The closure and re-opening of Conselheiro Paulino; Valter, Rosângela and Maicon; speaking Portuguese; and a faithful people

Família!
So I've decided to send a couple journal entries--they explain stuff pretty well =]
I've been transferred from Barra Mansa as of Monday of this last week and I'm now in the Téresopolis zone, area Conselheiro Paulino (CONE-sell-ee-AIR-o pow-LEEN-o). My new companion is Elder Morris from Bountiful Utah. He has 8 months on his mission, and it's his first time being a senior. The CP area is special, because it was closed before we arrived. Both Elder Morris and I are new to the area. Thankfully there is a member couple here that lives 2 doors down--Valter and Rosângela--who are very very helpful. We would have been completely lost without them. They are wonderful people, and are excited to help in the work.
We were speaking with Rosângela two days ago, and she spoke of a time in her life where she didn't really want to member missionary work (this is abnormal for her--she's always done member missionary work along with her husband, Valter, and son, Maicon [who is the bishop of our ward]). She explained soon afterward that the area closed--the missionaries were taken out. She then became very emotional, and cried, saying, "We suffered without missionaries. I suffered, my family suffered, and the ward suffered. And I knew immediately that my attitude was terribly wrong. We spoke with our son, the Bishop, about how we could re-open our area. We decided that we needed to show the mission president that the ward Conselheiro Paulino was ready to have missionaries again. The next Sunday, the leaders of our ward decided we would present investigators to the mission president to show our willingness to work with the missionaries. We came up with six names--six people who needed the lessons of the missionaries because they were very interested in the church. We presented them to President Bezerra, and he told us he would open the area again. And our hearts were filled with joy."
Now this isn't an exact quote, because she speaks Portuguese, but it is more or less what she said, and follows the spirit of what she said. And wow. I was amazed, and am still at her faithfulness. She truly is amazing. And so I'm thankful for the opportunity to open this area with Elder Morris, that we were chosen, and I don't want to screw it up =]
But also, things have changed significantly since Barra Mansa. I speak much better, and I understand the majority of what people say. I'm truly grateful, because I'm a much more effective missionary as a result. I have more or less 3.5 months on my mission--1.5 in the field. And I can speak Portuguese. In fact, I'm almost fluent--I don't think about it anymore. When I speak with Brazilians I don't have English words in my head. It's amazing, and I know it wouldn't be possible without the Lord's blessings.
I'm thankful everyday for everything I have been given. I'm thankful to be here in Brasil, with such a faithful people. When we do street contacts, people don't run. We ask them if we can share a message with them in their home, and they almost always accept. The people here love God and are always ready to receive his word.

With love, Elder McGregor