We got our Visas! August 6, 2014

Hey Family
I guess the big news is August 6th we received our visa notification so we really are going to Brazil (already there at the time this is posted, sorry!).  I need to report on a few wonderful experiences before we leave this sacred place.  August 5th we took Gastao to the airport to pick up his daughter and grandson.  They were flying in from Cape Verde.  We met three lovely sister missionaries that were returning home from their mission and were going to a hotel for the night and were flying home the next morning. 

The 3 sisters from Cape Verde

They really wanted to get to the Boston temple.  We told them we would try to take them after we had taken our people back to their home but we probably would not be able to connect and get them to the temple in time for them to go inside. Well, of course as you would expect everything worked out perfectly and we got them to the temple.  We went in and dad and I were proxy parents so they could be sealed as daughters in a sealing session, what a lovely time we had.  When we entered the Celestial room they all began to cry for joy.  We found out they had prayed before the flight from Cape Verde that they would find a way to get to the temple.  But wait there is more, while we were taking pictures we talked to a couple from Cape Verde and offered them a ride home but their ride came. So two days later when we working our last shift in the temple the same couple came in and needed help with translation and dad walked by and saw them and recognized them from two days before and was able to help translate in Portuguese for them. Oh, the goodness and mercy of our Great God.  We can't begin to record all the wonderful experiences we daily have but for sure we know this time in the Boston Massachusetts Mission has been a wonderful gift to us.   We had a wonderful zone conference today and we know we are going to miss these awesome missionaries.
(Dad) And there is even more from that story.  One of the sisters that served in Cape Verde said that a companion of hers had her father living in Boston.  His name was Daniel dePina, which is a common name, but mom and I kind of freaked because we had been trying to connect with a Daniel dePina for some time and couldn't catch him home.  We had gotten his phone number once, but couldn't find it later on.  The sister told us that his daughter went by Sister Pina because it was easier.  So... the rest of the story... as we were packing up to leave, we found the number for "our" Daniel dePina, so I called him just to see if I could reach him for once.  He answered the phone and I said hello and then asked him if he had a daughter serving a mission in Cape Verde and he said yes, but she is Sister Pina there!!  He was the same person, and we had a great talk because I was able to tell him I met one of his daughter's companions and that she was a great missionary, etc.  We hadn't been able to contact him all this time and he had never been to church, but he was excited to hear about the Portuguese group and committed to attend.  Isn't the Lord wonderful?!  It was a great experience for us - how all these things were so intertwined and all in alignment with God's plan for his children.
Love to all, the church is true
Mom and Dad