Sunday, November 25, 2012

November 19, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!!! ha. I didn´t even realize that it was this week!!! That is crazy! :)
Things have been going well here..
 We actually eat lunch with the members, not dinner. Lunch here is the bigger meal. Haha. there´s a lot of times that I´ll eat something and have no idea exactly what it is. Like the other day - Sister Diller ended her mission and her parents came to pick her up and they had a farewell for here in Fonseca. And they served us several snack foods and they asked me what they were and I had no idea! I think it was just chicken or cheese rolled up in a little ball. good though. ha. We were eating a lunch with a member the other day and she decided to serve us because last time we didn´t eat very much - she thought it because we were shy and not because we were full...... And she served us a lot! And then.... when I still had half a plate left, she gave us more!!!! I almost wasn´t able to eat all of it!!! Man I was SO stuffed!!! They tend to do that a lot... come mais!
Today for p-day, we´re getting together with our district, making lunch and playing volleyball, so it should be way fun! :)
And then tonight, we have a family night to go to!! :)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Spaceship Museum November 12, 2012

Spaceship Museum Niteroi
When I asked Mary Ann what she wanted for Christmas she said letters! Please send Mary Ann a card or a letter(If you know her). There is a page with her mission address to the left side of the blog.
One more transference is over..... It passed by incredibly fast! Like the blink of an eye. But thank goodness I´ll get to stay here in Fonseca with Sister C for the next transfer as well!! :) She is the best!
 
As for what to give my companion for Christmas - the next transfer is the week before Christmas, so I´m not at all sure who I will be with - just something general that any sister missionary would like? Some things I´ve found that they like - Brazilian´s at least, I could always have an American companion as well... - but victoria´s secret lotion, basketball shorts, byu t-shirts, and peanut butter.

 Since they don´t celebrate Thanksgiving here, people already have Christmas trees up and stuff and I love it :)  I don´t really think we´ll have a Thanksgiving dinner.
 
To answer your questions - The average p-day... this transference we´ve done several cool things. One p-day we went to the museum in niteroi that looks like a spaceship. But its really hard to send pictures because our stick drives don´t usually work on these computers (and I don´t have the cord to transfer them from my camera..) But it depends on the pday... Sometimes we just stay at home and write letters, but this transference we´ve done a lot with our district because we´re a lot closer to them now distance-wise. What I ate this morning? bread and milk - prophet´s food :) haha. Also, We live on the tenth floor of our apartment, but all we can see out our window is a big hill and other apartments.
Can you email me the pictures that Sister N´s mom sent?? I don´t think I have them. Man. I love Sister N!! :) She´s training this transference in my old area, Cabo Frio! :)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

October 29 and November 5, 2012






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November 5, 2012
haha. I guess it doesn´t seem that fast to me. He went to church two weeks and the third week he was baptized, the fourth confirmed. The rule is that they have to go to church two times before they are baptized - so they can go one sunday and be baptized the next after church - like how it was with C  ha. I feel like once people know that our message is true and its thre right path to take, they don´t really want to wait. He and C BOTH asked when was the soonest that they could be baptized. The question that every missionary wants to hear! :)
This week, Sister C and I have been thinking on what we can do more in our area to help the people here. We decided to put up a missionary mural on the wall along with a calendar to have home evening with the members, who will be committed to bringing an investigator. We already introduced this idea to several members and have several family night´s already marked. I´ve learned that the importance of a member in missionary work is, well, THE most important thing! :)
 
October 29, 2012
A was baptized yesterday! His friend brought him to church two Sundays ago and he went the past sunday by himself. He loved the church and how he felt there.
And yes, O and L did go to church on Sunday :) They are THE best :)

Photos courtesy of Sister N's mom
 
 
 
Chocolate Fudge Truffles - Brigadeiros

 
Like so many South American treats, these little fudge truffle balls have a story in Brazil - they were named after a famous 1940's Brigadier General named Eduardo Gomes, who apparently loved chocolate. They have a caramel and chocolate flavor that's unusual and good. Kids will enjoy helping to make these, and it's traditional to serve them in little paper cups. Store these chocolates in the refrigerator.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Chocolate sprinkles for decoration

Preparation:

  1. Pour the condensed milk into your heaviest pot. Stir in the cocoa powder and the salt.

  2. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat. Keep the mixture barely at a boil to prevent burning and sticking.

  3. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring, until mixture becomes very thick and shiny and starts to pull away from the bottom and sides of the pan.

  4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and the vanilla.

  5. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. With buttered hands, roll the mixture into 1 inch balls.

  6. Roll each ball in the chocolate sprinkles, and place in a paper liner.

  7. Chill until ready to serve.
 

October 22, 2012

We had the opportunity to teach D - it was really awesome teaching the plan of salvation to her - her husband passed away last year. It was awesome to let her know that she can be with her family forever :)

We´re also working with another wonderful family - O and L. They are the nicest ever, LOVE the missionaries,. We showed them the movie about John Rowe Moyle and talked about enduring to the end. They really seemed to catch on to the importance of going to church and said that they´d be there on Sunday :)

haha. Halloween isn´t really a holiday celebrated here. Although everyone who knows anything about it is really jealous and wish that they did! It´s hilarious. Although they do celebrate Children´s day and get presents for it, which I´m kind of jealous of :)
 
 



Vitamina de abacate (Avocado smoothie)
In Brazil, avocados are used to make desserts, ice-creams and smoothies.
PORTUGUESEENGLISH
Ingredientes:Ingredients:
1 abacate pequeno1 small avocado
½ litro de leite½ liter of milk
açúcar a gostosugar to taste
Modo de fazer:Preparation:
1. Lave o abacate. 1. Wash the avocado.
2. Corte o abacate no meio e tire o caroço. 2. Cut the avocado into two halves and remove the stone.
3. Tire a polpa com uma colher. 3. Scoop out the flesh.
4. Bata a polpa, o açúcar e o leite no liquidificador. 4. Blend the flesh, the sugar and the milk in the blender.
5. Coloque a vitamina num copo e sirva.5. Put the smoothie in a glass and serve it.
Remarks:
  • This recipe makes two glasses of avocado smoothies.
  • Brazilians eat avocado with sugar, not with salt and pepper.
  • Brazilian avocados are very big.

October 15, 2012

I can´t believe I´ve already been out for practically six months now, isn´t that crazy? But the work is going really well here. We´re getting to know our ward and we´ve met and taught pretty much all of the investigators the elder´s had been teaching as well as several others.

I love it here! And yes, it is ´springtime´. Although it doesn´t feel like it. It´s a little bit cooler today cause we just had a lot of rain, but the past few days its been REALLY hot. Guess I´ll just have to get used to it though? :) I think the thing we have the most often (well, everyday, really...) Is arroz e feijão - rice and beans. Which I actually really like. And they always have some sort of meat with it. ha. but you know what´s kind of funny? you know what a typical dessert here is? jello. yeah, and don´t worry dad - I´ll get all the recipes for you! ;).

That´s sweet Christian gets to go to sky ranch! And on halloween!! Ha - pretty much everyone here is jealous of us because we have a halloween! They don´t celebrate it here, but everyone who´s heard of it wishes they did. It´s pretty funny. :)
 
Here's another Brazilian recipe that you may want to try. These are different then the empanadas I have had here in the U.S. from other spanish speaking countries.
 
 

                                                                 Chicken Empadas-
                                                                Chicken mini pies
                                                                  (Empanadas)


 
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
4 cups all-purpose flour
12 oz margarine
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoon cold water
Salt
Filling:
2 boneless chicken breast
½ cup green olives (chopped)
½ cup heart of palms chopped
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 chopped onion
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt
To baste:
1 egg yolk
PREPARE:
Crust: Save the egg white of just one egg. Combine the yolk and remaining whole eggs with flour, margarine, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix all ingredients vigorously with the fingers for about 10 minutes or until it becomes dough while holding the bowl with the other hand. Add the spoons of cold water to the mixture to reach the dough consistency. Do not knead the dough; just squeeze it with your fingers until mixed. Pat dough into a ball and let it rest while you prepare the filling.
Filling: Combine chicken breast, chopped onion, oil, salt, and 1 cup of water in a pressure cooker. Place the pressure cooker in medium-heat. Chicken is ready 10 minutes after the regulator starts to blow steam, or cook for about 30 minutes in a saucepan.
Remove cooked chicken and save the broth. Finely chop chicken breast and place it in a saucepan. Add green olives, heart of palms, tomato paste and stir in 2 tablespoon of flour. Place sauce pan over medium heat and cook filling while adding broth slowly to give a paste like consistency.
ASSEMBLE:
Take small amounts of dough and press against the mold to line it up to a bit over the edge.
Fill the mold with chicken. Make a small lid with the dough and cover the mold. Press the lid borders against the mold to seal the line crust with the cover and cut the excess off. Brush top of pies with egg yolk.
BAKE: Preheat oven to 375 °F. Bake for about 25 minutes of until top becomes golden brown. Let it cool and release from molds.
SERVE:
Place mini pies in baking cup to serve.
SERVING SIZE: 60 mini pies.
Note: you need 4 eggs for this recipe. Use small eggs.
For the crust, you use 3 yolks and 2 whites.
For basting, only the yolk. Therefore, you will have 2 egg whites left over if you do the recipe right.
The 3 teaspoon of cold water should be the exact amount to give the right consistency to the crust. But with practice, you can make your own adjustments of water depending on the size of eggs and type of flour available.

October 8, 2012

                                                                  Christo Redentor
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During the general conference of the church in October an announcement was made that the missionary age was changed to 18 from 19 for boys and from 21 to 19 for girls.

WOW!!! What a wonderful conference!!! I loved it so much! I watched the first three in Portuguese and the last in English. But man! I learned so much and there is so much that I can definitely put into practice!! :) About that age change - boys in brazil could already serve at eighteen and I had already heard that they were thinking about changing it, so that wasn´t to much of a surprise, but.... I got SO EXCITED to find out that girls could start serving at nineteen! How exciting is that?!?!?! I am so excited how many more girls we be able to serve missions! I KNOW that this is the will of the Lord and am so excited about the difference it´ll make! And Laura!!! Parabéns!!!! I am so excited for you to serve a mission! Even though it means that I probably won´t get to see you for like three years   And man, Michelle - what are you thinking now? Are you gonna go for sure?!!?! Man. I bet a LOT will change up there at BYU!!! :) coolest thing ever!

And that was SO COOL to see the Walter´s family down here in Rio!!! I got SO excited! :) Never thought that would happen here in Brasil!! Ha. that was funny though - that was after the day we had spent at the federal police doing visa stuff and because our bus broke down, we stayed the night in Rio at the other sister´s house and early that morning we went over to the huge bus stop (yeah. in the same clothes as the day before - gross!) and met them there!!! it was pretty sweet :)

Oh - and the other coolest thing ever - I got a package of all the cards the young women wrote at their Kindergarten Night. I absolutely loved it!!! ha. When they handed it to me, I definitely had to make sure it was actually addressed to me :) Best surprise ever! I loved reading each one of the cards! You girls are wonderful!

I LOVE my new companion - Sister C from Natal, Brasil. Our area is good - since it was just conference this week, we haven´t met a ton of members yet, but I´m excited to work in this area!
And yes, there is definitely a stereotype that Americans are rich.
My companions always make comments about it being more dangerous walking with an American. But if anyone ever tried to steal anything from me, they´d probably get about ten reias and a lot of scriptures. haha.

I just want to be able to speak Portuguese SO good! Ha. But even in my first transference, I kind of got like that cause I was so used to talking in portuguese all the time with my companion and stuff, when I talked to someone in english, I got all mixed up and half came out in jumbled portuguese. it was pretty funny. but good :) and yeah, I´m getting a lot better about understanding people now.

Each area I have been in had been different. Comari I liked because it had a lot of mountains in the distance and reminded me of Wyoming. Cabo Frio is a richer area and touristy place - but it is gorgeous! It was really clean too. Fonseca seems to be more big city -like. To me, at least. But yeah, it has a lot of hills that we get to walk up and down everyday. And by hills, I mean HILLS. Or mountains really. We climbed up one the other day to visit a couple of families and you could see Cristo Redentor(see photo above) from it - pretty sweet :) The church buildings here are gorgeous, I think.