FELIZ NATAL!!!!!!!!

This week is Christmas!! How this year flew. I´m doing well. I´m getting to the point where emails don´t have such great valor anymore. I just want a cell phone...I never thought I would say that again. Lol! But I´m great. I´m happy. I´m fat. I´m cooking in the sun. I´m alive. I´m still American. I´m still trying to act like a Brasilian. I´m content.

This week we were walking in the street and a white three-legged dog started to chase us. What an expirience that was. I decided that I didn´t want that so a got my umbrella ready and my companion (who was thinking better) throw me in the way. I got out of it with only 6 stitches. Just kidding. When the dog saw my umbrella he backed off. It was good. I was worried but it all turned out okay. I´ve been having fun this week scaring my companion by grabbing here calf or ankle and making angry dog sounds. Lol! She always jumps. It´s great.

So we had transfers. I´m officially going to finish my mission in Campo de Fora and Sister Fonseca will be my last companion. We are both very excited about that and I´m sure that this will be something incredible. We´ve got big plans for this transfer and I´m stoked.

With the transfers, the other two sisters in our house have left. They closed that area and now it is just us here in this apartment. I miss them but I love the space. We are much more organized and much more on top of the hour. It was a little difficult before with 4 sisters and one bathroom. But life continued. Life is better now though. Lol!

We had our Mission Christmas Party. It was great because everyone was there. Our who mission with more or less 180 missionaries. It was incredible. President had a great message planed and then we ate and had a talent show and played around then we had transfers and got presents and went home to work. What a good day... I´ll miss this next year I think. But not enough to send out my papers again any time soon. Lol!

Well, I´m stoked for the telephone call this week. It´s gonna be awesome. My last important telephone call in the mission. That is a trunky thought. Lol! Alright, I need to go before I think on that too much. Thanks for all of your support and love and prayers. You guys are awesome and I hope you all have an excellent week and that Christmas is full of fun and laughing and playing around. Take care. Be safe during the holidays!!!

Love,
Shelle

Hey there!

So, another week has come and gone. I played soccer today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, it has been a long time. And I used sunblock so I didn´t even get sunburnt. Wahoo! It was a blast. We now have a group of kids in our complex that know we will be playing every Monday 10 am. There is a bunch of young hooligans that we can baptise. Lol! At least we will make memories for them about the missionaries from the Mormon Church that played soccer with them. One day maybe this will help in the conversion process.

We have now given up on our shower. We still use it but the water is icy. We´ve traded it out 3 times now and it always breaks. Looks like I will be taking cold showers for the rest of my mission. It just a good thing that it isn´t winter here. That would be painful.

The rain is picking up here. It rains almost everyday. Sister Fonseca forgot her umbrella one day and we shared. We had fun. We kept pulling pranks on one another and after getting completely wet we gave up on the umbrella and took off running for the house. This was the first time that we ran home without the excuse that we were almost 9:30pm. We got home wet and panting and the other two sisters in our house just looked at us and asked, "Would you guys like some milk?" Lol!

One of the sister that I´m living with is very trunky and she likes to sleep in late and not stick to any sort of schedule. Now, Sister Fonseca and I run yelling, and screaming (occasionaly with pots and pans) into their room to wake them up and make them exercise with us. Usually exercises turn into laying on the floor with our feet in the air and talking. But at least they are doing something outside of their beds now. Lol! Poor things.

Well, this week was good. Probably this next week will be good too. I´m loving life, loving the mission, loving everything.

I love you guys lots and lots and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Shelle

I´m still alive, and you?

Lol! This week was good. We got a lot of rain and with alot of luck and blessings we were always in someone´s house when it started and it always finished before we left. Yesterday wasn´t that type of day. We went to lunch and afterwards gave a message and then the rain started. Alright...bring it on... I was in my shoes that are almost completely broken. Ya know how when you have closed-toes shoes that you shouldn´t be able to see your toes? That isn´t the case with these anymore. Dansko was a good idea and it lasted for over a year but I´m thinking that it is almost time to retire them. The only problem is that I have 3 other pairs of shoes. One is falling apart at the heel, another on the side, which leaves only one pair of good shoes. I´m trying to save them for special occasions so that I don´t look completely gruffy. Lol! Oh well, I will throw them all out here in a couple months all the same. It´s sad when you are coming to the end of your mission. People seem to forget about you and just start calling your belongings. "I get this!" "I want that!" "Sister McCollaum, when you die in the mission will you give me your -----?" Hmmm....

Wahoo! An Irmâ in my ward made pumpkin pie! Oh how life was good. I got to celebrate a little of Thanksgiving yesterday. I´m looking forward to the day when I can taste pecan pie again. And thinking of food during the holidays, if you guys would buy eggnog and put it in the freezer for me when I get home I would be happy. It´s been almost 2 years since I´ve tasted that delicious flavor. Lol! My companions want me to make an American dish for them to eat. I asked them if we could just go to McDonald´s. But it looks like I will be making pizza or something. I don´t know what to make. Hmm... maybe meatloaf. Lol!

Yeah....So I can´t think of anything else to say. Things are happeneing but they are things like teaching, proseliting, contacts...things normal for a mission. I´m writing in English but in my head I am speaking Portugues. Because this I´m taking forever to write. I think that if you want to talk to me after the mission you will have to practice alot, alot, alot of patience or else learn Portugues. I would suggest the second as it is a beautiful language and you will be ahead of the crowd knowing 2 languages. As for this telephone call at Christmas, I will have my companion translate because even though she is Brazilian she speaks better English than I do.

Maybe I can convice Mom and Dad that they should move to Brazil. I saw a house for sell the other day. I was pretty close to the church too. Maybe 10 minutes walking. Brazil has high humididty and lots and lots of fruits and the people are really accepting and they love anyone that has blue eyes. I also know a member that will be selling his apartment really soon. Just say the word and I´m on it. I have complete confidence that he would hold out until February to sell to us. That way we can be one happy family in Brazil!!

Love you all lots and lots and I hope you have a great week and stay safe in the snow. Play lots and take care.

Love,
Shelle