WEEK 16: Miracles & A Big Ole Cockroach

MONDAY (night)
We found a HUGE cockroach just chillin on our kitchen wall. It was less of a cockroach and more like a baby alien. We trapped it in three walmart bags and set him outside. Nast

TUESDAY
Today we played a little bit of futebol with some kids in the street. I can't juggle a soccer ball for the life of me but they wanted me to try and I did and they thought it was the funniest thing ever haha. They all started mimicking me it was so so funny. (video in link below)

WEDNESDAY
Elder Vega cooked up an amazing dinner for us (I'll send a pic). It was my first time eating a fish like that. So good.

Today was probably the hardest day yet, but consequently the most insightful.
We had divisions and I was with a new companion who doesn't have much experience yet as a missionary (like me) and I didn't know anything about this new area. We had about 12 commitments planned with people and literally every one of them but one fell through. The sun was scorching and I was really not loving it. We must've walked about 15 miles in total. No kidding. And besides all that we were treated pretty rudely by a man on the street. Towards the end of the day as we were walking I started to say a prayer in my mind, just that I could catch some sort of break, that the day would get a little bit better somehow, just anything that would make the day worth it. We walked for a while more to our next appointment (which fell through) and I was wondering if my prayer had been heard. I was feeling really discouraged. As we started to make our way to our last appointment some kids at a soccer court starting calling towards us out of the blue. I didn't notice them at first because I was kinda in my thoughts, but they called out again, "De onde você é?" (Where are you from?)
"I was like oh me? I'm from the US" and all their faces lit up. They asked me a bunch of questions about home and their happiness was so contagious. I invited them all to church this Sunday and taught them an entire lesson of the Gospel of Jesus Christ there on the street curb. They payed attention the entire time which was shocking and they invited us to their house another day to share more. It was my first time ever giving a lesson by myself, because I'm still learning Portuguese. But as I gave the lesson I felt almost completely fluent. I was able to say everything I needed to and ask all the right questions. I can't deny that this experience, small as it may seem, was a direct answer to prayer. It made all the day's problems seem like nothing and made me remember that we grow through struggles, and even though things can get real hard sometimes God still gives us miracles, big or small, when we seek Him.

Now the area I was working in for that day has seven bright new kids learning about the Gospel.

THURSDAY
I don't even know what happened to Thursday. It felt like the whole day was an hour long so I don't really have anything to write ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

FRIDAY
Today was awesome, we had "Mission Tour" which is where one of the counselors of the Area Seventy comes and does a workshop for our zone and two others. It was held in Asa Sul, which is kind of a nicer part of Brasilia. It was strange being in an area so nice & urban.
Out of all the missionaries at the conference, my companion and I were selected to have an interview with the counselor. I really enjoyed meeting with him.

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SUNDAY
Today was stake conference (a meeting where all the congregations of a few areas come together). The entire sacrament room and the overflow and the stage in the back were filled with people. 
We had a whole lot of the people we are teaching come. Ruy and his wife came! The Area Seventy of Brazil concluded the meeting with an amazing talk about things we had just covered with some of the people we're teaching.
Tainara had her baptismal interview and we're excited for her baptism this week.

MONDAY
This morning we did another Pday hike with Ruy. Brazil is beautiful. Parts of the hike reminded me a lot of Arkansas.

PICS:
1) The cockroach himself. He was a lil smaller than my hand.
2) 5 big dead rats on the side of the street :D
3) Some buds
4) The suuper good meal Elder Vega made
5) Acai in Brazil (best thing ever)
6) One of Tainara's puppies
7 & 8) Our hike, yes Ruy shaved his head haha
9) A type of flower called "Teeth of a Lion"












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