Finally Made It To Brazil (Brasil)

Brasil é maravilhosa! It´s ridiculously hot here, not gonna lie. They tell me I´ve arrived just in time for the hottest time of year! Thank goodness I didn~t go straight here from Utah. I would have instantly died of heat stroke. Luckily, everyone knows it~s wicked hot and you can ask pretty much anyone you pass on the street for water and they~ll gladly give it to you. Can~t guarantee the last five passers by didn~t use the same cup, but when you are dying it really doesn~t matter. They say  it gets ´cold´here in the winter. We~ll see about that. 

I live in an apartment with two companionships. My companion is Sister Farias.  The other companionship is Sister Gonzagas and Sister Chadwick. Sister Chadwick is from Utah´/Alaska. She~s not good with heat at all and when she first got here, she was having an allergic reaction to the sun and always had to wear a hat. I wish I could send a picture of everyone, bu t I didn~t understand that we would be emailing now, so I didn~t bring  my camera. I am not very dark yet, but I am almost darker than my Brazilian companion! People dont~guess I~m from the US until I start to speak. My companion gets a lot  of  ^`Can she talk?`´  If  I don~t understand what~s going on in a conversation. That~s my cue to say something.

The people here are great! WE brought some people we are teaching to church, and at the end  they asked if they could bring friends to all the activities and to church on Sunday. WE were like ÔF COURSE! They are so willing to learn and filled with the spirit! We have a lot of people to teach here, but my companion and I are both new to the area, so we have been finding a lot of people. Tomorrow we start teaching more!

Are you ready for the sad tale of two girls in a foreign land?

Disclaimer: This is my account of the story. I do not claim that it~s entirely true. It is the truth as far as my knowledge of Portuguese goes, but I~m sure it is filled with much misunderstanding. Bear with me!

Our bishop lives very far from us, so we went to meet with him this Sunday evening. We were returning from a baptism in a city about an hour away, so we had to meet up with the other sisters. They told us to hop on the car train- I don~t know what it really is- and tell the driver to stop when we see them. So we drive ...and drive...and drive... and finally the driver asks where the heck we are trying to go. There is no one else on the car train and we~re way far from anything. Sister Farias told him where we were supposed to meet with people and he was like shoot sisters we passed that ages ago, and there was no one there. Of course the phone dies when we go to call the sisters, and im  pretty sure the driver told us to get off or pay again. After a lot of discussion and frustrated looks, we started driving again. WE stopped at a sandwich shop where sister Farias plugged in the phone and called the sisters and the bishop. The driver seemed a little less stressed after Sister Farias talked to them and told him where we really wanted to go. He took us as close as he could to the bishops house, so he clearly didn~t tell us to pay or get off before. While we were thanking them, I was bummed we had nothing to give them. While sister  Farias was taking their names and addresses, I gave them each a Starburst (thank You MUMMA!) which was the only relatively cool thing I had on me. I~m pretty sure they had no idea what it was, but I told them it was from the US and they acted  excited.  (They are the driver and vehicle attendant or guy who takes your money). Then we just had to run across the highway...at night...don~t worry. It~s totally ookay in Brazil. People do it all the time. Hahahahah! Crazy right! The buses stop on the side of the highway and there are signs that tell drivers to watch out for people running frantically across the highway . |Its quite interesting. ANyway we found the bishops~house  and the other sisters, but it was then almost time to go home. He fed us cake and ice cream and had his wife drive us home. WHAT A DAY! If I didn~t have sister Farias (She~s from Brasilia) I would die! At least now I will have someone to die with. Haha. Just kidding we~ll figure it out eventually!!!

   Despite all the crazy things that have happened this week, I know the Lord~s hand is in this work and He is guiding us to those who are ready to hear HIs word. 

I hope everyone is safe back at home! 

Love,

Sister Arthur (ah toor)

Just got word from Sister Cabral (Mission President's companion;) 
Karynne arrived safely in Brazil last Tuesday and has been assigned to the Mongaguá Ward of the Belas Artes Stake. 

I didn't pick her out right away...she looks different.

She will be trained by Sister Farius

Love to all!

Hey GUESS WHAT?

Karynne's Visa has arrived and she is leaving for Brazil on 

January 20th.

She is really enjoying serving in the California, Roseville Mission, 

but I am sure she is still Very Excited to be heading to Brazil.

Time to put her mad Portuguese skillz to the test 

while spreading the LOVE in the Santos Mission.

I am so excited for her!!!

                 ~Love Mumma Arthur

"Awkward" is not an acceptable style.

Some awesome things have been happening, and I am loving Gridley more than ever. The people here are so great. They all have such amazing stories to tell. Some are sad and some are exciting, but each is unique and I can see how these experiences have shaped them to become the people they are today.

I went on exchanges a couple of days ago. It was my first time, and it really reaffirmed to me how unique each of us are, even as missionaries. The sister who was my temporary companion during the exchange told me that you know you've really gotten the hang of missionary work when you realize that everyone has their own style and you finally fall into your own. She is so outgoing and can just start a conversation with anyone. It's crazy, and I hope I get the hang of it soon. I'm working my style, because in my mind "awkward" is not an acceptable style. Today I was in the dollar store in line, and I saw a guy wearing a dust mask and his hat was all dusty. I asked him if he was sanding something. He either didn't hear me...or ignored me... but the guy on the other side of him heard me. Actually everyone else in the line did, and they all looked at me. I didn't know what to do, so I made the awkward half sigh...whatever it is sound that is the trademark of an awkward moment (Sissie will know what I'm talking about. It's the one when I make up stories...). Then we all just kind of sat there ignoring each other after that. Ya...I'll get it eventually. 

This morning I read in 2 Nephi during my study. When I came across 2 Nephi 25:25, I thought of why the church is so amazing. It says: "We are made alive in Christ because of our faith." I thought of how faith is an action word. If we truly believe something, we will act on our belief. Christ tells us that we are to love one another. If we have faith in Him, we will keep His commandments and we will love one anther. If our faith is sincere, we will put this love into action. Words are nice, but we will have the desire to show our love for others through our actions. Serving others is a wonderful feeling, and it makes us alive.

We are praying for rain like crazy. The farmers are very worried, and the canals are drying up like it's their job. This is supposed to be the rainy season, but we keep on waking up with sore throats and bloody noses, because it's so dang dry! You know in Lion King when Simba is starving and dehydrated and he collapses? You know how the ground is cracked? That's what it looks like on the edges of some of the orchards. It's crazy how dependent on the rain these people are, since much of the town is made up of orchards. It's quite a different experience.

Okay, my wonderful people! I hope you are all well and enjoying life! Keep up the amazingness!

Love,

Sister Arthur