Nutella!

Everyday, I realize just how small this world is.  On Tuesday, there was a leadership training in João Pessoa.  The Sister Britez from Guarabira came in for the meeting, and her companion, Sister Woodland, spent the morning with us.  Sister Woodland is fresh from the CTM in São Paulo and had gotten to know Cassie while she was there!  Cassie had thoughtfully sent a little note with her to bring to me, not even knowing if we would see each other, but it worked out perfectly!!  After we met up with her, we stopped by the store to grab a few things...primarily Nutella because it is only 5 reais in this certain store, and 10 reais or more in every other store.  When the check out lady scanned the Nutella, it came up as 2 reais.  I pointed it out to her and asked her if there was a problem with the computer.  She asked around, and found out that because of the expiration date on the Nutella (June), they were selling it for a reduced price.  Finishing off a container of Nutella before June is no sweat for me, so I went back and grabbed two more, just for good measure! haha!  We had a great companionship study that morning, doing practices in between snacking on Nutella and crackers!

If someone ever needs a cheap idea of how to put more excitement and adventure in their life, I'd tell them to put aside the car for a week, and get out and walk on the streets for 7-8 hours everyday.  Friday was an interesting day.  First, we woke up to down pouring rain.  When the rain didn't stop by lunch time, we decided to take a bus to our lunch appointment instead of walking.  In our hurry to get a bus, we got on the wrong bus, and had a nice hour bus tour of João Pessoa!  Then, just our luck, once we got to our correct stop, it was still raining and we had about a five minute walk to the members' home.  In those few minutes of walking in the down pouring rain, I managed to arrive at the member's home completely soaked.  So much for the bus keeping us dry!  This member happens to be a returned missionary, so she gave me some clothes to wear  during lunch while she dried me dress.  It was a blessing to leave the house with dry clothes, but it didn't last too long with the continued down pour of rain.  By now, the roads were filled with water, and every car that passed by my companion and I feared being sprayed with water.  At one point, we were passing an abnormally large puddle when I saw a bus barrelling down the road toward us.  I didn't think twice - I took off running in the weeds away from the edge of the road.  The bus passed, and didn't even touch the water.  My companion, who had stayed near the road began laughing at me and my insanity.  At that very moment, a tiny, 5 passenger car, zipped by unnoticed, and completely drenched my companion!  hahaha!  I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.  Oh the good times that happen on the streets!

Our ward mission leader is preparing to serve a mission, and full of energy.  When he was called to be our leader, the first thing he told us is that he wanted to do lots of fun activities with the ward.  My companion and I started brainstorming right away.  This Saturday, we managed to put together an activity that is very similar to the 'minute to win it' challenges.  We divided up into two teams, women vs men (always makes for good competition)!  Then, we had various challenges - Eating a cookie that is on your forehead without using your hands - Sucking up small pieces of candy from one bowl and putting it in another bowl - rolling a coin to fit inbetween the prongs of a fork - and my favorite...eating a plate of spaghetti with your two hands tied to the hands of another person!  All of the members adored the activity!  We even had the Baptist cousion of a recent convert who came to participate and absolutely loved it!  He told us that he would definitely be coming to our next activity.  We invited him to come to church on Sunday, buuut he wasn't quite so sure about that.  Tudo bem, at least he's converted to our fun activities.  We're one step in the right direction!  

During my mission, I've always been interested by the fact that one day we can meet someone who seems super excited to know more about the church, be baptized, or come to church on Sunday, and then when we return to take them to church or commit them to read the Book of Mormon or to be baptized, they have no interest at all.  How can someone go from hot to cold so fast and with seemingly no reason at all?  As I thought about this, I began to wonder if there was a comparison between this and how we act with Heavenly Father at times.  Often, we have moments when we are 'hot'.  We have a great church meeting, or a spiritual experience, and we are totally pumped up to be better and change.  Then, when we return home, and the moment has come to act and put in practice what we have learned and been invited to do, we turn 'cold', and resort back to the way we have been living.  As we learn in 2 Nephi, we have the power to ACT!!!  When we have 'hot' moments in our life, we need to put what we learned into practice and follow the spiritual promptings that we received.  I know that this Gospel is true, and that when we act and put in practice the principles of this Gospel, we will be truly blessed!