Dynamic Duo!

     Elder Sagae was just assigned to Tatui.  His family lives in Salt Lake.  He and Elder Araujo are working hard to help the kingdom to roll forth!

Two of the Reasons our Mission is such a Joy!

     The top photo is  Valquiria and her two children.  She hadn't been to Church in a few years so Al and I stopped by to visit her and  invited she and her family to Church.  They came!  They are coming to our home for Family Home Evening this week.
     The bottom photo is Robson and Sheila and their two children.  It was the same situation.  Al and Paulo went to visit them and extended the invitation to come back to Church.  What a joy it was when they walked into Church on Sunday!

Elders

     This is Elder Araujo, he is from Natal, Brazil (way up north) and Elder Blaylock.  Elder Blaylock was just transferred to a city outside Sao Paulo.  This summer he will be completing his mission and going to BYU-I.

Favorite Pothole (Buraco)

     The streets of Tatui have many buracos. This is one of our favorites since it is at the top of a very steep hill, right at the stop light.  It is (was) larger than it looks in the photo.  Their warning system was to stick a stick in it with a can perched on the top, the Brazilians that live close by said it has been like this for 15 months.  All the stop lights in Tatui have cameras.  Elder Barrus stopped by the side of the road to take this picture the other day.  The very next day a crew came and fixed all the potholes by the stop light.  Hmmm, I wonder if the cameras caught him taking pictures of the pothole?

Amanda and Matheus

     A couple of weeks ago when Kelsey and Kylie were visiting us, we met the wonderful Nelesso Family.  Their oldest son, Matheus, had just returned from serving a mission in Chile.  Matheus invited us to his wedding on Saturday, March 18 in the Campinas Temple.  We all did an endowment session before the sealing.  It was a beautiful wedding and a beautiful, happy couple.

Newest Member of the Tatui Branch

     This precious little sweetheart is the daughter of Gilmara and Edivaldo.  They named her Mayra.  She was born Monday night, March 13 and joins two older brothers.

It Seems The Horse is Still the Most Reliable Mode of Transportation!

     Elder Barrus and I were driving behind this gentleman in his horse drawn cart.  Inside the cart there is a motorcyle tied in!

Campinas Temple

     We took Kelsey and Kylie to the Campinas Temple while they were here.  Mark Grover and his wife Ivelisse were kind enough to take us all to a humongous open air market after our session.  It was unbelievable all the beautiful produce and sacks of bean, rice, herbs, everything you could think of.  The highlight was Kylie's reaction to the pig snouts and ears for making feijoada.

Chance Encounter Ends in Great Blessing of Friendship

          President Farnes had a fist holding onto the iron rod carved for him.   Elder Fly told us he thought that a man in Itapetininga had carved it, his name is Vagner.   We wanted him to make one for us.  When Kelsey and Kylie were here we went on a drive over to Itapetininga and met the Elders at the Church because Elder Hartley wanted to send some things home with the girls to give to his parents.  Elder Rodrigues called Vagner for us and it just happened that he was in town and would come over to meet us at the Church.
       We asked him if he carved.  He said some things and told us to follow him on his motorcycle.  We followed him quite a ways out of town to a roadside cafe that his family owns.  He made us a delicious drink made of fresh cane juice and pineapple that he juiced out right there as we watched.          Presidente Farnes gave each of the missionaries at Christmas a replica in plaster of his carved fist with the rod.  It turned out that Vagner wasn't the one that had carved it but said he would like to try.
     Then he asked us to come to his home for lunch.  I said we can't do that to his wife because there were four of us.  He said it would be an honor for his family if we would have lunch with them.  So we followed him a few more miles out of town to his beautiful fazenda (farm).  It was so peaceful and such a gorgeous location.  His wife Katia was a wonderful hostess and so welcoming.  Their oldest son, Matheus, had just returned from a mission serving in Chile.  He not only learned Spanish but learned English from his American companions.  He spoke English so very well.
     Vagner and Katia have three other boys who were so friendly and such a delight.  We had a wonderful meal with them.  Matheus told us he was going to be married in a couple of weeks and invited Elder Barrus and I to the wedding.  So Saturday, March 18, we will be going to the Campinas Temple.
     What a blessing the Church is in our lives to bring into our paths such wonderful families and friendships.

Para Bens, Elder Barrus!

     At our District Meeting in Itapetininga on Tuesday, March 7, the Elders and Sisters surprised Elder Barrus with a birthday party at the end of the meeting.  What an awesome group of missionaries!

Wonderful Old Tree

     Kylie in front of a massive old tree in one of the pracas.  We need to find out the name of it.  It's a Manga Tree!  They are all up and down this rua.

Feiras

     There are beautiful Feiras (fruit and vegetable stands) all over Tatui.  Kelsey and Kylie marvelled at the large variety of familiar and different produce.

Shoe Stores Galore!

     On every block in Tatui there is a shoe store, much to the delight of our girls!

Kelsey and Kylie in Tatui!

     We were so happy to have Kelsey and Kylie here for a week  in Tatui.  On Sunday the Branch had their picture taken with them following Sacrament Meeting, February 26.