Bom Dia Queridos,
While we are excited to be less than 13 weeks from coming home, we also are already missing a lot of people here who we have grown to love. It feels like we are happily coming home to family but sadly leaving family too. So, to help alleviate those feelings, we are excited that we will have the chance to be volunteers in the Pathway Program at BYUI. We will be able to work with Brazilian students enrolled in Pathway. The first time I told the director of Pathway here in Brazil, Silvio Guimaraes, that we wanted to volunteer, he didn't say anything at first but gave us a big hug. They need volunteers really bad. As he comes to Rexburg relatively often, we will get to see him and that will be awesome.
Just want to say to my wonderful mother-in-law, congratulations and a very happy birthday. We love and miss you very much and hope to have some fun activities with you when we return. I could hug you every single day for the influence you had and still have on Paula. She radiates the same goodness that you taught her and that you have always shown to everyone. You have a big heart and are always thinking of others. I think in this day and age it is rare to find someone as special as you and I am certain that our Heavenly Father is so proud that you have always been on His team. Thank you for just being you because that means everything to me and to Paula and all our family. You are #!. As I would say in Portuguese, "Não tem igual quando fala de voce!"
As I have translated many, many missionary recommendations, I have been totally amazed at the strength of the young people whose lives I get to know a little. So many of them have come from any of these situations: Parents who abandoned them years ago; parents who show them no support; adopted by their grandparents because they were not wanted; have all kinds of health issues, are recent converts who already feel the need to serve; live with an aunt or uncle or brother or sister because they have no place else to go; have been told never to come home again; some don't know who one or both of their parents are; and many more. Yet they choose to serve willingly and faithfully. For many, many of them, the money they receive each month from their mission president for living expenses is the most money they have ever seen. Many have never had an opportunity to have a paying job because there were none to be had. Some give up their position in a university to serve a mission with no guarantee that they will have it back when they return. A very few of them have quite prestigious jobs that pay well and they give that up to go on a mission. You can't just go to a university here. There are only a certain % of openings every year to fill and so they have to score very high on the nationwide entrance exam. In the USA, if you don't get admitted to one university, chances are there are many more opportunities waiting for you. Not here. So I am really impressed with the faithfulness of these young people. That doesn't mean they all turn out to be great missionaries. Some go home early as they can't handle the work for a variety of reasons. We always hope that their families, bishops and stake presidents will be at the airport with open arms to let them know that someone cares.
We had a holiday on Wednesday, Jan. 25th. They have tons of holidays here. We went to the downtown São Bento Area at 7:30 a.m. to look at some fabric. Several went with us but then they kind of went their own way and Paula and I were left alone which was fine. We had fun. Paula got us there by bus and by two of the Metro lines, the yellow and then the blue. A year ago we wouldn't have dared to do that. Paula bought some fabric and something else way cool that we won't reveal until you come eat a Brazilian meal with us. It is really cool. Paula was then ready to go home but it was only around 9:30 a.m. I knew about where we were as I could see the Arantes (BANESPA) building which was patterned after the Empire State Building but made of cement (tallest cement only building for many years) and only about 38 stories high. So, with our bearings straightened out by talking to two Federal Policemen, we headed for the Mercado Municipal which is a really awesome and enormous building. There they serve the biggest sandwiches you have ever seen. The favorite is made of mortadella, a kind of baloney and it is at least 4" of meat or more on a humongous french roll. It would easily do for 2-3 people but the tradition is to eat it by yourself. What is this leading up to? We didn't get one as we hate mortadella. There are numerous small restaurants/cafes/bars, fruit stands galore, fish and meat markets, spices, sausage of all kinds and then some hanging up all over, huge vats of all kinds of nuts and on and on. We even found cheddar cheese. The brand was "Sun Valley", but it was made here in Brazil in the state of Minas Gerais. It was too expensive. Actually, we didn't buy anything but it was fun looking. We then wandered around some more. The street Rua São Bento is a closed to traffic street where I got all my missionary books bound in 1973. The shop was owned by Alfredo Nardi and he loved the missionaries cause we all got books done by him. It would be hard now to find someone with the expertise to bind books like he did. It may be a lost art. We walked by the Cafe Girondino (one of SP's oldest) and I was going to walk past it but Paula said, "Lets go in and get an omelette." So we did and it was wonderful. We got talking to the waiter and he gave us a little book about the history of the cafe. Then we walked a short way, got on the METRO and headed home never getting lost once. It will be really nice when the METRO extends to Morumbí right by the temple and then one more station past here to Vila Sonia. It will be so much easier for people to get here all the way to the temple without having to take a bus or drive a car. They are working really hard on it at the present time. Probably because of the new mayor who is really a go getter. He is a people person and everybody really likes him which is very unusual here to like a politician.
We also had a training meeting for all the missionaries worldwide at the Morumbí chapel. All the missionaries of the São Paulo West Mission were there (Pres. Thomas and Sis. Thomas - Ellen Mathias). It was a wonderful meeting of quite a group of leaders. Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar and Elder Anderson was there. I had the thought that it could very easily happen that Elder Bednar could be the prophet some day and I want my family to know that would be just wonderful for me. The last letter I received from Elder Bednar in 2004 was signed - Love, David. He is a great apostle and extremely intelligent and knowledgeable in the gospel of Jesus Christ. After the meeting, I talked to one of the guards, Isaac. I have given him many things to read about the Church. I had been thinking about him the whole meeting and there he was after the meeting at the guarita. I walked across and I said to him, "Some day Isaac, you and your family will be members of the Church and you will be blessed by the Lord to have just one job. Then you will be able to enjoy your family more. He works two jobs,24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year without a break, ever! Not even Christmas. How would you like that. He told me it is what he has to do to support his wife and two daughters and that he is ok with it. I really feel humbled by his attitude. I couldn't do it. He was not offended and I even told him that I am praying that all that will come to pass. Many times in the Church, we make the mistake of thinking that if we are not helping people get baptized or that when people we talk to about the gospel don't get baptized that somehow we have failed. That is not true. We are seed planters. The Lord is the one who knows when people are ready and some people take way longer than others. Keep planting the seeds and sharing the gospel with everyone. That is really important. It doesn't matter when they get baptized nor who baptizes them. Keep trying!
We saw a cute show at Shopping 3 Cinema on Paulista on Friday night about a dog that keeps being reincarnated. It was a good show and reminded me of all the dogs we have had. I went to our morning temple shift and as usual had a great time. No matter how my day or week is going, every time I go to the temple I come out feeling wonderful. Mom's back was really bothering her so she stayed home today. She seemed better when I got home. In the 12:00 session I got to be both leader and follower and that is a challenge in English. But it all worked out well. A young missionary came up to me at the end of the session and I turned and said to him, "I know you. I'll talk to you after." So we visited in the hallway. I asked where he was from and he said "Petrolina". I replied, "I have been to your home and met you and your whold family there in June and in December, I had my picture taken with your parents." It was a cool experience. Had good visits with a number of temple workers today. Worked at the office on projects, missionary recommendations, etc.
Saturday, Mom and I went to Ibirapuera Park on the bus all by ourselves. We ran into "Vondo", the follow who carved our Nativity Set. He was all smiles and recognized us immediately. At one point he asked me, "I have someone named Ferron on my list of customers, do you know who that is?" Ha Ha! Ya I kind of do know. I asked him if he would be willing to carve a camel for us as an extra piece and he said he would. We are excited about that. He has had 10 or more orders because of the missionary couples and he was really pleased. He is a great fellow. We then went to the Museu Afticano. It is a wonderful museum and we were really impressed with the hundreds upon hundreds of displays, artwork and pictures. It is a history of the people of Africa in Brazil. They have had a huge influence and made a huge impact on this country. The really tragic part of the history however is that there were between 3.5 and 5 million slaves who were kidnapped (rounded up like animals) and shipped to Brazil. They were treated like animals with iron collars around their necks and legs. Families were broken up and they were put with people from different tribes so that they could not understand each other (different tribes, different dialects). It was heart-wrenching to see that part of the history. Even former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso made some very bold statements about the shame that the country will always bear because of the treatment of slaves. Feijoada came first from the influence of these slaves. They were given the worst parts of a pig or cow and these they cooked in with their black beans and rice. It is now the national dish and many of you have eaten the feijoada Paula makes. Slavery ended in 1888 without a civil war or bloodshed by a government enacted law. It has been called "The Golden Law,"
I remember when Elder Helvecio Martins and his son Marcus along with their families came to our home in Rexburg. Elder Martins was the first general authority of African heritage in the Church. We had the fortune of visiting with Elder Sitati of Kenya at our SP office when we first arrived. Such a kind and gracious man. Elder Martins as I was starting up the stairs asked me, "Brother Sonderegger, explain to me the revelation on the priesthood and why we could not have the priesthood for so many years." Yikes. I wasn't quite prepared even though I had studied and taught things on my mission. I gave what i felt was the correct answer. Elder Martins and Marcus (who has been the SP North Mission President) both smiled and Elder Martins said, "No, that is not the answer. The answer is that we don't know why. Only the Lord knows." He told me that long before he received the priesthood that he knew absolutely that the Church was true and that was good enough for him. He had the faith that he would receive the priesthood in the Lord's time. He was totally shocked the day he received a call from a dear friend in Salt Lake telling him about the announcement. He sat down and wept. What tremendous faith. When President Kimball visited Sao Paulo to talk about the building of the temple, as he sat on the stand, he looked down and saw then brother Martins and motioned for him to come to the stand. Elder Martins thought, "The prophet must be motioning to someone else. Why would the prophet want to talk to me?" Finally after motioning several times, President Kimball turned to Elder Faust and said, "Go tell brother Martins that I want to talk to him." So Helvecio finally came up and knelt by the prophet. President Kimball with his sweet smile and loving countenance looked into brother Martins eyes and said this, "Brother Martins, all that the Lord expects of you is to be faithful. If you are faithful, all the blessings of the gospel will be yours." Elder Martins is one of the kindest men I have ever met, so loving, so caring and so humble. I wish he were still alive as I would love to visit with him again. I am sure he is doing a great work on the other side of the veil. Great, great faith from a man who had every reason to never join the Church.
On Sunday, Jan. 29th, we drove our car up to the Perdizes Ward where I served 45 years ago, same ward, same chapel. Elder and Sister Harris went with us as they are assigned to that ward and we asked if we could visit. I met the bishop and told him that I had served there and he looked at me and said, "I wasn't even born then." After Sacrament Meeting had already started, a fellow came over and said, "Who are you? Are you the mission president? We are wanting to know." So I told him that my wife and I were serving a mission here in Brazil. The bishop called me up to bear my testimony. This was the ward where I first met Leonel Sa Maia (who lives in Provo and who I ran into last Sunday). Several members remembered Leonel. One woman and one man, brother Caverni were members in the Perdizes Ward at the time I served there. I only remembered brother Caverni's parents as he was 8 years old at the time. In Sunday School, the sister who taught the wonderful lesson came to Brazil many years ago from Lebanon. She and her family were persecuted and their lives in danger for being Christians, so they fled to Brazil. She told of her brother who died and how the Lord told her in the Celestial Room of the SP Temple that it was his time to return home. When her brother's son was married in the SP temple, she was sitting there for the ceremony and kept thinking how sad that her brother could not witness his son's wedding. The sealer and the young man told her that her brother had been sitting right next to her during the ceremony. She was quite emotional as she related this sacred experience. I visited with her after. Such a wonderful sister with a powerful testimony. When I worked in Penha, my next to last area, the member lady we lived with and who cooked awesome meals for us had come to Brazil from Syria at age 18. Her name was Amine Barbara. She was like a third grandmother to me and she is the one who made the beautiful temple tie for me. When I got transferred, she said to me, "Elder Ferron, I will never get to go to the temple so you wear this tie when you attend and please think of me." All these years later I still think of her and what a kind woman she was. She used to be really ornery with the most of the elders, but everything changed the day I told the other three missionaries that we needed to buy her a dozen roses. A little kindness made a huge difference. She spoiled me like I was her own child. She is the only woman I gave a big hug to when I was transferred as that was against the rules. But who doesn't hug their grandma?
We had a great day at that ward. We had a really good week. A cashier at the supermarket who is always so nice to us said that she would accept some reading material about the Church. I think we can handle that pretty easily. I love my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ and I know they love all their children, brothers and sisters here on the earth. So grateful to have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, independent of anyone else's testimony.
Love You,
Elder Sonderegger
