Turned 21 and almost took a shot

A rabies shot.....

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! I felt very appreciated and loved and this was probably one of my most memorable birthdays! In the past weekend I have eaten 5 cakes haha. My birthday was saturday and Elder Nascimento's (one of the elders I live with) was yesterday so we celebrated the whole weekend haha. Shoutout to my mom for somehow figuring out how to have a cake delivered to my house. I have literally no clue how she was able to do that but I was flabbergasted when I figured out it was her that sent it.

A few updates from the last couple weeks:

I got a new comp a couple weeks ago. His name is Elder Moreira and he's from Pernambuco, a state in the north that is quite warm and he is dying in the winter "cold" here in Minas Gerais. It's like 55 degrees and he's freezing. A little while ago he bought a literal ski jacket and now he's warm and toasty.

We've been visiting a less active family who has a son that just hit 9 years old so we've been prepping him for baptism and he got baptized yesterday! When we went to visit them on Saturday one of our friends from the ward, Leandro, told them it was my birthday so they bought me a cake! 

I got bit by a dog! That was on my mission bucket list so I'm really not even mad about it. I was walking on the street and this dog shot out of nowhere and bit me. I really didn't have time to process it haha. The funny part was that I had to go back the next day and check with the owner that the dog wasn't sick and the owner wasn't very friendly about it. But luckily the dog is in perfect health.

My area is very hilly. Actually my whole mission is very hilly but here specifically I feel like I'm in a game of shoots and ladders going up and down hills and staircases looking for people. It's pretty awesome but VERY tiring. I've lost a decent amount of weight so I asked my mom to send me some new clothes for my birthday so that people would stop calling me "gordinho" or "little fattie". but it doesn't mind me haha.

I finished reading the Book of Mormon again and retested Moroni's promise in Moroni 10:3-5 and have reconfirmed that the Book of Mormon is true! I'm very thankful for the opportunity that we as missionaries have to study the scriptures because it has been a huge support to me throughout my mission. There have been times where one of the only things I looked forward to was personal study in the morning. I have come to know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God and that through them we can feel closer to Him! I invite you all to put to test Moroni's promise and discover (or rediscover) if the Book of Mormon really is inspired of God. I promise that you will receive an answer just like I did.

Thanks again for all the Birthday wishes! I'll try to respond to everyone today but I might have to respond to some next week. Love you guys!