Exchange Sister Chap 2

Hm, not exactly sure what to say about this week, but here we go!

I am still here in Stella Mares with Sister Cruz and Sister Smart, and I have been doing my best to show them around the area, but I think they still feel pretty lost =)  On the up side, I feel like I know where I am now - I have finally figured this area out, or at least the little portion of it that we are working in, which is the most important part.  The week has been a little strange, and I cant exactly say why... my anxiety decided to act up a little bit, which didnt help anything.  We got lost quite a bit, and usually I am able to make the most of it, but this week it didnt go over too well.  Thankfully we had a member who made a lot of visits with us this week and he helped me out a lot.

Anyways, I still dont know what happening with me yet.  Presidente said that i would be leaving the area sometime this week, but when I called the assistents to get more information they were really vague, and the only thing he told me was "dont by food in bulk."  He's so helpful =)  so I think i will probably be going somewhere else soon, but who knows!

i really wanted to sent pictures to you, but the computer is being dumb and wants to send all the pictures on my camera, which will never work.  Anyways....  we made smores today!  I love smores, did you know that?  I am not even sure that I knew that before today, but it is true!  very very true.

 

At the moment i cant think of much else, but if i do i will send it along!

 

I love yoU!

 

sister P

Exchange Sister Chap 1

alrighty!  You asked how life is going for me, and its great!  I am really loving it!  I passed this last week with Sister Rounds and Sister Santana here in Stella Mares, and it has been so much fun working with them and getting to know the area and the members.  Turns out that its a good thing that I liked it, because they are leaving the area and I will have the opportunity of showing two new sisters around this area before Presidente Andrezzo ships me off to another place!  I am excited, but a little nearvous - I am really hoping that I remember the streets and peoples' names so that i can show Sister Smart and Sister Cruz around.  It was really weird the night that we got the call learning about the transfer.  Sister Round and Sister Santana will go to Lauro de Freitas and fill in the gap there, so I got to show them around the area a little bit on Sunday, which was nice because i got to say a few goodbyes to people taht I wanted to see and didnt get the chance to talk to before I left.  So tomorrow morning I will pick up the new sisters at 6am and we'll get to work!

It really was interesting to be thrown in the middle of a companionship and see how they work together and what ideas they have and the projects they are working on and the people they are working with.  This ward really is special - I already love the people here, and they are so great and so willing to help out, which is good because the new sisters will need some help.  I feel very blessed to have been given the chance to come here and to meet these people.

We also got to go to the beach today!  Actually, we went to visit the Lighthouse de Itapuã, but its on the beach, so we got permission to go.  Have I ever said how much I love the ocean?  Gods creations really are spectacular

I love understanding and knowing that everything happens according to the plan of the Lord.  It really does helpe me to have more confidence in myself and in what I am doing here, to trust that whatever happens, he will use it to benefit someone, and that I can be a part of his plan... its incredible the faith he has in us to do our part.

 

I love you all!  say a prayer for me and know that you are in mine!

 

Sister Petersen

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 3 Chap 4

Hey!

Alrighty - yesterday was a bit of a mess, and I have already talked to so many people about it that I dont feel like explaining things again at the moment - sufficeth to say that everything was done the way it should have been and everyone is in a better place right now - physically and emotionally, I do believe.

As for me... we are still trying to figure out what to do with me for the moment =)  This week I will be staying in Stella Mares with the Sisters here, but I dont think I will be here for good.  Presidente Andrezzo and I talked quite a bit and I mentioned that Carmen was an exchange Sister and explained a little of what I understood about that.  So at the moment we are trying to figure out if that is what I will be doing for the rest of this transfer, but I think thats what will happen.  I will go and do exchanges with the other Sisters in the mission for the next 4 weeks and then we will see what will happen with me for the next transfer... So weird to think about.  Say prayers for all of us that we will be able to figure things out.

I am feeling really good about things now.  Sister Stull still calls and talks to me every once in a while and that helps (she really is amazing) and all in all I feel like I am back to myself - for better or for worse =P

I am happy, and like I said, I know that everything happened the way it should have, so I am happy about that.

its great to hear from you and how everyone is doing - you really dont know how much it helps to know what everyone is up to.

Thanks so much!  Until next week -

Sister Petersen

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 3 Chap 3 The doctor, a marriage, and some dunes

Aaaaaaaaalright!  This week has been FULL of things that we have done.  Lots and lots of them.

First off, Sister Clark has been going to the doctor quite a bit to get some tests done because she has a heart problem.  Its been really interesting for me to have to translate a bit for her since cardio vocabulary isnt part of what we learn as missionaries - but its been coming a long pretty good.  Going to get the tests done that she needs has taken up a bit of our time, but we have been getting to know Salvador really well!
Also, Presidente Andrezzo came this past week and we had a zone conference to get to meet him, which was pretty exciting because the former Elder Andrezzo was there, and it was great to see him again.  Presidente Andrezzo is amazing.  It really is incredible to me the way that people can come into your life and you realize just how much room your heart has to take people in, because people dont ever get replaced.  I also sang "This is the Christ", and it made me realize how much I love bearing my testimony through the music that I sing.  The next day we had interviews with Presidente, and he thanked me for singing that song because its special to him, which was an answer to pray, really, because three days before the conference I was asked to sing and found out that no one could play for me, so I was trying to think of a song that I could sing and I said a prayer asking for guidence, and the next day I was looking through a Liahona and found that song in português.  Thats more of a side note, though.  Basically, I got to confirm what I already knew at the interview - that Presidente Andrezzo is amazing.  I felt so amazing as I was talking to him, the Spirit was there so strongly.  He has a way of making people feel special and being very sencere about it.  At the end of the interview I felt like I should tell him that I knew that he was going to be a good president because I knew Elder Andrezzo, and I knew that the man who raised him had to be a very good man.  His reply, "But not as good as the man who raised you."  That is probably one of the best things I have heard here on the mission.  It really made me think about Dad and all the things that he has done and how I am so greatful that he is my dad.
Also, one of our investigators, Silvania, got married this past week!  We are so excited, and her baptism is already schedualed for this Sunday.  Say a few prayers for her, please =)
And as you can see from the pictures, we went to the sand dunes today!  It was soooo much fun just to relax and do something a little bit different.  We also met a mason this week, which was quite an interesting experience - I learned a lot of things that I didnt know and became even more greatful for the gospel in my life and the guidence that it gives.
We had a problem with our microwave (actually, it just burnt out) and it was quite a chore to get another one and then to find an adaptor for it so that we didnt burn the house down.  Yet another thing that my português vocabulary doesnt cover, but we taught a lesson to the man who was helping us after we figured everything out.

and thats my really short show!

love you all! tchau!

Sister Petersen


P.S.  We had a Zone conference this week, so the picture of all the sisters is from zone conference
The others are from the sand dunes - we went there today and it was a lot of fun!

Lauro de Freitas: Vol 3 Chap 2 Mondays Tuesdays - happy days!

Hey hey!

Actually, when you sent me the questions that Sister Clark had, the thought did pop into my head - "I am going to be her companion" funny how things like that work, isnt it?  And I am sooooo happy that she is!  We have been having so much fun, there is just no other way to put it.  She is from New Jersey, and she has a little bit of a valley girl accent, which I absolutely love, she is blonde and is as tall as Mom.  And we are doing miracles here.

It was also really nice because Sister Nascimento went to São Caetano and she visited a few of the people that I taught and she got to see Daniel!  I miss him, as well as all of the others in Itabuna.  It really was a little odd writing letters to all of them to, the kind of feeling that I had.  I think its the closest someone can come to parently love before they become a parent.

I also had a huge realization this past week.  I remember that a couple of times I was going through some difficult things in life and I would always be told that because of my experience I could help someone else who was going through the same problem.  To be honest, I never really liked hearing that - that I was suffering so that I could maybe some day help someone else.  But this week I had that opportunity.  One of our investigators was really struggling, and as she started to talk and tell us about that things that were going on I thought, "wait a minute, this sounds really familiar..." and I realized that it was basically the same thing that I went through not that long ago.  So I shared a few scriptures with her, scriptures that really helped me and explained how they helped me - especially Moroni 10:33-34 - and as I was explaining I could see her understanding, I could tell that she not only understood but that she knew that what I was saying was true, not that what she was going through was easy or insignificant, but that there was a way to get over it -  that Christ provided that way for us, and what we need to do is accept His will and His way and our lives will be perfect, because He will make them perfect.  It was amazing.  It was amazing to see that, as she understood, she was able to feel the Spirit and overcome the feelings that she had.  And it was incredible because I realized that the pain I felt as I was going through the same experience lasted a long time, but the joy I felt when I was able to help her, though we were only together a few minutes, completely validates everything that I went through.  And that is what Christ knew when He accepted to be our Savior - He knew that it would be really difficult, that more people would reject His sacrifice than who would receive it.  But he knew that if he only saved one soul, one human, and yet eternal being, all his suffering would be worth it.  And it is.  I can testify to that.  I was reading Jesus the Christ today, and Talmage has a part when he is explaining the difference between happiness and pleasure - I just focused on the part that he said about happiness.  I dont remember exactly what he said, but I remember feeling that it was the best description I have ever heard.  Happiness is something that is fulfilling, it has purpose, and it makes even more sense to me now why "men are that they might have joy".  I think one of the Godly atributes we are sent here to learn is how to let ourselves have joy in the midst of so much sorrow - that would be how we hope for things.

I am so thankful to be a member of this church, to know things that the eye cant see and that words cant explain, but that are so real that when people deny their existence, the very purpose of life is negated.  And all of the things that I know can be broken down into one simple sentence:
Jesus is the Christ.

Até logo -

Sister Petersen