Ola ola ola!!
I am in Pittsburgh right now! It’s like a full on blizzard outside and chillllly willy! My sandals and mosquito net that I packed to take to Brazil are completely useless. But by wearing socks and multiple pairs of tights and many layers I’m mananging to stay warm. :)
It’s been so totally different out here in the mission field of Pittsburgh, PA, but it is so lovely. I definitely am not a huge fan of the transition periods of leaving old places and people and getting used to new ones, but it is going rather swimmingly here.
Leaving the mtc and saying goodbye to my wonderful companion and my ten favorite elders in the world was not fun. It was like cry fest 2010. So sad saying goodbye to such wonderful friends who you haev shared everything with all day everyday for the past 9 weeks. But I’m so excited to get to Brazil someday (maybe a couple months) and I’ll get to see one of the elders in my district!
Flying over here was weird. It was so weird to be out in “Babylon,” to see people in regular clothes, without nametags, and just to be back in the world. I got here to PA Wednesday night and went out to eat with one of the senior missionary couples and two sisters. Then I stayed with those two sisters and the next day we had a Mission Tour.
For mission tour one of the members of the seventy came and checked things out and spoke with us. It was fantastico of course! My favorite part was that Elder Gavarett who came… spoke PORTUGUESE! YAY! I loooove Portuguese! And I really really miss speaking it, but I do get an hour of language study in each day, where I Portugues it up a storm. I am searching for Brasileiros here in PA but haven’t found any yet. I also got to meet the mission president and his wife and yes, of course they are fantastic too!
Then… to PITTSBURGH! This past week I’ve been right here in the wonderful city of Pittsburgh with two other sisters. I was just here for this week though. But I loooove this city a lot. There is so much cool architecture and so much art all over the walls and so mannnny dinosaurs. Weird. And awesome.
It’s fun doing real missionary work, talking, meeting, and teaching real people, and inviting people to come unto Christ. It’s so excellent coming into the field at Christmas time because there is so much mroe of a focus on Christ. That’s what it’s all about amigos.
We do a lot of street contacting, handing out pass along cards, sharing quick simple lessons, just trying to get them to understand that they have a heavenly father who loves them, who they can and should always pray to, and that they have a savior Jesus Christ, and through his gospel they will find peace and happiness in this life and the next.
The other two sisters and I have a lovely time. I’m trying to do better to always be speaking with someone. But it’s hard. But I’ll get better because even though I know these people seem like they don’t want to hear what I say, they neeeed the gospel. Everyone does. It only blesses your life!
Well it has been an exciting week. Tomorrow I’m leaving the wonderful city of Pittsburgh and heading to my area of Lititz, which is near Lancaster which is near the Amish people. We don’t proselyte to the Amish, but I’m just excited for a new area and getting settled and learning and teaching! I’ll be there for at least 6 weeks and with one other sister and it will be excellent! Hopefully it’s not a snow storm there like it is here!
Merry Christmas and Feliz Natal familia e amigos! Espero que suas vidas sejao muito bom!
