Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I Don't Poop Cookies

I am SO over cookies.

Im pretty sure people here think i poop them or something because now they
always expect me to have them. Then i decided i would start making brownies
instead. well then people started thinking i poop brownies and always
wanted them. so im done baking for awhile (did i seriously just say that?).
oh and when i say people... i mean elders.

i got a letter from horse this week and it made my day to have something
familiar... 2nd ward brasil missionaries represent. when will i be too old
to call him horse? at least i have a few friends who arent married yet...
keep holding out Lsha and Lindsey, youre some of the few left!

i also wrote a letter to sis. jones. i hope she got it.

last monday we had such an epic noite familiar. there are 3 sisters here
who are all members but only one is active and they all have a crap load of
kids.
there are constantly a bunch of extra kids there too and most arent
members. so it was all centered on kids and it was way cool we read in 3
ne. when christ has all the kids come unto him. it was just epic to be
sitting there with like 15 kids sitting around you reading the scriptures.
after it was raining and i went outside with them to catch toads... so much
fun!

Kids, however are definitely the hardest for me to teach. you would think
it would be the easiest because they are the most patient with my portugues
but its just so frustrating because I LOVE teaching kids but because of the
language barrier i feel like they are getting jipped. im not able to make
it as fun and interesting as i would like. i miss my little 2nd graders and
all my swimming lesson kids so much!
and no mom this does not mean im going to be an elementary school teacher.

With that being said... there are still some things i can do, without being
able to speak portugues, for example distracting crazy kids in sacrament
meeting. yesterday the elders had a family come to church with like 6
kids... i have never seen anything like it! The kdis were jumping over the
benches running around, the poor mom was just exhausted and embarrassed.
All the members just sat there judging and the elders were oblivious or
just ignored it.
In that moment i learned one of the reason for sisters. i went over there
and with my big bag of supplies i was able to quiet the kids with games and
activities... i am so your kid mom.

in ny i learned how to play the card game magic and i am learning how
beneficial that knowledge is now. one of our assistants is obsessed but
like no missionaries play so he loves that he can talk about it with me.
because of this i was able to convince him to call me when the visa-waiting
missionaries got here on tuesday because guess who came... ELDER KNOWLES!
remember the little 18 year old in the mtc who didnt know who to mail a
letter and would always talk politics with me and kept me sane? yes he is
here now and it was so great to talk to him and he updated me on what is
going down in the US but thats a whole other email that i probably shouldnt
write haha.
and if any of you are judging and thinking this is sketchy let me just
emphasize the 18 year old part and the fact that he also updates me on his
girlfriend and her mission... #dontjudge

Something i love about the south of brasil is that everything is closed on
sunday... they all observe o dia do senhor... except one little thing, go
to the only true church!

Allysondra, well she didnt come to church so we moved her baptismal date
AGAIN so frustrating. Yesterday we were walking down the street after all
of our investigators said they werent coming and we were so frustrated. we
decided to hurry and go talk to a referral that we have tried to talk to
before like 3 times. when we got there the mom randomly said, my 15 year
old daughter wants to go to church! her cousin and brother did too....
#MIRACLE

seriously the work is getting so much better. we are working SO MUCH harder
now. God is answering my prayers! I realized how much humor changes things.
now that i am able to speak enough to actually be funny my comp is doing a
lot better and the work is so much better. we had 6 member presents in one
day! i dont know how that is compared to the rest of the mission but i know
compared to what i have seen here and ny its a LOT!

this morning we had such a great comp study. as i was talking about
enduring to the end and grace and what it truly means she just started
crying and told me that i answered a question from her patriarchal
blessing. the spirit is SO powerful! many times this week i would think of
a scripture to share or something that needed to be said but i didnt know
how to say it in portugues. as soon as i would think it my comp would say
EXACTLY what i was thinking... unity is real people.

this week we met a less active who couldnt remember my name so decided to
call me sister grande...
you better believe the diet started right then!
and yesterday one of the young women asked me what was on my face (it was a
zit and NO ONE has zits here).
yeah i thought maybe i should re-think the whole not wearing makeup thing
and then i remembered that i would either sweat it all off or the rain
would wash it all away... the mission life.

dad i most definitely just have to grit my teeth sometimes but life gets
better each and everyday. its just 100% not about me and im realizing that
more and more!

Bry and Brew are so dang cute i cant get over it... what a littly fatty
brew is! and bry... im so glad she talks as much as me, that means she is
awesome! Mom is rolling her eyes right now and saying, well you havent
learned to be humble yet have you? mom its a JOKE!

ays i realized i havent responded to some of your questions you asked in
the letter so here goes. yes i am most definitely ready for the cold, when
it rains it gets pretty cold and its the greatest. the kids are so dang
cute i just adore them. pdays there isnt anything touristy because its a
small town in the middle of nowhere but there is a beach that i will go to
soon. normally you live with other missionaries but we are the only sisters
so we have the house to ourselves thank goodness. its actually really nice
so dont stress.

Sagan... i will read Harry Potter when i am done with school so in like 50
bajillion years.

well thats all folks... keep on keepin on. love ya!

Your fav sistaahhhhh,
Sister Shum


pics
this is what the end of a day looks like here in brasil... not pretty
this little guy has become my buddy... he always gets his head stuck and i
have to help him




Dad I am SO your child! I swear this picture is not staged... somethimes
when your comp says a long prayer and you cant understand it and you are
spent you take a little snooz...

10 commandments in the middle of the city!




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