It has been quite the week!! Early on Tuesday I and three other Elders left the CTM and flew to Recife! President and Sister Bigelow were there to pick us up at the airport and then take us to their home. They fed us waffles and pancakes and it was SO nice to eat some American food haha. But right after that we got our companions, headed for our areas, and have been working hard ever since!
My trainer/companion is Sister Juarez. She´s from Mexico and she is AMAZING. She´s been on her mission for a year now and she is a pro at this. She is so kind and helpful and I know I´m going to learn so much from her. We´re in an area in Recife called Pina. And I´m pretty sure it´s the most beatiful area ever haha. The area runs right along the ocean and so everymorning when we walk from our apartment to the area where we teach people, we´re right next to the ocean and beach and it is so beautiful. In our apartment we have another set of Sisters-- Sister Parraga and Sister Rondon. Sister Parraga is from Peru and Sister Rondon is from São Paulo and they´re both wonderful.
The people here are amazing and we have some really awesome investigators. My favorite is a family we are teaching and wants to be baptized. Kamila and Fernando and then 4 kids, Davi (8), Louisa (5), Ezekiel (3 ), and Miguel (2). They are such cute kids. Everytime we go and visit them I probably get at least 20 hugs haha. They just love to attack us with hugs and yell "sisters! sisters!". We´re waiting for Kamila and Fernando to get married before they can be baptized, but they are so ready to be baptized. They have amazing testimonies of the Gospel and I can truly see the light in their eyes. It´s amazing how the Gospel changes people. There isn´t a doubt in my heart that the Church isn´t true. We see miracles every single day.
Something that has really touched me is being able to see how God prepares people for us. There really are people who are ready to accept the message of the restoration of the gospel. The people here are so good. They love God and Jesus Christ and most people are very willing to let us into their homes and hear our message. I´ve also learned a lot about agency though. We can teach people of the truths we know and help them to feel the spirit, but it´s really up to them to accept it.
Things are extrememly different here, but I love it. The thing I´m probably struggling with the most is the language. People here talk SO weird. In São Paulo, I could understand people for the most part, but here I pretty much understand nothing haha. It´s a super weird accent, but I´ll get the hang of it eventually. We do most of our proselyting and teaching in an area right next to the ocean with tons and tons of houses. People here love to sit outside of their houses, and so there´s always tons of people in the streets. They also REALLY love their music. There is always someone blasting their music and shirts don´t really exist here for the men haha. But it´s all good. It´s definitely a new experience, but I´m loving it.
I hope all is well with everyone! I know the church is true and that missionary work is SO important. It´s so important that we share the message of the Gospel with every single person we can. We are definitely blessed for doing it!
Love you guys!
Sister Anderson
