Matt: Feb 9th 2011

Dear Family, friends, blog checkers, and oldies 94.1 listeners-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!! hey it´s your birthday it´s your birthday celebration. hey it´s your birthday it´s your birthday celebration. hey it´s your birthday it´s your birthday celebration. HEY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Mom I´m currently working on a letter for your birthday, but I just sent Nick´s birthday letter this week so don´t hold your breath. (sorry Nick)
So the big news today is I got transfered! Things were going good in Almirante Tamandaré, and I actually ended my tenure there with the baptism of Cleiton the (nowadays) shirt wearing 13 year old, and also Daniel an 8 year old chap. I actually entered the water to baptize Daniel and when I dunked him I forgot to tell him to bend his knees and his toes came up out of the water. Que vergonha! However the witness said at one point he was completely and totally immersed so I didn´t have to re-dunk. That was the big highlight of the last week in Tamandalixo, the other highlight was at lunch with a member for some reason the music video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler was on repeat on her tv and I laughed my nametag off watching that crazy crazy ridiculous bizarre video and thinking of that email Alison sent about a year ago. ha ha ha good stuff.
Now I´m in Vila Tebis, which is on the other side of Curitiba, and luckily has like no hills at all, so we´ll see if those 10 kilos find their way back onto these old bones. I´m with an American companion, Elder Allguier. He´s from Lehi and knows my boy Elder Stringham from the Nashville mission, and says he knows who Whitney Dastrup is, so that´s cool.
I´m kinda sad to leave Tamandaré when I did, cuz the mother of that family of gold in our last lesson said, "Elders after giving it some thought, and talking it over with the family, I decided that I want to get baptized... Gustavo wants to get baptized too, but I don´t think he understands the significance of it. I think he just wants to get dunked under water." So that was AWESOME!!!! ha ha then Gustavo was like "It´s true my brain doesn´t work very well." I´m pretty sure everything will work out and her husband who already said he´d get baptized will come to his senses and recommit. I´m excited to be here in this new area though and excited for a change.

Al/Jor- sounds like good times in the Buff. I can´t believe how long Ellie´s hair is!
Devin- yeah school, and wearing helmets biking in full pros are two things I do not miss.
Can- wolf sister, looking good as always ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha

Well that´s pretty much all. I hope things are going good in the winter wonderland and that all of you are continuing to read the scriptures, and also passing out Michael´s and my addresses to all the cuties you see.

com todo meu coroção,
Elder Matt Gagon