Messejana, Brazil - the 411

Hey guys!

This week…

Thursday we had a “game night” and us and our ward mission leader were in charge! So he came up with fun games/relays to play that incorporated missionary work! The first game we blew up ballons and put little pieces of paper inside them with questions about the scriptures or about missionary life like, what time does a missionary wake up? Silly things like that haha! The second game was a relay that represented Sunday´s when we go from house to house to pick our investigator´s who said they´d go to church. So we set up chairs and had 6 people stand at the back of the gym, behind the obstacle of chairs. Two boys from each time had to jump over a chair (it was lying sideways) and then run around another stack of chairs, grab an “investigator” and bring them to the front hahaha it was very entertaining! The other game we did was we blind folded two people and they had to make their way to us by listening to our voices while everyone else was yelling and screaming, trying to distract them. Didn´t really work out as well as we expected because we ended up having to yell too lol but it was meant to represent how we need to listen to the Spirit!

Saturday Adeline was baptized!! It went perfectly and just how she wanted! She didn´t want a lot of people, and she doesn´t like cake or ice cream OR soda so we had Doritos and juice haha because that´s what she likes! But it was great because her brothers Wellington and Aizaki were there (who were both baptized in Feb!) and we took lots of pictures haha. It was a happy day :) I love that family!!! Their mom is also wonderful. She goes to her church faithfully, but she always welcomes us into her home and is always worried about us haha she always asks if we´ve eaten. The other day I was having some stomach pain and she was so worried about me haha!

The days are flying by, the weeks are flying, and the months. I can´t believe it´s March. A year ago the days were flying by too fast, too, for when I´d be leaving on the mission. It´s strange to think about how I´ve been away for (almost) a year. But it´s been SO great! It´s crazy how much we learn on the mission, how much we see, how many people we meet. It´s weird to think about how many people I´ve met that I never imagined I´d meet in my life! They´ve made a mark in my life. I know I´ll cherish these memories forever. I wanted to say thank you really fast to my parents who allowed me to serve a mission. I KNOW it´s harder for parents, for our families back home. People always ask us, do you miss your family? How do you cope? But what we tell them is the truth, and I´m sorry if it´s a little harsh for you guys, but we don´t have time to think about our families! Our worries are so fixated on the people in our areas, the people we´re teaching, that we don´t have time to sit and think about our own lives. We´re always thinking about the lives of others, and what we can be doing to better help them. BUT you guys are ALWAYS in my heart and I love to look at the pictures I have with my family and my friends. My family is my world! I love you guys with ALL my heart!
I´ll stop now before I end up writing another paragraph haha but I just wanted you guys to know how much I love you all!!!!!!!! Seriously, y´all are the greatest. :)

Te amo MUITO!!!!

-          Sister Parks