Alagada-flood‏

We have all heard the saying, When it rains it pours. Although cliche and usually a metaphor, this is very literally true for Maceió. Coincidentally when it rains and pours here in Bebedouro, it also rains and pours in our apartment. i will try to send photos, it is pretty hilarious. When it rains we have a waterfall coming from our wash area and it flows down into our bedroom. Happy New Year was accompanied with about 2 inches of water spouting from the washroom ceiling and an old light switch. safe, not so sure, but i do know that using rags to soak up water takes about an hour and a half. This flood happened three times in the last week. awesome.


This week a combination of the new year flooded apartment and Sister Murbaki being sick made it really difficult to work. Yesterday, after cleaning up a flood after lunch, I had a really hard time having the desire to work. We were walking down the street and the last thing i wanted to do was work. I was exhausted, but i felt ashamed that i was feeling so lazy that i didnt want to do the work that i came over 5000 miles to do. I said a prayer asking for the drive or something to push me. Heavenly Father didnt hesitate.

We entered a small house of Maria and Luiz. Maria is pregnant and they have 4 other beautiful children. They are probably one of the cutest and most loving couples ive seen. We taught them the first lesson and it was amazing. They were totally receptive. Theyve been looking for a church but havent been satisfied. They accepted the invitation to pray and prepare for baptism after they receive a response. Now i dont know if they are going to accept this message. i dont know what Heavenly Father has planned, but in that moment Heavenly Father reminded me why i am here. He was blunt and I was humbled and the drive was there. I am here to help families become eternal families. I am here to strengthen people, to give them an opportunity to better their lives, their families, themselves. I saw it in the faces of these two parents and it was more than what i felt worthy to ask for.


I know God loves us. He has a plan and I am one of the priviledged few in this world who has the opportunity to have this knowledge and to share it. The more i study the more i thirst to share what i study. It is amazing the capacity our mind has when you factor in faith and the Spirit. I am learning so much about following the Spirit. He is a real driving force and I feel very blessed to be able to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost in my life. Amazing.

A few funny things. Here it is perfectly acceptable to call or refer to other people as fat. For example, a lot of Brasilleiros refer to my district leader as the gordão elder (gordo is fat, add ão and you have really fat). It still makes me laugh when people talk about it. Earlier this week when i was joking around with Sister Murbaki, she decided to let slip a few English words she has been holding back for the past 8 weeks. In clear English she said, You er mama. I almost peed my pants it was so funny.


Today we had a zone activity and one of my elders from the CTM presented me with a peanutbutter filled sweet of some sort. I havent had peanutbutter for almost 3 months, and let me tell you i dont know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Man imiss peanut butter!


well i love you all and i miss you!

proud to wear the tag,

Sister JP Peterson

HAPPY NEW YEAR!‏

DEAR ALL


I have officially survived my first six weeks of living in real Maceió with a real live Brasilleira speaking broken but real Portuguese. WHOOEY! It was the fastest slow experience ever. And the verdict is in, I am blessed to have 6 more weeks in BEBEDOURO! I am stoked.

Well six weeks here and we still are at zero with baptisms, but we have a big teaching pool and we havent even scratched the surface of the amount of people here. Im stoked and im ready.

Last week Heavenly Father led us directly to a family that i think i mentioned in my last email. The dad, Wagner is a less active member and he has two kids Barbara 11 and Venicious 13 that are not baptized. Weve been teaching them. Last Friday Venicious said he was ready to be baptized he read the BOM prayed and recieved a response that it truly is the word of God. Unfortunately last night we went to visit and teach some more. Barbara said she believes that it is the word of God but doesnt want baptism and one of Venicious´ friends said some stuff about the Book of Mormon and now he is confused about baptism. I thought things would get easier once i started to understand this language, but i found out last night that the heartache just burns a little more. Venicious is one of those sweet spirits that you cant help but love, i could see the sadness in his face when he was telling us about his confusion. Everytime we find someone prepared and ready who has recieved an answer, Satan is not far behind. We left him with our testimony that people can lie to you, people can be misinformed, but the only way you can find truth is through the confirmation from God. He cannot lie. I have hopes that he will read and pray and search and that Heavenly Father will come through and help him, if not now, later in his life.

For this transfer i have set some goals, challenging but possible and I am excited to push myself to accomplish them. A lot of the problem is getting past myself: my insecurties with the language, with teaching, my laziness, its rough sometimes.

A lot of people have asked me about the food here. Let me tell you one thing: you havent lived until you have had juice in Maceió. They have so many fruits so delicious and the juice makes the juice in the states seem like gatorade. I have also encountared Macashera or Mandioca. It is a root that is a lot like a potatoe but (i never thought i could say this) a billion times better. I cant even describe it.
I realized earlier this week that I dont eat a lot of green vegetables here. They dont serve them with our lunches at members houses much. I usually always have rice beans spaghetti noodles that are usually orange from some sort of spice and chicken or beef. And we always have suco (juice) or soda. The only soda i have had here is fanta, guarana and coca cola. I never really drank soda before this but i really love guarana. It is hard because i feel like i eat a lot and im not hungry and then the people tell me to eat more and are offended if i dont. A lot of the time we will go to someones house and they will just bring us food and we have to eat it or they are offended. It is a good thing i walk so much. Last week i asked the bishops daughter if she wanted to be a missionary (she is 7) she replied with, I did but then i realized that you guys walk a lot. Haha.
Christmas was good with the bishops family Christmas Eve. The Sisters nearby stayed at our house. Christmas Eve, apparently people party all night which was apparent at 3 in the morning when i woke up to music blasting from all directions. They love to party here.

It was great to talk to you on Christmas. I felt like 45 minutes definitely wasnt enough but i love you all and thank you for your love and support.

Proud to wear the tag,

Sister Peterson

FELIZ NATAL TODO MUNDO!

FELIZ NATAL TODO MUNDO!


It really doesn’t feel so christmasy right now because it is hot and im wearing sandals and i have some mean tan lines going on. BUT everyone here is excited and I love it! It is such a good time to preach the gospel. Peoples minds are already on our Savior Jesus Christ and when they see the name on my tag, they like to talk and sometimes if we are lucky they like to listen also.



This week I had some hilarious I LOVE BRAZIL moments that made me think of a few of you. Primarily Lindsey. Friday we had the ward Christmas party and one thing that I really love about brasillieros is they love music. Especially American music when they don’t know the words. So in the midst of a ward Christmas party, Beyonce was blaring from the speakers. The song, if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it was playing so I was smiling pretty big, but this is the hilarious part. The 2nd counselor in the bishopric is a cute little old brasilleiro named Valdomiro, he is gray and slightly balding and smiles with his whole face especially his eyes. When he saw me smiling he starts dancing to beyonces all my single ladies and I started laughing so hard. One of his sons served in Salt Lake and knows English so he and his brother started dancing too with there fingers covering their ring fingers in unison. HILARIOUS.



Sunday it rained and it was a wonderful break from this heat but I realize that for the next 15 months I will be soaking from either sweat or rain. Awesome. It was beautiful and I was so happy.

W e have been teaching a lot. Unfortunately a very common problem with investigators are that they need to get married before they are baptized. Slightly less common but still common is that people need to get divorced from their previous spouse and married to the person they are with now. One lady has been ´married´ for 30 years with the spouse she has now but is still legally married to another. So different, but I guess it is expensive to get divorces so people just don’t do it. We are waiting on 4 or 5 people to get divorces so we can get them married. All amazing people ready, just one more stumbling block I guess.



Sunday we went to one of the favelas that we don’t like to go to much beause we got robbed last time we were there after dark and we were trying to find one of the ladies we had met but lost her contact info with the bolsa. She was travelling but we found her brother in law and he has been a member for 13 years, has been less active but wants to return to church. He has two kids that aren’t baptized and we are teaching them. There mom died about a year ago and they have been so sad, I know that this gospel will bless there lives. I love those kids, they are so smart and sweet.



We taught there older cousin who is basically a walking bible. We were kind of scared to teach him but we prayed and had faith that God would make up for the knowledge we lacked. One of the most frustrating things in the world is when you understand exactly what someone is saying but lack the ability to respond correctly. However, Sis Murbaki rocked the lesson. He had some strange ideas about prophets but sister Murbaki responded so well to all of his rebuttles. He tried telling us that we were prophets, but we responded that we have prophets on the earth today that have the power of God. It was amazing. I think in moments where my testimony is challenged literally, is when I feel strongest. The only thing I could communicate with power was my testimony. That is all I need.



I know we have a prophet on the earth today, Thomas S Monson and that he guides this church under the direction of the Savior Jesus Christ. This is his church. I know that the 14 other men who serve with him are prophets seers and revelators. We can obey anything those men say and we cant go wrong. Simple and amazing the love God has for us that He sends prophets in all times, that He sent his son Jesus Christ to organize his church with prophets apostles and the power of God. Really think about Christ this holiday. Not just about his amazing birth, but celebrate his life. He is our perfect example. Follow his example, you will be happy. I have seen the difference in my life and the lives of others. Strive to be like Him, the only thing you have to change is your thoughts. If you change your thoughts, your actions follow. It is amazing the power of ideas and thoughts. I am so grateful that God blessed me with this power to think and learn. Amazing.



I love you all very much I hope you have a WONDERFUL Christmas.


Proud to wear the tag.

Sister Peterson

All i want for Christmas is Air Conditioning.‏

I keep hearing how cold it is in your neck of the woods, meanwhile i look like i just went swimming half the time. Man i love Maceió.

Heavenly Father has blessed us so much this week. Oh man. The past four weeks i kept telling Heavenly Father that Im ready for the confirmation of faith that comes after the trial (Ether 12:6) whenever He is ready and He totally came through, He always does. I wasnt expecting it this soon.

We went from about zero to amazing this week. It started with a reference named Iraen. He is smart, he has lots of questions, fortunately for us, God has a lot of answers. He came to church with us on Sunday and we are going to keep teaching him. He is really interested and is awesome.

We have been teaching another 18 year old man named Carlos and his mother Claudia. I felt like they werent really interested and was ready to move on, but fortunately Sis Murbaki gave them the benefit of the doubt. It turns out that Carlos has been thinking a lot about the gospel and it occupied his mind for three days. HE believes its true and when we asked him to read HE ACTUALLY READ and he liked it. He believes the BOM is true and we are preparing him for baptism. When we first contacted him about 4 weeks ago he was at his neighbors house, they all listened to our message but the neighbors were another religion. They talked to us about there problems and we prayed for them and left. Well this past week, 4 weeks later, the neighbor Meri came over while we were teaching carlos and she said that after we had met with them all of her problems got better and that she is ready to learn and has accepted a baptismal date.

MIRACLES are happening in Bebedouro. It is amazing. It seems like all of a sudden we are finding those people that Heavenly Father has been preparing for us to teach. The joy i have felt in this past week has far outweighed the sorrow and heartache and discouragement of the three weeks prior. MAN I LOVE THIS WORK.

I only have one more week before transfers, hopefully i will stay in this wonderful area. I trust Heavenly Father to know what is best though. He has given me so many opportunities to hear and follow the spirit this week. Yesterday we were walking and I saw a family in a house far in the corner of the street and i felt like i needed to walk to their house and talk to them. They invited us in before we really said anything and as we talked we learned that the ladies daughter had died not long ago. We taught her the plan of Salvation, it is what she needed to hear.

The language is still rough. so rough. i understand a lot. Even words i dont know i can understand if i pay attention, it is so hard to pay attention. My mind wanders so easily but im trying to force myself. It is important. The speaking part is the hardest. my accent is hard for people to understand. They are nice and patient with me. I cant wait for the day that those words are the first words in my mind. when i read i dont have to translate everyword to english to understand. Im progressing and an amazingly fast pace, but sometimes it feels like forever. Im not as grateful for this gift ive been blessed with as i should be, but im learning to give gratitude more.

Christmas is coming! are you all excited? i will call friday morning sometime. send me phone numbers por favor. i cant wait to hear your voices!

proud to wear the tag,

sister Peterson

Remember how i live in Brazil

Dear all of you.

A few things since you last saw me. I have always publicly coveted curly hair. I have curly hair now. I mostly love it. Somedays i miss the old JP. I have a pretty attractive farmers tan. And I dont really speak English all that much.

Yesterday we had our zone conference for Christmas. It was great and I love Presidente Beynon and Sister Beynon. That man is truly inspired. He talked about our Savior Jesus Christ and the meaning of Christmas. I consider myself blessed to be able to focus all of my energy on that meaning this Christmas and not on the commercial part of it. It is great!

People here love Christmas. A lot of them have little fake pinetrees and papai noels everywhere. i love it. We are going to spend Christmas with a trio of other sisters in another area at the Bishops house with his family. i love that family they are AMAZING.

We still havent been able to find any solid investigators. It is a little discouraging, we are working very hard, but we are learning it is all on the Lords time. Our Zone Leader E. Wheat and E. Youngberg came with us to some lessons and i learned so much about teaching from them. E. YB leaves in about two months and E. Wheat has been hear for over a year and a half. It is amazing how they teach so well and so fluently. I have hope.

The language has good days and not so good days. I realized about three days ago that a lot of the time i dont have to translate into English in my mind and im speaking a little faster, but it is still hard and intimidating to communicate effectively. I have a lot to learn. Im really learning a lot about trusting the Lord, a few times ive felt that there was no way i was going to be able to climb all the way up that hill teach two lessons and be able to make it back home because i was so tired or frustrated or discourage. It somehow happens. The Lord is carrying me right now and i am learning.

It is amazing the things that you can learn when you take time to ponder and search them. i get one hour of personal study each day, it never seems long enough. Things that ive been taught my whole life that i probably could quote through and through, things that i thought i understood well are finally clicking in my mind. Every now and then ill think, that makes sense! When i wasnt too preoccupied about it before. my mind is changing my heart is changing everything about me is changing and its so hard and its so interesting to think about the difference between the JP one week ago, three months ago, and one year ago. Amazing and hard, beautiful and frustrating.

D&C 121:7-8, my situation is cake compared to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, but all in all have PEACE, ENDURE IT WELL, it will work out. It always does.

Happy birthday TODAY to my big brother, my example, and my friend. I love you and I hope your birthday is wonderful!

Oh family i get to call home for Christmas! whooooooooooooey!
love you all so much.
proud to wear the tag,

Sister J. Peterson

My life be like ooh ahh

Dearest friends and familia.

Man i love you all. I feel like everyday of my life is an adventure hear in this amazing country. Ive used the verb assaltar quite a bit this past week and we had another close call this morning.

We were waiting at the bus stop to go to a mission activity. I was pretty much oblivious to the whole thing, but a guy was sitting by sister Murbaki and told her where he was going. When his bus passed sister Murbaki became nervous, when the bus passed two more times and ours hadnt arrived we started walking to the other bus stop and he started following us. I didnt really know what was going on until sister Murbaki yelled, Corre! Corre! (run) and started booking it. We ran until we came to this man and woman in a truck. The guy had started walking faster and eventually passed us when we stayed next to these people. They were really nice and guess what, they spoke English! man i miss that language sometimes. The lady lived in Oklahoma for one year. They gave us a ride to our activity and we were safe, but all in all i realize i need to pay attention more often.

Maceio is sunny hot and humid, BUT we get this amazing wind that cools you down when you look and feel like a wet dog. interesting, the sun literally rises at about 4 am so i usually wake up at 5 feeling like im late.

The ward here is awesome. The Bishop and his family live a few houses away and we talk to them almost everyday. They go to a lot of lessons with us and are very involved in the work. I love their kids, Beatrice who is 7 and Thomas who is 3. Bea is so smart she loves learning english so i teach her english and she helps me with portuguese when we visit. Thomas reminds me of connor. He is hilarious and adorable. Makes me miss my sobrinhos at home.

The culture overall is really laid back, humble, and simple. Apparently most of the words i learned in the CTM are words the people rarely use and dont fully understand here. I have to revise my teaching vocabulary daily but sister Murbaki is very helpful.

A lot of the time the people dont understand my accent, but sister murbaki says it is because they dont pay attention. After teaching a lesson i had a really hard time with one of the ladies told me that she liked my accent, it made me smile. I get discouraged when i mess up in lessons, i feel really stupid and realize my pride kills me. I know i am not the only one who struggles learning a language, but sometimes i feel like it. But HF always reminds me of his love and that he is helping me. One day a lady asked me to speak english because her daughter knew a few words and i started saying, Oi! meu nome é. It took me about five seconds to remember how to say hi my name is sister Peterson. I realized that i am improving everyday and that i need to relax and not stress so much.

God has blessed me with this amazing opportunity to see and think in a totally new language. To see the world from a different view point and to be able to understand a people whose culture and ideas are completely foreign to me. Amazing. It is rough sometimes, change always is, but i cannot wait till i can think in Portuguese, what a blessing that will come from this trial. I have to think of that everyday.

There is one member, Irmã Elba who was baptized about 5 months ago and all in all this lady is a ROCK an example and she gives me hope everytime i get to talk to her. Her circumstances are humble, but she pushes herself to learn and grow in the gospel. She is already preparing for the temple. She has given up so much to be a member and is solid. Her faith and her love of the Lord is amazing. She was telling me her conversion story last night, how she tried to ignore the missionaries as much as possible for a long time. But now she is probably one of the strongest members of this ward. It gives me hope that even though we dont have a strong teaching pool if we are consistent and loving we can help someone.

My goal for this transfer is found in section 108 in the doctrine and covenants specifically in verse 7: Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings. this is my goal for my life to leave those that at meet and the areas that i live and serve in better than how i found them.

I know this work is the Lords work. I know that He leads this church today and that through the power of God miracles happen every single day. I am protected by that power, i am sustained by that power, i am working by that power. Now more than every i realize how very real it is. God loves his children, He knows them, and He has sent me to this area of the world to learn this beautiful language so that i can tell them all about it. It is true, i wouldnt be here if it wasnt.

Proud to wear the tag,

Sister Peterson

ps. Grandma i received your letters thank you very much! To my friends i can receive your emails but i cannot respond UNLESS you are on a mission in another part of the world. So if you want a response send me your mailing address and i will write you the best letter of your life. ALSO this is my mailing address i think it was wrong from before:

Sister Jessica Ruth Peterson
Ed Work Center
Rua Dom Antonio Brandão 333
Sala 402 Farol
57021-190 Maceió, AL
BRASIL

Didnt you tell him they were the Lords chips?

Dear people that i love:


if my week had to be summed up into one word it would be: INTENSE

It has been a very trying week this week, filled with discouragement, laughter, and a lot of Portuguese.

As far as I have seen and I walk around this area a lot, I am the only white person. I am learning so much about this culture and i like it. I kind of feel like all social norms i have learned in the past 21 years of life are out the window. The personal space thing is non existent almost, I havent been kissed on the cheek so many times in my life. One night I tried making a contact and Sis Murbaki didnt notice and kept walking so i went to shake this brasilleiros hand and he pulled me in and lay a big one on my cheek. We were teaching a lesson in one of the houses and the lady~s neighbor came over, saw me, and within seconds my head was burrowed in the chest of a 50 year old brasilliera who i had never spoken to in my life. Ive also learned that if you are at a persons house and they ask you if you would like juice or something to drink, really it means that they are going to make you dinner and you should probably get seconds, with every meal you should probably get seconds.

I get really discouraged about the language, but one thing that is really nice is brasilians love love love to talk. So i can get by pretty good with smiling nodding saying sim and poís é. They just keep talking to me and i just keep smiling.

Sunday night we were walking home at abouty 8:40 at night, 20 minutes before we needed to be home and i was walking about 5 steps behind sister Murbaki (the sidewalks are kinda weird and unpredictable so i usually walk behind her) All of a sudden i was really paranoid and then i heard some footsteps behind me. i stepped to the side a little and i saw a skinny dark brasillian man, barefoot run past me. He went up to sister murbaki and pulled her bag over her head. It happened so fast! Then he ran across the street and i kid you not, jumped up and pulled himself over a wall and was gone. It was insane!Sis. Murbaki was very upset and I was scared, really scared id never experienced this before, but part of me wanted to start laughing hysterically. The guy totally reminded me of the guy off nacho libre, nachos fighting companion the one who only believes in science, when he stole the chips and jumped over the wall. I really wanted to say: Didnt you tell him it was the Lords bolsa? but i didnt because i didnt know how to say it in portuguese and sis. Murbaki has never seen that movie. Needless to say hilarious and scary and awesome. There wasnt really anything of worth in it only our cell phone and her perscription sunglasses and 3 reais. In it though was her planner that had all of our contacts addresses, all of our work for the past week pretty much gone, but we have faith that we will be able to find those people we contacted and all will be good.

Needless to say, this past week is proving this experience to be one of the most intimidating experiences. However, when I am discouraged, HF always reminds me of why I am here and I am reminded that this work is happiness or as Sis. Murbaki says Missão é a festa! Sometimes that comes in the form of a scripture or a quote i~ve heard. Most often it comes in the form of a little brazillian smile. Whenever im stressed if i smile at a child here, 98% guaranteed I will get the most heartwarming smile a girl could as for in return. I love these people.

One quote that one of the sisters in the CTM gave me helps me a lot and i believe it can apply to life in general and any problem you face:

INVICITUS by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance.
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
and yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
I realize i always have a choice, i have a choice to be upset after Sis Murbaki has repeated herself and i still dont understand what she is saying, or I can relax and try harder. I have a choice to be angry when some punk literally disrupts a full week of work, or i can laugh because he looks like the guy from nacho libre. In all things I know that Heavenly father is mindful of me. He knows me and He understands EVERYTHING that Im struggling with. In Alma 26:36 Ammon explains this point that in all things God is mindful of us, Wanderers in a strange land. If that is not me I dont know what is. I know why i am here and i know this is where i should be. Heavenly Father is helping me EVERY DAY to become the woman i would like to be and right now im being molded and sometimes its frustrating, but one day i will speak portuguese and understand what all this is for.
Thank you so much everyone who sent me emails this week! they always help. Thank you all for your support, know that you are in my prayers and that i love you all very much.
Proud to wear the tag.
Sister Jessica Ruth Peterson