How are you all?

   Good I hope.
   Things here in Campinas are going well. Elder Machado and I are working hard and the Lord is splilling out his blessings upon us. The members have bneen giving us many refferals of their friends and family and they are all interested in the gospel and we are helping them prepare for baptism.
    Yesterday I was on exchanges with a Zone Leader from the Jundiaí Zone, Elder Feitosa. We had a good time and we had a great experience with a contact that Elder Feitosa. His name was Antonio. He has a serious addiction to cigarettes and alcohol. When we spoke with him, he became very happy, he invited us to come into is home. I say home, but I mean a little shed that is about half the size of our living room at home. He listened intently to the message of the restoration, but I felt he understood very little. We bore much testimony and told of the changes he could make in his life through the Savior. He acceptly gladly to prepare to make the changes and be baptized.
   At the end of our visit he broke into tears as he prayed. He was a humble man who honeslty wants to change. How it must be difficult for Heavenly Father see these, His children suffering. But that is why we are here to help.
    I have been reading Jesus the Christ lately. I´ve noticed that every person that Christ healed came unto him, he rarely if never went to them. Also they never asked to be healed in order to proove that he was the Christ, in all cases they already had a firm belief that he was the Christ and that he could heal them. When anyone wanted to see a cure or a miracle as proof of his divinity, he would not do the miralce. Interesting, I thought.
    Well, I love you all and I hope you have a great week.

-Elder Nothum

E aí família!

      This week has been one of the best weeks since I have been out here. I can explain to you how much Heavenly Father is blessing us lately. Elder Machado and I have been slaving these last few weeks giving our all to try to find people to teach. We had finally gotten a group of good people together when all of them, every last one decided to tell us on Saturday that they did not want anything else to do with us and didn´t want any more of our visits. We went from having everything to having nothing.
   That Saturday was rough. Lots of thoughts like ´´what are we doing wrong?`` went through my head as we walked through the ghettos of campinas. We felt good, but everyhting was falling through, EVERYTHING.
   We finshed the saturday knocking on doors with a prayer in out hearts that someone would accept our message, but nobody did.
    Even so we went home with a smile and we knew that the lord would prepare others for us.
  Then, on Sunday things got good. The members brought to church 6 investigators and they were all interested in hearing the gospel. We are teaching so many poeple right now and they all just fell from heaven out of nowhere. We have more work than we have time to do it.
     I used the birthday money I got from you guys to buy presents for you dad and noodle. Some cool Brazilian stuff that you will like, Noodle will love hers.
        Bowling today way fun. The bowling alley was ghetto. There was bumps in the lanes and the ball would wobble in random directions, sometimes for your benifit and other times to ruin your turn.
    I am happy, my companion is happy, and I hope that things can continue this well.


I love you all and I hope that things are going good for you all in washmo and St. Louis!

 As always we are workin´ hard and learning a lot.
   I had an interview with President Tanner on monday where he shared some simple words that helped me a lot. He said that the image of churched leadership can be summed up in one picture. The picture of Christ cleaning the feet of the apostles.
   Ever since I got this call I have been obsessed with my image. Having the best area as an example, having the best numbers, being an example of obedience. I am finally realizing that I had a big case of the ´´me, me, me`` disorder. This has left me not as happy as I used to be, it has lefted me drained, and often annoyed with myself my my lack of success.
    I am doing exchanges with Elder Fa right now, he is at my side emailing his family. Yesterday I was so impressed with him. How he knew the elders in his zone, how he tried to understand them and help them by being their friend. He is a great example of service and love.
  I feel like I got caught up into the big comotion of trying to be something else as an assistant that I lost those ideals, those principles of Christ-like love that make a powerful missionary. Instead I turned into a machine, just pumping out the same stuff, without that love and spirit.
   I am not on a pity parade, I am just realizing that I have a long way to go. Maybe I super-hard on myself, but this are the thoughts that are going through my head these days.
    Also, the mission will change a lot next transfer. Elder Christensen won´t be one of the new assistants, because they will only have two instead of four, and I might be released as assistant to be zone leader in a new zone that we be assemled this upcoming transfer. Whatever happens I know that it will be God´s will and I will be more that happy to do it.
  It was good to talk to you on Mothers day. I hope everyone is doing well.
     Please avoid talk of me coming home in letters and emails, that is far far away and it is something that I don´t want to think about right now. Please pray for me and pray that we might find the Lord´s elect and that they might feel the truthfulness of the restored gospel.
  I love you all and I hope that you all have a great week.