Week #18, Sao Paulo, Brazil, November 20-26, 2017

I know the Christmas season has officially begun when I play the Andy Williams Christmas Album!  This year I kicked off the season by listening to it on my phone using my Amazon Prime music app.  I have to admit, something about that music gets me in the spirit every time.  That and the Carpenter's Christmas are my all time favorites!  Oh and I can't get into the spirit of the season completely without a fire in the fireplace! (the cute hubcap wreath is a hand-me-down from a couple who are going home this week) It's the simple things that make me happy!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our senior missionary friends.  We rented the social room in our apartment complex and had about 30 of us there for dinner.  Everyone brought traditional dishes and it was just like home (except without our own families present).  Something about all of us being together in the same situation made being without our families on Thanksgiving bearable.  We really are blessed with some amazing new friends here.

I volunteered to make cheeseballs (and crackers) and green bean casserole.  They don't have the French's French Fried Onions here, so I decided to make my own and with the help of the Pioneer Woman's recipe on Pinterest, they turned out so great!  In fact, I think I will make my own every year from now on!

After dinner, we had delicious pies and some of the men watched American football and some of us played UNO.  It was a really great day.  We heard from most of the kids and it sounded like everyone had a very blessed day.  Every day should be Thanksgiving.  I challenge you to make every day Gratitude Day by counting your blessings at the end of each day.  It will change your life!

On Saturday, our friends, Marilyn and Ray Anderson called to see if we were up for an adventure.  They had a car for the week and wanted to do some exploring so we headed downtown to Liberdade, or Japan Town.  Did you know that Brazil has the largest Japanese population in the world outside of Japan?  We had a lot of fun, lots of outdoor markets and musicians and of course great food!  We ate at Porque Sim, a wonderful little Japanese cafe.  It was delicious and the service was excellent!

 I think this picture is funny--Mike is totally comfortable squeezing in wherever he can find a place to rest his weary bones!

 This is the Sao Paulo Cathedral.  It reminded us of Florence, Italy!  Look at the street sign, 7 de Setembro, my brother Pat's birthday!

 Porque Sim Japanese Restaurant--it opened at 6:00 pm and there were a lot of people waiting.  We got on the list and were among the first to be seated.  The place was packed.  Lots of other restaurants on the street, but this one was the only one with people waiting to get in.  Definitely worth it!

This made me happy!  The Walk and Don't Walk lights were Japanese Lanterns!  Liberdade did not disappoint!

I read an October 2017 general conference talk this week by Elder Pingree called "I Have a Work For You."  It is about how each of us has a meaningful role to play in furthering God's work.  He names for ways we can find out how we can come to understand and perform the work God has for us to do.
1)Focus on others
2)Discover and develop spiritual gifts
3)Make use of adversity
4)Rely on God

You can read the talk here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/i-have-a-work-for-thee?lang=eng

Friday will be December 1st!  Our church is once again doing a 25 days of Christmas, "Light the World," service initiative.  Check it out to get a jump start on finding the true meaning of Christmas!
Go to www.lds.org and click on Light the World!  You will love it!

Have a blessed week!  We love you!