July 27 5 Months Out!!!!

And then some, actually. A year from today will be the last day of my mission (due to the transfer schedule--my year and a half falls in the middle of a transfer, so I end 3 weeks earlier). CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I only have one year left!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeiiiiita! Preciso trabalhar MUITO.

And Daddy and Linny--I´m excited to see you in one year here in Brasil!!!! Right? Right? Eat some good churrascuria? Getting soaked in the pouring rain while sweating at the same time? It´ll be great =D

Also... Familia... It finally happened.... Someone asked if I was Brasilian! When I replied that no, I´m american, they were surprised and said that I speak "muito muito bem!" (very very well) AHHH!!!!! I was all smiles =D

The work is going good! We had the baptism of EVA!!!!!!!!! this Sunday, right after church, so a ton of people went, including a lot of investigators. They really enjoyed it! So hopefully that will help them in their decision to be baptised =] But Eva is so amazing. When we met her she was sick and lonely and depressed, but now she just has this light that radiates from her. She LOVES the gospel, and is constantly reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible and the little pamphlets we leave with her. She said she feels so happy now, and she has so much strength and faith. Seriously, I could go home happy right now knowing I´ve helped someone like her.

We have a young couple we´re teaching who want to get married and baptised. THEY asked US, hahaha. Joanna and Leandro, and they have a little baby 1 year and some months. I´m excited for them--their baptism is scheduled for August 15!

Funny "Small World" incident this week:

I was looking at some fotos of Elder Stewart, who is one of the Elders working here in our area, and I commented, "Hey, this looks like tahoe!" and he said it was and we started talking and he said goes to Tahoe EVERY summer wth his family. They have a condo near King´s Beach! And we were talking about the movie theatre in Nevada with that really good Mexican place and the golf world and haha, it´s such a small world! He said that his parents and grandparents have been going to Tahoe every summer for years and years. E. Stewart and I agreed we´ll have to hang out next, next summer when we´re there, hahaha. He ends his mission the same time as me, and is going to BYU. I think we´ll be good friends--he and some of the other Elders are soooo hilarious. It´s good they know how to play but work hard too. It´s something I need to learn to be better at, I think =]

It´s fun working with the Elders. We devided our area, but we have lunch together every single day, plus various meetings with people in the branch.

I´m going to be teaching an English class this Saturday!!!!! It´ll be good to get investigastors and also to help the members. People have been asking me for the last two transfers, but Sis Jacobs never really wanted to schedule a time. but now! it´ll be fun =] And now I can actually explain things in Portuguese.

Fotos:

1) Me and Sis Lemos having fun =]

2) At Alto do Moura last week, playing the "flute" with my new friend

3) Eva´s baptism!]

4) Elder Lucas and Elder Stewart with Eva (E Lucas baptised her... 3 times... he messed up the prayer and then her foot went out of the water, hahaha. But third times the charm, right?!)

Well familia, keep reading the scriptures and being the good people I know you are. Put your trust in the Lord and you´ll see miracles! And don´t be afriad to open your mouth and talk about the gospel with people and invite them to meet with the missionaries!!! Oh man, I always thought I was such a good little member, but I never did ANYTHING to help the missionaries! Our work goes sooo much better when we have the help from the members! So do your thing! Help those missionaries!

Até a semana que vem! Eu amo vocês!

~Sis Wilkinson

July 20 Cai A Chuva!

Signafica "The rain falls". And this week has been quite rainy! (see foto)

First off...

I LOVE sis Lemos. She is fantastic. Our personalities just click. Sis jacobs was a good trainer and we had fun, but she was hard, and I often felt lonely/frustrated with her. But with Sis Lemos, oh man, she´s great. We´re already great friends. We laugh a lot together and sing as we walk and I just feel like I can be myself around her.

And I dont know what it is, but its like a switch was flipped in my brain, or maybe its because im not with sis jacobs anymore, but suddenly i can talk and understand people. Everyone at transfers commented on how well I was speaking, and even members in our branch and investigators and Sis lemos even my district leader this week have all been saying "wow sis wilkinson, you´re speaking sooo well!!" and people we meet are like "you´ve only been here 5 months? and didnt know portuguese before? I dont believe it!" Woohoo!!! Happy day =]

I´ve been teaching Sis Lemos english =D I love it! So much fun! We learned "I am, you are, he/she is" and then how to attach the gerund, "I am speaking, we are sleeping" etc. Its fun because as we´re walking down the rua I´ll say a phrase in english and she has to translatge it into portuguese or vice versa. this week i´m gonna teach her how to conjugate the present tense and we´re going to start reading the book of mormon =D also, she has to say her prayers in house in english. I prayed the other night in English so she could hear and it was SO hard! I kept slipping into Portuguese. Eiiitaaaaa... when I return home im not gonna be able to say anything!

Our new elders are awesome--way enthustiastic. They´re going to be fun to work with. We divided our area and now Sis Lemos and I are working on the East side of our area. Its good because we get to concentrate in areas sis jacobs and I never had time to before. We´re already doing well.

Fun/cool story of the week: Saturday at night we were walking home and I saw this young guy on the other side of the street looking at us, and so I called him over to make a contact (Sis Lemos was like "I dont believe it!" because usually people dont do that--usually you have to stand in front of them and say "really quick!!!!") and I talked to him and invited him to church the next day and he said sure and Domingo we passed by his house and he actually came! And he really liked church and already was making friends. We taught him the first lesson after and he accepted the invitation to be baptised!!!!! I almost couldnt believe it! We had met him less than 24 hours before and he was ready to be baptised. wow. Never underestimate the power of the spirit or that some people are just prepared.

Realmente família, I love this mission. This is the best thing I could be doing right now. Thank you all for your support and love =]

Until next week!

~Sis Wilkinson

July 15 This week in Caruaru...

So the reason this email is delayed is because the week of transfers our P-day switches to Wednesday--the day of Transfers. Which is today.

Então...

I have a new comp!!!!! Sis Lemos. I am SO excited! She is awesome. I met her before when we went to Recife for the day and we had a lot of fun together, so im really excited because I think we´ll work together really well and be really good friends! She only has one transfer more than me in the mission--she was SO surprised that she turned senior! Hahaha. But I´m way excited!

And our area was divided too, so now we´re going to be working with Elders too. We´re meeting tomorrow to figure out how we want to divide the area, or if we just want to work in the same area--since we have investigators in all parts of the city. It´s kinda crazy because I´m now the only one of four people that know ANYTHING about this area.

I found a box with some clothes that previous sisters left and now I have two new shirts and a new skirt and its so exciting =D

I dont have any pictures this week, but next week I will, I promise =]

This week was more of the same--teaching! We also had a FHE with some of our recent converts and man, they cried when we left because Sis Jacobs was leaving. Its great that shes touched so many lives here in such a way. I hope someday people feel the same about me!

Well familia, keep being great! Go to church, read scriptures and pray!!

~Sis Wilkinson

July 7 A wedding and a baptism!

This week was pretty much AMAZING.

First off, we had Zone Conference on Wednesday, which was great. We got some great training about how to help our investigators and heard some great inspirational messages from Prez. I also got to see my Elder friends from the CTM, which is always a joy. I miss male companionship. And after the conference Prez Emerick took the WHOLE ZONE out to a churrascuria for lunch!!!!!!!!! Oh man, it was great meat, probably some of the best I´ve ever had. We sang Happy Birthday to Pres, because it´s bee a year since he became mission president, and then we all sang the mission hymn... Yeah, like 50+ missionaries belting that in a restaurant. It was great.

But the real excitement was this weekend. Friday night Simone and Edson got married! We had a beautiful service in the chapel and I almost cried when they said their vows and exchanged rings. I´m turning sappy here on the mish. We got special permission from Prez to go to the reception too!!!! So we got to stay out until 10:30!! Wooo!!! Hahahahaha, sad that that is "late" now.

But Saturday was even more awesome and this time I really did cry. I got to watch this little family, Simone, Edson, and their sons Joel (12) and Felix (8), one by one enter the waters of baptism. I can´t believe the happiness I felt watching them. And litle Felix was so cute, the water was practically up to his shoulders--he just got dipped under =]

It is so amazing to me that I get to be here in Brasil and to meet these people, my fellow brothers and sisters, and to know that I will get to be friends with them forever. Literally forever. D&C 18:15-16. It´s at moments like these that all the sweat and lack of sleep and gastronomical problems are worth it--to know that I, in some small way, helped someone start on the path that leads to eternal life. What greater thing could any of us really do in life?

On a totally completely different note, Sis Jacobs is in the New Era this month!!!!!!!!! Look for the article called "An Honesty Test"!!! She´s the "Patricia A. Jacobs" that wrote the article. How cool is that? Yeah, that´s right, my companion

Photos:

1) The Happy Couple!!!!!!!!

2) Sis Jacobs and I with the family. (I promise I´m not really as fat as I appear in this picture... The angle is horrible and it´s my bad side )

3) Me and cute litle Felix!!!!

4) Have you ever seen something more beautiful? (Me with the family all dressed in white and Pres Rondon, their friend who baptised them)

Well, I love you all, and I hope you´re all doing well. Remember that I´m always praying for each of you, and that God loves you. You are His child and He is acutely aware of your personal joys and struggles in life. You can always depend on Him!

~Sis Wilkinson

June 29 Vem Brincar em Caruaru! A Tradicão do Melhor São João!

(that little diddy has been playing non-stop on every radio station for the past month, I swear)

Oi família! Bem-vindo a Sister Wilkinson News!

So first off this week... Michael Jackson died?! What I can´t believe is that I heard about it the day after it happened—sooner than II heard about that plane crash that happened right outside Recife. Ridículo! I was talking to a guy on the bus and he asked me what I thought of Michael Jackson´s death, and I said “...Michael Jackson? ...He died?!â€� and that guy looked at me strangely and said he thinks I´m the only person in the world who didn´t know, haha.

This week was São João!!!! Tuesday night everyone lit big bonfires in the street outside their houses and set off fireworks and firecrackers and all other sorts of things that would violate every fire code in the USA. It was great =]

We didn´t have a baptism this week because Leuriane drank coffee. But we´re still working with her and she´s still great! This weekend we have the wedding and baptism of our amazing family. I´m excited =] Expect pictures next time!

So something we had for lunch Thursday didn´t sit well with Sis. Jacobs. We both felt a little ill Thursday night/Friday morning, but my body has grown used to that and was fine. Sis Jacobs got worse and worse though, and when we got home at about 5 pm she fell in bed and slept for 3 hours. Then we took her temperature: 103 degrees! She took some meds, rested a bit more, and we took it again. The same. Plus she had a horrible headache. So we called some ward members and they gave her a blessing and we were off to the hospital, where Sis Jacobs was hooked up to na IV for 4 hours and they did a blood test. We left around 2 am. Saturday Sis Jacobs slept almost all day... she was so weak she could barely sit up to take her drugs, poor thing.

Sunday we managed to go to church. And guess what? As I innocently went to get some water during Sunday School, the first counselor in the Bishopric asked me if I would give a talk in Sacrament... That day (we have it last). So I had twenty minutes to prepare a 10-15 minute talk IN PORTUGUESE! AH! I talked about faith, since I talk about that in almost every lesson, so it was easier. Sis Jacobs said I said a few odd words, but overall it went really well and people understood me, huzzah!

An investigator the other day told me he liked my accent, w00t! I´ve wondered how I sound accent-wise. I hope its a pretty accent like a British or Indian accent is in English, ya know? Sis Jacobs says she likes the American accent.

So we have an Assemblia de Deus church across the street from our house. It´s a lot like a Southern Baptist or Born Again Christian church in that the preacher yells a lot and hits people to cure them and they have a rock band (which practices the same song for four hours straight, ugh! Give it up buddy! You´re not getting any better!) Last night was crazy. Brasil won the Confederate Cup (against the US in the finals!) and everyone was in the street yelling and setting off fireworks and the preacher across the street was singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic—Rock version... I seriously half expected to look out my window and see troops of Union soldiers marching down the street. We were trying to study our scriptures and Sis Jacobs was hilarious. She went off for about 10 minutes along the lines of: “Ugh! Kill me!â€� “We have a right proper BABYLON outside our house!â€� “It´s hard to have the gift of tongues with all this NOISE!â€� and, my favorite, in response to the preacher singing, “Hallelulah my BUTT!â€�, hahahaha.

Ok, pictures!

1) Me and my team. We kicked butt. No one died the whole time we played.

2 & 3) some action shots!

4) Lookin all cool

5) Poor Sis Hodson got shot at close range.

6) Everybody that played.

k. love you familia, keep me updated!

~Sis Wilkinson

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June 22 Recife for the day

Oi familia!

Esta semana foi ótimo. estou em recife hoje porque foi....

Desculpe, eu vou falar em ingles...

this week was awesome, im in recife today because it was sis jacobs one year mark, and her district she arrived with had a get together for lunch at a churrascaria. I did splits with the sisters here, so four of us went PAINTBALLING with a bunch of Elders in the Recife zone. SO COOL!! It was great getting to know the other american sisters and another brasilian sister also, and to just have FUN!!!! I´ll send pictures next week.

We have a baptism marked for sunday, Leuriane, a friend of Mercia and Mônica, two recent converts who are seriously like missionarias já!!!! I´m excited, she really is so prepared to hear the gospel. She accepted it right off the bat. We also have our family thats getting baptised next week, Simoni, Edson, and his sons Joel e felix. Simoni and Edson are getting married next friday, then the whole family is getting baptised saturday, the 4th!!!! Yay!!!!

Its been rainy and cold in Caruaru, so ive been using that raincoat a LOT. Im so glad we got it =]

The city is preping for the big são joao party on wednesday. que legal.

thats about it for the week. I dont have much time, but I promise more exciting adventures next week!

~Sis wilkinson

June 15 uma outra semana em caruaru

Oi familia,

I hope you´re excited for another weekly update from Caruaru Brasil. On this keyboard, the exclaimation mark key isnt working, so even though you can´t tell, I really am excited.

First off, Sis Jacobs' foot has healed [heeled, hahaha] and we´re back to work with vigor. And our efforts have payed off because we had TWO baptisms this week [exclaimation mark x10] Oh man, it was awesome. See pictures below. I love seeing these people make the decision to change their lives for the better, and i love being a part of helping them achieve that. Ana, the girl, is SOLID. She went from drinking coffee all the day long to none at all. Cold Turkey. She had a killer headache for three days, but she stuck with it. I was amazed--usually people have to be weaned off it. And Adriano really has the right idea and principles in his life already.

Some other fun things:

This week it was COLD. Which means it was like, 70 degrees, haha. But enough that I actually wore a sweater... Sis Jacobs was bundled up with five layers--she´s from Cuiabá and is always cold.

The Single Young Adults here had a costume party dance on Thursday that we stopped by because we had investigators there [hehe]. it was way fun to see everyone in costume--see pics below.

We had a little visitor in our house the other day.... But he didn´t stay long. It was a dead bird in our back up water supply [not for drinking, but for dishes and baths when our water ceases to function] we had fun getting it out and then dumping out the rest of the water, during which we found out that there was a ton of larvae for dengue mosquitos floating around in it. In the words of Sis Jacobs, "Ay yi yi". At this moment, Sis Jacobs looked at me and said "You know what we need? Repentence"

[we had done a FHE lesson with colored water and bleach representing repentence. It was really funny. Im glad I have a comp with a sense of humor.]

Pictures:

1. Nosso batismo [exclaimation mark] Ana, Adriano [as Sis Jacobs says, he´s "bonitinho", aka, really cute], Sis Jacobs, Me, and Elder Wall in the front.

2. Our impressive comida. We always have a cake for our batismos, but Adriano said he didnt really like sweet cake, so we made him a torta. It was quite the adventure; we had to RUSH home from the other side of town and believe me, I have never chopped vegetables so fast. My tears literally went into that torta [thank you onions]. But we accomplished our feat and were rewarded in a quite scrumptious way.

3. At the dance, Cybelly, Mercia, Me, Sis Jacobs, Renata, M´nica [her wig is HILARIOUS]. Sis Jacobs and I switched nametags for our "costume"

4. I have two extra nametags from the Provo MTC, so Rafaela and Elder Wall were Sis Wilkinson along with Sis Jacobs, haha.

5. Our poor little dead friend, floating in his watery grave.

6. The sewer system of Caruaru. [I´m laughing picturing your face dad.] I like how the pipes just stick out of the wall

7. Oh yeah =] Two months of labor---just imagine after a year and a half

Ok familia, thats about it for this week. I love you all and pray for each of you. Let me know how life is for you, even if you think it´s boring. And send pictures too [exclaimation mark]

~Sister Wilkinson