Oi Familia, Week 1!

Oi Familia!!!! Can I just start by saying... I LOVE it here!!!! I am SO happy I decided to serve a mission and that I am on my way to serve the people of Cape Verde!!! So much has happened this week and I wish I could tell you absolutely everthing!! But I have a time limit on the computer so I'll try to sum up the best parts :) First of all you were saying you thought I'd have to get another vaccination here... But I passed!! Haha no more shots :) My companion is the best!! Her name is Sister Wilson. We actually started out as a three-some with Sister Gomez who we absolutely loved as well... but she was fluent in Portuguese already so three days after arriving they transfered her to another district. But Sister Wilson and I have had such a fantastic time together and get along so well! And she speaks Spanish so she has been super patient and helpful with helping me to learn and understand the language. And she is the only other sister going to Cape Verde with me! We are hoping we'll get to be companions out there :) It is the two of us along with three Elders who are going to Cape Verde. Then our district has 5 other Elders and 2 other Sisters who are going to Brazil. They are all so great and it should be a great 6 weeks here with them! And I found out that I am the first 19 year old sister to go to Cape Verde! Pretty cool!! Speaking of... There are so many sisters here!! We are still way out numbered by elders but it is so exciting seeing all these sisters who are so excited and willing to serve! And everyone is talking about how the number is going to keep going up! It'll be pretty cool getting to watch that happen while I'm here! My first week here has been so crazy!! The first day I was here we had a big meeting with all of the new missionaries. We sang Called to Serve and it was AMAZING!!! Then we met our disctrict and we were assigned to our tiny little room that the 12 of us will be in basically all day every day. They immerse you in the language the majority of the time from day 1. So it has been quite the adventure trying to follow along and figure out what everyone has been saying! I can say some super basic things now and I can bear a simple testimony and say a prayer! We also taught our first investigator (not a real one ;) ) on our third day here... in Portuguese!! Oh man it was exciting. Luckily we still had Sister Gomez plus Sister Wilson already speaks Spanish so it's a lot easier for her to understand and comminicate. But I was able to a little bits of veeery broken Portuguese to the lesson! We've taught two lessons since then too! After the second one, I was starting to get a little frustrated because it is just so hard to communicate when I know so little Portuguese. But then our teacher told us how when we get frustrated like that, we are only building up walls for ourselves that will shut out the Spirit. We have to remember that the important part is that we teach by the Spirit, and that the Spirit absolutely speaks broken Portuguese. It was exactly what I needed to hear. And our mission president here told us that we will speak Portuguese when the Lord needs us to speak Portuguese. It is as simple as that. So I went into our lesson yesterday with that it mind. And it is SO TRUE!! The lesson was still super rough, but the Spirit was absolutely there. At the end, I bore probably the simplest testimony I've ever given, but at the same time it was the best testimony I've ever given! A Igreja de verdadiera!!!! (The church is true!!!! :) ) On sunday we had a lesson with our district about he 2060 stripling warraiors. (Because there were 2060... NOT 2000... haha) Anywho... It was so amazing!!! Our mission president here is so great and so full of the Spirit!! His lesson was awesome!! He likened us to those warriors and said how we are the Lord's army today. Ahhh!! There is no time!! I'll try to be faster next week but for now that is all! I love you all so much!! Love, Sister Jaime Turley