Olá!
My week:
•my first zone conference
•interviews with president
•candomblé/umbanda
•the entire mission was gifted air fryers, send me recipes!!
In 2 weeks, I'll be getting a new trainer who will finish my last 6 weeks of training.
Candomblé/Umbanda. This is a religion from Africa that is now common in the south of Brazil. They perform a lot of rituals, use voodoo dolls, and sacrifice both animals and humans to get what they want. Sometimes the women make their husbands act the way they want through these dolls. Which is terrible… how do I sign up? We were told as missionaries to not interact because they invite other spirits that aren't always peaceful, to say the least. Well, this week as we were walking the streets at night, we heard the drums and singing and chanting. We saw through the windows of a house lots of people and candles. I was honestly so intrigued, but my companion only let me look for a little. But she told me it's found a lot here in Santa Catarina. Which is the state I'm serving in. More common in Florianópolis. I’ll keep you guys updated with more experiences in the future.
Zone Conference! Mixed feelings about this. Seeing other missionaries (getting to speak English) and going out to eat, loved! The president and other mission leaders are so knowledgeable and helped me feel remotivated.
The part where I had to individually role-play 2 separate lessons by myself in Português in front of a conference room full of people who are either Brazilians or fluent in Português, absolutely hated. I was shaking, but I'm proud of myself that I was able to get through it, and honestly shocked.
Interview: It went well, he doesn't speak much English and I don't speak much Português so there's a little bit of a language barrier. But he's great, very passionate. He then drove us to our next appointment, and I rode up front with him. I talked about açai for a solid 20 minutes because that menu is the Português vocabulary words that I have memorized.
•During lunch with a member family, they put on Pride and Prejudice and insisted we watch. What was I to do. Made me miss my mom! & chick flicks.
•I'm really fulfilling my missionary purpose of helping others make covenants, one being marriage. If you guys remember the man who asked us to pray for him to get a wife. Well, we have a member who wants a husband so I'm doing a little matchmaking.
•I've upgraded from having an American accent to a Spanish one. I've been getting that a lot. : “Hermana?!”
My companion really doesn't like Americans. I introduced her to both peanut butter and Biscoff so I'm out of ideas. She did say she liked me though. A miracle. She only ever had Brazilian companions for the past 17 months, so she hasn't ever had to adapt to an American. Sometimes it requires more patience, probably from both sides. But I am grateful for what I've learned from her. I wouldn't have changed it. She's great.
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I read a talk this week that was exactly what I needed to hear. I'll copy it here and encourage you all to read it. It's called, “Swallowed up in the Joy of Christ,” by Elder Brian K. Taylor.
“Joseph’s change in perspective brought deepening sanctification, as reflected in this letter to a friend: “After having been enclosed in the walls of a prison for five months it seems to me that my heart will always be more tender after this than ever it was before. … I think I never could have felt as I do now if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered.”
That last line was my favorite. "I think I never could have felt as I do now if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered." I have comfort in knowing that when times are hard for me, it's only for my good. God knows my potential and knows what I need to grow. He knows me personally, he knows my mission, my companion, my mission president, the people I'm teaching and the trials I will face. There isn't a trial we have that he doesn't have a way for us to get through it. He will also only ever give us trials he knows we have the capacity to handle. So if you have a trial, it's because he knows you can get through it. Coming into my mission I was very confident haha. My mindset going into it was always, I know I can handle it. Now it's, I know through Jesus Christ I can do it. I have been humbled. The mission worked, I can come home now. I realize how much I need these 18 months to change me. It will soften my heart, humble me and I'll have a greater sense of empathy. I will always cherish this time that I called on my Savior constantly.
In order to fully get something out of a situation, I believe there needs to be some opposition. That is when we will truly appreciate the good times. So in a couple months when I'm able to speak Português, I'm more adapted, and can be the missionary I want to be, I will be even more grateful because I had to work to get there. Or as Veronica said, "If you're going to be a missionary, you better be the best missionary I know."
"Helping us find further meaning in our trials, Elder Orson F. Whitney taught: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education. … All … that we [patiently] endure … builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our [heavenly parents].”"
Shoutout to anyone who went on a mission or is currently on one. I'm impressed by you all.
Love you all so much, anyone who sent a message for my birthday/mission that my mom was making a book with. Thank you so much!! I read it often, it gives me a lot of joy.
Send me an update today! 💌
Sister Copeland 🫶
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