O man, why am I so happy? Well, Sis S is just a joy. She is so humble and sweet and sincere and she wants to work hard, but we don't worry about numbers. We are worrying about people as individuals, not tallies, and loving them. Our goal is to leave every person, place and thing better off than we found it. Every study hour is like a devotional, and we learn sooo much. She has had a hard mission up to this point as well, and always tells me I'm helping her heal, but really she is healing me as well. We laugh and smile always. Seriously, this week could have been really bad haha. We came home to something crazy every night. One night, it rained and our windows were opened and EVERYTHING got soaked, including all of my books and scriptures.....and our beds. So.....we were like wowza, this is bad, and then we just died laughing. We slept on different beds with nasty pillows and separated each page of my scripture and just laughed. We can get through anything together. When she first got here, she was so afraid to make a mistake. She said sorry for everything, but in just a week, I've been pushing myself to always be calm, patient and optimistic, so that she isn't afraid. Its a blessing for both of us, because we never stress or despair, even though we are two lost Americans just trying to get around a foreign country haha. I see her personality emerging more everyday and she really is just a gem. We have so much fun.
We see so many miracles. We focus less on numbers, but we do work on being prompt and reliable. Because of that, everyday we end up with more lessons and contacts than we even planned on. Another miracle is that the day we started working together, I could understand and speak Portuguese ten times better! It was amazing. Seriously, I was so nervous because we are both very new at the language and I didn't know how people would understand us. But guess what, we just went out there and talked to people and I could suddenly understand everything they said. What?! Miracle. BAM. I can talk way better too. God is amazing. He truly qualifies us when he needs something done. I know Sis S and I need to be together. We are not only trying to help our area, but we want to uplift our roommates and all the sisters and all the missionaries. We want to change the mission to an environment where everyone feels safe and confident and is not afraid to make mistakes, and that just comes from building people up and being an example. We are hoping President Brum will let us stick together for a long time, so that we can help as many people as possible. Seriously, we have miracles everyday. WE are hoping for 3 baptisms this week :) but its not even about the baptisms. Its about helping people recognize that they are children of God. I am here and you are there in this exact moment so that you can encounter people that need your love. They need somebody to tell them that there is a God above that knows and loves them, and you can be that person. We are all tools in Gods hands. I happen to be here in Brazil right now, and I'll do whatever it is He needs me to do right now, but when I return, I will still be an instrument for Him to lift the hands that hang down. Life is beautiful. If it doesn't seem that way, then change something and pray for Gods help. He will provide :)
I feel so fulfilled in the work right now. I was growing so tired from constantly worrying about uplifting others, but I didn't realize that first I had to uplift myself and find ways to smile. Being in a positive environment is just so life changing. It changes everything. Seriously, avoid negativity like the plague, because it will only lead to despair. EVERYTHING that happens in life can be a blessing or a curse. Its your decision.
Oh yeah haha you'd get a kick out of this. Everyone in my apartment is wanting to get into shape, so I'm kinda their personal trainer. We wake up at 6 and run and do exercises. These girls are awesome and so determined. I love it. It's so fun to see them grow and push themselves both physically and spiritually. So great. We run to church music playing on our phone and it's quite the sight. We get lots of looks and lots of smiles. Its great.
