"vais subir um pequena montanha"

I was trying to give directions to the church. Couldn`t remember the word for hill, so I looked to Sister Stokes, remembered that she didn`t know either, and the next closest thing I could come up with was......little mountain. So...little mountain is was...oops. Didn`t you know we`re actually in Switzerland and we`re just casually walking through the Alps to get to church? hahahah oops. They made it there, so....não faz mal. If only I could`ve figured out a way to say candy cane forest in Portuguese.. I probably would`ve been better off with that. 

Another week? What? I remember when I first got here and everybody was like, `The weeks go by so fast blah blah blah` and I just looked at them with darts in my eyes and was like, `LIARRSSS!!` hahaha but now. I believe it! And it really is crazy. And I actually almost forgot today was p-day. I woke up this morning and my first thought was  `AH! who is going to come to church today?!` And then the panic faded when I realized that I still have another week to plan it all out again. #missionaryproblems

In other news. SISTER BARLOW AND HER PARENTS CAME TO VISIT ME! And it was the sweetest, greatest 5 minutes of all time! She is such an angel and oh my heart. So full of love. And I had this crazy realization where I was just like WOAH. The mission is going to go by SO fast and it has already gone by SO fast and it`s all going to feel like a dream and once we`re all back together, it will be like we were never apart. And it was this weird feeling of both peace and panic at the same time. Actually, I feel like I get that feeling a lootttt on the mission. Also, you guys are going to make fun of me so badly once you get here, because her mom was already making fun of us, and I can only imagine. Oh well...tem que ser. That`s another thing. I can`t speak English like a normal human being. It`s so weird, because everyone that we speak English to can speak Portuguese too, so it`s like this impossible thing to try to understand how someone can`t understand Portuguese. I wish I could explain it better, but I can`t.  

Hm...this week. We have been working a lot with recent converts/less actives and we saw a lot of miracles with week! There`s this one, Ana Paula, and she is so sweet, but she`s always saying she`ll come to church and then she never shows up, so that`s a little frustrating, but she is finally letting us in her house all the time, and she`s praying when we meet with her, so these things are really good!  And! This week, she gave us a ride to the chapel! Which, I know probably doesn`t mean anything to you, but it was a HUGE deal, because she hasn`t given rides to any other the missionaries since the missionaries who baptized her about a year ago! And she`s always complaining about how she doesn`t have gas and things, so it was actually the best and she really is doing better, and she`s going to come back to church--I JUST KNOW IT!! And then, the other day, we went to visit this other less active, and we`d never been to the area before, which is always an adventure, because yeah...you guys know how I am with directions, buuttt...anyways, we showed up to her door, and there`s this little button thing you have to press before you can get into any of the apartment buildings, and they have to let you in and so....it`s always a gamble, but anyways, I was about to push the button, and THE DOOR OPENED! And no one was around and there was literally no other way that it could have happened, except that it was from an angel and we were SO supposed to go in there. And the girl was home! AND we found a new investigator in that same apartment building! Ah, God`s so good. 

Also, never thought I`d have to have a dtr...ever...but ESPECIALLY on the mission. One of our investigators met with us this week, and after we´d just had this really good talk about the Book of Mormon and we finally got him to pray on his own, he looked up from the prayer and said, `I have a great passion for you.` (Which is just so much worse to write in English...actually it`s pretty uncomfortable to hear in Portuguese too.) And then he said, `Eu amo você.` YIKES. Nails on a chalkboard. So.....after I very kindly told him that that`s inappropriate and that I`m a disciple of Christ and that he loves God, not me, I had to tell him that we can`t work with him anymore, but we`d be more than happy to pass him off to the Elders. Oh no.... I think Sister Stokes enjoyed it wayy too much, because she just kept laughing about it alllll day. It`s not funny. It`s horrible. But it`s kind of funny at the same time. 

Anyways, other than that, we`re praying and fasting lots and we`re working really hard to get some people progressing. I know everything happens on the Lord`s time table, so we`re just talking to the whole world and praying always and running back and forth from place to place and trying to do everything we can to help the Lord help us. It will all come with time. So....here`s to time. Hahah, that makes no sense, buttt....whatever. 

Okay, gotta go play at the fair! EEE!! I`ll let you know if it`s like the ones in America or not, buttt....if nothing else, I know there`s a giant Kangaroo so....it can`t be too bad. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

xoxox

Sister Brooks

AIM!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! AH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! Even if I haven`t heard from you in forever, but it`s okay, because I know that all is well and I love you more than life itself. Hope Chase splurges and brings you to McDonalds. If not, tell him you get a cone on me.

E BABY!!! AHHHHH LOVE THE MTC LOVE PORTUGUESE AND GET SOOO EXCITED FOR BRAZIL!!! The Brazilians are secretly, not so secretly everyone`s favorites here. AHHH YOU ARE GOING TO BE SO INCREDIBLE AND YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! AH I LOVE YOU!!!