Tuesday, February 21, 2012

February 20, 2012

I finally made it to Teresina!! I was there for 2 days then I left. I am in a town called Sobral. It is about a 6 hour bus ride northeastish from Teresina. The other missionaries said that it is the coolest area in the mission because it has lots of wind and more shade than anywhere else. Woo hoo! I was happy when I heard that. Then I got here and it was still hot. After only 5 days I already have a little bit of a farmers tan coming which is weird. I’ve never had a farmers tan before.

My new companions name is S. Borges. She is Brazilian and does not speak any English. She is amazing! I am the second new American sister she has trained. She is probably one of the most patient people I have ever met in my life. I am really lucky though because we live in the same house with 2 other sisters and one of them is American. She helps us out when I don't understand something. Most people say that they are really confident in their new language skills when they leave the MTC, I was the complete opposite. I think it was because I was around Brazilians all day so I know that I didn’t know anything. Coming out to Sobral, has shown me that I hardly know any Portuguese, but I was surprised at how much I did know. I can’t follow what people are saying when they are talking at a normal speed but when they slow down I can understand most of what they are saying.

My district has 2 companionships of sisters and 2 companionships of elders. I am one of 3 new missionaries in my district. One Brazilian sister and one Brazilian elder were also assigned here. Our P-day is on Monday. Normally on P-day you start doing missionary work again at 6 pm but right now it’s Carnaval. We have to be in our house at 6pm every night so we won’t get to do any missionary work today at all.

The people here are amazing! Everyone in the ward was really welcoming to me. We had 2 baptisms this weekend and they were well attended. The people who got baptized were 2 sisters, Vítoria and Tiane. They are 9 and 12 years old. They were already planning on being baptized when I got here. I don’t really know them that well and I never know what they are saying but I already love them. When they came out of the water the Spirit was so strong. You could feel that they really believe in the gospel. I love the people of Sobral!

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