MY NEW COMPANION! Sister Neves! She is so very cool. She is sassy, has a lot of spirit, teaches with a LOT of power. I am learning so much from her (including how to dance the Samba and COOK Brazilian food! And how to tell horror stories in Portuguese (which end up being WAY more funny then scary.))
Haha! Right after I took this picture she said, "Sister, I am very ugly right now and if you send that picture to your Mom, I will kill you......."HEHE I'M SENDING IT LOLOLOL! Don't worry, she says stuff like that all the time. She is hilarious and hates cats. She says in Brazil they would eat cats. You can imagine how horrified Paulo Jorge was when he heard this, he lives with about 20 cats that he calls his "criancas". (His children.) =D
Sometimes I find weird fruits that I have never tried before in the US and I buy them. One of them was this. I don't remember the name of it but it was like a flat peach. I affectionally named them our "teething rings".......they were really good, kinda tasted like an apricot inside. I title this picture, "My Georgia peaches!"
My letter home:
I HIT MY 7 MONTH MARK! WHOOOOO
This week has been really interesting. Sister Neves doesn’t know
this area at all, so I have to kinda lead us around. I was really nervous
before because I have never really been the one to drive this car we call
missionary work, but it has been going great! We haven’t gotten lost a single
time! This week I have realized a bunch of things I have learned and that I am
learning out here on the mission. Here is a quick list:
-How to read a map! Before my mission I would look at a map,
laugh, and whip out my iphone with GPS. But now I can use a map with ease, look
at it and imagine the street in my mind. It’s incredible!
-Cook! My new companion is teaching me the basics of how to
cook. She said that she has been cooking meals for her family since she was 14
years old. She knows alllll the spices and whatnot (haha the first day she came
to our house she went through all the spices and threw away about half of them
that had gone bad and had mold. oopsy, I didn’t even realize!) She is a master
at Brasilian meats and beans and rice and all the good stuff. :P
-Clean! You would not believe the gross stuff that gets
accumulated in a house of missionaries. We live in kind of a temporary
mentality, like "what’s the point of unpacking, I will leave in 6
weeks" or "what’s the point of cleaning the fridge, I will just let
the next missionaries clean that up." The result? A HUGE ACCUMULATION OF
ABOUT 1000 PLASTIC BAGS FROM THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE HIDDEN IN THE CLOSET! Cmon
people! Are we animals? Clean up what you get out! Ja heez! ( imagine that in
the voice of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite)
-Power through being awkward! Many times in life, when people
feel awkward, they shut down or run away. Heads up friends, missionary work is
the most awkward thing I have ever done in my life! But we just have to power
through and be cooler than that.
I had such an overwhelming feeling of fulfillment this week when
Joana was confirmed. She received the GIFT of the Holy Ghost. This means that
from now on, if she is following the commandments and keeping her covenants,
she has the PROMISE from the Lord that the Holy Spirit will be with her. It was
a great opportunity for me to see her smile afterwards with her teary eyes. She
really is so special. And in the same day she went up to the pulpit and shared
her very first testimony with everyone. I felt like a happy mommy watching my
child go to their first day of school. Joana has such a strong testimony
already. She is already so integrated into the ward, is already one of the
youth. She is attending seminary and cleaning the church and coming to English
classes and everything. I love her so much. I will never forget her, and I
totally teared up when she said in her testimony that "We thank God
everyday that the sisters were sent to our house."
One thing that I like a lot that my Dad wrote on my blanket
(before my mission my mom made me a quilt, a lot of you signed it. I use it
everyday! I love it so much and all my comps think it is adorable!) He said
"You never have to be embarrassed. The people who reject you will forget
you. The people who accept you will LOVE YOU FOREVER!" I testify that this
is true. We never have to be afraid of rejection. This work is bigger than
that.
I know that this church is true. I will NOT give heed when
people try to convince me I am wrong everyday. I have seen the changes happen
in people’s lives. I have witnessed miracles. I have witnessed hearts change. I
know that to gain this certainty, every single one of us has to get on our
knees and ask the One person who knows everything. There is no other way to
know.
I love you all with all my heart! You are in my prayers!
Sister Quincey Barron
