Epistle #7       March 30, 2011

Can’t believe it has been so long since I have logged in.  Sooo Sorry.   But it has become a little busier since then. 

I think I mentioned before that we have a very sick Elder in the Albert Einstein Hospital not too far from us here in the city.  He has been in the hospital now 59 days and counting.  Rick and Elder Hill try and visit him 3 times a week to keep up on what is happening to him.  Seems that he had a ruptured appendix several years ago and the surgery didn’t heal like it should have.  Since then he has had two surgeries just to clean out the scar tissue that keeps forming.  When it does, he cannot eat anything or the pains begin, severe ones.  He is being fed with an IV and hasn’t had real food since December.   They are hoping that time has helped heal everything and are hoping to start him on liquids first and then soft food.  As you can imagine the hospital bill is out of sight, so everyone is hoping DMBA will take care of it.

His mother and father came from somewhere south of Londrina to stay with him for a while.  His Dad is a counselor in the Stake Presidency there and his Mom had been real sick.  While here she attended the temple a couple of times.   Rick and Dr. Hill tried to get her to be looked at here at the hospital, but she wanted to go home to her hospital and Dr. even though they weren’t as good.     On Wednesday the 16^th of March she was operated on.  They found cancer through most all of her thoracic cavity and during the operation she died.    The area President told this young man and his father.  In Brazil there is no such thing as embalming and the body must be buried within 24 hours.   So the father left flew home that night, had the funeral for his wife the next afternoon stayed with his 17 year old daughter for a few hours and then flew back that night.    What an ordeal.   I got to visit him two days later with Rick and what a strong and wonderful family.    It would be a wonderful  gesture if all of you could keep  this missionary and his family in your prayers.

Needless to say that was a hard week for everyone here.    On Saturday, our P-Day, we caught a Onibus  bus and went out to Embu, a small city in the countryside where they have wonderful artists and crafters and some wonderful food.   It was fun to walk around and see wood carvers  and all the craftsmen working at such beautiful things.    It gave us some great ideas for what to bring home.

On Sunday we found that we had 13 American missionaries in our branch.  And one of those is Elder Taylor Welch,  yes our Matt’s wife Lisa’s cousin from Seattle, Washington.   He is so cute and has redish hair and some freckles.   Yep, Lisa’s family alright.  He spent 5 weeks in the Provo MTC and then got his visa so will finish his Portuguese  training here at our MTC (CTME) about  4 more weeks.   

This week we have 36 Americans coming, so they created a new branch again and Rick has been moved again to another English Branch.  This time the Counselor to President Woffinden,  the Area Office Attorney.   He and his wife are not missionaries, but paid by the church to work here.  He is a former Mission President  and they are from Salt Lake.  They’re language is very good of course.   Very nice people. 

On Thursday,  the 24^th, we had a chance to go out to The Falls of Iguacu, so went with 3 other couples(because the temple is closed for two weeks and some serve there) and stayed in a hotel there for the weekend.   Words just can’t describe the magnificence of this wonder of the world.   There are two sets of falls, one on the Argentine side and one set on the Brazilian side.     We took tons of pictures, and Ollie, I am afraid there are more than Niagara and some even steeper.  Maybe someday you will see these too.   They have metal railings and walkways right out above the falls and all along the pathways there are these beautiful little butterflies that would warm aroung us even lighting on our fingers and heads and legs and shoulders. We took a pontoon boat ride right up close to the Falls on the Brazilian side and on the way back our driver put us right under some of the falls.   What fun.   We were of course totally drenched even in lifejackets.  We rode in a jeep style trailer through the jungle to get to the boats.  The temperature was hot and humid so we all felt like Indiana Jones.  Evidently the Falls were made by an earthquake thousands of years ago.  The ground just dropped down  with two levels in the river bed.    Get on Wikipedia and read all about it.

Sunday we went to church and met the missionaries and some wonderful people.  They have  5 wards there and are getting ready to make a Stake there in the city of Iguacu.  We met the first baptized member  of the church in Iguacu.   What a kind sweet man.   We felt the spirit so strong in this little ward.  The Sunday school teacher was wonderful.  He spoke slowly enough that we could understand quite a bit.  And he wrote the scriptures on the board so we could follow along.  It was so great

Monday we were going to the worlds Largest turbine generated Dam on the Parana River downstream from the Falls, but Rick got a call from the Londrina Mission Pres. Wife and she asked if we could meet her at the Iguacu Hospital to check on an Elder who was there.  The other couples went and told us all about it.   It was good to check on this young Elder who had only been out 7 months and was from Salt Lake and went to school at Skyline High School.   He had the sweetest Brazilian companion who had been sleeping on the couch in the same room.  He had been there 3 days with back aches and blood in his urine.  So testing was necessary.    It made Rick feel better that he could put Sister Tavares mind at ease.  She had traveled 6 hours from the mission home to check on this young man.  I wish we could have visited with him longer.   The hospital was rather  severe in its design with cement floors throughout and very dirty ones.  It looked more like a prison.    The city itself was really very nice and more than once I volunteered to move out there to work instead of Sao Paulo.  Everywhere we went we found members who saw our tags and came up to hug us and thank us for being there.  Even a couple of people on our tour of the Falls.

Yesterday we went to a tropical bird aviary and saw birds and parrots of all colors and sizes.   As you would walk along the jungle walk, there would be toucan birds just sitting on the handrails of the pathway we were walking.   They were amazing.    I even got a picture of a big blue parrot on my arm.

Then we flew home.    Rick was able to do some work while we were   gone but he was glad to be back. 

He was up till 2:30 this morning trying to catch up.   I am still glad we went, though we felt a little guilty.

We just don’t know if there will be a 2^nd Dr. to replace Elder Hill when he leaves in August, so thought we better do it while he was here and we had other people to go with. 

W e are so looking forward to General Conference this weekend,  we can see almost all of it on Sunday, tape delay of course.  We are going out to the CTM to watch it with the missionaries. 

Oh, yea.  Our home Bishop called and said that he is no longer our Bishop and that the boundaries of the wards were changed so a new ward could be made.   Well I guess nothing ever stays the same.  This is the 3^rd ward and the 2^nd stake and the 5^th bishop we have had in 6 years since we moved into that house in Pleasant Grove.   Wow, we don’t even know his name.    Hey and I guess it really doesn’t matter.  We are Missionaries.  Yea! I love it.   Let the world roll on.  

I have decided to start reading more in my Portuguese Scriptures more with my copy of the Bk of Mormon.  I have heard that that will help  with learning the language better.  So I will try anything.   I love learning  and just wish this old brain could retain more.  

Well I guess that is all so far and I promise not to let it go so long next time.   We are truly grateful for the blessings we have received by being here in Brazil and are also grateful for all of you and your love and support for us.  We miss you all sometimes and pray for you all, all the time.  Don’t forget to read your scriptures and say family prayer and especially your own special prayers to thank Heavenly Father for all the many things he has blessed you with.     We see so many people with so little and we all have so much.    Never, Never, Never, forget to BE THANKFUL.

Hugs and Kisses xoxoxoxoxo

Sister Sue, Mom and Grandma.        Nos te Amamos   (WE LOVE YOU)


PS    The Counselor in our new home ward called tonight and wanted to know if the Bishop could come by the house and visit us for a few minutes.   He was quite surprised when I told him where we were.   He will call us tomorrow.    How great is that.