Betchya can`t guess what was livin in my shoe......

Phew!!! what a week...You can all be every level of proud of your little american missionary here in Brasil.  ha ha Yesterday I found out the the minimum of lessons we should be teaching each week is like 25....we teach an average of about 43 each week.  We are working really hard here in Catú....até ó pó....(to the dust) it isn`t easy because we aren`t having the success that we would like BUT it is still sooo satisfactory to lie down at night thinking, "Wow, i really did a good thing today, I feel as though I helped someone."  Missionary work is probably the hardest but most wonderful thing ANYONE could ever do with their life.

Sunday we had lunch at my recent convert family`s house, Lourdes and Hamilton, they made galinha de quintal translation "yard chicken"  This is just some chicken that they tear into peices and toss into a pot with some seasoning and water.  The taste isn`t bad, it is actually really really good. But it is the WHOLE chicken....guts, parts, bones, EVERYTHING.  I didn`t know what I was putting onto my plate, but as usual I just said a little prayer and started eatting.  I ate what I figured was a chicken leg and breast while my companion went for the neck and Lourdes sucked on the foot.....lets just say this sight was not exactly appetizing.  Ha ha then my companion looked down at my plate and said "oh you took the heart...."  oh no, what I´m sorry it sounded as though you said heart.....yea well if you wanted you could totally eat it, I don`t mind.  ha ha ha ha thank goodness she likes it and she ate it for me.  DUDE culture is weird.  however, the sotry doesn`t end there....All of a suadden they were all like "sister Ottley you didn`t take any mocotó"  oh really I forgot something?  how is that even possible my plate is over flowing with unidentifiable content......MOCOTÓ.....right.

...yea, what`s that?  "cow foot"  OH, great....You know what, you are right....I DID forget the cow foot......Don`t worry Sister Ottley there is still LOT´S left for ya.....Perfect, you`d better get some onto my plate then becasue I am just DIEING to eat some good ol fashioned Cow Foot.  False.....Cow foot is gross....it is like pure fat.....and chewy and gross and I about vomited on the table......Fantastic.....OH SISTER OTTLEY!!!  you also forgot the (some word that starts with B that I forgot already)  Cow stomach....oh, you know what youa re right, i DID forget that too.....better get me a peoce but you know what this cow foot is filling me up pretty fast so a small piece is sufficient.  Cow stomach is also a stange chew texture and it is almost furry......I think I had my fill of strange foods for the transfer but Sister Marciano said taht another sister in the ward wants to make Cow Foot on sunday....I think I will take a ziplock bag to hide in my backpack; I have not developed the pure love of Christ still and I think it will be hard to develope it in the next 5 days.....Please Help me, I accept any prayers from anyone.

I don`t think that people here understand me and my odd tendancies and fears.  Ha ha yesterday I was cleaning a little but and moved a box that sits on the floor next to my desk.....out hopped an enormous cricket. I was not okay with this.  on the contrary, I was very  very very alarmed by the size, appearance, and jump height of this creature.  I gave a little squeel and my companion came to my rescue.  I love her.  She smashed it with a flip flop.....it oozed...Then I swept the floor and tried to sweep it away....it was still alive, I squeeled again and Sister Marciano said I had to take care of it this time.  ha ha, she is the meanest, I wacked it with a big ugly sandal because he didn`t deserve to die a pretty death.  he oozed a lot more and I swept him up no problem.

THEN I was putting some shoes away that I don`t use because they broke last week.  I went to grab them and as I moved one an ENORMOUS spider crawled out and tried to eat me.  That bugger fast let me tell you what I was too terrified to scream because the arachnid was so large, I left the shoe where it was on the balcony and the spider ran down the side of the house towards the street......I think it ate a  cat because we heard one meowing later that night.

We are working with reactivating quite a few families.  some of them have family members who are not members of the church.  we are working on reactivating the members so we can baptise their children and siblings.  It is sooo much fun to hear conversion sotries and to share testimonies.  You can stop going to church, you can start breaking compandments and you can acurse heavenly Father all you want but you will never forget that you are a member of the church andyou will never forget what you learned and felt in your conversion.  It is soo beautiful.

Anyways I lov eyou all soooo much!!!  stay awesome!!!  Don`t forget me!!!!  Don`t forget to smile everyday even if youare sad!!!  I lov e you!!!  never Regret!!!

XOXOXOXOX,


Sister Ottley