Fronhas for the Elders

     When I was making these pillowcases Elder Sagae and Elder Araujo saw the fabric and said they really liked the fabric and thought the design and color would make a great tie.  I gave them the pillowcases instead.  We will find out Saturday night if one them will be transferred this week.  We are hoping not but I'm sure others need the blessing of having them serve in another area.

San Miguel National Park

     Elder Barrus went on an adventure with our Elders and the Elders serving in Itapetininga for P-Day today.  They went to the San Miguel National Forest which is just a few miles south of Itapetininga.  They walked 5 kilometers through the forest with a guide.  Al asked the guide why he was wearing such heavy shin guards around his legs.  He replied, "Snakes."  Okay.  Thankfully they didn't see any snakes but did see a toucan and heard a lot of spider monkeys and went down to a waterfall.  The trek was straight up and straight down and the Elders were wonderful in helping Elder Barrus when he needed it.  I'm proud of him for being willing to tackle something like this and doing it so well.  Right to left, Elder Brum, Elder Santos, Elder Araujo, Elder Fly, Elder Sagae, Elder Barrus and Elder Hartley.

Tender Mercy

     Last Tuesday, April 18, we had a Zone Meeting in Sorocaba.  Elder Gonzaga who is from Brazil told about this tender mercy in his life.  Elder Gonzaga played on a professional soccer team and was the captain of the team here in Brazil.  He played against a tough competitor team last fall.  On the day that he received his mission call, he also received a recruiting letter from the team he had played against.
     He had to decide whether to go on a mission or continue to play professional soccer on this new team.  Through prayer he decided to serve a mission.  In December the team he would have played for suffered a tragic accident. The plane they were in crashed, all lives of the team were lost.  I remember the shock and sorrow of the people here in Tatui at that time.  If Elder Gonzaga had decided to continue with his professional soccer career he would have been on that plane.
   

Ovos de Pascoa!

     Happy Easter!  The Easter traditions in Brazil are different from the States.  Really popular here is the hollow Chocolate Easter Egg.  They are hanging from racks in every store, hundreds of them like the top picture.  They are large and the families here will open them up and fill them with little toys and candy for the children.  Easter here is called Pascoa.

Almoco

     We had the Elder Sagae and Elder Araujo over for almoco (lunch, pronounced awl-mo-sew) on Thursday.  I fixed Hawaiian Haystacks.  They don't have the canned chow mein noodles here so we used shoestring potato chips and made the gravy from chicken bouillon cubes.  Thankfully they loved it.  Elder Araujo had never had it before so I was a little worried if he would like it.  That night when we saw them at English class, Elder Araujo said he was 'saudade' for almoco.  Saudade doesn't really have an English translation but it means something like longing for.  So it was all good!

Pinha

     Our Branch President, Presidente Vagner brought this fruit to us from his home garden.  It is called a pinha, it looks like a pine cone!  The fruit inside is kind of like a custard texture.  It's hard to describe the taste, a little citrusy.

Igor

     Standing in the back are Igor, Elder Barrus and Elder Sagae. Kneeling in the front is Elder Araujo. Pictured with them is Igor's mother and his five younger siblings in their home in Quadra which is a small town about 15 minutes from Tatui. They live on a farm several miles down a rough dirt road outside Quadra.  Igor lives with his uncle in Tatui and wanted to be baptized into the church but needed his mother to sign a consent.  Elder Barrus took Elder Araujo,  Elder Sagae and Igor to his mother's home and visited with her on Sunday. She was very nice and even though she is active in a different church she gave permission for him to be baptized into the LDS church.  She told her son if he was going to be baptized he needed to be active and do his part.  Igor is the friend of one of the young men in our branch who will be a great support to him.  Igor will be baptized Saturday evening, April 15 at the Tatui Branch.

Family Home Evening

     Valquiria and her children Flora and Raul and Kelly and her son Yuri, came to our apartment for Family Home Evening.  For an activity I cut out pictures of Easter Eggs and we hid them around the apartment.  When they found all the 'eggs' they each got a little sack of candy.  The kids loved it and then they would hide the eggs from each other and then rush to find them.  This was new to them, in Brazil the Easter Egg Hunt is not a tradition here. 

A New Dolly in our Tatui Branch!

     Rita and Geronimo had a beautiful baby girl Thursday night, April 6.  Rita explained that was why she missed our Thursday night English class!  This sweet little honey's name is Larissa Veronica de Fatima Barbosa Campos dos Santos Reibeiro.  She is so cute no one will mind waiting while she writes her full name!

Shangri-La!

          I have been making pillowcases for the Young Women.  Al and I found this WONDERFUL fabric store with tons of beautiful cottons just a few blocks from our apartment.  Lanita (who works there), helped me put together some wonderful combinations.

New Beginnings

     Wednesday night, April 5, the Branch had a Young Women's Activity called New Beginnings.  They welcome the girls that will be turning twelve this year into the Young Women program.  Thaynna and Debora go to so much work to make each event they do so very beautiful and special. The girls, left to right, are Carol, Rafaely, Nicoly, Ketilyn, Mericia,  Monique and Ana.