Week 70: So, my adventures in Jaraguá end with a miracle baptism!

Hey everybody!

So...there are two big pieces of news this week. I suppose I'll just start.

Firstly...we had a baptism this week! Without a doubt, Stefany was one of the most surprising baptisms that Ive had on my mission. Dont think of it as a lack of faith, but I was super surprised that everything went so that she was baptized this week. As I had said last week, we had taught her on Sunday, and marked her to be baptized on the next Sunday. She had been taught everything about a year ago, so we just needed to interview her (easy), and get the signature of approval from her mom (super hard.) We went to the address that she gave us on Monday night, and...she had given us the wrong address. An old man answered and said that no Stefany lived there. So, we tried to get in contact with her, but she kinda avoided us during the week. So, by Wednesday, we thought that it was all doomed. BUT we had a ward Christmas party on Saturday, and of course, Stefany came to the party. She was talking to a bunch of people, and we were waiting for the perfect moment to call her out. Luckily, my companion is kinda super blunt and a bit socially unaware (in a good way), so he walks up in the middle of the conversation and says, "Hey everybody! Sorry, did I cut the subject? Hey, Stefany! Can we talk for a minute?" And she was interviewed, and passed. The only problem: Her mom would only be at home at 11:00 at night, and she lives in a sketchier part of town. So, we trusted a member to talk to her mom and get the signature. And, 11:30 comes, and we get a call from him, saying, "The baptism will be tomorrow at 10:00, during Sunday School. Get to the chapel early, fill up the font." So, we did. And, although we had some other little things go wrong, the baptism went really well! I honestly was not expecting that her baptism would be this week, but this is Gods work, and He wanted her to be baptized on Sunday!! Miracle!!

And the other note...Im being transferred! After 4.5 months in Jaraguá and 6 months in the grand São Paulo, Im going back to the country-er part of the mission! Im going to a city called Itú. From what Ive heard, its a nice little touristic city, known for a park where they have a bunch of big things (like, a GIANT chess set that you can play a la Harry Potter 1, big benches, etc..), and they sell things in bulk. In the past, its had a problem with a lack of water, but it seems like the problem is getting better. And Ill be companions with an Elder S. Costa, another Brazilian. So, everything should be good. Im excited to go back to the not-gigantic-city! So, this letter is a bit shorter, because Ill leave the LAN House a bit earlier today so that I can say goodbye to people. Ive already said goodbye to a few, but its all good!

And, for the family's knowledge, Ill give more details next Monday about Skype on Christmas, but I think itll be more or less 2-3:00 here, which would be 10-11 there? I think itll be like that, but Ive gotta make sure.

ALright, love you all! Heres a pic of Stefany's baptism!!

Elder Youd