OI!! Familia e amigos!
Yes I am in Londrina & no as of yet I have not contracted an incurable parasite or gotten mugged... but it's only 2:30 here so I wont hold my breath haha. K, so much has happened & what they say about the mission is correct. The weeks feel like days & the days feel like weeks.
First off, I had a 3:30 launch from the CTM to the airport & then to Londrina. Longest freaking day of my life not gonna lie.... haha barely made it through the day without falling asleep midsentence but it was all good. I did have some HUGE reservations & fears but they all melted away as soon as I saw Pres & Sis Genaro with a hord of other missionaries waving a huge banner with LONDRINA BRAZIL MISSION plastered on the front. Muito bom :)
Second, the CTM/MTC really doesn't do a very good job preparing you for the real life investigators you teach. For example, no one ever told me about sitting on a couch in something that probably wasnt water trying to get through a prayer in portuguese while 2 kids are playing with your comps camera taking pics during the entire lesson. But whatevs brosefus. All is well.
Another thing is I've NEVER seen this kind of poverty than I have here. Everyone told me its a rich area here & there are some areas that are nice. However, I will say, the other day I saw 3 kids eating toothpaste surrounding by maggots.... yeah. Definitely makes you stop & think.
But on the brighter side I have provided some comic relief to my zone :) For our zone conference each mish got up & introduced themselves & I definitely got up & said "Elder VerHoef"
hashtag-facepalm
seriously??? Elder VerHoef?? Gah. So is my life! haha it was pretty funny. Another embarrassing moment was when I walked for 2 blocks down the streets of Londrina with my SKIRT caught in my G'S!!
Ahhhh.. I love it. haha
Something I've noticed here is that there aren't that many lighter skinned people here which is great but I get stared at A LOT. Not sure if its cause I'm wearing a skirt with a plaqueta everyday or if its blatantly obvious Im american or if the Brasileros have never seen blue eyes before... either way its quite unsettling haha. Been called Barbie Reese Witherspoon & Taylor Swift. In addition to the language & culture adaptation Im having an identity crisis!!! Who am I?? Im Jean Valjean! haha jk jk brincaderia ;)
Anyway, its been a good week. Lots of high highs & low lows. Frustrated because I thought I knew more portuguese & I get here & I feel like a deaf person.... but in 6 weeks Im sure itll be better.
Wanted to share a quote from an elder in the CTM that has really helped me this week. It goes like this:
"You can have sacred revelatory profound instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life----in the worst settings while enduring the most painful injustices when facing the most insurmountable odds & oppositions youve ever faced. In one way or another great or small dramatic or incidental every one of us is going to spend a little time in Liberty Jail. The lessons of the winter of 1838-1839 teach us that every experience can become a redemptive experience if we remain bonded to our Father in HEaven through it. These difficult lessons will teach us that mans extremity is Gods opportunity & if we will be humble and faithful and not curse God for our problems He can turn the unfair & inhumane prisons of our lives into temples."
Love you all so very much.
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