Laranjeiras

Hey guys,

Well, it's been another good week in the life. It's really hot today though, but I guess that's life. This week we've found some new people to teach and are working with a few of our other investigators. This week we had a meeting with Bishop. Our ward has been without a ward mission leader for some time and he ended up pretty much apologizing to us and telling us the ward is going to get on board with missionary work. This week we should be getting a ward mission leader and are going to start having correlation meetings. We are really hoping to get the work started with the members in the ward. Bishop is even offering to buy a plane ticket to the temple in Sao Paulo for whoever gives the most references over the course of 6 months. Good work Bishop! So, we're excited. We are now hoping to work a lot more efficiently and with more help from the members.


This week I went on a divison with Elder Head, our ZL, who I lived with in Porto Velho. We had a fun time talking about the old times back in Rondonia and how fast time has gone by....we realized that all of this just seems to go by too quickly.


Today, we had a little district get together. We ended up going to McDonalds and played a few games. I can't wait to go back to a place where McDonalds is cheap...I think Im going to buy rootbeer in the airport when I'm coming home though....


This week in district meeting we talked a lot about the purpose of the Spirit in our teaching, and spent a lot of time talking about how we, as missionaries, can't convert anyone. It's the Spirit that converts. I still say a phrase Elder Christensen always said during lessons, "we aren't here to convince anyone. We are just here to invite them to get an answer from the Lord and from the Spirit." It was a pretty good meeting...


This week I saw the Reheses on the back of the Liahona! Good work!! I hope one day one of my old investigators or baptisms can make it into a Liahona....


Elder Woolf and I are still getting along really well. Our little Washington group is pretty cool. Elder Woolf even has a tourist book that has a bunch of pics of Washington and Seattle....every once in a while I like to pull it out and look at the snow and ocean again. It's been really hot this past week. Like ridiculously hot...but I guess that's life here...


I'm really excited for general conference this weekend. I love conference. But, it still seems like yesterday that the other conference just got over. I think I'm going to go to the stake center of my old stake for one session to see some old friends and baptisms. And their stake center is within walking distance of our house. So, I'm hoping to be able to see some old friends this week. But, I'm excited to hear the words of the prophet and apostles.


Well, thats pretty much it for this week. Hope all is well with you guys! Love you!

-Elder Eric C. Stapley