Até a Pouco

Well, this is the last email I´ll be sending as a missionary. That´s weird.

This past weekend was great! We had the ward Christmas party on Friday and my district sang a special hymn. Saturday, Christmas Eve, was special. It started off talking with the family on Skype, which was way cool. I´d never done that. I was not emotional whatsoever, or I guess I was if you count smiling a lot. It was fun. Later in the afternoon, we had Raimunda´s baptism. She ended up telling her family anyway before she got baptized. It was an emotional day. She´s been looking for the truth her whole life, and finally found it. She was crying at the baptismal service. There was a special spirit there.

Later that night we had a special Christmas Eve dinner with a family of members/less active members/nonmembers. It was a nice way to end the evening.

Sunday, the bishop asked me to talk, so I gave my last talk in Portuguese and my last talk as a missionary. I got a little teared up at the end bearing my testimony. I didn´t cry, but I almost did. Also, Raimunda was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost my the laying on of hands.

I´m really grateful for being here. It´s amazing to see lives change. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I look forward to seeing you soon. I´ll be arriving home the 1st of January 2012. I love you all. Have a great week!

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba