Carly Parkinsons Mission Letters: TU ARE A JOKING FOR ME, GIRL?!

Soooooooooo the email title comes from one of Xeca´s most prime moments. She didnt like the food she made but it was amazing so I told her it was one of her best, and she, trying to speak her just impecable english, goes, TU ARE A JOKING FOR ME GIRL?! I did not stop laughing for the next 20 minutes or so and Im actually still laughing about it now.

WHAT A WEEK. In case anyone is wondering, NO we still do not know about transfers. With the new prez they are now on Wednesday, but the entire ward has decided Im leaving (with reason, but still) and has starting giving me pity hugs and saying poor thing over and over again. Its really quite sad, I guess they realize just how much I love them all to death. Com certeza transfers are going to be hard hard hard. I also feel like I will love every area I serve in bastante, I just dont want to leave all my lovely friends. BUT ITLL BE GOOD.

I dont have much time so some rapid fire happenings from this week:
- SOCCER SOCCER SOCCER. ALWAYS. We had the BEST P day today, the Braga family basically just adopted us 6 missionaries and we went to a REAL LIFE SOCCER FIELD and played REAL LIFE SOCCER with a bunch of other missionaries from the zone. Then we had Francezinhas and ice cream and chilled at their house and it was basically a dream come true. Did I mention I love this ward?! Once or twice, maybe?!
- We have sort of a competition going on with the elders over who the ward loves more. Well, not really a competition because there isnt any, they all love the sisters more, but we went out this week with the intention to prove that sisters really are the favorites. So 2 batches of cookies and a couple member visits later........ Yep. They really do love us and we also havent cooked for about a week because we have member dinner after member dinner. This ward is the greatest. And also its good to be a sister :)
- Also we actually did bring RC and investigators to our dinners and stuff so I promise we arent just wasting our time and getting fat. Well, getting fat, yes, but still. We are doing missionary work, really I promise.
- ALSO there is a sister from our ward that just got back from her mission to Brazil on Thursday and it is the single most exciting thing that has happened to this ward in YEARS. And also for the missionaries because she is adorable and amazing and misses her mission a lot and basically told us we can work with her all the time. MISSIONARY JACKPOT. She also makes Sister Smith and I hate ourselves every day because she is just so darn cute and we are over here gaining on average 3 pounds a day. WHOOPS.
- Oh and we had a pioneer day activity this week! It was super fun and we managed to get a good program together, but seriously, this is a very American holiday. We asked several really cool ward members to do pioneer stories and they all said "we dont know any" so that was awkward. They also found a really scary looking manqeuin (how the HECK do you spell that... Its boneca in Portuguese which is just way easier) that they tried to dress in pioneer clothes but since they dont really know what pioneer clothes are... Yeah. It was fun though and hopefully the people here have a slightly greater appreciation for pioneers.

Thats about it! I absolutely love it here and love the people here with all my heart! The mission doesnt stop being crazy hard, but it gets better and better and better and I wouldnt trade the friendships Ive made out here for anything. I love Gaia and I love Portugal and I love being a missionary. Thanks for all the love and support and FIQUEM BEM FAM!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo bjssss

Sister Parkinson

Sorry its been a million and a half years since I sent any but I FINALLY HAVE MORE PICCSSSSSSSSS

1. Giant, fabulous, 12th century cathedral. Shoutout to Pdays in Portugal

2. I never feel more European than being in the teeny streets listening to street musicians play music on instruments that Ive never seen before

1. Dinner with the fabulous fabulous Bragas

2. DEPOIS a good 3 hours of futebol, quick shoutout to my giant sweatline and to my sweet sweet father who gave me the genes that make me sweat like a man

3. FRANÇEZINHAS

1. I TOLD YOU THE BONECA WAS HORRID. But with Elder Pedro everything is better

2. LOVE THIS FAMILY. Bispo and family Soares

1. I am really really really ashamed of how fat I have gotten but I just thought yall needed to see how absolutely FABULOUS and simultaneously horrid these orthopidic shoes are. I KNOW IM FAT OK BUT THE FOOD HERE IS SO GOOD