This week has been good! I am getting used to the new city, and I love the members here. They actually have a chapel and have a decent size ward, about 200 people. The bishop is amazing and helps us out a lot. We had a zone conference on Monday.. it was really great! We had good training, and I met all the missionaries in my zone. I only knew Elder McKay (who is Sam and Taylor McKays cousin) and a Brazilian Elder Luis (from the MTC.) But everyone else is really nice and really fun! After, about 8 elders, my companion and I went to a Rodigio BBQ place! It was SO good! Then we took a motorcycle taxi back to out house… it was a little scary (in a skirt, sitting sideways!) but it was fun and exciting! And when we were doing visits and lessons and appointments after, I really felt the spirit. And I was so happy and I talked to people on the streets! It was a really, really good day! And also, everyone here does this snap thing, and I never had the desire to do it until today, so I tried it and got it down on like the 3rd try! It was awesome! Ah.. I always think of things I want to write and then I get here and forget everything! Or… I run out of time.. And on that note.. I love you all! I hope you have a great week :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!Love, Sister Porath

I have to start by getting the HUGE elephant out of the room... I was transferred!!! I pretty much knew it was coming, so that Sister Englert could train one of the new girls, but I wasn’t ready for it or for the reality of it really happening. So.. I am now in a city about 2-3 hours inland called Arapiraca. My companion is Sister Zorzo. She is really sweet but doesn’t know any English. She is excited to learn so hopefully we can get a good schedule down and both learn a ton. It is so hard being in a new place, not knowing anyone or anywhere, and not being able to communicate very well. Especially for Christmas this will be hard, but I can do it right?? We do live pretty close to 2 elders, they are our district leaders and serve in the same ward, but the area is split into 2. We have lunch with them everyday and one if them is American so I can talk to him almost everyday so that I wont go insane. His name is Elder Shawcroft and his dad was a mission president in southern Brazil, the Campinas mission! So I was in the very outskirts of Maceio, the huge capital city, before and it seemed like the middle of nowhere. Now I am in a smaller city, but it seems like a bigger city! The roads are either paved, or most of them are big rocks that were laid down and then stuff between them, kind of like tiles.. anyway. It is more city like and I guess I like it. Hahaha We did have another baptism last week. It was a little girl turning 8, her older sister is a member, but her parents aren’t married and aren’t members but she had a big birthday party and baptism. It was a lot of fun! I guess that is all of the news… it is even hotter here.. I don’t like it! I am missing winter a lot! But last week when Sister Englert and I cleaned/defrosted the freezer, I mad a snow man! I will attach a pic, the internet is faster here now that we aren’t in Africa! I love and miss you all, I need your prayers, I need strength, but I know I am where I need to be doing what I need to be doing so The Lord will pull through on His end of the deal. Love you!!
Love, Sister Porath
P.S. Christmas is coming…. And I would love to receive a little love from you in the form of a letter! :)
All I want for Christmas are letters letters letters from everyone! I have been writing Kyler, he seems happy to hear from me and his strength helps me too. I wrote most everything in the weekly email this week… This is really hard but I know it will get better. I will hopefully get to see Sis Englert in a few weeks at Christmas Conference. It will be good to see the new sisters too.

Kiley at the mission home in Maceio Kiley and Sis. Englert

Hey! The wedding and baptism were SOOOO great!!! The cake was gorgeous! We had to run around and get everything ready, we had a lot of help from a few people but it would have been a lot easier if more people had helped… but.. it was beautiful and the family is so happy and strong in the gospel already. It was so cute to see them at church on Sunday, they had their scriptures, and real church clothes (from the wedding) and looked official and like they had been members for years! It has been so neat! All of the other missionaries that I tell the story of them to gets jealous because they have been out a year and still haven’t been able to find an entire family that is ready to live and receive the blessings of the gospel. We had family home evening with them on Monday and we asked Janderson, the 14 year old boy, to prepare a little lesson. He did SO well! He even planned an activity which was questions everyone took turns answering. They were really good and thoughtful. Some were from the lessons we had taught them, some about the gospel, and some he wanted suggestions on how to have a better family night, and how they could be more united and learn as much as possible from the gospel. It is amazing. Next week are transfers… yikes! I will be happy to stay, or to go. I know The Lord is watching over me and knows what I need, and what will be best. I hope you are all letting The Light of Christ shine through you to others… just smile :)Love, Sister Porath

Everything went so well with the wedding and baptism! My feet are good… I just have a huge blister on the side of my big toe, so it doesn’t hurt and I can still walk and wear my sandals and all. It keeps getting smaller, then bigger, then small again and so on… soo I bet it will just be a huge callus. But I did get sandals here and they are great. I got 2 pairs they were on sale and should last me my whole mission. Transfers and new missionaries are next week… so I might be seeing them, soon and might not. I wonder if I will stay or go! Trev is doing a ton of genealogy and when I get home I want to go through the temple with you for everyone in our family. I think it will be SO neat! I am loving the mission and love and miss you all! I think that is all for this week… any questions? Haha thank you for EVERYTHING! I love you so much and an so grateful to be here! Love, me!

For some fun pictures of Kiley and the missionaries of Maceio, Brasil to go brasilmaceiomission.blogspot.com

This week was good! But on Saturday, it is going to be one of the best days in the mission so far! We have been teaching a family, and they are going to be baptized! We are having a big wedding too. A lady is making a big cake, and we are going to have it all decorated, I am so excited! This family is AmAzInG! The dad quit drinking alcohol, the mom quit drinking coffee, and the kids are 14, 11, 10, and 5. We have been teaching them every day and it has been so neat to watch them learn and grow spiritually and gain testimonies. I know they will remain strong, and the dad will be a leader here in the area. Not much else has happened, we just walk a ton, teach a lot, and sweat even more! We had a baptism last Saturday as well, a 15 year old girl. She is really excited and loves coming to church, and the activities. I wish I could carry a video recorder for a whole day so you guys could see what it is like here. It is so different. The other day I killed 2 cockroaches and we found a dead(luckily!) lizard about a foot long…. In our back porch area! The other day, we were walking back from lunch… My companion was on the phone, I was following her, and watching my feet to make sure I didn’t step in anything and I ran into a tree! I don’t even know how it happened, but it scratched my face! My companion is awesome, she is really forward and blunt and isn’t afraid to tell people it is their salvation that they don’t have time for, or care to change for. We laugh a lot, cry a little, and eat a lot of sweets! Haha well… we crave them.. and try to eat them when we can! I hope all is well with everyone, I cant believe it is November!! Keep smiling :)Love, Sis. Porath
Where is Drew going to go to school? Oh tell Mike… everyone here has a water storage tank! Because sometimes the city will just shut off the water…. I remembered that he thought it would be a good idea to invent that. How is his work going? Kins finally emailed me last week, it made me so excited! She didn’t reply yet, so hopefully next week. My comp wants to marry Kyler! Haha Things are good, different and hard, but I am still alive right! Here is more Christmas stuff… we only get letters like once every 3 weeks so hopefully I will get yours soon with the pics! Thanks for everything… I am getting more used to things, and am curious to know if I will be transferred or not. I think I will be fine either way. I know it will be harder with a Brazilian companion that doesn’t know English, but it will force me to improve. I better run, but tell everyone hi and thanks! Love you!!