We experienced Worker's Day, May 1,which meant nobody did any work (except at the mission office, of course, and the missionaries). Even Walmart and McDonalds were closed. The streets were so empty it was almost eerie. The next day everyone made up for it, as we found when we went with the office elders to get office and housing supplies and the taxi took longer than walking might have. The store was quite busy, and not long after we got there the elders got a message that we had a missionary who had to be in Sao Paulo for an appointment at the Mexican Consulate the next morning and they had very little time to get his documentation together and get him on a plane! (He is in this mission temporarily while waiting for his visa to Mexico.) No week goes by without some sort of surprise or emergency.
We were told there was a restaurant even better than Maderos but no, it wasn't even close. But its surprisingly pleasant outside dining in the evenings. Maybe one day we'll actually use our little balcony. Likely the mosquitoes would find it a fine place to dine also. It was, however, near the store with cheddar so we stopped in and I told Durk to get whoever much he wanted --- and he bought the whole block. It looked huge but is really only about 5 pounds. You never know when they will have it again.
Durk's project for P-day (besides a long hot walk and very long wait for a haircut) was making Sagu. We found that the recipe on the package wasn't really very well written. After maybe 2-3 hours for a "30-minute" recipe, we did have something tasty (though it took some adjusting and was sort of gluey). He found some better information and will try again, maybe in smaller amounts. The package said 8 servings but they would be BIG ones.
On Sunday I introduced myself to my new ministering companion and told her I thought it might be a bit difficult since I don't speak much Portuguese - I should have said understand - and she immediately said "Oh I can do all the talking I love to talk talk talk talk. hmmmm. I figure I can always prepare to share a favorite scripture and practice how to ask if they read the Bk of Mormon regularly or get the Liahona, and about their families. I might not understand the answers :)
The young lady who asked to learn conducting hasn't been back to the class but a few others are coming and we are getting across how to count beats in a measure. We promised they can start some arm-waving next time. It's great that the course is online, though kind of amusing the the audio part has "Example 16", for instance, in Portuguese, but then counts the measures in English.
Transfer week has come around again. Eight missionaries have finished and 14 are arriving - the arrivals include two who will be here temporarily as they await visas for another mission. We continue to refine checklists for arriving and departing to make sure we don't miss anything as we deal with health insurance cards, documents, etc. One incoming elder already has a package - his parents didn't take Sister Housemans e-mail warning seriously and sent it FedEx, paying over $200 to ship and then it had a charge of R$1200 here, over $300 more. When the mission president's wife sends advice, it is good to pay attention.
It's pretty cool to be able to Facetime and Hangout with our kids and grandkids, not to mention emails, etc. We enjoy keeping up with their lives while far away.
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| Summer haircuts in Louisianna, what beautiful smiles! |
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