June 3,2013

Hey Pops,

I have a story to tell you. To save time i copied it from my email to mom. It took me about an hourt to write to mom today. I felt kind of bad since she repeatedly said i never write anything to her. The worst part is that its true. I will get better about that.

So we went to visit this young man that was inactive for a while and is in the process of reactivation. We arrived at his house and saw a woman and children we didnt recognize. We greeted them upon entering and i noticed the womans movements were inhibited in some form. She spoke little and what she did speak was a mumble. As we walked inside we greeted the many people that where in the house. Sitting down on the couch we asked to everyone to listen to our message. The boys mother and her boyfriend that lives there, his grandma, and one other woman were there. The other woman went to go and get the lady that was outside the house that we greeted before walking in. She came in a very clumbsy manner. I percieved that the right side of her body was not functioning well. As she struggled to do simple movements like putting one foot in front of the other they explained that she was from a city in the amazons and was here for treatment. She had a vein explode in her head and was paralyzed. She was already improving but still in bad shape. She could understand everything but cant remember how to express herslelf. The young man said after she had sat down on the opposite couch that she wanted a blessing. I requested that she wait until after the lesson. So we started teaching about the plan of salvation. It was received well but was obvious that nobody was truly paying attention. I got a little frustrated and had to speak louder and louder as they kept talking. My companion had desisted completely and just let me talk as he is quieter than i am. So finally the lesson ended and we said the prayer and told everyone to visit our church. We invited them to pray and see that it is the true church. We prepared to leave and got our things together and Diego (the young man) reminded us of the blessing. As my companion annointed the woman i prayed that during the blessing the spirit would touch those in the room providing a witness of the veracity of the church. During that blessing my prayer was answered. I stumbled through the first part as i usually do but when i listened to the spirit speak through me i couldnt help but cry. The spirit of the Lord descended and touched me very strongly. The words i said in that blessing reminded Edna (the woman) that her Savior loves her and suffered for her. He knows her every pain and affliction and is waiting to comfort us. All we need to do is pray. As i ended the blessing i opened my eyes and saw everyone in the room wiping away tears. I shook everyones hand still teary myself and left. I know that i was in the right place in the right time. I know that Heavenly Father put that woman in the right house. This sunday Diego said that Edna has not once let go of the Book of Mormon we gave her. She says that she has so much to say but cant say it. I am very excited to go back to talk to them again.

In other news i got hit with a bacterial infection and have been pretty sick the past week. Fortunately i got some meds and am feeling much better today. I was able to work everyday however tired i was. Congratulations on your mighty fishing skills ;) Those halibut should be good eating. That sounds like an excellent mission plan. We do similar things like that on our mission. Unfortunately for brazil we baptize very few people per month. Usually around 60 people. the average for brazil is about 200. Although one of the missions in the amazons is baptizing about 1000 per month. Its incredible.

I always wanted to go on a trek. I never did have the opportunity. Oh well im glad my siblings have the opportunity that i did not. Ive heard you are putting in a walk in shower. That should be fun. Good luck with that. As for me we should be alright with our one bathroom for four guys. The showers here suck. They just have an exposed wire that heats the water. If you move the tempeature while the water is running it burns the wire. Ive broken two showers that way and they just now explained it to me. Anyway it was nice to hear from you and to know that you are doing well. Love you Pops :)