Hey Everyone!

Sorry that I didn´t write last week. It was a holiday here in Campinas and all of the Lan Houses were shut down. I got access to one and then it closed while I was in it, so I didn´t get to write everyone that I wanted to.
Nevertheless, here I am writing another letter to you all.

This week we had a training meeting were we talked about teaching to peoples needs and getting their confidence and trust. Elder Rowley and I started to think about how we are teaching and how we could get better. So we made some plans and after the meeting we were off to our area.
We arrived and went to an address that we were wanting to pass. As we arrived at the house a man answered the door. It was a poor part of down and the house was made of bricks and the only room that was complete was small kitchen. The rest of the house had no doors, no tile, just brick walls. The man looked like he could have been a rough character and I wasn´t to sure if he would accept our message. He looked at us and we told that we had a message about the gospel of Jesus Christ that his son had asked us to come share. He looked at us and then walked away and called someone else to come talk to us.
Soon after there arrived a short, thin, smiling Brazilian woman with braces and her hair pulled back in a unkempt pony tail. She gave us a big smile and told us to come in. Her name was Zeneide. She makes carry out food in her house and then delivers it to local business. Her and her husband Adilson have been together for about two years and they both have two children from their prior marriage. Zeneide has had serious problems with depression and she has had thoughts at times that maybe God forgot about her.
We entered the home and got to know them and found out all this info. They donp´t have any strong religious belief and they were happy to receive us in their home.
Elder Rowley and I then shared the scripture ´´Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden.....`` We shared a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and said that there is a way to have a family more happy and united through truths that have been restored by God. We felt a really strong peace in that home and I left that house knowing that we truly helped them.
The next day we arrived a little early and we had a chance to help Zeneide do the preparations for the carry lunches for the next day. We peeled garlic, cut onions, and cut a cucumber-like squash up. As we worked we got to talk a little more and get to know them. We look at them as friends who we care for and love, this helps us to teach with the true spirit of Christ; which brought multitudes to follow after Him.
As we seek to look at people like God and Christ do, or in other words, seek to look at them as people with emotions, desires, needs and emotions we will start to not only look at them as Christ does, but further more, to love them like Christ does. All who have a calling in this church need to love be for they serve, if there be another motive they will receive no gift in heaven and if there be no love the others who they serve and teach will not feel conviction in their words.
But all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. (Moses 1:35)
Can we say the same about all those whom the lord has given us to care for? We should seek to know them, to love them truly, and then the Spirit will tell us exactly what we need to say to bring them closer to Christ.

The mission is filled with so many great experiences and I would not trade these two years for anything else in the world.

Elder Tyson Fillmore, a good buddy from the Y sent me a letter. He is still as hilarious as ever and his mission is going good. Tell Nelda Krueger thanks for the Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. Tim and Casey too.
Oh, and Casey, the Elder in the baptismal picture you sent me of Allie is from my BYU ward when I was a freshman, or he lived in my dorm building. But, I know him.
NATALIE HOPE NOTHUM IS THE GREATEST LITTLE SISTER!!!!! I LOVE YOU NOODLE AND I HOPE THAT EVERYTHING IS GOOD!!! I MISS YOU!!!!!!!

I and I kind of love the rest of you too, but Noodle gets the majority of my love.

Com Amor no Lar,
Elder Stephen Mathias Nothum