Baptism of Róges and Elisângela; I´m slowly losing my love for dogs

Querida família,
Alô de Rio Pardo! Everything is going great here and I´m loving life! It´s hard to believe it´s already August though....August!! A year ago this week I was on a plane leaving the United States and heading to São Paulo! Wow...I´m pretty sure that this was the fastest year of my life! It´s been the very best too :) I love being a missionary!

This week was a great one for Sister Grant and me! The baptism on Wednesday for Róges and Elisângela was beautiful. So many ward members and their family members came to watch the baptism and there was a very happy and wonderful spirit in the room. The best part was hearing their 9 year old daughter Bruna say the closing prayer and to see them all together...now the whole family is baptized in the church and preparing for the temple! What a beautiful and wonderful family....

On Saturday the branch also had a "Mãos que Ajudam" activity...I think it was a Brazil nation-wide service day for all the wards and branches in the country. Here in Rio Pardo we cleaned a day-care center, scrubbing and bleaching walls, washing windows, raking leaves and cutting the lawn. It looked great when we were done and was super fun to have the entire branch working together. And of course, we had great churrasco afterwards to make it all worth it :)

Darlã, Beka´s 13 year old son, is doing great and really progressing fast! He has read so much of the Book of Mormon and came to watch the baptism. On Sunday, Darlã not only came to church but he even brought his whole family and 2 friends with him! I am so excited to be teaching him...he is on fire and excited about the gospel! Darlã told us that he wants to be a missionary when he´s 19. He told me yesterday that the first time that we invited him and his family to come to church he had woken up on Sunday morning very tired and late and ornery and not wanting to come. But he told us that he got out of bed and prayed asking Heavenly Father to help him be excited about going to church because he knew that is were He wanted him to be. :) What an awesome story! I loved hearing his growing testimony...and I love seeing how it is beginning to change his entire family!

Alessandra, Juliano´s girlfriend, is also progressing a lot! She comes to church every Sunday and is praying for an answer about the Book of Mormon. I think that her biggest fear is that she doesn´t want to be baptized because of Juliano´s testimony without knowing it for herself. Alessandra is such a sweet and pure girl...her faith and desire to do what is right is a huge example for me.

Antônia is still doing well...she has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and finds peace and comfort every time she reads it with her daughter, Tatiane. She is excited to be baptized and I know that she will be as soon as she is ready to make that step. I´ve never felt Heavenly Father´s love for someone so powerfully as I have for her and her family. I love them so much...

Okay, ready for the crazy story of the week? Actually, this might make the craziest story of the mission.... So it has been a very rainy and wet week that has left all of the streets deep and muddy puddles. On Thursday night, Sister Grant and I were going to one of our last visits of the day, Andréia and Odete, so it was already dark and cold and the rain was pouring down. Usually in Brazil you just clap your hands at the fence until someone hears and comes to let you in...but with the rain and the wind it was impossible for them to hear us clapping. We are already great friends with this family, so I didn´t think it would be a problem to walk in and knock on their door, right? Well..I opened the gate and starting walking in when suddenly, 4 huge and angry dogs ran out of their next-door neighbor´s unfenced yard and straight for me! I tried to run back to the gate, but couldn´t move quickly at all because I was sliding so much in the deep muddy clay. Luckily I had my umbrella in my hands and I started whacking at the angry dogs, but it think it just made them more mean and vicious. And then suddenly I slipped in the mud and lost my balance and fell down a little but steep hill and into the barbed-wire fence that lined their other neighbor´s yard... haha...it was crazy!! I completely knocked the fence over and cut up my hand pretty badly on the barbed wire, but I didn´t get bit at all by the angry dogs! I think maybe my screaming when I fell scared them away....and it must have scared the neighbors too because ALL of them suddenly were at their windows and standing outside their homes and just staring at me lying there in the mud. I had to wait for Sister Grant to stop laughing enough to come help me out of the barbed wire fence...and then the rest of the evening we couldn´t even teach a lesson because Andréia and Odete would burst out laughing again. :) haha...It was a crazy night...but really, I am amazed I didn´t get more than a cut up hand! It´s good to know that we´re being protected....although I´m slowly losing my love for dogs too.....

Okay..got to run! One hour left of P-day and we´re going to make chocolate chip cookies with Elaine and Presidente Rogério!
I love you all!!
Thanks for being the best family ever!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee