Mission 2 - Week 16

Hello again, another week gone by, and here it was a rainy one.  It rained all week long, but it brought a cool spell so it was awesome!

A city street in the center of town - that`s water from one side to the other!

Monday after working in the office, we had FHE with the other couples.  The lesson this week was on church music and how it could uplift and inspire.  It was a very good lesson, taught by Sister Sonderegger.  On Tuesday we were asked to go pick up an American couple on Saturday, but when we made contact with them they said that another couple had already arranged to pick them up!  Kind of funny, and not that unusual :)  That night after work we went to the movies with the other couples and we saw Moana - this time in English, so it cleared up a few things that we didn't quite understand the first time in Portuguese.  It was fun and afterward we got our first Subway sandwich here in Brazil - it was really good.
Wednesday we went to the temple and did some shopping afterward (to help Mom get here steps!).  Thursday we found out that the facilities folks had commandeered the apartment for our couple from the US and they were going to put the couple in a hotel while a visiting couple from Mexico used their apartment!  I almost got fired for suggesting that the couple from Mexico be put up in the hotel so that the American couple could move into their apartment after a long trip, with all their bags etc.  We worked it out as a compromise, the Americans just waited until Saturday night after the others left to move in, but at least they didn't have to stay in a hotel for two days!
Friday night we went up to Applebee's and met a young man (24) who I have communicated with on HelloTalk - an app that allows you to talk with others in a language you want to learn.  I have about 70-80 people that I "talk" to occasionally in English to help them learn it.  I sometimes ask them questions about Portuguese in return.  Anyway, we met Murilo and had dinner together and it was very nice.  He's looking into the church and it's teachings, so we're hoping that things work out and he joins!  The food was also very good, the service was very slow - but we didn't mind because it was good company and we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere. 

Murilo and us at Applebees in the mall

Saturday we had been invited to the wedding (sealing) of a former sister missionary from Cuiabá.  She met a Brazilian - her teacher in the MTC here when she came down, and after the mission they got back together and were engaged and married.  So we went to the sealing in the São Paulo temple on Saturday, one of the "worst" temple experiences I've had - but luckily not a bad one for them!   The officiator welcomed everyone and then walked over to them and spoke to them in a quiet voice, all the counsel and uplifting things that one enjoys in these wonderful events - we couldn't hear a thing, it wasn't even a matter of not understanding, we just couldn't hear it.  Then, after having them go to the altar, he did the same thing with the ordinance itself, he spoke so softly to them that we couldn't benefit from hearing the ordinance pronounced.  But, like I said, for them it was great, which is really all that matters.  It was nice to be there and Mom was a great help to her mother, who was having a difficult time thinking about her daughter being married and staying in Brazil.  So, today we went to our ward out in Perdizes, and who shows up to church?  Sister Thedell, her husband, and her parents (they are from Missouri)!  We had no idea they were coming to our ward, and the only reason they chose Perdizes was because it was the closest ward to their hotel.  How cool is that?  We got a picture with them and were able to talk to the parents some more.  We hadn't gotten a picture because we had to come back and meet up with the others to greet the new couple and go get pizza with them.

Sister Thedell and her new husband and her parents at our Ward.

They took a Relief Society picture today so we added it here.

OK, other "non-coincidence".  While at the temple, we met the groom's mission president who had come for the wedding.  He said that he had been the mission president in Riberão Preto, so we asked if he knew Elder Campbell (Spencer went to that mission), and they got all excited and said yes, he was one of their favorite missionaries and that they had met Steve and Loretta because they came down and picked him up after the mission!  I had forgotten about them coming down.  After the sealing, we were waiting outside for the bride and groom quite awhile and we had a lot of time to talk with the mission president and it was just a wonderful visit that we had until we had to leave (which is why we didn't get a picture with the bride and groom until Sunday).

This is us with Spencer Campbell's mission president!

We had a child baptized after church today, it was very nice.

Baptism after church today.  A family from Bolivia that lives here in São Paulo

Then we went over to eat at the house of the first counselor in the bishopric, Edilson & Denise and their two boys, Vitor & Louis.  Louis is almost two and he was a terror - it was quite amusing. :)  The food and the company were great, they had invited Edilson's sister, Denise's father, and another friend of theirs over for lunch.  

Our lunch group today

I think this idea of the bishop's to feed us in a new home each week is awesome, except for all the food we eat, of course.
Love you all,
The Church is True
Dad and Mom