What just happened???

This week was pretty interesting, needless to say. We had a week of two exchanges in a row with different missionaries, because it's the last week of the transfer and we put off doing exchanges. But it was great, and we were able to teach more lessons this week than we have in all 6 weeks of the transfer! The week was filled with both miracles and rejections, which is common if you are putting yourself out there to talk to the people in your area. We ran into Jews, Atheists, Christians, and anti Mormon Christians haha but what else is new? We did indeed find a few people that were genuinely wanting to learn more about our church, including Jill and Mary, which were both miracles. This week was a microcosm of the rest of my mission because of how many times we felt like we were guided to a certain place to find someone prepared to hear our message. I couldn't ask for a better final week as a missionary in Pittsford. On Thursday we hosted Gladys Knight at one of our chapels to sing, direct a Grammy award winning choir, and tell her story and testimony to anyone in the community willing to listen. We were on the help crew of 12 missionaries in the mission, so we were there from about 3 to midnight. We passed info brochures on Gladys Knight and her testimony, greeted people, and collected any referral cards people filled out to have missionaries come by and talk with them. It was a great event that connected the culture of our church to the cultures of other churches, and it showed people that race and culture shouldn't divide us, but we should be united as Christians. They (Gladys Knight and her husband) did bear pretty strong testimonies about the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. What an experience it was to hear the chapel booming with angelic voices! Ok that's only somewhat of an exaggeration, but they were good! I will say though that the baptist gospel fest I went to in the city last year was way more intense, but I enjoyed them pretty much equally! We were the VIP greeters, so we saw some big rigs in the Rochester area, which was cool. Friday was one of the craziest days of my mission. We volunteered at the Pittsford food cupboard, then raced to practice our songs for round II of our senior center volunteering/ sing along time with the old folks. I must say, we nailed it because we brought one of the senior office staff missionaries with us, and she already knew all the songs from the 40s, so it obviously went a lot better than when I tried to sing these unknown (to me) oldie beauties. We walked out feeling pretty famous, and then we went on with our day. I got an interesting call on Friday. Apparently, The Lord decided to deliver my visa this week. I was told I needed to make a decision right then and there, and so I did, because I had already decided that if my visa came before I hit my 18 month mark, I would go. So here I go, and I don't have time to mention all the details, but it's been a crazy few days. I leave Tuesday night form. Foreign land called Brazil, and I have no idea what the next 9 months have in store for me, but I'll let you know when I know. Fun fact: I received my visa on my exact 15 month mark. Coincidence? Maybe. Love, Elder Hirschi Ps I will miss NY more than anything else in the world, he it's going to be hard to leave to understate. I've come to call this place home, and I have to leave my home with only a few days notice, so I'm not euphoric yet, but hopefully when I get there I will be. I know it's where God wants me to be. Enviada do meu iPad, for the last time.