A snowman made out of the bottoms of pop bottles!

Elder de Jesus and me slaving over the grill

Hey there,

Well, Christmas is over, and my saudades* have been satiated, as I got to hear the voices of my family for the first time in 7 months, or in the case of my sister, Danielle, 16 months. As cruel as it sounds, I believe there is no other way to gain a greater appreciation of something you have until you have "lost it." And what could be of greater importance than your own family? Certainly I have learned to appreciate and understand the necessity of their existence in my life, and while I thought I understood before my mission, I was wrong, I could only see the tip of the iceberg. It was a sweet experience to talk with them.

Well, all things considered, Christmas wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. (our boxes from home have been misplaced by postal service...) We spent the whole day at the home of the coolest family in the ward, goofing off. We played UNO for I don't know how long. I have come to understand that UNO is an international game. And we had a sweet barbecue as well. Good times.

I'm kinda out of time already. Oops.

If you haven't sent me a box of goodies for Christmas, don't fret, I'm a very forgiving person, and will easily be able to comprehend the reasons if it shows up late. You reading this, yes you, look into your heart, and search out your feelings and follow them. Your true feelings should be telling you that you need to have compassion on that poor little missionary in Brazil who is living in a desolate state of agony, that could easily be reduced if he received a package of American goodies. (ie. tootsie rolls, caramel treasures, reeces....etc...) And if that isn't possible, how about a belated Christmas card?

Don't be a grinch.

Tchau!
Elder Titus

*yearning, missing