Object lesson: You know that scene in Hunger Games when they drop Katniss into the arena and the game actually starts, and she has no idea what she's doing? Yeah, the first week in the field is like that....
Hello!
Overview:
☆said goodbye to my MTC district
☆new rules from president
☆best açaí ever
☆first week in field
☆we have 3 new baptism dates!
‼️News: I no longer have Facebook messenger, (don't message me on there I won't see it!) I am not allowed to individually email anyone outside of my family on p-days. So, my only contact will be this general email to everyone starting next week. I love you all and wish I could respond and talk to you! I appreciate more than ever emails with updates and photos of your lives, I just won't be able to respond. (But please send emails) If I could send a dove to deliver hand-written letters to you all, I would. I get a new president in 10 months so chances are it could change. I always end up with rule passionate leaders I guess that's what we'll call it. First, Coach Ramos, now this. Kidding…. (She reads these) Florianópolis is a very successful mission, so I'll have faith he knows what he's doing. I also won't complain because missionaries used to only call twice a year. Or not at all.
I have finished my first week in the field. I'm in an area called Parque Malwee. I really did luck out with the best mission, it looks like Hawaii, people are so kind, there is German and Brazilian food which is all so good. There are a lot of wealthy areas but also very poor. I feel immensely safer outside at night than I do in Sunnyside haha. My companion, Sister Calvacante, is a Brazilian, and speaks no English. She has a month left and I'm her first American companion. She's very patient and helpful to me. Like one time when I saw a flying tarantula (I would never exaggerate) and she says oh don't worry it's just a flying cockroach. Sorry? We get along well. But when she told me she didn't speak English, I was nervous. Although it brings challenges it also has blessed me to pick up the language quicker due to me constantly speaking it and speaking no English. Since we can't fully express how we feel, we serve each other a lot to show appreciation, and it's a good lesson to me that we can show people we love them in many different ways. Also, a lesson of how important service is.
Once you serve others, you realize that everyone is going through something. One man we are visiting has problems with drinking, his wife left with their son, his father murdered his mother by stabbing her 32 times, and now his dad was murdered in jail. He feels like his life has no purpose and wants God. He came to church with us this Sunday, and I know his Heavenly Father loves him and has a plan for him. Unfortunately, he is now hitting on my companion. Game is game, I guess. After hearing what he's going through, all my problems were microscopic, and I felt much more content. I'm learning that when we stop only thinking about ourselves, we'll gain perspective about how small our problems are and how blessed we are.
The first couple days here were rough, traveling here from the MTC was very tiring from being awake 48 hours and it was a lot of change at once. We were traveling on a bus for 5 hours to what felt like the middle of Narnia. No one around me spoke English. It was all starting to hit me. After traveling for many hours, we got to our area around midnight and had to wait for an Uber for an hour. Mind you, it's now 1am. I had been awake since 6:30am two days before. We get to our apartment with all of our 18 months' worth of luggage and learn there is 0 elevator. 0. We live on floor 5. 17 trips up the stairs later we made it. I almost tapped out right then.
l'll close with this. The last Sunday at the MTC we stood and sang “Army of Helaman.” The lyrics are, “We are as the army of Helaman. We have been taught in our youth. We will be the Lord's missionaries to bring the world his truth.” Standing and singing that with 200 missionaries all with tears in their eyes, with plaques that have Jesus Christ name on it, all from different parts of the world, getting ready to go off to our missions and do this work, was a powerful spiritual moment. The gathering of Israel is the most important work on earth today. I have felt that already. When people confide in us with their problems, listening to their difficulties makes me realize how little mine are. It humbles me and makes me more grateful. There is nowhere better I could be right now. The Book of Mormon is true; it answers life's hardest questions. It is a book of peace and joy. We visit a lot of people who are really struggling, you can see them literally light up when we give them the Book of Mormon. The day before we left the MTC, the Elders in our district gave all of us sisters a blessing, it was a powerful moment seeing the spirit work through them, what was said were exact answers to our prayers. It made me miss my family, and my dad, who would give me a blessing before the first day of school. I am grateful for the priesthood. The Spirit was so strong.
Overall, it was a hard adjustment at first. But I've gotten the hang of it by now!
My apologies for making this so long, a lot happened! Love you all. Please send emails.
💌🩷Sister Copeland
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