Kylie's letter 10-29-12

Fam

This week was great – here are the details

- Bought my first hammock! So I wasn't even interested in buying it but
this poor guy comes up to us and starts with 30 reais. And he starts
going down to 25 than 20 and kept pushing 20. I was trying to get rid
of him and told him we would buy it for 10 reais which is 5 bucks
super cheap. Thinking he would leave us, but he agreed and Sis. Z and I
bought our 5 dollar Brazilian hammocks! Whoohooo! Poor guy i think he
was just trying to get money to pay for a bus ticket out of Quissamã.
Haha.

- This week I discovered the fun of catching chickens and little chicks.
It is incredibly entertaining and super difficult. A bunch of our
investigators have these little animals running all over their yards
and the kids will run and catch them, and I joined them too. And i
  don't think I have ever had so much fun on the mission. The poor little
things start squawking and squawking. But it is so triumphant when you
actually grab one and hold their cute little fluffy bodies in your
hand. que alegria!

- I also met my new hippie boyfriend. And guess what?! He is a member!
So we planned it all out, I'll finish my mission and come back and
reactivate him and then we will get married and travel Brazil,
  Brazilian hippie style! He made me a rose out of a palm leaf! What
can I say- I have a thing for hippies and they have a thing for me!

- This week I got my first dose of heat rash. Summer is starting to
creep in, and I was starting to get mosquito bites (or so I thought)
And I was telling my companions, the mosquitos really ate me last
night etc etc. And then that night when I was taking a shower I
noticed a huge rash all over my body with big welts and we concluded
must be heat rash. That night I couldn't sleep because my whole body
was itching soooo bad. But sis Z had this medbond stuff that I used,
and it is going away now, and I just have little splotches now and
then. Oh the joys of Brazil!

- Also this week we went to another historical museum that happened to
be at the same time as a whole bunch of students from a near by city.
And we the Americans- sono became one of the extractions. They also
wanted to take pictures of us and with us. What can I say – we are
pretty cool.

- Also sister z and I have started teaching seminary here and we have been creating a scripture mastery cd with music. I love seminary! 

- also spiritual thought of the week - one of the elders gave this for a training for district meeting he talked about the gospel and how in the gospel you have to know that it is true, feel that is true, and act like it is true. These three verbs - to know, to feel, and to do - and that is what makes a true follower of Jesus Christ. I really liked that - because there are people here with all sorts of combinations some know and feel it but don't do anything about it, others feel and do it but don't know much, others etc. But with the three together is a powerful combination. All of us can be better about knowing the gospel, feeling the gospel, and living the gospel. 

amo vocês. And happy Halloween this week!!! We are having a Halloween p-day today and carving pumpkins - or we are going to try to carve pumpkins. they are different here more like squash! but that is okay!

love you all

ky

Kylie's letter 10/22/12

This week was pretty normal. nothing super duper extraordinary happened. It was a good week this week, we reached our goals in lessons and then some on Friday so that made Saturday and Sunday less hectic. I am sending a bunch of pictures to make this email more exciting but here goes this week:

This week I ate my first Brasilian coconut, one of the families we are teaching gave us a whole bunch and we used our creativity to open them. The water is apparently really healthy but I felt like I wanted to throw up when I drank it. It wasn't that good. But the meat was pretty good - due to the fact that is PACT with saturated fatty acids. My favorite! (I still have random dietetic facts floating in my head) 

Also this week we have been scoping out a few new neighborhoods to work in. This last week we went to Macadinha which is a super historical place they had a little museum there that we happened upon knocking on doors. So the houses are where the slaves were kept, so it is just one huge building with a bunch of doors. We taught 4 lessons in one hour it was great. It was just one house after another. And the museum is in one of the units that we clapped at thinking it was a house but lo and behold a tour guide met us and took us on a mini tour of this little memorial they have. the only problem is it is way far away from the church and they don't have buses on Sunday.... so we will see what happens. 

This week we had a fireside and our choir presentation it was great. I love Brazilians. They all sing with a lot of gusto even when it isn't the right notes. the spirit was felt. 

All this week our families are going super well. the one family of Adriano e Adriana - the one with the sister in Rio that is a member. They are progressing slowing but surely. The husband said that he likes how we taught and that we are different from other churches instead of insisting that it is true we just bear simple testimony and let them find out for themselves. He told his wife after we left (she told us after)that he didn't want to read the Book of Mormon because if he read it and believed it he would have to stop drinking. This is actually great because that means he understands what we are trying to do and our purpose. The next visit he had read until page 20! They are a great family. My second real family that I have taught on the mission! WHOOOHOOOOO!!!!

But that is about all for this week! The mission is great! I love feeling the spirit everyday and helping others better their lives! I love Brazil and I love quissamã and I love you all!!!

happy week! 

sis p

    

Kylie's letter 10/15/12

One of the most common questions that we get after we introduce ourselves is if we know Justin Beiber. So we have just started throwing that line into our contacts - Hello, my name is Sister Peterson and we are missionaries of the chruch of Jesus Christ, and no we don't know Justin Beiber. But could we come and visit you and your family another day...?

And you also know that you have a lot of time in one area when the little children in the street yell your name as you ride past. 

buuuut

this week was grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! 

We had an branch activity at the beach!!!! Whoohooo! And I got burnt to a crisp. But it was all worth it. We went to the beach and the kids swam and I played soccer with the irmãos and young men of the branch - there is a rule that the sisters cant play soccer with the elders but they never said anything about playing with other members of the church. So, I played my heart away and held my own against these Brasilian soccer fanatics. It was so fun. I also cut a huge chunk off of my big toe playing. I think I stepped on a shell or something. But it is all good now. We had a Brazilian barbecue with rice and farofa. It was great. I love Brazil. 

This week we will enter the process for the marriage of Ana maria and Jorge. They are doing so great. I will try to attach some pictures of them. Ana maria bore her testimony yesterday and it was so cute. She talked about all he blessings she has in her life now because of the church. They are such a simple family but they are feeling all of the blessings that they restored gospel has to offer. I love them. this past week we baptized Luanna the daughter of Ana maria that lives with another mom, and everything went great with the baptism. 

This week we had some miracles happen. We have been working really hard in this neighborhood and getting a lot of cold shoulders and I have been praying my guts out to find people prepared by the Lord, and while we were entering a house of a lady we had contacted in the street, her sister, who was there,  said - "Oh hey, I am Mormon too." And both me and sister Z took a step back and said, "Wait, what did you say?!" Turns out this investigator´s sister already is a member. She and her husband  were baptized earlier this year and they are trying to move into this neighborhood.  They have a bunch of family here including the family were were about to teach; and so we got all of their addresses and we are going to start teaching them all. We also ran into the mother in law of this sister in another part of the neighborhood.  She was there to get her birth certificate so she could be baptized and we grabbed the addresses of her and her family that live here as well. It was way cool to be united with the other missionaries in Rio and see how their work is bringing fruits for our side of the mission. This truly is a marvelous work and a wonder. 

This week we are working on a choir. They don't sing very well, but the spirit is so strong. We will perform in a fireside this weekend. And it will be super sheeky! 

Also this week - I ate a fish head complete with the eyes and everything. and I also ate cow stomach. They make this soup stuff with it and you can see all the micrvilli and everything. You cant really chew it, you just kind of slurp it down. I almost died. 

I love the mission and I love you all! 

Fique firme forte!!

tchauzinhos e beijos! 

ky

Kylie's letter 10/8/12

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! So me
and my comp were crammed into a single little cubicle in a internet
cafe shop thinger that was boooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiling hot
listening to conference in English. I love speaking Portuguese and
listening and all that jazz but the translators just don't cut it with
the real thing. So there we were listening and sweating all cramped in
this little space and then President Manson announced the new age
limits and we both freaked out. If you can imagine two American, tall,
blond haired, blue eyed girls with sweat pouring down our faces, girls,
that already are drawing the looks of everyone in the room, we start
cracking up and making lots of noises of excitement and surprise it
was a great moment--shared by us and every other Brazilian in that
internet house. But, WOW. Jesus Christ is coming soon for sure. I
bet we are gonna see an awesome surge in missionary work, it is going
to be so awesome. Very cool!

But here is the low down for the week.
- Everything is great with Lu and Angela and Natalia. After a lot of
fasting and prayer they remembered their testimonies that they felt
and after a lot of spiritual experiences they had they are good to go.
Lu and Natalia both want to serve a mission. Lu was really cute, she
called and apologized on the phone and said as she was thinking and
praying about the things I said she remembered Christ who talked about
how sad he gets when one of his sheep gets lost and she thought of me
(I just sat there and cried when I heard that she was doubting and
everything). But they are again firm in the chruch and I am working
close with the leaders here to help keep it that way with them. They
will be such good missionaries they know the bible inside out. Que
alegria!
- Had interviews with president and looks like i will be training next
transfer. Not super excited to leave this area. I love it here. Its
like my second family. But I know I will love my next area and
everything will be great.
- Brazil just finished with their elections here and it has been crazy. They really go all out here just for city mayor. They have flyers, newspapers, cards, and cars decorated, and music that cars play while drying everywhere. It is pretty intense, but glad it is over. Now all the people will be returning to their houses and have normal lives again. Thank goodness. I was getting tired of the response, "Sure you can come over' but wait after the politics are over...."

- We are teaching the perfect family. Every missionary dreams to have a family like this. But they need to marry. Ana maria, Jorge, Carlos Santos, and Luan, we are also teaching their other daughter that lives with another family. They are too poor to take care of everyone. She will be baptized this weekend if everything goes well. We are waiting for their marriage to take place to baptize them. I don't know if I will be around to see their marriage, but they will get baptized, they are praying as a family everyday and reading the Book of Mormon everyday. The parents don't know how to read or write so their 11 yr old son reads for them every day. They are a great family and I am already seeing how the gospel is blessing their family. 

- We didn't get to watch all of conference, because of internet problems but the parts I saw were really good. I am looking forward to the Liahona that will come out. Way cool announcements about the new temples and the new missionary age. Crazy crazy crazy

love you all

ky

Kylie's letter, 10/1/12

Família,

Pretty sure this week was one of the worst I have ever had. So turns
out that all of the pastors of the other churches are starting to warn
their members about us. Its getting harder and harder to enter into
peoples homes. It just makes me sad to think that these people are so
controlled by their pastors. And they are missing the whole point of
following God.  I know this just means that there are
more people that need to hear our message, and that Satan is trying to
run us out of there. But I don't give up that easily.

This week we received new sisters. They are great. It is one of my old
companions Sister Vieira, sister Araújo. Who is brand new in the
mission. I love being with the newbies they are so excited for the
work and have great ideas and are super duper animated. This is
exactly what this branch needs. And I love that they are proactive, I
love the other sisters that were here with us but they didn't do much.
So this transfer will be great, I don't feel so much pressure to do
everything anymore.

The happenings of the week:
We have been working on the marriage of Anamaria and Jorge, a really
humble poor family that are doing everything certinho. They are
reading the Book of Mormon together as a family. Actually the son reads because
his parents can't read and they are saying family prayers together too.
I love them sooo much. They need to get married. And turns out that
marriage is super complicated here and they like to take advantage of
two American girls. First they told us they don't do it for free. So we
went to the city hall who explained to us that it is a Brazilian law,
they have to do it for free, so we went back to this place and told
them that. And they were like, oh ok- actually we do it. But you have
to do all of this stuff. So we did it, and then they were like, oh ok-
actually you have to have one more witness, and you have to make an
additional copies of all of this stuff, so we did it. And then they
said, oh – ok actually we have to check the law and make sure she can
even be married because Ana Maria doesn't know how to write her name
she sign things by using her finger print. And apparently that is a
problem.  I am so frustrated with this lawyer
that is over marriages. So now we are teaching her how to write her
name. But I am pretty sure we'll go back and they will tell us we have
stand on our heads and sip juice or something.
The day of Saint Cosmo and Daemon was this week. And the Catholics
and people who do black magic off candy to these saints. And it
basically puts a curse on the candy and then they give it to the kids.
The kids go crazy with this. Free candy. And it is really just a
superstition but some people really believe in it. Our recent converts
Angela and her family were telling us to not eat the candy. She was so
serious I believed her and didn't eat anything. But after when I
learned what it was I accepted all the cursed candy I could get and I
am still alive.
Yesterday was a downer. Angela and Lu and Natalia didn't come to chruch
they said they wanted to stay in their old chruch. It was so random.
We went to their house and they talked about how they are returning to
their old ways to wear earrings, pants, paint nails, listen to music,
they think they are returning to the world, and that this church was
not bringing the change into their lives that they wanted. It makes me
sick to remember the times they felt the spirit that they received
answers. And Lu said that she felt so happy and liberated because she
was finding and learning that all these things were ok to do. And
before when she felt so guilty because she wanted to these things. But
she was learning that to be a disciple of Christ goes deeper than just
outward appearance, that you can still be in the world but not of the
world. But something happened. It was so random, they were all gung ho
about doing visits with us and chruch and everything, but something
happened Saturday night. I think their dad who is from the pentecostal
chruch has something to do with it. He is suuuuper radical. And likes
to make people doubt their beliefs. That lesson I left them with
chapters to read in the Book of Mormon and a lot of prayer, after sister Zeller
and I came home and bawled our eyes out and read Alma 26. I think
Satan knows that this family has a lot of potential and he is sending
in his strongest forces to make them fall away.  Pray for them. I am a
little scared because they were so changed yesterday when we talked
with them. Their hearts are closing. And with a hardened hearts even
the Spirit of God can't touch. But I know that  miracles are real, and
that God will help them.

We have an appointment with Angela tonight. With just her and no one else. 

I hope it will shed a little more light on the situation. But things are good, and this church is true! Don't forget it. 

love you all sooo much 

ky