Week 22

Hello!

Hey everyone! So I this is going to be a short update, but I will try to make it full of good info. So this week has been full of a lot of good things. I ate my first churrasco, which is like a bbq on the road. It was delicious and I think I am addicted. Today we spent most of our pday visiting the main part of Brasília and looking at all the cool buildings. I took my first metro ride this morning. It was cool, but crammed and I stood the whole way. I have some pretty cool pictures so I will try to get them attached as well.

 

Also, this week we had some weird things happen. First, a man got on his motorcycle right in front of us as we were walking down the road. It drove it for about 15 feet before he wrecked in the road. It was one of those moments that we watched and we could see the whole thing happening before it actually happened. We started to run to help him, but luckily his friends were out there quick to help him up. He ended up walking away, so I am pretty sure he isnt too wounded and it was probably good we didnt get to him first becaue I am about 99 percent sure he was drunk. Drunks and missionaries dont go very well together. (See next story)

Second weird encounter of the week. Sister Coombs and I stopped by the house of a member real quick. As we were leaving his gate a man walked up to the three of us and by walked I really mean stumbled his way to us and started talking about those mormons and angel moroni and asked for a blessing. He was super drunk and super strange he tried to grab our nametags so we hustled back in the gate and stayed inside for 10 ish minutes and then tried to leave again. We checked and the coast looked clear, so Felip the member opened his gate and the main was sitting there waiting for us. He luckily had fallen asleep, so we snuck out real quick. Sketchy? I think yes. But, it all turned out good.

Third, funny thing of the week. Wednesday we had another Sister that came to serve with us for the day, Sister Tanaka. She is new new new to the mission, she has 3 ish weeks. Anyway this same day we had a baptismal interview for Debora and this same day it rained a ton. We had to walk Debora and her friend Sara about 2 miles to the church and we had to give them our umbrellas because they didnt have theirs... Therefore, we got really wet, and we made lots of jokes about how Debora was practicing for her baptism with all the water that was soaking us.

 

The final and best thing of the week, Debora got baptized yesterday! Aweome. Everything went wrong...The font overflowed, the woman who was supposed to give the talk didnt show up, and we couldnt find any pitchers to make the juice for the refreshment afterward... but, luckily the baptism turned out great.

K, folks this is all for now... Life is good. I am still loving my mission, brazil, ceilandia, and my companion sister coombs. I am super tired and my hair is falling out pretty quick these days, but other than that my life is great. I love you all and I hope that you are all doing well. 

Com Amor, 

Sister Hoopes 

Week 21

Olá!  

I realize that my emails have been depressingly dull as of late so I will do my best to update on the happenings of my life. Right now I am really loving the mission. I am loving my area Ceilândia. And I love my companion, Sister Coombs. I am tired all the time, but I think that just means that we are working hard. A lot has happened this week so I will try to get this letter going. 

So last week I failed to make any funny April Fools Day joke with you guys in my letter. My bad. Luckily, we didnt forget completely about ´´the day of liars´´ here in Brazil. When we called in Monday night to report to our district leader, we told him that Sister Coombs fell and that her face was pretty scratched up and not to say anything about it because she was pretty self concious. The next day... Tuesday- we had our first Zone Conference here in this area and one of the Brazillian sisters, Sister Damaceno used make up and jello to make shockingly realistic abrasion on the side of Sister Coombs face. It was hilarious because all of the elders noticed it, but no on said anything. It was hilarious looking at their faces when they saw it. I think we enjoyed the little prank quite a bit... 

Other notable things of the week. I got my first kiss of the mission.... from a 77 year old man in the street. Fortunately it was on the cheek. ha ha. Also, this week Sister Coombs and I have spent several hours helping out at a language school that one of the members of the ward works at. We have the same conversations in a million different classes answering the same quetions. ´´Hi, my name is Daniel, what is your name?´´ ´´Do your like your occupation?´´ ´´Are you married, do you have kids´´... and there are probably about five other questions that they asked repeatedly. I dont think they thought it was very funny when this 12 year old asked me if I had kids and I replied, ´´No, do you?´´ I thought it was funny though so that is all that really matters I think. One class that was a bit more advanced asked what kind of music we like. I said country. They wanted to hear what country was... so they asked me to sing. Sadly the mission has not made my singing voice improve at all. So I told them sorry I dont know how to sing. They refused to take that for an acceptable answer. Usually 5 minutes of saying no and people will give up and move on. Either these kids werent understanding (which I am pretty certain they did understand when I told them I cant sing) or they were oddly persistent. I was really embarrassed and I couldnt think of literally any music except the Kenny Chesney song about his tractor... which I thought would  be a bit inappropriate. So what happened? I sang the nationaly anthem. Ha ha ha. This I dont know if I have described this situation very well or not, but oh my lanta, probably one of the most embarrassing moments I have had. The rest of the classes that asked about music I told that I like listening to instrumentals to avoid any more embarrassing situations. 

Cat-woman. We found a woman when we were walking down the street. She was sitting in front of her house so we stopped to talk to her. She has a ton of stuff around her house. I think she would be identified as a really extreme hoarder. Anyway we talked for a few minutes and she started talking about her cats and she said that she was sad because someone killed 9 of her cats. I was thinking wow that is horrific and odd. I started to look around better and I realized that she had several living cats around her. They were all on leashes about 2 feet long. Literally 2 feet... and attached to random objects around the area. I hate cats. But somehow I felt bad for these cats. I counted I think 7 that were tied up all over the place.  

I finished the Book of Mormon in Portuguese for the first time. I read it all outloud which was probably annoying for everyone around me. I still dont speak super well... so I think I will read it again. This time it will be in my head though. We also have a new rule in our zone that we always have to have a book of mormon in our hands while we are walking. It was kind of an annoying rule and we complained to each other, but the night of the first day we did it, a man stopped us on the street and asked for a book. We gave it to him and we are planning his baptism for the 21 of Abril. Needless to say we have stopped complaining about that and we learned a pretty valuable lesson. 

This week I had my second interview with President Gaertner. He came to interview everyone in our zone in our chapel. We were told by our leaders before hand that we absolutely cannot show up late. So, what happened. We had lunch before with a member. We left as quickly as possible, but we realized that we were going to be late. So Sister Coombs and I literally ran to the chapel (My second time literally running in a skirt with all my stuff to avoid being late). We showed up 2 minutes before the hour, all the elders in our zone were already sitting and President and Sister Gaertner were already up front waiting to start. We were both really red. In retrospect I think it would have been less embarrassing to show up late. But, its funny to think about now. What made it even more ridiculous is that our interviews werent until the very end so we waited 2 hours for our interviews. Everyone was taking a long time in their interviews, but by the time I got in there President asked me how I was if I was happy, how the people here in our area are etc. I stayed in there for maximum of 4 minutes. I think I broke some sort of record. 

I got news that Duke won the NCAA and that BYU didnt win the NIT. To be completely honest I think I am a little homesick for basketball. Luckily the work here is going good. We have an investigator, Debora who has been visiting with the missionaries for almost a year now, she is 16 almost 17, and her mom refused to let her get baptized. Her mom is seriously one of the most stubborn people I have ever met in my entire life. My best news of the week is that Saturday morning before conference we visited them and got her to sign the permission for Debora to be baptized. She said no again at first, but we waited and finally I just took the paper and the pen and stuck it in her lap (Probably one of the bolded things I have done on my mission) and we waited and she looked at it and looked and finally signed. It was seriously a wonderful moment to get her to sign it. So, everyone pray that our baptism of Debora next Sunday goes smoothly! 

After we saw a man in his car rocking out to Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I dont know if he knew the translation of the music he was listening to alone or not, but it was funny either way. General Conference was good. I missed several talks so I will try to get them real quick before I end my internet time, but the talks we heard were great. We had an investigator that made it to the last session and loved Jeffrey R. Holland. His talk was perfect for him and for me too I think. 

At the end of a rough day we had last week, we decided that we were hungry and we didnt have any food at home. So we bought a carton of eggs. We boiled them and ate them all. It was a terrible decision and I am pretty sure that are Brazillian roommates put something about it in their journals on the page that says... ´´Remember that one time when those weird Americans did...´´ I can honestly say that I dont have any sort of desire for eggs right now.. still. 

 

Okay this was a scattered letter, but hopefully somewhat informative. Yesterday I made it to the 5 month mark of my mission. Time is going fast and slow at times and my body is pretty tired. I am loving my life though so all is good. 

I love you all, 

Sister Hoopes

Week 20

AHHHHHHH Hello Familia! 

So as I mentioned last week, I did get transferred. I am now serving in Ceilândia with another American, Sister Coombs. So far I love the area and Sister Coombs is awesome. The day of transfers was a blur and Sister Victorio and I got to visit only a couple of families before leaving. But, it is all good. My new apartment is huge compared to the one we had in Guará. We have another set of sisters that serve in the same ward that live with us. Sister Damiceno from Rio and Sister Melo from São Paulo. Sister Melo is fresh out of the CTM. This week has been crazy busy for Sister Coombs and I because we are both new to the area here and we are working on getting to know the members and the investigators that the sisters before us were teaching. The members here are also awesome. They really love the missionaries and they feed us way way way too much. But, I do love all the love and support we get from the members here in the ward. We really have worked a lot and  I am exhausted and really glad for a bit of rest that  I will get today! It has rained a pretty good amount, but I hear the rainy season is almost over, so that is a relief for me and my umbrella. I feel like I have some funny stories to share, but I cant think of many in this moment. So I will try to remember to write down all the funny things for next week. Easter here was also good. We didnt have any easter egg hunts which is unfortunate, but we did have lots of chocolate to eat. Anyway I am going to leave this letter a bit short, but life is good, the sisters that I am living and serving with are awesome and funny! I love you all and will strive to write better more inspired things for next time. =) 

Love you all, 

Sister Hoopes

Week 19

Hello Everyone!

So... I get to email today. I get to have my Pday too. I dont have much time, but I have a few interesting stories and pieces of information for you all. The most pressing news is that transfers (they were supposed to happen today) are going to happen tomorrow. The news of the transfer is that I will be leaving Guará and be getting a new companion. Tomorrow I will find out who my companion is and where I will be going! This is exciting, scary, and sad for me all at the same time. We were pretty certain that I would be staying here in Guará, but I guess we learned that things dont always end up how you think. This morning I started saying goodbye to folks and boy, it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I think that today is going to involve a lot of crying. I really do love the people here. I think perhaps more than I realized.

Real fast I have a couple funny stories. 1. It rained a ton this last week. Tuesday was a particularly notable day because we left our house and seriously walked not even a block away when a bus passed us on the road and literally drenched us. It happened exactly how you would imagine in a movie. That was funny and embarrassing a little.

Another funny story of Tuesday is that we had a FHE planned with a Boliviano that lives here in Guará. We are teaching his cousin that lives with him. We got to their house and they had some other visiters. Jehovah Witnesses. Ha ha. That was awkward. I dont know exactly what is protocol in a situation like that but we left pretty quick. I thought it was pretty funny though.

I hope you guys enjoyed my awkward stories of the week and stay tuned until next week and I will let you all know where I am and who my companion is. Love you all,

Sister Hoopes

Week 18

Olá!

Things here are going great. Last week was definitely a whirlwind of events though. Last Pday we spent most of the day outside of our house while some fellows came and fixed our walls. It stormed a lot. We lost power for most of the day which was not a big deal really until we returned home at the end of the night. We sat and did our daily planning with candles. It was pretty special. ha ha. Luckily the power returned by the time I got up the next day.

Tuesday we had our district meeting in Asa Sul as per usual. Luckily our bus didnt break and we made it there on time. However, of the 4 districts that meet together in Asa Sul only our district made it due to sickness in the other districts. But, it was a solid meeting. The next day we had our first mission conference- which actually meant our zone the zone of Brasília and the zone of Brasília Norte meeting in Asa Norte with president and sister Gaertner. It was good and I got to see some of my friends from the CTM that I havent seen in a while there which was quite thrilling. We did get more information about our next transfer. Which is next week. We will be receiving 8 sisters and 4 elders. Wow times are changing right. This is significant news for me because this means that for sure I will be getting a new companion and I will probably be staying here in Guará. 3 new areas will open for sisters in our mission as well which is exciting as well.

In terms of missionary work- we had a pretty successful week. We found a new family to teach that are super excited for the gospel. They have 2 sons and one is autistic. They heard about the church at the school of Samuel their autistic son via another family that has a kid in the same class. They are super nice and last night they sent us home with 2 cakes--- yes two whole cakes to eat. Ha ha.

My best news of the week is I had my first baptism! Bruna was baptized on Saturday and confirmed Sunday morning in Sacrament meeting. The whole event went really smoothly and it was aweeeeeeeeeesome. We had one investgator attend, Nilson which was great as well. One funny thing about the whole event was that Friday, the day before, sis. V and I went to fill the font in the morning. Unfortunately it was really dirty so we cleaned it. Cleaning with Sis. V is probably on my list of least favorite things to do... because she has some weird methods of cleaning. However, cleaning the font was funny because she insisted that we use dish soap even though there was other all purpose cleaner. I just went with it. The best part was that the font filled with all the water we used to clean with and then we couldnt get the soapy water to drain so we had to use buckets to empty it and refill it with new water.

Whelp folks this is all for this week. Things have been great, and the mission is going good. Next week is transferences and I am about 90 percent sure I will not be emailing. So stay tuned for all the new news of the mission when I get to email again!

Love you all,
Sister Hoopes

Week 17

Hi Family!

So this week has literally flown by for me! I have several random things to note... so be prepared for a very scattered email- Yet again. =) So first interesting news- I am pretty sure I informed everyone of my companion´s love for condiments like mayo and ketchup... well we found at the store a combinations of mayo ketchup and mustard. We bought it and she is quite content with the product. Actually, this week Sister Victorio has a lot of stuff to be happy about. On Saturday her parents and one of her brothers were baptized. She has been waiting a long time for them to be baptized, so this was wonderful news. I am not sure if they were baptized in a river like she was because they didnt send pictures... but when they do I will see if she can forward them to me so I can show you all.

This week also marked month 4 on the mission and month 9 for Sister Victorio. We are getting old. Ha ha. we celebrated this event by eating cookies and brownies because those are the only two treats I know how to make without a reciepe. It has been pretty warm here... however today it is storming again- so it´s raining quite intensely.

Okay, so for some interesting stories. Tuesdays we ride a bus to Asa Sul in Brasília to have a district meeting. This past Tuesday we got on the first bus we saw headed that direction. By sheer coincidence one recent convert that we have been visiting Sthefanie and one woman that we met a few weeks ago were both on the same bus. We talked to them both for a moment and set times to meet with them, but, I guess we were supposed to talk with them longer than a moment because in the middle of the freeway close to basically no where, our bus broke down. So we all got out and waited for another bus to come along and pick us up. It was all good though. We definitely showed up late to our meeting, but it all worked out quite well.

Random funny story. The other night I woke up to Sister Victorio laughing. Hysterically. She was definitely asleep and she laughed for at least 5 minutes. I didnt know what to do. So I just laid there and waited for her to stop. I asked her the next day what she was dreaming about and she said she was teaching the Restauration to an investigator. Hmmm. The whole situation was funny to me.

So in other news our mission is receiving 8 new sisters in 2 weeks. Crazy. Right now we have 19 so we are definitely growing in numbers. This week we have a baptism planned for an investigar Bruna so hopefully next week I will have pictures of my first official fruit of the mission!!
Love you all and stay in touch,

Sister Hoopes

Week 16

Hello Family!

Today is good. This week has been awesome. And missionary work is progressing here in Guará II! The sun is shining the weather is perfect and all is well. My extreme happiness began last pday when I got a package from home. I dont know how to describe the joy of receiving a package. I mean I enjoyed mail and getting packages in the mail before the mission, but getting a package these days is inexpressable joy. I think I finally understand how Katniss felt during the hunger games when she got a backpack full of stuff. Anyway this week I have some new clothes, dark chocolate caramels, mail and a few other much desired items. I will try to send a picture so you all can really experience the joy I have right now!

Anyway news here in Brazil. It did rain a lot a few days last week and I took a picture with one of the rivers aka roads that we got to walk on so I will try to attach that as well. We have been super super busy this week. We have 4 people that we are preparing for baptism and somehow it feels like all of our investigators live at all the different edges of our area so we walk A LOT. But, its all good. The people here are great. Yesterday, we had some really spiritual lessons with our investigators. I also got to take the lead teaching an investigator for the first time yesterday. We had read the tree of life vision with this family last week and we labeled a picture of the all the different parts of the vision. Their homework was to find the interpretations of the dream and we talked about the interpretations yesterday. It was really awesome. At the end I asked them where they think they are in the dream and they all said at the rod. I asked them where the rod leads and they said the tree of life and the gospel. It was awesome and spiritual. One funny part is that Victor an 11 year old in the family is convinced the that fruit in the vision are bananas because bananas are white when you peel them.... ha ha ha.

So life is good. I got letters this last week too. Most of them were from December that got forwarded to me from the CTM. I was pretty thrilled so you all keep up the letter writing... but send them to the mission home! Love you all! Have a wonderful week.

Love, Sister Hoopes