May 11, 2015

Hey Everybody!

This week was pretty crazy! I was able to celebrate my birthday, have a baptism, send a missionary home and have an awesome exchange with one of my zone leaders.

This week was the last week of the mission for my companion Elder Machado. He was a great companion for me. I learned so much from him. He was such a genuine and loving person, All of the members felt like he was a part of their family and were very sad to see him leave. He taught me the importance of loving others and getting to know them personally so you can teach them the Gospel in a way that will help them the best. Last night we said a final goodbye and he left to stay in the mission home for the night. It was a little strange to be sending someone home when it feels like I have just started my mission.

This Friday, on my birthday, we were able to have a baptism! It was a great experience and i think that Marcos really enjoyed it. Unfortunately though there were no members at the baptism. One thing we need to help the wards with is welcoming new people and making them feel at home. But the baptism was good and afterward I went on exchanges with Elder Rocha. Elder Rocha is awesome! He is one of my zone leaders and is such a great example of a good missionary. A lot of the missionaries here in Brazil use the laid back culture as a little bit of an excuse to be relaxed about studies, work and rules in general. But when I am with him we work hard, and I can feel the spirit so strongly. He is also super nice. He found out it was my birthday so for dinner he took me to this all you can eat pizza place. Because it was my birthday my meal was free! I had 14 pieces of pizza... it was so good. And as we were about to leave some of the workers came out and started singing happy birthday to me. They were shouting and beating drums it was pretty crazy! It was nice to have such a good birthday while I was on the mission and the best part was just working hard with Elder Rocha!

Last night we found out about transfers. My new companion is Elder Tibbetts and I will be staying here in Pedra Noventa. I have heard that he is a hard working and obedient missionary, so I hope that this next transfer will be a good one! I love you all and hope that you all have a good week!

 Love,

Elder Rice