Dia do Gaucho!

Hello Family!

This week was a wonderful one in Montenegro! We taught some great lessons and found some new investigators Í´m really excited about. We taught Anderson, a 23 year old, who is really excited about the church! His grandmother, who he lived alone with, passed away last week and now he lives alone. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and I could tell by his questions that he really loved his grandma and that he already has a lot of faith in God.

And the best part of a wonderful week was that it ended in a baptism!!! Alex was baptized Sunday afternoon after church! It was such a great feeling to be there and to watch him be baptized. The ward was really supporting too, and we had a big group there to watch and to welcome him into the ward. Sister Gibson and I sang "Sim, Eu Te Seguirei" (Lord, I would Follow Thee) afterwards, and Alex had tears in his eyes while we were singing. Alex has such a strong testimony...he´s an amazing example to me! After his baptism he came with us to visit Anderson and teach about the Restoration (haha...he´s already a missionary!) and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and his baptism. Powerful!

Yesterday was Dia do Gaucho here in Rio Grande do Sul....and wow, is it a important holiday for everyone here! It was a lot bigger holiday than Indepence Day was. I was amazed at how much pride everyone here has for their Gaucho culture...it was huge! Parades, dances, music, fairs, Everyone in traditional costume, and churrascos!!!! (my favorite part...:D) It was awesome! We finished the night with a Noite Familiar (Family Night!) with the Bishop and his family and Alex....the Bishop wanted to get to know him better and to welcome him into the ward. We talked about prayer and ate cheesecake that Sister Gibson made.....mmmm. It was great!

Transfers were yesterday......annnnnd...Sister Gibson and I are both staying here in Montenegro in the Timbaúva ward. :) I´m very happy....and not really surprised since this is my first area and Sister Gibson´s last transfer. So..I´ll be her last companion here in Porto Alegre Brasil! It´s strange to hear her talking about going home.....she is getting excited :) But she is a very hard worker too and a very very loving person....it´s amazing how easy it is for her to become immediate friends with the people we meet here! I love her and I´m glad I get to be her companion for 6 more weeks :)

Well family, I only have 30 minutes today because the Internet cafe closes at noon.....everything here closes at noon! From noon until 2 pm everything closes so everyone can eat a huge lunch at home with their families. Lunch is probably the most important time of the day here....haha, it´s a good tradition :) mmmm...

I love you all! Keep doing well in school and in work and having fun!! Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and that He is always there for each one of us.