Daddy Legends

 Good news, everyone: I can finally tell stories in Português and people understand them! :D  This was discovered this past week when I briefly told the story of dad getting knifed on his mission to Sister Mártir and Leonardo (our member friend who helps us teach a lot) and they were so impressed that a few nights later they brought it up again and begged me to tell it to a group of shirtless boys on the street.

    "Hey, tell that story about your dad!" Leonardo begged. And then, before I could say anything, he animatedly began to tell the story himself. "Her dad got KNIFED on his mission!"  

     Once the story had been told, the group of young men, laughing and gasping and impressed and excited, called out to other boys on the street to come hear the story. It became more and more elaborate with every telling.

     "Yeah, and her dad is this huge guy. I mean, he's a serious wrestler, I'm telling you! So he figures he's just gonna take out the scrawny runt who stole his watch." They really like the part about dad tackling the first guy (and more fist punches and martial arts moves were added in with each telling) and the hand-off of the watch to a second robber. I bid the crowd a good night before things escalated to "it was a car full of masked ninjas that drove up with samurai swords!"

      Happy Father's Day, daddy! You're officially famous here on the streets of Agua Suja. ;)

      It was father's day yesterday, right? It was here in Brasil, anyway.

   This past week was really great! We've been teaching a super golden investigator named Kiara. She's 23 years old and lives alone with her 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. We found her while knocking doors and she looked at us like angels sent from God. She said she'd undergone surgery earlier that week and had promised the Lord that she would start going to church. Then she asked for help to know which one she should join. Bing! That's when we appeared on her doorstep. She has so many questions and is so hungry to learn anything and everything about the restored gospel. She and her kids LOVED church and all last week her kids were asking her when they were going to go back. One of the most beautiful moments o my mission thus far was the day that Kiara understood what repentance really means. We'd talked about it before and she'd been confused. She didn't understand how it was possible NOT to repent. Because in Português, the word "arrependimento" is also used for "regret". She said she always regrets it when she does something wrong, so she's always following Christ, right?  We explained to her that when you truly repent, you feel so much remorse for your sins that you will truly never want to do the same wrong thing again. The sin of which you've repented will become loathsome even to think about.  

     The next day, we were really rushing to get to all of our appointments, and she wasn't home when we had time to pass by her house, so we left a little sticky note with a message and a scripture on it for her. The scripture was Alma 7:11-13, about how Christ took upon Him all of our weaknesses and infirmities so that He would know best how to succor us.  The next day when we passed by her house, she told us that she'd received an answer to her doubts, and that Jesus Christ had communicated to her through the Spirit. "It was exactly as you said it would be," she said. Then she pulled out the scripture that we'd left on the sticky note and as she read it out loud  to us, she cried and cried and hid her face with her hands. "When I read this," she said, "the Lord showed me my future-- how my life would be if I continue committing the same sins I'm committing. I saw would would happen to my children." And then she cried and cried. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life Never have I beheld one so truly repentant. 

   Kiara is truly changing her life to be in harmony with the gospel. 

I love being a missionary so much!!!!

-Sister Whitaker

Random Titles

I know what you're thinking:  "What did last week's email have anything to do with the 90's?"

   Le' me 'splain. ... No, there iss too mush, let me sum up.  So I had this plan to explain how the dream of the 90's is alive in Bahia, but then in the whirlwind of hurry-and-write-before-your-time-runs-out-ness, I forgot. Suffice it to say, the pulling-up of short shorts and the shirts that barely touch the waistline of said shorts, the shoes, the hair, the makeup, and the way of life here in Bahia all would do the 90's proud. It sure gives Portlandia some worthy competition, if nothing else.

    On that note.... We had another baptism last week! Woo hoo!  He's a rediculously sweet boy of 14 years named Italo who had already made several visits to the church and to seminary with his member friend and who (aparently) several companionships of Sisters before us had tried to teach with no luck. But the time was just right for him this past week and he very peacefully and happilly accepted to be baptised. We'd actually been working with him the week before, too, and he'd wanted to get baptised that Saturday, but ended up having to go out of town over the weekend. His parents were very supportive of his decision and we're determined to work more with them and with Italo's sister, Yasmin. They are a beautiful family, and they are neighbors with TWO member families! :D  It was a really beautiful baptism and Italo melts my heart. 

    I've become the ward pianist. I've been so since Sister Santana left. It's pretty easy for me, considering that the piano here in Itapuã plays itself. The only reason I've been chosen to man it is because it only speaks English. :P  

    Before the Zone Conference last week, Elder Leite asked me if I could play the piano and I, thinking that he already knew about the self-playing trick, said "sure". Then, the night before the conference, he called again to ask if I could play two of the most complicated hymns in existance (which also happen to not be part of the self-playing piano's reporteour [spl?]) and as I insisted that it was impossible, he kept saying, "No, we have faith in you, Sister. You play very well!"

   That's when I realized. He thought I was actually PLAYING the piano!  He about died when I broke the news to him. The two complex hymns were already on the program and President Masagarde was going to come and we would have no piano accompaniamento. Thankfully, Elder André is a concert violinist and everything turned out ok in the end.

   But I'm finding that there's no end to the mistief that the self-playing piano is getting me into. Now I've been roped into helping with choir practice and everyone wants me to do all these fancy things, even though they KNOW that I'm not actually playing the piano. It really makes me wonder why I didn't practice more before the mission.

Well, I love you all! Thank you SO much for all the letters and emails and prayers! I promise I'm doing my best to write you all back!

-Sister Weezer

The Dream of the 90's

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

I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!

This week I woke up to this simple truth: I am absolutely in love with my mission. 

   I'm in love with these people. During the week, I wanted to just take every single person by the shoulders, shake them and yell, "I LOVE YOU!!!!"  Instead I had to settle for fake-punches and fake face-slaps every now and then with appropriate sound effects. Strangely, I think this love language translates here in the feild better than it did in the CTM.

    This week started out super slow and by Thursday our numbers were so bad that I passed the point of tears and into the zone of hysterical laughter. The District and Zone Leaders had no words of advice or of comfort to give us. Then Sister Mártir and I said, "That DOES it! Let's just through tact out the window and go crazy. We've got nothing to lose." So that's what we did. We just ran around asking everyone to get baptised and then found ourselves on Friday night with good numbers and a group of super awesome investigators, 6 of whome we are preparing for baptism next week! Sweet! After two weeks of praying and working really hard with little to show for it, the Lord really blessed us this past weekend. Pray for this 6 people! Especially Paulo and José. Paulo is the grandson of two members who have been praying for him for several years to take an interest in the church and José is the father of another member who has also been praying for him for several years. Pray that they will finally be pricked in their hearts and go for it.

     I love the mission! I had one of those moments yesterday where my companion wanted to hear my life story and I got to reflect on all the events that led to my being here in Bahia doing what I'm doing. Wow, the Lord really loves me. This is the coolest thing EVER that I get to be a part of! Thank you once again to all of you friends and family who helped me to be here. I'm so grateful for all that I'm learning. I hope I'm becoming a better person than I was before, too. 

      BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT!  Happy Birthday Rebecca Hasler and Rachel Whitaker! I wish you all the good things of life with much chocolate thrown in :D

     Guess what?  A Igraja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias é verdadeira!

     I KNOW that Jesus Christ lives and that He LOVES us. I know this because I have felt Him by my side and He has spoken through me to people He knows and loves better than I do. This past week I was talking to a recent convert who had slipped up and made some mistakes. He felt like he was unworthy to go to church and he wept and wept and begged us to leave him alone in his misery.  I felt an overwhelming flood of love for this man and the Spirit truly took over and spoke through me. I was able to be the mouthpiece that told him it's never too late and that no one is ever unworthy of repentance. I was able to testify of the love that the Savior has for him. When he shook his head and said he didn't believe it, I said, "Why do you think we're here?! He sent us to you because He loves you!"  It was one of the most powerful testimonies I've had the priviledge of bearing on the mission.  And I know it's true for every single person. The Savior loves us all so much that He paid the price for ALL of our sins, pains, and weaknesses, even knowing that many would reject His offering.  

   Please accept His offerring. You'll be so happy! :)

I love you all!

-Sister Whitaker

Churrasco!

I hope that everyone watched that amazing missionary training broadcast last week-- it was SO GOOD! It was especially fun for we missionaries here in Itapuã, because we got to watch it in English as a zone. It was so strange to be shut up in a little room with a bunch of Americans, all speaking English shamelessly. I felt like I was sinning, and I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure there were no offended Brazilians around.

   All of the pent-up English wit that the Elders had been holding back for the past month/two years burst forth in awkward spurts of obnoxious gaiety. I felt like I was back at BYU. Especially when Elder Holland announced that Seth Bott would be the organist. In my excitement, I cried out in a strained, Brasilian-accented attempt at English, "Seth Bott!!! He -ees -my -friend!"

    I'm not forgetting English, I swear! It's just confusing to speak it here for some reason.... Yesterday, for example, I watched a video of the first missionaries in Cabo Verde and there were church leaders speaking in English with Português subtitles. For the first time ever, I realized that I was understanding both so perfectly that I couldn't even tell what was Português and what was English. Cool! I'm bilingual, Ma!

This past week was a bit of a doozy, but that's ok, because this next week is going to be AWESOME! We're going to work so hard and be happy and just love everything and everyone.  

   This new transfer, I'm going to be staying here with Sister Mártir to complete her training. We're excited. Today has been so much fun because-- guess why?  I'll tell you why.  It's because my Zone was the zone of excellence this past month! Every single dupla baptised and we exceeded our baptism goal for the month by 8 (I think?). That's never happened before as long as President Andrezzo has been president of this mission! He was so excited that he took us all out to a Churrascaria (BBQ House) and treated us to lunch. We also got to play games and stuff in the church. Spot It is always a major hit with Brazilians. They love it! Several of the Elders begged me to ask mom to send a tin of Spot It cards to them. Thanks for making me the popular kid, Mama :)

   After emailing, Sister Mártir and I are going to the dunes with Elder Leite and Elder Ray. That's funny to me only because Elder Leite doesn't usually want to do anything social, but he suggested the idea and since it was his first time suggesting such a thing, no one wanted to say no. Though we are all thinking the same thing:  "What are we going to do on a big mountain of sand?" But we're gonna go nonetheless and see what happens! I laugh in my head every time I imagine it. Elder Ray laughs when he can tell that I'm laughing in my head.

    Well, that's all for now, folks. I'll be sure to have more interesting stories next week. Love y'all!

-Sister Weezer

Missionary Moments

Sometimes while we're walking in the hot sun through the streets of Brasil, I catch a glimps of our shadows-- the wind blowing our skirts, our waist-strapped packs fully loaded with umbrella and water bottle (that look like serious amo in shaddow form), a Bookof Mormon in our hands, and I think,"We're so cool it hurts."   Then I trip on the cobblestones and the Brasilian kids pause their game of futebol to point and laugh at me.

   

Sometimes I see people who I haven't seen since my first area in the mission and we hug and smile and as we talk I think, "Oh yeah, my Português is SO much better now!"   Then the person steps back and says, "Wow, I just can't believe it. You were so much prettier before. What happened to you?"

Sometimes as I'm navigating my new greenie companion through the favelas, walking the quick and purposful pace of a missionary, I explain to my companion where we're going and what we're going to do there so she'll be well-informed and not feel too lost.   Then my companion says, "We're going to meet with who?? Sister Whitaker, she doesn't live over here, she lives on the other side of the city. Remember?" 

Sometimes, you learn to be humble, whether you want to or not.

   As I write this email, I am sitting in the safety of a member's home  (a member who lives in the same complex right across the hall from us) because all the internet cafés are closed. That can only mean one thing in Bahia: it's a holiday.

   Actually, the holiday was yesterday, but Bahianos like to drag things out for as long as possible. It's been a war zone here for the past week with all the fireworks. Elder Ray said he feels like he's in a WWII video game, and when Elder Leite (District Leader) calls at night, it really sounds like that, too as he yells over the sound of exploding bombs.  As nothing is illegal here in Brasil,just imagine the havoc that is reeked when 6-year-old boys are buying fireworks and lighting them in the streets 24-7.  The firework favorite of children here is a dreadful thing that does nothing but make an ear-splitting, heart-stopping pop that sounds like a gunshot right next to your ear. These the kids like to throw in our path as we're walking because they scare the wits out of my companion. They aslo burn holes in cats and dogs. Worry. It's more dangerous than it sounds.

   This holiday is called São João. I don't know what fireworks have to do with the death of John the Baptists, but Brasilians LOVE them.

    Last night as we dodged through a bomb war (yes, kids really through fireworks at each other, and their parents let them), I kept hearing the voice of Rhett Butler in my head "Has the war started?" and "The rebels aren't wasting any time!" Sister Mártit kept screaming and throwing her arms over her head crying,"Sheeshter! Sheeshter!"  (that's 'Sister' with a Cabo Verdian accent).

    Now're about to do it again, this time with a cake in our hands, to get to our Family Night appointment with our recent convert, Irla, and her family.  Pray for us!

   I love you all and I am LOVING the mission! 

-Sister Weezer

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Peace! I come waving a white flag! I promise everything is alright!

    

I'm glad to say that the Dange has passed. For the most part. I'm a little tired still, but I'm back to work and happy as a cluff. Being a missionary confined to bed for a whole week is worse than all the pains in the world. I always thought that if I got sick on the mission it would be a good opportunity to read everything that I don't have enough time for normally, but with Dange I quickly learned that reading makes the nausea worse. So all I could do was lie there and be bored. *Sigh*  I'm so glad that's over! :D

    After a week in bed, the only real news I have has to do with Sister Mártir, from Cabo Verde off the coast of Africa. As I said in my last email, I was supposed to receive and train a new Sister from Africa here in Stella Mares and Sister Santana was supposed to receive and train another, and open a new area for Sisters in Itapetinga. BUT, the night before this change was to occur, we learned that my companion would no longer be serving in this mission and so Sister Santana and I are now in a trio with HER new greenie, here in Stella Mares until one of the visa-waiters in Mississippi gets her visa and can come be with me.

    Sister Mártir is tall and thin and very sleepy. I was so tired of sleeping this past week that I wanted to die, but there was nothing else for me to do and I WAS tired. But Sister Mártir, who is in perfect health, slept just as much as I did! It was strange. Poor Sister Santana had no one to talk to and went about our apartment doing good works, leaving loving notes on mirrors and under pillows, like the good fairy that she is. She also saw to it that I took my medicine and drank lots of water. God bless her! She's so pleasant and always laughing.

    And so, today was our P-day and I was feeling good enough that I even agreed to Sister Santana's P-day activity of choice: eating at McDonald's.

     Now, anyone who knows me knows my deep-rooted fear for this heart-attack factory of the U.S. But Brasilians love it and believe that it's high-quality meat. They sing praises to McDonald's and get excited when rich members will take them there for lunch. Sister Santana has been so good to me all week, I just couldn't say no to the golden arches in her big, brown eyes. 

    Having narrowly dodged a Dange Death, I willingly marched into a McMasacre. As I stared down a highly over-priced McFrightful and McDrink (orange juice?) with McFries, my stomach backed itself up against my spinal chord, crying, "No, no. nooooo!!!!" The sound of cows being butchered inhumanely filled my ears as I took a McBite. I closed my eyes in my concentrated attempt to forget the images I'd seen on "Food Inc."

     I now have a McStomachAche, and this is something I don't know if I'll survive. Mommy, I love you!

-Sister Whitaker

P.S. Thank you for all the prayers and fasting! You guys are the best!