Coming home...

Wow. I cant even believe that this time next week I will be sitting in my own home. Weird. I still havent really come to terms with the fact that I wont stay here forever. This place has been my home for the last 18 months and I have become accustomed to it. I love it here. I love the people like my own family. I feel like they would do anything for me, just as my family would. I would do anything for them, also. The ward here threw me a party wednesday night. I had no idea. They told us that they were having an activity and that there would be investigators there. I was not really all that excited to go. When I arrived they were all there already waiting and started singing and I started crying. I went around the room hugging everyone. After they finished singing, each person that I taught got up and thanked me for sharing the gospel with them. It was really cool. This was my favorite part.
Anyone who already served a mission knows that at the end, things always enter into your mind like, Did I do everything I could? Did I find all the people I promised in the pre-existence that I would find? Was a diligent enough? Did I give my all? Can I go home in peace? Well, this had already passed in my head. Anyone who knows me, knows that I often think down on myself. I never think I did enough...so I was feeling that. But seeing all these people get up and tell me how I changed their lives, I realized, it was THEM that changed my life. All of a sudden it didnt matter any more. I came here to help the people here in Pernambuco Brasil, but they ended up helping me. I am a better person. I am different. Dont get me wrong, I am still the same crazy Melissa Ortolani that everyone remembers, but I have learned so much in these last 18 months that I didnt learn in the last 24 years of my life. Anyone who is thinking about going on a mission, I say JUST DO IT. You wont regret it. It is the best thing in the whole world. It is the best decision that I have made thus far. I am SO happy that I came and SO grateful for all the people that supported me and helped me through this time. It wasnt easy...but the good things in life are usually hard, but it was SO worth it. Thanks to everyone who wrote me, prayed for me, or even thought about me while I have been gone. I appreciate everything. I am so grateful that the Lord was so good to me and allowed me to be here serving. I am so grateful for this opportunity and it will be something that I carry with me for the rest of my life. The people of Brasil changed me. I will be eternally grateful for that.

Ingrydd, Mércia and Mônica...some of the girls that I taught.


Cybelly and Iara


Marcos, Célia, and Neto. A family that I taught that is preparing to be sealed! woohoo!

Denny and I...and the food. :)

Vida na missão...

Me and Elder Cole...hes our neighbor. He lives in South Jordan. Hes awesome.


My other neighbor, Elder Coffin. He lives in sandy or something around there. Hes awesome too.


This is Elder Whiting...my real neighbor. He lives like 5 minutes from my house...up on the mountain. Hes also awesome. And Elder Shallenburger, from Payson, is hiding behind.



Our special christmas P-day with half of the mission. It was such a trunky day. We just like sat around with other Americans playing guitars and singing songs. It was great.


This is my brother (or he looks like it) Elder Wagoner. He is so cute!! Hes from Idaho.

Me and my comp Sister Caciolari when we got my christmas package from my mom.

My last night in Recife. It was like my going away party. Do you like my hair?

Baptism of Valeria

Birthday Tradition

Birthday Party in Recife

Feb 2, 09

(Mel)
This week was crazy full of things. Well, I had my first baptism...Valeria. It was beautiful. She was confirmed on Sunday too. Whew. That was so fast. I don’t know how people do it. Anyway...it was very cool and a real blessing to be a part of someone’s conversion process. She received several confirmations from prayers...it was very cool. I think I told you about Taciana before. She is a woman that we have been teaching the entire transfer. She was taught by Sis Bueno and Sis Jacobs last transfer. Anyway...she´s been in Sao Paulo for two weeks and she just got back and we went to visit her and she told us that she had a dream while she was there that she was baptized and now she wants to get baptized. We marked her for the 17th of February (I think that’s the day). Anyway...I was pretty excited about that because I have spent a lot of time with her and I really love her and want the best for her...which would be to get baptized. I´m glad she finally made that decision to be baptized. I don’t know if I´ll be here or not...cause transfers are on Wednesday. Can you believe I´ve already been in Recife for an entire transfer? CRAZY. My Portuguese hasdefinitely improved, but I still don’t understand everything. It still causes contention sometimes with my companion. She doesn’t have a lot of patience with me...or maybe she does and I´m just really hard to deal with. Ha-ha. I think she’s kind of trunky. She only has 2 transfers left and she is very concerned with herself right now and concerned with what is going to happen when she gets home. It’s very frustrating at times because I just want to bury myself in the work...and I end up getting sucked into doing things she wants to do like buying a dress for a wedding the same week she gets back...yeah. It’s frustrating when we make plans and then we don’t do them. You know me; I always have to know what’s going to happen before it happens. I´m not very spontaneous. I guess that’s something I need to learn here cause many times plans fall through or some things take longer than expected. Well, Friday...some members from the ward threw me a party. It was so nice of them. They made a cake and everything. It was beautiful. People here are so nice. Then Saturday...after the baptism when we returned to our house, Sis Garai and Sis Furriel (the sisters we live with) came running inside saying they had to use the bathroom when in reality they were getting eggs. They cracked an egg on my head and then sis Bueno threw flour all over me. Yeah, apparently this is a tradition for birthdays here. I don’t know what the deal is because who wants an egg on their head on their birthday? Yeah, no one. It was really gross. I don’t think I will tell anyone when my birthday is next year. Ha-ha. Man...I don’t know why anyone would want that on their birthday. They didn’t even make me a cake or anything! Just the egg on my head. They did tape balloons on my desk and bed though with messages written on them...I guess that was nice. Ha-ha
I haven’t received your packages yet but I haven’t been to the mission office in a while so it could be waiting there. We will check today. I sure hope it’s not lost. So...I am not asking for another package because I know it’s expensive...but if you send another package in the future...doesn’t matter how far in the future... I can’t feel ugly all the time so I´ve still be wearing makeup. So...eyeliner, mascara, that mineral powder stuff...that would be nice to have more of. Peanut butter is definitely good, they don’t sell it here...and any cake or brownie mixes. Oh, and I have a question...sis Garai told us that we can’t sing sacrament hymns in our house because their sacrament hymns. Is that a rule somewhere that I´ve never heard of? We sing every day before our comp. study and one day I wanted to sing Oh My Father. She said we aren’t allowed. What’s up with that? We can’t think about the atonement during a normal day or what? I thought that was really bizarre. The people here are definitely different than in the states. As a matter of fact...at the baptism...the only people that were there were us, the ward mission leader, Valeria and the family that she is friends with that introduced her to the church. Another lady that lives in the same apt complex came late, but no one else showed up. Not the bishop. Not the relief society president, no one. What the heck is that? I was very disappointed in that actually because I really think she needs more support from the ward. Hopefully that changes soon.

(Cindy)
Okay I'll try to get to all of these. Remember when I told you that you might have to teach the leaders. This may be one of those times. The retention in the church is very bad right now after baptisms. The GA's have even spoken about members’ fellowshipping new converts. This may be a time that you have a talk with the bishop about that. Do you want me to send you some church talks about that?
You might want to ask your mission pres about singing. It might be a mission thing. If not then maybe you could explain that in America it is okay to think and sing about the atonement outside of sacrament. It may just be a rule there. It’s like some bishops here won't let you sing non-hymn songs in a sacrament program. Just check the rules and try to be compassionate about their customs, because it just might be something they just don't do.
Also. I will send makeup. I was actually thinking about that the other day. Oh and peanut butter? I've been telling everyone that you don't like peanut butter what’s up with that?

(Mel)
Where did you get a silly idea like that? Me? Not like peanut butter? Heck yes I like peanut butter. Sure...at home I don’t really eat it a whole lot. Every once in a while... but when you don’t have it and you don’t have access to it...that’s another story. My bishop just got back from a trip to Bountiful and they bought peanut butter there and brought it here. We were at their house last week and I saw it sitting on the counter and I wanted some SO bad, but no...I didn’t ask and they didn’t offer. :(

(Cindy)
You have told me over and over that because you ate so many peanut butter sandwiches in elementary school that you didn't really like it. Whatever! :)

(Mel)
Um...I think you have gone crazy. I have never said that...nor have I said that I don’t like peanut butter. Aunt Molly sent me peanut butter in her Christmas package...I devoured it. I shared it with my district too. We ate it with the Oreos you sent. It was delicious.

(Cindy)
Oh whatever I think you have Alzheimer’s. :)

(Mel)
No way...you’re the one with Alzheimer’s. You make up stories about me all the time. I think you actually had some other kid that you didn’t tell me about. I´m pretty sure that’s it.
I miss yáll a lot. I talked to Sister Bueno about this because I miss you every day. I don’t know how to stop missing you. She said she doesn’t know how to help me because she doesn’t miss her family. I don’t know how she cannot miss her family...really. Well, hopefully my next comp will be more interested in working and then I can just forget about myself and not think about yáll so much and then I won’t miss you so much. I don’t know...It’s not like I´m thinking about you guys all the time, but I do think about you quite often and anytime something happens, good or bad, I always think about what I´m going to write to you about on P-day.

(Cindy)
I wrote you a letter that is probably sitting at the mission home but I wanted you to know that I sat here last week waiting for you to get on line. I was afraid to take a shower for fear of missing you. The Internet backed up or something. I didn't get any of your emails until after you had already signed off. I was so upset I cried.

(Mel)
Aww...I´m sorry. I don’t know what happened. The internet was really slow here, maybe that was it. I don’t know. I was pretty sad too....but I cry pretty much every p-day when I read your emails or write you. I don’t know why...it just happens. My comp probably thinks I´m unstable.
Oh...I wrote to Katie Ellis and I don’t know if she got it or not....but can you find out. Is she engaged yet or what’s going on with her? And I wrote to Ryan Bruce too. What’s going on with him? I haven’t heard anything.

(Cindy)
Well hopefully your next comp won't be so trunky. That might help. Oh I was telling the elders about your situation in the city. One of the elders told me that wherever is brother served (I can’t remember where) they had the same problem with the doormen. They ended up preaching to the doormen. I thought that was pretty cool

(Mel)
We leave pass-along cards with the doormen practically everywhere we go but none of them live in our area so it’s a little difficult that way. Eh well...life goes on. I wonder if I´ll get transferred or not. The second or third week I was here, in my interview, Pres Emerick said something about me getting an American comp next but he could have changed his mind by now. I don’t know. I kind of hope to get an American cause she can explain things to me that I don’t understand instead of me always being in the dark and not being able to explain myself.
I think we might be leaving soon but I wanted to tell you that I love you so much. I sent dad a package on the 13th and they said 15 days and then I sent you one on the 20th...but that one will take a month. I went the cheaper route...sorry. Nothing big, but hopefully you will like the stuff.

Melissa sent David a t-shirt. Apparently they had a king once. Well on this shirt is a picture of their king but they have turned him into a goat. Melissa said that it reminded her of the “Emperors New Groove”.
Also the shirt is a size L but apparently L’s in Brazil are more like M’s here so it looks like a muscle shirt on David. So…I guess I get a new T-shirt. HA!

Jan 28, 09

So many things have happened this week. I don’t know if I’ll have time to go through everything. Well, Elder Cook came and spoke to us. It was very cool. I got to shake his hand, along with the rest of the missionaries (it was cool, but I have actually had a conversation with him before at the church office building) which I actually talked to him about at the conference here. I talked to him a little about the people I used to work with there at the church office building and he said he´d tell them I said hello. Ha-ha. Can you imagine? Elder Cook...an apostle of the Lord, is doing me a favor and telling my ex-coworkers I said hi. Ha-ha I thought that was really quite humorous. Anyway...his talk was AMAZING. I felt like it was just for me. Seriously. He talked a lot about how to be a better missionary and such...and he told us that there is no better place for us to be right now than here, serving the Lord and spreading the gospel. He couldn’t be more right. I really needed to hear what he had to say because we went through a couple of rough days last week where we didn’t teach a single lesson. Wow. It’s hard to find people in our area...but we´re chugging along. Oh yeah, and at our zone conference we were asked to fast for a baptism. Our entire zone was supposed to have a baptism this week. Well, Sis Bueno and I did what were asked and fasted, but we knew we didn’t have anyone to be baptized...our only progressing investigator is on vacation right now. Well, we had a miracle. One of the ladies in our ward has a friend and she brought her to church last week...and then again this week. We started teaching her. After the first lesson, we challenged her to pray and ask heavenly father if this was the true gospel. She received a very special and personal answer and she agreed to be baptized....ON MY BIRTHDAY! Wow. It was truly a joyous day. It is truly a blessing to be a part of someone’s conversion process. I highly recommend it to everyone :) It was very special to see her progression in such a short amount of time. She already knows a lot about the Bible and has a very special relationship with Heavenly Father and now she has gained a testimony of his true and living gospel on the earth! There is nothing more special than that. I can’t express to you how I feel about this. I couldn’t be more excited for her. This is just the first step she needs to make in order to return to live with our Heavenly Father once again, but it is certainly a necessary step. Wow. It’s exciting. On another note, some ward members found out my birthday is on Saturday and they want to have a birthday party for me. How sweet huh? So we´re going to have some cake and celebrate on Friday. I´m excited. Well...we went to the temple today for the first time. It was very cool. Man...Try going through the veil in Portuguese...that was rough. Ha-ha. The temple is beautiful though. I only have 5 minutes left here...anyway....um, no, I haven’t gotten your packages yet...I’m waiting patiently....okay, more impatiently...I probably annoy the secretaries asking them every time we go to the mission office if my package is there yet. I don’t know when it’s going to come. It’s been more than 3 weeks. Hopefully sometime before next week...transfers next week!!!! Wow. I don’t know whets going to happen. I don’t know if I’ll stay here or not. I’ll let you know.
Tchau
Com Amor,
Sister Ortolani

Jan 19, 09

This week was pretty normal. Nothing really huge happened. I do have a short story of a simple prayer. We went to this store and bought a brand new telephone card (because we have to use public phones to call people with) and we went to a phone and Sis Bueno stuck the card in and called someone. When she hung up she tried to get the card out and it wouldn’t come out...it had sunk into the slot really far and we couldn’t get a good grip on it to get it out. She was freaking out because we JUST bought it and so she walked over to the nearest apartment complex to ask if they had anything to get it out. While she was gone I just simple prayed to Heavenly Father that we would be able to get it out. (It wouldn’t have been a huge deal if we couldn’t...but we JUST bought it and it would have been a waste of money). Anyway...she came back with nothing. They didn’t have anything. I was just standing there thinking about anything I had in my bag that could help us get it out...Sister Bueno tried using one of the clips in her hair to get it out...didn’t work. Then for some reason using two coins came into my head. I wasn’t sure that it would work I actually thought it was a strange idea...but I decided to try and BAM...it came out. It wasn’t a huge thing...but I know Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers...I haven’t felt his love as strongly before as I do now. I can feel him with me every day. He really takes care of his missionaries and thats the truth. Every time I pray for something, even something simple like this...he blesses me. Anyway...I thought it was cool. He is looking out for all of us. We just need to have the faith to ask for what we need and he will bless us. Other than that...we didn’t teach a lot of lessons...we never do. I don’t think we´ll have a baptism this transfer and thats okay because we have helped a lot of less actives and recent converts. I came here to help people not necessarily just to baptize...so it’s all good. I feel like I´m doing alright. The language is coming along. I can feel a difference but I still talk myself into a corner a lot when I can’t continue cause I don’t know a word in Portuguese...it can be very frustrating but the members and investigators are usually pretty patient with me so that’s good. Well, I love you so much and I pray for you every day. I hope all is well at home.

Tell Kelly thank you for her last letter. Everything she said was so helpful and it made me put things into perspective. Tell her to email me more often. I really enjoy her advice because she just finished doing the exact same thing that I´m doing.
Oh yes...and I was wondering...What the heck is happening in Israel? I really have no idea...but I´m very curious. Oh and all the new people I meet here that find out I´m American ALWAYS ask if I like Barrack Obama. Ha-ha. I don’t know if he will be a good president or not...and I don’t know if he will do good for our country or not...but I really think he is good for all the other countries. Everyone here hates bush and they see hope in the eyes of barrack. It’s very interesting to see things from the outside.

Oh I haven’t received your package yet...but maybe today. Apparently it takes 3 weeks to get here. I don’t know anything. How is the family? How is troy and his family? Hanging in there? I´ve been praying for them a lot lately.

This is an email that I sent to Melissa last week. Melissa responded to it but I thought you all may want to read it.

Katie Ellis and I have been writing a bit to each other on face book. I wanted you to see what she wrote to me yesterday. I thought it was very cool.

From Katie-
You know, I think it is so awesome that you are doing that for her. Mail is treasured like GOLD on missions. And so are the things that parents do. I know that Melissa feels your prayers. I can think of numerous times in Montreal when I would be freezing my rear off on a street corner waiting for a bus in -40 and sometimes I would just feel warm despite the weather, and along with that warmth came the reassurance that is was because my mother was praying for me. I felt her prayers more than anyone else’s over the course of my entire mission. It truly taught me (along with lots of other experiences on my mission) about the power of prayer on behalf of others, and the special relationships that exist between mothers/daughters.

From Me-
Melissa I pray for you every day and not only do I pray that the Spirit is with you and that you learn the language and help convert people. But I also pray that Angels are with you always and they protect you and guide you help you feel when things or places are unsafe. I ask that the people around you sense those angels and are guided by the Spirit to cause you no harm and to feel your spirit and want to learn more of Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. I knew that my prayers were being answered by Heavenly Father, but reading Katie’s words yesterday made me wonder if you also had felt my prayers on your behalf. If not, no big deal, but just know that I do pray for you all the time, sometimes too in the middle of the day at random times. That's probably weird, I don't know. Anyway...I love you!Ignore what she said at the beginning. It’s a surprise.

This is Mel’s response
Thank you for this email. It’s true. What Katie says is so true. I can feel your prayers. It’s really cool; actually to hear that you pray for angels to watch over me because that thought comes to my head a lot when we are walking down a dark road. Last night we were walking to an investigators house and a boy was sitting across the street. He got up and started walking towards us asking if we had money. I was a little nervous and so was Sister Bueno. She kept telling him we didn’t have any money and we kept walking. He followed us for a little bit but then stopped. I suggested that we stop and pray. When we reached a safe point we stopped and I offered the prayer. When we were done...the first thing that came to my head was...You´ll be alright. There are angels all around you watching over you....honestly. This was my first thought and it is often my thought. It’s true too. There are angels watching over us. I can feel it. Thank you so much for your prayers. They are very much needed and appreciated. Heavenly Father really hears and answers our prayers. I can testify of that. I have felt that every day since I´ve been here. The only thing he asks from us is to have faith in him. We need to have faith and pray in faith. He will answer our prayers. He won’t necessarily take our afflictions from us, but he will comfort us when we need it. We need to always remember that Heavenly Father doesn’t give us anything in this life that we can’t handle. We might feel like we can’t handle it, but he knows better than we do. I know this is the truth. Thank you mom. I love and miss you so much!
Tchau! Sister Ortolani

12 weeks out!

(Mel)
So...this week was a million times better....but still rough. I still don’t speak Portuguese well but it’s coming along. I told my mission president that I was having a really rough time and I thought that I was starting to get depressed. I didn’t want things to get any worse because I know that wouldn’t help anyone. So...anyway...we had interviews with him on Tuesday I think it was...and no, he doesn’t speak English, but I could understand most of the things he said to me. He kept it simple and he also talks a lot slower than all the rest of the people here (cause he´s not from Recife). So anyway...he told me that he was really glad to have me in this mission and that I would bless a lot of lives. He also said he knew it was hard to learn Portuguese but he knew I would learn. He showed me the board with all the missionaries and their companions and areas and he told me that when I first arrived as the mission president in July he was so overwhelmed with everything (I can only imagine) because he was supposed to do transfers and he didn’t even know any of the missionaries. He said he had to rely on the Lord for help and he was there and he made it through. He said I just need to do the same and everything will be fine. He is right. Everything will be fine. He also told me that my next companion would probably be an American so that she can explain more things to me so I can understand better. I was pretty excited about that. I ask sis bueno to explain things to me but it’s rough because she doesn’t speak English and I don’t always understand her Portuguese. Yeah anyway...I´ve been praying a lot of help and President Emerick gave me a beautiful blessing. I know everything will be okay and I´m fine right now. I hope you didn’t worry about me too much. I had a melt down last week but this week was much better. So...we have Taciana who is going on vacation tomorrow (I think) and she won’t be back until the 30th of this month but she told us that she wants to be baptized. YAY! Too bad transfers are on the 4th of February so I doubt she will be baptized before then...which means that I probably won’t be there for it. We have 2 other investigators with potential but one of them works a lot and we haven’t been able to teach her much because of it. Our area is ridiculously hard because everyone that lives in the city works, goes to school, or is at a party. It’s very difficult for us to find people in their houses. On another note....this city has a lot of gay people. It’s very strange when you walk up to the bus stop and think you’re standing next to a woman until you look closer and realize it’s a man. Ha-ha. It has happened on numerous occasions. Kind of interesting.

(Cindy)
I haven't done very well with the pics on your blog. It's so confusing while you are trying to put them on and then they show up really weird. I guess they are still there though. Dad doesn't know how to do them any better either so I'm on my own. Oh BTW he just had to leave he said to tell you he loves you.We had all 6 elders here last Thursday for dinner. They all sat and watched the slideshow of your mission pics on that new digital frame. It was very cute. I wondered if they were a little jealous that you were in Brazil and they were in stupid” Louisiana.

(Mel)
Those Elders should be thanking their lucky stars that they´re in stupid Louisiana! :) I kid. Brasil is wonderful but learning Portuguese sucks. I´m pretty sure it hates me. Anyway...tell them to be thankful to be in America with air conditioning and with nice apartments and nice beds and clean water and so on and so on. They are lucky. Although, I think I´ll have better stories :) Ask Jen about the Macumba people I told her about in the letter. I don’t have time to write about it again. I think my time is almost up. We´ll see what Sis Bueno does.... But I love you so much and thank you so much for all that you do for me and all that you are to me. You’re the best mom ever. I hope you know that. I love you more than you´ll probably ever know.

(Cindy)
Thank you Melissa, that means so much to me. Probably more than YOU'LL ever know. I love you too but you know that.

(Part of her letter to Jen)
It’s interesting because here, a lot of things remind me of Louisiana. There are a lot of similarities. Oh man...funny story. Okay, more like creepy. We were walking to visit someone the other day and there was this woman standing in the front of a house wearing a red tiered dress and she was arranging something on the ground. As we walked closer she got up and crossed the street. I looked down and I started to walk towards the thing she had put on the porch of the house and my comp pulled me away and we started walking faster. I was really confused for a minute. She had put some fruit (I think) arranged in a circle with flower pedals sprinkled on top. Apparently she is part of macumba....they worship the Devil. She was wishing bad on the house. Yikes! I was really creeped out...and then yesterday we were walking in the same general area and there she was again. My District leader told me that they sacrifice animals and they play music with drums and dance around fires dressed in white. Talk about creepy. It just made me think about life and what it’s all about. When we follow the teachings of Jesus and of the Gospel, we are following Jesus. Why would we choose to follow Satan? I certainly don’t want to be like those people. Why would you wish badly on anyone? We are all God´s children and we all deserve to be happy...but when we don’t follow the teachings of the gospel, we are following Satan. It just kind of made me think about how easy it is to slip into that. Slipping into sin is so much easier than keeping the commandments of the Lord but look at what happens when we do each thing. Completely different outcomes. Yeah, anyway...It was kind of eye opening for me.

(Mel)
My living arrangements....well, we started off in an apartment in our area. Very small...living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Then randomly one day we had to move to another area and now we live with 2 other sisters in a place called Madalena. PS my mission only has 3 American sisters in it and one of them is leaving after the next transfer. It is rare to have 2 American sisters together.


(Mel)
So we walk between 10 and 15 miles every day...and it made me wonder...How much did the pioneers walk? Oh and Can you explain to me who Heavenly Mother is. I always understood it that we have a heavenly mother but her name is sacred so we don’t know it or talk about it. A recent convert asked me about it yesterday and I didn’t know what to tell her.

(Cindy)
Well I don't know if there is any doctrine on her but we have to know that she is there. It only makes sense. I always assumed that Heavenly Father doesn't want her name to be used in vain as his is, so that's why we don't speak of her. Just have to have faith that she IS.

(Mel)I didn’t know how to explain it to the convert so she asked the stake presidents wife....and she told her that it was Mary...which I was pretty certain that wasn’t correct but Whatever...I don’t know the real answer

(Cindy)
Oh my goodness. That is so not right. What the heck? You may want to pass that info on to your mission pres. Melissa you may have to help teach people like that, the people that have had time in the church. I know Nana and Papa had to teach the leaders in their mission and so did Kelly. Don't ever assume just because they are leaders in the local church that they know the correct gospel. You figure things out and try to give the correct info. If you are not sure but don't think they are either. Make sure to say that and tell them that you will find out and get back to them.
Gen 1:26-27 -strong case for a mother in heaven. And Joseph Smith taught the idea that was the inspiration for a song written by Eliza Snow hymn # 292 "O my Father". President Woodruff called it a revelation.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.
When I leave this frail existence ,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?

Melissa also sent a tape last week. She sounds wonderful and actually was speaking Portuguese in the tape. She wasn’t as fast as her teacher (who was also on the tape) but she sounded good to me. Better Portuguese than when she left. It was awesome!

Okay everyone,
Melissa didn’t send an official letter today but we had a very serious conversation. I wasn’t going to send this out but Aunt Molly told me that I should so that you all knew what Melissa was going through and would keep her in your prayers. Thanks! She really needs those birthday letters now. Thanks to those who have sent them already.

(Mel)
Well, it sounds like you had a pretty full week. How are you? I’m doing alright. I just sent an email to dad explaining what’s going on with me. I feel like everything is out of my control. I thought this might happen on my mission. I guess it’s happening right now. Well, life goes on. I´m still being obedient and I still have a testimony of the gospel. I know that God sent me here knowing my abilities. He knows I can do this...the problem is that I don’t have confidence that I can. Okay, I´m exaggerating. I know I can do this, it’s just hard. I feel like no one understands how I feel. Being thrust into a new country, a new culture, with new people is definitely not an easy task. Sheesh. Those Americans that served in the US...man, they have it so easy. They have cars, and nice apartments, and normal food in a language they understand. Man...Living here has REALLY made me appreciate how lucky I am to be an American and to have grown up in America. I honestly believe there is no other place that the living situation is more comfortable. Most importantly you have air conditioning. Some nights are really hard to sleep cause I´m so blasted hot. We just have fans and the wind. I have yet to be in a home with air conditioning. Plus you never have to worry if the water you’re drinking is sanitary or the water that was used to wash or cook the food was sanitary. Brazil is a completely different place. The people are really great though. Everyone is so nice and friendly and accepting. The food is good too. And I have discovered a love for maracujá! It’s Passion Fruit. Have you had it? Man it’s delicious. Especially in juice. I love it. Anyway...you sent my package. Thank you very much. Thank you for all that you do for me. I couldn’t be here without you. I don’t know how those people whose parents don’t support them on a mission do it. Honestly. Anyway.. I love you very much. Don’t stop praying for me. I need it very much. Love Melissa PS. doesn’t worry about me, I´ll be fine.

(Cindy)
I am so sorry that things are so hard for you right now but just think of the experience you will have acquired. It will make you a better person. You'll be a better wife and mother; you'll be a better servant in the church. Melissa I would give almost anything to have had that experience. I regret many things in my life. But the one I regret the most is living the way I did and being a follower instead of a leader. Not having a strong enough testimony to keep the peer pressure away and continue to attend church. That is the best example and the best quality that I have absolutely loved in you. You have always had a very strong testimony and you have never been a follower. YOU have always been a leader! I adore that in you.
Mom

(Mel)
I will be okay. I know that everything will turn out fine. I just need to gain confidence and patience really quick. Those are my big issues right now. I am trying so hard to be happy right now. I don’t want to keep thinking I´ll be happy when.... I want to be happy now. I´m trying. I´m praying every day for that.

(Cindy)
I do miss you so much. I really wanted to crawl through the phone the other day. It was very emotional for me too. I think I got a taste be it very small in comparison of the sacrifice Heavenly Father has made of all of his children. How he must want to protect them at every instance. But he knows that they must learn on their own. My heart actually aches for you. But I know this is so good for you and you will have AMAZING stories when you are done. You'll be able to keep these with you and share them with all of your children and grandchildren. And especially those that you associate with. I know already that everyone really loves your letters. I get comments all the time. I think that the kids in the family who don't go to church are even softening a bit. I got a Christmas present from Aunt Elena. She shared her testimony in a letter. It was small but it was awesome. So you keep sending those letters.
Mom

(Mel)
I am trying to be uplifting and helpful. I think about that fact all the time. You keep telling me that everyone loves the letters I send...but I don’t know what I´m saying that is so uplifting because I feel like I can’t help anyone right now. I can’t even help myself. I don’t know why I´m not happy.

(Cindy)
Just keep thinking...Things will be better tomorrow, or next week, this condition is temporary. You have to keep telling yourself that. Change your attitude. Be open for learning, be proud of yourself. Look how far you have come already. Just think, 2 months ago you didn't understand a word of Portuguese. You at least understand enough to get where you need to go and do what you need to survive. In a few more months you will be fluent and dreaming in Portuguese. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn something valuable. Heavenly Father will not let you down, unless you give up on Him or yourself. I KNOW that YOU can do this. I've seen you get through a lot of things that you thought were going to be hard. You are stronger than you think. How are things with your companion? Do you like her?Mom

(Mel)
I think that the problem though. I shouldn’t be thinking things will be better tomorrow. I should be happy today. I hope my own insecurities and doubts and unhappiness aren’t hindering this work. I know how important it is. I don’t want to be a band influence on anyone. I just need to be happy. My comp is alright. I don’t really feel like she helps me with anything including the language. I ask her questions and she answers them. She hardly every corrects my language and I realize later that I said something wrong and she didn’t say a word about it. And sometimes she´ll start talking to me and ask if I understand and when I don’t...she just repeats it over again just as fast as before. So...basically it’s rough. So much for a `trainer. `

(Cindy)
One of the things that I did during my anxiety sessions was to try to think positive thoughts all day long. No negative! When you first wake up in the morning tell yourself that you are in for a great day. Look at the "beautiful" sky, the "glorious" trees that Heavenly Father made. The "cute" dog barking at you as you walk down the street. The many people that may turn you away. Just remember that you may be the first LDS experience they have, and they will just need about 7 more with someone else before they accept the gospel. "It's not a big deal" If you have a negative thought just think of a way to turn it into a positive. Try that for one day, then maybe you will eventually be able to do that every day. Keep praying though. I know you will. Be very detailed in your prayers. Let Heavenly Father know your hearts desires. Even though he knows what is happening to you. Tell him everything. Let him help you in the best way that will help you grow.
Mom

(Mel)
Well, my time is up. I wish I could keep talking to you forever. I miss you a lot and definitely miss talking to you practically every day. 1 day a week is not enough. But I guess my purpose here is to get lost in the work so I just need to do that. I love you. I miss you. I´ll talk to you again next week.

(Her Letter to her Dad)
Thanks so much for your letter. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I have no idea how people who´s parents don’t support them going on a mission live. Honestly. I don’t think I could carry on without you guys.

This week has been rough. I am trying to learn this dang language but at the same time I don’t want to stress myself out with it (too late, you know me). I have been on the verge of tears practically every day. I think I might be depressed. I wrote to the Mission President about it so maybe he will get me in to see a doctor or a counselor or something. I am trying so hard not to be so worried about everything and just be happy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Missions are hard. I miss you guys a lot. I know you’re being taken care of though. I know that I´m being blessed everyday too. The Lord knows all. I know He sent me here with a purpose. I know I can do this. It’s just been really rough the past two weeks. It’s been really hard to find new investigators also. Man. We have been asking every member around for references and proselyte on the street and knock doors in apartment buildings that we already have investigators in. The trouble with our area is that it’s all downtown. We only have apartment buildings and unless we have a reference...a lot of times we can’t get into the apartment complex because there is a guard. We walk A LOT but we don’t really teach much. A lot of people in our area work, study, and party a lot. It’s been rough. The one lady that I think will actually get baptized (Taciana) is leaving for vacation next week and won’t be back until the 30th of January. Also she has a very sticky situation involving her and her separated husband (I guess Brazilian Law says that you have to wait 2 years to get divorced) and her new boyfriend. She is having a hard time living the law of chastity because she and her boyfriend want to get married but she can’t get divorced yet. Yeah...it’s difficult. Anyway...

Recife is hot. Hot. And hot. It’s beautiful too, but mostly just hot. My feet hurt. My knees hurt (I think I have bad knees). My back hurts (the beds here are pretty hard)....and we can’t find investigators. I am learning how to be patient though. I definitely don’t have patience right now. Most importantly I am learning how to be patient with myself. This Portuguese stuff is hard and I am still having a hard time understanding everyone and being able to express what I feel in my heart. I know God loves me and I know that he blesses me every day. I know that without the pain I wouldn’t understand the joy. I just need to wait a while and everything will be alright in the end. Thanks for the support and thank you for praying for me. I pray for you night and day as well. I love you.

Love,

Melissa

Mel's mission pics

Mel in the Recife Mission office

The Recife Temple

Recife missionaries

And Mel with the "Holy Scripture"

Street contact

MTC missionaries

Sisters Ortolani, Woodward, & Kennard

Finally in Recife

Well, what a week it has been. Holy Cow! So…Friday was the big day. I received my trainer (or Mom as they call it in the mission language). Her name is Sister Bueno. I actually stayed with her and her companion the last week for Christmas and stuff so it’s good because I have already become acquainted with her. Lets see….first off, we went shopping for groceries. Talk about an adventure! So we all know I don’t speak Portuguese…well, try finding food in the grocery store when you don’t speak the language and the food is all different. It was a challenge to talk to S. Bueno and tell her what I wanted to eat or buy…but we made it through. I pretty much have to bring my dictionary with me everywhere. After that, we went out to visit investigators and recent converts. No one was home. It is kind of rough lately because everyone is partying or out of town for the holidays. We taught one lady and her son…but she was very close minded and didn’t think it mattered what church you went to as long as you went to church. We went around and tried to find other people after that. After trying multiple places we prayed for help and decided to try knocking on a random door. BAM. A woman named Teresa let us in. We taught her and her friend Viviane the first lesson. We invited them to church on Sunday and they said they would. Well, Sunday came around and we went to pick them up…they weren’t there. Apparently they decided to go to the beach instead. So that was quite a let-down. I was looking forward to that. I have heard that people are very nice and accepting here but they don’t follow through with their commitments. It would appear that that is the truth. Let’s see….yesterday was way different. We went to church and I had a hard time staying awake the whole time because I didn’t understand much of what was being said. My brain kind of turns off. I hope that changes real soon cause I NEED to learn this language. So anyway...after church we ate at the bishop’s house (who´s entire family speaks English). That was cool. I actually got to share the message this time. I only help with the lessons a little bit because people have a hard time understanding me because I don’t know how to speak well. So I tried sharing it in Portuguese but when I didn’t know a word I would say it in English and they would translate it for me. It was very cool. After that, we went and taught a member named Lula and his mom Maria who is inactive. That was a lot of fun. They were really nice and Lula speaks a little English as well. I have been feeling really alone because I can’t understand anyone and I can’t communicate very well what I want to say so I think God decided to give me a break because after we taught Lula and his family, we taught another woman named Taciana and her mom Eva. Taciana also spoke English. It was really nice and more relaxing. You know me. I am my mother’s daughter and I worry a lot. So it’s been quite stressful here. I had a little breakdown on Saturday when we went to the temple and their visa machine wouldn’t work and my card wouldn’t work at any of the atm´s I tried to get cash from. I didn’t know what to do or explain anything. It was sooo frustrating. I wish sis. Bueno spoke English. I really think I would learn more cause then she could explain to me what things were instead of me guessing or just not understanding and moving on. All the American missionaries I´ve talked to keep saying, you’re going to love it here! I´m sure I will….I just need to learn this dang language! I can’t wait till I can help more in lessons and talk to people on the street with no problem. AHHHH. I´m sure it will get better. Like I´ve said a billion times….God sent me here with a purpose. He wouldn’t have sent me if I couldn’t learn. So that’s my week. Recife is beautiful. It is ridiculously hot ALL the time. I am constantly sweaty. I´m getting used to it. Everyone is sweaty so it’s really not that big of a deal. Also….all the women hug and kiss on the cheeks when they meet new people. That has been quite an adjustment for me. I´m getting used to it now. Thank you so much for the Christmas presents. I opened them the day after Christmas. Mmmm. I love the chicken in a biscuit crackers and the cookies you sent. Food is always a good present. There are hardly any familiar brands of food here. So…I know you´re sending me a box soon and I have compiled a list of things…IF you have space or the means to send, it would be very much appreciated. -Deodorant. (They don’t really sell stick deodorant here) I like the lady speed stick freesia smell. Well, I like any smell except the powder smell actually. -Hand towels. The towels I have seen here are CRAP. They don’t absorb anything. I need kitchen and bathroom hand towels. Not necessary, but if you have space.-If it’s possible…I would still like my dress and more of my clothes. I can wear pretty much anything here. All the clothes I used to wear to church, I can wear here. They aren’t strict on it at all. Cotton blouses would be nice. I have some that are not button up but are still nicer looking that would be good. I know you packed up some of my clothes though so if that’s too much of a problem, I will deal. Oh yes, and my shorts! P-days we can wear shorts and I would like those plaid shorts that I have….or the blue ones with the pin-stripes down them. -Any other food you can fit…like cereal is cool! Oh yes…and do you have any idea how to get rid of ants? We have ants EVERYWHERE. They are in all the houses I have been in also. I don’t know what the deal is. We clean…but they are always there. So annoying. If you know how, let me know. I loved talking to you on Christmas. I hope you’re doing well. I love you and I miss you so much. I will talk to you later. Love, Melissa

Extra notes: You’re going to have to wait for a year from April to give me a hug...but I have a feeling it will go by very quickly. Man...I am getting eaten alive also. I think the mosquitoes know I´m American. Ha-ha. I have sweet blood or something. :)


Man if I can learn this language...I wouldn’t have so much trouble. I do love teaching people. I just wish I could express myself better. I WILL have amazing stories when all is said and done here...that’s for sure.

So again, a pretty uneventful week. We learned some more things....ate more....pooped more :) That’s pretty much missionary life in the MTC. Ha-ha. We did go and teach in this thing they call TRC (Teaching Resource Center) where members from around São Paulo will come in and pretend to be investigators. We taught our second lesson (The Plan of Salvation) in Portuguese. I pretty much put everything in God’s hands because I really didn’t have sufficient time to prepare for it. We started preparing it only like 2 days before. I worked hard to remember everything and when we actually taught the lesson it all went fine. I was super nervous though. We actually had an investigator in our room with a bunch of members. It was very cool but very nerve-wracking. God blessed us so much though. I remembered the majority of what I had prepared to say, and was able to say it understandable and simply. Even though Portuguese is killing me....I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to learn it. When else would I learn another language with so much help from the Lord? It’s really good too because my vocabulary is so small in Portuguese that I am forced to keep my lessons simple....like they should be. There is a quote from John Taylor that says: It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it. I feel like I am really forced to do that right now. It’s so good though because in English...I think I would be tempted to tell the investigators everything and that would only confuse them. All they need to know right now are the basics.

Oh yeah... I forgot to tell you last week...when we went to the São Paulo temple; we did the session with President and Sister Jackson. They are the mission presidents of the São Paulo Interlagos mission and they are in Nana and Papa’s homeward. Pretty cool. I had met them previously because they spoke at the MTC but it was cool to do the session with them. This world is so small. Oh and I don’t remember if I told you or not, but I met a guy that went to school with Erica and Alexa Ortolani. He saw my name and was like, hey, I know some Ortolanis’. Elder Cook is his name. He is a great missionary. He is actually in our ward. Sister Kennard and I have actually trained a few districts on how to use their planner and how to study effectively and his district was one of those. He and his companion Elder Clark will be great missionaries. You’ll have to pass that on to Nana and Papa so they can tell Kent or something...or you could tell Kent. Either way. That might be cool to hear.

I’m growing accustomed to the fact that I can’t talk to ya'll every day...and that’s okay. I get to talk to you every week. I’m really trying to lose myself in the work. I know it will be a lot easier when I get in the field. Can you pray for my trainer? I am praying hard that she will be patient with me. I need someone who is very patient and understanding. It’s going to be a rough month trying to speak in broken Portuguese. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to understand what she says to me let alone any of the members or investigators. I think I’m going to feel very alone. It’s going to be an interesting experience but I’m really looking forward to actually getting to share my testimony and the spirit with people that are investigating the church. Plus I’m excited to actually get to Recife. There is 1 girl that just got to the MTC last week....A Brazilian...that is going to Recife. This is the first sister that I’ve met that’s going there. There are a few other Elders as well. I don’t think my mission is very big because there are always small amounts going there. It’s cool though. I hope that we get to spend more time together as a whole and getting to know the mission president and stuff. That will be a really awesome experience. I don’t really know what is going to happen once I get there since it will only be 2 days before Christmas. It’s going to be a very different Christmas this year. I don’t know what to expect, but that’s okay. It will be so humbling to actually spend Christmas really celebrating Christ’s birth. I feel like the majority of Christmas is centered on presents and candy and decorations....and family (which is good) but that it will be cool to really reflect on why we have Christmas in the first place, you know?

Did I give you a sufficient enough letter to post on the blog this week? I love the family. Seriously. Can I say that? My family is so amazing. I couldn’t have asked for a better family. Seriously. I love you so much.

Well, I’m glad that I make you proud :) Oh yes...I am pretty positive that I will be calling you on Christmas but I don’t know any of the details yet. If I can’t call you....I’ll pretty much be heartbroken. Did I mention that I’m very jealous that you will be in Utah for the all the family Christmas parties? I miss nana and papa.

Can you please tell Dad to learn Portuguese....that would be AMAZING. I really don’t want to lose my Portuguese when I get home...but I’m contemplating learning Italian when I get back...but I don’t know if that would be very useful. Maybe I will move there for a little while or something...that would be amazing. I’ve just heard that Italian is very close to Portuguese. I think if I learned Spanish I would forget Portuguese but I’m still thinking about that too. You better have your phone on your hip!!! If I call and you don’t answer...that would be a very very sad day. I’m just about out of time though...maybe 5 more minutes. So in case I don’t send another one. I love you. I’ll write again next week. Last P-day in the CTM!!! Whoa. I only have 2 weeks left here...that’s crazy.

Well, I was thinking about this all morning while we were on our way to and from the temple, and I have come up with a blank. Nothing really spectacular or amazing has happened this week so I don’t really know what to write to you about. We did all the normal stuff all week. We had class, ate, more class, ate, gym time, slept….and over and over again. Normal week. We taught our first lesson in Portuguese. It was pretty cool. On the week that you don’t proselyte, you do this thing called TRC. I really have no idea what it stands for, but we’re supposed to teach members from around the area. They come in and pretend they’re investigators. There is a camera in the room and they record your lesson and then you watch it afterward. Apparently they didn’t have any members the day we taught because we just ended up teaching some Brazilian missionaries. It was still good though. We got through the lesson without too many snags. My parts are really simple and to the point because I don’t know much Portuguese. I just say what I know, but that’s okay. It was cool. We watched it and I don’t think we did too badly. They even asked us a few questions and we were able to understand them and answer their questions alright. It was cool. So did Kelly make it back yet? I bet she’s having so much fun at home with the family. I understand how hard it is now to be away and I’ve only been gone a month! Crazy! I can’t believe 1/18th of my mission is already over. I got to work really hard for the next 17! It’s so crazy how short we’re out here. The time just flies. I think its going to fly even faster when I get out of the MTC. It’s actually really strange. The days seem really long. We work and study all day every day…but the weeks fly. It’s weird. When people ask me how long I’ve been here, I want to say a week, but it’s been 5! Holy cow!

Oh yeah, and I can receive emails from anyone on my myldsmail account, Melissaorto@myldsmail.net I just have to write them back. So you can tell people they can email me if they want. Just let them know that I will probably write them back on www.missionties.com If not, it will be 3 weeks later in the mail. Just fyi. So….hows the preparing for Thanksgiving going? I have heard that they have a big lunch for thanksgiving with normal thanksgiving food mixed with Brazilian food. I have been told they serve turkey and mashed potatoes and pies and ice cream. I sure hope it’s good. I’m thinking I may not want to eat breakfast tomorrow so I can eat more at lunch! I won’t lie though; the food here really isn’t bad. The rice and beans never fail. Every day they serve it. Then they serve other random things…a lot of meat. I have salad almost every day. They serve really bizarre desserts. I’ve only had a few good ones. They also serve strange fruit. I haven’t found too many that I like. We’ll see what it’s like in Recife. I can’t wait to go, but I’m also really nervous. Portuguese is hard!!!

Mom, I got your letters this week. Thank you! They always make my day. Getting mail here is like Christmas. Seriously. We’re going proselytizing again this week. I’m excited. If it’s anything like last time, I will LOVE it. Last time was so amazing. I’m sure it will be cool again. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Oh yeah, one last thing. Sis K and I taught our first short lesson in Portuguese to one of the teachers, Sis. Michelotto. We were practicing it. Anyway…after we were done she critiqued us and told us what to do better and what went well and all that. They we just ended up in a conversation about Portuguese and she told us that God will bless us so much learning it. We are learning it for him. We didn’t choose to learn it for ourselves. We’re learning it to serve him. Wow, I never thought about that. How true though. I never chose to learn Portuguese. I’m doing it to share the Gospel with my brothers and sisters. Of course God will bless me to learn it. I mean, I knew he would bless me, but I never thought about the fact that the only reason I’m learning it is for him. Never in my life would I say, hey, you know, I should learn Portuguese. Yeah anyway…I thought that was a good thought. Well, I guess I better go now. There are a million elders waiting to use the computers and I’ve been on for a while. I love you so much. Thanks for all the love and support. I love hearing from you. Keep up the good work! Keep sharing the gospel! It’s amazing! Tchau! Com amor, Sister Ortolani

1 month down 17 to go.

This week was ótimo!(great). We went proselyting on friday and I was scared out of my mind thursday night cause I thought that it was going to be really scary and I don´t really speak português yet but let me tell you....it was the best day yet! The Lord really takes care of his missionaries. I prayed to have courage, to have the spirit, and the gift of tongues and he blessed me with all three. It was fantastic. We met 4 people who spoke english, which was cool, and a whole bunch of other people. We talked to this man about how God loves all of us and has restored his gospel on the earth through a prophet and also revealed the book of mormon. He talked to us for a while just asking questions and stuff. Then we decided instead of giving him a pass-along card, we would give him book of mormon. It was amazing. He seemed genuinely interested. He was asking us why we chose to talk to him out of all the people on the street. He seemed really touched that we were sharing a message with him. It was soo cool. We met another girl who said she had studied philosophy in New York City and had a lot of questions about life. We gave her a pass-along card and told her that the book would answer many questions. It was so cool. We also met another woman and shared our message with her and she was so sweet. We gave her a book of mormon too and told her to read Moroni 10 and the introduction. We told her it contained a promise that if she would read the book of mormon and pray to know if it was true that God would answer her and tell her that it was. She seems genuinely interested too. Before we parted ways she wanted to make sure that she understood which chapter she was supposed to read and then gave us both hugs. She was so nice. Sure, there were people that listened to the message and took the card to be polite, and a few that just shrugged us off and didn´t want to listen, but the people that really showed interest made up for all those other people. We truly had the Lords help and guidance as we walked around. It was a place called Avonida Paulista or something like that. Apparently its equivalent to Wall Street for Brasil. There were a lot of people walking around. It was so great. It really made me want to work on my português so that I can share more. The Lord definitely blessed us though and we were able to talk to many people and understand and answer most of the questions people were asking us. Wow. What a wonderful day that was.

Today we got to go to the São Paulo Temple. It was beautiful. They have stained glass windows in the front and in the celestial room. It was cool. For lunch today, our teacher took us out to a restaurant where they go around and cut off pieces of meat right on your plate. It was interesting. I actually ate a little chicken heart. It wasn´t bad. It tasted pretty good but it was very chewy. I really like getting to know a new culture. Its cool to experience new things like that. Oh yeah, on our way to proselyting....we saw a Sam´s club...and a walmart. Haha. Apparently they have them here.

On sunday we had a fireside (like we always do) and President Jackson and his wife spoke. They are the mission presidents of the São Paulo Interlagos mission. Guess where they´re from? Bountiful. Guess who´s ward they´re in? Nana and Pàpa! I was pretty excited when they started talking about Bountful that I had to run up and talk to them afterwards. It was pretty cool. Its strange how small the world really is.

I was showing my district pictures of my family the other day and my teacher was looking at them. He stopped at one of the pictures of dad and said, Wow! He looks like a really cool person. I was just like, what? Haha. He said he thought dad just looked really happy. Then yesterday I was talking about how I spent the last three weeks before I came here at home and how my mom and I played video games all the time. Paçanha (my teacher) was like, holy cow! I want to meet your parents. They sound so cool. I assured him that they are. I really do miss you. My district probably gets sick of me talking about you. It seems like its a regular occurance that I bring you up. Sounds like things are good at home though. I just wish I could be there. Oh well, I´ll spend Christmas in Brasil I guess. Haha.

My mission address is

Brazil Recife MissionRua São Francisco, 110/102
Paissandu-Recife-PE
52010-020
Brazil

I love you so much! And miss you tons! Com Amor, Sister Ortolani

Pictures from Brazil

Melissa sent some pictures from the MTC. Enjoy.

First picture is of all the American Sisters on Halloween. We dressed up as Elders. haha

The second picture is of my whole district. The third is of Elder Lobo. The one I told you about earlier. He left yesterday to go to his mission but he was really cool. He spoke a little english and he always told me that I had a really good accent. My teacher actually told me that too. Hopefully when I come home I´ll be speaking portugués like a brazilian!

Mel's 4th week out

Oi! Tudo Bem! Well, 4th week...here I come! I can’t believe we’re starting our 4th week already. Pretty crazy. The time has really flown by. I know we really haven’t been here that long but it kinda feels like we just got here. Well, I didn’t tell you before, but when we got here we had to surrender all our money and our debit cards. The gave us 60 reais and told us they’d give us 60 more in 5 weeks. So here I am on my 3rd week and I only have 15 left. Yikes. I developed some pictures to send home and it cost me 20 reis! Holy cow. Yeah, I didn’t know it was going to cost that much. So now I don’t have enough money to mail them home. I don’t have envelopes big enough to put pictures in and I still need money to get on the internet and mail letters so I’ll have to figure that out in 2 weeks or so. I’m going to borrow an elder’s card reader and try to send an email with pictures. I hope that works.

Thank you so much for the package! It made my whole week! I was so excited to get stuff. Oh, I talked to one of the ladies in charge here and she said that the MTC doesn’t have to pay for clothes so if you want to send that dress along....that would also be appreciated. You could send me one of my skirts too if you want, like the blue one with the polka dots. Turns out that my skirts only have to be below the knee. Could you send me hangars too? Turns out I should have brought them cause I haven’t seen them sold anywhere around here. My clothes just get wrinkly really easily. I can’t believe I got that package a week after you sent it. I got the letter from mom the same day as the package too. Did you send them on the same day?

And I saw that you signed up for mission ties. I think that might be fun. How much did it cost? I wasn’t really sure how it all works. I do know that I can write to anyone though and just have them email the letter so they get an email with my handwritten letter attached. Pretty cool. Oh, I got a letter from Nana and Papa so if you could tell them that I received it that would be very much appreciated. I love getting mail. It’s always so exciting. Can you give me nana’s email? I forgot to write it down.

Oh...I translated something....and our district quotes it all the time...anytime someone says QUESTION.

Pergunta: Qual urso é melhor?? J That means: Question: Which bear is best? Lol. Yeah. We’re dumb but we laugh every time. One of the guys in my district is hilarious. He watched the office all the time so he says quotes from it all the time. It’s great.

Oh yes, I had a really hard time deciding which scripture I wanted on the plaque. I really like 1 Nephi 10:19. I think you can put that one on there. I also really like 3 Nephi 20:30-31 and 1 Nephi 9:6. Moroni 10:35 or something like that is also really good. I had a really hard time deciding.

Well, the language is still coming along. Slowly but surely. We’re going proselyting on Friday and I’m scared outta my mind. Holy cow. I can’t speak enough Portuguese to have a conversation with people. Yikes. It will be a learning experience for sure. My companion is progressing so much faster than me and the rest of the district. It’s insane. She kinda makes me feel inadequate but I guess that’s not really her making me feel that way. I’m the only one that can make me feel that way, but MAN...Portuguese is just REALLY hard for me. I just keep telling myself that I’ve only been here 3 weeks and I can still learn more cause I have 6 weeks left at the MTC. Still scary. Well, I don’t know what else to tell you about. I should have probably written some stuff down but oh well. I hope everything is going good at home.

I love you so much. I hope all is well. I love hearing from you so keep writing lots!

Com Amor,

Sister Ortolani

To Melissa's Family and Friends

While Melissa is on her mission her Dad and Mom are posting her letters. I hope that you all enjoy them. Feel free to comment and we will send the comments back to her. Feel free to write to her as well. She can’t accept email from anyone but family but the mission will let her receive snail mail. There is a website www.missionties.com that will print up an email for you and send it to her in Brazil while she is there. It’s a little more than a stamp but she will get the letter in country in a few days instead of 10 days.

Oi! Como vai!? Well, second P-day and its been good so far. We went to the temple this morning expecting it to be exactly like last time...in English and everything...nope. It was in Portuguese. There were so many Brazilians there that it made more sense to do it in Portuguese than in English so we got to use those funny little head sets and listen to it in English. I tried to turn the sound down so that I could listen in Portuguese and I could pick up on some of the stuff, but it was really hard. Everyone here speaks so quickly that it’s hard to pick up on the words that I know. Well, the MTC has been pretty much the same. Yáll have no idea how much I miss you. I think about you every day and sometimes I even cry about it. I don’t know what my deal is cause I have never been like this before. I guess being thrown into a foreign county where I don’t know anyone and no one speaks my language and I only get to talk to the people I know once a week. It’s pretty ridiculous. I know that I’m being blessed for what I’m doing though. We had a devotional yesterday and I swear it was just for me. I’ve been struggling with being happy here. I don’t understand why I feel this way cause I love being a missionary. I guess it’s just been hard with all the change...and so suddenly. Anyway....he talked about how the way to be happy on your mission is to work hard. He said that working hard makes you happy, makes your time go by faster, and serving the lord blesses your family and opens doors for you in the future. Its D &C 118:3 I think where it talks about the apostles. He said he thinks it applies to us too. I think so too.

My relationship with Heavenly Father has strengthened so much. More than I ever thought possible. He’s like my really, really good friend here. I tell him everything and he helps me with anything when I ask. I can feel his love every day and I know he’s watching out for me. He really answers my prayers and blesses me with the things I need. I know the little bit of Portuguese that I know is because of him. There is no way I’d know anything without him. P.S. Missionaries LOVE mail. Seriously. It’s like the best thing cause you can get it any time of the week. I can only reply on Wednesday, but then I can be thinking about what I want to say back.

Oh, something funny that I forgot to tell you last week. Irmão Bolzan is our morning teacher and one of the first days that he taught us he said he had 1 very important rule. No pooping during class. lol. Yeah, that’s right, that’s what he said. He kind of laughed when he said it but he was serious. He hates when he lets the missionaries out to go to the bathroom and then they take 20 minutes to poop. You have got to meet this guy. He’s hilarious. We were trying to convince him to move to America yesterday cause he is having problems with his girlfriends family. I guess they don’t like him for some reason and he was telling us that there really aren’t a lot of people to date around here. We told him that he should move to Utah cause there would be tons of girls to date.

So, Brazilian drivers are crazier than Roman drivers. Seriously! It’s bad. There are motorcycles everywhere and they automatically get the right-of-way. Oh yeah, and pedestrians have no rights here. If you get hit by a car, it’s your fault. Wow. So on the way home from the temple this morning there was this motorcyclist that drove by our bus and I think the bus driver moved over a bit and the motorcyclist had to swerve a bit. So he ended up being behind us. He drove up really fast and kicked the side of the bus. He then went to kick it again and the bus slowed down so he was in front. He pulled over to the side and waited for the bus again to kick it! Then the bus sped up and he kicked the back of the bus and drove on. What the heck? I thought it was crazy and hilarious at the same time. What did he think that was going to accomplish? Seriously. The food here is the same...like every day. Rice and Beans....or beans and rice. There is always some variation of that. Sometimes there are some good things along with it like fried chicken or pasta or lasagna, but oftentimes it’s gross. I think it’s only because it’s in the CTM though....cafeteria food. I’ve heard that it’s much better outside. Also, I was talking to one of the Brazilian sisters the other day and she told me that she worked in Recife for a few weeks and couldn’t ever sleep past 5:30 because it was so hot. She’d wake up soaked in sweat. Gross. I hope it’s not like that for me. Sick. Yeah anyway...I think that’s all I got. I hope you are doing well. I love you so much. I hope to hear from you soon!


This next letter is a personal letter to Melissa’s Mom but it’s so sweet I had to share. I also had to edit a bit.

Mom,

I know your birthday is coming up on Sunday and I wanted to write a letter to you since I haven’t really had the opportunity to get you anything. I love you soooo much… I appreciate all the sacrifices you made for me to be the person that I am today. I still have a lot of work to do on myself but I’m so glad that I know the gospel is true… You are the reason that I’m here....well, sorta. I mean, the gospel is pretty much the reason I’m here haha, but you are the reason that I know the gospel is true and everyone deserves to hear it. Everyone should have the opportunity to hear the gospel. We are all God’s children and he wants us to return to him. The only way we can do that is through the atonement and the gospel. I love you so much. I know this is the true church of Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the gospel on the earth today and I’m so grateful that he did. Can you imagine if we were still in a state of apostasy? We would all be so confused and lost in the world. I know that President Monson is a true prophet that was called of God and he receives revelation for all of mankind. What would we do without him and the rest of the apostles? We would be in a state of complete confusion. Wow, I’m so glad that I was born into this church because honestly, if I were an investigator right now, I don’t know if I would accept it. I have grown up knowing it was the truth and that is because of you. I owe you so much for what I know. I hope that I can someday repay that debt to you. I hope that you are receiving some sort of blessings for me being here. That speaker at devotional yesterday told us that the best way to show our family how much we love them and to bless them the best way is to serve the lord with our whole heart and work as hard as we can and be as obedient as we can. I hope I can do that because you deserve all the blessings that you get....and more. I love you. I hope this letter isn’t too scatterbrained. I’m feeling a little scatterbrained right now and words are just coming out. I hope you have a great birthday. You’re almost 50 you know? ;) Just kidding.

Love,

Sister Ortolani

Melissa's Address

Sister Melissa Ann Ortolani
Box #05 District #43-A
Brazil, Recife Mission
Rua Padre Antonio D' Angelo 121
Casa Verde, Sao Paulo, SP
Brazil 02516-040

Melissa's First Letter from Brazil

Tudo bem! Como vai! Wow I can´t believe its been an entire week already!...but at the same time it seems like I´ve been here forever! I got here wednesday at like 9 in the morning or so...at the mtc anyway. My companions name is Sister Kennard and she´s from American Fork. We get along pretty well. She´s a really goal oriented person so she motivates me to try harder...but sometimes its a little overbearing and I just want to take a break. We were oriented, unpacked, ate, more orientation stuff, watched a video about missionaries in san antonio (how to use preach my gospel effectively). We were all exhausted but they made us stay awake so we could sleep that night. That night was probably the best night of sleep.

So on thursday, we began actual class. We were already expected to know things for the following class! We met with the MTC president, or the CTM as they call it in Brazil. His name is President Woodward. He is such a nice guy. We met our new teacher Irmão Paçahna. He is the best teacher in the CTM. Seriously. Everyone says so and I believe them. He is sooo good and he just motivates us to be the best missionaries we can be. Its hard though, cause he expects us to know a lot and that adds up to a lot of pressure.

Friday we met our other teacher Irmão Bolzan...who is actually Italian decent. His name used to be Bolzani. All the Brazilians ask him if he´s American cause he has blue eyes. His accent is pretty strong though. The funny thing is that he sounds like the little bat on Anastacia. I think his name was Bartok. Oh man...we had him quote some lines from Anastacia and it was HILARIOUS. It probably isn´t to you, but man, we were rolling on the floor. We learned how to pray today and haven´t been able to pray in english since then....at least in class.

Saturday we had class and then choir practice. (yeah, we decided to do choir). Elder Scott and Elder Anderson came and we got to shake their hands. That was a really good experience. Elder Anderson spoke about how one of the most important things we need to testify to others is that apostles and prophets walk the earth today. Elder Scott spoke about the importance of not only reading the scriptures but knowing them and knowing where certain scriptures are so we can share them on the spot. He also told us that we should write down all our spiritual promptings as soon as we get them, and then carry them out. He said that God speaks to us through our promptings and if we write them down we won´t forget what was asked of us.

Sunday was almost like P-day only we had church. Sacrament and Sunday school was all in english minus the songs and the prayer. Relief Society starts off with the Brazilians and Americans together. It was kinda cool cause they had an American read the português and the Brazilian read the english stuff....you know, to announce the prayer and song and stuff. It was cool. My branch president´s name is President Lorero (lor-ed-o). He went on his mission to Recife so I´m looking forward to talking to him about that. I haven´t had the chance yet though. Oh my goodness....speaking of Recife...every time I tell a Brazilian thats where I´m going, all they say is oooooo calor! Calor! Guess what calor means? Yeah...hot. Imagine how hot it is if all the Brazilians are saying that. Sheesh. I´m in for a real treat. J.

Monday we had a normal day at class and such and then we learned how to approach people with our 30 second power statement to get them interested in what we have to say. So basically just the first four principles in Lesson 1 of preach my gospel but all bunched together. It was pretty cool and I can tell it will be powerful....although we haven´t learned it in português yet. Soon I´m sure. My comp and I started reading out of the O Livro de Mormon. I think it will be good to start that even though we might not understand it. We had a fake investigator (Juliano) and we had to make a lesson plan to teach him. That was pretty fun.

Tuesday was normal day but with a devotional. It was about how to make weak things become strong.

This morning....we got up at 5:45 and were supposed to leave for the temple at like 6:30 but the van got a flat tire so we didn´t end up leaving till about 7:15...sheesh. I didn´t think we were going to make it in time for the session, but we did. It was so beautiful. They did the session in English thank goodness. I wouldn´t have understood much if they hadn´t. We went to the Campinas Temple. Its about and hour-ish away. The countryside of Brazil is beautiful. Actually São Paulo is very beautiful with all its buildings. There are hundreds of sky scrapers! There are like 10 million people here! Wow. We have our work cut out for us J

So overall its been a very long week, but its been good. The language is coming but very slowly. I don´t really feel like I know anything yet but when I talk to some of the elders that have been here for 3 or 4 weeks I´m almost at the same level as them so I know that our teacher is good and I´m being blessed tremendously. I´ve been working hard. This is definitely not going to be easy but its going to be so worth it. I´m excited to actually go and teach the people of Brazil. They are all so great. I love the brazilian missionaries that I try to talk to every day. They are sooooo friendly and very helpful with words and accents. Elder Costa and Elder Lobo are two of them that I really enjoy talking to. It helps that those two speak english though. Haha. Its a lot easier to communicate with them than a lot of the others that don´t speak a word of english.

How are yáll doing? Great I hope. I´ve missed you more than I could ever imagine. I don´t mean that in a bad way, but I didn´t think I´d miss you this much. I´ve lived away for 2 years almost and i didnt think it would be a big deal, but man...being in a foreign country where I can´t even call you up occasionally...its hard. I just want you to know that I love you so much. I hope that everything is going well with you and everyone else. Tell everyone I love them and miss them. Send letters!!! Missionaries live for them! Seriously. I haven´t gotten a letter yet and its so sad. Oh yes, and I think it takes 3-4 weeks to mail a package but you can still mail to the ctm. Anyway...I love you and hope to hear from you SOON!! Tchau!

Love,

Sister Ortolani