Danny's Letter 11/27/12

Family and friends! Thank you so much for the photos, words and support. Glad your thanksgiving was great I thought about you a lot this week. Love the baby clothes, good taste, I like the black tutu outfit too AJ! Jentri you are looking Pregnant!!! And Beautiful!!! I hope I look half as good as you when I am Prego.

 It is a way different experience living here but I love it, I really do. My companion is amazing and very patient with me. She doesn’t know English at all, so we laugh a lot haha. I feel like a little kid a lot of the time because I never fully know what is going on, where we are going or what people are saying ha. I just trust her and the Lord and know all with work out. So last week was sooo tiring and soooooo great. Every morning I wake up and think okay another day a nothing day of speaking Portuguese, another day or not understanding! ha but I have already learned a lot and Kelly Clarkson has been helping me out and her song "what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger" pops in my head a lot ha. 

So on my first day and the very first lesson we taught a young lady who is a little younger than me the first lesson about the restoration. A member came with us and invited her to be baptized and she accepted. Every day after we went to her house and taught. The second day my companion explained she needs to be married to be baptized she lives with her boyfriend and son and his family She said yes but she had some concerns and we invited them to read the scriptures and pray about it. They did and received an answer they needed to be married :) So yesterday we attended their marriage and Marion´s Baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing and I love her and her family. I am so proud of her she has such a special spirit. It was so amazing and I feel so blessed so be part of a baptism so early in my mission. I am excited to keep teaching her in my very childlike Portuguese ha. 

So the language...is hard. But I keep just trucking a long and learning not to get defended when I say something and the investigator looks at my companion and says, what did she say haha. My companion I think has received the gift of tongues of understanding me, ha. She is so sweet after lessons she will say I understood every word, you did so great! So sweet. I am really grateful for her and I know we are going to be good really good friends. 

So yesterday at the wedding, it is not like the traditional wedding. Sister Braga and I got there at 5:30 in the morning to wait in line and save a spot. Then at 7 Marion showed up then at 10:30 their names got called and they showed their paper work and left us and went into a RV where the office is I guess, for like 20 minutes and then came out and I guess are now married haha. It was fun waiting with them and I practiced verbs and we played with her 2 year old son Pedro. 

Okay so you know how I am good at names, I have lost my talent. The names here are so hard for me, and I never know what is a name or what is a word ha. The other day my companion was talking about an investigator named Olinda, but she was talking very fast and I thought she was saying she was linda, which means really pretty haha. 

Campo Grando is neat, I am not in the city, and most of the roads are dirt roads. We walk a lot and yesterday my shirt was sweating as can be. But no fear I wear sunscreen and we walk around with umbrellas. I am so grateful to be here and I miss you all!!! I wish I was there to give you all hugs but know I am praying for you all. I love me new bed, and I like my color on my walls are very adultish, you can keep it just the way it is ;) No its okay if you paint it. Love you all :) I have so much more to write but little times, I will write more next week. Please pray I will learn the language!! 

p.s. My p-days are normally Mondays. 

So some cultural changes in Brazil or random fun facts:

People here wear shirts that have English words but don’t know what it says or means. A young woman at the baptism had a shirt that said "July noodle mood" haha the shirts never make sense it’s all about how it looks ha. 

Whenever you meet someone and you are a girl and they are a girl you hug and put your checks together and make a kissing noise or they just plant one on your check. I love this culture, it is so loving I wish America was more like that. Also when you say bye you say, "Kisses"

So here in Brazil the plumbing is not very reliable so people do don’t flush toilet paper down the toilet so you have to wipe and then put it in the trash can haha. 

Make a goal to say one very sincere prayer this week where you just bear your heart and ask questions and just talk to God like he is your best friends. I promise he will answer your prayer. 

November 6, 2012

Hey family, okay sorry for the confusion I still have one more week here. I leave the 20th, I am ready to go but it is nice that I will be able to learn more Portuguese before I go.

Sounds like everyone is doing well, thank you for the emails!!!

So this week was another great week. It is weird I am 22 now, it sounds old but I still feel young as ever. I think I will be a young soul for the rest of my life haha. My district is the best, like really I got very lucky. There are 13 of us and the Elders are so sweet. On my birthday, they sang to me, decorated the classroom, wrote me cards, poems and gave me candy. So nice! I felt loved. Thank you mom the Birthday card came on my Birthday!!! Perfect timing.

So last P-day it was so hot, it was little flash-forward to Cuiaba I think. So the streets here are really

super uneven with random steps and pot holes and trash. So last week we are walking from the paper store and I am talking to Sister Grimes and looking at her and I didn’t notice a pile of trash and some tiles on the ground and my foot hits it and slips. I fall smack down on my booty and laugh when I look up there is a man staring at me with wide eyes looking concerned. We get closer to his shop and I am pretty sure he asked if I was okay. I said I was good. We started talking and shared a little about the gospel and then said tchau and when we were leaving he pointed to me and waved his finger and said (know you be careful!) or something along those lines I am not sure exactly ha. Then he laughed and I laughed and said ( Eu estou aprendo caminar em Sao Paulo) then he smiled. So now I know what Bishop meant when he said that you will have opportunities to teach and connect with people through your personality haha. When I left another worker came out of the shop and I saw the nice old man point to him where I fell and then they both looked at me and laughed and I waved and laughed.

So my roommates left with week. They are the sweetest. Sometimes in the CTM I just stop and realize how funny my situations are sometimes. Like sister Correa how is super spunky and is always singing and saying things really loud and fast will say something to be and smile really big, then I will have no idea what she said and say (que? or uhuh) and then she will repeat very slowly and sometimes I get and sometimes I don’t and then she just laughs, haha so funny. Sister Reynose who is from Argentina is so awesome too and she will ask sister correa words to Portuguese to say or sometimes just speak to us in Spanish or both haha. I will miss them they are so sweet. It was so sweet last night Sister Correa had written out her testimony in English and said it to us. It was so sweet and showed me how I sound haha. I will miss them. We get 6 new American sisters tomorrow and

6 more Brazilian sister Thursday, I hope we get more roommates.

So life is great, thanks for all the love and the support.

The word Gospel means Good news, I love that because it is so true, I am lucky I get to share good news every day.

Eu amo vocês!

10/30/12

Well this has been such a great week! It is coming on my 7th week sooooo crazy. I leave on November 7th. Thankyou all for the emails. And the halloween and Birthday wishes.

 

So week was so good I learned more about myself. Last tuesday Sister Grimes got an email saying that her mom had to go to the hospital for brain sugery! They didt know if she would have to get another one during the week. After emails she seemed fine but i had a feeling to ask her how her family is and she started to cry. Poor thing. That is so hard. So on wednesday we fasted, we didnt eat for meals, and fasting helps our prayers be more powerful and helps us constantly remember what we are praying for and helps me remember all the blessings i recieve from God everyday like food. So fasting went well! We started getting along a lot better this week, I got more patient and stopped letting myself get offended. I feel like because i did i listened better and got to know her better and her story and my love for her grew. Mom thank you for your letter you were spot on in your advice, you know we so well. So on Sunday sister Grimes talked to Sister Degn and she called her Dad and all is well. The day we fasted her mom got to go home and didt have to have another surgery!!! What a blessing.

 

So its funny when I here its getting colder it is getting hotter here. The Ac is out in most of building so we have been hot and humid which is good cause it is getting me ready for Cuiaba!

 

i read an amazing talk this week, called. The antonement and the journey of Mortality. It is by David Bednar you can find it by going on lds.org. I loved it, it talked about how the atonment just doesnt have a renewing power but an enabling power. because when Jesus died for us and felt our pains, worries, doubts ect.. he knows us and we are never alone. He knows us and how to help us and hot to make us stronger, stronger then we could be on our owns. This talk made my confidence grow!

 

dad I shocked about the car change! it sounds awesome. What color did you get, I want a picture!

 

Also what is going on with the weather in the east (I dont know where the question mark button is) I get know outside news haha. Hope the election goes well and happy halloween!!

I love you all. I wrote a hand letter I am going to scan today. have a great week!! Thanks for your prayers.

Sister Hames

(A little out of order) 10/16/12

hello!!

 I loved the email. I had no idea that the baby is a girl!!! how exciting. I like both of those names a lot! Keep me posted for sure, well if you cant decide on a name you can always name her after her favorite auntie Danny!!! haha. i am glad you are all safe and sound and the week was eventful! I will email mom picture through missionaryties!

 

So this week my district is going to speak more portuguese. it is going good, really practice makes perfect or in my case progress haha so i have committed myself to be less shy and talk to more native speakers and also offer more prayers and speak up more in lessons.

 

so i am going to write a list of the metionables of my week

 

last week in TRC (which is the lesson we teach that is recorded and some watches us and gives us feedback) i was surprised. Normally we teach other american compaionships so they know the same vocab as us and it is pretty easy to understand them. but when the bell rang we walked in and there was two Brasilin elders! my heart started to pound haha. but it was good we got through the lesson and they were patient with us and we taught it the best we could. i even understand like .5 of it! haha hooorah! it was a good experience it is getting me ready for realily! we taught about the plan of salvation and how we are created by God and because we chose his plan and not satans we came to earth. Our purpose on earth is to live a good life and work hard to be the best we can be so we can return and life with our family and hevenly father again in Heaven. it was a simple message but so important. i even drew pictures which they liked haha. so portuguese is still coming slow but hey who says it has to be a race.

 

so on sunday night during chior practice 2 new brasilian sisters sat by me. We sand every hour i need thee. we sang in portuguese, spanish and then english. Then during the english part the sisters started asking me how to say things. Or one of them would put her head agaisnt mine while i sang haha. she started to laugh which made me laugh and i started to cry haha. they were so funny. i have a quiet voice so i was trying to sing as loud as i could so they could her me. luckily i got it together for the real performance when we sang it in the firside! during the break she had me go line through line and say each word. when they said it right i would give them high fives and they would cheer. it was so fun! They were good examples to me about being productive in learning a new language and they dont even need to learn english! so funny i am gonna miss them when they leave in 2 weeks.

 

So last week i was in the classroom and we have a big district of 13 of us. so all the sisters sit agaisnt the wall by the windows. it was getting cold so i leaned back to shut the window. its the kind that you have to unlatch and then push out. so i pulled it in and latched it. then i went to lean fprward to continue my studies and my head whiplashed back haha. i latched my ponytail in the window! haha it took sever seconds to find the latch and unluck my hair. my whole distric started laughing and now bring it up everyday at least once hahaha.

 

so i am so excited next week i get to pick up my scripture case i ordered! a man sketches pictures into cases. i am getting the picture of christ being baptised on the front and the one of him at the door without the door knob. i am so stoked! i will take a picture!

 

today at the temple this Brasilian lady stopped me and my companion and asked us where we were serving. we said Cuiaba and she said `ooh muito sol, sol, sol` haha a lot of sun sun sun. she then said oh wow you are so beautiful!! oh bonitas, bonitas, bonitas. haha awww Brasilians are soo nice it made me feel loved.

 

Tonight i am singing in the all sisters chior, sisters in Zion! I am excited.

 

I am doing great love you all! Safe travels dad.

com me amor, Sister Hames

Tuesday Oct 23, 2012

Hey family!
So this sunday we moved an hour forward cause it is spring here, so now there is a 6 hour difference! Hope you are all doing well thanks for the emails. So last week on oct. 12th it was childrens day, like mothers day and fathers day they celebrate childreans day. The cooks and servers all dressed up, one lasy dressed like a clown! They decoracted the cafateria with balloons and table cloths it was awesome. we all got boxes of candy and cupcakes. so nice!! On sunday we district sang Abide with me till even tide, it was so fun and the 4 sisters we all sang with out the piano for one part. it was so fun. i love that song. We got new roomies! One from argentina and one from Brasil. Sis Reynose and Sis Corriera. They are awesome. it is super fun and I laugh a lot every time i go to say something they saiy Que? haha thy are patient with me and so sweet. So on sunday i cried for the first time, I got a lil homesick but i am happy here. i am praying for my patience with my companion. My friend for USU sis Wilson left today for Manuas. I am going to miss her! I will send pictures soon. On sunday we had a talk by a sister and we learned about the power of a smile. It was so good, i learned that smiles are unviversial. No mater what the language is you can help someone with a smile. my goal is to smile more this week! Will you join me? Did Grandma get your hip replacement? How is she? thanks for the goodies mom! I love you all, Love your favorite missionary, Sister Hames

Week 3

second week 10/02/2012

Oi, Oi, Oi!
    Hola familia! Como vai? I am doing great just finished week 2, its so crazy it feels much longer but at the same time its gone by so fast.
   Mom thanks for doing mission ties I got your letter a couple days ago and I read it 6 times I think. Sorry you are all sick! no I didn't take the sickness with me luckily but I need to be careful a couple of elders in my district are sick and its going around the CTM. I am with those elders 12 hours a day in a classroom so I am keeping away and trying to sleep and drink water more.
   Jentri!! You are in my prayers, and I put you on the prayer roll when I go to the temple.  I am so glad AJ gave you a blessing and I am so glad you are doing better!
   If I could go back in time I would pack warmer things.  I didn't think about Sao Paulo being cold. Last week was so cold! I have been wearing the three little dressy sweaters I brought faithfully, I even wore one to the gym once!  Luckily this week is warmer.  It was like in the 80's today so its good. Soa Paulo weather is like Reno's, pretty bi polar! Sisters have more power then elders here (its awesome) So I can tell them to shut windows or turn down the AC.
   Look up the Brazil National anthem on youtube. We sing it every Sunday at Fireside. It's crazy fast, President Degn is a concert pianist so that is convenient. ( yes he is the grandpa of the Degn's who were in our ward)   It's so fun to sing and watch the Brazilians get into it!  It is a happy song, it is my goal to have it memorized before I come home.
   On Saturday night I was feeling kinda down and frustrated and thinking about my weaknesses more them my strengths. I was reading the scriptures that night and low and behold I read the perfect verse for me at that time. It made me feel so happy, and  I just knew that  was heavenly fathers way of showing me he cares and that I am where I need to be.  So like Joseph Smith getting an answer that he should pray about which church  was true when reading James 1:5 I know Heavenly Father can give me an answer through scripture. I have heard we talk to heavenly father through prayers and talks back through scripture.  I know we can get answers through the Holly Ghost. I am gaining a bigger appreciation for the scriptures.
   The desserts here are always so kind of jello, flan, or marshmallow thing.  The first day I was here  I said " I don't really like Jello" and a sister who has been here a while said "We'' every dessert has a jello king of consistency".  haha I am less tempted to eat dessert1
   Everyone here is in the choir. we go 1.5 hours early to fireside to practice the music. then the fireside begins and we sing to ourselves and the speaker.  Its fun to sing in Portuguese, Bonita!
   The gym has a tiny track, if you run 12 laps it is a mile. I have been making myself run, I look forward to the gym!
   My companion is great, we get along and teaching together works good. we are learning the language at the same speed which is nice so we both  get to talk.  I am learning slowly but surely, but it is coming.  It is weird I have not cracked or cried yet, I think it is because I am not putting any presure on my self. Their has been a couple of elders in my District who have cried and have really hard days. well take !
    I love you Family& Friends!

Love Sister Hames

Danny and her companions

9/25 Danny's first letter!

Hey family!!!!!!!!!!!

it feels like forever since I have been here i cant believe a week ago i was saying goodbye. I only get like 25 minutes to write so i am sorry! the flights went good i met one elder in slc and the rest in alanta. there is 12 of us in our district and 8 of us are going to cuiaba! they are all so nice i love it here, i really do. it feels so weird to be in Brazil. The flights were good i talked to a guy on the way to salt lake and told him about the church i didnt feel like a missionary yet. we had a great chat now looking back i wish i would of shared more i am like uuggg i even had a pass along card. oh well now i just wont let other chances go by. So i got into alanta at like 4 and my flight was at 9 all of the rest of the missionaries in my district met there. it was me and all the elders for a awhile then another sister joined sister, Grimes who is my companion. she is from yubba city which is near sacramento she is awesome and head strong and confident. then sister Fenns flight from arizona got cancelled twice so she came 2 days late! crazy! i was lucky i didnt even have a delay. so now we are a trio! sister Fenn is 24 and i asked her why she is on a mission she said well she never got married and a mission was her back up plan and now here she is haha. She is awesome she is quiet and i dont think she has a mean bone in her body. i am trying to get to know her better and ask questionsi bet she loves it haha.

so in the mtc or the ctm which it is called here has lots of order. wake up at 6.30 breakfast at 7 study at 7.30 lessons till 12. lunch. classes till 4.45 dinner. more study and either service or gym at 8.30 a snack at 9.30 then room at 10 and sleep at 10.30. It s been good some days i am so tired but i feel like i have already learned soooo much portuguese and about the gospel. we just went and walked around the city its nice on P days we can walk around the city and i bought some make up. If you get my letter we sent on the first day its says not to send packages but if you have already i bet it okay i just think any packages sent now or later might not get here i heard there is a mail strike.

so i feel like there is so much to say and my brain is blanking. so at meal time we get 2 types of meat every meal. either breaded chicken, pork, beef, we even got hot dogs cut in half with melted cheese in them ha. the food is really good, the first couple days my stomach freaked out but know it is use to it. i feel i just eat and sit all day ill have to run on gym days, i work out 3 days a week. there is a little track and volleyball, basketball and a gym room. its nice the ctm has a big courtyard in the middle so i dont feel trapped it is so beautiful here.

the people are sooo nice here, like really. especially the brazialin sisters. my instructor just got back from her mission and is learning english and then my other teacher who teaches grammar is brazilain as well. they are great and patient.

today we got to go to the temple. its a hour drive we loaded up on the bus. it is so beautiful!!!! it was so neat after the session a sister grabbed us and took us 3 sisters to other rooms in the temple like bride rood and the childrens room. i felt so special. the elders dont get tours like that. it was great it was exactly what i needed. the stain glass in the temple is amazing.

so studying the language is fun and it is coming but very slowly! but i have to remind myself that it has just been a week. so funny yesterday we were practicing basic sentences and the teacher asked do like merangos wich is strawberries and an elder said yes i like merranos which i guess means dark men haha. so that was so funny i am excited for more times like that. church was great on sunday we got to nap and watch the joseph smith movie and had a good church meeting. for church everyone has to write a talk then they randomly pick how speaks so ive have to write a talk this week but luckily i can speak in english!

my time is up. email me but write me too i guess there is mr cheneys across the street where you can email them and they will print it out and give it to be so i can read it and will have time to read it. i will write you about when i know more, i guess you have to sign up or something i dont know.

love you all! you are all in my prayers.

mom please email this to the rest of family!

love your favorite sister Hames

give wade a berry a hug for me.

i miss you all

My addresses for the next 18 months

Hey! My addresses for the nest 18 months will be:
  
Mission training center (I think ill be there for 6-9 weeks)
Sister Danielle Marie Hames Brazil Cuiaba' Mission
Brazil Missionary Training Center
Rua Padre Antonio D Angelo, 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo- SP
Brazil 

Mission field
Sister Danielle Marie Hames 
Brazil Cuiaba' Mission
Av. Hist. Rubens de Mendonca, 1731
Sala 10, Bairro: Consil
CEP: 78050-975 Cuiaba' - MT
Brazil

Email
danielle.hames@myldsmail.net

I am pretty sure anyone can email me but I may be only able to respond to my family via email and I have a limited time to read and respond to emails once a week.

Dearelder.com
If you go to dearelder.com you can select a mission, either the Brazil MTC or when I am in the field (Cuiaba' Brazil) and type a letter and the office will print it out and deliver it to me. I believe that there is a charge which is the amount of postage. I wish my mission was one of the free ones!

Thanks for all of the support, I would love to hear from you!

My mission call!

On April 4th I received my mission call for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! I opened up my call and to my surprise I have been called to serve in the Cuiaba' Brazil mission where I will learn Portuguese. I leave September 18th and fly to the Brazil MTC to start my 18 month adventure. I am so excited and know it is where I need to be at this time in my life. I am thankful for all my dear friends and family who have supported me so much. My mom will post my weekly emails on this blog. :)

Opening my call!