News from Palmares

Hi Family!

Lake Powell has Zebra Mussels? Ai nãoooooo!!! :( :( Do they know if it was brought by a boat, or if they arrived from upstream? Will Lake Powell still be boat-able and not destroyed when I get back? :'(

I was very surprised at the changes around the house! The garden is absolutely beautiful! Does it work well, not having to bend over so much to weed?

I think its just me, but did you pour more concrete to make the path wider? Maybe its just the picture, cause the path in front looks a lot wider. Anyway, its looking great! Thanks for the pictures!

Thanks for the offer to resend, but Im good with them right now. :) Just those ones that I asked last week. I wanna see what people say to a wakeboarding missionary. :) Who was the original person there?

I think my foot problem is just the walking and not washing my toes thoroughly enough. Im thinking about designating a toothbrush to clean my feet in the shower. (complete with toothpaste, for that minty clean feeling between your toes!) :P

Glad you guys are having a good time out on the water without me. *wink wink* But I think I will skip on the decontamination process, that doesnt sound like too much fun.

Dad, you  are completing the mission goal with your 'crescimento real' on slalom skiing. Alisha, Im sorry that skiing didnt end well for you. :(

Sarah, what do you do for work? Thats so awesome that youre keeping busy and making some sweet mulah. :) Do you like your job? Who do you work with? When I was at the vet, I worked alone a lot of the time, its a lot better when you have someone to work with. :)

I saw a sign of a package, white from the US, but it went to Elder Patino. :( Still no sign of mine, but dont worry too much. Im still alive and I still have a bit of peanut butter to last. ;)

Mom, a special note to you. Every day I see different things. Families and things like that, and I am so very thankful to you and Dad for raising me the way you did. I see some things every once in a while that makes me cringe inside. From the profundezas de meu coração... brigadão má! (black/gangster-brasilian version of Thank you very much!)

Okay, onto more exciting news. [name redacted] não se batizou. Oh golly, Im doomed when I get back em casa. Or would it be that you guys are doomed? >:) Anyway, she had a lot of things to do for college, so we couldnt even slip an interview in. This week should be easier and Im hoping very much that we can baptize her.

We also recieved a referral from other missionaries, a recently married couple (9 months) who are just perfect. They are married civilly, so that eliminates the longest wait. They have no addictions, just the traditional coffee habit. Their names are [names redacted], and they like to visit the Lisboa Ward, our vizinha. Other than that, its just teach and baptize. They even want to get sealed! Thats their goal right now, or at least [name redacted]'s goal.

Hey, I gotta go now. Thanks for all the support that you all give me, I really feel that it is helping. Im so glad that you all are well and healthy. :) Say hi to Jeff, Celi, Celine and Kim for me! Love you all!

I just want to close with a few quick things. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is real. It changes the life of anyone with enough faith to experiment and put it in practice. I know that anyone can return to Father's presence with 5 little steps. Faith in Jesus Christ. Repentence, the miracle that makes the biggest difference in us. Baptism, the bath of our spirit. Recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, as a guide for our lives through this troubled world. Lastly, Enduring to the End. Its hard, its long, but we have our Older Brother with us, at our side. He never abandons us, we move away from Him. He always welcomes us back, so much so that He died with His arms open towards us. I know this is true.

~Elder Wille