Dear family,
It sounds like a sad time in Idaho Falls lately... I hope all of the families that lost people close to them will have comfort and hope in their tough times.
That elk Brent got looks like a good one. How much did it weigh? Did you shoot it right in the head? It looks like there is a bullet shot there. Did Dad get anything?
Leslie looks completely different than other pictures I have seen. In 20 more months, I will not be able to recognize that girl. She already looks huge! What other things can she do besides smile and laugh? Does she have any teeth coming? I miss that little girl.
Mom, I don't know my address here in Sobral. I can tell you the names of the neighborhoods of my area though.. Dom Jose, Sumare, Alto do Cristo... those are the ones I know off the top of my head. I don't know if that helps.. There is a market north of my house across the street and down the street a ways to the west are some railroad tracks. My area is the southwest part of town... There is a hospital south of my house too.. I don't know if that helps, but that is about as detailed as I can get... sorry.
I am doing great with my companion. We get along pretty well, probably because we are both American. I have heard it is pretty difficult to get along with some Brazilian companions. The culture is different and it really tests the pacience of Americans. I live with a Brazilian missionary and he kind of bugs me, but I just ignore the weird things he does and says and it works out ok.
This last week was a slow one. Our numbers were down a little and not much happened. We weren't able to get very many new investigators this week but this week we are changing and we are going to get some good work done.
We are teaching a guy named Marcos and he is so awesome. He has a baby girl and a wife at home. He has problems with drinking and smoking so we taught the word of wisdom and he really wants to change his life and get it back on the right path. He loves reading the Book of Mormon and keeps asking us to give him chapters that will give him a spiritual boost. He is having a hard time quiting smoking and drinking. He went out last Sunday to drink, and then he felt bad so he didn't come to church. We had a good talk and now he is back on track. He told us that he is doing it for God and not for us. That is exactly what we like to hear. Marcos is just a really humble guy. It is exciting to teach him and help him progress.
Fernando is doing well. He is the guy that I talked about earlier that asks the perfect questions for a lesson. He has A LOT of questions. It is good though because he is curious and really wants to know. The gospel is amazing because it answers all of his questions. I can't imagine life without the knowledge of where we go after death, or what are we even doing here. It would be pretty scary for me I think. I am greatful we know the plan of salvation and the Book of Mormon to answers some of those difficult questions. Fernando is very curious about temples and what we do in there. He is a little concerned about baptisms for the dead. I think we are going to give him the Oct. Liahona because it explains very simply what goes on and why temples are important.
We started teaching a guy named Roberto and his family this last week. They weren't able to come to church yesterday becasue he works on Sundays, but he said he would talk to his boss to try to change his schedule. Roberto is on fire. He is loving the Book of Mormon and reads everything we tell him to. We need to get him to read to his wife because she doesn't know how to read. Their son Henrrique promised us that he would read this time too. They are all progressing well (minus the BOM) but they are really fun to teach because the spirit is in their house everytime and they are learning a lot.
Another investigator we have is Lazero. I don't know if I have talked about him before... He is a very very humble guy. He has problems with drugs and he knows that he needs to change. We weren't able to teach him last week because he is always working. Hopefully we can get him this week. We saw him on the street one day and we were able to talk to him for a second and he said that he hasn't used drugs for 2 weeks. (since we first contacted him). That is really really good for him. I am proud of him and it is always a strange experience when we do teach him.
Those are our investigators that we are focusing on right now. I am excited for them all. I love them each and it makes me happy to see them all make some progress.
I sent home a letter to Mom for her birthday and there are also some little presents for Miranda and Abby. I sent them with Elder Harris who left last night at midnight to go home. He should get to the states on the 10th or something.. So hopefully he sends the letters I wrote to you.
I love you all very much! Pray for me during the holidays (it is getting a little hard to keep my mind off of home watching Elder Harris pack up and leave and it being the holiday season now.) I am doing great though. I am just going to get lost in the work this week and stay busy. I love you all and have a great week!!!
Love, Isaac
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