I Got Braces!

How was your week?

Really busy, really good. Good success

Did you get my big package yet?

Yes I got it today! I haven´t opened it yet.

Did you have a lot at church yesterday?

Yes there were 160 people. This ward is really strong

How many wards or branches attend church in your building?

There are 2 wards. Both are really strong. My ward, then the ward that President Ribeiro goes to. 

Do you have to teach any classes at church or is there enough members to support the programs?

There are plenty of people, so we just sit in on the classes. 

How is the YW/YM programs?

Both really strong here. There is a group of 4-5 priests that are getting ready to serve missions, so they´re always willing to help us.

Hi Family!

Well, the highlight of this week is that I got braces on! haha.  I´m on a 10-month plan, so I´ll be getting them off during the mission too. They did exams and put the braces on and everything and it was way cheap. I did it at a University, so there were tons of students watching. Really weird haha. 

I wrote down a few ideas for things you can send me... Book of Mormon and Bible stickers that you can put inside your scriptures,  dental stuff (like things that´d be good for braces), and English paperback books of Mormon. Those things would be sweet! 

We had a really good week this week, and found some new families to teach. Our bishop here is super super helpful. He was driving in the streets doing visits the other day and just stopped and talked to this family sitting in their front yard. He gave us their address to go do a visit and they were so great. They´re legally married too! We had 4 investigators in church yesterday, so we´re seeing some improvements there. Elizabeth and Thuane will be at church next week, then the following Saturday they´re going to be baptized! I´m really excited for them. I sent Dad an email of something I need you guys to send me. Take a look at it. it should fit easily into one of those smaller packages you send me. I taught the restoration to like everyone inside the dentistry while they were looking at my exams. They probably thought I was crazy, but it was good to let them know why they had an American inside the school. My teeth have already moved a ton though. The dentist said it´s because I already had braces on before and because she put a lot of tension on the wire so we could speed up the process. It looks like there is a ton of snow there at home. I´m really jealous. This week wasn´t super hot, and there was a lot of wind. So it´s starting to cool down just a little bit. Sorry my emails are getting shorter and shorter. I write every single day, so one day you´ll maybe be able to read all about my experiences and my thoughts.

My companion and I are doing really well together. He provides a lot of the scripture work because I´m still learning my way around the bible. The Book of Mormon is really easy for me to remember certain things now. We are really starting to adapt the lessons a lot better to fit to people´s minds. It showed because this week we had a lot more people who invited us to come back to receive another visit. Elder Mason got transferred today. He´s going to be the new secretary of the mission. We have 2 secretaries. They deal with all of the paperwork and financial responsibilities of the mission. Elder mason will do the paperwork, and the other new guy will do all of the financial stuff. It´s a busy busy calling and they are in the office ‘til 6 every day. So only three hours a day to find people to teach and to baptize. It´ll be good for him though. Elder Mason is a smart guy.

Sounds like Taylor and Hailey are getting all geared up for trek. good times for sure haha. Carnival is the first week of February here, so all the youth leave the city to go do some campout for a few days. We just have to work in the streets and put our tunnel vision on. Ask dad how that is haha. We´ll just say that the laws and customs here in Brazil aren´t the same. That´s no fun that Tay´s swim meet got moved. He´ll kick some butt tomorrow though! I´ve been off of pop for forever too, and it´s feeling way great. I´m back down to about 186 pounds but I have a ton of energy during the day. I´m getting really used to my area here, and it really isn´t that big. We cover a lot of the ground usually in about one day. The ward is getting a lot better with passing references to us, and those are always the best people for us to talk to. Things in this ward will for sure pick up a lot during this transfer! I´m really excited! I love all of you so much! Have a great week! Enjoy the snow for me!

Love,

Elder Shepherd