What's up, everyone! Sad week here in Brazil. What could've been a historic World Cup ended way sooner than everyone here thought. Brazil did in fact lose in dramatic fashion and the whole country was a little shocked. Everyone is still trying to make sense of what happened, but it will definitely sting for a while.
However, the work this week was solid and a good step forward. We are really starting to find our footing here in Rio Branco, and I love the area. We have a lot of potential going forward and hope we can keep things going. Highlight of the week was our good friend out here, Fernando, coming to church. We had around seven people promise they would be at church, but five mins. before church started, no one had showed. We were pretty upset and sad because of how hard we had worked to get them to come, but as we were shutting the doors, out of nowhere Fernando shows up and we were beaming. Fernando has had a rough past and struggled a lot over the year with substance abuse, but he has a sincere desire to change. The little steps he has taken have required a lot of faith, but slowly and surely, he's doing the right things. Church was awesome and the members welcomed him like family.
Things with Elder Cloward have been awesome. We have the same drive to work, and we've had a blast together. This area is full of members who have already served missions and are very supportive of the work. Training is going well and even though I'm his trainer, he is teaching me a lot and has been super willing to jump into the work and grind through it all.
Also, hit six months today as a missionary. I think it's safe to say it's been the fastest and slowest six months of my life, but it's here. I'm 1/4 done. This has by far been the greatest decision of my life. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into but since being here, I realized I was completely wrong. The thing I've taken most from my short time here is how good I have it. I'm grateful for the family and people that have served before me. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow every day. I'm grateful for the people of Brazil and how much they have touched and changed my life, and I'm grateful for the gospel. This gospel is the foundation and center point of my life and has blessed me in so many ways. I wouldn't be anywhere near the person I am today without it. Here's to the next 18! It's an everyday process, but missionary work is special!
Hope everything is well with you all back home!
Elder Copeland
Pic of the Week
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