They´ll Get Married in the Temple Next October

Elder Shepherd, Rogerio and Kristiane Klein,  Elder Moroni

Parade - Gaucho's (Cowboys)

More Gauchos

Note the Dog with Gauchos

Old School Wagon Celebrating the early Gaucho Pioneers

Country shot in Rosario do Sul

Soccer Field and Random Dogs

Largest white sand beach in Brazil aptly called Areias Brancas - White Sands

My companion in Rosario do Sul Elder Ferreira

How was your week?

Very good and extremely hot. 

Did you get any packages yet?

Nope. I´ll for sure get all the ones in Santa Maria tomorrow

Did you get the box from Sister Taylor (she was going to leave it at the Mission Home on Saturday)?

I´ll get that one tomorrow too. Tell her thanks a ton!

What is your new apartment like?

It bakes in the sun all day. So when we get inside it´s like an oven. But we have like 3 fans going in our room all night so that helps a ton. 

Are there any transfers this time?

Yes I´ll explain below.

Have you ridden a horse yet on your mission?

I wish. It´s against the rules..........for now. haha

Did you have your baptisms yesterday?  If so, how did it go?

Yes we had our 3 baptisms on Saturday. It was a very spiritual day. Amazing. 

Also, did you find a basketball court yet? Have you played golf on PDay yet or will the rules allow you to?

They have only one bball court here but it´s at a school and we can´t play on Mondays cuz the kids are in school. And we will be playing golf here one of these weeks I think. the guys are trying to find clubs for us to use cuz the course doesn´t rent them out. 

Hey Family!

We had an awesome week. We taught 41 lessons this last week. The best part of it was the baptism though. It was super spiritual. I am so excited for this family. It´s crazy how they´ll be getting married in the Temple next October and I´ll still be in the mission. The weather has been getting really hot, that´s for sure.  I´m dying of sweat.

So on the transfers... my companion is leaving the area to be a zone leader in another city in the mission. I will be opening an area in this same city and I will be training a new missionary. So I have yet to find out his name or things about him. I guess president feels I´m ready. I will be in the side that Elder Mason was on and he will be on my side with a new companion. The side that Elder Mason was on had some neighborhoods that were shut down to missionaries because of crime. President had the Zone leaders tell me that the whole area is open for me now. So we´ll see how those crazy neighborhoods go. I feel like I´ll be training a Brazilian but I will for sure let you know. Elder Mason´s companion is leaving to open a new area and to be the district leader there. I am very excited and cannot wait to get that part of the city rolling. It´s sad though cuz there are several families in my area that I feel like  could help ready them for baptism, but the lord has a plan for me. 

I have really been studying the Book of Mormon a lot lately. The end of the book of Alma is so interesting. Can you imagine how crazy of a movie the Book of Mormon would be?

How are the presidential races looking? We hear things here and there, but nothing that helps me know what´s going on. Just a lot of people tell us that we are the same religion as Mitt Romney... I´m like no, seriously? haha.  Hopefully we will get to go golfing, I´ve been looking forward to it for a while now. We just haven´t gotten a chance. The guys at the course really want to play against us and told us that they´d pay for it, they´re just trying to get ahold of some clubs for us.

 We didn´t have anyone at church other than the family that we baptized, So there is no one progressing there to tell you about. I have to go to Santa Maria tomorrow morning and I´ll be there all day. Then at night we will meet our new companions and eat pizza at president´s house. Then on Wednesday we have a meeting ‘til noon for the new people and the trainers, Then back here again. So these next couple of days will be crazy. 

I can feel my testimony grow every day. Sometimes when we are teaching I honestly don´t feel like I´m the one talking, it´s like I feel the Spirit pulsing through me and saying everything for me. My companion sometimes tells me after that he didn´t know I could speak that well. Then I just tell him that I didn´t know either. haha. It´s amazing the knowledge I have gained as I become more and more in tune with the spirit. You can read a person, and what they are thinking so much better. You can literally feel the spirit tell you what lesson a person needs to hear and what they need in their lives. I love it. There have been times where I will randomly change the subject because I feel like we are losing someone. Then the lesson goes from boring to super spiritual. I know that this church is true. I know that families really can be together forever. That´s what keeps me going and makes me want to find all of the people possible to teach.

I love you all. I am so grateful I was born into such an amazing family. I hope all is well. Keep up the good work in school and in sports Taylor and Hailey! 

Love,

Elder Shepherd