Week 97

hello family!

so as you all guessed, i stayed here in piripiri. looks like i will be dying here (finishing)! its so weird to think that it is already december, i will be home this month! i really cannot believe it.

well here in brasil we are all super excited for the christmas holidays, for sure talking to our families is a big part of it, but i also just love christmas spirit. our apartment is pretty snazzy, i will take a picture of our decorations next week. i broke the rules about christmas music and started listening before thanksgiving...

so our p-day was pretty cool. we gave a sort of english class at night. the schools here did a competition to find out who the best students are and the best will be able to do a foreign exchange to the US. we met up with the students to talk a little  bit about what the host families will be like, how they can take advantage of this learning experience, what the schools are like, etc.. it was pretty cool because i was in their shoes not that long ago. they will pass through 2 months of basic training and go there. the first picture are the three girls from this city that will go.

Wednesday we had a family night at irmão manoel's house. he was turning 79 so we threw a party for him. he is a really good example to me because he is old, has health problems, but always is at church and we always see him in front of his house reading the scriptures and other church books. its really cool because sometimes he calls people over in the street to read with him or talk about the gospel. its a bummer he is too old to serve a mission :)

so for thanksgiving we had a feast! well at least as much of a feast as possible. everyone contributed. we had pasta, breaded beef, soda, french fries, and BETTY CROCKER BROWNIES!!!! the brownies were SOOOOO good! i hope you like the design i made in them for you! if you couldnt tell what it is, its a heart with an arrow through it. it was pretty funny because brasilians dont know what thanksgiving is, only if they have seen something in movies. it was super fun though, they liked it. i got sad thinking about all the good football games i was missing, and of course you guys! i miss a good feast with the family every once in a while.

so on saturday we were just doing our visits and we stopped by a members house to see how they were doing, when we got there we noticed that they were painting so we ended up helping! it was super fun. i love painting :) i really love the unexpected service projects that sometimes we can do here. we just threw on a different shirt and spent the rest of the day helping out. i painted the doors.

so i will have a zone meeting on tuesday, so we will go to parnaíba tonight. i wonder if i will still get some letters or if they are done for the rest of my mission...

so now onto Sunday it was fast and testimony meeting, so you know what that means. this was the last testimony i will share in a testimony meeting in my mission... it was really hard to think about that when i was up there. little by little i am starting to realize that really my mission is ending; not just going on pause or leaving for a break, buts its really going to be over. its a really hard thing for me to think about, but i'm super excited to go home. after 2 years i am definitely ready!

well, just know that i love you all and soon enough will be home! is tanner johns home already? soon we will be able to talk on skype! what are your christmas plans? i will be calling on christmas, but i dont knoow what time yet. the people here might throw a party for me :) i love you all and until next week!

-Elder Lambert