Olá meus amigos, [Hello My Friends,]

This week, actually, felt a bit longer than the others. Yup, I´m in Candeias. [Canais? There is a town of Candeias, Bahia, but it is located only 46 km north of Salvador. Sister Cornwall's 8 hour bus ride would put her 400 - 500 km from Salvador, so perhaps "Candeis" is a mis-spelling.] Yup, this is the third area in three transfers. I´m pretty sure that I´ll just stick around every area for a little while, and then head out. Yet then my heart would break. I´m not going to lie to you darlings, I miss Itapuã, but fortunately, the gospel is still true, and I´m still a missionary of the Lord.

So, Candeais [Canais?], I got here pretty wasted after 8 hours on a bus during the night, but we dropped off my bags and headed out. Candeias [Canais?] is higher in altitude than a lot of Bahia, and for that it´s much colder and dryer. It reminds me a lot of Palmdale, Ca actually. But this part of Conquista [Conquista, a largish town, is 457 km n/w of Salvador and has a suburb or adjoining town called Canais], has a LOT of condominiums, and pretty much all the houses have huge fences in front, oh yeah, and there´s no one on the street. I feel like this big city girl that moves to the suburbs and finds that all the life has just dried up. (Take that comment for what it´s worth.) But the members are great. They certainly love the Sisters, and there has been a long legacy of good sisters that have served here.
Oh and my companion - Sister De Assis. She´s a dear. She´s from São Paulo and doesn´t speak a lick of English, which actually hasn´t been a big problem. I feel extraordinarily blessed for that. We walk a lot, and sometimes it´s funny to just think of my life - me, wandering around Brasil with this funny little Brasiliera who has problems with her feet, so she walks around like a little old lady. But she is hilarious and feisty and just wants to do good, and that´s great.

As far as numbers go, it is a LOT slower here. It´s just different. There´s one other Elder that came here from my zone with me this past week, Elder Duncan, and it´s been interesting to talk with him about having Brazilian companions for the first time, being in Conquista. It´s just different is all. But it´s still missionary work, and that´s what matters. I feel like we just need to get everybody excited again about the work. There were health issues with the Sister before, and so things slowed down a lot the past few months, but you know what, I came here to do the work and have results, and I have no reason to not just do it and love it. Even if on a day to day basis it´s just James E. Talmage, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and me speaking English. I´m sure there´ll be people nodding their heads thinking `yes, NOW she knows what a mission is like`but I´m still learning here - alright.

I´m feeling very grateful for miracles from God. When you need someone to teach, and there´s literally no one in sight, it really is the hand of God that puts a darling little family right in front of you that´s ready and willing to let you in to their nice little condo. I was spoiled, I´ll admit it, but it seems that the more desperate the situation, the more likely I am to learn a profound lesson about the goodness of God. I know that he´s guiding our paths. The things he wants us to learn we can´t plan out for ourselves, we sort of just need to let what he has in store wash over us, and remember there´s always hope, there´s always good, and there´s always a way to keep looking up and finding happiness. I need to learn this lesson. I need to learn to be less silly and just realize this is a great work that will end (sooner than i think i´d like, is the time flying for anyone else here?)

I love my savior Jesus Cristo. Oh I know He lives, and that there´s a plan here. I know there´s a purpose, even when it seems chato [annoying, flat] and silly. I know that I still am pretty smitten with missionary work, and that I love having the name Jesus Cristo on my heart all day long. And I hope that those of you in a position to do so, are giving references to the missionaries. Just seek inspiration, revelation about who should be coming closer to Christ in their lives. There´s only so much we can do to find these people, if there´s any way that you´re able to help out the missionaries, just give them a hand. They have a firm testimony that they want to share with someone who will listen. And that´s that.

Love, Love, Love,

Sister Cornwall