Week Ninety Four

Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 10:15 AM

Hi Mom!

So this week was lots of work, with a zone conference training to prepare and new people to find. We didn´t have as many people as we wanted at sacrament meeting, but we´ve been talking to a lot of people and hope that we can find those that the Lord is preparing. This month´s been kinda slow for the whole zone, but we´re still working really hard to find people to teach and baptize. It´s just kinda tough when you´re used to having lots of people to teach.

How´s Nick? I haven´t heard from him since he got into the field. I´m sure he´s doing great, I just wanted to know how he´s doing, who his trainer is and all that. Do you know when his P-day is? I´m assuming it´s monday but who knows, and with the time difference he may not have gotten online yet. I´m sure he´ll write soon though.

Things around here are pretty much the same, too. We had to go to the dentist in Curitiba again, but he marked his next appointment for after the transfer, and I´m positive that we won´t be companions after this one, just for the amount of time we´ve already been working together. I´m not too worried about the transfer yet though, because we´re only about halfway through, but it goes so fast that it´s gone before you know it. We´re already into the last week of May, pretty much (I go by Sundays)! But we´re still doing our best and working hard.

 Is everything squared away? I still can´t believe I´ll be studying in New York! I´m really excited, but I really need to focus. Staying here another transfer has really stretched me a lot, because there are a lot of challenges to face being a zone leader here and working in the ward. Add having the same companion for three transfers and it makes things interesting, but I´m doing my best to stay positive and to keep working like I always do. No matter what happens, I´m going to keep spreading the gospel the best way I know how. I hope everything´s going well mom and that you guys are safe and happy. If I can do anything, let me know! Love you and have a great travel-free week!

Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad!

No worries, I´m trying not to think about it either but at times it gets tough. P-days are usually the trunkiest, so I´m already kinda geared up for it. But things are going well, and I´m glad you guys got to talk to Nick before he left! That´s so cool, and so cool that you got to meet one of the missionaries he was with. I hope you guys get to meet some of my companions, too; have any of them tried to get into contact with you? Most of them are either brasilian or still on the mission, but who knows.

Things here are a little slow, but we´re finding some good people to teach and are working hard to get them to sacrament meeting. That´s our big trouble lately, because we have some really good investigators
that just aren´t coming to church! President Cordon talked to us about that and how important it is to go and get them to take them to church, and how important it is to work with the less-active members, so we´re working hard to put those things in practice as quickly as possible. His training at Zone Conference was about that again, so I´m hoping the missionaries will listen to them better than they listen to me. One of the challenges I´m having here in the zone is that there are missionaries that don´t really care what we as leaders have to say, so we´re trying to see how we can get through to them. I´m not going to say it´s easy, but I know that the lord is helping me to grow through this experience.

I´m still doing fine, so don´t worry about me. I think Nick´s the one who should be getting packages anyway, seeing as he just got out. I´m already old so I don´t need mail. Other than email that is :) But we´re doing good, and I´m praying that this week we can soften the hearts of the people here and help the ward to grow. We´re going to work more with the leadership to see if we can help the retention stay high, and to help the stake as a whole grow. We´re still working hard, and I know we´ll be blessed! I love you dad, and I´m thankful for all of the things you guys do for me. Have a great week, and keep me posted on what´s happening!!!! Love you!!!!!!!


Love, Eric

Week Ninety Three

Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 11:07 AM

Hi Mom!

Happy Mother´s Day! I forgot to tell you that yesterday.

The call was great, huh? But so short! I can´t believe that was the last one, but like you said, we´ve still got a lot to do before the end. This week was pretty rough for finding people, and knowing we had the call made it a little hard to focus, but we still found some great people who are progressing really well. One couple is doing great, but they need to get married and I´m not sure how they feel about that. We´re going to keep focusing on that and work to make sure that they get the chance to partake in all of the blessings of the gospel. 

We climbed the hill in Matinhos again today, and I made it up in 17 minutes! I was pretty proud of myself, seeing as the first time I think it took me like a half an hour to make it. Going down was pretty hard because it had rained last night and it was muddy, but I didn´t fall and I didn´t get my white shorts dirty:) Pretty good huh?

Here it´s starting to get cold, but it´s way worse in Curitiba; yesterday it got down to freezing! I´m glad I´ll be leaving winter here to summer there. I think I´m going to suffer too if I go back to Curitiba next transfer, because July´s the worst part of winter. But either way, it´ll be good; I´m curious to see what´ll happen but I´m going to focus on this transfer for now.

I love you guys and I´m so grateful for everything you do for me and for Nick. I hope you guys are being blessed as richly as I am! Have a great week Mom and let me know what I can do to help! Love you mom!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hi Dad, 

It was great talking to you guys yesterday, it seemed like forever that we´d seen each other, and the next time will be for real! But I´m not thinking about that right now, we´ve got lots of work to do here. We found some great people last week, but they couldn´t come to church because of mother´s day. This week, though, things are going to start picking up again, I can feel it. Some of the areas that were a little slower last transfer are getting better, and we´re working to keep the momentum going with everybody. It´s not easy, but we have to work that way, because we don´t have a lot of areas. With big zones, it´s easier to baptize a lot because you have areas that can pick up the slack, but when there aren´t a lot you´ve got to keep going with all of them at once. We´ve been doing well so far, but we need to work really hard in these next two weeks if we want to have a good month.

Nick goes into the field today! How crazy is that? I´m really proud of him though and I know that you guys helped him a lot. I´m sure he´s going to do great.

Congratulations on your first season as head coach dad! You did incredibly I´m sure, and I know that you´re only going to keep improving with time. Are you going to do camps or anything this summer?

We climbed the hill again in Matinhos, and I got up there pretty fast this time! It was fun, but I´m pretty sure I´m going to be wiped out by the end of today. We´ll be working no matter what happens, though, so I´ve gotta man up and get ready! But I love you dad and I´m really grateful for everything you guys do for me. I can feel the support you give us, and it makes all of the difference in the world. The days when my back hurts, I´m tired and I feel like my legs can´t carry me any farther, I know it´s you guys that are giving me the strength to take the next step. Have a great week dad, I love you!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety Two

Monday, May 07, 2012 9:01 AM

Hi Mom!

It´s so crazy that we´re at call time again! I get to use skype again, and I was thinking about 5pm our time here, which is 1pm there I think. What time is it there now? Here it´s almost 1pm. Either way we´ll make it work. 

So I´m going to stay one more transfer in Paranaguá and one more transfer with Elder Lima. That will make 4 transfers here in total, 3 with Elder Lima. I really wasn´t expecting that outcome, but it seems like most of the mission stayed put this transfer, which means HUGE changes are coming in the next. For now, I´m going to keep working. I know that God knows what´s best and that President Cordon is inspired, so I´m not worried. I know we´ll keep finding people and that they´ll accept our message.

Am I accepted for sure now? How much is the work study? How much are the loans? I guess we can talk about that on Sunday, but I´m hoping to find some work up there too, along with the work study. I knew that it would be pretty expensive, but I never could guess. Are you guys still claiming me on your taxes? I´ll have to take out a few loans then it looks like. But I know that I can do it. My patriarchal blessing says that I´ll gain wisdom from on High to be able to be successful in what I choose to do, so I know that I´ll get the help I need. 

They beat Naches! That´s awesome, it sounds like dad really has been working hard with the guys! I hope they go far, that would be so cool. Either way I won´t get to watch it, but I´m so glad they´re doing well. And it sounds like you might get some time to relax without travel, that must be nice too. I love P-days because they seem to come just at the right time. Today I´m pretty exhausted, so I´m glad to be able to spend some time doing nothing. Until 6pm at least :)

I´d send the stuff to the mission home for Nick, because he won´t be at the MTC for that long and if it gets caught up in the mail you might miss him. Ask him what he thinks, but that´s my opinion. I had some stuff to do for the mission office last week so I couldn´t email him, but I already sent him one today. It sounds like he´s doing great.

I can´t believe this Sunday we´ll be talking again!!!!! I´m so excited. I´ve got a lot of questions, but I think I´ll save them so we have something to talk about on the call. Let me know if I need to do anything else, and thank you so much for all of the help and support! I love you guys so much and am so excited to talk to you soon! Have a great 5 days!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

So transfers were really uneventful: I´m in the same area with the same companion, and only two missionaries left the zone. We were expecting big changes, but a majority of the mission stayed the same, which means a LOT is going to change next transfer. I´m going to keep doing what I always do, though; so far it´s been working pretty well.

I can´t believe we´re at the last call already! It´s so crazy to think of where we all were the first time around. As far as my flight, Elder Croskrey (who left with me) said they managed to get us seats next to each other the whole flight! I´m excited because our missions have been really similar: we trained at about the same time, became district leaders together and were called to be zone leaders at the same time, as well. I really wanted to be his companion, but either way we´re great friends. It´s so cool the brotherhood that forms on the mission; it´s almost like being in the army I´d imagine. But there´s still a lot of work to be done, so I´m going to keep on focus and pushing until the end. Or at least until Sunday; I think I have the right to get a little trunky then. 

Congratulations on the win against Naches! That´s so awesome. I hope you guys keep going far and that the team gives it their all. Are there any ego problems? I hope not. In anything, it seems like pride is the biggest stumbling block. But I know you´re doing great as the coach and it seems to be working out. Good luck this week, and thanks for everything you do! Love you dad! See you in 5 days!!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety One

Monday, April 30, 2012 8:12 AM

Hi Mom!

Crazy huh? The time´s really passing, but I´m doing my best to stay focused. The secretaries called us last week asking which airport we wanted to fly into, and that was really crazy for me! That means that pretty soon you guys should be getting a letter with my itinerary- how nuts is that? I´ve still got plenty of gas though, and I´m going to keep working hard no matter what happens. We hear the transfer call tonight, so we´re not sure exactly what´s up for us, but either way I´m ready to keep working.

Haniel´s baptism was great! There were actually quite a few people there, and he was so excited that when I gave him the clothes to try on, he wanted to get baptized right then! He liked it a lot though, and it was a great feeling to see how our hard work pays off and how much that these people need us. I just talked to him on the street, offered to share our message and he accepted- that simple! It´s amazing how the Gospel can touch peoples hearts.

We´re teaching a few people who aren´t legally married- that´s a tough one here, because it´s expensive and takes a long time. Here in Paranaguá it´s not too bad, really, only 15 days, but in Curitiba it can take a whole transfer, which is tough on us. We´re really hoping that they feel the need to get married though, they´re such great people and the members of the ward like them a lot. We´ll see what happens; there´s one couple who´s part member, and it seems like the husband (who´s already a member) is really committed to coming back to church. That´ll help the whole marriage process go better.

If I do leave this area, I know that I didn´t leave it without a group to teach. It´s been a rough ride at some times here, but overall looking back on what I´ve done I feel good and that I did my best. Some of our recent converts are having troubles, but we´re working with the ward to keep them active. That seems to be the toughest part here in Brasil, keeping them coming to church after baptism. The ward really needs to work with them, and sometimes they just can´t seem to. It´s worrying me a lot, but we´re doing our part.

Mindy´s theme´s not too formidable; I´ve already taught so many youth about modesty that it´ll be a snap. Here in Brasil´s about 50,000 times worse, especially where I´m at. It seems like the guys don´t own shirts and the girls asked their baby sisters if they could borrow their clothes. No worries, I think I can handle it.

I´m glad Nick´s trip worked out and that everything´s going well. Have you heard from him? I´m going to send him an email here pretty quick, but I have to send a bunch of pictures to the mission office first- they´re evaluating the houses and here in the interior it´s a lot more complicated.  Things are going great here, and I´m so excited to be able to talk to you guys again NEXT WEEKEND!!! I hope you´re doing great and aren´t working too hard. Let me know what´s up and how everyone´s doing! Love you Mom and have a great week! Love you!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

Weird that you guys now have to write two emails, huh? But everything´s going well here, our baptism was great and this month every area in the zone baptized again! It was pretty hard work but we managed to pull it off, even if it wasn´t exactly what we were expecting. We had some troubles with following up with investigators in the zone, and that made things a little more difficult, but in the end every companionship had a baptism this transfer, which is something that´s only happened one other time in the mission- in our zone this last february! We worked really really hard this transfer and it paid off again, something that Elder Lima taught me in our time together. We hear the transfer call tonight, and I´m not sure what´s up, but I´ll be sure to let you know as soon as I can.

I´m glad Nick´s trip worked out- his was a little easier than mine though, I think. 17 hours of flight is pretty tiring. Speaking of planes, the secretaries called to see which airport I wanted to fly into, and I told them Spokane, just to go full circle. I think they should be sending you my itinerary here in a month or two. Not too soon, I hope! It´s crazy how the time flies.

I can´t believe the team´s doing so well, and that the season´s almost over! It seems like yesterday you were talking about how practices were starting. But it´s great to see the people you lead grow and progress, huh? That´s been a great privilege of mine. Some of the people I´ve lead are zone leaders now, and that´s such a cool thing to see. I feel like my companion and I have had a direct part of the progress of some of the Elders and Sisters in this mission, and that´s something that´s really special to me.

Mother´s day´s almost here! We´ll have to see if I´ll be in a new area, but either way it´ll be great. I´m ready to keep working really hard while I still have the time, and here in the area we have a lot of people to teach who have a lot of potential. I´m excited to see what´s in store for us here, but I  think the zone´s going to have a lot of changes. I´ll keep you updated. Keep doing great dad, and let me know how I can help! Have a great week!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Ninety

Monday, April 23, 2012 11:06 AM

Hi Mom!

This week was really crazy,but I think that it´s safe to say that this week´s going to be even crazier. We´re at the end of the transfer now and our baptism this week didn´t work out, but he´s preparing himself for this Sunday, and we´re really excited because he came to church again and liked it a lot. Not exactly like we´d planned it but it´ll all work out in the end. That´s great that the missionaries are working with part member families, I like those a lot because I see how hard it is to stay strong in the gospel by yourself. Most people can´t do it.

I can´t believe Nick´s on his way out!!! Holy cow, time sure did go by fast. Grandmother sent me a picture and Nick looks enormous. I think he´s going to end up losing a lot of weight too, with all of the sun and the lack of weightlifting (don´t tell him I said that). I´m sure your talks were great and that everything´s going to go fine. How do you think it´s going to be when I get back? I haven´t really thought too much about that.

The missionaries are doing a little better, but I still get worried that they aren´t having the success that they should. This city´s one that should always be baptizing, even the President said, but it seems like some of the missionaries aren´t convinced of that. I´m working hard to finish the transfer off strong, and we´ll see what happens next week, but either way we all have to give it our all if we want things to go well. 

Elder Medeiros got his shorts; you should be getting a letter soon. Hope you can read his handwriting. Things are going well here, we just have to go at it with all we´ve got, because the month´s almost over and we´ve only got a few more chances to hit our goals! I´m doing my best and I hope you guys are doing well, because I can´t think of what else I can do to give more of me. I hope that everything isn´t stressing you out too much mom, just remember that it goes by fast. Look how fast it´s gone for me! I love you mom, and I´ll let you know how everything goes next week! Love you!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

How crazy is it that Nick´s out on Wednesday! We´ve had a few missionaries leave in this stake in the past few weeks, and it´s crazy to think that Nick´s on his way now! I remember when he first started talking about it, and now it´s finally here! But I´m glad you guys got to have such great experiences with him this last week, and I´m sure this week´s going to be the same, if not better.

This week was crazy, and this week´s going to be crazier. We have a ton of interviews to do, a bunch of service projects and who knows what else to do,plus this is the last full week of the transfer, so we´re all a little on edge I think. We´ll see what happens, but I´m positive that we´re going to baptize this weekend. We´re working so hard that I´m sure the Lord´s going to bless us for it like He has in the past. I´ve gained a really strong testimony of that in the time that I´ve been with Elder Lima, so that´s been great.

The missionaries are the same, but I´m still doing my best to help them out. I can´t give up on them, and I´ve got to magnify my calling, so we´ll keep doing what we´ve been doing and keep setting the example. We´ve got some great people to teach so we´ll keep showing them that it´s possible, especially in this zone. This week should be good, and I´ve just got to keep the faith up so that they can see it. Things will be nuts, but they seem to run better that way,haha. I hope everything´s good, and let me know what´s up and how everything goes with Nick! Have a great week Dad!!!!! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Eighty Nine

Monday, April 16, 2012 10:53 AM

Hi Mom!

I´m good, but this week was the same for me: long and fast at the same time. I can´t believe we´re already halfway through April! And Nick´s almost gone! Where did the time go? But either way, we´re working really hard and have a baptism marked for this weekend! The guy came to church for the first time yesterday and is progressing a lot, so I´m almost positive it´ll all work out great. Which is good, because this month´s been tough for the mission so far and I need to do my part.

Are you better now? Being sick is such a pain. I´m glad I haven´t gotten sick yet on the mission. My companions have but I haven´t. Of course, we´re coming into winter again (even though it doesn´t feel like it here) so we´ll see. I doubt it though. I´ve always been pretty resistent it seems.

I got a scholarship already? Cool! Don´t worry about money, I don´t think I´ll need any anytime soon. The money the mission gives us should be enough to get by until the end. Crazy that I can actually say that, but I think it´s true, it comes right when we need it. 

Is Nick leaving from Spokane or Portland? I think I´m going to come back to Spokane, just to finish it how I started, but I´m still thinking. I want to know what you guys think too, of course. How´s everything going? Dad sounds busy as always; is the team doing well? He says they are but I want to hear your opinion. I need to be a better leader here, and I need to earn the respect of these missionaries. That´s really the key in any leadership position: example. I´m going to work harder to show them how serious I am about the work and how much I love it. I hope that will make the difference. Like dad said, I don´t think I got the patience I needed to be a leader here genetically, so I´m going to have to pray for it.

Everything´s great here, I´m doing everything I can as always, but I´m committed to doing more this week. I´ll let you know what happens! Good luck with all of the trips, and I´ll talk to you soon! Love you and have a great week!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

How are you? I can´t believe the time is moving so fast! I remember when Nick told me he´d be going on a mission, I was so shocked! And now he´s almost out. SO crazy! But it´s going to be awesome, and I know he´ll do great. And mother´s day´s almost here again! So much to do and the time´s running out.

The Elders are having some troubles here, mostly because they don´t respect me or my companion as leaders. I´m going to have to pray for patience, because this week really messed with my nerves. I feel like I have to force people to want to have success, and I thought that I´d gotten over that phase as a leader. Unfortunately, God knows where I need to improve and is constantly sending me opportunities to do so; I just need to have the faith and humility to be grateful for that. I´m sure as a coach that´s the same deal. But there´s always another chance to get back up when we get knocked down, so I´m going to keep going and keep setting the example. If not, they´ll actually have the right to get on my case, when right now they´re just complaining for nothing.

I´m grateful for the example you guys always showed me, and hope you know that I´m leading the way you taught me to, Dad. Maybe not as well as you do, but I´m trying to be a knock off of the original. It´s been working so far, so I´m going to keep having faith in that! Next week I should have a baptismal picture to send you! We´re working really hard and finding some great people, so I´ll keep you posted. I love you Dad, and thanks for everything! Have a great week!!!!! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Eighty Eight

Monday, April 09, 2012 7:45 AM

Hi Mom!

Happy Easter! I hope yours was good! Ours was normal; holidays on the mission are pretty uneventful. But it was really cool to have a testimony meeting for Easter, it seemed to get everyone in the spirit of things and I´m hoping it inspires everyone to get involved more.

The ward´s hurting for people to serve, and we´ve got so many recent converts that it´s hard for us to keep track of them all! I guess that´s not too bad of a problem, but sometimes it gets stressful.

The family that Elder Gill and I reactivated are still going strong, and on the 26th of May they´re going to be sealed!!!! I´m so excited; I think we´ll have interviews with President on wednesday so I´m going to ask him permission to go for sure. I never thought I´d be able to see a sealing on my mission of people I taught, but I really am grateful that I met them.

Things are going well, but the mission´s struggling a bit. The last two weeks we only had 17 baptisms in total (this week was the first week since the middle of January that the zone didn´t baptize).  We´ve got some great families we´re teaching, but everyone was traveling this weekend so it was pretty tough. Plus, they have to get married, which is a long process here, but they´re progressing really well, so we´re not giving up on them. We´ve got to find some new people, so that´s our next priority. Talking to people on the street and knocking doors. One of our most recent baptisms was a contact like that, so I know it can work. I´m really just excited to be here, and each day that passes I´m grateful for the opportunity that our family had to find the Gospel.

Think of where we´d be without it!

I´m glad things are busy; the time flies when we´re working hard. In four weeks we´ll talk again! Isn´t that nuts? I´m excited to keep working and to see what these next months have in store for me. I want to keep the standard high here in Paranaguá, and the missionaries are now pretty settled and working hard. I´d say that now we can start seeing the miracles that come from hard work, and I think that this week´s really going to show that. I´ll keep you guys filled in on the details! The cake turned out awesome too! The details are incredible!

I think this week I should get some recipes for some little finger food desserts, so next week I´ll send them to you (I´m thinking about selling them at college for parties and stuff. Gotta make money in any way possible, right?). You can try them out there and see how they turn out! I hope everything´s great, and I can feel you guys supporting me every day. I love you and I hope you know that I know that our Savior lives and that He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. President Cordon invited us to bear our testimonies more often, so I´m trying to put it in practice. But I know that without Him, we´d be hopeless, and that our love for Him is demonstrated in our actions. I´m glad you guys are getting ready to go to the temple more often, and I know you´ll see the blessings that come from that.

Have a great week mom, keep me filled in, and I´ll let you know how awesome this week was! Love you!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

I´m so glad the experience at the temple was so good and I´m glad you guys are getting ready to go more often. I really miss being able to go to the temple being in Paranaguá, but I´m glad that we even have the chance to go in our mission. I bet Nick´s really going to feel it not being able to go. I´m glad a lot of people were there too, and that you took advantage to spend time together. I can´t believe he´s almost out! That´s so crazy! And in 4 weeks, we get to talk again! The time´s going by so fast that I almost miss it. We´ve got a lot of work this week; we need to find new people and really get going, because the mission´s been struggling. This week we only had nine baptisms, and last week only eight. In the whole mission! That´s not acceptable, in all honesty. We´ve got almost 90 areas open and only 9 baptisms? I got mad at myself, but I´m ready to get going and to find those people that are ready to hear the Gospel.

It sounds like you guys are busy as always, which is great, and I know how you feel. We went to Curitiba last week: got up at 4;30 and got back at 8:00. That threw my weekend off, but we still managed to work
well. We´ve got some great families to teach and a few good guys who are mission age too. It´s going to be good this week, I can feel it. The whole zone has people to baptize, and when they do all of the areas in the zone will have baptized again! We made mission history the last time, and we´re about to do it again, all in one week! It´s so great to be a part of this work and to see so many miracles
happening.

I´ll have more to tell you guys next week for sure, but I love you and I know that Christ lives. I know that He saved us from all of the things that this world can possibly do to hurt us, and that if we trust in Him, He´ll lift us up and we´ll be able to be like Him someday. I love you Dad, and keep working hard! it´ll all be worth it.
Have a great week! Love you!!!!!

Love, Eric

Week Eighty Seven

Monday, April 02, 2012 6:41 AM

Hey Mom!

Nothing changed with transfers, so I´ll be here in Paranaguá until May at least. I think that after that I´ll be outta here, just because after this I´ve only got 2 transfers left, but who knows? I never know what to expect with transfers, even more as a leader.

I weighed myself for the first time in a while, and I´m at 180 lbs, 40 pounds lighter than when I came here. It´s crazy; I never even noticed how much I´d changed until I got on the scale. But it´s a really great feeling, and I want to keep going; I´m hoping to be down to 170 by the time I get home.

This week was nuts with transfers, since two missionaries were going home and a lot of the others were transferred, but we still managed to have a baptism between the sessions on Sunday! It was really great; we were nervous because his dad wasn´t sure if he´d let him get baptized, but we  prayed a lot and in the end it all worked out. We found a few really great people this week too, so I think we can keep the success going this month. I just hope the zone stays excited; if we´re not all in it, it gets tough. But so far, my time here´s been great; the last time the zone didn´t have a baptism was in January, so we´re really working well. This transfer´s only 5 weeks long, which means there´s already only 4 weeks left, so everyone´s going to have to get on their horse (as Dad and Nick would say) if we want to see some progress. Everyone´s got people to teach though, which is good, and we´ll keep the excitement going for sure.

Conference was great! I liked all of the talks a lot this time; it was hard to choose a favorite. Unfortunately, I could only watch it in Portuguese, but it was still really good. I liked President Eyring´s talk in the Saturday session a lot, and Elder Scott´s talk on revelation was really great, even though he translates his own talks into portuguese and they´re really hard to understand because of his accent. I realized that we have so much that we can do, and that we really need to be the example and help those around us, be they members or non members. I thought they put a lot of emphasis on bringing those less active members back, and I felt inspired to help with that when I get home and while I´m here. It was all great, and I learned a lot. Lots of changes too; it was crazy!

I´m doing great mom, and i hope all´s well there. Don´t worry about me, I´ll keep working at the same pace as always, and I´ll let you know how everything goes. Take a few pictures at the temple for me; I´d love to see them! I`m so excited for Nick and for you guys; I can´t believe he´s almost out! Love you mom, and have a great week!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Eric

Hey Dad!

Sorry the hour´s kinda sporradic, but I think that we´ll be coming to do email around this time this transfer, because it makes things easier on us. Conference was great; you´ll really like it. We watched it in the chapel, and a lot of people were there, but about 25% or so stayed home to watch it, I´d say. Here only the stake centers have a satelitte dish usually, so most of the stake was at our chapel watching it. It was really great; I took a TON of notes. Watch the Priesthood session ASAP; it was by far my favorite and it really helped me to see what kind of responsibility we have as priesthood holders. We have to actively USE our priesthood or it´s like keeping mom´s mustang in the garage all year. The priesthood is selfless, and it doesn´t benefit us at all if we don´t use it to help others. I know you´re working hard to magnify your calling, I just got really inspired hearing the words of our prophets seers and revelators. Conference on the mission is my favorite time of year.

This weekend marked a year from my first baptism, and we comemorated it baptizing! It was a little stressful, but it all worked out, and when it happens like that I realize that it´s all in God´s hands, this work. He puts us in the right places and helps us to make the right choices so that we can bless the lives of others, and that´s really the joy of missionary work. He was so happy, and I got a renewal of the desire to give everything I have.

As far as here in the area, nothing changed with transfers, so until May I`ll be in Paranaguá. I´m excited, because we got some missionaries in the zone that are ready to get to work. 

I can´t believe you guys are headed to the temple! That´s so awesome. Take a bunch of pictures, and let me know how it all goes! Things here are great as always. Still hot, but it got cold last week and I found out I prefer the heat here at least. We´ll see what happens, but you can be sure that I´ll be working like a dog like I always do! Keep up everything Dad, and if I can do anything to help let me know! Love you and have a great week! Love you!!!!!!

Love, Eric