Today, we had Thanksgiving with our entire zone, and Presidente Vecchi decided to make an appearence! It was soooo good - not many people eat turkey here, but we had chicken, stuffing, rolls, salad, macaroni, sweetpotatoes (made with the marshmellows I received in my Christmas package!) rice, and even pumpkin pie! A few of the things were a little bit different (did you know that sweet potatoes here are white?) and it was a little ridiculous to see the Elders trying to cook things like gravy and corn. Yes. Corn. One of the beloved Elders in the zone (Elder Duncan) didnt know how to make corn. We are proud that he was able to open the can by himself =] We had a testemony meeting after we ate, and everyone talked about the things they were thankful for and then bore a their testimony.
Afterwards we played frisbee and uno (which they have a lot more rules for here) and had our interviews with the president, which went a little long... so I dont have a lot of time to write!
But.... let it be said, that we worked, we prayed, we sacrificed, we laughed, we cried, we received revelation, and it was a week accepted by the Lord.
Até mais -
Sister Petersen
and sorry i still havent sent pictures - the computers here are REALLY slow and I dont have time to let them upload =[ But now I know, and next week you will have pictures
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Conquista de Conquista: Vol. 1 Chp 3
This week was a learning week, yet again. Sister Andrade and I have come to the conclusion that we are not receiving much inspiration because... we dont need it. You know when that point arrives in your life when no one has to tell you pick up the toys after you play, because you know you are supposed to do it? Yeah, we have hit that point. Supposedly, it shows growth and change... But I still dont like it =] I feel a little lost, and I was thinking in Sacrament meeting about the things I am supposed to be doing to help the missionary work in this area grow, and the only thought I came up with is to continue what we are doing. Which would be a great feeling, if I didnt feel like I was hitting my head against a wall at times... I just gotta have faith that that is not what I am doing.
I also have reason to be very greatful - this past week the sisters in the area next to us werent answering their phone, and the Elders were worried about them, so they went over to check on them and werent able to get there until 11:30pm. They were fine, the phone just wasnt working and they had forgotten to call to pass in their numbers. So Sister Andrade and I were up till the Elders called us to say they were ok, because we were a little worried. The next day we get a call, and the same Sisters had their apartment broken into and their camera, money, and a few other things stolen. Thankfully they werent home when this happenned, but they ended up spending the night at our apartment... So Sister Petersen is running on very little sleep, yet again in the mission.
And another thing that seems to be reaccuring - we played volleyball again to day, and this time I machuquei my other hand. Yup. My thumb and my knuckle are a little larger than they should be, but I will brave through it.
Oh! I recieved my Christmas package! Thank you very much! The window clings are up (Sister Andrade liked those) and the Christmas tree, and the presents were placed above the tree - I will send you a picture next week. In other news, I also bought a camera! Hooray! I am a little sad - its the same brand as my other one, but its an older model, and it was R$269. Ridiculous. But it works! I only took 3 pictures today, but I will take lots and send them to you next week - promise.
And.... thats about all.
Signing off on a cloudy, but as of yet rain-free day -
Sister Petersen
I also have reason to be very greatful - this past week the sisters in the area next to us werent answering their phone, and the Elders were worried about them, so they went over to check on them and werent able to get there until 11:30pm. They were fine, the phone just wasnt working and they had forgotten to call to pass in their numbers. So Sister Andrade and I were up till the Elders called us to say they were ok, because we were a little worried. The next day we get a call, and the same Sisters had their apartment broken into and their camera, money, and a few other things stolen. Thankfully they werent home when this happenned, but they ended up spending the night at our apartment... So Sister Petersen is running on very little sleep, yet again in the mission.
And another thing that seems to be reaccuring - we played volleyball again to day, and this time I machuquei my other hand. Yup. My thumb and my knuckle are a little larger than they should be, but I will brave through it.
Oh! I recieved my Christmas package! Thank you very much! The window clings are up (Sister Andrade liked those) and the Christmas tree, and the presents were placed above the tree - I will send you a picture next week. In other news, I also bought a camera! Hooray! I am a little sad - its the same brand as my other one, but its an older model, and it was R$269. Ridiculous. But it works! I only took 3 pictures today, but I will take lots and send them to you next week - promise.
And.... thats about all.
Signing off on a cloudy, but as of yet rain-free day -
Sister Petersen
Monday, November 14, 2011
Conquista de Conquista: Vol. I Chp. 2
And the journey continues to be very wet here in the land of Conquista. Tuesday and Wednesday it rained soooo much, and it wasreally heavy rain, which is unusual here. But that didnt stop Sister Andrade and I from teaching two lessons outside during this time. Oh the joys of not being able to enter houses when there isnt anotherwoman around...
And yet with all of this rain, will you believe that the other issue we ran into this week was a lack of water? Yep, we went to fill the baptismal font (because Mariana was baptised - HOORAY!!!) and I turned
the font on... and no water proceeded forth from the font. I have no idea what broke, but Sister Andrade and I spent the next two hours filling up buckets of water and dumping them into the font so that there would be enough water. We were blessed in two ways. 1. The font was already part of the way filled because of the baptism that fell through the week before, and we forgot to let the water out. 2. Evanaldo, a young man in the ward, happened to be at the church, and so he helped us, too. It was great fun =]
Other than that, I continue to have people think I am much younger than I am. Usually, people wont give me more than 18 years old, but normally its 16. But one lady gave me 12 in Itabuna. This week I gave the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, and afterwards one of the irmãos in the ward said something to the effect that I looked like I was 10, but my voice sounds like it belongs to someone who has 50 years. Yeah... we are going to go on the side of, that was not a compliment =]
In other news, this letter will be short, because Sister Petersen played volleyball today (be it know, that of the 3 duplas of Sisters in Conquista, only Sister Petersens dupla showed up for the zone activity with the Elders). Whilst in the midst of playing, she looked at her arms (which were very red because she was playing so much) and realized that one of her knuckles? (I have no idea how to spell in English anymore) looked funny. Comparing it to her other hand, she realized that it was about twice the size as normal. We are fairly certain that she burst a blood vessel in her hand, and while we have hopes of a full recovery, her hand is hurting a bit, and typing isn’t helping.
Até mais -
Sister Petersen
And yet with all of this rain, will you believe that the other issue we ran into this week was a lack of water? Yep, we went to fill the baptismal font (because Mariana was baptised - HOORAY!!!) and I turned
the font on... and no water proceeded forth from the font. I have no idea what broke, but Sister Andrade and I spent the next two hours filling up buckets of water and dumping them into the font so that there would be enough water. We were blessed in two ways. 1. The font was already part of the way filled because of the baptism that fell through the week before, and we forgot to let the water out. 2. Evanaldo, a young man in the ward, happened to be at the church, and so he helped us, too. It was great fun =]
Other than that, I continue to have people think I am much younger than I am. Usually, people wont give me more than 18 years old, but normally its 16. But one lady gave me 12 in Itabuna. This week I gave the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, and afterwards one of the irmãos in the ward said something to the effect that I looked like I was 10, but my voice sounds like it belongs to someone who has 50 years. Yeah... we are going to go on the side of, that was not a compliment =]
In other news, this letter will be short, because Sister Petersen played volleyball today (be it know, that of the 3 duplas of Sisters in Conquista, only Sister Petersens dupla showed up for the zone activity with the Elders). Whilst in the midst of playing, she looked at her arms (which were very red because she was playing so much) and realized that one of her knuckles? (I have no idea how to spell in English anymore) looked funny. Comparing it to her other hand, she realized that it was about twice the size as normal. We are fairly certain that she burst a blood vessel in her hand, and while we have hopes of a full recovery, her hand is hurting a bit, and typing isn’t helping.
Até mais -
Sister Petersen
Monday, November 7, 2011
A Conquista de Conquista: Volume I Chapter 1
Óla gente!
I am here, in Vitória da Conquista, and you want to hear something strange? I am FREEZING! Yeah, its ridiculous! But its true! I have been using 3 blankets at night to keep warm and have been layering at least two sweaters every day just so that I am not shivering the entire day. RIDICULOUS! I am in Brasil - BRASIL!!!! I should NOT be freezing! Maybe I wont buy sandals for a while...
I am here with Sister Andrade, and can I say how much I love this woman? Probably not. We work, gosh darn it. We work a lot. I got here on Wednsday, and we werent able to work until almost 4 because of when I got in, and we didnt have lunch that day so we had to make it ourselves (and we need to buy gas for the stove, so we cook everything in the microwave) and Sister Andrade wasnt able to work in our area before I came because of the way transfers worked out, and guess who had the best numbers in the zone - thats right. We did. Unfortunately, the person who was going to get baptized Saturday decided 1/2 hour before that she didnt want to be baptized anymore. That was... heartbreaking. Really and truly. Its amazing how fast we as missionaries learn to love people, and really and truly internalize the fact that when they decide that they arent ready to keep compromisos or they dont go to church or dont read the Book of Mormon - simple, little things - they are losing the chance of gaining salvation. And this is a battle, my friends. I dont remember who it was in conference, but someone said something to the effect that if we arent sharing the gospel, we are risking the chance of losing people. Literaly losing people. As memebers of the church, we know that death is not the end; but we also have the knowledge that there is an even more complete way to lose people. To lose our brothers and sisters. Some chose to be lost. Others dont know they are lost. And if no one is there to tell them any better, they will stay that way.
But I was talking about Sister Andrade =] She is from São Paulo, has 3 more transfers than I do, and is very entertaining. She speaks a little english (I actually have the sneaking suspition that she knows more than she thinks she does) and so a miority of the time we talk in português, which is amazing. I love português. I still have some issues, and my vocabulary still isnt that great, but I love this language. And every once in a while, Sister Andrade will surprise me and say something in english. Like yesterday when I stubbed my toe and tripped, she yelled from the other room - Dont kill yourself!!! =]
The ward here is great and is ready to grow. There are only about... 85 active members, but the Lord, Sister Andrade and I will work and split the ward here in a little bit. Dont even worry about it.
Até mais -
Sister Petersen
I am here, in Vitória da Conquista, and you want to hear something strange? I am FREEZING! Yeah, its ridiculous! But its true! I have been using 3 blankets at night to keep warm and have been layering at least two sweaters every day just so that I am not shivering the entire day. RIDICULOUS! I am in Brasil - BRASIL!!!! I should NOT be freezing! Maybe I wont buy sandals for a while...
I am here with Sister Andrade, and can I say how much I love this woman? Probably not. We work, gosh darn it. We work a lot. I got here on Wednsday, and we werent able to work until almost 4 because of when I got in, and we didnt have lunch that day so we had to make it ourselves (and we need to buy gas for the stove, so we cook everything in the microwave) and Sister Andrade wasnt able to work in our area before I came because of the way transfers worked out, and guess who had the best numbers in the zone - thats right. We did. Unfortunately, the person who was going to get baptized Saturday decided 1/2 hour before that she didnt want to be baptized anymore. That was... heartbreaking. Really and truly. Its amazing how fast we as missionaries learn to love people, and really and truly internalize the fact that when they decide that they arent ready to keep compromisos or they dont go to church or dont read the Book of Mormon - simple, little things - they are losing the chance of gaining salvation. And this is a battle, my friends. I dont remember who it was in conference, but someone said something to the effect that if we arent sharing the gospel, we are risking the chance of losing people. Literaly losing people. As memebers of the church, we know that death is not the end; but we also have the knowledge that there is an even more complete way to lose people. To lose our brothers and sisters. Some chose to be lost. Others dont know they are lost. And if no one is there to tell them any better, they will stay that way.
But I was talking about Sister Andrade =] She is from São Paulo, has 3 more transfers than I do, and is very entertaining. She speaks a little english (I actually have the sneaking suspition that she knows more than she thinks she does) and so a miority of the time we talk in português, which is amazing. I love português. I still have some issues, and my vocabulary still isnt that great, but I love this language. And every once in a while, Sister Andrade will surprise me and say something in english. Like yesterday when I stubbed my toe and tripped, she yelled from the other room - Dont kill yourself!!! =]
The ward here is great and is ready to grow. There are only about... 85 active members, but the Lord, Sister Andrade and I will work and split the ward here in a little bit. Dont even worry about it.
Até mais -
Sister Petersen
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