You can’t mix a dream team with people from different eras
OK, so for those of you wondering, that would be a quote from Return to Me, a great movie... I am really quite surprised I remember that line because lets be honest, I seem to be forgetting everything these days. But here’s something funny for you guys- remember the old men on this movie- Return to Me- they are hysterical right? Yeah, I am teaching one of these old men. Bobby, He is an American who has lived here in Brazil for 20 years, and doesn’t speak a lick of Portuguese. hahahaha. He also lived in Italy for 20 years, but doesn’t seem to speak much of Italian. Our conversations often come back to these phrases- "well before the war" and "when I was in the service..."
He is 80 years old, and has written a hefty book of his idea of religion. (Which we are actually reading right now to try to help him) But we will not be swayed, Sister Labadie and I are determined to baptize this old man, He has been through a ton of missionaries... but with us he has started praying for the first time- (His wife and daughter are members) and he decided to do a huge thing... He is going to come to church!! So yeah, that’s only one of the things that happened this past week... but before I get ahead of myself, I’ll stop to give you the highlights of this past week. It was awesome!
Segunda feira- Monday- This highlight would be that in the midst of our cleaning of this still messy apartment... would you still believe that there is mold in the shower- disgusting.- but anyways, I was cleaning like crazy this day, and I accidentally threw out Sister Labadies nametag. yep. I don’t know how it happened, but its actually quite funny... So Sister Labadie has been nametagless this past week, and we have no idea when she will get her new one. woops. Lucky for me, she has a good sense of humor, and we have had some good laughs over this. We also went bowling this day, with some other Sisters and Elders in Ribeirao Preto... the only word to describe this would be weird. I never thought I would go bowling in Brazil... and though it was fun, I wouldn’t call it one of my favorite things to do here. Although those bowling shoes with the missionary gear is pretty good lookin´ if you ask me.
Terca feira- Tuesday- This day Sister Labadies foot was still hurting so we took the bus to the centro, normally we walk, and it was quite fun. (We have to go to the centro every Tuesday for a district meeting.) On the bus we always try to sit by almost all of the people and give them pass along cards and talk to them about the church. Sometimes if it isn’t too loud we make an announcement and give them all pass along cards. We have had some pretty cool experiences on the bus though. The nice thing about taking the bus is we don’t get lost... We haven’t quite made it walking to the center yet without getting lost. But one time when we were lost I found the coolest wall- it’s a wall with the Prayer of Saint Frances in Portuguese... I just hope I can find it again to take a picture. Boa Surte Rapaz! It’s like the most beautiful poem ever. Anyways... off topic again..
This day we also taught Lia and Danilo, the most amazing family ever! I seriously haven’t taught a family like this in my whole mission. They are born leaders, and the spirit is so strong every time we teach them. They are so special- they already want to go to the temple, its amazing.
Quarta feira- Weds- So this day was a bit hard- we had a baptismal interview with Lia and Danilo, we have been teaching them for a month now, and they were so ready. They both passed the interview, but something happened in the interview with Danilo, and so he felt really pressured... he wants to get baptized, but in his timing. It was really hard for us, because we have felt soo good about them- I really cant describe it, but every time we teach them its like dejavu- I know that I knew this family in the Pre-existence.. and so it has been really, really hard for me to know how to help more..
Quinta-feira- We tried to do some damage control with Lia. We decided to make guacamole with the huge, huge avocados they have here and eat it with crackers. Unfortunately, the guacamole was horrible. I don’t know what we did wrong... it seriously was so bad. Normally here they eat abacate come acucar... oh sorry, avacado with sugar. No one eats with salt, you tell them and they make a face... so yeah, the guacamole was just hysterical because it was so bad, luckily Sister Labadie and I just laughed our heads off and told them not to eat it, but they tried a little of it just to be polite, and then agreed with us that it was horrible. Ha... But anyways, we talked a lot with Lia about helping Danilo recognize the spirit in his life, she wants to baptize so badly... we will try to help Danilo more.
This day we also made a really cool contact- we were walking in the street in a hurry to make it to Lia- and all of a sudden I felt like someone had put a wall in front of me. I stopped suddenly, looked to my right, and there was this cute moça next to me. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, and it was "hi, you are really beautiful." I wanted to laugh, who says that to strangers? But it turned out perfectly, we stopped and talked to her, she is 22, her name is Ranata, and she is amazing. We ended up teaching her on....
Sexta feira- Friday- Yeah so we taught Renata today. She practically grabbed o livro de mormon from us this day, which was awesome! She was just glowing and kept asking us questions before we could explain- when can I visit church- can I keep this book? etc... She is awesome! So we are way excited about her.
We also taught Bobby today, the 80 year old American man. He is so funny. Its so hard teaching in English, but it makes you stick to the basics… that’s for sure. Just to help you understand what its like, like 2 weeks ago it was Bobby’s birthday. So we made him an apple pie on Pday... He loved it! Anyways, so afterwards we taught him, and then afterwards he asked us if he could share a scripture. Claro que sim... and so he pulled out his joy of cooking book, and then read us a "scripture" or recipe of apple pie... he was wondering why I had used more apples. haha... basically he is crazy. But we are making so much progress with him!!
Sabado- Saturday- Oh yeah, I forgot to say that on Quinta feira, at night, Sister Labadie told me she wanted me to cut her hair. Now, she knows how to cut hair, she went to beauty school... but can we remember when was the last time I cut hair? Oh yeah that’s right, um never!! haha... so here is me.. You want me to cut...ahh… where? She wanted to cut off like 5 inches! So yep, I did it! It looks way good! She had long hair like me, but now she has hair a little bit below her chin, and its way cute. She had to do a lot of cleaning up of her hair though, because it’s not like I knew what I was doing.
Today we ended up doing divisions, and we taught the cutest girl, Julia. She is 14, and had already gone to church a bunch, but no one had taught her.. how that happened I dont know, but anyways, we taught her the first lesson, she looooved it! She actually reminds me alot of my good friend Kelsey Grover. Its crazy. It was so fun teaching her, we had a lot of fun with her!
We also taught Eduardo again, the guy who baptized, he is so crazy! haha! we arrived a little bit early for our lesson and he was rocking out to 80s music, we laughed so hard because it was soo something I would of done before the mission... but yeah, he is so different now, and especially his mom, who was a menos ativo- they are so loving, and always pray so much for us.
Domingo- Sunday- the make it or break it day for us-- this day was really hard, but also really good. Lia and Danilo didnt come to church, devastating... but guess who did- Giseille!!!! 5 years of missionaries and she finally came to church!! wahoo!! She has already accepted baptism and loooved it on Sunday! So we are soo excited about her! She already has the strongest testimony about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she has read it every day for years now, it was just about getting her to develop the faith to go to church- (well that and we cut a deal with her little brother to watch her sick mother, we had to make him a chocolate cake) So yeah, that was awesome.
We also had a great meeting with the Bishop here, and he is way stoked about our work here. That felt good, because to be honest I have been a little scared of him. Church was awesome though, I love the sacrament so much, it is so powerful- there really is nothing better, nothing that renews me more. .
Anyways, I seem to have blabbed on enough for now.. But thank you so much for the love and letters, I really will try to stop being a slacker and get back to writing! I am so grateful for the mission, loove it!!
Oh yeah, Happy Valentines day!!!
Com Amor
Sister Melanie Felony Monroe
He is 80 years old, and has written a hefty book of his idea of religion. (Which we are actually reading right now to try to help him) But we will not be swayed, Sister Labadie and I are determined to baptize this old man, He has been through a ton of missionaries... but with us he has started praying for the first time- (His wife and daughter are members) and he decided to do a huge thing... He is going to come to church!! So yeah, that’s only one of the things that happened this past week... but before I get ahead of myself, I’ll stop to give you the highlights of this past week. It was awesome!
Segunda feira- Monday- This highlight would be that in the midst of our cleaning of this still messy apartment... would you still believe that there is mold in the shower- disgusting.- but anyways, I was cleaning like crazy this day, and I accidentally threw out Sister Labadies nametag. yep. I don’t know how it happened, but its actually quite funny... So Sister Labadie has been nametagless this past week, and we have no idea when she will get her new one. woops. Lucky for me, she has a good sense of humor, and we have had some good laughs over this. We also went bowling this day, with some other Sisters and Elders in Ribeirao Preto... the only word to describe this would be weird. I never thought I would go bowling in Brazil... and though it was fun, I wouldn’t call it one of my favorite things to do here. Although those bowling shoes with the missionary gear is pretty good lookin´ if you ask me.
Terca feira- Tuesday- This day Sister Labadies foot was still hurting so we took the bus to the centro, normally we walk, and it was quite fun. (We have to go to the centro every Tuesday for a district meeting.) On the bus we always try to sit by almost all of the people and give them pass along cards and talk to them about the church. Sometimes if it isn’t too loud we make an announcement and give them all pass along cards. We have had some pretty cool experiences on the bus though. The nice thing about taking the bus is we don’t get lost... We haven’t quite made it walking to the center yet without getting lost. But one time when we were lost I found the coolest wall- it’s a wall with the Prayer of Saint Frances in Portuguese... I just hope I can find it again to take a picture. Boa Surte Rapaz! It’s like the most beautiful poem ever. Anyways... off topic again..
This day we also taught Lia and Danilo, the most amazing family ever! I seriously haven’t taught a family like this in my whole mission. They are born leaders, and the spirit is so strong every time we teach them. They are so special- they already want to go to the temple, its amazing.
Quarta feira- Weds- So this day was a bit hard- we had a baptismal interview with Lia and Danilo, we have been teaching them for a month now, and they were so ready. They both passed the interview, but something happened in the interview with Danilo, and so he felt really pressured... he wants to get baptized, but in his timing. It was really hard for us, because we have felt soo good about them- I really cant describe it, but every time we teach them its like dejavu- I know that I knew this family in the Pre-existence.. and so it has been really, really hard for me to know how to help more..
Quinta-feira- We tried to do some damage control with Lia. We decided to make guacamole with the huge, huge avocados they have here and eat it with crackers. Unfortunately, the guacamole was horrible. I don’t know what we did wrong... it seriously was so bad. Normally here they eat abacate come acucar... oh sorry, avacado with sugar. No one eats with salt, you tell them and they make a face... so yeah, the guacamole was just hysterical because it was so bad, luckily Sister Labadie and I just laughed our heads off and told them not to eat it, but they tried a little of it just to be polite, and then agreed with us that it was horrible. Ha... But anyways, we talked a lot with Lia about helping Danilo recognize the spirit in his life, she wants to baptize so badly... we will try to help Danilo more.
This day we also made a really cool contact- we were walking in the street in a hurry to make it to Lia- and all of a sudden I felt like someone had put a wall in front of me. I stopped suddenly, looked to my right, and there was this cute moça next to me. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, and it was "hi, you are really beautiful." I wanted to laugh, who says that to strangers? But it turned out perfectly, we stopped and talked to her, she is 22, her name is Ranata, and she is amazing. We ended up teaching her on....
Sexta feira- Friday- Yeah so we taught Renata today. She practically grabbed o livro de mormon from us this day, which was awesome! She was just glowing and kept asking us questions before we could explain- when can I visit church- can I keep this book? etc... She is awesome! So we are way excited about her.
We also taught Bobby today, the 80 year old American man. He is so funny. Its so hard teaching in English, but it makes you stick to the basics… that’s for sure. Just to help you understand what its like, like 2 weeks ago it was Bobby’s birthday. So we made him an apple pie on Pday... He loved it! Anyways, so afterwards we taught him, and then afterwards he asked us if he could share a scripture. Claro que sim... and so he pulled out his joy of cooking book, and then read us a "scripture" or recipe of apple pie... he was wondering why I had used more apples. haha... basically he is crazy. But we are making so much progress with him!!
Sabado- Saturday- Oh yeah, I forgot to say that on Quinta feira, at night, Sister Labadie told me she wanted me to cut her hair. Now, she knows how to cut hair, she went to beauty school... but can we remember when was the last time I cut hair? Oh yeah that’s right, um never!! haha... so here is me.. You want me to cut...ahh… where? She wanted to cut off like 5 inches! So yep, I did it! It looks way good! She had long hair like me, but now she has hair a little bit below her chin, and its way cute. She had to do a lot of cleaning up of her hair though, because it’s not like I knew what I was doing.
Today we ended up doing divisions, and we taught the cutest girl, Julia. She is 14, and had already gone to church a bunch, but no one had taught her.. how that happened I dont know, but anyways, we taught her the first lesson, she looooved it! She actually reminds me alot of my good friend Kelsey Grover. Its crazy. It was so fun teaching her, we had a lot of fun with her!
We also taught Eduardo again, the guy who baptized, he is so crazy! haha! we arrived a little bit early for our lesson and he was rocking out to 80s music, we laughed so hard because it was soo something I would of done before the mission... but yeah, he is so different now, and especially his mom, who was a menos ativo- they are so loving, and always pray so much for us.
Domingo- Sunday- the make it or break it day for us-- this day was really hard, but also really good. Lia and Danilo didnt come to church, devastating... but guess who did- Giseille!!!! 5 years of missionaries and she finally came to church!! wahoo!! She has already accepted baptism and loooved it on Sunday! So we are soo excited about her! She already has the strongest testimony about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she has read it every day for years now, it was just about getting her to develop the faith to go to church- (well that and we cut a deal with her little brother to watch her sick mother, we had to make him a chocolate cake) So yeah, that was awesome.
We also had a great meeting with the Bishop here, and he is way stoked about our work here. That felt good, because to be honest I have been a little scared of him. Church was awesome though, I love the sacrament so much, it is so powerful- there really is nothing better, nothing that renews me more. .
Anyways, I seem to have blabbed on enough for now.. But thank you so much for the love and letters, I really will try to stop being a slacker and get back to writing! I am so grateful for the mission, loove it!!
Oh yeah, Happy Valentines day!!!
Com Amor
Sister Melanie Felony Monroe
posted by Bev at 9:58 AM
2 Comments:
Mel!
I love reading your updates and can picture you working your tail off! I'm so happy for you. By the way, I'm pregnant! Ahh! We're due June 14th and I can't believe it. Jeff is super excited because we're having a little girl, just what he wanted. Anyway, just wanted to let you know. Sounds like all is well. Keep up the great work!
Becki Tew Wright
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