Glad you all made it home okay. The trip sounded like it was lots of fun; can´t wait to hear about it in person!
Yep,
only three weeks left. I feel like this week might drag but the next two
will fly by. Can´t believe I´ve been in Brazil for a whole year. I´m very
pleased to have become fluent in Portuguese; I never would´ve thought
speaking in Portuguese would be an ability of mine. I´ve seen a lot more
miracles during the course of my mission too--LOTS more. Can´t wait to
talk about it all with you in person!
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| Picture of my zone. I'm in the center front. |
Went
to Floripa today and bought more art and souvenir trinkets to take home
to you guys. There are more unique looking things to buy here than
there were in the west side of the state. One dollar is worth a little
over 3 Reais now, so I´m trying to take advantage of that. Didn´t
get a whole lot of time to shop for stuff though because we had to mail
off a heater to someone.
Work is going
pretty well. A few days ago we visited a family we´ve been teaching and
as we were leaving I felt prompted to clap on the door of one of their
neighbors, who I had met before but never got the chance to teach
because the man of the house was never at home. The guy was home this time
and invited us in. We´ve taught them twice now and they have more
interest than the neighbors next door. 
We´ve
been blessed with things to do and people to see here in Serraria. I´ve been happier
working here than I was in Xanxerê. Elder Mesa and I are getting
along great, too.
I have been thinking about cousin Pat. [He's referring to one of my favorite cousins who passed away last month.] The Disney movie Hercules and cousin Pat have always been synonymous in my mind; apparently that was the only movie I ever wanted
to watch at her house, because that´s what I remember doing every time
we went there! The spirit world is a pleasant place for those who
have a clean conscience, so I´m sure she´s doing just fine.
No,
I don´t think I´ll get to go to the temple again before I leave Brazil. I
don´t think there´s a long enough layover in Sao Paulo (I don´t even
think I´d risk leaving the airport and trying to go there even if I had a
huge layover; traffic in Sao Paulo is terrible). I would love to go back
there someday though, that temple was beautiful.
Hey Dad, yep, I got all the photos you sent from Paris. I like them! I´m
always very impressed with Sarah and Julia´s jump rope stunts; I´m sure
I´d break my neck trying to do something like that.
In
two weeks it will have been exactly two years since I left on the
mission; feeling pretty old now--ha haI The area I´m in is a good place to
end it though. Hope
you have a great week Dad! I´m really grateful for all the help and
support you´ve given me while I´ve been out here. Looking forward to
seeing you again!
Love you Mom! I´m very excited to come home! Only two more emails and then I´ll be there! 
I´ll talk to you next week; have a good one! 
Elder Duffin
