Tuesday, April 20, 2010

In Sao Paulo Brazil...first letter

SAO PAULO LDS TEMPLE



Hello everyone!!!!

Wowowowoowowowowow!! That is the first thing I will say. The keyboard is a bit different so if i mess up, just ignore it. I have 17 min to write everything in the world- pressure!! Well i guess my shift key isnt working either, so this will all be one huge paragraph.
Well my flight stuff was crazy- my flight was delayed at the gate and I missed my flight to Sao Paulo. I had to stay overnight in Atlanta and the day with Brittany Sweetwood Cushman and her family. It was sooooo nice of them to help me out!
I LOVE THE MTC!! I haven’t felt that it is overwhelming or anything at all! But I am waiting for that moment... ugh. Let me quickly tell you about everything here. My companions are soo wonderful! We all get along, and help each other out. The mtc (Missionary Training Center) here is pretty nice. Food- every meal has rice and beans. EVERY MEAL. Which I love, so not a big deal. They always have fruit, mostly watermelon and papaya, and some weird native fruits that I haven’t figured out how to eat. The fruit juices are GREAT, and of course the Guarana is wonderful. If you haven’t tried it, try it. :)
I’m seriously having a mini heart-attack trying to type as much as I can right now.. ugh. We always have rolls and butter, and usually some meat stuff. Sometimes it’s weird; I just share with people so I don’t waste food. But I’m pretty sure I’ll gain weight here from the rolls and stuff, so no worries. Every night we have a snack which is always chocolate milk and some sort of sweet bread or rolls. (Andrea would love it!)
I hear my mission, Joao Pessoa, is wonderful! Everyone tells me that people just come up to you in the streets and ask to be baptized, it’s crazy! (That reminds me- I call my companions, seester, all the time, and they laugh)
Our schedule is so crazy. Every minute is scheduled- every minute. We never really have time to relax. We have class for 3 hours at time, and its loooong. We also have gym, companion study, personal study, district (which is just my class- 5 elders and 3 of us sisters) and more.
I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful it is that I studied Portuguese before my mission. I can understand most of what people are saying, and I am learning soo quickly. The other people in my district don’t know anything or just a little, but I can very simply talk to the Brazilians here and get by. It is so comforting and really helpful to know the amount that I know.
I am learning so much every day too! We already are pretty much expected to be praying in Portuguese, and have to bear our testimonies tomorrow in Portuguese. Wow! I love it.

This afternoon we are going to go outside and shop a little, and look around. I will take pictures. I can only take pictures on prep day, ugh. But O well! I am so sorry that this is so scattered, maybe I will be a little more put together next week. I love you all so much. Hopefully these pictures will work. I will try to write personal stuff next week. I miss you and pray for you a ton!


2 comments:

tricki_nicki said...

Oh my goodness Sister Stephanie! You already look like a total pro missionary! I'm so dang excited for you and can't wait to hear more about your awesome experiences. Don't fall asleep in class! ;)

Julie said...

Jenni is friends with Brittany too! Such a small world! I think we made that connection once, but you didn't tell me that was the friend who picked her up from the airport so I am guessing you forgot the connection too! She looks happy!