transfer 5...alvorado‏

well, as the subject of this email has indicated clearly enough...i have been transferred to a new area called alvorado. it is right in the heart of belo horizonte and seems like a great area. i have heard great rumors that the ward here and the members are awesome and the work will be awesome!

my new companion is from brazil! i have officially gotten my first brazilian companion which will be awesome. this is actually his last transfer on the mission so it will be good to end it together!

the last week has been a great, sad, and sometimes painful week. last thursday after a great pday of just rest and letters, the day before i got a little sick. now before you freak out mom it wasn't that bad...i just got super dizzy and ran a bit of a quick fever so thursday afternoon, after staying out in the street working as long as my equilibrium would let me, i began to get super dizzy so we went back to the house and i crashed for a good hour or two under direction from elder mcguire. i'm not gonna lie, it was weird. as hard as the life in the streets is working... being in the house drove me nuts. i couldn't take it. needless to say two hours later we were back to full power (or at least we pretended) and went to work.

this weekend we walked past my first witch doctors house doing voo doo. it was crazy and i hated it to be honest. i walked past and immediately just got sick in my stomach and had that feeling that said get the heck out of there. so we walked past a little faster than normal. it was always a cool dream of mine to say that i was in a witch doctors house and had to cast out some devils but now i find myself hoping that i never have to get close to it ever again. eck!

this weekend we met a cool kid named caiu and he´s 15 years old. we marked a date with him but then his dad prohibited him from going to church. it was ridiculous. i also broke a fingernail clean off in his house so i bled everywhere. i didn't want him to know tho so i just clenched my hand into a fist and then when we left i showed mcguire and he about died laughing. he said it made alot more sense why i was clenching my fists during the joseph smith story and only using one hand to open my bible! hahaha good story!

this week has also been a bit depressing for more reasons than one. first off, i will miss neide and miltons long awaited wedding. but i have been informed that i will be receiving a good amount of pictures from the wedding! also i had to say good bye to ponte nova. yes, the tears came and sometimes... they didn't leave the eyes but they definitely filled them. as far as i am aware that means i can keep hold of my man card. it was great to look back tho and think of the work that i accomplished and the opportunities that i was blessed to have in the beloved city of ponte nova. it was also really sad to say tchau to elder mcguire. he was a great comp and we had some great times. but it's ok, because just like all stories...one day, over the rainbow, not so far away exists more stories to be written.

i learned a good lesson from maria this week, the one that we baptized a couple weeks back. she told me that it wouldn't be long until we met again. and it was more than just an old lady comment. she knew what she meant when she said that. she knew this would most likely be the last earthly visit we would have but she still said it. what a great testimony of the plan of salvation. how great it is that in all our goodbyes there is a soft whisper of a see you later always!

anyway, my time is running short due to transfers but i hope this week brings a great week to all. and if you want a bit of reading to do read helaman 2:13 and see what the difference can be between a person full of iniquity and a person righteous like captain moroni in alma 48:17. be a captain moroni. the effect you have on humanity for eternities to come is at stake!

i love you all and i hope to hear from you more often. being closer to the city means more accessibility to letters....just saying! ;) thank you to all those who have written and i hope some sort of something has arrived in your mailbox somehow brightening a day a little! i love you all! until we meet again....

elder excell