I swear the hour for email goes by the fastest out of any during the week.
FIRST OFF!!!! IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
My call packet lied. There is only ONE address for letters AND packages:
Sister Ashley Alaina Wilkinson
Missão Brasil Recife
R. Sao Francisco 110/102
Paissandu
52010-020
Recife PE
BRASIL
For those of you who have sent packages, do not fear. It´s the address of the old mission office, which is around the corner from the new one, and they save any packages they get, and the APs go around every once and a while and get them. I let them know im expecting packages, so they´re on the look out. But from now on, JUST that address!!!!
Moving on, This week was kinda a dead one, not gonna lie. We do all we can, but then our investigators don´t show up to church or dont pray or dont read, and we can´t progress without them doing their part, sabe? Porque, como missionárias, estamos aqui pra ensinar e ajudar as pessoas, mas não podemos se eles não fazem as coisas eles precisam fazer!!!!and i definitely didnt mean to slip into portugese right there. My mind is right at the point when English and Portuguese are getting mixed into one and the same thing in my mind. This morning I was writing a bunch of letters to some of my Elder friends in Portuguese, then I started writing one to my friend in the US in English, and it was hard. But when I speak POrtuguese, I keep thinking in English... Gah. Give me another transfer or two and English will be out the window.
I realized yesterday how well I do know Portuguese. For the first few weeks here, I understood NO ONE. But I realized, at a lesson yesterday (a couple that is a reference from a member and is AWESOME and totally loves the church already and wants to learn more and its just great. The Lord ALWAYS gives blessings), that I understood almost everything they were saying. And the other day we were teaching this guy who was kinda bible bashing with us, and I just kinda laid it on him, in Portuguese, that we´re here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the same gospel in the Bible. The book of Mormon testifies that Jesus is the Christ, and we as missionaries are here to share that message: that Christ lives! And if he really wants to know, no amount of scriptures we share will prove it to him, he just has to pray. In PORTUGUESE! I´m sure half of it was wrong, though Sis Jacobs said I actually spoke really well. I understand 99% of what I read in Portuguese... Really about 100%, except for random words I run across that I dont know, but then I guess them from context. It´s the Isaiah parts in 2 Nephi that are giving me a run for my money ;)
Speaking of which, I read 2 Nefi 2 this week, where Lehi explains the doctrine of the Fall of Adam. It´s fascinating HOW PERFECT the plan of our heavenly father is. He´s God, he knows all. Its amazing how little we comprehend it all. I feel like I´m learning and realizing so much here. And Its more of a feeling like "Oh yeah, I knew that. I forgot, but now I remember!" because i DID know all of this before! Its amazing what the spirit can reveal =] READ YOUR SCRIPTURES!!! Seriously, right now. Go. Leia! (read!)
Good news though! The son of Luciana and Ronaldo, the family we´ve been working with, is going to be baptised on Friday, and their other son probably next Sunday (after he goes to church the second time). I love this little family. Luciana is so ótimo (awesome). She really wants the best for her and her family and knows that this church, this gospel, is the way to get it. She´s so excited for us to teach her family and loves church and her 'husband", ronaldo, does too. They´re excited to get married and be baptised, and the divorce of her with her first husband is almost done =] I´m excited because a year from now, I´ll be able to go with them to the temple when they get sealed. How amazing is that?
Other things... The river flooded again, BIG TIME. It was so louco. So we have to take the long way around every day. It´s finally winter here, raining every day. And I mean, when it rains, it POURS. Evertime we have our rainsoats, it stops, but as soon as we leave them in the house because it looks like its warm and sunny... CHUVA! (rain) Moral of the story: Always have your raincoat and you´ll never have rain.
Also, Caruaru should have a subtitle: The city of wild cats. Seriously, I´ve never seen soooo many wild cats running around. Mom would have had a hay-day trying to save all the little kittens. Sis Jacobs rolls her eyes everytime I go "Awww, gatinho!!!"SPEAKING of which, sis Jacobs said THE funniest thing last night. When I pray, I kneel on my bed and hunch over so my head is resting on my pillow, and last night she was like "Did you always pray like taht or only after you lived in a muslim country?" Hahahahahahaha, oh man, i laughed for a LONG time.
Anyway, life is good, we´re teaching and contacting and having a good time, despite the little bumps the devil throws our way. I love being here, and I´m grateful for your support. I pray for all of you! Let me know
how life is going!~Sis Wilkinson
Monday, May 25, 2009
18 de maio de 2009
Not gonna lie... Kinda hurt to open my inbox and have NO NEW MESSAGES. Prov 25:25.
Today is my three month mark!!!! Only 15 months left!
This week passed rapidly. We have some great new investigators and others that are progressing fantastically. We´re teaching a woman, Alcione, and oh man, she is SOLID. Her mom is a member and she went to our district conference last Sunday and the first time we taught her she said she had felt the Spirit and new the church was true and wants to be baptised. She already lives the Word of Wisdom and everything! Its amazing when you find those elect that have been prepared by the Lord. The only problem is her "husband", who she isn´t married to, even though they´ve lived together for 11 years. She wants to get married, he doesnt. He also believes in the church and wants to be baptised, but seriously, I was reminded of a 5 year old being told he had to clean his room before he could play when we told him he has to get married to get baptised. Men... We told him, after 11 years, a piece of paper isnt going to change ANYTHING about their situation, but he still is having a hard time accepting it. But Alcione wants to be baptised sooo bad. It´s sad that someone she loves is keeping her from that =[We had another little miracle this week, once again reemphasizing my new theme of "Everytime something goes wrong, something goes right". We tried to find the house of a contact, which once again didn´t exist, and as we were walking down the street, Sis. Jacobs started talking to this young guy in his late 20´s who was sitting out in front of his house. His name is Igor (people here in Brasil have THE weirdest randomest names) and he invited us in to teach the lesson and he readily accepted it all. When we asked him if he believes God answers prayers, he told us how he had been sitting outside waiting for his friend, but then his friend didn´t come. He decided to stay a little longer and was just kinda praying to God. He didn´t tell us what about, but he said that then we appeared and that we were the answer to his prayer. WHOA!!! How cool is that? He came to church with us on Sunday and loved it. The only problem is he can´t read... So I don´t know what we´re going to do about the Book of Mormon... Sis Jacobs will know =] But man, he´s solid. We asked him to be baptised and he said he´ll pray about it. Once again, I admire the faith of people who can make such a huge change in their life like that. I know for me, even now, even when I know something is right, I hesitate. It´s a wonderful example to me of trusting in the Lord. I love that I can learn from the people I´m teaching.We´re still teaching Luciana and Ronaldo and working on the divorce of Luciana. They´re amazing too. They came to church on Sunday and loved it. We taught them about the Word of Wisdom this week, and Luciana got up, got all the coffee they had in the house, and gave it to us. WHOA! Man, these people here are amazing. Sis Jacobsand I were joking about Presidente Emerick making a surprise visit and finding us with two packages of coffee in our bag, haha.We did a little service project for Mônica and Mercia this week and put up a screen on their porch gate so they could leave the front door open in the evening and it wouldnt be soooo stuffy and hot in their house. It was fun, and we got to listen to the radio. Every song I was like "Quem é isso? Quem é isso?" (who is this?) and Sis Jacobs would say "Sei lá, Sister!" (I dunno, sister!). It was fun =] I´m looking forward to having a great collection of Brasilian music. I miss music... I think I´m going to buy a cheap little mp3 player here and get some of the church music Sis Jacobs has.Once again, I find the things I´m nostalgic for the most are american toilets and a good Caeser salad. Mmmmm.... But man, there is some good food here in Brasil, let me tell you. I love rice and beans with all my heart.Ok, picture time! My battery is fully charged, so it´d better work.1) Me and my huge green sprinkle covered birthday cake2) The fruit of my labor3) Mônica´s baptism4) View from the front porch of Mercia and MônicaLove you all,~Sis Wilkinson
Today is my three month mark!!!! Only 15 months left!
This week passed rapidly. We have some great new investigators and others that are progressing fantastically. We´re teaching a woman, Alcione, and oh man, she is SOLID. Her mom is a member and she went to our district conference last Sunday and the first time we taught her she said she had felt the Spirit and new the church was true and wants to be baptised. She already lives the Word of Wisdom and everything! Its amazing when you find those elect that have been prepared by the Lord. The only problem is her "husband", who she isn´t married to, even though they´ve lived together for 11 years. She wants to get married, he doesnt. He also believes in the church and wants to be baptised, but seriously, I was reminded of a 5 year old being told he had to clean his room before he could play when we told him he has to get married to get baptised. Men... We told him, after 11 years, a piece of paper isnt going to change ANYTHING about their situation, but he still is having a hard time accepting it. But Alcione wants to be baptised sooo bad. It´s sad that someone she loves is keeping her from that =[We had another little miracle this week, once again reemphasizing my new theme of "Everytime something goes wrong, something goes right". We tried to find the house of a contact, which once again didn´t exist, and as we were walking down the street, Sis. Jacobs started talking to this young guy in his late 20´s who was sitting out in front of his house. His name is Igor (people here in Brasil have THE weirdest randomest names) and he invited us in to teach the lesson and he readily accepted it all. When we asked him if he believes God answers prayers, he told us how he had been sitting outside waiting for his friend, but then his friend didn´t come. He decided to stay a little longer and was just kinda praying to God. He didn´t tell us what about, but he said that then we appeared and that we were the answer to his prayer. WHOA!!! How cool is that? He came to church with us on Sunday and loved it. The only problem is he can´t read... So I don´t know what we´re going to do about the Book of Mormon... Sis Jacobs will know =] But man, he´s solid. We asked him to be baptised and he said he´ll pray about it. Once again, I admire the faith of people who can make such a huge change in their life like that. I know for me, even now, even when I know something is right, I hesitate. It´s a wonderful example to me of trusting in the Lord. I love that I can learn from the people I´m teaching.We´re still teaching Luciana and Ronaldo and working on the divorce of Luciana. They´re amazing too. They came to church on Sunday and loved it. We taught them about the Word of Wisdom this week, and Luciana got up, got all the coffee they had in the house, and gave it to us. WHOA! Man, these people here are amazing. Sis Jacobsand I were joking about Presidente Emerick making a surprise visit and finding us with two packages of coffee in our bag, haha.We did a little service project for Mônica and Mercia this week and put up a screen on their porch gate so they could leave the front door open in the evening and it wouldnt be soooo stuffy and hot in their house. It was fun, and we got to listen to the radio. Every song I was like "Quem é isso? Quem é isso?" (who is this?) and Sis Jacobs would say "Sei lá, Sister!" (I dunno, sister!). It was fun =] I´m looking forward to having a great collection of Brasilian music. I miss music... I think I´m going to buy a cheap little mp3 player here and get some of the church music Sis Jacobs has.Once again, I find the things I´m nostalgic for the most are american toilets and a good Caeser salad. Mmmmm.... But man, there is some good food here in Brasil, let me tell you. I love rice and beans with all my heart.Ok, picture time! My battery is fully charged, so it´d better work.1) Me and my huge green sprinkle covered birthday cake2) The fruit of my labor3) Mônica´s baptism4) View from the front porch of Mercia and MônicaLove you all,~Sis Wilkinson
Monday, May 11, 2009
11 de maio de 2009
I had a nice long email written and then myldsmail decided to be stupid and erased it. I think the only time i´m ever truy frustrated in life is at stupid computers erasing things the one time i forget to copy it.
Anyway.
Its been a good week! Two girls in the other ward (renata e rafaela) made me a birthday cake! At FHE later that night with some members, there was more cake! It was great, I feel so loved here, even though ive been here for like 3 weeks
More cake was had at the baptism of Mônica. I admire the faith of these people we teach, to take that step into the dark and change their lives for the better. Her baptism was one of the many little miracles we´ve had this week.
God is a god of miracles. Everytime smething goes wrong here, something goes right. For instance, Trying to find the house of a street contact, only to find the house doesnt exist. But then we taught their neighbors, who were VERY open and enthusiastic!!!! Or riding the bus 20 minutes across town and hiking up a steep hill to get investigators to church, only to find that both of them had gone out of town to visit their moms. Ugh. but then we showed up at church to find a family we´ve been teaching came on their own!!!! I was SO happy to see them! And we had like 4 other investigators there too. It was a good day =]
We´re working hard and doing our best. One thing ive learned quicky is you can lead a horse to the water, but you cant make him drink. we´re here to teach and help peple follow christ, but we cant make them if they dont want to. But i make it a point not to get frustrated... im just sad when people dont choose to follow our savior. theyre missing out on so much =[
other things...
-went to Atacadão, which is the brasilian equivalent of costco... on saturday afternoon... on crack. crazy!
-the river flooded, so it was a nice week of detours.
-favortie bumper sticker "Sorria, jesus te ama!" (smile, jesus loves you!)
-new favorite song-that-i-hear-beaing-blared-every-morning-when-i-wake-up: Portuguese version of "hey Jude". So awesome.
-I attempted to make cookies for district meeting. Attempted because it ended up being a big cookie brownie thing... still tasted good and the elders appreciated it =]
shoutout:Cliff--I got your letters, response on the way!
Brit Wurtz--same as above!Riley--Hope you´re doing well, write me!
Kimmie--Congrats! You´re married! I wish i could have been there
All the moms--Happy mothers day!
Amor!
~Sis Wilkinson
Anyway.
Its been a good week! Two girls in the other ward (renata e rafaela) made me a birthday cake! At FHE later that night with some members, there was more cake! It was great, I feel so loved here, even though ive been here for like 3 weeks
More cake was had at the baptism of Mônica. I admire the faith of these people we teach, to take that step into the dark and change their lives for the better. Her baptism was one of the many little miracles we´ve had this week.
God is a god of miracles. Everytime smething goes wrong here, something goes right. For instance, Trying to find the house of a street contact, only to find the house doesnt exist. But then we taught their neighbors, who were VERY open and enthusiastic!!!! Or riding the bus 20 minutes across town and hiking up a steep hill to get investigators to church, only to find that both of them had gone out of town to visit their moms. Ugh. but then we showed up at church to find a family we´ve been teaching came on their own!!!! I was SO happy to see them! And we had like 4 other investigators there too. It was a good day =]
We´re working hard and doing our best. One thing ive learned quicky is you can lead a horse to the water, but you cant make him drink. we´re here to teach and help peple follow christ, but we cant make them if they dont want to. But i make it a point not to get frustrated... im just sad when people dont choose to follow our savior. theyre missing out on so much =[
other things...
-went to Atacadão, which is the brasilian equivalent of costco... on saturday afternoon... on crack. crazy!
-the river flooded, so it was a nice week of detours.
-favortie bumper sticker "Sorria, jesus te ama!" (smile, jesus loves you!)
-new favorite song-that-i-hear-beaing-blared-every-morning-when-i-wake-up: Portuguese version of "hey Jude". So awesome.
-I attempted to make cookies for district meeting. Attempted because it ended up being a big cookie brownie thing... still tasted good and the elders appreciated it =]
shoutout:Cliff--I got your letters, response on the way!
Brit Wurtz--same as above!Riley--Hope you´re doing well, write me!
Kimmie--Congrats! You´re married! I wish i could have been there
All the moms--Happy mothers day!
Amor!
~Sis Wilkinson
Monday, May 4, 2009
4 Maio 2009
First ,thanks for the birthday wishes!!! My comp made me breakfast this morning and a sign that said "Parabéns! Feliz Aniversario! 22...Brasil, 23...Brasil, 24...Europe, asia, the world, who knows?! 100...Mundo espíritual!" (spirit world) She´s awesome =] I also think its funny they say "congratulations!" for your birthday, like "congrats for not dying! congrats on being born!" Love those quicky culture tidbits.
To make my birthday more fun, our water ceased to function, so we´re using our drinking water until further notice.
Dad, to answer your bazillion questions: we get a monthly allowence of R$220 for food and stuff,and other money for transportation. Yes, I can use my own card if I need to. We´re really not out in the sticks at all. Caruaru is a big city/town, there are two branches and two areas. The Elders have the other area. It also has some of the best shopping i´ve ever seen. Lindsay, you would love it here. It´s also one of the safest areas. We got here by a van the church rented, since so many people come out to this area. We have a laundry room in our little apartment--just a washer and a bunch of lines for drying clothes. We have a little gas stove for cooking and a fridge and a table and a sink and a little study area and two bedrooms, one we sleep in, and the other that my stuff is in, so we both have our own bathrooms. It´s awesome.Showers here are so funny. It´s an electric shower head that heats up the water as it goes through it. Not safe, but there arent any other kinds. Oh well. Today I took a shower by filling up a bowl with water and using a towel.
The language is coming along just fine. I was surprised the other day to realize how much I understand after just two weeks. The accent up here is way different, so it takes some getting used to. It´s like someone learning English in Britian and then going to Alabama.
I´ve become good friends with two girls in the other ward, Renata e Rafaela. They are HILARIOUS and love the sisters and speak SUPER fast but love to talk to me. Honestly, it´s helped more than anything. But wow, I love them. Í´ll try and get a picture with them for next week.
Some other fun things!
-Brasilians are tone deaf, seriously. But I love it because even though they don´t know the notes they sing loud and they sing with their whole hearts.
-Buses here are like riding Star Tours at Disneyland. I love it.
-Bugs... everywhere... crawling on me. Uncle Shawn said I´ll get used to it... ugh.
-I swear there are more pregnant women here than Provo.
-Sidewalks here are the most dangerous thing. Rule #1 in Brasil is never look up from the ground, because the moment you do, you´ll fall flat on your face. I´ve had a couple close calls.
-We have some churches here that remind me of southern baptists, with the preacher yelling and stuff. so funny.
-Smart thing of the week: I spilled laundry detergent in my brand new box of cereal. Sigh.
We had my first baptism on Saturday! Mercia. She is SOLID. It was so cool. Her sisters were supposed to be baptised with her, but they´re having fear. They believe and have a testimony, but are having trouble showing their faith through their action. One important thing I´ve learned is that if you know something or believe something, it´s useless unless you DO something with it. If you know the church is true but act like it isn´t, that knowledge isnt going to save you.
We have a few other progressing investigators. We have two families who are solid also, but they have to get married. Huge problem here in Brasil. It´s expensinve to get married, so people just live together their whole lives. We´ve also taught some good people, but we´ll see where that goes. We had one guy commited to baptism, but then he didnt come to church, so we have to wait.
Satan tries SO hard to discourge you, its ridículo. Also, at the moment when you´re explaining the first visão or starting a lesson or bearing your testimony or commiting someone, at that moment a huge bus drives by and its noisey, or the phone rings or babies start crying. Stupid satan. But we have God on our side, and I know that if I work hard, it will pay off. God isnt going to waste time or recources (aka, me!)
Thanks everyone for keeping me updated on life!!!! I love hearing about the things you´re doing and its good to know people are doing well. I´m so glad Riley is doing better--let him know I´ve been fasting and praying for him this whole time!!! And Shawn, thanks for the email with the pictures. I was laughing out loud =]
Com todo meu amor,~Sis Wilkinson
To make my birthday more fun, our water ceased to function, so we´re using our drinking water until further notice.
Dad, to answer your bazillion questions: we get a monthly allowence of R$220 for food and stuff,and other money for transportation. Yes, I can use my own card if I need to. We´re really not out in the sticks at all. Caruaru is a big city/town, there are two branches and two areas. The Elders have the other area. It also has some of the best shopping i´ve ever seen. Lindsay, you would love it here. It´s also one of the safest areas. We got here by a van the church rented, since so many people come out to this area. We have a laundry room in our little apartment--just a washer and a bunch of lines for drying clothes. We have a little gas stove for cooking and a fridge and a table and a sink and a little study area and two bedrooms, one we sleep in, and the other that my stuff is in, so we both have our own bathrooms. It´s awesome.Showers here are so funny. It´s an electric shower head that heats up the water as it goes through it. Not safe, but there arent any other kinds. Oh well. Today I took a shower by filling up a bowl with water and using a towel.
The language is coming along just fine. I was surprised the other day to realize how much I understand after just two weeks. The accent up here is way different, so it takes some getting used to. It´s like someone learning English in Britian and then going to Alabama.
I´ve become good friends with two girls in the other ward, Renata e Rafaela. They are HILARIOUS and love the sisters and speak SUPER fast but love to talk to me. Honestly, it´s helped more than anything. But wow, I love them. Í´ll try and get a picture with them for next week.
Some other fun things!
-Brasilians are tone deaf, seriously. But I love it because even though they don´t know the notes they sing loud and they sing with their whole hearts.
-Buses here are like riding Star Tours at Disneyland. I love it.
-Bugs... everywhere... crawling on me. Uncle Shawn said I´ll get used to it... ugh.
-I swear there are more pregnant women here than Provo.
-Sidewalks here are the most dangerous thing. Rule #1 in Brasil is never look up from the ground, because the moment you do, you´ll fall flat on your face. I´ve had a couple close calls.
-We have some churches here that remind me of southern baptists, with the preacher yelling and stuff. so funny.
-Smart thing of the week: I spilled laundry detergent in my brand new box of cereal. Sigh.
We had my first baptism on Saturday! Mercia. She is SOLID. It was so cool. Her sisters were supposed to be baptised with her, but they´re having fear. They believe and have a testimony, but are having trouble showing their faith through their action. One important thing I´ve learned is that if you know something or believe something, it´s useless unless you DO something with it. If you know the church is true but act like it isn´t, that knowledge isnt going to save you.
We have a few other progressing investigators. We have two families who are solid also, but they have to get married. Huge problem here in Brasil. It´s expensinve to get married, so people just live together their whole lives. We´ve also taught some good people, but we´ll see where that goes. We had one guy commited to baptism, but then he didnt come to church, so we have to wait.
Satan tries SO hard to discourge you, its ridículo. Also, at the moment when you´re explaining the first visão or starting a lesson or bearing your testimony or commiting someone, at that moment a huge bus drives by and its noisey, or the phone rings or babies start crying. Stupid satan. But we have God on our side, and I know that if I work hard, it will pay off. God isnt going to waste time or recources (aka, me!)
Thanks everyone for keeping me updated on life!!!! I love hearing about the things you´re doing and its good to know people are doing well. I´m so glad Riley is doing better--let him know I´ve been fasting and praying for him this whole time!!! And Shawn, thanks for the email with the pictures. I was laughing out loud =]
Com todo meu amor,~Sis Wilkinson
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