HAPPY FEVEREIRO!

Hey FAMILY and people that maybe read parts of this e-mail on a blog or in the Lakeside 2nd Ward!! This last week was great! I feel like my Português is really improving and I can´t believe that on Mother´s birthday--the 26th of February I will have 5 months here in Brasil--time is flying by way to fast and there is still much more to be done---there´s always more to be done--isn´t it great that we always have something to do, someone to help, someone to teach, someone to teach us, someone to develop Christlike love for, someone to listen to, etc. I´m grateful for the daily schedule of a missionary! Sometimes I get a bit frustrated that some Elders like to sleep longer than is needful or don´t exercise or eat junk food and then end up sick in the house and others suffer because of it. I sometimes get a bit frustrated when one Elder doesn´t treat a sister in the ward with genuine respect and then her and her family lose respect for all of the Elders. It is a bit difficult sometimes to have the same name as other people that don´t always act in the way that name should be known---ELDER! Elder is a great calling from the Lord. The Priesthood Power of a full-time Elder can be amazing if you do your part. I love being an Elder and I know that there are things that I need to better and that we all have strengths and weaknesses and the mission is not only to help those that don´t know about the church but it´s also to better the members, us the missionaries, and me! I know that I have just as much to learn from the other Elders, and probably even more to learn from the other Elders then they do from me. I have already developed more love, more wisdom, more knowledge of the scriptures and a lot more and I hope that I can continue to understand even more of what the Lord wants me to do.

This week I made some awesome cardboard missionary name tag´s for Rogério and Henrique because they are always stealing mine when we visit them, during church, etc. Thanks five younger brothers for always doing stuff with me and I´m glad that we had a blast together and that you´re all having a blast right now were you´re at and I´m having a blast here where I´m at and that we´re going to have even more of a blast when we all live together in the Celestial Kingdom and ya--KEEP DOING WHAT´S RIGHT. I know that wickedness truly never was happiness, Just like Alma, the great Prophet, taught his son--Alma 41:10. Today, Elder Correia is going to be transferred and he´s been here in Araguaína for like six months--we´re going to go eat lunch with him during our P-day at a place called Giraffas! 

This last week I had the great opportunity to baptize a young boy named Henrique--he is ten years old! He reads his scriptures--the Book of Mormon--almost every day and it´s always great to study with him because he likes to study. I know that I sure wasn´t good at reading the scriptures like him, James, Luke and Hyrum when I was younger. I know also that I used to make everyone late for family trips--leaving on vacation, going to the store, etc. I also know that I didn´t do all of my chores as diligently as Spencer does, I didn´t laugh as hard as Rachel does, didn´t get as good of grades--like Nathan and didn´t make as many friends as Amber did but hey---I´m learning and becoming better every day and I´m grateful that I have all of you as examples! The following day in church though was the best. I didn´t play the piano because I think he friend--I plugged it in and something was messed up with the electricity and something popped and then it smelt like fire and the piano was shipped from the USA from the church and ya---I don´t know for sure but--there was no piano on Sunday. I gave the lesson in the Principles of the Gospel--it was my first 45 minute lesson all in Português--it was AWESOME AND GREAT PRACTICE AND I LOVED IT! Who knows if anyone understood anything but hey they were smiling and nodding their heads and so I think it was good--hah--no I think that everyone understood at least 90% of the things I was saying--hopefully they understood more of what the Spirit was saying because that´s more important. The man that helped us with the Service Project over at Hozana´s house ( a single mother that just moved and we moved dirt for her for like 3 hours!) came to church and seemed to really enjoy it! The cool part was that Presidente Alves blessed Henrique--that he would be a FUTURE MISSIONARY in his confirmation on Sunday--YA! Now, I´ve just got to stick with it and do my part to always keep contact with him. Never forget others and never forget that a few kind words can go a long ways. You don´t, DON´T have to baptize people to make a difference. You have to give your all to make a difference. But as we all know, we are just tools in the Lord´s hands and He is the one that does all of the real work---The Godhead make the difference! 

HEY I FINALLY WROTE AN E-MAIL OF DECENT LENGTH!! YES! 

Have a great week family in the SNOW! I´m sweating here--but I love it! Mother I encountered your letter in my baptismal pants but it was soaking wet and didn´t read all of it---some of it was destroyed but I think that I got the main message of the letter---THANKS A BUNCH--IT WAS AWESOME TO FIND THAT THERE! 

Love you family and keep up the good work. Thanks for everything. Don´t forget to be good member missionaries and pray for me and Amber.

TCHAU! 

--ELDER ALLEN, (GREGG!)