João Pessoa!

I am back home in São Paulo right now. What a wonderful week it has been! On Tuesday, I flew to João Pessoa to give a presentation to missionaries in a zone conference. I got there around 7:45 in the evening. President and Sister Boone were there to pick me up. What a wonderful couple they are! They come from Mississippi, where he was a judge, and she was an intensive care nurse. They had promised me some Southern Hospitality and I got it!

They started by taking me to dinner and OH MY! The food there is amazing! So much fresh and incredibly good food. We ate out every night. That night, along with our meal, we had a dessert of fresh pineapple with a little lime juice.

João Pessoa is a resort town with a California feel. It has miles of beaches, with people riding or walking on the boardwalk day and night. Lots of little shops, lots of restaurants and a very relaxed and welcoming feel.

But I was there to work - I had a presentation on Building Great Companionships to give to the missionaries. I had around 100 missionaries at the first day's meeting, and it went well! The missionaries each learned how to tell if they were extraverts or introverts and how each type can be a great missionary - but they have different strengths and weaknesses. An extravert and an introvert can be a winning companionship - if they don't drive each other crazy! The missionaries also learned about their "love languages," the things that have meaning to them in terms of expressing caring. Lastly, they learned how to listen better. It was a great session.

After that day's zone conference was done, I rested a little, we went to dinner (steak!) They had a wonderful dish called Cupim that was made of the of Brahman beef hump. It was really good!

Then we went to a large convention center to see how the missionaries were doing at a booth they had. This was an idea that the missionaries had come up with themselves, and the Boones were so proud of them for being proactive - so we had to go and support them. The sisters who were there that night were so happy that they had given out over 200 copies of the Book of Mormon. Even President Boone couldn't resist having some fun and starting talking to people and giving out Books of Mormon!

We got back to the mission home and I started to feel really tired - but I couldn't sleep. I had a terrible night where I only slept between 2 and 4 am. I had to be up at 6:30 to be ready to drive for over two hours to the next day of zone conference - and I felt terrible! I prayed about what to do. I came to João Pessoa, and they had promised the missionaries that I was coming. Now, I felt like death warmed over. I was determined to do what I promised to do. I kept praying and Heavenly Father told me to tell the president how I was feeling. I did that and had a real tender mercy. Presidennt Boone looked at me kindly (the same way that I had seen Sister Boone and him look at the missionaries) and he said, "Sister Cheek, you need to take care of yourself." There was nothing about, "But we planned for you to do this." or "We spent all this money to bring you here and now you are not going to present today." Instead, his whole concern was for my health and wellbeing. I can see why the missionaries love this couple so much!

Another nice thing is that since Sister Boone has some of the same health challenges I have, they both really understand. I went back to bed and slept. 

When the Boones returned from that session of zone conference, it was around 4:30. We talked for a little while and then walked some on the boardwalk. We got coconut water and took photos. Then we went to dinner at a lovely little restaurant near the boardwalk. I had risotto with shrimp and tiny cubes of grilled cheese. It was so good! Afterwards we walked some more on the boardwalk and I got a few souvenirs. It was just fun.

They had to go pick up a missionary who was arriving at the airport at 11:30 pm - I was tired and they dropped me off at the mission home. But then, it was delayed again, so they came back, and Sister Boone and I talked until nearly midnight (while President Boone took care of more phone calls and texts from missionaries). The elder finally got in around 2:30 a.m., I think. And they were up the next morning to get me to the airport. (They said that they would sleep after their mission!) What amazing people! I saw them give and give and not think of themselves at all.

That really affected me. Today, I was walking to church and thinking. Someone told me that his mother went on a mission after his father died. He said that she came back from her mission a different person, a better person, and she never changed back. Her mission changed her for life. I would like that to happen to me. I hope that I am changing.

I think that my definition of success is changing. Normally, I am willing to do good things, but I need to see the fruits of my labors in order to feel successful. I like to make big differences, not small ones - not to get the praise of others, but just to feel like what I am doing is worthwhile. I am learning, though, that small, quiet changes can be the most important. Showing love is often quiet. The Savior is the best example of just giving. I think about how much love He sends out compared to how much He gets back. In church today, I heard, "Serve without thinking of results. Love without worrying about the result. Just give. Just serve. Just love." I am learning a lot.