Alrighty family this was the week when the food actually
approached the border of sketchtow and in all honesty, I have been pretty surprised
with how normal all the meals are here. My mission stories with food will be
pretty disappointing compared to those of Mason Douglass who (and I have NO
IDEA how I remember this) ate literal BLOOD SAUSAGE - which is essentially just
a ziploc-like sac filled with just straight animal blood. BUT that changed with
the cow tongue that an irmã (sister) brought for
us for almoço on terça (lunch on Tuesday), which
actually has really great flavor, but when you're thinking about the fact you
are using your own tongue and tasting something that also used to taste things…
life gets a little weird.
But this week our apartment gained a newbie from the MTC -
Sister Hernandez de Columbia! It’s so weird having her living with us and
watching all the ways that she reacts to things, because it's like I am
reliving the first few weeks of my mission all over again. Like we are all
sitting eating and talking together about the craziness of the day or the funny
things that happened and she just looks at me and goes "wait, can you
actually understand everything they are saying?"
And I was like of course!
Wait.
OH MY GOSH I CAN.
Like and it wasn't even something that was weird for
me to be having that conversation with them or something that I had even
thought about. When the change happened from just being completely overwhelmed
with the fact that I couldn't understand a single word to being able to have
actual continuous thoughts and strung together words in a phrase, it's really
amazing. I realized that sometimes I am not even thinking the sentences I want
to say in English anymore (which is sometimes a really BAD idea) but it was a
moment that I was really able to appreciate how far I have come and the ways
that I have grown in the mission this past transfer, not only with the language
but with a wider perspective of the people and what it means to be a missionary.
But she has really been amazing and I made her some American style pancakes for
her first day (really simple - banana, egg, ground up oats, cinnamon, and a
little salt) and with this homemade maple syrup and she LOVED IT.
It's also pretty funny to talk with her because we'll be
like um do you have that green thing (dust pan)? What's this called? I have no
idea but in Spanish it’s ...."
Wow I love the exposure you have with other cultures on a mission.
Every country just expresses themselves in a unique way and I am really
starting to appreciate the core ideals that my companions have because of where
they live. They don't have a "this is mine, this is yours" mindset -
they just share everything because everyone is your family. They really are so
selfless at times with everything- money, food and just so expressive and
direct with how they feel, it's just really profound you know?
Ahh I'm running out of time so I will just bullet point the
rest:
- had a surreal experience teaching a swarm of 8 little
girls under the age of 12 on the cobblestone street curb. When they saw us
coming, they came running and screaming and giggling, hugging me and saying
"OI! (Ela é Americano!!)" And we had the opportunity to teach them
about Christ being baptized and they were all just like, "I want to follow
Christ! I want to be baptized like Him!!" And after they all wanted me to
speak English and so I 'translated' all of their names into English and they
all went crazy it was the cutest thing. It was like being overwhelmed with a
swarm of puppies :)
AHH MEU CORAÇÃO (Ahh my heart).
-Short thought about something that really hit me this
week:
We have really been so blessed in our lives, but we just
become accustomed to it. I was fasting this week for the ability to know how it
was that I could improve, to better understand the needs of the people around
me so that I might be able to help them. But something that really hit me as a
response came in the simple word: talents. And how important it is that we are
not only developing our talents, but that we are also sharing them with other
people. I thought about a singer who was like REALLY amazing right, but the
only times that she would sing was in the bathroom for just herself. If only
one person benefits from the profound feelings and emotions that come from the
skill, what is the point of that amazing ability? We are on earth to help and
lift one another, but we have all been given different abilities that make us
unique. It should be exciting to share something we love with those around us,
when we teach or perform or smile - we ourselves feel uplifted too.
Don't be afraid to share your talents, or to acknowledge
when you really need to rely on the abilities of someone else.
We need to lose the mindset of "this is mine, and that
is yours" and really share those things that we cherish the most with
those around us - I really learned the importance of that this week.
COM MUITO AMOR (with much love),
