Brazil Won

Well another week has come and gone. I have to say the weeks are starting to go by really fast. The field is great! I guess you heard that the package arrived in the mission office. I haven´t gone to get it yet, I will today, but thank you for sending it. I look forward to the chocolate that shuold be inside I hope??? :) Also if you want to send a mission ties letter I will for sure get it next week because we have to come back to Sao Paulo for transfers. I am kind of sad to be losing my comp. Eu vou matar minha mae! or "I´m going to kill my mom" as they say on the mission. She has been a great trainer and I have learned a lot from her. I am excited to get a new comp and to learn new things from her as well, but there is always that twinge of apprehension like what if she does things completely differently or I cant understand her Portuguese at all! Either way I know it will be inspired and it will be great. If I stay in Laranjeiras though, its a little intimidating to think that I will be the only one who knows people and the area!

This week we did divisions with another dupla (that's what we call companionships here) of sisters. It was pretty cool. I went to another area, Progresso, with an American, Sister Knudsen, who only has four more months than me. I think she was pretty nervous to be the "senior comp" for two days since neither of our Portugese is ya know perfect. But I thought it was a great experience for both of us to learn. And I just compared it to when Sister Przybyla and I were thrown in downtown Sao Paulo and expected to communicate with people! haha. Sister Knudsen was part of the legendary "Mega District" of visa waiters in the Provo MTC--THREE MONTHS!! oh man. Anyway she is all about letter of the law and strict obedience. Needless to say she was a little shocked when she got here. Funny how the CTM prepares you for the field in more ways than one ;) She is way cute though, we had a lot of fun together. Their area is a lot different than ours. People have a lot of money and no time to talk two American missionaries that's for sure. For example we made a street contact with a lady who gave us her address and Sister K was shocked, she told me that never happens. We must be pretty lucky, or Sister Ribeiro must speak good Portuguese cuz we haven't been turned down yet in our area! Just different. It was a good learning experience. We had lunch in a mansion too. I am not even kidding. The house was soooooooooo nice and I was stunned! The food was spectacular and one of the ladies spoke English (I love it when that happens) and she lived in New Zealand for a while and she knows Lanae Fisk! Cool huh! I forgot her name. Dang. But she is going to contact Lanae on facebook and let her know. But what are the odds? the world is so small in the church!

Brazil played in the World Cup for the first time on this day too. We tried to do something productive but the world absolutely shuts down and the city was a ghost town. So we went back to her apartment and cleaned. I wanted to take a nap, but I knew that wouldn't fly. haha. We could tell Brazil won when the city literally ERUPTED in one enormous cheer. It was insane!!!!!!! I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. haha. My favorite part was at the end of the day when we went to an appointment with a man named Renato. We were to teach him the second lesson and I thought for as little time as we have been in Brazil we did pretty well!! I was impressed. At the end of the lesson he told us that he really liked the teachings and doctrines of our church but he had one problem. He wanted to know why the missionaries don't teach with the Spirit for he felt nothing during our lesson. He said if felt as though we were nervous and didn't really know how to teach well....WOW slap in the face! We explained we did the best we could with our broken Portuguese! I think it hurt Sister K´s feelings but I just laughed about it! I guess its a good learning experience! I always hope that even though I´m not yet fluent, I can still convey the Spirit somehow. Because I truly do have a testimony of this gospel! Or else why would I be here? Its not like I am on vacation in Brazil for a year and a half. This is seriously work!!! Getting up at 6:30 every morning is a little difficult, yeah, but its worth it! We have a precious message to share with the world! So many people have so much knowledge and so many truths but we have the complete truth! Everything! We are not here to prove you wrong or correct you but simply to share more. Let us ADD to your knowledge, not take away from it. Sister Ribeiro is always so good at answering questions and doubts. She knows her Bible SOOOO well! Thats something I really want to know too. I know it will come with time and experience but during divisions lets jsut say I was very grateful for my companion! :)

What else? I teach English class every week. Its sooo fun I absoluetly LOVE it! I don't have many students but I hope more and more people will come. I am trying to think of new ways and ideas to teach to make it exciting. So many people have a desire to learn English and I feel so less than qualified to instruct anyone but its really good for my Portuguese and of course it is helping someone else too. The best way I learn of course is by song! So I teach the class everything by songs I remember from pre-school. Days of the Week, Months, etc. Its awesome! My comp knows so many random "slang" phrases I kind of feel bad, but its funny! She hears me say something and then wants to know how to say it too. So she writes it down and then says it over and over again. When the American Elders hear her they just look at me and shake their heads. Its pretty funny.

Anyway nothing else really too new to report. Things are good and I am happy. I am happy because I dont have to worry about the weather! Reading Laura and Jennas emails its so interesting! Way hot and way cold. Its perfect right now. I promised myself not to complain because I know for sure I will die in the summer here. So whatever the weather does right now is FINE by me!! Thank you for your love, support, and prayers, and chocolate! (I will be very disappointed if there isn't chocolate) hahaha. I love you guys!!! Until next week!!!

-Sister Peck