Kylie's letter 11/26/12

Dear family

This week was great. Monday we went to Walmart, which wasn't that great. But whatever. They had cream cheese. But this week was really good. Filled with spiritual experiences.

Our family is wanting to be baptized. I had them say a prayer to confirm everything they were feeling. They had some really cool experiences with opening up to the Bible and the Book of Mormon to inspired verses. It is just going to take forever for them to get married. But we are working on it.

It is so nice to be in an Ala. Everything runs so much smoother and Sundays are actually not stressful. I just sit back and watch the members in action. It is a nice change, I can focus more on being a missionary instead of Sunday school teacher, relief socity counselor, etc.

Highlights of this week –

-          It is getting to be suuuuuper hot.

-          There is a man from Bahia that wants to marry me

-          We ate homemade tacos with homemade tortillas!!! Thanks to my nifty difty recipe book I brought along

-          Cockroaches in my suitcase

-          We taught a profeta (a young girl) who claimed she had the authority

I love this area. And I love being a missionary. And I love preaching the gospel. I was talking with Sis Z who is living with me (tender mercy) and we were talking about some missionaries who are wanting to get back to real life. And as we were talking we concluding that the mission is as real as life get. When it all comes down to it. What we do everyday is the only thing that really matters. Helping others and ourselves come closer to Cristo to one day inherit eternal life which is the greatest of all gifts. I don’t know about you guys – but I am pretty excited for eternal life. So – spread the love this holiday season and help everyone remember what real life really is. When our joy will be completed and we will live in a state of never ending happiness. (way better than the fairy tales – and they lived happily ever after…)

Love you guys

Sis P

Kylie's letter November 19, 2012

Buenas Dia!!!

Minhas queridas! This week was soooo good! Let me tell you what happened. 

So the first week here was ridiculous, we were cutting all of the investigators that the elders had and we were teaching about two or three lessons every day which isn't very much for Brazil. And it seemed like everyone we talked to had already received the missionaries and they were super rude etc etc. It was rough. So to start off the week last week, I did a special fast and prayed my guts out after lunch to have Heavenly Father bless me with a family or at least one person. I explained to Him that my mission was coming to an end and that I was willing to work really really hard until the very last day, but I would like to find someone somewhere that needs our message. And I told Him that I had no idea where they were but I knew He did, so I told Him that I would talk to every single person I felt a prompting without a hesitation and I would try even harder to step up our pace here and beat down every single door here if I had to. 

That day I did exactly that and it was amazing. It was raining and usually it is kind of annoying to work in the rain because you are up to you knees at times in rain and you are wet all day etc. But I decided to be happy about it. And it was actually a very fun day. Every single person we passed in the street that I felt the prompting `talk to him`I did it without hesitation and the results were amazing, we found people that had actually never heard of the church before and marked times to meet with them. The end of this day we picked a street to clap doors and the first door we came to a woman answered and she let us in. We left a message about family prayer and marked a time to come back. We came back and she and her husband and her two little girls and her mother in law were there too. We taught the first lesson and after the woman her name is Naiara said that the first day that we knocked on her door she had just finished talking to Andre her fiancé about religion and everything and how it was weird that there was so many churches and then bingo! we showed up. And she felt a feeling to let us in. They had some doubts about the Book of Mormon and André who has a lot of knowledge about the Bible understood everything really well and it made sense to him, but he had a doubt about the Book of Mormon because there is a verse in revelation that talks about you can't add anything to the Bible etc. I explained about that he was only talking about the Bible only and that the Book of Mormon is here only to add to the truths it is an additional testament of Jesus Christ. And miraculously he totally understood it on a level that he himself recognized the spirit was confirming that John was really only talking about the Bible. After that he was sold. And he wanted to get baptized Monday, but we explained that there are some things that need to happen first. His wife was still a little skeptical and after we left she looked up Mormons on the internet and got all scared but when she told her husband her husband (hallelujah) showed her that you cant trust the internet. He looked up things about Jesus Christ that said Jesus was a demon. And with our next visit she said that she felt the spirit enter the home as we entered and she too wants to get baptized. The grandma doesn't really understand a lot but she feels the spirit and felt the spirit during our visits and she too is determined to stop smoking and get baptized too. The just need to get taught the commandments and get married and this will add one more family to the Lord. I didn't expect God to answer my prayer so quickly. But I am so grateful for this and so grateful that Sister Moyano will be a part of this. Actually it was probably her faith and prayers that got us this family too. She is a great little missionary a little nervous when teaching but she is really sweet. She will get to practice teaching all the commandments and all the lessons. Something I didn't get to do until six months in the mission. Haha - vitória definitely was a lot harder than this area. but that is the great story of the week!! They are an amazing family Naiara, Mara, André, Dafne, e Jenifer. The cutest little girls in the world. 

other fun things that happened. 

- It has been raining a ton and when it rains it pours and at times were are up to our mid calves in the rain.

- We talked to a homeless guy on the street- I actually got a really strong prompting to talk to him, and he walked with us for a bit, and as we were walking he shouted to a bunch of men he knew as we passed. Each time he called them by name and told them if they ever saw people messing with us that they should help us. And that they should keep an eye out for us. So now we not only have the angels with us we have an added protection of the local city gang. It is kind of funny the respect people here have for missionaries and people of the church. I have heard several stories of missionaries getting robbed and when the robbers realizes they are missionaries he gives them their wallets back and lets them go. Brazil has really strong roots in Christianity. kind of cool. 

- This area is great. It is in the city. We have really nice neighborhoods on one side of the train tracks on the other side there are ghettos. The worst ghettos I have ever seen in all of my areas. We avoid those areas. 

- We went to Walmart today - bonus of living in the city they have fun stuff like that

- Some man shouted super duper rude things at us shaking his Bible at us int he hand as we walked past and he invited us/told us to come study the bible with him. I walked past him two times on purpose just to be really nice and say hello good after noon super sticky sweet just to make him mad. I kind of wanted to ask him if he believed in the same Jesus Christ that taught us to love one another. But I am not sure if he would know who I was talking about.

But that is about it for the week. Love all of you so much thanks for your prayers. And have fun with Thanksgiving. Eats lots of yummy American food. And know that I am so thankful for every single one of you and for this Gospel. It is true and I know it.

love you

ky

Kylie's letter 11/12/12

So here is the scoop. i got transferrrred tooooooo .............................CAMPOS; which is still in the state of Rio. So I am in the same zone just moved cities. Instead of the country I am in the big city. Super fun to passiar [walk] on p-day; but to work--not so fun. We are doing 2 or 3 lessons a day which is kind of hard after 7 to 8 in Quissamã. I think I will stay here until the end. Random because the mission is the state of Espirito Santo but the majority of my mission has been outside of it. Haha. But it was a tender mercy. I really wanted to stay in Quissama but God had different plans. So he puts me in the same stake as Quissamã and my ward has two of the stake counselors. So that means I can directly talk to them about the branch and get them on the ball helping the forgotten little branch. And I will be able to go to the wedding and baptism of the families I taught and I will get to see the members when they come here for stake stuff. Whoohooo! And I am training a little gal from Argentina. she´s cute. Basically just speaks Spanish all the time and I keep having to remind her to forget Spanish and speak Portuguese. And I was also made district leader. I know - weird huh?! I really did not want to be district leader. I have never really liked district meetings And so serves me right. I got called as district leader and I take care of the first district of sisters. which also means I have a bajillion things to do on the computer today. All the things I never know the district leaders had to do. All the elders have been teasing me and saying i have sisterdocio. which is a mix of sister and sacerdocio = priesthood, in port. also means i get to do divisions with the LZ and the assistants. This is not what I signed up for. But I'm sure the lord has something to teach me while doing it. So sorry this email is lame. I have so much to do and so many emails to update etc etc. but just pray that we can enter into these houses and find the elects. This area is super hard. Reminds of Vitoria. But it will all be good. Sure love you guys a toooon.

Kylie's letter and pictures 11-5-12

Gotta to be quick. Tomorrow is transfers and both me and sis z were transferred. We are going by train and I have no idea where I am gonna end up. This week was hard. we are leaving a lot of wonderful families. Yesterday the branch had testimony meeting and everyone talked about us and bore testimony about missionary work. And our little family we are teaching bore testimony, and I sat up in front by the keyboard bawling my eyes out. Then last night they did a little party for us. It was wonderful. Its been really dark and rainy here and I have just wanted to roam the streets on my bike soaking in all of the memories of this little town. I love these people so much. But I know that I will love my new area too. I will send pics because this email is super duper short. But I will be training next transfer and it looks like the transfer after that i will pick up another greenie and be training two at a time. Oh joy!!!

Love you all

ky

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