SANTIAGO is SPECIAL!

Hello from Santiago!!! I am loving my new area and my cute new companion. 

Sister Da Silva: has 3 months in the mission, is from Brasília, is my same age, loves speaking in English (its' so cute with her accent), is a recent convert of 4 years (got baptized at age 16) and is the only member in her family. She is a powerful missionary and is ready to work. I love her already. We live with 2 other sisters, Sister Magallanes from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Sister Vera from Cusco, Perú. they are the funnest. I love Hispanics :) We live in an apartment in the middle of the city. It's in a huge building and it's so fun. It's gunna take some time for me to get used to sharing one bathroom with 3 other sisters after 4 1/2 months only having sister Romero. We are serving in the branch and the other sisters have the ward. We are serving with 4 other elders too. The people are so sweet here. I'm so excited to work. I love it already.

This week was awesome! We had a baptism on Saturday of an investigator named I.. And let me tell you, he changed my life already.  

He is a living witness that the atonement is real. He is17 years old and started smoking, using drugs, and drinking heavily when he was 11. Because he started so young, it was hard for him to stop, but the sisters found him last week and taught him about the Restoration and he was completely changed. He stopped immediately with his bad addictions and said he wanted to be baptized. He has damaged so much of his body, it is so sad. He cant breathe very well and has a hard time speaking. But he is the most amazing young man. He has been through so much in his life and completely changed through the gospel. The sisters taught him the Restoration and about the Book of Mormon last week, and this week, sister Da silva and I taught him the rest of the lessons. It was powerful hearing his testimony and seeing his faith. He has read the bible through and reads the scriptures constantly. Not kidding, we show up at his house and he is holding the scriptures and a pencil to mark. I love it. His baptism was amazing. So powerful. He was teary eyed the entire time. I loved being a part of his journey. The atonement is so real and so powerful.

I loved seeing the smile on his face and tears in his eyes when we told him that he could become a new person and leave his old self behind. This gospel truly is perfect and brings such a happiness into the lives of the people who follow it. I love being a missionary. I love sharing this gospel with these Brazilians. We get rejected daily, but I know that we walk with Christ. He is our guide and our teacher. Sometimes there are days when we feel that we can't do any more. That we have lost all of our energy. That we can't walk one more step. But I know that our Heavenly Father lifts us and helps us to fulfill his work and bless his children. This is his true and wonderful work to bring the world the happiness He has to offer. 

Sister Porter 

The baptismal font was nasty from all of the rain, 

but we cleaned it, don't worry haha

Me, my cute comp, I., and L..