Let me share a little of what brought me to US…

I was 25 and single. Single LDS guys were rare in my city. Well, at least the ones about my age. Most of my friends were married. They had other couples to hang out with. I have been active all my life. I attended every single conference, Institute Classes and broadcast possible. Being in a place where you can find LDS people improves your chance of find “that special someone”. But, nope, there was no guy available in that “market”.

One day I had an unofficial conversation with my stake President, Hebert Homolka. I confided: “there is no man here”. By this, I meant: no guys available to date. I was not the only one complaining. I understand that it wasn't the Priesthood leader’s fault, but as he was my friend and not only my leader I felt comfortable to share. He answered me: “you should try the thing online”. I felt weird. I wasn't an “online person”. Then I saw myself going into those “what ifs”: “President, what if I fell into one of those prostitution networks?” There are tons of Brazilians dating or finding jobs out of the country that are forced to be sexual slaves. This happens especially in European countries. So, my stake President, who knows English better than I said: “When you find the guy, ask what Ward he attends, ask for that ward’s phone number. I`ll call his leaders to check his background”. I felt safe. He may not remember that, but I did. Actually I never asked for his help after that. I had my own way to do the right thing. The Temple was only 10 minutes away from my house. When there was a guy online interested in going to Brazil to meet me, I also invited him to bring his Temple Recommend, so we could go to the Temple together. In my mind, to marry me in the Temple, he has to be a Temple Recommend holder. So… This is what I did.

I went to one of those LDS dating websites, there are tons of them. I met the first one at www.ldsmingle.com. He went to Brazil, we had fun, but, we broke up. Then I met another guy at www.ldsplanet.com. Yes, I had profiles in many of these websites - ha-ha. This guy went to Brazil 2 times in almost 2 years of the relationship. But it didn't work. After two tries of online date, I felt like: “It is not going to work”. I was even accepting the idea of being a single forever. I would rather accept that, than marrying outside the Temple. In other words, for those who don`t know, yes, Ernie was my 3rd American boyfriend. And… How did I meet him? I used the technology on my behalf. I didn't have anything to do at the time I was just chatting with my ex every night after college. So, I connected into one of these websites, now, a third one: www.ldslinkup.com. Many guys were sending me e-mails; some good-looking ones, some weird ones, some funny ones, some dirty ones and even some inactive ones. I felt myself having fun and not feeling depressed. You don`t have to trust everything online. If someone shows no virtue in conversation, by a simple click, we can delete this person from our life forever. Easy. Right? Maybe not.

By sharing this: I`m not trying to say that the online thing is the best. It’s not magic. It’s not the perfect way to meet people. But at least it worked to me. I just would like to share a little more information about this online dating thing. Before the US guys arrived in Recife, I was available to go in a date with the LDS guys, but it never happened. “What if” someone interesting showed up? Would I lose the opportunity of dating someone closer to me? Of course not! But, there were no guys available or interested. I had no dates with Brazilians. The last Brazilian I dated was in 2002. Stupid Brazilians! Just kidding. How could they let me go? Ha-ha.

So, when I met Ernie, I had almost giving up. I didn't want to suffer again. It is a lot of emotional investment. Then I thought: “What if” He is the right guy? “What if” now, I`m the wrong, losing the chance of getting to know someone who shows interest? And after prayers, my worries went away. I welcomed him to my city. We were pretty honest about what was going on in our lives. Honesty was very helpful. So, Ernie went to Brazil 5 times, we got engaged on his second trip, during Christmas. The last time He flew, we went to Rio de Janeiro for my VISA interview. My family fell in love with him as they do with everybody else who shows the humor that Ernie has. My grandma took as good care of him as if he was her own blonde grown up grandson - ha-ha. Anyway; I arrived in Phoenix on November 18^th, 2009. A month later we were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.

		Ernie in Brazil VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A “parabola” do dente amarelo.

O dente amarelo ficava muito triste quando a dona dele se olhava no espelho. Nao que so a cor o perturbasse, mas as formas tambem. Por causa de um dente que se perdeu, os outros comecaram a se unir pra suprir a ausencia do irmao. Esse amarelo era o primeiro que aparecia quando a boca sorria e continuou de primeira quando o sorriso inventava de exibi-lo contra as suas ordens. Pra quem conhece os realcionamentos entre os dentes, eles costumam se unir quando um se perde, os dentistas que o digam. E la ia o dente AMARELO e MEIO TRONCHO. Tudo pela uniao!!!! Ele vivia triste. Achou q teria que se esconder das fotos pra sempre. Isso porque as reacoes externas eram tambem uma evidencia de como ele proprio estava se sentindo.  Ate que um dia, esse dente amarelo se ARRETOU  e resolveu usar os recursos a seu favor. E parar de se incomodar com o que o povo achava dele. Aconselhado por uma dentista, decidiu iniciar o tratamento ortodontico pra qdo deixasse de ser troncho, mudar a sua cor. Ele vive melhor com a cor dele agora, pois sabe que o melhor vem depois, mas esta sofrendo com ferros pra todos os lados por mais de 2 anos ja. Depois da ortodontia, vem o clareamento. Ele vai ter tanto uma cor agradavel, como estara tambem no lugar certinho.

Essa foto e mais recente, pra provar pros meus amigos blogueiros, que depois de muita pacanda de ferro, ele ta se ajeitando.

Amor a segunda vista

Eita. O povo deve pensar agora: la vem ela falar do marido lindo novamente. Nao. Vou falar de amizades, porque as vezes nem tudo que reluz e ouro e nem tudo empoeirado e sem valor. Sim, eu sei que a metafora e clara, mas quem nunca ouviu falar de lobo em pele de cordeiro? Ou o contrario: voce ou alguem pinta o “feladamae” de bruxo quando na verdade ele e um anjo.

Quem nunca teve aquela criatura a quem a gente so se referia: “nao vou com a cara daquele infeliz”? Isso acontece mais frequentemente do que se imagina e se voce nunca pensou isso de alguem, ou voce e esquecido ou mentiroso.

Cresci com meus inimiguinhos favoritos. Encontrei os danados na faculdade e muitas vezes no trabalho. Na maioria das vezes, depois da “segunda olhada” eu pensava, noooooooooossa como eu julguei mal, coisa e tal. A gente tem que aprender e dar uma segunda chance, ou pelo menos reconhecer que o individuo e legal, tenha o julgamento sido feito por nos mesmos ou baseado em “informacoes de terceiros”.

Deixa eu falar de Fernanda Fernandes. A gente ve logo que uma pessoa com esse nome so pode ser afrescalhada certo? Errado. Ou melhor, deixa eu explicar. Fernanda e toda cheia de classe, reclamava que quando eu tomava sopa chupava o caldo da colher e por ai vai. Eu sempre fui meio da bagunca, do to nem ai, e a principio a gente nao se batia mesmo. Nao so porque eu era muito barulhenta tomando sopa, mas porque recebiamos ordens da mesma pessoa. Conheci Fernanda em um de meus estagios, eu acho que ela foi contratada pra me substituir, deve ter recebido ordens pra me gerir como capital humano, e por favor nem me tente a falar quao humano era o ambiente. Depois de muitas barroadas, nos conseguimos ver o que havia de bom uma na outra e somos tchan tchan tchan tchan, ACREDITEM: amigas!

Ha outro caso, e nao citarei nomes pra nao criar confusao. Um pouquinho de etica nao doi ne? Fui contratada por uma empresa e fui treinada por uma funcionaria que passava 90% do treinamento dizendo pra eu nao acreditar em fulano, pq fulano nao presta, pq fulano e fofoqueiro e isso e aquilo. Tanto ouvi que pensei: “ai que meeeeedo”. Entao chega fulano, o provavel inimigo. Me estende a mao quando eu preciso, me espera pra ir almocar quando estava ocupada com as demandas do chefe e saia atrasada, e ate me acalmava e instruia quando eu ficava estressada com as responsabilidades da funcao. O que foi que aconteceu? Fulano se tornou meu amigo. E claro, que eu nunca lhe revelei “o quanto fui bem treinada”. Ate porque eu sairia da empresa posteriormente e ambos ficariam. Nao vou fazer confusao e dixar pra eles administrarem ne?

Pra finalizar, vem um outro caso comum. “Odeio amigo de meu inimigo”. Quando fui confrontada com o conceito de inteligencia emocional percebi que isso se aplica as amizades. Nao basta ter completado 18 anos nao. Tem que agir como adulto tambem. Atualmente eu tenho um relacionamento muito bom com uma pessoa que e irma siamesa de uma certa criatura. Claro que a pessoa nem fedia nem cheirava antes, mas aconteceu que eu procurei isola-la da terceira pessoa e ve-la pelo que ela e. Sim, e uma pessoa com valores e o fato de ela amar tanto uma pessoa que eu ja tentei demais gostar me fez pensar no mandamento de amar o proximo. Se ela consegue gostar do infeliz, qual o motivo de eu nao conseguir o mesmo?

Estive ponderando a respeito dessas coisas e das experiencias que tive por amar a segunda vista. Cheguei a conclusao de que ao inves de dar desculpas, eu tenho que dar uma terceira olhada, uma quarta e quantas outras forem necessarias. Entendo tambem que ha casos em que ambos devem ser flexiveis em pontos onde e possivel pra manter um bom relacionamento. O mestre nao nos mandou gostar so de quem a gente sabe que gosta da gente. Isso e mais facil. Eu tenho orado pela “disgramada”. Bixinha, rapaiz. Nao to me contradizendo nao, devo apenas ter escolhido o termo nordestino pra deixar a situacao mais agradavel pros leitores. Eu tenho me preocupado tanto com essa pessoa, mesmo q ela nao faca mais parte do meu convivio social (por motivos geograficos) que o Senhor tem ouvido meus clamores. eu finalmente consegui ser agradavel de coracao e digo pra voces que valeu muito a pena. Quando voce entender que seus esforcos nao produzem resultado, decida o que fazer por si proprio. Eu sei que tem casos que e melhor afastamento do que insistencia, so queria dizer q o amor a segunda vista acontece.

Hiking has become a passion

It is also the way I have found to have fun without spending money. There are tons of mountains here in AZ, specifically in PHX area. Choose a good one and hike it. We have the benefit of working out and burning some calories, which is so important for physical and mental health. I can`t deny all the good effects to my sanity provided by these hikes. Whoever needs a little bit more of sanity please raise your hand and join us.

		Hiking here and there VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

If you are morally clean you can stand in anybody`s presence.

I heard this statement last night during a combined mutual for boys and girls. We were taught about how to prepare for job interviews and dates. What a great night! Have you ever felt that you were at the right place, at the right time listening to the right thing? These were my feelings last night. About 6 months ago, I got my employment authorization. Many things had happened since then. But I can tell that I have applied for many jobs in several different areas, I got some calls inviting me for interviews but I still wasn't find worthy to be hired for any company.

I went to Business School in Brazil and got a Bachelor of Arts in Office Administration. I spent 4 years of my life preparing myself to become valuable for any company. I had great experiences in my internship programs. I worked really hard to have enough money to provide for my loved ones and also offer them some entertainment and saving for my future. I had worked in 3 different companies. The economy or market, in Brazil, wasn't so good at that time. I couldn't get the job of my dreams for so long, also because I was engaged and waiting to immigrate to US, my VISA would arrive at any time. These situations, nowadays, reflect in my resume negatively, I guess.

After spending hours completing tons of applications online, getting the chance of being interviewed and not getting the job, I can`t deny how frustrated I am. There is no way to control these feelings so easy as we talk. We need to put into it a lot of efforts to remember who we are and don`t forget our dreams and goals.

I was sharing my feelings with my husband this past week. He told me something really simple and true: “Don`t feel this way. Satan is working on you”. Those who know me will understand that. I`m a religious person and I believe that as much as there is a God who loves us, inspires us, guides us and wishes us the best, there is an enemy of all righteousness who attempt to destroy the plans of this God. And he will be close to tempts us, makes us feel unable and powerless, even unworthy. I need to “sell my fish” with more creativity. Understanding, myself, that I have most of the skills required to develop a good work. Remembering that being morally clean I don`t have to be afraid in the interviewer`s presence. I don`t have any bad thing to hide. I have lots to share an some couple of more things to learn.

Keeping myself morally clean and not being afraid of what the future has to reveal me, this is my goal.

Was I born to serve the youth?

I`m not sure, but this is the impression I got after years serving in many callings that have connected me to the youth.

Youth VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I have been a Counselor at YW Presidency here and in Brazil with both Ward`s and Stake`s responsibilities. I have accepted a call to serve as a Camp Director just a week before the Girls Camp, few years before leaving Brazil. Believe or not, I have been a Seminary teacher for 2 years, teaching The Book of Mormon and Doctrines and Covenants. I was called to be the seminary teacher in my ward, right after I graduate. I was 18 years old and have been a member for ONLY 16 months or so. I can`t deny the level of spirituality I have reached during these little missions and the knowledge earned with my willingness to serve. Being so young, I faced my fears, lack of experience and even knowledge of the Doctrines and Plan of Salvation. I only had my young testimony and a strong belief that there was a Father in Heaven Who would help me and strength me, teach me from high, inspire me and guide me.

One day, few months after my wedding, I got a call from a High Priest. I was so nervous. I would have a heart attack if I got any calling at that time. When that man told me what it was about: “be part of the group of women that would serve at the kitchen during the Girls Camp” WHAT A RELIEF! I QUICKLY ACCEPTED!!!! I met great and lovely women from my Stake. I had lots of fun and built some connections. I was so excited about how this activity was held here in US that when asked about it, I barely could stop talking or reporting. I think all this excitement was noticed by my Father in Heaven. It didn't took so long to be called as a Counselor of YW in my own Ward. And I was like: “what?????, YW again?”

I felt the love and inspiration of the great leaders, who I am blessed to serve with. They are such an inspiration and source of knowledge and experience. Their testimonies had touched me so deeply and I love them so much. The girls are so special, smart and cute. They are very talented and friendly, sweet and full of energy. We have cheerleaders, musicians, writers, good communicators, athletes, creative and joyful girls. They have no idea how much I Iearn with them and how their patience with me has helped me. At the beginning, when teaching, I messed up with communication. I felt how hard it was to share my testimony and the lesson in a way that they could understand. Hopefully, i`m getting better. I`m developing the gift of speaking in different languages, as promised me in my Patriarchal Blessing.

Have I been born to serve them? Whatever is the answer, I accept it as one of the most exciting experiences of my life. The YW draw me closer to my Savior and to my Heavenly Father.

Jade Fielding, Sierra Pratt (my step daughter), Lily Blaser, Stefani Jarman, Jordan Wingate and Ali Blaser.

This past Sunday we were missing Laurel Gwilllian, Nita Pulver, Jill Wingate and Dani Keith. Soon, our class will be even more beautiful with all the girls.

RECEITA DE ANO NOVO

Para você ganhar um belíssimo Ano Novo
cor do arco-íris, ou da cor da sua paz,
Ano Novo sem comparação com todo o tempo já vivido
(mal vivido talvez ou sem sentido).

Para você ganhar um ano
não apenas pintado de novo, remendado às carreiras,
mas novo nas sementinhas do vir-a-ser;
novo até no coração das coisas menos percebidas
(a começar pelo seu interior).

Novo, espontâneo, que de tão perfeito nem se nota,
mas com ele se come, se passeia,
se ama, se compreende, se trabalha,
você não precisa beber champanha ou qualquer outra birita,
não precisa expedir nem receber mensagens
(planta recebe mensagens? passa telegramas?)

Não precisa fazer lista de boas intenções
para arquivá-las na gaveta.
Não precisa chorar arrependido
pelas besteiras consumadas
nem parvamente acreditar
que por decreto de esperança
a partir de janeiro as coisas mudem
e seja tudo claridade, recompensa,
justiça entre os homens e as nações,
liberdade com cheiro e gosto de pão matinal,
direitos respeitados, começando
pelo direito augusto de viver.

Para ganhar um Ano Novo
que mereça este nome,
você, meu caro, tem de merecê-lo,
tem de fazê-lo novo.
Eu sei que não é fácil,
mas tente, experimente, consciente.
É dentro de você que o Ano Novo
cochila e espera desde sempre.

Carlos Drummond de Andrade