Hey

Hey family, how are you all doing?...

So, this week was a really great week. We're working hard here in the area and we're seeing fruits. Its kinda refreshing to be with a companion who isn't a junior, and we're working really hard here. This area opened up just a transfer or two ago, and it had been shut for a year or so because of several Elders breaking a lot of the rules, so we're working really hard trying to get the branch excited about the work and win the confidence of the members. Its going pretty well, we're recieving lots of references from the members and they're introducing us to lots of people, so we're teaching like crazy. The problem is, nobody's married so we're going to work with all of them to get them all hitched and baptized. Its actually a fairly lengthy process for someone to get married here in Brasil (stupid Satan trying to ruin the sanctity of marriage...) but we're going to do everything we can to get them all ready to be baptized. Maybe we'll have a huge marriage and marry everyone at the same time and then we'll take them all straight to the baptismal font to be baptized. That'd actually be amazingly sweet...

So this area is also in the same Zone where I started off my mission, so I'm getting dejá-vu like crazy here. It seems like only yesterday I was starting off up in Pilarzinho and now its a year later and I'm back here. Things are coming full circle here. ITs crazy how much time has flown by. But let's not get sentimental here.

So, we also had a really cool activity here in the branch. The banch presidente and all the branch leaders went out and we all knocked doors and distribuited pamphlets and DVDs and got the people's addresses so we can go and teach another day. It went really well, they all felt the spirit of missionary work and they all got more excited about it. One of the sisters in the ward got really excited about a young man that she talked to and wants to go with us when we teach him. Best of all, one brother said, "man, I didn't realize knocking doors was this tough! You guys really need our help and more references!" That was like music to my ears. The missionaries really need member help, so don't hesitate to give it to them! Go out on splits! Talk to people to see if they want to hear the missionaries! You'll see that if you do that the Lord will bless you more and more and you'll be an instrument in His hands to help other people recieve all the blessings of the gospel. I love you all and hope everything's going well for you. Go and help the missionaries!

Love,

-Elder Marx

P.S. The postal strike ended and its now only four weeks until my birthday... hint hint...