watermelon in winter

Monday, Blessed Monday!

2012-01-23T11:28:00.001-05:00

I love Mondays...I always have some reason to rejoice and be wicked happy!!! Since May 4, 2010, Monday has always been email day....in the mission it was Pday, and even when Pday was moved, Monday was still email day....so that was wonderful. Since I got home from the mission, Monday is still email day, because I get emails from some friends who are still in the mission, which makes it basically the highlight of my email week! :) Mondays are also a chance to begin a new week on a clean slate, and my weeks are always full of goals and high hopes and Mondays give me a renewed motivation to work hard. This week I've got a couple tests to take, which I am actually excited about...tests mean we are making progress in the semester!!!!

I'm flying, high as a kite, and and floating on happiness!!!!!!! I sure do love Mondays!

On another note, this Monday is actually a bittersweet Monday. I've had all the usual highs of a Monday, but also, it is January 23, which makes me think more than usual about Stanford Larsen. Michael commented last night that today marks 5 years since he passed away, and this morning I received John Larsen's email about this. I want everyone out there to know....5 years may seem like a long time, though at the same time feels like the blink of an eye. Stanford Larsen marked and changed my life, and will always be a part of my life as my hero, someone I still look up to. I have never before nor since met someone like him. So on this day, January 23 2012, Stanford, you are still being remembered, and I know it's not just by me, but by thousands of lives you touched!

Baby Steps

2012-01-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

Have you ever thought about how important a baby's first step is? Without that first step, would he ever learn to walk? To run? To skip? To jump? To conquer life's challenges?
Without our apparently "small" decisions, would we ever progress in life, take risks, go on to greater things, fulfill our potential?
To both of these things, I hold the answer that NO, we would not accomplish very much without those first baby steps. They may be small, we may need to hold on to the furniture for support and balance, but soon enough we are walking, making bigger decisions, life-altering changes in life.
I got to thinking about this because I need to take a baby step right now...and also, at institute on Thursday, we talked a lot about the eternal perspective. One of the questions asked was how can we get an eternal perspective in life? We talked about several things we can do for that, but one I thought about was that each time we make a decision, we need to think about how it will affect us later on down the road, and if that is a part of what we want eternally. It may be a small decision, or small at first glance, but it will still affect us and our decisions down the road.
I don't know if I can express myself that well, but basically what I am saying is that the baby steps are sometimes, usually, the most important ones we take. They lay the groundwork for what we want, for making our dreams come true, and for one day achieving eternal life.

And I've just taken another baby step!!

PS...it's snowing :) FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

Whenever one door closes...

2012-01-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Actually, I've realized that I don't need a door to close for another to open. In my last post, I talked about uncertainties. I got home from the mission uncertain of EVERYTHING in my life..I didn't even know if I would be coming back to BYU this semester or not. And in the short time that has lapsed since that unforgettable day of September 15 2011, I've seen the Lord opening so many doors to me. Possibilities are coming out of the woodwork, and the Lord is helping me really do what I want to do with my life....I don't have a full vision of exactly what that is, but each day, a new door opens and I get a new possibility!!!!

Today, for example, several BIG doors opened to me...life-altering doors. I've got some big decisions to make here and a short time to make them....I have a ton of "what if" moments, doubts, questions, concerns, everything you can imagine. But in order to make these decisions, I need to pray to the Lord, trusting 100% in Him and His answer, and that is exactly what I plan on doing. Sometimes I am afraid of what He will say, that it will not be in line with MY will...but that's when I need to stop, think, and align my will with HIS, for He is the all-knowing Being who knows best for my life and cares more for me than anyone else.

So yeah...lots of doors opening, and so far, none closing, though that could change relatively soon, depending on how I make these decisions!!!!! :)

Today Was the Best Day Ever!

2012-01-11T00:20:00.000-05:00

I feel like I've been saying this phrase a lot lately....or at least thinking it to myself. Just about daily, as a matter of fact! I guess this is great....even with the overload of homework I've already got, job rejections, and a lot of uncertainty about what my future holds, I still love my life a little more each day. I can't help but think about how good the Lord has been to me, even more than I feel like I deserve!

Today I was sitting in the temple and just thinking...thinking about life, thinking about what's going on in mine right now, thinking about how happy I am. I was so happy in the mission; I've heard it called the happiest time of life (up til marriage). Yes, I was incredibly happy....in a whole new way, a kind of happiness I had never before nor ever since experienced. And yet, the way life is going right now, I am also incredibly happy. I am so blessed to be studying at a fantastic university, and to have people willing to help me through my tough classes. I am blessed to have a wonderful family and amazing friends. I've got a job and work with great people. I have a fun ward. The list keeps going on and on....

I was talking recently with someone about the uncertainties of the future, and how often times we need to make "blind" decisions. He was telling me how he came to BYU without any kind of certainty about where he'd live, what he'd study, where he'd work, etc. Basically, he came blindly, only trusting in the Lord to help him out. And I got thinking about lots of things....I only have a real vision of my life through June of this year. Beyond that, I don't know what life holds for me, but I am making some decisions now that could affect the rest of my life. And I will need to make some decisions in the upcoming months, throwing myself 100% out there, taking risks and putting it all on the line, just for things i believe in and want to happen, without the certainty that they actually WILL happen.

I'm not sure if I am making a lot of sense....but in short, I love life, every day is better than the day before, and I've learned to trust in the Lord to guide me in my decision-making, even if I can't see the outcomes yet! And writing this has actually given me a renewed motivation (well, writing this after going to the Temple and getting a strong feeling there with regards to this same sort of topic) to run after my dreams so that I can see them become reality, and my life. So that's what I am doing! Call me crazy, as I'm sure many will, but I don't care. Cuz no matter what, I know what my dreams are, and it's my life I am living. :)

Bedtime now, so I can get sleep to be able to run so much after these piling-up dreams!!!!! :)

"What do you want for Christmas?"

2011-12-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

This question is asked countless times during this Christmas season, and is one that has recently been asked of me a few times. Since my birthday was recent, I heard a few times "what do you want for your birthday?" too. And it has left me thoughtful...
Here, I could talk about how we need to forget the materialism of Christmas and focus on the real meaning, how it isn't about getting but it's about giving, about how we need to love each other more...basically, I could give you any kind of canned, stereotypical answer in response to this subject, but these are not the thoughts I've had!
My thoughts have been simple, and I always give the same answer: "I don't want anything". And then people would push me into saying something, but I literally couldn't (and still can't) come up with anything I need, or even want. What does that mean? Life is great. :) It means that I am satisfied with my life right now...yeah, I've still got questions and answers I need, but those will come from the Lord, and I am in the process of getting those answers. All I wanted, I got; all I needed, I have already been blessed with. This December has been great!
I had the opportunity to go back to Brazil for a month form the middle of November til the middle of December, and after that, I could hardly ask for more. It was a real gift, the way it all worked out (and super cheap!), and I got to see lots of people I love dearly, which was fantastic.
So now that Christmas is over, and the question is no longer asked "what do you want for Christmas?", I have been asked "What did you get for Christmas?" I can't answer that with a list of material things, but I can answer it from the heart: I have been able to see the Lord's hand in every aspect of my life this Christmas season, and I've been blessed to spend time with the people who are most dear to me. :)

Jumping back into Reality

2011-09-17T15:15:00.000-04:00

Well folks, it looks like it has been a long time since this blog was updated. I just wanted to let y'all know that I am back into the real world...I got home on the 15th, after many hours on 3 airplanes and in 4 airports. I loved the mission...it was really the best thing I have done with my life up until now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have become a new person with new attitudes and new thoughts and priorities and all that, because the true gospel of Jesus Christ really changes people. The Lord allowed me to see His hand and His miracles working in the lives of His children in Brazil, but the one who had the biggest life change was me. I am grateful for the opportunity that the Lord gave me to be a better person, to get to know Christ better.
Now I am in NH, and I'll update the blog again as things start to happen. It's like I am starting my life from scratch again, but that's okay, because I know the Lord has a plan for me, and I trust Him to show it to me over time. I'll just do my part and run after the things I know I need to do!:)
Thanks for the love and support and prayers and everything...I know the Lord answers our prayers, and I could definitely feel yours while I was in Brazil.

And now I'm just Karen again! Weird...hahaha. :) On to the next and newest phase of life: post-mission life!

What happens when you put 19 Sisters together at President's house?

2011-02-10T09:44:00.001-05:00

I found out yesterday. I'm emailing on a Tuesday afternoon because yesterday we had a Pday with all the Sisters. It was fantastic. Good food, good lessons, awesome message from Sister Moreira, fantastic ideas from President Moreira, and wonderful company of some of the best people I know. I would send pictures, but I don't have my camera's cable...I forgot to bring it with me. Our day today started with interviews with President. It was fantastic. I truly have the best mission president there is. I have learned so much with him in the 11 months I've been on the mission. Today, I had some questions, and we got talking abuot some other doctrines and principles....it was a great conversation. He helped me with some things that are going on here in the area, and then I got a blessing from him afterwards. I'd call it a good start to the day!

This last week was insanely busy, with one of the craziest weekends I've ever seen. We ran after a bunch of people, and in the end, Manoel's family went to church...Marleuda, and Joaquim, and the kids. Mateus was baptized, and they stayed to watch that (Mateus is Manoel's brother). So the next step is baptizing Marleuda and Joaquim...after they work on a few things. But I've already seen miracles happening in this family! They loved church and said they will go back next week and basically every week.

Other than that, there were a million other miracles! This is always the case. I am so grateful to be here in Suzano...this area is really blessed, and I feel like I am starting to learn how to do this work. That's a good thing! The members are so helpful, and we are always teaching with recent converts and other irmãs. I still miss Vista Verde (I got a letter this week from Neia and Silvinha and the family!), but I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve here in Suzano. This transfer is wrapping up quickly, and I am nearly certain that there will be some changes here. But it's all good. Hah, President told me today that my next area will be one of the most difficult....hahaha we'l see.

This week, we've got to work doubletime. It'll be insane. It'll be tiring. BUT...it'll all be worth every minute of it, as it always is. I'm kinda drawing a blank on what else to say...haha, I'm so used to having email time on Mondays, that this Tuesday thing is throwing me off. From what I hear, it sounds like EVerYONE at home is getting married. That's awesome! Keep it up, and we'll all be eternal friends in the Celestial Kingdom! :)

I love you all. I got some letters this week, from the Davises, and Pops, and the Church News about the Rome Temple (My zone leader read it before I did!). Thanks for still writing! :) I get more letters from sisters in the mission than from people at home. Haha. But it's okay. I have zero time....and that's the way it should be...my focus here is inviting people to be baptized, not in getting and answering letters. But of course I still love to get letters, and I always make time to answer them , even if it's not an epistle. :)

Much love, have a fantastic week, and remember to always trust 100% in the Lord.

Love,
Karen

3 Things I can't Live without: Açaí, Uma Rede, e Churrasco

2011-01-10T06:34:00.011-05:00

Hey Fam and Friends and the whole world who reads this!

So....Tomorrow is transfers. Already. Our LZ called this morning, and told me to pack my bags. In a few hours, I'll find out where I'm going. I think it's for real this time that I am leaving here. Yep, I'm basically sad about it....it's like leaving my family all over again, only worse, cuz I won't be returning here! So today....we're just gonna do some last-minute stuff, and visit a ton of people here. I'm really anxious and want to know where I am going. And who will be coming here to work with Sister Rocha.
Well as for the week...had its ups and downs, as usual. We had another 2-day division, which was awesome. Sister Holanda came here and spent a couple days here in Vista Verde, and we taught and found a bunch of people. We had a ton of people lined up to come to church this week, and we were running after them all week, confirming again and again that they'd be at church, but in the end, only one person showed up, and he had a lot of potential to be baptized next week, but some unexpected complications came up with that, so that was a bummer. But at least he liked church and said he'll come back next week. Also, during the division, I hit 10 months in the mission, so Sister Holanda made a cake, and we had a small 2-person party here in the house. It was fun. We took pictures, which you'll all see after the mission, only cuz I don't have them on my broken camera...she's got them and will make me a CD. Thank goodness for good friends!

The area where we are working now, we are only finding families....this is already a huge answer to our prayers, because all the other areas have unmarried people, kids, and partial families. While these people need the gospel in their lives, it is more complicated for them to progress, but with an entire family progressing together, it's a lot easier for the people to stay strong before AND after baptism. Of course, this area is far from the chapel, but the people are better-off than in other places we'd been working....which also means it's harder to get people to church, as I was saying, but it is not impossible. The other difficulty with this time of year is that it is holidays for everyone...like July at home. Everyone is travelling, hitting the beach, and basically just not at home. That is the more complicated part.
We did another Expo-Mormon, in front of the chapel this time. It was good...didn't rain (woohoo!)...but this area where the chapel is is not terrible busy. So we talked to every single person who walked by, gave out a million passalong cards, and got a few addresses, as well as a few people who signed up for the English classes which will start in February. Oh, last night, we spent a bunch of time with our LMA making invitations to the musical fireside at the end of the month, so we can give those out to investigators, street contacts, and other members to pass along. This is awesome....the work, though slowly, is really moving forward here. In the 6 months I've been in this area, things have changed mightily.
Some other fantastic investigators we have now are Bruno and Bela. Bruno is a media reference, and when we went there to deliver what he asked for, we got to have a splendid lesson with him....he understood everything very well, and was telling us what we were about to say before we said it, in that he was understanding and using our examples to explain what we had taught! It was awesome! He is really cool, and already wants to serve a mission...hehehe. :) And Bela, who is not at all related to Bruno, is another interesting investigator. She is the daughter of an inactive member, and since her mother left the church when she was 8, she was never baptized. She has a TON of questions, about EVERYTHING! We spent about 2 hours with her on Friday night, just answering questions and talking with her. She asked us to come back and teach her what she needs to know to be baptized. HOLY COW. It was an awesome lesson, but I was completely exhausted by the end of it, since it was half bible-bash, in an edifying way. Meaning she just wanted proof in the Bible. So we gave it to her, but also in the Book of Mormon. :) Cuz the Book of Mormon has more power than the Bible.
Welp, gotta go email President, and take care of a few "bombs" that were dropped on me this morning....things always come up unexpectedly, and we always have to know somehow how to respond to these things, ya know? Oh well.....it'll all work out somehow.
I love you all! Thanks for reading, even though I know I just ramble and don't even make sense half the time! Keep strong, and read the Book of Mormon every day. For real. It will change your life more than it already has, and if you search and study, you will find answers every single day, to ALL your questions and worries and doubts and everything you need to know. It is amazing how the Lord talks to us through the scriptures.
Love,
Karen

I Always Thought the World would Come to an End if my Camera Broke on my Mission

2011-01-03T06:59:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

We sure had quite the week, full of surprises! We had 2 Pdays last week: Monday and this Saturday. So the work week was short, making it more difficult. Also everyone was traveling, so we didn't have a ton of success, but the success we had was STELLAR. Let me tell you about it.

We are working in Vista Verde now, which is the wealthier neighborhood in our area. We received a bunch of media references there, so while we were contacting those, a few people were stopping us on the road to ask who we are. That happened a while ago, so I think I already mentioned it. This last week, we followed up with a few people, and knocked doors there, and a ton of doors were opened to us. Thursday was quite the day for this; let me tell you about it. We set out with Silvinha, with a goal to teach about 50 lessons...haha, okay, not 50, but a lot. So, we had already chosen the street we would knock. The first door opened, and they invited us in. It quickly became apparent that they only wanted to fight with us, have a Bible bash. So....We tried to get a few words in, but the dude just kept interrupting us. So I finally told him that I was going to leave, because I did not come there to argue about these things. He told me that on the judgment day, when I find out that the Sabbath is Saturday, I will remember who tried to tell me that. I said a few things in response, and we left there running..........I never want that experience again. It has been a LONG time since I have felt 100% without the Spirit, and it is not a good feeling. So we went to a nearby park to let off some steam, and then we prayed and continued, deciding that to make up for that HORRIBLE visit, we would find someone awesome on that street. Well....we did! We kept knocking all afternoon, and since everyone was busy or leaving, we marked a ton of appointments for this week. Finally, in the last house, we found a family. The couple is married, and they have 3 kids, two of whom are of baptismal age. We taught them, and they had a ton of questions for us, which was fantastic. They truly are a blessing in our day! I had made cookies, so I gave some to them, which they loved. Then, as is the case many times, not all can be left on a good note. When we went to take a picture with them, my camera fell on the floor and broke. The lens got a little smashed and twisted, and now I am without a camera. The world hasn't ended, but it is a little more difficult. I need to do something about it this week....So that was a bummer. But the family was so stellar that all I could do was laugh. For real. You all know how I basically can't live without a camera...and yet, in the situation, it didn't seem to terrible. But I cried that night.

As for other thngs....we prayed all week and fasted one day that we would have people in church this week. Remember how I said that is always the most difficult thing for us? Well, we had faith. We did not have many people who said they would be at church, and I wasn't too confident that the people who had promised to be there would show up. Francimar was moving to Minas on Sunday, so the last time we saw him was at FHE on Thursday. Sunday morning, we called Jorge a million times, but he never answered, and didn't show up for church. When we got to church, I didn't see anyone there. So we peaced out to go pick up Valtinho, as it's been a few weeks that he hasn't gone. He wasn't home. As we were walking back to church, all depressed and such, we were nearing the church and saw Francisca and her family descending the hill, going to church! WHAT A HUGE BLESSING! I have been trying for like 3 or 4 months to get this woman to church! She finally went, and brought the whole family! They liked it. Anyway, we walked in with them, and as we walked into Sunday School, I was shocked to see Francimar sitting there...I was so excited, I think I didn't stop smiling! So in the end, I saw how the Lord truly works miracles as we exercise our faith. I know we always need to do our part and work hard, but He always makes up the rest if we trust in Him and ask Him for help. What a wonderful Sunday it turned out to be! Except that I was so stoked to maybe be able to mark Francimar's baptism, but then we found out that he was still moving to Minas, just later in the day. Anyway, he left last night. And Francisca and the family are moving to Piaui this week too. Bummer............. Well, at least some missionaries in other parts of Brazil will be blessed by these people! Anyway, I was just so stoked about the day, that pretty much anything coulda happened.
Also, we are starting work on the musical part of our fireside on January 30. I am praying and pleading that I will stay here another transfer (already transfers are next week) to be able to see this fireside go through well. All is confirmed with President; we just have the hard task of finding people to sing and play. But I know that it will all come together, as did the last one. After transfers, it will be a little easier, because we will be able to use other missionaries if necessary. So, it's all good. I trust that the Lord will help us with this.
Welp, that's about it that I have on my mind right now. Today is P-day (oh blessed P-day) and I think I am going to look at camera prices today....good grief. I just wanted to rest. But also my mind is going and going and going and going and just doesn't turn off sometimes, so maybe sleep just won't come. Haha. Oh well.
Have a great week everyone! Happy 2011! I hope all is well in the northern hemisphere.... :)

Karen

So I'm Not Afraid of Cows, but They go Running from Me!

2010-12-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

So this week was another week of the mission sao paulo leste! We had our Christmas conference, a surprise 2-day division, and a ton of other stuff. Here's the lowdown...

Last Tuesday was our christmas conference. All the missionaries here in the interior were there to play games and eat and talk with president and learn together. We played a ton of games...like, dodgeball, capture the flag, missionary tag, 3-legged race, and a few others. It was so awesome, and it got pretty violent at times....well, I guess that's to be expected with a ton of elders! Hahaha. And we saw President in shorts and a t-shirt. And he wouldn't let us take pictures, so that's something you will all never see. If you know him, you know that he is Portuguese, and is ALWAYS with a tailored suit. So to see him running around in bermudas was quite the sight! It was great. We learned a ton with him also, during his brief messages. We watched "Joy to the World", listened to some fabulous Handel and other wonderful Christmas music, and the day was just overall stupendously awesome. It was chill...we got to hang out and relax and talk with all our buddies here. We took pictures, and all that usual stuff. Hah, the night before the conference, we went to the other area of Sisters, because they live closer to where we had conference, so we spent the night at their house. Needless to say, one of the sisters who is there is one of my best friends in the mission, so we barely slept...it was the first time we had a chance to talk for more than like 10 minutes! So we were exhausted by the end of the day Tuesday. Oh, and Sister Holanda and Sister Monteiro made cake for me and we had a party at their house for my birthdya on Monday night.

Other things to report...we had a 2-day division. I stayed here in Vista verde, and Sister Holanda came for these two days. I learned TON with her about the work and how to be a better person! The name of this division was "operation: 1 baptism". So we worked for that. In the end, unfortunately, we didn't baptize this week, but we found a few people and situations that we are working out right now to baptize here pretty soon! So that was fantastic. We found Wesley, who already was almost baptized one time, but that fell through. So we are going to follow-up with him really well and hopefully baptize this sunday! He is pretty stellar, and we are going to get his mom to church too, I am hoping and praying! Anyway, other things of interest during this division. Açaí (I'm addicted), tractors, and trying to take pictures with cows, but each time I tried to get close, they ran away from me! How on earth can they have so much fear of me?! I'm less than half their size!

Yesterday was church, and no one went to church, even though we ran after everyone to get them there. That was a bummer. We even invited people in the street as we were walking to church. But I realized (again) that miracles happen every single day. Always. Sometimes we just have to look. I think I say this every single week, but every single week it is still true! I have a journal with 2 years worth of daily miracles to prove that this is true! I made the comment yesterday that I just want to see everyone in the celestial kingdom. Truly. That's why I am here.

This week will be crazy. Christmas dinners all over the place, running after 2 potential baptisms for Sunday, and watching a MOVIE on wednesday with the ward, about scrooge. President gave us permission to watch as well...that'll be odd to watch a movie on the mission! But it will be stellar. Oh, and last night, we finally got to watch the first presidency christmas devotional...and sing and hear music in english! That rocked!!!!

As for the phone call on Christmas....I am so so so so so so so so stoked! But don't laugh at my terrible english. I tried talking english on Saturday with someone, and I sounded like a foreigner, the few words that came out of my mouth. Hah. It's difficult. Thanks for all the letters and support and everything! From everyone! Wish everyone there a Merry Christmas for me, and until next monday, I will get to talk to some of you....HOORAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Karen

When I was Little, I Always Wanted a Summer Birthday!

2010-12-13T07:04:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! This week was basically stellar. Of course it had its challenges, but that is a part of life. And challenges are just opportunities to grow, and proofs of how much the Lord trusts us. But here it goes......

We are doing things a little differently now....because Christmas is coming and everyone is a little happier with Christmas, we are knocking doors by singing Christmas hymns. It is awesome, and a lot more people are opening their doors than I am used to! We have a good sized teaching pool now, and that will hopefully continue to grow this week and next, and we are looking forward to baptizing this month! Unfortunately, Aline and Mayara will not be baptized right now...it's going pretty roughly with them, but I know that all will be worked out in the end, one way or another. The Lord has plans, and we do our part, and then it is up to them to decide what to do.

Oh, this week it poured! We got so drenched...it was hilarious! So of course we took pictures...:) Speaking of pictures, we also took other pictures the other day to make little Christmas tree ornaments to give to our investigators and members for Christmas. They turned out wicked cute. It was fun! And everyone is loving these things, so that helps. It helps with the work when the ward loves us and trusts us! :) Speaking of the ward trusting us and loving us, we had a meeting with the bishop this week, and I think things are steadily improving there. So that helps too! He is going to teach with us, hopefully this week, and get us some references. I'm counting on this, because I need to have faith that this time, things will actually happen when we make plans. :)

As for a few other things....Francymar showed up randomly for church yesterday, which was a wonderful surprise! We walked all morning, and called for everyone all morning, trying to get people to church, and no one went. Various problems, excuses, etc. But anyway, we were blessed for our effort when in walked Francymar. And as usual, he loved church! It was so good to have him there, and I am hoping to get him baptized before he moves to Minas Gerais in January, to play some more soccer. Yep, he's a professional. It's rad. I at least need a picture with him, and what day is better than the day of his baptism?! :)

Yesterday was my birthday! And bishop's birthday too, as I found out after church! Last night, we went to his house to celebrate with him....we shared a cake, and the kids sang, and it was awesome! Haha, it was a surprise for us both, and yep....overall, it was a good birthday. Can't really complain...miracles are always happening. And last night, a few people from the mission called to wish me a happy birthday, whcih was nice surprise! And tomorrow, we have a CHristmas conference with the entire interior (3 zones), which means I'll get to play with Sister Frame, and President and Sister Moreira will be there. It'll be awesome. We just need to work a ton today to find some new people to teach, since Tuesday is usually our key day to knock doors and find people early in the week. Nope, today isn't pday, and I am stoked to work. :) I am basically stoked on life right now. For real. Happy as can be! Happiness really is a choice we make, and one we need to make in order to stay happy!

I love you!
Karen

It's All Downhill from Here...

2010-12-06T06:41:00.012-05:00

Well, big changes. And not nearly how I thought they'd be! First of all, yesterday marked 9 months in the mission for me, and since I'm a sister, that's half a mission that hsa already passed by. It kind of amazes me that I'm still surviving!

Second of all, last Monday, we got the transfer call. That was a surprise phone call...remember how I said that President told us that I'd be leaving my beloved Vista Verde? Well, the call came and EVERYONE was surprised. Sister Gubler would be leaving, and I'd be staying here. And even more than that, I'd be training a greenie. We stopped where we were in the street and busted up laughing. Then cried. Then called a different leader who told us the same thing. Then we ran home to start packing Sister Gubler's stuff, and we ran off to visit a bunch of people. Everyone was surprised by the news. We had a family home evening at Néia's house, and she'd made a birthday cake for me. So at least Sis. Gubler and I got to celebrate my birthday together! Everyone was crying because she was leaving, and it was a bummer. No one was expecting it, not even our leaders here in the zone or basically anyone who knows us. Monday night we hardly slept. Tuesday we went to the office in São Paulo....that was quite the adventure. We missed our bus, then we got there late, and...yep. Quite the adventure. I had a chance to talk with President briefly though, which really was something I was needing. How the heck was I going to train someone when I feel like I know next to nothing still!? Hah, but it's all good. Then I found out that Sister Frame was training...AGAIN. 4th time. So we got to hang out and catch up until the afternoon when the new missionaries arrived. My comp is Sister Rocha (which means "rock"), and she is FANTASTIC. I love her to pieces!
So this first week was interesting. I'm learning how to teach and be senior comp. It's a process. I just don't want to let anyone down. Anyway, we worked. Boy did we work. In the end, our baptisms fell through, but at least we know that we did our part, and we are not giving up yet. There are miracles thta happen every day, and I know that as we truly do our part, the blessigns will come. It's just question of patience sometimes. So we are doing our part.
The biggest news is that I'm still in Vista Verde, this ward is FINALLY changing, I feel like we are getting somewhere at least with Bishop, and I am training. Say some prayers...haha. Also say some prayers that the Americans can get into Brazil soon, because everyone is stuck in the USA again.
I love you all!!!
Karen

It's Snowing!!!!!!

2010-11-29T07:11:00.012-05:00

Well what a week it was, full of miracles, trials, and opportunities to grow and learn! And in the end, transfers are tomorrow, and I am pretty sure I am leaving my beloved Vista Verde. I know that my time here was difficult, but I have a family here, and saying goodbye to that....it is hard. I can look back on the 4 months I spent here and see that I have grown. I can't really put a finger on anything specific, but I know that I have grown and changed here, and all the experiences, even the less than awesome ones, were for my benefit. I was talking about this with one of my Zone Leaders who was here in this zone since I got here, and he commented on how this time here was good for me. And it was. The call hasn't come yet about transfers; that'll happen tonight...but we had interviews with President on Thursday, and he said I'd be leaving the area. Oh how it was wonderful to have interviews with him! (Even though we had to get up at 4:30am to get there at 6am) Anyway, we'll find out tonight where I'll go, who I'll be with, etc. It sure will be interesting.
Other miracles that happened this week...remember Jil, from like 2 months ago? Remember how she moved? Anyway, last week, I was thinking about her and her family, wondering how they were doing. I think I may have mentioned this, that we ran into Francymar, her husband, on the way to church last week. We went to teach him this week, but he never showed up. Randomly on Friday night, we saw one of the kids walking down the street, so we asked him where he lives, and we went there to visit Francymar...and he finally went to church yesterday! It was so wonderful to have him at church! And he loved it, and he really wants to change his life! Oh I am so excited for this! Sister Gubler will keep me posted on him... :)
More miracles. We were scheduled to baptize Mayara and Aline yesterday. Thursday we were going to their house, but no one was there, so we left. On the return trip, we found their little brother, Valtinho (yup, one of the others I already taught)...and we asked him if he wanted to be baptized with his sisters! So, Friday was the interviews, and we almost missed the interview with Valtinho, because he decided to play in the street, but we caught up to him as we were leaving. The three of them passed their interviews, we got the signature of their father without a problem, and all was looking good. Mayara and Aline were solid, but we were a little worried that the baptism of Valtinho would fall through. In the end...yesterday was the longest day I think I have ever had, but that is normal with a baptism. In the end, though, Mayara and Aline wanted to push back their baptism one more week, saying they weren't prepared. We said everything we could, and even prayed with them, but they just weren't baptized yesterday...but Valtinho was!!! And here are some more miracles with this baptism....he was baptized by Tiago, who became a priest just 2 or 3 weeks ago, and this is the first baptism of him. One of the witnesses was Mauro, a fairly recent convert who has only had the priesthood for about a month, and we fought a ton for him to get the priesthood....oh wow. What a miraculous baptism!!! And as usual, despite all the stress and things that went wrong and baptisms cancelled, the Spirit was so strong in the baptism...it was a wonderful experience.
We also had our musical fireside last night, finally. It was fantastic! Everyone sang so well, and we had a family sing Families can be Together Forever as the opening hymn....a family of 2 kids and the parents, where the kids are 8 and 5 I think. It was SO CUTE!!!!!! I got to play the piano a ton, which was fantastic. We ended up taking a ton of pictures with a ton of the ward members last night. Tonight we have an FHE at Néia's house, which'll be great...it sounds like there will be a ton of people there.
Anyway, that's about it. I'm closing the chapter of Vista Verde of my life. It's kinda weird...I feel like this is my home now. This ward is so precious to me, and all the people I have taught here. I hope that I have helped make a difference in someone's life. And I completely trust in the Lord to put me in a place and with people he needs me to be. This is, after all, His mission, not my own.

Love,
Karen

My Companion Lost her Mind this Week

2010-11-22T07:02:00.011-05:00

Well, where to start. First of all, this week is Thanksgiving...so here's what I think. I think you should all remember that you are thankful for me, and on your day off from school and work, you should write me letters. :) I think it's a good plan. And it'll help me celebrate the non-existent thanksgiving here in Brazil! Great plan...let's do that. :)
As for other things....This week was hectic, but oh so wonderful! It had moments that were harder than anything I've ever done before, but it had moments where our level of happiness was up in the clouds! Let's start with...Tuesday! Tuesday after our district meeting, The Zone Leaders (Elders Smith and Nóbrega) came to our area to knock doors with us all afternoon. So we went to a new area, where I've never worked before, and we split. They went in one direction and we went in another, and we just started knocking and teaching. And it was fantastic....FANTASTIC. We found almost everyone we talked to was married. Married legally and all. Or did not live with anyone and therefore did not have the necessity to get married. They talked with everyone in the street and kncoked a bunch of doors too, but in the end, only gave us one name, but she (Poliana) is stellar, and we are working towards baptism with her. We marked for the 28th, but as she did not go to Church yesterday, it will probably happen on the 5th. Anyway, she is stellar, like I said, and we are going to try to baptize her husband too. Anyway, that night, Tuesday night, we taught a lesson with them to some people we had not previously taught, but had marked an appointment that night. And they took over the lesson, which was actually good, because it gave us a chance to see how this work is really done, and it was powerful. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, and I learned more in that 45 minutes than in 8 months of practices and trainings...because it was real, not people pretending to be investigators. But this was real. I learned a ton and we are applying what we learned that day, and already we are seeing results!
We also went to talk to Patricia's father this week. We had it all planned out, what we would say, how we would explain about baptism and the church and the Young Women program and everything. We were sure we'd get his signature. So we went there, and talked with Patricia and her grandmother a bit, and then we wanted to sing and say a prayer, so we invited her dad...well, he didn't want anything to do with us, and went back into the house and shut the window in our faces. Oops. But I'm not giving up yet! We are going to go back there this week...it's been 4 months that I am here, and I want to see Patricia baptized! Haha, she is so prepared...it's just a matter of preparing the father. But i have faith that now is the time, or at least tha ttime is arriving here shortly!

What else did I learn...oh, when you set goals, and write them down, and really make it a goal, not just a wish, things happen. When I did that last Monday with a goal about baptisms, things started to happen. We found married couples who are interested in the gospel. We had people popping up out of nowhere. We had former investigators returning! Here's a great story for you...Friday, out of nowhere, Néia called and said "Sister Ogden, I have an investigator for you. Can you be at my house at 6pm?" Of course...we changed our plans to be there, and when we got there, we first saw Ana Flávia, who I haven't seen in ages. Oh what a blessing that was! Then we met Aline....and I found out who she was and nearly died of happiness! There is a family of a father and 5 children who live up the street from Néia. I have already taught the father, two of the daughters, and one of the sons. The other daughter and son were not living at home at this time. Anyway, none of them were interested....that was sad. Anyway, Aline is the other daughter!!! So we met her, taught her, answered some questions, and marked her baptism for the 28th. She went to Church yesterday, and brought with her Maiara, her sister who had told me she wanted nothing to do with the church! SO we went back there last night to talk more with them, and now they will both be baptized next Sunday. This was a miracle, and this is truly seeing the Lord's hand working with us!
Also, we had Jorge pop up out of nowhere. He is a reference from Elder G. Silva, our District Leader. He lives in our area, but knows a family in Elder G. Silva's area, so we went there one night last week to meet him and have a family home evening with this family. We are going back tonight, and he already accepted the invitation to be baptized, so that should probably happen on the 4th. Bummer that transfers are coming up so soon...now that I am seeing the work really pick up here, I'm almost positive I'll be leaving this area! It was the same in Vila Industrial when I left! Haha, but it's not about me...it's about baptizing this people and bringing the gospel to everyone. Whether I see the baptism or not, the important thing is that it happens and that the work continues to move forward.
Anyway, I had a ton more I wanted to say when I was thinking about all this yesterday, but my mind has changed. I have to save some stories for after the mission, right?! Haha. Anyway, this week was fantastic. This coming week is the last full week of the transfer, and we are going to work harder than ever to get there people in the water!
I love you all! Thanks for everyone you all do for me. I can't believe how fast the time is flying by....it's crazy.

Love,
Karen

Sometimes it's like I'm Living a Movie!

2010-11-15T08:42:00.016-05:00

Itaaaaaaaaa minha querida família!!!!!
Well, this week was kind of crazy, full of fun people and adventures to set things askew. Oh well. This is going to be a quick email, as the time is short this week. If i forget things...well, you'll never know anyway. Hahah. Oh well, at least my journal is up to date on the week!

So remember how I was basically going crazy here? Tuesday and Wednesday, I spent in a different area. Tuesday morning, the Zone Leaders called to let us know about a 2-day division we would be doing...every single companionship in the zone had a 2-day division those two days. I was less than thrilled, as we had some stellar people planned for those days. But in the end, it was wonderful. It gave me some time and space away from the chaos of Vista Verde to clear my mind, think, ponder, and really pray, and find answers. I am grateful now for this time I had. It was wonderful... and then when I got back, I just had to try harder not to sink back to where I was. :) I learned a lot on this division, as did Sister Gubler, and we are applying it into our work here now.

As for our fireside...we finally got a speaker, and we are all set with date and time, but still getting references is a bit of a hassle. After about a month, we are still missing 42. But we have 2 more weeks. :) The music is hopefully coming together, which is the biggest headache right now. But it will all work out. I'm going with perfect faith that it will turn out well and all will be the way the Lord wants it.
We started working with an inactive family this week, and already they are returning to church, and it is so wonderful. Know those people who it feels like you met long before you met them? This family is like that...and they have a 5-year old daughter, Ana Clara, who looks and acts like me at the same age! It's pretty hilarious! But I love them to pieces....and they went to church Sunday, and showed up at the ward activity today (today is a holiday here...I think it's kinda like independence day). It is awesome.
On the flip side, we have to drop one investigators, who is the husband of a less-active member, because he wants nothing to do with the church. He only goes because of her, and when we were there this week, we took forever getting him to pray. It is a mission goal to have the investigators pray at the end of the lesson, because if he doesn't pray in that moment, he won't pray that night on his own. Which is basically true. So we were trying to get him to pray, and after about a half hour, he finally prayed. It was difficult....and obvious that he has no interest.
This week I was studying a bit about Spirits and the Spirit World. Very very interesting! Then yesterday in church, I had one question about John the Baptist, which led to an intense scripture study about priesthood, baptism, prophets, Moses, etc....it was very interesting. I love studying the scriptures, as I think I mention in every single email I send!
Well, I've got to wrap up. This week will be an intense one....we have at least 2 potential baptisms for Saturday or Sunday, and tomorrow, the Zone Leaders are coming to knock doors here too, to teach us and to help us here in this area. It will be a great learning opportunity, that's for sure. There is a reason they baptize weekly, and I need to learn that reason! :)
I love you all. Thank you again for your support, prayers, and love. Oh wait, funny story. This week, everyone and his brother was asking me what I want for my birthday...then I remembered that my birthday really is coming up! It's weird because it doesn't even feel like November. It still feels like summer, as it has since March, so I hardly even noticed that it's really almost my birthday and Christmas! Funny mission stuff...hahahah

Love,
Karen

Cookies for Breakfast is Acceptable when you're Running Out the Door to get People to Church!

2010-11-08T06:50:00.020-05:00

Hey everyone!
Well this Pday has been long awaited....last week was basically destroyed, and ridiculously stressful. I just need a day to relax and take my mind off of things.
Anyway, how was the week. Our toilet got fixed, which was unexpected, and destroyed a good part of Wednesday, cuz we had to stay at home while they were fixing it. So that's good. But now the water meter is spinning backwards, but still counting against us, and spinning even when no one is using water...so as I suspected, there are other problems with this house. Like a leak underground. Or a broken water meter. Or someone stealing water. I have no idea. But that's interesting...now we just try to turn off the water when we leave and when we sleep at night, and hopefully that will help. As for other things, the secretaries came to our house on Saturday to deliver a new mattress and a new desk. They also brought all the packages for our zone, which will be interesting to take with us on the bus tomorrow...there are a bunch of them! Sister Gubler got Reese's, which was AWESOME...I don't think Reese's has ever tasted so good in my life. :)
Remember our fireside with President that was supposed to be next week? Well, last week or so, we had a problem come up, and we had to postpone the fireside. Problem here is that President can't come until January....well, we talked to Bishop, and we are doing the fireside on the 28th, but with a different speaker. It's been kind of hectic getting all the music and everything together, so in the end, it's really good that it's being pushed off a couple weeks! But it'll all come together! Also, Saturday morning, we had an "Expo-Mormon", where we went with some ward members to a busy fair, and we had a booth and made a ton of contacts. We got 23 addresses, which we are now in the process of contacting, and a couple of them are REALLY good, people who are prepared and all. I'm stoked to get going on that. So now, with that, we only need 46 more references from members to reach our goal of 100 from the ward. We are even getting references from our investigators, which is awesome!

We went to visit Francisca WEdnesday. She was pregnant the last time we saw her, on Friday, but when we got there on Wednesday, she had her baby in her arms....the baby was born a month and a half early, but completely healthy! So what a blessing that was....and what a testimony of the Plan of Salvation. It's been a while since I last saw a baby so new, so tiny. In fact, I think I have never seen a baby so tiny. But so new, so fresh from the presence of the Lord. It is truly a miracle.

I had an interesting experience this week with knocking doors. I've never ever really felt strongly about one specific street to knock, or one door that we need to knock or anything like that. These mission stories are things I have never experienced. Until this week... Anyway, one day, we were planning to knock doors for a few hours in the afternoon with a member. The night before, I was lying in bed thinking about how much we had yet to do this week to reach the standard of excellence, and it popped into my mind to knock this one street. I knew exactly where this street was and all. Maybe I just thought of it because we'd been in the neighborhood, I'm not sure. So we went there that day to knock doors, and we taught a few lessons, and found a FAMILY...with the parents married for real. So we are returning there tomorrow to teach them more, and we will see how this progresses. Because this is the MAJOR problem in our area....we find families, but no one is married, and most people don't want to get married. The other major problem is that no one goes to church.....but I have faith that things will change....
So as for the not going to church thing....Wow, yesterday was honestly a disappointment. We called, we went to get people, and still no one went to church. We had about 10 people say they would be there, and in the end, no one showed up. Just a girl who doesn't even live in our area, so we can't really do anything about that. I was pretty frustrated, but hey...I just need to trust in the Lord more or something. We were hoping for a miracle this weekend, to baptize someone yesterday, btu that didn't happen as well. but we have some people we can baptize next Sunday, maybe, so we are just going to work really hard, pray harder, and do our best to get that done.
Also the standard of excellence in the mission has changed. Still the same number of lessons each week, but as for the people in church, the standard changed. Good luck to us....we need to find people who are more ready to baptize, people who are married or not living with someone! Haha. Oh goodness.
Today...I'm hoping for a good relaxing day. Who knows what will happen!

Keep strong in the gospel, and don't give it up for anything. It's just not worth it. Even the hardest days, stay on the path of the Lord, because there is no other path to happiness and eternal life. Just keep going...Remember Finding Nemo? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... :) But it's true. Just keep swimming and you won't sink. The Gospel is your lifejacket, and as long as it is snug as a bug in a rug, you'll be fine.

Love,
Karen

When You Turn on the Shower and Fire Comes Out Instead of Water, You Know Something is Wrong

2010-11-01T08:01:00.021-04:00

Sister Gubler adds..."And when you keep on taking a shower even when fire comes out...there is something wrong with YOU!"
Last Tuesday, we had our usual district meeting. It was actually a zone meeting, since it was the first one after transfers. Our zone leaders now, Elder Nóbrega and Elder Smith, are hilarious. Basically I have almost never met any combination of people so hilarious....at this meeting, I was laughing so hard I was crying. For real. They like to imitate President, with some of his funny mannerisms, and they set up the zone meeting like a zone conference. And they taught and burned, the same as President. It was hilarious. And in the middle of it, in walked a guy from the street, a nonmember, and Elder Nóbrega invited him in to listen to our training. And he just kept on burning us in front of this guy, but also taught the guy at the same time. Oh, this guy's name is Carlos. Anyway, he invited Carlos to be baptized, marking Nov 14 as the date. Carlos accepted. It was actually crazy. I don't know how that is going though, because it isn't my area, and thus not my investigator. But we are all (all 18 of us) invited to his baptism...can you imagine a baptism with 18 missionaries there?! I think it'd be a little intimidating! Also at this meeting, Sister Gubler and I gave a bike horn to Elder Smith, and now he and Elder Nóbrega use it to knock doors. Oh dear goodness. So that was the excitement Tuesday. Wait, I forgot a part. One of the announcements that Elder Nóbrega made was that Elder C. Scott Growe was coming for a mission conference on Thursday....and when he said "C. Scott Grow"....I busted up laughing, because Sister Gubler and I had been laughing already...cuz it's like "run spot run!". I laughed, Sister gubler laughed so hard she was crying, and all the other Americans in the room laughed! We explained why it was so funny to Nóbrega later, but at the moment he was just laughing at everyone laughing, not even understanding why it was so funny! Oh man, what a day that was!
Oh year, and our house is falling apart. There are termites eating Sister Gubler's desk. Our shower fried (AGAIN)....but we finally got that fixed. President is trying to fix all the missionary houses, so last Monday, a guy from the church called to ask about our hosue and if there were things broken or not working and all...well, I just started listing...the fridge, toilet, shower, walls, ceiling, desk, etc....basically everything! Haha. Oh well. Anyway, the story about the shower is long, but here's the short version. A few weeks ago, it started smoking when I was taking a shower. I just kept taking a shower...sheesh, need to be clean. Well, it didn't work for Sis. Gubler after that. So we used it on a different setting, with less hot water. That worked for a while, but then it started sparking and all, and we had to just take a shower with cold water. For days. Finally, we told someone about it in the ward, and Saturday morning he came and fixed it for us. Haha, oh the mission adventures! There are so many of them!

Wednesday we had a great lesson with Talita, about marriage and eternal families. It was a fantastic lesson! Really. This week, I learned a lot more about teaching by the Spirit than ever before in the mission, I think. Which is good, because it is what I am working to improve. Anyway, it was great. I want so badly to see this baptism of her, because she is stellar, and so ready. We also talked about the Word of Wisdom and are helping her quit smoking now. Wow.
Another stellar thing that happened was that we found an inactive, fairly recent convert who I'd only heard about. But I got her new address from someone, so we went there to visit her. To make a long story short, she didn't even want to let us in when we got there, we convinced her to let us in, and we ended up talking to her and her friend for about an hour, and then she didn't want us to leave! The story is that no one had faith in her when she got baptized, refused to visit her, and she stopped going to church because of this. I heard the same story from the Elder that baptized her, Elder Cunha...he is AP and was here during the conference on Thursday, so I asked him about her. But then the members of the ward tell me different things. Oi....this area is really complicated. And each day, it becomes just a little more complicated! Oh well. It was great to see her, get to know her, and find out that we have a lot of work ahead of us to reactivate her.
Thursday was that conference with Elder Grow. We, because we are far from São Paulo, did not get to go to the conference with the rest of the mission, but all 3 zones of the interior got to watch it together, via satelite. Aí, it was great. We also had a conference of the interior before the conference started. It was a wonderful conference. I got answers to questiosn I had about the work, about some details, and about a ton of things. I learned a ton. I learned how to be a better missionary, which is something I really need. And Elder Grow´s wife made the joke that since they got married, she has been able to "see scott grow"...this time, because we had explained it to elder nóbrega, he was laughing just as hard as the Americans! Anyway, I learned a lot about working with the less active and inactive members, and bringing them back to the church. I have seen some of them return since I have been in this area, so at least I know I am helping in some aspect of the work, even if I am not seeing baptisms or anything of the sort! :) That was good to hear. Ah, I can't even put into words how wonderful this conference was!
Friday was a great day. Our plans were destroyed, because at lunch we got a couple references from members, and went to visit them and taught them instead of visiting the people we had planned to stop by and visit. But it's all good. We've gotten about 25 references in a few weeks, which is basically a miracle. It's really starting to pick up now...but unfortunately, our fireside won't be with President anymore, because the date had to change. We are trying to get our Zone Leaders to come and speak at it. Anyway, Thursday. We went to teach our investigators, Francisca, and while we were there, a bunch of people stopped by from about a million other churches. One of them was Catholic, and he came in and was talking to us and reading from the Bible and all, and praying, and my mind wandered back to years ago...and for the rest of the day, I was remembering stuff from my days in Catholic schools. I think Sis. Gubler got tired of my stories that day! Haha. Also we played with horses. And by "play", I don't mean that we rode horses, becuase that is against the rules, but we did see the horses at lunch, because a member of our ward has 3. I already sent you pictures of these horses, but now I have more! Haha.
Saturday it rained. All day. Just about everything fell through and we got drenched. Sunday started out as an adventure....I woke up to hear Sister Gubler call out "SISTER...HELP!" She had fainted and couldn't get up. So I went to her rescue but really had no idea what to do. That was scary. So Sunday morning was kinda crazy, in that we had to wait for this thing to pass, so that we could go to church. And we ended up getting to church a little late, but it's all good. Also we gave talks in sacrament meeting. I have no idea how I escaped 6 months of being in the mission field without giving a talk in church until this weekend! I ended up not even saying anythinng I had planned! The funny thing is that my topic was about prayer, and how to pray....it's ironic because President is famous for telling us we don't know how to pray. Needless to say, I did a lot of research and studying before this talk, and learned a ton!
And that is about all I have time for. It was an insane week. Ended crazy as well. But now we have a new week. New goals. Everything. I love you all! Thanks for the support and love and prayers....it sure helps!
Tchau!
Karen

Welcome back to the USA, English Scriptures!

2010-10-25T07:26:00.000-04:00

We had transfers last week, and...I survived with Sister Gubler! We are here in Vista Verde for 6 more weeks...well, 5 more now. I think after that, I will want to leave...there are lots of reasons. I am learning that a long time in an area really can feel like a long time to the missionary, even if not for the members in the ward. Weird how that works. I am seeing a whole new side of everything as I am on the missionary side of all this! Anyway, last Monday night, our Zone Leaders called with the transfer. And like I said, I was feeling calm about the whole thing, and neither one of us thought we would leave or be transferred or anything. But in the end, the Zone Leaders called and told us I was being transferred to open an area, training. I didn't believe it. It took about 10 minutes of convincing before we finally started to believe it, and then all I wanted to do was die. I'm so glad it was just a joke! Pretty sure I can't handle that. Haha.
In other news....last Tuesday, since it was transfers and pday, and we had already used the internet on Monday and all, we asked permission from President to go into the center of São José dos Campos, because we really have nothing in our area. We spent the whole day there, and it was wonderful! We got to the bus terminal as everyone who was transfered was leaving for São Paulo, so we got to say goodbyes and take some pictures before heading out to our adventurous day. It was awesome. Absolutely fantastic to get out of Vista Verde for a while. I was feeling a bit like a prisoner after 3 months in one area, with random and rare escapes for meetings. But to have a day to play was wonderful! So that was Tuesday.
The rest of the week, we taught and got references and taught and found some ancient investigators and the work is really moving forward. Our musical fireside with President Moreira is coming together....a choir was put together yesterday, and it is sounding good. We are putting together some other music, and I get to play the piano again, which is so needed and so awesome. We have a young man in the ward who plays the piano, and he is helping us organize everything and get the music we need. It is great. And we discovered a new way to get references from the members, even more proactive than bugging them every time we see them...show up at their houses during the afternoon and invite them to come visit their neighbors with us! We did that this week with a member of the bishopric and his wife, and we got 6 references out of them, all of which we have contacted and most of which we have already taught with them! Including FAMILIES....what a blessing! As for the other people we are teaching, some are progressing, we found some awesome new people this week, and some people actually went to church yesterday!
Church yesterday....well, our lesson in Principles of the Gospel was about the Law of Chastity...and our two investigators who were there with us are both women who live with someone but are not married. And after the lesson, they BOTH decided they want to get married. It was wonderful! So we need to talk to them and their "husbands" and get going on that so we can see them baptized here pretty soon. Too bad marriages take forever! But hey, I'm not giving up. Remember Talita, who we found like 6 weeks ago? She finally went to church yesterday and LOVED it! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am so stoked! I love this work so much. There is no other place I want to be right now, not even a little bit.
Also in church yesterday was the primary program during sacrament meeting. The Spirit was there so strong....It is true that children invite the spirit so easily, through their songs and testimonies. There is a new song now for the primary called "Eu Quero Batismo" (I want baptism) that they sang yesterday. Yes I want baptism too! It rocked. And then at the end, all the boys in the primary sang "I hope they call me on a mission", which was the first time I heard the whole song in Portuguese, and it was really cute! And I realized this was the first time I have seen a primary program since....well, senior year of high school. I didn't know how much I was missing until yesterday! I loved it so much.
Last night we had quite the adventure getting from one end of our area to the chapel for a meeting....we were SO late, and had to run. Down a huge hill. Yes I fell down a mountain and have small battle wounds. Just a couple scratches, don't worry. And then an irmão came and rescued us as we were walking up a huge hill in the road, and he drove us the rest of the way to the chapel...almost. His car died in an interesection and there was no saving it. We were literally in front of the chapel. Droga. I still kill cars, but it has been like 8 months at least since the last one! :)
Also this week, we found Jonas, who was taught by the missionaries 2 years ago. And 15 years ago. And we found his name in our area book and decided to go by and visit him, and see what the situation was. Well, long story short, he should be baptized this Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!! Pray it happens, please. 2 months without a baptism is starting to wear on me. I know I am blessed to be in a mission that baptizes a ton (we are almost at our goal of 2000 baptisms this year), but with a ton of pressure from leaders and others....2 months is a LONG time here not to baptize!
ANYWAY..........lots of things fell through, as usual. But overall it was a great week. And this week should be wonderfully busy too. We have no free nights at all, and Thursday is completely shot as we have a conference with Elder C. Scott Grow, of the 70. But of course since I'm in the interior, we don't get to go to the actual conference in São Paulo...just watch it via satellite, but with everyone here in the interior, which includes a bunch of my buddies. So that will be great to see everyone!
But hey. I'm tired. There is a whole new definition to being tired on the mission. It's like nothing I have ever felt before. But oh so worth it! The work is moving forward, and Sis. Gubler and I are going to turn this place around this transfer! We have enough potential to baptize weekly with our current investigators, but we need to really get the ball rolling on some of them for this to happen. But it is NOT impossible...miracles happen every day. Never forget that. The Lord's hand is ALWAYS present in our lives!
I love you!
Karen

Jennyanydots Needs to Move into Our House

2010-10-18T08:17:00.020-04:00

HELLLLOOOOOOOOOOO USA.

So...last monday was a bagunça...not pday, but not a normal day. That's about that.

Tuesday was better, though we still didn't get to teach a ton of lessons, cuz we were walking all day. That's the problem with an enormous area, and all your people living in the extremities. Also, our rapaz William disappeared...it was like 2 weeks since we last talked to him. All week we stopped by his house, but finally caught up with him...Thursday! I'll get to that.
Wednesday...was awesome. We had Zone Conference, so I got to see just about ALL my mission buddies, because just about everyone is here in the interior. I saw Sister Frame, and President and Sister Moreira of course, and took pictures with everyone. You know how I am. But more importantly, our training was awesome. We learned how to teach better. I have the best mission president there is. Bummer for everyone else. I also got a bunch of letters...and my FIRST package, from JAMES! Thanks James! And you sent me SNOW which made me SO FREAKIN HAPPY! Just ask my comp...snow in Sao Paulo is about the best thing ever!!!!!!! Last but not least, we got açai with our zone after the conference, since it was p-day, which rocked my world, since I love açaí AND my zone here in Sao Jose dos Campos!

Thursday......we decided to move our specific area. So we are in the process of cutting our investigators, because no one is really progressing. Everyone opens their doors to us, listens to us, even prays...but no one goes to church or accepts baptismal invitations. It is frustrating, and we are now moving our area. Good. We also finally caught up with William, and invited him to be baptized on the 24th.

Friday. We have weekly planning Friday mornings. That's fun. I think we had some leftover pizza. And we planned how to move our area, made a list of all the people we need to teach and such. There is a rule in the mission that we can't cut our investigators before teaching the plan of salvation. Makes sense. We all need to know our purpose here on earth. We also had an intense lesson with some awesome people who ask fantastically deep questions that leave me clueless. I have so much to learn! We are going to go back this week with our extremely intelligent Ward Mission Leader, who can answer just about anything.
Saturday....Everything we had planned fell through. Oh well, the week was like this. Also, we cut William, which was a bummer, but had to be done. I don't like this part of the mission, cutting people, but I have also learned that sometimes people appear in our path who look like they will progress, in order to distract us from the elect. So I am praying for and studying about the gift of discernment, because we really need that in this work!! Also, I am learning a bunch of fantastic words. Haha, oh how I love learning a new language!

Sunday....well, we walked to the other end of the earth to get our investigators to go to church, but no one came. NO ONE. And not for lack of effort! But we got to church and had a surprise...a member referral was there, which was fantastic. Ezequiel knows the Bible very well, so teaching him will be interesting. He had a lot of qestions, and we taught him with our Ward Mission Leader, which helped a lot. It was great though...we'll see how it goes. He lives in the area we want to move our specific area to...so maybe that's a good sign! W are also in the process of getting more references from people in the ward, as our goal is 100. We've got some ideas rolling, after our meeting last night with the leadership of the ward.

And today is not p-day, as we have transfers tomorrow. I am not too nervous, though starting to get a little anxious. I think Sister Gubler and I will both stay here...President and Sister Moreira told us both that! So I sure hope so...but it's in the Lord's hands. I am really really hoping to stay here. I want one more transfer in this area, and with Sister Gubler, to get the work moving forward faster and better here.
I am loving the mission. Loving it. No desire to return home....despite the millions of roaches that seem to live in our house (we got home to a disaster last night....the fight ended with a bunch of dead roaches, a few escapees, and the bottoms of our shoes all gross). Oh the joys of Brazil summer in Sao Paulo. But really, I love the work! :)
Love,
Karen

I Got Burnt

2010-10-11T08:57:00.007-04:00

Hey family! And friends who are family! And everyone else who decides to read this!
This week was...well, interesting. And just like last week, i did not even have a chance to write down a bunch of notes to write in here, so I think I will end up forgetting a lot. It was a crazy week. First the bad news. Remember Gil and her family? Well, they moved. To the area of the Zone Leaders in a different zone! And our other golden, William, has disappeared. We are working so hard here, and trying not to get discouraged. Blessings will come, right?

Anyway, I'm not unhappy. Just trying to figure out what to do differently so I can baptize. Cuz that is why I am here. Already my prayers have changed, which is interesting to see. I wake up thinking about our investigators. Sometimes I dream about teaching. Mostly my dreams are still just whacked out, so at least that has not changed too much.

Church this week was awesome. We announced our new activity to our ward, to get references, with a musical fireside in the end. The ward is excited, and I have no doubt that we will get 100 references within a month from them. We had testimony meeting yesterday, and a lot of people bore testimony of missionary work and sharnig their testimonies. It is wonderful.
I am having trouble trying to think in English, so the things that happened are also escaping my mind. I just need to sit down and write letters...cuz this whole email thing is not working out so well today. I want to get on lds.org and print off some conference talks.
In other news....we found some new people to teach. Oh, we had a division with the other sisters in our zone, so I got to play senior for a day. That was interesting. We also did two other divisions with members....divisions are tiring, and I miss my comp! Who knew I would ever spend so much time away from my own comp! But it is good, because we are reaching the standard of excellence each week with lessons. It rocks.
This week, we have zone conference on Wednesday. I am super stoked! We will get training from President and the Zone Leaders, and I will get to see Sister Frame and some other buddies here in the mish! I am so excited for it. So because of that, we lose pday this week, but I think it's fair tradeoff.
I studied a lot about the resurrection this week, which was all very interesting. It started because i had a simple question, which led to a lot of studying, and more questions, and more studying, and even more. There is so much I want to study and learn! I love that I have an hour to study each morning...what a blessing.
Welp, gotta go email president, print off some conference talks, and try to do 50 million more things in a short amount of time! I love you all, and sorry this email is so lame...I know my emails are getting lamer and lamer! there were like a million funny stories to tell, but I will put them in a letter as I remember them. :) So at least the fam will hear it. :)
Love,
Karen

Have You Ever Seen 5 Cows Just Chilling and Walking Down the Street?

2010-10-04T08:47:00.011-04:00

Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful conference weekend! I did not get to see all of conference, which was a bummer, but the part I did see was awesome! I watched conference, one session, in portuguese....the first time I have ever watched conference in a different language! I saw the Sunday morning session in English though, which was such a blessing! It really is different in a different language, when you are not hearing the voice of the prophet or apostles or other general authorities. So that was a new experience.
Well, this week I did not make my usual list of things to write in this, so it might end up a little scattered....but I'll do my best. I really have no idea what I am going to write. This is why I make a list; because when I get here to write, my mind draws a blank at what happened this week! We taught a bunch...oh, it was raining this week, so it was harder to teach and make contacts and all...but we survived! And we found some wonderful new people to teach. Remember Jil and her family? Unfortunately, they have disappeared. She traveled a little oer a week ago, and was supposed to return this Wednesday...but we haven't heard from or seen her or her family since last Friday. We are calling a million times each day, stopping by her house....but to no avail. It is kind of crazy...and I am kind of worried as to what may have happened. I know she was planning to move, but I didn't think she'd move without telling us! So we are going to keep looking for her.....

In other news....we finally caught up with an inactive member we have been looking for for about a month. He was baptized a long time ago...probably about 30 years ago. And then went inactive. But we finally got to teach him and his family, and that lesson was powerful. The Spirit was so strong that night! And it was interesting, because when we finally met him, that night, and walked into his house, it was familiar. I recognized him, as though I know him from somewhere, though I am sure I have never seen him before in my life. That was interesting. But we are going to go back there this week and talk some more. We are hoping to baptize his wife and daughter and have him return to church. Miracles happen every day, and the Lord's hand is ever-present in His work, so I have faith that all this is possible!
I was studying a lot in Jesus the Christ this week, which was really interesting. I have learned some new things and learned some new things on whole new levels. It is so refreshing to dig into the scriptures and doctrine of the gospel of Christ. Because as Christ teaches, His doctrine is so simple. And yet so profound. And there are so many symbols....SO MANY! But it is all so interesting! I have developed a deep love for the scriptures since i have gotten on the mish and have made it a habit to truly study when I have the time, and to use my hour each day to study and apply what I learn. I love it!

Other things of note...it is a small world! People I know here in the mission know people I know from before the mission, in the United States. That is crazy. And I learned that the supposed tradition of throwing eggs at people on their birthdays is a real tradition!! I remembered it this week and asked someone, and she told me people really do it! I laughed prettty hard at that. Actually, I just laugh a lot. Even more than I did before the mission, I think. Haha, twice this week I laughed so hard I cried. It's good to have an awesome comp!!!
Well..........since I can't really remember anything else, I think I am going to wrap this up, and go write to President. Thanks for everything you all do for me! I love you all so much!!! Stay strong in the gospel, and apply the lessons we learned and words we heard at conference...and let's all together try a little harder each day to be like Christ.

Love,
Karen

Good Thing the First Word of Portuguese I Learned was "Encandor"

2010-09-27T08:52:00.011-04:00

Wow, this week was excellent! I don't even have a ton of time to write about everything I wanted to...but I'll do my best to squeeze in as much as possible right now in the short minutes I have! Our LMA (ward mission leader) is awesome, and he knocked some doors, made contacts, and set up some appointments for us in our specific area, which was awesome. We visited one of them yesterday, and she is fantastic. I have a lot of hope for her and her husband. And also, yesterday, someone showed up at Church that I have not seen or talked to for about a month. Pedro is someone I found knocking doors with Sister Sodré...about a month and a half ago. In the end, nothing happened with him...until he randomly showed up in church yesterday! That was such a blessing, and a miracle! I was so happy to see him there! All our investigators who were supposed to go to church yesterday bailed, probably because it was raining, but Pedro showed up, and also Lucas, who appeared out of nowhere. Too bad (for us) that he belongs to the ward of our District Leader! Normal...haha. This week, we taught a TON of lessons, exceeding the standard of excellence, which felt really good. we taught so many lessons with members that we were struggling to reach the standard for lessons without members! We had divisions, and we walked with a bunch of the irmãs so that we could teach. yesterday afternoon, we taught with a fairly recent convert, and she is powerful! It was good to teach with her. Also this week, we found another young man, William, who is awesome. He prayed when we invited him to, believes everything we have taught, and wants to go to church. Unfortunately, he works every day except one day per month. So we're going to try to get him to conference next weekend, since he gets home from work about 4pm, and conference starts at 5. :) WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Other things..........I have seen so many miracles and blessings that come from doing our part and really trying to get better each day. The Lord knows us, and knows when we are doing our best and putting Him and His work first in our lives. It shows in everything we do.
Other things of note. I have had a bunch of weird dreams lately, which have bugged me. But I guess that's normal for me. But it was weirder than normal. Some were realistic. AND.....about people at home. Like Michael and Steven. Also, Mel got married this weekend. That's weird...hahaha, but awesome. And I have heard a bunch of Josh Groban lately, which makes me happy, though I miss playing the piano! My comp and I are planning a fireside in our ward, with President, and we want to make it a musical fireside. We have a goal of 100 references from members in a month, and if we reach that, we'll have the fireside. We just need bishop's approval...and we both need to stay here for the next treansfer! But it would be so sweet!!!

More other things of note....a bunch of our lunches fell through this week. So we ate at home a bunch. Did I ever tell you that I made beans, and made them well? WOOOHOOO!!! I'm learning!!! Oh, and our broken toilet will be replaced, FINALLY, tomorrow evening. BLESSINGS!!!! Haha. And.....other things......oh! We had a bunch of creatures visit our house this week! You can now call me the pro-cockroach-killer. And we had a lizard in our kitchen...gecko. And we found a dead bird in front of our house. And yesterday before church, a bird flew into our house and was flying around. What can I say, Im snow white or something. Hah. But it's all good. You get used to this stuff. Shiver.
In other news....next week I'll write this email before 15 minutes before I need to go, and there will be more! My comp and I are reading the New Testament these days, and it's pretty awesome. I love the scriptures so much! I know I say that like every week, but its the truth. I have a set time to study every day, and what a blessing it is. Smetimes I feel like I am learning and changing a lot, and other times I don't think I am. I think its harder to see the changes in yourself than someone on the outside looking in. Boa sorte. You will all probably see changes. But who knows. At least I hope so. Also, next week marks 7 months in the mish. Already. Time is flying by!! FLYING!!
Gotta run now. About 4 minutes left. I love you all so much. Thanks for the continued support. I know my english is getting worse each day, but just deal with it. Usually (but not always) it means my Portuguese is getting better. No one corrects me in portuguese unless I ask them to, and now I have some people I have asked to help me. Thank goodness. :) I love this language!!!
Love,
Karen

Our Toilet Leaks More Water than there was Oil in the Great Valdez Oil Spill!

2010-09-20T09:44:00.020-04:00

CARAMBA, família! Como vocês estão? Eu quero escrever em Português, porque é mais fácil as vezes, mas...quase ninguém iria entender....então, escrevo Inglês. Tenho que trocar minha mente agora....boa sorte para Natal quando vou falar para vocês....
Anyway, so here I am in your language now. I have learned that when you get a really good comp, who is your bff, life is so much better, and it's not hard to be with that person all the time. But when it's harder...it's really hard. Haha. But life is rockin' awesome right now!

SO here's where the email really starts now. Ummm....first, let me explain the subject line, cuz it's kind of a ridiculous story. So, when I got here two months ago, our toilet was broken. NO big deal....we talked with the bishop, with the secretaries, and figured out what we had to do....the only thing is, we never did it. And it has just gotten worse, and it leaks water everywhere all the time. There is no stopping it. So we talked with the secretaries again this week, and with bishop last night, and he's going to get us a new toilet and install it tonight. THANK GOODNESS, cuz our water bill was through the roof, and next month it will be even worse. Pretty much, Elder B. Almeida (the financial secretary) will destroy us. Boa sorte. But.....it should only improve after this week. I hope. We have gotten to the point (since bishop told us to last night) where we just turn off the water completely when we aren't using it. It is difficult...I need to work on building up my muscles again, cuz it takes all the energy I've got to turn that little lever thing. Too bad we didn't start doing that a month ago. When the water meter reads 786.39 m3....is that a lot? I think so....
In other news, we had divisions this week, with some young women (who are 21 and not really technically YW anymore) in our District Leader's ward. We taught a bunch of lessons, found a bunch of new people to teach, and they pretty much rock. We do divisions with them frequently. And that night, Thais (one of them) got her mission call...to Manaus! If it tells you anything about the ridiculously long waiting period to enter the CTM from the USA, she gets in there in a month. Nov 4. That's awesome. I'm so stoked for her! And Phil Larsen should be arriving here pretty soon, right? No one ever told me when he was getting here...haha. Which mission is he going to? I'll have to write to him!
This week, we got a bunch of references from members....about less actives, inactives, and nonmembers. So we have a bunch of people to visit, all over the map. Did I ever tell you that you can walk an hour in any direction from our house and not leave our area? It's pretty cool, except we lose a lot of time walking. But we sing while we walk. And we tell lots of stories. And we make plans for after the mish....I'll go to Vegas and visit Sister Gubler and her family. And we have plans to come back and visit in June 2012, when President Moreira will end the mission here. I'll just have to figure out the money part of that one when I get home...but it would be pretty cool. Haha. So yeah, we sing a lot while we walk. And we quote movies. Lately, we've been quoting my favorite...Cars. That is funny. Last night, I was pretty bummed about something, and all Sister Gubler had to do was say a line from Cars, and I busted up laughing. Hahahahahaha she knows more about my childhood mischief than anyone else on this continent.
Anyway, back to the mish. Real life. Since this is real life right now. Holy cow, I'm a missionary!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes I can't believe it. Anyway, this week was basically the best week I've had on the mission, though the burning from our leaders last night was the worst I've had. Ironic. Oh well. It was a really good week, and this week will be even better. We taught so much, worked so hard, that we are both completely exhausted. But it is so worth it. This is what I am here to do. And 18 months is really short....I need to take advantage of it, and do my best in the short time that I have. I have learned a ton of lessons this week...Every day when I have opened the scriptures to study in the morning, I have read verses exactly for me...It has been very interesting. There was one I read on Saturday, I think, that was like HELLO KAREN/SISTER OGDEN....and it was talking right to me. It is amazing how the Lord speaks to us and answers our prayers through the scriptures. Never forget to study daily....it is something so important, though may appear unimportant and difficult at times. But so important! It should be and is a priority!
Yesterday, after working hard all week and calling everyone both Saturday night and Sunday morning, we had some people in church. We went and picked up Gil, who is awesome. And then another lady, Marileine, just showed up out of nowhere. Blessings and miracles truly come when you do your part. In our prayers, we need to ask the Lord for what we need, but we also need to remember that we have to do all in our power to reach our goal and do our part. He can't do everything while we just sit back and relax. I have faith that I can walk, but unless I put one foot in front of the other, I won't walk. I need to exercise some amount of effort.
AND....that's about it. It was a good week, and this week will be even better. The members here are so awesome with references, and with teaching with us. Keep helping the missionaries wherever you are. Missionary work is not limited to the missionaries, and is most effective with the help of the members. We can't do it alone. The nametag is powerful, but not THAT powerful! Haha, so we need your help. Look for and pray about people you can introduce to the missionaries. Don't be afraid to share the gospel and invite people to church, to hear the missionaries, to read something....anything. We are ALL tools in the Master's Hands.

I love you! Until next week, meus queridos!

Love,
Karen

You Know You're Tired When You Dream About Sleeping!

2010-09-13T08:13:00.017-04:00

HELLLOOOOOOOOOO world!!!!!!
So. Here's the news that's a week old now, but you don't know yet....I was not transferred! QUE BÊNÇÃO!!!!!!! I love this area and did not want to be transferred, but as I mentioned, I did need a change and was prepared for whatever the Lord had in store for me. So, now I'm here in Vista Verde with Sister Gubler. She's from Las Vegas...yeah, it's a surprise that President put two Americans together (of the 17 Sisters in the mish, only 6 are Americans), but I'm super stoked about it. We are working super hard, walking way more than last transfer, and my comp is awesome. I love her so much! We have a ton of fun together, but we also work hard together. She's got 5 months left in the mish, but is still just as motivated as anyone at the beginning. So we are working hard. My body is aching, but it feels SO GOOD to be working hard again! So so good. so expect some blessings, cuz I have complete faith in the promise that the Lord blesses the families of the missionaries. This is a fact.
Other things of note. this week was crazy. We were trying to decide on a specific area, so that meant a lot of walking, which lost a lot of time. But it's worth it, cuz now we know where we will work. And our ward is excited again to have a new sister, though for some the switch has been difficult. Anyway, we found a bunch of less actives that we visited and talked with, and I have hopes for them to return, though I can only do so much. There are some things I hear (okay, a lot of things) that I wil never understand. I go crazy. well not crazy....bah, forget it. haha. But sometimes, some of the excuses we hear are pretty funny. Yes, I am keeping a list of them!

This week, it ended up that we talked a LOT about prophets! With members, with less actives, with investigators, with people in the street. Then I remembered that we have general conference in a couple weeks...I am so stoked!!!!! We are so blessed to have a living prophet, and to have the opportunity to hear from him frequently. I can't imagine living during the apostasy....a time of darkness, without direction, without any sort of guidance. We are so blessed to be living here and now.
Other things of note this week. Friday, September 10, marked 10 years since my baptism. And we celebrated with pizza, and pão de queijo. And it was great. I think it's pretty cool that I celebrated 10 years of being a member of the church on my mission!!! Last night, we made crumb cake. This is why I'm getting fat.

Here's a cool story. on....I think thursday....we were looking for a member on the member list, who is inactive. We showed up at his house, but he was not there. The lady who lives behind him, Jil, came out to tell us he was working or something, so we introduced ourselves to her, and then SHE asked US if we wanted to come in and talk to her! So we did. We taught her the first lesson, and during it, we talked a lot about a change of heart. because she told us she's been searching for something more. She wants this change of heart, and feels like she is really missing something in her life. So we are going to work with her. But she was such a blessing in our week!
Another quick story. I talked with some women at a bus stop earlier this week, and noted their addresses, and said I'd pass it on to the Elders who have her neighborhood in their area (cuz she lives out of our area). She was with her mother-in-law, but the mother in law didn't want to give us her address. SOOOO....in the end, on Sunday, we were walking to lunch, and ran into the mother-in-law, and she asked us if we'd passed on the address yet, and I said no, cuz I honestly just forgot. So I called our District Leader that afternoon and gave him the address and I'm hoping something will come of that. But it was cool, cuz when she asked me if I remembered her, I had no idea who she was...until she started talking about her daughter-in-law. Haha.
So, funny story for the week. saturday night, I put our hammock in the laundry machine. Our laundry machine is outside of our house, under a little roof. I checked on it when I went to bed, and it still had some time, so I figured I'd just hang it in the morning on Sunday. Sunday morning, when we left to go to church, we looked in the direction of the machine, and there was water EVERYWHERE....there was water spurting out of the faucet. I ran and turned that off, and saw that our transformer (maybe converter....who knows the names of these things in english) was sitting in a huge pool of water in the sink. Uh oh....so i unplugged it, turned off the water, and then saw that the laundry machine was turned around, with the front facing the wall...i have NO IDEA what happened! In the end, we dumped the water out of our transformer, and set it in the sun to dry...maybe not the best idea, but what else would we do?! It wasn't even ours; it belongs to our neighbr. Anyway, last night, we summed up the courage to try and plug in our formerly soaking wet electrical device....and try again. i was afraid that we had fried our laundry machine, which would be REALLY bad, since it's basically brand new. In the end, it worked just fine! Without any problem! Miracles happen. :)

So...have a great week everyone! Also, my English sucks, and writing this email was incredibly difficult. HOORAY!

I love you!!!!!

Love,
Karen/Sister Ogden

6 Months and I'm Still Alive!!

2010-09-06T10:51:00.025-04:00

Well my dears,

Yesterday marked 6 months in the mish for me. I've been in Brazil for 6 months. If I were an Elder, I would've burned a tie. But since I am a sister and I only have one tie, I didn't burn it. Also, it means that 1/3 of my mission is already gone. So you want the news of the week? Well, today (in 3 or 4 hours) we will find out who will be transferred, who will stay, etc. I'm really anxious, as usual, but I'm praying I will stay here in Vista Verde. I love this area more than words can describe, and this ward is a part of me. I don't want to change just yet...there is so much potential here, and I want to see this area really blossom. I have a sinking feeling though, that I'm gonna leave. But I know nothing about these things, so who knows really. Just President and the Assistants right now. It's interesting, because we don't have interviews with President anymore, so the transfers depend on the Zone Leaders...fortunately I am good friends with my Zone Leaders, so they (at least one of them, anyway) know my challenges here and good things. Anyway, whatever will happen will be interesting, that's for sure.

As for other things....We worked hard this week, and we had a division with two women in a ward that our District Leader has. They are both 21 and waiting for their mission calls, so we did a division with them on Wednesday. We knocked doors for 3 hours, and ended up teaching, between the two companionships we made, 17 lessons. It was fantastic! Also, we received a reference this week from our LZs, from a recent convert they have. We visited them on Saturday, and the situation is a little more complicated than we'd anticipated, but I have hope for them. But they live in the middle of nowhere. Real country folk. In fact, while we were looking for their street, a couple horses were loose and began to run behind us on the street. That was funny.

We had a ward activity this week, on Tuesday, which is called "Terça-chick". I think I may have already explained this to you, but it is basically a ward Family Home Evening night. We went to that, and it was all about missionary work. The lesson, and the game too. The game/activity was how to make contacts and give out passalong cards. This ward rocks. Seriously. We get so many media references from people who hand out passalong cards here. So keep up with the missionary work at home. Invite the people you know to church, to activities, and to talk with the missionaries. Passalong cards work...people really do call. So just keep up with faith, and be a missionary in all you do. The first and most important thing is in your example. People will see that you are different, that you have a light that those around you don't have. So just remember to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places, and pray for missionary opportunities and for the courage to talk about the Gospel with those around you. It is part of our baptismal covenant, and a commandment from the Lord. This church does not exist without missionary work. It is a natural result of having the gospel in your life...cuz when you have something so good, you naturally want to share it with those around you.

As for a bunch of random things....There were a bunch of wildfires we saw this week. It's interesting, cuz fires just happen here. There's no wood or anything, but there is always a bonfire, or a wildfire. And no one seems to do anything about it, which is also interesting. We were at a bus stop near one, waiting for an investigator, and we were there long enough to see the small fire burn itself out. Also, I saw a garbage truck last week...that's not the momentous part. The momentous part is that it was towing a little plastic car behind it. I laughed so hard at that! I wanted to take a picture, but didn't get my camera out fast enough. Last random thing....I heard Rascal Flatts on Saturday, and then saw a couple country dancing in a bar as we walked past.

Hey, so I talked with one of our Zone Leaders recently, Elder Nóbrega. I asked him if my Portuguese has improved in this transfer. Cuz I know him since I got here in the field, so he's seen me from basically before I could say "tudo bem" until now. Anyway, I asked him, because I honestly can't see improvement anymore, and it gets frustrating sometimes. But he told me that yes, my Portuguese has improved greatly in these last 6 weeks. Que bênção! But really, it's only with the help of the Lord that this is happening. That I am speaking this foreign language, that I am teaching, that I am still here. Hah. But y'all know I am not a quitter. I've become even less of one since I got here. It's interesting the things you learn on the mission. I've learned a lot about myself...a lot about who I really am, my strengths, my weaknesses, things i need to improve, and what my future holds. My priorities have changed, and I have a better idea of what I want to do with my life after the mission. Even that has changed a little. It's interesting.
I want to go to the temple, so badly. I miss it. This is the longest I've gone, since November, without the temple. We are so blessed to have temples so close to home at home. Take advantage of that. Don't forget the blessing that it is, because here, there are not temples near to everyone. My comp, for example, lives in Belém. The closest temple to her, right now, is Recife. Look at a map, and you will see how far it is. The one that is being built in Manaus right now will be closer after it is finished, so she is really excited for that. Anyway, my point is, that the temple is a blessing, and I miss being able to go readily. I'm about 2 hours by bus out of São Paulo. Probably another hour to get to the temple. Plus I can't just go whenever I want. Haha.
Welp, 6 months and I'm still here. Less than a year left. Crazy. Live your life day by day, and "seize the day" cuz, it passes by rapidly. Don't put off something that you want to do...just do it. We only have one life on earth. Do all that you need to, all that you know is right. And work hard, always improving.
Love,
Karen

Have You Ever Eaten Bananas Fresh Off the Tree?

2010-08-30T09:27:00.024-04:00

Querida família minha,
Estou aqui....pensando em Português...normal....pois é.
Hey, so I don't actually have a ton to write. Ana flávia was confirmed yesterday (WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!), and we taught a bunch of lessons and all...it's chill. I had a division this week which was really good. I learned that when people trust me and have confidence in me, I have a lot more in myself too. also, I got into an argument with a couple women from the Assembleia de Deus. That was entertaining, up to a point. anyway, the division was good. We ate pizza in the end. :)

Transfers are coming up, and I'm anxious. I want to stay here in Vista Verde...this area has so much potential. I want to stay here, but I'm also ready for a change. so...I'm just trusting in the Lord because he truly knows what is best. I'm at the point where I'm just looking for things to learn from the hard situations, because there's nothing I can do about them. But it's a part of the mission...haha. I have been studying a lot about charity this past week. It helps. :) I learned that when we can feel God's love for us, it is easier to love others. that is so true! Also, we are never alone, even when we feel more alone than at any oher point in life. We just need to keep pressing forward with faith, knowing that we aren't alone, and we are doing our best.

We had training with President last week. It was awesome. First, I got a TON of mail that has been stacking up in the office for weeks, while I've been here. Thanks everyone who is writing to me!!! It only takes so long to get back to you all because I am in the middle of nowhere, and it takes a while for my mail to get to me, and then longer to respond, because we don't have a post office. So I sometimes send stuff with my Zone Leaders, who have a post office. But even that just depends on their time. (hey I just looked out the window and saw a guy riding a horse down the street). Anyway, training itself was fantastic. President is awesome...I have so much to learn from him! And I have so much to improve in the mission and as a missionary and as a person in general. It is great. Haha. also, I had the opportunity to translate some videos from english to portuguese for a couple sisters sitting near me...that was hard. And interesting. Especially when people use huge words I don't know in portuguese. I learned about translating by meaning. :) Haha, but it was a good experience. First time I've had to translate on the mission. Also...we talking about prayer, the importance of having our investigators pray, and how to improve in everything we do. I have so far to go, but I'm up for the challenge! I know that as i do my best, the Lord will fill in the gaps.

What else...........welp, just a bunch of randoom stuff now. First of all.......we had some fun run-ins with a drunk this weekend. It was actually hilarious. I think he had no idea what he was saying. So...we invited him to church. :) Funny stuff. Finally, y'all need to look up vitor e leo. I love this music. yes, I will be bringing some home.
Sorry this email is shorter than most, and without a ton of detail. Like I said...life is moving on, we are working, but there isn't a ton to report. :) I love you all. Thanks for everything. I am answering all your letters, as usual. It's just taking longer now. :) You're great...thanks for the support, love, and prayers. Know I'm praying for all of you too!
Love,
Karen

Sometimes I Find Empty Cups in the Fridge

2010-08-23T08:51:00.012-04:00

Hey everyone.

So my week was normal. Walking in the sun on the dirt roads through cow pastures and teaching sometimes too. This week....okay, so it was insane, and I'm wicked tired and don't have time to catch up on sleep (no pday this week), but somehow I'm still alive, though it's a struggle. Sheesh. We were teaching Ania, who we met last weekend, every night at 9:30, getting home around 11 or 11:30. Yes, we had permission. But she lives kinda far from our house (at least, it seems ridiculously far at 11pm). We taught her at this hour because that's when she gets home from work. but in the end...she was baptized yesterday! WoohOOOOOOO!!!!
Second...our Zone Leaderss came to our area a couple times. once, to teach Brendon with us, and the second time to interview Ania saturday night at 10pm. Hah. It was a party. Anyway, I decided it's a really good thing to have friends in the mish.

Third...I have a family here. Literally, I call this irmã minha mãe. And she calls me her "filha branca"....white daughter. It rocks! She made us a torta holandeisa....sooooooooo good. One of the best things i have ever eaten in my life.

Fourth...we dropped Brendon. he went to church yesterday with his friend Vanessa (long story.....but not a fan of her), and he tried to hug me, and that was actually pretty hilarious. But in the end, he wants nothing to do with the church. He only got started there because of Vanessa. So that's too bad. But we can't waste a lot of time with someone who wants nothing, y'know? We found some other awesome people this week, who I want to work with until their baptisms. We even found an inactive family, and the mother returned to church yesterday which made my day!
Néia, minha mãe, is awesome and always gives us references to her neighbors, and she teaches with us too. hey, sorry my english is weird...I know the names for some of these missionary terms in portuguese, but literally don't know them in english. Also, this week I got really frustrated with the language. i need help or something, cuz it seems like I'm doing everything I can, but still i can't see progress in myself. I'm trying to remember though that it's harder to see progress in yourself than in others. Hah.

Welp, it was an interesting week, ending with a baptism, which was a miracle and a blessing. Sorry this email is so short...there isn't much else to report this week.

I love you all! Remember to have charity, cuz it makes a huge difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. It's something I try to work on every day.

Love,
Karen

I Think I have a Complex of Some Sort

2010-08-16T09:11:00.002-04:00

Hello North America!
So this week was insane. I'm learning there's really no such thing as "normal" on the mish. It was a mixture of laughing my head off and crying to the Lord for His help in this work. This area....nossa, carumba....precisamos BATISMOS!!!!!!! We had one baptism scheduled for Sunday, and Brendon (who the Elders taught before we got here, and he had an interview and all, just never was baptized) had an interview with our District Leader on Saturday, passed, and was excited for his baptism on Sunday. Well, Sunday morning, we walked the 30 minutes to his house (including mountain climbing through a cow pasture), then stood at his gate and yelled and clapped and made his dogs bark, but still he didn't wake up. WE stayed there half an hour, but then eventually had to leave and get other investigators. In the end, NO ONE (again....4th week in a row for me) was at church! I'm trying not to let it get to me, but if you served a mission, you know that Sunday is when you see how your work through the week went. And when no one shows up for Church, it just looks like we goof around all the time and do nothing in this area. It's frustrating. Anyway, so Brendan didn't show. To make a LONG story short, our Zone Leaders didn't take no for an answer, sending us to his house after church (we only caught sacrament meeting at church this week) to talk him into baptism. Problem: bishop wouldn't let us baptize him without him being at church. Understandable. Anyway, it was a ridiculously complicated situation which I wont rehash (I'll get frustrated again and really....good things happened this week:) ), but in the end, he wasn't baptized and his mother said he can't be. Well, we'll talk to her. And get that all worked out. I don't think she will be much of a problem.
Saturday we had lunch with a Jehovah's Witness. She and I talked about the Book of Mormon. And yep, she's reading it. Then yesterday morning while we were walking to church after being rejected by our investigators, there were a lot of them in that neighborhood, and it was funny to say all smiles "bom dia!!!" to them, as they were just eyeing us. Haha. Oh funny stuff! Another random thought...I heard some Italian and Spanish on Saturday...and miraculously understood a good chunk of it. It'll be interesting after the mish to hear these languages and hopefully understand them! That would be so cool!
Well. Of course this week was full of the usual miracles. I had some really good scripture studies this week, and learned a lot ot things on a new level that I'd never learned before. I'm feeling today a severe lack of the Temple and want so badly to go back. But....who knows when I'll get to go again. It's all good. Anyway, I studied a bit about the Spirit World and the House of Israel and Christ as our light. It's some pretty good stuff! Also, I found some pretty funny scriptures....this is how I feel when I get mail: Proverbs 25:25; and when no one writes to me, this is how I feel: Job 19:14. Hah. Now you know.

We had another zone meeting last week, and our Zone Leaders told us about the changes that are taking place in the mission. Basically, everything is changing. And I love it. We are going to have some pretty intense trainings with President Moreira every month, which I am excited about. We don't have interviews (bummer) except for 3 or 4 times a year, and our zone conferences are cut back too. But it's okay. I know President is following orders of Salt Lake, and I know that our leaders really are following the counsel of the Lord. This is how we are going to become better misionaries....and goodness, I need to become better!
Last couple things. We got a new Ward Mission Leader in the ward this week, and he has some great plans to put the ward missionaries to work...knocking doors, making contacts, finding references. We teach just about every day with a member, which is awesome. Most of our investigators (we still don't have a ton) are references and friends of members. It is great. They already have a support system in the church with helps them feel the truth of things. We aren't seeing baptisms yet, but I have faith that we will soon. I'm learning a lot lately about perfect faith, and really trusting completely in the Lord...not just partially, but COMPLETELY. It is necessary.
Random things: I learned how to say the word "otorrinolaringolagistas"...haha, even my brazilian comp can't say it! I love word games and word challenges. :) AND...I made brownies last week, which were delicious. Too bad I gave them all away. Maybe I'll make more today. I miss cheesecake though. Haha.
Welp, gotta run. Time is ticking by, and I still have a couple other emails to send. Thanks, as always, for the support and love. Remember that you're never alone. Even with people all around, it can be easy to feel alone. But you never are. The Lord is always by our side, and we are never, never, never alone. Truly KNOWING this, you'll never feel alone.

I love you!!
Karen

I Successfully Avoided Eating Pig Feet this Week!

2010-08-09T12:32:00.000-04:00

Hello out there in the land of...well, not missionary life!
First of all, this email will be random...well, I guess they all are. But hey. Maybe more random than usual. Our week was like that. Still we've got really no investigators, but this week we are going to work even harder. As of now, I've been at church 3 weeks in a row without new investigators. But we are still working hard. I learned a few things this week, as I tried hard to be a perfectionist and got bummed when I fell short. I learned that it isn't about perfection on the mish; it's about honestly doing my best and the Lord will fill in the gaps. And that knowledge has made me a lot happier and less stressed as I just try to do my part and not worry so much about being burned by our leaders at district meetings. We have really good leaders too, which helps.

Also, I told you our area is huge, right? Well, it's so huge that we walked to Argentina this week. For real. Hah! There's a section of the area that has streets with the names of all the countries in the Americas. I got a photo of me in the USA... :) We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked....this entire week. Remember that primary song about the pioneers walking (até o pó)? Well, I know how that is now...hahaha.
Finally near the end of the week, we got to teach people in their houses. Just a couple. But they let us in! That's a miracle. The people here aren't very receptive to us...yet. But I'm trying to figure out how I can improve in approaching people and making contacts and all that, because clearly I am not perfect and there's room for improvement, and I think with improvement, more lessons will follow. This opening an area thing is definitely a learning experience! And this week, we have sisters in the RS walking with us every day except Wednesday, to teach with us. That's helpful!
Some funny experiences...drunk Brazilians talking to an American can be pretty funny. I heard some good questions...like "in the US, do you have the Book of Mormon in English?" And I also heard that science proves that the Bible is full of stories for children, made up tales, and that Christ taught in parables because he really wasn't that smart...or something like that. It really didn't make sense. I let my comp just talk with him, because I have some pretty strong feelings on the subject of science and religion (obviously and understandably). Also, the other day, the phone rang and I answered, and it was one of our Zone Leaders, and he got all confused and didn't know who was talking right away, thinking I was my comp...weird. He said I was talking without an accent. Well, that only lasted for a few seconds. I'm pretty sure it was that very night that some people were laughing in my face at my accent. Don't worry, they were kids, not adults. Hahaha oh man. Good times. :) Finally...I made popcorn, and it reminded me of the good old days at home, watching movies and eating popcorn. AND...Oh wait, more funny stories. We ate lunch with a lady on Saturday who had a million of the men in the ward there working on the house, and one of the brothers there was from a different ward, and he started talking ot me and said "you only have 5 months in the mission, right?" and that was funny, since I'd never even seen him before in my life, let alone told him that. He told me the missionaries in his ward had told him about me and my apparently incredible portuguese for only 5 months. Hahaha. I had a good laugh at that! Also, we found some more cockroaches in our house...last night, it was in our bedroom. So...I smashed it. :) And now, finally. There's a cowboy here who rides his horse down one particular street (complete with cowboy hat and everything), so we've seen him a few times. One of these days, when I get home, I'm gonna learn to ride a horse.

Yesterday in church, a lot of the lessons/talks were about the Word of Wisdom. It got me thinking. The Word of Wisdom doesn't only prohibit 5 things, but it also encourages us to make wise decisions in what we DO eat, and to exercise regularly, and do everything we can to keep our bodies in tip-top shape. Because really, our bodies are gifts from the Lord. We are blessed to have the opportunity to live here on the earth, with our bodies, and to become more like our Heavenly Father each day. So, now I'm trying my best to remember that each day. It's easy to eat way too much here, as everyone says "come mais, sister!" But...I don't want to get home fat. I already have gained weight (not a lot, clearly). But hey, that's not the point. The point is that I want to remain healthy and respect the body/temple that I have been given. In all respects, not just in eating and exercising. Nossa, we are so blessed!

As always, thanks for your support, letters, emails, prayers, smiles, thoughts, and everything else y'all are always doing for me. I love you!!!!!
Love,
Karen
PS...breakthrough news: I sang by myself. I'm serious.

This Morning When I Brushed my Teeth, the Tiolet Coughed

2010-08-02T08:59:00.000-04:00

Hello out there!

So first you're probably all dying to know what happened with transfers...if you even remember that transfers were last week. So I may as well tell you, or the rest of this email will make no sense whatsoever. So Monday night, we were teaching Talita, our investigator who is a reference of Mauro, and a lawyer. She rocks. She will be baptized, I think. Anyway, after we wrapped up there, we were just leaving her office, when the call came from our LD. Anyway...Sister Frame was to stay in Vila Industrial for a fourth transfer, and I was being shipped off to the middle of nowhere, to a place called Vista Verde, with Sister Sodré as my comp. We would be opening the area. FREAK. Anyway, then I found out that Elder Lopes, our friend who was in the office, is in my zone. And my good friend Elder Nóbrega is my Zone Leader! So, that's how it went down.

Tuesday was transfers. After running around Monday night trying to visit and say goodbye to a ton of people, Tuesday I left the city. Literally. Here I am in the middle of nowhere with cows and horses, and grass and ocassional trees, and dirt roads and empty spaces, and chickens and all kinds of farm animals and nothingness. And I love it! I love being out of the city! This is an answer to a prayer.
But it gets even better. So the Elders were ET-ed out of this area about 3 weeks before transfers, so we were opening the area from an area of Elders. Our house was in a lovely state of disarray when we arrived, so we had to deal with that mess, as well as the lack of information in the area book. So we're in a way starting all from scratch. I'm excited to be here, with this new responsibility. And so is the ward. Holy cow, this ward is SO HAPPY to have us here! The bishop told us we are answers to his prayers. Also, we are the first sisters to ever be in this area, and yesterday at testimony meeting, everyone bore testimony of missionary work and how the ward is going to split now with sisters here working harder than ever. They have really high hopes for us, and I really want to live up to them. We were greeted last Tuesday a bunch of times by visitors stopping at our house, people from the ward who'd heard that we'd arrived. It's a blessing to have the ward so supportive of the missionary work, because it will go forward at a rapid pace with this kind of support.
We also discovered that there are a bunch of inactive recent converts, which makes it appear as though the baptisms in this area were just numbers for some people. So, in effect, we are cleaning up a mess left behind. Again, thank heavens for the support from the ward. It's so great. I love this area already, and the people are wonderful. The work will move forward, and this ward will split...at least, that's my goal. They have specific plans and numbers they need to achieve for this to happen, which helps us a lot. This area is ENORMOUS...like 3 times the size of Vila Industrial. No shade, so the sun gets really hot. I have no idea how I'm going to deal with summer here, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

And it gets EVEN BETTER....remember our investigator, Mauro, back in Vila Industrial, and how we were waiting for his baptism? Well, Elder Shaw, the exectuve secretary, called me this week to let me know that hes going to be baptized! I got so excited! I am so sad I won't be there to see it (and there's no way for me to get there...I'm practically at the other end of the mission), but so happy that he's finally going to be baptized! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other things of note....there's a girl in this ward, Silvinha, who is 19 years old and reminds me of myself at the same age. She loves missionary work, wants to be a missionary, and loves the missionaries. She taught with us all day on Saturday, which was great. She's really enthusiastic, which is fantastic. 2 years from now, she'll be a great missionary! Also, we have a coca-cola factory in our area. Cool, huh! And we are like heros to the kids of the ward; it's really cute.

So, I know this email is lacking a ton of detail, but just know that I am really happy. Change is good, and this transfer has already brought with it a ton of answered prayers. I know the Lord truly knows us, and knows what we need, and He always is there to help us. When He asks us to do something, He always gives us a way to do it....for example, I speak Portuguese (mais ou menos). I was thinking about this this week as I was talking with Elder Pickett, one of our Zone Leaders, and Elder G. Silva, our District Leader....both of them, and other missionaries too, have asked how I am speaking so well for only having 5 months in the mission. First of all, I don't feel like I speak all that well, and I could be a lot better. But I am learning patience with myself. Anyway, I was thinking about that, and realized that I can't in any way credit myself with this. It is only because of the Lord, and the gift of tongues, that I am doing this. So yep...the Lord truly knows us. Never doubt anything with Him, because He is all-powerful and literally will help you do something that may seem impossible.

Hey, so other random things. Cockroaches here are enormous. :) And yet I'm still alive.....though not a fan of our house at night. We've found and smashed 3 roaches already, yesterday and Saturday night. What fun. Yuck. Also, our toilet is broken. Hahaha, we took like 2 days to clean the house, because it was so ridiculous. There was food still on the stove and table, as well as trash and junk all over the place. Our trash heap on Saturday was enormous, but now our house is clean, livable, and the Spirit is there again. :) Now, it's a Sisters' house. :)
Well, time to wrap things up.

Love you!
Karen

Friar Tuck Rides the Bus too...

2010-07-26T07:26:00.000-04:00

So today has kind of a melancholy note to it....transfers are tomorrow, and 5 hours from now, I'll find out where I'm going, if I'm staying with Sister Frame, or if she is going somewhere. Or if the area is closing. I'd cry if that happened. I don't think that's very likely though.
Anyway, so this last week was completely destroyed. Literally every appointment (except maybe 2 or 3) fell through. So we spent a lot of time running around, and then didn't have any new investigators in church yesterday, even though we have some great new ones. We taught some friends of Mauro (remember him?), who are FANTASTIC and so prepared. It's amazing to see how the Lord truly prepares people to hear the gospel. We also taught Claudimere a few times at 9:30am., which destroys our study time, but it's the only time he has. So that's been intersting.

Also, remember zone conference last week? I think I forgot to mention that at the beginning, there are always a couple on-the-spot short talks, where no one knows ahead of time that they'll be giving them...so when my name was called to talk about bearing testimony in our lessons, I was surprised. So...I talked. I still have no idea what I said, or how I said it, or anything. Except I do kknow that after all that, I forgot to bear my own testimony. Hahahaha. Sister Frame and I had a good laugh about that. Anyway, since zone conference, we've been stressing a lot more the second lesson, about the Plan of Salvation. It works miracles. This is the truth the gospel has, and we are so blessed to know this. This plan of God is perfect, and brings hope and happiness. So we've been teaching that like mad lately. And it's awesome.

We had a crazy district meeting last week. Last district meetings of every transfer tend to be a lot more casual and way more fun, and we took a bunch of pictures. Other small random things: I've taken up poetry-writing again, which is fun, and exercises my brain (not that it's just sitting around...I'm learning a new language, for goodness sake!). I've also taken to telling stories to learn Portuguese. A few times last week, I picked some stories from my life that I told to Sister Frame and Elder Lopes, but I had to learn a bunch of words to tell them. That was awesome. Because using the words that I learn helps them stick in my brain. Also, I'm addicted to food. i'll have to remedy that before I get home. Haha.

There are always two sides to every story, and often we hear both sides and are in the middle of some drama and hodge-podge. It's pretty rad....hah. But I have learned that despite all we hear about and from people, we need to see them the way Heavenly Father does, and not judge them. That has become something easy for me; not judging people. This is great, because for years it was something I struggled with, and has only become easier as I've learend to see people through the eyes of Christ, and really act on this. Because God never gives up on people, even in the pit of despair. I can't either. Everyone deserves a chance to change through the Atonement and become a better person. Actually, I hate that word "deserve" in this sense....everyone HAS the chance to change.
Finally, the big event of the week was doing something that was on my bucket list, something I've wanted to do for YEARS. Know the program "Mãos que Ajudam"? I think in the USA it is Helping Hands or something. The program the church has to help clean up after distasters, with the yellow vests and all. Anyway, here it is Mãos que Ajudam, and it is not just for distasters. There was a service project this weekend for our stake, with this program, cleaning up and reforming two schools in Moóca. We thought we couldn't go, because it's out of our area, but found out Saturday morning that we could...so we went! We wore regular clothes (let me tell you, THAT was weird), and helped paint a gate blue. And we painted the gate...and each other! S. Frame and I were there with four other missionaries, Sister Hall and Sister Freitas, as well as Elder Lopes and Elder Arndt, two of the secretaries. And I learned that the paint we used is impossible to get off...without paint thinner. For the first time in my life, I washed my hands and arms in paint thinner. :) But overall, it was a fantastic day, and I finally got to be a part of this program, even for just a few hours.

Well, my spiritual thought for today comes from 1 Nephi 18:3, which talks about Nephi going to the mountain often to pray, and because of this, the Lord did great things in his life. The mountain, in the scriptures, signifies the Temple. But we don't need to go to the Temple to pray. We can pray any time, anywhere. And really pray...converse with the Lord. Have faith. And you will see the hand of the Lord in your life, and how much He blesses you. Because of your prayers, He will do marvelous things in your life. Prayer is such a simple principle, and so often overlooked. It's something I've really been thinking about lately, this month entirely, I think.
Anywayyyyyyyy, I love you all! As usual, I love you all, and of course you're still in my prayers. I enjoy getting letters from you. Thanks for the support. I'm so blessed to have you.
Love,
Karen

Remember that Part of Gilmore Girls where Paris Had a "Life Coach?"

2010-07-19T05:53:00.000-04:00

We are the life coaches here. Woohoo.
This week was insane. There's no other word for it. I felt all kinds of things, from pure frustration to joy like none other. I guess that's a part of this work though. So, let me tell you some things. :)

We had a ton of rain this week. This was good, seeing as the city hasn't had rain in like a month. So it rained, and we walked aroudn in the rain and got drenched and got filthy. And know how I love the rain at home? Here, it is horrible. There is not even the nice smell that I like, and there are rivers of dirt and waterfalls of filth running down the street. I always heard about the water that runs down the streets here during the rain, and I was reminded again of that this week. But you reach a point when it doesn't even matter, because you are wet and dirty, so all is good. :) The only unfortunate part of the rain is that no one opens the door to you, and no one is in the street with whom you can talk.

Anyway, so it rained. We also had zone conference, which of course was awesome and the power boost that we all needed. Our mission is changing, but I'm not sure what kinds of changes will come...President just said that everything is changing, per order of Salt Lake. Speaking of Salt Lake, they changed the dress code for the sisters, so now we don't have to wear skirts that are 900 miles long, and we don't have to wear nylons and we can wear any colors we want. WOOHOO! Haha.

Also, almost every single lesson we had this week fell through. I'm not kidding. We spent so much time walking to lessons where people didn't show up, or cancelled last minute. BUT...on Tuesday, we talked with Regina, and she told us she wanted to be baptized, so we basically jumped up and down in the street when we heard that! So we got that all set up, visited her on Wednesday evening, and she was 100% different...all smiles, happy to see us, attentive, and telling all her friends about her baptism. So she had her interview on Friday night, and passed and was so excited! Saturday night was her baptism, and let me tell you about that. We had some investigators there, which was awesome, because the Spirit was so stroing. There is something about baptisms that I can't describe. I get a feeling here...like a joy exploding out of my heart, a warmth like none other. This joy comes from watching someone I love take the next big step on the path of life, the only way to the Celestial Kingdom. I have been to a million baptisms before the mission, and only ever felt this at a couple...Dan's and my own. And at these baptisms here, I think because I was a small part of it, I feel this. And all I can do is smile. Smile big. And Regina's baptism was a lot like Dan's, completely run by the youth. So it was even more awesome. She was confirmed yestrday. Have I ever mentioned that every baptism is like a trophy after a fight with Satan? Because when someone is about to take this step, everything that can go wrong, does. Our days when we have baptisms are destroyed...Our Saturday this week was 100% destroyed. Every single appointment fell through, and we were stressed out of our minds trying to get everything in order for her baptism, and for Felipe's.

Let me tell you now about Felipe's baptism. In the end, it didn't end up happening. He was excited about it on Monday night, but then every other appointment we had set up with them during the week fell through. So we didn't see him again until Saturday night, right before his interview with Elder Jewett. And he didn't look happy and didn't want to be baptized. But after his interview, he was excited! And he stayed for Regina's baptism, which was good, and then hung out with the youth. He's 13, which is important to remember for the story of this weekend. Yesterday , he was to be baptized after church. But neither he nor Eliane showed up for the first hour of church (we have church backwards, so sacrament is last.). We called Eliane probably 25 times, but she never answered. SO we hitched a ride from a member of the bishopric to her house, and talked with her there. She told us that Felipe decided he didn't want to be baptized, and she didn't want to go to church alone. She told us that he was at the big church a block from their house. SO....yes, Sister Frame and I went there to get him. He was standing at the back, by the door, and saw us, and came running to talk to us. He looked so sad, on the verge of tears, not knowing what to do. He told us he'd felt pressured to be baptized, and didn't want to. In the end, we spent about 10-15 minutes talking with him on the steps of that church, with nuns staring us down and everything, and this poor kid confused out of his mind. IN that moment, I had a glimpse of what young Joseph Smith went through, with everyone telling him different things, and him just wanting to know the truth. He finally decided to come with us, and we taught him during sacrament meeting, through passing notes and pointing out scriptures. He decided he wanted to wait a week, to make sure this is really what he wants. It was certainly an interesting day, yesterday...missing church to go get someone from another church!
What else. We ate at a churrascaria on Tuesday...I LOVE those. Yes, I love fried bananas. Tons of miracles happen in this work, but only after the trial of our faith, as Moroni teaches in Ether 12:6. Our Reginaldo, Regina's father, is getting better, but he's still got a ways to go. He will be baptized some day...he already knows he needs to change, and wants to. It's wonderful to watch as people change their lives. And to be a tool in the Lord's hands is humbling.
So, just to end...Catholic roots run deep. This country is very Catholic, and I have a profound respect for the Catholic church. It is a good church, teaching people to be good people, and honestly preparing them to hear the restored gospel. I was thinking this on the steps of the church yesterday, as I heard the Mass going on in the background and we were trying to convince Felipe to come with us. I have deep catholic roots, even after 10 years of being in the Church of Jesus Christ. Interesting.
Well, I need to go now. I hope this week is better than the last, and we need two more baptisms next weekend to meet our goal of 4 this month. And we've got potentials. As always, thanks for your continued prayers and support. I love you. I know Brazil is where I need to be, but of course I haven't forgotten my family or friends at home.

Love,
Karen

Yesterday in Relief Society we Sang "Ye Elders of Israel."

2010-07-12T06:09:00.000-04:00

Oi queridos!

Funny story. I was writing a letter last night, in English, but everything I wanted to say sounded better in Portuguese. So the letter ended up sounding ridiculous. Haha. Oh well. Just give me a few minutes to get used to English again, and maybe this email will make some sense. :)

Okay so NOW my quick overview. We taught a bunch of lessons, invited a ton of people to be baptized, walked even more than not, and slept a little. Oh and ate a ton cuz that's what we do. :) Monday, we had FHE with José, who is a member of the church, but his family is not. We taught his wife the first lesson, even though she had no interest, and invited her to pray about it. We've followed up with her a bunch of times, and though she says she's prayed, she also says she's felt nothing. This is why we need to pray with faith, and really want to know the truth and receive answers. She's a good woman; I hope some day her heart softens and she sees the truth that is literally sitting in her home. Tuesday we taught Cristina again, and invited her to be baptized this coming weekend. She's a challenge, but she's starting to act on her faith now and pray for answers, though still feels like she needs to know everything before she can take the plunge. Wednesday, we visited some inactive members, and it made me so sad to see how leaving the church, you literally create for yourself a sort of hell- misery more than if you'd never found the church in the first place. Thursday we had splits, so I was in Monumento with Sister Petersen, and it was pretty good. Someone asked me if I was Italian! Hahaha. Friday, we finally taught Sonia, who showed up at church a couple weeks ago. We found out her story, and she has deep roots in another church, though they basically expelled her when she and her husband separated. So now she is looking for the truth. She is really intelligent and has a ton of questions...I love this. It shows me that people are really thinking about the message and taking it to heart, more than just nodding and smiling while we talk about something that is so important. Saturday was a wonderful day. A few lessons, but they were long lessons with more people who had a ton of questions. Dora and Marcos are Catholic and were asking about baptism, and my having been Catholic and having attended Catholic schools for 13 years is starting to come in handy! Eliane and Felipe are ust awesome. Eliane was confirmed yesterday, and just beamed afterwards. It is amazing to see people changing their lives through the gospel. On the other hand, we met a crazy man who sent us to hell with Joseph Smith....it was pretty funny, but as I thought about it, it was really sad. Satan has a grasp on this guy that would take a long time to be freed. And it showed in his eyes. I've heard the phrase that a person's eyes are a window to their soul, and it some cases, this is completely true. It makes me so sad to see people who are so far off the path and have been so blinded by lies and deception that they don't recognize truth when it is staring them in the face.
As for other things. I've been here in the field for a little over two months now, and have 4 months of the mission under my belt. And I have learned a lot of things in only a short amount of time. So here goes my list of things for y'all, though it's not comprehensive. First of all, there is power in the Book of Mormon and our testimonies. This is where people feel the Spirit. I've seen people's heart soften as they read the Book of Mormon. I've seen people cry as they hear the story of the First Vision. And I've seen happiness in people's eyes as I've born testimony of the truth of the restored gospel.
I've also learned that you can't negate answers you receive from the Lord. Doing this, you deny God, in a sense, because He answers prayers. There's a scripture that speaks very powerfully of this, in 3 Nephi 28:34-35. You have to act on the answers you receive, no matter how much it requires you to do. Because answers are blessings, and acting on them brings miracles and blessings in ways we can't imagine.
We need to have faith in ourselves, and in others. If we want to change, we need to have faith that we can do it with the Lord's help. And we need to have faith in others. Teaching people without having faith in them is fruitless. And teaching people who want to change, but their own family doesn't even have faith in them, is very difficult. We need to support the righteous desires and changes of our family. This will bring more love and unity to our homes.

The family is SO IMPORTANT. There is a reason it is the central unit of society and of the Lord's plan. Through family scripture study, prayer, and FHE, we build strong bonds within our families that cannot be broken as we continue to do these things. Even if one person doesn't want to participate, we need to do this. Because this is the foundation of te gospel in our homes. I've seen families torn apart through not doing these simple things, and it is heart-wrenching to see discord in a home that once knew love and unity.
Our examples are so important. You never know who is watching you and who is benefitting from your goodness and your knowledge of the gospel. Last week after Eliane's baptism, we were talking with Junior. He's a member, but has been less active, and it just now starting to return, as of about a month ago. He thanked us for being here in Brazil, and told us that because of us, he is returning to church. because of something we said, a thought we shared, in his home at lunch several weeks ago, he is returning. And this happens with people who are not missionaries too. It is amazing to be a part of this great work of the Lord. Our lives are all connected. It is amazing to see how the Lord uses people to help other people.
I have also learned that all I am as a missionary is a tool in the hands of the Master. I speak what and when He wants me to speak. I carry His message to the people here, but I have no converting power. This comes from the Spirit, and from my work to invite this Spirit into my life, and into lessons we teach. We always need to follow this Spirit, because without it, we have no way to live. It is powerful, and can literally save our lives...physically and spiritually.
Speaking of changing hearts...Mosiah 5:2 talks about a mighty change of heart that the people of King Benjamin had. This mighty change of heart is not just in the heart....it is in our body completely. When we have a mighty change of heart and draw nearer to the Savior, it affects our thoughts, our actions, our words, and the feelings of our heart. And we need to keep this mighty change through continually doing what we know will keep us on the strait and narrow path to Salvation.
I have learned about true love. I have learned to love this people, even in their and my weaknesses. I love the people who mock us, and mourn that they are blinded by the foolishness and craftiness of men. I love the people who truly come unto Christ through the goispel and the church. i love this people with my whole heart, in ways I can't even express. This place has become home for me. My ward here in Vila Industrial is my home for the time being.
And finally, I have learned that even the impossible is possible. I am here in Brazil, speaking Portuguese, understanding people, and watching as people change their lives, their dispositions, their hearts...so that they can know and love our Savior Jesus Christ. And because of Him, nothing is impossible. We are never alone, even in our loneliest times. He always has His arm outstretched to us, wanting us to take hold and walk with him through the passes of life.

Well, continue doing what we know is right. Continue with your faith, and continue building it even more.
Karen

Did I Ever Tell you that I Live Next to a Bar?

2010-07-05T05:50:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you about my week...one day at a time.

Last Monday after email, we went out to lunch at a tiny cheap restaurant, a bit far from our house. We spent a bunch of time there, and ended up getting back a few minutes after the soccer game had started...oops! But it was interesting, because we saw the traffic (a whole new level of insanity, if you can imagine it) right before the game as people tried to get home to watch it, and then when it started, it was completely dead on the streets. Stores were closed, there was no traffic outside our house (a really nice break!), and it was fairly quiet, except for the goals Brazil scored! :)

Tuesday....we had a district meeting. We got burned for some things that were out of our control, which can be frustrating. It was good to see our friends in the office though! Afterwards, we went to visit Praxedes, remember the one we inherited from the Elders? We've been working with her for a few weeks, but she has to make a decision, and we told her that on Tuesday. Well her decision is that she doesn't want to be baptized now. She had a dream where she will die after her baptism, so...yeah. We just told her we'll keep in touch, and to keep reading the scriptures, praying, and going to church. I pray that someday she will change her mind and recognize the importance of this ordinance.

Wednesday was crazy busy. We had appointments all over our area, and since they were appointments actually set up ahead of time, we couldn't miss them. We were running from lunch until we returned home that night. We found some references, which was good...one of them is a reference from an investigator! I love it! We also visited Eliane, and talked about her baptism, which was awesome. She was SO EXCITED, which made me that much MORE excited! We asked the questions in the interview, and she passed with flying colors! Felipe wasn't there, but we figured we'd find him at the church Thursday evening playing soccer with the youth. The interview was set up for Friday, with one of the secretaries of the mission, because our district leaders already had an appointment that night.
Thursday started early...we left our house at 9am to catch a bus to the other end of our area to find Claudimere. Remember how he never showed up for church or his appointment on Saturday? We didn't have his phone number only his address, so there was no other way to get into contact with him. So we went to his house...early, because he works at 11 (driving buses). We talked with him a while, found out why he wasn't at church, and talked about baptism, commandments, and a bunch of good stuff like that. In the end, we decided that we had to pass him to the Elders in Sapopemba, his area, because there are problems with him coming to our ward, and he alo lives about a block from the chapel in Sapopemba! So we passed him on as a reference. We also visited Maria Lucia, our dear recent convert, and she appeared happy (she's always smiling and laughing!) but as we talked, it was realized that not all is well. One of her sons has gotten into drugs, and she just started crying telling us this. I think the worst thing in the world is watching a mother cry over her children. It is terrible. So we encouraged her to continue doing what she can, and to invite him to pray with her and read the Book of Mormon together. Also, Thursday night we had a lesson with Cristina. She's difficult, because she wants to know everything before she does anything, but we can't teach her everything. Sister Frame told her that night that until she prays, we can't teach her more, because with knowledge comes responsibility. It's good that she wants to learn, but we literally can't teach her more until she does her part. Or we are responsible. Finally to end our crazy day, we got free pizza!

Friday was another soccer game, putting us inside until about 2pm. We had leftover pizza for lunch (hooray!). I also got some studying in, and some letter-writing and catching up in my journal. Unfortunately, Brazil lost against Holland, so that put them out of the World Cup. Bummer. We didn't end up teaching many lessons, but we visited a couple people. We stopped by Regina's house to visit her, but that didn't go too wonderfully. Then Brother Almeida and Elder Arndt (the secretaries) showed up to do the interview with Eliane. We got to her house....and she wasn't there. She was working. SO we rescheduled for Saturday afternoon, as her baptism was scheduled for Saturday evening. We'd already told just about everyone about this baptism!

Saturday was insane. We had lunch, and then we spent the entire afternoon with one focus, stressed out of our minds. We called Eliane in the morning to schedule an interview with our Zone Leaders, but she told us she wanted to wait a little longer. So we went to her house after lunch, talked with her about being baptized on Saturday evening. But still she wanted to wait. Meanwhile, our Zone Leaders kept calling to find out when the interview was. It ended up that Elder Lee, one of our Zone Leaders, and Elder Robinson, one of the Assistants of the mission, just headed to our area without an appointment. So we went to meet them at the bus stop, and they got there around...5:40 or so. The baptism was scheduled for 7pm. We were in contact with our LMA (ward mision leader), keeping him updated on the situation. Long story short, Elder Robinson interview Eliane, which took a while, but she decided to be baptized on Sunday after church. Elder Lee interviewed Felipe, her son, and he said he wanted to go to Young Mens at church, before he made a decision. SO the papers were signed, and all was well...mostly. We literally just went straight home after this, as it was pretty late. Sister Frame and I were stressed out of our minds.
Sunday was FANTASTIC!!! We got Eliane for church, and she was super excited about her baptism, though I was worrying until she was under the water that she'd back out at any second. Her baptism was after church, though Felipe never showed up for church, which was unfortunate, so his baptism did not happen. Anyway, a bunch of people stayed after church to watch, which was great to have support for her. She was BEAMING. The guy who baptized her, Tiago, is a fairly recent convert, and this was his first baptism too, so it was fantastic. And...I gave the talk before the baptism itself! In Portuguese! WHOA.... :) And best of all, people understood me! Haha this is progress. :) And to make our day even better, we had watermelon for dessert after lunch, at the bishop's house. WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Welp, that's the wicked long update. Sorry there are no more colorful descriptions than just facts! I've got to run, as I've only got a few minutes left, and I have a few emails to answer!

I love you! Thank you for your support and prayers...it really helps knowing you are supporting me in this work. Stay strong. When you don't feel like praying, get on your knees and pray until you feel like it. It works miracles.

Love,
Karen

Shania Twain is so Old School!

2010-07-01T17:09:00.002-04:00

Helllooooooooooooo family!

As for news. First of all, last week was transfers. We spent all of Monday with the Elders in our area, because we knew there would be some changes, but didn't know exactly what. We all thought Lee Dee would be transferred out for sure, cuz he already had two transfers here. Anyway, finally the call came that evening....sure enough, there were big changes. Sister Frame and I both stayed here in Vila Industrial (WOOOHOOO!!!!!), and the other Vila Industrial area was closed, and the Elders were both transferred out. Elder Lee Dee is in the interior now, and Elder Paul is on the beach (boa sorte). So that was Monday night...then we realized that we hbasically had to combine two areas, so now we have all our investigators, and those of the Elders, which means we spend a TON of time walking, because everyone lives forever away from each other, and we aren't rich, so we can't take the bus everywhere. So...we use our lamborfeeties. However, it is wonderful. We are looking at a few potential baptisms in the next couple weeks, so keep praying for that. We have some wonderful people we are teaching now.

Second of all, I made a goal for this transfer, which I talked about with both my comp and with President last week (we had interviews). I want to be fluent in Portuguese by the time this transfer ends, 5 weeks from now. So, I'm really working on talking more, and just talking, even if I'm wrong. It's pretty good. Some people are amazed that I talk now, which is pretty funny to see. Know what else is funny? When people ask my comp about me, and if I can understand the language, and then I answer them. Haha, I actually love doing this, because sometimes it really catches them by surprise. :) I love the people here! Really though, I do. :)
So we had interviews with President last week, and it was great. It was all in Portuguese, which is good. I learned a lot about studying (truly studying) the Book of Mormon, and the scriptures in general. And I am so blessed to have Pres. Moreira as my mission president! He's fantastic. And that same day was our ZL's birthday, so S. Frame and I went with S. Moreira to get a cake for him. She's fantastic too, and really the mom of the mission.

We've survived two Brazil games of the world cup so far, and have at least two more, because Brazil won these first two. And the best part about these games it that sitting in our apartment, we know exactly what is going on, when goals are scored, and when the game ends...because we hear the screaming, yelling, horns honking, noisemakers, music, and general insanity from the street. I was in Italy during World Cup 2002, and I remember one night when Italy won a game (I was in Rome), and that was pure insanity. There were parades, people dancing and yelling, music, etc. Parties all night long. Welp, times that by a billion more or less, and you have Brazil. :) I love being here for this! It's a unique experience that I may never have again!

So funny story. I rode in a volkswagon hippie van on Saturday! The secretaries of the mish brought us a new stove ("new"), because ours was almost dead. Well, when we opened the box, we realized that our new stove was probably worse than the one we had....fantastic. But the Elders had a ton of fun being in a Sisters' apartment, and marvelled at the fact that we live in a two-room apartment, because almost every other one is bigger! It was pretty funny. Then they took us back to our lunch appointment in the hippie van. I loved it. I want one of those things some day! :)

As for the random stuff. We found legos in our apartment! Awesome. We got free pizza with Lee Dee and Elder Paul on Monday night, because they were leaving. That was pretty fun, and we were like 900 miles from our apartment...okay, not really, but it sure felt like it when we wanted to be at home and had to walk the whole way cuz apparently the buses run with less frequency the later it gets. :) I get to go to the Temple tomorrow! Today isn't pday...which is why I'm writing so late...because we are going to the Temple tomorrow. I am so excited...I have really missed going frequently. I am blessed to be in a mission where it's even a possibility to go sometimes. It'll be my first session in Portuguese.

So think of Oktoberfest real quick. Why does it exist? Basically because there's nothing going on in October, so why not party? Alright, we have a party here called Festa Juninha (I don't know if I spelled that right). And it's almost the same as oktoberfest, in that it's just invented to party, because there's nothing else in June. And the men;/boys all wear almost cowboy style clothes and hats, and the women and girls wear dresses....very VERY similar to those worn in germany during oktoberfest. We had a festa juninha in our ward on Saturday night (which some of our investigators went to...yay!), and I took some pictures. It was a lot of fun, and they have food specifically for this festa. And then we didn't get to stay long because it was late...and we literally had to run home, and still got there a little late.

And that's all folks! Apparently people really read my blog...that's pretty cool. So to all you bloggers who speak Portuguese (Eu sei que tem pelo menos uma pessoa)...Boa noite! Iria escrever mais, mas infelizmente, já escrevi quase tudo nesse email. E também, meu português não é perfeito. :)

I love you all! Remember the three things that keep us strong in the gospel...indo na igreja todo semana, lendo as escrituras todos os dias, e orando com frequencia. :)

Com muito amor,
Karen

Even the Telephone Poles are Concrete

2010-06-28T05:39:00.000-04:00

Dear family,

SO much to write this week! Last week was full of ups and downs again...this work is intense, let me tell you. But I should start at the beginning. With something I forgot to mention in my email last week. We have a washing machine finally! I have never been so thankful in my life for a washing machine!!!

Anyway, Tuesday we went to the Temple. And that had all kinds of new experiences for me. We had to take the bus, then the metro, then another bus to get there. And let me tell you about the metro. I don't know how many of you have ever been in a mosh pit at the front of a concert, but I have once, and it was insane, and all I wanted was to escape. Anyway, the metro was kinda like that. It was so packed that when the doors opened, people literally poured out, whether they wanted to or not. It was a fight, and I think I broke every mission rule in that 6-stop ride. Here's another way to put it...I didn't have to hold on to anything to keep from falling...there were people all around that there was no way to fall. I have never in my life been so crowded. Yuck. That is the Sao Paulo metro in all its 7am glory. Fortunately the return trip was in the middle of the day, so we didn't have to deal with that again! Anyway, the session in the temple was wonderful. I saw some people I know from my days at the good old CTM, which was pretty cool. The session was in Portuguese, so that was interesting. I understood the majority of it though, and I think it helps that I've been through it in English a bunch too. There was only one part where I got tripped up. But anyway, it was wonderful. There was our zone there, and another zone in which we've got some friends, so it was good to see them. Anyway, after the Temple, we enjoyed the rest of our p-day eating and relaxing.

Wednesday we taught Claudimere, the man who just appeared at church the Sunday before. We marked his baptism for this coming Saturday, which I think will actually happen, as he was pretty firm and is literally changing his life, which is why he found the church. Miracles happen so often here. I say that every week, but it's only because I see them every day. We also taught Eliane this week. We met with her on Friday, and ended up staying, teaching and answering her questions. In 2 1/2 hours, we covered the first three lessons, answered her questions, I shared experiences of my own about the Plan of Salvation, and I think I talked more with her than anyone else yet on the mission, except other missionaries. The Spirit was there so strong. We went back to her house yesterday and taught her the commandments, and taught the first lesson to her son, Felipe, and she was there testifying of the truth of this gospel and the church. More miracles.
We had another soccer game on Friday, which ended in a tie, so it was actually pretty quiet in the streets. There's another one today; I think Brasil is playing Chile. Should be interesting.

We learned this week that we really can't force people to do what they don't want to do, even though we know it's right. And it's heartbreaking to watch people reject the message that is staring them in the face, and reject the gospel that blesses the lives of their friends and family. We're still working with Regina, but although she goes to church and seminary on her own, she doesn't want to pray or do anything. It's tough, but we haven't given up yet. But it's complicated.
We taught with Ursula, a recently returned missionary in our ward. She served in Santa Maria, and got back just 2 weeks ago. So we taught with her last week, which was awesome. She is fantastic, and has so much energy for the work. We missionaries need more help from the members, always. Members literally make or break the work, even more than missionaries, because they are the ones who really keep people coming to church and such.

Sometimes I think about how my entire life is here in Sao Paulo, teaching the gospel. I'll never have this opportunity again. Sometimes it's weird to think that for right now, there's literally only one focus of my life. Everything else is on hold, and everything else is on the back burner. I get one day a week to write to you all, which is fine. There's no time to write more. It's so cool to be so focused on the gospel. I love it. I had more thoughts too (I have a lot of time to think about things as we walk), but now I don't really remember them.

D&C 128:8. It talks about welding our families together. :) This is something I am grateful for; to have been sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. You, my family, are so important to me. I can't even express it. And being far away, you have become more important to me. I pray for you all every day. Thank you for your prayers; I definitely feel them. I have 4 more weeks to be fluent in this language, and the prayers are definitely helping!!!! Also, thanks for letters and stuff. It's great to get mail and know that people love me! :)

Love,
Kawen/Karen/Karne/Sistah Ogden

My Hands are in a Permanent State of "Cold"

2010-06-14T06:19:00.000-04:00

Hellloooooooooooooooooooooo family!

So guess what. This weekend was so full of miracles, I can hardly remember the rest of the week. Seriously. It was amazing. Miracles happen in this work, every single day, and some days are more full of them than others. :)
First of all, last week I received a bunch of letters, which was great! We also had our last district meeting of the transfer last week, and three people from our zone are going home tomorrow...it's crazy. One of our ZL's, Elder Sell, as well as Sister Ribeiro, and one of the secretaries, Elder Fonseca. So it was good to see them all one more time last week, take a bunch of pictures, sign notebooks, etc. I've only been here a short time, but already I have made some pretty good friends! After the meeting, Sister Frame and I ate lunch with the secretaries at a rodizio...so if any of you talk to Elton Luz on facebook, let him know that I've already done as he asked me to, and eaten at a rodizio. :) It was the first time I've eaten at one here in Brazil, so that was pretty cool. And of course the food was delicious..I love the food here! I'm still a bit frightened by feijoada, because that's where all the weird stuff (ears, etc) is dumped. So...fortunately, no one has made it yet since being here in the field, and if they do...I'll just eat the beans and now the other stuff. :) There's a solution to everything, haha!

The rest of the week, we taught and ate and slept a little, and walked a ton. This week, our numbers were again fairly low...but this week, we had a baptism! Let me tell you all about this weekend, full of miracles!

Saturday was the baptism of Maria Lucia. Wednesday, we were teaching her, and tired of inviting her to be baptized to have her say she needs more time, we just said "so Saturday for your baptism, what time works for you?" And went from there. Problem solved. This was after Sister Frame promised, in the name of Jesus Christ, that Maria Lucia would be healed entirely from this illness she's had for a couple weeks, if she would be baptized this weekend. Wow...that was powerful, and to think that we have the authority to do that when it is right, that is amazing. And guess what...she's entirely back to normal. Look at that power of the Lord! It is amazing. Anyway, there weren't many people at her baptism, but it was an amazing experience anyway. Bishop was there, as well as Cléo, one of the counselors in RS. Selem was there (she's 18) because her boyfriend, Hugo, was the one who performed the baptism. And of course there were the four of us missionaries and Maria Lucia. It was cool to see Hugo baptize our dear Maria Lucia...he himself was just baptized a few months ago, and is working toward a mission next year...he just received the Melchezidek Priesthood last Sunday. And Maria Lucia was just beaming, the whole time she was at the Church. Sister Frame and I sang as part of the program (yeah...I actually sang where people could hear me, and where it was only me and one other person...this in itself is a miracle!!!), and it actually sounded good!

Sunday, yesterday, was fantastic. Saturday night, we had talked with Cristina, a woman who lives near us who we ran into a few weeks ago...the one we helped move stuff with, if I ever told you that story. Anyway, we talked with her Saturday night, and invited her to Church on Sunday, but I didn't have high hopes, because we invite a ton of people to church, and usually none of them show up. SO...Sunday rolled around, and we have church backwards than at home, with Sacrament meeting last. Before the Sacrament, Maria Lucia was confirmed, and she was SO HAPPY! Afterwards. she stood up and gave Hugo a HUGE hug, as he was standing in the circle. It was so cool!

Then, Morgana, who was sitting behind us, pointed out a young woman and her son, sitting across the chapel from us, and asked us who they were. We didn't know, and neither did the Elders. So Sister Frame went and talked to her, to find out who she was and to introduce herself. And then someone came and got S. Frame, and she never showed up again in our bench. I turned around a few minutes later, to see her sitting in the back with Cristina! And they were both all smiles! And yesterday was testimony meeting, and it was a REALLY good one...the Spirit was so strong there. And then, miracle of miracles (cuz they just kept coming yesterday), Cristina got up and bore HER testimony and talked about how wonderful we missionaries are, and then after that, everyone bore testimony of missionary work. And a few minutes later...the other lady (Eliane) who no one knew got up and tearfully bore HER testimony too!

Wow. And so much more. We had a good afternoon, walking and teaching with the Elders, and then last night, we went and visited Eliane and Felipe, her 13-year old son. She told us how happy she felt in church, how she's going to go back every week, and how she had told Felipe that he had to go once to see what it was like, and now he wants to go back every week too. And she wants him to go, because of the good influence of the church on him. And THEN...she told us how her brother passed away last year, and wanted to know how she could baptize him!!!!! HOLY MOLY!!!! And she already had a Book of Mormon someone had given her, but she'd never read it. So we marked some parts for her, gave her the pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation, and she is eager to read, be taught, keep going to church, and basically be baptized! And she already introduced her neighbor to us and invited her neighbor to church. She's a miracle.

And THAT, was our week. Whoever says miracles have ceased to exist, should live my life for a day here in Sao Paulo.
As for other random things...everyone like to feed us! Lunch, dinner, in between...you name it, people give us food. Eliane already wants to have us over for lunch some Sunday. And the World Cup began on Friday. US and England played on Saturday, and i heard that it was a tie, but I don't know for sure, since we can't watch it. Tomorrow is Brazil's first game, which puts us in our house for a few hours. Tomorrow is also Pday and transfers, though, so no huge change. Brazil's next game after tomorrow is Sunday afternoon, which kills our Sunday entirely, but gives us a few HOURS to study whatever we want, which I am super excited about. Everyone here watched the World Cup...it's crazy already. Also, it's gotten pretty chilly, and without heat, it stays pretty cold. Fortunately, we have warm blankets. So just my hands stay pretty cold during the day...you can't wear a ton of layers walking around, because you really do get hot. So that's been interesting. :) But it's all good!

Welp, I probably had more I wanted to say, but I am going to send some pictures now, so if I remember, I will put it in that email. I love you all! Don't ever forget that you are children of God, and that you are special, and that He loves you more than you can imagine. It is amazing. We have this amazing gift of knowing the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ; let's not forget that.

Love,
Karen

I Found Nemo!

2010-06-07T12:05:00.010-04:00

Welp, I have a smaller list than usual of things to write.

As for the awesomeness of the week... zone conference was great. President Moreira is fantastic. I learned so much! Here's a HUGE miracle from the week, that we heard about on Thursday, I think. Our dear Maria Lucia was in the hospital a couple times this week, sick, and we finally cought up with her at home on Thursday. And remember how she was having a hard time quitting smoking and drinking coffee? Well, something changed while she was in the hospital, and now, the smell of cigarettes literally makes her sick. SHE DOES NOT SMOKE or drink coffee ANYMORE!!!!! We're really praying to see her baptized this weekend. This was a HUGE HUGE HUGE miracle!!!!!!
This week, I took comfort in D&C 100. I know the Lord is watching over you all, and that brings me comfort. It was really hard to hear about Uncle Eddie and be this far away, but I know that it's all in the Lord's timing. I know that as I work hard down here, I don't need to worry about you, because the Lord is watching over and taking care of you.

I love you all! Stay strong, and I pray for you every day!!

Love,
Karen

I Hope They Don't Call Me to Talk in Sacrament Meeting

2010-05-31T06:11:00.001-04:00

(NOTE: Received 5/31/2010)

HElllllloooooooooo family!

This was an interesting week. Had ups and downs like none other before, and was definitely a trial of faith. But some things I learned: first, always ALWAYS listen to the Spirit, even when you think what you say isn't important or doesn't matter. Cuz if you don't say it, there could be unexpected consequences. Also, I learned that we really do have power and authority, which is something I need to remember as we are teaching and talking about repentance and such like that. Also, keep the commandments. When you do something wrong, repent quickly. It's simple, and it's a gift from the Lord to have repentance and the Atonement in our lives.

So first thing to write about is our baptism. It ended up not happening. Turns out, Mauro needs a little more time to prepare. I'd love to see his baptism, but I don't know what will happen with transfers and such, so who knows if I will even be here. That was actually a big downer, and set us back for a little while, but then we became happy again and the work moves forward.

We are still working with Maria Lucia. Saturday we were at her house, and one of her grandchildren (did I mention that she has 14 children?! All with the same husband) was there too, as her whole family almost lives in that house. So this grandson we hadn't met yet. His name is Lucas. And he randomly said, first thing, that he was already baptized. So we asked him which church, and he told us the Mormon church. WHAT?! It was up in Bahia, 2 years ago, when he was 11. He told us about the Elders who taught him and baptized him, and all that. It was awesome! So we invited him to sit in on our lesson, and we invited him to church. At first, he was really hesitant, but as we read from the Book of Mormon, it was obvious that he was remembering how he felt at church and how he knows the gospel is true. He told us this, so that was a blessing. So he and Maria Lucia went to Church yesterday! Hooray! We're hoping to get Maria Lucia baptized on June 12.

We're also still working with Regina, but she needs to do her part too, which can be difficult. She knows she feels good at Church, and she goes to other activities when the youth invite her, but teaching her at home is difficult, because she seems to forget what's important and gets caught up in other things...like MSN messenger and orkut. Hey fam, the internet is great, but don't waste your lives away on it. For real. Satan uses this to waste our time and keep us from doing the important things we need to, even if we are doing something harmless like talking to friends online. Lessons learned.

Random other stuff...I want to go to the Temple so badly! I miss going every week like we did at the CTM, and we don't get to go this transfer. Oh dear. Also, we have zone conference tomorrow, so that will be fun to see like 60 other missionaries in 3 other zones, plus ours. I'll get to see two of the Elders I arrived with, which will be awesome! Other random stuff. There is noise constantly here. It's so different... I think when I get home I will feel like the world is so quiet! Also, I don't know what the landscape is here, because things are built into hills, and where there aren't buildings, there are roads. That's all. :)

And..Happy Memorial Day! I just remembered that on Saturday! Go visit Stan's grave for me, if you can. I'd really appreciate that. Funny story...no one here can say "Ogden". It's interesting, because people will say "Sister....não consigo falar seu nome!" Which means, I can't say your name! Valentine's Day is also coming up. Yep, I get two of those this year. Two wonderful, single valentine's days...haha. Vday here is June 12 (my half birthday, and Tiff Tiff's birthday!) Also, World Cup starts on the 11th, and things are already pretty crazy. The Corinthians had a game last night, so there were endless fireworks.

Welp, I read a scripture this morning in scripture study, 2 Nephi 28:30. It's fantastic. Read it. :) Also, I would suggest watching the Lamb of God again...we just watched it with some investigators the other day, and it is a powerful film. The Savior suffered so much ridicule and pain, just for us. Because He loves us. I can't even fathom this immense amount of love. But it is real, and it is a part of our lives.

I love you! Have a fantastic week!!
Karen

In Sao Paulo, The Use Speed Bumps Instead of Cops to Control Speed...

2010-05-24T06:38:00.001-04:00

(NOTE: Received May 24, 2010)

...but it doesn't really work that well.

Oi minha querida família!!

Last Monday night, we had a fun surprise! The other two elders in our area live with two more elders, Elder Nóbrega and Elder B. Almeida. Anyway, those two aren't even in our zone, so we don't see them much, but are friends with them. Last Monday, Elder Lee Dee invited us to a noite familiar (Family Home Evening) with him and Elder Paul, and one of their investigators, and Rute and her family. So we got there, way before the Elders, and called them. They told us they were close, and to go in and wait for them with the family. So we did. Then they walked in with Elder Nóbrega and B. Almeida, instead of an investigator! That was awesome. The investigator really was going to go, but backed out last second. So we partied there and watched part of conference...that was interesting, in Portuguese.

Tuesday was district meeting, which means MAIL! I got a letter from Pops, and some letters from people I met in the CTM, who are here in Brazil. That was fun!!

Let me tell you about some of the people from this week. Regina is a niece of a recent convert, and she's always there when we go over to talk to Marcia. Regina is 17 years old, and she came to church with us yesterday, and loved it, and loved the young women too! It was awesome. She could realistically be baptized this weekend or next. Lijia and her family (husband, mother, and her own 4 daughters) are people that Sister Frame met on Thursday, with Sister Ribeiro (we had divisions, so I was in a different area). They are apparently awesome! So we went back on Saturday to follow up with how praying had gone. Only some of the family were there, and of the ones there, only one had remembered to pray. That's Bruna, who is about 11 years old. She said she prayed, and we asked her how she felt when she prayed, and she said "Jesus talked with me and told me I need to go to the Church." HALLELUJAH!!!!!! However, her family was out of town on Sunday, so she couldn't go yesterday. Next week, though! Maria Lucia is an older lady we are teaching, who had like 14 children, of whom 11 or 12 are still alive. She's great! She just needs to stop smoking and drinking coffee, and we've set a goal for her to decrease each day this week, until Friday when she will stop completely. She agreed to this. She also came to church with us yesterday! Lucia is a lady we were teaching, who is very confused about religion. She's visited like 28 million different churches, and is at the point where she thinks they are all good and teach the same thing, and doesn't want one more church. So she asked us to stop coming. That was probably the low point of the week for me....that's so sad. I wanted so badly for her to come to church this weekend, recognize the truth, and follow the Lord. I have hopes for her still. Mauro is awesome. He's 40-something, and literally a golden investigator. I now know what that term means! He accepted the gospel right away, came to church with us last week, and came on his own yesterday. He also went to a fireside last night in Ipiranga (40-minute bus ride away), with President Moreira. AND....he's getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!! I'm so excited for this! He's awesome, and already sharing the gospel with his friends too!!! Wow.

So those are the people, at least a few of them. Random things now. I saw a horse pulling a cart up a cobblestone street last week, mixed in with cars and such. Ohhhh Brasil! Also, we get free french fries here sometimes, from a guy who has a stand at night close to our house. It's awesome. :) I also taught a lot more this week than I have yet, so that was definitely good! We taught 42 lessons! We had a fireside last night with President, about Isaiah and Revelation. That was intense...deep subject to begin with, and in Portuguese? Yeah, it was a lost cause on me! I love studying conference talks during scripture study...I've done a lot of that lately.

Divisions were this week. I was in Monumento with Sister Peterson, who has only 2 transfers more than me in the mission! We were both pretty nervous, because I don't speak well, and she thinks she doesn't, but really she does. It ended up turning out really well. It was a huge lesson for me in trusting in the Lord. He will guide us whenever we need it, if we ask and are faithful. We said so many prayers that day, and were definitely led by the Spirit in all our works. But here's a couple funny stories. First of all, a couple people thought I am Brazilian...no joke! From Santa Catarina, which I think is in the south, but I don't actually know. Anyway, apparently I look German. So therefore, I look Brazilian. It actually makes perfect sense. There's an Elder here (One of our ZL's), who I thought was American for a while. He has blond hair and blue eyes. But nope, he's Brazilian! Grandson of a German. Anyway, second funny story from divisions. Know how I always complain about dogs? Now, I have a good reason to. Three weeks, and already I have a dog story. Oy. Sister Petersen and I were looking for a less active Sister to talk to that night, and we found her house, and were approaching the door, when this HUGE dog came out of nowhere, and started barking ferociously, and then commenced to charge us. I kid you not. It was insane. We ran so fast, right off the property.

And even more, then I was back here the next day, and Sister Frame and I were looking for a less-active sister here in our area...well, you can imagine how that went. We found her house...and her FOUR dogs. And of course this was the one time someone was home when we were looking for people! So we went in...and I was scared for my life, bcause of these huge, smelly, obnoxious, loud dogs. Everyone here has one! And no one cleans up after them!

Anway, those are my funny stories for the week! As for my thought for the week, I found this quote from David O. McKay: "The rich rewards come only to the strenuous strugglers." This is so true. We have challenges in life, lots of them, but they are for our benefit and learning, as the Lord told Joseph Smith. We can learn so much through our trials, and as we struggle through them and keep pushing forward, enduring to the end, the rich reward of eternal life and exaltation will be ours. And that, I think, is worth every hard time we have here! So keep pushing forward with faith, and blessings will come. This is a promise from the Lord.

I love you! Thank you for your prayers; I know they have helped me already!

Love,
Karen

Holy Moses, a Baptismal Date!

2010-05-17T06:30:00.037-04:00

Hellooooooo family!

I'm going to write this really quickly. First of all, I have officially learned to do laundry by hand! I did it last week...it takes a lot of time, especially getting stuff to dry on cold humid days, which describes all of last week. The hardest part is just when I have to wring all the water out of the clothes. But it's a good experience. :)

Last Tuesday at district meeting, I got a stack of letters and a package! It was like Christmas! There is also an Elder in my mission who I know from the CTM, who looks like Obama. It's funny. I didn't know he was going to be in the same mission as me until I saw him here. Also on Tuesday (I think), I saw a bus that was jacked up, because it was broken. The front end was off the ground...it was totally weird! But pretty cool. I didn't have my camera though. :(

We taught English to someone last week. We helped her with the alphabet and such...and it makes me really glad that I am NOT learning English! Portuguese is cool, and it helps that I've already studied Latin and French before now. Oh something cool I learned about Portuguese...The word pastor literally means shepherd. It's interesting how all the languages (Latin, English, Portuguese, etc) are all connected. Because pastor is the Latin word for shepherd, and in English it means a leader of a congregation of church. I love it! I want to study more languages again after the mission...at least study Latin again on my own.

I TAUGHT THIS WEEK!!!! I actually spoke during a lesson...this is a big breakthrough. I still don't speak the language well, but every day it gets a tiny bit better. This week, I made big strides, I think also because we have people who are progressing now. The first week was a struggle, with things here and things I heard about home. But this past week, we found people who are interested, people who are progressing, and people who are praying and keeping commitments. We have a couple people committed to baptisms...they were supposed to be baptized this coming Saturday, but didn't go to church yesterday, so now we are pushing it off a week. We have a guy named Mauro who went to church, and we are teaching him, and he should be baptized on the 29th, hopefully with Isabel, Marta, and Rosalva. All people we found this week! And we also found a FAMILY which is fantastic, and we are going to try to work with them too, to be baptized this month. This is so exciting, and I am just starting now to see the joy that truly comes from missionary work. It's hard, it's tiring, but it is all worth it, even for just one person who progresses. D&C 18:15-16 is so true!

Lately, I've been reading a few conference talks per week, from October Conference. It's fantastic, and so refreshing! I love hearing from our prophets and apostles every 6 months, and reading and studying their words over and over. I have learned so much already, and yet still want to learn so much more!

Meetings are the bane of my existence, sometimes. Hah. I have never been to so many meetings!

Finally, something that is weird, is that I am quiet here. Everyone thinks I am a quiet person and I
never talk. Some of them understand the language barrier, while others just don't know why I don't talk. It can be very frustrating when they try to make me talk, not taking into consideration that I only understand half of what they say. But like I said, it's a process, and in just two weeks, I've already seen improvement. I don't like being this quiet. My comp and I are allowed to speak English for a couple hours on Sundays, but it's weird! It's weird to think about speaking English, because we never do, and I never hear English! Crazy. Oh language. It's an interesting thing.

Love,
Karen

Greetings from the Soouthern Hemisphere, where the Toilets Flush Backwards

2010-05-10T10:30:00.001-04:00

(NOTE: Received May 10, 20100

Helloooooo family! Long time no talk, eh? I loved talking to you yesterday! That was so good. It gave me a lot more motivation to work harder, that's for sure. I got a blessing last week, and in it was promised that my family will be taken care of and blessed as I serve the Lord down here. I know that's true, and right now, I am working hard not for me, but for you. Each and every one of you. Blessings come every day. The big ones take time to come, but keep pressing forward conitnually, as the people holding the iron rod did. Remember, those who continually held the rod got to the fruit, despite being laughed at and tempted to let go.

On another note, I was going to tell you all something about the cars here. I know I've talked about it before, but now i see it more as I am out every day. So, there are a ton of trashy cars here. Somehow, though I don't know how, none of the cars have dents! They are just old, rusty, and beaten to death. Mostly volkswagens. Volkswagon beatles, volkswagon hippie vans. TONS of those!

As for other goings on...I'm going to try to send pictures today. They will be from the CTM, and then probably one of me and my comp, Sister Frame. Ahhhh I love being a missionary!

I am working hard, doing what I'm supposed to, and I will enjoy it. Right now I'm struggling trying to learn the language, and how to be a missionary, but all is well. I am supposed to be here...not sure exactly why. But at least I know I'm where I need to be, and where God needs me to be.

Much love and tons of prayers for you,
Karen

Cinco de Maio!

2010-05-05T09:51:00.013-04:00

(NOTE: Received May 5, 20100

Greetings from the muito grande area of Vila Industrial! I am still in the city. My companion is Sister Frame, and I like her very much! This is going to be a quick email without a ton of information, because I already wrote a letter letter yesterday for you that has way more details about my last week at the CTM. I hope I get around to mailing that soon..probably on Pday, Monday. I get to write today because I basically didn't have a Pday this week, and I guess we have to email every week or something. And this Sunday is Mothers Day so we can talk on the phone! So, I took a ton of pictures the last few days at the CTM, so I should get you some of those maybe next week or something. That would be fun! Pops, know how you like to pick on the new missionary to pray...always? Well, I now am on the receiving end of that! I have prayed a few times already at people's houses, and it's only been half a day! I guess today we have district meeting later.

So, I live in a tiny little apartment with two rooms, without a laundry machine. So I get to enjoy the lovely experience of doing my laundry by hand for at least 6 weeks! I'm pretty excited. I'm not being sarcastic, actually. When I thought about going to Brazil, doing laundry by hand and living in crappy apartments were at the top of the list of things I thought of. That and not knowing the language, and look, all have been fulfilled so far! :) I have to keep a good attitude about it because otherwise I will get frustrated. I think I have actually gotten way more laid-back, at least about living situations and whatnot...because I had no reaction when I walked into our tiny apartment.

Oh, and I have now experienced the worst driving imagineable, being on a bus here in Sao Paulo! That was a crazy experience.

We have lunch every day with members, and we have it with the other missionaries in this area. In this area (which is aparently pretty big), we have two sisters and two Elders. I like it. We haven't been too busy in the last 24 hours though, so I guess I can't really say much about being here so far! Haha, but it will get busier. And I will end up doing more...because right now I basically understand nothing and can say nothing. I hate when people talk to me, and I just stare at them blankly because I have no idea what they're saying. Even when I ask them to slow down, I still don't know aLl the words. Oh well. I'l get there. :) Just say a lot of prayers for me, and I will continue to study my face off.

My Pday is Monday. Até mais. Eu amo vocês.

Love,
Karen

So first the big news...

2010-04-27T08:46:00.024-04:00

(NOTE: Received on April 27, 2010)

I have no time today, pretty much. So...here goes a lot of randomness.

Last Tuesday, after emailing, my comps and I went to a grocery store, just to check it out. Observations: They have an aisle for rice and beans, just like we do for cereal. I didn't know there were that many different kinds of rice and beans. And cereal is basically none. And I was pretty excited to see they have pints of Haagen-daas ice cream...except not really, after I checked out the price, because it costs R$17.90 for a pint, which is like a little more than half that in American dollars. They also had Kinder eggs and Kinder chocolates...yes, of course I bought and enjoyed some!!! Last Tuesday night, we went out in the dark after gym time, and cleaned the streets. Because Elder Nelson was coming on Thursday, and apparently we wanted the street around the CTM to be trash-free. Wishful thinking, if you ask me! But it was pretty fun. It was great. :) Also, Tuesday, I. Lopez changed the song ending for the song that I would be playing for choir when Elder Nelson was here. Yeah, that was fun....but it ended up working out well. He wanted an organ sound on the fake piano at first, and I told him it would sound ridiculous cuz I didn't have time to change the fingering. So he tried it, and I won that battle! :)

The night before Elder Nelson came (because my comps and I had been studying apostles and apostleship), I was thinking about preparing to hear an apostle of the Lord speak the next day, and how best to prepare. WELL...it came to me in my sleep, as I was apparently reciting the 13th Article of Faith in my sleep. I kid you not. Oh the funny things of missionary life! Just like how all our jokes have gotten ridiculously cheesy. I now understand why RMs (returned missionaries) are so weird at first!

So anyway, Elder Nelson came on Thursday. He got there with his wife and Elder and Sister Godoy, of the area presidency. They stood at the front of the auditorium, while the choir finished singing our first prelude piece. Then President Clark got the mic and said that Elder Nelson wanted to shake all our hands before the devotional started. And since I was sitting on the end of the front row, so I could get to the piano when I needed to, I got to be the first one to shake his hand! I met him and his wife and the Godoys! And then their speeches were fantastic. Absolutely wonderful! I'd been freaking out because I didn't know the song perfectly that I would play for choir, and then it was going to be the one during the devotional, not as prelude when no one was paying attention. Well, it ended up going really well. No complaints there! So that was fantastic. I never dreamed I'd have an opportunity to play the piano for an Apostle of the Lord, so it was a very special opportunity! That night, during study time in our classroom, one of the Elders told us how his hem on his pant leg was coming undone. So I helped him fix it. That was pretty entertaining.

Friday we went contacting, in downtown Sao Paulo, and that was intense. We handed out three copies of the Book of Mormon, and talked to a bunch of people, including a guy who used to be a member of the church but was now inactive because he drinks and all that and he wants to come back. so we talked with him for a while, and took his name and number, so we could pass it on to someone here who could do something about it. That night, there was a language meeting for teaching us how to teach Brazilian companions English. Elder Carnes, who is the Elder in our district who is most vocal about struggling with Portuguese, was asked to say the closing prayer in English. Well...he failed. Hahahahah, he didn't remember how to pray in English, and our entire district just lost it entirely when he said amen. You have to know this kid. He provides a lot of entertainment for us

Monday, I was reading Jacob 7, after studying Jacob 5 last week. And it's cool because in Jacob 5, it talks about how we need to labor diligently to bring people to Christ. And in Jacob 7, it talks about how Sherem labors diligently to convince people that there isn't a Christ. So how much harder do we need to work? Cool. I liked it. Monday, my comps and I did a lesson on the Atonement for my district, during class. It was so good, and even if no one else got anything out of it, I really benefitted from studying the Atonement so deeply for a few days!

Temple today was awesome. Last time I'll go for a while. Praying in Portuguese is about all I do now. I leave next week. I'm excited. I have no mail here for a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll have some waiting next Tuesday at the mission home. K, I love you! Tchao!

-Sister Ogden

Sarcasm is a Way of Life Here

2010-04-20T09:07:00.020-04:00

(NOTE: Received April 20, 2010)

Parabéns, família!

So...here's the big news first. Thursday will be a BIG day for us here...because Elder Russell M. Nelson is coming! We are going to have a devotional with him, and guess who gets to play the piano for choir!!! Yeah, if you guessed Sister Ogden, you're correct. I'm so excited! I need to think of questions to ask him, because we are probably all going to get a chance to meet him, and there will´probably be a question and answer section of the meeting. There's a slight chance the Elder Holland will come with him, which would be AMAZING. No one really knows either way though. So that's the big news. :)

So let me just get started on the rest of this email. My English has gotten weird sometimes. :) My goal is to get home fluent in Portuguese and having a rough time with English. Yup. So let me start with stuff about my amazing district. We are the biggest district at the CTM right now, with 13 missionaries. We just got Elder Morgan last week...he came down from Provo. I've been hearing about him since my district got here, because he was their district leader up there. So anyway, he's finally here, and they put him in our district, which is awesome. Some of the Elders in my district have taken up writing poetry. They are really good! I have a small notebook with their poems in it, because I enjoy them so much! I also wrote a poem. Maybe I will send it to you some day. Anyway, so that's cool. Also, we have a very loving district. In the real world it probably seems gay when guys hug each other or stand together with their arms around each other...but in my district it's the norm. It's actually hilarious, especially because they are teenage guys! I love it though. I love my district! Oh yeah, and because Elder Morgan came, we got a new classroom, because ours was small even for 12 people. Hooray! Oh and on Sunday, our district did the musical number in church. It sounded pretty good. I played the piano, of course. :)
Teaching stuff...last weekend, we had a TRC. With real Brazilians. We taught them a 15-minute lesson, got a review about it from a teacher, and retaught for 10 minutes. We get to go proselyting again this Friday though!

So speaking of playing the piano and choir and all that, here's a good one. Saturday, someone handed me the program for the Sunday fireside. You only get the program if your name is on it. Apparently, I was scheduled to play the piano for choir. Well, no one had given me music, and no one knew who the chorister was. It was all really weird. So we got to choir on Sunday, and no one showed up except us missionaries. So...Sister Hallman (one of the other Sisters, who just left today) and I took charge. We just sang out of the hymnbook. I played, she led, and it was pretty decent for doing it on a whim. Irmão Lopez was very disappointed when we told him about it on Monday. Irmão Lopez is a dude here, I don't actually know what his job is, but he's always around and usually has all the answers. He's also in charge of the music for choir and such. So my companions have gotten pretty tight with him, because we always play and/or sing in choir, and we always see him. And we do stuff for him...like sort out all the choir music the MTC has. That was a fun day. So he was disappointed.

But the cool thing about Sunday fireside...the speaker was Presidente Moreira, my mission president! Now, he's from Portugal, so I knew he would have a different accent. His wife spoke first, and she was really hard to understand. Presidente Moreira, however, wasn't too hard. But i think he was trying to speak like halfway between Portugal and Brazilian Portuguese. Anyway, I met him afterwards, and I think I will like him a lot...he loves to joke around and make people laugh, and he's just a happy person! I'm stoked. I leave the CTM two weeks from today, and time is really flying by. I can hardly believe how long I've been here already, though in the grand scheme of things, it hasn't been that long. But the mission countdown began 7 weeks ago! Isn't that crazy?!

Last couple things. Today we went to the Temple, as we've been blessed to do every week we've been here. Sister Nielson mentioned to me that she wanted to see the Sealing Room. So after the session, we asked someone if we could, and she took us on a short tour of the Temple, starting in the Baptistry. In there, they have two HUGE mosaics, on either side of the font. It is beautiful! And the sealing room we went into was enormous. Dwarfed the one we were sealed in. And also very beautiful. I loved having the chance to see it, and think about our family. I sure love you guys! The Temple was really good today, for me. I've been starting to study about ancient temples, like Solomon's and those ones, and it is interesting. I have learned a lot already, and I feel like I haven't even read a ton about it yet! Something I've learned already while being out here is that you don't need all those kinds of books that are supposed to help you understand the gospel. It is all in the scriptures. You just have to be patient while you look for it, because you won't get all your answers right away.

Finally, my scripture for the day. Doctrine & Covenants 121:7-9. I've been thinking a lot about Joseph Smith the past couple days, because we watched the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie on Sunday. I love that movie. And I cannot wait to meet Joseph Smith in the next life. He is such a great example of diligence (going back to the scripture now), and even in the hardest part of his life, he stayed strong in the gospel and did all that Heavenly Father asked of him. We can learn from his example, and remain diligent in living the gospel, even when we feel like it isn't doing us any good. That is when we need to keep going more than anything.

I love you all, and I pray for you every day. I hope all is well up in NH. Have a great week!

Love,
Karen

Sunshine and...winter is coming up!

2010-04-13T12:34:00.044-04:00

(NOTE: Received April 13, 2010)

Hello!

Guess what! It's Pday! Hooray! And I got three letters on the same day last week...all from the Snyders! Cool, huh! They love me. So first, about this email. I decided to stay at the MTC today to email, so that I can try sending pictures again. I think it will work this time, actually.

First of all...Last Tuesday, I was walking around after gym with my district, and we were looking at the pictures on the wall here. They have pictures from a bunch of the Brazil missions, as well as the Provo and Chicago missions. So whenever I look at them, there is always a part of me that wonders if maybe I know someone. This time... I did! And you do too! I found a picture of Michael Orr on his mission! I took a picture of the picture. Funny. But it was awesome. I got so excited, my district probably thought I was even crazier than they already think I am.

That night, there was a dog. That barked. All night. That pretty much happens pretty frequently. Last night, I woke up and I think the dog had a muzzle on it, because it sounded different. Or maybe I just dreamed it. I don't actually know. But it sounded way different, and in my half-conscious state, I figured out why. Just like the other night, I woke up around 1, and my clock looked like it said 21:00, and in my half-conscious state, I was trying to figure out how I was up at 9, when I went to bed at 10:30. I just didn't think about the fact that my clock is not in military time. Hahaha.

Also Tuesday, in gym, we were playing volleyball. About gym. Sometimes I go running on our tiny track, because it helps me clear my head. And yesterday, Sister Nielson and I went to the weight room, and went for a bike ride. We never decided where we were riding to though. Oh well.

This last Friday, we went proselyting! It was fantastic! We talked to like 8 people in the 3 hours we were out there, and gave away 2 copies of the Book of Mormon. It was intense. Fun though. We get to go out again next week. Hooray! I have so far to go with the language though. But it's alright. My teachers tell me I am doing well, so that is definitely encouraging! Saturday was funny. Every Sunday, 4 missionaries are called on to give 5 minute talks in church. But we never know until then who is talking, so we all prepare. Saturday, our Elders were practicing them. The topic was patience. It was hilarious, because they took forever to find scriptures (to waste time), and one of them just got up and stared for like 40 seconds, then started talking about patience. I guess you had to be there.

Sunday I took a nap. The other day, maybe Sunday, we were sharing family pictures in our district. Today I went to the Temple as usual, and it was awesome! I got Portuguese scriptures, because the ones they gave us here were pretty lamesauce, so I got nice ones. I began reading the Book of Mormon in Portuguese a while ago, and am almost in 2nd Nephi! Hooray! AHHHHHHHHHh I have so far to go before I am fluent! I am doing pretty much all my prayers in Portuguese now, and that has REALLY helped me. And I can say so much more than I think I can. Alright, I'm going to try to email photos now. Mark 11:23- Faith is awesome! We can have this much faith (enough to move mountains) if we act in faith and ask for more faith, and work every single day to increase our faith. I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love you!

-Karen

(The following photo was attached to a second email received just a few minutes later.)

Rain, Rain, Rain!

2010-04-06T09:44:00.015-04:00

(NOTE: Received April 6, 2010)

Hello family, and friends too!

So this week has fewer stories than the usual. We get to go proselyting in a few days, so we've been a lot more focused lately. In some ways. I'm really pushing myself harder than usual this week, that's for sure. I've only got 4 weeks left here, and have so much yet to learn!

A few days ago, we were teaching some lessons, and we asked one of the Zone Leaders if we could practice teaching him. We ended up throwing away our original plan, and we sat with him for over an hour, while he helped us learn how to be better missionaries and answer tough questions. He was really encouraging while we were discouraged. He told us that the language is not our problem, because every time we figure out how to say something in English we translate it quickly and easily to Portuguese. So my problem right now is know how to be a missionary, really. I need to learn how to better answer questions and how to connect better with people. I'll get there though. The Lord wants me here and won't leave me to be useless!

Here's another crazy BYU connection. So this week, we got a ton more new sisters. I was talking to one of them the day after they got here, and as soon as she saw me, she was like I KNOW YOU. So it took us like 10 minutes to figure out how we knew each other. We knew it was through BYU, but we couldn't figure out how! Finally, at the same isntant, we both realized that we used to work together at KBYU! it's fun.

One of the Elders in my district is from Oak City, Utah, which is a cowboy town. Near Delta, if that tells you anything. One of the funniest things I've ever heard is him imitating the cowboys, talking about truck and all that. And on another note, another of the Elders was sick latley, so the rest of the Elders in our district gave him a blessing. I love seeing that. These kids are 19 years old and have way more responsibility than I had at their age!

So remember how I said we've been teaching a lot more lately? Usually we just teach other American districts, but a few days ago, we got to teach a Brazilian district, which was pretty cool! They told us that we did well and I could understand them when they talked, so that's a good thing, right?? :)

Here's something cool. In Ether, it talks about elephants in the Americas. And in Genesis 25:10, it talks about the earth being divided. Geology is made up? Definitely not! It is scripturally based!! General conference was amazing. I wrote you a long letter about it that you should get next week sometimes, because I am mailing it right after I leave here in half an hour. Easter was also fun, because we got cookies! But that was about the extent of Easter celebrations. It was weird! I haven't been home for Easter in a long time, but this was even more different somehow. But general conference in the MTC is amazing. We had a REAL weekend, with two days off and everything!

Last week, because one of our teachers always judges the Elders' ties, my comps and I bought ties. We wanted to win for best ties. And we did! We wore black skirts, white shirts, and our ties to class on Wednesday morning. And our Elders thought it was hilarious, and my teacher just about died laughing! He loved it.

My scripture for the week....3 Nephi 11:3-8. Be listening for the voice of the Lord. He's always trying to reach us, but sometimes we don't put all our effort into listening, even when we know it's there. The voice of the Lord comes through the Spirit, and it's a still small voice. We need to put all of our attention into trying to hear it and learning from it. I've been trying to work harder at that lately too. It can be hard, what with life being so busy sometimes! But we need to remember what's most important. And that is the Lord and His work.

All my love,
Karen

Pictures!

2010-03-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

We received the following pictures from Karen's Branch President down at the MTC.

Eu Amo Meloncia!

2010-03-30T09:56:00.018-04:00

(NOTE: Received on 3/30/2010)

Hello family!
Well, this week I did something different. I kept a list in my agenda of things to write to y'all about, instead of just writing one on the bus on the way back from the Temple, and it is LONG! But most of the things are just things to mention, not really to talk about. So let me start with that!

Choir last Tuesday was awesome...I played the piano of course, and the choir sang "Scripture Power". Remember in primary when we would lift our scriptures up during the chorus? Yeah, guess what 100 missionaries did during choir! It was hilarious and so awesome. We have so much fun here!

Soccer here is intense. Our teacher, Irmão Mendes, has the radio on his cell phone. One day in class, he pulled it out, turned it on, and we listened for a few seconds to a soccer game. Long enough to hear "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!" And they love fireworks. All. the. Time. 10pm or 7am...doesn't make much of a difference for them! And the other night, there was a soccer game between two of the four Sao Paulo teams, and you could definitely hear the result of it in the streets at about 10:30! Oh, back to Irmão Mendes. He's funny. Anyway, I think the same day as the cell phone, we sang "We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet" at the start of class. In the middle of class, when we were doing some stuff, Irmão Mendes just started singing it again...well, the tune. But he changed the words.... Here, they say "Josefa Smeetchee" for Joseph Smith. So he just kept singing that over and over, to the tune of We Thank Thee.... We about died laughing. Then that afternoon, in class with Irmão Zamboni, our whole class just randomly started sinigng like that too. Zamboni just looked at us like we were aliens.

So much rain and thunder lately! Not a ton of rain, but lots of thunder! Last night we had gym out in the rain which was pretty fun. The outside volleyball courts have a roof, but a really leaky one, so it's almost like playing in the rain! And the lightning was purple! So pretty. Funny story about last week. We did our laundry last Tuesday night. My comps and I usually just combine our laundry and do it all in just a few loads. S. Christensen labeled her clothes a while back, but I have a little zippered bag that Ijust put mine in, because I'm too lazy to label them all. Well...now they are labelled...because last week in the laundry, my bag came unzipped. And the best part of the whole thing? S. Nielson hadn't labelled her clothes either...and we are the same exact size! We had quite the time sorting out our clothes, all the while laughing our heads off. :)

Quick things; We got a TON of new sisters this week (5 Americans & 4 Brazilians), which brought the total up to 26 sisters! Anyway, one of the Americans, Sister Ririe, was in my mission prep class like 3 years ago at BYU! She remembered me, and then when she said that, I remembered her. We even taught some lessons together back then! On another note, we've been teaching solely in Portuguese lately, which is pretty exciting. I've learned so much and grown so much in just 3 1/2 weeks. It's only possible through the Lord. Some of the lessons we've taught have really been neat...one last week, I was talking and didn't know where the words were coming from, but they came out my mouth! So much is possible when we have the Spirit with us!

Today on the way to the Temple, I saw tons of trains. TONS! And on the way back, I saw a hubcap in the bushes and a pink truck. On a more serious note, we took a different route to the Temple today because of insane traffic (yeah, more than usual), and we went through a dump. Literally, houses made of scrap wood, and cardboard. It was the worst and saddest thing I've ever seen, as far as living conditions go. And it got me thinking about how that's realy what I'm going to see for the 16 months I'm here, outside of the MTC. Those are the people who will probably be the most receptive to the gospel, and they are the people who I will most likely hold dearest to my heart.

Lastly, Luke 2:52. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man." We too can grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically. Through the Lord, anything is possible! :) I love you all so much! I'm going to use my last 20 minutes here to try to send some pictures, but we'll see how that works. I hope it works well! :)

Love,
Karen

PS... you know you're a missionary when the things you think about as you fall asleep are the lessons, in Portuguese, and how best to present them!

Casa Verde means Green House and that's the Neighborhood Where I live

2010-03-23T10:19:00.020-04:00

(Note: Received 3/23/2010)

Hello family! I have more time today than last week, which is really nice, because I can write a longer email to you, and I can answer a few other emails I got too! Hooray!!!!

So I wrote a bunch of notes in my planner about what to tell you, but they are all really random and don't have a ton of stories attached to them. Life at the MTC is good. Each day is similar to the one before it, but each day is also a gift from God, so it's not good to just say that it's boring. Because there's something exciting about every day. Like yesterday, for example, I found out that Elder Russell M. Nelson is coming! HERE!!! Before I leave!!!

Alright, so let me start with...today. We went to the Temple this morning as usual. Last week was the busiest session I'd ever seen...they had to bring in extra chairs for all the missionaries to fit. Today, we had too many people for one session, plus some regular people (not missionaries) came too, and more than usual. SO...We filled our session with people in chairs and all, and then the Elders that were left over (because there are only 6 Sisters who go on Tuesdays) went to another session that began 30 minutes later. It basically rocked! I have never, ever, seen too many people for a session, where they had to turn some away! And the person I went for today, Lucy Mary Seymour, was born in Minnesota. In 1866. Cool! After the Temple, we went over to distribution. I wasn't getting anything, but my comps were. So I just hung out there. They have a TV on the wall there, and it's always on the BYUTV channel. My alma mater. Anyway, it caught my attention because it was a show that I worked on! It was a show from my sophomore year, and I remember that I was the utility for the jib operator, and it was a sweet show. So I was like...whoa, I really do work for an international TV station! There's something indescribably cool about seeing your own work on TV in Brazil! And as I was standing there, one of the Elders in my district came over and mentioned that he was at that show. Cool...not a huge deal because it's BYU. But, I finally got it out of him that he was in the Young Ambassadors for a year, and I filmed him a few times! Crazy...haha he knows some of my friends!

Tonight, as usual, I am playing the piano for choir. And tonight the song is....Scripture Power!!! I'm so excited for it! I haven't sung that song since Primary! It'll be pretty fun. I'm also playing the piano for an Elder who is singing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. And next week for an Elder in my old district singing O Lord, My Redeemer, which is an absolutely beautiful song, and he's a Tongan with a sweet bass voice, so picture that if you can. Yeah, I'm practically the unofficial pianist here, which makes me pretty busy all the time! I didn't write y'all a letter this week, because I just didn't have time. Plus it helps that I can put it all in the email right now. Sorry I don't have picture to send; I can't take my camera out of the MTC, and I dont have a card-reader. Plus I don't have many pictures anyway.

Cars here are different. Fiats, Fords, and other cars are prevalent. Mercedes makes buses and trucks, but not so many cars. We did, however, pass a Ferrari dealership on the way back from the Temple! We also passed an ancient cemetary, but with HUGE gravestones, packed in there...behind a cement wall with barbed wire on top. Everything here is secured...it makes me wonder how much crime happens, or would happen without it. But I don't really know. Hahaha, we also passed a car with a snorkel on it. Yeah, the kind of snorkel where the car can go underwater. Weird! James, I think of you everytime we take the bus to the Temple, because the roads are basically tiny here, and the bus driver is pretty much pro at driving. I think you'd have quite the time here!

FOOD. Let me tell you about the food. Watermelon almost every single day, sometimes twice a day. And I haven't gotten sick of it yet. I also haven't gotten sick of beans and rice yet, and we eat it with every single meal except breakfast. Breakfast consists of delicious rolls that we use for ham and cheese sandwiches. Sometimes there is cereal. But there are always ripe bananas. Pineapple juice is pretty much the greatest invention ever. The juice here is SO sugary. I don't drink it, because of that, except for pineapple juice every couple of days. I haven't developed a like for guarana yet, which is like the Brazilian national drink. It's too sweet, and I can't even drink a small cup of it. There is so much meat there is here. At least two, usually three, dishes of meat at lunch AND dinner. I have gotten into the habit of making lunch my main meal, and dinner I usually just eat fruit, a salad, and a roll. Because I'm never even hungry by dinner time anyway.

In gym time, I always play volleyball. Tuesdays are awesome, because we have gym with a Brazilian district, and they play volleyball with head, arms, feet...basically anything goes. And it's intense. Last week, we had so many people playing, that we made it two-court volleyball, and it was the most fun I've ever had playing that sport! Unfortunately yesterday we got to gym and there was no volleyball. It had popped. Which means we probably won't have two-court volleyball tonight. It also means I was bored yesterday...so I went running around the tiny track...I don't like running at all! But I can almost do a pull-up now! Hahaha. It's my goal to be able to do one before I leave. I've got 6 more weeks! :D Mondays, after gym, we get to do service. Yesterday, I got to fold pillowcases, mop floors, and dust some stuff. We found like half a dozen dead cockroaches. Sweet.

This week, my companheiras and I made it a goal to teach a lesson a day, in Portuguese, so that we'd have taught 7 by the end of the week. So we were doing that. They were short lessons, and we just taught Brazilians or other Americans at snack time, at 9:30pm. HOWEVER, yesterday we taught 4 lessons! It was crazy! And awesome! It is amazing what the Lord has done with us, as far as learning the language goes. I have so much more to learn, but I have only been here two and a half weeks, and already I feel that i have learned SO MUCH. My comps and I also made it a goal a while ago to spend 15 minutes of our companion study time speaking only portuguese. At first, we didn't know what to say. Now, the 15 minutes flies by, and we have full-on conversations. Yesterday, we talked about sports. All the Elders in our district know we do this, so it's cute when they ask every day how our 15 minutes was. Hooray! It's really helped us learn new vocabulary and better ways of expressing ourselves.

I had a thought the other day about Brazil. In a lot of ways, it's like the early church in the United States, because most of the Brazilians are first or second-generation members. I've met tons of missionaries who are converts. I met one Brazilian sister the other day who is a 3rd generation member, and that is a big deal. The country is so ready. I'm so blessed to serve my mission here!

My thought for the day comes from...1 Kings 19:11-12. My comps and I have been preparing a lesson on prayer, and we read this scripture a few times. I love that the Lord is not in the huge things of the earth, but is a still small voice. We just have to listen, despite what all is going on around us. And we'll be blessed for listening to the Lord. Obedience brings blessings beyond comprehension.

Can you all do something for me? Can you look for blessings in your lives because of my serving a mission? I can already see tons of blessings in MY life, but I'd love to hear about the blessings coming into YOUR lives! Keep pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ. Pray. Study the scriptures. Keep the gospel and the Savior in your mind always.

Much love and lots of smiles,

Sister Karen Ogden

Why Yes, I do Enjoy Speaking Portuguese

2010-03-16T10:06:00.027-04:00

(Note: Received on March 16, 2009)

Hello family!

First, to answer some questions. I am the best toilet flusher because the toilets (some of them) are nearly impossible to flush, and I figured out right away how to do so, and have been teaching the other sisters who have been having trouble, so Sister Richardson said that I am the best toilet flusher around. :)

I'm sending a letter off to y'all today (well, to the Pennichuck Street address). It takes like 3 weeks for one direction. I got my first letter a week ago, and it was sent 19 days before it got here. Just so you know.

Alright, first things first. I got companions last week! Sister Christensen is from Orem, and she knows Rachelle, my roommate! Sister Nielson is from Texas, and her step-dad is a geologist. :) I also have a new district, new teachers, a new branch, and finally a real nametag!!! My district is fun.

My old district is awesome- they still look out for me all the time, and they don't pass by me without saying hi, or waving, or asking how things are going. It's like I have 11 brothers here! They told me the other day that I need to come back to their district, because when I left, the Spirit left too. Sad. But I don't believe it, because they always sing hymns and stuff, which obviously brings in the Spirit. They're goofballs. :)

Portuguese is coming along. Since my new district came in, I've been learning at a slower pace, because all we've done is review. It's really frustrating to me, because I want so badly to learn this language, but I feel like class time is a lot of wasted time for me. And I don't have the time to learn it on my own, but I'm doing what I can. I only have 7 weeks left here, and I feel like I haven't really progressed in the language since last Wednesday. But sitting with Brazilians at meals REALLY helps. There are some I've gotten friendly with who just came in on Thursday, so we sit with them a bunch. And some of my Brazilian friends left this morning. Actually, I'm one of the "oldest" sisters here now. Those of us who got here on March 5, are the ones who have been here the longest at this point. We get some more tomorrow and Thursday though! We've only got 10 sisters right now!

I got to go to the Temple today, which was awesome. It really got me thinking about who the Lord's anointed are. They are everyone with a calling. Yeah, I could expand on that, but I just don't have the time. You'll get my letter in a few weeks about the gift of tongues, and just apply that to the covenant of no evil-speaking of the Lord's anointed. Oh yeah, my letter isn't as long as I had hoped, but it's a letter nonetheless.

OH! yesterday we had a true American summertime dinner- hamburgers, chips, and watermelon! I get to eat watermelon just about every day now! It's pretty awesome. :) I have no complaints about that!

Another thing that's cool about Brazil and Sao Paulo is that there is music in the streets sometimes, especially on the weekends. We were sitting in our room the other day, and it was silent in there, but you could hear the music in the streets. It was so neat. I really love it here! And I love the rain here! So far, it's only rained twice, and the second time was jsut briefly, and we had a brief thunderstorm too. It's great. I'm sure I won't love it so much when I have to walk around in it, drenched. :)

Sometimes, I think I need more faith. It's been a really trying week, and I have really struggled in a few ways, though not specifically with my faith. No, that's strong, and it's my knowledge that I'm supposed to be here that keeps me going. Going to the Temple was really good today. But mostly I just need patience, humility, and charity. I realized that last Thursday...actually, Wednesday night. When I gained my other two thirds (my comps). :) But it's all good. Life is about learning, and that's what I am doing, so at least I'm partially on the right track!

Oh- we found a cockroach the other day! And all three of us screamed when we saw it, even though none of us are screamers! Then a Brazilian came (and after they all laughed at us), and she took her shoe and massacred the thing. It was great!

Leaving you with a scripture..1 Corinthians 12:31. Gain spiritual gifts! I've been studying a lot about those lately in my personal study time, and it has been amazing. I don't have the Bible in front of me at the moment, but go read this...it's a great verse!

I love you all! Expect letters starting in the next few weeks!

Much Love,
Karen

PS- I'm getting fat! ah!

You thing New York is Huge?

2010-03-10T09:33:00.029-05:00

(Note: Received on March 10, 2010.)

Hola minha familia!

So, I'm in the great city of Sao Paulo. This keyboard is weird, so don't laugh at typos or lack of apostrophes because that's in a weird place. Anyway, I made it! I'm here! Everytime I look out my window, it seems like a dream. And it has been quite the adventure, even though I just got here on Friday. Let me give you the short version.

I met two Elders in the airport in Miami, and then we flew to Sao Paulo. Overnight plane rides aren't fun. I didnt sleep. But I got my first picture as a missionary taken before even leaving the airport here! The Elders had talked with some guys on the airplane, and they wanted a picture with them and wanted me in the picture too! That was pretty awesome. Then we waited a while, and someone told us how to get our money changed, and then we got our ride. The Elders were going straight to their missions...one had been waiting for his visa since he applied for it in JUNE, and the other...basically the same. They were both in the MTC for like 3 months, then one went to Baltimore and the other went to Atlanta North. Crazy. I'm so blessed that I got mine on time! So I was the only one that got dropped off at the CTM (pronounced say-tay-emee). And the people here weren't expecting me. Especially not by myself. Then they looked at some paperwork and realized they actually were expecting me, but I didn't have a nametag. Or a companion.

Long story short, I was the only sister in a district of 11 Elders who had all gotten here on Wednesday. We're pretty much the only district in the CTM who came here straight from home, other than Brazilans. Everyone else spent some time in Provo. I realized when I found this out just how blessed I am that my visa came when it did. First day was crazy. Sister Richardson is my roommate, though we are in different districts, because she only has like 3 weeks left. But I like her. We talk a lot. :)

SO my first few days were crazy. I didn't get a nametag til like yesterday. I sent you a letter on Friday when I got here, but you won't get that for about 2 more weeks. It takes about 2 1/2 weeks for mail to get here. When you get it, it'll all be a repeat of all this. WOw, I'm really not making any sense right now. I feel like I have so much to say, but don't want to make this a massive 9000 page email, and I have limited time, too.

I've had 3 days of classes...and Portuguese is coming quickly. I can understand a bit of it now, and I can have conversations, though my Portuguese is still very broken. My vocabulary is tiny, which can be frustrating when I know what I want to say but can't say it. But it's nice having BRazilians here because I get to actually practice the language with native speakers, and they are so helpful, because they correct me when I mispronounce something or when I don't know a word or something. It's nice.

Oh yeah, funny thing about that. My French is coming back because of learning Portuguese. Not because they are similar, but because when I'm trying to think in Portuguese but don't know the word, I think it in French instead. My thoughts for the first couple days were a jumble of French, Portuguese, English, and tiny bits of Spanish and German. Today I had an Italian word thrown into the mix. It's crazy. But it's leaning more toward Portuguese now, which is definitely a good thing!

TODAY! We went to the Temple! It's my first p-day, and I got to start it by going to the Temple! The session was in English, and the Temple is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. We stayed in the same room for the whole session, which was unique. But really, I can't express in words how beautiful it is!

So in other news...I joined the choir! Voluntarily! Because I decided long ago, but especially in the last few weeks, that I am putting my all into this mission. It's the Lord's time, and I'm going to use it wisely. So why not join the choir? So I did. We practice right before firesides and devotionals at which we sing, and it is amazing how quickly even a mildly complex piece can come together. And so far, we've sung the songs in both English and Portuguese, switching languages with sections or verses. Singing entirely in Portuguese has really helped with pronunciation, too. AND, it gets even better. I volunteered to play the piano or conduct the choir if they ever need me to. And on Tuesday, Irmão Lopez (Brother Lopez) asked me to play for that evening's devotional. So I did. It was a simple piece, but it was so nice to play for something! And the choir sounded beautiful.

Ah so many thoughts that I need to try to organize!!! Anyway. I met President and Sister Clark the other day (he's the CTM presidente), when my district had a meeting with them. Since only 12 of us came in last week, we got to know them on a pretty personal level, and they got to know lots about us too. Today after I got back from the Temple (just a little while ago), President and Sister Clark found me in the hallway, and Sister Clark told me that she'd heard that I've played the piano since I was 8, and she asked if I'd ever be willing and/or able to play a special musical number for something. I told her yes, if they give me a couple days to practice when I've got time (which there isn't much of, really). Then she asked me to be the coordinator after Sister Harper leaves next week, which means that I'll basically be in charge of making sure the Sisters are doing what they're supposed to and following the rules. Pretty cool!

Speaking of the Sisters, let me give you some statistics. First of all, there are 22 million people in this city. My mission is one of the smallest in the country. And everyone who is from here says "I'm sorry" when I tell them where I'm going. It's funny. Here at the CTM, there are about 200 missionaries. Maybe less, because a ton left yesterday. But we got a bunch more today. When I got here, there were about 16 sisters. I was number 17, and then 3 more came later that day. Yesterday, almost all the Brazilian Sisters left, so there were 9 of us. Now I think there are 12, because three more came today. 12 sisters in the entire place! And the Elders treat us like queens. We get to be first in line for everything, and they take our trays and let us cut in line if they're already there...it's pretty awesome :) OH, and President Clark said that the CTM is actually in my mission. So I look out the window and I see where I'll be serving!

About the city...it's enormous. It's so spread out. Traffic is 100% insane. Pedestrians get run down if they're in the way, and motorcycles have the right of way. They drive in between cars and that's no problem. Merging doesn't exist...to switch lanes, you just move and cut someone off with centimeteres to spare. Yeah, the ride from the airport to the CTM was kinda terrifying. And all cars are small here. There are TONS of the old VW Beetles. It took us an hour to get from the airport to the CTM, and we never left the city. The buildings are so colorful...I love it! Today it took us an hour to get to the Temple, which is only 10 miles away. Across the street from walmart. And still in the middle of the city. The skyline is never-ending. Everywhere you look, there are buildings 10s of stories high. And it just goes on and on. The city really never sleeps, especially on Saturday nights. We sleep with the window open, because the breeze is nice. And we hear motorcycles, music, birds, cars, people, and all kinds of city noises. It's better than trying to sleep over the noise of the fan though! I actually enjoy it, which is weird for me to say. As for the weather...picture September. After August's humidity. The first day was sooooo humid. Then on Saturday, we had some of the famous rain, and three thunderstorms. Since Sunday, the temperatures have been beautiful and the humidity level has been way down. It's so nice! I thought it would be a more difficult switch from winter to summer (especially because I flew out of Boston in the snow), but it's not that bad. And fall is coming in a couple weeks anyway.

I got my first letter yesterday! The Elders in my district were like "WHAT?!?!?" because I was one of the first to get a letter and the last one to get here. Oh speaking of my district...last night, I got news. Today I'm being transferred! I need to move into a new room, I'll have two companions who spent last week in Provo, and I have a new district and a new branch. Sad, because my Elders were so good to me, and they are like family at this point. It's amazing how close you can get to people in just a few days, just by spending all your time with them. But I'm happy about it...I'll have companions! This is exciting. Plus I know it's what the Lord wants, so I'm definitely okay with it! I met them and the rest of my new district at lunch today, and they seem pretty nice. It'll be fun to get to know them. There are only 7 of us in the disctrict, I think. Oh yeah, branches are tiny...my branch on Sunday was 22 people. The size of an EFY group.

Wow, this is massive at this point. I have so much more to say. Maybe I should start writing a letter, which will take me days to write, but I'll be able to write more, in some ways. Palm trees everywhere!

Volleyball here is like soccer with a net in the middle, and you can use hands. They use feet, hands, knees, and head for volleyball. We played it at gym time the other day, and I was laughing so hard I could hardly play.

A couple random thoughts...I saw people pulling handcarts around the streets. I'm actually across the street from the CTM right now, at Mr. Cheney's Cookies. They have a computer lab here, where we get an hour of computer time for 1 reais. Oh yeah, thje exchange rate is SO GOOD here...and everything is way cheap anyway. We went to distribution today, and I got a scripture case with the Sao Paulo temple on it, for like 5 reais, which i about $3.50. So on P-days, we get to walk around the city. There's a perimeter we have to stay within, but we get to actually be IN the city. And after 5 weeks, we get to to proselyting a couple times, on the strees. Both within and without the perimeter. Oh, the day I leave here in May 4. I got a nametag yesterday. They just took a blank one and taped my name to it, so I still have a fake one. I will get a real on on Friday. :)

K, let me end this with a scripture. D&C 90:11- "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ." That's me!! I get to teach the people of Sao Pauo East in their own tongue. The Lord is really blessing me with the Gift of Tongues, and I know He will continue to bless me with it as I work hard and am faithful. I know you will be blessed too. I can't wait to hear about the blessings you all receive while I'm on my mission. Look for them...they are there. You'll see them every day; hundreds of them.

Much love,
Karen

PS- I'm the best toilet-flusher here :D

Tomorrow it is...AGAIN!

2010-03-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here's yet another story for all you interested readers.

I should be on a plane right now. Right? Yeah. Or, if we go with plan A, I should be in Brazil by now! But alas, Plan A fell through because my visa hadn't yet arrived. Ironically, Plan B fell through because my visa DID arrive! Yesterday afternoon I got a call with the news, and it was...so great! My visa had arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday, so I called them back, and they were expecting the call. Laura, the lady I'd spoken with before about a new plane ticket, knew who I was before I even told her yesterday.

So here's plan C. My visa will arrive in the mail today (thank goodness for FedEx overnight!), and I'll hop on a plane for my journey to Brazil tomorrow. I'm flying out of Logan at 2:50pm, through Miami, where I get to meet up with another missionary for the leg to Brazil. Sweet! I'm so excited! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I AM GOING TO BRAZIL!!!!!!!

Okay for real now (I hope), I will be back in a year and a half! Until then...God be with you!

Tomorrow it is, then

2010-03-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

I'm down to less than 24 hours until I leave. I still have so much to do, but whatever gets done, gets done. And what doesn't...oh well. I'm on God's time, so it will all work out like it's supposed to.

My testimony is the biggest thing that led me to go on a mission. I saved this for last, because I thought it was a good note to end on for a year and a half. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church with ALL the truth on the earth today. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know He died that I might live with Him and Heavenly Father again. I know that I can be with my family forever. I know that God answers prayers. He knows us and loves us more than we can even imagine. I know that the Church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, back in the early 1800s. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. I know He receives direct revelation from God for the Church. I know that God lives. The song "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" sums it up pretty well. I love the Lord with all my heart. This is why I am serving a mission. I know the joy the gospel brings into life. I want to share this joy and happiness with all God's children. I know that my call to serve the people of Sao Paulo came from God. I am going into this mission with all that I am, and putting my all into it.

And on that note...See you in a year and a half!

2 days and a missionary!

2010-03-01T08:04:00.000-05:00

I'm a missionary! HOORAYYY!!!!! Hard to believe it's for real.

Being an EFY counselor summers 2008 and 2009 helped me prepare for and want to serve a mission even more. I had the opportunity to be an example for the youth, and to teach them from my own life lessons, and from lessons in the scriptures. That's where I learned to teach by the Spirit. That's where I learned to teach, period. That's where I gained my desire to teach people and bring the Spirit and gospel into their lives. That's where I first saw lives change in a short amount of time because of the Spirit. What an amazing experience both summers, and such good mission preparation.

Back tomorrow, for the last time!! Then I fly out to Utah, and I'll have my mom update my blog once in a while!

3 days

2010-02-28T11:50:00.000-05:00

So before I put up my usual thought of the day for the countdown, I just wanted to write a little bit about lately. I'min between wards right now, as I spoke in my home ward this morning and I'm going to my singles ward to speak there this afternoon. I've seen a lot of people dear to me recently, because last night I had a party so I could see lots of people. Last night was tons of fun. Definitely a good way to end pre-mission life! Let's just say I'm going out with a bang....hahahaha. Anyway, I've been thinking. There are so many of you (both who read this and don't) who have touched my life. I am the person I am because of each and every one of you. I'm so blessed to have such good examples in my life and such wonderful family. I say family, because my friends are my family. I have extended family...everywhere. I have such a big family, and it is wonderful! You are all wonderful people, and while I look forward to serving in Brazil, I hope I hear from you once in a while, because I'll definitely miss you!

So...today's thought. Stanford Larsen. One of my dearest childhood friends. He wanted more than anything to serve a mission, but passed away before he was able to do so here. He changed my life, and his example of faith and diligence is part of what made me want to serve a mission. Like I've said before, it was kind of a process to realize this is what I wanted, but Stanford was part of that process. He still is. Part of me wants to do what he can't, which is to serve a mission on this earth.

4 days

2010-02-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

One time, I was on the train to Georgia to visit the Hunsakers, and I had an extra copy of the Book of Mormon. The train was ridiculously crowded, so in Philly, a guy came and sat next to me, and he wanted to talk. At first, I just wanted to be left alone, but as we talked, I started talking about the gospel, and he kept asking me questions about how he could change his life, and about where he could go to church when he starts his life over in Atlanta. To make a long conversation short, I offered him my Book of Mormon, and he took it, and we kept talking about it for a while longer.

It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had as far as missionary work goes, because he was a complete stranger. I don't even remember his name. Hah, he asked for my number...I didn't give it to him...but it was still cool to be able to share something so important to me with another person who may or may not have been looking for it. Just helped me realize further that's what I wanted to do for a year and a half.

5 days!

2010-02-27T00:18:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, it's technically the 27th now. But I'm still awake from the 26th, so in my mind, it's still 5 days.

High school. I had the opportunity to go to a Catholic girls high school, where I was the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I got older, I became known as "the Mormon." And I loved this title! I had the opportunity at least once every single day to talk about the gospel, or about why I am who I am, or about the things I do and don't do. It was where my missionary opportunities began, and where I really gained the desire to share the gospel with everyone I know.

6 days! ...again!

2010-02-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

So here's the story. Up until yesterday, I was at the point where I really didn't know where I'd be going next week. Back when I got my mission call (over 4 months ago!), I also got an itinerary that was sending me straight to Brazil. I was to fly out of Logan Airport at 2pm on March 2, and arrive in Sao Paulo at 8am on March 3. The tickets were bought, my call letter said I'd attend the MTC in Sao Paulo. So that was the plan. I filled out the visa application and all that, and then it was just a waiting game.

I waited.

And waited.

And still waited some more.

And I'm still waiting.

My visa is still in process, and has been for a few months, and I honestly don't know when I'll get it. Brazil is cool and all, but the consulate is a little disorganized from what I've heard. Plus they get hundreds of these applications from the Church each month. So for the past few weeks, I've been watching the mail waiting for my visa. Last week, I called SLC and asked if they knew where it was. They told me that if they hadn't received it by the 26th, they'd give my stake president a call and let me know what to do from there.

This week...still no visa. And I figured I wouldn't have it by Friday. So really, as far as I knew, I'd still be going to Brazil, because I hadn't heard anything to the contrary. But I don't have my passport, and I don't have plane tickets. Yesterday, I got a call from my bishop with the news. I'd be attending the Provo MTC. I had to call someone in SLC to get flight info and stuff like that. So I made that call, and she told me that they don't know where in the process my visa is, but I should hopefully have it by the time I leave the MTC. 9 weeks from the day I go in. So now my plans are...go to Provo! I fly out of Manchester at 6:17am on March 3, and arrive in SLC at 12:17pm, and head straight to the MTC. So I will be in Provo, but I will not be able to see anyone, which is okay. I'm going on a mission! BUT...I'll get that address up here,because I'm there until further notice, so mail should be sent there. Plus then I'll get it sooner. And you can use dearelder.com too, to send me mail, and I'll get it that day. And it's free. FREE!!!

So that's what went down yesterday. Plans changed, but I'm happy with it. I know where I'm going and when now, so that's a wonderful feeling!!!

6 days!

2010-02-24T10:23:00.000-05:00

James

Yeah, you read that right. James went on a mission. He was the first in our entire family to serve a mission, and what an example it was to me! Lots of people poo-poo the Provo mission, but James worked hard. I got to see him as a missionary a couple of times, because I went to school in Provo, and there is no doubt that he worked hard. He changed people's lives. I saw firsthand how effort and a willingness to serve can really change a person, and that person can then change so many others!

7 days

2010-02-23T22:40:00.000-05:00

Down to one week now. In all honesty, I literally don't know where I will be a week from now. Could be Utah, could be on the way to Sao Paulo. Guess I'll find out in 3 days.

Today's focus: Preach My Gospel. I remember when this book came out, and I remember the discussions before it, because that was how I was taught. And my mother and father and brothers. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but then a few years ago, I acquired my own copy and began studying it. As I studied and learned, I gained a greater desire to serve a mission and share the gospel with others. There's not much else to say. I've studied this book cover to cover, and it is a partial influence on my decision to go on a mission.

8 days

2010-02-22T17:31:00.000-05:00

Missionaries. It may seem obvious that they would have influenced my decision to go on a mission. But missionaries have been a big part of my life since I was like 5. The Elders taught my mom at first, and then we had some Sisters who came and taught her. I was baptized 6ish years after her, so we had a lot of missionaries in our home in that time. When I started going to church when I was 5, I wouldn't go to primary without one of the missionaries coming with me. As I got older, I understood more who the missionaries are and what they do. Even now, we still have the missionaries over a lot, and even back at school I knew a bunch of missionaries through James.

I have looked up to these people for years. Many years. Anyone willing to give up 2 years or 18 months of their life has always been interesting to me. Interesting in a good way. So I guess my point is...missionaries have influenced me to be a missionary, just by their examples. They are the ones who, without even realizing it, first gave me the idea that maybe some day I could serve a mission.

That being said...you never know who you are affecting and making an impression on! Would you want to follow the example you're setting? Just something to think about :)

9 days

2010-02-21T11:44:00.000-05:00

So the countdown has begun. I leave for my mission in 9 days. Single digits. Wow. So I want to do something along the road to departure. Over the next week or so, I want to write about 9 things that led me to serve a mission.

EFY 2007. That year at EFY was insanity. Carolee was my roommate, and we did so many stupid things. Our poor counselor, Megan. Anyway, it was my last year as a participant. Despite being crazy about 90% of the time, there were serious and spiritual moments. I don't remember when exactly, but there was a moment where my future changed. I wanted so badly to serve a mission. It was something I'd wanted to do when I was younger, but then in high school I got sidetracked and it was no longer a priority. That day, it became a priority. I was not going to rule out relationships or anything in college, but I had such a strong desire to serve a mission that day. I decided then and there to start preparing for one, in case I got the opportunity to serve a mission. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew that more than anything in that moment, I wanted to serve a mission.

Realizing Reality

2010-02-20T18:09:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you don't realize how much you love people until they're gone.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you appreciate someone until you don't see them anymore.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you care about someone until you can't talk to them anymore.

Sometimes you don't realize how close you are to someone until they get busy and aren't around as much.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you still care about someone until they re-enter your life.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you like your job until it's over.

Sometimes you don't realize how near the end/beginning is until you count the days.

Sometimes you don't realize how much you like someone until they break your heart.

Sometimes you don't realize how cautious you're being until someone slips right through your fingers.

Sometimes you don't realize how carefree you're being until you get hurt.

Sometimes you don't realize how much someone affects you until their influence is gone.

Sometimes you don't realize you're being irrational until reality slaps you in the face.

Sometimes you think you can handle more until you get hit with the unexpected.

Sometimes, you don't realize things about life and the people in it until after it's over. And no matter how hard you try, or how reasonable you think you're being, you just can't realize some things until after the fact. And that's just part of life and the growing up process.

Valentine's Day?

2010-02-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

Really? Who invented this holiday? If you can't tell someone you love and/or appreciate them every other day of the year, what is going to make February 14 so special? I'm just glad it's over. I'm sick of seeing mushy (stupid) cards, flowers, and ridiculously packaged chocolates come through my line at work. I'm sick of everyone being like "what are YOU doing for Valentine's day?" as if it's actually an important day. Nothing, thank you very much.

Oh and thanks for the reminder that I'm single. No problem, usually. But it's pretty annoying when everyone is all la-dee-da about this stupid day and "oh, you're single? I'm sorry...." Whoop-dee-freakin-doo. I'm glad I'm single. For the moment. Hello, I wouldn't be going to Brazil otherwise!

So that's half a rant. The other half I don't want to get into right now. Or probably ever, on this blog. But hey, on the bright side...remember that assignment I talked about the other day? The paper? Yeah, it's done! DONE!!!! At least, the draft is. I just have to turn in the final paper and an oral report this week, and then I can prepare for the final! And I'm going to take my Bio final probably Wednesday morning. Which means working my tail off until I leave for New York, but after that, I lose another 30 pounds of stress, and I can enjoy my last week here! It's crazy to think I only have two weeks left. Time is seriously flying by. I'm glad though. I can't wait!

Procrastination is the thief of time

2010-02-11T19:11:00.000-05:00

So while being a thief, why not employ procrastination to be productive? Like updating my blog. I don't know how productive this actually is...but hey. In procrastinating my paper, I've gotten a lot done! For instance, today I updated my journal on a bunch of things I've overlooked the past couple of days. And I started cleaning my room/packing for the mission. And I labelled a couple hundred pictures. And I caught up with friends. And I worked. And I volunteered at the Temple. And I went on a date. And...yeah. See? Not completely a waste of time! All those are good things! But I'm at the point where I KNOW I need to do this paper, but I just can't seem to focus. I can focus on anything else, but this task for some reason seems way too daunting. But I need to finish it like a month ago, but in reality, tomorrow is basically the last day I can really finish it without a huge panic before I leave. If I wanted to push it for real, I could finish it by Monday, and then just take my final, say, the Thursday or Friday before I leave. yeah, good plan...NOT. Either way, it'll be that week. But if I keep procrastinating, I'm just going to screw myself up in this class, and that's no good. Ugh.

So back to the paper for me. I need some inspiration or something. My phone is off, there's nothing new on facebook, I've already written in my journal, I don't have any more House episodes to watch, so really there should be nothing to distract me...right? Okay, here's the test. I'll let you know how it goes!

This & That

2010-02-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

bulldozers & hairdos
utah lake & shopping carts
ketchup & blackberries
ducks & josh groban
atlantic sunrises & the emperor's new groove
gilmore girls & everything in my life!
murses & sacrament meeting notebooks
cars & temple couples
batman & spanish
boots & letters
bmw's & snowball fights
efy 03 & north dakota
institute & exploding laughter
crepes & mexican restaurants
hello kitty & kaka's furs
chips in bed & drive-in movies
hannaford & no secrets
sailing & newcastle beach
pranks & volvos
golf & photography
country dancing & modesty
legos & guitar players in salt lake city
natural woman & efy roomies

What do all these things have in common? I have tons of memories. They are triggered by random things, and sometimes by combinations that don't seem to match up. Each of these pairs reminds me of someone. I have so many more, that this post would be forever long if I listed them all. So when I see, hear, smell, eat, or remember any of these, you are the one I'm thinking about! Cool, huh?

Carpe diem

2010-02-07T09:39:00.001-05:00

Inspired by James's last post found here.

You only get a once in a lifetime chance...once in a lifetime. You only make a once in a lifetime friend...once in a lifetime. You've heard it all before, I'm sure. What are some things YOU have only done once in a lifetime? Like James, I've got a bunch of those...because my parents are awesome, and taught me from the day I was born that my backyard is not the center of the world. We traveled. We drove everywhere we went, so we saw more that way. That sense of adventure has not left me. Perhaps that is why it does not scare me to be half a world away from my family in Brazil. Perhaps that is why I've been to Alaska, every province in Canada, Death Valley California, 30-something states, 9 different countries, etc. Perhaps that is why I do what may seem like crazy things sometimes.

I believe in carpe diem. Seize that day! You never know when you'll get to do something again, and you will never live the same day twice. Live every moment in the present, and enjoy life, even the bumps in the road. Some of my favorite fun-filled days are the ones where I got next to no sleep, had adventures with family and friends, and had far too much to write about in my journal afterwards. Sometimes we didn't even go anywhere on those days. Like the day Tiff and I played soccer in the kitchen and broke the table found here. Or when Mel and Carolee and Steven and Michael and I made a movie found here. Or when Michael tried out his ninja skills and [failed!] found here.

Then there were times where I seized the day elsewhere. On my 20th birthday, some of my friends and I partied all day. By "partied", I mean that we did 20 things I'd never done before! It was probably the best birthday I've had, and it included going to the top of the SWKT, getting sung to at Denny's at about 1am, and going Jewish dancing. Another time, I went to a Vocal Point Concert, and they sang to me on stage. Once, in Idaho, we drove completely the wrong way...but it was okay, because I was with friends! Another time, I pulled an all-nighter...my first ever, and it wasn't til second semester of sophomore year in college! One time, I went cow-tipping in Austria. And another time I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

So many good memories...so many part of my life that have only happened once. Even every day things only happen once. I work almost every day, and one day last week was unique, and one of the best I've had! I talk to my friends on the phone lots, but some conversations are more memorable than others. Today is Fast Sunday, and is the last one I get to go to in HP until after the mish. No two days are ever exactly alike. Seize the day, life for the present, and enjoy life! Create lots of once in a lifetime moments!

Distance

2010-02-05T18:48:00.001-05:00

Distance is...physical, emotional, spiritual.

Right now, many of the most important people in my life are physically far away from me. And yet...there are some whom I've never felt closer to than I do now. I am so blessed to have email, a phone, the internet...anything to help me stay in contact with people. So while I may be almost 3000 miles from people I love, they really aren't that far away! And distance is good...to keep a relationship, you really have to talk, more than just hang out...so you get to know people better that way. One of the people I am closest to right now is in Idaho, and we didn't even start talking that much until we were this far apart. Interesting, isn't it?

So being in Brazil, for all those of you who may worry, will not tear our friendship apart. You write me a letter or email, you get one back. Guaranteed. :) And if you don't get a letter back, you can safely assume it got lost in the mail!

Distance really isn't that bad now, is it?

Have you ever...

2010-02-03T20:08:00.001-05:00

...just wanted to write and be one of those awesome bloggers who has like 2382738273 followers, just because all those people like following your adventures? Those people usually are anonymous, at least partially so. That would be so cool, I think. To be a nameless blog out in the www, and have people interested in your life!

On another note, today at work I had to keep reminding myself how blessed I am to even have a job. Sure, I am only there for another twoish weeks, but I am blessed to get the hours i do. I had to remind myself of this when I dealt with silly people, when I got my schedule for next week and was cut 10 hours, and when I worked with a lot of random people today. But it is all good!

As for class...things are working out well, though not quite ideally. But it's okay, I have a plan, and it will all work the way it is supposed to. Even if I am taking finals my last week home, I can do it...that's what I built that week in for! Hence why my time at Hannaford ends on the 16th. So soon!

Also, those of you who would be interested, I'm having a last hoorah fiesta on February 27 at my house, 3:30-8:30pm. It's informal, and there's no real plan. Drop in when you want, leave when you need to. I just want to see everyone before I leave, and figured this would be the easiest way! If you need more details, such as an address or something, please ask...but it's not something I"m going to just post on a public blog :)

Silent date

2010-02-02T17:55:00.001-05:00

Who knew you could go on a date with someone then split up once there, and really only be together for the ride there and back? Well, and then Taco Bell. Anyway, you'd think it would be a lame date, but it was actually pretty awesome. Who knew folding laundry for 4 hours could be so enjoyable and time would fly by? Well, now I know! And I know that service is a good kind of date, too! Today was a pretty awesome day, but because of unexpected delays, now I have a ton of schoolwork to do tonight, but I'm taking a test tomorrow, so then I'll have a little less to worry about the rest of the week, though still far too much. But it's okay, service brings blessings, so maybe this time I'll be blessed in finishing everything I need to! So I'm going to go help God help me, and get off of here and write an essay that I'm about half done writing.

:)

I got a good job, I work hard for my money

2010-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

Lyrics from the song I'm currently listening to, "Boot Scootin Boogie".

Anyway, yesterday was a fantastic day! Chris got home from his mission:

It was awesome to be at the airport with his family and the Whatcotts for the excitement! We went back to his house afterwards, and for a few hours, Chris just told us all about his mission. I look forward to hanging out with one of my best buds over the next 33 days before I head out! I get first date with him as an RM ;)

Yesterday was also kind of a wake-up call. Since I got my mission call, I've had lots of things happen that I knew would happen. John came home. I went to Utah. Temple. Thanksgiving. birthday. Tiff and Sky came for Christmas. Everyone left for school. Chris got home. Now...the next big thing, literally, is me leaving. I realized just how fast this next month is going to fly by. Chris is home; this is something I've been looking forward to for (literally, 2 years) a long time...and now that's happened, and wow. Time is flying by. 3 1/2 months ago, I got my mission call, and I thought it would be eternity before I'd be leaving, but now it's creeping up on me. My lists of things to do are shrinking, my post-it wall is diminishing as I finish things, and I am taking care of a lot of things to get things in order.

On that note, I need to go finish my proposal for a paper for my English class. I need to turn it in like 2 weeks ago, aka tomorrow, so I gotta get that done. And I can't do it tonight unless I pull an all-nighter, because I have to work til 11:30. Fun fun fun! And it's snowing, so that's pretty awesome :)

Rocks Rock

2010-01-27T10:53:00.002-05:00

Every rock tells a story. Sometimes it is obvious what that story is:

Over time, sediment built up and created this huge sedimentary rock. This is typical of basically all the rocks in the west. Look at the Grand Canyon for example...that's a perfect picture of sedimentary rock eroded over time and through water and such.

Sometimes the story is a little harder to find, and you have you dig deeper and know some background info about that rock or rock system:

In the Rocky Mountains, specifically the Wasatch range, the rocks started as sedimentary rocks. Layers built up over time. As faults formed and gave out, these layers were bent, twisted, uplifted, and changed. The layers are not horizontal anymore, and some are twisted around like this one. It takes more time to explain this than just looking at it and knowing which layer came first.

Sometimes unless you know more about the type of rock, the climate, and erosion processes, you can't really explain some surface phenomena:

I don't actually know the whole story here, but my theory is that this is a kind of soft rock and erodes quickly with water. Here, there were pockets of water or some other solution, and now there are holes in the rocks.

Sometimes you see the end result, and you can hypothesize about how it got that way:

It looks really cool in the end, and you realize that all the weathering, the breakage, and the erosion carved away to a beautiful piece of rock that stands out among the others.

Sometimes you see the destruction a rock can create, and you can build a story back from that:

This rock came from way up on the mountain behind this house. There is a boulder field just to the right (south) of this house, where boulders have collected over time. Nobody builds a house there, because that would be stupid. This rock let loose and took a different path than the norm, and bounced down the mountain, off the backyard, and through this entire house, landing here in the front corner of the garage. The destruction was impressive, and shows that you can't really predict where a rock is going to go or what it is capable of.

Sometimes you just want to enjoy the rocks without really trying to figure out what the story is in any depth:

This was taken in Mosaic Canyon, in Death Valley. This is marble, eroded and smoothed and carved by a river that used to flow through this canyon.

But rocks aren't the only ones to tell a story. Rivers tell stories:

This is a braided river. Its head is a glacier. This is glacial runoff, essentially, filled with silt. The silt buildup over time, is what created this impressive braiding in the valley.

And on that note, some places are filled with these braided rivers:

Where glaciers dominate the mountains, braided rivers dominate the valleys. Glaciers are full of stories too, and they leave remnants of their story all over the place.

The little holes at the front of this picture are called Kettle Lakes. They were left by glaciers. Everything in these two pictures was carved or created by glaciers. The valley was created by them, the mountains were carved by them, the rivers are because of them, the kettle holes are remnants of them. It is amazing how one geological feature can literally change the face of the earth.

Below: Portage Glacier created Portage Lake. Without that glacier there, the lake would not exist. Neat, huh?

Sometimes you can see the history of the river right on the landscape, and then you don't have to look much further:

Here, you can see the current path of this river. You can also see what are called "Oxbow Lakes", which are where the river used to flow, but then it changed its path.

Sometimes the history, though written right on the landscape, is much more complex than just a few oxbow lakes:

Here is a snaking riverbed, and within it is another, current, snaking river. Obviously, there used to be a bigger river here, and since that has dried up, a smaller river flows in a new riverbed within the original bigger one.

Sometimes you can see how volcanoes affected the landscape and gave it the unique touch it has now:

This is all sandstone in the forefront of the picture. The blacker "cap" on that one hill is pillow basalt, from a volcano back in the day.

And sometimes, we just like to enjoy the beauty of this earth that God blessed us to live on:

And sometimes, the most impressive things are ones that you have to look for, and aren't as clear as the others around them:

This is the great Denali. Mount McKinley. Possibly the greatest and most impressive mountain in North America.

Find the metaphor. Of course there is one; this is Karen writing this blog! Like rocks, glaciers, mountains, rivers, etc, people all have a story to tell. Some people wear their heart on their sleeve and you can see right away what their story is. Others keep it all inside and are cautious, even afraid, to tell the story. You have a story, I have a story. Regardless, just keep in mind that everyone has a story. Their experiences have made them the people they are today, with both their beautiful and less beautiful features and qualities. Keep this in mind as you meet and interact with people, and you will respect everyone just a little more. :)

You make me smile

2010-01-25T17:16:00.002-05:00

Stanford Larsen: One of my dearest friends. Also one of the few people in this world who never let me down...ever. Every time I think back to memories with him, i can't help but smile. He has left a smile on my heart forever.

Watermelon always makes me smile. No other explanation needed.

My cats make me smile. They purr and are happy kitties.

Snow of course. Snow snow snow! Snow angels, snowballs, snowmen, snow forts, snow fights, snow shoveling, snowfall, snow!

My family. They're all my best friends. I couldn't ask for a better family...ever.

Mater. Cars. The music in the movie. Watching the movie over and over again, on rainy or sunny days. Lots of memories that go with this movie, too.

Country. Country music. Country dancing. Country movies. Nashville. Country stars. Cowboys. One in particular. All of these things make me smile like I'd never smiled before I found them. I want to be this! :)

Lots of things make me smile. Lots of people (basically...almost everyone I know and have ever met) make me smile. I'm happy. Life is good. My life is so full of blessings. So just remember...nobody is happy all the time. Not even me :) But find something to smile about, even when you're at your lowest point, and your day will get just a little better. Find multiple things to smile about, and it will get a lot better! Live life! Love life! Share smiles with those around you.

No, not yet.

2010-01-24T19:36:00.001-05:00

I don't speak Portuguese. I will be learning it starting in a month and a half. Right now, I know essentially nothing. When people who speak Portuguese find out I'm going to Brazil...they speak to me in Portuguese. That's cool...except I don't understand a word of it. Sure, I could be studying it, but I just don't have time. I have BYU classes to finish within the next couple of weeks, and then I can focus more on my now nonexistant Portuguese skills. But for now, it's just frustrating when people try to get me to understand a language I've never studied a word of, don't understand, and don't speak. And then I feel like a fool for not understanding, even though language skills don't come when you slit the envelope of a mission call. I'm not a fool, I just don't understand Portuguese. Oh, and I never took Spanish, so that doesn't even help either.

Okay?! Okay.

I hate...

2010-01-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

Cancer.

what a dark ugly word.

Really? REALLY!?

2010-01-22T17:22:00.001-05:00

At work, because I'm a cashier and because I work at Hannaford, part of my job is to "host." This is where I go out in front of the register when I don't have any customers, and "host..." It's effective in a few ways. First, I get to move around. Definitely nicer than standing in one spot. Second, I get to interact more with customers and other associates. Third, there are more employees visible (if everyone is hosting as they should be) for customers to ask questions. They ask me where stuff is. I don't usually know, but sometimes I do.

But sometimes some things about hosting get old. Like standing there aimlessly. Even though I'd be doing that anyway. The worst though, are the lines I get. You'll see in a moment. These are phrases I'm sick and tired of hearing...because EVERYONE says them and they think they're funny and original:

-"Are you waiting for me?"

Yes. Of course. Because the world revolves around YOU.

-"You look bored." or "Are you bored? Let me give you something to do!"

Yeah duh I'm bored. But you giving me three items to scan isn't going to fix that.

-"You look lonely."

...YOU'RE the one grocery shopping by yourself at 7am on a Saturday...

-"Why aren't you in school?" (said in the middle of a weekday)

I dropped out. I got pregnant and quit. I got kicked out. OBVIOUSLY, because I'm TOO OLD and GRADUATED. With honors, I might add. Just cuz I work in a grocery store doesn't make me stupid, insignificant, or a dropout.

-"Don't you just LOVE your job?" (said sarcastically of course)

Yes, I actually do. I love the people with whom I work. I love getting paid for mindlessness. I love when I see my friends here. I love the craziness. I don't like the morons who come through my line though!

-"I bet you can't wait to get out of here."

Yeah...cuz I have so much going on in my life...actually, THIS is where my friends are!

-"Why you don't you smile a little?"

Just cuz this is what my FACE looks like doesn't mean I hate you. I promise I don't bite.

Yup, it was a rant. Get over it. Sometimes I do that. :) But on the bright side, because there is always a bright side, the majority of the customers I see are pleasant enough. I'm just tired of the same lines over and over again, even from the nice people :)

Hamlet

2010-01-20T18:45:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite scenes from Hamlet (which is probably my favorite of Shakespeare's plays) is right after Polonius is murdered. I love the literal yet sarcastic reply Hamlet gives to King Claudius at his inquiry to the location of Polonius.

KING CLAUDIUS
Now, Hamlet, where's Polonius?

HAMLET
At supper.

KING CLAUDIUS
At supper! where?

HAMLET
Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain
convocation of politic worms are e'en at him. Your
worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all
creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for
maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but
variable service, two dishes, but to one table:
that's the end.

KING CLAUDIUS
Alas, alas!

HAMLET
A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a
king, and cat of the fish that hath fed of that worm.

KING CLAUDIUS
What dost you mean by this?

HAMLET
Nothing but to show you how a king may go a
progress through the guts of a beggar.

Words, Words, Words

2010-01-19T20:04:00.002-05:00

Some words I like that make me chuckle:
Spigot
Duck
Irk
Tweed
Goggle
Giggle
Jiggle
Wiggle (especially if you say the last 4 really fast, one after another)
Piglet
Doozy
Muskox
Platypus
Philanthropy
Buffoon
Gadget
Hooplah
Jablibbit (family favorite)
Hoytie Toytie
Snout
Beaver
Poof
Twinkle
Plethora
Thicket
Tweak

Yes.

2010-01-18T21:05:00.001-05:00

Did you ever smile so long

your FACE hurt?

That's me right now.

Time to go do homework while I smile!

Greased Lightning

2010-01-18T13:27:00.005-05:00

It's snowing today! And what a great day it's been...minus the fact that I haven't finished nearly as much as I should have by now. But I DID go outside and play in the snow...and that's important!

The snow was fresh in the tree....so I did what any little kid would do, and licked it. It was snow AND ice...good thing my tongue didn't freeze to the tree in my front yard!

I love tree branches in the snow. There's just something about the combination of brown and pure white that strikes my artistic bone.

Part of the tree and part of my house.

Looking up Pennichuck Street. So picturesque.

Me in my getup...I borrowed Michael's boots because I don't have any in NH (except for my cowboy boots....), and he gave me his snowshoeing boots, because they each weight like 5 pounds, and he just wanted to see me try to walk in them. My sunglasses made a comeback!

Well, that's today. I've got a couple papers to write for English 316, and a bunch of Bio to read, but do you have any idea how hard it is to do that in my room, while I can see the beautiful snow just outside? And I still have a bit more mission shopping to do, and Sears is having a huge sale this weekend, so I think I might hit that up this afternoon/evening. Meaning it could be a late night tonight, but hey, I was able to do it all the time in school, so why not now!?

I had a lot of thoughts over the past few days...but now they've all escaped me. I should probably get back to work anyway...I'll be back soon anyway, with more thoughts. Hah, it's just how I roll.

Blessed

2010-01-12T22:12:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, like lately, I think about all the people I know and have known in my life. I think about the people i will probably never see again in this life, and about the people I will not see for a few years at least. I think about how hard goodbyes are, and how seeya laters are just a little bit better. I think about how sad I am sometimes when I realize how long it may be before I see someone I am close to.

In this age of technology, I am blessed to have ways to communicate with people at the press of a button. I can text, call, email, facebook, IM, blog, or go back to old snail mail. I have options, and though I may never see some people again, I can still talk with them.

And I also think about how blessed I am to have known every single person I have. Each and every person I have met has left an impact on my life, big or small. While it hurts that I know I may not see people for a long time, or until the next life, I know that they have blessed my life. I am so blessed to have crossed paths with so many people. I look forward to the many more people whom I will meet, get to know, become friends with, etc. If you're reading this, chances are pretty good that I know you. Know that you have changed and blessed my life, if only in a small way. You are part of the reason I am who I am.

Scars

2010-01-01T20:32:00.004-05:00

Recently I was listening to an old Rascal Flatts song..."God Bless the Broken Road." This used to be one of my favorite songs, and though I still love it, it has different meaning now. With this song come a lot of memories from high school and such.

One time, I was running through the woods near Lake Winnepesaukee, NH, when I got a huge cut on my leg from a tree branch. It bled, scabbed over, and was still there for a couple weeks. It left an extremely visible scar. But it's okay, I like the story...especially because we were running to go see Mitt Romney's HUGE stables when it happened! A while ago, I noticed that I really can't see the scar anymore. Sad, because it was such a good one! But oh well. There will be more scars in the future to brag about.

In a similar way, I was thinking about emotional scars. Time is often the best healer. As in my scar on my leg, time healed it enough to hide it from those who don't know about it, but I still know what happened and that it exists. Or did exist and does not anymore. Similarly, sometimes we have experiences in life that leave humungous scars that seem as though they'll never go away. And maybe they won't...but they will diminish over time, and will not stay fresh forever. We move on and have new experiences, and over time we forget the exactness that was so pronounced in a fresh scar. We look back on how the scar came to be, and remember what created it. Often times, we look back and see how, like physical scars, emotional scars are really what shaped us into who we are now.

The song often brings a lot of memories to the surface, and it got me thinking about scars this time. Why focus on the scar itself when you can look back and remember how funny it was when a tree "jumped out" and scratched your leg? Remember all the funny looks you got when you told that story, especially the part about trespassing on Mitt Romney's property. Remember all the good times that the scar reminds you of. And how it has shaped your life now. Look forward to more scars, because most often, we remember good memories over bad ones, so it will be an exciting new story to tell!

Reflections

2009-12-31T15:43:00.004-05:00

The end of the year generally brings a reflection of it. What did I do that was noteworthy? Who did I meet? How did my life change? Who helped change my life? So many questions, answered now on December 31.

I rode a train across the continent.
I went to the lowest point in this hemisphere.
I walked on a glacier.
I made lots of new friends.
I saw a glacier calve into a lake.
I was an EFY counselor and loved every second of it.
I received my mission call.
I danced in the rain at midnight with people I'd never met.
I pulled my first all-nighter.
I made a few movies.
I made decisions not knowing what the future held for me.
I said goodbyes and seeya-laters...too many for my liking.
And so much more.

I met so many people who have touched and affected my life. My amazing co-counselors each taught me something. My EFY youth were amazing examples of strength. Some of my HP friends have taught me to love people in a new way. I met people on the way to Alaska with whom I'll probably never speak again, but they have a special place in my heart. All the people around me have touched me and will not be forgotten. For they are the ones who have made life as it is for me.

With the end of the year comes the review of New Years Resolutions. The point of them is to change your life for the better. One of mine was to write in my journal every day, and write about something I was grateful for or a tender mercy I noticed during the day. It has gotten to the point where I pull out my journal at night, and I can rarely limit it to just one tender mercy. The Lord blesses each of us so much. If we look around daily, we see this so much. It has truly changed my life, and is something I plan to continue to do. I never repeated anything, so looking back in my journal, you'll find 365 different tender mercies from 2009. Some have stories to go along with them, others are as simple as the first snow. My life is such a blessing. In the words of Nickelback, "each day's a gift and not a given right."

Bring on 2010!

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

2009-12-30T11:05:00.005-05:00

We all know the verse.
Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream.
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily; life is but a dream.

What a metaphor for life! Life IS but a dream. Sometimes I wake up and think that life is so short, especially when measured in small increments. Yesterday I woke up and realized that I've only got two months left in NH before I head to Brazil. I can hardly believe it's already been 2 1/2 months. Sometimes we have bad dreams, sometimes we have good dreams. Life is a dream in the sense that we don't always know what will happen next, it does not always seem to make sense, and yet it just keeps going. It ends abruptly for some people, and for others it just tapers off, as in some dreams. So let's keep rowing our boats gently down the stream of life. How? Think about it...you'll figure it out.

As for Christmas...here are some pictures! Tiff and Sky came out for a week, and it was basically the best Christmas ever! Although sprinkled with goodbyes and seeya-laters, it was fantastic nonetheless!

Nothing but Happiness!

2009-12-21T11:50:00.004-05:00

That's about how I'm feeling now! Tiff Tiff and Skylar get in tonight! This is going to be basically the best Christmas vacation EVER! I've got 8 billion things to do today before they get in, but I wanted to take a moment and write just how excited I am! I'm going to meet them in South Station, in Boston, because they took the train here from Provo. I'm so excited!!!!!!!

Photo shoot

2009-12-16T16:50:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I am inspired by my friend's posts. Some of my friends are amazing writers, and update their blogs frequently. It makes me want to be better about this, and become a better writer. But maybe my expression comes through piano or through photography. Because no matter how hard I try, I'm just average when it comes to writing. So at least I can enjoy others' talents in that area. :)

One of my EFY counselor friends, Caitlin, is home from her mission for medical reasons for a little while. I've been talking with her a lot lately, and today she took the time to put together a huge list of things I should bring with me on the mish (small things, but important nonetheless). As I was reading it, I realized how blessed I am to have so many who care about me and will take the time to do things for me like that. It was a simple thing, but it will help me so much!

So. Skylar is with Tiff today, and they leave Provo on Saturday morning! James is on his way home, and Steven gets home tonight. I'm so excited for this Christmas! It will be perhaps the last time our whole family will be together until after Michael's mission. That's crazy. That's like 4 years from now. There's a small chance we'll all be in one place for a brief time after my mission, but it really all depends on when Steven leaves for his. And Tiff and Skylar will be here too! This Christmas will be fantastic and sad at the same time. Goodbyes are hard, and I will have a lot of those within a couple days of each other...Even though I know it's just "seeya later." It's still goodbye for a few years. And as much as I don't want to think about it, I really have to in some cases.

Oh well. Anyway, I'm out. I need to go exercise my creativity in other areas of writing that are more important...no specifics because it's Christmas. :)

Lists, age, and long time no see

2009-12-15T08:22:00.003-05:00

Hey all. It's been forever since I've posted anything on here, and even longer since it was something artsy and different and interesting. So basically... I like lists. Lists help me organize my life. At this very moment in time, I have a to-do list written out for today, and a longer one in my head for this week. I also have a bucket list that keeps getting added to, though I haven't actually put pen to paper on that one. Maybe I should get working on that. I have about 2 1/2 months until I report to the MTC for my mission in Brazil. I'll be going through lots of lists before then. Clothes to buy, books to read, movies to see, shots to get, letters to write, people to talk with, etc. Look, that's a list in itself. Already, I can feel the organization.

Dreams. I have weird dreams. Sometimes more than others. For the past couple weeks, I've been on a roll. I remember my dreams the next day, so I remember what I just dreamed about. I have lots of dreams about my friends, about people in Utah, and about my upcoming mission. Of course, in dreams, something almost always goes wrong with good situations, or my head writes my life story about the way I want it to be at the time, not about reality. Sometimes I wake up and think, "dang, that was just a dream?" Oh well. It's fun, really.

I turned 21 a few days ago. Hard to believe, I know. I'm old. And you want to know a secret? My birthday was kinda lame. I was supposed to go bowling with some people, but they never showed up. I had cake with my family, which was good. And then Mel and Mike came over for a few hours, and that was good too. I'm glad they came, because otherwise it would have been a pretty much friendless birthday. Oh well. I went to the Christmas pageant too...but I'm not gonna write how I felt about that. Maybe another time, not on the internet. Where was I going with this thought? Oh yeah. I realized that birthdays aren't really important. I had a huge fiesta last year when I turned 20, and did 20 new things I'd never done before. It took all day, literally, and was definitely a birthday to remember. But i think sometimes birthdays are just a reason to have a party. Age doesn't really matter anymore. At least it doesn't to me right now. That could change next week or year or whatever. I don't even know how to put this in words...so now I'm just rambling and I'm going to stop.

SO GUESS WHAT! My old roommate from sophomore year at BYU is coming! Tiff Tiff is coming out to NH for Christmas with my family, and she's bringing her little brother, Skylar. I'm so excited! And then I will put up pictures, because we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I haven't put up any pictures lately. So yup. Okay, off to do my million things today!

Oh! Happy day!

2009-10-25T10:18:00.004-04:00

Since I received my mission call on Friday evening, I have had a little while to process it. I'm going to BRAZIL!!!!! I'm going to learn PORTUGUESE! It still hardly seems real that after this much time preparing for a mission, I finally know where I will be going, when I will be going, and what language I'll be speaking. It's a dream come true! I wouldn't have guessed Brazil if I were to venture a guess, despite the fact that 10% of all missionaries go there! And I'll be in the Sao Paulo East Mission...so cool! Sao Paulo is one of the largest cities in the world, and was founded in the 1500s. There's so much history there! This is going to be one of the best experiences of my life. Even though I'll be thousands of miles away from home in a place where I don't currently speak the language, I'm not nervous. Just excited. Granted, that may change as I'm on the plane to a foreign land, but for now, I'm content to be just excited. There are a few people I need to have long chats with in the near future! Carolee's dad served in the same mission, many years ago. My good friend Kevin served in the same mission only a few short years ago, and he refers to it as the Celestial Mission. I believe that! My friend Danny is currently serving there, which I think is pretty awesome! So yeah...my feelings on this include excitement and joy! And gratitude to have this opportunity. Wow!

I learned my first word in Portuguese yesterday: "encanador" means plumber. That's good to know. Also, "carne" means meat. Alex pointed that out to me and told me to remember that anytime someone asks me what my first name is. Because he calls me "Karne". I also remembered that one time when I was eating dinner at Tucanos, I made the comment that if I go to Brazil on my mission, I could be very happy there...because of the food. Haha, if only I knew then what I know now!

So yup. Happy happy happy!!! I have 4 1/2 months to prepare as much as I can before I go into the MTC on March 3. Plus 4 1/2 months to try to figure out what to do with all my time, seeing as I'll be done my online class at the end of next month....and then my friends leave in January for school. Good thing for the singles ward! :)

Oh Happy Day!

2009-10-24T00:08:00.001-04:00

So today I got and opened my mission call! I'm going to the Brazil Sao Paulo East Mission. I'll be speaking Portuguese. I report to the Brazil MTC on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shades of Gray

2009-10-07T16:54:00.004-04:00

Sometimes you think you've seen and heard it all. You look back on your life and think, "wow, I've been through everything." And you realize that you've been friendless, lost people close to you to the dreaded cancer, pretty much failed a class, missed work entirely, didn't know how you were going to pay your bills, been rejected by people you liked, felt lost and aimless, been rejected twice from the dream you've been dreaming, had the car die on you more times than you can count, and the list goes on. On the other hand, you've got amazing friends, the gospel in life, a positive and optimistic outlook, had the opportunity to be an EFY counselor, have an amazing family, travelled a ton, finally found what you want to do with your education, and the list goes on longer than the first. And then you think, again, "wow, I really HAVE been through everything!" And you think you know how to deal with anything that might come your way, because you've got the gospel and past experiences to draw upon. And because of your trials, you can help others in their time of need.

Until that one day when you hear the worst news you've ever heard in your life. Worse than when your grandfather died of cancer. Worse than when one of your best friends died of cancer. Worse than your first breakup. Worse than the rejection letters you've collected from the photography department. In fact, it's so bad, you never even dreamed it. Or thought it. The thought literally never entered your mind until someone put it there as a truth. A fact of life. Something you're expected to just accept, and then go on living as though there had been no interruption made. And people around you just act like everything is normal. So why is it affecting you more than them? You're usually skilled at finding the good in every situation, but this just doesn't add up. There is...absolutely no good to be found. It's pure evil. And then it's sad. How do you process something so terrible? You're not judging the people involved, because you have no right to do that. You're stunned. In a state of shock, not able to form the words to describe your feelings. Mainly because you don't know what your feelings are. e

Then you go to bed that night and can't fall asleep. You don't want to talk about it. But you want to talk to someone, just to engage your mind in something else. Well, family is in bed. Friends are sleeping. Some friends are up, but they're busy doing other things. So you watch "House" instead. It helps. You eventually fall asleep because you're so tired you can't stay awake any longer. You remember something your brother said a few hours earlier: "I feel like I'm just going to wake up tomorrow and it'll be Tuesday." And though you know that's impossible, you hope for that. When you wake up on Wednesday morning, you check the time. Then you look at your phone, hoping it says Tuesday. It says Wednesday. So then you get up and check the news to see what's new. It's all the same old horrific news as yesterday, so instead you keep busy doing other things, and yet not doing a whole lot at the same time. You still can't process what's happened, and you realize that you have to, eventually. Fortunately you've got really good friends who let you know that they're there for you- even though they're 2500 miles away. Then you talk to them later, and they talk about their life, getting your mind off the obvious.

That's when you realize you've REALLY been through it all.

10 Things I hate about Hannaford

2009-10-01T19:32:00.003-04:00

Today was one of those days. I've had this list growing in my head for a while too, and today I just want to write it all down, cuz the first part of work, until I got back from my break, pretty much sucked. Stupid people. So in no specific order...

1. Frozen pizzas. I don't like eating them, and I hate them even worse at the register, because their barcodes are dumb and they don't fit in bags.

2. paper in plastic. Seriously, what's the point?!

3. customers who bag for themselves on express. THERE IS NO ROOM ANYWAY, and yet they're making less. This also includes the people who rearrange as you bag for them. yuck. if you want it a specific way, just tell us!

4. people who smell bad. nuff said.

5. old guys who wink at me. and hit on me. sick.

6. when dillon is not my bagger. hahahah.

7. when someone asks "where's corn flake crumbs?" like anyone could even know that. what are those even used for?! just get the crumbs from the bottom of the cereal box- it's probably cheaper anyway. but really. Like I would know where anything obscure is...what the heck is arrowroot, anyway?! arrows don't have roots!

8. when customers get to the register and then realize they've forgotten 95% of the things they need, but they just leave all their crap there and expect you to wait. Hence why my RPMs are so low.

9. 22 items in an express lane? REALLY?!?!?

10. working nights.

so with the exception of #s 6 and 10, I guess I coulda made this "10 things I hate about Hannaford customers". oh well. anyway, long day at the office. but it's all good. I got my favorite bagger for a little while after my break, and that made the rest of the shift so much better. :)

Mission Papers

2009-09-27T18:39:00.001-04:00

So this is more of a public service announcement than anything else...as of today, the waiting begins! My mission papers are done, and I'm just waiting now for the call to come in the mail! Two weeks at least, and I'm hoping that'll be it! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to keep wicked busy until then or I might just go crazy!!!!!!!

10 Things I love about Hannaford

2009-09-24T12:15:00.003-04:00

So originally I was going to do this in sarcasm...but then decided that I could actually come up with 10 things (in no specific order) I like about my job. Even though being a cashier at a grocery store is not ideal, it's a job, and...well, you'll see.

1. Going on break with my dad sometimes. Because, you know, we work in the same store. It's pretty cool.

2. I love the people I work with soooooo much! Mainly the ones during the day, because I don't know any of the high school kids that work evenings, because I rarely work evenings.

3. Being the "party animal". nuff said.

4. Watching a cashier ID someone for alcohol, and him telling us that he doesn't even have a photo ID since his license was taken away for DWI. Yeah, maybe he should rethink his purchase...

5. Now when I hear the name of a vegetable, I automatically think of its PLU. Dates: 3047. Cabbage: 4069. Bananas: 4011. Tree Ripe Peaches: 4044. Eastern Peaches: 4403. Nectarines: 4378. Green bean: 4066. Jumbo white onions: 4663. You get the idea.

6. Going in at 5am and getting out before most of my friends have even woken up. No really, I love this. Then I get to both work AND have an entire day to do stuff. It's like the best of both worlds! :)

7. Observing the drama. It's hilarious.

8. Having my head down, unraveling coins from rolls, and hearing a customer say "would you PLEASE hurry up?!" then looking up to see a friend.

9. Speaking French. Hearing German. Understanding Gangsta.

10. working only 4 minutes from my house. Okay, so average is like 7 minutes. But 4 minutes when it's the middle of the night (aka before 5am).

BYU 14, Oklahoma 13

2009-09-06T09:46:00.004-04:00

So I think it took until this weekend to really feel that I wasn't in Utah. At BYU. Last night (night, my time....afternoon BYU time) was the first football game of the season. We don't have cable, so that made it REALLY difficult to watch the game. Fortunately, by the time the middle of the 3rd quarter rolled around, I found on ESPN's website a place where you can watch the plays. Live. So you get the score and the plays, but nothing else. No band, no crowd, not even the commercials. No players, no insane BYU fans painted blue, and no coaches. Just the plays. But I took it, seeing as it was all I could get. I was texting Brianne the entire time I was watching, and I was going CRAZY. I was on the edge of my seat....and when we got a touchdown, I still jumped up and down and screamed. It was almost like I was there...oh wait, no it wasn't. I went crazy when we won! What a game. What a stressful, intense, game. And here I am, in little Nashua NH.

So yup. I realized last night just how much I miss BYU. I LOVE that place. I love BYU football too. And I love all my dear friends who are there. Good thing I talked to a few of them yesterday...but Miss Rachelle wouldn't answer her phone, the bum! I really need to talk to her ASAP, too. Silly girl. Well...I miss you all. Lots. From 2500 miles away, this is me saying I LOVE YOU to my BYU friends (not just them, but all my friends who are out in Utah right now), and GO COUGS!!!!!!!!!!!! My blood is blue. No one can argue with that.