Getting Short Now

Karrissa you asked if I am nervous to get home....yeah...yeah I am. Who knows what its going to be like. I am kind of a big ball of emotions right now though. The past month or so I have been working hard for sure and even enjoying it but I wanted nothing more than for it to end so I could finally rest and go home. And I still do its just now that it is so close its becoming a lot more...real, I guess...to me and its just weird.

Yesterday messed with my emotions and little bit too. I was on division in Jaçanã (North zone of the capital here in São Paulo) with Elder M. Silva. We ended up having one of the best and most spiritual days of work that I have ever had on my mission. We didn't have a single appointment until 7:30 pm as well. However, we had some awesome lessons in the afternoon then at 6:30 pm we hit a door and ended up finding a full family, the parents being legally married which was a miracle, that were going to another church and were even baptized in the church but understand our message so completely that they realized that they needed to be baptized again and so accepted baptimsal dates for the 14th of August.

I listened to a talk the other day by Elder Holland to the missionaries at the MTC. In the talk he describes what he calls "the perfect missionary lesson". And from what he described this type of lesson probably only happens a few times in a missionary's mission. I think I have only had 3 or 4 of these lessons. In part of his description he says that it seems like everything gets quite and nothing else in the world is happening except what's happening in that moment in that house, that the spirit is so strong that everyone feels it and everybody knows that the others are feeling it, and at the point it feels like the heavens comes a little closer and the veil becomes a little more transparent.

And then at that point the missionaries stop teaching what they are teaching, help the investigators recognize that the feeling they are having is coming from the Holy Ghost, and then they invite the investigators to baptism. I had one of those lessons last night. As I walked out of the lesson with Elder M. Silva, both of our eyes still slightly wet, I told him that if every day on the mission was like that then I wouldn't mind staying another transfer on the mission, or even another 2 years if it was needed. It really was that good. HOWEVER, that is definitely not what I want don't worry family. I was called for 2 years and that's what I will serve (really, there's no way I could stay longer anyway because my visa is going to expire anyway). Even if I could there I would have no intention in staying longer. It was just a really good experience because the past few weeks of divisions have been a little "blah" and I was starting to get a little trunky.

Last night was just a little wake up call to remind me that I am still a missionary and WHY I had worked so hard these 2 years. But I am REALLY REALLY excited to come home! It's going to be tiz-ight.

Here are some pics:

On a division I did in São Paulo Norte.
Check out the apartment building that is behind me.
Check out that house on top of the apartment building!!
I think it's my dream house.

Mission President Taking Pictures in Embu

Elder Whitesides, Elder Briggs, and me with our
American ties on the 4th of July.

Sister Cooley made cinnamon rolls for everyone at Mission Counsel.
It may not seem like a lot but it is actually the first cinnamon roll
I have eaten in 1 year and 11 months...

Our last Mission Counsel. My group with President and Sister Cooley.