Week 15

Wow this week has flown by! Anyone else feel that way?!! It´s already the 10th of October! What the heck 😱 

I´ve got some funny things to share, and some spiritual things to share with yall!

Funny first! So this week I taught Sister C. Silva, and the other Sisters in Guarapuava how to prounounce "Sister Councill" in a Southern accent and it was the funniest thing. They sort of got it. Not really actually, but man it was hilarious to hear them practicing. I really hope my Portuguese isn´t like that when I practice XD 

I mentioned in another letter that we run a LOT to catch the bus. Well, this week was the same! We are currently working in an area that is about a 2 hour walk from our apartment, so obviously we take the bus. Well the bus leaves around :30 of every hour. The bus ride back is around 15-20 min.  Every night we are supposed to return to our apartments at 9, or 9:30 at the LATEST. So if we miss the 8:30 bus, we´re pretty much in trouble..... Wednesday night we were having a lesson, and as always we were running a little late. 8:25 rolled around and we still needed to finish the lesson and have a prayer!!! After we finished, we were running from the house to bus stop, but the bus passed right by us and the lady driving motioned for us to go to the next one. SO for literallly 4 or 5 blocks we were completely sprinting in order to get to the next bus stop before the bus left again. I don´t know if any of you have ever had to actually RUN for a purpose- besides sports- but man it is so terrifying! My heart was pounding so fast and my mind was thinkin in 100000000 miles per hour. 😂😂😂  BUT we made the bus, and made it back to our apartment by 9.  Deus nos ama!

OH AND GUESS WHAT???? We have a baptism set for the 22 of this month. PLEASE pray for Elizandro and Paula!!! They are wonderful and I seriously love them so much, and oh man. Happiness.

This week I will go to Curitiba because my companion has a leadership meeting, so if any of you have sent me letters in the past 3 or so weeks I should get them!!! WOOHOOOO🎉🎊

Oh also one more funny thing. Brasil has TONS OF DOGS. Like in the streets, in homes, in yards, just basically everywhere. One day this week I decided to count how many I saw in 2 hours. Wanna guess? 37!!!!! In 2 hours! It´s crazy. 

And now for the best part! My spiritual experience. 😇

So my companion Sister C. Silva is Brasilian. She speaks 0 English. We haven´t struggled to communicate or anything, but it is a huge contrast to my first companion who spoke a ton of English to me! At the same time, I only have 3 more weeks of my 12 week training, and I still dont feel like Ive gotten a good grip on Portuguese. The beginning of this last week I was pretty discouraged with my language learning abilities. For some time, at the back of my head I had been thinking, "man I really want a priesthood blessing, BUT in English, so I can understand it all."  It turns out that my companion had also been struggling with some things, understandably because she is in a new area, with a new companion and has a new leadership calling!  One morning we both jsut broke down and cried together and talked about how we were feeling (life tip: if you want to break the ice with someone, jsut cry with them XD ). She said she wanted a blessing of comfort and I decided I did to, whether it was English or not. So Tuesday night we went to the house of a member in this Branch and each received a blessing of comfort. I understood almost every word he said, and even more I felt the Spirit. I truly know that it was a blessing from God, not President Loustoza. My testimony of the Priesthood (the power of God, given to men to act in His name) has been strengthened. It is incredible to me how whether you are in the United States, Brasil, Taiwan, Jordan... it is the same Priesthood! It is the same because it is of God! It is a witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the fully restored church that Christ established.

I know this to be true. 

President Loustoza before he gave me the blessing said some things that I´d like to share with yall. He said, paraphrasing, "this time right now will soon be another page in the book of your mission.. God called you here to Brasil because He knew you could do it- Remember that God strengthens those He calsl."  Those words were a huge comfort and strenght to me. And I know if any of you are in a point in your lives right now that is really difficult, you can find comfort in those words as well!  Every trial passes, and each trial we go through is for a reason- sometimes only God knows that reason, but He gives us our trials to make us stronget- and HE WILL help. Because He loves us. 

AND I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I miss you all tons and tons, but I know I´m where I´m supposed to be and doing what I´m supposed to be doing,

xo Sister Councill