Poopy Rain in the Streets

(Letter from 10/28/13)

 

Ola familia!

I finally figured out how to make my SD card work, but today, we had to go to the computer lab with really old computers, so no pictures again today. Sorry.

This week was pretty great though! I´m understanding a lot more, and people are always shocked by how much more I´m speaking. I still like to tell people I´ve only been in Brazil for a month (even though it´s already been 2! Oh my gosh!) so that they think I´m really smart.

I´m amazed every week by the miracles Heavenly Father sends us. Things are still pretty rough sometimes, especially one day this week, when suffering bowel problems and trudging through the poopy rain in the streets, I just thought, ´´what the heck am I doing here?´´ But then we have experiences that show me that even though I´m a pretty pathetic teacher right now and I can´t communicate the way I want, Heavenly Father has prepared people for us to teach. We´ve been teaching this 10 year old boy, Netinho, brother of Ivana, and everytime we do, all the other neighborhood kids come to ´´listen´´. It´s a zoo, and sometimes we have to give up and say we´ll come back and talk to them individually later, but recently, Netinho´s sister Thais who always just sits at the back of the group asking silly questions, took me aside and asked me some really deep questions about the plan of salvation. The next day, SHE asked ME if she could have the Book of Mormon I was carrying around. Yesterday, we finally sat down and talked with just her. We asked how she felt about everything she´d heard because technically, she´s had almost all the lessons. It was amazing. This 13 year old girl responded quietly with ´´I have a testimony; I know it´s true´´. I´m pretty sure I read a Liahona article about an experience like this. Seriously, I´m living the Liahona.

Thanks for your prayers and love, and thanks for the birthday cards, emails, and packages! Letters are coming your way!

I´m learning so much about the atonement and what Jesus Christ really experienced for us as I try to forget my own desires and do what I know Heavenly Father wants me to do. The gospel is so true, and I´m so thankful that I have it in my life- that I can be with my whole family forever.

I love you all!

Sister Barkdull