Oi!!!,
LOVED the suitcase and all you sent. THANK YOU!! Yay for the Ipod shuffles. You didn't have to do that! I am excited for music! Loved the Bott excerpts. So helpful. I'll work hard on those qualities. I can only have Mo-Tab music, music with the Church's seal, so no EFY either, so keep that in mind when you put music on there. Thank you!
BEN GOT HERE!!!!!! Ben & I are in the same branch here which means I get to see him on Sundays!! And we have the same P-day for 1 week, my last P-day so we get to go to the temple @ I can show him around before I leave :) We go proselyting monday & I am nervous! Holy Cow. Real People. Who speak Portugese really really fast! It has been getting hotter today and the A/C keeps breaking haha.
I don't know if Ben told you about the arrival but I tried to go out & meet him (I was watching the arrival dock all morning cause it's right outside my class window) & I was sent back. I learned it was against the rules to greet new missionaries. So I had to wait 1/2 hour to see him at lunch. I ran out when he was in line to get in & hugged him & he picked me up. Ahhh so amazing to see my lil' brother!! :):) The videos (on her camera) and tape were amazing. I'll have to make sure it's cool with the mission pres that I record before I do it. Don't want to be disobedient. Every mission is different. Ben has it now so I don't remember what it said.
Both me & 3 Elders in my district loved the map of the travels in the Book of Mormon. They traced it and took notes from the cards. I noticed there were other presents in the suitcase from Angie & Kris. I wish I could give you all something in return, but just know your love fills my heart every day when I think of how blessed I am to have the family I do.
It's now sunday. From my journal entries: Elder Adams, (was a doc in Vietnam) bore a testimony about a soldier in Vietnam who was flying a bomber place & was hit by a missile. he crashed & broke his back. he was taken by enemy soldiers to a camp they (the American Troops) didn't know existed. He was beaten & Tortured every day. The only pain reliever they had for him was vodka. At first he wouldn't take it. He'd never broken the word of Wisdom. One day the pain was too much to bear & he drank some. Meanwhile the American forces had discovered this camp where they kept American POW's. They were about to execute the rescue mission but somehow the enemy found out about it & moved the prisoners to a camp in another part of their territory. At this point (srgnt) Rodriguez had thought that God had all but forgotten about him. He was laying in his call, in so much pain, and about to abandon his faith & give into despair & doubt, when he noticed a tapping on the stone wall separating his call from anothers. The prisoner next to him was also a member. The only way the prisoners could communicate with each other is through morse code. He soon noticed this neighbor was sending him a message. "Come......Come......Ye.....Saints......No toil.....nor.........labor.....fear" he couldn't hear the tapping anymore, but heard in his head the whole tabernacle choir & then he knew God had not forgotten him. After that devotional we were tired, put so pumped about the gospel.
Holy cow, I didn't believe people when they said it'd go by fast. We have goodbye orientation this week. We went proselyting yesterday. Oh my goshie. It was so hot. We gave out 3 BOM's & sang a bunch of christmas songs or hymns to people. Lots of people "already had a Book of Mormon" because they live around the CTM. (we proselyted in the CTM boundaries). We had a devotional the other night about a convert who had 21........yes, that is 10 = 11=21 kids, 18 of which were adopted. He worked hard every day & always provided for his family. They never have received help from the government. He also has 5 R.M.'s, 5 currently serving, & 5 waiting for calls. He paid for all of the missions without help. Oh my goshie. The first baby they adopted---the father of this family is a paramedic. He got a call one night at about 4 or 5 a.m. Soon after birth, the mother had pout the baby in a plastic bag, and thrown him in a ditch at the side of the road. His umbilical chord had been brutally ripped from his body & he was suffering from hypothermia. The father held the baby close to his chest, trying to warm him up & begging God to let him live. The child lived & later became his. I'm sure you know the beautiful principle that was taught here.
Proselyting- we gave one to a man that was smoking in his truck & when the Elders in our district passed him, he was reading the introduction! Woot! We went up to a park & stopped a lady. She said she'd always seen missionaries around but nobody had stopped to talk to her. We gave her a BOM & she asked how much it costs haha. It's FREE! She was very nice. We gave out the other one to a lady sitting near. She had a religion, but her cousin or niece in Mozambique was LDS. Maybe a miracle will happen. There were like 40 missionaries in a small area so next time we're being bussed to a different area.
Traffic here is still crazy!
We were doing the "12 days of Christmas" but really more like the "12 days until we leave" with different things for people, mostly notes. We were sneaking around with our next note & were taping it to an office door when we were caught red handed by Elder Steadman. We literally ran. He told everyone, so we're busted :( I get really sad thinking about saying goodbye to Sister C & Irmao Costa (teacher).
Sister Caldwell rocked proselyting. She did a lot of the talking which was very good cause I was too nervous. I guess I just don't have the confidence yet. I will though, I am determined :) I'm really glad she did so well! I hope to follow her example :)
Love you ALL
Sister Green