This has been a really enjoyable week! On Wednesday and Thursday, I was asked to teach breakout sessions for missionaries at the Brazil São Paulo West Mission Zone Conference. I taught four 30-minute sessions on Wednesday afternoon and four more on Thursday. I had 12-15 people in each session and it was a lot of fun!
The theme of the Zone Conference was planning and my sessions were on The Joy of Planning. Each team of 3-4 missionaries was given the task to build the tallest tower possible out of spaghetti straws and mini marshmallows. They only had three minutes to plan and five minutes to do it.
Then we talked about how building a tower was like doing missionary work -
you have to have a vision of the outcome, share the vision with others, plan, work the plan, and adjust the plan when things go wrong (every tower was in danger of falling at some point). The tallest tower was 27 inches, with two that were 24 inches. Two really fun days!
On Saturday, we went to Avenida Paulista, which is the center of the old city, where lovely old homes are surrounded by modern skyscrapers. We got to see what São Paulo looked like a hundred years ago, and what it look likes now.
We spent four hours walking up and down the streets (and stopping for lunch at an Italian restaurant). We are going to go back this Saturday to do a little shopping, have lunch at the top of the modern art museum, and walk in the park.
Brief news:
My Portuguese version of the four-step program for mission presidents to use with some missionaries was finished and approved! I have talked to a couple mission presidents about it and they are excited to have it.
I am starting to comprehend what is being said around me. On Sunday, I actually understood one paragraph of the bishop's talk in sacrament meeting! I realize that understanding five minutes out of a sacrament meeting isn't much, but I am happy that it is starting to come!
Comments13
Beat Lauren
I just wanted to post first and beat Lauren and Brittney
…
nice try
yay!
glad português is going well for you! 5 mins is a great accomplishment! how fun that you got to be with the west mission and work with them, it looks like a fun activity. keep up the great work:)
Sounds awesome
Sounds like you are having an impact
comments on your glad events
Sister Cheek, it is so exciting to hear that things you've been doing that you have been inspired to do are being accepted by the people who make decisions! I'm really glad that this mission is turning out to be a little different from what you had envisioned it in the beginning. The zone conference sessions looked like missionaries AND YOU had a good time learning.
A week ago Saturday, we spent a lot of time walking also. It wasn't to see the old part of any town; it was to figure out where Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, was being held by the Wicked Queen in a virtual prison. We spent less than 4 hours (gratefully) walking around downtown Salt Lake with our daughter and son-in-law. Never so grateful to have her need to stop and take frequent breaks!!! And so glad to hear the words, "We're finished"!!!!
Your feelings about finally starting to understand the language make me feel happy for you. The language barrier is such a great thing to cross. Conversations get so much easier after that!
Keep up the good and motivating work.
So glad that you're having…
So glad that you're having fun and enjoying your mission! Also happy that you're understanding of the language is coming on in leaps and bounds!! A bit like me learning Welsh here...road signs and notices in shops suddenly make sense...and learning Welsh on Duolingo really helps!!!
In your element!
Sister Cheek!! You look SO HAPPY in this photo. I love that you are right there touching the lives of these missionaries!
Wow!! That’s awesome grandma…
Wow!! That’s awesome grandma! I bet they loved that and you!
Happy for you
It's amazing that you are understanding the language already. Hearing and understanding is harder than speaking it, I have heard. Good for you! Your enthusiasm shows in your photos and I imaging that the missionaries had fun in your classes!
Week of 21 September 2022
I'm glad to hear that you're using your teaching skills with the missionaries. You are too good at teaching to not put this skill set to use.
Do you think Sao Paulo looks better now or 100 years ago?
Wow! An Italian restaurant in Brazil serving a meal to a British-born American citizen. How diverse!
I'm glad to hear that your language comprehension with Portuguese is improving. That's a gift of the spirit!
Thanks for your latest post. Please keep them coming!
Beautiful!
So happy to see pictures of you! You look amaz8ng!
Towers to understanding
That tower building exercise is so effective in helping young minds make the connection between planning and results! Glad you were able to use some of your expertise!
teaching sessions
How wonderful these missionaries are to have your wonderful teaching talent.