First week of a new transfer!‏

Hey everyone!

First of all, happy birthday, Dad! I hope you´re enjoying it!:D I´ve been thinking about you today. Second of all, happy Easter, everyone! I hope you all had an awesome day - it looks like it was a blast! Caroline is sooo adorable in her outfit, and looks like she got a lot of fun stuff! Third, I got both of your birthday packages today! So thanks so much, I´m super excited to open them! :D

So this week was pretty exciting! The first of the new transfer, so there were transfers, along with Easter and Conference! Two of my favorite things that fell on the same weekend! So, let´s start from the beginning.

Monday after I wrote you, S. Draut and I ran around like crazy people getting everything ready for her to leave the next day. So we went home, she packed (insanely quickly, I was amazed), and we went out to say goodbye to everyone. We hit about four houses, then went back and had a little farewell for her, eating the rest of my birthday stuff:P So then Tuesday morning came....we went to the bus station, and I saw her off to Santo Angelo and met Sister Lopes coming from Livramento! We went back to the apartment, got her settled in, and then went out with the other Sisters, who live really far from everything in the apartment the elders used to live in. Since they´re both new to the area, they don´t know anything! That day we didn´t get any work done, just tried to help them get their bearings in the area. I feel really bad for them that they´re both so lost!

So the week went on, me and S. Lopes trying to get used to each other. It was a little different at first! It always is for me with a new companion. I had gotten so comfortable with someone from my culture, who has the exact same sense of humor, same habits and everything....not to mention same language! So that made it even more of an adjustment than usual. So the first few days were a little quiet. But we got talking about how neither of us are usually like that, we were just weirded out by the newness of the situation. So as the week went on we got to be better and better friends!

Ah, so to update you on what Easter is like in Brasil. It´s very big, and very catholic! The whole week is practically a holiday, especially Friday, Saturday and obviously Sunday. Evvverything was closed on those days. And they have some of the strangest traditions! Apparently on "Holy Friday" (makes more sense to me than "good"), you´re not supposed to do....anything. Bianca had invited us for lunch, which was good because no one in the ward had signed up, so we had Holy Friday lunch at the gypsies´! While we were eating, Bianca´s mom told us about the traditions. Apparently, you can´t eat meat, which I kind of knew. So we had only fish/sea-food stuff. But apparently, you also can´t do...anything else! Clean the house, take a bath (?!), cut your nails, wear makeup...it´s quite intimidating. And Bianca´s mom is intimidating too - she was kind of yelling at us about how you can´t do these things "because Jesus died today". (S. Lopes is scared of the gypsies! They are very different, but not scary. I think it´s a Brasilian prejudice or something).

So that was really interesting. Crazy traditions! But then Saturday and Sunday were the best parts of the week - CONFERENCE!!! I had been waiting and waiting - S. Draut was making fun of how excited I was about it. On February 1 I had said to her, "Conference is coming up!!" So....it was everything I had hoped for. Every one of the speakers was amazing, and some said exactly what I was needing to hear, as always. It was incredible. But I was sad when it was over! I hope you all watched it. It was sad for me to see that some of the people in the ward didn´t come:(

So...that was this week! It was not an awesome week for work - we didn´t work Tuesday, Saturday or Sunday. So that stunk. But we still did alright, for only working 3 days. And I´m so super excited to work with S. Lopes. The first day I was kind of sad because it was so quiet and I had been such good friends with S. Draut, but turns out she was feeling the exact same way! She´s really happy and fun and crazy, and a way hard worker. I know she´s going to have an amazing positive influence here in Camobi, and that we´re going to be great friends.

Guys, I just want to let you all know how happy I am to be here on the mission. It´s really the greatest place to be. Seeing the Conference Center and Temple Square did make me a little homesick yesterday, but I know this is where I´m supposed to be right now. It´s such an incredible opportunity to be sharing the truths that I know with the people here. It´s an opportunity that will never come back, so I´m going to make the most of it while it´s here! Thank you so much for your love and support. I love and support you all too, praying for you always! I want you all to know that I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that this church is the same church that Christ established when He was on the earth. I have such a love for Him - for all that He did for us then and all He continues to do for us now. I love you all as well, and want you to feel His love in your lives. Always remember that He´s there for you no matter what happens! I love you all so much, and can´t wait to hear from you soon. Have a great week!! :D

Til next time,
Sister Madsen :D