June 16, 2011

Oi família!          

I'm glad you liked getting a real letter. I thought you would like that back there at HQ! There is an awesome little candy store by the CTM where we get some snacks so I like to send the wrappers to make you all jealous! :) Mom, don't you worry about sending a real letter, it is fine!  I love your e-mail's.  

It is hard to address everything in your letter here at the CTM because I only have 30 minutes for the mail, but the letters should pick back up in a little bit! And getting real letters is awesome from everyone else! I have gotten a few just in the last week. That was nice of you to sign up for a Mr. Cheneys but I'm not sure how well I could use it, I don't have any email addresses, besides, snail mail is fun with my cool Brazilian envelopes!      

I am doing great! Thank you! I will give Elder Sroka a hug from you for sure, the only reason it would be awkward is because he is 6'6' tall. Ha, so we are the super companionship. He looks for red hair, and I look for the head above all the others! District leader responsibilities are just fine! It really is just a calling to help me grow, I can't think of a better way to gain more love for the others than doing what I'm doing,. Plus,  I have a new goal that every time I pray I must say something that I am honestly grateful for about each one of them. I love this, it is hard when I'm in a hurry sometimes, but it is great. It does cut into language study a little bit, but then I just get to sit by Brazilians at meal time and chat it up! So its all good, besides, right now I am known as the 'walking dictionary' ha.

I do not know my travel plans yet, but I do know that I will be leaving on Tuesday! Sio cool! Legal! I should be able to call I guess. I really don't know until I get there.  We did go to the plicia federal yesterday to tell them that we are 'officially' and 'legally' in the country. I felt like I was in the Ministry of Magic (nerd i know) until we went into the back room and I felt like I was in the underground black market.

That is awesome to hear about your surgery mom.  The blessings of the Lord have truly been poured out upon you.  I am so grateful for this. The Lord promise me that everything would be okay before I left :) It turns out that Sister ------  issue was figured out too, and she is being treated. 

Ashley, sounds like you are really busy, and having a lot of fun!  But I'm having more fun!

I have some quick stories with little time, sorry i didn't get to address the rest, but tell everyone, including the Lundbergs...except for Torr..no Bjorn...that I love them!  I kid, I love them too, someone has got too! piada sem graca!    So we went to downtown Sao Paulo to proselyte last Friday and it was crazy!  It reminded me of New York City, it was just really crazy. We were able to place 7 Book of Mormons and this is just one awesome story.  We stopped to talk to this guy taking a smoke break outside, and got to finding out that he was an agnostic, believed that God isn't really knowable.  He said that he had tried a whole bunch of churches but didn't find the truth. I asked him if he had looked into our church, but he hadn't! So we talked to him about the restoration and atonement for a little bit and he was way happy.  I told him how it was no coincidence that we talked to him today and that he might have given up looking for God, but God had not given up looking for him. Boom! Sold! He is going to investigate since we can't teach him, but he has a number to call.  Another lady... it was our last one and we went to talk to this nice lady at the bus stop. Because we had 5 minutes to get on the bus. Cut to the chase, AS soon as I mentioned the restoration she was a deer in headlights, she was so happy. I told her about the first vision in Portuguese and the spirit was definitely there. I watched her reading and turning a page when we turned the street corner on the bus. :)

I love this work and I love you!

Com Amor 

Elder Dawson