Dear Family,
Trying to catch up on my letters and I am getting way behind. We took Shelley to the Campinas Temple while she was here and did initiatory work. At the desk, I saw an older fellow (not as old as me) sitting at a desk. I asked him, "Are you brother Ribeiro?" He said, "Yes, I am." "Well, when you were a little boy I used to take you on splits with me while I was serving in Campinas." He jumped up and came over and we had a nice visit. His father Elezio was the branch president and later became the stake president. There were only two small branches in Campinas at the time: One in the centro and one at the castelo. The chapels are still there but have been remodeled and enlarged. We then took Shelley to eat at a Brazilian buffet in the Parque Dom Pedro Shopping Center (Dom Pedro was the emperor of Brasil). That place was beyond huge. The food court had at least 30 options and that didn't include the other restaurants like Outback and Applebees and lots of Brazilian ones. We then drove over to see the old (and they are very old and ugly) apartments where we lived in 1996. Everything from there out to the freeway is brand new with really nice homes and high rise apartments where there was nothing or poor areas. It made me wonder where the poor had gone to live. Then we went down to Parque Taquaral and walked around a little bit and walked down by the lake. Shelley could remember a lot even though she was just 7 years old.
On Saturday Paula and Shelley went to Ibirapuera Park but came back after a short time (they ate at Taco Bell) because everything was closed down. We had a fun party and food at the Salsbury's apt. with all the couples. We played some fun games including Escravos de Jó (Slaves of Job). Everybody had a hard time with it except Mom and I and Shelley and Elder and Sister Shumway who have also played it for years. Somebody was going to use forks instead of spoons and I said, "No way." I could imagine how many forks stuck in people's arms and hands there would have been. Mom and Shelley banged pans at midnight like everybody else was doing (at our apt.). Lots of fireworks all night long and lots of honking. The next day we went to church in our Morumbí Ward so Shelley could meet all our friends there. Shelley again got asked to play for Sacrament Meeting and she was pleased. It was really cool to hear Bishop de Valois announce that "Sister Shelley Sonderegger will accompany on the piano. She is the daughter of our dear couple Elder and Sister Sonderegger." The meetings were all really good today although there weren't too many there because of the holiday.
On Monday we drove down to Santos. We started on the easy highway, Bandeirantes which is a straight shot down and through a few long tunnels. Halfway we ran into a 15 mile long log jam of traffic. We got re-routed on to the old highway Anchieta with it's numerous curves and steep hills. It took forever to get to Santos, about an extra two hours. Then in Santos we kind of got lost but finally made it to the Estuário Restaurant. We ate and then went back up the hill and it took a long time but not quite as long as going down. Tuesday was hard to see Shelley leave but we were so glad that she could come and that we had a great time full of adventures never to be forgotten. Seeing Shelley leave was like seeing her and all our kids leave, not real fun, but that is life and we each have to make our own way in life.
The past two weeks have been kind of a waste of time as I got a lung infection again. AAAAAHHHHHHHH!. I can't win. The day I felt the worst I walked up to the Leforte Hospital and got my test results and then went around trying to get an appointment to see a Dr. about them. Is it just me or is it normal for everyone to want to know right now what the result was so you can get on some medication to get well??? The hospital called and let me know that I had an appointment in two weeks to see the Dr. That doesn't work. I told them I could be dead in two weeks and what was the sense of having an exam without getting the results and some medication to get well right now. I told them to forget it and I would find my own Dr. I really had no idea which way to turn. Turns out that Paula was teaching sister Abdo English lessons. She mentioned my predicament and sister Abdo said, "I'll call my husband and he can go to your apt." I knew that her husband was a doctor and he is a good friend. I thought he was a specialist in a hospital somewhere away from our area. He is in his 70's and still has a small practice of general medicine right out of his home. He drove up to the Vertentes and came to our apartment. He went over some things and looked at the exam results and immediately said, "You need to be on an antibiotic." I told the doctor that over a week ago and he said NO! Dr. Ricardo Abdo is really a great fellow. He was very interested in my health history in Brazil and all the times I have had bronchitis or pneumonia here. Basically, the air here in SP is not good for me. But what can you do? I'm not coming home again until it is time to come. He told me I had the blood pressure of a 15 year old and that made me feel good. So, Paula and I walked down the hill (a real steep one), got my medicine and started back on the get better trail. Dr. Ricardo refused to take any payment. He said, "I never charge the missionaries and that includes the old ones (that would be me)." At the drugstore, there was a lady standing outside begging people to please buy her some diapers. We looked at each other and decided to do it as the Lord had just blessed us with a "No Charge" from the doctor. So now, we had an opportunity to help out someone too. We got a pack of 60 or more. She was very happy and kept saying, "God bless you." There is never a single day here that you don't see or run into someone in dire need. Anyhow, I am getting better day by day.
Antonio Guerra picked us up at our apt. on Saturday the 14th of Jan. He took us out to his new home in the small city of Louveira (actually between Louveira and Itatiba). It is an exclusive area that is enclosed and has 160 gorgeous homes with open yards which was nice to see. They have armed guards at the entry gate. We ate and visited and just enjoyed breathing fresh air for a change. It was really humid as this is the rainy season. They have a small swimming pool but I didn't think I should go in and Mom didn't have a swim suit. They have lawn which is not a common sight to see. They have these two funny looking chickens that go around eating the bugs in lawn all day long which controls them. They were really funny little birds but effective. We went out in the country to a pasteleria (they make little pies with many different choices of what filling to put in them). I had two and they are so good. On Sunday, we went to Church at the small branch in Louveira. The rented building sits next to the Evangelical Church and boy were they noisy. The minister yelled his entire message as if somehow the yelling helps the message penetrate the soul. The branch had to change their sacrament meeting some time ago because the noise was too much. Paula and I were the speakers in sacrament meeting along with a high counselman. Paula talked about her ancestors and the 'sacrifices' they made to join the Church. She talked about the spiritual experiences they had that helped them gain their testimonies of the gospel, never to let go of them. She did it all in Portuguese and it was great. I talked a little about John Watkins and also a lot about the latter days we live in and that the Lord is hastening his work. There are so many good scriptures in Matthew 24, D and C 29 and 45. Also, the talks of Elder Ballard and Elder Cook from the last General Conference are very timely for our day and age. I would encourage you to listen and/or read them soon. We met an older couple there who have been members for 50 years. We then had a hamburger churrasco and Carol Mazzagardi came and ate with us. It was nice to see her again. Elder Mazzagardi is improving from his fall. They put 13 screws in his back, but he is walking a mile or more daily and is getting better.
The only other thing besides checking our gardens, doing reports and translating missionary recommendations was that on Sunday, we went to church at the Morumbí Ward again as the rains have been coming down so hard for days (all day and night) that we felt it was dangerous to get out on the highway to Ibiúna. The last time we came home from there we started hydroplaning and it was scary. As the 5th ward was coming out of sacrament meeting and as we were going in, I about fell over because I ran into someone I have not seen for many, many years. It was Leonel Sá Máia. I recognized him and my face probably showed it and he looked at my missionary tag and said, "Elder Sonderegger, you are here." As a missionary, I lived with three other missionaries plus Leonel and Aparecida Januário in an apartment in São Paulo right next to the Palmeiras soccer stadium (best team in Brazil then and right now). They had both serves missions and were a little older. You all know how missionaries do dumb things and take pictures of it. Well, I have a picture of me holding Leonel on one arm and Aparecida on the other arm. They are clear off the floor and I have my hands locked so they wouldn't fall. They aren't big guys, but still about 140-150 lbs. each. Crazy thing to do. It was Leonel who took me to the bus station in SP when I was transferred from Perdizes to Araçatuba in the interior. Then at the end of my mission, I got transferred to the Penha Ward in the city and Leonel was the ward mission leader. I remember going to his parents home and eating with them. I told all that to Leonel and he was amazed that I remembered. I told him that he was my hero as a missionary and had been such a great example. He gave me the biggest hug I have had in a long time and I him also. He was just visiting and currently lives in Provo which I did not know. I look forward to seeing him in the US. Hope you all have a great week. We are down to 95 days believe or not (less than 14 weeks).
Love You All,
Elder Sonderegger
P.S. We are working on writing up a step by step "How to start a garden project" for the new couple that hopefully will come and take our place. The "Gardening Tips" handout that we made with pictures will hopefully get used by the self-reliance dept. Maurício Araújo the dept. head took it cheerfully and plans on sending it out to the 18 Brazilian Regional Self-Reliance Directors. He made us feel really good and was so accepting. It may have helped that our MTC Portuguese teacher, Suellen is his sister-in-law. It was refreshing to have something we did get utilized without any imaginary barriers thrown in. I am seriously thinking about taking the exercise program I designed for the missionaries and which is sent out to individual missionaries many times weekly and writing a book and seeing if it could be sold at Deseret Book. It would include a program for before the mission, during the mission and after the mission. All the missionaries who have used it have loved it and say it is a life saver to them.
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