the book sells itself!

hi fam!

Lago Sul is GREAT. I cant figure out why, but things are going really
really well. In two weeks I've seen one of the strongest conversions
happen -- possibly in my whole mission. Its so rad! Here's the story
- right next door to our apartment, there is this lady who is a member
of the church. She is the president and her husband is the CEO or
something of 8 companies, grouped together in what is called something
like Brasilia Steel Group Holding. I am crazy with curiosity to google
it and learn all the facts - put that on the to-do list for when i get
home. (sidenote - she's not living there permanently, they have a
gonzo house in Sao Paulo, and another huge one their building here in
Lago Sul.) But there's this guy who is in training to be one of the
companies executives, so for now, he's spending a lot of time there.
His name is Daniel. I call him Danny Boy.

DANNY BOY is an ELECT. oh. my. gosh.
I met him the 2nd day i arrived in this area. he previously was a
member of the 7th day adventist church, and so we were talking to him
that 2nd day of being here and he just asked, "hey i have some
questions about why you guys keep sunday as your sabbath day" We told
him we'd be thrilled to talk to him about it and set up an
appointment. that was on july 13. he went to church with us that
sunday and met Presidente Pizzirani, talked to a few people, liked the
church, etc...

until that point, we still hadnt had the chance to teach a lot of
doctrine, we just gave him the pamphlets and he was reading them. Did
I mention he is BRILLIANT. other sidenote - he speaks English better
than most Americans, he has studied pharmacy, economics, physics, and
plans on finishing his law degree. Just to put this into perspective -
there is a famous brazilian test here in the national capital called
the Vestibular. Everyone and their dog studies for this test and tries
to do well to get a government position here in Brasilia. 45,000
people took the test, and Danny Boy came in 15th. He is a smart
cookie.

Anyways, he was reading the pamphlets and understanding everything
perfectly, but we still hadnt presented the Book of Mormon to him.
Finally we got to teach him about the book of mormon, and he
l.o.v.e.d. it. It was by no special teaching, or by no credit to us
whatsoever, but he gained such an incredibly firm testimony and had
such a special witness from the holy ghost, and he knew it was true.
It was SO COOL. The way he described it was so real and so simple, and
it was soooo cooooool. I am not doing well at getting it across today,
so i'll just leave it at that. But the bottom line is, that it the
Book of Mormon sells itself. It is the greatest evidence of the
Savior's mission on earth, and it completely brings people to Christ.
it is so so good.

Then this week at church I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting
about the Book of Mormon and i had a hay-day. I was SO happy for the
chance to speak. I feel like this ward is sleeping a little bit. They
have everything going for them, so it seems they are just a little
complacent and a little to comfortable or relaxed in their
testimonies. This is not speaking of all the members collectively,
obviously, just some. So on Sunday, I decided that I would try and
wake them up a little with a rousing Book of Mormon message. I hope it
got through, and I felt like it went well afterwards. The message was
basically, "MEMBERS - do you realize what we have as members!?!?! Do
not make the mistake of taking this for granted, leaving it on the
nightstand during the week, or reading without applying. We dont study
to learn, we learn to CHANGE. We learn to come unto Christ." And then
I used one of my new favorite scriptures in D&C 3:20. this scripture
is money.

So another fun thing that I like a lot is that Danny Boy knows how to
read music and he as a great voice. I love sitting with him in church
because he sings so well haha. and its funny because its like singing
with Dad. Because DannyBoy has more of a natural affinity for the bass
line, but he switches to tenor or soprano or alto with the different
verses - just like me and dad liked to do. and he'll make these little
witty comments during the song and i think its so funny. So I'm
looking forward to singing with you in sacrament meeting, Dad, and I
miss you a bunch.

Lago Sul is so luxurious. I love this area. Sometimes I feel like I'm
on an episode of Brazil's "Cribs." On days when we go into these
mansions, every single time i cant help but start singing, "life
styles of the rich and the famous." good times. but i think the joke
is getting kinda old after these 2 weeks. Good thing my companion has
a lot of patience :)

The other day was Pioneer day and we had homemade ice cream and home
made strawberry jam and and home made bread, and COOKIES at Amy's
house. I love having Americans in the ward! 'twas scrumptious. and on
saturday we're having a waffle party at their house for the new
members.

omg i forgot to tell you about Damião. Cutest little man. I'll save it
for next week cuz i'm starving and i still have to do the shoutouts...

CORINNE - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Remember those text messages you sent me
from moms phone, and from kelly and jette's phone, that one night i
went out that one time? Well i wish you the same birthday well
wishings... lol i hope you pick up on this joke :)

nickole - adorei a mensagem, minha safadinha. obrigada! rs, ainda não
contei pra vc, mas o primeiro dia que eu tava aqui, almoçei com o Rule
(porém a facebook mensagem que vc recebeu) ele falou q vc disse q eu
tava gordinha e que era pra ele dar raisens pra almoçar. ele falou q
ele estava esperando "some huge thing to come rollin in here" kkkk por
causa do que você falou. VALEU. rs, não mas ele é gente boa. foi ele
que estava tentando arrumar um casamento pra vc e o neto dele?
legal... EU AMO VOCÊ. que saudades. bjo.

breezy - GAWHEYVIIS (bob sponge laugh) miss you. 1.985.263 mas dias. sweet.