Minha!
P-days are the best day ever :) They really are fantastic though- temple, family and freedom from the CTM! Woohoo! It was really cool to go out into the city last week and get to interact with people in a more normal environment. I need to learn a whole lot more Portuguese, but it was awesome. Oh, there is this little shop here that makes these leather scripture covers that you can get personalized with your name and mission. And then they burn any picture you want into it too. So cool! And pretty cheap too! So I ordered a set for my scriptures. I need a case anyways, so why not get a sweet Brazilian one, right?
I have a couple stories for you guys this week! The first one happened just yesterday. So here to learn the language we get to spend about an hour each day using computers and the TALL program. It is really helpful. Well, yesterday we went up to one of the labs (a room with about ten computers) and set to work. When we finished up, we went to leave, and the door wouldn't open... At first I thought the Elders were just messing with us, but I gave the handle a try and sure enough, we were locked in. The little lock knob thing was broken off on the inside and we were stuck! So then we had to wait for someone to pass by the room and try to yell through the door and explain in Portuguese that we were stuck. Haha, it was quite the process. They don't teach you the words you need for that sort of situation in Preach My Gospel. Eventually we got the point across and the other missionaries went for help. After about an hour of being stuck in the room it became apparent that we were not getting out through that door. So we took the ties of each of the Elders in my district and tied them together to form a rope. We then put it out the window (thank goodness there are no screens here!) and climbed down to the ground floor. It was awesome! Probably the coolest CTM experience ever.
My second story is about one of our lessons. My companions and I teach first, and then the two sets of Elders in my district go and teach the same person. Well, when we came out of our lesson the Elders were in the hall waiting for their turn to teach. This time, our investigator was one of our instructors. He had just changed in the bathroom in the hall into his investigator "costume". Our Elders found his stuff in the bathroom and so they decided to put it on. Haha! So then Irmão Alonso opens the door for the lesson and sees the Elders wearing his tie and his sweater and his glasses! Haha! It was the funniest thing ever! We stayed to see his reaction of course. He greeted them as usually at first but then when he noticed his face just went dead. He was so close to breaking character! Haha. They made it through their whole lesson as normal though. It wasn't until they got back to class and Irmão Alonso came in that he finally broke and we all laughed about it.
Okay, so I hope you really enjoyed that first story, but it wasn't totally true. I hope I had you going a bit with it! Haha, the Elders we stopped in the hall actually just went and got one off the janitors and he came and unlocked the door for us. The tie rope would have been cooler though. We did decide who we'd kill off first if it came to that though ;) I would have lived- they all need me for help in class with Portuguese!
On a more serious note, everything here is going really well. I didn't realize how much I had learned until a new batch of American missionaries came in. That was when I realized how much Portuguese that I actually knew. It is amazing how the Lord has helped me to learn this language and progress! I still have tons to learn, but I am to the point where I don't need notes in my lessons anymore!! Woohoo! It is the best feeling ever to be freed from that. We are getting better and better at teaching each day. We currently have two investigators we teach each day and then we also practice teaching a member too- like those after dinner spiritual thoughts. Those are really nice because you can just have a good discussion about the gospel! Our actually lessons have gone really well too though. Our first investigator committed to baptism. One of the ones we are teaching now has a baptismal date and the other one is on the way. I still can't believe how much I love them even though they are just instructors acting. It is cool.
This past Saturday was a really hard day. That was the day we started teaching two new investigators, and our language time with an instructor doubled! It was a very stressful, mentally demanding day. Plus, we didn't get to really celebrate Halloween. We wore orange and black, but that was it. Then Sunday was fast Sunday. But no one here remembered to tell us, the newbies, that in the CTM the fast starts after lunch! So we showed up for dinner only to find out that we weren't going to be fed. That was just one more thing on top of a very hard day! That evening though, everything turned around. We had an amazing discussion about the scriptures together as a district. It was just what I needed! I wish I had time to write more, but I am going to have to go! I love you guys! Have a great week!
-Sister Maxwell
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