So uhhhh how´s it going?? It´s going pretty good down here! This week has been pretty great, exhausting, but great! I´m pretty sure this past week is the most tired I have ever been in my entire life, but it´s been good. Sistr Dabelko and I have been working hard and that´s really what it´s all about. =]
      But yeah so I can´t really remember a bunch of what happened this past week so this might be a little scattered... I can really only remember super non important/interesting things like that fact that Sister Dabelko and I have been OBSESSED with smoothies this whole past week and make a giant one at least once a day and may or may not have run out of regular food this weekend cuz all we bought last monday was fruit and yogurt and juice for out smoothies (did I tell you dad?? They have like THE BEST juices down here. seriously. you would be in juice heaven...)... but dont worry... we were much smarter this week and bought more actual food as well... hahah We´re thinking about opening up a smoothie place after the mishh, cuz let me tell ya, our smoothies are dang good. haha =]
     But um yeah other than that.... what else has happened... oh! I think we´re gonna be starting up an English class this week hopefully with Sister Cozzens and her companion... That should be fun. Don´t ask me how I am going to be  able to teach english... I couldn´t even explain the verb/word ´do´ to Sister Viana (it´s a lot harder than it sounds ok...) but yeah it sounds like funn... OHHHH and we´re going to Mickey D´s today!! Whooo party! Apparently there´s one in Sister Dabelko and mine´s area (dont ask me where, I have never seen it before) and Sister Cozzens got permission to go today adn we´re going with her! BIG FUN in Brazil on Pday! hahah Apparently though only rich people eat at McDonalds here in Brazil so that´s pretty cool/hilarious... everyone will think I´m rich...
     What else happened?? Oh! On Saturday the power went out... Yup, there was a HUGE storm that afternoon (It´s stormed like every single day here this past week, Heavenly Father loves me) and I guess it knocked our power out and we got home and had to finish up out language study and progess record in the dark with a flashlight... annnnnd I may or may not have toasted bread using an  entire box of matches.... cuz at that point all we really had left to eat was bread and I really just wanted to toast it buuut the power was out and on top of that our stove was out of gas so I wouldnt have been able to anyways and so I just kind of lit match after match and held them over my piece of bread.... it kind of worked... It tasted like slightly toasted bread and butter with a lot of campfire.... hahah Don´t worry though mom. I know you are probs worrying about how all we had was bread to eat, it´s really no biggie. We eat lunch with members every single day and they practically shove their food down our throats till we are bursting so yes I am eating...
     Oh and so we had that goal of having 5 baptisms this month right?? And like everything was going great, we set two dates this week, got a bunch of acceptances w/o dates and like had all these people lined up to come to church (10, TEN PEOPLE said they were going to come to church) and even called all of them the night before and everything was going wonderful and absoultely no one showed up to chuch yesterday... even the people we got rides for... so yeah our goal pretty much went down the drain, especailly since they changed it from investigators having to come on only two week of church to three, buuuuuuut just because these people won´t be getting baptized in January doesn´t mean that they wont ever and I am really excited about them all and for the next couple of weeks!
     Also. Apparently, the Brazilians don´t have a word for awkward... Like awkward does not exsist here... Which is just like the funnies thing ever in the history of the world since that is literally all my life is now... like literally. especially since i can barely speak or understand portugues... it´s so awkward/hilarious all the time. For example... There are a lot of Apartment buildings here in our area Mirandopolis right?? And each one had their little guard guy who and gates and like you have to know exactly who you are visiting and what floor they are and what room and all this stuff, and considering Sister Dabelko and I can barely pronouce simple names like Ana and Marie here correctly and struggle with numbers above 40, you can imagine what getting into these buildings to visit people is like... hahah ohmygoodness, they are some of the most awkward interactions I have ever had in my life... Like this one time we were trying to get into this one building and Sister Dabelko gives the name, Bruna, and I give the number ( um cinco tres... cuz I dont know how to say it all together 153... hahah) and the guy (who is new, not the usual guy,)  is like ok yeah I´ll call and see if they are there/want you, and then this guy who was talking to the guard guy starts trying to talk to us in english (cuz it´s pretty obvious we are americanas and have no idea) but at the same time he´s hacking up a lung and the guard guy is calling the wrong room and trying to explain who the heck we are (americanas, seeeester daaaabekuuu e seeeeester heeeeseeee, nao entendo muito portugues, muito dificil... americanas) and the guy dying next to us, hacking up his lungs is trying to explain to him that he has the wrong number and we´re trying to calm him down in broken portugues and then the guard finally gets the right number and is trying to explain everything over again, while also trying to calm the other guy down while we´re trying to tell the guard that it´s ok that they dont know who we are and that we´ll just try back later... and at this moment the guy who ususally sits at the desk walks up and just stops and stares at everything that is going on and just looks at us like ´oh goodness, these two again...what the heck are they doing´ and finally we manage to explain they everything is fine and calm everyone down and leave as quickly as possible and it was so hilarious and just terrible and that is basically my life every single day... hahah
      buuuuut yeah, i don´t have much time left but I hope yall are having a great week and loving life and sorry this email was so lame. OH!  and i almost forgot!! Today, is a HUGE day! Today I officially only have one year left of my mission. Janurary 13th of next year I will be getting on a plane to fly home! My 6 months is on the 17th!! SIX MONTHS! How crazy is that?!? It really has gone by so quickly already! 
     But yeah I love you all and can´t wait to talk to you next week!! =]

-Sister Rice