We found Waldo!!

Or Aldo, but it`s basically the same thing right? He seems legit, but we`ve only met with him once, so....I`ll get back to you on that one. 

MOM! DAD! FAMILYYY!!! Hiiiiii. How are you?!! Sorry I`m late today. We decided to have our District P-day today and we went on a walk to Africa to go to some Brazilian restaurant that was actually closed, so...that was funny. But no worries, because in the end, we ended up at the mall and we got frozen yogurt yay! 

Also, last night, I guess the Tour de Portugal or whatever was ending on our street, so the streets were lined with peeps and everyone was waiting for the bikers to come through and it was chaos and it reminded me of that episode of Gilmore Girls where all the bikers come through like hours late and they`re all mad and it`s so funny and then everyone`s falling off their bikes. Anyways. It brought joy to my soul. That and when the Elders started talking about Disney Channel Original Movies and they love Brink and Motocrossed too dad! Hahah, I`m sorry my mind is so sparatic. 

THIS WEEK, THE COOLEST THING HAPPENED. Actually lots of cool things happened. First, we had interviews with President and we had this really cool training on planning and I won`t bore you with everything I learned, but I LEARNED SO MUCH! And I am so excited, because we have been applying all the things we learned and it is realllyyy improving how we use our time and the people that we meet and everything. Like instead of just saying we`re going to go looking for people to talk to in a certain area, we write down road names and paths and it`s SO cool, because the Lord really does put specific people in our paths. 

FOR EXAMPLE. One morning, we were about to head out the door to do what we always do, and I thought to myself, I should put that `Perguntas da Alma` (Questions of the Soul) paper inside the Book of Mormon. I kind of paniced, because cutting and pasting and having all the page numbers on there might take some time and we only have like 2 minutes to get out the door and I didn`t want to be late, so I thought...`Maybe I`ll just do it at lunch,` and then i thought, `No, you can do it in 2 minutes. Do it now.`So I said, `Fiiiiine Ill listen to the Spirit and have faith.` So I did, and then we were walking and walking and walking and we were on this road where there are like a bunch of abandoned houses and stuff, but it`s an area we haven`t really every explored, so we were there, and then all of a sudden there was a door that looked relatively clean (it didn`t have cobwebs around the door handle...yay!) So, we rang the doorbell, and this kid answered and he opened the door and everything! Then he started going off about how religion is so confusing and how can he know if there is a God and if God loves him and ALL THE QUESTIONS OF THE SOUL THAT THE BOOK OF MORMON ANSWERS!!! And so, we opened the book, and I said, `Listen, I felt like I needed to put this in here this morning, because God knew that we would meet someone who would have these questions, and I KNOW that that person was you.` And then he was totally down with it and said he`d read it and I asked if we could come back and he said yeah, next week. And then he said that he will have to get reading if he`s going to have the whole thing done by next week. We assured him he didn`t have to, but how freaking cool would that be if he did?!?!? ANYWAYS. He`s SO cool though and suuuper smart. He`s going to be a stake president in 20 years...I just know it! Don`t mind that he doesn`t realllyyy believe in God, but he will! See people as they can become...right? Well, I`ll let you know more next week....  

We`ve been working really hard on just being happy and trying our best, and it is making ALL the difference! People are being really nice to us, because we are just going up and talking to them and being funny and normal and nice and then hitting em with the greatest message there is! And we`ve had a lot more contacts and a lot more people who are actually picking up the phone when we call! YAY! 

Sister Stokes and I are just loving each other so much and we are working together so well. I am seriously SO proud of her! We have made all sorts of goals to only speak in Portuguese and for her to take control of the phone and this that and the other and she is just so incredible. I love her so much, and I am seriously so dumb founded by how the Lord let me have this opportunity to work with her/all the amazing people that I am surrounded by.

I realized this week, that I have COMPLETELY forgotten to fill you in on our living arrangements. Hehehe, but I think Sister Call explains is perfectly in her journal, so I`ll just quote that. `Stupid bed bugs! Whyyy? Haha did I ever mention that our house is freaking crappy? We only have one toilet that works and there`s no AZ or heat and mold is growing everywhere and there`s holes in the doors and walls and window seals (don`t worry, we`ve got socks covering them up). Also there`s no door knob and just a gaping hole instead of a peep-hole. There`s pidgeon nests on the balcony and enough pidgeon poop to build a beaver dam. Also, not to mention the water smells like sewage all the time and it switches between scalding hot and freezing cold spontaneously during showers. The walls are covered in dirt and scum and the floors are always nasty. And of course, THE BED BUGS! GAH! They`re eating us alive!`hahahahahah it would be horrible if it wasn`t just soooo funny. And if the bed wasn`t still soooo comfortable every night. 

Hm...other than that, the work is still going fabulously and we are still dyinggg of heat, but we`re laughing every day, and I`m loving the mission. Also, Sister Call asked President why we have to get rejected so much, and he said, `Jesus got rejected everyday, but He was the most powerful man on earth. Just because we get rejected, doesn`t mean we aren`t powerful missionaries.` So....that brought a lot of peace to my soul too.

I love you I love you I love you. I love the mission. But I really love you. Yay! 

xoxox

Sister Brooks

TAYLOR NOE----I AM SOOOO EXCITED FOR YOU AND YOUR PERFECTNESS!! Ahhhh. The world`s most beautiful bride!!! Oh my oh my oh my I got your announcement this week and I opened it in front of our whole zone and we all just died over how perfect you are and my mission president`s wife was like, `Wow, they`re so beautiful.` And then she kept asking me how we became friends, and....I still can`t remember. Hehehe oops. I`ve just loved you always. ....Right? 

frozen yogurt

I introduced sister stokes to ruffles with ketchup! and bueno bars....it was a good week for her. hahah

hahahah they have the same funny skirt things here that they have in jeru!!

oh yeah, we had a ward picnic this week! also, the Portuguese don`t know how to picnic, so they just bring rice and potatoes and like full chickens and cakes outside. It`s insane.