It was been three years since Steve and I and our four children still at home left for Brazil. Steve had just been called as mission president of the Brazil Sao Paulo South Mission. When
we arrived in Brazil, my Portuguese was minimal. I could not understand
anything anyone said. There were words here and there that sounded familiar,
but most of the time I was at a complete loss as to what was going on around me.
My inability to communicate would definitely be a problem if I wanted to preach
the gospel to someone in Brazil or help a Brazilian missionary.
Learning
Portuguese was very difficult for me. I love the Portuguese language. I think
it sounds beautiful! But, I had never really learned a foreign language before,
except for high school French 35 years previously (and I wasn’t very good at
French back then either). I had tried to practice Portuguese in the few months
before we left, but there was so much to do and so many problems to take care
of that I needed every second just to get us prepared to leave.
The power of words is real and the lack of
words made me feel powerless. After our first Zone conference, a Brazilian
missionary who spoke English and Portuguese said, “Sister Richardson, I felt
the Spirit while you were talking, but I could not understand a word you said.”
I knew I needed to do something. I was determined to speak in Portuguese so
that my missionaries and the Brazilian saints would know how much I loved and
appreciate them, their country, and their culture.
I prayed very hard for answers. The Lord
inspired me many times with Portuguese words beyond my ability to speak. I had
a tutor who helped me translate and practice my talks before I gave them. My
husband, who is a linguist and whose Portuguese is flawless, would have me say
my talks in the car as we drove from chapel to chapel and he would say the
words so I could hear them correctly spoken to assist me in becoming more
understandable.
I also sought advice from my mother (who had passed away three weeks before we left on our mission) by reading
her books and reviewing her words. One day, I came across a statement which
really changed my attitude about my difficulty with Portuguese. My inability to
communicate could have caused me great frustration, tension, and anxiety. I did
not want these negative emotions to get in the way of the work of the Lord. I
read about how my mother dealt with frustrations in her life. She wrote:
“Celebration
is the conscious decision to live our lives with joy. In the midst of turmoil,
pain, and adversity, in bad times and good, joy is the great companion our
Heavenly Father intended us to have. To feel joy, however, requires a decision
on our part—a chosen approach to life, a chosen attitude, a constant awareness.
This decision is the necessary beginning to recognizing, feeling, and
developing the joy with which Heavenly Father has filled our creation. Anyone
can live with a sense of celebration...Celebration is self-made”.[1]
I
knew that difficulties often bring forth blessings—so, I decided to try to look
on this as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than an insurmountable
trial.
I wanted to internalize my mother’s words
about celebration. I remembered how my mother always used the word “Glorious!”
to describe everything around her. Her children were glorious, her friends were
glorious, the sun was glorious, the food was glorious and of course the gospel
was glorious, too. That one word said a lot about my mother and about how she
felt about everything. All she had to do was say the one word, “Glorious!” and
that was sufficient.
I decided to pick a positive affirming word
that could be easily understood in both English and Portuguese. I picked the
word, “Woo-Hoo!” as a way of expressing my excitement for missionary work and
for my missionaries. Whenever I said: “Woo-Hoo!” it made me feel better. It was
my way of saying: “I love being a missionary here in Brazil! I love the Lord! I
love the missionaries!” It reminded me of all the positive feelings I initially
felt for my calling as a missionary, even when I may feel, at the time, frustrated,
sad, depressed, or tired. For me, I found great power in that single word: “WOO-HOO!”
Not only did it make me feel better,
but it made my missionaries feel better, too. They knew I was proud of them
when I said "Woo-Hoo!" after a baptism. They knew I cared about them
when I said "Woo-Hoo!" after they called me to tell me they were
healthy following an illness. They knew I was excited to be with them and serve
with them when I said "Woo-Hoo!" as I passed them on the streets of
São Paulo or during a district meeting or zone meeting. The power of "Woo-Hoo!"
not only helped me feel better about my mission, but it also helped the
missionaries find joy in their mission, too.
I remember the first time I used the
word “Woo-Hoo!” in a stake conference talk. I told the Brazilian saints the
story of my mother being hit by a car and her words about celebration. Then, I
explained about my difficulties learning Portuguese and how I found my own word
for celebration. I let out a “Woo-Hoo!” Everyone looked up immediately at me in
surprise. Many of the children had incredulous smiles on their faces. After the
meeting, I had many children and adults alike give me a hug and just say a
single word, “Woo-Hoo!” My favorite memory is walking down the hall in the Sao
Paulo temple and having a lovely sister temple worker who had heard me speak
whisper, “Woo-Hoo!” as she passed me in the hallway.
The power of “Woo-Hoo!” is in the
way it expresses my joy for the gospel of Jesus Christ. The English word
“gospel” literally means “good news”. The Savior calls His message to the world:
“good tidings of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Great joy is different than mere
happiness. Worldly happiness is fleeting and ephemeral. It lasts but a moment
and then, it is gone. Joy is eternal happiness or God's happiness for Endless
and Eternal are His names. I have felt great joy as I have begun to understand
the "good news" of Jesus Christ. His message is that He, Jesus Christ,
came to earth and suffered the imperfections, pains, and sins of all mankind.
Through his atonement, all mankind may be saved through obedience to the laws
and ordinances of the gospel. Death has lost its sting because all mankind will
be resurrected. Through repentance and eternal covenants, all mankind will have
the opportunity to choose to return to Heavenly Father once more. This is my
hope! This is my joy! This is my salvation! Woo-Hoo!
