Week 6 with Sis. Santos - Jaú, Brazil - "I spent too much time awake."

 Missionary life is filled with experiences, that's for sure. Little things happen every day that don't usually happen to people, and the best part is it's all your free will and choice.

As I sit on the couch in our house - usually after a long hot day in the sun talking with crazy religious people or people more baked than a cake - making phone calls with people I've never met who've solicited contact with us then hang up on us the moment we say who we are, insult or swear at us then hang up, or pretend they can't hear and then hang up, I think to myself, "Somehow this was my decision. How did it ever come to this?"

We had interviews this week, which is most interesting considering that I feel like this transfer started last week, but there you go.

We also did a mini zone conference on Friday that just about killed everyone in our house. Our young mission leaders wanted to do it in person in a city called São Manuel. Our problem was the following: we had one bus option to and from; one at 6:00 AM going, and the other at 6:40 PM returning. This meant we would wake up at 5:30 AM and spend the entire day in São Manuel. Which is fine and all, until our leaders informed us that we needn't worry; the zone conference would only be 2 hours.

Ô GLORIA.

So we arrived in São Manuel at 7:45 AM, did our studies until noon when everyone else arrived and ate lunch, then did our little zone conference, after which we tried to stay in the chapel to at least do phone calls, but the Elders kicked us out because they had to leave, so we waited another several hours at the bus station trying to do phone calls while some crazy man walked around shouting incoherent things at the security guard following him around.

To add to this very long day, when we finally reached home and I tried to take a bath, I noticed water leaking from the shower handle. "That's different," I thought. And I tried to turn it off again, and the handle proceeded to fall off and water began gushing from the wall. Now, everyone was extremely tired at this moment after such a day, so the other sisters ended up trying to call the elder in charge of the houses while the bathroom rapidly flooded.

Fortunately the solution for the time being was to simply but the handle back in the wall and everything was fine.

That's pretty much the most exciting thing that happened this week.

Everything else was pretty normal.

We had a churrasco Sunday, lunch with a woman who thinks she's real cool Saturday after walking nearly two hours in red sand (I've got a pretty pic of my feet after this trip), and lots and lots of phone calls with crazy people.

Here's my thought for the week:

Mosiah 2: 19

And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

Gratitude goes a long way. How have you all shown gratitude for your Heavenly King this week? After all, none of us would have anything if it weren't for Him.