From Brazil, With Love: IM GETTING TAN!!!!

Monday night we had our last Almoço with our members in Lages

The Irmã that had us over didn´t tell her daughter that we were coming. When she got home from school se was SO excited to see us! "SISTEERRRSSSS!!"

Gotta love it. Monday night was one of the hardest goodbyes. When we go to their house they weren´t home, bu twe weren´t going to leave without saying goodbye to them, so we waited, and it was all worth it.

Next to Larry way back in transfer #2, saying goobye to Adriane and her family was the hardest. Love her.

The New sisters for our area had already gotten to lages, so we got to give them a little overview of the area- Lucky them.

Tuesday! DAD´S 80th BIRTHDAY!!! WooHoo!!! JK, :) But it really does feel like we´ve been away that long. haha. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! LOVE YOU!

Tuesday was a travel day, I woke up at 4:30- Got on bus #1 at 6:00-arrived in Florianopolis at 11ish. And then came the challange of the day...Moving all my american luggage from one side of the terminal to the other..Thank goodness for Elders! I spotted three of them and comissioned their help...which they gladly gave. haha. I got on bus #2 a little later and stayed on that wagon until 9:00 Ohhhh the joys....Oh! And MOM! I FINALLY ate the LAST thin mint! AHHH!!

My comp was waiting for me at the terminal and we called to have a memeber pick us up. Another sister from Floripa was riding with us on the bus for this area too, and you would not believe it unleess you saw it, but what I´m telling you now is 100% truth.

We fit 2 BIG suitcases, 2 duffels, My carry-on, 2 pillows, and a bunch of little bags, boxes, and backpacks in their TINY OLD 5 passenger car with 6 people inside. Undetectable Extention Charm anyone? But Hermione was nowhere to be seen, so I guess we´ll just have to call it a MIRACLE!!

The rest of the week was just filled with more miracles and sister Gaitan is amazing, seriously. She´s from Argentina, so we´re both about the same level when it comes to Portuguese, but man, seh is NOT afraid to work hard, to find people , to teach, to do anything, she´s amazing, you would think that she´s been out for forever, but she JUST finished training!

On wednesday morning she told me that we were starting new with the area- that they had just cut pretty much everyone. But I´ll tell ya, with her, it´s not hhard to go looking fo rthe elect. And wednesday, we sure did fid one. WE went to teach a contact and this contatct had a friend over-I´ve never seen anyone listen so intently to what we were teaching. She asked questions-wanted to know more, the whole 9 yards, so you better believe that we marked another day with her.

Wednesday night, for the first time in a long time I had to use ALL the strength I had to get up off my knees after we said our prayers. I think all the hills have a little something to do with it ,but it sure did feel good!

Thursday we had our District meeting in Iomeia, where the first Capella in Brazil is still standing tall and strong, and BLUE!

It was cool to see a little bit of church history out here in Brazil :)

The View :)

The elders in Impomeia live about 15 minutes away by car, and the busses only come once ina blue moon, so they literally hitch hike fromt he apartment to the church everytime they have to go. hahaha. it was funny watching them try and hitch a ride. we would´ve done it too, and we did try, but- not very many women drive out here- so it really was impossible...and we ended up just waiting for the but (I know you´ll be grateful mom. haha)

It took awhile, but they finally got a ride!

Whe we got home we got right back to work and later had our meeting with out ward mission leader, who is a former Brazil Florianopolis Missionary...got home about 9 months ago...a little strange, but oh well..to each their own!

Friday we decided to finda a new family to teach, and we came home with two! One of the blessings of being foreigners...however that word is spelt...is that people have to listen closely to understand us. For us it´s AWESOME because we can know who is really interested or not, and for our gators, its good, because they actually have to pay attention haha..

We were so excited after this lesson we had with the 2 little families- we went home to refresh our supply of Book of Mormons and ate some bread for congratulations (and because we were hungry. haha)

And then........one of the assistants called...for like 2 seconds, he asked who he was talking to and then hung up...it was strange, Maybe he called the wrong area? OK, cool, see ya...

BUT THEN...PRESIDENT CALLED...and i had JUST gotten done with telling Sister Gaitan that I had a weird fear of her getting an emergency transfer, so I was FREAKIN out....so here´s how it went...

Me: "Allo, President! Tudo bem?"

Prez: "Tudo bom Sister, e você?"

Me: "Nossa, President nos acabamos de ensino DUAS familias, foi perfeito!"

Prez: "Parabens sisters. Sister Huskey, Eu tenho alguma coisa para você."

(and now I´ll do the rest in English.)

Prez: "Area you standing up or sitting down?"

Me: "Uhh.........standing?"

Prez: "Sister Huskey, you have been called ot be the Sister Training Leader over the Impomeia Zone."

Me: ".........eu?"

Prez: "Sim Sister. Você. Aceita?"

Me: "Sim President."

He went on to say don´t worry about the language experience, it´s your missionary experience you have and the Lord needs you to use that experience to help the sisters in your Zone. He said a bunch of other things and that was that.

When I got off the phone and told Sister Gaitan she squealed and gave me the biggest hug, "PARABENS SISTER!!"

In that moment I felt a little (or a LOT) like I felt when I was called to be Girls´s Camp President....overwhelmed, inadequate, unprepared, but also the love the savior has for me, A LOT of times we don´t see our own potential, or we think we do, but its so much lower than what the Lord has in store for us. Heavenly Father´s view of us is so much bigger than anything we could ever dream ov.

So wish me luck, because I´m going to need it!

WE had a lesson later on with an oldie menos ativo he said something that struck me- "God doesnt need us, we need god!"- and I thought, maybe that´s true, but it´s all wrong at the same time. I heard, "I may not NEED you ut I sure do WANT you, more than anything, to come home." I thought about mom and dad, and how they would NEVER want us to NOT come home, sure they dont NEED us to come home, but they sure do want us (and I want to too. haha) And so the same goes with the big guy, Heavenly Father, really, doen´t NEED us to continue, but really, he does WANT us. And so...I guess he really does need us. But we first have to want him too. WE, as missionaries call that DESIRE, and desire, if planted, and cared for, becomes faith, and faith through obedience, and patience, turns into eternal life in his presence.

SATURDAY

We walked two hours to the end of the world to find Evelyn. She lives in the las Biarro, on the LONGEST and what felt like the steepest road in Caçador- in the last house... We were sweaty, and swollen, and sleepy when we got there, but it was all worth it because that woman is PREPARED. dang. love her.

WE also had 2 baptisms on Saturday night,

Two 15 year old boys, it was awesome.

Sunday they were confirmed- the spirit was SO stron and all of the 6 investigators we had at church and all of the other sister´s investigators that were there coud feel the DIFFERENCE.

SO this week, despite the hills and the climbling, and the sore feet, and the weak knees and the sun burns and the scrapes and the rejection....we saw miracles- and every night we got home and knew we did what we needed to do that day. I don´t think there exists a better feeling.

my brazilian ladies...

The view!

This area is awesome. The san fransicso hills all over are the wost part - but the elect truly live here, I love it. I think that it´ll be my last area on the mission. which is super weird. I am the OLDES misionary and the OLDEST person in this apartment of 4- but you wouldn´t know it, these girls are stellar missionaries. It´s freaky how fast it´s all coming to a close, but I will cherish every day of it, and give it my all.

LOVE YOU GUYS!

-Sister Huskey #2