In Which I Feel A Little Like A Dog, A Little Like a Tourist, and A lot like a Real Live Missionary

This is Sis. Anne Petty, reporting from Catu, Bahia, Brazil. This is
definitely not Kansas anymore, folks.

I'm sorry that it's been awhile...I know you've all been on the edges of
your seats, wanting to know what's going on in the world of Sis. Petty.
*wink*
(Now, the reason I didn't get to e-mail last week was because I LEFT the MTC the day before, and the next day was full of traveling and there was hardly time to breath, not to mention get to a computer place to do e-mail. But I am alive and all is well!)

First some quick basics: I'm finally out of the MTC as of June 20th, and
have been in my first area for a week: Catu, Bahia, Brazil! Google Map it
for me and enjoy that, because I only get to see it from the ground. I love
it here! My comp is Brazilian and wonderful, which is hard but really good
for me. First, I'm proggressing with portuguese really quick. Or at least I like to think so. I understand her (Sis. Bezerra) really well, because she speaks clearly and beautifully, like a good Paulista (she's also a portuguese TEACHER, so she doesn~'t use slang, which is way nice). The hard thing is I have to speak portugues all the time. This is really rough first thing in the morning, LOL, when it's all I can do to focus on walking around without falling over, not to mention speaking another language. Communication is also a little rough, because as a female I want to talk to my companion about the deep feelings of my heart, be tactful, and just in general talk a lot, but I really don't know how to say most things. This is difficult. I haven't spoken in English for awhile, so please forgive my
sloppiness.

Oh my goodness I'm really in Brazil now! The MTC was NOT Brasil. I've now taught my first lesson (kind of. I said a couple slow things in each lesson we've taught), done contacts, met the ward and fallen in love with the members, been bitten all over by mosquitos, found little dangerous-looking wormy things in our shower, eaten barbeque off a grill in a person's backyard I didn't even know, tripped four times in one day, nearly cried during a lesson out of frustration with the language, almost split my face smiling while watching an investigator's father play guitar and sing a hymn with his daughter, hung my laundry to dry on a line for the first time, been in houses that I didn't know counted as houses, and all in all fallen in love with this country.

I don't have a lot of time, so I'll quickly summarize what that title was
all about.

Feeling Like a Dog:

-everyone says I'm cute, even though I'm scraggly and dirty.
-I don't say much, and I don't understand much, but I can follow simple
commands really well.
-even when I do things wrong, break things, or trip, people smile and pat me
on the head.
-even if I have just met you, I love you! (anyone get that movie reference?)

Feeling Like a Tourist:

Folks...Brazil is absolutely beautiful. I can't even describe accurately how
amazing it is to actually be here. My photographer, painter self is DYING to
snap photos every second. This is lame to say, but it's true--everything
looks exactly like all the pictures. Here are some briefs sketches for you:

-windy cobblestone streets,
-half-naked brown children kicking around a soccer ball, building a fire, or
chasing each other through the streets barefoot
-wrinkled old men and women, wearing bright colors and often straw hats,
sitting in front of houses
-houses smaller than I knew existed

REAL MISSIONARY

Dang it out of time!!

The Gospel is so real! I've been teaching lessons, sweating a lot,
smiling at everyone, trying to speak Portuguese, and growing my
testimony of the truthfulness of the reality of Jesus Christ and
Heavenly Father. I love this work, and next week I'll write more about
the adventures and difficulties and blessings of being a real
missionary.

I love you all, thank you for your support and love, and for your letters!

Sis. Petty

In Which I Tract in Sao Paulo, Wear an Ugly Tie, and Feel Like a Celebrity

[ONE WEEK OLD--sending messed up last week. So we get two in a row!! :)]


Thank you so so so so so much to those who have written to me, either through DearElder or by hand. I know I always say this, but that's because it's always true: letters are like gold here. Thank you all so much for writing. I will write back soon.
TRACTING in Sao Paulo was amazing. We were basically dropped off on our heads on a curb on the busiest street, told "Boa sorte!" and left. Sis. Johnson, my amazing comp, and I talked about the Gospel with about 15 people, and gave away several copies of the Book of Mormon. It was a very thrilling, terrifying, rewarding, emotionally exhausting experience. I'm glad I got to do it...but I'm also glad my mission is in Salvador, not Sao Paulo. :-)
Yesterday, the Argentine, Brazilian, and I finally performed that musical number, and it went so well! We merged three hymns, and I figured out how to transition between them on the piano. In one, there was even a key change, which made me feel kind of cool.
Another thing that made me feel cool was the other night when a bunch of Brazilians were saying goodbye. Sister Johnson and I literally had like 20 elders that all wanted to get their pictures with us, and for us to sign their notebooks. We felt like celebrities. They loved us.
Last week I mentioned that I was alone, and had been for six weeks, when it came to missions. But HOORAY, that same day, at dinner, I found out that a whole district (about 11 or 12 elders) had arrived, and they were all headed to Salvador! I almost split my face in two grinning. I'm also afraid that I probably scared the poor elders with my excitement to see them. "She's been waiting her whole life to meet you," my companion told them with a grin.
As this is the last week, my district is trying to be harder core about the language. We now had a horribly ugly tie that we have to wear if we speak English during any time of the morning, and I ended up wearing it during lunch a couple days ago. All the Brazilians thought this was pretty funny.
On Tuesday, we watched a video of a devotional by Elder Dallin H. Oaks...that I was THERE for! It was so weird to be watching it now on an old recording. This Sunday I'm conducting the departure choir. This means I'm in charge of almost 100 people, and I have about 40 minutes to put together 10 minutes of performance music. Wish me luck with that!
Sorry this was so short. I'm leaving for the mission field in six days, and I can hardly believe it. I love the CTM SO much...my two months total have been wonderful, in Provo and here in SP. The Gospel is real, and Jesus is the Christ. I am so grateful for the Atonement, and for the knowledge that families really can be together forever. I love you all so much, and I hope you keep being the wonderful people you are. If you have time to write, I would love to hear from you.
Much love,
Sis. Anne Petty

In Which I Do Capoeira, Appreciate my Mission, and Am Even More Grateful for Life

Hello, world! This is Sister Petty, reporting from Sao Paulo, seven weeks into the MTC with only two more to go. OPA! (don't know what this directly translates to, but it's an excellent Portuguese expression).

Things are hectic and wonderful and spiritual and busy. In two days, my district is going to be dropped on our heads in the heart of downtown Sao Paulo...it's kind of like Times Square of NYC, except 3x as big!! Our goal: talk to people about the church and give out copies of the Book of Mormon. And not die or be robbed. Wish us luck!

Okay, quick list of this week's funnies: ~all Brazilians have a hard time with my name, usually saying "Petchy" or "Petch." The other day, though, an elder said, "Seester...Peach?" and it was so funny and so adorable. He didn't know why it was funny, and I told him to please keep calling me that because it made me smile.

~ an elder in my district a couple days ago let on to how little he knew about sister missionaries. He asked, "Wait...sisters go out and proselyte and stuff?" I almost fell over laughing. Better to laugh than hit him, I suppose.

Okay I just realized I don~t have time for more funnies. Sorry. :-)
Opa, this week I saw a real live Brazilian doing Capoeira, an African fighting/dancing cool thing, and I learned some, sort of! It was so cool!

Now on a more serious note, I wanted to share some thoughts I've been having this week. This Sunday was a great day for me. Very spiritual, very focused. As I sat in a Mission Conference, I pondered on my life and how happy I was in it. I also started thinking about the Atonement--Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection for the world. I realized that as a church and as a world, we seem to focus a lot on how through Christ we can return to live with God after this life. This is so true and so wonderful! But do we also realize that it is only because of the Atonement that we can be living life in the first place? Because Christ was willing to come to earth and atone for the sins of the world, I am able to experience the deep, powerful joys of living that I could not experience any other way. I am able to have a physical body. I am able to learn and grow and progress. These are things I'm beginning to appreciate more and more as I spend more of time and energy in the service of others. I'm so excited to go out into the mission field in just TWO WEEKS and really throw myself into serving God's children. I want to share with individuals what I know about Christ--that He suffered and died so that they could live.
I know this Gospel is true, and that God loves all His children beyond what any of us can understand!
Thank you all for your support and love. I would appreciate and love any letters you feel like writing, big or small. DearElder is still a possibility, it just costs the price of a stamp. It only takes about 4 days for letters to get here. MY MISSION ADDRESS (this will work for probably my whole mission, unless I tell you otherwise. Commas = line breaks): Sister Anne Joy Petty, Brazil Salvador Mission, Caixa Postal 6946, Pituba, 41811-970 Salvador - BA, Brazil.
I love you all so much! Keep being the wonderful people you are, I appreciate it more than you know.
Much love, Sister Petty

Growing in Brasil

Ola, world! I hope everyone is doing fantastic...but I wouldn't know because I never HEAR from anyone...except my dear sweet friend's Mom, Sis. Bosselman. Sis. Bosselman, thank you so much for that DearElder, it made my week. My whole district was jealous, because letters are such rare things here! I]m in Brazil. I know you all knew that, but it's still way weird.

Today is my SIX WEEK MARK. AHHH. Only three more!!

Here are some of the things I've noticed that are different in this country:

-toilet paper.
It's like Kleenex! Serio! I feel so rich when I use it. Outside of the MTC, though, the toilet paper doesn't go in the toilet...it goes in a trash can after it]~s used. Ick.

- food.
Beans and rice, lots and lots of fresh fruit, salad without salad dressing, yummy little fruity desserts, lots of meat.

- winking.
Everyone winks here. The first time I was in the cafeteria and got winked at by an elder, I was shocked, but fortunately I was clued-in pretty soon that a wink is not flirtatious here...it's more like a greeting. So now my whole district is trying to get good at winking. Sadly (or maybe it's a good thing, who knows) I'm not very good at all. If I wink my left eye, my right eyebrow goes up. Every time. Alas.

- kissing. Everyone kisses here, too. Kisses on the cheek are a regular greeting, as in much of South America. I think it's great. Hugs just aren't enough anyway. Of course, as sisters, we never hug or kiss any males. Claro.

- the people are so open and friendly! I love them!

This last Sunday, my comps and I were asked to be the coordinating sisters for the whole MTC! This is only about 15-20 sisters, but still, it's definitely a responsibility and we feel very honored. We will conduct Relief Society, lead a couple of other meetings, and just generally help out and make sure all the sisters are doing okay. We're basically little helpers to the MTC president's wife. Yesterday, Tuesday night, I got to play "Called to Serve," (kind of a LDS missionary anthem hymn :-) for the opening song in devotional, with the entire MTC singing. It was thrilling, and I was very grateful for the opportunity. Everyone, if you don~t know piano, I challenge you to learn it. It's worth all the practicing, I promise! After devo, while I was playing postlude, several elders and a couple sisters gradually gathered around the piano to sing while I played. There's an Argentine elder here who's exceptionally good, and it was neat to hear him sing. Last night was just so happy.

Last but not least, we went out and actually proselyted on the streets of Sao Paulo last Friday! It was a little bit scary, but not nearly as much as I thought it would be. Do I speak Portuguese? Sort of. Do I understand Portuguese when people on the streets talk to me? Maybe like three words for every 20. But that's okay! I actually went out and contacted people--real live missionary work--and it was so exciting. Our first contact was two middle-aged men who were waiting on the sidewalk for their boss to call them. Perfect. We stopped and talked with them for 15 or 20 minutes about the restored Gospel, about God, and about the Book of Mormon. I didn't understand hardly anything of what they said to us, but I nodded and smiled and bore my testimony, and it was beautiful. After that, we kept proselyting for about 3 hours, and it was long and sometimes hard, but so satisfying. We gave out all the Book of Mormons we had (5), then just talked to people about the Gospel and invited them to Church. It was a very neat experience.

My district is doing well. I often have to remind myself that they're only nineteen. You would not believe some of the things they've talked about around us sisters. I guess it's good preparation to have sons someday. On the flip side, however, I am astounded every day by the spiritual depth and maturity of some of the elders. Although they're often goofs, they're also fine young men who are going to do great things in their lives.

Okay, my time is up. I appreciate your prayers. I would love your letters too. :-) Pray for me to finally meet someone who is going to my mission. I've been in the MTC for 6 weeks now, and have not met ONE SINGLE MISSIONARY who is going to Salvador! I'm starting to wonder if it's not a real mission. :-)
Keep in touch. The Gospel is real. Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God, and the Book of Mormon is truly an ancient record of people on the American continents. Huzzah for Israel!
Much love,
Sister Petch (that's how the Brazilians pronounce it)