may 27th 2013

Hello again! I am here in my new area and I am doing well. I am serving in a city about two hours outside of Goiânia called Rio Verde, in Ramo Bandeirantes. In this city there is only a district full of branches, no wards yet. It is very different here than in Goiânia, and I have to admit, I miss Goiânia A LOT. The past seven months that I spent in Ala Goiânia were the best months of my whole mission! I loved every minute of it and I am so grateful for all the experiences and memories I have from there.

This was the most difficult transfer of my whole mission! It was so hard to leave everyone back in Goiânia, but at least I got to say goodbye to everyone cause I was blessed to know that I would be transferred two days early. Usually they just call us the night before and we don't have a chance to say goodbye to anyone. But the Lord blessed me with a tender mercy and allowed me to talk to all my friends and recent converts before I left.

So on Wednesday, we visited all of our converts and said goodbye to them. Then, at night, we went to a member's house and said goodbye to all our friends there. That was the hardest part! You only realize how much you really love people and will miss them when you are gone. But I know that I have to work hard and do my best and the time will fly by! Before you know it, I will be back in Goiânia, seeing all my friends again before I go home!

Yesterday we had the District Conference in Rio Verde. Pres. and Sis. Prieto were the speakers. Sis. Prieto said something in her talk that was an answer to many of my prayers. She said, "Sacrifice is not a loss, it is just a preparation for something much better." Then she talked about how the Lord knows each of us and we just have to trust Him with everything. I remember in my patriarchal blessing how it says, "If you are faithful, the Lord will help you in your efforts..." then it goes on to list a bunch of things that I will be able to do in my future, like finishing my mission, doing well in school, finding a good career, getting married, and raising a family in the Gospel. Sis. Prieto talked about how memories can help us remember the best parts of our past and can help us prepare for an even better future. I am so grateful for the memories and experiences I have had on my mission, especially from the last seven months!

So I am doing good here. I am

ready to work! We had a baptism on Saturday and are preparing more people to get baptized too. Rio Verde is the best zone in the mission! They have been baptizing A LOT these past few months. I am so blessed to be able to be a district leader here! I hope I can make a difference.

I had the wonderful blessing to talk to one of my best friends in Goiânia on the phone for a little bit the night before I left. We had a great conversation that really helped me realize the importance of my work here on my mission and the importance of having patience. At the end of the call, before I hung up, I said to them, "Sorria!" Which means, "Smile!" in Portuguese. So I have been taking my own advice these days and doing what I have done my whole mission, think positively and always SMILE! I love being happy and I hope that I can brighten people's days with just a simple smile. Someone wrote me a letter this past week thanking me for always smiling. They said that whenever they talked to me on the phone, they could somehow tell that I was smiling when I said goodbye to them! That made me feel really happy, cause it is something I have always tried to do and I am glad that people have noticed.

I love my mission and I love you guys! Thanks for everything!

Keep me in your prayers, you are always in mine :)

Love, Spencer