so we were in their house for P-day! We had it because my companion is leaving this Monday - which is really sad! And she does not want to go at all! So - for P-day - we got there and we ate cereal! I really have this thing for cereal now - not that I didn´t before - but now it is even worse because we don´t really get it... and yes - I am eating it with milk... It is way better with milk I´ve discovered... Eventhough the milk is sometimes weird here... They sell it in a box that doesn´t have to be refrigerated until after it is opened - or sometimes in a bag - and sometimes people give it to you warm - and it is DISGUSTING!!! But anyways... Back to our P-day - then we learned how to make these really pretty towel things - I´m not sure when I´ll use this skill again... But it looks fancy!
Then - we ate lunch - and we had SANDWICHES! Also a thing we do not eat a lot and that I get really excited to eat - a nice change from rice and beans... Then we made these notebook things - which I am really excited about - because I am going to put all the quotes from the things you send me that I really like! - By the way - I was wondering - you sent me that story about the school house and the rules that they made - by President Hinckley 2000 - and I was wondering if there was some way that I could get that in Portuguese??? Cuz I really love that story and it would be good to share with investigators!!! Also - one more request - because you said I can make requests... My shoes are already breaking - and I found out we can wear sandals here - after I got here of course - so I was wondering if you could send me that one kind of sandals - Chackos - I have no idea how to spell that - but I think they´d sell it at an outdoorsy store - like Jo´s if it still existed or something... They don´t sell it here - but my companion used them on the mission and lots of the other American sisters use them too and it works out well! - Wow - way distracted - back to P-day - so then we hung out and talked and then time already ended! It went by fast! But it was fun! And now I am here!!! So - now I´ll get to my week because I need to finish here and then get to the bus station! So - this week - Sunday was not great... At all... I guess we are only allowed to have one good Sunday in a row - and last sunday was amazing - so I guess this sunday had to suck a little bit... Basically none of our investigators came - or any of the other people we have been working with! Our baptism fell through - and she has been way strong - but I´ll get to that in a sec... And the people that got baptised last week that were supposed to get confirmed this week also weren´t there - nor any of our investigators!!! I´m learning quickly that you can´t always trust people... Also - everyone says that Minas Gerais -- has the laziest people in Brazil... That doesn´t help... So - back to our baptism - Jackelini - She has been way firm - I have never seen anyone with so much faith - she has already read the entire Book of Mormon - and she was way excited on Saturday night to get baptised - but when we passed by her house on Sunday morning - her sister said she wasn´t there! She said that when she woke up - Jackelini wasn´t there! She didn´t know where she went - when she went to bed she was there and when she woke up she wasn´t - and we tried calling her and it went straight to her mailbox - it was really weird - we didn´t know what was going on! So after church - we went back to her house - and she STILL wasn´t there! They still hadn´t heard from her - it was just way weird - we were really worried - she had even set out a sack with a towel in it the night before ready to go to church the next day - weird... So we went back at night before we went back to our house and she still wasn´t there - and I was thinking something really bad happened to her - because this really wasn´t normal! It was quite the day... So - the next day - we went back and finally she was there - she said that her ex-boyfriend called her that night at 2 am and told her she had 5 minutes to meet her at the corner by her house - and he said that if she wasn´t there - he would come and knock on her window and wake everyone up - so she went and he had a surprise for her at his mom´s house with a party - because it was the day that they would have been dating for 1 year - and they were with the family, etc, etc, etc - moral of the story - HE RUINED OUR BAPTISM!!! So - I think she´ll get baptised this Sunday - because she still wants to - but ugh - why couldn´t he have done that a different day?!!! Satan works dirty... Anyways... We had a lot of repair work to do after Sunday - but I think we´ve fixed everything up - we are teaching an amazing family right now - I think I already told you about them - we had FHE at their house - and it was way fun - I love teaching them because the kids love learning and participating!!! Last night - Kaiwan (4 year old) wouldn´t stop giving me high fives - and he is learning to ``Pound it`` - he is a handfull - I hope I wasn´t too distracting during the lesson... So - I came to a realization this week - Missionary work is VERY HARD - and I was trying to figure out why - and it is because you feel the weight of everyone you are teaching - and you just want everyone to do everything right - but you can´t take away their agency!!! If I feel this way - I can´t imagine how God must feel! But - a talk that I just read says that God will do everything he can for the salvation of His children - I guess that is where missionaries come in! We are here helping Him with that!!! But that doesn´t mean that it is easy!!! Okay - here is my cultural tidbit for you this week... people here paint around the trunk of the tree with white paint because they think it is pretty... personally I think it is quite ugly... but that´s just me... anyways - I love you all! Thank you for your letters and support! That´ll keep me busy on my busride home!!!
-Sister Dunlop
Here is the story that Brenna was referring to. It’s a good one.
Some years ago, President Gordon B. Hinckley told “something of a parable” about “a one room school house in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them. “Then one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the risk. The first day of school the teacher asked the boys to establish their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came up with 10 rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’ “‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response. “A day or so later, … the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen. ‘The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.’ “As Little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on. ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’ “The boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, Big Tom jumped to his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking. “‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked. “After five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing. ‘Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. “Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!”’” 8
And here is the link for the whole article about the Atonement if you are interested.
http://lds.org/liahona/print/2002/01/the-atonement-our-greatest-hope?lang=eng&clang=eng
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