What is Optional and What is Not

I'm going to apologize right up front for this email and all that will come from now on. I'm kind of in Brazil and the key boards are very different. So spelling is going to be rough I think. And that`s just your heads up. Plus it`ll only be getting worse as I use Portuguese more. Ha... Portuguese.

Portuguese is way hard. Ha. It`s so pathetic how much I don`t know about this languauage. I have the ability to communicate semi well, but that means absolutely nothing when you don`t know what anyone is saying and so you can`t respond because you don`t know what the conversation is about. It`s so pathetic, it`s funny. But I am learning. I`ve almost been here a week and already I can tell I`m understanding more and more. I can tell words apart form the others I just have a very limited vocabulary so I can`t understand them. Which is fine. I`m pretty used to it. It`s weird how not being able to communicate or understand because so normal so quickly. I`m very used to it... I just try to pick up what I can and go from there.

Let`s talk for a second how different it is here than in New York. We can literally go up to people, tell them flat out that we are missionaries, tell them we want to go talk to them about Jesus at their house another day, ask for the address, AND they give it to us. The first day was the WEIRDEST thing ever. I am used to up front flat out rejection and now nearly every person we talk to tells us we can come to their house and talk to them about God. We have yet to find anyone at home (we have only tried 3 or 4 people) but the fact that they say we could come back and they don`t say ``don`t come back`` is a miracle to me. I`ve talked to a single person that flat out told us their religion and that she wasn`t interested and wouldn`t let us talk at all to her. My companion was like ``what the`` and I was like ``ok whatever. that`s normal``. It was funny be cause she was ALL caught up on this. But that was my life the previous six weeks.

Here is very different. Here is a small list of them: stop signs are optional. Cross walks are optional -I'm pretty sure I could die every time I cross the road- Lanes are optional. Ends of redlughts are very optional. If you are a motorcycle, everything is VERY optional. |Showering is NOT optional -it is so hot and we walk around a lot so we get gross- Everything here is great in a very different kind of way. Like the juice. I will never be able to drink the juice in the US again. Oh my goodness. It is heavenly here.

I love my mission presedent and his wife. THey are very sweet. In the car ride from the airport to the mission office, they gave me a phone that had a picture and they were like "do you know him?" And I was like no. I don''t. But apparently I will never get away from being in an area where I am related to people. Because their daughter married someone in my family. I don"t even know how we are related, But even in Brazil I"m finding family.

Well. Last week I was is New York... and now I'm in Brazil. I don't really know what happened there. But here I am and here I go, learning Portuguese and talking to more strangers than I ever have in my whole life. I hope all is well with you all there in the States. All is well in Brasil! HOpe all have a great day! 

For my poictures- One is of my district. We have 6 sisters and 2 elders. Which I find to be a bit weird but Tudo Bem. And the other is of the veiw from my bedroom. It`s wonderfully beautiful here. But it is HOT. And we walk A LOT. Which is fine. I know both would be coming with being in Brazil.