I checked in on the blog this week and I realized that I haven't written anything for about 6 months. OOOOOPS! I guess we have been busy. I will try to catch you up on our life here in Brazil.
On July 9th Curt and I were VERY excited to welcome Rich and Marianne Reading, Mark and Belinda Romney to come visit us in the mission. Rich and Mark are mission buddies of Curt from their mission almost 40 years ago. They were so happy to return to their mission for the first time, and to be able to show a little bit of Brazil to Marianne and Belinda.
Since they arrived on a Saturday we took them downtown to see the
Public Market
We stopped by our favorite pet shop on the way to see the beautiful
birds, monkeys, chinchillas etc.
But the thing Curt liked the most was this boa constrictor.
He was about ten feet long, and weighed over 50 lbs.
The owner said he was about 20 years old.
That night we took them to our favorite Churrascaria
Where they have the show with traditional gaucho folk dancers. I made sure to seat Rich and Marianne next to the stage so that the
Bolo dancer would invite Marianne up on stage to
get her hair combed by his bolo while it was whirling over 100 miles and hour.
On Sunday we went to church at one of our beautiful new Stake Centers here in Viamão. In the remodel they used the former church which you can see on the left, and added a huge chapel with cultural hall and stage and even Stake offices on the right. Things have changed a lot since these boys were holding their meetings in rented houses.
On Sunday afternoon we invited Walter and Ângela Pinto to have lunch with us. Walter was one of only 2 or 3 Brazilian Elders who served here in the mission with Curt, Rich and Mark. Now 70% of our missionaries are Brazilian, which is truly remarkabel change to have in only 40 years. From left to right: Rich and Marianne, Mark and Belinda, Walter and Ângela, and you know the other two. Walter and Rich were companions on the mission.
On Monday we took a drive up to Gramado and wandered around the town
window shopping and enjoying a gorgeous day.
Then we drove to the lovely Caracol Parque nearby,
where Curt and I go a couple times of the year to have our walk in nature.
We stopped in to have an early dinner at one of the restaurants that they call Colonial. They serve a lot of pastries and meats and cheeses that are very European fare. When Curt and I stay in hotels as we travel, this is the type of food they have every morning in the restaurants.
Unfortunately the Temple was closed when our friends came. We forgot to check the schedule when they booked the trip. On our last day we took a quick drive to the Temple . . . . it was really rainy, but still wonderful for these returned missionaries to see how the church has grown in Brazil in the last 40 years.
We had a wonderful time Readings and Romneys.
Thank you so much for coming to visit us on our mission.
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