Brazil

I’ve been in Brasil 3 months today!
I’ve eaten lots and lots rice and beans, too much cake and ice cream, lots of popsicles, açaí bowls, pão minuto, not enough peanut butter, and the best fruits in the world. 
I’ve drank lots and lots of water and sweated lots and lots of water out. 
I’ve learned quite a bit of portugûes.
I’ve met some of the best people in the world.
I’ve taught about 300 lessons, done about 2500 contacts, and… finally had a baptism! 

I love this. And good news… we have another baptism next week! Good things to come.

Bom dia! 
It`s carnaval time here in Brasil! Last week there was some giant street party and strangely dressed people and loud music and things, but week it is just deadsville. Here in Vitoria everyone leaves for Carnaval and there is like no one around. So it`s pretty uneventful. 
And good news, the work here for Sister Morales and I is imporving! We`re finding some fantastico people who I really love a lot a lot, and we should be having two batismos this month! Finally! :) So hooray! Exciting things ahead, always!
Something else exciting.. General Conference is soon! Yay! And yesterday was my 5 month mark. Crazy daisy.
And more good news, it`s cooled down a little bit, just a little bit. And it`s been raining. Thank goodness. Such a nice break. It`s always so hot all day every day. :)
Things are cool to the max here. I loooove Brasil and this area and my dear companion and this ward and this food and these people. Although I really really miss peanut butter and cookies.
My favorite moment of the week was Sunday morning when one of our investigators was awake and all ready for church and we didn`t have to wake them up or anything! Her name is Alderina and she is so funny and fantastic and it was like the best moment ever when she came out all ready for church! 
Missions are the best!
Com amor, Sister Owens

Today marks two months in Brasil! Weirdo. Kind of feels like I’ve been here forever, but it feels like I just got here. We’ve got one week left of this transfer and I think they’ll be some definite changes. I tihnk I’ll stay here, but probably get a new companion. You never know though. But you always know that it is exactly the way it needs to be and exactly the way the Lord wants it. 

We still have no baptisms here. Don’t know what is going on. It’s hard though because it really makes you doubt a lot. It’s like what are we not doing right, are we not working hard enough, what more can we be doing, where are those elect that the Lord is preparing? But I guess this is just a down time, which means we’ve got A LOT of good up ahead somewhere. There’s always lots of good ahead. 

Portuguese, I love it of course. It amazes me a lot of times when I realize how much I’m understanding, especially at church. There’s still an endess amount of words I don’t know, but I can usually get the whole story pretty well. It is so nice not being so lost all the time. But it also amazes me a lot, when I realize how much I don’t understand, how much more there is to learn, and when my mind just draws a blank and I can’t express myself. Ups and downs, ups and downs. :)

I love Brasilians. These people and this culture and this land are fantastic. Trying to still get used to the deathly heat and humidity. It’s a struggle. But at least I’m in an area on the coast right now, with a nice little breeze, so it’s much less hot than other places. Adn it is so nice having sunshine all the time. :)

By the way I got 6 letters yesterday and it was so glorious! Mail is the best ever. Muita obrigada for sending me mail Carla and Cottam fam and Sashie and my fam and Sister Cahoon and Lilly! I love mail and all of the little joyful moments all throughout the day.

I’m so grateful to be here right now. I can’t imagine my life without this and without these experiences. Everyday is a blessing.

-Sister Owens

One thing I do not love… the giant ant-y wasp-y freaky bug infestation we had in our kitchen this week. Oh my goodness it was so awful. Like horror movie status. Ewww. We fetched our landlord and he came over with a can of raid and we were all swatting bugs like mad. Didn’t get to sleep until 12, but nice going to sleep with most of those freaky weirdo creepo bugs gone, and not with hundreds of them in your house.

But yes, I love most other things.

   This past week we’ve been focusing on learning from our trials and challenges, realizing that through our trials, and through our times of discouragement and despondency, we can become so much closer to our Heavenly Father and learn so much more about the Atonement.
   Christ suffered every single mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual suffereing we have ever suffered, and as we go through trials and down times, we cen become more grateful to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the atonement. It depends greatly on our attitude, and how we accept and grow through our challenges. Just rely on the Lord. Conversar com nosso Pai Celestial.
    And we really do need opposition in all things. Those hard times make the good times so much better! Yippee skippee! 
    So basically, the mission has lots of hard times. Heat, cockroaches and ants :), new languages, lots and lots of hard work… People promising they’ll come to church on Sunday, then you get ready early, get a member with a car, and go out to pick people up for church, then no one is home or they’re sleeping, and you have no investigators at church with you, when you had lots of people committing to go the day before. Discouraging. But then it is so fantástico when you find those golden elect people, those who have been hungering for the gospel, and those who come to church and baptismal services! 
    This week was good in the hood, like always. I went on my first division! And I only ahve 6 weeks here! Ahhh. I was a bit nervous to be going out all day without my companion and with a member instead, but it was such a fantastic day. We taught coolio peeps, talked with lots of people, and had much much fun of course. And yes yes, ofcourse I grew muchly. 
    I’m just learning and loving lots out here. There’s no where else I’d rather be right now, adn this is where I need to be. Despite the fact that I had a cockroach crawl on my foot this morning as I was doing my laundry, everything is great. And the rice and beans are getting more and more delicious everyday. :) And it’s actually time for me to go eat some rice and beans now with our favorite Sorvete family now! 
    Boa sorte e bom dia também! Amo vocês, claro! 
-Sister Owens

My first transfer just finished with much success and goodness! And now transfer number two has commmenced. I1m with Sister Morales still (yay!) and we’re in the lovely Jardim da Penha on the lovely isle of Vitória. 
    This transfer shall be an excellent 6 weeks. We have some really great people we’re teachign right now and I love them so much. It is such a blessing being an instrument in the Lord’s hands bringing the gospel and the spirit to these elect people! 
     Missionary work is so fun these days. Portuguese is improving on a daily basis, thank goodness, an dI love meeting these wonderful people and just how good they are. People are really good and Christian here. In fact the other day we were teaching this one super nice lady, Ivane, who we contacted one rainy day in the rain rain, and as missionaries, we get a bit tired at times. And Sister Morales had yawned and the lady asked if she wanted to go take a nap on her bed. They’re just so nice and welcoming. Although of course, we don’t usually take naps at people’s houses. 
     But funny story, the other week we were teaching this cool lady who makes rainbow jello and gives us delicious mango juice, and I was pretty much falling asleep in the lesson. Both of my companions were doing most of the teaching and I was sitting there, perhaps dozing off, fighting so hard to keep my eyes open. Soooo funny. If there’s a part of the lesson where I don’t talk for a while, it becomes a bit on the difficult side to keep my heavy eyelids up. :)
      I’m so happy I’m here. Missionary work is defintely work though. Maybe that’s why I’ve been so tired. Never worked so hard in my life. :) We walk and talk all day long. And we laugh all day long too. Just having soooo much funny and so many funny things are happening.
      Lots of funny things with Portuguese too. I’m learning the small differences in some words that make big changes in the meaning. Such as “com ela” (with her) and “comi ela” (I ate her). Now I’m focusing a bit more on saying “with her” instead of telling people about some other people I ate. I don’t like to eat people. 

     PS Many mahalos to Elena and Alexis and Hayley and Crystal for the lovely mail I got. Mail makes me like the happiest earthling ever. Obrigadão! 

I love Brasil more and more every day! And I love my mission more and more everyday too! It’s so incredible being out here and being a full time missionary. Plenty of hard work, but my life is just being so blessed.

Í’m so happy I have my visa and that I’m here! It’s still wicked hot, but I think I’m adapting a bit. The people here are wonderful. We knock on lots of doors, which is actually clapping at their gate, and so many people are just so inviting and let us right in. I love just being in people’s houses with them, getting to know them, bringing the spirit to them. It’s the best. 

And we went to one casa the other day, taught the first lesson to a mom and a daughter, and then they gave us a bunch of delicious mango. It was like the best I’ve ever had. Mangoes here are soooo good. I eat lots of them. I love all this fantastico fruit. But I could definitely use more vegetables these days. I’m getting plenty of rice and beans though, which is the best! And I’m not much of a meat fan, and fortunately I’ve been able to avoid most of the meat at meals pretty well.

And the other day there was a man who was pushing a big giant cart full of pineapple down the street yelling “abacaxí!” to sell it to people and I bought 5 cute little delicious pineapples for about $6. Fun fun in the sun sun.

Oh by the way, pedestrians do not have the right of way here. But all is well, no one has been run over for a while here. :) Just kidding, but seriously, you’ve got to be careful for those cars. 
I love teaching and sharing the gospel with people. Some people realize we’re bring something incredible, and even thoguh we testify, others don’t realize we’re bringing something incredible. But it’s good to know we’re out here doing what the Lord wants us to do and the we are making so much more of a difference than we realize. 

Transfers are next Tuesday. Wnoder if I’ll stay in this area of Jardim da Penha or move somewhere else. I’ll find out on Sunday! :) I love this area and these people here, but there’s always more good things and more good people ahead if I get transferred. 

Love you all a lot! Make sure you’re going to church, reading your scriptures, and saying your prayers! :) Have a happy day!

Love Sister Owens

I’m in Brazil! It”s so crazy I’m here! I cant believe I got my visa and that I’ve been in Brazil for almost a week. 

It took over 24 hours from when I left my apartment in Pennsylvania to when I got to the airport here in Vitoria. Traveling is exhausting. And then my two companions picked me up at the airport with one of the ward members and we went to our apartment, dropped off my bags, and went straight to work. Wowza. I did have time to change my clothes when I dropped off my giantesque bags but that was it.
But on my flight I flew down with Elder Lund, my mtc companion’s brother, who has been waiting on his visa and serving in Pennsylvania the last two months. 
   There was also one other elder who had been waiting for three months that was on the flight. I didn’t even have to wait two weeks! Craaaaaazy. And I ran into the girlfriend of one of my mtc elders on the plane too! Exciting looooong flight. 
   Tis crazy being here. It is so wicked hot and humid. I’m dying. And there is no escaping the heat except in a cold shower. I’m just sticky  with sweat all day long. Last week I was in chilly winter and now I’m the hottest I’ve ever been. 
    The bugs aren’1t too bad here. Although the other morning I did wake up with like 10 mosquito bites. And the past 6 days we’ve had 3 cockroaches in our house. Thank goodness one of my companions is a fearless cockroach killer. I woke up in the middle of the night last night to go to the bathroom and there was a cockroach on the bathrrom floor. I sort of tried to step on it and it ran out into the kitchen. I sort of tried to step on it again and it moved away. So then I threw a shoe at it hoping I had squished it, but figuring I hadn’t. And then I just tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t because I thought I kept seeing and feeling the cockroach. Crazy head. :) But one of my companions found it this morning and it’s gone now.
    It’s so different being here. The people are fantastic. Really wonderful and friendly. If only I could understand what they’1re saying! That’s been the hardest thing. Both of my companions are American so they translate things for me, but it’s so hard not really having any idea what’s going on around me. But the missionaries here and the mission president and his wife so my Portuguese is great for just getting here and that I’m pretty far along with it. That’s good, but it’s hard being patient and not being able to speak very wel
    When people are talking I just stare so intently and get all of the words I can understand, but have no idea what the main story is. And then if they ask me a question I realize I had no real idea what they were talking about and then my companions will do a little translating for me. :) When people talk I do a lot of smiling and nodding and saying “sim!” and “obrigada!”. I’m excited to be able to tell people what I want and express myself, but just trying to enjoy this time now where I look like a foooool. :) The people here are wonderful though. And I’ve learned so much this past week. 
    And missions aren’t supposed to be easy. I’m not out here for a vacation. I’m out here to work. These people need the gospel. Everyone does. So all day everyday we do our best to share it.
    With only being here for six days and just trying to get used to things and understand people, its hard to see the fruits of my labors. But I know this is where I’m supposed to be right now and I’m doing exactly what I need to be doing. 
    We taught tons of lessons last week, especially on Christmas eve. Our mission president said if we completed our weekly goals before Christmas, we could sleep in on Christmas day and have more free time, and by free, I mean time to study ! :) Which is fantastic. I just really don’t get enough study time everyday. Weird how that’s happened. 
     So Christmas eve was a complete down pour. So much rain. And we’re just walking around trying to finish up our lessons and contacts. Twas lovely. And we got all our goals done and slept in until 8 on Christmas ! Yippee skippee! And then we stayed home until about 1 and just studied and stuff. It was so excellente. 
     This was the weirdest Christmas ever. But it was still good. But of course I missed home and snow and more Christmas decoration and musica and of course my family! But I got to skype with my fam bam on Christmas and it was like the best 45 minutes ever! It was sooooo good to seee their lovely faces and hear their wonderful voices. And I’m sure my call on Mothers Day will come soon soon. :)
     All day on Christmas we spent at this member family’s house. We ate and listened to Christmas music and played uno and of course watched some sweet church videos. :) 
  The members of the ward here are so hospitable and wonderful. We go to a member’s house every day for lunch and they just prepare a feast for us every day, with rice and beans of course at every meal. But after being super ful lwith luch (since lunch is their big meal here and not dinner), its hard to go back out and work in the hot sun when you just want to tak ea nap. But I’m onlly her efor so long and you have to take advantage of every hour.
    Well familia and amigos, I miss you all and hope life is grand! Life is grand here for me of course, because there’s nothing better than being a missionary and immersing your self in the gospel and studying and praying for than ever before! 


NEW ADDRESS:
Sister Chelsea Rae Owens
Missão Brasil Vitória
Avenida João Batista Parr, 633 Sala 1501
Praia do Suá
Vitória-ES 29052-123      BRASIL