Hello everyone!!
SO like usually time is rushed on p-day and we got to the internet place a little late. so if this e-mail is short you know why!
So things are really getting cold here! ANd it makes it even better with the humidity and lovely hard wind in your face! Today I feel like I´m ready to go play in the snow! gotta love it! Who knew you could about freeze in Brazil?! I sure didn´t!
Hmmm what else? Since all our really progress investigators got baptized last week yesterday I have to sadly report we had no investigators in sacrament meeting. First time here in brazil! But hey I guess thats bound to happen right? No worries we have faith things will progress. We are still working with Lisandra and Gilmar (the parents of the vargas family) to get married. Cross your fingers and pray that its this month. And guess what! Nina (i think I mentioned her in a past e-mail.) isn´t the girlfriend to Paulo. Aparently they just live in the same house? haha I really don´t know! I sure something new will come up this week. So yeah we are kinda at a road block right now with investigators. They all pretty much need to be married or a good push in the font. haha so yeah we are going to keep working hard with them. Today we set some goals for finding more investigators. the goal for the mission is for each companionship to baptize one family so we´re going to do all that we can. I´m kinda excited because for the first time this week we are going to go tracting! haha ok so we won´t be knocking doors but will be clapping our hands off! haha just fyi they don´t knock on doors here they clap or yell a person´s name. interesting huh? so yeah I´ll have to let you know how that goes! SO yeah this week will be a week of finding and working really hard with our investigators!
So working with the Zone Leaders isn´t all that bad. They help out alot. SO since they are working in the same ward as us we had a meeting with the bishop this week. We needed to meet so we could split the area and have more things figured out. And guess what! We got assigned to the area where we have the majority of our investigators and recent converts! Such great news. It is a different side of town with all the dirt roads and the people don´t have that much but sister modesto and I were pretty happy to stay in this area. And guess what else I found out this week. So the reason why we have another set of missionaries in the same ward is because they are trying to make the church bigger here. They (church leaders and mission president) think in about a year or so the ward will split and soon down the road they will have a new stake. Crazy huh!? so they want more missionaries here to strengthen the members and find more people that will help strengthen the wards. so like we are suppose to find future strong leaders in the church! Its really exciting yet a little intimidating! Alot of pressure! But hey we have faith! ANd also everyday for lunch the elders eat with us. every family that has the missionaries over has not 2 but four missionaris over. I guess us sister weren´t eating enough. hahah everyone say ``eat more sister, eat more!` haha gotta love members!
Well thats it for the week. Not to much happening.
Love you all! Eu te amo!!
-Sister Gregory

Pictures from Brazil!

Sooo guess what everyone! I have officially finished my first transfer here in Brazil!! So crazy. Time is for sure flying by! So guess what! I am staying companions with sister Mosdesto! And we are staying in Agronomia!! yay!! I´m so excited because well she is the greatest and this transfer we have been blessed with a lot of success. Just in one transfer we had the opportunity to baptize 8 people! Our area though will be split between us and the Zone Leaders though. and after this transfer I think it will be only Elders. super sad. our Apartment is big enough for four missionaries and well there is just isn~´t enough sisters in the mission. I´m kinda nervous because all our investigators are in the same area! But it will be for the best because well lets just say that not every part of our area is the safest... but no worries mom! And well we are also nervous because the Zone Leaders will be working with us! bah! Crazy! I guess our area is one of the top areas in the mission? No say. but yeah things are progressing tremendously and I´m absolutely loving the mission life!

So guess what else! yesterday five of our investigators got baptized!! 5! all were the family of Ivoni. Her grandchildren Andrey, Braian, and Carol and then there mom Gislanie! Can you believe it! one big family!! Ivoni was suppose to get baptized on saturday but because her health isn~t the greatest she couldn´t because the water in the font was pretty much as cold as it could get. So at the last min as we were stressing like crazy boiliing water on the stove in the church we decided to move the baptizim for sunday (yesteday) along with the entire family! And we moved the baptizm to a different chaple that had some type of heater for the water. Such a huge blessing really. It was crazy how everything went down. We were pretty upset that ivoni couldn´t get baptized saturday but the Lord knows all and he had a better plan for this family. So after talking with our district leader and then the Zone Leaders things worked out for the baptism yesterday!! oh my it was such an amazing baptism! the spirit was so strong. So it was a little stressful for everyone because Ivoni can´t use her hands. She has no movement in her arms and hands. so it was a little tricky trying to baptize her. and she can´t be wet and cold to long or else she could get really sick and possibly die. yeah dramatic I know. Everyone was sweating bullets. literally. We the entire family got baptized and then it was ivoni´s turn. Odar the ward mission leader baptized the entire family and when he baptized Ivoni everyone could tell he was nervous becuase not only was he baptizing her and had to be gentle but he had to plug her nose as well for her! bah! Well things worked out beautiful and man the spirit was so poweful! and then guess what else happened! Our bishop approved for the entire family to recieve the gift of the holy ghost right after. that never happens. everyone was in tears and yes the spirit was pretty powerful. the Zone Leaders had to open the church for us and do some last interviews with the family (another stressful part!) but they told us that this baptizm was probally the most spiritual amazing baptizm they had ever seen. Man this family is so amazing! Its crazy how there are many times in our life that what we have planned out doesn´t work out and we feel that everything is lost and well just will turn out horrible. but after this weekend I know even more how much the Lord really is in control and how greatful I am for that! I love being a missionary!

Well I gotta run. HOpefully you can somewhat read my thoughts!!

Love you all!!

-Sister Gregory!

I´m going to attach a photo or two let me know if you get them!! the first is of the baptism yesterday and the other is of the vargas family!!

Tudo Bem? Com esta sua semana?! Well things here in Brazil are like always just wonderful! We have alot of people working towards baptism which is wonderful! We have currently 10 investigators that are working toward baptism and will all be baptized within the next two months. So yeah things are staying busy here in Agronomia! ok so about my week! things were really great! oh by the way I´m feeling loads better! I´m just taking extra caution with the food I eat and just not letting my eyes get bigger than my stomach. Thanks grandpa tyler for teaching me what that saying ment! I remember when I was little and grandpa would make the famous tyler pancakes and I would always take more than I could really eat! Bah just got to apply it to my life now so I don´t spend another night in the bathroom! haha so yesterday was so great! We invited Nina and Paulo to work towards baptism together. They are older well I think they are in their late 30´s no say but yeah it was pretty cool experience. Nina is hillarious. Probably one of the oddest ladies I´ve met but I absolutely love her. They have dogs all over the place and she talks super fast. So its tough understanding her but I get the the idea more or less of what she´s saying. so yeah anywho we invited them to work towards baptism together since we had to push Nina´s date back. And it worked out perfectly because up until a week ago or so we didn´t know about Paulo. Or at least I didn´t know about him. So yeah to make my long story short Paulo and Nina will be getting married and baptized by July 30th! I couldn´t be more excited for them! Then we have Ivone´s family! I mentioned them in my last letter I think? But yeah they are getting baptized June 18th! So yeah with just their family we have four baptizms! Ivone is 61 yrs old and her three grandchildren Andre, Brian, and carol will be getting baptized with her! they are such an amazing family! It was funny because the other day I was looking through my lovely planner where I write down all my contacts. So as a mission we are asked to make 10 contacts a day as we walk to and from places. Well the first week I barely remember much and really had no idea what in the world everyone was saying! SO yeah anywho I was looking at all my contacts and trying to make sense of my scribbles and guess what! I talked to Gislanie! She is the mother of Andre, Brian, and carol! Crazy huh? I guess this family was super ready and because I couldn´t quite understand and remember everything. The Lord helped me out with this one by making them a referal from a ward member. Crazy how the Lord works out at times huh? I felt pretty relieved to know that with the language barier I´m not limiting anyone from gaining salvation! haha oh goodness someday, someday I just know I´ll get this language down! oh one more baptism!! So on the 18th of june we have 5 baptisma lined up. Four from the family of Ivone (by the way Gislanie is taking the lessons also. She´s just super busy so we have yet to invite her to be baptized. so though I promise!!) and Tamaires!! She is the cousin to Gregory, Gabriel and Joao. I swear they have more family everytime we meet with them! but yeah she told us she wanted to be baptized and so we were like um.. duh you can be baptized! haha so yeah she´s super excited! she was literally dancing the night we invited her to be baptized. ok I think I´ve typed the work baptism like 50 times! But its true brazil is a baptizing mission! Its so neat seeing these people make all these amazing changes!!

Well time is running out so I better run! oh tomorrow we have another special training! I´m pretty excited becuase you get to see so many missioaries at these things and hear from president swenson! He´s been pretty sick by the way so keep him in your prayers.... SO yeah tomorrow should be interesting! But so can´t wait!
Well I love you all! Thanks kailee and khyrstyne for your letters! i mail once a week at the district meetings so it was great being able to get my first letters here in brazil this last week! thanks so much! Also tell Ben (Gardner) Happy Birthday! I hope he had the bestest 5th Birthday ever! Wow its crazy he´s 5 now! man!
Well love you all! Have a wondeful week!
-Sister Gregory