Week 12 - Um Bravo Staheli é um Fluente Staheli

Ok something I learned in my first few weeks is that Brasileiros use the word 'bravo' a LOT. And at first, I thought it was just one of those words like 'cereal' and just meant brave or something. But with the amount of times they said it and the intensity didn't really make sense (kind of like I thought they were saying açai all the time but it was really 'sair' which means 'to leave' lol). So I came to find out that when Brasileiros say "Você fica bravo quando..." it actually means "You get ANGRY when..." 

Now for the tagline of the week. 

So you know how we have that recent convert José right.. the one who was praying about which missionary to marry? Well we think that he um "received" an answer. At first it wasn't very obvious but this guy is calling us ALL the time, ALL hours of the night just to see how we are doing, he knows when and where we go to email our families, he ALWAYS has the elder missionaries over at his apartment, and he is VERY involved in the lives of the missionaries right. So when we finish teaching Luca all of the lessons that he needs to learn before he is baptized (which honestly has been one of the most tender, fun experiences of my entire life - Rachel I taught him our handshake I hope that's okay) and we had a baptism service all set and ready for Sunday after church. Beleza. (Beautiful) But the thing is, José continues to call us and set up more lessons with Luca, even though we really have nothing left to teach and Luca REALMENTE (really) KNOWS TUDO (all). So we are sitting in one of the lessons and José says, "So I don't think that Luca is ready to be baptized this Sunday. I think that he needs AT LEAST another week of lessons" - and this is coming from a guy that knows that as soon as we finish teaching his son that we won't have an excuse to come by as much. So we sit there for more than an HOUR trying to convince José and understand what he is thinking or why Luca is not ready and boy, that man pulled every excuse I have ever heard. But the one that REALLY killed me was "I don't think that Luca is keeping his compromissos (commitments).  He is not praying morning and night or reading the Book of Mormon with real intent to find an answer." 

THIS IS A 9 YEAR OLD KID WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. 

And the thing is, this week was transfers so we know that Sister Carvalho was going to be transferred to a new area because she has been here forever and this was her LAST weekend.  I get home that night and I am just so frustrated. We are trying to explain what happened to the other sisters in our apartment and I am just RAPID FIRING. 

SISTER STAHELI FICA BRAVO right. And all of my companions are just dying because apparently I had literally NO ACCENT, and spoke like a literal Brasileiro; it was INSANE. I guess all it takes for me to learn this language is to be angry - dicas (tips) anyone? ;) But it was hard because we bore our testimonies about the importance of sacrifice and about faith. How we don't have to have a perfect knowledge, a concrete, physical, tangible stepping stone to take the first step. My District leader (who was also there - we had an intervention of CINCO missionaries there to teach José - we don't mess around when it comes to people's salvation folks) asked José:

"José, are you the same person that you were when you were baptized 2 months ago?"

And of course José says, "Well, no."

And Lugem goes on to talk about how if we always sit and wait for the perfect circumstances, a perfect knowledge of what is going to happen or how things are going to change, then nothing will ever happen. It was BECAUSE of the fact that José decided to be baptized that he was able to grow. With that first step into the slightly unknown, it is scary because the unknown is something that we don't always have control over. But where would he be without that act of faith is the real question. And the thing is, the unknown doesn't have to always be so scary because we aren't meant to do it on our own. The amazing thing about each individual is that you already have someone who knows the path to ultimate happiness before you even when you can't, and He is doing everything He can to help you find your steps forward. Heavenly Father uses people around us, He uses the scriptures and the words of our Prophets and leaders, and especially, He uses the Spirit to help us discover the joy in the unknown in our lives. Each person is placed in a life that God has prepared for you and has placed us in the paths of others to help love and guide each other back home to Him. And that we really have to act FIRST in order to grow, even if all the other logistics aren't perfect you know?

That moment I realized that there was no reasonable thing we could say that would ever be able to convince José to let Luca be baptized. It was just the simple act of reminding him of the testimony he had and letting the spirit speak to his heart in a way he could not deny. 

Guess who was baptized at 6:15 at night in the quickest most unconventional yet beautiful service I have ever attended?

Guess who lead the music without a piano and so had to sing the first line solo so that everyone knew the tune and then stayed up for the spiritual thought and then took all the pictures and then cut the cake all because it was her first baptism?

You already know. 

God is good guys. The spirit is one powerful witness. 

MUITO AMOR, 

Sister Staheli

 

Week 11 - OH MY GOODNESS THIS WEEK WAS CRAZY

We had divisions with this other dupla this week and Sister Carvalho, who has been in the area for the past 4 MONTHS, switched with another missionary that has literally 10 days (!!!) left in the mission and the crazy thing is that this new sister and my other companion Sister Soares were actually companions in the MTC. So there was me and two sisters that will both be home in less than 3 weeks - if you also thought this meant there was less for me to do, you and me both would be quite mistaken. They ended up putting ME in charge of all the planning of lessons and who we would visit, PHONE CALLS, and wayyy more street contacts. #IhavenoideawhatImdoing #help

You could definitely say that I learned some stuff. 

Jóse and Luca: 

So we have this recent convert Jóse who just received the gift of the Holy Ghost and he mentioned how he wanted us to teach his little 9 yr old son Luca - who is SO COOL. It has been really interesting to be able to change and adapt the way we teach the gospel in a way that Luca would understand and connect with. For example we were teaching about prophets and Sister Soares related it to superheros and asked Luca about his favorite superpower. She connected it with the fact that god calls these men and gives them this amazing power called the priesthood to act in His name and do miracles to help people. Needless to say he was totally engrossed and excited about every part, it was the coolest thing! 

Ok. Now about Jóse himself - this guy is just the happiest person who loves traveling and adventures and Tereré (which is kind of like mate that you drink with limão), but I mean this guy is REALLY friendly right. So we get a call one night from our district leader and it turns out that Jóse has actually been earnestly praying about which of the 3 of us Sister missionaries he should choose as a WIFE. And the thing is, at a first glance this guy totally looks like he is 30 maybe, but he is literally 49 and has a daughter who is 21 (!!!). It's so funny though because he is always giving us things like flowers he made from palm leaves or bracelets de amazonia (Sister Carvalho got this beefy knife I'm sure would make any boy scout jealous). It's seriously the funniest thing sometimes how different the culture is here and how something like 10, 20, THIRTY years age difference really isn't that uncommon. 

So you're beggining to understand how crazy my week has been right?

 I really gained an appreciation this week of the power of seeking the lone sheep that has wandered from the fold. I really wanted to earnestly search and learn about all the people who have been taught by missionaries in the past and also those that were baptized but don't ever come to church anymore. Luckily missionaries are really organized and we had a lot of information about these people like addresses and an occasional phone number. So with list in hand, we started knocking doors and really seeking the sheep one-by-one. We found grandmas that are really too sick to stand let alone walk 20 minutes to church or men that enjoy church well enough and the messages there but choose to work a lot on Sundays to support their family. The sad reality is that sometimes, the missionaries are the only people that ever really showed an interest or love for these people and when the missionaries leave and are transferred, these sheep fall by the wayside and are forgotten. With every person, we shared our love and testimonies about the importance of having continual faith on a daily basis, that we have to ACT on the faith that we have and make sacrifices to show God that we really love Him, and the importance and strength that comes from taking the sacrament each week. Wow it was just the most profound experience I don't even have words for it. 

It is so important that we are aware and loving with every person we see. Every person on this earth in one way or another has wandered from the fold, whether they need a friend, words of encouragement, or someone to simply acknowledge that they are there and are aware of them. God needs us to be His shepherds, to gather and love our brothers and sisters, to really be disciples of Christ. 

Try to think about a person this week you can reach out to or a small sacrifice you can do to show God how much you love Him, I promise that it will just fill your soul and give it a warm squeeze :)

As always, sending my love from Brasil (oh and pray that Jóse picks a different sister please)

MUITO AMOR, 

Sister Staheli 

9 yr old Luca

Week 10 - Gave a talk in Portuguese

Ok listen up kiddos - you know what happens when you get up and bear your testimony in Portugues? 

YOU GET ASKED TO GIVE A TALK.  ALSO IN PORTUGUES. 

So we are sitting at this member's home and Jonathan (OF COURSE his name was Jonathan) goes Sister! Your Portgues is really good! And then he kind of just mumbles and rapid fires something else and I just look at Jessie his sister (who is soon to marry a guy from Idaho) go ahhh Obrigada (thanks). But then later on I am sitting there and he just mentions something about the following sunday with a raised inflection in his voice so I KNOW something is up and I stop and go wait what? Yep amigos - foi um discurso (To give a speech or talk). Ok giving a talk in Sacrament was literally the most surreal experience in the world. My first couple of weeks in the CTM I stressed so much about every word that I was saying for our lessons, writing everything down word-for-word (BAD IDEA btw) but for Sacrament, I wanted to just be able to be myself and not be intimidated by the language. So I am up there with only a couple scattered bullet points and solid scriptures, definitely butchering the grammar and pronunciations. But instead of focusing on that, I just focused on the people in the congregation and with every pause or questioning word I kid you not - I would see like 30 encouraging smiles and nodding heads, everyone whispering 'jeso’ (I didn't find a definition other than it means affirmation)!!' when I was trying to describe the casts that my mom had to wear after her skiing accident, everyone was just SO KIND.  :') 

After, I had this family come up that was from Utah but the wife was from Brasil, traveling around to Malaysia, Australia, Japan and they were trying to speak Portugues to me but in the end they just go okay let's just speak Ingles right. BUT IT WAS THE STRANGEST THING - it was like my tongue forgot how to speak english. Like I am still thinking and writing my journal in ingles and the occasional words here and there when I don't know - but never actual sentences. I also realized that Brasileiros have a different way of expressing themselves that is COMPLETELY different than americanos and while I was speaking, I was unable to balance the two and often reverted back to the Portugues palavras (words) that have been my staple expressions the past few weeks. It's been barely 2 months (WHAT?), I already can't imagine after a year and a half.

I am seriously losing the ability to speak any language fluently at all. 

Oh my goodness though - this week we taught an ACTUAL FAMILY. We contacted this 14 year old kid in the street one night and had the opportunity to teach Eliberto, and his three younger siblings who were 12, 9, and 7 while their mother was in the kitchen in the other room making coco brigadeiro (Brazilian fudge balls). Woah. Having those little children gathered around your feet on the floor, living in just the most humble and simple of shacks that had little loving, homemade touches to make it a home - teaching about baptism and Cristo... There's never been um outro (another) experience I can compare it to in the world. All the people here already have such a faith and love of Jesus Christ - like EVERYONE, it's amazing. I have been really touched by the people in a way I can't describe - the members, people recently baptized that I never even had the opportunity to teach but have been blessed to know, the people in the streets, everyone. 

This place is just so beautiful in so many ways.

(She sent some pictures, but no context or information on the people) 

These are her 2 Brazilian companions

I think this is the worlds largest cashew tree

Week 9

This is SO COOL but I totally forgot about the fact that all the stars and constellations are different down here! We were outside last night playing basketball with a recent convert and her fam (ok my companheiras may have just cheered us on from the sidelines but still there in spirit) and it blew my mind how bright and clear the sky was. I mean here we are in a CITY with hundreds of thousands of people and from one spot, we were able to see Venus, Mars, Pluto, Saturn, and JUPITER. Man every time I look at the stars, I really appreciate how small we are when you think about the universe and everything that's in it. God has such an eye for beauty it's seriously amazing. 

But this week was of course Fast Sunday and I love that on a mission, we begin our fast the previous day. Because it really helps me appreciate what it means to prepare for the sabbath you know? You don't have to wait until you wake up on Sunday morning to feel the physical famine and spiritual feast, the spirit is already there with you to help you feel the power of the fast and the strength that comes from it. 

Ok so this fast Sunday I was sitting in the row and I was pretty comfortable right, because of all the times in my life - NOW was really the time people really wouldn't expect me to bear my testimony because claro, primeiro (clearly, first) transfer in a new country with a new language tudo bem right? But then one after the other, my companions get up to bear their testimonies and I am sitting there on the pew alone feeling a little sheepish, but still with a whole lot of fear. Then our sweet little Daniel, who is about 11 years old and who wants to be baptized but his family is against it (yet still comes to church every week #stud), leans over and says Sister, why are you not up there with the others? And his words just pierced my heart with the truth I already knew. So rather reluctantly, I plucked myself off the pew and waited my turn to bear my testimony. I can't even describe the nerves that were building up and the fear that I was feeling about not being able to express how I felt, but I was also feeling the overwhelming amount of gratitude and testimony burning inside that I knew I needed to share. So when my turn came, I stood up and did it - I bore my soul about how blessed I felt to come to this place, that even though I still have fear every time before I open my mouth that once I begin speaking, I realize that there really was nothing to be scared about in the first place. Because what am I doing when you really think about it? What should be scary or intimidating about bringing your brothers and sisters who are lost and alone, probably feeling the same fear I was, back to their loving Father in heaven? I shared a scripture about how there are angels round about you bearing you up, to have LOVE over FEAR and wow. It was a powerful experience folks - even in my far from perfect Portugues.   (She may be talking about this scripture in D&C 84:88  - And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up ).

Man everyone needs more Daniels in their life to remind them of what really matters. 

Wow this week I really saw the blessings and the hardships of life in Brasil for these people. We sat in casas that were immense and expensive, sitting by the poolside and drinking sweet suco, (juice) gazing at beautiful and priceless paintings with the servant of the house while the member was away traveling. In the same day, we sat on the doorstep of a neighborhood tucked away from everything else, the people dirty and forgotten, teaching a 15 year old girl about the gospel of Jesus Christ while her 16 year old married sister sat smoking a cigarette. Being here just blows my mind how different our circumstances are in life and how sometimes, we really have no control over the type of environment we are born into. But no matter the person or the house, I can feel the power of the love our Savior and God have for each soul. 

The gospel is one of the most amazing things in the world for this exact reason - who needs worldly things when you have the knowledge that you have a loving Father in Heaven with a very specific plan for you in your life. 

We are all so blessed. 

Sending my love across the miles amigos :)

Sister Staheli