Olá from Brazil!!!

Hey everyone!!! I have been in Brazil for over a week now!! I have been having a great time. Sister Gomes is my companion and is very nice. She puts post it's on our furniture with the Portuguese names, very cute. She doesn't know English, so I'll just say sometimes google translate is our best friend. But I am learning more everyday! We have been practicing lessons and street contracts a lot. I gave out my first Book of Mormon at the beginning of the week, he cried because he was so grateful. I couldn't help but tear up too. Definitely a good experience. I love how much we pray. Before doing anything we pray and it's nice to always have the spirit with us. 

Everything is different here. There are like no traffic rules so its every man for themselves haha. I have been trying lots of new foods. They are mostly all very yummy. They don't have tortillas here, like what?!!! My go to is a quesadilla, sad. But oh how much fruit they sell on the streets!!!! I have never tasted better grapes before! And they have lots of new fruits that I have been trying too.

There are also tones of stray dogs and cats that roam the streets. I wish I could give all the dogs homes. They all seem nice besides one this week was very mean and was barking a lot and started chasing us. I was terrified, the whole time I was thinking I should've gotten the rabies shots along with the many others that I had to get to come here haha. Luckily the dog stopped and turned away. Oh there are also lots of little lizards all over, they are cute.

There are a lot more bugs in our apartment then I am used to. But it is nice. We can't drink the water here so they give us big jugs of clean water to drink each month. There is a machine thing that makes the water cold for us too, it is very good. It is very hot here but I like the heat! We sleep with a fan blowing on us to stay cool. 

This week I learned bug spray is very important. The mosquitoes are no joke here.

The members here are extremely nice. They all talk to me give me hugs and try to use what English they know on me, to see how well they know English. The young women are so friendly and they like to ask me how to say different things in English and help me learn Portuguese. One wrote me a cute note too. 

I got to eat at a members home for the first time yesterday. This was the best food I've had since being here, soooooo good.

One scripture I have been thinking about a lot this week is Matthew 10:16. "Behold  I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be he therefore wise as serpents, and harmless of doves."

Hope you all are having a great week! 

Love,

Sister Ward