My last week in Washington

It's a little hard to believe but my last week in Washington is finally here. I feel like I'm ending one mission and starting another..

This last week has been so busy.  Tuesday we had an exchange with the AP's (Assistant's to the President) and that was really fun.  The AP's are both really cool.  Then two days later we did an exchange with the 5th ward elders and so I spent the day with Elder Seegmiller, and that was pretty fun too.

Portuguese study has gotten a lot better since I've found out I got my Visa.  I've realized that I let my Portuguese skills slip away and so I'm looking forward to a refresher in the Sao Paulo MTC before I'm thrown into my new area in Brasilia.

This week a few miracles happened.

Curt ( the one who wanted to read the whole Bible before being baptized) told us he wanted to get baptized as soon as possible, I think he just realized the importance of it and so we are having his baptism on Saturday.  He is such a neat guy and I'm so excited to finally see him make that covenant.  He has such a strong desire to do what's right and it's just really exciting.

Candace finally got her marriage license and is getting married and baptized this Thursday.  And perhaps even a greater miracle is that we started teaching her 9 year old son Josiah this week.  Now Josiah barely knew the concept of God and had only heard the name of Jesus Christ, and teaching him is such a joy.  He is such a sweet kid who is amazed at the concept of prayer.  He wants to get baptized and we are hoping to baptize him on the same day as Candace which would be awesome.

Natasha is also still on date for baptism on Friday this week.  She has the light of Christ shining so brightly within her.  You can see her taking comfort from what we are teaching her and what she has been learning as she comes to church.  She has made some mistakes in her life and more than anything wants those mistakes and sins to be washed away through repentance and baptism.

This week has been great!  This area is having a lot of success right now and it's going to be nice to be able to have a few really wonderful people baptized this upcoming week before I leave.

I don't know what else to say besides I love you all so much, and I love it here in Washington, but I'm sure I'll also grow to love Brazil as I serve the rest of my mission there.  I have no idea what to expect (I've heard so many crazy stories from people I don't even know what is true and isn't true).  But I'm excited! That's it for this week Bye!

Elder Hyer