Hey!!!!!

Another great week has passed on!!! We are going to try to commit a girl named Daisy to baptism hopefully this next week and we are teaching another new investigator this week named Diamontinho, which means little diamond ha!!! He is really cool!!! We are still working with the investigators that need to be married. We found an easy way that they could get married through the Cape Verdian embassy that's a lot easier so hopefully we can hurry and get them married then we will have a lot more baptisms!! other than that, we have just been finding new investigators and teaching them!!! The work is going great!! I'm loving the mission right now!!! I'd say the biggest problem though is our investigators commit to coming to church but then they flake out on us, so we are still working on that!!!

This last week was fun!! I'm sure you know that we had a little Thanksgiving feast with Deritson's family and Aroldo!!! It was a lot of fun!! E. Carter cooked corn bread stuffing and we bought chicken from Pingo Doce and there was bread and cake and juice!!!! The food turned out great!! I'll try to email you a picture of the feast!! Only problem with that day is that we had two more eating appointments that day!! One was with a member from Sri Lanka who fed us really spicey food!! I ate a pepper and almost died ahahaha!! She fed us a ton and we had yet ANOTHER eating appointment right after that~!!! We were so full that on the way home, Elder Carter vomited in the street and I almost did as well. Yes we were that full!!! ha it was crazy!!!!

It sounds like getting ready for Christmas has been a lot of fun back at home!!! That's awesome!!! You're the coolest mom ever to be sending me all of those packages!! Ha! I'm very very excited to get them!!! It feels like Christmas here!!! Wow!!!! It's already SOOOOO cold!!! It feels like a Utah winter here I can't believe Portugal doesn't receive snow!! It rains a ton and the days it doesn't rain, it is windy and the wind goes right through you!! So it definitely feels like Christmas!! Ha

I'm very excited for Christmas this year!!! There is no better way to celebrate Christmas than to share the news that the Savior bore!!! I hope that people are extra receptive during this holiday season!!! I'm always thinking and praying about you!!! I'm so grateful for you and your love and support!! Thank you so much!! I love you!! Until next week!!!

Hey how are things!!! Its great to hear from you once again!! It sounds like your Thanksgiving was a blast and judging from the pictures I got emailed to me it was!!! We won't really celebrate Thanksgiving here, actually, I take that back. I just remembered, on Saturday, me and Elder Carter are going to put a small little feast together at the church for 2 families in our ward. One family is the family that feeds us every week on Saturday. They are the Santos. And the other is Deritson and his parents. They want to try American food, so we will do our best ha!! It will be fun!!! So I finally got my camera card and I'm sending my pictures home to you guys today, so be expecting those soon I hope!!!!

Life is going great here in Portugal. We haven't gotten any baptisms since Francine, but we have been finding new investigators. The biggest problem we have right now is that people really want to be baptized and they have a testimony but they can't because they are living in couples and they aren't married, so we are waiting on 6 investigators to get married before we can baptize them!! It takes a lot of patience, but its good to encourage them and strengthen their testimonies!!!! This week was a lot of door knocking because so many of our appointments fell through, but it was good because we found a new family!!! This family has 10 people living in one house and they are so cool!!! They are from Cape Verde and so far they seem receptive!! Its going great!! I have high hopes for them too!!!

Wow!!! I really want to hear this "Scarlet Dawn", that is so so so cool!!!! They are actually like a singing group!! I'm so proud of my sisters. They have all my support. I know they will be great, I remember when they sang for a funeral and it was amazing!!!

I'm really sorry to hear about Elder Bell!!! I remember he had a REALLY hard time waking up in the MTC!! A really hard time, but he never slept during the day. It sounds like whatever it is has just gotten worse. That's unfortunate, I'll keep him in my prayers!!!!

So how is weight watchers?? I can still cheer for you even here in Portugal. Its probably going to be next to impossible now that its holiday season though ha. But after wards I'll be cheering you on the whole way. I pray about you every night!!!

Well, all is well here!!! I hope all is going great for you guys. I miss you all so much. I'm so thankful for you!!! You're the worlds best mother!!! I love you so much!! I'll be thinking about you a lot this Thanksgiving holiday!! I'm so thankful for you and my whole family!!! I'm so lucky to be a part of this family! I'm especially thankful for this Gospel. I know it is true now more than ever and I'm grateful you raised me in the Gospel. I know my Savior lives and I love him with all my heart!!! I love you!!! Tchau Tchau!! Ate Proximo!!

Elder Willes

Work is going forward...

Hey!!! Another great week!!! I'm so glad to get your email and hear that everything is going well!!! This week has been great!! Nothing spectacular, but we are moving forward in the work!!!! Yesterday we taught three new investigators from an evangelical church!!! They are so cool. It is a mom named Ismerelda and her two daughters, Ezer and Joana!! They are very receptive and they like us a lot!!! We taught a great first lesson with them and talked about Joseph Smith and bore our testimonies about the Book of Mormon!! We told them about prayer and how it is such a blessing because we can express anything we want to in a prayer!! It was interesting because I said the closing prayer for us and about halfway through my prayer, Ismerelda started saying "amen" randomly. It threw me off so much!! It took me a while to realize that she was just saying it because she liked what I said and agreed with me!! They are a very cool family!! High hopes for them!! Other than that, our week has really been quite normal!! We have just been working everyday!! A lot of people have been flaking out on us this last week. ya know, saying they'll be home and then they aren't!! It happens almost more times than I can count, so its pretty annoying, but it doesn't stop us from working!!! Mission life is going great and I am so blessed by the Lord!!!

So about the 12 days of Christmas!!!!! That is awesome!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!! I'm very excited for it!! Your the best mom ever! Ha my companion is going to be so jealous!! Oh so my companion, Elder Carter actually goes home on the 21st!! 3 days before Christmas!! How crazy is that? What a time to go home!! Its going to be sad to see him leave the mission! We are great friends. So yeah, transfers are about 3 days before Christmas which kind of makes things difficult but its OK everything will work out!!!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is in 9 days!!!! Wow!!! that's so crazy!! I didn't even see it coming. They don't celebrate it here, but the members know what it is and they were asking us about it yesterday!!! Ha. Oh before I forget!!! Could you please please please in the next email tell me everyone in our families birthdays!!! I know Dad and Eric's are within the next 10 days!!!

That's cool that the Phantom of the Opera was good!!! When Elder Kessler was my companion we listened to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack and I really started to like that music. That's so cool that the school did it!!! I definitely would have tried to be in that one!!

Well, I'd best get going, but I love you so much!!!! Being on the mission has helped me realize how much I have to be grateful for and I'm soooo thankful that I am a part of this family and that we have all been blessed with the Gospel!!! I'm so grateful to be here in Portugal and for the support you give me!!! I know this Gospel is true and I know that Jesus Christ is our loving Savior!!! I love you momma!!! Until next time!! Tchau!!

Elder Willes

Staying Put!!!!

I have great news!!!! I'm staying here in Cacem for yet another transfer.!!! I have more great news!!! Elder Carter is still my companion. Nothing changed this transfer, and I'm actually very happy. I wasn't ready to leave Cacem. I really love it here. The office Elders told Elder Carter that we were one of the few Elders that no one moved and that the president really trusts us. So the pressure is on for more baptisms!!!! ha!!! Anyway, all is good here. So just keep sending stuff to the same address!! I still haven't received your music card or camera card yet. But I'm keeping my eyes pealed. Speaking of, president has been getting a lot more strict on the music rules. Apparently there has been Elders here and there that have been listening to all the popular radio music, so president had to draw a line. Its almost only church and Motab now. That's right, no more soundtracks for me. I was sort of disappointed, but I know it comes from the Lord, so I haven't had any problems obeying it!!!

So I think I'll write a letter to you and the Primary this week. Speaking of, I don't think you've ever told me where Brian is going on his mission. Where is he going??

The weather here is starting to turn cold. It is misting today. The air is super wet and everyone is wearing coats around. So at least it feels like Christmas, haha. If you send a Christmas package, make sure it is sent with plenty of time, or you could just send it to the office to be safe and I'd receive it at their Christmas program. Transfers are like 3 days before Christmas, just so ya know.

Wow!!!!! That's really cool that the High School is doing Phantom of the opera!!!! Me and E Kessler would always listen to that soundtrack and I really liked the music, so its cool to think the school is doing it. Tell me how it goes!!!!

Well, this week was just busy work. No more baptisms yet, but I'm loving every minute of my mission. I love representing my savior and being his example here in Portugal. My testimony has been growing immensely here!!!! I'm so thankful for you and your example to me. I miss you so much. I'm glad to hear everything is going well at home. I can't wait to hear from you again. Tell Everyone I say hi!!!!

Love ya!!

Elder Willes

Looking at Cacem area....upcoming transfers.....

OK I have to apologize for emailing so late, but today was our zone pday and we left first thing right after our studies!! We went to the city of Lindavelha by bus and then had to wait forever for the bus home when we were done!! So we didn't get back near as early!!! It was fun though, we went to a big old mall and ate and hung out!!!

I love hearing about your Halloween!!!!!WOW That Halloween sounds like it was a party. I thought about you all a lot this Halloween weekend and what you all were doing back at home!!! In Portugal people really don't even celebrate Halloween. I didn't see one costume or trick or treaters!!! It was different but me and Elder Carter still had fun thanks to the Halloween decorations that you sent us, and we wore our necklaces a bit today!!!!! We took some pictures of the decorations you sent us and we had a lot of fun with it, so you will have to see how it went!!! Its really cool to hear that your Halloween went well!!! It sounds like it was the ultimate party!! I can only imagine what the Willes house looked like!!!

This week was really normal, but good nevertheless. I'm sure I told you about Francine last week. Well, her baptism went really well!!!! She was so excited and she had a lot of members and friends there to support her. She decided to go to another ward than ours, but we don't really care just as long as she was baptized. It was a really happy night. I have a lot of baptism pictures on this memory card that you will have to see. Other than the baptism, we just visited and taught and tried to find other investigators. The main focus of this last week was on Francine and getting her ready for baptism!!!

Hmmmm What do i want for Christmas!!! That's a tough question. I'm doing really well here in Cacem, but I do have a really random request. Could I maybe have some whitening strips for my teeth. Surprisingly a lot of Elders have them here and they work. Um besides that maybe just some treats. Ha I don't need much right now!! You can be creative but you are the most creative mom of anybody that I've ever known so I know you can do it!!

Yes just so you know, our next transfers are on the 9th. Can you believe it!!! I can't believe how fast time is flying!!! It honestly seems like yesterday that this transfer started I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!! Time has never flown by this fast!!! So if you have anything to send this week like a letter and you don't think it will get here before the 9th, just hold onto it until I know because I have a strong hunch that I will be transferred this transfer!!! It's going to be tough when I get transferred. This area feels like my home!! But I think all areas will feel like that!!

WOW I cannot believe that Taco Time burned down!!!!!!! I loved that place. It was honestly one of my favorite places to eat in Brigham City!!! Do you know if they are going to rebuild it? I hope so!!!!

Speaking of, how is the temple coming??? What does it look like right now?? I can't wait to see it. What a blessing it is to have a temple where we live!!!

Well, I'm going to go now, but I want you to know I'm thinking about you!!!! I love you and miss you so much!!! I have been so blessed to have you as a mother!!! Until next time when we will know whats going on with transfers. Have a great week!!!!