July 24, 2016 - Dad

Dear Family,

I haven't written for a month or more and decided I had better get on the ball.  We enjoy hearing from each of you whether by email, phone, or FB.  It helps keep our spirits up.  We have really hit some snags in our Petrolina Project (the quail).  The project was not approved after all and it is simply because the costs are way too high.  This has all happened because someone without authorization promised things that the Church simply will not do.  I spent over an hour on the phone Friday talking to a member of the Stake Presidency with whom we traveled with to see the families.  I think it was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done.  I came home by myself feeling just horrible, not because everything they want will not be provided, but because a promise was made that should never have happened.  I just even today feel sick about it.  There is a feeling that some members might leave the Church if this doesn't go through.  All I could say was, "Everybody must make that decision on their own.  If their testimony is based on one experience that doesn't go their way, that is their choice unfortunately.~  We are stuck between a rock and a hard place.  It is not very fun being in the middle of something we did not create.  I did ask if the members, when they do receive a smaller incubator, smaller brooder, fewer cages, fewer quail, less feed, etc. would really still be offended over being given so much.  The counselor was not sure.  Needless to say, we will not be mentioning the word quail for a long time.  I am trying to get them to understand that the purpose of welfare is to get people back on their feet not to set them up in private business.  We do need your prayers and your faith.  This has been really really hard, not what I thought a mission would be like.

Thank the Lord that we had a wonderful experience yesterday at the ~Copa Smith~ (Smith Cup), a track and field meet for the youth of the Sao Paulo Stake in celebration of its 50th anniversary, being the first stake in all of South America, organized in 1966.  Several wards asked me to come teach their youth how to pass a baton, which I did on a Saturday and on a Tuesday.  It was fun.  I did have to remind myself that I was not working with experienced athletes.  The leaders were surprised that I knew all the Portuguese words for track and field terms, but I have known those for years.  The Copa Smith began a long time ago but was discontinued because of some sportsmanship issues (pois e).  So this was the first one in 15 years and everyone was very excited.  Sister Raquel who is the Church Legal Department secretary came with her husband to pick us up Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m.  It was cold outside at that time but the sun came out and warmed up to a perfect day.  People were really nice to us all day and dept bringing food and drinks to us and even brought pillows for Paula to sit on.  It was like a giant picnic with activities.

The event kicked off with a parade of athletes on the track, a nice synthetic one that was provided to the stake for free.  The kids marched in with their own colored tee shirts by ward and their flags.  Then they lit a torch and two young people, a young man and a young women from our ward carried the torch around for a lap.  It was really cool and all done with the Olympic music coming from a loud speaker.  We had a prayer and then a welcome from President Maia.  They had the athletes take an oath by repeating the rules of sportsmanship of what was expected of them.  That was really neat and the kids were on their best behavior all day, not complaining or flare ups that I could see.  There was even an ambulance there just in case.  We had one case of dizziness with a young sister but she recovered just fine.  Each ward then did a special dance they had worked on and they really got into it.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

They didn't do all the events as that would not have been practical, but they did the 100 200 and 400 meter, and 4 x 100 races as well as the shot put (they found one, a 4 kg. women's which worked fine for both), and the long jump.  I got a group started in the shot put.  Many leaders and ward members served as officials and they did great.  A lot of people kept asking me if I thought things were being done right and I assured them that they were well organized and prepared, because they were.  In the shot put, there were a lot of illegal throws, the shot dropping down from the neck area and to the side which is not only illegal but dangerous.  A side arm throw like that can really mess up your elbow and shoulder.  But I suggested they not mention anything more than to show the correct technique and then let them be.  They had never one single time in their lives 'put' the shot.  It is not a throw after all, but a push.  I didn't see anything too horrible so the officials didn't worry about it after we talked.  I am sure a few kids had sore elbows this morning.  I got the long jump officials to measure the closed point of contact with the sand and to read the measurement from the takeoff board.  They did great after that.  Someone had put together a homemade rake made of wood and screws which actually worked perfectly.  All the little kids in the stands were running and jumping into the pit when the event was not taking place and even the leaders all went out and took a turn.  That really endeared them to the young people.  They were such good sports.  If you are wondering if I tried anything, the answer is NO.  I did not want to make a complete fool out of myself.  I thing my vertical jump which was once enough to dunk is now about 3" on a really good day.  I did do a 50 meter jog over to an exchange zone but that was out of necessity and wasn't real pretty I am sure.

The running events took a long time as they had separate heats for the Beehives, the Mia Maids, the Laurels, the Deacons, the Teachers and the Priests.  Then they would have a final.  One little girl who ended up winning her group in the 400 asked me what the best thing to do for the race was.  I grinned and said the best thing would have been to train for it for 4 months so you knew how to run it.  But I told her what to do and to save some energy for the end, which she did, winning by about 60 meters.  in other words, she would have won anyway without by great counsel.  This morning, I talked to her at Church and she thanked me.  I actually thought she had some potential to run pretty fast if given an opportunity.  I told lots of kids to run the inside of their lane to shorten the distance a little.  They did that.  The only scare was after I had walked back up in the stands, they were putting the kids in their lanes for the 400 meter relay and they weren't using the right staggers.  Had they started the race, the runner in lane 1 would have run 400 meters, the next about 408, the next about 415,until out in lane 8 the poor kid would have already been 40 plus meters behind.  The starter didn't think I knew what I was talking about and in a kind way I assured him that I did as did a lot of others who knew me.  He finally could see it and the rest of the relays went just fine.  They even called me out of the stands (they had a great and very funny announcer all day) to show them the relay exchange zones and that went great for all the heats.  The kids really tried their best and they had a great time.  They get few opportunities to have physical exercise like that and so they were loving being out of their homes where there was a lot of room to roam.

The leaders had a 4 x 100 relay also, first the sisters and then the brethren.  Paula and I actually got excited and stood to watch them.  It was not world class talent, but it was competition between them and It was fun to see.  They finally did an on the site improvised bishop/stake president (just the president race.  You knew that was coming with all the youth loving it.  President Ret (prounounced Het chee) won, with bishop Ret his brother in second.  Our bishop, Ultimo Valois was last.  I told a few members that "O Ultimo foi ultimo."  Ultimo means last and he took last place.  He was given that name because his father told everyone he would be the Last Velois, o Ultimo Valois and that is his name.  He is a really great bishop.  Everyone loves him.  I told him he was a good sport to participate.  He said, "I wasn't going to kill myself out there.".  Our second counselor, Leo Bettencourt Moraes participated in about everything and this morning at church his wife Deborah told us that he threw up all night long.  He came for a while but looked a little pale.  He took us home after the meet.  It was a very fun day, Portuguese all day long.  We both got to know a lot of people and the members were happy we attended.  It meant a lot to them.  We heard that at meetings today.  I would just add that there were small holes all over the field which had been filled in with dirt.  I will let my kids take a guess at what they were.  There was a really nice throwing cage like at BYU and those holes were made by the hammer throw.  I asked a member what he thought they were and he quickly said, "The hammer."  There wouldn't have been one single person there outside of Paula and I who would have known that.  Later I found out that he runs his own personal training business. Also, there are 3 Brazilian athletes competing in the Olympics who train at the facility where we had the Copa Smith.   

I guess I will end for now and hope to write more frequently as I had been.  We love you all, pray for you and think of you often.

Love, Dad

July 4, 2016

Dear Family,

I hope that you all had a very happy 4th of July.  It was just a normal day for us although we did have a very nice FHE and a "barbecue" dinner afterwards.  Elder Hale worked for the US Postal service for his career so he put a presentation together about the American Revolution and showed the commemorative stamps that were made for the Bicentennial.  It was very interesting.  I think I've told most of you that my friend, Ellen Mathias Thomas, who performed at the Playmill with me in 1975 is here now as she and her husband are presiding over the São Paulo West mission.  We invited them to join us for our FHEs and they came.  It was fun to be together with her again.  She is so nice.  They brought their youngest daughter, who will be a senior, with them.  She is really bored right now and it has reminded me of when we were here and Lynn was a senior and he was really bored.  Lynn started going out on splits with the Elders and that seemed to make a difference for him.  I suggested that to Ellen and they are going to set that up for their daughter, with the sisters of course.  :)  

Yesterday we went and visited a member lady who lives just around the corner from us and is interested in a garden.  She lives in a little tiny house nestled in between two huge apartment buildings.  She doesn't have any ground, only cement and there is hardly any sunlight.  We are going to try a few things for her.  She is a widow and doesn't have the greatest health.  Hopefully we can help her out.  She is Cynthia's age but you would think that she was much older.

In the afternoon we went down to Praia Grande to check out our gardens.  There are four families participating right now.  Things are looking good for most of them.  Ivan has things ready but hasn't planted much yet.  He has trouble being very motivated.  I'm sending a few pictures and you will notice right off the bat that they must like lettuce!  That seems to be mostly what they plant.  I think what happens is that the seeds are so small that once they come up they separate them and transplant them so they don't waste any plants.  I am thinking that that's what we should be doing back home.

One of the first things I noticed when we got to Ivan's home were the papaya trees along the back wall.  We took a picture of the trees when they were about 12 inches tall and as big around as a pencil in January, well now 6 months later they are big trees-bearing fruit!!  I couldn't believe it!  There are lots of eucalyptus tree plantations down here and they grow to maturity in about 6-10 years.  It is incredible!  The photo with Dad pointing down and a man kneeling is at Ivan's home.  That is Ivan.  So far he has only planted that one bed.  He has 4 or 5 more to plant.

Things have slowed down quite a bit for me right now.  I was really busy for the first 6 weeks after we returned but now that has kind of passed.  Hopefully I will be able to find more to do soon.  I am actually going to talk to the Thomas' to see if they need some office help a day or two during the week.  I don't think that they have a senior missionary office couple in their mission.  Shirley (Sister Cox) has also talked to me about helping her with the "Pastoral" counseling of missionaries.  She said that it wouldn't be anything deep, but that sometimes the missionaries just need someone to listen to them.  I really want to help her as she is so swamped.  I'll really think about it and pray about it this weekend and then decide.  I am going to start doing the translating that Dad does.  We both thought that you had to be a man to do it but two of the new senior sisters have started and I have been cleared to do it.  It should be fun.  I will be starting up my English class the first week of Aug. and that will help keep me busy.

We were able to get tickets for an Olympic doubleheader soccer game on Aug. 6th!  We were able to get enough tickets for all of the senior missionaries and for Ellen's family.  We are all really excited to be able to go to an Olympic event!!  It is here in São Paulo at the Corinthian's Stadium.  It is a really nice stadium that was built for the world cup.  Our seats are going to be about on the 20 yd. line right down in front, I think.  

Dad and I have both had colds but are now pretty much better.  Lots of people have been sick lately.  We hope that everyone is doing well.  We are excited for the possibilities coming up for Lynn and Brandi and hope that the best job will be offered.  We love you all very much.  Have a great week.

Love,

Mom/Paula

June 26, 2016

Dear Family,

I think that I didn't write last week.  Oops.  When we talk to all of our children each week, sometimes I forget to write.  We've been back to Brazil now for six weeks.  The time has really flown by.  It is good that we came back.  We have been busy and that is what we wanted.

We are still trying to get our quail project up and running.  There are a lot of steps to do but we think that this week we can really make some progress.  We are pretty sure now that it will be approved.  That has been a relief.  We are working on some legal papers now.  It just takes time to find out the info we need, email the stake president, wait for his reply, fill out more requests, and then start over.  I hope that we are about done with that process.  The people in Petrolina are very anxious to get started.

We were supposed to go to Cruz Alta in the south but Dad got sick this week and we had to cancel.  I really think it was a blessing as I don't think that we were prepared to go this week.  We will reschedule in a few weeks.  

I was kind of glad that we didn't go this week for another reason.  We had purchased tickets to go to a concert, actually a concert rehearsal, on the morning of the 23rd and I really wanted to go.  I think that Dad forgot about that when he scheduled our trip.  Dad couldn't go but I went with the group and it was FABULOUS!!!!  The Sao Paulo orchestra is world class and they were wonderful.  Their conductor is a woman, which is quite rare, and she is also the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony.  She is the only female conductor ever to be invited to lead a prestigious event (I can't quite remember what it is called) in London.  The hall is ranked in the top 10 or 12 concert halls in the world.  They had a guest violinist that was absolutely phenomenal and she was playing on a 1703 Stradivarius violin.  I've never heard anything quite like it before.  All of the music was unfamiliar to me but it was so good that it didn't matter.  We are going to try to go again in Aug. before their European tour.

On the 18th Dad and I were invited to speak at a ward party about marriage.  They celebrate something similar to Valentine's Day down here in June.  We gave our talks and then had a pizza dinner.  We both talked about how Dad figured out how to clean the toilets after his surgeries and mine so that I wouldn't have to do it.  A member of that ward is on our welfare team and told us the next Monday that everyone in the ward was talking about cleaning toilets!  I guess we made an impression.  That isn't the only thing that we talked about but they did want us to talk about how we help each other.

I had an interesting experience on Wed. or Thurs.  It was around 4:15 and I was getting ready to go home when I heard someone say "Sondereggers."  I saw a man walk into Fernando's office and then I heard our name again.  I got up and walked around my cubicle and there was Todd Baker, my cousin Diane Thacker's husband!  He was in Brazil on business and came up to find me.  It turns out that a lady that he baptized (when she was little) works on our floor.  I thought that was really neat for him to take time out of his busy schedule to stop by.  He told me of a really neat experience he had when he was a missionary in Brazil and in this area.  He showed me a picture of a small branch that he served in as a Branch President.  There were about 160 people in the picture but only a very few were members then.  Another missionary had baptized a pastor of a different church a short time earlier.  The pastor told his congregation that if he ever found the one and only true church that he would tell them.  Well he got baptized and then so did his entire congregation!  Todd was there when they all came into the branch.  Many of those people have served as bishops, stake presidents, gone on missions, married in the temple, etc.  Needless to say that man lost his income.  He was hired to be the gardener for the temple.  I felt bad that Dad missed meeting him as he was home sick.

I've had some sad news lately.  Two of my high school classmates have passed away this month.  It is kind of weird because I didn't really know either of them but I have felt a little sad.  They both had served missions.  I'm not sure if Terry stayed active in the church or not but Ryan did and had been a bishop.  He died of cancer.  You just never know when your time is up.  I guess that is reason to stay close to the Lord and always obey the commandments.

Well I hope that you all have a good week.  I sure love you.

Love,

Mom

P.S.  Here are a few pictures of the concert hall.

June 16, 2016

Dear Family,

This afternoon we had a meeting with Elder Marcos Aidukaitis of the Area Presidency and Brother Stephen Peterson who is the head of the Church Welfare Department worldwide.  There were about 15 people in the room including a new brother from Argentina who will just recently received the same calling as Fernando Souza but for the very south of SA.  Elder Aidukaitis emphasized the payment of the fast offering but more than that, the power of fasting each month.  He also wondered how many wards in Brazil actually have a qualified specialist who can train ward members in need how to be self sufficient.  He said there should be a plan for each member involved.  He can be really serious but then be really funny.  He lightened up the meeting a lot and at the same time taught us a lot.  

Well, going back to our trip to Petrolina.  When the meeting started on Saturday night, I asked the bishops, relief society presidents and stake leaders how many of them were members of the Church before 1971 (the year I arrived in Brazil as a missionary).  Not one single member raised their hand.  That is an example of the growth of the Church here in every corner of the country.  The stake president said, "I wasn't even born then."  Mom spoke and then we did our slide presentation.  I asked a lot of questions and had a microphone going around so people could answer and be heard.  It seemed to work out well.  I started to tell the story that President Oliveira had related to me about a sister who was raising three grandchildren on her own, her husband out of work, and wondering what she could do to bring in some income.  She prayed and prayed and when she heard about the 'quail project', she said, "I can do that."  Well, President Oliveira tapped me and said, "Elder, she is here tonight."  So I called on her and she graciously stood and bore her testimony again about her experience.  

We spent all day visiting members who have already built their little quail living spaces (viveiros).  Many are using a room attached to their home or a bedroom to convert into a quail coop.  Imagine yourselves doing that in your homes.  That is how desperate many people are and they will sacrifice to be able to make some income.  So many are unemployed.  We went into one home and a sister who is mom's age answered the door and invited us in.  Seated at the computer and doing her best to use it was a sister in her 30s who looked like she had probably been born with cerebral palsy, but that was not the case.  She fell from a hammock as a baby and it damaged her brain and spinal cord to the extent that she is paralyzed from the waist down and poor muscular control of her arms and hands.  She was delighted for us to visit.  I hope we get to go back there.  They had a room already to go for their quail.  I found out that the older sister was President Oliveira's mother-in-law.  Later in the car, I asked him where the husband was and he said, "That is a sad story."  The husband had one failure after another and finally committed suicide.  It had only been a year and a half ago.  Anyway, we got real close to all those families and we are going to work hard for them so they can have a chance to be self-sufficient again.  Well, mom already talked a lot about this so I won't go on.  On Sunday though, we both bore our testimonies and after, a little girl came up to me and said, "Are you the temple president."  Made me feel good.  One other little girl at a home we visited was having her birthday and I quietly slipped a R$10.00 into her hand and said, "I forgot to buy you a present so maybe you can get a treat with this."  She was my very best friend for the rest of the time we were there.  Love these people and would do anything for them.  I love all of you and the support you give to us.  We do need and appreciate your prayers.

Love, DAD

June 7, 2016 - Another busy week...

Dear Family,

We had hoped to be busy when we returned in May and boy, did we ever get our wish!  It is much better to be busy, though.  We went up to Petrolina on Friday and visited members all day on Sat. and we went to church on Sunday and came home early Monday morning.  That's about it.  NOT!

We did leave on Friday.  The Stake President from Petrolina picked us up at the airport and greeted us in English.  Turns out that he lived in the US for 15 or 16 years.  He graduated from UVU and served a mission in Washington DC.  His entire family lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah and all on the same street!  He said that every year after general conference, Elder Scott would give a fireside to all of the Brazilians living down in that area and encourage them to return to Brazil because they need leaders so badly down here.

We went to Petrolina to look at a quail raising project.  The people are really poor up there.  There isn't much industry and so there is a lot of poverty.  The stake leaders want to do this project to help the people rise above the poverty level.  The stake president said that a lot of people only make around R$700 (Brazilian reals) a month which is approx. $200.  They have the possibility of raising their income to R$3000 a month ($860).  

Now for this project, imagine walking into your house and going into the first bedroom on the left and having 200 quail in there.  For some people that is what is happening.  That is the only space they have and things are so bad for them that they are willing to do anything to make a little more money.  Most of the people we saw at least had a small space on their back or front porch.  They are raising the quail for the meat even though quail eggs are very popular down here.  You can find them in Brazilian restaurants in the US also.  An earlier Brazilian welfare missionary couple told these people that if they wanted a project that they had better do all of the preliminary work first to prove that they were really interested.  Well they did.  I will attach some pictures of what they have done to prepare.

We visited 10 or 11 families on Sat. starting at 8:00 am.  We visited the families until around 6:00 p.m. and then we set up for a meeting with all of the bishoprics and relief society presidencies from the whole stake.  We gave a presentation on paying fast offerings and following the Lord's plan of self-reliance.  We even talked about the Teton Dam disaster, not even realizing that it was the 40 year anniversary of the break.  We were beat when we got back to our hotel!  

On Sunday a member picked us up at 8:30 and took us to church.  Boy, you would have thought that we were celebrities or something!  After the meetings we got swarmed by a group of young women who are preparing to go on missions!  Several of them gathered around us to have their pictures taken with us!  Brazilian people are very "touchy, feely."  During R.S. one of those young women sat by me and before I knew it her arm was around me and she started rubbing my shoulder a little!  Another lady turned to me and asked me how old I was.  I would never think of asking someone their age in the US!  While we were in our "photo shoot" one young lady came up and started running her fingers through my hair and then she kissed my head all ..the while saying, "Que linda, que linda," which means basically "You're so pretty."  It was a little embarrassing but at the same time it does make you feel good.  By the way, the people down here love my name.  Paula is an extremely popular name in Brazil and they are very surprised when I tell them that it isn't a popular name in the US.

One lady we met has had a very sad life.  She has a daughter who, as a baby, fell out of a hammock and banged her head badly.  They didn't take her to the doctor and she became paralyzed and pretty much lost control of her limbs.  I thought that she had been born with cerebral palsy but it was from that accident.  The lady's husband committed suicide two years ago as well.  I guess that nothing ever went right for him and he couldn't take it anymore.  It was sad.  I found out that she was my age but I would have guessed that she was 10 or 15 years older than me.

One thing we learned while we were in the MTC is that the United States is NOT the real world.  There is a lot of suffering out there.  This week, on Sat., Sister Burke and I are giving a presentation about the refugees here in Sao Paulo.  We visited a "rescue mission" in the center of the city last week and visited with a Catholic priest who is working hard to help the refugees and immigrants coming into Brazil.  We are talking a little bit about our own ancestors who were persecuted and driven out of their homes by the mobs.  I just didn't realize that they were refugees until general conference in April.  We have also included some pictures from my ward in Rexburg of our Relief Society activity where the sisters brought clothing to donate.  

It has been a good week, tiring but very good.  My problem now seems to be how to handle associating with these people who have nothing.  I remember telling Grandma when we left the MTC that I hoped I would be able to handle the suffering that I will see.  It is hard.  I feel like we live like kings and queens back home and yet, by our standards, our home is very plain and ordinary and quite small.  It would be a mansion to many people down here.  We are truly blessed.

I love you all very much.  Please stay close to the gospel.  It is very easy to see how hard it is for people who don't have a strong testimony to fall back on.  Also, especially to our grandchildren, get all of the education you can.  It makes a huge difference in life.  It was very easy to see the difference between people who were educated and those who were not.  The only thing we can take with us to heaven is what we learn in this life.

Have a great week.

Love,

Mom/Paula

P.S. Hi all.  I forgot to tell you something.   Our weather has been very strange.  It is supposed to be the dry season but we have had a TON of rain.  Last night Dad and I were going to go to FHE, even though it was raining.  Our gutters were like rivers so we had to cross our street and turn the corner and go up by our bus stop in order to make it across.  We had to wait for the light to turn red and lots of cars were passing us and the water was flying everywhere.  Somehow we managed to stay dry, until a truck came by that it.  I'm sure that he swerved just enough to send a spray of water that absolutely drenched us!  Needless to say, we went back home.

The other thing is that a terrible storm went through Campinas on Sunday night.  They estimated that 1,000 trees were blown down.  Many roofs were ripped off of homes and the Galleria shopping mall was badly damaged.  You can find a video of the destruction online.  I'm pretty sure I heard someone mention Parque Taquaral.  There were some members whose homes were damaged.

Love you.

P.S.S.  The first picture is at the rescue mission with Father Paolo Parisi.  Fernando, Sis. Burke and a Brazilian member, Sister Kawai are with us.  The second one is a family who are raising a "garden" along with getting their quail area ready.  Third, preparing the quail coop. Fourth, the lady I mentioned in the letter.  I hope that you think I look younger! :) Fifth, A members house. Sixth, a "quail coop."

1. Petrolina; 2.  Our plane; 3.  farmland and orchards (Petrolina raises more grapes and mangos than anywhere else in Brazil.  They ship their fruit all over the world); 4.  The stake president (on left) and his counselor who took us to do the visits.

Pictures

Dad trying to get a poncho on.

Success with the poncho!

Maze of buildings in the city center.

First Van Gogh that Mom has actually liked.

Brazilian friends with Dad

At a farm near Campinas

Balancing rock in the country

Termite mound

Strange-looking cows

Monkeys playing in the trees...not in a zoo!

Making sugar cane juice

Courtyard of the apartment building

In honor of our old cat, Otis

Missionary group, minus three

May 29, 2016

Dear Family,

I guess it's about time that I wrote!  As you all know, we are back in Brazil and we are busy!  I guess before we came home I was pretty discouraged because we just weren't very busy and I felt like I was pretty much wasting my time.  It's very different for the senior sisters than it is for their husbands, at least in a country that isn't English speaking.  I've tried hard to learn the language so that I can contribute more, but it is very difficult.  I made a goal in Jan. to speak to someone every day.  That has helped a lot.  It hasn't always worked out but I am trying to go out of my way to say something to someone.  They always appreciate it when they can see that I am trying.  Most of the other senior sister missionaries don't even try to communicate.

The day we left, Dad/Ferron talked to Fernando (our boss) and the other men on our welfare team and told them that we had to have more to do or else we weren't coming back.  Well it must have worked because since we've been back we have been SWAMPED!!  That's good!  We have been very busy every day and we have a lot going on the next several weeks as well.

Last week Fernando told us that we can go anywhere in the country that has a need and look for new projects to open or do some training in fast offerings.  We are going up to the northeast this Friday to look to open a quail raising project.  The Stake President up there (Petrolina in the state of Pernambuco) has 50 families lined up who want to be in the project.  Fernando wants us to start with 5 families but apparently a Brazilian missionary welfare couple had already promised them up to 50 families.  Dad has been in touch with the Stake Pres. and is working things out.  If it looks like they are willing to put in the hard work then we will go ahead with 50 families.  Quail eggs are very popular down here.  We will leave on the 3rd and get back on the 6th.

On June 11th Sister Burke and I are giving a presentation to a stake in the center of the city about dealing with the refugees that are coming.  Europe is pretty much closing its doors and so now there are a lot of Syrians coming here.  It is actually safer for them to fly to Brazil than it is to go by rickety boat to Turkey or Greece and the cost is similar.  There is a Catholic Priest who has a "rescue mission" in the city and he is helping lots of people.  We are going to meet him on Tues and see what we can do to help.  

Fernando met with the President of the Rotary Club here in Sao Paulo and told her (I always thought Rotary was a man's club but now anyone can join) about our presentation.  She told him that she wants us to present it to her club as well!  There is a lot of stuff from our church leaders in it so we'll see what happens.

..

On June 24th we are leaving to go down to the south to see about starting a new gardening project.  Also to meet a sister who we have become familiar with via email from her bishop.  She lives is terrible conditions and is being helped through the fast offering fund. We will be gone for a few days.  I guess that the Stake President has talked about us (or at least Dad) in Stake Conference almost as if we were General Authorities!

When we got back, Elder Holland, Elder Maynes and Bishop Waddell from the Presiding Bishopric were here doing training and checking on things.  Elder Holland spoke at a fireside on that Sunday evening and we were glad that we could be there.  He started out saying, "Irmaos, and Irmas.  Guarana.  Maracuja. Porto Alegre. That is the extent of my Portuguese!"  (Guarana is a soft drink and Maracuja is Passion Fruit)  Bishop Waddell spoke to the workers at the Area office so we got to attend and it was really good.  He came around the office later in the day and we met him.  He is probably 6'6"-7".  We sort of met Elder Maynes as well, in the stairwell.  He and Elder Costa were coming up one level as we were going down.  I said, "Tudo bem, ola.  Oh I mean hello!"  He turned around and was laughing!  Elder Costa saw Dad and said, "You're back!  We were missing our coach!"  That made Dad feel good.

As you can see, I now have more things to write about and not just fun stuff.  We have done some fun things since we've been back.  We went to a special art display from the Museu D'Orsay and it was fabulous!  We went out near Campinas last Thurs. (it was a holiday here) and went to a "farm" that had been turned into sort of a resort.  There was playground equipment, a zip line, tractor rides, a puppet show and the main event was a delicious brunch.  Some of our Brazilian friends took us.  We then drove out through the countryside and it was just plain refreshing.  On our way home we drove into the city to Parque Taquaral near where we used to live 20 years ago.  Our family used to walk down to the park quite often

I have quite a few pictures to send as I haven't been able to send any for a while.  We got a new camera while we were home and it works much better.

We sure love you all very much.  We are glad to be back but it was almost harder to leave the second time.  

Love,

Mom/Paula

P.S.  These pictures are of a city called Holambra.  It is a Dutch community in case you can't tell.  They raise a lot of flowers there that they sell all over Brazil.  It is too hot though to grow tulips!

We're Back!

Boa Tarde Família,

It has been about two months since I last wrote.  We had an English class about five days before we left with our four students.  They were very sad to see us go and we were sad to leave them.  We gave each of them a Book of Mormon which they were happy to get.  They had a lot of questions about the Church that day even though we had never talked about it in class.  It started out with one of them saying, “So your church doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.”  Wow, never heard that before.  I just smiled and said that it was exactly the opposite and we proceeded to have a really nice conversation.  It was very enjoyable to talk about the gospel with them.  Just yesterday, here in the offices, we saw Jim and we were happy to see each other.  Big abraço.  Between Sunday at church, Sunday at the meeting with Elder Holland, and Monday and Tuesday here at the offices, we have been squeezed almost to death.  Never had so many hugs.  Some people in tears to see us come back to Brazil.  Can´t help but love these people who are so full of love.  We are getting settled in and back into a routine, and I am serious about the hugs.  I will check for bruising tonight when we get home.

We had pretty good flights.  From Idaho Falls to Salt Lake was great and the view was spectacular.  In Salt Lake, our flight to New York got delayed because of weather conditions there.  While we were waiting, I saw Elder McAllister and his wife walking my way as I was moving around from being tired of sitting.  They were very friendly.  When he saw my name tag he said, “Sonderegger, I knew a Sonderegger who taught at BYU.”  I said, “That would be my uncle Emory”, and Elder McAllister remembered then.  He is coming to São Paulo in June.  He said, “We will probably see you there.”

It was hard to say goodbye to all our family.  It was really hard to say goodbye to Emily and my mother in law.  Grandma Benson is such a special, special woman.  She is such a doer and constantly trying to look out for others.  I look at her and think that she is always so busy that she doesn't have time to get old.  At 90, she isn't and that is no joke.  I love her very much and it has been just as hard on me to say goodbye to her as it has been for Paula.  We love her so very much.  We have done a lot of fun things together over the years and it has been special to have her with us on our trips to Utah and Yellowstone and Twin Falls.  We need to all pray hard for her that she keeps being the same and that her health will continue to be great.  In 11 and ½ months, we plan on taking her somewhere.  Emily living at home and taking care of everything while we are gone has a big job.  She got the garden planted and we are excited for her.  Gardening is a big part of our family.  It always was when I was a boy.  Everyone in our neighborhood had a big garden.   There is nothing quite like fresh out of the garden.  Today, we went to the house of brother and sister Torres.  They are working to get a garden going which will help out with their food budget.  Along with that, sister Torres showed us her sewing project.  She is making activity books for church meetings and she is very creative.  She has battled cancer, but is doing well now and she seemed very pleased that we were interested in her little business.  We plan on buying a book or two.  If anyone would like one, get in contact with us and I am sure she will make you one.  We haven´t been down on the coast yet, but Fernando Souza, our boss, showed us some pictures of the gardens and they look great.  Can´t wait to go see them in person.

We had great Sunday meetings.  The bishop made sure that everyone knew at Sacrament Meeting that the Sondereggers were back in town.  Our priesthood meeting was about the law of tithing and we had a great discussion.  There were some questions about what we should pay tithing on.  I have had those same questions in my life and there will always be questions, but I think the best answer when deciding what should be tithed is to “Be generous with the Lord, because He is generous to us.”  We left our apartment to go back to the church a little before 4:00 p.m.  We had tickets to hear Elder Holland speak.  It was fun to see so many from the office and they were so happy to see us back.  Marina Munhoz Gavarret came running up to us.  We remember when she was just 12 years old and living in a home just two blocks from the temple.  Now she is married to the son of Elder Gavarret of the Seventy and living here in SP.  She has four children I think.  We saw her last in Provo 15 years ago when she had her first baby and now that baby is a young woman heading to the United States.  Her father Sergio was my companion when I worked in Penha in the city of SP. 

May 23, 2016

Dear Family,

Three weeks ago today, I along with Antonio Guerra and his son Leonardo, were sitting on some boulders on a hill in Yellowstone Park watching Old Faithful and Castle geysers go off at the same time.  It was awesome.  Now, here we are back in São Paulo and Antonio works just right above me on the 4th floor.  He came down today to talk to me and had the same image in his mind.  He and his wife Vania are taking us to some cool tourist place out by the Campinas Temple.  This email is the second half of one I wrote last week but didn't get it finished.

We enjoyed hearing Elder Holland speak at our chapel here in Morumbí.  He talked a lot about families and he also talked about our trials, challenges and fears.  Then he said, "Everything is not perfect here as we live in a telestial world, but it will be on the other side."  He also spoke to those who would like to be married and have children and he said specifically, "I promise you in the name of the Lord that you will marry and you will have children."  He talked about his wife almost dying in 2014 of what the doctors called 'cryptic pneumonia' for which there is no cure.  He told about the young doctor, a returned missionary who served in Brazil, coming out to him with tears streaming down his face and saying to Elder Holland, "Sister Holland is dying."  He then talked very briefly, saying that he could not relate some things but that miracles happen and there are ministering angels.  He indicated that just now, Sister Holland is able to travel with him again.  One of Elder Holland's dearest friends when he was the president of BYU was Clyn Barrus of Sugar City, my hero and neighbor across the street.  Look up the talk of Elder Holland in the 2008 Ensign and you will ready about the ministry of angels.  It was Clyn's father LaMar who was my angel at age four, when I fell into a ditch and was about to go under the culvert and drown.  Elder Holland has a great sense of humor too.  When he first got up to the pulpit, he blew us a kiss and then motioned us to sit down.  He then said, "Irmões e irmás, guaraná, maracujá, Porto Alegre, and that is the end of my Portuguese."  He said when he first started dating Sister Holland that there were so many boyfriends you had to take a ticket and stand in line.  Sister Holland talked about how shy and timid she has been her whole life and how hard she has had to fight that, even now.  But she talked about how Elder Holland constantly was building her up like telling her what a great cook she was (to which she said, I'm not a good cook and I don' like to cook).  He finally began sitting down with her and really studying the Book of Mormon with her and explaining many things to her and it totally changed her life.  It gave her the power and confidence to hang in there.  

We are very busy.  We will be flying to Petrolina in the northeast on June 3rd and coming home June 6th.  We are going to visit the stake presidency and get to know their proposed project of raising quail.  Quail eggs are very popular here in Brazil and you find them everywhere, restaurants, supermarkets and small stores.  Petrolina is a fruit producing area and ships out tons of fruit to Europe and the United States every day.  Everything is irrigation and Petrolina is like an oasis in the desert.  It sits on the São Francisco River which runs into the Lake Sobradinho, the 12th largest man-made lake in the world.  We have several other places to go like Jundiaí this Wed. to visit two stake presidents and talk about the Benson Food Program.  We are also emailing and calling bishops and branch presidents and discussing the blessings of the fast offering with them.   We have 30 units assigned to us and Ivan and Julio have the others.  It will keep us hopping.  We will be going south to Cruz Alta in Rio Grande do Sul soon to also discuss growing gardens.  

We had a great devotional with Bishop Waddell of the Presiding Bishopric on Wed, May 18th and he came to our office and visited with us for a few minutes.  We enjoyed that.  He talked about how not all is well in Zion.  There are 1.3 million members in Brazil, but only 200,000 are attending Sunday meetings regularly, so there is a lot of work to do.  We ran into a resting member in the restaurant we ate at Friday night.  He said he just didn't have time for church things in his life.  We told him to come back and that he would always be welcomed by the members.  We have talked to a few like him and it reminds me of a scripture that we should also take to heart:  "They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.  In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they fell after me."  I need to show more gratitude to the Lord and not take His counsel lightly.  

Saturday we went to the Bank of Brazil Cultural Center in the old city center.  They have closed off many streets permanently to traffic and so it was like walking through a jungle of high-rise buildings to get there.  There is lots of security and no problems.  We went to an art exhibit and we saw lots of famous paintings of Van Gogh and Monet and many others I can't remember.  We saw a technique called 'Pointillism' (Shelley will be proud of me for saying that) which was really awesome to see.  It is painting with distinct dots of color applied in patterns to form an image.  It was developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in 1886 and we saw lots of their paintings.  We then ate at Café Girondino which has been there since the end of the 19th century.  They have great food and service.  I had gnocchi, fried mandioca (fried manioc root which is better than french fries if done right) and arroz doce with cinnamon.  Mom had some beirute sandwiches which she didn't like too much.

Sunday, I was talking to the stake president about some things and then to a young friend, Leo Morais when I saw a man I had seen before in a wheel chair in the chapel.  I had talked to him before but had no idea who he was.  I asked Leo who it was as I had a feeling about him.  Leo said, "Oh, that is brother Kraft."  Brother Kraft is the man who I have told the story of many times to my family, who came to the mission home when I had a temperature of 105 degrees (pneumonia) and gave me a blessing and a massage to break the fever.  I had seen him in 1993 and was able to finally say thanks to him.  I thought he would have died years ago as he had heart problems then.  But, there he was and I went over and hugged him.  He has Alzheimers and doesn't say much but he loves to have people come and talk to him.  I told his daughter the story and she was dumbfounded.  She said, "I need to go get mom."  So I told the story to his wife and it was just a very special experience.  I look forward to talking to him even more now as I know who he is.  He lives in the same apartment complex as we do and all this time, I had no idea who he was.  Why these things happen all the time is a mystery to me, but I will take them.  We love all of you.  We love the Lord and are trying our best to do what He would have us do.

Love You All,

Dad