Risking Life and Limb....really

The street the temple is located on is a busy street. It is six lanes across, but in the US they would equal about 4 lanes. The lanes are narrow and most cars are small. The two inside lanes are reserved for buses and let me tell you, the buses go speeding by. Actually the buses are not the only ones that go speeding by. The cars do to. You really have to watch out for the motorbikes. They drive on the line between the cars and they can go from a dead stop to very very fast in little time.

Here is a view of the center of the road taken from a bus stop. The first couple of days we were here Mike would have us dashing across the road. One time we had to hang out in the middle of the road (18" wide) while we waited for traffic to clear. With buses zooming by on each side it was a scary experience. After that I declared NEVER AGAIN. I now make Mike walk down to the light at the end of the block and cross there. I want to live to see my kids again.

Man with cat

This just cracked me up. Yesterday I was waiting at the bus stop which is located in the middle of the street. I looked over and saw a man with his dog on a leash and a great big cat draped across his shoulders. He had stopped to talk with someone. It was a challenge to get a picture because cars and buses were racing by. I snapped a picture and managed to get another. I am sorry they are kind of blurry but I didn't have a lot of time.

The cat did not look like he was enjoying the trip.

What a difference a week makes.

This past week was a great improvement over the week before.

For those who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I want to explain that we believe in living prophets and apostles. The heavens are not sealed and we receive revelation from God. On Monday one of those twelve apostles spoke to a group of people who are responsible for the affairs of the church in Brazil. We were invited to attend also. Jeffery R. Holland came and addressed us. It was a great meeting. He talked about the growth of the church and our responsibilities.

(I did not take this picture. It is from a Church News file.)

After the meeting 5 couples, including us, went out to dinner. We went to a pizza place that is unlike any other pizza place I have been. If you have been to a Brazilian churrasqueira (think Rodisio's or Tucano's) you will get the concept. They have a buffet with salads, rice, beans, etc. Then when you are seated at your table they bring around all kinds of pizza and you choose if you want that kind or not. The pizza crust is thin and crispy and the toppings were creative. I liked most every kind I tried except for the tuna. If I had know it was tuna I would not of tried it. After the main course pizzas they bring out the dessert pizzas. Those were pretty tasty too. The food was good but the company was even better. It was a most delightful evening.

My week at the temple went much better than the week before. It seems the word has gone out that I can do stuff and they put me to work. My language skills are improving, not a lot by any means but still improving. I am able to communicate a little more and I have taken on the challenge to initiate a conversation. Many are willing to try to understand what the heck I am saying. Sometimes I even wonder what the heck I am saying. I am constantly being tripped up by the feminine or masculine form of a word. How is a pen feminine and a pencil masculine?

All in all life is good and going well. I hope the same is happening in your life. 

Saturday at the temple

Saturdays are the busiest day at the temple. We have lots of people come on buses from quite a ways away. (See that big building in the upper right? That is a big mall. It has a McDonald's in it. Haven't eaten there yet.)

The parking lot is always full to overflowing. They park in non-parking places but they always leave at least one lane open. I like the little painted round-about.

It is always fun to see the weddings with family members there. Yesterday there were groups of very young kids visiting the grounds. It looked like a Primary group. Everyone is so happy. It put a smile on my face when I was going into work.

You win some, you lose some

We are working at the Sao Paulo temple five days a week. On Tuesday and Wednesday we are there from 7:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. On Thursday and Friday our hours are 2:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday the temple closes early so our hours are 12:00-7:30 p.m.  The temple has three shifts of local workers a day. We go longer because that is what we are here to do. We usually overlap a shift and a half. Therein lies the problem that I had this week. For every shift I had to try to explain what I could do and what I couldn't do. Every shift I was having to prove what I was capable of. I would make it through one shift, the people would change and I was back to square one. Some were more understanding than others.

I did have one victory that was notable. Before coming here I worked very hard to learn what I could do in Portuguese. I may not know what each word means but by sheer rote I got it down with great pronunciation. My tutor drilled me on that. On day 2 at the temple I wanted to make sure I said it all correct so I asked  a sister to listen for what I could improve upon. There were about 3-4 other sisters sitting around and listening. I read through it and only tripped up on a couple of words. One of the sisters there said I knew how to speak Portuguese and could do anything. I said I could if I could read it. I must admit that most of what they say I haven't a clue but a smile and a hug goes a long way. Later in the day the temple presidents wife told me about a sister who came into the recorders office and was going on and on about how good I could speak.

I had other small victories but a lot of frustrations which come with not speaking so well. I think my biggest frustration was when I was put in a room and told to study. I think I held a pity party with only me in attendance. Finally I told my self to get over it, that I have done many hard things in my life and I could do this. I think this next week is going to be easier because they know I am there and I have figured out some phrases to explain more what the situation is.

In church today I understood one of the talks and not much of the other two. I'll catch a word or a phrase here and there. One of the problems is that they talk so fast. I am catching a verb and thinking, OH! that's past tense, preterite. That is an improvement from a week ago.

How about a picture of our apartment building? If you look just to the left of the green garbage can you will see our apartment.

First Sunday in Brazil

Today we attended our first Sunday meetings here in Brazil. The temple president, stopped by our apt. to pick us up (he lives on the fourth floor and we live on the second) and go to church. The commute is quite easy. This picture shows it best. It was taken looking out of our living room window. See the cone shaped tree in the middle? The temple is to the left of that tree and the church is to the right of the tree. I think we have to walk all of about 50 yards.

The sacrament meeting was a fast and testimony meeting which is a good thing. Part of my language training focused on testimony. Many people used phrases that I knew. Yea! Then we moved onto Sunday School. Not so many known phrases there. Boo!

In Relief Society the meeting began with the usual announcements (I think) when I saw several sisters pointing at me. I figured it was stand and introduce yourself time. So I stood and said in Portuguese "My name is Sister Stephenson. I am a temple missionary." Now it wasn't very smooth. Several pauses were included. I noticed the sisters leaning forward and hoping for the best. When I finished and sat down a sister near me applauded softly. That made me laugh. They so want me to succeed. I didn't get a whole lot out of the lesson but I knew what the topic was. I had a sister sitting next to me who could speak some English and she kept me up to speed as to what was going on.

After church Pres. Neeleman (the temple president) asked if we would like to go see the temple. Since temples are closed on Sunday we had our own private tour. I wish I could take pictures to share how lovely it is. Anyway there are some wonderful stained glass panels and beautiful mahogany woodwork throughout.
The flow is really nice and I don't think I will get lost like I did when I started working in the Provo temple.
It was very special being there.

All in all it was a great beginning for our Brazilian service. 
 

The apartment

I am so blessed that often I feel guilty. When my parents went on their second mission there was a glitch and no one met them at the airport in Monte Video. When they received their assignment they had to go find a place to live and then gather stuff. We arrived, were met and given an apartment that has about everything we need. We even have the internet connection provided. Our electricity is 120 so all of our electronics do not need converters. 

Our apartment is about 500 sq. feet and has four rooms. A kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom.
When you come through the door you walk right into the kitchen and look directly into the living room. Yes, that is a TV. Senior couples have a lot more leeway than the young missionaries.

Our kitchen does not have an oven but we do have a toaster oven. That should make for some interesting baking. I need to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius. We have lovely granite counter tops.

 
This is all the stuff that was here. A new blender, citrus juicer, pots and pans, knives, silverware, dishes, cooking utensils, a cutting board, etc. All of it is new. A lot of money was spent to make us comfortable.

Back to the tour. This is our bedroom. After we unpacked our bags we still have empty shelves. That makes me happy. There were new sheets, bedspread, mattress pad, and towels provided. Our one challenge is that the closets are not that tall. Our coats do not fit. We are going to look for one of the door hangers that we can put our coats on.

The bathroom is all tiled. Actually all the floors in the apartment are tiled but the bathroom has tiled walls too. Most Brazilian homes only have hot water in the shower with an electric instantaneous shower head. We have hot and cold water available in the kitchen, bathroom sink and shower. That is very uncommon.

As you can see we will not be roughing it all. I have to share this last picture. It made me laugh. I noticed that I had a self portrait going on in a reflection on the microwave. I didn't notice it until I was editing the picture.