First, I wan't to say, congradulations to Mitch and Marissa!!! I wish I could be there for your wedding! Also, Carlin and Rachel!!!! I wish I was there. I'll try to visit you guys in 2014 when I get back :) Also, congrats to Kyle and Julia!! You two are awesome! And congrats to Ben and Andrea too :) And congrats Becca with your mission call!!! I am so happy for you!!
I still remember you all. And I won't forget. ALL of my friends have special places in my heart, and I don't forget my friends, even if it's been a long time. I'll see you all again someday, if not in this life then in the next, so you can count on telling me how life's been for the last however so long :)
I also really really want to thank Becca, Naomi, Dallin, Sister Tahauri, and Jerry. You're guys' emails mean a ton to me. And letters too. A few of you indicated you sent letters but I have yet to recieve them. All is well, they just take a while. Let me know when you sent them, and whether it was to the MTC or to the Rio Mission and I should be able to tell whether they were lost or are just slow. Thank you so much! It is so good to hear about the far away place called home. I will write you guys back in letters. But I need your addresses! So send them to me is you haven't yet! And to obliviate all remaing doubt, anybody can email me now :)
So, what have I learned on my mission so far? Too much to tell. But the most important thing I have learned is that when we work our hardest, Heavenly Father makes up the rest and we can accomplish anything. It is easy to not put in all your effort, to slack off, to be a little more comfortable. Trust me, I know. I was the biggest slacker I know. But the truth of the situation is that we always need to do our best. In every moment. It is not easy, but it is right. If we want to be better tomorrow, we have to be better today. If we really want to accomplish things and go places, we have to do our best, ask Heavenly Father for help, then keep doing our best believing that our effort will be worth it and that He will help us. He will take us places we never thought we could go. And you know what, we were right for thinking that! We couldn't go there! At least not without Him. Miracles happen when we put in our best, and then Heavenly Father gives us a little bit of His best. So, moral of the story, remember Him, and do your best! Your best will always get you there!
The Rio de Janeiro mission isn't like others in Brazil - It is one of the oldest and one of the hardest to Baptize in. For the last five to six-ish months, the area I'm in hasn't had much progress. Elder J. Lima told me the day I got here that Saracuruna is a hard place to be a missionary, that the work doesn't progress much -- and also, it's really hot. Well turns out, only one of those things is true. I decided long ago, before I even set foot in Brazil, that I would work, every day, as hard as I could. I would put in my best, and I knew that if I did that, the Lord would bring me sucuess. After all, what difference is there between us, and people like Ammon, Nephi and Lehi, the Sons of Mosiah, or the stripling warriors? None. We are just as capable today as they were then. Then how did they accomplish such great things? Because they were obedient; Becuase they trusted the Lord, and they did their best. It was never easy, but they did it anyways. When we are clean and pure, when we are completely obedient, and we put in our best, Heavenly Father uses us to accomplish miracles. There is no limit to what He can do, and so, there is literally no limit to what He can do with us. "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).
So, I said there were Miracles in Brazil. That is because there are! I had my second baptism yesterday, a young man named Douglas. He is 14, and we have been working a ton with his mom too, but she has to give up drinking, smoking, and coffee. But we are hoping she will be baptized this next week. Also, I baptized another young man by the name of Guilherme (pronounced geel-yer-me). Elder J. Lima baptized his mom my first Sunday, and now we are working with his great-aunt too. The amount or work Heavenly Father has accomplished with Elder J. Lima and I in the last four weeks surpasses that that has been accomplished here in the last four months. So many people are accepting the gospel here, and I am so happy for them! It is amazing to watch it change their lives. To see light and peace where before there was confusion. To see happiness enter where before people never even knew they were lacking! How wonderful it is to be a missionary, declaring to the world the truth! I am so glad! It is oh so hard, but oh so good :)
Sadly, I am out of time. Write me, and I will reply with some specific stories I found especially meaningful. I love you guys!
All the best,
Elder Viglione
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