A Day in the Life of Sister Colvin

Jungle walking in the middle of the city.

 Monday, May 26, 2014

            Well it’s already 3:10 on a P-day and I feel like we’ve just been walking and walking and running errands.  (Oh wait, that’s what’s happened…) Augh. I’m worn out.  Actually, I really don’t feel like writing today.

10:20 pm

Sister R. marching right along!

Funny Story:  Sister R. wanted to buy a Brasil Jersey, and she remembered a store that sold them.  When we got there the shirts were hanging from the ceiling at the store entrance.  Then we noticed that the store was definitely not just a store for jerseys…it was a MACUMBA (African spirit worship) outlet! There were a bunch of weird things – weird statues, a ton of candles, a bunch of pots that people fill with food and leave on the street corners to feed the “spirits”. 

Spiritual story:  We had a great lesson tonight with a new investigator, Mar. We taught the Restoration and the spirit was the kind of strong confirmative feeling that just fills you up and leaves you feeling confident and warm.  I am so grateful to have experiences like this to help lift my heavy heart.

Some of the MTC District reunited.

Elder Fox and Elder Mountain

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

            I have only a few minutes before study time.  I got emails from Stewart Brim and Becky Smith yesterday that were really sweet notes only I didn’t have time to respond to them. I hope that they read this note and know how much I appreciate their encouragement!

            PM: Today was the first day in Jacarepagua that was actually fun and productive.  We organized a “Capela Aberta” activity with our zone.  This is my 4th or 5th time doing this activity, and it was a huge success, far better than I prayed for.  All of the missionaries worked hard and we were able to give us over 50 referral!  We did church tours with people off of the street and it was just great.  The best part was getting a small break from my companion.  It sounds terrible, but it was so nice to just do contacts, teach lessons in front of the chapel, and do church tours by myself.  We stayed close to one another of course, but divided and conquered!

            My comp and I still don’t click well. We are able to laugh and joke around at times, but during lessons we just don’t teach in unity.  She talks 80% of the time – teaching really well with examples, scriptures, personal stories, etc…but the problem is that I don’t have anything else to add.  I don’t want to be repetitious or drag our lessons out forever.  The cure to not teaching in unity is an effective comp study with realistic practices.  Only problem is that because she is senior she gets to control what we study and practice.  My insight and ideas are brushed off. I’m in the “I’ll just wait it out and see what happened with transfers” stage right now.

             Today we also planned a surprise birthday celebration for Elder Hawks, who turns 21 tomorrow. It ended up being fun especially because the whole zone (including Elder Mountain and Elder Fox) were there to celebrate with us. Anyways it was a good day full of work, action, and plenty of distractions to keep my mind off of my family.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

            We had a good day today despite cold 60 degree weather and lots of rain.  I changed clothes and shivered through the whole day.  (I am going to die when I get home in the dead of the Spokane winter!)  But, we found 2 new investigators with a lot of potential. 

            We taught R. who is struggling through a recent divorce.  It was so great to teach and testify of the healing and enabling power of the Atonement. I have been praying to be able  to have experiences that would lift my spirits and help take my mind off of home and this experience was an answer to those prayers.

Friday, May 30, 2014

            Busy Day! FINALLY, the work is starting to pick up!  We only have a few minutes before 10:30 so I can only bullet point noticeable moment:

• Gorgeous Brazilian Chris Pine
• Family on the street corner
• “Vai la –conversa c/Brian na Igreja!” Lolz
• a GOOD companion inventory
• FHE c/todo mundo

I've worn out another pair of shoes!

Saturday May 31, 2014

            Wow, I am so tired tonight.  My body is aching with the amount of walking that we did today.  My day in review:

• 6:30 – awake, morning prayer, exercise, watch my comp do crazy jump rope exercises as I stretch and massage sore thigh muscles.
• 7:00 – eat breakfast, which today is ripe papayas and honey drizzled on granola, whole wheat toast and a leftover brownie or two ; )
• 7:30 – slather on sunscreen, throw on clothes not even caring if they are cute, start a load of laundry, stare at a zitty face in the mirror accentuated by frizzy sunbleached hair...sigh, throw hair into a quick braid, don’t even bother with any makeup.
• 8:00 – begin personal studies, delve into the lives and deaths of the Jaredites, find scriptures/ideas that we can apply to investigators, read about the marvelous Plan of Salvation….which causes me to remember Dad and Mom.  Push those thoughts away.
• 9:00 – companion study = 1 long hour of struggling to feel intellectually stimulated, planning, more practice on how to teach “the Sabbath day”.
• 10:00 – language study…finally.  Review flashcards of horse terms in Portuguese, which obviously apply to proselyting.  Memorize another scripture in Portuguese.  Memorize another hymn. Work on another grammar principle. 
• 11:00 – wait for comp to finish getting ready
• 11:30 – finally leave the apartment, walk for 45 minutes to our lunch appointment, sit awkwardly on the couch as members of a very quiet reserved family move in and out of the room.  The chicken isn’t ready yet.  More awkward waiting. 
• 1:00 – eat a wonderfully delicious meal, break the ice with members, exchange mission stories with the head of the household. (this meal marked the beginning of our fast.)
• 1:45 – share a message, feel the Spirit guiding my words.  Irma compliments us on the investigators that we are bringing to church.
• 2:15 – head out to face the hard routine. Walk and walk and walk some more.
• 2:45 – ride in an over-stuffed VW bus sandwiched between two chunky Brazilian women with sacks full of groceries.  Wind through a favela, dodge scruffy dogs and drunkards, climb a mountain.
• 3:10 – squeeze out of the VW bus, laugh as comp points to literally 200 stairs and says that’s where we have to go.  Remember that today we are fasting.
• 3:30 – arrive exhausted at a member’s brick shack. Smile at their positive outlook on life despite such dire circumstances.  Feet attacked by fire ants.  Stop smiling. Descend 100 of the steps to try to contact a referral.
• 4:00 – referral isn’t home.  Great. Teach her toothless mother about the gospel of Jesus Christ. She’s not interested. 
• 4:30 – thank the member for their help, descend some more steps, ride in another bus to return to our main area. 
• 5:00 – wait for an investigator in front of their apartment building.
• 5:15 – still waiting
• 5:20 – start talking to random people passing by, invite them to come to church and hear our message.  No one bites.
• 5:30 – investigator calls, she is stuck in traffic, we reschedule our lesson.  Look to comp who is as exhausted as I am. Ride in another bus, walk some more, climb another hill.
• 6:00 – G. finally signs the marriage papers giving us hope that we can clean up this mess that the Elders left behind (by marrying this couple, baptizing them both…only to leave the sisters to discover that the marriage was not valid and the baptism was a “dunk em and drop em”…leaving the husband unimpressed with the missionaries.)
• 6:15 – We finally get to meet our 15 year old investigators mom and have a great lesson
• 6:45 – Walk some more, ride another bus. 
• 7:00 – arrive back in our main area again, climb another hill, lesson falls through, descend the hill.  Go to plan B, but that lesson falls through too. Resort to contacting people on the street. No one stops to listen.
• 7:45 – Walk and walk and walk some more, contacting referrals from our “capela aberta” activity.  Feel weak and dizzy and woozy because of our fast.  Say a mental prayer.  Press forward. Find someone at home! A young mom! A family! She is receptive and we mark an appointment for our next visit.  Stay on our feet – go to our next referral.  The bell-man calls her apartment, they clearly talk, but then he comes to the gate and says that she didn’t answer (cross that name off the list).  Just 49 more to go.  Walk some more, discover that someone completely lied about their address. (cross that name off the list)
• 8:30 – walk back to the chapel, finish contacting our required 30 people daily – nobody stops to listen. 
• 9:00 – arrive in our apartment, exhausted. Pray, plan, write in the area book.
• 9:45 – take a shower. The water is scorching, then freezing, then scorching. Sigh. Yet another thing that I miss about home.
• 10:15 – write in journal (I finished this entry Sunday morning)



A great family home evening!

• 10:30 – nightly prayers, collapse into bed.  Knee pain is irritating. Apply topical anesthetic cream that someone left behind.  Sleep like a log

Sister R waiting at church for our investigators.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

            Today was a great day even though we walked a LOT.  My knees are killing me, but we have 5 people with baptismal dates! We hear about transfers tomorrow.  I think that Sister R. will end up leaving this area.  She has been here a very long time.  We will see. Time to rest these achy knees.

Sister Nida - one of our awesome missionary moms!