hey mom and dad
wow the second to last email of my mission! that is way crazy. that sounds like a really good sunday to me. it is really interesting to me how little kids can be such big examples to the adults. through all the hard times that little girl has had in her life she makes a choice that will benefit her for the rest of eternity. we had another baptism this week. his name is Gelison. he is 20 years old and lives all by himself here in manaus. his family lives in one of the cities close to here. it has been way cool getting to teach these younger guys and really relate to them, you know. so its crazy to think that you guys will be headed to brazil next week! i am getting everything planned for when you guys get here. i think dad will be fine driving here, and it will make life a lot easier for us. i went out close by the hotel we will stay at today with a member, and you guys are coming at the right time of the year! it is beautiful there, but i wont tell you what is out there so i don't spoil it for you. haha but i can tell you it is gonna be one of the most beautiful sights you have seen in your life. it is gonna be a really good experience for you here haha. i think the Leite family is gonna meet you guys at the airport with me. they are way excited to meet you and are very special people. you are gonna love them. i think the only thing else you could bring is just some little souvenirs for these families, just something small and cheap just something little like that. lets see, my favorite hymn would probably be "Closer My God To Thee". i love when the pearsons sing! i think i have my talk all ready now. i have like half an hour right? well i have to run mom and dad. i will talk to you guys next week for the last time before i get to talk to you face to face. i love you guys.

hey mom and dad
i think i am gonna freeze to death haha. i cant believe that a little under a month i will be home. i am getting way excited for you two to get here. i got some suggestions from the other parents that came here . first put bug spray on with lots of deet before you get into manaus haha. bring pepto bismal, and be ready to sweat. i visited my Brazilian family today and we are getting everything planed out for you guys. i will be there to pick you up at the airport. haha that's kind of funny cuz its usually the opposite. then we will go some places. you didn't let me know if we are gonna rent a car or not. you guys can decide if you are up to driving in brazil. you don't have to worry about bringing so many suit cases, just bring me one big one. i don't have very much stuff, haha. i am gonna leave a bunch of my shirts and ties here with these two young guys we baptized. they are really cool, and it will be really nice for them to have some church clothes. some thing i was thinking about you bringing for me though is my sunglasses, those black ones that you like so much haha, my pair of levis, i don't know how to explain them. they are my boot cut ones. i think you might have got them for me, actually. cuz im not sure what the weather is gonna be like in belo horizonte. did you find my black shorts? i cant beleive its coming so fast haha.
that is way cool about grandpa's work being done. i bet i was a very special experience. i know he is really grateful to be sealed to grandma cuz of how much he loved her. not many people make it more than fifty years in marriage. he loved her a lot so just imagine how he feels, knowing first off with the different perspective that he has, and to know he is sealed to the person he loves most for time and all eternity. but i have to run mom and dad. i love you guys. o and i almost forgot elder da cunha my old companion asked if you guys could get him a cheap shirt from vegas that says welcome to vegas or what happens in vegas stays in vegas, just one of those souvenir shirts that they have there. he wears a large. talk to you next week. love you

hey mom and dad
wow another week gone by! time is going by so quick, it has felt like one big day since the last time i talk to you guys. sounds like you had fun in springville. did you get to see KC? and I'm sure i will like the shirts you picked out for me mom haha. about the vans i attached a picture to this email. it is the regular green ones and i need an 8 1/2 the vans run a little big. and i forgot but can you guys bring my black studded belt too if its still there haha. things are going good here just running all over the place. we have been working really hard but it is paying off. this week the zone baptized 20 people that's almost as much as the baptized all of last transfer. we are pretty excited about that and will have a bunch more this week. our baptism fell through but this week we will have two of Adonias and Jerlison. they are way cool. it has been really cool teaching them cuz they are the same age as us so we can really relate to them. it will be really good for the ward to get some younger men in there our ward is full of old people haha. i think there is like two or three men with the same age as us. so it will be a good thing for the ward. i think we will have a baptism on the saturday that you guys get here so that will be really cool for you guys to see. it will be a wedding then the baptism cuz we are helping this couple get married. there might be another couple too but we are having troubles getting their papers and stuff in. they want to be baptized so bad they cant hardly stand it. but we are working really hard for them. their papers are some where in rio de janeiro so we have been in contact with the mission there and they are chasing the papers around so we will get it. but i am doing good here. it is a weird feeling to think i wont be here next transfer. its funny when people ask me how much time i have left and i just say four weeks haha. but i have to run mom and day i will talk to you guys next week. i love you guys

survived hahaha
how is it going mom and dad? mom you can relax now i didn't drowned in the amazon river or get eaten by an anaconda when i was baptizing on the beaches of Maués. it was a great trip! the eighteen hour boat ride got a little old when it was dark but in the day time i saw all kinds of cool stuff. like kids headed to school in canoes and fresh water dolphins. it was way cool i didn't get too many pictures of the trip because there were some shady guys with their hammocks right next to ours and it wouldn't have been to smart to be wavin my camera around. but i saw some amazing stuff. i don't think i will ever forget the night that i came home on the boat. i watched the moon rise on the amazon river and it was so red and was right in the middle of the river so it gave the water a red glow with the little wakes of the boat rippling off into the distance. it was one of the most beautiful things i have seen in my life. in the city of Maués was awesome too. we baptized 4 people this time. the baptismal font couldn't fill up cuz that part of the city was without water for the day so we headed to the beach on the river. it was a lot of running around haha. we went there about nine at night cuz everyone showed up late. we got there and i was the first to have to head out into the water. the members didn't help my nerves haha they said you have to go in splashing the water with your hands a little to scare the sting rays away. at first i thought they were joking but they were serious haha. i have to admit i was a little nervous. but i didn't get stung or bit by anything so it was all good. we had a really good time there. the members are so cool and love us there. we ate lunch and dinner every night there. i think if i stayed there any longer i would get some meat back on my bones haha. i was hoping i would get transferred there this last transfer but i didn't. i am headed to the East side of Manaus. i will be a zone leader there. they have been having a rough time there this last transfer with a bunch of things so i wasn't too excited about getting transferred there to deal with the problems and the rough areas. and president knew i wasnt gonna be real thrilled about it so he sat me down and explained why he was putting me there. he said that he felt the i needed to go there and try to get the missionaries focused and needed a leader there to help get the zone baptizing again cuz the area i am going to was one of the best baptizing areas in the mission and last transfer they didn't baptize one person. so i am excited it will be a good way to finish my mission. it will be a lot of work but i will be with a good missionary and we will get things going there again. talking about the end of my mission. a member offered his apartment to us in the center of the city if we want to save a little bit of money. it would be a really good location for us too. it is right next to the Amazon Theater tourist point of the city. the member wants to talk to you guys too. he is sending a daughter on the exchange student program next year but is really worried about her going to a non-member family. he is wondering if you and dad would be interested in taking her in next school year. he wants to know what agency Bev and Pete work with too so even if you guys don't think you can he can find someone in panaca or something that is a member and is wanting an exchange student. he was talking to Gildete and she mentioned something about how our family had done the exchange student program before and he figured he would ask you guys. i got a call from him about it but i told him that would be up to you guys. so let me know what you guys think about that and what agency bev and pete are with. about the guitar i don't think you guys will be able to get it here. he said you guys don't need to worry about it. i am going to visit them tonight. haha jessica loves to collect these barbies. so your question about the family. it is mom Gildete, dad Maricio, daughter Jessica, son Pedro, and daughter Priscila. they are way excited for you guys to get here. i was talking with them last night and starting to get everything planned for when you guys get here. you guys better get ready to eat a ton there are tons of families wanting to feed you haha. i think the first thing we will do when you get here is eat lunch with some members haha. dont worry i have let them know that the have to make food that isn't real strong like that stuff i told you with intestines in it haha. you guys will eat a of of fish and bbq. we need to see with president phillips too about when i am gonna get released. if i will have to be released here in brazil or if i will wait till i get back cuz sometimes when the missionaries go to visit a different city other that the mission city they like to release them. i will ask president here and see what he thinks too. i cant believe i am entering in my last transfer! so crazy! but i better run i have to help with these last transfers wooooooooo! the office was good but these transfers kill you in the office haha. i love you guys. and will talk to you next week from my new area.

hey mom and dad
this week i wont get to write you. i get on a boat in an hour headed for Maués again. i will get there tomorrow afternoon. i just wanted to let you guys know thats why you will only get this little email from me this week. we had a really good week! the family we were working with was batized it was an amazing and tiring experience! i love you guy and will talk to you next week