The Infestation

                                                                                                                             June 29, 2017

 Ola minha querida familia e amigos!!!

First off, sorry I didn't email yesterday... the computers were down. But no worries, all is good now!! And! My keyboard actually works this week!!

So, not a whole lot of new and exciting stuff this week. Pretty much the same thing every day. But it has been such a good week!!

Probably the biggest difference happened with the infestation. But no worries, it's not a bad infestation. hahaha. We got 17 new Americans this week!! They literally doubled the number of Americans we have here at the CTM. They all seem super nice, and I`m excited to get to know them better. It`s been fun though, because we`re now the old Americans here, so everyone uses us to translate for them. Dinners are insane. Our Brasileiro friends drag us around to all the new Americans so they can talk to them. I don`t know a ton of Portuguese yet, but translating for everyone this week has helped me realize that I have learned A TON in the past 4 weeks.

It`s also been fun being a sister training leader this week with all the new people. We’ve gotten to go around and introduce ourselves to all the new people, and help them out. I feel like a little mom to everyone here. It`s so great, and I just love the people SO MUCH! I can't even describe it. I haven't known these people for very long, but it feels like we've been best friends forever. I wish I could explain it better. I'm honestly just so happy being a missionary here. The first couple weeks were a little hard, but now I don't feel as homesick, and I'm just happy doing the work. I love Brazil and the people here!

The other fun thing about this past week was all the Brazilian missionaries going to Recife got here!!! There`s a huge group of them, and we`ll all go to the field together. They’re super sweet, and extremely friendly. I`m so excited!

Oh! Guess what?! Presidente and Sister Grahl`s daughter got here this week. She`s been at BYU, and is now here for the summer. But the guess what part of this is, we lived in the same building at heritage!! We didn't know each other there, but it`s still nuts how small of a world it is here.

Sorry, I don`t have a lot to say this week... classes have been good. Teaching is good. (hard, but good) I`m healthy,  happy, and well. Oh, and for all those that were asking, I haven`t passed out again, my ankle has done really well here, and my wrist is slowly getting better. hahaha. I still can`t believe I sprained it doing the Brasileiro snap. Oh well. All is good. It actually is kind of a miracle. A lot of you know that I get sick super easy. Like, every few weeks at BYU. But since coming here, I haven’t gotten sick with a cold or anything like that. Even though my entire district was sick, I was the only one that didn't get it. Definitely a blessing from Heavenly Father.

I love you all, and I`m grateful for all the prayers and kind emails!! Tem Amo!!

Love, Sister Shelton

*Also! It`s my little Abby girl`s birthday this week!!! (Friday) She`s not so little anymore though. She turns 12!! WHAT? Give her a hug for me, and if you`re too far to hug, give her a call! Thanks!!! (love ya kid!)

Halfway through the CTM!

Helllllooooo!!!!

How is life in the States?  (my computer is extremely messed up, and won’t let me do apostrophes or question marks, and the y is a z and the z is a y, so I’m sorry if this is kinda a rough email! (I attempted to fix  y's and z's, etc. for Jess)

Anyways, this has been quite the week in Brazil!!! I’ll try to explain fast!

First adventure!

On Thursday Sister Nolan and I got our hair cut by the CTM barber. But, he misunderstood Sister Nolan (he only speaks Portuguese) and cut about 4 more inches than she wanted off. She only wanted about an inch off, and now it’s above her shoulders. She was so upset. Poor girl. But she’s doing a lot better now. 

On Saturday, we got to go Proselyting in the real world!!!!! They bused us to this busy street with lots of stores, etc. and gave each of us 3 books of Mormon, and told us to go give them out. At first Sister Nolan and I were really scared, and were afraid to talk to people because of our Portuguese skills not being super great. But then we had a man come up and ask who we were and what our books were. We started talking to him, and we gave him a Book of Mormon. This kicked us off really nice, and we were a lot more confident talking to people after that! We handed out all 6 of our Books of Mormon, and got two referrals in less than 45 minutes!! I love the people here!!! Everyone we talked to was SO nice. Even if they didn’t want our message, some people were a little too nice though. Hahaha! We were talking to this one guy, and as were saying goodbye, he just leaned in and hugged us and kissed us on the cheek. We didn’t know what to do! hahaha!

Guess who got to teach Relief Society again!! ME! I got to teach the English class on Sunday, and it was really great! We talked about Christ like attributes! (Thanks for getting me an Ensign, and all the family history stories Mom and Dad! They helped a ton!)

Okay, it is such a small world here at the CTM! One of the newer sisters here, Sister Henderson, is from the Spanish Fork area, and guess who she knows! The Phelps! In fact... she dated Joe. Hahaha. That was a fun moment when we figured that out! 

But of the 35 Americans here at the CTM, I have connections with 6 of them! One girl from my BOM class at BYU, two twins who are really close friends with my roommate from BYU, a friend from EFY, and a guy that apparently went to Oak Canyon the same time as me. Although, I didn’t actually know him. (and then sister Henderson) It’s awesome! No wonder they call Utah the fabrica (factory) of missionaries.

More small world stuff! I have met so many people from Chile, Bolivia, and Peru! (Where my dad, mom, and sister served) In fact, my instructor is from Santiago Chile, Dad! And I met a girl last night from Lima, Rach!

It’s actually so funny though. Both of my instructors learned Portuguese as a second language. Irmao Fernandez is from Chile, and Irmao Renaltho is from Haiti. Irmao Renaltho is insane though. He knows 5 languages! They’re both super awesome though!!! I’ve learned so much from them!!!

I have so much more to learn though!!! I realize that more and more every day!! Especially my Portuguese. We’ve had some funny language mistakes this week! One time we were trying to say sins, pecados. But we actually said pescados- fish. HAHAHA We told someone to give away all their fish!

Life as a missionary is so crazy, but so good. It’s really hard too though. This week especially. I just felt super homesick one day, and then I’ve also just been super discouraged about the language. Especially because it feels like everyone else is getting it so much faster. But then, the other day, I was reading my scriptures, and I just felt so much love. So much love from God to me, but also so much love for all of the people here. It really is incredible to see how during your toughest times is when you can feel the most love. I think that’s why the people here, are so loving. They’re all just so incredibly humble, and I feel blessed to be here serving them.

I love you all!! Thanks for all the love, prayers, and support! (sorry again about the grammar and spelling of this email... about half the keys on this keyboard aren’t actually what they say they are.)

Love Sister Shelton!

Scripture of the week- This has really helped me this week! Luke 1:37 “Porque para Deus nada sera impossivle.”

*Jessica's district went to the Temple today. Her teacher Elder Renaltho sent these pictures to her so that she could share them with us.

Sou uma Brazileria agora!!!

Ola e boa tarde familia e amigos!!

Life is so great here!!! I`m doing well, and I honestly just love being here at the CTM SO much!! I already love Brazil! 

This has been quite the week! It`s crazy to think that so much could’ve happened since I last wrote. I wish I had more time to tell you all about it!

So, for P-Days here, we`re allowed to leave the CTM, and walk around Sao Paulo. (within specific boundaries.) We explored a bit, went into some fun shops, took pictures, etc. Sao Paulo is so cool!! Exactly what I imagined Brazil to be like.

After we got back from walking around though, I started to not feel very good. That night we were at dinner, and I suddenly got super sick. My head was spinning, my stomach hurt, and everything was spotty. I basically passed out right there in the cafeteria with everyone watching. The elders ran and got one of the couple missionaries, and they brought me into a little room down the hall. I`m pretty sure I was just super dehydrated. My body has had an interesting time adjusting to Brazil climate. But anyway, I`m all better now! AND! We got to go on another little trip outside the CTM to the pharmacy across the street.  Haha!

Basically every day here is the same. Lots of language learning, and lots of teaching. But it`s so good! I`ve learned a ton, and my Portuguese is getting better every day! Although, I would be lying if I said it was easy, and I didn`t get discouraged by how little I know,  especially when I`m trying to communicate with my friends here. BUT! It`ll come little by little. Dom de Linguas, (the gift of tongues) is very, very real! Sister Nolan and I can teach complete lessons in Portuguese now without notes.

Okay, just a bunch of random things about my week now. :D

Remember how I told you I had finally gotten the Brazilian CTM snap down? ... well, I sprained my wrist doing it, and can`t do it anymore. HAHAHA! Oh well.

Sister Nolan and I have a very important word we know. Esquisito. It means weird, awkward, strange, etc. It`s important, because it describes us so well. HAHA! We just have so much fun here, but we also have the worst luck ever. And everyone knows it. I`ve almost knocked the giant fire extinguishers off the wall so many times. There`s a lot of other stuff, but I don`t know how to describe it over email. I love sister Nolan though!

It`s a good thing I`m not very sensitive to what people call me. I`ve been called so many things. Including, gordo (fat), chubby, translucent, etc. But it honestly is all good. It`s my friends that do it, and they don`t mean to be rude by doing it. I just think it`s really funny!

Speaking of my friends, one of the worst things about the CTM, is that almost everyone is here for only 3 weeks, but I`m here for 6. So, we make friends, and then they leave. And then we make friends, and then they leave. Almost all of our really close friends that we always do stuff with, left yesterday. It`s so sad. But, it`s also really exciting for them! It`s just part of mission life I guess.

One cool thing- my Branch President asked me to be Sister Training Leader for my zone! Elder Siglin is zone leader, Elder Quiggle is District leader, and Sister Nolan comes with me, so our entire district is at zone meetings. It`s kind of funny! But honestly, I`m just really excited to serve the girls in my zone here! We got 5 new American girls this week!! It was crazy!!!

Remember my super weird hiccups! Well, they haven`t stopped. In fact, we have a joke in my district that every time I hiccup, it means 5 minutes until the next thing. Because it almost always is!! It`s insane, and I don`t know how it happens!!

guess who`s teaching Relief Society again!! I get to teach a class this Sunday, and I`m actually super excited! And, at least it`s in English, so it shouldn`t be too hard. 

Well, not a lot of time left. But I`m so grateful for you all! Thanks for all the kind words and encouraging emails! I love getting them!

Tem um BOM semana!!! Love you!!

Love, Sister Shelton

Dom de Linguas is real!!!!

Ola!!! Tudo Bem?! 

So, surprise! My P-day is actually on Wednesday! 

How are you all?! has it really only been a week since I left??? A week since \i was living in America, eating something other than rice and beans, and speaking/hearing English? It's been one of the most insane weeks of my life, and I~ve absolutely loved it!! 

Just to warn you all, I have a lot I want to tell you all, and basically no time to do it, (and this portuguese keyboard is still really weird.) so if my punctuation and grammar are really really bad, I~m sorry. Plus, I~ve had nothing but Portuguese for the past week, so English is a little weird to write.

Okay, here goes. I LOVE THE CTM!!! yes, it's hard work, the days are long, and there have been some rough moments. BUT! it's also been tons of fun!! I have a really fantastic companion. i seriously love Sister Nolan!! She laughs really easily, and she~s just super easy going about everything! We get a long really really well!! I also really love my district!! It's just the 4 of us that arrived the same day in my district. But, we all get a long really well, and I thing I've laughed more this week than I maybe ever have before in my life. But we also all are super motivated to work, and we get a lot done. We~'ve learned SO MUCH Portuguese! A week ago i could only say a few ´phrases in Portuguese, and now i can have actual full on conversations with the Brasileiros here.  I can understand a large majority of what people say, and I can say enough to get my point across most of the time. Literally, Dom de Linguas (gift of tongues) is SO real!!

The people here are literally my favorite!! Brasileiros are the nicest most loving people i've ever met, and we have all gotten super close! They especially love the Americans. There's about 200 missionaries here at the CTM, about 30 of which are American. And of that 30, only 4 of us are blonde. I DEFINITELY stick out. and everyone constantly reminds me of it. I have had so many people call me albino, branco (white), etc. They also all come up and touch my hair, touch my arms, my eyebrows, etc. they're amazed that I'm so "yellow". They are so funny! Haha! I do feel very popular here though. The other night, sister Nolan and I walked into a room for devotional, and we had several different groups of people calling us over to sit by them. we weren~t sure what to do. Hahaha.

The Brazilieros love to compare us Americans to other people. in the past week I've been told that I look like a blonde version of Mary Jane from Spider man, "the girl" off of Descendants, Luna Lovegood, a barbie, a doll, someone's sister in law, etc. all of the Americans are compared to someone. My district leader, Elder Quiggle, is harry Potter, and Sister Nolan is Hermione. Now, Elder Siglin just needs to be compared to a Harry Potter character!

For anyone who was wondering, I'm basically a Brazileiro now. I can officially do the Brazilian (CTM) finger snap. WAHOO! I~ve worked really hard on it, and all of my Braziliero friends are super impressed. Hahaha!

i~ve met people from all over South america down here. Including, someone from Bolivia, and someone from Chile (my teacher is from Santiago)! Maybe I'll meet someone from Peru next! 

Devotionals are cool down here. Everyone at the CTM is in the choir, and when it comes time to sing, we just stand up and sing to Presidente and Sister Grahl, and whoever is speaking. It~'s really cool though!! Plus, i'm getting used to using the headphones for the English translation, so that's good. (as long as they work... they frequently stop working half way through)

We went to the temple this morning!!!!! It was so cool!!! Ah! Enough said. I love this church.

Well, I wish I had more time, but I only have 40 minutes to write. Now it's time to go get the famous cookies from across the street!! I love you all!!!

Love Seester Shelton

(oh yeah! Do any of you know a Daniel Nelson from Lindon? He's one of my friend's from down here, family member!)

(Another oh yeah, Mom, will you send me a picture of Mary Jane from Spider man? I don't actually know what she looks like. Hahaha!)

(and one more "oh yeah". We can't send pictures while we're at the CTM, but when I get out in the field, I'll send a whole bunch!)

LOVE YOU!!!

I MADE IT!!!

Jessica’s first email from Brazil!

BON DIA!!!!

I made it to Brazil!!!

The first 4 hour flight wasn´t bad. I was the only missionary flying from Salt Lake to Atlanta, but when I got to Atlanta, i met up with 3 other missionaries.  The flight was long, but it was good! I was able to get a little bit of sleep at least, and the dinner and breakfast they gave us was actually pretty good! 

On my flight to Brazil I sat next to a really nice man named Fred who grew up in Brazil, but has also lived in America for a long time, so he speaks perfect English. We talked for a lot of the plane ride, and he told me a lot about Brazil.  We actually talked a lot about the church too. He´s seen the LDS temple in Campinas, and he asked me what the statue on top was. So, seeing this as a perfect opportunity, I pulled my Book of Mormon out and explained Moroni to him, which led to Joseph Smith, which led to modern day prophets. IT WAS SO COOL! He´s not a very "church" person, but he was genuinely interested in what I was saying. I ended up giving him my Book of Mormon with a pass a long card inside. I was super scared to give it to him, because I was afraid of being rejected, but when I opened my mouth and told him I wanted to give him my book, he gladly accepted it, and thanked me for it. Overall just the best way to start my mission!

Brazil is crazy! It´s winter in Sao paulo which is supposed to be really cold, and I~m already sweating. the streets are insane, and there are cars and people everywhere. I LOVE it! My companion is sister Nolan, she~s from Cincinatti. She was the other sister on the plane with me! I´m super excited to be a missionary!!!

My p-days are Friday, but I won~t write until next Friday. also, I~m using a portuguese keyboard, so forgive my mistakes. 

I~ve got to go! Love you all!! I~m happy!

Love Sister Shelton