21!

Hello everybody!

So seems like a lot remembered my birthday! I got a call from Sister Souza and Sister Fusco yesterday. The whole week I felt kind of ucky, but thankfully I felt normal again yesterday!

SO the week went pretty fast like always. Monday, we visited a contact, but it was only a quick visit, since they didn't have much time.

Tuesday, we started teaching Jonas, a reference from Iara (who doesn't want to be baptized still!) We talked about the Book of Mormon with him since he already had learned plenty from coming to church.

Wednesday, we contacted a referral from the bishop. It was a family that they invited to church, and accepted our visit. We talked a while with them, but they didn't seem very interested in what we had to say (the grandson wanted to keep reading us passages from the Jehovah's Witness Bible). Then at night, we went to De Assis and Cintia. We talked a little more about the Word of Wisdom, since they have a lot of questions about it. They have no doubt they should live it, but they don't really understand why!

Thursday, we contacted some "lost" members. They weren't registered here in Castelo, but they live here. So we went and tried to find some of them. We did find one, and we invited her to an activity on Friday. That was about all we managed to do that day.

Friday, we went around talking to people and inviting them to the "quadrilha" or Brazilian Square Dance. We took a less-active and her grandson, and we met about five or six people to teach.

Saturday, I had a terrible stomach ache, so I spent a lot of time at home, since I couldn't wander far. But when night came around, I managed to feel better. We taught a man named Vanez who we had already met. We gave him the first lesson, which he received well. It seems like he has been waiting for our message a few years. This week he moved into our ward.

Sunday was my birthday, but most of our investigators were sick and couldn't come. But the Bishop brought another referral for us, and so were going there tomorrow! Most of the talks were on the importance of bringing the people that can't make it to church to come. Someone commented that there are many good people that really want to return to activity, but they don't know how! That is why we need to help them. A ward can't hope to have many new members when it can't take care of its old members! Thankfully our Bishop is very experienced and knows that. In the other ward, the Bishop is doing everything to bring new people in, references, even a bus to bring people to church! But little effort is put out to help those that are less active. At night, we watched the transmission, which was super awesome! It will help me be a missionary after I take my name tag off. That is something I have realized for a while, our mission is a help for us to continue being missionaries. That is why ex-missionaries are looked to as a resource... they already should know everything!

So, that was my week. Hopefully next week is much more eventful!

Love, Elder Cornwell