Feliz dia das gracas

Things are going great down here. This week was full of tons of work, but with very little results unfortunately. We met and taught a ton of new people, but we only had 2 investigators in church yesterday and very few of our investigators are keeping commitments. I just keep telling myself to keep working hard and the results will come with time. The Lord is the Lord of the harvest and the success comes in His time, not ours. Sister G and I are better than ever though. This is our third transfer together and I´m starting to dread being separated from her. We just have so much fun talking in the street to each other and to other people. Since we´ve been practicing our Spanish recently and at times we start saying things in Spanish and not Portuguese. Luckily people are very forgiving of our langauge capabilities. I´ve definitely decided though that I´m going to be fluent in Spanish when I get back. It is such a ridiculously easy language now that I´ve learned Portuguese. I´ll just have to deal with all the Spanish jokes from my fellow mission buds. Spanish down here is not looked on as a pretty langauge, but it is useful so I´m willing to learn it. My best mission bud, Sister H, is going home in 9 days to Utah and I´m NOT happy about it! We´ve lived together for 7 months and it is just going to be hard to see her go home. The weather down here is heating up big time. The sun has reached the point where you can feel the burn as soon as you step into it. However I continue to count my blessings that I´m in an endless summer....it would be so much worse to preach the gospel in snow! So this past week I woke up and put my foot on the floor to find I had what appeared to be a small splinter-like thing on the bottom of my foot. Knowing that I couldn't walk in the street all day with a splinter I decided to soak my foot immediately and take it out. After soaking my foot I took a small pair of scissors to the bottom of my foot where the area was swollen and puffy. After cutting a few little holes I picked up my tweezer to remove the splinter and the ``white puss`` that was near it. Well it turns out the splinter and the puss were none other than a tiny worm rolled up under my skin. With one move of the tweezers he came completely out, rolled up in a ball. I would of been so grossed out if it wasn't so cool! It definitely is super super gross and a proof that I´m living in a 3rd world country, but at the same time how many people can say they found a worm growing under their foot? Ahh the wonderful mission stories! Anyway I´m worm-free now so don´t worry. I´m pretty sure I´ll pick up another one before I leave because there really isn't anything I can do to prevent it. I already use shoes all the time and wash my feet several times a day so let's just pray that I don't get another one! Besides that though the week was pretty normal. Our water went out again a few times (I really don't know how these people live without running water for a few days every week!) and our energy went out as well, but not for very long. I was a little ready to go back home this week when I was sitting on my mattress on the floor, studying and a mouse ran in and hid in the dresser on the side of my bed and refused to come out. I decided to go to bed and prayed that I wouldn't have anything attack me during the night. I woke up and was fine, just had a huge cockroach on the side of my bed. BUT I´m very grateful that Heavenly Father sent me to a mission like this one. I needed to be humbled. I needed to just realize all the blessings I had before the mission....and I needed to realize poor people are just as happy as rich people. Last night we were visiting one of our recent converts and she said she just felt so grateful for the things she has and felt so bad for the people in Africa. While she was saying this I was just in amazement. She lives in a house that only recently has a new concrete floor and the walls are clay bricks pieced together with concrete....it is an extremely poor living situation and I was just in awe that she felt so blessed. I can definitely learn to be more grateful for the things I have. As we talked with her we watched her dog, cat, and monkey all eat together on the same plate...beans and rice of course. somethings you can only see in Brazil! Well I hope you all are great and that you have a wonderful thanksgiving! Read President Monson´s talk from conference about gratitude....it is awesome! Speaking of being grateful I would like to say very fast a few things I´m grateful for! I´m grateful for being a missionary! I´m grateful that I´m serving in João Pessoa, Brazil with these amazing people. I´m grateful for a wonderful companion and for a wonderful mission president! I´m grateful that the members feed us everyday and I´m very grateful I haven´t gotten dengue fever! I´m grateful for a living prophet and for general conference talks that inspire and motab choir music that edifies. I´m grateful for my Savior and for his obedience to His Father and His love for us. Finally, I´m grateful for you all, my special family and for the temple sealing we have. Happy THanksgiving to all! Eat some turkey and stuffing for me!!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!