Week 2 and Not so Blue

Week 2 and Not so Blue

Bom Dia!! I'm not gonna lie, in last week's email I was a little
overwhelmed and a little whiny, but after rolling up my sleeves and
actually doing some missionary work, I felt much better! I think I've
progressed from not knowing what the heck I'm doing to just not knowing
what I'm doing, so that´s a big improvement for me.

My companheira, Sister Moura, is the best. She´s 28 and from Northern
Brazil, and Ive increased to understanding a solid 60% of what she
says. She reminds me a lot of Mom because shes very straight forward and
driven and takes really good care of me. She´s so selfless and is
willing to share everything she has with anyone who needs it. Also, she
loves to talk a lot, and I think she gets bored because I'm not that talkative,
especially right now when I literally cant say the things I want to.

Before I got to Eldorado the mission goals for street contacts were 10
people per day, but guess what? Now they´re 50! It's super hard for me
to get all 50, and I don't understand half of what people say, but I'm
trying my best. Other than contacts, we walk up and down a ton of hills
and go to people's houses and ask to share messages. Every day at lunch
we eat at a member's house, and they stuff us full of food.

This week after I got my rice and beans, I looked into a pot and
noticed that the meat wasn't exactly carne, but nevertheless I dished
some out. I didn't let myself think about the texture and just ate it,
and it was surprisingly good. After dinner Irmão asked me if I knew
what it was? I said I had an inkling, and he pointed to his stomach
and started laughing. I nodded and told him that's what I thought.
Long story short, stomach is surprisingly tasty.

Here are some other fun things I learned this week:
- Brazil is the loudest place I've ever been in my life.
-Hole in your leggings? No problem! Tuck a towel into your waistband
to cover the hole and call it good!
-The milk is weird, and I think they put sweetened condensed milk in
it; but Im pretty into it.
- It's really cool to bolt amps/ box speakers onto the roof of your car
and blare your crappy music as loud as you can everywhere you go.
- If your phone service gets turned off, tudo bem! Just find your
nearest telephone box and hot wire your phone directly into it.
- I also saw a guy putting a shirt on while weaving through traffic on
a motorcycle.
- I went to a wedding and the groom walked down the aisle to "Stairway to Heaven".

The most important thing I learned this week was how welcoming and
loving and charitable the people are here, and the members love the
missionaries. Everywhere you go you´re welcomed with hugs and kisses
and food, and it really washes away all the disappointment from the
day. I love the people here and I'm excited to continue working and
improving myself, because I have a long way to go! Até maís gente!

Sister Curtis