“And the house on the sand washed away"

                                                                                                                                                     July 24, 2017

Ola!!!

So first things first, I need to explain my subject line from last week! I totally forgot to do that. Sorry! "Sister Sorriso vs sand, sutakis, sunburns, and scorpions" Sorriso means smile in Portuguese. It's one of my nicknames here, because I smile A LOT! I just love being a missionary! It's also because when I don't have any clue what's going on (frequently) I just smile and nod at people. Hahaha! And then sand because all the roads are sand. Sutaki means accent, and the Recife accent is really different, and it's been interesting to learn. Sunburn... because, well, you know me. Hahaha! And Scorpion, because scorpion is a word to describe people who try to hit on missionaries. (it's like snake) As with my experience last week. Also, because people wink and catcall me all the time. i'm slowly getting used to the staring in the street. (not just from scorpions, but from everyone!)

Okay, now for this week! Don't worry, no houses have washed away; but believe me when I say sand and water don't mix! It has rained SO MUCH this week! Nossa! And when all of the roads are dirt roads, it makes walking places interesting! The streets are literally rivers. You can't see any part of the road, and you just have to scoot along the edges. It's insane! But it's been so fun! Let's hope my cute little umbrella from Walmart holds up! So far so good!

This week was a good week! Definitely hard, but it's getting better! I'm starting to know the area and the ward better, which really helps! I also know our investigators a lot better, and it's been nice to be able to help them more! 

One fun thing really quick! We were eating lunch at a member's house, and she turned the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on, on YouTube. And at one point, I looked up, and there was my High School choir teacher, Mr. Durtschi, front and center on the screen! It was nice to see a little bit of home! Haha!

We had Zone Conference this week, and it was SO good!!! At it, Sister Houseman encouraged us all to include one miracle in our emails every week. So, as I thought about what I wanted to share today, I realized there were tons of miracles. But the one I want to share is about my ankle. Many of you know that I've had a lot of problems with my ankle the past few years- and was even in a boot a month before leaving for my mission. But since stepping foot in Brazil, I haven't had a single problem. It hasn't even ached. Which, considering the fact that we walk about 8 or 9 miles every single day, is an incredible miracle and blessing! I'm extremely grateful to Heavenly Father for this miracle!

I love you all, and I keep you in my prayers always!! Thanks for all the love and support!

Love, Sister Shelton

Scripture of the week: 1 Nephi 17:51 "And now if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought many mighty miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?" THE SAME IS TRUE FOR US IN WHATEVER WE ARE GOING THROUGH!!!