A Short One

Ok, so for real, this is a short letter- I have no time today! We are in Rebeirao Preto for the Day because my companion needs to go to the doctor- nothing serious, but there goes our Pday. But I cant complain because honestly this past week flew by. Where did October go?

In other brief news it looks like I will be a missionary for Halloween! Wahoo! Apparently they celebrate it here…but not like at home.. I will update you next week how it is.

Ok, I am really sorry this is awful and short, but we had an awesome week- with a baptism yesterday!! Wahoo!! of Naiara’s brother Jefferson, and he was sooo excited! We have been incredibly blessed by the Lord with many people to teach.

Lastly, I just want to bear testimony of the Spirit. It is truly only as we live the gospel that we will find more peace and joy in our lives. There is not substitute for the joy of the gospel- all other things of the world seem happy for a while, but they will fade. I have found more joy, happiness and peace then I ever thought possible these past few months. I am so grateful for the joy of the atonement, and for the joy of living. How awesome that we have each day at our hands to improve and be more like Christ.

I love you all- I received a bunch of letters today when we passed by the mission office- it felt like Christmas. I never thought I would be so happy to receive letters and packages…they are better then any other thing! Thank you all sooo much!

my prayers are with you all-
com amor
Sister Monroe

Details

So we had transfers today...and it looks like I will be here in Porto Ferreira for at least another 6 weeks with Sister R. Silva! Wahoo! I was so nervous yesterday... I am not quite sure why. I couldn’t decide if I was more afraid to be transferred or afraid to stay here another 6 weeks. It is hard to think about leaving people that you have come to love, but at the same time, there is something to be said about the idea of having a fresh start... but... I will be staying here, and it feels really right, and I am super excited. And the thing that is even cooler is that I will have the same companion, which is awesome. She has never had the same companion for more then one transfer... she has had like 11 companions and like 10 areas. Something crazy like that. So I hope this doesn’t mean that I am a trial in her life and she needs to learn more patience. Ha-ha.

But yeah, we are having a blast... This past week had many highs and lows- but first off, I have a few things that I thought you all might enjoy. Some of you know that I have a favorite movie that describes people by showing their weird personality quirks- little things that they LOVE a ton, or little things that they hate a ton.

And so before my mission I started a mental list of my little personality quirks- for example, I only use white hangers. I really hate colored hangers, and I really hate wire hangers. I have no idea why, and yes, I know it is really strange. But there you have it... but the funny thing is, that I have developed a few other loves, and dislikes here in brazil- so here is one-

I LOVE, absolutely LOVE scooping out papaya from the casca…or shell, or whatever the part is that you don’t eat. It’s the best thing ever… kind of like scooping out ice cream, but better. Mamao is by far the best fruit that God created, I am sure of it. I didn’t eat mamao one day this week and I thought my body was going to die. It was awful. Anyway, so yeah, scooping out mamao is heaven.

I absolutely hate cleaning stove tops. Although, I think this has something to do with the fact that Brazilians here clean the top of the stove EVERY DAY. It never ceases to amaze me that the Brazilians are so diligent in cleaning random household things every day- like the sidewalk, or the stove top (and we are talking about all the racks and knobs and everything) and yet ordinary things, like the table, or the dishes… are often left sitting there- messy. Its an interesting cultural difference, and though I am pretty sure I will adopt many of the Brazilian dishes and phrases into my life… I constantly find myself laughing about this difference in culture.

Ok, here are some other funny tidbits about Porto Ferreira-the cars here sing. Really. there is a car here that sells gasoline, and it has a song that plays when it drives by, ok more like an instrument that plays this tune... its just funny and weird. And there are always cars driving around in the neighborhoods with these HUGE speakers that are announcing this and that store, or a dance, or a politician. And… oh this is great, there is a churro car here drives around everywhere selling churros and there is the most annoying slash funniest song that it plays. It’s like the ice cream truck back in the day, but there are way tons more here and it’s just funny.

OK, so there you have some weird tid bits, now for the real news of the week. This week just flew by- we had a lot of awesome lessons, and found some awesome new people. One day we found this woman Rosa, who asked- you are Mormons aren’t you? (Which by the way my companion HATES this question. She is quite, quite adamant that Mormon was just a prophet and that we are the Church of Jesus Christ. It,s quite funny really, I have learned the importance of emphasizing this, but you can literally see her bristle when they ask this. haha)

Anyway, Rosa invited us in, and we could see from the beginning that she was quite distressed. Turns out her husband had died a month ago or so, and honestly she just has an awful life. She was an orphan, and has struggled with lots of problems her whole life- and now she has a son who is 7 years old, and she has a lot of questions about God. We felt impressed to skip the lesson on the restoration, and start teaching the Plan of Salvation, and it was an awesome lesson. She humbly accepted this new knowledge, and seemed to find comfort that she has a purpose here on earth. Later in the week we taught her about the restoration. So I am really excited about her.

We also have been working really hard with Paulo, the father of Naira- and he made some huge changes in his life and strides in his life. To see how his countenance and spirit has changed has been overwhelming. So anyways, we were all set for his baptism yesterday when we had the worst Sunday ever.... what happened was that we had a stake conference in Pirssanunga this Sunday, and so we had a bus that was leaving in the morning, and we were going to have the baptism there after church. So, early Sunday morning we left to help all our pesquiadores come to church to catch the bus... and yes, it was another fight with the devil.

It was awful, all of our families were ready, but it was the neighbors or the children that this time put up an awful fight. Rosas neighbors were awful, but she was strong, and we were able to leave with her and her son. (Although we had to clean the stovetop first- hence my hatred of the stove top) Then we went to pass by Paulo, and his extended family had stayed up all the night before doing drugs and yeah... it was a mess. But he was ready and prepared, we just had to do some damage control... and so finally after an hour and a half we were ready to meet the bus. And here is where it got worse, although we had talked to the branch several times in the week, and called and talked to them that morning and explained the situation- they did not wait for us. There was no bus for us- just us and 5 investigators, and our recent conversos- Naiara and Miqueila. It was awful. Sister R. Silva cried, I just felt overwhelmed with inadequacy of what we could have done better. So, we turned the situation into the best thing we could do, we had a lesson with them in the church- watched a church film, taught them some hymns, and ate the cake that was suppose to be for the baptism. Such is life. Ha-ha, it really is quite funny now… because I just don’t know what we could have changed. And who knows why this needed to happen, but perhaps these pesquidaores just needed a little bit more attention this Sunday and needed more one on one time with us. It turned out to be a great lesson, and we will for sure have Paulos baptism this upcoming week- he is more then ready!

So anyway, I am learning to have more patience, and to be ready to be flexible. So many times we have things and plans that we think are better- but these aren’t the Lords plans. His way is always better, and so I know that this situation was better for whatever reason. I am just glad that these investigators are humble and willing to visit church and accept the gospel!

But besides yesterday, this week was really awesome… I totally forgot to write about my birthday... apparently in Brazil there is a tradition to break eggs on your head...the number of eggs for the number of years you have... I am so glad that the Elders only had 11 eggs at our super pday. At first I thought this was a mean joke they were playing on me, a gullible new missionary... but no, everyone does this here. Its funny, but I am not quite sure I will take this tradition home with me!

And another really awesome thing was that Magali and Milena and Diali (Milena was our baptism 3 weeks ago) surprised me with an awesome cake and presents for my birthday. It felt like a huge family party, and it was really special and awesome... although I still don’t feel like I had my birthday. I still don’t believe I am 22... but guess I have to accept the fact eh.

Anyway, I have talked long enough, I hope everyone enjoyed this weeks additions of Melanies... er... Sister Monroes novels! haha, I am doing fabulously and learning so much day by day. Here is a quote that really struck me this week- and just sums up everything that I have felt lately-

"We often think that having faith in Christ means believing in his identity as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But believing in Jesus identity as the Christ is only the first half of it. The other half is believing in his ability, in his power, to cleanse, and to save- to make unworthy sons and daughters worthy... This is why genuine faith in Christ- active acceptance of his power and not just passive belief in his identity- is and must be the very first principle of the gospel.”-Stephen R. Robinson (Believing Christ)

Anyway, I am so grateful for this chance that faith really is a principle of action, it really cant just be passive belief. I am so grateful for the actions that we can take every day, to show our Lord and Master how grateful we are for the atonement in our lives. I hope that His love can bless you in every moment of your lives, wherever you all are!
com amor
Sister Melanie Monroe

22 Reason to Celebrate! Wahoo!

Wow... yep, it’s the big 22 years. It’s funny to think that for so many years I thought that sister missionaries were so old, and those girls that never could get married... who knows why- probably because they were anti-social or something like that.... and now, I am that sister missionary! Ha-ha! It’s fantastic. It honestly doesn’t feel like my birthday, its incredibly hot here, and it feels like I am sitting in the middle of the hottest July ever. This morning I was trying to remember where I was a year ago, and I honestly couldn’t remember. I was thinking- BYU... no.. Poway... no... Blast.

So I pulled out my journal and had to look, and yes, I was in Poway, waiting for my last surgery on my knee... Wow... this year has flown by, and yet that seems ages ago. It’s funny to think how my life has changed during the past year... A year ago I was truly praying and thinking of a mission... just no one knew. hahaha. I think Bishop Ottesen was one of the first people I told that I was going to serve a mission, but that wasn’t until December. I think he knew all along that I was going to serve a mission... oh wait, I think a lot of people knew before I did that I was going to serve a mission... which makes it all the better that it ended up a surprise!

Ha-ha, anyways, enough rambling about the past, it is awesome to be here, and I feel so very blessed with so many things in my life. I truly have been so blessed with great role models in my family, ward, and friends... I was thinking of how many people had made a difference in my life today... and wow, there are many. Thank you to all of you!

Anyways, I don’t think I have too much time to list 22 reasons to celebrate, but I thought I would list a few random things, and also a few highlights of the past week.

Nossa- this has become my most used word (pronounced no-sah) its kind of like, wow, amazing, shoot, you know... all in one word. Nossa, it’s a staple to the language of Portuguese. Its actual meaning is 'our' but no one uses it like that... well they do, but nossa, they just use it all the time! ha-ha.

Canjica- ok so my Brazilian comp Sister R. Silva made me this corn thing this morning... its like rice pudding, but its corn…and its amazing!!! She knows I love, love, corn flavored things...and hmm it was amazing... so that was a fun birthday surprise. She sang feliz anivessario para mim and we ate it. Yeah for new birthday surprises, I just might make this a new birthday tradition.

Cegarras- these are the worlds most annoying bugs. They are big beetles, and they make a really, really annoying sound, and then they just stick to you… they fly and boom, they are on you, and they don’t leave until you pull them off. I nearly had a heart attack when one attacked me when I was saying a prayer this week. It was funny.

Abobora- this is pumpkin.(how do you spell it?) hmmm. Anyways, I made a pumpkin pie yesterday, and it felt a little bit more like October. Yum, it was so good. They all liked it, because they normally use abobora as a vegetable, or really, really sweet. They put sugar in it and cook it, its really good but man- tons of sugar! So they thought this was different.

Conferencia- we had conference with Presidente and Sister Condie this past week, and it was awesome. It was so much better then my first conference... when I kind of had my breakdown. It was great to realize how far I have come in 6 weeks- I am so much more excited to share the gospel, I have a much greater hold on Portuguese, and... we are having success here!!! (Ok this news needs to wait for later!) And, I got chocolate chip cookies from Sister Condie for my birthday. THIS was amazing... wow... who knew that chocolate chip cookies were so good. I had for sure forgotten. Yum.

Pia- This would be sink, or baptismal font. I forgot to tell my story of last week, when we had the baptism for Milena, the font decided not to fill... and we needed to have the baptism, so Sister R Silva and I said a prayer that it would fill... and it did! Really fast! Ha-ha…so that was a small miracle!

Fuma- I am for sure allergic to cigarette smoke... I had to take more cigarettes away from an investigator this past week. I made a trade with gum, (thanks mom for the gum, it’s a good motivator ha-ha) and then I put the cigarette in a zip lock bag in my bag... and then forgot about it. The next morning, to my horror, my bag reeked like no other. I felt so sick all day, and sprayed like a whole thing of perfume in it…it is better now, but it was pretty awful for awhile. So don’t smoke, for one it’s against the word of wisdom and for two, it’s possibly the worst stench on the planet.

And, we had…baptisms this past week!!! Wahoo!! So we have been working really, really hard with Paulo and familia this past 3 weeks, and we had it all set for Paulo, Jefferson, and Naira to be baptized yesterday… but man, can I just say that the devil works overtime like no other. Paulo has been really struggling with the word of wisdom, but he will be baptized next Sunday for sure. And then his son Jefferson went out of town... we spent at least 30 minutes looking for him Sunday morning…its a long complicated story, but we didn’t find him.

But the real story is Naira,... she is almost 12, and she is the spit image of Amelia (Jooj and Brit, I sometimes want to call her Amelia) (oh, Amelia is a orphan in Mozambique who is a rock) Anyways, Naira, is amazing... pretty much the most amazing 11 year old I have ever met. She has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy, reading it to her father, and has been taking away cigarettes from her father, and really been pressing her family, because she wanted to be baptized.

She is just really sweet- for example- we taught her I am a child of God once, and she pretty much has it by memory now, and has taught it to her brother and her cousin Miqueila. So, Naira is just stalwart.

So, Sunday morning we arrived at her house to help her, Paulo, Jefferson, and Mara, Anderson, Gabrielle, Joao victor... ok so there are a lot of people in this extended family- there are 2 families here all joined together! Anyways, Paulo, to our surprise- was all set to go- he was excited and ready, but to our horror, no one else wanted to go. Naira was like a different person- she has never been like this in 4 weeks that we have taught her. There was no light in her eyes, and she did NOT want to go to church. Well, I sat down with her, and talked to her for about 10 minutes. We read a scripture, and talked a lot… and we convinced her to go to church! It was like fighting with the devil. Seriously, I know that Satan knew the best person to attack in that house was Naira, because she is such a positive force for her dad and family. Anyways, we got her to come, and then her cousin Miqueila decided to come too- who has 8 years.

On the way we talked a lot about being 12 and school, and I shared stories about growing up and my little sisters… they were really nervous to go to church. (The last time was at conference and so they had never been to church; church) anyways, they loved it!!

And so... we ended up having 2 baptisms, Naira, and Miqueila. It really was amazing. And the spirit was so strong, to see children- so strong, and so pure, with really strong testimonies, enter the waters of baptisms... ok more like run into the waters of baptism! Ha-ha… Miquela ran into the font! and afterwards, her and Naira started laughing and just had the biggest smiles ever! And the only family member there to help them was Jefferson. (The brother of Niara) He was really sad he couldn’t be baptized, and wanted to know every detail of how they felt.

It was awesome, and Naira said this- I might be small in my family, but I will be a big example and be baptized. Wow... and this from an 11 year old. I have no doubt that with her example and strength, we will be having more baptisms this next week, but it was such a great experience to see how we really should be like- there is that scripture in 3 Nefi 11, that says with baptism we return to being a child…and yes, I hope that I can return to being like Niara and Miqueila. It was truly touching... and possibly the best birthday present I could have ever received from my Father in Heaven to be allowed to be part of this miracle.

Anyways, I am out of time, we are off to a super p day activity with the district... I am giving myself a birthday present and not writing any letters. haha! woohoo!But, thank you thank you for all the birthday wishes, and the cards. I got a huge stack at conference, and it was the best birthday present ever. I was so happy and wow. yeah.. I forget the words in English! haha!

Anyways, much love from Porto Ferreir!!
Sister Monroe

Muito Agua Aqui

Well, in other news, there is a lot of water... baptisms and otherwise! Wahoo! Ha-ha. We had the baptism for Milena yesterday, and it was awesome! Really, really special, she just glowed… and her mother came, and a lot of members for the branch were there- and it was just so special. And the awesome part was her brother in law performed the baptism. There is something really special about baptisms performed in the family.

Something really awesome was that Her cousin, Maria, came to church and stayed for Milena’s baptism.. Maria was a contact that Sister R. Silva and I made in the Street one day, and started teaching her and her husband, and later found out that they are family of Milena. So it has been awesome to see all of them progressing- and Maria was really touched yesterday at church. Awesome!

And we also have been progressing with the other 2 families that attended conference- we are working to get one of the couples married, and working to help them follow the word of wisdom… the kids are all really and excited- so I just pray that we can find the strength and way to help the adults find strength to leave all of this stuff behind. They didn’t come to church yesterday, We had a bit of a confusion with them really… we walked to get them, they had already left for church, and then we never found them... I really, really hope they didn’t attend another church, because there are a lot of other churches on the same street as our church- except that all of the other churches are the hallelujah stand and praise and shout praises kinds of churches... not so good.

I heard lots and lots of stories this past week about strange languages and people falling in church, and wow... its really sad to hear about churches and people that teach in this way... kind of makes me sick really. There are ALOT of churches here like that, at least 20 others…maybe more. And the Jehovah Witnesses are in full force here, we see a lot of their missionaries here, and get asked all the time if we are missionaries from there…good thing we can quickly show our badges and share the real message- a message of peace and joy and love…not of shouting and who knows what. Ha-ha. It sure is an interesting and different world here, that’s for sure.

I enjoyed Michaels report of the election, I laughed so hard. I can understand it, because I saw much of it…and to think that president Lulu tied, and so the election will happen all over again. Ha! Another funny thing I learned this week was that the State of Sao Paulo is in a drought right now, and so it is actually ILLEGAL to water your front drive way or street… whatever it is in English. But don’t worry, everyone does it, everyday. Vania, who lives in front of our house, is faithful enough to water at times, 2 or 3 times a day. And if we are lucky, she evens waters at night- yes sometimes 11 at night. Hahaha. I love it!

Oh, and as far as lots of water here…that would apply to baptisms and rain. Wow the rain is strong here. Ha-ha, I had a really cool experience this week... cool in the fact that I learned how to follow the spirit... in the fact that I didn’t. It was kind of cloudy one afternoon, and I clearly had the impression to take my umbrella with me…and didn’t. We were crossing a bridge when wow- the strongest rain ever.... hit us. And wow... I really don’t think an umbrella would of helped us... but who knows. it was coming from all directions…and I couldn’t help but laughing and we were running and laughing…and soaked!! We taught an interesting next lesson; well it was a lesson that went really, really well, but nothing like being soaked!

And then the next day... yes, one would think that I would learn… but no, decided not to take my umbrella, because this time there were NO CLOUDS in the sky when we left early in the morning. But wow, this time, the rain was even stronger. We were walking in the middle of this field, and we could see the rain behind us… coming... coming… we could hear it...and we were running, running...and yeah. It hit us. And we had no where to go... so we just kept running, we ran in some really strong rain for about 20 minutes. ha-ha! And we ran to the chapel, because we were having the baptism interview for Milena…and wow, we were wet. It was hysterical. It was like I had been swimming in the rain…Sister Silva and I were laughing so hard.

And so now, I am learning. It is hot as the dickens in the morning, and then it rains every afternoon… the only thing is the rain isn’t cool… its still hot! So I am learning to follow the promptings of the spirit... most of the time they are quite, and just an idea, but wow, follow the idea! Because now I have two wet, wet experiences from not following the promptings. At least they were funny!

Anyways, I am really hungry, and Sister Silva is patiently waiting for me to finish- she doesn’t use email so I feel bad at times writing so much. We are having a blast together... I am just getting nervous for transfers, because she has never had a companion longer for 2 transfers; she is always transferred... so I am getting nervous for her…or me! ahh… I don’t want to think about it. Luckily we have 2 more weeks to work some miracles!

Ok, I am off- lots of love and smiles, hugs and kisses from Porto Ferreira!
tchau!
Sister Monroe

PS. I am sad to hear the padres are out, but way to go chargers, and way to go BYU! I had a really weird BYU dream the other day. Just FYI.

And the winner is?

Eu não acredito que hoje é pday!! Where did September go? Ok, so I am going to try to make this blog post a little shorter... I have the tendency to blab on, and I am not sure if this makes for very interesting posts. This has been an awesome week- first for some trivial manners, the Brazilian election was yesterday. I have no idea who won- they will announce it tonight. It’s been an entertaining week as people have been quite hyped up for the elections- its a bit different then America! Ha-ha. On Saturday I think I saw the same parade for President Lula about 7 times, because they kept driving through all the baixos of the city, and we were walking everywhere. It was hilarious- a lot of shouting, different music that didn’t match, the Lula song- all the jazz. I wished I had my camera... tudo bem.

All of the Brazilians seem to think I should vote- even though I am clearly an American. Everybody, people in the streets, asked me if I would vote, and when I said no, they were quite surprised. Many, in fact, all, did not seem to understand why an American couldn’t vote for a Brazilian president. I find it hard to fathom myself. Ha-ha.

Another thing that sees to baffle everyone is the fact that I have not killed a chicken, pig, or duck on my own. I have had the process described to me IN DETAIL many times. I honestly hope that I don’t have to try it one of these days, but I don’t know. Everyone seems to think that chicken or pig or duck that was killed in your yard is much fresher and better. Ok, I would definitely say its fresher- but as far as better. I am not so sure I would want to eat after that process.

Ok, that’s it for trivial manners- as far as real news- we had an awesome week, it seriously flew by! We were really blessed to work with some different members this week, which was awesome. Our baptism for Milena got postponed for this coming Sunday, because some of her family couldn’t be there this past weekend, and with conference- it was just confusing to arrange. But she is strong and firm and so we will have a baptism this week :) Wahoo!

And also really, really exciting, was at conference this weekend we had 2 families with us! They all live together, and we have been teaching them for 2 weeks... and wow, they definitely come from some humble circumstances. We sit on the floor when we teach, they don’t have chairs or a table, and we try to bring food with us every time we teach, because they really don’t have much at all. But there are 8 of them in these 2 families, Paulo and his 2 kids, and then Mara and Anderson and their 3 kids. There are a lot of kids, which makes it fun for me! Ha-ha!

This past week we taught them about the Word of Wisdom and Eternal Marriage, and lets just say that there are 5 things we cant use in the Word of Wisdom, and they use 4 of them. But the good news is that they want to change and follow the word of wisdom, and Mara and Anderson are set to get married this month! I was really nervous because we knew they had problems and needed the Word of Wisdom, and my first instinct was to let Sister R. Silva teach this part... but I decided I needed to learn, and how can I learn if I don’t try… and so I practiced and taught it... I was a little nervous, but the spirit was there, and I taught with as much love as I could, and it went really, really well. It was a miracle because the children were not there for that lesson- the first time that has happened- and I know the Lord really prepared a way for us to teach.

And then yesterday for conference, Paulo and family (that’s what we call all of them- just imagine 7 other Brazilian names) were all ready to go when we passed by. In fact, they were standing outside of their house waiting for us! This was awesome, and all of the kids were so excited. So we went on a bus with the rest of the ward to Sunday Morning session of conference. Ok, I will be honest here... I imagine that this session was a good session. I am not quite sure I understood much. I was sitting with two of the kids and trying to help them listen and keep them occupied the whole time... which proved to be quite stressful. It was a stressful conference! Ha-ha! But I won’t complain because I was so excited to have 2 families with us!

And then afterwards, I found out they had played the session in English in another room. go figure. Ha-ha! But the second session went much better, they did not play it in English this time, but it was just a bunch of missionaries, and I could focus this time, and wow I understood a lot better. And the Lord really opened up my ears- my favorite talk was by, oh shoot I forget his name. I think it starts with Keith something, but anyhow, he talked about the atonement and it was awesome. It was a beautiful talk!

Anyways, life is awesome here- I am working hard, eating lots of good fruit, and speaking lots of Portuguese, and forgetting what life is like in America. ótimo!

Com amor... demais!!
Sister Melanie Monroe