So I am in a new area with a new companion and a new zone.

 

Things here are different. Only 14 people in the zone as opposed to 24. And the zone is a stake instead of a district with a larger growth ratio in the last trimester. The stake has had a lot of problems in the past with missionaries and with members but recently has gotten a lot better and is growing a lot.

 

This week I had to say good bye to my district which was pretty hard. It is odd how much friendship you make even when you just see each other once a week when you are all working really hard for one goal. I made the best cinnamon rolls that i have ever made for the good bye district meeting. So many good byes as a missionary.

 

I got a letter from Catherine and 2 from Hannah. Catherine is doing well I guess. She wrote me from the MTC so I dont~know how she is right now haha. But she liked it. Hannah is doing really well. IT was funny because you said she was liking the MTC but she told me she wasn~t really liking it. haha She said the first 3 weeks were like an eternity.

 

I also got your Package which was nice. I loved the chocolate and the notes were fun :)

 

Good to here that SVU gave me some money. I hope that it all works out. I know it will.

 

This week we had a meeting with Presidente Fernandes that was really good. He talked a lot about Planning. Which is something I need to get better at. I get so excited to do something that I forget to plan and my work suffers. He helped alot by talking about vision and how we have to see where we want to go before we can get there.

He really is incredible. He has turned this Mission around. For 10 years the church in this mission was basically dormant. And now it is the mission that grows the most in Brasil. It is incredible to me to see how the Lord put me with a President that helped me work the way I wanted to. He isn~t worried about Baptisms he is worried about real growth. And that is what is happening. The number of priesthood holders and number of people in sacrament meeting went up constantly over the past year. Something that it hasn~t done in a long time. It is cool to see that because sometimes we think that nothing we do makes a difference because no one gets baptized but we know that things are moving forward.

I know that Christ lives and that he loves me. I know that through him we can be perfect and we can be sanctified. I love him.

 

I also love all of you.

 

Elder Noel