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First things first. . . TRANSFERS. It's been crazy up in here. First, we had an emergency transfer after email last week and Sister Cieslak left after just 5 weeks here in Mossoro! Then Sister Porter was Sister Olla's new companheira. (The same Sister Porter that I found on Instagram before the mission! She's awesome! Way outgoing and adorable and love her to bits).
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| Sister Porter and Megan |
Then we got the call for actual transfers last night. . . and EVERYONE LEFT EXCEPT ME. Ahhhhhhh. I died. Sister Garcia (minha mae!) left me partway through my training, and we were both so sad. [mom note: a new missionary usually stays with their first companion/trainer for 12 weeks] We had gotten to be really close friends. She's a riot and a half and seriously saved my life out here and made me laugh and have a good time even when it was hard. And Sister Porter left after just a week here! Seriously we were all confused and stressed beyond belief. So my new companion Sister Marcelino is getting here tonight! So many emotions right now, I can't handle my life.
To relieve my stress let's flashback to when I used to do #minhavida because I have quite a few this week haha.
+ We did a service project and helped this woman clean her house She took a shower while we were cleaning, no big deal, but left the door open and I saw everything. My oh my, an experience I could've definitely lived without.
+ We taught a lesson to a man who we had met through contacts, and there I am, super pumped on teaching the Restoration of the Gospel. I finish explaining the Apostosy in detail. And he turns to Sister Garcia and asks her if I speak Portuguese. You've got to be kidding me. haha. And then she asks him what he understood about the Apostosy and he says something along the lines of "oh yeah, that business with the 12 apostles right?" And then he continued to treat me like a complete idiot, acting out everything he said and criticizing my portuguese every other sentence. Which I can laugh about now, but honestly in the moment I wasn't laughing too much (crying. typical me haha). But THEN the next day I was super stressed about the language, about our investigators, everything. Sister Garcia too. And so we both were praying like crazy for a good experience. First, we had a lesson and the man we were teaching was blown away that I could speak as much portuguese as I do in just a couple months here. I think he was partially just being nice, but it was a confidence boost I needed. And then even better, we were walking along the road and a man on a moto stops right in our faces. We panic for a second thinking he's going to be a crazy, but then the first thing out of his mouth is "When can you two teach me a lesson at my house?" WHAT? Turns out he's already been to church 6 times, and talked to the missionaries before, but lost contact. Hallelujah. MIRACLE. Seriously I almost cried again, this time from joy because I needed that more than anything.
+ Funnier #minhavida moment. I woke up yesterday and went to the bathroom. Normal. But when I tried to leave the bathroom, the door wouldn't open. Not normal. So I'm panicking, trying to open the door, calling for Sister Garcia, knocking so someone will help me. And then Sister Garcia is like carving part of the door off to help me out and there I am locked in the bathroom for like 10 minutes feeling more claustrophobic every minute haha. Then Sister Olla comes along, twists the doorknob in some weird way, and pop, door's open. But now we can't close our bathroom door or we'll be trapped inside. haha. Only me.
scripture ::
1 Nephi 18. Nephi was travelling with his family and Laman and Lemuel are being bullies as usual and tie him up. He's tied up for four days. There's a huge storm. And when they finally release him his wrists and ankles are swollen and in a ton of pain, but all he does is THANK the LORD. What an awesome example. I want to have that kind of gratitude in my heart for my Heavenly Father!
Alright everyone, out of time! But I miss you all and hope you guys have a great week!
Thanks for the emails, the prayers, and the love.
Love
SISTER BAKER
[mom note: we received two emails this week, one answering some of the questions we had]
Did you finally get hangers to hang up your clothes?
No hangers yet, but it's easier without them in the house we have.
Are your clothes and shoes working for you?
Clothes and shoes are all great!
What shoes are the comfiest?
Berks are probably the comfiest, but Chacos are the best for walking because they're so sturdy [mom note: I've included the links for both shoes since I know sometimes future missionaries find other missionary blogs while looking for information that is helpful as they prepare for their mission]
What things, if any, do you wish you would have left home?
As of now I can't think of anything. Maybe some hygiene stuff that they have here, but we didn't know if they would.
What do you wish you would have brought?
Can't think of anything right now. . maybe more plain colored tshirts, I have a lot of patterns. (I think I left a light blue shirt at home! darn)
How much do you think you walk a day?
A crapload. (am I allowed to say that as a missionary?)
Are you sleeping well?
I'm not lacking sleep, like I'm not super tired (other than physically exhausted at the end of the day from walking), but I usually wake up a few times early every morning (3, 4, 5 o'clock) which is super weird since before the mission I was Miss narcolepsy.
Is it too hot to sleep?
It's actually usually fine, some nights is hotter than others, but we have a fan blowing on us. haha One time though I woke up with my hair in a bun that I don't remember doing. Guess I woke up dying of heat haha.
How do you stay cool at night?
The fan!
What do you do during your workout time?
Jumping jacks, squats, and a tonnnnn of stretching. Guess who can touch their toes now. . . ME! Miracle of miracles.
Do you need more journals? If so, which ones?
I've almost finished one of each (the black hardback for church and the tan soft cover for daily) I think I have more church journals but I will probably need more of both since I write a ton haha
Are there interesting cultural things that people do there that we don't? Kiss to greet one another? Things like that.
Everyone kisses on the cheek to greet each other. and just a lot of little things are different: the way they clean the house, the fact that lunch is the biggest meal (oh and here EVERYONE sleeps after lunch. Literally everyone. It's like a ghost town, just us and the sun beating down haha
Have you eaten anything strange yet?
Not anything super strange, just fish one time that I was not a fan of, but I ate it all anyways.
Are you getting tan or burnt? haha Are you using sunscreen?
Tan as can be. Using sunscreen every day, but I think the sun is just ignoring my sunscreen.
Where is Sister Garcia from?
Sao Paulo!
How long has she been out?
Almost 9 months.
Do you get along with all the sisters in your house?
Yes yes! (more on this in my general)
Did you get your Christmas package or other package yet?
No packages yet, but we haven't gotten any mail from the escritorio [mom note: office] since the big zone conference
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