Olá e Feliz Natal meus bonitinhos!

I´m not going to lie, I´m crying about Molly but I´m glad you told me before Christmas because I would´ve asked to see her.  You made the right decision, she was definitely suffering.  I just never really thought she was actually going to die.  She was a very sweet dog and was always my little friend at my side.  I´m sad I wasn´t with her in her last days but I´m sure I´ll be fine.  I hope she´s sitting on Jesus´lap with Max and Daisy.

Lais finally got baptized!  She´s the skinny tall one next to me and the others are Mayan, who baptized her, and Jennifer her friend in the ward.  I already told you about the phone call we got from her that was one of the biggest miracles that ever happened on my mission.  Here, after a baptism falls it almost NEVER will happen.  This restored a lot ofhope and this week for Christmas we are going to leave passalong cards with our old investigators who really liked us but didn´t keep commitments, just as a second chance.  It´s the season of miracles after all!  

Yesterday was the first Sunday in a long time where we didn´t have a single investigator in church, and almost none of our recent converts came, including Matheus and Neto who were supposed to be confirmed.  The worst was that we made more contacts last week than we ever have any other week, invited more people, called them all the night before to confirm and showed up at their houses Sunday morning.  No one.  I almost cried in church but then I realized that I don´t want to be the missionary who is always stressed out.  Our ward needs to help the missionary work.  If everyone just tried to bring one friend to church, we wouldn´t have this problem.  But gaining the trust of members doesn´t mean making a martyr of yourself.  No one wants to do missionary work if the missionaries always show up to church looking miserable.  It´s our job to stand as examples and represent Jesus Christ.  We can spread the gospel by who we are.  In the end of my mission, the decisions of other people won´t define how good it was, but how I reacted to every bad situation and the things I learned.

I´m super excited to talk to you guys in three days!!!  I have 40 minutes to talk and I plan to call at 11 your time.  I got both packages, and if you can´t tell from the photos, I got a little impatient with the presents... the paper was already ripped open a little bit.. :) We´re going to skype with a member´s laptop and the rest of the day is p-day.  I think we´re going to spend most of the day with Jaqueline.  She really is not well and is starting to talk about her death again.  Please pray for her.  She is going to Rio because it´s her home and also so that Hercules can play soccer there.  Her life has not been an easy one but I´m grateful to have been a guardian angel for her these last months.  She is one of the few people I´ve met in my whole life who was truly consecrated herself and her time to the Lord.  

This Christmas I hope you all have the chance share the joy you have with someone who is alone or doesn´t have what we have.  Make someone feel important who never felt important.  Let the Spirit of Christ work through you to bring great tidings of good joy.  Even though we can´t understand everyone´s struggles, the Savior does and we understand that.  Share Nephi 11 and Alma 7 with someone and think about what the birth of Christ really means for this suffering world.  

Que seu Natal seja cheio de amor e cantar!  Amo voces muito!

Sister Moore