This week I realized how often I forget that I am speaking a different language. All day. And people here only speak another language. Is that crazy or what? I have been in Brazil for a little over a month. Its so easy to merely focus on what I cannot say or express and what I cannot understand, but I know I need to remember what I can say and testify of and what I can understand. I am speaking portuguese! Every day! Gracas a Deus. (thanks to God.)
Last Pday the other Sisters in our district ran into this guy Mauricio, but he lives in our area so we got to teach him. He is from here, but lived in Salt Lake for four years and just absolutely loved the church. He said that he knew God had blessed that city, and he loved the temples and just everything about the church, but his work always required him to work on sundays(because there are so many members who dont want to) so he never had a chance to go to church. How ironic is that? Here was this man dying to know everything about the church, and never did simply because nobody invited him. Its terrible really. Anyways, he comes home to Brasil, runs into some mormon missionaries and, well, the church is true. We taught him the first lesson and he soaked it in. Sister Silveira taught in portuguese and I got to teach in english because he is fluent! Twas a very nonconventional lesson, but I thought it was pretty neat.Its so fun to teach people who are interested and understand and comprehend. Anyways, he wants a Book of Mormon and will come to church in a few weeks after his business trip in Sao Paulo.
We had zone conference this week, which was so fun. I could not love my mission president and his wife more, they are perfect. They took turns speaking, the secretary spoke about money and health and things, they took us out for lunch, we talked more, practiced ward council took some pictures and they drove the Sisters home. (Being a Sister is the best here, they treat us so great! Sometimes I feel bad when the Elders have to walk everywhere, or dont get all the special things, but they have the priesthood, right?)
Sister Fortunato shared a neat analogy. As eagles age, their beaks and claws continue to grow. Late in life, they reach a point where their beaks are too curled to get food in their mouth, and their claws are too long to grasp prey so they are faced with a choice to either kill themselves, die of starvation, or they can break off pieces of their beaks and claws on rocks, which is very painful, but allows them to live for 20 to 30 more years. This often is similar to us in life, we can chose to give up and let the adversary win, or we can chose to let the Lord and let life teach us the painful lessons required to be purified and better people. This reminded me of the analogy in conference about how the Provo Tabernacle was burned to the core, only to be made into something better, a temple.
Well, I am slowly getting tanner, slowly breaking my personal bubble, and slowly gaining a harder outer shell. I get made fun of ALOT here, I dont talk enough, or I dont speak correctly, I am white, I have blue eyes, I get pitied..you name it! But Its all about atitude and I learn more every day. Its really good for me, I know I was too sensitive before my mission.
Thats it for this week!
Much love from South America!
Sister Holmes
Last Pday the other Sisters in our district ran into this guy Mauricio, but he lives in our area so we got to teach him. He is from here, but lived in Salt Lake for four years and just absolutely loved the church. He said that he knew God had blessed that city, and he loved the temples and just everything about the church, but his work always required him to work on sundays(because there are so many members who dont want to) so he never had a chance to go to church. How ironic is that? Here was this man dying to know everything about the church, and never did simply because nobody invited him. Its terrible really. Anyways, he comes home to Brasil, runs into some mormon missionaries and, well, the church is true. We taught him the first lesson and he soaked it in. Sister Silveira taught in portuguese and I got to teach in english because he is fluent! Twas a very nonconventional lesson, but I thought it was pretty neat.Its so fun to teach people who are interested and understand and comprehend. Anyways, he wants a Book of Mormon and will come to church in a few weeks after his business trip in Sao Paulo.
We had zone conference this week, which was so fun. I could not love my mission president and his wife more, they are perfect. They took turns speaking, the secretary spoke about money and health and things, they took us out for lunch, we talked more, practiced ward council took some pictures and they drove the Sisters home. (Being a Sister is the best here, they treat us so great! Sometimes I feel bad when the Elders have to walk everywhere, or dont get all the special things, but they have the priesthood, right?)
Sister Fortunato shared a neat analogy. As eagles age, their beaks and claws continue to grow. Late in life, they reach a point where their beaks are too curled to get food in their mouth, and their claws are too long to grasp prey so they are faced with a choice to either kill themselves, die of starvation, or they can break off pieces of their beaks and claws on rocks, which is very painful, but allows them to live for 20 to 30 more years. This often is similar to us in life, we can chose to give up and let the adversary win, or we can chose to let the Lord and let life teach us the painful lessons required to be purified and better people. This reminded me of the analogy in conference about how the Provo Tabernacle was burned to the core, only to be made into something better, a temple.
Well, I am slowly getting tanner, slowly breaking my personal bubble, and slowly gaining a harder outer shell. I get made fun of ALOT here, I dont talk enough, or I dont speak correctly, I am white, I have blue eyes, I get pitied..you name it! But Its all about atitude and I learn more every day. Its really good for me, I know I was too sensitive before my mission.
Thats it for this week!
Much love from South America!
Sister Holmes