Brazil doesn't know yet what hit them!

It is finally p-day which means I can finally write you!!! YAY!!! This last week has been super crazy and pretty hard. When people told me the mission was hard they definitely weren´t kidding. I realize now all a person can really say about a mission is that it is hard because there aren´t words to express the feelings and things you experience on a mission. Even though it is tough, I´m absolutely loving it. I wake up at 6:00am every morning and work my rear off all day learning the lessons and Portuguese...and then I go to bed exhausted every night at 10:30pm. The portuguese is coming along great. Luckily I have a very studious, but fun district. We work hard and play hard! Compared to the other districts we are blowing the language out of the water. Today we went to the Sao Paulo temple and had an awesome time. It has to be one of the most beauitful temples. The inside has tons of stain-glass and gold leaves engraved on dark wood. It is just a very classy temple. Anyway, it was a great experience and I can´t wait to go back next week!Ok....I don~t have much time but I wanted to tell you a little about my first couple days here at the CTM. Flying down here I sat next to a super hot Canadian guy who has traveled to every country in south america. Anyway, we talked about the gospel and really had a great conversation...for maybe 4 or 5 hours. He turned out to be an atheist though so I didn´t try to give him a Book of Mormon. FLying into Sao Paulo was crazy. I got to see a lot of the countryside from the air and it was absolutely gorgeous. Once we landed my nose had quite a feast. I don´t know if I´ve experienced that many good and bad smells at once before, but it was interesting. I definitely turned heads in the airport. I was walking in from of all the elders with my suitcases and they thoroughly enjoyed counting all the guys who checked me out. With this blond hair I definitely stick out biggggg time. Today we went out of the CTM and walked around the nearby streets. Some people just stopped and stared.... I feel like a sideshow freak of some kind!!! ha haWell my companion is named Sister Gricius. She is super cool and we get a long just great. She has a MBA and already speaks 3 languages so she definitely keeps me on my toes and motivated. Oh so if you want there is a website called missionties.com I think. You can send emails to them and then they will print them off down here. Everyone tells me it is a lot cheaper than letters and also that you guys can write as often as you like. And I just have to say, letters are GOLD around here. Missionaries wait around the mailboxes like sad puppies everyday just to see if they got anything. I would definitely love some news from home!! I LOVE everything about Brazil!! However, the people and the Brazilian food are the BEST!!!! I absolutely am obsessed with the food down here. The first few days my comp and I realized our waists were rapidly expanding so now we have cut down on the portions....but honestly....BEST FOOD EVER! OHHH and the PEOPLE ARE FABULOUS! I have never met so many kind people!!Well my time is running short. Just know that I´m doing well, but definitely need your prayers. The mission will be the toughest thing BY FAR that I´ve ever done. I can´t count the number of times a sister has come to me crying this week saying that they are having a bad time and that they don´t think they can do it anymore. I haven´t broken down yet, but I´m sure I will. Just send as many letters as possible!!! I love letters. I´ll write again next wednesday. It cost 2.00 to send letters so I~ll probably stick to email. Post this to my blog please and have Pec unregister from cramster...just tell her the login is my email with the same old password.Love you ALL and Email you again soon!!!!!Love,Sister WoodP.S. LETTERSS

So Long, Farewell

Hey guys!!! This is the first and last post I'll be doing. From now on this blog will just contain emails that I send to my parents. They will be posting them on here weekly and when they receive pictures they will also be posting them.

Well I am OFFICIALLY a sister missionary now! I was set apart on Sunday and have been trying to behave myself since then. My bags are all packed and even though I'm nervous, I'm ready to go. I know I'm going to have some amazing experiences down in Brazil and grow to love the beautiful people. Write me letters from time to time! My MTC address for the next 9 weeks is:

Sister Ariel Kathryn Wood
Brazil Joao Pessoa Mission
Brazil Missionary Training Center
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo SP
Brazil

After that I'll be in Joao Pessoa, so write me at this addres:

Sister Ariel Kathryn Wood
Brazil Joao Pessoa Mission
R. Deputado Jose Mariz, 515
Tambauzinho
58042-020 Joao Pessoa- PB
Brazil

Thanks so much for all the love in support! Pray for me and definitely believe I'll be praying for you!!! LOVE YOU ALL!