Finnally, an new post...

Well this week here in Brasil has been one full of change. Last Monday I got the > call that I didnt want to receive saying that my last area was being shut. For some reason right now we have a shortage of missionaries. More missionaries are going home than coming in. So, every 6 weeks our president has to shut areas. Last week the ward of Palmeiras got there turn. This will be the first time in 20 years that they have not had missonaries in their ward. Everybody seemed to take it in a different way. Some people were ok with it, some people cried.

The work in that ward is amazing. That sunday before I left we marked 3 baptisms. One of them the missionaries have been working with the guy for 3 years. When I told him I was leaving he said “Elder Wilkey.... I know that I was meant to baptised by you. Without you here I will not be baptised in two weeks.” You of course can guess my reaction. The day I left there was one of the hardest days in my life. On monday before we left they threw a party to say goodbye to elder richardson and I. A good part of the ward was there. When we were preparing to leave Elder Richardson grabed a guitar and a hymn book and sat down next to me. The following minutes were some of the hardest and most spirtual moments of my life. While he played the guitar him and I sang to everybody “God be with you till we meet again” I loved that area and those people. I will never in my life forget the people there.

Well enough about there. So I wsa transfered. My new area is the Ward of Vila Matilde in the Penha stake. I am actually about a wopping 10 by car away from my old area. LOL. Just my luck. JK. My new companion is Elder Matzenbacher from Porto Alegre, Brasil. He has about 6 months left on mission. The old missionaries that were in this area seemed to have had a problem or something because the pres pulled the two old ones and put us here in their place. So, neither of us know anybody. Normally one missionary leaves and one stays to show the area to the other. Not this time. At the office we were given keys to our house, a map, address to our house and the name and phone of the ward mission leader that was called last week. Thats it!!! To say the least it was a fun exciting week. We arrived home and tried to call the ward mission leader but of course he didnt answer. So I dug through a bunch of old stuff and found a list of members and from there the telephone calls began. But now we know everybody, have invesigators with baptisms marked for in two weeks and we even got to talk in church yesterday. LOL. It was a crazy week to say the least.

Well I better get going.
I hope everybody is doing great and enjoying the rest of the summer.

Elder Wilkey