TRANSFER!

This week was hectic...I got a phone call tuesday night saying that I was being transferred the next day! I packed my bags...which are ridiculously heavy and I´m not sure why (I think it´s because of the journals, scriptures and other books). I said goodbye to our recent convert, Patrícia, Nilziele and Deise...I don´t like goodbyes, so I preferred not to round up all the ward members this time. I spent the night in Uberlândia and then the next morning caught a 6 hour bus ride to Goiânia. I´m re-opening an area to sisters...a tiny city called Hidrolândia has only had elders for the past year or so and this past month has been without missionaries. The real kick about this transfer is who my new companion is...or should I say companions. I´m training again...not one, but two new sisters. The two newest sisters in the mission arrived last week and Presidente put me in charge of them both! One is Brazillian from São Paulo and the other is an American from Washington...yup. Needless to say, I´m feeling more than a little overwhelmed in a new area, with 2 new sisters in a branch that has over 200 listed members in the area and a frequency of 30 on Sunday. I know that the Lord is going to give me lots of strength and will help me know what to do. I also know that Presidente Prieto is doing everything to keep my mind off of home...keep me busy with the work!

Sis. Magleby and Sis. Ferro

What´s good about this is that no one (not even my companions) know that I´m on my last transfer...so there are going to be no jokes and no comments. I know that this is going to help me, personally, a lot!

The little town of Hidrolândia is...little. I´m greatful that I wasn´t transferred to some busy city, because I prefer the calm feeling of the suburbs. The city has a population of about 10,000 people and is known for it´s jabuticaba (yummy...too bad it´s not the right season for jabuticaba fruit), and it´s natural waters (which consequently also means it´s cases of dangue.) The branch may be small, but those that attend regularly have rock solid testimonies and I´m excited to get to know the members better. Our branch mission leader is super involved and is willing to help in any way to get the Lord´s work done here.

We´re going to have to be creative in our activities because basically everyone in the city knows a member, or knows the church, or is baptized. What´s funny about the city is that know one uses street names. Because the city is so small, everyone gives directions by landmarks. Instead of saying "I live at 864 silverthorne trail," they people here would say, "I live on the street that curves at the end close to Frank's house. The house with the small tree in front" And everyone would know exactly where I live. This is proving tricky when we try to find new investigators, because they describe where they live instead of pass an address. We´ve found various houses that don´t even have numbers on the front!

I´m excited to work here, but I know that we will need lots of inspiration to help reactivate and animate the members!