Dear Family,
I know that I just wrote but since I hadn't written for a while I was just catching up. I have a few more things to write about today. First of all, Tuesday makes 3 months since we started our mission! I can't believe that it has already been that long. I wish I had more experiences to write about but they are staring to come. It's just been a slow process.
Last week I did something that I've never done in my life........I taught our Gospel Doctrine class! Most of the senior missionaries meet together for class and we have our class in English. Our teacher was in the U.S. visiting his son for a couple of weeks so we took turns to teach. He was supposed to be home for last Sunday but got caught in the storm that hit the east coast so he wasn't able to leave until Tues. We had planned to have someone teach since he was supposed to get home very late on Sat. Anyway, that lot fell to me! I have never done that before and I wasn't thrilled to teach it but I think that it went very well.
Something happened before class started that I've never seen ever in my life. All of a sudden a young lady and an old gentleman (the oldest man in our ward) appeared in our room and she said that he wanted to sing for the missionaries. She was his granddaughter. She led him to keep him on beat and he sang, in broken English, "You'll Never Walk Alone." He wanted to give his appreciation to all of us for the sacrifice that we are giving. It was very touching. Dad took a picture with his ipad and I'm glad that he did. It wasn't fair to me to have to teach after that!
Last Monday was a holiday so we planned a special excursion to the top of a mountain north of Sao Paulo. We took our family up there in 1996 and had a picnic. Because of the holiday it was packed with people. We climbed up the steps to the base of the radio towers and saw a view of the city like you've never seen before! I took for or five shots to try to get it all in but I think it would probably take several more to do it justice. You just can't believe the immensity of this city! We saw a little monkey in a tree. Someone told Dad that there were jaguars that live in the forest around the area.
Dad was able to talk to a man who seemed like a "golden contact." He seemed really interested in the church. Dad gave him a pass along card so I hope that he will call the number on the back. We had a picnic at the base of the big hill and then we gathered in a little amphitheater and sang songs about the mountains and we shared spiritual experiences about being in the mountains. I told about Aunt Mary Lou and Aunt Marilyn's experience about Darby Girl's Camp. A couple of the other missionaries had heard about it. Dad told about his experience in Yellowstone Park when the crane fell onto the building he was working on and would have crushed him if he hadn't been warned by the Holy Ghost. When we were singing, people were really staring at us and some took pictures of our group!
On the 23rd, we went to a place in the city called Liberdade which is Japan Town. I think I mentioned that but I didn't share any of the pictures. One is of the crossing sign on the corner. I think that Dad is in it also, but look at the "don't walk" sign. I thought it was cute. We took a couple of pictures of a little food market because the fruit or food was so different looking that I wanted a picture of it. I've never seen anything like some of the food down here. Dad talked to a man about the fruit so he is also in our picture!
Yesterday Dad and I went shopping with Dagmar Gaspar and her mother. I've never seen anything like this area in my life! I seem to keep saying that! It is a street, several blocks long maybe even 1/2 mile, that has one clothing store after another on each side. I bought some clothes for me which I really needed. I was able to get 3 skirts, 1 pair of jeans, 1 top and a couple of boy's soccer shirts all for less than $100! The only trouble is that the sizing is way different than back home and you can't try anything on. You have to put in on over your clothes out in the middle of the store! There was one store where you could actually go and try something on regular like, but when I got to the area it was one room (bedroom size) full of women, in all sorts of undress, trying on clothing! Well you know me, I wasn't about to undress in front of anybody so I just didn't look around me at all and slipped the top on over my clothes! I didn't buy it! I even actually tried a skirt on outside on the sidewalk and ended up buying it! Luckily everything fit when I got home. The other thing about that shopping area is that it is in a very bad part of the city. To get to it you have to walk past people laying all over the sidewalks, some of them doing drugs and others waiting for a pick-up. It was basically the red-light district. I don't think that we will be going back.
On Thursday, Fernando asked me to make a chart that shows the 5 year welfare plan for Brazil. Luckily I've got Shelley to give me pointers as this chart will be given to the Presiding Bishopric and to Elder Holland! Fernando said that we have a secret weapon!
This week we will be going to Aracatuba to assist is giving out wheelchairs. Fernando wants us to take pictures to document the process. It is about a 6 hr. drive out to the interior of the state of Sao Paulo. I've been there before in 1993. Dad worked there for several months when he was on his mission. On Friday a man named Mario Saito came to visit us and he is from Aracatuba. Dad was in attendance at his baptism when he was an 8 year old boy. He has stayed faithful all his life. We are going to be taking another couple with us this week. They don't speak any English and they are fun to be around. I really like them a lot. They are actually the missionary couple assigned to the wheelchair program but he can't drive. Next week I'll have some pictures of them.
I love you all very much. Have a good week.
Love,
Mom/Paula
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