CATCH UP! -- August 11, 2014

FAMILY!  I love you!  I hope things are going well for each and every one of you and that this letter finds you happy!

Shout out to Laura for COMING OUT CHAMPION TO OPEN HEART SURGERY!!!   Woooooooooooo  I love you, Laura!  

This week has been a good one!  Always busy.. darting all around town on foot and bus, but we were able to find some pretty cool people to teach!

2 weeks already have flown by with Elder Boyd.  Haha he's pretty silly (as you can see in the pictures).  It is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l being with an American every now and then because when our brain hurts from thinking/teaching/speaking Portuguese, we can take a break/joke in English.  We like to eat pizza! Holy cow you need to try Brazilian pizza... You can get pizzas with 2098417209754 toppings, and chocolate-stuffed crust.  It's a miracle!

Our district has had some really good success lately!  Attached are pictures of K___ and E_____'s baptism, L____'s baptism, some DELISH "churrasco" (Brazilian BBQ) and some other random happenings this week (like knocking doors in the ghetto!  #sketchy!)

We've got some good things going for us this week, and if not this Sunday, the next should bring a few more "white" photos.

I have a goal to finish the Bible and Book of Mormon this transfer, so I've been reading up a storm, and keep finding little "gems".  Here's one of my favorites from the week:

! Thess. 5: 17  "Pray without ceasing."

I love the simple, yet firm admonition given by Paul, to pray always.  I have such a testimony of prayer - especially prayer of the heart.  I know that Heavenly Father hears each and every one of them.

I am so thankful for this Gospel!  Nothing beats it.  Nothing can lift us out of the dust of despair like the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love you!  Until next Monday (...only 39 more Pdays to go!)

Love,
Jason

Some more random pictures from this week:

Me and Elder Boyd in the ghetto (found a random homemade swing!)

PIZZA

Horses and Donkeys near our house that scared me!

Drinking "Chimarrão" with Keith and Edison (a brazilian herbal tea thing that everyone drinks here!)

One of my FAVORITE families!  They are the ones that we baptized two months ago (they had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday.)  Their lives have changed completely for the better.