Hello Family!

Well once again its mayhem here because of transfers and such today, but the emails will continue.

First off Grandma and Grandpa, thank you for the email! i am glad tohear that Alysa will be home for Christmas, and i want to wish you a merry christmas as well. I got your package! and as requested, i will wait until christmas to actually open it, i hope i can wait.. but i will i promise! thank you :)

Dad, thank you for the email as well! im glad to hear that you are starting work today, im sure it will be great. also, the christmas party is a perfect way to get to know everyone there, so i am excited for you! im glad to hear the devils are doing well, and also i am extremely excited for the CHRISTMAS CALL!!!!!!!!!!! i will write down those times and try to coordinate it as best as i can, to fit everyones schedule but we will have to see.

ok now to the family letter!!

well first off i want to spill the beans that i am being transfered! to an area called marilia (ma-dee-lee-uh). its in sao paulo, so its going to be extrmely hot, and i hear that depending on the area the ward is going to be amazing, so that is good. i still dont know my companion, or my specific area, but i am leaving on a bus tomorrow at 5 oclock, so i will be emailing you again this week about the specifics for the christmas call. thank you for the information dad, i will use it to try and make it go as smooth as possible. but i am excited! i hear that it is different in são paulo than it is in parana (londrina), people are alot more happier up there, and are just excited, so i am excited to go! i will also scribble some first impressions when i send the next email.

onto this week, well we had christmas conference! there were 98 missionaries there, so basically half of the mission, and it was really good even though it was really only a zone conference, no celebrations really, but there was a white elephant sort of deal! i was literally the last person picked, out of 98 misisonaries, in a random drawing, so i got to choose any present to swap with. and i chose a harmonica, because it was sweet and i love music, only to remember that instruments are not allowed in the mission, so i just gave it to a missionary named elder dewey, who left for home today after 2 years. but it was good! i learned alot. also, every meeting starts with the preach my gospel purpose in english and portuguese, and 2 missionaries, one in english one in portuguese. well i was called to give it in portuguese, it was a little nerve wrecking but it went well! so no complaints

i also got the letter that you guys sent with the voting registration. i will try to mail that as quickly as possible! thank you for it. also thank you for the letter from joe, he didnt give a return address since you guys sent it for him, so unless i hear differently i will just mail a letter in response to our house, and you guys can find him and give it to him, no big deal.

we have a really great baptism story! another baptism for us, but its going to be this saturday after i leave. her name is fernanda, and she is 17 years old. and she had been to church different times, but never had a book of mormon, so we gave her a book of mormon during a lesson with other people as well, and she had to leave early so she left before us, and then we ended up leaving only a few minutes after, and she was in the street walking and reading at the same time, already just going at it to read! and so we invited her to pray about it and everything, and she recieved a response that the book of mormon is true, and now will be baptized this saturday! she is a great story of the power of the book of mormon, and her family has been intersted too, and now i think whoever is here will be able to work with them as well.

about counting baptisms, i have decided to not count. the place in preach my gospel where we write the names of people baptized and confirmed i just covered with a picture of the copenhangen temple. i dont want to count, or make a deal like some other missionaries do about how many people ive baptized, so im just going to do the best i can and be satisfied with it. woo!

well time is cut short today, i am very sorry for that, but i will email again this week! i love you guys, very much, and i am so excited to call! so until later this week, bye!!