Ficei

September 8, 2014

Yes, indeed my dear family, I am staying here in Piraquara, WITH Sister Cox. Not super exciting but nice. I love it here and I love Sister Cox! We are lucky ducklings indeed. The only problem that I can forsee with this situation is that we are so comfortable together and here that it will be easy to just stay comfortable and not grow. Change always always you to grow, a LOT sometimes. So right now that's my thing, I'm trying to figure out how Heavenly Father wants me to grow here because right now it's not too aparent. Getting too comfortalbe is never goodm that's something I've learned!

Thanks so much for all the Birthday wishes thus far. I'm excited to open my package and we're going to buy a piza and we'll see what else the day holds:) Mom I really liked your idea about having a Hobbit Birthday:) I decided that yes, this will be a birthday different than any I've ever had, but I think it will be happier because it will be the first when I'm not thinking about myself and what I will get etc. ( Will try not to so hard!) I'm going to do 20 acts of service and really try to help people:)

Speaking of the package. . . . craziness! Yes, we went to Curitiba to get it, 1 1/2 bus ride both ways, We got to the post office and had to wait like 25 minutes, ok normal, we got to the counter and I asked here why this had happend and how it could be avoided in the future. She said it couldn't and that you had to put it was a gift, I told her you did that blah blah blah. She said there's no way of knowing. ( Talking to some other missionaries it sounds like putting a lower value because if it's high they get taxed or something, this happens with brazillians too, but it's not  too comon. Finally I got ready to pay the big bucks and she decided to let me know that you can only pay in cash. . . . .freak out, luckily there was an ATM. Than I almost lost a really important document and every single Brazillian man there was trying his best to help me and speak their broken English and figure out the situation all at the same time and EVERYONE there was watching and sister cox was just sitting there laughing her head off. . . . hahah good times my friends, good times:) No but really it was an adventure and really fun to go into the City, and I'm so grateful that it got here, before my birthday too!

Remeber how it was raining crazy, crazy  last Sunday? It happend on Tuesday too. We were teaching the first lesson when all of a sudden it got suuper windy and dark and the lady's  power was going in and out. Finally it just stayed out and I was talking and so just kept teaching. . . hahah it was strange to be teaching to the pitch dark for a while. After we left it was raining so crazy hard and we were completely unprepared because that morning it was sunny and warm! In about 3 minutes we were SOAKING wet and laughing and running for cover. We hid out in a garage thing and this nice man and his family were there too and gave us a ride home ( Brazillians are really so nice:) So we went home, changed our clothes and then went out for the rest of the night, apparently this is normal as it's getting to be Spring, yay!

Our ward mission leader is an English Professor and asked if we could come and help him with one of his classes on Wednesday. First of all, it was so strange to be on the other end of someone learning a language and really understanding the thought process that were happening etc. Second, it was so cool to realize that i can talk in 2 LANGUAGES!! Cool , cool, I love speaking another langauge:) Third of all, it was ridiculously hard to speak simply in English, I kept saying things grammatically incorrect or saying words in Portuguese, I almost had as hard of a time speaking in English as they had! So weird!

Food, I think I'm making progress. The other day I had fried pig skins. Really wasn't that good, It just tasted like fried, reeeaaaly oily fat, so. . . .

Friday we had  "Super P-day." ( We don't have p-day today, just e-mail time:)  Our mission passed our goal for baptisms this month so we were able to a super p-day! It was all of the missionaries together playing volleyball, ping-pong, football, eating food, jumping on a gian tramp and watching Frozen! All of which are prohibited in our mission ( except the eating part, whew!) It was a lot of fun and really relaxing which was the point:)

Saturday Sister Cox and I laughed so much, and it was lovely, i wish i had time to relate some of our riculous experiences, man, being a missionary can be so entertaingin! But, later, later:)

Yesterday Joanice and Vitoria recieved the Holy Ghost and Valdir was baptized. All three experiences were so special and so beautiful! They were all so excited and are doing so well thus far! Just fitting right in, and loving things! It is such a privilege to be working with the Lord in his vineyard so intimately, I love being a missionary with all of my heart:)

One last experience. Yesterday Joao, ( 15 yr old member and my Brazillina Brotha:) bore his  testimony about a time while ago that he and his family went out to visit antoher family with us. We had taught the First lesson and the Spirit was definitely there but the family never showed up to church or showed any interest in progressing. So I had thought that it was a bummer that the memeber family came with us because nothing happened. Joao bore his testimony about that lesson that was like a month ago, that his testimony of the restoration was strenthened a lot and that he had felt the spirit so strongly. Wow!  That was such a lesson to me that we NEVER know how the Lord is using us to help others! If just keep doing what we are supposed to be doing even when it looks like it's not doing anygood, it always is. I have a growing testimony that Heavenly Father will use us when that is our desire. I loved that because that is why I came on a mission in the first place! 

Heavenly Father is so very good. I love you all so much. I hope that you are all reading the Book of Mormon every day.if not, start today!

I love you guys!

Love,

(You're almost suuuper ancient)