My companion figured out you can draw on my camera

Really classy Christmas Decoration in Catú

BAPTISM!!!! João Pedro!!!!!

What you do when the power goes out for about 14 hours

CHristmas Morning, THANKS AMBER!!!!

Walk a mile in your shoes.

So, this week was a whirlwind of amazing!!!  Being companions with sister Turner is like BLOWING my mind.  I am really afraid that President Hart is going to take her away from me.  I don`t know what I would do if he did that, we are teaching sooo well and we are helping sooo many people but I am afraid that we are going to recieve new sisters and she is going to have to train.  We will see.

Speaking of President Hart, I wrote in my email today asking a little about my date to come home.  Now that I have motivation ( a new neice or nephew, and maybe a wedding?...still confused on that one... ) I kind of want to know what the church has in mind for me.  But I won`t know til next week.  And I figure it isn`t a huge hurry or emergency since neither of these things are going to happen today :)

I was sooo happy to talk to and see everyone I am just sorry that I didn`t get to see meghan.  Sorry babe but I lov eyou too and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  I hope everyone remembered their savior on sunday!  I thought of a few tings that I wanted to ask from you guys if you send packages.  Perfume (whatever one doesn`t smell like a bottle of rubbing alcohol or a big ol garden of granny flowers is fine) is all I want because I have almost used up all of mine.  I use it a lot more here because my clothes always smell just a little musty....it is gross.

So in reference to the subject line....yesterday I left our house in my own sandals and came home with a complete strangers......so what happened?  So I have to start WAY WAY in the past before I even returned to Catú.  There was a trio of sisters here the transfer before and they helped a random srunk girl carry a mattress to her house and she was super greatful.  They invited her to chuch and blaa blah blah right they are missionaries it is what they do.  Well, when I got here she always stopped us in the street to tell us she wanted to go to church and all that jazz.  So one sunday we marked with her to go pick her up. Sara is her name.  Anyways she wan`t at the bar like she had promissed.....weird right?  ha ha so we still see her in the street all the time and she is always saying how she needs to go to church and it is pretty funny because I don`t know when this girls sleeps.  she is ALWAYS at the bar.  andyways, ha ha so yesterday I was walking along and all of a sudden I tripped over a lump of sidewalk.  My sandal broke and my toe was hurting.  I couldn`t walk with just one sandal and I couldn`t make the broken one work so I just took them both off....if you recal this is NOT the first time I have done this. 

So sister Turner is laughing so hard she about to have a hernea I am limping a little and just counting the seconds that I die from some random broken beer bottle that I will step on.  AND out of nowhere appears Sara, well it isn`t out of nowhere, it is out of the Bar that we were passing.  Ha ha she gave sister Turner a HUGE hug and kiss and then me too........her kisses are more like raspberries....I don`t really know why.  But then she saw taht I was carrying my shoes and said OH NO!!! you broke your sandal!!!  Let me help.  SHe askes her other drunk buddies if I can have thier shoes and as I am saying oh no don`t worry about it she is like OH!!!  my friend lives right down here I have a pair of shoes at her house......yea well Sara is about 5 foot tall...If you remember I am about 5 foot 7 and not exactly model thin....I have some pretty good sized feet I am just imagining the size of sandal that Sara wears but She takes off and tells me to follow her before I can protest.  ha ha So we get to this house which is filled with a strange green light and the smell of coffee and random people.  Some dog tried to eat me and I got a little scarred but he was actually pretty chill ha ha Sara starts searching around for a pair of flip flops and telling everyone that I can`t go to church without shoes.  ha ha she thought I was headed to church at 9:15 last night....she is a crazy person. 

After a little searching she finds a pair of sandals and explains to me that they aren`t hers but that I can use them for the day.  ha ha she grabbed my broken sandals and runs off.  She kinda left us stranded in this random house and went back to the bar.  ha ha needless to say sister turner started walking home.  me in my borrowed sandals and we just started laughing.  I asked her what just happened and neither of us could say.

We decided that nothing happens as a coincidence or accident so we decided we would go back and take a church dvd as a thankyou gift and try to teach them.  It will be great.  ha ha what a joke.

So this is my life in Brasil.  It is insane but I love it.  I am sooo ahppy to be here.

So like I said on the phone I am doing really really great we ahd a baptism on sunday and we will probably have lots more.  I am really really excited!!!  I love you all tell everyone that I am doing well and missing them!!!

XOXOXOXOX

Stay Awesome!!!

Sister Ottley

CHRISTMAS!!!

Natal no Brasil é muito estranho.  Não tem neve e não tem pessoas cantando nas ruas.  Mas eu estou amando.  Vou ter a oportunidade de falar com a minha família no natal e vai ser bom de mais.  Eu acho que as vezes a gente esquece o proposito de natal porque nos comemoramos todo ano.....Eu sou tão grata por meu salvador Jesus Cristo e o sacrifício que ele fez para mim.  eu preciso esquecer de mim mesmo e pensar mais  nele.  Lembrar que meu Pai Celestial mandou ele á terra para morrer.  Só atravez ele eu posso voltar um dia e viver com meu pai celestial.  Como eu sou grata por essas coisas.

Espero que cada um de vocês lembram do real significado de Natal e faz alguma coise para lembrar de Cristo entre toda a família e todas as festas.  Eu amo vocês estou com saudades!!!

BEIJOS!!!

Merry Christmas my friends and family!!!  I love you alll sooo much.  I am not as home sick as I thought I would be around Christmas time.  I think it is because it honestly doesn`t feel like Christmas.....at all.  There is NO snow.  The decorations are completely different.  there are only a few houses that have lights on them and I will be honest I find a few of them very tacky, but I will be honest I think that is why I love it!!!  ha ha it is so amazing.  But there isn`t Christmas music in every street, every house, every radio station.  It is SUPER weird....like for reals.  So I just feel like there are some people who just forgot to take their Christmas Decrations down from last year and are celebrating Christmas in July.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter.  It is fun but I am told it will only get worse.  Ha ha Summer officially starts tomorrow and I am really worried because I am basically a brown brazilean already.  so this should be fun :)

We had a really awesome baptism on saturday.  Her name is Zene....well I call her Zene.  It turns out that when sister Bezerra and I found her we were told her name was vionade and I guess Sister Bezerra couldn`t say her name or something and gave her the nickname of Zene.  I had NO IDEA!!! ha ha so I have been calling the poor lady by the wrong name for MONTHS!!!  ha ha oh well.. SOOOO she was baptised and it was perfect.  I don`t think she will EVER forget her baptism.  She wanted a guy from the ward to baptise her but he had to work and so Bishop decided that a youth in the ward would baptise her.....k, great bishop, you do that.  ha ha it took FIVE tries!!!!  ha ha FIVE!!!!  Rediculous.  I wanted to get in the water and baptise her myself!!!  But there is only ONE little itsy bitsy flaw with that......I don`t have the preisthood power.  

ANYWAYS she was finally baptised and I told her she was EXTRA clean and she just laughed.  SHe is super excited to go to the temple. We went to her house yesterdaya nd showed her pictures of all the temples.  She LOVED it!!!!  she make the church website her homepage.  ha ha it was a great experience!!!

Anyways things with an American companion are super interesting.  I love it sooo much because I am learning loads of stuff about myself with Sister Turner.  It is soo weird.  I can speak Portuguese.  I can express what I want to say and I can teach all the principles of the Gospel.  I understand everything that people say to me and I don`t feel like I have to ask people to repeat themselves very much. BUT when I am talking to Sister Turner at our house in English I feel like I can just express myself SOOOO much better.  My stories are funnier, my feelings have more meaning.  I don`t know what that means.  But someday I am sure I will have the same feelings about Portuguese...well that is my goal at least.  

As two americans we get quite a bit of attention in the street.  I kind of hate it.  Sometimes I just want to walk around with a sign that says "yes, I am american stop starring"  but I have to be a representative of Christ.....always and so I just say Good Day and keep walking.  But one day I had had just about enough......ha ha It was just soooo much and I was getting irritated.  and we were walking past this guy who was washing his car and so he was bent over and we saw about half of him bottom......this was not exactly what I would call a good moment.  But as we were passing He got up and checked us out and said something to the effect of well hello there.....We walked away and under my breath to my companion I said "I just saw half your butt sir, please don`t hit on me"  Sister Turner and I got a good laugh from that one.  ha ha It really is funny how we become celebrities just because we aren`t from this country.  So if you ever want to feel popular I suggest coming to Brasil.  ha ha It is super great!

ANYWAYS....I love you all I am sooo excited for Christmas.  It is a lot easier to remeber the meaning of Christmas here because there isn`t a whole crap ton of parties and music and distractions.  I love it.  I cvan really just focus my studies and mind on Christ and the fact that we was sent to this earth to save all of us. I hope you all can remember Christ this reay too!!!  I love you all!!

So did Dad ever figure out that he really WAS getting my emails every week?  Because I don`t get an email from HIM everywek....just saying.

Christmas Call: So we can use skype but I am in Brasil and the internet is not super reliable and it is Sunday so I have to find a member who has internet in their house......I found one who is willing to let us use thier computer but I don`know what time still.  ha ha so I am thinking at like 7:30ish my time which would be more or less 3:30ish your time in Washington ( I think) so what ya`ll can do is call our phone here in Catú 71-9978-5344.  It is the same phone that you called for mother´s day.  and from there we can get on skype and talk face to face.

If worse comes to worse we will just talk on the cell phone.  No problem.  I am really excited to talk to you guys...I am not sure why, I don`t really have anything to say.  but maybe I will think of something.  ha ha

I love you all soooo much!!! I miss you!!!  I am happy healthy and doing soo great.  No need to worry about me.  I am praying for all of you.  Let me know how you all are!!!  Have an awesome week and an awesome christmas!!!!

LOVE YA!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Sister Ottley

Isn`t my companions pencil holder...creative?

Get ready...who`s birthday is next!?!?!?!

Baptism of Zene!!!

2 americans lost in Brasil!!!

So, this is Christmas

Nice tan....

Yea, this is november......Brasil is hot

Thanks for the great lipstick AMBER!

P-Day in Camaçari!!!

Minha Família!!!

WEDDING!!!! Living the law of CHASTITY is the BEST!!!

Are you twins?

Oi!!!  Esta semana foi legal.  A sister turner e eu estamos trabalhando de mais como sempre.  É bom por que nos estamos ajudando alguns familias encontrar a verdade.  Eu amo ver as pessoas encontrar mais fé e mais felicidade por meio do evangelho.  Como eu sou grata por essas coisas.  Você pode apreder MUITO na missão, eu estou aprendendo agora como ser uma mulher com valor e poder.  É muito importante lembrar que sou eu.  As vezes parece que esquecemos que somos filhos de um Deus.

Domingo foi conferência e foi bom DE MAIS!!!!  Como eu amo de aprender com os lideres da igreja, eles são tão bons e tão inteligentes.  eu amo vocês e não vejo a hora de ver vocês de novo!!!  Beijos!!!

Hola amigos e família!!!!  how was your week?!?!  It sounds like everyone is running around tryingto get everything ready for Christmas.  That is way exciting!!  We also got ready for Christmas this week.  Sister Turner and I found some horrid mauve relief society pink butcher paper and made a Christmas tree......we didn`t know what we sould decorate it with until I remembered that I still have a million pictures of the last third of our trio from the MTC....SISTER DAVIS!!!  we cut out all the pictures of Sister Davis that we had and now the tree is BEAUTIFUL!!!!  I love it sooo much.  ha ha we even put empty boxes under it to make it feel like we had presents and everything.  I love it

I DID recieve one package finally.  It was from Meghan, for Thanksgiving I think.  But the others I have not recieved yet I will keep you all as best posted as I can.  Thank you all soooo much for all your love and support I really do appreciate it sooo much.  I don`t need any more peanut butter because there is a store in the neighboring city that sells Wal*Mart brand Peanut Butter.  It is a little expensive but at the same time it is worth it.  

So we have a really really great baptism this week.  I am hoping we will actually have 3 but for sure we will have at least one.  Her name is Zene I don`t know if I have ever talked about her before but she is sooo amazing.  I found her with Sister Bezerra when I first came to Brasil.  Thanks goodness I got sent back to Catú after a little preperation in some other places.  Now she is married and can`t wait to be baptised.  She is sooo amazing her story is sooo strong and beautiful.  She had absolutely no desire to marry the father of her children with whom she was living.  She had a boyfriend on the side and was not exactly in any possition to live the law of chastity. But we taught her the first vision and talked about how the gospel blesses families and she completely changed her ideas.  THen I got transferred.  6 months later I come back and she has been going to church every week and she is sooo amazing!!!!  She married her husband, broke up with her boyfirend and now were gonna dunk her in the waters!!!!  Isn`t the gospel great.  Her house her coutenance her life is sooo different now.  I can feel the spirit when she talks I can feel the spirit when I walk into her house.  PEOPLE!!!  The church is true!!!  I have NO doubts about it!!!

Anyways we are still working with Simone.  Last week she said she needed someone to give her a little push to be baptised.  So, yesterday I went to her house and said, Simone, I marked your baptism for saturday....she got a little worried and defensive but then I told her she needed to pray about it.  She was like alright I will because who knows maybe this is what God wants from me.....DUH!!!!  of COURSE it is what God wants from you!  ha ha so I hope she will be baptised on saturday too.

This kid went to church with his friend one week and told me he liked it so much he was going to go everyweek.  We gave him a book of mormon and asked if he wanted to be baptised.  He said yes.  Too bad he is NEVER at home so it is rediculously hard to teach him a lesson.  BUT one day I will succeed....hopefully this week.....ha ha I am hoping his baptism can be saturday too.  We shall see if he is preparred.  I don`t know.

Anyways I am suffering in the heat a little bit but I will get over it.  I just have a great tan and Vitamin D sufficient for the rest of my life.  It is great!!!  I love Brasil, I don`t know if I would ever life here; I kind of like being able to drive in the streets with a little comfort.  But I will deffinetly do my best to come back and visit some day.  I am super healthy and I am loving life.  I love you all sooooo much!!!  I miss you and I need your prayers for my recent converts and my investigators.  I hope you all have a great week and remember to read the scriptures EVERYDAY!!!!  

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Stay Awesome

Never Regret!!!

Sister Ottley

I taught my companion the real meaning of the word lazy

the true joy of P-Day

-A little late but HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Baptism 3.0

Ignorance is bliss and I am ECSTATIC!!!!

Oi familia Brasileira!!!  Eu amo vocês D+  O internet esta devagar hoje entâo meu e-mail vai ser curto.  Eu queria compartilhar algo que eu aprendi essa semana.  È muito importante sempre amar as pessoas que não amam você porque você nunca sabe o que esta acontecendo na vida deles.  todo mundo tem problemas.  Nos nãp podemos julgar ninguem.  As veces voce acredita que uma pessoa é alguem mas voce vai aprendendo que sao uma outra.  Ainda é muito importante amar esta pessoa como um filho de deus. 

 

Eu amuuuu voces e quer que vocês sempre lembram quem são...filhos e filhas amados do Pai Celestial!!!  Ele coloqou você aqui na situacão que voc^~e esta porque ele sabe que você consegue fazer tudo!!! 

 

 

HOLA friends and family!!!  I love you guys sooo much I am loving hearing about all your thanksgivings and everything.  I did not get to eat turkey and potatoes and all that stuff but I was sure to eat a turkey burger because it was about the closest thing I could find!  ha ha but It is way cool that everyone is getting ready for christmas.  It is sooo weird here to see docorations and I am like sweating from a heat stroke.  ha ha way awesome.  I feel like everyone forgot to take thier christmas decorations down last year.  ha ha But i am going to have an AWESOME christmas....wanna know why?!?!??!  Because we had TRANSFERS!!!!  and my new companion is......SISTER TURNER!!!! ha ha yes the very same sister turner who was my companion in the MTC!!!  I love her to death And she will be staying here in catu with me for christmas and EVERYTHING!!!  It is going to be great.  I was really sad to see sister Tibúrcio leave but I know that her new area will be amazing for her.

 

so this week I had a cliche of a brazilean experience.  ha ha we were teaching at the house of a family and the little boy came up to me out of nowhere with a parrot on his sholder and was like here hold him.....uh, okay....I asked if he was going t poop on me and the boy said no.....LIAR!!!  ha ha he TOTALLY pooped on my dress but not before biting me....repeatedly.....I don`t think this bird likes me very much......whatever  it is SUPER funny I did not laugh at first but it is soooo classic brazil ha ha now I can laugh at it.

 

At the house of a member we were talking to his mom about how she needed to return to church and it was kind of a spiritual moment....then her grandson started putting onion peels in his grandpas belly buttton.....ha ha I lost it i was laughing sooooo hard I was crying he was like "does that sting?"  I died.  ha ha all I could think was THATS WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT PUTTING A SHIRT ON WHEN THE SISTER MISSIONARIES COME OVER!!!  ha ha sooo funny Lourdes said that he does that with EVERYTHING  whatever he can find he shoves it in his grandpas belly button.....sooo awesome.  I hope my kids are that lobing with MY DAD!!!  ;)

 

we are also teaching irmã simone.  she is amazing!!!  she is this little old lady she doesn`t have any teeth and soooo hilarious!  I love her to death!!!  The other day she was telling me about how the neighbors chicken is always coming into her yard and so she goes into the neighbors lawn and steals the eggs....ha ha but she is careful to leave a few because if she steals tem all the neighbor will kill the chicken for not laying and then she wouldn`t have any eggs......oh my word it was hilarious.  ha ha Then we were giving a lesson all about repentance and baptism and it was really really good and I was like "Yea the spirit is gonna tough her heart and she is gonna want to be baptised"  Simone was chewing gum....without teeth of course...and all of a sudden she turns around and sticks the gum to the wall....I about lost it.  ha ha i tried super hard not to laugh but I did not conquer....ha ha I burst.  It was super funny.  And she explained that the gum no longer had flavor and that she was making sure the wall wasn`t going to fall down later on.

 

She is the greatest!!!  Anyways I am doing really great, I´m healthy and getting fat with all the heavy food these people shove down my throat but I am fat and happy.  I am sorry that this email is a little short but the internet is SUPER SLOW and so it took a long time to read everything.  I love you all I miss you But know that heavenly father is blessing each of you.  I lvoe you stay awesome!!!  Never regret!!!

 

XOXOXOXOX

 

Sister Ottley

Three Wise Women

Hi Sisters,

I remembered I was going to send you the "Three Wise Women" for
Christmas. The photo of you three wise women reminded me. Hope it
gives you a laugh.

The Three Wise Women:

If it had bee three wise women in the Christmas story--They would have
asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliever the baby,
cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and
there would be peace on earth.

Thanks for being such "wise women" in serving missions. I hope you
have a wonderful Christmas season in the mission field!

Love,

Sister Hart

Sunburned, Smiling and sweating

Então Diz k verão ainda não chegou né....MENTIROSAS!!!!  Eu estou queimada D+.  Mas tudo Bem, vou sobre viver.  A missão ensina uma coisa muito bem...te esquece..  É verdade, você realmente não pode pensar em se mesmo quando você esta servindo O Senhor.  Rapaz, eu amo a missão tanto!!!  Eu amo aprender falar Português e eu amo conhecer as pessoas aqui no Brasil.  Tanto como os Baianos como meus companheiras de outros lugares.  O povo do Brasil é muito caloroso, eu amo vocês DE MAIS!!!!  Se puder eu ia ficar aqui com vocês para sempre.  Eu nunca fiz promessas para voltar porque é muito muito caro viajar pra cá mais eu vou fazer o possivel depois a missao para voltar e visitar todos vocês!!!!!  BEIJOS!!!!  TUDO de bom para vocês!!!!

AHHHHH, so my mom worte me and said that she drove home from Utah in a blizzard.  What´s that like?  I miss the snow.  Send me some?  ha ha it is rediculously hott here but I don`t mind.  I am getting an amazing tan ha ha.  Today I got super sunburned at our zone BBQ.  I will send pictures next week I forgot the cable to my camera at home.  but We got in a big water fight and then while trying to dry out I got SUPER lobster red....it´s great.

So, This week was AMAZING!!! I am learning sooooo much here in Catú again.  Sister Tibúrcio is soooo amazing she is teaching me soooo many things that I need to do to become the missionary I want to be.  Ha ha this week we were talking and we made a goal to focus in all the lessons ALL the time.......why yes, yes she WAS calling me to repentance.  Nope, I have not changed.  I am still a space cadet.  Ha ha but I get easily distracted by the children of our investigators and then I loose focus and just want to play with them to keep them quiet.  Which is great and all for who is teaching but that means that I am not teaching.  ANYWAYS, my companion got in the habit of forcing me to teach all by myself like ALL the time and I was getting super frusterated because I felt a little alone and abandoned but I got over it when she explained herslef.  She said that she liked me to teachi because the people pay better attention.  Ha ha they have to because of my terrible ACCENT!!!!  it is great but I am making goals and progressing EVERY day as a missionary.  which is super right?  concidering that I have been a missionary for 10 months.....what is THAT?!?!?!?!!?

After like 2 months without baptism we FINALLY conquered!!!  3 young girls.....2 for the primary and 1 for the YW.  I was sooooo happy I about peed.  I took a bunch of photos so again, I will send those next week.  It was super cute, I went into the girls bathroom to help the girls know what to do and everything and when Erica (the oldest and 1st baptism) left the font she looked at me and said "sister, I am clean!!!  I felt like I was flying in the water!!!"  I wanted to cry!!!  I am soooo happy for her.  It is such a beautiful thing to see her with her family and listen to her talk about the changes she has made in her life.  Her mom was sooo grateful to us and told us that she saw a complete change in her daughter.  The gospel is true people.  This is the ONLY way we can have salvation.  I see it everyday.  I watch people turn it down, I watch people´s lives change before my eyes.  It is sooo beautiful there aren`t words.  Anyways I wanted to tell you all thankyou for your prayers I know that they were answered.

THis week I will finish Jesus the Christ in my studies!!!  That book is a super task but I love it!!!  It was super good and I can`t believe I am almost finished.  I am kinda proud of myself.

Here in catú there are 2 guys in the ward that are super helpful in the work and always go on teaching appointments with us.  Tiago and Remiston.  Tiago went on a mission last week and he is going to do awesome!!!  It is sooo great!!!!  Remiston is the new president of the YM and I am sooo happy for him.  These 2 guys are hilarious because I don`t understand a word that they say.  They both have a habit to speak really really fast and all the words get tangled in their mouths it is soooo funny.  I just laugh and laugh because I sit there "what?  what?  I didn`t understand you...."  ha ha poor guys they have to repeat EVERYTHING!!!!  But my companion told me that when I can understand them I have mastered Portuguese.....I am working on it.  I will try to keep you guys posted on my progress...ha ha

Anyways Nothing too exciting happened this week but I learned a whole lot and I am sooo happy.  There is nothing better than a mission.  I love you all sooo much thankyou for ALL that you do for me. All the prayers and thoughts.  

Have an awesome week!!!

never Regret!!!

Beijos!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Sister Ottley

Christmas Decorating Fun at the President's House