Sunday 20 March 2016

Brazil Brazil Brazil....time flies when you are having fun!


Time flies when you are having fun!

In 6 weeks our oldest daughter Natalie and her kids (Landon, Easton, Oaklyn, and Paxton) are coming to Brazil. Dave (her husband) is coming on their next trip to Brazil.  Dave is a Resident


Doctor and unfortunately has to work. Dave served his mission in Belem, Brazil so we are extremely excited to have him come visit! I think he is too :)

Jared (our nephew) is coming too...at the same time as Natalie.  They are going to stay for 2 weeks.  The plans are already starting....dinner with the monkeys, riding horses, unlimited ice-cream, acai bowls, swimming, Wet & Wild theme park, Capybaras and being with the missionaries....to just to name a few.

Last week were lucky enough to have a missionary couple come to our mission(for 18 months!).  We are so happy!  The Osuna's are going to be helping with all the medical and all the housing issues in the mission.   I am still going to take care of the medical for the english speaking missionaries.  They have been an answer to our prayers.  We like to be out with the missionaries as much as we can and with the Osuna's  help we will have more time to do this.  
Here are some pictures of some unique things I have noticed in BRAZIL that I haven't seen at home.
I had to take a picture of this.  On some of their highways they have mannequins as "flag men"  I thought this was brilliant...they look real too...until you get close.  They are cheap labor, they don't mind the sun and they don't sue if they get hit by a car.  
This one is slightly creepy :)
The Portuguese language is a beautiful language.  Some english words are similar to portuguese words...these are my favorite words.  The biggest difference between the 2 languages is the amount of verbs they have.  For one verb like "SLEEP" 

there are 102 different ways to conjugate it depending on who is speaking and what the situation is.  This is a picture of the conjugations for just one single verb....and of course there are hundreds of verbs to learn. 

                   EEEEEEEEK....."Baratas"(cockroaches) 
Yes, I saw my first cockroach in our house this week.  This is a picture from the internet...I was too busy screaming and freaking out to take a picture of the actual cockroach.  These bugs are actually more ugly than grasshoppers and I am terrified of grasshoppers.    The cockroach that I saw in our kitchen sink was 4 inches long(and I'm not exaggerating).  Apparently we have a crack in the drain box and these horrible creatures are coming through.  These huge bugs are able to squish through tiny drain holes.  
                   It makes me shutter just looking at these pics!
On a brighter note..... :)
Brittany sent me a care parcel full of "Gushers"....red ones....my favorite.  This made my month!!  Thank you!!!!
Bruce got a care parcel too from his sister Karyle and brother-in-law Hal.  When he opened the package and saw ORANGE he smiled from ear to ear.  It was full of Hawkins cheezies his absolute favorite!  He hasn't had Hawkins Cheezies for months now and he was having some major withdraw symptoms.  Thank you Karyle and Hal...he's back on a Cheezie high.  
Easter is a big holiday in Brazil.  They have their Easter candy hanging from the ceiling in the stores and you reach up and pick the candy from above like you would fruit from a tree....so fun! It's like a tunnel of candy ....mmmm!
One of the hardest things Bruce and I have to do on our mission is to say goodbye to our missionaries.  We wish we could keep them for the full 3 years and then take them home with us.  We love getting letters from them when they return home...and wedding announcement too :)  

I love going to the temple with them and sitting in the celestial room.  What a wonderful, quiet place to sit and ponder about your service as a missionary... at the end of your mission.  I love cooking Canadian food for the "leaving missionaries" too.  They seem to like trying new foods.  My empregada (maid) always asks me what I am going to make for the dinner... and when it doesn't include "rice or beans" she gets a little concerned...but I think she likes the North American food.  Brazilians eat rice and beans every day.