Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Update from Dad - 10/23/16

Dear Family,

       Today we had a special experience going back to our Morumbi Ward here in SP.  We haven`t been there for a while since being assigned to the Ibiuna Branch.  But today was Stake Conference and we decided to check with our our ward and see how they were all doing.  Only Sister Cox and Elder and Sister Harris still attend the ward so it has been a shock to the ward.  During the sacrament, Paula nudged me and said, "Look at that little boy passing the sacrament, he looks like Caleb."  He was up on the stand passing and as he turned I could see Caleb plain as day.  It made us feel homesick for our grandchildren.  Caleb is such a special boy.  I remember when Caleb was in the NICU in Idaho Falls and how concerned we were about him.  He is such a good boy and you can see it in his countenance.  He has been blessed with a very special spirit.  The little boy we saw had dark black hair and dark skin, but his facial features and the way he moved seemed just like Caleb to us.  Just before priesthood began, I put my arm around that young boy and told him what we had seen, that he looked so much like our grandson and that he did such a good job passing the sacrament.  He just beamed all over and said, "Thank you Elder."  I never quite get used to that, but here in Brazil, acknowledging the missionaries as Elder or Sister is a great term of respect and one we will miss when we go back home.  I plan on doing something special for this young deacon.  He is the only active member in his family and that is not easy for a 12 year old.  I am very aware of my own faults and weaknesses, but one thing I have tried hard to do well at for many years is to say something or do something kind for other people every day.  Everyone needs a lift or a pat on the back.  They may need a smile, a kind word, a small gift or a plate of food, but it makes a huge difference in people's lives to know someone cares about them.  We live in such an ungrateful and uncivil world with people trying to one up each other in saying nasty things about one another or about others.  We all need to do better than that and be a light to somebody every day and just go about trying to do good.  I hope I will never stop trying to do that.

     A couple of weeks ago we went on a trip to the Butanta Institute not far from where we live.  I drove and we took the Salsburys with us.  The Butanta Institute is a research facility for developing cures and anti-venom for snakes, spiders and for tropical diseases such as Dengue Fever and Zika.  They actually manufacture the anti-venom serums there and send them all over the world.  We saw numerous poisonous snakes and spiders.  Glad they were all in glass enclosed habitats.  I don't think my sister Holly nor my mother-in-law would have enjoyed going there.  But it was really interesting to see it all.

     The Church is re-modeling the "alojamento" (temple apartments) next to our offices.  We saw the picture of the finished product and it will be beautiful.  It will have a Visitor Center and a large statue of Christ like at Temple Square and it will be illuminated at night behind some beautiful curved windows.  There will still be some apartments for the Temple Presidency and for missionaries to live in.  Right next to it the city is finally going to work on extending the Metro to the Morumbi area where we live.  When it is done, it will be a much easier access to come to the temple for many, many people.   It can take over two hours to get across the city on most days and people don't have that much time.  It won't be done before we leave, but hopefully it will be done as soon as possible.

     We planned a trip to Campos do Jordao, the highest point in the state of Sao Paulo.  We left on a bus very early in the morning.  It was a two and a half hour trip through beautiful country.  We first went to the Amantikir Gardens.  They were made and designed by a fellow who just wanted to do something wonderful for people to see on mountainside land he had purchased.  He studied gardens all over the USA and Europe and then designed his gardens.  There are many different gardens representing different areas and countries in the world.  We saw one garden which had numerous plants with which we are familiar in Idaho and Utah.  The view of the valley below us was beyond gorgeous.  Rolling mountains, valleys and hills all as green as green can be.  We then went into Campos do Jordao where I had gone as a missionary, albeit the very last P-day of my mission.  Boy has it changed.  Business and tourist traps everywhere, not as nice as Gramado, but still very nice.  Mon found a pretty knit yellow top that she looks good in.  We found a really nice Italian restaurant and took the Salburys and Shumways with us.  Everyone thought it was the best Italian food they had every had.  Three of us got the 7 course meal and three got the Salmon Pastry dish and then we split them with our companion.  It was fun.  After the 2nd course of pasta, Sister Shumway, Sister Salsbury and myself said, "Whoa, have we still got five more courses to eat?"  It was fun.  We stopped on the mountain on the way down and took more pictures of the valley.  We went in together for a tip for our driver.  Paula and I sat in the front with him and talked to him all the way about all kinds of subjects.  He was a professional soccer player and played with the father of Brasil's current best player, Neymar.  It was great to talk to him.  When I gave him the R$140.00 tip, he said, "What is that for?"  I said, "For you."  He said, "That isn't necessary."  I replied, "Oh yes it is, you did a lot for us today."  He got a little emotional.  I hope we see him again.

     We have a lot of missionary experiences.  At a churrascaria one of our waiters asked me what Church we were from (there were 40 of us in the restaurant).  I told him and asked him if he would accept some literature and he said yes.  I had a Book of Mormon and a copy of Our Legacy in my suitcase in the trunk (we were headed for the coast for our seminar).  I got up and got them and as I gave them to him the boss came in.  I asked him if it was all right to give the books there in the restaurant and he said I could.  Coming home from a date night, I watched a young college student, a young woman reading the whole way standing up.  There wasn't an opportunity to talk to her until the bus stopped to let us off.  As I passed her I said, "Do you like to read?" and she said, "Sim."  So I gave her a copy of Our Legacy and said, "Here, read this."  After I got off the bus, I turned around and she was smiling and waving to me and I smiled and waved back.  She will read it.  You never what it will take to get someone's attention.

     Last Sunday we attended the Ibiuna Branch again.  I gave a copy of John Watkins story, "Night on the Prairie" which I had translated into Portuguese.  Everyone seemed pleased.  I will be interested to hear how they like it.  Today, a number of brethren thanked me for the story and one said that he used it in their FHE last Monday night.  I hope that John Watkins is aware that his story is doing good things 160 years later in Brazil.  I think he would be pleased.  I am so glad he wrote his history.  We learned the names of a lot of members.  One member, a young man by the name of Johnatan German LaChuma Tabraj is a teacher for the priesthood lesson.  He is from Peru and served his mission, partly in the Ibiuna Branch and he decided to stay.  I really like him.  He has such a strong testimony and is so kind and friendly to everyone.  We went for a very long drive on not so great roads to get to a little summer of home of President Gilberto's.  He has a really nice place and plans on remodeling the house and moving there after he retires.  We had a great meal, churrasco, rice and beans, salads, etc.  Then we ate the best ice cream I have had in Brazil.  They had a couple of berrantes (bugles to call the cattle) which I had brought two home after my mission.  Boy, they could really play them and it was neat to hear the sounds they use to call in the cows. President Gilberto asked me if I would mind stopping at the home of a part member family because everyone there was ill and they needed blessings.  So away we went with the four elders, me driving and following instructions from Elder Dias who has been in the area seven months.  We got there and half of them were lying in bed.  One brother who I had met some time ago had been in the hospital with pneumonia.  His parents who were both getting on in years asked for blessings as did he.  Two of them asked me if I would give them a blessing even though they did not know me.  That is very humbling to say the least.  The sister was in tears after her blessing.  She gave me a kiss on the cheek which is also humbling as it is a sign of respect and love for someone.  Anymore, I hug the sisters and give the "to the side" kiss just like all the men do.  It really makes a difference and they start to see you as one of them and not a stranger.  It is too bad in my opinion that we don't have such customs in the US.  Most Americans would really shy away from it, but it is such a simple but powerful way of expressing love for everyone you meet and they appreciate it.  We let the elders off (four really great missionaries) and then found our way out of town.  We got stuck in a giant one hour traffic jam that wasn't real fun, but we made it home safe.

     Monday night was my night to teach FHE with all the Senior Missionaries, so I did a learn by doing simple exercise program that they could all do with no special equipment right in their apt.  It has some similarity to the one I designed for the 34 Brazilian Missions.  Everyone was a little intimidated to start, but then realized that I knew of what I was talking and that they could indeed do all the exercises without any problems.  

    We went to the city/island of Guaruja down on the coast for a four day training seminar with all the Self-Reliance specialist from the 18 regions in Brazil.  We began with a meeting with the DTA, Ozani Farias who I have finally come to love and respect.  It is like most of the times when you get to know someone, you begin to love them (Dad always taught me that).  He told us a lot about challenges in Brazil and a lot of it was about paying the fast offering to bless other people's lives.  It is our continual challenge to help the people understand that this is a commandment for the poor as well as the rich.  The poor are always blessed when they pay even the small amount they can.  We have witnessed the blessings many times.  We then ate at the Tordilho Churrascaria and then went to a place called Escape 60 where we were divided into teams, locked in a room, given clues and had to find our way out.  We found number combinations and even got a key out of a long pipe by using a magnet.  I was using a blanket tied to the magnet but then someone found a cord.  Mom found most of the number combinations.  But as a group, we didn't make it our and got blown up.  Thankfully, not for real.  It was fun though and emphasized teamwork.  We then headed down the mountain to the coast with Ivan Tramontina who we work with.  We love Ivan.  We stayed at the Grand Hotel, a very old hotel on Guaruja but a very nice one.  The food was beyond outstanding.  We both gained a little weight.  The hotel sits right on the beach which I slept on one night as a missionary.  It was fun to walk down the beach with mom and bring back memories.  And don't have a heart attack, I bought a pair of cargo shorts for the beach.  Mom thought I looked cute in them.  I'm not so sure.

       We had a lot of training sessions starting Wed. morning and then usually finished by early evening.  It rained a lot.  The ocean is gorgeous as are the beaches.  We ate our meals in a large ballroom type room that was like early colonial architecture and everything fancy.  We felt a little out of place, but someone had to do it.  The training centered mostly on the goal of a self-reliant Brazil.  All the presentations and comments were wonderful.  We have a lot of work to do.  The last day, Friday, we went to the other side of the island and boarded a small ship and then took off for a view of the coast from the ocean.  It was really fun until the boat got rocking a lot.  I started getting sick, really sick.  Finally, we arrived at a little bay and anchored.  But that made it worse as the boat kept moving around and rocking even more.  Half of the fellows and Sister Guimaraies jumped in the water and swam or floated around.  I didn't feel like it at all.  I didn't throw up, but I sure wanted to.  Marcos da Silva from our apt. did throw up and I saw him and that didn't help.  There were several others that got sick.  It made me feel sick for a day.  That night, I couldn't go to dinner although I finally had a little soup.  The place we anchored was in an area where all the rich and famous live.  The homes were something else, way out of our league.  Julio Sales from our dept. jumped in the water and floated like a board.  He is skinny as can be and he laid out like a painted white board (he is really white, no sun) and just floated.  I swear he didn't sink in more than 1" at most.  He was like laying on top the water.  He said later that he tries to go down under the water but can't.  With my bone density (the hardest my surgeon had ever seen), I think I could have sunk in salt water and been the first, but we will never know as I was too sick to jump in.  

     One last experience on the way home was memorable.  We again went with Ivan, Paula and I and Sister Cox.  She and Ivan  deal with all the missionary problems of those who want to go home or those who probably shouldn't serve.  They were discussing a missionary candidate and even had a conference call with the mission president in charge of the District in which the young man lives.  It just happened to be David Lisonbee, one of my best friends on my mission.  So I got to talk to him.  They discussed the young man and the more they talked, I finally after the call was over said, "I think I know that young man.  I think I translated his recommendation into Portuguese."  They read some things about him and I said, "That is him.  I don't remember his name and never try to remember any candidate's names, but I know it is him.  I saw so many red flags in his comments although the bishop and stake president said all was well."  I made a copy of the recommendation and highlighted the red flags in yellow and took it to Elder Correa, the Brazil Area Executive Secretary.  He then reviewed it with the Area Presidency and Ivan and Sister Cox.  Sister Cox sitting in the back seat handed me the recommendation which I had filled out with all the yellow highlights.  She had it there in the car.  She said it was good I had not sent it to Salt Lake and that the recommendation was for the missionary to serve in his own area in some other capacity.  There is a professional counselor who will work with him.  I am not at liberty to mention the challenges and sad experiences of the young man, but I feel for him and hope he can get past the things others in his family caused for him in his young life.  It was a spiritual experience for me as it is the very first time I have every done that with a recommendation.  It had never even crossed my mind to do it nor had I been trained to do that.  It was like the Lord trained me on the spot and thankfully I listened.  My prayers are with that young man and hopefully things will work out for him. 

     Hope all of you have a great week.  We wouldn't mind getting an email from you as it gets pretty lonely at times here even with all we have to do.  A word from home always makes a big difference to us.

Love You All,

Elder Sonderegger

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