So apparently in Portugues, NOT ONE WORD ever ends with the
sound of 'n' (or a lot of hard consonants like in English) and so every time
that I try to describe what my name is people have the hardest time. They
legitimately can't form the 'n', AND all of their names end with a lift at the
end (sorry a little hard to describe) but all are super fluid and connected
like French. So when it comes to my name Anne Marie people usually get
flustered and confused and usually turns into a very beautiful "ahh.. so
it's Am Murry???" Which just gets a lot of pitiful glances. #smhmom
#callmeMarialikeeveryoneelsenexttimepls
Had a pretty hard-stopping experience this week with my
companion on the way back from a meeting with our new ward mission leader, who
by the way lives about a 45/50 minute walk from our apartment.. at 9 at night..
with no one around.. around the borders of the arena Das Dunas
(Look it up! It
was built for the World Cup one year and is shaped with one overhang taller
than the other to catch and circulate the winds that blow in from the sea to
cool down everyone inside).. which is a place where at least 2 other duplas (pairs) of
sisters have been robbed in the past, one with $600 OFLEGIT AMERICAN MONEY IN
HER BAG #smh #americanas. So we are walking with a little urgency, right and we
are crossing this little street, when we see this moto that pulls a little U-ey
and turns his bike towards us waiting with this giant black helmet and the only
thing visible is this cheshire cat bright white smile. I'm like wow okay lets
go - lets go - lets go and we turn to rush by and he's saying something but I
really just have a little bit of pure blind panic and adrenaline pumping
through my body right. But my companion starts walking TOWARDS HIM and I'm like
what are you DOING - and it turns out that the words he had been saying were
"I'm a bishop, I'm a bishop, I'm a bishop."
Well you could have said that little EARLIER my buddy.
But it turns out that he served in the same home ward in São
Paulo that my companion lived in, and that he had moved here with his family
after the mission and it was crazy because AS a missionary, he had passed
lunches in her house - and here she was, in HIS home area, serving a mission. God really is amazing sometimes and if there's one thing I have really
gained a testimony of so far, it's that He is SO aware of every single one of
us on a very individual level.
I don't remember exactly where (and sorry I forgot my Book
of Mormon) but I was reading Alma 33 and it talked about how important it is
that we always remember that, and that we are always aware of Him and talking to
Him throughout the day - in our work, when we retire to our rooms, and the
verse that I really love is when the prophet is praising God in His mercy and
to paraphrase-
"How merciful is the Lord because He heard MY clamors
amongst his congregation".
I thought about the fact that if all of sudden I was unable to
talk to Him, that I never prayed or was allowed to have Him know the thoughts
and desires, or just the really hard things that no one else really wants to
listen to of my heart. I don't think I had ever felt so alone or more lost
just at the thought of never having Him there to listen to me through it all.
We are so lucky that we have a Father in heaven who listens to us, loves us no matter how
much we fall short despite our efforts to do things right and that the reason
that He has this mercy on us IS because of the Savior.
Always try to keep the One who cherishes you more than any
other thing in this world close to your heart and I promise that you will have
the strength to carry on through those problems and things that feel too much
to bear. Man I wish I had more time to tell you about some of the amazing
people I met this week, but really know that there's nothing more important in
this life than showing love and gratitude for those we love and He who loves us
most.
SHARE THE LOVE OF THE SAVIOR WITH EVERYONE. PLS.
Muito Amor<3
Sister Staheli
