An Average Day

June 18~

Weeeellll... Not much is new since last week.  We had a pretty good week - walked a lot, worked a lot, you know - the usual.  But yeah, everything is going really well here!  I LOVE my companion Sister D I love doing missionary work!!  

You asked what an average day was like and it usually goes something like this:  
6:30 wake up, say prayer, exercise, get ready for the day, eat breakfast
8:00 personal study
9:00 companion study (I have two hours of it right now becuase I am being trained...)
11:00 language study
12:00 almoço / lunch and proselitismo até 9:00 - The plan of the mission is to ´batizar, reativar, reter e estabelecer´ and so we are not only working with people to prepare them to be baptized but also working with serveral familes that have been inactive for awhile - some of them for several years.... But yeah - I love working with people!  A lot of the time I have no clue what they are saying, but I still love them!  And I´m learning portuguese... little by little.  Ha. Some things in the letter I´ve started typing in Portuguese on accident....  Just wait, by the time I´m able to call home for Christmas, I´m not going to remember any English! haha :)
9:00-9:30 planejamento

I had the first Sunday with my ward here yesterday!  The first Sunday was a broadcasted stake conference and the last one was the dedication of the Manaus temple.  I love my ward!! It´s a lot smaller than our ward at home - we had a little over fifty attend yesterday.  But the members here are AWESOME!!  I love them.  Man though - can you believe that I´ve already been out on a mission for over two months??  Cause I can´t...
Eu amo vocês!! muito!! Thank you all for everything!  I am so grateful that we have the gospel in our lives and that we were sealed together for eternity!! What an amazing blessing!!!!  How blessed are we to be able to have the restored gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ in our lives!  I love temples and the saving ordinances performed there!!  What an amazing blessing that we have a temple so close to our house and can go anytime we want!!!  Definitely should be a priority in our lives!!!

 

 In case Mary Ann has you craving Brazilian food. Here's a recipe I found on the web tha looks good for the Feijoada (Brazilian Black Beans) This is a traditional dish but typically has lots of meat in it except this happens to be a Vegetarian feijoada and coconut rice, garnished with roasted peppers, cilantro, and toasted coconut. Disclaimer: I haven't tried this recipe yet.

Feijoada

Consider colorful tablecloths, banana leaves, or the edible garnishes listed at the end of the recipe to liven it up.

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground thyme
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut in 1/4-inch slices
2 T lime juice
1 large tomato, sliced
2 16-oz cans black beans
Rice
Beautiful, colorful things to garnish: Cilantro leaves, orange slices, lime wedges, grated carrots, grated beets, slices of raw white onion
In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook until soft. Add the sweet potatoes, spices, and lime juice, and cook until the sweet potato is tender. Stir in the tomato and the black beans and heat through. Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro and orange.