Thanks for the emails this week. I´ll be with you all in spirit during Grandpa´s funeral.

Compared to a somewhat rough first week of the transfer, this last week went a lot better. I´m not having to use my little portable map as much, and Elder B.  and I had some great experiences teaching and working with our members. 

Wednesday we had our interviews with President del Guerso. Mine went super fast. No problems? Good! haha But while everyone else was getting interviewed the Assistants gave a training about how our focused needs to be changed. The stats in Brazilian missions are these: during 2013, 44,000 people were baptized. Out of those 44,000, only 4,000 remained active in the church - less than a tenth! What that means is that we´ve got to find those people who are seriously looking for change and a better purpose, and families who´ll stay active together. 

So what Elder B.  and I have been doing is going through everyone we´ve been teaching and seeing if they actually have potential and a desire to progress. Meaning, we´ve had to drop a few people. It´s hard at times, but hopefully in the future they´ll be prepared and ready to accept it. 

Luckily (even though there´s no such thing as luck on a mission), we were able to find a couple families this week. One we contacted a few days ago and yesterday we taught them the Restauration. It´s one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite lesson to teach - there´s so many great things that came because of a young man´s prayer. The family was pretty excited about it, and we committed their son to baptism. The parents are a little hesitant and want to check things out first, but they´re ultimately not disregarding the idea of baptism. 

Saturday night we had our Festa Julina! It´s like a big Harvest festival. People dress up in ^cowboy^ kind of clothing (straw hats, boots, the girls in pig tails) and it´s a bunch of sweets, soda, and corn on the cob. We brought two of our investigators, and they seemed to enjoy it!  They had a ring toss that ripped me off of all my tokens, and then this little kid got up and won no problem - how embarrassing. 

We´re getting fed really well. Today I switched from Frosted Flakes to healthy eggs and toast for breakfast. Elder B.   is teaching me the tools of the trade of going healthy. 

Well that´s about it that happened this week. We´re both working very hard. I know that my year-mark is close (too close), so now´s really the time to shine. 

I´m so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the knowledge, power, and happiness that is in our lives and in the lives of those we love. I´m grateful to know that endings don´t exist, only new beginnings. It´s hard and sad to see Grandpa go, but we know he´s free at last from all of mortal life´s difficulties. I love you all. 

Love Elder Nissinen