Aí Galega!!!

Ha ha so I got proposed to again this week.  He told me he was headed to the United States to Paint some oil drill thingy and he was planning on getting married while he was there to an American.  He said  " I don`t know if it will be you maybe a different one"  I assured him that it wouldn`t be me and excused myself. 

As fun and interesting as it is to meet these colorful people I feel as though my Mission is kind of a big joke.  ha ha my companion is still trying to get used to being my companion.   She is a LOAD of help...as soon as our contacts turn stalker she walks away laughing her head off and leaves me to clean up the mess.  Lovely.  Ha ha she has started counting all the cat calls we get everyday.  Apparently it happens a lot more here in Catú than in anyother area.  How lucky for meto be here so long.  ha ha

So, Catú is amazing as usual.  we are teaching sooo many amazing people and I can`t wait to start seeing the fruits of our labors.  I love being Sister Marciano`s companion, she is soooo sweet!!!!!  We are getting along great and have all sorts of goals and plans.

I had a huge list of things I wanted to write to you all this week but I totally forgot......I am sooo silly sometimes.  I wanted to let ambet know that I did get her valentines package today!!!  Thank you sooooo much!!!  The conversational hearts were a great hit at your training today.  I personally think they taste a little like chalk and so I was giving them to all the other missionaries and them I ended up having to translate all sorts of random english phrases.  it was super funny.  THANK YOU AMBER!!!  lOVE YA!!! 

I also found out that there may be a reason my packages are a lot slower than others.  I was talking to a few americans and they all said that the address I have is ALL wrong.  I knew that there were 2 addresses for the mission and the only one I ever got in my call packet was the Caixa Postal (P.O. box) address.  APPARENTLY the other is faster....I don`t really understand how since the 2 are in the SAME part of the SAME city.....oh well somethings we just aren`t meant to understand in this life.  So this is the OTHER more right address:

Sister Meredith Rae Ottley
Missão Brasil Salvador
Avenida Antônio Carlos Magalhães, 3247
    Sala 402, 4º andar Edificio Empresarial Delta
Pituba
Salvador-Bahia
Cep: 40275-000
BRASIL

The other address (caixa postal) will still work I just hink that this one may be faster.  Please make the necessary adjustments.

ANYWAYS: let`s talk about the work.  The man from the Book of Mormon smoking story was unfortunately never baptised.  He said he wanted to be better prepared and then moved to another state.  BUT who knows maybe he will continue to read the book of mormon and be preparred someother day.  He hasn`t smoked, as far as I know, since the day we taught him.  The Book fo mormon can really don miracles if we let it.  We are teaching a guy names Wellington.  He is sooo funny.  He says the oddest things but we will probably baptise him this week if everything goes according to plan.  It has been about 3 years that he has been going to church.  and he is just starting to trust us as missionaries, it might have something to do with the fact that my companion is super cute.......but we`ll just leave it at that.  ha ha

We are still going strong with Simone trying to get her to forget her fears and just GET IN THE WATER!!!!  ha ha but everyone had thier time.  OH FUN STORY!!!!  I got a letter From Sister Manuo who was my trainer in the North Carolina mission....like 4 people who I taught while I was there got baptised after I left!!!!  sooo awesome!!!  I love it sooo much.  The church really is true.  It makes me sooo happy to know that people ALL over the world are joining the ranks to fight against Satan.  I really don`t know why he is even still trying....EVERYONE has already seen the end of this movie.....ZION totally conquers!!!!  Sorry if that was a spoiler for any of you out there.

So we are working hard.  I am Happy Healthy and Fat.  I love you alll soooo much.  Please don`t ever regret.  Learn from all experiences, good or bad, and move on.  Not only on but forward.  Life is good.

Stay awesome!!!

Love
Hugs
Kisses

Sister Ottley!!!!

PS I just read over this post and it even bored myself.....sorry people.  I will do better next week.  LOVE YA!!!!  XOXOXOXO

E ai, gente está quente

Então, a vida aqui em Catu é interessante Eu amo as pessoas aqui.  A
ala ajuda de mais, em muitas maneiras.  Já engordei de mais aqui
porque TODO mundo nos da comida......sempre.  Minha companheira nova e
eu estamos dizendo para todo mundo que estamos de dieta.  Quase
ninguém acredita na gente MAS faz o que?  Fala que meu Português está
melhor agora que estou com uma Brasileira, por isto estou feliz.  De
verdade senti o português piorando com Sister Turner só porque a gente
ficou falando Ingles o tempo todo.  Mas agora nâo tem Jeito, falo
Português só.  Estou FELIZ!!!!  Amo esta idioma e minha companheira.
Ainda que ela é de Marte.

Alright so I love you all soooo much!!!  I keep making myself homesick
because I think about everyone getting older and doing cool stuff with
your lives.  Ha ha it is really weird to think that life actually goes
on without me there.  Apperently everyone is getting married, already
married, with child or with infant.....ha ha oh well I guess that is
the way life goes.

So this week was really great with Sister MArciano here in Catú.  She
is getting to know the area and all the people.  I am really excited
to have her her and I know that she will be able to close quite a few
baptisms here in Cat[u with me.  We are going to have all sorts of
success.  She is a really really great missionary.  She is from
Riberão Preto, I think that this was Aaron`s mission but I don`t
remember for sure.  Anyways, she is super fun.  We get along great and
I am getting Way better at Portuguese.  With Sister Turner I ended up
digressing a little bit because we always ended up speaking in
English.  But now I am back to the routine of always speaking
Portuguese and I love it.

We have a ton of people that we are teaching and I am sooo excited.  I
don`t know when we are going to have a baptism but it should be
soon!!!!

My mom wanted to hear my testimony about the book of mormon.  I also
talked about it on the 7th and 14 of February but here goes.  With
stories included!

So President Hart has made a goal with each of us to read the Book of
Mormon everyday.  Starting on the mission and continuing for the rest
of our lives.  I didn`t really see what the big deal was until I
really started studying this wonderful book.  I love it.  It is a
beautiful story.  Like the prophet Joseph Smith said, this book can
bring us closer to god than ANY other book.  I love reading it.  My
Livro de Mórmon is painted all different colors because I can`t just
read it with out marking every other verse.  I have a notebook full of
notes and quotes and all sorts of things that I love about the Book of
Mormon.  The book os great.  And now I shall share why.  I have known
my whole life that the Book of Mormon is true.  I didn´t even know
that you were supposed to read pray and ask to know if it was true
until I got on my mission.  I´m serious, I didn`t have any idea that
you should or could do that.  I just thought you were supposed to go
to primary and learn aboaut it in songs and coloring pictures...just
kidding but seriously, I am kind of a dummy and had never read the
introduction; I had always started in 1 Nephi.  SO, in the MTC I asked
to know if the book was true.  And you know what.... no angels came
down,  I didn´t dream anything.  I just knew.  ha ha I have always
known.    Every day that I read the book of mormon I feel closer to my
heavenly father.  Now when I read the book it is a different feeling.
I know that the words are true.  The Book of Mormon was writen for us
in our day.  I can feel the love that Heavenly Father has for me.
When I read the book of mormon I have more desire to pray and I have
more desire to do the right thing.  I have more desire to be worthy of
the blessings promised to the righteous.  I understand the Plan of
redemptino SOOOO much better because I have read the Book of Mormon.
So we were teaching a man who had been a smoker most of his
life....we`re talking from age 13 to now in his mid 30´s and it was
like a pack or two a day.  We gave him a book of Mormon and told him
that if he felt the need to smoke a cigaret he could read a little of
the Book of Mormon and then he wouldn`t want to smoke anymore.  He
laughed in our faces.  "sister I have been trying for 10 years to quit
smoking and you think reading a book will help me?"  we promissed him
blessings and explained the Love that God has for him and the
expectations he has as well.  He said he would try and we left a
little doubtful but with hope in our hearts.  Well he took it
seriously.  He really did Try.  the first couple days it was rough but
when we went back a few days later he said, "sister I haven`t smoked
in 2 days."  he was reading the book of Mormon.  He didn`t have
cravings when he was reading.  He only wanted to do the right things.
This book is more than just words on paper.  It is the word of God
which was written FOR us!!!

This little blue book can change lives.  Joseph Smith gave his life
for this book and it was not in vain.  Because of this registry we
have the whole truth.  I know my Father in Heaven loves me I know
that Jesus Christ lives and he is my savior.  I know that Joseph Smith
was a prophet because a false prophet can`t have a true book of
scripture.  and I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints is the Church of God here on earth and it is the ONLY true
church on the face of the planet.

So I challenge each and everyone of you to make a goal.  If you have
time to brush your teeth, if you have time to watch the news, if you
have time to call a friend, if you have time to go to the store...You
have time to read the Book fo Mormon.  All you need is at least 5
minutes everyday.  It isn`t enough but it is a start.  I promise you
that you will want more and more as you read with an open heart.  I
love you all sooo much and I thank you for your prayers.  I hope all
is well and will see you all in about 6 months!

I love you all I hope you have an awesome week!!!!  Be awesome always
and don`t forget that you are a Child of God.  Never regret!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXo

Sister Ottley!!

This is a toke. Very hard to explain but EVERYONE uses them here.....I think it is to protect their hair?

Oh families

sweet goggles huh? gotta protect those baby blues!!!

"no, really Elder where am I going?"

SO this week was full of interesting.  Ha ha The whole week we went around taking pictures with members and I said goodbye to everyone because transfers were this week.  I packed my bags and got everything ALL ready to go so that I would have plenty of time to see all my loverly friends here in Catú.  So I was putting the finishing touches on my suitcase.....aka my big butt on top to try and ge tthe not so budgy zipper closed....When the phone rang, it was Elder Natchigal with "the fax"  ( I honestly don`t know why they call it a fax, no one still uses a fax machiene I thought those things only existed in museums) He asks, Sisteres, do you want to know who is leaving or who is coming first.  we answered with who is leaving....he says, well I am going to tell you who is coming. ...SISTER MARCIANO (which means Martian by the way) the only problem with this is that she has already been Sister Turner`s companion.  HUH!?!?!?! So we started to be slightly skeptical ... okay and her companion elder?  He responds with SISTER OTTLEY!!!!  What?!?!?!?  You HAVE to be joking.  At this point I lost all control.  Portuguese ended and I was running around like a nervous nervy thing.  I love it here.  I love the people sooo much, it was hard enough thinking that I would have to leave.  But now i get to become even CLOSER to these people and learn to love them EVEN MORE?!?!?!  I don`t know if I can handle it.  So Catú was my first and fourth area and I will in total stay here 7 months.  This is SUPER rare.  Like BEYOND rare.  I am soooo excited.  I believe now more than ever that there HAS to be someone here waiting for me who ONLY I can reach.  I can`t wait to meet this person because it is going to be the best ever.  I was certain that It was Lourdes and HAmilton that I had to come back to get them married and baptised.  But no, I am staying and there must be someone else. Anyways I just realized all the runny on sentences I wrote and that it is all one paragraph so I am going to change subjects.

Fasting is amazing.  I believe in Miracles but I know that they don`t just happen.  We have to do our part which normally is just believe.  A real prayer with real faith can do ANYTHING but when it has the back up guns of a fast behind it miracles really do happen.  I want you all to put this to the test.  This week is Fast sunday.  Start your fast saturday night and do your best to go 24 hours with out eatting.  start with a prayer and a worthy purpose, like a missionary experience ;)  Everytime you feel hunger say a prayer and remember your purpose.  I promise that the hunger will pass and you will be energised and want to keep going.  The law of the fast is soo beautiful, Heavenly Father knows each and everyone of us personally and so does Jesus Christ.  They know us even better than we know ourselves, they are the only ones who can help us through this life.  TRUST IN THEM!!!

I love the mission soooo much.  There is nothing better in life.  People keep telling me that I will just go home and get married but I tell them that I am going to be a missionary forever,  Here in Catú it seems.  ha ha I love it.  All is well, it´s like Heavenly Father knows more than I do......nah, can`t be ;)

I loved to hear that Lucy is back and safe.  The trees across the street must have been pretty scary. I wouldn`t count on me liking her too much when I get home mom.  I have not been developing a love for animals here on the mission.  Espescially not Dogs.  Oh my goodness.  Dogs are SOOOO dumb.  Last night we were walking home and decided to take a short cut because it was late.  Then we came to a corner and i desided to cut through a yard to make time even shorter.  Mistake.  Two dogs immediately jumped up and started to growl at me.  I looked at Sister Turner who`s face was probably a reflection of my own terrified expression and said "I made a bad choice"  I just closed my eyes said a silent prayer and walked away.  I don`t know why they didn`t rip my claves open, but I got away unscathed.  This seems to happen to me ALL the time.  We were decending a hill on the way to lunch one day and I ended up saying good afternoon to a family who was outside playing with their dog.  Well I thought they were playing.  Apparently it was a "bad" dog and they were trying to catch it and lock it up again as it had escaped.  Great, it started barking uncontrollably and attacked me.....well with slobber. It never actually bit me but it was showing its teeth and gorwling at me. I thought it was going to attack my ankles I was really upset and Sister Turners best/only reaction was laughter.  ha ha some little boy came and dargged it away, that was fun.  Then one day we were walking on a street totally fine.  When out of nowhere some rabid dog starts running towards me growling and barking and slobbering THANK GOODNESS it was attached to a chain and when it got to the end of the chain it was still about a foot away form me.  I looked at Sister Turner and said: if he wasn`t on a chain I think I would have rabies.  A few days ago we were walking somewhere I don`t even remember where but Sister Turner looks at me and is like "sick, I just watched that dog barf"  like the retard I am I look over and see the dog with some nasty yellow foam dribblig down its chin HEAVING.  sick dude let`s cross the street.  So Animals are not so much my friend on the mission.

ANYWAYS, Investigators!!!!We are teaching a couple girls who are dating members of the church, they are pretty cool, but neither of them are ready to be baptised.  Simone still goes to church every week and still loves it when we come over but her "day"  Still hasn`t arrived I wish something hge would happen in her life so that she could wake up.  I don`t know how much I have told you all about Raimunda, she is the mother of a returned missionary who was SUPER SUPER depressed and now is SUPER SUPER awesome.  She is always telling us how she wants to be baptised but she isn`t married and that dang law of chastity always gets in the way.  Darn it!!!  so we talked to her husband" and he told us he doesn`t want her to get baptised, are you KIDDING me!!?!?!  he says he doesn`t think she is good enough yet as far as health goes to make a decision like that.  QUE RAIVA!!!!

We found two young men who want to be baptised and they are way funy.  Their names are Mateus and Bruno.  I love them al ready and they think my accent is funny so we get along great, I get to talk about the gospel and they get to learn.  We found them on sunday so they won`t be baptised until the 17 of March.  (which is a VERY special day I might add) But I am really realy excited for them!!!.

So I feel like this email was REAL random, more random than normal I don`t know why.  ha ha but it happens.  I Love hearing all the stuff you guys are doing at home it seems as though the world REALLY does go on with out me.  Congratulations to all of you for surviving this last year without me.  I cannot wait until I get to se everyone again, but we are all going to have to wait until august 10.....whaaaaaa!?!?!?  at times seems like forever but then I realize that it is only 6 months away.  oh my goodness!!!!

I love love love you all stay awesome!!! Never Regret!!!  BEIJOS!!!

XOXOXOXOXOOX

SIster Ottley

Simone`s cat Cebola (Translated-Onion) playing in a box....Simone thought it was hilarious, made me miss my mom and all her cats.