Hello, North America!
This week I am completely unorganized and unplanned and have no idea
what to write to you all. Generally I plan everything out all
bonitinha, but today não.
Eu amo a missão, gente!! Eu amo Brazil. Eu amo batizar.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh....hooray for missions!
One neat experience this week was very spontaneous and very
"this-would-NOT-be-allowed-in-the-USA." My comps and I dropped in at a
school here in Catu to drop something off with an Irmã from the ward.
She was teaching a class of about 20 students, all about 12, 13, and
14 in age. Sis. Tibúrcio, half-kidding, said that hey! we could have a
super preaching-the-Gospel session in her class. The ward member said
sure! come on in! and we entered the classroom, surprised and pleased.
I was shocked, thanks to my North American upbringing around public
schools with amazingly rigid rules in regard to religion.
The students, skin of every shade from white to very dark, stared as
we introduced ourselves. Then, with the permission of our friend the
teacher, we taught a short version of the entire message of the
Restauration to the class, complete with questions and involvement
from the kids. I had the opportunity to recite the First Vision of
Joseph Smith to them. Knowing that I was Americana, they paid close
attention. (Here in Brazil, hearing an American speak is like candy).
I really saw that these young people were touched by the
message--Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, truly did appear
to a young boy in a grove of trees in 1820.
Afterward, we told them that if they wanted to hear more about this
message they could write their address down for us. Several did! It
was a very unique, fun experience. Afterward, a few meninos in the
back of the classroom whispered furtively something to the teacher,
eyeing me shyly. She grinned and turned to me. "Eles quer que você
dizer alguma coisa em englês." Very slowly, I talked a little about my
family. They LOVED it.
The Gospel is true, whether taught in the street, in the countryside,
in tiny homes, in huge homes, or in the classroom. I'm so very
grateful for the opportunity I have to be here doing what I'm doing.
The more I'm here, the more grateful I am for the Atonement of Jesus
Christ. It truly was something personal for each one of us. Because of
the Atonement, we have the opportunity to take part in the wonderful
plan that God has for each of us--to come to earth, gain a body, live
a life with the freedom (and responsibility) to choose and to learn
for ourselves, and to return to our Father again if we follow the
example of Christ.
Without the Atonement, I would not be able to be learning all that I
am learning here in Catú, Bahia, Brazil. I love Catú, I love my
companions, and I love brasil.
Thank you all so much for your support and love. Your letters lift my
spirits in ways that nothing else can--thank you all so very much for
writing. And please forgive me for the delayed response to get back to
you.
No matter what else happens, continue to pray and to read your
scriptures every day. If you do these simple things, you will be
blessed throughout your life.
If you still don't know much about the Church of Jesus Christ, check
out the website to the right--www.mormon.org. I know that the Church
is true and is of God.
Com muito amor,
Sis. Anne Petty
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
5 minutes blurb on a week of miracles
This week we saw miracles in Catu. We are here to help families. We
are seeing miracles in the lives of families that they themselves
never imagined possible. A man who persecuted the church, and abused
his family, is now reading the Book of Mormon every day, working to
stop smoking and drinking, and went to church this Sunday with his
whole family. "Please help me," he told us last night with pleading
eyes. "I can't do this alone. I trust in you, and I want to come unto
Christ. Please help me."
The sight of this previously gruff, anti-Mormon, anti-missionary man,
sitting with his family reading the Book of Mormon out loud, brought
tears to my eyes. THIS is what the work is about.
I can't tell you how many tears of joy have been shed this week--by
Gefferson, and the ward, and the family.
The Gospel is real.
are seeing miracles in the lives of families that they themselves
never imagined possible. A man who persecuted the church, and abused
his family, is now reading the Book of Mormon every day, working to
stop smoking and drinking, and went to church this Sunday with his
whole family. "Please help me," he told us last night with pleading
eyes. "I can't do this alone. I trust in you, and I want to come unto
Christ. Please help me."
The sight of this previously gruff, anti-Mormon, anti-missionary man,
sitting with his family reading the Book of Mormon out loud, brought
tears to my eyes. THIS is what the work is about.
I can't tell you how many tears of joy have been shed this week--by
Gefferson, and the ward, and the family.
The Gospel is real.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
More pictures..(they don't all fit) YAY!
1 - a GORGEOUS cake made by a Brazileira in the ward. Unfortunately, we had a baptism and didn't get to eat it. *wink* not unfortunately--we're SO HAPPY ABOUT BAPTISMS
2 - we climbed up into a house under construction and talked with the workers! LOL, here Sis. Tiburcio is throwing bricks to a guy laying bricks.
Pictures! YAY!
1 - turtle! woot! pets of a family we're teaching
2 - a common sight in Catu. Horses and donkeys here are not for recreation, but transportation.
3 - Me and Sis. Bezerra, my trainer!
4 - me and a sun set. YAY!
5 - group in the MTC.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tempo Verdadeiramente Esta Voando!
Hello world! I'm in a very happy mood right now, so warning there might be a lot of all caps and exclamation points today!
Everyone should look up a beautiful thing called "couscous." It's basically mashed corn, or something, that Bahians cook and eat with butter/salt/sugar/eggs. Kind of like Southerners in the USA eat grits, but cuscuz is amazing! Also, I LOVE feijão (beans) here so much. I will learn how to cook them and will cook for my children. Farofa is probably my favorite thing here in Bahia. Look that up, too.
My companions are basically perfect, my friends. I couldn't ask for a better bunch. Every day I want to be more like them.
A story to represent the things we do every day here in Bahia as missionaries:
As we were walking along a little cobblestone street one night, we passed an open house with a few rough-looking men inside. I would have continued walking, but when Tiago (our awesome ward missionary) recognized one of them, Sis. Tiburcio headed right for him. We entered the tiny house, shook hands all around, and taught a lesson to these men. One of them used to be a professional boxer, and is now one of the biggest people you've ever seen. If we baptize him we'll have to go to the beach. Anyway, during the lesson another man came to the door and grumped to the huge man, "Bira, cigarro!" and Bira, without looking his direction, barked "Estou ocuPADO!" (I'm BUSY!!) We continued talking with the men, and the cigar man kept coming back and wanting a cigar, and so ended up hearing most of the lesson. The irony was great--he wanted a cigar, but the sister missionaries were keeping him from it. Also during this lesson, a lizard landed on my companion's head while she was teaching--very entertaining.
I'll keep you updated on Bira and the cigar man, because the story continues. :-)
Maybe I said this last week, but I'm learning much more to be grateful for the prophet Moroni, son of Mormon. He was alone in a horror-ravaged, bloody, lonely world, writing for people who had killed his brethren. No wonder he wrote about faith, hope and charity, for without these virtues he himself would not have continued. I hope to be more like Moroni every day, continuing in faith even when I can't see the fruits of my labors, even when I'm alone and no one's watching, even when things are harder than I ever imagined they would be.
The mission is absolutely wonderful. I'm so glad I'm here. I love you all, thank you for your support and letters.
Com amor,
Sis. Petty
Everyone should look up a beautiful thing called "couscous." It's basically mashed corn, or something, that Bahians cook and eat with butter/salt/sugar/eggs. Kind of like Southerners in the USA eat grits, but cuscuz is amazing! Also, I LOVE feijão (beans) here so much. I will learn how to cook them and will cook for my children. Farofa is probably my favorite thing here in Bahia. Look that up, too.
My companions are basically perfect, my friends. I couldn't ask for a better bunch. Every day I want to be more like them.
A story to represent the things we do every day here in Bahia as missionaries:
As we were walking along a little cobblestone street one night, we passed an open house with a few rough-looking men inside. I would have continued walking, but when Tiago (our awesome ward missionary) recognized one of them, Sis. Tiburcio headed right for him. We entered the tiny house, shook hands all around, and taught a lesson to these men. One of them used to be a professional boxer, and is now one of the biggest people you've ever seen. If we baptize him we'll have to go to the beach. Anyway, during the lesson another man came to the door and grumped to the huge man, "Bira, cigarro!" and Bira, without looking his direction, barked "Estou ocuPADO!" (I'm BUSY!!) We continued talking with the men, and the cigar man kept coming back and wanting a cigar, and so ended up hearing most of the lesson. The irony was great--he wanted a cigar, but the sister missionaries were keeping him from it. Also during this lesson, a lizard landed on my companion's head while she was teaching--very entertaining.
I'll keep you updated on Bira and the cigar man, because the story continues. :-)
Maybe I said this last week, but I'm learning much more to be grateful for the prophet Moroni, son of Mormon. He was alone in a horror-ravaged, bloody, lonely world, writing for people who had killed his brethren. No wonder he wrote about faith, hope and charity, for without these virtues he himself would not have continued. I hope to be more like Moroni every day, continuing in faith even when I can't see the fruits of my labors, even when I'm alone and no one's watching, even when things are harder than I ever imagined they would be.
The mission is absolutely wonderful. I'm so glad I'm here. I love you all, thank you for your support and letters.
Com amor,
Sis. Petty
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Abra A Boca!
All I can say is, my new companions are fantastic.
Sis. Tiburcio, from Sao Paulo, meets people, laughs with them, and with 5 minutes has discovered and addressed the core difficulty in their life. Sis. Santos, from Mato Grosso, is the epitomy of organized-ness and teaching power. I'm learning SO MUCH.
On Sunday, Milena (my first baptism) got up to bear testimony in Church. My heart almost jumped out of my chest in surprise and joy. It was a powerful testimony and I cried.
Funny moments--we climbed up to a house that was under construction this week, and Sis. Tiburcio tossed bricks to workers while teaching them about church on Sunday. I tried to toss a brick and failed. Also this week, we stopped to talk to a man on a bench, sitting by a motorcycle. He was a "moto taxi," which is like a taxi, but on a motorcycle. In the next five minutes, we had five or six moto taxi drivers--it was their stop. We talked to each of them about the Gospel, and prayed with them right there in the street. It was neat.
The most recent and most powerful experience of the week took place yesterday. Due to a contact in the street, we were invited to a practice of some boxers of Catu. After 5 minutes or so of watching these men train, we invited everyone to listen to a quick message. I will never forget that message. We taught them about faith, six big, tough boxers leaning on the ropes of the boxing cage. They were rivoted. At the end, Sis. Santos invited them all to be baptized on the 28th of this month, with a response from the Lord that the Book of Mormon was true. Tudo mundo: "Sim." The closing prayer was powerful, too--I sneaked a peek to see these huge men bowing their heads in humble prayer.
Sorry this was so short. I love you all so much! More next time!
Sis. Petty
P.S. A Brazilian woman answering the phone in a post office: "Oi, meu amor! Quem è`?" (Hi, my love! Who is it?)
Sis. Tiburcio, from Sao Paulo, meets people, laughs with them, and with 5 minutes has discovered and addressed the core difficulty in their life. Sis. Santos, from Mato Grosso, is the epitomy of organized-ness and teaching power. I'm learning SO MUCH.
On Sunday, Milena (my first baptism) got up to bear testimony in Church. My heart almost jumped out of my chest in surprise and joy. It was a powerful testimony and I cried.
Funny moments--we climbed up to a house that was under construction this week, and Sis. Tiburcio tossed bricks to workers while teaching them about church on Sunday. I tried to toss a brick and failed. Also this week, we stopped to talk to a man on a bench, sitting by a motorcycle. He was a "moto taxi," which is like a taxi, but on a motorcycle. In the next five minutes, we had five or six moto taxi drivers--it was their stop. We talked to each of them about the Gospel, and prayed with them right there in the street. It was neat.
The most recent and most powerful experience of the week took place yesterday. Due to a contact in the street, we were invited to a practice of some boxers of Catu. After 5 minutes or so of watching these men train, we invited everyone to listen to a quick message. I will never forget that message. We taught them about faith, six big, tough boxers leaning on the ropes of the boxing cage. They were rivoted. At the end, Sis. Santos invited them all to be baptized on the 28th of this month, with a response from the Lord that the Book of Mormon was true. Tudo mundo: "Sim." The closing prayer was powerful, too--I sneaked a peek to see these huge men bowing their heads in humble prayer.
Sorry this was so short. I love you all so much! More next time!
Sis. Petty
P.S. A Brazilian woman answering the phone in a post office: "Oi, meu amor! Quem è`?" (Hi, my love! Who is it?)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
In Which I Discuss Government, Laugh at Bahians and Almost Jump on Someone's Couch
Hello, dear world! How is America? How is everyone??
I am officially no longer a trainee. *does a little missionary-appropriate dance* I completed my first transfer of the mission, and now have TWO new companions! This is not normal, usually we work in pairs. My comps, Sisters Tiburcio and Santos, are maravilhosas, so I think this transfer will be fantastic. [my hands are hurting from lugging luggage across Catu, though. What is it with women and lots of STUFF?] My first transfer was definitely something. I laughed, I cried, I hurt, I worked, I bore testimony, I made friends, I ate a lot, I learned a lot, and I gained an even greater desire to continue firmly in the faith, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world!
Last week I had an interview with our new mission president, Pres. Hart. During the interview, we found out that we both love history, and we got talking about George Washington! HA! I love GW, and I love discussions about anything historical. Anyway, I love that I have this connection with Pres. Hart. Twas fun.
CULTURE SNIP [because I have a teeny bit of time]:
Brazilians do everything really big, and really thoroughly. Specifically, and most noticably, cook and clean. This week Sis. Bezerra and I were eating lunch with a member (this happens every day), and I very much enjoyed watching a young adult son come in to eat really quick before leaving. He grabbed a plate and piled bastante rice, beans, chicken, beef, noodles, and salsa (with lots of very hot pepper). He topped it all off with a mountain of farinha (the flour of something called "mandioca"--if anyone wants to research a bit about this food, I'd appreciate it. I LOVE IT and put it on everything now!), like Bahians love to put on everything. Then he mixed it all up together and wolfed it down in about 5 minutes. It was SO CLASSICALLY Bahian, I wanted dearly to take a picture.
Buses are another thing. Has anyone seen "Fantasia 2000"? Remember that cartoon set in NYC, very stylized and set to Rhapsody in Blue? There's a part where a guy gets on a subway, and everyone is PACKED in, only space for one arm to stabilize the people standing, and they all get off in the same shape as they were packed. I don't know if that made any sense at all, sorry, but as vezes I feel just like that. Buses seem to be more of a private thing here, and buses are always slowing and stopping and yelling to people "Sojuca! Sojuuuuuca!" or whatever sity they're headed to, looking for more people to hop on. Some of these vehicles are very nice, and feel like an airplane inside. Others are downright sketchy, little closed dirty vans.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now to my favorite moment of the week.
I have no clue what I wrote last week, sorry if I repeat myself. Last week we found, purely through a prompting from the Spirit, a young woman (menina) named Luciana who seemed to have great potencial. We taught her about the Restauration, left her with 3 Nephi 11 to read, and committed her to read, pray, and be baptized when she recieved an answer. This week we returned, prepared to follow up with those challenges. She completely floored us. Not only had she READ the entire chapter (rare), she had marked it all up, and without any prompting commenced reading to us key scriptures, summarizing what was going on, and applying the doctrine of Christ to her life. This 15-yr-old jewel taught us what we had come to teach her! I nearly got up and jumped on that little living room couch with joy. THIS is missionary work, my friends. Following the Spirit to the souls that God has prepared for us. I don't know what will happen with Luciana, but I do know that the Spirit led us to her. I learned a great lesson from this, and hope to continue learning. The Gospel is real!
I want to thank you all for the letters you've written. I am SO grateful to have received a beautiful stack of letters last week at a zone meeting--I treasured them, reading them one at a time over the period of several days. You are all wonderful! They took a bit to arrive, but they arrived safe. Thank you all so so so so so much.
Maybe I shared this last week, maybe not. I've been studying faith, and last week I encountered some scriptures that are perfect to describe what faith is. You know what, I think I already shared these. Faith, I believe, is first humility, then trust in the Lord, then action. We first recognize, "Lord, I don't know all things. I am very weak." Then we say, "Lord, I know I am weak, but I know that you can do all things, and will prepare the way for me." Then we ACT, following the Lord's guidance, and continually trusting that the Lord will provide a way.
I know this is real. I know the Lord truly does guide our footsteps when we trust in Him.
I love you all, and am so grateful for your support. Continue in faith. Read your scriptures every day, and never forget to pray. Even ONE scripture each day is better than none! I promise you will feel God's love and influence if you do this.
Com amor,
Sis. Petty
I am officially no longer a trainee. *does a little missionary-appropriate dance* I completed my first transfer of the mission, and now have TWO new companions! This is not normal, usually we work in pairs. My comps, Sisters Tiburcio and Santos, are maravilhosas, so I think this transfer will be fantastic. [my hands are hurting from lugging luggage across Catu, though. What is it with women and lots of STUFF?] My first transfer was definitely something. I laughed, I cried, I hurt, I worked, I bore testimony, I made friends, I ate a lot, I learned a lot, and I gained an even greater desire to continue firmly in the faith, teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world!
Last week I had an interview with our new mission president, Pres. Hart. During the interview, we found out that we both love history, and we got talking about George Washington! HA! I love GW, and I love discussions about anything historical. Anyway, I love that I have this connection with Pres. Hart. Twas fun.
CULTURE SNIP [because I have a teeny bit of time]:
Brazilians do everything really big, and really thoroughly. Specifically, and most noticably, cook and clean. This week Sis. Bezerra and I were eating lunch with a member (this happens every day), and I very much enjoyed watching a young adult son come in to eat really quick before leaving. He grabbed a plate and piled bastante rice, beans, chicken, beef, noodles, and salsa (with lots of very hot pepper). He topped it all off with a mountain of farinha (the flour of something called "mandioca"--if anyone wants to research a bit about this food, I'd appreciate it. I LOVE IT and put it on everything now!), like Bahians love to put on everything. Then he mixed it all up together and wolfed it down in about 5 minutes. It was SO CLASSICALLY Bahian, I wanted dearly to take a picture.
Buses are another thing. Has anyone seen "Fantasia 2000"? Remember that cartoon set in NYC, very stylized and set to Rhapsody in Blue? There's a part where a guy gets on a subway, and everyone is PACKED in, only space for one arm to stabilize the people standing, and they all get off in the same shape as they were packed. I don't know if that made any sense at all, sorry, but as vezes I feel just like that. Buses seem to be more of a private thing here, and buses are always slowing and stopping and yelling to people "Sojuca! Sojuuuuuca!" or whatever sity they're headed to, looking for more people to hop on. Some of these vehicles are very nice, and feel like an airplane inside. Others are downright sketchy, little closed dirty vans.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now to my favorite moment of the week.
I have no clue what I wrote last week, sorry if I repeat myself. Last week we found, purely through a prompting from the Spirit, a young woman (menina) named Luciana who seemed to have great potencial. We taught her about the Restauration, left her with 3 Nephi 11 to read, and committed her to read, pray, and be baptized when she recieved an answer. This week we returned, prepared to follow up with those challenges. She completely floored us. Not only had she READ the entire chapter (rare), she had marked it all up, and without any prompting commenced reading to us key scriptures, summarizing what was going on, and applying the doctrine of Christ to her life. This 15-yr-old jewel taught us what we had come to teach her! I nearly got up and jumped on that little living room couch with joy. THIS is missionary work, my friends. Following the Spirit to the souls that God has prepared for us. I don't know what will happen with Luciana, but I do know that the Spirit led us to her. I learned a great lesson from this, and hope to continue learning. The Gospel is real!
I want to thank you all for the letters you've written. I am SO grateful to have received a beautiful stack of letters last week at a zone meeting--I treasured them, reading them one at a time over the period of several days. You are all wonderful! They took a bit to arrive, but they arrived safe. Thank you all so so so so so much.
Maybe I shared this last week, maybe not. I've been studying faith, and last week I encountered some scriptures that are perfect to describe what faith is. You know what, I think I already shared these. Faith, I believe, is first humility, then trust in the Lord, then action. We first recognize, "Lord, I don't know all things. I am very weak." Then we say, "Lord, I know I am weak, but I know that you can do all things, and will prepare the way for me." Then we ACT, following the Lord's guidance, and continually trusting that the Lord will provide a way.
I know this is real. I know the Lord truly does guide our footsteps when we trust in Him.
I love you all, and am so grateful for your support. Continue in faith. Read your scriptures every day, and never forget to pray. Even ONE scripture each day is better than none! I promise you will feel God's love and influence if you do this.
Com amor,
Sis. Petty
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