About my Christmas

Thank you for all of the Christmas gifts and wishes that you guys sent me!  Christmas Eve was a little different this year, for sure.  We had a bbq, and I drank about a liter of tereré (#THEWEEDISDIFFERENT), but I was with people that I love and that was what was good.

I passed a happy Christmas here, though of course I missed you all.  The only things that made me cry-just a little- were the chocolate orange and quarter in the bottom of my stocking, and having to say goodbye to you all at the end of my fantastic video call.  Talking to you guys always makes me laugh and just feel happy, and even when it ended I just felt better.  

The day was pretty quiet after I talked to you guys.  Honestly we just went home after I finished talking to you guys, as it was already 7:30 and it takes nearly an hour to walk to our house from theirs.  Irmã Simone´s family is the snake family, so we took some more pictures with her snakes before we left.  Sister Ugarte did not want to get close to the snake, so that was pretty funny.  I took a pretty awesome polaroid of me with Jiba, which is now hanging on my wall, but it looks a little strange because my arm is being weirdly held out.  There is a reason for it though, the reason being that I have an at least ten pound snake wrapping its tail around my upper arm and I couln't put my arm down.  *Cue ´A Christmas Story´*  

Good story of the week.  Sister Alencar and I found a woman named Gixxxxxa, and I really like her.  We have very similar personalities, and I really relate to a lot of the stories that she told us.  I was very excited to visit her again, but when I went to her home with Sister Ugarte, she didn´t answer the door.  We knew she was home, because the TV was on and everything, so I thought she had cut us.  I left a note for her in her mailbox, but I was super sad for the rest of the week, but Sister Ugarte suggested we pass by again just to see.  When we did, Gixxxxxa was pleased to see us, and apologized that she hadn't attended us earlier in the week.  She said that she´d worked a night shift at the hospital, turned on the TV to help her fall asleep, and had promptly slept like the dead for the entire day and hadn't even heard us clapping.  I was pretty happy, and we´re going to go for açai this week.

In other news, Sister Ugarte and I found a new way to spread the gospel.  Vandalism!  There are a bunch of walls and sidewalks with scriptures of the bible spray painted on them here, so we got our pencils and put a Book of Mormon scripture with them.  Hopefully that´s not illegal or anything.

And now it´s New Year´s Eve!  Unfortunately, we don´t have a bathtub to reenact the jumping of waves at midnight, but we´ll have to buy some grapes to pass New Years, as I have heard that that is a tradition.  I´m a little sad that I won´t be playing Star Craft with you guys until midnight like usual, or going ice fishing on New Year´s Day, but I will be busy.  I made more slush for our New Year´s party and we´re going to make coxinhas, so it´ll be fun.  We have to be at home by 7:30 to avoid all the craziness.

I like the theme of your stake dance!  My only request is that Stressed Out is the theme song of the night if the theme of your stake dance is Turn Back Time.  This feels like something Elissa would plan, did she pick the theme?  Besides, it´s appropriate, because stressed out is basically how all of us will probably feel this year, haha.  Tell Nathan he needs to go, because let´s face it, the party only starts when he gets there.    

I also will complete the prophet´s challenge to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year!  I have (almost) officially read the entire Book of Mormon entirely in Portuguese.  I only have one chapter to go before I finish it.  Unfortunately that chapter is Alma 5, because I skipped that one, but it feels like an appropriate chapter to read before I make my New Year resolutions, so it´ll be okay.

I love you guys, and I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

Lizzy

1-2: Christmas Eve with Irmã Selma

3-4: Christmas Morning

6-6: Thug Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

7: Ice cream is $R 2,00 here

8: Every time we see the other Sisters on the street, we act like some of the people here and do whatever we can to avoid making eye contact. Case in point, the umbrella method, as pictured.  My preferred method is to hide behind my bible.