LUFA LUFA

Sorry about last weeks email. There was a little drama because it was a Brazillian holiday and everything was closed. Soooo we took a bus to another city (dont fret - in our ward still) to email and only had like... ZERO TIME. Worse than normal? I think I'm starting to over use that phrase. Minha vida. 

Jamie {Peterson-Arnett} is SO PREGGERS! I am dying. I love it! And the blanket {Haley picked the yarn/colors Erika crocheted} looks awesome mom! So grateful you are always adopting my friends! Dad- buck up, scorpions are nothingggg {stung a week ago on the finger - still swollen and sore}! Just kidding, I found a cockroach in my suitcase two days ago and screamed like a little girl - second one in a week. I still haven't received the package, but we have interviews next Tuesday, so if it has come Presidente will bring it I think! Its crazy here whenever someone gets a package or mail it has to travel through like 15 missionaries to get to us. And then you have to hold it, while standing, on a PACKED bus, usually for at least an hour or two. Then walk 3 miles uphill (in the snow? JOKE) to your house. So I wont forget to tell you when I get it. It will be a big deal! Hahaha.

So last week I went on divisions. I think I told you? BUT while I was there I happen to see the Harry Potter books! NOT KIDDING. And my companion and I had been talking the week before about what the house names would be in Portuguese. This is important. PROMISE. So turns out they are hilarious. And my faves is LUFA LUFA. AKA Hufflepuff. 

So we were making a list this last week of people who have already been to church twice and could be baptized immediately. And I was like... Low Hanging Fruit... LWF...How would you even say that? LUFE? LufAAA! LUFA LUFA! And so the milagre (miracle) list was born! Our Lufa-lufa has spawned milagres fo DAYS. 

My favorite is that we had 3 baptisms this weekend? Okay only one was technically ours. TAMIRES!!!! She is the best. We asked her to be baptized on like... quarta feira (Wednesday) and she was like- SIM! So we said Domingo? Before church? Of course! It is so great to find people of great faith who understand the need for baptism by proper authority! AHHH. I love that girl. She has this little boy Kevin who I might potentially steal... of course its against the rules so.... The other baptisms- one was the Zone Leaders, but under doctors orders they can't leave their house for a week. Can you say dengue? Doglas always comes to our ward anyway, so we did them a solid and the whole district took a picture with THEIR baptism. It was hilarious. (The elders were here to interview our baptism and the Sisters serve in the same ward as us!) Then the Sisters had a baptism after church of a woman who has been going to church for 7 years. Eliane. She is amazing. And also very pregnant. Don't worry, we filled up the font REAL FULL. 

We had a lesson in this bairro kind of far away, so we ask an Irmao to come with us. Then his whole family came? Like EXTENDED. So we had a lesson with 7 investigators (a family) and like 10 members? AKA we had a festa. It was probably the funniest thing that has happened in a month. Sometimes I sit back and think... wait... am I really here? Is this really happening? I know I'm where Heavenly Father needs me, but sometimes its surprising to find yourself somewhere you know? 

Anyway. I love you and miss you dearly! I promise I'll brush up on my English before Mothers Day (JOKE- my companion is American!) Hahaha. Sister Martins called the other day because I had a little cold and she wanted to tell me what medicines I could buy for being stuffed up. She goes... 

-SISTER FULLER? 

-Não, sou Sister Mills. 

-SISTER MILLS?! VOCÊ È FALANDO EM PORTUGUES MUITO BEM! EU ACHEI QUE VOCÊ FOI SISTER FULLER! 

Aka my portuguese is improving? I think?

Anyway, LOVE YOU MISS YOU! BYEEEEEE!

Sister Mills

WAHHHHHH!

TIME IS ALWAYS RUNNING AWAYYYY!

We were singing a hymn the other day that had the word AURORA. I died. Our little babes is the DAWN in Portuguese. Love her. Glad she found someone to push her on the swing at Easter!

I don't feel like counting anymoreeee- a five year old said to me the other day (translated obviously) WHY DO YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT WRONG? Minha vida! HAHAHA. It was hilarious at least.

-A man stopped me on the street to tell me I was beautiful so invited him to church and then said bye.... 12 times... super awkward. We had a recent convert with us and she starting telling everyone we saw after that that I had a SWEET TALKER. AWKWARD!

-This week has been crazy. I went on exchanges in Sao Paulo proper. It was insane. A Hispanic and an American try to do missionary work in Brazil... its like a bad joke- BUT it actually turned out super awesome!

-I went to my first Churrasco this week! BARBEQUEEEE! It was delicious! Happy Pascoa (Easter)

-No more time! I promise really exciting missionary things happened this week too!!! And that the church is true! 

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!!

 

 

Kisses, Baptisms, and Blenders

I want to start with that one time I accidentally broke the rules. And by that I mean- they have this custom here where everyone kisses everyone on the cheek. Only we cant kiss men... I guess. HAHAHA. AKA I accidentally kissed a 30 year old youngster. My companion was in shock- shes just like... WHY DID THAT LOOK SO NATURAL?! I was panicking obviously, because everyone just knows not to do it, so I didn't know what to do when he went in for it! If that wasn't bad enough after that we were teaching a lesson and this guy in his 20s walks into the house. And like... gives me a nugie? What is that called when people rub your head? Mas... it was like gentle. And awkward for everyone. People think Sister Fuller and I are BEAUTIFUL sisters (like as in... blood) and always want to touch us. That's the moral here. BUT it sometimes gets us into houses so Ive just kind of accepted it!

Speaking of getting into houses the other day it was POURING rain. I mean POURING. I sent you the picture. And we needed to escape the rua (road). So we clap at the rain woman's door (I just made that up, her name is actually Rosali HOSE-AH-LEE). We tell her we are messengers of God and we have a message. So she gets us towels and are just chatting for a second and she goes- I would like you to tell me more about the message God has for me! SUREEEE! So we tell her how the church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. That the authority of God was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in these latter days. Then I ask her to be baptized and she says- com certeza (essentially CERTAINLY!) and accepts a date for next week. Our lives... they kill me. I LOVE BRAZIL.

Oh then we were having almoço (lunch) with a member (they feed us lunch here) and she says- oh my son wants to be interviewed for baptism next week by the way. wait... whaaa? He hasn't even been meeting with us! So we met with him yesterday, and it sounds like he will be baptized this Saturday. Again. Life is like a dream over here. OH and we had a baptism this week of TIAGO! Technically he was the other sisters, but we serve in the same ward, so it was super cool to see him join his family in becoming a member of the church! And then his baby was blessed during sacrament and the mom had to hold here and then everyone just put their hands on her while she wiggled around like a cute little Brazilian baby. HILARIOUS.

Oh and speaking of hilarious. I accidentally agreed to give my third talk in sacrament meeting in Brazil. And by that I mean almost every week I have spoken? No worries, people always yell out correct congugations to help me. Mas, no one ever tells me I sound like Sheri Dew here? Probably because Sheri Dew can actually speak her language... Um dia. Um dia. (Shout out Sister Armstrong, she always says that)

So on Sunday we were chatting with some people who like to practice their english with us and help us with our Portuguese. So I throw out some new vocab one of the Portuguese Elders taught me. Bacana. And everyone DIES. Apparently its like saying groovy or something from the 70s. Its exciting to know I am such a hip American you know? Then one of the boys gets all excited because I am from Arizona (i redeemed myself with this. Thanks for having me in Arizona mom!) because apparently he has a hat that says ARIZONA. I say ohhh? SERIO? Qual time? (aka which team?) Turns out he just has a hat that says Arizona. Im like.... WHY?! A guy who speaks a lot of English goes- it could say BLENDER and we would love it. Liqidificadora... that's legal (cool).

Uhhh lots of other awesome things happened this week a highlight of which is I have MASSIVE tan lines because I am ALWAYS burnt. Minha vida.

Anyway, I love yall MUITO!

Its a good thing Im here doing what the Lord would have me do or Id be home in a heartbeat. That's how much I miss you!

TCHAU!

Sister Mills

 

 

pelo menos a bonita

 I love you all and I do have like 10 minutes, so here it goes! Its a good thing I prepared a list during conference in... wait for it..... ENGLISH! Best day(s) of my life actually!

-People ask me if I am Irish here. Like on the daily. Sometimes I just say yes... OOPS.

-The word for Red hair and the word for horrible sound a LITTLE too close for comfort. SUPES awk.

-I got my first Brazilian sickness. It took a week, I was as surprised as you probably are, I thought Id be down on day one! Because of this, I learned to say Diarrhea in Portuguese. Its my favorite word...All the other Americans were sick too, so dont worry Im not crazy.

-Half the world thinks I have the best Portuguese ever for only being here 2 weeks and the other half just stares at me blankly when I try to ask them to be baptized. Well, in their defense I forgot to make it a question and accidentally demanded it? No worries though, they accepted. Obviously. Oh and once people burst out laughing at the end. THAT was when I knew I was awesome.

-We got a call from the mission office that we are moving... tomorrow. And we have to take our fridge and everything with us... uhhh... who has a car?

-We have the best recent converts. And investigators actually. People here are so humble. We share the Restoration of the Gospel and they are just like- of course we still need Prophets, we had them in the Biblia, it just makes sense. LOOOOOVE.

-Conference was amazing. I loved the apostolic testimonies that were running wild. We are the children of a God. He is our father. He loves us. Get over your problems. HAAAA. 

I tried to guess the names of all the talks when they come out in the ensign (joke) (shout out Sister Helm) and for President Uchtdorfs I was like- even if you think your life is awful, jokes on you, it could be worse. Or my other favorite- you've only got 4 minutes to save the world.

-I also loved that Elder Eyring invited our investigators to be baptized.

-And that Elder Perry followed up. He is amazing.

-I dont know if I told you about this, but one time I prayed for Charity and accidentally prayed for chastity. Not a joke.... we need it though riiiiight?

-We clap at peoples houses and then shout their name in a man voice. Sister Armstrong asked her companion if she wanted to hear how Americanas would do it and then straight up screams MARIAAAA! Hahaha.

-I love to say still cute though and I finally found out how to say it in Portuguese- pelo menos a bonita. At least she is beautiful? Nao sei.

Eu amo voces muito.