I made it to Maceio!!! Right now I am actually in Aracaju and it is BEAUTIFUL here- right next to the coast. We left the CTM Tuesday and got to the mission president's home that afternon. After lunch and getting to know him, we went to the church near there to get our companons and leave for our zone! We stayed with another group of sisters Tuesday night in a beachfront apartment and then Wednesday morning, after visiting a pier in Maceio, took a 6 hour bus ride here to my area!
My companion is Sister Cruz- from Sao Paulo and doesn't speak more than 10 words of English. I have never been more grateful for my dictionary!! She is the sweetest companion and I feel very very blessed to have yet another awesome comp. She is so very patient with my constant questions and inability to speak very much Portuguese. Even though it is harder to communicate, I am very glad to have a native speaker first because I'll be able to learn faster and more effectively.
Like I said, my area is SO so pretty. It has rained a couple times and staye pretty cool, thank goodness. It's interesting- in America, there are richer and poorer areas, but here, everyone is all mixed together. There are 3 story houses and shacks right next to each other. In our city, there are a couple main roads with shops and such that are paved, and then the residential roads that lead out from there are usually old cobblestone or dirt. I can finally send photos so I have some of the city here. I stand out ALOT. No kidding, I have yet to see anyone with blond hair or blue eyes here, let alone both! There have been multiple times where someone on the street will literally stop and stare as we walk past. I hate the attention but it does make it easier to talk to people and we always get a good laugh out of people's reactions to seeing me. We do a lot of walking here, which is a good thing because the members here make us feasts every single day. I absolutely love the church members here and they have taken me in like family. It's humbling to see people who have so little do so much for us. The poorest house I've eaten at so far was with a family who not only made us tons of food, but also baked us a cake as well. At church yesterday, I got more hugs than I think I have ever recieved in my life thus far. Everyone here is so welcoming and I am so grateful to be here, especially for my first couple months while I am transitioning into the missionary routine.
The language is coming along and I am just taking it one day at a time. It makes me grateful for how hard I worked in the CTM, and also wish I could have learned more. I can hold simple conversations and communicate pretty much everything(slowly) with my companion, but sometimes it is hard to understand more in-depth conversations. The people in this area of Brazil are known for talking very fast, so that combined with the accent makes it difficult. The best way I can describe it is like in Nemo, when Squirt is talking to Marlin and Dory really fast and Marlin says something along the lines of "you are really cute and I feel like you are telling me something really important but I really cannot understand half of what you say!!" BUT I am seeing progress every day and really do love learning this language. It will come, in time!
The people we are teaching are very receptive to our message and one named Carlos came to church yesterday! It was really cool to see him feel the Spirit and be welcomed with open arms into the ward. Another one of the people we are teaching, Alexandre, is getting married next month and baptized after that. Him, his fiance, and their daughter are the first people I met here and they have quickly become like family. The first visit, I accidentally said that my parents dies, instead of moved, to Washington!! They tease me about it very time I visit! I am so excited for both the wedding and the baptism. We teach every day so I could go on and on but those are the 2 people that stood out the most this week.
Sorry for the long email but I am so excited to finally be here. The adjustment has been a smooth one and I couldn't be more grateful. Every time we teach, I feel the Spirit and am reminded of how much I love Christ, God, and this gospel. Christ sacrificed everything for me and it's a priviledge to be bringing other people closer to him for 18 months.
With much much love,
Sister Lauren Mather
PS. first day, forgot to use bug spray and got 34 bites- thus the subject line!! Definitely will not be making that mistake again..
Monday, July 30, 2018
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Last email from Sao Paulo!!
Happy Wednesday family and friends!!
I feel like I say this every week, but not much exciting to write about... We have been working really hard on our Portuguese and my companion and I made a goal not to speak English this week, besides Sunday and today. In reality, we probably speak Portuguese about 75% of the time, but it really does help us learn faster and more effectively. When I fly out to Maceio on Tuesday, I will most likely be assigned to a companion who doesn~t speak English at all so hopefully our attempts to speak Portuguese this week will make that transition a little bit easier. I~m very excited and also very nervous to get to my mission! I like the CTM(training center) a lot more than I was expecting and it will be hard to leave here. My district feels like family now and we have been blessed with the best instructors for the last 6 weeks. I have loved my time here and am so grateful for the experiences I~ve had and people I~ve met thus far.
Every week we get more and more missionaries here and it is SO crowded now but it~s gotten me thinking about how grateful I am to be here and to be a part of this church. I don~t know what else could motivate a bunch of 18-25 year olds to put their lives on pause for 1.5-2 years and serve in a place they~ve never been with people they have never met. Some of the Brazilians I meet have sacrificed a lot to be here and it is yet another testament to me of how true and how important this gospel is. Someone shared a quote in devotional the other week that I thought I~d shareÇ
Faith is the power, obedience is the price, love is the motive, the Spirit is the key, and CHRIST is the reason."-James E Faust
God loves us a LOT, guys:)
Side note- the fruit here is amazing. We got fresh mangoes this week and they tasted like those dried mangoes from Costco. My aunt Dorothy also gave us a green fruit that is white on the inside and tastes like a mix of coconut, mango, and pineapple. I cannot remember what is is called- and probably couldn~t spell it even if I did- but it tasted amazing.
Favorite word this week: ^paralelepipido^- cobblestone
I also say this every week but thank you all so much for your emails and love. I take pictures of every email I get and really do read every single one! Once I get to Maceio I will have more time to read and reply to emails so I~m hoping I can reply to you all soon. Thank you again, much love to all of you <3
Love,
Sister Lauren Mather
I feel like I say this every week, but not much exciting to write about... We have been working really hard on our Portuguese and my companion and I made a goal not to speak English this week, besides Sunday and today. In reality, we probably speak Portuguese about 75% of the time, but it really does help us learn faster and more effectively. When I fly out to Maceio on Tuesday, I will most likely be assigned to a companion who doesn~t speak English at all so hopefully our attempts to speak Portuguese this week will make that transition a little bit easier. I~m very excited and also very nervous to get to my mission! I like the CTM(training center) a lot more than I was expecting and it will be hard to leave here. My district feels like family now and we have been blessed with the best instructors for the last 6 weeks. I have loved my time here and am so grateful for the experiences I~ve had and people I~ve met thus far.
Every week we get more and more missionaries here and it is SO crowded now but it~s gotten me thinking about how grateful I am to be here and to be a part of this church. I don~t know what else could motivate a bunch of 18-25 year olds to put their lives on pause for 1.5-2 years and serve in a place they~ve never been with people they have never met. Some of the Brazilians I meet have sacrificed a lot to be here and it is yet another testament to me of how true and how important this gospel is. Someone shared a quote in devotional the other week that I thought I~d shareÇ
Faith is the power, obedience is the price, love is the motive, the Spirit is the key, and CHRIST is the reason."-James E Faust
God loves us a LOT, guys:)
Side note- the fruit here is amazing. We got fresh mangoes this week and they tasted like those dried mangoes from Costco. My aunt Dorothy also gave us a green fruit that is white on the inside and tastes like a mix of coconut, mango, and pineapple. I cannot remember what is is called- and probably couldn~t spell it even if I did- but it tasted amazing.
Favorite word this week: ^paralelepipido^- cobblestone
I also say this every week but thank you all so much for your emails and love. I take pictures of every email I get and really do read every single one! Once I get to Maceio I will have more time to read and reply to emails so I~m hoping I can reply to you all soon. Thank you again, much love to all of you <3
Love,
Sister Lauren Mather
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
One Month Down!
Hey friends and family! 1 month done, I on;y have 17 more left! Everyone here always says the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days- it is so true. I love being here.
We have new roommates! Both Brazilians but one speaks English so we all speak a little of both languages in our room. Both girls are from Recife which is right above Maceio so they have been super helpful in trying to learn the accent as well. One reminds me of Emma Watson- she is 22 and SUPER smart!! We miss our old onesz but love both of them.
There has been a sickness going around the CTM this week and I fell victim... was not feeling too great for a couple days. Thank goodness it only lasted a couple days and now I just have a cough. NOT trying to sound like I am complaining at all but I like it when missionaries tell the good and the bad of their missions.
Also got the opportunity to go proselyting this week! I was so nervous but I ended up loving it. We got dropped off at a busy street in Sao Paulo Saturday morning and got to practice talking to people and being ``real`` missionaries. People talk very fast and we had to ask lots of people to repeat themselves but it was a really fun morning. I definitely have much more to learn but it was reassuring that we were able to go out by ourselves and have conversations with people! Brazil LOST their game on Friday so everyone was in a very sad mood the next morning when we were out. There were lots of predictions that Brazil would win the whole world cup so now that they are out it feels like the whole city is mourning. I love how much they care about soccer here!
Favorite tender mercy this week-
I miss American music but today were at a store and one of my favorite Ed Sheeran songs started playing. For those of you who know how much I love Ed Sheeran you know how happy I was to hear his song!!!
Favorite words-
aleaturia - random
confianca- trust
sorriso - smile
2 weeks from today I will be in Maceio!! Only have 30 minutes again today so it I`m making this another short email(sorry) but I am so grateful for each of you guys. Thank you for all your prayers and support!!!
LOVE,
Sister Lauren Mather
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mom, Andrew, and Isaac this week! If you see my mom please give her a big hug for me!!!!
We have new roommates! Both Brazilians but one speaks English so we all speak a little of both languages in our room. Both girls are from Recife which is right above Maceio so they have been super helpful in trying to learn the accent as well. One reminds me of Emma Watson- she is 22 and SUPER smart!! We miss our old onesz but love both of them.
There has been a sickness going around the CTM this week and I fell victim... was not feeling too great for a couple days. Thank goodness it only lasted a couple days and now I just have a cough. NOT trying to sound like I am complaining at all but I like it when missionaries tell the good and the bad of their missions.
Also got the opportunity to go proselyting this week! I was so nervous but I ended up loving it. We got dropped off at a busy street in Sao Paulo Saturday morning and got to practice talking to people and being ``real`` missionaries. People talk very fast and we had to ask lots of people to repeat themselves but it was a really fun morning. I definitely have much more to learn but it was reassuring that we were able to go out by ourselves and have conversations with people! Brazil LOST their game on Friday so everyone was in a very sad mood the next morning when we were out. There were lots of predictions that Brazil would win the whole world cup so now that they are out it feels like the whole city is mourning. I love how much they care about soccer here!
Favorite tender mercy this week-
I miss American music but today were at a store and one of my favorite Ed Sheeran songs started playing. For those of you who know how much I love Ed Sheeran you know how happy I was to hear his song!!!
Favorite words-
aleaturia - random
confianca- trust
sorriso - smile
2 weeks from today I will be in Maceio!! Only have 30 minutes again today so it I`m making this another short email(sorry) but I am so grateful for each of you guys. Thank you for all your prayers and support!!!
LOVE,
Sister Lauren Mather
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mom, Andrew, and Isaac this week! If you see my mom please give her a big hug for me!!!!
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Happy America Day!!!!!
Hello all!
Today has been awesome so far- the cafeteria workers made us as close to an American meal as they could and decorated with red,white and blue. We had something resembling hamburgers, mac and cheese, fries, chicken tenders, corn, and BROWNIES! It was so yummy and all the Americans here are decked out in patriotic wear.
Highlights of this week...
We watched a devotional from the Utah missionary training center and I saw Kate Mills in the choir!! She is already out in her mission so it must have been a couple weeks old but it made me so happy to see her!
At the same devotional, we sang my favorite hymn- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - in Portugues and it was SO beautiful. It was already my favorite, but I love it even more in this language. If you guys get the chance to listen to it in Portuguese it is so worth your time!!
At the other devotional this week, we sang Paz en Cristo (Peace in Christ), and it reminded me of when Kesley Reynolds sang it in church at home a few months ago. Also one of my favorites to sing in Portuguese!
On Sunday, my great Aunt Dorothy came to church with 2 boxes of homemade no-bake cookies for me and my roomates. I am so grateful for her!!!!! One of the elders in our district gave us a whole jar of peanut butter(which is impossible to get here) and we had a sugar feast that night with cookies, peanut butter, and the other candy we have stashed up. Kit Kats and peanut butter- one of my new absolute favorite treats.
Our Brazilian roomates left on Monday and we already miss them a lot. 3 weeks feels like 3 years here, so we all got really close really fast. We are getting new roomies today but havent met them yet!
Other than that, not much new to write about! Same old same old here, but I am still loving it. I have found that when I see a new language as an exciting thing instead of an obstacle I learn much much quicker. It really is such a pretty language and it is amazing that I get this opportunity.
Favorite new words this week
- frango(chicken)
- sabedoria(wisdom)
- mau-carater(troublemaker)
- badalada(the sound of bells clanging or a clock tolling)
Also- pescado means fish and pecado means sin. In a lesson this week, I very seriously said that Christ gave his life to atone for all of our fish. All of us busted up laughing and I will be sure not to make that mistake again(hopefully).
I say this every week but I keep getting more emails so THANK YOU guys for all the emails and support, love love love you all.
Com muito amor,
Sister Lauren Mather
PS. Our email time got shortened to 30 minutes because we got a bunch of new missionaries this week and one of the labs is not working. Probably wont have time to respond today besides to my family im sorry!!! I promise I do take pictures of all your emails and read them all throughout the week!!
Today has been awesome so far- the cafeteria workers made us as close to an American meal as they could and decorated with red,white and blue. We had something resembling hamburgers, mac and cheese, fries, chicken tenders, corn, and BROWNIES! It was so yummy and all the Americans here are decked out in patriotic wear.
Highlights of this week...
We watched a devotional from the Utah missionary training center and I saw Kate Mills in the choir!! She is already out in her mission so it must have been a couple weeks old but it made me so happy to see her!
At the same devotional, we sang my favorite hymn- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - in Portugues and it was SO beautiful. It was already my favorite, but I love it even more in this language. If you guys get the chance to listen to it in Portuguese it is so worth your time!!
At the other devotional this week, we sang Paz en Cristo (Peace in Christ), and it reminded me of when Kesley Reynolds sang it in church at home a few months ago. Also one of my favorites to sing in Portuguese!
On Sunday, my great Aunt Dorothy came to church with 2 boxes of homemade no-bake cookies for me and my roomates. I am so grateful for her!!!!! One of the elders in our district gave us a whole jar of peanut butter(which is impossible to get here) and we had a sugar feast that night with cookies, peanut butter, and the other candy we have stashed up. Kit Kats and peanut butter- one of my new absolute favorite treats.
Our Brazilian roomates left on Monday and we already miss them a lot. 3 weeks feels like 3 years here, so we all got really close really fast. We are getting new roomies today but havent met them yet!
Other than that, not much new to write about! Same old same old here, but I am still loving it. I have found that when I see a new language as an exciting thing instead of an obstacle I learn much much quicker. It really is such a pretty language and it is amazing that I get this opportunity.
Favorite new words this week
- frango(chicken)
- sabedoria(wisdom)
- mau-carater(troublemaker)
- badalada(the sound of bells clanging or a clock tolling)
Also- pescado means fish and pecado means sin. In a lesson this week, I very seriously said that Christ gave his life to atone for all of our fish. All of us busted up laughing and I will be sure not to make that mistake again(hopefully).
I say this every week but I keep getting more emails so THANK YOU guys for all the emails and support, love love love you all.
Com muito amor,
Sister Lauren Mather
PS. Our email time got shortened to 30 minutes because we got a bunch of new missionaries this week and one of the labs is not working. Probably wont have time to respond today besides to my family im sorry!!! I promise I do take pictures of all your emails and read them all throughout the week!!
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