Month 4!!‏

Hey everyone!! :D

How are you guys? I didn´t hear from you at all this week, I hope everyone´s ok! And I hope you weren´t worried about me either - I asked Andréia to email you guys saying that P-Day switched to Tuesday this week. I hope she did and you guys weren´t worried.

But, what happened this week? With no questions to write back to it´s hard to think of what happened...But let´s see, on Sunday I made 4 months in the mission! (I think that makes more sense in Portuguese). I can´t believe it, time is flying. What else...well, "spring" is officially here, except it turns out there really aren´t 4 seasons here, only summer and winter:/ It´s really really really super hot now, a couple weeks after being really really super freezing. But seriously, hotter than anywhere else we´ve been. But I´m being really careful and using tons of sunscreen, so don´t worry! But after the mission I´ll be an expert on surviving extreme temperatures:)

Oh, so the reason we switched P-Day this week was because yesterday was Dia dos Finados, Brasilian Memorial Day. Much closer to our Memorial Day than to Mexican Dia de los Muertos, just take flowers to the cemetary, remember your ancestors type thing. But the president wanted us to take advantage of the holiday to go contact people at the cemetary, so we worked Monday and have P-day today. It was good, we made tons of contacts, only one really interested and doesn´t live in our area, but it´s good to talk to as many people as possible! Honestly, it´s really hard for me to make contacts, just go to a place with tons of people and start talking to everyone in sight. But it´s really good for me and I´m getting better every day. What else happened this week...we didn´t have any baptisms.

Oh, and also, we got "dumped" by a family we were working with, so that was hard. When we called to ask when we could come again, the mom said they just weren´t interested anymore. (Sometimes it´s a little like dating, can you see the parallel? It´s weird to say, but it really is...) So that was hard, but it´s ok, it wasn´t their time yet. But I really learned something from that combined with an experience later in the week. Later, we were out trying to find new people by knocking doors, and I went up to talk to an older-ish woman sitting out smoking in her lawn chair. Apparently I had preconceived notions by looking at her, because when she invited us in I really didn´t think it would go anywhere. But when we started talking to her, it turns out she was still extremely sad over losing her mother 8 years ago, so we taught her the Plan of Salvation and reassured her she would see her mother again some day. It was extremely spiritual, and we all cried. But she said that she was sure that we had been sent from God.

So that was an incredible experience, and it really taught me something. That other family we were working with were the picture perfect people for missionaries to be working with -- young family, 3 kids, a military dad, just seemed like a "Utah" family if you will. But it turns out they weren´t ready. And then someone who didn´t seem picture perfect, older (a lot of times older people are really set in their ways and not open to change), smoker...was perfectly ready for our message and ready to accept the gospel. So that was a really good experience from this week. I definitely learned we can´t judge who´s ready for the gospel and who´s not! Only the Lord knows, so we just have to trust Him.

So all in all it was a good week! A few good new people, lost a few, but always progressing. Surviving the insane heat, getting to be even better friends with Sister Raphaela...it´s crazy that we´ve started the 4th week of the transfer! Transfers are only 6 weeks and we know that she´s leaving after this one, because she´s already been here for 7 months. Actually, we found out that I´m leaving too! Or, it´s kind of a rumor, but no harm in telling you guys. But the rumor is we´re both leaving. She´s pretty sure she´s going to Livramento, on the border of Uruguay, and thinks I´ll be going to Santa Maria, just based on her figuring of who I could possibly be paired with. So changes are coming!! It´s crazy, I was kind of planning on being here for a long time. But a change will be great, I´m excited!

But that was my week, not a whole lot of news, just continuing to work hard and grow and change every day. I love you guys so much and I´m so grateful to have you at home supporting me. Thank you so much!!:D I watched that video of Caroline again, and it was even cuter the second time! Give her huge hugs and kisses for me. Make sure to get Grandpa his ice first thing on Sunday night;) I love you all and think of you often, and pray for you every night. I love you guys, have a great week and hope to hear from you soon!!

Love,

Heather