Hey guys!

More Pizza!!!!

Sorry for the last-minute notice on the switch. On Monday we had 14 missionaries leaving and all hanging out in the office, and everything was just crazy. I had interviews with President Del Guerso this week too, and we talked about the work in the office. About 6 months ago, pday for all the secretaries was Saturday, because a lot of the work we do in the office involves Church Headquarters, Real Estate places, and the Government - who all close on Saturdays. So President switched it all to Saturday! I´m actually pretty happy now because I´ll have a true Pday without having half the mission calling on Monday, my new workday. 

We had a GREAT week!!! I got two experiences this week that I want to share

On Tuesday we had half of the group going home in the evening, and throughout the afternoon they were making sure all their luggage was under the weight limits. One Elder was going home by Azul, an airline owned by a member of the Church, and who also has a new contract with the Church to give more weight to missionaries going home. So I told the Elder to make sure everything was under 63kg (138lbs), and he packed his bags and went off to the airport. That night I get a phone call from the airport payphone from this Elder, nervous as heck because the airline lady wasn´t letting him take home anymore weight than any average flyer. He was super panicky, which made me panicked. The Elder´s minutes ran out at the payphone, so there was no way to call him back. And I had no idea what to do. So I went back to our room, knelt down and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to soften someone´s heart to let this Elder get home with his luggage. I went back to my computer desk, and less than a minute later the Elder calls back, still frantic, but gave me the number of someone I could talk to. I called the number, and it was a guy named Claudio, who works for Azul at the airport. I explained that we were from the Church and the situation, and Claudio accepted it and let the Elder pass with his luggage. And then Claudio asked me, "You know, I´ve always wanted to get to know your church better. Is there a chapel of yours close to where I live?" Claudio gave us his address, and we passed it to the missionaries of his area. The guy was super nice. And I know that that was an answer to my prayer. I KNOW God hears and answers the prayers of His children.  

From the left: Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), Rondônia (also Brazil), and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and then me haha. That´s the office staff! 

And yesterday, man, it was so good to have a devotional with Elder Christofferson. You know you can actually FEEL it when an Apostle enters in a room? For many Brazilians in the chapel, it was the first time they had seen an Apostle up-close. One thing he said that stuck out was "You can learn a lot from people who´ve had to rely soley on faith in Jesus Christ." He´s super humble, and they way he talked you could tell every word was treated like coming from the Lord himself. It was great for the whole mission.

We had an English school contact me and the American AP here and invite us to go and do open up a panel for questions about the United States and our religion - all in English. It was something to help the Brazilians open up and to use their language skills they´ve been practicing. So we had to speak for two hours in just English! And afterwards, I was with a headache for the rest of the day, I swear! But we found some great people we´re gonna start working with next week once they get back out of town. English is hard

Hope you all have a great week!! This Church is TRUE!

Love Elder Nissinen