Dear Family and members of the Fellowship of the Ring,
The quest to save Middle Earth is going well. I just barely took a long voyage back to Mordor in the heat and stuff, so I´m going to be battling here on the front lines again. In case you´re not understanding me very well, yes, I got transferred back to Manaus. It was actually really sad to leave the Shire (Porto Velho). I don´t know why, but I wanted to stay there some more. It was really good to see a ward with a functioning leadership. Our ward mission leader, Samwise Gamgee (Fernando Grabner), was one of the best ones that I had up to now. If we needed anything, he was there. The bishop was super friendly and doing a lot, and basically all the leaders did their job well. But, now I´m here again, back in Manaus. So, my area is way out on the northern tip of manaus, on the opposite side of the city from where all my other areas are. It is called Nova Cidade. For the first time I have a companion with less than a year on the mission. His name is Elder Josimar Eça from Camamu, Bahia. He is a descendant of Portuguese and African people. He is in his second transfer right now. My flight didn´t come in from Porto Velho until 1 AM and I hardly slept at all Monday night. Last night I just died and went to sleep when the time came. We went around and met some of the ward members yesterday. One of the investigators here is the uncle of Marcileia, who happens to be the first person I baptized on the mission with Elder Gannon! Small world. This area is a bit smaller than my last one, so maybe I´ll get back the weight I lost in Porto Velho. For the first time I have an air conditioner unit in my house, so maybe I´ll get some quality sleep now. Elder Eça´s last companion finished the mission up this last transfer, so I´m kind of starting from scratch here if you know what I mean. There are lots of missionaries coming into the mission. Last transfer had 15ish come in, this one 16, and the next they are planning for 20 more to come. Sounds like things are starting to pick up now. Wish I could be here to see the mission filled up again. President Jayme is still here until the end of the month it sounds like. They do the trade somewhere around the 30th, and they will both be here for just 2 hours together and then Pres. and Sister Jayme get the airplane home. Well, I´m super-de-duper-100% excited to go out into this area now. To boldly go where probably lots of other missionaries have gone before and pick the fruits from the seeds they sowed. It doesn't matter where you have been, it is where you are now and the direction in which you are heading. The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that we are the pilots. Well, hope you all have a splendiforous week and make the most of it. I know I will. Loves and bear hugs.
Elder Gandalf the Grey. (Tenney)
