Hey.

I really need to take advantage of this letter writing time because my chances are starting to run short. But Sister Lima and I are going, going, going. There's no stopping us. We are so full of desire and the spirit, and every day I feel like my understanding is opening. It is incredible to be with her. We are so fond of each other. For example, one day Sister Lima wrote me a letter on the bathroom tile wall in lipstick, and a note on the mirror with toothpaste. I wrote in eyeliner that I love her. She responded with a post-it under the sink, I drew a heart in concealer . . . last night she wrote i love you ALL over the bathroom (the doorknob, inside the sink, on top of the toilet, on the toilet seat, on the ground, on the door. She told me later that as she did it she thought - there's no way Sister Cornwall can outdo this. Instead of wasting too much energy, I just went around to every message and wrote "more" at the end. Hence every message read "i love you more." We are delightful together.

Well, Veronica and her family did not get baptized. It was a pretty painful week because of that. She was following through with everything, but as Saturday got closer she said she just didn't feel like it. I don't know what it was. Presidente Vecchi said we have just 2 minutes to stay sad, but I thought about her all week. That happened a few other times with people we were teaching. It was a week where the Lord humbled us a bit (re: a lot.) In the middle of the week, one of our numbers was lacking, and we stayed up talking to our leaders until almost 11h00. We ended the conversation feeling pretty sad, but the next morning we talked about how the Lord humbles us, how we hit a point of progress, which is great. But then we fall a little, we become more humble, more dependent on the Lord and that downward loop gives us the force to loop back up again - and what helps us get a little higher than the last established point is the grace of Jesus Christ. There are so many people overburdened and plugged up with stress and rage, but honestly, we just need to let ourselves progress. I realized this week that every week will not be the BEST week we've ever had, and that's great, and that doesn't mean we're failing in our purpose .. . it just means there's progress. It's like a trampoline, we can't get higher without getting lower.

Speaking of trampolines, Sister Lima and I jumped in one this last Saturday at the festa at the church. It was awesome . . . the Branch Presidente almost took us out .. . but we were enjoying ourselves so much that he just let us stay. There was dancing and TONS of great Bahian food and a lot of people. It was a good week. We studied a lot about angels this week, and I am grateful for this great big work of the Lord.

We have the baptism of Karla this week, a girl who was previously taught by Elders, but her parents didn't let her get baptized. Now they will. A true miracle. Prayers are welcome. I love this work, it is a privilege and a roller coaster.

love love love,
Sister Cornwall