Life in Brasil

Zone Conference 07/16/2010

Well. I´ve now complete one year of many things... I´ll make a list...

One year of washing my clothes by hand. Washing the dishes in cold water. Throughing the toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet. Speaking another language every day. Studying the scriptures at least one time everyday. Eating rice and beans (and missing them badly when I skip a day). Wearing a packpack at all times. Walking at least 5 miles everyday. Meeting at least 10 new people everyday. Waking up at 6:30 or earlier. Without a person cellphone, laptop, car, or bedroom....ummm...I can´t think of much else now...

I had a great expirience to celebrate my 1-year aniversary in the missionfield with a spectacular baptism. This girl has ben waiting for more than one year to be baptised but everytime the day arrives her mother would never sign the paper. July 22 was her 18th birthday and my 1-year aniversary and so we got to celebrate with a baptism!! Wahoo! Almost everyone in the ward was there. After one year of active church service she knew everybody and their dog and invited them all. Lol! The Sacrament room was full for the meeting and not everybody could fit in the baptismal room. It was awesome! Just some of the blessings that He will give us. I couldn´t think of a better way to celebrate 1 year.

I´m getting better at my accent. There is a place in Brasil that I have wanted to visit almost since the day I got here. It´s called the Bahia. It´s one of the more poor states of Brasil but I´ve met lots of amazing people from there. Generally they are dark skinned and black hair. When people ask me where I am from I say "The Bahia" and generally I get funny looks cause my appearance in anything but the Bahia and my accent is bad enough that they know I´m not from Brasil. (generally they think Germany, Italy, or Holland, occasionally USA) Recently however they have been accepting that answer. Maybe I´m getting bronzed by the sun or maybe my accent is getting weaker...I rooting for my accent. Lol!

We had a man talk in church this week and it was like a flash back into my childhood. Lol! Here in Brasil it is not uncommon for the people to let their children run screaming in the isles during the sacrament meeting. Reverence is one thing that Brasil has not gotten a grasp of. "Lovour" or singing praises, they´ve got that down. This man talked a bit about reverence. He said that in the begining usually the kids won´t want to stay in the Sacrament Meeting because it´s boring. He talked about how he had to take his kids out and sit in a room with them and they had to sit in his lap and wait for the meeting to finish or else return and behave. He did this with his oldest child, a son, and he didn´t have much trouble with him. Maybe 2 or 3 times they had to leave and withing 5 minutes they could go back in. Then he said with his daughter it was a different story. Many times and after 15 minutes of screaming, squirming, kicking, and punching, and 5 minutes of tired surrender they could enter the Sacrament Room again. Now imagine my parents with 7 daughters... I remember taking my turns leaving the meeting. But I learned a good lesson from it. Thanks Mom and Dad. Now-a-days you will never catch me running up and down the aisles screaming during the Sacrament Meeting.

I´m so greatful for this opportunity to serve a mission and to face trials in my life that will help me to be a better person and disciple of Christ. I know that God never forgets us and that we have the best support system ever when we will turn to the Lord and do Hiss will. Thanks for your support that you give me and I love you all bunches and bunches!

Love,
Shelle

Ups and Downs of Taboão‏

The other day I was going to the mission office with my companion. We were walking along one of the busier highways of the city. I looked in front and I noticed a group of missionaries. 2 elders and 4 sisters. I looked and Sister Pradiera (old companion on her last transfer) was with them. A huge smile split on my face and then she noticed me and the same thing happened. Then automatically we started running at each other in the slow-motion-dramatic-reunion type of run. When we got to each other we hugged and just laughed because we were ridiculous. It couldn´t have been better had we planned it. Then when we remembered we were on a busy highway we got embarassed and left real quick. Lol!

I found my family but in reverse...almost. I have a family in my ward that has 7 kids. 6 boys and 1 girl. The girl is the youngest. Okay. So for those of you that thought that my family was alot of people in a little space I´ll fill you in on this family. One kitchen, one living room/dining room (small) 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom. When Sister Sales and I got to their door we knocked and I heard alot of noise and I thought maybe we had the wrong house (I didn´t know the size of thier family). It sounded like a soccer game was being played on the other side of the door. The door opened and there were 3 boys and Tania, their mother. We went in and sat down. Eventually all of the boys were there. Ah, it was awesome! I loved seeing all of them together. I will take a picture one day and send it home. We have stairs in our family with girls and they have it with boys. It´s great. Lol!

My companion and I are leaving the house early now. Around 9:30 we finish up and head out. We´re getting lots of time proselyting and I´m loving it!! The happiest time for a missionary is when they are working, no doubt about it. So, now when we get home I´m more tired than normal and for the first time in my mission my body is actually feeling worked. I can´t say that my body is more tired than my mind but I hope that one day it will be. Lol

When you ask for humility in your prayers you will be blessed with trial to try your humility. I thought I would be smart and try this out. I asked for humility. I thought we would be blessed with 20 or so baptisms and I could practice my humility by not getting big-headed with this. Turns out Humility also is trusting completely and totally in the Lord. Realizing that you are nothing and that He still requires work from you but in order to perform this work you have to give up your everything to Him. Boy was I fooled. I know for a fact that prayers are answered and the we never are forgotten. You have to rely on Him with every fiber of your being or you will fall. Maybe not into a pit but you will fall back in your progress on the strait and narrow. I´m learning to trust in Him.

I´m fat and happy and these hills aren´t so much taking away from my waist line as they are adding bulk to my legs. Sure they are muscely but imagine Hulk´s legs on a girl...not to pretty. Jk. At least I can scale these mountains with more ease. Now I just need to get my spiritual legs like the Hulk...

Love you guys like a fat kid loves cupcakes and hope you are all doing fine.

Love,
Shelle

Taboão da Serra

So I got rid of Sister Da Silva finally. Just kidding. I really loved having her as a companion. Probably the only sister missionary that I could spend 3 transfers with and not go completely crazy...only a little. jk. I am in a new area for the sisters. 10 years worth of elders and anybody would be really excited to see the sisters. lol! That´s great for me! I am now with Sister Sales from Brasilia who was trained by Sister Wosnjuk as was I and so we´re excited about this transfer. It´s funny to come to this area because of the long time that sisters haven´t been here. The investigators that haven´t known the church for much time all want to know what the girl version of elders looks like. I feel almost like a show dog. But when the feed me who am I to complain?

So this area...I think I know why it has only had elders for so much time. This is one of the areas of the mission that has the most hills. And they aren´t nice hills. When I climb these monsters my skirt bruches the road in the front. That´s just how steep they are... Jk. Not quite that bad. But they are inclined enough that if I fall I will tumble right down to the bottom. Luckily they aren´t forever long. Just 30-45 yards or so. I haven´t been haveing a problem with them. I think that they are fun and give variety to walking. Lol! My companion on the other hand thinks that President Jackson doesn´t like her and that´s why she´s got the hills. I´m just happy. This area is really little too. It´s smack in the city again so all of the areas close to here are little. I can walk from one side to the other in 30 min. Even though it is really little, I think that this area could make me pay for all of the sins I´ll ever have in my life. Taboão da Serra (name of the city) is translated to Devil´s Hills. Jk.

We´ve also moved into the elders old house. Wahoo! Needless to say, we spent all morning today cleaning. The elders, poor things, thought they cleaned it up real good. I´m just glad they made an effort. Really when I got to this house I was shocked and ready to laugh or cry, I didn´t know which. We live in an area with one garage and 3 houses. I was told our house was the last. Ok. Lets go! With our suitcases in hand we went down, down, down. The smell was getting worse with every footstep. I tried the key in the door and it didn´t turn but the door opened. I looked in and there were desk and chairs stacked up. There were also dead worms on the ground. Uh.....I thought that this was a joke. Well, thank heavens it wasn´t real. The woman had made a mistake. We were the next house up. The key worked and we have a sofa! No dead worms, no stacked desks and chairs, just the ones that we would use for study. And they left cake and beans and rice in the fridge ready to eat! The house really is a little sad but after what I saw below I was ready to kiss the floor.

I´m really liking this area. The ward is great and it seems entertaining enough here.

I´m already learning alot this transfer. I know for a fact the God hears and answers our prayers. And you´d better be specific when you ask cause He´s specific with His answers. I´m learning that responsability is difficult but necesary to grow and that when God blesses you with an opportunity you have to take it and struggle through it to the end. He knows what is best for you and we have a promise that He will never throw something at us that we can´t handle. So there is always a way to overcome our difficulties. All of our problems in life with go away if we are faithful, obedient and trust. I love my Savior and I´m so grateful for the opportunity to serve Him on my mission.

Thanks for everything. Love you.

Love,

Shelle

Hello Hello

I´m getting Transfrered. Again... This area is closing but the Elders will open it tomorrow. Lucky us! We stayed just long enough to move for them and clean everything up. Lol! But It was good. We had 6 elders helping and so within 1 hour everything was at least in the house. Now, for the organizing... I´m debating leaving it for the Elders when they get in the area. There will be four of them to clean up. Jk. I will try my dangdest to get everything in order.

Yes, yes... Brasil is out of the cup. But let´s not give up on Germany!! Lol! Our lunch fell through on Saturday which wasn´t the greatest thing. The last meal before you start your fast... But then I decided that we could eat at a an all you can eat resaurant. So we went there and with luck the game started and the tv was in front of us. We couldn´t ask them to trun it off, so we ate and very reservadly cheered for Germany. Unlike the rest of the crowd. After Germany´s first goal the chef asked who we were rooting for. Germany of coarse. Then he said, "Of coarse, you have a face of a German." Yes, most people here think that the Americans are Germans but maybe I´ll just let them think that and when Germany wins the cup I´ll have fans. Lol! Just kidding. I´m all USA. Didn´t forget that yesterday was the good ol´ 4th. I celebrated with icecream.

I´m teaching a family that I´m sad I´ve got to leave here. They´re 7th day Adventists. They agree with lots of our doctrine. Okay, almost all of it. In their church the people who speak on Saturday are people with schooling about the bible. Can´t just be someone that has a testimony. He doesn´t agree with this. Hasn´t come out blatently to say it but I know that they will gain a testimony about the restored gospel. They already have about the Book of Mormon. I´m just sad that I have to leave them to the Elders that will get here tomorrow. Ah, the life of a missionary. You make relationships to leave them behind. But the knowledge that you are bringing something so important to their lives makes it all worth it. I know that this Gospel changes lives. I´ve already seen the changes in so many people. All of this is worth it.

My companion almost got bit by a dog. Wow, I laughed for like 10 minutes. It was bad. I wouldn´t have laughed had she actually gotten biten but as it was a heard her yell. (Never heard that before) I looked and there was a dog the size of a cat biting at her heels and she was dancing around and then he ran off. Wow, how I laughed. She was laughing also but now it´s difficult to work cause she has a phobia of dogs. Argh! Sister Da Silva: "Sister McCollaum, the beast is coming at us!" Me: "Yeah but the owner has him on a leash." I´ve had some pretty good laughes at her expense. But she can say the same about me. I just don´t tell you guys all the embarrasing things that I go through. What good would that do?

Thanks for everything you guys do for me and all your prayers and support. Love you guys!

Love,

Shelle