October 13, 2014
We have just been
thinking that it is just over a year now since we heard that our visas had
arrived in the church offices in SLC.
And 2 years and 5 months since we received our mission call to Brazil. We received our call on May 4, 2012. We had been delayed 10 times. We had a total of 11 different MTC dates
given to us. Each time, we would get
nearly to the date that we were supposed to enter the MTC and then would
receive a call that we had been delayed because of visa problems. Then on October 2, 2013, we received the
phone call that we had been longing for…..our visas had arrived! This week we have been remembering how
excited we were when we heard the news.
There were other couples like us.
One couple had waited even longer than we had. Their visas arrived at the same time as
ours. We were both given the opportunity
to pick the date we wished to leave or as in our case, pick the date we wanted
to enter the MTC. (The other couple had
already done the MTC). The other couple
wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Although we were beyond excited and so anxious to get to Brazil, we
decided to wait until the end of the month to leave. That seemed strange at the time when we had
been so anxious to go. Kids asked us why
we were delaying until the end of the month. Our bags had been packed or
semi-packed for over a year. We really didn’t know why we chose to wait until
the end of the month. It just felt right
to us. And how amazing the timing of everything
went! Sister Shirley ended up having to
have an unanticipated crown which was finished up barely in time to leave for
the MTC. And actually within minutes of
finishing the MTC classes, Elder Shirley had his kidney stone attack, just two
days before we were supposed to fly to Brazil, but after we had been able to
complete the MTC. He was able to have
surgery in the States. Although we were
disappointed with a two week delay while he recovered, we realize, especially
now, what a blessing it was. It was all
more than just a coincidence! It reminds
us that the Lord is in charge. As we
look back on everything, we feel very blessed. We see the Lord’s guidance and
direction in our lives! Now we just have six months left! It’s all been so unbelievable! This week has
been a week to reflect on the blessings and opportunities that are ours and to
really appreciate where we are and what we have the opportunity of doing. We still feel so grateful to family for their
love and support. They have been right
there with us. One pulled up roots and
moved back to Idaho to live in and care for our home. Others took turns housing us for over a year
until we were finally able to leave.
They were amazing. We count them
as our biggest blessings! Our decision to
serve a mission certainly affected our whole family! Choices in life are that way. It may be our choice, but it affects a lot of
people around us. So we have renewed
determination to make the most of the opportunity that is ours right now. We know six months will pass quickly. We hope we can be the best missionaries
possible in the remaining time!
We had the four
Sisters here for most of the day on P-day.
We fixed lunch for them and they took turns on the computers and
tablet. We visited, sang hymns, etc. It was a fun day!
One of our latest assignments
from President Castro was to help an Elder get to the Doc. He is a great young man and a wonderful
missionary. He hasn’t been feeling his
best. We helped him find a doctor and went with him and his companion. He was then sent for some routine blood tests
on another day at another office. They
had him come back yet another day for the actual blood test. It all involved a lot of waiting and he is
still waiting for results. We got well acquainted with medical posts, bio labs
and hospitals. In the meantime, this Elder has been hard at
work. (In fact, he and his companion
gave a blessing to an older non-member couple, who ended up coming to church on
Sunday!) One day, after a long wait at a
medical office, we took this Elder and his companion to eat at Per Tutti. He is so appreciative of everything, always
wanting to repay us. But we know many
helped our son when he was in the mission field. We need to pay that blessing forward. And we have a grandson who is anticipating a
mission after graduation in the spring.
We hope someone will be there for him too, as well as for others in the
family who may decide to serve. It was a
privilege for us to go with him. It
gives us an opportunity to fuss over him just like we would over our kids. It was an interesting experience too. His doctor was a young woman from Cuba. Her
husband, also from Cuba, is a doctor in Cachoeira too. She has been in Cachoeira for 3 months, after
spending 3 years in Venezuela and a total of six years as a doctor. She was knowledgeable and very nice and took
her time with him. It was kind of funny
as we came in a group, three of us from the U.S. and one Brazilian. It was good to have a Brazilian with us
too. We followed him from room to room. He had a lot of support with his companion
and both of us too. We tried to ask the
questions that the Elder didn’t ask, questions that a mom or dad might
ask. The Doctor let us know in a nice
way though that she was in charge and knew what she was doing. We anticipate that this Elder will be up to
full speed soon. We also have a Sister
missionary who is still struggling with a knee problem. She has been restricted to only four hours
per day of walking. She says the extra
rest may help her leg, but not her mind.
She is anxious to get back to regular missionary work. We hope that will happen soon for her.
We had a little bit of
disappointing news from President Castro that we won’t be seeing a stake in
Cachoeira anytime soon. One of the areas
wants to become a stake on their own and not combine with Cachoiera. So it will take considerably more time for us
to become a stake.
One of our goals since
we have been here is to read the Book of Mormon in Portuguese. We will soon be finished. We have been reading it out loud together and
are now in Chapter 8 of Mormon. Sister
Shirley keeps the English BOM alongside to compare when needed. It has taken a long time, but has been fun to
do together. We have both learned a
lot. We look forward to reading each
night.
Another of our
assignments from President Castro was to take the program of “My Family,
Histories that Unite Us” to both members and less actives and teach them about
its importance. The goal is to get
family names into the family search database and eventually get them to the
temple. We have been able to present
that a couple of times this past week.
Jose was really interested in the program. He showed us a picture of his grandparents
whom he remembers and loves. He proudly
showed us a picture of them and let us take a photo. We had a similar kind of lesson with Artur
this week.
We brought our Kindle
to Brazil and this week put a good book on it.
The book is “How Do I Know if I Know?” by John Bytheway. We bought it with Artur in mind. We think that he has a testimony, but doesn’t
really know it yet. We’ve only read the
intro, but it looks like a good book. It
would be especially good for teenagers.
It talks about what the Spirit feels like and different ways we may come
to know that the Gospel is true. A fun
read for P-day!
We have been out and
about on sunny days and rainy days as well.
We were caught in a rain storm without an umbrella one day. As it was a downpour, we stopped in to a
little store and bought another umbrella.
We have already worn out a couple of umbrellas, lost one, and bought
several. We didn’t anticipate how much
we would use an umbrella! The rain sure
makes a mess of a hairdo! But we love
it! We will still never get used to
thinking of October as a spring month though!
October 12 was a
holiday called, “The Day of Children”.
It honors children. They get
presents and treats. It’s a little like
Christmas for them and is a big deal.
Unfortunately, it fell on a fast Sunday this year. Branch leaders were trying to figure out what
to do as they usually give treats for this holiday!
The Elders had a
baptism scheduled for Sunday after the meetings. But unfortunately it didn’t happen. It was for two sons of an inactive
member. She wanted her sons to be
baptized. But she had a headache and
didn’t feel like coming. The Elders were
disappointed. The boys probably were
too. But, hopefully, it will happen in
the near future.
Anyway, it’s been a bit
of a different week for us. But it has
been a good one. Again, we never know
what we will be asked to do. Things are
never boring!
Hope things are good
for all of you! We love hearing about
everything that is going on up there!
Thanks for your love and support!
Eu te amo!
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