Letter #30- "Well she was just 17, if you know what I mean."

"And the way she looked was way beyond compare. Oh, how could I dance with another? ohHhh I saw her standing there."
Dearest Family and friends! I love you all so much! I am excited for this wonderful time of year. Everyone here has been asking what´s the deal with this "Dia de Graças." I really can only say it´s a day we give thanks for everything and they say, how do you celebrate it? And I say, well, we eat and we eat and we eat some more and when you can´t eat anymore... you eat some more and we watch American Football and we sleep. They don´t really understand the Wonderfulness of Thanksgiving. I guess you have to BE an American to love the concept.

Well, this week has been good I have 2 stories I want to tell you but before I wanted to say that I am so happy that so many of you have taken the challenge to read the Book of Mormon entirely by the 31 of March. I´m doing it too and I am excited to see how reading it this time, will strengthen our testimonies.

So I said I had 2 stories, the first story is something I heard yesterday with the Irmã we were having lunch with. She said a long time ago, Neal A. Maxwell visited São Paulo in Brazil. And she and her family went. While her little son was in the bathroom, Elder Maxwell went and shook everyone´s hand that was in the audience. When the little boy returned, Elder Maxwell had just finished and was returning to the pulpit. He was so sad he didn´t have an opportunity to shake his hand. While his mom was talking with another kid, he snuck out of his seat and walked all the was to the pulpit. When he got there the security guards grabbed him and the area presidency asked the little boy what he wanted. He thought a moment and said "I want Elder Maxwell´s Autograph." The Area Presidency said no (because that´s kind of inappropriate to ask for) And the little boy was heart broken. He returned to his seat and cried and cried and cried. His mom, when she told me this story was heartbroken for days. The first Sunday, he wouldn´t go to church. This mom went with the rest of her family. At church the bishop got up and said "Elder Maxwell has sent a request that we find out who this boy is. We need to speak with him and his parents." The mother, thinking that they were going to discipline the boy and her, remained silent. The next week, the bishop said again "Who is this boy, Elder Maxwell has requested that we find him." Still she remained silent. Finally the third week, the bishop gets up and said "Brothers and sisters, we know the boy is in this ward, Elder Maxwell has said we have to find out who this boy is and he is not taking no as an answer, who is it?" Finally the Irmã, realizing that this wouldn´t end, rose her hand and claimed her son. The bishop got the boys name and address. About a week and a half later, they received a letter in the mail. It was addressed to the little boy, it was from Elder Maxwell, in the letter he wrote that he was sorry that the boy´s feelings had been hurt. He didn´t know what was going on at the time. He told this little boy about the importance of a mission and how he needed to serve a mission. He testified of Christ and inclosed a picture of himself, with his signature.

I was really impressed by this story. Before Elder Maxwell had died, he requested that the church follow this boy. A few years ago, the church sent him a letter asking if he had plans to serve a mission. What a neat story!

Ok, other story. In Capão da Imbuia, my last area with Elder Duarte, we tracted a lot. One day, we were tracting and I saw this house. I got the hugest prompting. I had to knock on this door. We knocked and nothing. A week later, we passed again. Nothing. I never forgot the house. We went back again, toward the end of the tranfsfer and finally a woman came out. We taught her the first lesson. The next time we passed by, we read the Book of Mormon with her. The time after, I thought I would stay for the whole transfer. She told us that she liked our message and would pray about it. Then I was transferred. I got a phone call from Elder Duarte about 2 weeks ago. She is preparing to get married. After she gets married, she will be baptized. NEAT! It´s super awesome because I felt the prompting. It´s like what the prophet said once "The sweetest feeling is to feel a prompting from the spirit and then act on it." This is true. The best feeling is to feel a prompting from the Lord, act on it, and then find out that you were part of something greater than us all.

I love you all. I hope you all are well. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Katie´s Birthday! I love you all so much! Help dad with the lights this year! And have fun listening to Kenny and Dolly. Don´t let mom listen to "Christmas without you." I have a feeling that for the next two Christmas´s that song might be rough for her. I love you all so much and remember as we prep for the greatest holiday ever, there would be no Christmas, if there was no Easter.  I love you all so much! Remember "Nós podemos, para sempre, estar juntos, eu sei!
Com Amor!!!
NayNay