HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

Mom, how´d you know that I lay on our cold tile floor to cool off? I guess some things never change :). Thanks for the coat! I don´t even want to try imagine using it right now, but I´m sure I´ll be very grateful once I get home... make sure to bring it to the airport haha. Hey, so everyone´s talking about what´s going to happen when I get home and how I have very little time left in the mission. What´s this all about? I seriously can´t believe that it´s coming to an end. Actually, I don´t want to believe that and I still don´t. I still feel that I arrived in the mission just a few months ago and am almost halfway through. The only one ending her mission here is Sister Custódio ;). But seriously, as excited as I am to get to see you guys soon, I really wish I could stay here forever doing what we do. There´s nothing as wonderful as being a missionary! I can´t believe Alyssa is already going out to serve! I´m certain that the people in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas will love her and her crazy sense of humor. Good luck to everyone on finals and to Steven on his Klondike derby! That´ll be a blast for him. Oh and good luck with math, Mom. You´ll do great!

This week, it kind of seemed that everything exploded. Everything that was working out perfectly just a few days ago came to  sudden end.  But besides all that and the fact that this is my companion´s last week (a.k.a. there´s a chance that she´ll be super trunky), I´m learning so much. One thing that I´ve come to love here in the mission and especially these past few days is scripture study. It´s incredible how the scriptures have changed my life. Sadly before the mission, I didn´t really make study a priority but here in the mission, it´s the first thing we do after exercising... and taking a shower. Those two hours of study have become some of my two favorite hours of the day. I´ve come to love the Book of Mormon and the teachings of the prophets. This year at church, they´ve started studying Presidente Ezra Taft Benson´s life and teachings. What an incredible man! I´ve come to love his wife, Flora, too. She always supported him in everything he did--every job, every calling, every decision he made, she was right there alongside him to give him words of encouragement and help in any way possible. To me, she´s an example of how we should support our families and loved ones in important decisions too.

Anyways, even though we´re having a little bump in the road in our work, I´m excited to find more people who are ready and willing to hear the gospel. I know that the Lord is preparing people in this very moment to welcome us into their homes and their lives.  I´m so grateful that I can be a part of this marvelous work and I hope that during these next couple months, I can give the Lord all I have. Thank you for your love, your support and your prayers. Have an excellent week and know that I love you!

Com amor,

Sister Ball

With Sister Barker and my traveling scarf that Tina gave me once upon a time, saying that I needed to take it wherever I go!

"Selfie"

With one of my favorite families in Eduardo Gomes after the baptism

Morning run with Sister Sleeman... we decided to run to a bridge that crosses a pretty part of the river in João Alves, an area nearby. 

Please ignore my horrible, I'm-dying-because-I'm-way-out-of-shape face. 

Sister Caetano, Sister Sleeman, Sister Custodio and I at church