EVERYTHING IS WET!

Before heading out on day 2 of the rain

Oi todo o mundo!!! 

This week has been rather uneventful. 

It rained for four days straight. Ok, that´s a lie. It downpoured for four days straight. And rained off and on yesterday as well. Everything is wet. The river here, which is probably 3-4 times as wide as the spot we cross the Jordan river to get to Lehi, rose I swear like 5 feet. It´s insane. Some of the roads were flooded when we went to district meeting. It´s crazy stuff. But we also had lightning storms for four days, and that was amazing!!!

All my shoes are completely soaked. So I´m buying some sort of water proof shoes today because I am sick of my feet being wet for like 12 hours a day. But thankfully, the rain hasn´t started up yet today! (hopefully I didn´t jinx that one)

This week, because of the rain, things were a bit difficult as a missionary. The first day was great, people were home and were talking to us from their houses and asking us why we were out in the rain, so it was a great chance to explain missionary work! But after the first day, no one was on the street, or in their house, and we walked for hours (or waited for a bus for hours) before we got any contacts or anything!

This week we were going to teach Ana Carla, but only a few hours before we were supposed to teach her we got a call saying she was moving out of the friend´s house she was staying in. We think they had a fight. We have tried to call her several times since then, but she has basically dropped off the face of the earth, we don´t know what´s going on there. 

Duda´s lessons fell through this week; I´m not sure what happened there. But we are supposed to be going to see them this week. 

Vera is amazing! We taught her last monday night and she told us how she has given up drinking!!!!! :D She said that and I just wanted to shout for joy! We had not yet said a word to her about the word of wisdom, the only thing we´ve talked about is her family and having patience and she said she gave up drinking and she told us about how challenging that was for her that weekend, but SHE DID IT!!!!!! :) We are going to teach  her again tonight. 

Vera has a hard time coming to church because she has family in town every sunday, so hopefully we can get her there next week. 

We have a couple new investigators, Josiane who is super awesome and hoping to get her to progress with her family, and Ana Marcia who has been taught before almost got baptized but I think she was offended and frustrated with how pushy people were with trying to get her to be baptized. But she is very receptive, so hoping that will go somewhere too. 

Ended this week once again with zero progressing investigators. no one was at church for the 3rd week in a row. 

This week, my district leader asked me to do the handbook training during district meeting. it was about local laws and customs. I was pretty nervous, but man everything I said made sense and I spoke faster than I expected to be able to. I think my district was pretty impressed with my portuguese as well. The gift of tongues is so real, I know I say that a lot but it is soooo real!!! 

I can read the Book of Mormon and understand 80-90 percent of what I read. I can understand about 60-70 percent of small talk now. Things are going so good! God is so good! So greatful for this opportunity and these experiences he has given me!

So, conference is next weekend. I want to give you all a little challenge. Really try to prepare yourself. Whether that be reading your scriptures or studying them, reading last conference´s talks, praying every morning and night, do something that will stretch you a little that will better prepare you to hear what the prophets have to say to you. Do something that will allow you to have the spirit with you a little stronger these next two weeks to prepare!

Love you all so very much!

Sister Wilkins

P Day American Meal:  Burgers, fries... and rice

Largest Rodent in the world!  The nutria.  Saw them last pday down by the river.


Excerpts from a letter we received today dated Sept 13:

Some things I keep forgetting to tell you about Brasil:
1.  You can't flush toilet paper here.  You put it in the garbage  It's kinda gross sometimes!
2.  We don't have a drying machine.  They're like a very luxurious item here.  Only rich people have them.
3.  Our washing machine is little and is interestingly different than in the states.
4.  Dishwashers don't exist as far as I know.  Pretty sad.
5.  My apartment here is probably bigger than a vast majority of the houses here.
6.  Most people don't own a lot.  In fact, if you left out the furniture, you could probably fit it all with room to spare in the Honda (Using the seats and all space available).
7.  Our oven is tiny.  I don't even know if a 9 x 13 pan would fit in it. Maybe if it didn't have handles.
8.  There is no hot water anywhere.  Except the shower, which I am so grateful for.
9.  Milky Ways, M & Ms, Snickers, Reese's, Doritos, Pringles, Nutella, and Oreos all exist here!  Some of which is a little pricey, but it exists!

But all of this makes me so grateful for the things I have.  It makes me grateful for where I grew up and the home I get to come back to.  I am so grateful for all that I had in the states, and feel selfish for not being as grateful as I could have been, for taking for granted things like drinking tap water out of any faucet in the house.  

Heavenly Father definitely has an interesting way of answering prayers though.  I had been praying for months to be able to be more humble and patient.  It started probably a month or two before I put my papers in.  And now I'm in a place where I have no choice but to be humble and patient.  I am grateful for the experiences I am going through, and the person I am becoming because of my experiences.

I'm forever grateful for prayer.  When you have nothing else, you always have prayer.  Saying a simple, heartfelt prayer can get you through a lot, I've learned.  

Brazil is wonderful!  I wish the pictures I took actually looked like what I see.  Its' weird and sad to me that the camera isn't showing what I'm seeing, but it's okay!

Sis Rosa doesn´t think she can sing it (I like to look for rainbows..see last post) very well, but she´s actually pretty good. That´s one of the miracles I´ve realized has happened. I am teaching my companion, who when I arrived flat out said she didn´t want to learn english. And now she does and she likes it and holy cow miracles happen! And she keeps saying she wants to learn english because she loves me. She´s so sweet! 

She also told me that when she gets home she´ll write me every week and if I ever need anything, she´ll try to get it for me since my family lives so far away. She is amazing! I love her!