Isaiah 55:2

Ministerial Certificates -- one with Pres. Hinckley and one with Pres. Monson

Sintra -- sign translation "ENTRANCE PROHIBITED TO STRANGE PEOPLE"

HEY EVERYBODY

A HUGE thanks for all the pictures and updates on how everybody is doing. I’ve been thinking a lot the last few weeks about the weekly email and such things, and it really blows my mind that it’s the only connection between me on this side of the world and you on yours.

I wish I could go through every week and respond really specifically to everybody’s stuff. I’m not really sure that I could do it all justice, so please accept my apologies for not going into great detail about many things.

I have about twenty minutes left, and seeing how I didn’t really talk about what I have been up to in the email last week, I figure it would be good to do so this week.

These last couple weeks have been pretty big for me. I’ve had a lot to think about and reflect over.

But first and foremost, we had an investigator in church for the first time in weeks. Her name is Márcia, she´s Brazilian, and she´s about 45-50 years old. We knew her from English class, and she used to come to every class (Tuesdays and Fridays) until her work schedule changed. But we invited her to a ward fireside about the Restoration, where she was very intrigued and accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and talked with us for about 20 minutes after the fireside. We didn’t coerce any of it. Then, last Sunday, she showed up at church! She stayed for all three hours. The lesson in Gospel Principles was that Families Can Be Eternal. I ended up being the one to give the class. She was very curious because she has a 20-year-old daughter who she wants to come to church with her, and the lesson that family is the only unit of eternal importance really hit home with her. She asked if people who have been divorced can still get baptized, too. She’s also been reading the Book of Mormon every night, without having to be pushed and reminded into doing it. Elder Croshaw (who is still a Financial Secretary with me) and I are really hoping we can do everything we can for her, but her schedule is the biggest obstacle.

What else.

Well, right before transfers, I had my interview with President for the transfer. Since coming into the office, I had really been struggling to keep a burning motivation all the time and about everything. The stress of the financial secretary job, especially in this mission, is very high. I have had, and will forever have, very high expectations for myself, but my lack of experience with renting houses has made it very difficult to have a smooth process every time we get a new house for the missionaries. When you have four variables (us, the missionaries, the landlord, and the contract), a lot changes every time. I have been working hard to make the contract a lot better, but there have been a lot of landlords trying to GET THE MOST, and it’s been really frustrating. Our contract in the past is completely worthless and holds no weight with the law. We have been left to do this contracting without any help from the real estate people nor anybody else.

But I talked to President about all this, and how it has all just completely broken me down. The only reason that I do anything anymore is because I hope for a life afterwards that won’t have these problems. Nobody trying to GET THE MOST, nobody being tempted to do so, etc. I explained to him that my hope in Christ is the only thing I have to hold onto. Going into the interview, I knew I would tell him that, but I felt like the Gospel is supposed to bless you with a lot more than just a hope in Christ.

But if you have a hope in Christ, you don’t need anything else.

And that’s all I go on.

So lately, it’s been a lot less stressful, and it’s been so much easier to sit down and do my best with what I have, because I know that’s what the Savior wants from me. The only perfection I believe in now is not the perfection of the ideal way of doing housing contracts, but it’s in the Savior. I don’t even think an ideal world I can imagine now even compares to what Heavenly Father wants to give all of us.

What else.

Well, this weekend, all six of us in the house upstairs got massive colds, and President ended up getting it, too. Any by the way, I asked about flu shots, and people have heard of influenza, but nobody ever gets it. I’m on the other side of the crazy wide world, folks. Crazy. And on this side of the world you buy milk and honey without a reasonable price. (Oh, socialism. Lovely, lovely socialism)

I already got my ballot and sent it back. I do get a lot of politics updates from the front-page headlines of newspapers laying in the streets. Apparently there was a final debate and Obama “won” it, and apparently that led to him leading by 6% in the polls. People here are much more interested in our politics than their own.

Anyway.

Time is basically up. I don’t have that many pictures to send.

Yeah.

Até já. Amo-vos.

ELDERLOBO

The picture attached is of me with my replacement Ministerial Certificate (my actual go-home date should be Jan 22) -- I have one with Pres. Hinckley and one with Pres. Monson -- GET THE MOST!