Esta semana (:

Hey everyone!

What a week! Oh my goodness. Things are so crazy here in Brazil. So different. But I love it more than I can explain. Things are great. I am so grateful to be here and to be serving the people of São Gabriel. It is such a blessing!

I am not going to lie, I had a pretty rough week at first. When I first got here, it was great. I was loving everything about it, but I think I was still kind of in shock at the differences. This week, it kind of all settled in. I realized that I had no idea how to speak Portuguese, how to teach in Portuguese, or why I was really here. We had hardly anyone to teach and things were falling through all over the place. This was probably the first time I REALLY struggled as a missionary. It was hard, and I was frustrated with myself and what we were doing here.

This lasted a few days. And I´m not one who likes to wait around for things to happen. I go out and I do. So on Wednesday, I realized there was a problem here. I wasn´t happy. I wasn´t loving the work like I used to. So I decided to change. I´ve been thinking a lot about change and about the person that I need to become. Honestly, I can be anyone I want to be, despite the circumstances. I no longer believe in the words, "It´s in my nature," because I have seen so much change in the people I have taught on my mission. You truly can become whoever you want to become. And I wanted to be someone who loves her mission, who has the desire to work hard and do exactly what the Lord expects of her. So I decided that I needed to get over this little hump and get to work. The more I worked, the more I began stretching myself and speaking in Portuguese, the more I loved and served my companion, the more joy I was able to find. I started to love my mission again. I started to love the work and desire the best for all those that we are teaching. 

Miracles are happening here in São Gabriel. We lost a lot of the people that we started teaching, but we were able to meet so many more people with that. We have this boy named Anderson, who is 14, and has SO much faith. It is amazing to see so much faith in a boy this young. He came to church with us on Sunday and is doing so many great things. We are praying for his baptism next Saturday. He is ready. He loved church and he loves all that we are teaching him. I am very excited to see what will happen with him.

I discovered that they have the best chocolate ever here. Oh my lanta. I love it. Hahaha. Remember how I said I was going to be in super great shape when I get back...Maybe not. Haha. Just kidding. But it really is great. When we have bad days, Sister Ponce and I get chocolate. It makes it all better.

Also, I am currently experiencing the rain of Brazil. NOT OKAY. It rains SO much. Yesterday was like the ultimate downpour. ALL DAY LONG. I was swimming in my clothing and in my shoes. And to make things even better, hardly anyone was home. So we were out in the rain for pretty much a solid eight hours. Hahaha. Such a struggle. But Sister Ponce and I were singing and laughing the whole time. We have a blast together. She is seriously such an incredible companion. I love her.

I also experienced the extreme heat and got totally sunburned. I forgot that when you are outside all day long, you probably need sunscreen. I am glad it turned into a tan the next day, because all day people kept calling me "Americana vermelha"  - the red American. Lovely. Hahaha it was great.

I love this work. This week, I realized how much I truly love it. It is such a blessing to be here. to be serving the people here. My Portuguese is coming along, but keep praying for me. I need all the help I can get. I am grateful to be a missionary, to be working hard, and to be dedicating this time to the Lord. He has done so much for me. This time I am giving is the least I can do. Life is great here in São Gabriel. I love it. I am excited to see what this week will bring. I am working hard to get over that "natural man." I want to give all my time, my heart, my mind and myself to the Lord because that´s why I am here. 

I love you all. I hope that all is well. I am forgetting how to speak English sometimes and I find myself translating in my head from Portuguese to Englsih while I write in my journal at night. I´m going to be such a weirdo when I get home with no comprehension of how to speak normally. It will be great. Can´t wait. Life is great. I love you and miss you all and keep praying for you.

Sister Card

xoxo

Santa Maria Amada Missão

Oi!!!

Holy cow, where can I even begin? This has been the craziest, best week of my life! I have hardly any time to write, but I will do my best to fit it all in!!!

So I am serving here in São Gabriel, which is one of the most Southern points of our mission. It is SO beautiful here. Seriously. I am in love with it already. I can´t express how much I love it. Everything is perfect. Exactly how I imagined it. The people, the culture, everything. It is such a blessing to be here and I know that it is exactly where I need to be.

My new companion is Sister Natalia Ponce and she is from Chile! We only speak in Portuguese, so I´ve had to learn very quickly. She is incredible! I´ve actually been out a transfer longer than she has, which is a little strange haha. So technically, I´m the Senior Companion, but she is my trainer. Haha. We love each other so much already. She is 22 and comes from a completely inactive family, but has such a strong testimony of the gospel. I love her so much and am learning so many things from her. 

Food here is fabulous. Rice and beans every single day!!! I love it so much. The members feed us almoço (which is their big meal during the day) every single day. Then we don´t have dinner. And we walk everywhere!!! So needless to say, I have already lost a lot of weight... I didn´t gain too much in Alabama, but that is ALL going to be gone within the next week. Seriously. The food is so good though. I absolutely love it. 

So this week was very interesting! Sister Ponce and I were double transferred into São Gabriel, which means we have no investigators, no knowledge of the area, no member support, nothing. What an entrance, eh? Our area book with all the previous investigators hadn´t been updated since 2009, so we just got to work. We have been going out, meeting with members, working with our Branch President, trying to do all we can to get people to teach. And guess what? It is working! The work is moving so quickly in Brazil. It seems like everyone is interested in the gospel. I am so excited for what is going to happen here. We already have a baptism lined up, so things are going to be great here. LOVE IT.

I cannot express how much I love it here. The people here are so kind. I have so much love for them already. Even though I cannot speak very well, they are so willing to help me out. They have such strong testimonies of the gospel. I was bawling all during Sacrament Meeting yesterday because of the Spirit I felt there. It was so strong. They have such a strong desire to share the gospel with everyone they meet. 

President Parrela is incredible! I love him already and I am so excited to work with him. He told me at transfer meeting that I have to get to work. He said he´s got some high expectations for me and expects me to be fluent by the end of this transfer... He needs me to get working with the other sisters here since I have already been out for so long, so I need to be able to speak the language well. PRAY FOR ME. My Portuguese is already so much better and I am getting to the point where I feel comfortable teaching now. It is so great. But seriously, keep me in your prayers. 

A little about my mission: We have around 150 missionaries here and only 28 sisters! AH! Can you believe that? We had almost 150 sisters in Alabama... Haha. It´s definitely different, but I love it. We have a goal of baptizing weekly, so we are getting to work here in São Gabriel! I am expected to eat a ton of honey and lemons every day so that I can be healthy. I DO NOT like lemons, but I am forcing myself to do it haha. Maybe one day... Our zone is awesome. We have 5/8 that are Americanos. Our Zone Leader actually played basketball at Utah State my freshman year. His name is Cameron Shepherd, but I didn´t know him! We know a lot of the same people though! Small world huh?

I am sorry that this email is so scattered, but things are great here. I love it so much. I love Brazil so much and I know that this is EXACTLY where I need to be. Things are so perfect here. Except for the fact that my feet are killing from this walking. It´ll be great when I come home with extremely calloused feet. Can´t wait (;

I love you all so much. Thank you for everything. I hope you are all doing well. WRITE ME. Even though it will take forever to get here. Haha. I love you all so much and hope that everything is great. LOVES!

Sister Card

xoxo

P.S. No air conditioning here... SO hot. But at least we have hot water for showers (:

Minha companheira (: Yes, she is beautiful, 

but she´s taken, so don´t ask (; I LOVE HER.

 

Jesus necklaces in Mississippi. Best thing to EVER receive.

Last day in Mississippi ):

Sister Murray and I! Ahhh I miss that girl so much already!