Merry Christmas~Week 7

FELIZ NATAL! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! A lot has happened the last couple days. The CTM presidency and the couple missionaries have really done a lot to make the holiday a good one for the missionaries here at the CTM. We have definitely been doing an excessive amount of eating (candy mostly) and singing (Christmas sons for days). Today has been HOT HOT HOT. Definitely not the typical Christmas weather that I am used to. Because today is Christmas EVERYBODY needs to email so I am going to have to type real quick! I am just going to recap a couple significant events and I will write more of the specifics of today and the interesting events next week.

1. Our district had our first "baptism"--- Our instructor who we have been practicing teaching was the one who converted. I have some pretty solid photos of our event. I will be sending some home in the near future.

2. An elder in my district and I tried to teach a coupld Brazillians how to play 21 (a basketball game). Fail. Then, we tried to teach them how to play elimination or speed.... fail again. I don't think our Portuguese was that bad... so I am going to have to just assume that they just weren't very good at basketball.

3. A Brazillian elder played a musical number for one of our Christmas devotionals. It was a recorder he played. Like the plastic music device that we all learned to play in 3rd grade. It was awesome and unexpected at the same time.

4. We put on a Christmas caroling production in front of the CTM. IT WAS AWESOME. A lot of people showed up to hear us sing. I think one of the songs is on youtube. Maybe look up erguie-vos cansado coral do CTM Brasil   ... I think I heard that was the title anyway.

5. I got a package from one of Sariah's mission companions on Sunday at church. It was totally unexpected and made me so happy! It was full of candy. Literally and a christmas mug and ornament. Literally awesome. My district is still working on eating said candy. Sariah do you think you could send me her address? I definitely want to thank her! It made pretty much my week.

6. My final note- I finished the Book of Mormon for the first complete time of my mission. Definitely an awesome experience.

 

I know without a doubt in my heart that the Book of Mormon is literally words of God. It is the most perfect book on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith was a profet of God. I have heard many people doubt the BOM because of how unlikely it seemed to them that the BOM was translated by such a young unlearned man. I feel that such facts only make it more obvious that no man could have done that. Only through God could such a translation occur. The Lord is our redeemer, He is my Savior. I know that I am in the right place, at the right time. I know that I have been called of God through a holy profet, Thomas S. Monson to do His work on the earth today. I know the Savior. I know my purpose in life. I desire to be like Christ. Opeining my mouth and sharing the gospel is going to be really challenging for me (especially in Portuguese) but I know that the Lord would never require me to do more than that which I am capable of. I love my family and friends. You guys are awesome. I am thankful everyday for all of you. The gospel is true. Jesus lives. He is our Savior. And He will always have a hand in our lives. I love you all and Merry Christmas!,

 

Love,

Sis. Hoopes

Week 6

Bom Dia!

So the world is supposed to be ending in a couple days? Yes? The end of the Atzec calender or whatever? ... Well if we are all going to die, I am glad that it's happening to me here. I hope you all are having great end of the world parties. Also, I hope great Christmas parties after! we have some lights and a nativity up here, but the warm weather makes it not seem very much like Christmas here. Which is a good thing in many ways I think. I am not as homesick as I think I could be if there was snow on the ground. So with Christmastime here at the CTM comes excessively choir time as well. I don't know if I mentioned getting roped intio singing in a special musical number last week... but it happened. And if any of you know me well at all you know I can't sing... so that's awkward. Well, Sister Steadman the choir director signed all the north american sisters up for two special musical numbers for Christmas. I love Christmas music and I love singing it to myself in my room... but special musical numbers are very uncomfortable for me! But, alas all is well. So today about 80 missionaries left the CTM which is a huge number, especially because we aren't receiving more than just a couple Brazillians until after the holidays. So it is very empty here compared to how it is normally and especially to how it will be in a couple months. Now that that huge group left, I am amongst the group of sisters that have been here the longest. That is really weird to think. Only a couple more weeks and it's off to Brasilia for me. For Christmas I got myself a leather scripture case which is really cool. I like it a lot. I will take a picture of it and send it once I am out of the CTM.

So funny ish story of the week. One of my instructors rearranged our classroom this week and now my desk is squished between Elder Saravia and my companion Sister Timiario. Basically if there is a fire I am the last one getting out unless I decide to jump the desk. Well, we were all studying when sister Timario exclaimed... "Look, a green spider!" I turned toward her and the said green spider was dangling from a web right between us. I quickly yet calmly slid back into elder saravia's area. Sister Timario then hit the net of the spider in my direction... I don't think this was a premeditated thought... and the spider was flung in my direction. I immediatedly jumped completely into elder saravia's space and before I could even filter myself I exclaimed... "What the heck?! Why would you do that?!" Everyone else thought that was pretty funny. But, I got the last laugh. Sis. T. handed me her dictionary to kill the spider (she is against the slaughter of spiders- I don't understand it) and I smashed it and got green spider guts all over her book. Payback? I think yes.

Aside from just trying to learn Portuguese and how to teach the gospel and eating and sleeping not much is going on here. There have been lots of fireworks the past couple days especially on Sunday so I assume one of the Brazillian soccer teams beat an opponet. I guess the fans here are literally crazy. I love you all and keep sending letters because I really love them, Merry Christmas,

 

                                         Tchau, Eu te amo,

                                                          Sister Hoopes

Week 5

Bom Dia Familia!

2 Nephi 9:51 "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy..."

Really good scripture that I think applies to many different things in life. Luckily I am certain that serving a mission is well worth my labor. This week has been really excellent for me. I think I spent way to much effort complaining about my companions in my letter last week... but, I think you guys must have really prayed for me because the next day we found out another solo sister was coming from Provo to join our district and break us up into two companionships. She is awesome. I think had I known her prior to mission life we would have been friends still. Her name is sis. Rasmussin. Going back to a duo with Sis. Timario was so easy. Planning and teaching lessons are so much easier. Now we have 4 sisters in our district and we balance each other out a little better. That means almost half our district is girls. Preview to the near future? I think so. Fun fact is that Sis. R is from Tennessee. Looks like Tennesses is playing a role in my mission after all!

In terms of Portuguese my progress speaking wise is slow still, but I understand a lot more. We got a new  instructor this week which was really exciting. She is a sister who literally just got done serving in Temple Square 2 months ago. Since I don't have a bunch of cool mission teaching experience to share yet, I thought I would share some things I have learned just at the CTM:

1. It is possible to love a person even if you don't like them. I know that might not make complete sense, but I think that to some it may.

2. Sign language is very valuable in communication. 

3. Mullet hunting is possible in Brazil. This week I have spotted two. One a female. That makes 50 points for me.

4. Salt water is the CTM doctor remedy here. When I was sick the doctor told me to snort salt water. I didn't do it... mainly because the directions said it could give the sensation of drowning which I didn't not desire at all. But, he also told a sick elder to gargle salt water, and this week he told sis. R to soak her foot in salt water. Super strange in my opinion. The whole situation.

5. I have survived over a month in skirts. I did not know that was possible.

Well life is really good. I am so grateful to be on a mission and I am especially thankful that the lord makes up for all of my shortcomings. I love you all and thanks for writing me! I sent off letters today!

Love, Sis. Hoopes

PS I forgot to tell jamie happy birthday on the email last week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

PSS I sent a group christmas letter to julia dallas monica morgan and shively to julias home.

Week 4

Hello everyone! 

This week has been mostly uneventful for me in terms of weird things happening to me. No cockroaches dogs or vomit. So that is kind of boring. One of the elders did get robbed on Pday last week. And by robbed I mean seriously robbed at gunpoint. So mostly we are not taking much out of the CTM money wise and being extra cautious. I realized this week that my group letters aren't very spiritual like the letters that I always read on mission blogs, so I am sorry for that. But, I have had lots of spiritual experiences and things here. I will share all of them upon my return! This week I met Susan B. Tanner at the temple. She used to be in the primary generaly presidency. Now her and her husband are in charge of the Sao Paulo Sul mission whhich is super cool. She is basically a celebrity, right? Also, there is a youtube video, I think it is called : The Atonement: How it Applies to Missionary Work. by Elder Holland. That can be my spiritual thought if you all can find it. This week was the inauguration of the Christmas lights and nativity at the CTM. It was a big event for all the missionaries. It is pretty cool. They definitely got pretty festive here! Finally, my last bit of news before I have to peace out... I got my second new companion this week. I don't know if I said I hope she is not weird in my email. But, I definitely thought it. Guess what? She is totally weird. I can only imagine what she thinks of me. The combination of my two mission companions currently is probably my biggest trial right now which is weird because I don't know very much Portuguese yet. I am trying really really hard to love them, but one of them talks about how awesome provo mtc is allllllll the time. Literally every conversation has led to that this past week. It makes me crazy. And my other companion talks and talks and talks.... and if i say something that bothers her she gets quiet until I apologize. It is really quite frustrating. I need better people skills clearly. Well I love you all and I will update you more next week!

 

Sis. Hoopes