{Oct 4, 2010}

Dear Stephanie and Family,

Thanks for the emails! This was a really good week in Barbalha. It is getting really hot. Seriously the last week or so has been incredibly sweltering, but the heat never really gets to me, it would take a lot more heat than this to melt Elder Iron Man (thats me). Jking, but seriously the heat never really bothers me. Elder de Oliveira is really good, but its hard being a father. I will read some conference talks and see what the Brethren have to say to help me. I have a goal to help him so that at the end of this transfer he is even more animated and excited to work than he, as a new missionary, already is.

We started teaching a man named Cícero. Jairo was walking to get the bus to conference and Cicero asked what church he belonged to and so Jairo told him and he was like I will call my friends to come and talk to you. Moral of the story is Jairo is the man and awesome. So we will work hard with Cícero. We are also teaching a girl named Jaiane who is cool. One day we were walking back from lunch and she was playing the guitar on the side walk and Elder Nascimento was with us, and plays the guitar really well, and so he asked if he could play, and then after we started teaching her. She even went with us to general conference and took her friend too.

General Conference was like this. The church payed for a bus from Barbalha to Juazeiro, so anyone that wanted to go could go. The Bus ride to the church is like 30 or 40 minutes. In Juazeiro there was a nice air conditioned room for the american missionaries. It was nice, but we got home really late on Saturday because we had to do some stuff. And then on Sunday we had to get up at like 4:30, get ready, get on a bus, and be in Juazeiro at 6:00 AM for the Priesthood Session. And then after that we had to go back to Barbalha to make sure some of our investigators came, and then back to Juazeiro. It was really tiring and really hot, and I was fasting, and I thought I was going to collapse over and die. But I didnt. Oh yeah and yesterday was the day of the Brazilian elections. And in Brazil it is mandatory to vote. If you dont you get penalized or fined or something.

Loving Life,

Elder Willoughby