Flip Flops and Water - Lots of it!

Well, we have officially entered the 'epoca de chuva' here in João Pessoa.  Every morning, we wake up to pouring rain, and if we're lucky we get to walk in it all day as well!  Early in the week, we returned home from an uneventful P-Day shopping trip to realize that we had lost the keys to our front door.  Once the reality of the situation sunk in, the four of us calmly walked around to the bedroom window almost at the back of the house, pushed it open, and climbed in.  For the next three days, we entered and left our apartment climbing in and out of our bedroom window!  hahaha!  Just imagine what a sight we made, four girls in skirts climbing in and out of a window!  It's a good thing that the window is at the back of our house and no one from the street can see us!

Tuesday morning, my companion woke up throwing up, and one of the other Sisters woke up sick as well.  The two of us healthy Sisters climbed out the window and headed to the Farmácia to buy some 'Dramin'.  When we returned back to the house, I began to feel sick as well.  So, I took some 'Dramin' and laid down to see if I could get feeling better by the afternoon to get out and work.  Imagine - on a normal day I can sleep like a rock in qualquer lugar e em qualquer momento...add some medicine with a strong sleeping effect, and I sleep like a dead person.  Literally, I laid down at around 9:00 am, and when I returned to conciousness, it was 7:00 pm!!  Needless to say, my companion and I didn't get out to work on Tuesday.  The next few days of walking in a constant state of 'soaked' because of the rain were perfect to recuperate!  Yet, the Lord blessed us because of our diligence and sacrifice.  On Saturday our investigator Josivan was baptized!!!  

No baptism is a calm baptism.  Sempre, sempre, sempre tem alguma bagunça no dia do batismo!!  Saturday, my companion and I were walking to lunch, when all of a sudden, my sandals that I have used for about a year, broke!  We were 30 minutes from our apartment, no time to return, and I had 10 reais in my bag.  So, we did the only sensible thing we could do in the moment, entered the nearest Mercadinho, and bought a pair of flipflops!  It was strange walking in the streets with flipflops, showing off the awesome tanline that I had after one year of using the same kind of sandal in the sun, but it was better than walking bearfoot!  Our next bit of excitement happened as we were walking to the Church for the baptism.  We had planned for our ward mission leader to pass by the home of Josivan and pick him up.  Thirty minutes before the baptism, our cell phone rang.  It was our ward mission leader.  "Oí Sisters, eu passei na casa de Josivan, mas ele não estava.  Tudo estava fechado.  Eu acho que ele fugiu..."  I listened in stunned silence, but replied calmly.  "Tá bom, vamos passar na casa da mãe dele, e depois nós vamos na igreja."  Sister De Paula and I turned around, and headed to Josivan's mother's home.  She told us that she had no idea where Josivan was.  So, we decided to pass by Josivan's home by the slim chance that he might have returned during this brief period of time.  The whole time we were walking, I was praying that by some miracle we could run into Josivan in the road, or at least find him at home.  The tiny alley way that led to Josivan's house was completely dark, but I could hear music playing faintly in the darkness.  We entered, and approached Josivan's door.  There, in a hammock, lay Josivan, sound asleep, and listening to some Bob Marley type of music.  Apparently, he had worked later than normal, arrived home after our ward mission leader had stopped by, and went to sleep.  We woke him up, talked him through putting a towel and some clothes in a backpack, and headed off to the Church for his baptism!!  Even now, I can hardly believe that Josivan was baptized.  There have been countless obstacles placed in his path to prevent his baptism, but each time, a miracle has happened to make his baptism possible.  Truly, the Lord is in control.  This is His work, and nothing can stop it as it moves forward, filling the entire earth!!  I love this Gospel, and I love this blessed opportunity that I have to be a missionary and help others fill their lives with the blessings of the Gospel!!!