tchau Aracati

Today is my last day in Aracati.:( Tomorrow is transfer day and there will be elders in our area now. The mission has fewer and fewer missionaries each transfer and president is having to close many areas/close areas for sisters. Sister Villagran and I are sad to leave Aracati but very grateful that we could be here for the time we had. For my last week in the mission, I will be working with another sister who is going home, we will live in an area that has to be closed down and we will go on splits with other sisters and `blitz` their areas. We will also have our last interviews with president and go to the temple with him and his wife. There are 17 missionaries going home with me--7 sisters and 10 elders. Tomorrow will be strange because some of my converts and some members that I worked with will go to the transfer meeting to say goodbyes. Next sunday I will visit some old areas and say goodbye to some more people. I´m pretty sure I will email again next monday. 

However, this past week was a great blessing. I had a few very powerful spiritual experiences that were very bittersweet. I still don´t know if I really comprehend the significance of being a representative of Jesus Christ. Some times people call us missionaries ``angels.`` That happened this week with us; I thought a lot about what that meant. Being a missionary is incredible.

 I´m humbly amazed at the things that have happened in the past few weeks. Vitoria and Rodrigo were baptized yesterday! Their older brother, Hercules(17), who has been a less active member of the church for the past 6 years or so, came to church with them and he is now talking about serving a mission. Their mom, Erika, is a less active member and said that a few weeks ago she was praying for help and asked God to send his angels here on earth. She found us at the bus station near her house and asked for us to pray for her. We then began teaching Hercules, who said he was atheist when we met him but is now reading the Book of Mormon and says prayers with us, and Vitoria and Rodrigo wanted to get baptized. Vitoria went to girls camp this week and decided that she should wait until she is 16 to date. The gospel changes so many things in our lives. Sometimes we don´t understand why we have to keep certain commandments or do certain things, but the Lord knows why and this life is a great test of our faith and trust in Him. 

Have a great week! Love you all! 

Sister Bledsoe

Our last district meeting for this transfer--the mixing pot; it was a miracle that we understand each other when we speak--so many accents. 

Elder J. Rosa(Cape Verde, Africa), Elder Del Jesus (Dominican Republic), Elder Benitez(Paraguay), Elder J. Silva (Brazil), me, Sister Villagran (Chile)

Elder J. Silva, Rodrigo, Sister Villagran, Vitoria, Sister Bledsoe