#foreverfreezing

3 March 201

Mom, feel free to edit any comments you think should be edited (aka deleted haha:) Also, please delete this comment. . . 

Remember that time I didn't think it was as bad as everyone told me because it was in the forties my first week here? Yeah, well that sure changed! Literally the only times I'm warm are in the shower (usually) and while I'm sleeping and exercising. With the wind chill it's in the negatives all the time!  It snows todos dias and I don't know how Spring will ever come because there's a permanent 3 feet of snow here! It is pretty though, hopefully I'll have time to attach a picture I took, I love the New England houses that are everywhere!

Tuesday: Ok, the people are interesting and full of diversity and surprises for lack of a better description. We were walking to catch a bus and met this great old guy named David who was out shoveling the new foot of snow we got over night. It was his 60th birthday and he had heard of us before, agreed with a lot of stuff etc. etc. It was great! I was so gung (pretty sure I didn't spell that right) ho about him, I just knew he was ready! Well, he might be, he just doesn't know it yet! We went to his house the next day and he didn't answer so we just kind of waited because we had just seen him outside! (That's like our major door approach, just wait until they finally come and see what we want!) He came to the screen door (they conveniently all have those, which makes for many great miming, "I can't understand you, I'm really busy with my dog" moments. Yes, that happened.) As you might be able to tell I had some tracting experiences this week. . . more on that later:) Anyway, he was not near as friendly as the day before (Birthday high?) and said he was super busy and that they were leaving soon and then just shut the door! Oh yes, that was the first of  many similar experience this week. The stinker never left! Not that we were stalking him, but we were contacting a reffereal across the street and he wasn't answering so. . . . we were on his porch for a while. Naturally. Some great members fed us that night. They really take care of us here, it just blows my mind that they all sign up to feed a bunch of 20 somethings each week! Anyway, it was spaghetti, good enough but I wasn't drooling over it or anything and she gave pretty generous portions.  When I was done I was all ready for the homemade chocolate chip cookies (drooling!) and she asked if it was good, so of course we raved.  She then asked if we wanted more. . . uhhhh "I want cookies!" ( Is that what he says?) I looked to sister C, like " how can we get out of this?" And the member said, "don't look to your trainer for permission! We don't do that here!" She then grabbed my plate and gave me just as much! Rough life right? You'll all be glad to know I eventually got the cookies! OK, no clue why I just spent so much time on that! We taught Karen and Eric that night (or as I fondly call them, Karic.) They're students from China studying at SU. At the end of the lesson we both felt prompted to bring up baptism again. One of their 2 main concerns is that Christianity is western and that they don't know want to abandon their chinese culture. Totally understandable. It was kind of of frustrating because I don't know how to help them and didn't really know what to say! Not that I should have the answers but I don't know how to help them find an answer to that huge question and well. . . that's kind of my job! That idea in general has been kind of frustrating me lately:) We also saw Sister Merchant- she's one of the 7 ( yes 7!) slightly crazed, gross (not her the animals) animal-loving, offended and therefore less/inactive ladies that we visit. Bless them, the love us to visit but whenever we bring up church they turn off. They all have animal hair everywhere (including my clothes when I leave) and feed us sketch stuff that we give to the elders or members.  And (grandma and grandpa Ventura) they ALL love my bag! I don't know what it is! They rub up against it, love it, scratch it sniff it but it's indestructible! I don't think one of the qualifications was animal proof? It's great! Sis M has this horrendous chiwawa (sp?) and I have to eye him down during the prayers, one time I had to violently grab my bag away, nuh-uh, not today foxy. Not today.

Wednesday: We met Chris at the Bus Stop. Yes, he knew who we were, " I call ya'll the feeles (fearless) people!" Ya'll be walking around the projects, ya'll the feeles people! Yes everybody, I am in "the 'cuse!" These people are great. We also taught Mandie. She's the one investigator that we've been teaching as long as I've been here so I feel like I know here a little better than all the others. Anyway, she's fantastic. Seriously, she teaches us, her drive and her testimony is amazing! 3 weeks ago, she caught a taxi to church because she had been reading up on mormon.org and "felt like she should come!" What? She's had the roughest past that I can possibly imagine for a young women, she's only 20! Seriously. Every single horrible awful thing that is a girl's nightmare has happened to her and she is just so prepared. She's been using the Atonement kind of unconsciously and it's a beautiful thing to see. I feel the light of Christ and the Spirit every time we talk with her!  She has a bap date for the 22 of March, is progressing rapidly but JUST moved in with her boyfriend, there has to be something right? Please pray for her! She's doing so well! I feel so grateful to know her! This same night we went to a YSA Joseph Smith movie night at the University. This Chinese kid came in sat next to me and started louldy spouting off questions and how he was "really interested." At first I was like, "sweet, a new investigator!" But it quickly became apparent that there was something very off about him.  Like really. Sister C and I both got this like warning wall of apprehension come up at the same time.  It was so strange. We could tell that everything he was saying was a lie and he just had very alterior motives. It was sketch. Anyway, long story short, we were smart and eventually ended up being invited unto Islam and given a Qu'ran. Haha in exchange for a BOM of course! It took a while to shake off the weird feeling though. Not that being invited to a new religion is bad at all! ( how ironic would that be!) But the feeling there was not a good one.   I'm so grateful for the Spirit of Discernment that we are all given and how enhanced it is as a missionary! 

Thursday and Friday: Only thing you need to know, "The Blitz." Knocking on doors for 4 hours each night=rough stuff! Thurs night it was pitch black, windy, in the negatives and yikes! People would crack open their doors or just yell to us through their screens. Including this one JW minster who was trying to bible bash with me while I freezed my toes off. Really? Can't we at least bible bash inside? Jokes! I totally didn't participate! Just bore my testimony and told him about some cool verse in the BOM i read that morning:)  A couple people let us in though and I could just basically see their potential bursting from them! They may not be ready now but now they know a little bit more about the church and that's pretty great:) I had to keep telling myself that on Friday when my toes felt like little rocks in my shoes and not a soul let us in! The 2-3 nice people made it worth it though, it's crazy how that works! All you former missionaries know exactly what I'm talking about-this is nuts! I questioned everything a couple of times and then just laughed it off and kept going! Deceptively looking nice grandmas, to slammed doors, to miming that their dog was keeping them too busy (really?!), to peeking at us through the blinds! Pretty hilarious stuff and COLD!!

Heavently Father has my back, it’s crazy. There's another visa waiter for Curitiba in my district, the branch mission leader served in Brazil and there's tons of members who served in Brazil! I ask them questions, pray and speak it as much as socially acceptable:) Whenever Sister C and I practice in the mornings I always get so excited! I just love that language! I try and translate random things throughout the day as well:) Right now I'm working on memorizing Moroni 10:3-5. EU AMO PORTUGUES MUITO!!

Also, I LOVE the scriptures! I look forward to reading the BOM every morning and I ALWAYS learn something great! If nothing else, I already know that i gained a testimony and love  of the scriptures while on my mission, which is awesome:)

I've been reading "The Fourth Missionary" this week, it's blowing my mind! It's not just for missionaries, mom I think you will like it!:) I'l glad you're watching M and the SW. jealous! Did Kali get my letter?:)

Family, I love you all so much and think about you all the time! I hung up a bunch of pictures above my bed and I love looking at them:) I'm so grateful for you guys:)

vamos para frente com fe,

Sister Ventura Alma 26:12