The Air is Cold but Our Hearts are Warm

3 Month Mark

July 29, 2013  --  Bom dia! Yes I know this title is cheesy but it's the perfect way to describe my last week. So this time last year I was on a cruise headed to the beautiful Cozumel Mexico which was full of white sandy beaches. This past week here in Brazil though was COLD COLD COLD!! And rainy. I felt like I was back in Rexburg. But it has been a good week nonetheless.

So God and I have a funny relationship. He likes to let me figure things out on my own first and then he'll bless me with something great. To explain...I was reading President Eyring's talk "Where is the Pavillion?" from October 2012 General Conference and you can read it here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/where-is-the-pavilion?lang=eng it's absolutely worth the read. It talks about how sometimes we feel that God isn't near and that he forgot about us but really it's us who needs to step out from under the pavillion we place ourselves under.  The lesson I learned from this talk is that everything will happen in God's own time, not ours.


Eating cake after lunch at a member's home

We had been teaching a bunch of lessons here but hadn't been seeing any progress until the day I read this talk and fully accepted that it will be in God's time that people are ready to hear and accept the gospel in their lives. It was this very same day that we met a man who was ready. We taught him the first lesson: The Restoration and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! It was truly a miracle. Moral of the story: when things aren't going exactly your way, just know that God has a plan for you and you will be blessed in the moment that you accept His will.

In other news--have I told you all how much I love my companion? Well, I really love her. She is hilarious!! And laughter is essential on the mission. She continues to help me learn Portuguese every day as I teach her English and it's just a great time. The older people here can't pronounce my last name. They either say Coke or Coxy...I just accept whatever they choose to call me because they really are trying to say it right! It's funny.
 
Whenever the younger people here find out I'm "from Philadelphia" they ask me if I know Will Smith or if I've ever seen the Fresh Prince haha. Good times.

Oh the food here. I could go on forever. It is SO good. I have a new love for Cashew Apple juice. Don't knock it til ya try it! And the rice and beans and everything is delicious. Brazilians really love their cachorros quenches (hot dogs) too. We have now had 2 Hot Dog nights in this ward.

I am also the official ward pianist and I love it! We also had noite de julina (look it up) and that was a lot of fun too.

Portuguese is coming along nicely, the sun is out today which is so nice, and I feel welcomed and needed here. The first day I walked around with a dictionary but not now. Sometimes though we'll be talking to people on the street and they seem mad that we're bothering them and then Sister Cavalcanti will walk away smiling saying that they want to know more and we're teaching them the next day! Clearly I still need to learn more Portuguese :) That's about it for this week. Thank you for your emails and love and prayers!

My address is:

Sister Cox

Brazil Sao Paulo South Mission

Rua Dr. Luiz da Rocha Miranda, 159

8 Andar

Parque Jabaquara

04344-010 Sao Paulo-SP

BRAZIL