Estou aqui!!!!
After
several hours of traveling and months of waiting...I finally made it to
Brazil! I'm so happy to be here. From the very beginning, I knew that
I would serve in the states for at least 3 months before I was sent to
Brazil. I didn't know why, but I always knew. Well, to have this
e-mail make sense I'll start from the beginning...
 |
| We got our visa's! |
My final week in the Glenrose Ward in Spokane, WA was
the fastest week of my life. Sister Strong and I were sad all week
knowing that it would all come to an end soon. There were people in
that area that I will never forget and I know that Heavenly Father had
me serve there for a reason. My final Sunday
they had me sing in church and the only song that felt right was "The
Spirit of God". For the final verse I sang it in Portuguese and that's
when it really hit me that my time here was up. I could barely keep
myself from crying. My heart has never felt so completely torn apart.
About the mice situation...we finally caught the little
stinker in a mouse trap and it was funny because when we walked
upstairs the next morning there was a a dead mouse in the mouse trap
right by the kitchen. We were so confused because the kitchen is
upstairs and we set up all the mouse traps in the basement where we
live. We thought maybe the members put it there to show us that the
mouse was dead. Then we came to the conclusion that the cat brought it
upstairs. The best part was the members thought we brought the dead
mouse upstairs to show them!!! haha ew! We decided to keep the mouse
traps set up for another day or two. Don't worry, we caught 3 more
mice. Poor Sister Strong, she hates mice haha.
In preparation for my trip I sent a lot of stuff home
and left a lot of stuff behind. I didn't realize how much "stuff" I had
accumulated in Spokane. All of a sudden I had to learn to be super low maintenance. It's okay though, it's good for me :) The Sunday
before I left I met up with the other missionaries going to Brazil
(Sister Prater included) and we spent the night in a members home.
While the members were making dinner they told us we could "hang out"
and "relax", but I don't know how to do that anymore. For the past 4
months every half hour of everyday has something scheduled. I'm going
to be such a weirdo when I get home. Anyways, the members were super
nice and took good care of us. The next day we went to the airport
where we commenced over 24 hours worth of layovers and flights. I was
so happy to be traveling with Sister Prater. We sat together the entire
way to Manaus. When we connected in São Paulo, there was a member
there to greet us and help us connect to our next flight. When we
finally arrived in Manaus, it was like an instant heat wave when we
walked off the plane! I really like the humidity here. I think it
feels good and it kind of reminds me of Michigan. At this point, I
really didn't look or feel ready to meet my mission President, but I had
no choice. President and Sister Klein are so nice! We went to the
temple and took photos, then we had almorço (lunch) at their home.
I spent the next couple days in the city of Manaus to
sort out Police stuff. There were a couple of us assigned to other
cities that could not leave immediately. Sister Eggett and I stayed
with a couple of Brazilian Sisters in the city for a few days. That
helped my Portuguese a lot because they could only speak Portuguese with
me.
Now let me tell you about this place...it's crazy!!! I
had to get over my car anxiety real quick because I've now been on some
of the craziest car rides of my life! There are no rules to the roads
here. It's hilarious because people honk a lot here, but not out of
anger like in the U.S. The honk because they want to say "Hey I'm
coming whether ya like it or not so watch out!" It's nuts. There are
random cats and dogs everywhere. They are super sad looking and I
wouldn't want to cuddle with any of them. When I walked in our
temporary apartment the first night here there was a lizard on the wall
making itself at home. Welcome to Brazil! Bye bye to the state side
mission...
The food here is sooo good! I seriously might gain
weight. I'm so obsessed with the food here. They always have noodles,
rice, beans, and meat. Some people will make salad and veges too and I
love it! They make it differently here than we do in the states. Even
the manga is better here! They have all kinds of new fruit that I'm
excited to try. I tried one fruit that was dark purple and white on the
inside. It was the size of a large cherry. The Brazilian Sister was
explaining how to eat it properly, but at that point I already swallowed
the skin. They were all laughing at me...dumb American Sister haha.
Whatever. I've also never had so much pop and juice in my life. Those
who know me well know that I don't like pop or juice, but here in
Brazil that is the only drink that is cold and won't make me sick. I
hate to admit it, but it is also super delicious!
I also had the sacred privilege to attend a session at
the new Manaus temple. It is so beautiful. The entire session was in
Portuguese, but the Spirit was definitely felt. I love that the church
is the same wherever you go and whatever language it is in. After all
my police stuff was cleared, they finally let me go to my area.
I'm currently serving in a city called Boa Vista in a
branch called Floresta. I had to take a 12 hour bus ride alone to get
there. I traveled through the night and the dense rainforest to get
there. When I finally arrived I met my new companion Sister Crane. We
have been out on our missions the same amount of time and she is totally
awesome! I'm soooo grateful for Sister Crane. She is very
understanding and encouraging with the language. She is originally from
Dallas,Texas and it's kind of funny because she was once roommates with
my last companion Sister Strong. I love Sister Crane so much and I
feel like she is the reason my first week here has been so great. It's
hard trying to speak a new language. I have a lot to say, but no way to
say it and she has totally been there before. I think she is grateful
for me too because her last companion was Brazilian and that was a bit
of a culture shock for her. She says I speak better than she did when
she first arrived and that comforts me a lot because she seems to be
speaking very well after only 3 months here.
I'm literally the only blonde, white girl here. Even
my comp is darker than me. (Let's be honest though, it's not difficult
to be darker than me). I've been looking for the other blonde
girls...they don't exist! I get stared at a lot. It feels weird being
the minority. I also have a ton of bug bites all over me. I wear bug
spray to bed every night, but it doesn't do much for me. Our little
apartment is nice and clean. We don't have air conditioning, but we do
have fans. I take cold showers everyday, but I like it that way because
I'm always hot. The members are super good to us. We always get fed
well here.
Yesterday they asked me to bear my testimony in
church. It was kind of intimidating because I really don't know much
Portuguese, but they said that I spoke well. The meeting house is
really old and runned down, but they are building a new one that should
be done in another month. The other day some Elders called to ask how
my training was going. They said that most likely at the end of my
training, I would stay and train in Boa Vista and Sister Crane would
leave. The pressure is really on now. I have 3 months to learn the
language and know how to run this area. That means I will be here
mostly likely for 6 months!
The next 3 months for me will be a learning
experience. I'm learning a lot about how to trust my Heavenly Father
and how I can improve my communication with Him. It is really hard.
Some days, I just want to cry because I'm so frustrated that the
language doesn't come faster. Sister Crane keeps assuring me that it
will come. I'm so grateful to be here. I'm so grateful to be apart of
this work. Nothing has ever felt so right in my life. I know that I'm
here for a reason. I love the people already and I can feel the love
that our Heavenly Father has for them. That is my motivating force
right now.
I want ya'll to know that I know the church is true.
It is true in every country and in every tongue. I'm so grateful for my
Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and that He knows us so
perfectly. I have felt the Spirit bear witness of this to me and I will
never doubt it. I love you all. Thank you for your prayers, e-mails,
and letters. Have an awesome week!
Sister Hayley Jensen
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