Dear everyone,


Yesterday was transfers. I was pretty confident that I would stay in Imperial and that I would get a new companion. Elder Cavalcante already had four transfers there. He is tired of the area and he just burnt out on it. Well, 9:30 on Monday night we received a call from the Zone Leaders. As we were hearing the names of the other missionaries who were transferred on the conference call we were waiting, positive that Elder Cavalcante would leave and that I would receive a new companion in Imperial. Well, we were wrong.
Elder Ribeiro told me that I was transferred and that I would be opening an area. So, here I am in Nova Suiça, which translated means ´´New Switzerland``. My companion is an american named Elder Wilson. He is a tall, blond haired, nerdyish Elder, he also has glasses. He is an amazing guy and we work together great. He is from Madison, Wisconsin. He studied math before the mission at Arizona State. The only thing that I haven´t liked about him is that he has a big box of sweets and candy that he doesn´t share and that he conserves to eat a piece every now and then. I receive a backage from gran filled with a bunch of stuff and it was gone in four days, I gave bunch to my companion and I ate a handful every day, yet people have agency, yet charity is a commandment, yet so is the Word of Wisdom, who is right? I also don´t know, I just know that he has mike and ikes in there and that is killing me.
The two Elders that were here in Nova Suiça were taken out because of a few problems. There has not been a baptism here in over six months, which is unheard of in Brazil. At lunch with a member yesterday a member of the ward said ´´I think the other Elders were trunky``. Trunky being missionary slang for someone who thinks more about home and their life after the mission than the work they have to do now. After lunch with that family we shared a message about miracles and faith. I promised that we would have a baptism this transfer and that things would get better here.
It is rough arriving in an area knowing nothing and also having a companion who knows nothing about the area also. We walked a ton yesterday and worked hard talking with everyone in the streets. We looked in the area book and took name after name and passed by house after house, only to find people who were not interested in hearing our message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. After a lot of walking we finally arrived on Rua Itália. There we passed by a few people from the area book who were not home and a few who were not interested. Finally, we knocked on a door to find a woman named Wilma. She lives with four other single women, which isn´t exactly the best local to teach but hey, she was the first person who was listening. So, we couldn´t enter the house because there wasn´t another man with us, so we taught her on her porch. I could tell during the message that she was feeling the spirit very strongly and in the end she accepted to be baptized. The hard part is that she works on Sunday during church. But, we told her that if she prayed with faith and asked her boss to switch her day-off, that Heavenly Father would provide a way for her to go to church. We will pass by her again on Friday to teach another lesson, please pray for her that she can have Sunday as a day-off.
Elder Wilson and I are extremely excited about the work here, we are praying for miracles and direction, we doing everything we know how to do, and learning how to do many other things. I feel that I willl learn faith and humilty in this transfer.
It was sad to leave Imperial so fast. I loved the members there and we were having such a great progression. I left a tie for one of the brothers in the branch, Brother Paulo. On the back I wrote ``Imperial Ward Elder Nothum Mosiah 8:18....(then I wrote the whole scripture). I loved the people there.
God is a God of miralces and he can do all things according to his will, and it is his will that we all have joy. Therefore, pray to have the joy you desire, pray to be happy, pray to be filled with love, have faith, and watch the Lord bring upon you his mighty miracles, as he already has with so many others.
I know that this is the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and that this Church is lead by revelation from God and that it is the kingdom of God on earth. The greatest way to gain a testimony of a gospel principle or commandment is to strive to live it and see the promised blessings come to you, thus you will know it is true and good.

I LOVE MY LITTLE SISTER NATALIE HOPE NOTHUM AND SHE IS THE WORLDS BEST LITTLE SISTER AND I LOVE HER SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

Com Amor,
Elder Nothum