What a week!

December 29,2014
This week was such a porkeria haha it was great! The weeks are starting to blend together and i cant believe that Christmas really was this week haha

First, the skype calls! I cant believe we didnt have any problems with the reception there in the attic of the random computer store, but everything worked out! It was so weird and I realized that it was the longest Ive ever gone without talking to my family- from April 2014 to December 2014- last year the last time I went from June to december not skyping or anything, and then December to April. But April to December was really long! It felt a little different than the other times I skyped- maybe because I had trouble tripping over my english. I think I didnt anticipate the difference in the fluccuation (sp?) between Portguese and English, and to try to switch off quickly was a little awkward. I really think that if we spoke English with the tone that the Portuguese speakers use- everything would sound really rude haha it´s weird! But I loved skyping and seeing how everyone is still the same family! It was awesome jumping into the world of family and USA for an hour or so, and then jumping back into Brazil- a new experience for me haha but i know that Mothers Day will come faster than fast, and Im not sure if Im ready yet...

First of all, this week has been a week of miracles for us, and one that I dont want to forget any time soon. Pamela is getting baptized this Saturday, and every time we go over there she has stronger and stronger faith, and is so ready to get baptized and make decisions that will change the course of her life forever! We´re pretty excited. I think I mentioned last week that Cintia and Luan are getting married in January. this is a miracle too, because Cintia was going to wait until 2016 to get married because of the pension that her dad gets because shes not married. She found out that she has cancer, and theyre getting married next month. It´s crazy how sometimes things happen in our lives that help us focus on things that matter. She´s handling it really well, and is still really happy and strong, and we have members of our ward who have gone through the same things she´s going through, who are really supporting Cintia also. More to come with them. Also this week, we challenged Marcia and Diogo to get baptized. they said its something theyve been thinking about a lot, and they really want to. Theyre also going to get married next month! They know it´s something they need to do, not only for them, but for their kids and their future. Weve continued to see miracles this week, and there are only more to see in the future! Im coming to love Birigui more and more every week, despite the rest of the mission calling Birigui more or less the forgotten land, or ´´hole´ of the mission haha but things are changing a lot here!

Christmas was great, and there are so many more things to talk about, but not enough time! thats why Im keeping a journal;)

Love,
Elder Hirschi