starting to get the hang of it all... september 4, 2013

September 4, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

greetings from brazil!!  i’m starting to get the hang of this brazil ctm.  so, as far as this past week went, here’s what i’ve got.

GOOD:

█mr. cheney's cookie's on p days. double chocolate yes please! it's like 'merica in a little shop. the coke zero doesn't hurt either!

█being the new girl = quiet girl = muito studying and keeping to myself. my future investigators will thank me.

█i'm lovingggg the brazil soda pop.  i think i'll fit in here.

BAD:

█not knowing which soccer team to support… in brazil.

█saying "yes" to a question when it was not a yes or no answer.. oops. #stuckintranslation

AWKWARD:

█buying rival soccer jerseys because i don't know who to support.,. i'll decide in the field :)
█not understanding the guy at check out and just handing him more and more money… but he just wanted a smaller bill. way to play it cool sister faldmo.

AWESOME:

█two p days in five days #newgirlforthewin

█playing volleyball with missionaries from all over central and south america… then hearing what english phrases they know

█one of the elders would act like a rapper with his mic and lift up his hand whenever we scored. it was a LOL moment.

█singing the efy medley in portuguese and english at devotional. ITS MY FAVORITE!!

█this mtc is much smaller, and on sunday our fireside was a mtc wide testimony meeting, everyone in their native tongue #legit

█MY FIRST COUNSELOR IN MY BRANCH PRESIDENCY USED TO LIVE IN SIOUX CITY WHEN I WAS LITTLE AND KNEW ME!!!

█singing the brazil national anthem- look it up it's the coolest thing ever!

█finding out good ol’ fashioned snail mail letters only take a week to get here!!! START WRITING PEOPLE!

i'm doing better. i’m not going to lie… my companion here is hard. i know this is SO HORRIBLE of me.  i'm praying for patience and humility every day. we are opposites. we don't fight though. but i plan lessons and study… she just sits there and day dreams. not even kidding. she's very smart, you can tell. but there’s some other stuff she is not really smart about. she forgets things a lot and makes us late... which actually drives me crazy because our DL likes people to be on time!  and i can curl my hair AND do my make-up etc. in the time she brushes her hair and puts on mascara, i swear.  she also goes to the bathroom literally 10-15 times a day which means i have to leave the classroom and wait in the hall for her. i've noticed i'm probably unhealthy because i only go like 4 or 5 times a day—tops! you think she's all innocent and humble and then she’ll say things like "it's just hard to know what to major in because i have so many interests and talents... so I’ll just do what makes the most money." tough life babe. but she's opened up a lot to me about things, so she obviously trusts me a lot.  she just climbs up on the top bunk and spills her beans and it's weird! but cool i guess. she is ALWAYS right by my side and that also is soooo hard. the sister training leader came to the door to try and talk to me about how I was doing, so of course my companion came to the door when we were talking and the STL said "oh actually, i just need to talk to sister faldmo" and my companion said "oh i know but i'm going to stand here anyways."  alrighty then!!! hmmmm….

i can always tell how my week is going based off how many lines i have in each category. it's good to know i can think of much more good and awesome than bad as i reflect on this week. i feel so blessed. it is still hard, but i seriously have seen so many tender mercies from the Lord this week. i have had to completely trust that i am not alone in this and i have been blessed. Some of the scriptures that have really helped me this week are:

Doctrine & Covenants 1:23

“That the ^afulness of my ^bgospel might be ^cproclaimed by the ^dweak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before ^ekings and ^frulers.”

Romans 8:16-17

“The Spirit itself beareth ^awitness with our ^bspirit, that we are the ^cchildren of God:

And if children, then heirs; ^aheirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we ^bsuffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

John 14:18

I will not leave you ^acomfortless: I will ^bcome to you.

i have also learned a lot about the Atonement this week and its role in my life. people often say "do your best and the Lord will take care of the rest." this is so true.  but it's also a very literal, physical thing.  before, i knew this was true because i studied hard and as i taught lessons, what i couldn't do the Holy Ghost would teach for me.  but also in life we fall short of perfection, the Lord also takes care of us then too.   the Atonement allows us to constantly repent and improve and become more Christlike, and i am SO grateful for it.  it impacts my life every day and will change the lives of the investigators i teach.  we have watched this video that has little bits of talks given by President Eyring and Elder Holland. (eyring is talking in priesthood session and holland to mission presidents if that helps).  see if you can find it and watch it. 25 times they said something along the lines of "this work was never easy because salvation was never a cheap experience." how selfish am i to complain about my trials when what Christ dealt with was so much larger and He never complained!! i am so lucky and blessed to have a role in the eternal lives of others.

i also have a strong testimony that others are being prepared to hear Christ’s message. Before i came on my mission, I took for granted the restored gospel. i don't know if i really understand how much truth i have that others have no clue about-- even some of my closest friends.  we have a living prophet who speaks to God! we have the same priesthood that Christ performed miracles with when he was on the earth. we have a plan so that we can return and live with our Heavenly Father. for some reason, i thought everyone knew all of this and just didn't really care. but when you really understand the truths of the gospel, i don't know how you couldn't want to change and know more. the gospel of Jesus Christ is so amazing!

i guess i can tell i'm really a missionary now because that's all i want to tell you about-- not the dumb day to day things… but how awesome this work is! i am also trying to thrive in the brazil ctm. i'm doing better and making more friends. that sounds so silly though. last week i just hadn't connected with anyone and felt pretty alone, i do have people i get along with here, but i also know i have my Heavenly Father who has my back, which is pretty dang cool.

 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo to all... please write,

sister faldmo
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo 121
Casa Verde
CEP 02516-040 Sao Paulo SP
Brazil