Various Brazilian "firsts"

FIRST FAREWELL POTLUCK PARTY

 Eliane and Manoel Avila

This Brasilian couple were medical missionaries here in Sao Paulo.

He had to return to work so they had to move out of their large Vertentes apartment and found another place, not too far, so they are still neighbors and friends.  We also see them at church on Sundays.  She speaks pretty good English.   Manoel, not so much but they are both so "Brasilian" and fun to have around.

We were planning to move to their vacant apartment to have more space but then found we didn't have permission from the right person.  They want to reserve it for other missionary doctors. These doctors work from their apartments and the wives help with all the paperwork.  The other current doctor offered it to us because they are "settled" and didn't feel they needed the extra space.  Then we thought we cleared it with the manager but apparently he has a manager and that guy did not agree.

So - okay, we'll be fine.  Less space to clean~

 Craig and Christine Wilkins are home in American Fork now.  Because they have been here so much, they know a lot of people.  So the auditing dept. hosted another big lunch and party to honor and thank them.  Most of the church employees and missionaries were invited and it was great because they had put a video together featuring people here and also their children & families sent footage to show.

This is a photo that they sent after leaving us,

 from the front of their American Fork home.

The Wilkins have been good friends and an amazing example to us in the few short weeks we have known them.  They have taught us much about senior missionary work.

We look forward to connecting with them when we return to Utah.

 The meal here, for the missionaries was fabulous.  Our contribution was to buy fruit juice, put in ice cube trays and add soda.  Very delicious and colorful.

 And what are we going to do without them?

 Sis. Avila planned this surprise party for Wilkins without knowing that someone else was planning the same gathering to honor them also :)

So this is all of us.  Three Brasilian couples and the rest from UT and AZ.

FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

 Sis. Wilkins also had a birthday just before they left.  

Sis. Stasevskas held this at her lovely Sao Paulo home.

(2nd from left)

 She came to Vertentes to drive us there.  She likes to entertain the Americanas.

She is a volunteer at the CTM.

They clapped and sang a great Portuguese birthday song.  (I clapped in English)

 This is Suellen Yamaguchi.
 She came with her mother who is a friend of Sis. Stasevskas
 and also works at the CTM.

Suellen is a recently returned missionary, serving somewhere here in Brasil.
She was preparing to leave soon to finish her final semester at BYU, majoring in musical theatre.

She agreed to "perform" some songs for us.  She had music on her iPad from 3 different musicals.

She became Maria from Sound of Music, Fantine from Lez Miz and then I don't remember the other song.  She also did some beautiful religious music.  I felt I had been temporarily celestialized.  Even though a lot of the conversation was in Portuguese, I felt so much warmth and love from these Sisters in Zion.  Afterwards she posed for this picture with me and her mother gave me a copy of a pre-mission cd of her religious songs.  I need to get it on my iTunes library  :)

We had a long talk about her goals, her anxieties and how much
she loves the Savior and his church and Brasil.

She plans to return here after graduation and work with at-risk kids doing drama therapy.

They did a tapioca cooking demonstration.  Very unusual and delicious crepe/pancake like dessert after adding some sweetened condensed milk and fruit.  Or some of them had ham & cheese.
  They made it look very easy.

FIRST BYU GAME PARTY

BYU played U. of Connecticut on August 30.  It was early enough for us to watch it here so of course we had to have additional fans to share the fun.  Lot's of tail-gate food and I tried the tapioca dessert.  Not as good as when Brasilian sisters make it but I liked it almost as much.  Not sure about anyone else.  The texture and taste is very unique.  There were 9 of us in our dinky living room.  Most left after half-time then Cookie and Clay stayed to play one of our favorite games - 5 Crowns, during the 2nd half of the ball game.  The night ended about midnight, which is a major stretch for me.



First Trip to the Police Station :/

Everyone who comes to Brasil to stay for a while has to come here with your passport and your application and get fingerprinted and picture taken.

You better have your paperwork typed but if you can't do that at home, this guy on the sidewalk will type for you (for a fee) before you go in.  Thankfully all our stuff was done by the church and we had our personal driver and escort to access the expedited line.  It was still long, crowded and stressful. 

 Picture a bad day at the DMV.

Made me think that this service would have been extremely helpful in the previous century

with all those documents we are now trying to index. 

 Some of the records are ridiculously difficult to decipher! 

And this is what I left with.  I carry it with me all the time - gets me on the metro for free!
Also half price cinema & theatre tickets~

During our waiting time, we were fortunate to have some other missionaries to chat with.  I was still feeling pretty green, exhausted and it was cold that day.  Sister Dalton was there waiting also with some new Elders and also her daughter who had just arrived from CA where she had recently graduated from high school.  The Dalton's are mission president in the Sao Paulo East mission.

Sis. Dalton wanted to warn me about some of the perils in the city and told me her "hijack story".  I guess it's famous here now.  I can hardly remember the details because I was so stunned that she was standing there telling me about it and not dead from a gunshot wound or at least a heart attack.  I believe she told me this happened on their 2nd week in the city.....
Some bad boy on a moto pulled up to the taxi she was in, threatened and pulled the driver out of the car and took off with Sis. Dalton.  She immediately dropped her diamond ring on the floor by her foot and turned over her phone and some cash I think.  The guy drove back to where he left the cab driver, grabbed his bike and left.   She found her ring and has not worn it since.  I
 do not think I would have been that brave.  So now I do not wear a wedding ring.
Women here only wear bands.

I was glad to get back safely in my room and bed that night.

speaking of brave-  my First Brasilian Haircut

This is me and Caio  (Kiyo) at the Massima salon across the street, right by FIFO
He could say a few cute words in English.

Elder Wilkins there in the background was waiting for his wife who had her appt. after me.
He was helpful to make sure I paid the correct amount  ;)
About 3x more than I'm used to paying~ which is okay because I've had a killer deal for years!!
Cathy's basement - $10




First Visit to Greg and Christina's Home

Greg Clark is Craig's supervisor in the law office.
 He has been  here with his wife and daughter for 2 years now.
They actually have 2 daughters.  The 15 yr old does not like Brazil.
 So this year they agreed to let her attend boarding school in Paris.
Christina is from sounthern France and her parents still live there.
For now, their older daughter Sophia (24) is with them while she gets started in a new business.
Greg has children and grandchildren in Texas, from his first marriage.
They have lived in many different parts of the world.  His church salary is not that high but his benefits are impressive!  They invited us to lunch and this is what we saw.
I felt like we were at some fancy resort!

Especially compared to our humble apartment.

There are 4 or 5 different swimming pools.  Still a little cool outside for most.

foosball experts - we also played ping pong

this is the "club"  which has a full gym and an outdoor, poolside restaurant

The Clarks live on the top (25th) floor and this is the view from their living room window.

I felt awkward about taking too many photos.

She cooked a delicious meal and after, sent the rest of the food home with us.

Greg doesn't like leftovers, so that was awesome for us!