It's a Little Chile Down Here...But Kinda Warm in Brazil: Happy Birthday, Elder Andrew Schwartz!

Surprise Birthday Party at Antonio's

Birthday Lunch

The elders serving in the other ward got me pizza for my birthday....

Dear Family!

Man, it was sooooo good to talk to all of you guys yesterday (last Sunday)! I'm glad to see that you guys are all doing well and that you guys had a great Mother's Day, too. I hope that you guys had a good week all together. This letter is gonna be kind of short, but I have lots of good pictures for you guys.

So this past week was good, like I mentioned when we talked. It was full of work as usual. We have been working with a lot of people, and we're always busy, but unfortunately our investigator pool has not been progressing very well, so we're getting to the point to reevaluate who we are going to keep focusing on, and then spend some time working on finding more of the Lord's elect. We're still working with Antonio's Family. Yesterday they threw me a little surprise party with cake and purim. It was awesome. A lot of people wished me a happy birthday at church and a lot of the missionaries and President and Sister Tanner did too, so it was a great birthday. Earlier this week, we had a monthly mission council with President Tanner which are always excellent. I always learn so much from President and Sister Tanner. They are a powerhouse couple! This week on Friday, we had a really special and spiritual experience that I forgot to tell you guys about. We went to the hospital because one of the members in our ward was there due to a problem in her kidney. We visited a little bit with her and shared a little spiritual message with her to try to lift her spirits. She thanked us for the message and as we were leaving she said something that really struck me: She asked us if we would be able to bring her a tithing slip so that she would be able to pay her tithing. I was moved by her faithfulness to keep Heavenly Father's commandments even as she was passing through an extremely difficult health trial in her life. I know that we all pass through hard times and we have lots of difficulties. But if we just keep firm in our faith and be obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments, we will be blessed.

I loved talking to you guys last week and I'm so happy to be here in Brazil, preaching the gospel to my brothers and sisters. This truly is His work and I know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ and living his commandments we can live truly happy lives. I hope you guys have a good week and I'll talk to you guys next week!

Love,

Elder Schwartz

More pictures.....