Recife
When I first arrived, I thought I had died and was in heaven. Seeing the beaches, the clean (for the most part) city, and the awesome architecture was definitely a big step up from the smoggy streets of São Paulo.
Second day: First thing, we took a trip to Rua De Bom Jesus, also known as one of the most beautiful streets in the world top 10. I’ll let you be the judge.
I got my companion (Every area a missionary goes to, they receive a companion who they live with in a predetermined area for safety purposes and such. This companion is also my trainer), Elder Miranda, he’s a Brazilian and native to São Paulo. No complaints.
All the trainers sat in the back and each missionary was called up to the front one by one, NFL draft style. ELDER GIST, YOUR TRAINER IS (drum roll) ELDER MIRANDA, YOU’LL BE IN CARPINA! Pretty cool, definitely got me hyped.
Casa Amarela (Carpina)
Imagine the nastiest house you’ve ever seen; that’s where I’m living. When I arrived, I wanted to throw up. Trash was everywhere, walls were covered in grime, the bathroom floors were black (originally white), and the walls were pee-stained yellow. The mattress that was mine was pee-stained yellow and had the names of people written on it dating back 13 years. Did I mention everything in the house is covered in a layer of dust?
The kitchen had nasty rags on the floor stained black and dirty clothes on top of dishes; the water containers were filthy, and the fridge was surprisingly not bad, if by not bad you mean covered in grime but better than I expected.
Although my new companion had been living here for 6 weeks along with two other missionaries (they said this was clean compared to what they walked in on), it didn’t seem to bother them much.
I got to work right away cleaning up my sorry-looking bedroom, and over the week, we spent a lot of time cleaning, and I mean cleaning soaked in sweat and dirty soap water, but at least now the bathroom is clean. I’m prepared to clean it all little by little.
The Work
I can’t lie, I expected it to be harder these first couple weeks; the language isn’t really a problem; when I need to, I can understand and speak my thoughts, so I don’t feel any stress there. My companion and I only speak Portuguese together, and we rarely use translate.
Everyone is pretty warm, but not terrible, and we’ll walk pretty far; we don’t, and won’t have a car or bikes. The work is as simple as getting up, getting out, and opening your mouth. Other than being physically tiring, it’s pretty low stress.
Teaching lessons is fun, and I definitely didn’t expect the questions and teaching topics to stress different points than in the USA, but they do; it’s a little different to adjust what I’ve prepared, but the adjustments are pretty easy.
Overall, it’s muito Bom (very good).
Become Like A Little Child
The first day, first lesson we taught, we were in the favela and “knocked” on the door of a house. Seeing through the door, we saw a family who invited us in. As we taught about Jesus Christ, I heard some noises at the door behind us, but I was too focused on the lesson to pay much attention.
After we closed in prayer, I heard a quiet “amem” behind me, and a little girl, probably six years old, had been outside the door sitting in the dirt and trash listening to the lesson this whole time. When I realized how humble of an act I had witnessed, I started to cry, thinking of the life of this little child.
This was what Jesus meant in Matt 18:4 “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. when he said to become like a little chil. It’s being humble in any circumstance and seeking truth, the light of Jesus Christ. I know I don’t know much, but I know that the church is true and its my responsibility to share the gospel. I know I’m just one guy, but I hope that I can make a difference.
-I appreciate all the emails and ill try and respond to all, love yall.
-Elder Gist
Google Photoshttps://photos.app.goo.gl/cnvNHFLuWEPTfcKj7