Brazil - Week 4

So this week hasn't been that intersting...

Monday- We really just layed around the house and cleaned and then emailed. It was relaxing.
Tuesday- I stayed home with Sister Damasceno because she was sick. I really just studied all day and took a nap. It was really good to have more personal study time. I have found that I really like personal study. This time I studied about the Plan of Salvation and a little about the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson. I didn't know that baptism was symbloic of the death and ressurection of Christ. It was really cool to find out! :)
Wednesday- We taught this lady who has a 3 month old baby and is married....and she is 17!!! Brazil really is a whole new world!
Thursday- We had a district meeting and practiced starting lessons. Sister Carvalho was my companion for this and it was really good to practice even though I am really bad at conversation still!! Ugh.
Friday- I was companions with Sister Damasceno today because the other sisters were needed in another area to help the sisters there. So Sis. D and I visited my invest. Maria (who had a baptism date but wouldn't ever go to church) with a member named Lidia. Sadly if Maria doesn't come Sunday we will have to drop her. :(
Saturday- The other sisters baptised a mother and daughter. It was really cool to see and hear a baptism in Portuguese! But I just wish some of my invest. would get baptised. :(
Sunday- So the mother and daughter were confirmed today. It was great, they are so happy. :) But Maria didn't come to church. But another invest. did, his name is Clovis....he played on his phone like the whole time.  We really can't teach him because he lives alone. :| OH crazy story time!!!!! Minha nossa (Goodness!) it was the scariest thing!!! So Sis L and I were walking down a road heading for a home of a reference and I saw this man go into his house but he didn't lock the gate (side note: in Brazil people have a gate in front of their houses and they always lock it, it is very rare to see an open gate). So as we walked past I glanced over and the man was ON THE GROUND HAVING A SEIZURE!!! So I grabbed Sister Luca's arm and she looked over and started yelling for someone to help and 3 ladies ran over and called 911 (idk what #s in Brazil...) and then another guy ran over and started to help. And then the seizure guy starts getting up and they try and stop him but he gets up anyway and has to lean on the guy and a lady because he can't stand on his own. And while this i going on Sister Luca and I went across the treet to a members house to find a preisthood holder but he wasn't there so we called the ward mission leader who lives close by but he was at work so we are like "oh my goodness!!!" and then seizure guy kinda comes to and starts hitting them!! So the lady backs off and the guy kinda does but trys to help still and the seizure guy KICKS HIM in the shin!! So the guy backs off out of the gate and tells us to back off too so we all do and eventually the guy just walks into his house like nothing happened!!! But I think later the guy came back and took siezure guy to the hospital. It was the CRAZIEST thing!!! Minha nossa.

Monday- So I will include today because it is almost over anyway...So Sisters Carvalho and Luca are going to Dorados(where SIS Puckett is!) to check on them and so I am with Sister D and we went to Banderiantes to hang out with the other sisters and a member in their ward does massages professionallly and she OFFERED TO GIVE US ONE!! It was soooo great!!!! <3

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Sister Emma Marion

One month in Brazil

Sister Marion and Sister Damasceno

Sister D is like a ward missionary but serving with full time sisters.  Currently there are about 15 sisters in the Cuiaba mission, but I'm told that by October there will be 30!!  Sister Luca and Carvalho are equivalent to Zone Leaders.  They train the sisters in the mission.  Sister Luca is Emma's assigned companion. 

Brazil- Week 3

Woo hoo!! Halfway through a transfer!!! I decided when I got here that I would be able to speak Portuguese after the first transfer....pray for me!! BUT here is my week!!

Monday- This is where my feet problem started. On the way home on the bus (we were far from home) I started having a lot of pain in my left foot. Like when I would take pressure off I would almost start crying- and I have a high pain tolerance! It was bad and so I told Sister Luca that we need to call Presidente because my feet hurt really bad. So we went straight home and I couldn't really explain what was going on to Sister Luca but we called Sister Reber (she is in charge of the sisters) and I explained to her what was going on with my feet and she told Presidente and he said that it could wither be tendonitis or and infection in a blister and that I should go to the Dr just in case and to take 2 ibprofen with every meal (for pain and incase of tendonitis) so I am. And when Sister Carvalho (she speaks English!) returned for the night I explained my pain and what Sister Reber said and she explained it in Portuguese to the other sisters.

Tuesday- Sister Carvalho took me to the Dr and we made an appointment for the next morning. Nothing else really happened that day.

Wednesday- I went to the Dr and she said that there was nothing wrong with my feet and that my problem was because of the material of my shoes and the fact that I am pidgeon toed. She explained that my feet want to roll in and my shoes are trying to fix that and it is causing blisters because I walk all day. She says she wants me to get new shoes with inserts to help my feet, so we went to the insert place and they said that my pidgeon toedness starts in my knees, like my knees are turned in and I don't have a space between them, and inserts are 90 Reals (Reals are double American $s). So we called Sister Reber and she said that Presidente will be in Campo Grande in 2 weeks and he wants to look at my feet before I do anything else. So we are waiting for him. But going to the Dr was a good oportunity to talk about the plan of salvation!! We gave the Dr the PoS pamphlet!! Haha! :)

Thursday- I was senior companion and with Sister Damasceno today because sister Luca and sister Carvalho had STL stuff to do, but it was really fun!! (Senior companion because I am the "real" missionary.) But Sister Damascenno is goofy and motherly at the same time!! Its crazy!! :) But we taught this lady in Sister Damasceno's area and it was really awesome!

Friday- I stayed with sister freitas in her area because she is having womanly issues really bad and couldn't work today so I stayed in their apartment all day with her. It was fun! We just talked about our families and such and we practiced teaching. It really helped a lot!! :)

Saturday- We had an activity at the church with the members, it was fun. We just talked and played a scripture game and then some people sang karokee while we ate. Haha!! But none of our investigators came. It was a sad time. :(

Sunday- So none of our investigators came to church either. It is really a let down. But after church we visited the less active and there was this one lady and no one from the church had visited her in 20 yrs!!!!! How sad is that!!!! And another has no doubt that the church is true but he doesn't like the dicipline? What? And one lady had doubts about the BoM after her baptisim. It is really sad to see these people who felt so clean and happy during their baptism but after doesn't believe anymore! Ughhhhh..... :(

So I hope all is well there. Dad, no more wrecks!! Okay?? And we have one baptism date but she won't come to church!! So they are not progressing very well right now. Its really sad. Especially when I can't understand them to try and help them!! :( Mom, I don't know what I need right now shoes wise because I need to wait for Presidente but socks won't help because it is so hot and I could wear closed toed but I like the sandals better, but I will have more of an idea what I need after I talk to Pres. Reber.

Eu Amo Vocês!!!

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Sister Emma Marion

Campo Grande, Brazil - Week 2 (BEST Mother's Day EVER!!!)

Tuesday- I left Cuiabá at 7pm and had a 11 hour bus ride! On the bus I had a companion whose name I cannot spell but I told you about her last night...she is really sweet even though I can't really understand her. Oh super cool part is while we were on the bus we passed though like a deserted area (like just fields of grass and trees) and because there was no lights around there were SO many stars!! It was the coolest thing ever!! I LOVED it!!! It was soooo pretty!! I wish I could have taken a picture but it was too dark for a camera. Maybe Dad's camera would work but not mine. :(

Wednesday- I arrived in Campo Grande and met Sister Luca and Sister Carvalho(<--portuguese for oak! haha). Sister C knows some english so she helps me when I really just cannot understand and tells me what food is what sometimes...mostly the english name for fruits...and we always have lunch with them too so thats good for me. So they picked us up and we rode the bus home and unpacked a bit and went tracting. The other sisters are new to the area too so we need new investigators.

Thursday- Nothing exciting happened. Lots of walking...oh but we got 3 new investigators! So thats cool!! ;)

Friday- We got another investigator and it was really cool because she stopped us while we were walking down the road and told us that other missionaried gave her daughter the restoration pamphlet and she thought it was cool so we taught her the first lesson and I helped teach!! Woo hoo!! And I got to recite the 1st vision!! It was awesome!! :)

Saturday- It was kinda an off day and we didn't really get much people but we were walking and I saw this old lady bent over scraping up leaves with her hands and we walked past but I had this strong feeling I needed to offer to help her, like really though, two healthy young women can't just walk by like that..especially when they are sister missionaries! So I went back and offered to help but she turned me down and we started talking and turns out her son or grandson (can't remember) is a member and he was there so we talked with him and turns out he isn't active anymore and has made some bad decisions and so sister luca talked to him about coming back to church adn repentance and such, it was cool!

Sunday- Church! I bore my testimony again because the Bispo asked me to. Then after that we had lunch with a member and her daughter (there is a picture of us) then we went to the Bispo's house and I SAW YOU!!! <3

We have now come full circle!!  ;) Haha!!
Eu amo voces!!!!
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Sister Emma Marion

Emma was able to Skype us for Mother's Day!  What a wonderful, amazing Mother's Day gift!!  We had told her that we were not getting enough information from her about her area or companion, so this is what she sent us.  Sure love that kid!!

                          -Cindy

MTC Sisters

Sister Kimball (MTC Companion) & Sister Marion

Roommates

Brazilian Words of Wisdom from Sister Marion - Week 1

1. People drive crazy and motorcycles rule the roads. The police don't pull people over so you have to be really careful when you have to cross the street because you will.
2. The buses are like the Knight Bus on Harry Potter, so be warned!!
3. Bring a backpack. Satchels hurt your shoulders when you are walking all day with scriptures.
4. Keep water on you because it is HOT.
5. While you are home walk everyday. Maybe even in a sauna, because that is what it feels like.
6. Bring lots of garments because you will shower every night.
7. Sisters: Bring a lot of comfortable clothes that you can sweat in and be fine yet fashionable.
8. Bring really comfortable shoes!!
9. Have a missionary tag clip because the magnetic one will fall off and the pin one makes holes in your shirts. (you can get this at the MTC or at the office in your mission.)
10. Get the biggest suitcases you can, because small ain't gonna cut it!!

This is my wisdom in my 1 week here! I will share more wisdom every week!!

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Sister Emma Marion

I made it to BRAZIL!!!

This blog thing is new to me, and I'm behind in posting MTC things, so I'm not going to try to "catch up" with this blog, but I will post some of Emma's letters & pictures from the MTC.

After a LONG traveling day, Emma made it to Brazil.  We had not heard from her all week.  I finally emailed Sister Reber (mission president's wife, pictured here).  She told me that Emma and Sister Puckett (her travel companion and MTC roomie) arrived 2 hours after the rest of the new incoming missionaries, so Emma did not have a chance to email us.  Her first area is in Cuiabá.  Sister Reber reported to me that her and Pres. Reber visited a ward in Cuiabá and was able to hear Emma bear her sweet testimony in sacrament meeting.  She told me that Emma did very well!  Mondays are P-day and she should be able to email us on Mondays!

Pictures

The District: all but 2 are going to Cuiabá Brazil.