Week #19, Sao Paulo, Nov. 27-Dec. 3

December begins this week!  Our church starts the "Light the World" initiative on December 1 and it goes through December 25.  Every day there is a different scripture reference having to do with serving and loving others.  Each day you read the scripture and then think of some fun things to do for others that goes along with the theme.  It's a lot of fun and really gets you into the spirit of the season. You can check it out here:
mormon.org

Day #2 was Matthew 25:35, "I was thirsty and ye gave me drink."  We have a friend who loves Coke Zero so we gave her this:

She was thrilled!  It really is the little things that make people happy.  Rootbeer isn't popular here and it's very hard to find.  Our co-worker, Ivan, loves A&W and I was able to get him some and he was tickled!!
 I love praying about what to do each day and following the quiet promptings that come.

As I have said before, we get to work with a lot of other senior couples who we have really grown to know and love.  I promise we don't call each other and coordinate our outfits, but it's fun when we think alike and show up like this:

Or this:

We are loving teaching our English class on Tuesday nights.  Our students are some of the most genuinely kind people I've ever met.  They want to learn English so much and have such great attitudes and willing minds and hearts!

It's always fun when you meet someone with something in common with you, especially your name! Can you read their tags?

 This weekend one of our English class students, Marina, was singing at a local mall with her singing group and she invited us to come see their performance.  It was so much fun and really put us in the Christmas spirit!

Moore's, Marina, Ruth and Brett Barrett

There are so many malls here and they all go all out with decorating for Christmas!  We loved every bit of it!

After the performance, we caught an Uber to another mall to meet a couple of other senior couples to go see the movie, "Wonder."  It was fantastic and everyone should see it.  It has such a great message about not judging anyone and about not bullying!  It really is such a beautiful story.  Before the movie, we ate dinner with Elder and Sister Barrett (Brett and Ruth) at Madera's (world's best hamburger).  Again, it just might hold that title!! We really enjoyed our burgers a lot!

Photo bombing Marilyn and Ray Anderson

 It was a fun, fun day! 

We love being so close to the Temple here and when we get a break we can just walk out the door of our office, go across the parking lot and we are there at the Temple.  It is such a treat to go inside and feel instant peace and rest from the cares of the outside world. 

As you go through this holiday season of joy and goodwill to all men, remember that serving others is the best way to get and give the most meaningful gifts of all!