No missionary so powerful as the Book of Mormon and the spirit testifying that it is true!

Hello querida família!

It sounds like your summer was wonderful and hot and relaxing...and too quickly coming to an end! I am feeling almost the same way...except for the hot and relaxing part :) But these wonderful last 4 transfers (almost 6 months!! crazy...) in Rio Pardo have been amazing and went by much too quickly... Yup, Dad...I think you´re right about this most likely being my last week here. That is hard to believe...this beautiful little town has really become my home and the members and investigators that I love feel like my own family! It is going to be very hard to leave...but also good to know that other great things are always waiting ahead!

This week was wonderful! My favorite lesson was with Gisele...the minute that we got to her house she ran to the door and told us that she got her answer about the Book of Mormon! :) haha...by far the best way for a missionary to be greeted! She was so excited when she told us about it...I guess she had been having a hard time with her younger brother, William, who lives in a little house in her backyard. He is 21 years old and is doing a lot of things right now that are getting him in trouble with the law and making life really hard on himself and his family. Well, after a particularly hard day and when Gisele was very angry with him, William knocked on her door and asked if he could have a plate of food. Furious, Gisele yelled at him and told him no and closed her door on him. Gisele said she felt so empty and sad inside after that and knew that what she had done was wrong, so she said a prayer and picked up the Book of Mormon and read and read and read. I´m not sure what part she read, but she said it felt as if God was talking directly to her and she read exactly what she needed to learn. Gisele said that her heart was filled with peace. She said that she had never felt Heavenly Father´s love and presence so powerfully before...she said that she had no doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that she is excited to read all of it! :)

Oh, and remember Eunice and her family? This week we were at the home on Friday evening around 6:30pm and they excitedly showed us inside and told us that we were going to be able to take part in their weekly pôr-do-sol. Every Friday night at sunset they celebrate and welcome the Sabbath day (saturday for them). Murilo had his watch out and we waited until 6:37 pm, when the sun had officially set, and then Eunice said a prayer and we read Psalms together and sang a lot of hymns....I loved it! We switched off taking turns singing hymns from our different hymnbooks....then we sang together "Battle-hymn of the Republic" because we realized it was in both of ours. After the sunset, Sister Grant and I taught a lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it is the "living water" that brings real joy and peace in our lives. There was such a wonderful feeling in the room during that lesson...I am so amazed by the warmth and love that so many people here have and how quickly and lovingly they welcome us into their home. It is an amazing example to me...maybe we have differences in our religion or the language that we speak, but the perfect love that Jesus Christ has for us and that we have for Him unites us all if we let it.

Sunday was the best day of the week by far!! First of all, because after a long and rainy and cold week we woke up to a beautiful and warm and sunny Sunday morning. It was gorgeous! The next good thing was when Sister Grant and I went early to Feijaõ´s house to go with him and Aline to pick up Marlene and Jennifer for church. Marlene has been wanting to come for a while, but she has knee problems and can´t make the walk to church, so I was super grateful that Feijão offered to come with us to pick her her. They were both already ready and waiting outside their house! Sister Grant and I got out so that they would have room in their little slug-bug and started the walk back to church...

I didn´t think that I could feel any happier walking in the bright warm sun to church, until we turned the corner by Kátia and Carlos´s house, and up the road a ways I saw the whole family....with Carlos and the boys in white shirts and ties and Kátia holding baby Douglas, all walking together to church. I think the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.... :) I love that wonderful family so much!!!

Church was wonderful too. So many investigators came...some that I wasn´t even expecting to see there! José and Antônio and Susy and Darlan and Tatiane.... Testimony meeting was super powerful and all about missionary work...Elder Lamone just got home from Paraíba last week and the whole branch is super excited!

And afterwards Sílvia and Erialdo invited us to their home for Sunday lunch...they are such an amazing family! They are so giving and loving and treat us like we are part of the family. Sílvia even taught us to make sonhos, an amazing Brazilian pastry, for dessert afterwards. They are fried doughnut-like things, rolled in sugar and cinnamon...and soooo incredible! Actually, Rio Pardo is famous for it´s sonhos, but this was a super secret recipe that comes from Portugal that she has only taught to 1 other person in her entire life. I can´t believe she wanted to teach us! :) Afterwards we talked about the Book of Mormon and answered some of Erialdo´s questions. Erialdo is reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and is loving it! He is such a smart man and always has incredible questions that sometimes are tricky to answer...but I know that his heart is being touched by the spirit as he is reading. Yesterday at Moacir´s home (a church member and Erialdo´s co-worker) said that he overheard Erialdo talking to another friend about the Book of Mormon. His friend, apparently a pastor for another religion, was criticizing the Book of Mormon and the church...and Moacir said that Erialdo started defending the Book of Mormon and told the pastor that he was reading it and liking everything that he had read. :) That´s so awesome!! It made me super happy to hear that.... There is no missionary so powerful as the Book of Mormon and the spirit testifying that it is true!!!

Well family, I love you all so much! Have a wonderful few last weeks of summer!
Love, Sister Jamie Gee