Week 4, Sao Paulo Brazil

Another week has flown by and we are already one month into our mission.  This week we will receive two more senior couples so we will no longer be the new kids on the block!  We still need to be escorted everywhere we go on the buses but I think that will take a while to figure out.  Besides, we love going with others rather than by ourselves.  This week our big outings were going to the CTM (Centro de Treinamento Missionario, like the MTC in Provo), going for Chinese food and going to the movies to see Dunkirk.

We love the CTM!  We got to have lunch there on Tuesday and meet with the CTM President and his wife as well as other leaders and senior couples who serve there.  There is such a sweet spirit there and we felt extra close to our daughter, Hannah, who was there just four years ago for six weeks of language and Preach My Gospel training.  It was fun to picture her there eating in the cafeteria, studying in the classrooms, and sleeping in the bunk rooms.  It's hard to explain the feelings there but they were special for sure.  Our, son, Joel, served a mission in Brazil as well but he didn't spend time in the CTM here.  He went to the Provo MTC and served a while in the Boston Mission while waiting for his VISA to come to Recife, Brazil.

 This is the track and one of the outdoor exercise areas.  It was raining so no one was using it.

 President and Sister Grahl

 Us with Ivan Tramontina, head of LDS Family Services for Brazil. He works with us in the Area Office.

This sweet young sister by me was just saying goodbye to her family and friends as she was just about to enter the CTM.  I wanted to take a picture of them but her dad insisted I be in the picture.  Love, love, love this place and all the wonderful young missionaries giving up 18-24 months of their lives to serve the Lord full-time!  Amazing!

After our meeting and tour of the CTM, Ivan took us to this wonderful "American" cookie store across the street from the CTM.  I have to say that they make a really good chocolate chip cookie.  It's supposed to rival Mrs. Fields and I think they might be pretty close!  Yummy!

The Chinese restaurant we ate at on Friday night was a long bus ride and then a long walk but it was so worth it.  We were in a part of Sao Paulo that seriously felt like we were in NYC and then in San Francisco.  There were steep hills and just the atmosphere felt so familiar.  The restaurant was as good or better than any we have been too, including China Town in NYC and San Francisco!  We will definitely go back!

We enjoyed the movie, Dunkirk.  It is always good to reflect on the sacrifices people make to make our world a safer, better place.  We are so grateful for all who serve in the military at home and our allies far away that make it so we can sleep safe in our beds at night.  It's a scary world out there, but we know that our Heavenly Father is in charge and that we are in His hands.  Rather than be bogged down with worry and disgust over things that are going on in the world, I choose to see the JOY and brightness in our world.  There are good people and so much beauty all around us and we just need to keep our focus on the right things in order to feel peace in a world of unrest!

We love you all and we love serving our mission here in Brazil!  It's harder than I imagined to be so far away from all that I am familiar with and especially our family, but it's just for a short time in the grand scheme of things and if we can do a little bit of good here and lift some burdens off some missionaries shoulders then it will be well worth the sacrifice.

 Finally, some news from our neighborhood in Longmont!  There was a bear in a tree by the creek behind our house.  We don't live especially close to the mountains, so he had quite a hike to get there.  I don't believe he caused any trouble, but I think it was quite an exciting event for our quiet neighborhood.

Have great week and don't get stuck in any trees!