"A spider tale"

Tudo Bem??!!! This past week FLEW by...this mission is flying by!!!! Last Saturday marked 4 months on the mission! Can you believe it?! the time just flys! Thanks for emailing the photos. I enjoyed them immensely. Send photos of all your adventures!!! So I~m writing a little bit earlier today because in a hour or so us Sisters are headed to Joao Pessoa for ´atividade das sisters´ tomorrow.....pretty much our activity is going to be eating churassaco and playing on the beach. LEGAL eh?! It should be wonderful and relaxing. The sisters only have an activity like this once or twice a year...so it really is a treat! I~ll tell you all about it in the next email...but just think of me tomorrow...while all of you are experiencing the cold, frigid weather of winter..I will be running on the beach!!! We had another baptism yesterday...a boy who is just the cutest thing ever. His brothers are members and he has wanted to be a member for some time...it was our pleasure to baptize him! He came to church with his hair combed and scriptures in hand and was just so excited. As soon as church ended, he jumped to his feet and ran to the baptismal font. It was the most adorable thing ever! I am starting to see what it will be like to be a mother one day. Yesterday in church I sat with 5 kids and trying to keep them all quiet and happy was difficult, but at the same time tons of fun. I brought cookies for them and a book of pictures that I bought in the distribution center of the Sao Paulo temple. They loved looking at all the pictures of Christ and the Prophets. One boy was so excited, when he saw a picture of Christ, that he grabbed the book and bolted down the aisle to show his primary teacher. I love the members here and it definitely feels a lot like I am home. So the missionary work is going well. Sister Leal and I work HARDDD. This last week we walked so much we were literally limping home we were so exhausted....but it is wonderful. We are teaching a few wonderful families right now, but one of our families is requiring a lot more work and patience. The dad drinks and smokes com força and it is destroying his family. He wants to quit so badly and prays for the strength to be able to overcome these addictions, but at the end of the day he yields to the temptations of the devil. It is so sad. I really love this family like they ARE my actual family and spent many nights thinking and praying about what I can do to help them. Please please for my investigators! So remember that spider you brought home from Peru? The HUGE one that looks like it could take on a cat and win? Well I saw one in the flesh this week. We were walking home from an appointment and sister leal pointed to the wall next to me and said `look!´...well when I looked I saw this spider about 3 feet away from me chilling on the wall. It was honestly the size of my hand....NOT JOKING. AS soon as I saw it I let out of scream and ran. I hope i didn~t wake up the people of Sousa with my scream because it was loud...but anyway...you would not believe the size of this spider....it was unreal. I took a picture of it, but the picture doesn~t do it justice. Anyway the elders played with it for a couple minutes and then it ran off. I just hope i never see one of those in my apartment! Well family I hope you enjoy the pictures....hopefully they get to you. I bought a card reader for the camera card and hope to send pictures weekly. Let me know if you get them or not! I~m so happy that you guys are helping out the missionary effort so much in georgia. Treat those missionaries like they are your children...because the people down here are treating me like I am theirs! Obrigada!have a wonderful week!