Happy New Years!!!!

So this is the rain I was talking about!

Oiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

So to start off I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year´s!!! It was so hard to sleep new years eve because everyone was setting off fireworks but it reminded me of home so it was wayyy good!!!!

There is this AMAZING quote that I kind of live by here and it´s good for EVERYONE! I heard this in the CTM "People don´t care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Dr. Peterson   Not gonna lie, I have no clue who Dr. Peterson is, but he has a SWEET last name :) and he has inspired words!! It is so true! You can know everything but if people don´t feel that you care about them, they don´t want to listen!!!

So more Brasil life:

-Here is Mongaguá on every street has a bar and a church...kinda ironic i think haha

-People have cell phones, but on almost every cell phone is a radio too!! So a lot of times people use the radio function for people who are near to them. -It was really weird the first time I saw it!!!

-So there are these Soap Operas that everyone watches and it is hilarious because, not trying to be rude, but the actors are pretty horrible (is that too strong of a word??) but really haha its funny!!!

-So in Church we only use the piano for Sacrament meeting(I always play...não bom) so during relief society it is soooo funny, we always start REALLY low and we just sing so low I feel like I´m singing bass sometimes...hilarious :)

soo there were people herding cows on the street...not much more to say about that haha STRANGE

-Here in Brasil they always have a realllly really small breakfast, and HUGE lunch and a small dinner. It is so different and my body is trying to be accostamed to it.But you know how after you eat a lot you just want to sleep. This is não bom because right after lunch is when we are walking and teaching and its hot, haha but I´m getting more used to it!!!

so there was this HUGE bug next to our kitchen sink and when Sister Rolim saw it she screamed and ran out of the kitchen....i killed it with my flip flop. Oh the many uses of shoes :)

-SOoo here in Brasil they don´[t use dryers. SO we have to hang up all our clothes to dry. This morning I was literally sweating when I finished. (mom is probably laughing at this right nowwww) Oh, the blessings of a dryer. I will never forget this amazing blessing in my life :)

-So it is really how here, like it was 36 C one day which is in the 90s but we are outside all day walking and its just hot and humid. BUT ALL THIS WEEK IT RAINED!!! Blessing :) It was so much cooler, we were soaked for a couple of days, but you know what, it was worth it!!!

FUNNY STORY!!

So they have these metal trash things outside of every house and they are usually in the middle of the sidewalk at like chest level, and people put their trash here and a truck comes around and empties them. So here some people have these connected to their house. So one day SIster Rolim was tired and so she was looking down when she was walking and walked straight into one and it hit the bridge of her nose!!! Ahhh it was so funny! (I can say it was funny cause she laughed tooo) but ohhhhhh hilarious!

So our Investigators!! Maria is out of town this week!! BUt she will be coming back and I hope that she has kept strong in not smoking!! William is getting baptized Saturday! That´s a big yay!! And his younger siblings all have Book of Mormons now and are reading too! And we are teaching a lady named Elãne and she just loved the Plan of Salvation! It was wonderful to see her eyes light up when we talked about Eternal Families!! It was wonderful!!!! yayyyyy We also are teaching Claudio and an other lady Vera and they both traded their coffee for a cevada (idk what it is but its not coffee and it tastes kinda similar) soooo we have coffee in our apartment......we need to throw it out haha :)

So some more miracles :)

One day we have ravioli and this meet thing for lunch and salad. I don´t know if you noticed but we didn´t have RICE AND BEANS!!!

There was so much water in so little time!!!

Don´t get me wrong, rice and beans are wonderful, but I kind of like a change sometimes, so to not have it once every couple weeks...DEFINTIELY and MIRACLE!!!

I learned this week that I am the first American Sister that the ward Mongaguá has EVER had!!! Crazy right??? that´s why everyone looks at me weird :) haha

So I would like to depart with two things

God is So Good to me - even though I have tough times and its hot and we get rejected, I can still see the hand of God in my life! It is so amazing how much he does for each one of us!

And Jacob 6:12 - go read this!!! it is wonderful and simple council :)

Love you all!!

Sister Amanda Peterson

ps sorry this is like way long

pss a little girl asked me how long of a drive it is from Chicago to Mongaguá, people have guesses???