Brazillian Queridos Amigos! Eu queria criar uma versäo em Português deste site, mas fiquei sem energia. Eu desculpe! Você pode usar aqui opçäo para ler em Português. Lamento näo mencionar nomes, porque tenho muitos amigos! Eu estava receoso que eu iria esquecer alguém. Espero que mesmo que eu estou horríveis em manter contato, você pode entender o quanto sua amizade significa para mim! Saudades!
Before I left for Brazil I asked my Grandpa for a blessing. As many of you know, my family has heavy ties to Brazil. Grandpa has served as both a missionary and mission president in Brazil and my Father and all my Uncles served their missions in Brazil. I have grown up singing “Happy Birthday” in Portuguese at every family birthday party.
So it was natural that my Grandpa was excited for me to go and happy to give me a blessing. In the blessing I was told that I would gain a great love for Brazil and particularly for the people.
This is absolutely the case. I made so many friends! And we were treated as Kings by the wonderful friends that let us stay with them in both Maceió and Rio de Janeiro. I am sure I failed to adequately express my thanks. I just pray they will be blessed for their generosity!
We had the opportunity to visit several beautiful places. We spent a lot of time at the beaches in Maceió. The beaches, the sand, the tree’s, everything is so beautiful! Visiting the markets and the Recife Temple was also part of the fun. While there we were able to watch General Conference. That was truly an amazing experience, for me at least. I have sat in the Conference Center and the Tabernacle before that during conference sessions, but there was something about being there amongst such a great group of people and feeling of the spirit of this event that touched me in such a unique way.
Thankfully along with our amazing hosts, we met great friends who made sure that we always had something fun to do. I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again but our friendships there made the trip for us!
Then of course Rio de Janeiro is amazing! The mountains in Rio de Janeiro are breath taking! As we stood looked around on the top of Päo de Açúcar I couldn’t help but think that with regard to physical beauty of the landscape this must be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Then we were able to go to a game at the Maracanä Soccer Stadium. Amazing! I thought we had sports fanatics here, but nothing compares to their enthusiasm!
We also went and visited Christ o Redentor, one of the new 7 wonders of the world! And of course we had to visit the famous Rio beaches. But as with Maceió, in Rio the best part was our friends. We were so blessed to have great friends to show us around and provide us with a place to stay. I miss it.
In Säo Paulo, standing on top of one of the tallest buildings, and looking out, and seeing city to the horizon in all directions is an experience that is hard to describe. Thankfully we didn’t get lost in such a big city! Ha ha ha
We were also able to visit one of the mission offices and speak with the mission president and his wife. He was a missionary when my Grandpa was the President. It was really a spiritual moment for me to ponder the impact my family has had on the Lord’s work in this wonderful place. And of course we were able to visit both the Säo Paulo and the Campinas Temples while there. Amazing!
I have only touched on the most basic of details, but I have to say this was truly a life changing experience. I will never forget the wonderful people of Brazil or the spirit that I felt there.