Mission 2 - Week 6

Well, another week gone by, and this one was equally as eventful - and, as usual, some good and some bad.
The week started with me (Dad) having a very sore back - not exactly sure why.  I could barely move on Sunday, pretty much all day.  Monday morning was better so I went over to the office with mom, but had to rest up several times during the day.  By Tuesday, it was just noticeably sore, but not incapacitating.  However, by Wednesday mom`s sugar had spiked and we had a hard time bringing it down.  Even more of a mystery because she had already started a no-carb diet the week before and had fasted on Sunday for Fast Sunday.  So we worked on that all week and finally it`s come down into an "acceptable" range.  So, now we are both doing well and life is good - oh, and we've both lost some good weight as a result of our recent physical challenges... good news.
So here are some other highlights:
Mom is legally in Brazil now!!  On Tuesday we went over to the Polícia Federal again and this time things worked out and Mom finished her registration with the government and now we can stay another year (at which time we have to go through it all again in order to renew our visas!).  The police station was just as crowded as before and we've been told that it's because there are so many refugees coming to Brazil (Cape Verde, Mozambique, and South American nations).
On Thursday Tamiris (from Cuiabá) came over and had breakfast and then helped Mom with another Portuguese lesson.  That afternoon Mom wasn't well due to the aforementioned problems, so she stayed home and I went over to the area office.  Later in the afternoon, she came back over to the church and we taught an English class for a couple that was out of town.  It was fun to teach and the students (mostly members, but some not) are always excited to learn.  That night Mom came back over to the church with Sister Passey to make a Christmas wreath.  Interesting note, Elder Passey was in my mission at the same time I was, we crossed paths in one of the zones where we both worked.  He is just about exactly the same as I remember - I wonder if he'd say the same about me...?
Friday was a pretty full day.  We went over to the office a little late because they were supposed to be working on our computers (didn't happen), and we also were supposed to meet Sister Borges (also a missionary from Cuiabá) by the temple, but that didn't happen either as she had to stay at the MTC here for a new group of missionaries.  When we entered the back of the area office we ran into Elder Nielson and his wife, he's one of the 70's and was down here for training.  It was fun to meet them and they were very cordial.  So we worked in the office and then at 4pm we went to a meeting with Elder Nielson and the São Paulo West mission.  It was great as he spoke mostly to the young missionaries.  I think I enjoyed the question and answer session at the end as much as the meeting itself (no, he doesn't know where the 3 Nephites are!).
Saturday Mom and I went out to EMBU - which is the artsy place I went to before while Mom was shopping with others.  It was fun for us to be there by ourselves... oh, we weren't.  Who did we run into yet again... Elder Nielson and his wife!  Interesting, for sure.  We walked with them through a couple stores, then went off on our own.  We didn't really buy much because Mom was still under the weather (the weather here, by the way, has been really awesome!).
Here are a couple pictures from EMBU:

 


So we came home, did some shopping, and Mom cut my hair for me.
One other thing, since there is no Thanksgiving here, Mom has decided that Christmas starts now (I can't be my normal Scrooge self), and she's got backing from the Brazilians:

Christmas Tree in our Area Office!

Christmas setup and Train at the Mall by our house!

Love to all,
The Church is true
Love Dad and Mom