Sending pictures takes a while, so we´ll see how much I´m able to write today.

I´ll work backwards by starting out talking about today. By far it has been the best P-day of my mission. We went with a member and some other missionaries to the mountains just north of Cuiaba. Talk about amazing! I was blown away by the spleandor and beauty of the areas we visited. I am so lucky to be serving in such an amazing place. I was beyond excited to see my first Macaws today!!! (next to the waterfall)

 This week has been awesome! Which isn´t saying much because I don´t think I´ve had a non-awesome week yet. But we have definetally worked a LOT. This probably doesn´t mean much to any of you but we taught over 30 lessons. I feel like I´ve adapted to the new area and new companion really well. We are really working well together. We get a lot done, and we work hard, walk a lot, and leach at every opportunity. That being said, we had absolutaly no investigators at church on Sunday, and of our 13 new investigators this week, it looks like only 2 or 3 will progress. Talk about a let down. But, that leads to my thought of the week...

 One morning, I stepped outside and was suprized to find that despite being bright and sunny, it was raining. I don´t know way, but sunny rain is just one of those things, like double rainbows, or ring pops, that puts a grin on my face. Needless to say, I was delighted with the situation. But as I reflected on the week I saw a deeper meaning in it.

Missionary work, or even life in general is a lot like sunny rain. There´s a mix of good and bad. It´s sunny, yet it´s raining. And so, the choice is ours to determine what attitude to have about the situation. I could choose to be annoyed that it was raining, I could even choose to be annoyed that the sun was making it hotter, and more humid. Instead, I just accepted the situation for what it was, and appreciated the beauty that resulted from this ´clash´ of situations.

Then again, there are times when the sun is blocked by clouds, and the world is dark, wet, and miserable. What then you may ask? If things are just plain awful, am I just supposed to force myself to be optomistic? No. A happy, cheerful missionary isn´t necessarily a good missionary. Hard times happen, and in the midst of them, you can feel down. You can feel tired. You can even feel just plain sad. But, it helps to realize that the sun still is shining. On the other side of those clouds, it´s bright and sunny! For me, that represents hope, and more than a little bit of faith.

And so, I am determined to (literally and figuratively) work through the rain, with my eyes and heart set on a bright future that is probably closer than I even realize.