I am here in Brazil!!!

 I made it!!! I am here in Brazil!! So hard to believe! :)  Guess what though!!!!!!?!!! Elder Cook came to the CTM yesterday!!! I was able to shake the hand of an apostle of God! How cool is that?!
It's been wonderful so far! We went to the temple this morning!!!! It is GORGEOUS!  I think its my favorite that I've ever been to.   I leave for Rio in five more weeks!  It seems so strange that I've already/ only been here for a week so far!My companion is Sister C - I LOVE her.  She is standing next to me in that picture that they sent earlier.  She is from Boston and her dad is actually Brazilian and her mom is Mexican and so she understands what everyone says in any of the three languages, because in her house they would speak to her in their languages and she would respond in English.  Way cool though!  She is super nice and we get along great! My district is GREAT! I love them all! Everyone is so hilarious and we all get along great! I love it! The food is actually really good - they serve a lot of meat at every meal and they always have rice and beans - which are delicious!!  We also went to this Brazilian barbeque place  today and it was super good! If you have ever been to Tucanos, it was exactly like that - they had this salad bar type thing and then brought around the meat - like Braza Dancante.  It was delicious!
The living arrangements are pretty much like any dorm. There is space for four girls in each room with two bunk beds, but it is only me and Sis C in ours right now. We really want to get some Brazilian sisters when they come this week though!~ Mary Ann

Above, are some excerpts from Mary Ann's first e-mail home. She asked me to keep up her mission blog for her while she is on her mission. I'll try to be clear about whether comments are from me (her mom) or from her on the blog. Below is the photo that the CTM sent to us on her first day in Brazil. Seeing it made me know that she had made it safe. I said goodbye to her last Tuesday at the airport, it was harder than I had imagined. We've sent off 3 children to be missionaries before but this was the first one who was leaving the country.   I was sad when she left and it sunk in that she is gone. I am so happy she can be a missionary. I'm excited for her to have lots of wonderful experiences.  It was great to get this first e-mail and learn about what she is experiencing. Feel free to leave comments on the blog. I will forward uplifting comments to her in Brazil. Please invite your friends to join. Anyone is welcome to read it. She hadn't had a chance to invite most of her friends before she left. We will make sure that the blog stays positive and try to make it worth reading ~Mary Ann's mom

two week mark.

Well... it's official - exactly two weeks until I leave.  How crazy is that?  It's always been four months/ two months away, etc.  And when I finally saw it getting somewhat close, it moved further away again.  But now it's almost here.  And its for real this time.  I called the Missionary Department the other day and they said they had a visa for me (they're gonna ship it sometime this week!! :), which means....... I'M GOING TO BRAZIL!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been waiting for this moment for about the last six months now and, can you believe it?  It's almost here.  I think, though, having SO much time to prepare has allowed me to procrastinate a little TOO much.  Now I'm attempting to catch up on all that in the midst of preparing for a reception.  Talk about fun.  Guess what else though?  I'm getting nervous.  Ahhhh!  Really nervous. Right now I am mostly scared for my farewell talk - well, more like terrified.  I am NOT a big fan of giving talks and I always get nervous.  And I'll be speaking next to my amazing sister, Sarah who will be recently returned from her mission and giving her homecoming talk that same day - and she is a spiritual giant (seriously - you'll be able to see the difference!).  But getting on that plane and flying to a foreign country is also a little bit daunting.  and maybe more than a little bit.  A lot of it has to do with the language barrier.  I'm just have to pick up Portuguese FAST!! :)  It's just funny though because the last six months or so, I've been nothing but excited.  I still am, of course, but there's just a couple other emotions mixed in there.  Can I just say though that I am so entirely grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  And I am so grateful for the testimony that I have gained over the years - I am SO excited to be able to share this gospel of Jesus Christ, that I love so much, to those waiting to hear in Brazil!  I can't wait!!! :)  Also, I can't wait to wear the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, over my heart and to be a representative for Him!!

Saying goodbyes is another one of those things that I'll never get used to.  I've decided that I really hate them; they're awful!  and I've had to say some of the hardest goodbyes as I left Utah to come home, but I still have more to say!!  Well.  It really isn't even goodbye, it is just see you later because I'll be sure to see them again - it'll just be in a little over a year and a half.  but still... it makes me sad :(

But lets dwell on the positive, because I have had SO MANY good times the past several months.  Like going to Color-Me-Mine and eating the one of a kind blue bell ice cream with two of my favorite people!  Like going to Denny's at three in the morning while wearing footie pajamas.  Like being able to become scuba certified.  Like trying on ugly clothes at DI with Shanette :).   Like chillin' with the coolest people at Brick Oven.  Like always locking my new roommates out of the apartment.... sorry!  Like being able to go to my sister's sealing!  Like having the opportunity to get ahead for my mission and learn Portuguese.  Like watching my beastly sister own at her basketball games.  Like being able to hang out with my wonderful family who I love so much.  Well... like a lot of things! :)  Even though I would have been happy to leave six months ago if I had the chance, I am really grateful for the opportunity to stay in the states and to learn the things I've learned, do the things I've done and spend time with the people I love!

I love you all and I'm going to miss you - like a lot a lot.  But don't get too excited, because I've still got two more weeks :)  I'm not gone yet!

Three Posts In One

My Sister's Wedding

My beautiful sister Lisa was married on Friday the 2nd!  Can you believe it?!  I remember back a few months ago several conversations we had where she seriously believed that she would never get married.  But look at her now!  eleven day anniversary!  With God, ALL things are possible!  Also, the sealing ceremony was beautiful!  Isn't it wonderful that marriage for time and all eternity is possible and it's not just 'until death do you part'?

Lisa, I love you! and I am so glad that I was able to actually go to your sealing!  Matt, I am really excited to have you as a brother!

At the temple:

Their reception actually turned out quite nicely.  It was crazy setting up for it due to the events of the previous day (including my running out of gas on the highway! a miracle for another day...), but we made it!  Not bad, either!  I loved being able to see all of my cousins, aunts and uncles.  It was great!  It was also great fun decorating Lisa and Matt's getaway car with cream puffs.  We wrote on the car using them.... gross!

A Day in the Life of a Missionary

When I write letters to my missionary friends, one question I usually ask is - what is a day in the life of a missionary like?  Well... I was finally able to experience it for myself!

The Monday after Lisa and Matt's wedding, I was able to spend a day with another sister, Sarah, on her mission.  She is currently serving in the Ogden, Utah mission and will get home a week before I leave.  It was a wonderful day - I got to see a little piece of everything.  We met with a bishop and a stake president to work with them in getting their areas of authority more involved in missionary work.  There was a baptismal interview for two girls who would be baptized that weekend.  We taught a lesson to a part-member family.  And we went tracting.  Well... it's a little different, being in Utah, as we only ran into one person who wasn't already a member, but we did have some good conversations with the members!  and the non-member even committed to reading a passage out of the scriptures!  All-in-all, it was a great day!  It is pretty similar to being a ward missionary, except 24/7.  And I can't wait!!

One of these days, I'll be able to wear the black name tag!

And Another Adventure

Tuesday was my other adventure.  I had stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and that morning she dropped me off at the bus station.  I waited there for a little, feeling somewhat like this:

... and then hopped on a bus to Salt Lake.  That was my first stop.  I decided to stick around awhile and attend the Salt Lake Temple there as it would be my last chance before I go on my mission.  It was beautiful!  I am SO glad I went!

Then I walked around for awhile, got some food and then went to the visitor's center.  While I was there, I walked through an exhibit on service and sat down at the Christ statue for awhile.  It is gorgeous:

I love the Spirit that you can feel there.  Then a couple of nice ladies gave me some change, I caught the bus home, and met another nice man who saved me from getting stuck in the middle of Orem.  and so on... until I made it back home safe and sound!

a time to prepare.

Well...

There's a couple good things that have come out of the process of waiting to leave on my mission.  As you may know, I was originally called (I received this in October) as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to leave on March 28th to Rio de Janeiro Brasil.  As it turns out, however, I will be a part of a pilot program where we are in the CTM (Brasilian MTC) for three weeks less time and thus learn the language faster? I'm not quite sure exactly what will happen once I get there.  Right now, though, I am currently in the process of waiting.  Waiting for a train to go/ or a bus to come, or a plane to go/ or the mail to come, or the rain to go/ or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow/ or the waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow - at least that is how Dr. Seuss would put it.  But there are a few good things that I have noticed that have come out of this, because really I am not waiting, I am just preparing.  Preparing for "a plane to go".

1.  I can go to Bott's Mission Prep class!  I love this class so much.  He addresses a lot of the problems that missionaries face once they get into the field and gives suggestions on how to correct said problems.  It is fantastic.
2.  I have the opportunity to study the Scriptures as well as Preach My Gospel.  I ended up with a lot of free time coming to school for this block and what better way could you think of to fill it??  Although, I could always be better.
3.  I can take Portuguese!  I already love the language even though the only conversation I know is "Tudo bem?" "Tudo bem."
4.  I get to go to my sister's wedding!  She will be married on March 2nd and I am SO excited for her!  And the best part is that I can actually go in!!
5.  Sarah's homecoming talk and my farewell talk will be on the SAME day!  How often does that happen?!  I found out that she would be coming home on April 12th the day after I found out I would be leaving on April 18th.  It wasn't chance.  It wasn't a coincidence.  They were a day apart! The timing was perfect.  Everything was perfect!  This has seriously been the biggest tender mercy that Heavenly Father could ever give to me! I love Him.

So despite my impatience, I really am grateful for the time that I have been given to prepare and to spend more time with my family.  I just need to make sure to spend it wisely!

a aula de Português..

In class today, this is what I felt like:

yeah.

We went over open and closed o's and e's. They sounded almost exactly the same!  It was hard...

When I went SKYDIVING! :)

So last Wednesday, Destiny and I jumped out of a plane.  You know, no big deal.

Well actually, it was.... epic? awesome? the best thing ever? all of the above.  It was seriously SO much fun and really not as scary as you would expect.  I think the absolute scariest part was the anticipation beforehand.  Well... either that or standing on the ledge of the plane ready to jump out!

Well, to begin with, we had an interesting time getting up there.  This included going a day later than we had originally planned and then that morning - running out of gas, following a funeral train, construction, and speeds up to ninety miles an hour.  But.  We made it!  And it didn't seem to matter that we were twenty minutes late, so that was good.

So Destiny went first, which I am kind of glad she did.  If I had gone first, I would have been freaking out the whole plane ride up there thinking that any second the plane door was going to fly open and we would jump, but after seeing her I saw just how long it took for the plane to get up there, so that was good.  And she came out alive, so that was good too :)

This is her skydiving, which came out an epic picture:

And then I went!  On the edge of the plane:

This was definitely the scariest part, but once you get there, strapped to someone else, there is really nothing you can do about it :)

Falling!

Right before he pulled the chute:

Oh man! It was so much fun! I LOVED the part right there where we were just falling.  Anyways, it feels completely different than a free fall (like at zero gravity when we went) or that sinking/ dropping roller coaster feeling.  It is more like flying or floating than anything! probably because of the wind resistance or something.

And just to prove I survived:

Going down in the parachute was kind of cool.  You could see everything from the air, even downtown Dallas!  He also did a couple of spins with the parachute, but that kind of cut off the circulation in your legs.  Still fun though!

Me and the guy I jumped with:

A view from the air:

Anyways, it was an amazing experience and I would DEFINITELY do it again! :)

Well.. I didn't save the video on my stick drive like I thought I had, so I'll just have to edit this later and add it....

Christ and Christmas :)

I love Christmas! I love everything about it - the lights, the music, the smell, the food and all the excitement on Christmas morning. I think most of all, however, I love that it reminds us again of our Savior, Jesus Christ and as we celebrate his birth it helps us to remember the many things that he has done for us.

We watched the video called Mr. Krueger's Christmas today (with Jimmy Stewart from It's a Wonderful Life - I love him!) and this is my favorite scene.

I love it. It depicts the love that our Savior has for us. It shows just how much he loves us and stands by us ALWAYS, not just when we need him most. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to him for well... everything.


A poem by Leona B. Gates entitled "In His Steps" that describes this:

"The road is rough," I said.

"Dear Lord, there are stones that hurt me so."

And he said, "Dear child, I understand,

I walked it long ago."

"But there is a cool green path," I said.

"Let me walk there for a time."

"No child," he gently answered me,

"The green road does not climb."

"My burden," I said, "is far too great,

How can I bear it so?"

"My child," said he, "I remember its weight,

I carried my cross, you know."

"But," I said, "I wish there were friends with me

Who would make my way their own."

"Ah, yes," he said, "Gethsemane

Was hard to face alone."

And so I climbed the stony path,

Content at last to know

That where my Master had not gone,

I would not need to go.

And strangely then I found new friends,

The burden grew less sore,

As I remembered long ago,

That he had walked that way before.

I sometimes feel like the person in this poem. Sometimes life is too hard or too stressful or too uphill and I just want all of my problems to be solved right now, but I love the Savior's reply in this poem. It shows that the trials we face in life have a rhyme and a reason to them, that they will somehow all work together and be for our good and that we will not have to go where Christ has not gone. He will always be there for us and understand our trials and afflictions because he has been there before. He has been to Gethsemane. He lives and He loves us tremendously, so much so that he chose to suffer for us and die for our sins so that we can have hope in this life and so that we can live with Him and our Father in Heaven again. He has done so much for us!

I love this picture! This statue serves as a two way reminder. First of all, I love how Christ's arms are spread out as if He is still on the cross. To me this indicates the price that he paid for us so that we can live with Him again. His outstretched arms are also welcoming. They invite all to come unto Christ, to "believe in Him, believe that He is." The two of these combined show the love Christ has for us and make me realize just how much I want to live with Him again. Sure it will be hard, to take 'the road that climbs', but who said it wouldn't be worth it? As we keep His commandments and accept the gift that Christ has given us - the atonement - and as we repent of our sins and come unto Christ, we can live with Him again, for "neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

I am grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

I love Him and I am forever grateful that he loved us enough to die for us for "greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) I am also grateful for the opportunity that I will have to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicating my life in service for a year and a half to be able to bring this message of our Savior and Redeemer to those who are seeking for the truth, for it is true. I can't think of a better way to spend the next year and a half, starting March 28th. :)


Something that you might enjoy - One of my favorite things to watch on Christmas (or any time of year) are these videos that just came out with stories of Christ's life. They do a good job of depicting His life and the events preceding it. See them here