Megan's Mission

Oi! It´s already November! I can´t believe it. Sorry, no Halloween photos, it doesn´t exist here! It´s funny because THanksgiving is definitely an American tradition too and so the people have already skipped over to Christmas. :) How was Halloween for everyone down there?!! Pictures are always appreciated :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER GREG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can´t believe you´re already 26 you old geezer! haha just kidding :) Hope it was wonderful! also want to send you a letter that´s sealed and ready to send off (not sure how long it will take to get there) but I need your address. I wasn´t sure if you´ve moved or not since the last time I got it.

Mom, Sounds like an awesome set of missionaries down there. That´ll be an amazing baptism to witness. Transformation is a good word for it. Something that starts on the inside, but starts to show on the outside after a little while. I can´t believe there´s only 6 kids in Primary. Whew! Many just go with what´s easiest and do reject the gospel, but Like you said mom, God is merciful with those who don´t completely understand. Also I hope when I purchase things that it doesn´t charge too much to switch from dollars to Reais!

Dad, I only remember what cold is because that´s the temperature of the water here. haha That was the only option until President Bonini made warm water available through a fancy device thing that they plug in. wow! That´s cool that the Elders use music. We sing a hymn to open every lesson and my mp3 is always playing when we´re preparing for bed each night so I sing along :) I´m memorizing hymns in Portuguese so when we sing them while we´re walking down the street, the people can understand us :) Still LOVE music :) I´ll try to remember our family songs, sadly some things are escaping my memory! Leaves are changing colors....what? haha 30 degrees would be excruciating for me now I think. hahah

SOOO, Lucia and Caue are preparing to be baptized this Saturday!! Sister Alcocer gave her a skirt and some shoes she wasn´t using so she could feel more comfortable at church. She loved it! Truly special lady. And Caue´s reading skills are improving as he reads a couple sentences with us in the Book of Mormon ever day, and we leave an assignment for him to read while we´re gone.

We found another family, Família Neves, they´re married! And have 4 kids, 2 of which are already members. The Lord wants them back that´s for sure because He sent us! They´re awesome. THe dad already knows the Book of Mormon is true, and the spirit was definitely there in the first lesson. WE´re hoping that they, the família Silva (Otasilho and Cosminha) and Lucia and Caue can all come to a Noite Familiar at the house of Elder and Sister Seganti. They´re like a long lost aunt and uncle. Love them!

Sister Alcocer and I are doing well. I´m learning so much from her. She´s an AMAZING missionary and has a great determination to learn english, so during language study we do work, then switch to correct each other. It works great! haha

Got a new bag! (better to use due to all the walking we do) It has the symbol and theme of the mission on it. "Começar com o resultado final em mente" which means Start with the final result in mind, meaning the TEMPLE!

Walking around Palmarim (sneaky photo!)

Starving and ready to eat lunch with our Branch president Maia and his wife

I gotta say, the Lord is doing an amazing work. He does so much more than we ever do. He continues working even after we leave in extraodinary ways. Each person we talk with leads to another person and another and another, in a network that only God can see. He has a plan. He gives every one of His children a clear chance to know the truth. He loves us that much! Show your faith, ask Him, and He´ll tell you. That´s a guarantee.

Read your scriptures daily, pray individually and as a family, be an example, love everyone, serve, be obedient, and be HAPPY!

-- Love always and forever

Sister Harston