Some of Our Friends Here

We started the week with some news that we were hoping we wouldn’t get. Our Temple Presidency was missing a counselor because Presidente Arius was called to be the Temple President in Curitiba. So the Temple has been running without a 2nd Counselor for about 2 months. They called our Elder and Sister Pereira (who were helping us in the mission office) as counselor in the Temple Presidency. Those of you who have really good memories might be thinking - didn’t Elder Pereira already serve in the Temple Presidency? The answer is, yes. When they were released last November we invited them to come serve with us in the mission.

The Perreira’s have been just wonderful, Elder Pereira helped us with renting our apartments, and fixing them up, and Sister Pereira helped me with doctor and dentist appointments. Sister Pereira is an amazing seamstress, and She helped me mend/wash all of the donated missionary clothes that we received. She also loves to fold things and have all of the cupboards really organized and beautiful. I also kept Sister Pereira busy with making Dentist appointments. We have lots of missionaries who have fillings fall out, and root canals, and even one whose crown fell out. I'm glad that our boys didn't have those problems on their missions.

In the photo below we were celebration Elder Pereira's birthday. This is a view of our living room. I wanted you to see it so that you can compare our Armoire on the right side of the photo, with the furniture in the Knightons home in the next photo.

These are the other American couples who are serving here in Porto Alegre. Brother and Sister Schade, President and Sister Knighton (Porto Alegre Temple President) and Brother and Sister Blackham.

We were invited to FHE with President and Sister Knighton, (Temple President.) The Blackhams are from Saint George, the Knighton's are from American Fork, and the Schades from Naperville Illinois. While we were talking to the Schades, we realized that we lived in the same ward in Chicago, but I honestly don't remember them. We know a lot of the same people though. I feel silly that I don't remember them. It was fun to speak English all night. I made an apple crisp, and we took our chicken-foot dominoes to play with them.

The Knightons also invited us over to watch General Conference together (the Sunday Session.) We are also planning to get together to have a Thanksgiving dinner in two weeks.

A funny part about visiting the Temple President's home, is that we have the same furniture in our home. We both have the same dinning room furniture, and living room couches. The upholstery is different, but the style is the same. We have an armoire for our TV and even an umbrella stand/entryway piece that is the same. We are lucky though because we have a beautiful baby grand piano in our home. Bayard, the man that takes care of our home says that he thinks the piano was here when Curt served his first mission.

This is the Luis Eugenio and Cátia Asconavieta family. He is one of our Stake Presidents in Pelotas. The Asconavieta family is a very strong force here in the church. There are three brothers right now in Pelotas, Luis Eugenio, Victor who is an Area Seventy, and Francisco who is Curt's first counselor in the Mission Presidency. Cátia and Luis Eugenio always invited us over for lunch after Stake Conference, and give us some of the famous candies from Pelotas to take home with us.