Olá todo mundo! This week was far better than last in almost every way. I woke up on Tuesday morning and just decided to dive in. I worked harder than ever and it made everything feel more enjoyable and fun. I still struggled with the language and with accepting other people’s choices, but I have come to love the work. I started trying to learn everything I could this week. I am figuring out my way around the area, I know how to best plan our day and what lessons people need, and I know how to maximize our time to find the most people. My companion sensed my increased desire to learn this week and made a few well-intentioned but poorly-timed choices to help me grow.
On Monday, we ordered pizza for dinner. I was super excited and waiting for it to come when Sister Perri got in the shower. I figured the pizza was probably going to take a minute anyway so I didn’t worry about it. That is until all the phones started ringing at once (which I couldn’t answer because you have to be with your companion to use the phone) and I saw the pizza guy walk up the stairs and pass our door to give our pizza to the neighbor. I started panicking, our pizza was so close yet about to be lost forever and my companion was still in the shower. Eventually, I worked up the courage to open the door and the neighbor pointed at me and the delivery guy realized it was my pizza. I am glad to say disaster was avoided and the pizza was eaten by two very happy missionaries.
The second time my companion decided to let me figure things out on my own was while we were tracting. We were talking with some guys in a barbershop when a drunk guy came up and put his hand on my shoulder. My companion took a look at this (which is already breaking the rules, we are supposed to limit contact with men to only a handshake) and thought, “This will be a great time for Sister Grace to practice Portuguese.” She turned to the side to talk to another guy in the shop leaving me to handle the drunk guy. It ended up being a great practice indeed for my Portuguese. He asked me things I knew like where I was from, what church I represented, where it was, and when our meetings were. As we finished the conversation, he took his hand off my shoulder and stuck it out for a handshake which I gladly gave but just as I was doing this, he pulled me into a hug and kissed me on the cheek. My companion turned around exactly at that moment and quickly ended the contact to take me away and tell me “Sister Grace you can’t do that.” I responded with an honest “I didn’t do anything,” and we laughed it off and finished the night without any more surprises.
Well, that’s all folks, I literally have 1 minute left of P-day and need to send this before we get back to work. Tchau tchau for now.
Love,
Sister Alyssa Grace
Bom Conselho, Brasil
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