Oct. 28, 2008

Dear Family,

I got transferred on Saturday. I am one island over from where I was before. Our mission is divided into three geographical zones and it seems that I'm going to stay in Baixada my whole mission. :)

My companion is now Sister De Souza. :) And she is lovely. Both me and Sister F. Souza were transferred on Saturday and we left our poor ward to be opened again by two sisters who don't know what's going on. Cuitadas. But now I'm on the island of Guarujá serving in the ward Boa Esperança--Good Hope. And things are looking up. The sister who was here before, Sister Rocha (who is now in Embaré...), is amazing. She baptized 9 people while she was here. And these people are already making a huge difference in the ward. One is already in the Relief Society Presidency. Another is serving in the Primary. And a family (mom, dad, and 2 kids) were baptized last Thursday. And they're super strong and will make a huge difference, too. So the ward is super excited about missionary work. And my area is more humble and the members are more open and welcoming and perfect.

The only thing that isn't perfect in the ward yet is the missionary's relationship with the bishop. He's a bit difficult but he's a good guy. He's super excited to have me in the ward so I can help with music. So my goal is to win over the bishop. And I've already got some great plans. I'll keep you posted. Since I got here we've found 2 awesome families! Two couples with 5 kids each (at least eight of the ten over the age of eight). And 5 kids is a lot here. People don't usually have that many kids. And they both seemed really interested. It is so wonderful to be able to focus on the work. Sister de Souza and I want to learn the same things and I'm really happy to be with her. We're going to learn a ton and do great things. I'm sorry my reports have been so short recently... but I should be better now.
I love you all.

Whitney