Matt: October 12, 2011

dearest family of mine,

Wassup? So today was transfers her in Curitiba as well and I got booted out of Eucaliptos after a very FAST six weeks there. Now I am in an area called São Lourenço which is like next to Almirante Tamandaré where I started the Brasilian part of my mission! So that is exciting! I am here with Elder Jackson of Provo. He and Michael were buddies in the MTC together (or so he says). He has already been in my zone before and he was the main reason we won the USA vs. Brasil great soccer show down back in Tebas so we already know each other pretty well, and I am super excited to be comps with him. I don´t remember a whole lot of what happened this last week. Mostly just doing work but not seeing a lot of fruits come forth of it. Umm other than that not a ton has been happening. I took that same gigantic bus again and it was right nice. I found out the other day that my pastor "son" of a companion that I trained went home not long after I left the area. That was really sad. It made me think of the beginning of my mission, and the homesickness and the suffering. I reflected on that and on where I´m at right now and I could not be happier. It sucked at first but I could not have made a better choice than to stick it out and keep going. They say it´s the best two years on the mission. Without a doubt it´s not two years where every day is the best day of your life, but the joy and pure happiness that comes out of it, combined with all the knowledge, wisdom, and experience that you accumulate...there´s just nothing like it. It is inexplicable. I hope that any and all young men in the church are chomping at the bit to get out here. Surely it is the greatest ever. Hopefully my boy Elder Ricardo gets his butt back out here.
OOOH an experience that I had Sunday night that was kind of interesting... We were walking around our area and we went in front of the "Snowball church". It´s kind of a new age church for youngsters where the preacher says swear words over the pulpit which is made of a surf board and it is doctrinally just fine to smoke the reefer. Basically think of the most ridiculous apostate church you can think of and you´ve got the Snowball church. Anywho I talked to this guy who said he felt bad for us as missionaries and Mormons because we were on the wrong path. I asked him how he could know that and he told me that he had read (parts of) the Book of Mormon and he had "talked with God" and that the spirit testified to him that our church was false and that he was on the right path.... It sucked because he used my own tricks against me! How do you argue with someone who bears testimony of revelation they´ve had from the spirit? It´s impossible! Even if that spirit comes in white powder form, you can´t argue with testimony.

I love you all so much,
Elder Matt Gagon