugese. So the missionaries take a bite & say thanks & the investigator who brought the snack says something in portugese very cheerfully. It translates to "if you guys eat...you are....you're going to die. The missionaries just nodded slowly & looked at each other while the "investigators" tried hard not to laugh or smile. There were a couple seconds of awkward silence because the missionaries didn't understand, then they moved on. It was hilarious, but you probably had to be there.
We were sent a DVD of a devotional Bednar gave the wed. after conference. He talked about how in our studies we need to look for the doctrine, the invitation & the promised blessings. He said that the promised blessings aren't just things that we hope will happen, they are promised to us & sealed by the power that the Apostles hold. We watched a few conference talks but I think this could be applied to scriptures as well. It will change how I watch conference.
I was told a very sad story by a guy in my district, who, I think was expecting sister Caldwell & I to laugh. he was on Trek & there was a mean girl who was kind of snappy & was a little different. She had stolen a kids pancake that morning & he was upset. So when she went into the porrta-potty, this kid took some fireworks, lit a big one & dropped it down the hole at the top of the porta potty. It plopped in the toilet & exploded causing the girl to be covered in anything that had been collected. I felt so bad for the girl I literally cried haha! What is the matter wiht me?!
Our Brazillian roomies leave this week in a big group. They will share their testimony tonight, we'll take pitcures & say goodbyes. We will miss them.
I miss peanut butter. Sometimes I just wish I could have a Tablespoon of peanut butter for breakfast instead of rolls. Sister Caldwell & I are going to the store for P-day to look for protein bars or something else we can eat for breakfast. The Elders in my group like to steal food from this one Elderr in my gorup while he prays at meals, so now he takes inventory of his food when hi sits down.
Sister Caldwell & I are trying to fast once a week. The rain here is my fave. The storm are super cool. After our workouts Sister Caldwell & I are playing volleyball with the Elders. We love it. Sister Caldwell & everyone else make fun of my wierd dance/jump serve, but it works everytime :) I finally had to go back to serving like a normal person so that they had a chance to have the ball haha.
OH, there is a house pretty visable from our classroom & one day the Elders look over & in the privacy of his own home, a man was enjoying his birthday suit. It happens pretty often I guess & they just close the blinds haha.
Armazon had us go over AEIOU vowels out loud & I couldn't stop thinking about Tarzan. When he is teaching Jane "gorilla". We sounded like that.
I believe this saturday will be my halfway CTM mark. Oh, btw Ma, Sister Caldwell & I are in the choir. We are learning the Lord my pasture will prepare. It's way pretty.
That's all I got. Love ya'll. Can't wait for my next letter!
Love Sister Green (a drawing of lips) Mwah!
Yay for being a missionary!
YES I got the mission ties email. I replied with a letter just for you guys :)
Angie, yes obama sucks
I'm so very happy now that I can write through mission ties haha. ah its like a vacation. The food is okay. I stopped worrying about bugs. It's still all fattening.
Yeah I'm super sad about Ben, I pray all the time that he'll at least be able to make it.
I'm working really hard at learning the language. I bought an ensign in portuguese (thats all they had) and I'll just have to try and translate the talks. But its good because it will force me to use my dictionary and learn english. I've stopped reading the english BOM and am now trying to read only the portuguese. I may not feel the spirit as strongly or read as much because I"m looking up words every two seconds but its getting easier. I can read mail any day I get it BTW but I can't send until tuesdays here. Its been raining lots lately.
I'm excited for your letter! I miss Anya way bad and everyone. Tell dad I expect an extra long paragraph about him next time.
The hardest adjustment has been not being able to run :( as long as I want anyway... their track is really weird here... I'd take a picture of it but we are only allowed to take pictures in certain areas here.
Thank you for everything you do for me. I know you love me lots and I can feel your prayers from here. I"m sorry that I'm so expensive.
Ammon and Christ didn't have much on their missions and I have what I need. If I'm starving or naked.... then I'll let you know. But you've already spent enough.
I'm glad kris's job is back to normal (Kristin, her sister works for the airlines). The weather sounded pretty crazy.
Oh man I can't think of much else to say. And I've got 5 minutes left! I think I included everything in my huge letter is the problem. don't worry, I wrote it on the bus to the temple and during free time on sundays. Sundays are the best we get like 3 hours to take a nap or do whatever. In the field its your busiest day though so I'm enjoying it now.
Anyway I hope I answered all of your questions. Kirsten Mills. I am STILL waiting for your address you slacker.
If you get a chance tell Bron (Breanne) that I'd like the singles ward bishop's wife's address.... that probably didn't make any sense....
Also I lost an address of a friend at work. Mary Goodell she's the HUC on wed thurs fri and sat so if you work thurs (she works nights) call up and please ask her. I don't want her to think i forgot about her.
Its kinda strange right now with the language. Its like I'm at a point where I'm forgetting the words in English and can't remember the portuguese words. So I"m stuck in this awkward stuttering, mime phase. Its super weird and pathetic.
Also Sister Caldwell is realizing how weird of things I do. She just laughs. At least it makes her happy. I love my companion! Also I'm tripping more than a normal person should. Love you can't wait for your letter!!!!!!
Love you love you love you.
Sister Green
(Her letter)
Ben, PLEASE come to the CTM when you can! (her brother Ben, went to the provoe MTC, visa waiting) It is the best way to prepare for the language. ALso I Miss You and didn't get to say goodbye! The CTM is really fun! Plus you get to leave on P-day which is super nice. Plus, this temple is so much cooler, and the people here are way cooler (me :)) So Come, badumyoubum! Only one guy in your group got his visa out of like 40 and there are a bunch still waiting at Provo, like 75. They come in groups so probably in the next week or so. I'm hoping :( The CTM (brazils MTC) is small, so you're like family & you make friends & talk with so many people. It is really beautiful here.
I'm getting used to the climate slowly. I Love hearing about Anya (Erica's niece) I'm glad she went pee and poo on the big girl potty! I haven't been so interested in somebodys body functions since I worked at the hospital! Congrats Kristin on being pregnant with a little dude!
So Ma, with Ben's visa not getting there, that Elder you found that you don't know is the only Elder out of about 40 people who got his visa. Tender Mercy (we had to get Erica a new debit card, so we posted on facebook and found an Elder in washington through one of Ben's EFY counselors from 2 years ago). Tell gram hi & I miss her & think about her often. I'm glad she's safe & that the protection was extended to her as well. I want PICTURES! I didn't bring enough and would love more please :)
Something for you Ma and Angie, The secretary & choir director here is is her second mission in Brazil. She has collected over 80 of her favorite recipes from different Brazillian things (ward parties etc) and the one thing I DID remember was a flashdrive. You're welcome :) I will send them wehn I can plug into a computer.
Charlie-the movie- is the story of the Patriarch in Sister Caldwell ward. So crazy.
Well you have been asking so here is my daily schedule. Every day we get up, get ready, eat, personal and companion study, then usually gym, lab, which is like rosetta stone & the gospel, then practice & study & lunch. Breakfast is usually rolls, some sort of meat that's a little questionable, cheese that looks like a block of feta. Lunch is 3 types of meat or pasta or something, salad, beans & rice. And rolls. Dinner is the same. After lunch, you have class with an instructor. OUrs in Armazon. He used to have gages & piercings in his nose & lips. He converted. He is super nice. After dinner, we have Costa. He speaks english really well and is SO funny! We really enjoy him. We teach only in Portugese. Next we teach investigators. We are given a little background on them. It is recorded & then goes to a database where you can watch & evaluate yourself or you can watch other people. There is this redhead kid in another district who we LOVE. He is so awkward and adorable, so we always look for his videos. One time he did a less talented gangham-style type jump dance thing all around the room & his companions weren't even phased. Sister Caldwell & I were dying. But this is the best one yet. So with the camera rolling, the "investigators" open the door. So they all sit down & the missionaries are at week 2, so not a lot of portugese. Se the missionaries are offered a snack of cookie dip. All of this is in portugese. So the missionaries take a bite & say thanks & the investigator who brought the snack says something in portugese very cheerfully. It translates to "if you guys eat...you are....you're going to die. The missionaries just nodded slowly & looked at each other while the "investigators" tried hard not to laugh or smile. There were a couple seconds of awkward silence because the missionaries didn't understand, then they moved on. It was hilarious, but you probably had to be there.
We were sent a DVD of a devotional Bednar gave the wed. after conference. He talked about how in our studies we need to look for the doctrine, the invitation & the promised blessings. He said that the promised blessings aren't just things that we hope will happen, they are promised to us & sealed by the power that the Apostles hold. We watched a few conference talks but I think this could be applied to scriptures as well. It will change how I watch conference.
I was told a very sad story by a guy in my district, who, I think was expecting sister Caldwell & I to laugh. he was on Trek & there was a mean girl who was kind of snappy & was a little different. She had stolen a kids pancake that morning & he was upset. So when she went into the porrta-potty, this kid took some fireworks, lit a big one & dropped it down the hole at the top of the porta potty. It plopped in the toilet & exploded causing the girl to be covered in anything that had been collected. I felt so bad for the girl I literally cried haha! What is the matter wiht me?!
Our Brazillian roomies leave this week in a big group. They will share their testimony tonight, we'll take pitcures & say goodbyes. We will miss them.
I miss peanut butter. Sometimes I just wish I could have a Tablespoon of peanut butter for breakfast instead of rolls. Sister Caldwell & I are going to the store for P-day to look for protein bars or something else we can eat for breakfast. The Elders in my group like to steal food from this one Elderr in my gorup while he prays at meals, so now he takes inventory of his food when hi sits down.
Sister Caldwell & I are trying to fast once a week. The rain here is my fave. The storm are super cool. After our workouts Sister Caldwell & I are playing volleyball with the Elders. We love it. Sister Caldwell & everyone else make fun of my wierd dance/jump serve, but it works everytime :) I finally had to go back to serving like a normal person so that they had a chance to have the ball haha.
OH, there is a house pretty visable from our classroom & one day the Elders look over & in the privacy of his own home, a man was enjoying his birthday suit. It happens pretty often I guess & they just close the blinds haha.
Armazon had us go over AEIOU vowels out loud & I couldn't stop thinking about Tarzan. When he is teaching Jane "gorilla". We sounded like that.
I believe this saturday will be my halfway CTM mark. Oh, btw Ma, Sister Caldwell & I are in the choir. We are learning the Lord my pasture will prepare. It's way pretty.
That's all I got. Love ya'll. Can't wait for my next letter!
Love Sister Green (a drawing of lips) Mwah!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Ben, Laughing, and Spankings :)
Hi! To answer a couple of questions, no i can't meet ben. they bring him through the back of the mtc and go straight into meetings. but. \yes we will proselite on the streets before we leave the ctm. my emglish is starting to go sorry for misspellings. umm umm ummm...... no high fives means that you can't touch the elders. hahaha mostly its just thumbs up here.....
i got a spiritual spanking this week. just very humbling in both the language and the gospel. After I sent my email last week ma I got your letter. Thank you its in my journal. And i finally got the secretary of the CTM to print my blessing for me. I probably read it like 3 times a day. Our president plays piano amazing. he did an arragement of a poor wayfaring man of grief and praise to the man and we thank thee oh god for a prophet and most of the audience was weeping. ha weeping. I'm a misisonary. Sorry these keyboards are tards. my comp and I are getting to know each other better and better. Telling funny stories. Tressa ash and Bron I need you to write me funny things that have happened with us. I'm running out of material. Also I had a dream you three were hiding something from me... is there something I need to know ? haha. on that note i also had a dream that mckenna and whitney hated me. I just haven\'t been sleeping well in general... ONE WEEK BEN! ONE WEEK AND YOURE HERE! don't even worry pretty much everyone has heard of you. I tell everyone I see. I'll try to be in the area when he arrives to tackle him. We are getting 40 new americans this week. Ben's whole district is headed for manaus pretty much. I'm so glad I was single when I left. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be a missionary while your heart is at home. The second week was better, the days for sure went faster but maybe thats because we have more to do and we are using the language more. The dumbest things are so funny here. Porbably cause we are starved of regular entertainment. The elders switched the pens on mine and sis cladwells desks while we were in the bathroom and we laughed for about 3 minutes. Like I said. dumb. also they put a lock on a kids backpack. they gave him 2 numbers to the combination. we killed ourselves over that one. ha.... wow.
There are 2 ways to say "sorry" in portuguese. One is desculpe which means it was me. the other one is sinto muito which means I feel. Like I feel you bro. JK. But one of our teachers told a story of how he had a cat he loved at home but while he was on his mission somebody killed it. 3 months before he got home. Sister Caldwell says 'awwwww.... desculpe'. we laughed pretty hard over that one too. the song we taught our brazillian roommates this week was '"we are never ever ever ever getting back our leather". By taylor swift of course. I did popcorn popping this week ma for some reason i don't remember but it made me miss anya a lot. (Anya is her niece) we had a fireside about going to bed on time... and then we tried to... but it didn't happen... I got too into studying about fasting (its in the mission ties letter ma) and the next morning our portuguese seriously suffered so bad. I looked at sister caldwell and said "we have got to go to bed on time cause this is just no good". So we did. But I keep waking up. Or having dreams that my friends hate me. A huge thank you for the emails and letters. You know who you are :) I wish I had written more missionaries than I made time for. Being on this side of it, you realize how great they are! I"m getting kicked out love you.
i got a spiritual spanking this week. just very humbling in both the language and the gospel. After I sent my email last week ma I got your letter. Thank you its in my journal. And i finally got the secretary of the CTM to print my blessing for me. I probably read it like 3 times a day. Our president plays piano amazing. he did an arragement of a poor wayfaring man of grief and praise to the man and we thank thee oh god for a prophet and most of the audience was weeping. ha weeping. I'm a misisonary. Sorry these keyboards are tards. my comp and I are getting to know each other better and better. Telling funny stories. Tressa ash and Bron I need you to write me funny things that have happened with us. I'm running out of material. Also I had a dream you three were hiding something from me... is there something I need to know ? haha. on that note i also had a dream that mckenna and whitney hated me. I just haven\'t been sleeping well in general... ONE WEEK BEN! ONE WEEK AND YOURE HERE! don't even worry pretty much everyone has heard of you. I tell everyone I see. I'll try to be in the area when he arrives to tackle him. We are getting 40 new americans this week. Ben's whole district is headed for manaus pretty much. I'm so glad I was single when I left. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be a missionary while your heart is at home. The second week was better, the days for sure went faster but maybe thats because we have more to do and we are using the language more. The dumbest things are so funny here. Porbably cause we are starved of regular entertainment. The elders switched the pens on mine and sis cladwells desks while we were in the bathroom and we laughed for about 3 minutes. Like I said. dumb. also they put a lock on a kids backpack. they gave him 2 numbers to the combination. we killed ourselves over that one. ha.... wow.
There are 2 ways to say "sorry" in portuguese. One is desculpe which means it was me. the other one is sinto muito which means I feel. Like I feel you bro. JK. But one of our teachers told a story of how he had a cat he loved at home but while he was on his mission somebody killed it. 3 months before he got home. Sister Caldwell says 'awwwww.... desculpe'. we laughed pretty hard over that one too. the song we taught our brazillian roommates this week was '"we are never ever ever ever getting back our leather". By taylor swift of course. I did popcorn popping this week ma for some reason i don't remember but it made me miss anya a lot. (Anya is her niece) we had a fireside about going to bed on time... and then we tried to... but it didn't happen... I got too into studying about fasting (its in the mission ties letter ma) and the next morning our portuguese seriously suffered so bad. I looked at sister caldwell and said "we have got to go to bed on time cause this is just no good". So we did. But I keep waking up. Or having dreams that my friends hate me. A huge thank you for the emails and letters. You know who you are :) I wish I had written more missionaries than I made time for. Being on this side of it, you realize how great they are! I"m getting kicked out love you.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Love My Life!
Hi!!
How is everyone? I would love updates :)
On the flight I talked to a nice man from Brasillia (capital). When you fly into Sao Paulo, its wall to wall buildings. And no grid system so its just.... crazy. No hills or mountains or really parks its just buildings. And the driving is NUTSO. It is so stressful to watch out the windsheild I just put my head down haha. Our President worked in special effects and is a very nice man. So our first day I was so paraniod about waking up on time that I woke up every two hours haha. That night 2 crazy brasillian roommates moved into our room.... usually don't get them until week 3 but I guess we're lucky because I love them and they help alot with language.
I love my companion. She is a teeny little thing and so cute. Her name is Sister Caldwell. She's very cheerful but has been going through some homesickness and things. She likes to teach our Brazillian roommates the wrong lyrics to English songs like "call me maybe". The boys in my group are 19... but I am starting to really enjoy them. We had a "workie shopie" and one of the classes was on chastity and the braziliian teacher gave a hilarious story to go with it. Its a bird that is freezing up in a tree and a cow comes along and "does something disgusting". He looks down and says "oh thats disgusting... but it looks warm..." so he flies down and sticks his foot in and says "oh that's disgusting... but it IS warm...." so he puts his other foot in. And then his body is freezing so he bends his knees. And it goes on until he is neck deep in something disgusting. The next morning he wakes up and is frozen in this thing.
How is everyone? I would love updates :)
On the flight I talked to a nice man from Brasillia (capital). When you fly into Sao Paulo, its wall to wall buildings. And no grid system so its just.... crazy. No hills or mountains or really parks its just buildings. And the driving is NUTSO. It is so stressful to watch out the windsheild I just put my head down haha. Our President worked in special effects and is a very nice man. So our first day I was so paraniod about waking up on time that I woke up every two hours haha. That night 2 crazy brasillian roommates moved into our room.... usually don't get them until week 3 but I guess we're lucky because I love them and they help alot with language.
I love my companion. She is a teeny little thing and so cute. Her name is Sister Caldwell. She's very cheerful but has been going through some homesickness and things. She likes to teach our Brazillian roommates the wrong lyrics to English songs like "call me maybe". The boys in my group are 19... but I am starting to really enjoy them. We had a "workie shopie" and one of the classes was on chastity and the braziliian teacher gave a hilarious story to go with it. Its a bird that is freezing up in a tree and a cow comes along and "does something disgusting". He looks down and says "oh thats disgusting... but it looks warm..." so he flies down and sticks his foot in and says "oh that's disgusting... but it IS warm...." so he puts his other foot in. And then his body is freezing so he bends his knees. And it goes on until he is neck deep in something disgusting. The next morning he wakes up and is frozen in this thing.
Speaking of crap...... they do lanche at night which is snack its a roll, apple and hot coco... "coco quentie" is hot crap. So now all the elders and brazillians call it hot crap. No high fives here with boys. Storms are insane. Everyone gets fat here. Beautiful people. Love my teachers. Miss my family and friends. :\
Time is up! Please send my mom addresses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love you
Sis Green
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