Week 62💌- Reassignment News 🍂

Hey heyyyy! I have some big news! After weeks of waiting, I've been reassigned to serve in the Boston, Massachusetts mission, speaking Portuguese! 

Segunda: I don't have a service site on Mondays anymore, and because I didn't know what was going to happen, I didn't want to commit to a new site. My day was pretty chill; I just hung out with my mom and tried to email some friends. If I didn't get back to you, I'm going to try really hard today!! I had a district council tonight, and stayed afterwards to talk to a couple of missionaries in my district. We ended up yapping in the parking lot until 10, talking about our favorite horror movies. And then we kinda freaked ourselves out and went home. 

Terça: Today I had my temple shift, and I had to go without my mom because she is still recovering from her surgery. It was still a great shift. When I got home, I just kind of kept hanging out with my mom. I still hadn't heard anything about reassignment. I texted my Stake President, and he sent an email to the Missionary Department. They said that I'd received all of the necessary clearance to return to proselytizing, and that it had been submitted to the Quorum of the 12. They expected the Quorum to make a decision the next day. Later that evening, I decided to go on a walk. My mom and I used to go on 2 long walks a day, but with her being out of commission, I've been kind of lazy. While on my walk, a kitten followed me home! He was so adorable and so friendly. I wanted to bring him inside, but my parents said no because of our 2 cats. So I left out some food and water and left him on the front porch. He sat out there and yelled for a little while, and then chilled out and must've fallen asleep. 

Quarta: I had to take my dad and Steven to the airport at 5:30 in the morning. The cat was still out there, which surprised us. After getting home from the airport, I laid down for an hour and then walked Audrey to school. I then got ready to go to the Columbus Center at 9. I got to hold a squishy baby for most of the time, which helped make the rest of that shift bearable. Remember that bully child from last week? He was a NIGHTMARE today. My goodness. The center has 2 play kitchens. He was playing with one of them, and this other child wanted to play with the other. Juan Pablo (bully) flipped his LID. He started hitting the other kid, so we had to separate him. We put him in the book room with the door open. He was chucking books and SCREAMING. When I went in to talk to him, he started punching, slapping, and kicking me. I didn't have the Spanish vocabulary to deal with this, so I was using Google Translate to say "Please don't slam the door", "Please don't hit me, " and "We do not throw the nice books at people". Demon child. After the Columbus Center, I took my mom to her PT appointment. It happened to be really close to where David lives, so he met with me at the mall nearby, and we walked around until her appointment ended. After that, I laid down for 30 minutes, and then my buddy Adriaan came to pick me up. We went to lunch at a taco place, and then went to the library and wandered around. It was great getting to see him before he left for school. My cat somehow made its way to the backyard, and now buddy is camping out there. Audrey is obsessed. 

Quinta: This morning my dear sweet cat Chubbalump dumped some ice water onto me while I was lying down in my mom's bed. I was SOAKED and FREEZING. I got changed and went with my mom over to my grandparents' house to help my mom do PT with my grandpa. We then went to the library to return some books, and we ran into my grandma, who was driving home from one of her workout classes at the rec center. When I got home, I changed into temple clothes and then went to my temple shift. My cat (the one who followed me) was still chilling in our backyard. When I got home from my temple shift, my mom and I brought him over to my grandparents' house to see if maybe they'd want him. He didn't get along super well with their cat Cora, so it was a no-go. This cat is so cute, though, y'all! My neighbor Aspen got married tonight, so we went to her wedding reception. She was such a beautiful bride! The reception was fun; the dance that she did with her dad was so funny and sweet. I am so happy for her!

Sexta: I woke up this morning to a text from Sister Tonini offering congratulations on my reassignment to the Boston, MA Portuguese mission. She said that they had told her and Presidente Tonini last night. I STILL hadn't heard anything from the church, so this was a surprise to me. I thanked her for telling me, seeing as how the church hadn't said anything yet. She felt so bad for ruining the surprise. I informed her that I despise surprises. I went to the temple. It was such a good shift! I got to officiate 2 live initiatories, back-to-back. It is kind of rare for a newbie to get to do this, so it was super special. I got to go home 30 minutes early because my last rotation was in the laundry, and they didn't need help. On my way out, I saw that I had a missed call from my Stake President. I gave him a call back, and he told me that I was going to... the Boston, MA mission! I told him the surprise was gone, but that I was super excited. He told me that transfers are on the 2nd of September, but that my new President was talking about bringing me out on Monday... as in three days from now. I asked for his number to get in contact with him. I told my President about my mom's surgery and my dad being out of town. He gave me a call and agreed that it would be best if I stayed with my mom and came out on the transfer date. Guys, I am going to Boston! I've never been, but I've heard it is beautiful, especially in the fall. Boston has the highest number of Brazilians in the United States, so I'm going to get to use my Portuguese a lot. This mission doesn't have a December transfer, which is when I am set to finish my mission. So I will most likely be home the day after Thanksgiving. I am going to ask him if I can come home in December in the middle of the transfer, but the January transfer interferes with the start of school, so that's not an option. I am so excited to go to Boston, though; it is going to be such a cool experience! And now I can say I've served three missions with three Presidents. Also, Audrey has named the stray cat Toffee and brought him inside. So much for no one getting attached! My mom put Audrey to bed and started Twilight. (My favorite movie). 

Sabado: Today I got to hang out with my friend Audrey! I stopped by Michael's on my way over to get some crafting supplies, and we had a craft day. We made some fall beaded tapestries using pony beads, and it was so much fun. We had to do a Hobby Lobby pit stop because we ran out of a certain color. Her dad got us smoothies from Roxberry, and I got to play with her cats. One of them decided to eat my hair. When I got home, I taught my sister Audrey how to do the craft, and I finished my tapestry. My mom took Toffee to the vet and found out that he hasn't been microchipped, which means that he probably doesn't have an owner. My mom and I then did some shopping for Boston. I don't have warm pants that aren't jeans. We ordered most of it online, but I did get one sweater in person. My mom and I started to show Audrey Hocus Pocus; it's my second watch of the season. Once she was in bed, we switched back to Twilight. We didn't get to finish it, though. I took 2 allergy pills before bed because my eyes were red and swollen and I was having trouble breathing. That’s what I get for cuddling with cute kitties all day though, death by allergy. 

Domingo: Everyone slept in this morning, so we were running a little late to church. The talks were great; we had 2 youth speakers, and the Prov Elementary principal spoke as well. When we got home, we finished Hocus Pocus. I then took a fantastic nap. I then taught my last English Connect class; we learned about the weather.  It was fitting because there was a CRAZY hailstorm. It's been raining a lot this week, which is awesome. Utah has been so dry and is constantly on fire.  We had tacos for dinner, did a little walk, and ended the night by watching The Chosen. We watched the episode where Christ talked about going the 2nd mile. Toffee got picked up by animal control and is now on stray hold for 5 days. If no one else can show proof of ownership, he is probably going to come home with us!!! The cat distribution system works yall. If you are pure of heart and have good intentions, a cat will find you. 

Spiritual Thought: Ephesians 2:10- For we are in his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. 

Mr. Fry talked briefly today in his talk about the debate between nature vs nurture. Are humans born inherently good or evil? If someone is evil, were they born that way or shaped by life events? I study psych, so this has always been a fun debate for me. In our church, we believe that we are all born innocent. Someday, we reach an age of accountability where we are old enough to understand right from wrong, good from evil. What we do with our lives shapes who we become. I love this scripture because I think it does a good job of showing who we are and what we are here to do. We were created in the image of God and His Son. We were put on this earth to do good. Because of moral agency, we can choose for ourselves what we want to do and how we want to live our lives. God laid out a plan of happiness for us. It includes using the agency that he gave us for good. As we follow his plan, we become more like Him. As we become more like God, we are less likely to give in to temptation. One way we can spread goodness is through small acts of kindness and service. Compliment a stranger, grab the door for someone, smile! Little things add up and make us who we are. 

Pictures:

1. Toffee, my sweet kitty

2. My cool red tacos! They were yummy birria tacos with consome

3. My new mission map!

4. Say it...out loud

5. Audrey's cat chewing on my hair

6. The tapestry that I made, it's such a fun craft!