Bom dia, família e amigos! Como vai?!
This
past week was pretty good! We worked our tails off and were just
all-around happy to be here. It occurred to me just how much I love my
companion several times and that made the work even better. The Lord
really knew what He was doing when He said, "go forth and preach the
gospel two by two". At least, He said something like that.
Speaking of putting words in the Lord's mouth, Bahianos really
like to do it. Many of their favorite scriptures are nowhere to be
found in the scriptures, such as, "the church is us." They like to use
this to say that every individual person is the church of Christ and
that attending an actual church is an idea of men. What I enjoy even
more, though, is the little figurines of an open Bible with some cliché,
anonymous quote in it that is made to look like a scripture so that
people actually believe that it IS located somewhere in the scriptures.
Last Saturday I was in the home of a member who had one of these and the
son asked me if I knew where he could find the scripture that was
written on the little fake Bible. I recognized it as a part of the
"Footprints in the Sand" poem and had to break the sad news to him that
it wasn't actually a scripture. He was heartbroken.
Last Saturday was our Zone Conference and it
was AWESOME! We had a counselor (?) of the Brasil Area Presidency there
to speak to us and the spirit was so strong it felt like we were
swimming in it. I didn't know that Area Presidencies are General
Authorities before. Boy did I feel silly when I sat across the table
from him during lunch and had the nerve to ask him. He was kindly
patient with my lack of inteligence and helped me to understand that I
was pretty much talking to an apostle. Then he asked me if I'd ever
eaten at Chuck-o-Roma when I was in Utah and we all laughed and it was a
grand ol' time. After the conference was over, the chapel felt like
the temple and everyone spoke in whispers, if they spoke at all. It was a
wonderful spiritual boost!
Highlights of the week:
Yesterday
we were in the home of a recent convert of the Elders who recently had a
knee surgery and is unable to leave her house. So the Elders brought
the sacrament to her and Sister Mártir and I taught a mini lesson. She
was sitting in a rocking chair by her bedroom window, her leg propped up
and a blanket across her lap. Elder Ray swatted at a mosquito with his
tie and than Idassy (the RC) pulls out this huge can of heavy-duty bug
spray that had been hidden at her side the whole time and sprays the
tiny insect with enough poison to kill an elephant. "I always keep this
by my side" she said smugly as she tucked the can away and rocked in her
chair. I almost died from laughing so hard, seeing that sweet old lady
with her hidden amo. I was seriously crying from laughing, and every
time I thought about it I broke down into peals of laughter again.
On the same day, the daughter of Idassy gave Sister Mártir a
dress in a bag. Sister Mártir wanted to wait until she got home to open
it, but everyone insisted that she open it right then and there. Sister
Mártir is tall and skinny. The dress was not. It was striped with every
color imagineable and 100% without shape. As my companion held it up for
all to see, I heard the voice of Donny Osmond in my head singing, "I
look handsome, I look smart, I am a walking work of art..."
I love you all!
-Sister Whitaker
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