Week of July 13-19, 2015

Every six weeks the mission receives new missionaries and missionaries that have completed their service go home.  In addition, other missionaries are transferred to other areas to keep the work in each are fresh and active.  This past Wednesday was transfers and two Elders from Teófilo Otoni were transferred out (Moreira and Nascimento) and two new Elders were transferred in (Machado and Silva).  Since often times, this is the last time we will see these missionaries, all the missionaries and many of the members go to the bus station (rodoviária) to see them off.

Elder Nascimento, who lived in the apartment behind us, was transferred to Terra Vermelha.  He was a great missionary and had been a member of the Church 2 years when he accepted the call to serve as a missionary.

Branch President of the Ipiranga Branch Marcio Costa in a round-robin handshake with Élderes Moreiera and Nascimento who are being transferred and his son João Pedro. You can see cookies in Sister Burkinshaw's hand on the right as a going away present.

The six Teófilo Otoni Elders and members of the two branches who came to see Élderes Moreira and Nascimento off as they are transferred to other parts of the mission.

The missionaries have mixed emotions on being transferred as they leave behind friends and associates they may never see again, but anticipate the great opportunity to meet new friends and have a fresh start in the Lord's work.  And each transfer will demonstrate the revelation granted to President Young as the missionaries go where they are needed and discover why they have been sent where they are transferred.  It is an inspired process.

Elder Machado, who replaced Elder Moreira, wasn't feeling well when he arrived and seemed quite tired.  It's an 11 hour overnight bus ride from the mission headquarters to Teófilo Otoni and it was another 6 hour overnight bus ride to the mission headquarters for him from his area in Campos where he began his journey with Elder Silva.  Thus, we weren't surprise they were tired.  But the following day, he had a high fever so the other missionaries called us and we took him to the local clinic where they diagnosed him with Dengue Fever.  They gave him a prescription for medications to keep him hydrated and relieve the associated joint pain, which we filled before taking him back to their apartment. Mosquitos are the vector for Dengue so we try to avoid them but this is a tropical climate with all the conditions to breed mosquitos.  Fortunately it has been drier than normal in Teófilo Otoni and we haven't had any problems with the missionaries here.  Fortunately, Elder Machado was feeling better within a couple of days, which is generally what happens with proper care.  He demonstrated great courage and devotion and we had to remind him, more than once, that it is better to rest now rather than going out and ending up worse.

Transfer predications.  One of those fun things the Elders like to do.  We all make a prediction of who is going (vai) or staying (fica).  Nobody got them all, maybe next time.  

We spent some time this week with a young man here who had joined the Church in São Paulo, served a worthy mission and then came home and made some bad choices, which resulted in his ending up outside the Church.  It has been more than a decade and he described how hard his life had been without the guidance of the Holy Ghost and the anchor of the Gospel.   We have observed his efforts to regularly attend Church meetings and that led us to visit him in his very humble home, which he said was the first visit he had received for many years.  We were touched as he described his deep desire to again feel the Spirit and feel the Lord's approbation.  It was a reminder that even though the world seems to condone any type of behavior, true peace and happiness comes from living true to the standards of the Gospel.  We shared Elder Christofferson's "Divine Gift of Repentance" conference talk with him, where we are reminded that "...whatever the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness."  We found Elder Christofferson's description of our times even more accurate than in 2011 when he gave the talk.  We left this man's home with great hope for him and appreciation for the loving gospel principle of repentance. Helping this man must surely be one of the reasons we are here in Teófilo Otoni.

Friday, Presidente Marcio Costa and his wife Andreya organized a youth activity at the Church where we assisted.  Queimado ("burned" - a Brazilian version of slaughter ball) was a favorite activity, as was musical chairs and the "forehead to mouth" cookie eating challenge.  We just watched the musical chairs, but did provide the music.  We connected the ipad up to President Marcio's car radio and played "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego movie, it was a great song for musical chairs.  Here's a few pictures:

Rayassa blowing the ping pong ball, Franklin is on the back table. ou have to run to the other end of the parking lot and get water in a cup to bring back, fill the cup full enough to get the ping pong to float on top and then blow the ball to the next empty cup.  Very fun.

Elder Burkinshaw still has the arm for "Queimado" (Brazilian slaughterball) 

Musical chairs was another favorite activity for the youth.

Douglas Gonçalves, a priest in the branch, captures his cookie!

Elder Burkinshaw was very good at this activity and the cookie was good too!!

Newly arrived Elder Silva concentrates on getting the cookie from forehead to his mouth!

On Sunday, following excellent talks by Elders Machado and Chaves, Sister Burkinshaw spoke in the Teófilo Otoni Branch and with Elder Burkinshaw as her interpreter.  However, she began in Portuguese and she closed with her testimony in Portuguese.  Her talk was entitled "Teaching in the Church" and was very well received.  She started out the week with a longer talk but as we practiced, she continued to refine it into a talk that addressed the specific needs here in the Teófilo Otoni and Ipiranga Branches.  Later on that day, the Relief Society President and the Elders Quorum President wanted her to know that they had aligned their lesson schedules and implement a calendar, so her efforts appear to be yielding fruit. A couple of good conference talks on Teaching in the Church are Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 1999, titled “Gospel Teaching” and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 1998, “A Teacher Come from God”.  Sister Burkinshaw particularly related to Elder Holland's telling of the prophet Jeremiah's experience with teaching in a difficult situation.  "Jeremiah vowed, in effect, never to teach another lesson, whether that be to an investigator, Primary child, new convert, or—heaven forbid—the 15-year-olds. “I will not make mention of [the Lord], nor speak any more in his name,” the discouraged prophet said." (Very similar feeling when the branch president asked me to speak, even doing it using translating is difficult and frustrating.) "But then came the turning point of Jeremiah’s life. Something had been happening with every testimony he had borne, every scripture he had read, every truth he had taught....Even as he vowed to close his mouth and walk away from the Lord’s work, he found that he could not. Why? Because “his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”  That is definitely the feelings of these missionaries trying to do the best they can in a foreign tongue.

After Church, we were invited for almoço (lunch - the major meal of the day in Brazil) at the home of Carlos, Nadja and their three children along with the Elders who serve in the Teófilo Otoni Branch.  They served feijoada (black beans and pork) which is a favorite here. Sister Nadja always prepares the food so it looks like a work of art and along with the feijoada and rice, she served a tomato, carrot and onion salad as well as fried bananas and orange slices.  Carlos is a returned missionary and Nadja teaches Relief Society.  Their home, while humble, is always neat and orderly, their children (9 year-old Thales, 7 year-old Karla and 2 year-old Anna) are always fun to visit with (and they love Nighty Night and Mr. Potato Head on Sister Burkinshaw's iPhone) and there is always a peaceful spirit there. The first picture is Anna using the phone for selfies.

Anna Selfie. She is a cutie!

Karla, Carlos, Nadja, Anna and Thales Gonçalves - an exemplary family

 It was raining when we left the house and Sister Burkinshaw loves to see the missionaries walking in the rain and singing Primary songs as they go.  These young men are an inspiration and an example of all that is good in the world today.

Elders Daniel, Machado, Oliveira and Chaves sharing umbrellas and singing in the rain!

We feel very blessed by our associations here in Teófilo Otoni.  We send our love to all!!

Avánte Vitória

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Week of July 5-12, 2015

Bom dia (Good day) to all from Teófilo Otoni.  We hope you are all doing well and enjoying the summer.  We enjoy seeing the pictures of your activities and pray daily for your protection with travels and fun!  We have had another busy week here and continue to enjoy our winter.  The temperatures have been in the high 70°F’s during the day and the low 60°F’s at night which is perfect. 

We decided one day this week to take a picture of our morning walk and evening walk along the major east-west thoroughfare through the city, Avenida Luis Boali Porto Salman (most of the roads are named after a person and as we explained in a previous blog, they generally have two surnames and two given names).  The avenida is split by the Rio Todos os Santos (All the Saints River) with one way traffic on either side.  Since we arrived in Teófilo Otoni, the city has been developing a nice sidewalk along each side of the river. Quite often we walk with the Elders that share one of the apartments formed by dividing the former home of a Church member.  The sidewalk is completed, at least from downtown (Centro) to our street and the city has completed cleaning all the leaves along the path so it’s looking good.  Many people come to exercise (walk and run) both in the morning and in the evening along the sidewalk and there is a protected zone along the road for bikes.

Morning and evening along the sidewalk along the Rio Todos os Santos.
Elder Burkinshaw is accompanied by Elder McKay and Elder Nascimento

We had two very long walking days this week as we visited members on the east side of town.  The Centro or downtown is generally flat but as you move in any direction toward the bairros or neighborhoods where people live, there are very large hills or morros.  One of our visits was to Sister Claudia, whose son has scoliosis and will likely require an operation in the bigger city of Belo Horizonte.  Her home is near the top of the bairro of Frei (Friar or Monk) Dimas.  The climb is about 25 stories up a very steep road but fortunately it is paved with asphalt.  Following the visit, we descended to the bairro of Concordia to visit another member and the shortest way was down the concrete stairs seen in the picture below.  

Escadas (stairs) from Frei Dimas bairro to Concordia

   After our second visit, we spent time trying to find small paper bags for the pipoca (popcorn) for our Friday evening showing of Meet the Mormons.  After visiting with several members to identify contacts for renting popcorn machines and then visiting vendors in the Praça (park) we finally got some guidance on who might sell the bags.  After a lot of walking that day, we finally found the bags.  However, we still had to go to the Supermercado (supermarket) to get the popcorn, oil, cups and guaraná.  Unfortunately, not one store had everything we needed so while Sister Burkinshaw taught the English class, Elder Burkinshaw took a taxi to get the rest of the items needed for the activity.  Thus, we walked a lot and we spent quite a sum on taxi fare as well.  But in the end, we got everything wee needed to prepare refreshments for our activity on Friday.

This weeks walking statistics highlighting big days on Thursday and Saturday.
Weekly average was 90 miles and 350 floors - more than we want ;-) 

   Here in Brasil and elsewhere, members provide at least one meal a day for the missionaries to minimize full-time missionary expenses.  Since their meal calendar for the second Friday of each month was empty, we feed the six Elders here in our city.  In Brasil, it is common to eat a light breakfast and a snack in the evening but to have the main meal of the day at lunchtime, called almoço.  This week Sister Burkinshaw decided to cook her first truly authentic Brazilian meal, chicken stroganoff.  Using a recipe from one of the members and combining it with another on-line recipe, she prepared a delicious lunch.  The recipe is printed below or your can go to http://honestcooking.com/chicken-stroganoff-recipe.  Just so you know, she didn't use the white wine cited in the recipe.  We served the stroganoff over rice with batatas palhas (fried potato strings) and it was delicious. She also made brownie fudge sundaes from ingredients she has been able to find here in Brasil.  Although she still has not found white corn syrup, she did discover that a can of creme de leite (sweetened condensed milk) and a hershey's dark chocolate bar makes great hot fudge.  The Elders ate it all up quickly and jokingly wished they'd had time for a nap after lunch, but being the dedicated missionaries they are, they went back to work.  

Chicken Stroganoff

 There are variations on the original recipe– and this Brazilian version of Stroganoff is one of them.  Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2.2 pounds (1 kg) boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 2-1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound (about 450 g) fresh common white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• ¾ cup heavy cream (sour cream, plain or Greek yogurt, or coconut milk can be substituted for the heavy cream)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
• I also added 1 pkg. cream cheese (Sister Burkinshaw)

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken breasts dry, cut into 2-inch cubes, and season with salt and pepper. In a large stainless steel pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Pan-fry the cubed chicken in batches so that it is browned on all sides, then let rest on a plate or bowl after pan-frying.
2. Lower the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of oil and the onions, cooking and stirring occasionally until they are soft (approximately 3 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Return chicken to the pan!!! Pour in the wine and let cook until it has been almost completely absorbed. Stir in both the tomato sauce and the chicken stock/broth. Cook, partially covered, over medium-low heat for 40 – 45 minutes.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until the they are browned and cooked through. Remove from heat and reserve.
4. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the heat and fold in the mushrooms, heavy cream, mustard, and parsley. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, if necessary.
5. Serve the Chicken Stroganoff with white rice and shoestring potatoes. Or, as a variation, serve with your favorite pasta. And don’t forget those shoestring potatoes!

Our happy, well-fed Elders after Sister Burkinshaw's almoço of Chicken Strogonanoff and Brownie Fudge Sundaes

   Following lunch for the Elders, we watched Elder Packer's funeral and then popped enough popcorn to fill 120 bags for the Meet the Mormons night at the movies activity at the Church.  Elder Burkinshaw got a routine going so it only took a couple of hours using our propane stove.

The popcorn factory for Friday's activity at the Church

  Our night at the movie went well and we had about 80 people attend including several non-members and investigators.  We had hoped for more, but there are always schedule conflicts so we were grateful for those who came and brought their family and friends.   "Meet the Mormons" is a great movie (available now on NetFlix) and since we will be here next year on July 10th, and we didn't put a year on the posters, we are savings them for next year and we will do another missionary activity on July 10, 2016.  We have decided our next activity we will do a "bolo" (Brazilian cake) pot-luck for the refreshments which will involve more of the members and be much easier for this old missionary casal (couple).  

The Teófilo Otoni chapel set up for movie night "Meet the Mormons"

Our wonderful members and friends enjoying refreshments after the movie.

   Sister Burkinshaw forgot to include this picture last week, but it is definitely noteworthy, not because she is getting any younger and wanted to share her picture (although that should be one of the blessings the Lord includes with willing missionary service don't you think?), but because she found someone here in Brazil to cut her hair.  With each passing week getting a hair cut became more of a priority as we are outside everyday and with the scarcity of hairspray as well as the heat (even during the winter) it was needed.  Sister Young, the mission president's wife told us she cried after her first hair cut in Brazil so it was a little scary.  After looking at people's hair she finally asked a sister from the branch who cut her hair.  She was kind enough to set her up with a lady that actually comes to the house, which means she doesn't have to walk to get her hair cut, it was great!!.  The stylist did a great job and we scheduled her again for the first of August on a preparation day.

Last picture.  We noticed yesterday at church that a couple of our missionaries had the same tie on. They actually both bought their tie at different times in the same store in Nanuque which is three hours west of here and part of our Zone.  They have been companions the past six weeks.  Elder Moreira (left) has been our District leader.  We have transfers this week so we are losing two of our Elders.  Elder Moreira called us Sunday evening at 10:00pm to tell us that he and Elder Nascimento will be transferred.  He also reported that Sister Burkinshaw was being transferred (joke).  It only took a few seconds before we could hear him and the other three elders in their apartment start laugh.  We do enjoy these Elders!!  We are glad Sister Burkinshaw will not be transferred - Elder Burkinshaw does not want a new companion!

Elders Moreira and Chaves with their matching ties - very colorful!

Avante Vitória!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Week of June 29-July 5, 2015

This week several members of the branches, including the wife and the mother of one of our branch presidents went on the Nanuque District Caravana (Temple Trip) to the São Paulo Temple.  Sister Burkinshaw therefore invited Presidente Marcio and his son João Pedro for lunch at our home, which made them our first dinner guests other than the Elders living behind us.  As usual, Sister Burkinshaw outdid herself with salsa chicken over rice, black beans and corn on the cob, most of which we bought the previous Saturday at the open air market (feira).

Lunch with João Pedro, Presidente Marcio and Elder Burkinshaw

You will notice that I’m in a non-white shirt because the Elders and I spent the morning doing service at the home of some elderly members (we have to be careful about how we use the word “elderly” since Elder Burkinshaw is now 60 years old and therefore “elderly” is defined as someone older than us ;-).  Anyway, these wonderful members, who were some of the first to join the church here in Teófilo Otoni back in 1990, have a small back yard (quintal) with banana, lemon, avocado and other trees.  Since this is winter with many deciduous trees, they were knee-deep in leaves, so our task was to gather the leaves and then weed what was beneath.  Our Elders definitely know how to work so in just a couple of hours, we had at least 20 bags of leaves gathered with the rest of the area weeded and raked.

Irmã (Sister) Léa loves to visit and is always telling funny, sarcastic stories.  So, I reciprocated with my latest Brazilian piada (joke). 

“There is an attorney and a politician in a burning building but you only have time to save one of them – what would you do?  Would you go to lunch or to the movies?”

She and Irmão (Brother) Antonio Carlos and the Elders all laughed (attorneys and politicians are as well-loved in Brazil as in the States) and we had a great time visiting. 

Irmã Léa has emphysema and therefore has trouble breathing so at the end of our project, we gave her a priesthood blessing, in which she was promised that her mission on the earth was not yet finished and the Lord still had work for her to do.  She then asked us to give Irmão Antonio Carlos a blessing, which we did.  It was a tender time for all and we departed with a spirit of gratitude for the Lord’s spirit and blessings and a few tears.

As we left the house on Wednesday morning, Sister Burkinshaw was wearing her red flower-print skirt so we couldn't resist taking a photo of her with the beautiful flowers growing here.  If we weren’t missionaries, she could be a model!

The beautiful flowers of Brasil!

Sister Burkinshaw couldn’t resist taking a few other pictures of the beautiful flowers along our walk that day.

 

More of the beautiful flowering trees we see every day.

As we expand our efforts northward in Teófilo Otoni, our traveling increases as well as tracked by the Apple Health App below from last Wednesday.  The interesting thing is that we're sure the Elders are walking more than we do because we're always running into them all around town.  By our calculations, we are doing at least the equivalent of one 75 mile Philmont trek per week (and the BSA allows 12 days rather than 7 days) although our back pack probably weighs more like 20 pounds rather than 50.

Our walking and vertical climb stats for Wednesday, July 1, 2015

We have learned that while the GPS on the iPhone can map the shortest two-dimensional route, it does not take into account the third (vertical) dimension nor the quality of the road so the Philmont analogy seems appropriate. On Saturday, we had a 45 minute walk from the home of one member to another, so we chose the "shortest" GPS route and here's what our "walk" looked like.

The "shortest" GPS route through the mato (jungle).

The "shortest" GPS route doesn't take vertical climb into account. ;-)

We observed that Futebol (soccer) is popular everywhere, even in the mato. 

To get around a buracão (big hole) where the road, terraced into a hillside had washed out from the rains, we crossed by walking up the path leading to the homes above the road.

Although this may look like an obstacle course, it is actually a very clever way to use old tires and save the expense for cinderblock, as well as increasing dexterity!

We actually did make it to the desired members home but when we told them about the route we had taken, they suggested it was dangerous because of both the wildlife and the people who live in the nearby favelas (shanty towns).  And we had a great visit with a very sweet, single mother who seemed genuinely encouraged by our visit.  Her 8-year-old daughter was quite fun to visit with and told us all about the 4th grade at her school.  We are trying to make contact with all of the members and update their addresses and phone numbers and invite them to our meetings and activities.

We have a special activity planned for Friday.  We ordered a copy of "Meet the Mormons" (Conheça os Mormons) which has a Portuguese sound track - David Archuleta even sings "Glorious" in Portuguese.  At church, all the members have received flyers and we have posters around town with the information about the movie.

Conheça of Mormons poster for our combined branches activity.

The members seem to be excited about this.  We are looking for a popcorn popper we can rent for the evening to have outside after the movie as we will show the movie in the chapel/cultural hall and the District President sent out a letter last week reminding the members not to eat in the chapel.  We figure any popcorn we can't clean up outside can be eaten by the animals.  

We send our love to all.  As we missed the July 4th holiday we felt a deeper appreciate for the freedom's we enjoy in the States and are keenly aware of the promises and warnings given in the Book of Mormon in Ether 2:10-12 which says: 

10  For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.  And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.

11  And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

12  Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

We also reflected this week on the teachings of President Packer with his passing.  At times I have forgotten that he was a big part of the new scriptures.  I am so very grateful for them and the ease with which we are able to study because of them.  President Packer has always been a favorite of Elder Burkinshaw's and we have many books in which his talks have been printed including a very large collections in our online "Talk Library". 

Avánte Vitória!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw  

Week of June 22-28, 2015

   We had a week of winter here in Teófilo Otoni and it was great, especially during the day.  The temperatures (in Fahrenheit) got down to the high 50’s at night and stayed in the low 70’s during the day.  The native Brazilian’s were all wearing coats and when we shook their hands  they were cold.  We are just hoping that by the time summer comes we are more Brazilian than American.

   President and Sister Young (the mission president and his wife) were in Teófilo Otoni on Tuesday this week for missionary interviews.  Knowing they were coming several weeks ago, I had asked Sister Young to pick up some Peter Pan peanut butter from Sam's Club (as they shop there) in Vitória, as it is not available in Teófilo Otoni.  They were kind enough to bring 6 jars so we now have at least a half years supply of peanut butter.  Elder Burkinshaw does not like peanut butter as much as I do, so I will use his half to make cookies for the missionaries and members.  We had a nice visit with President Young but were a little envious when they drove up in a new car since every three years they change out missionary cars (and theirs are the only two cars in the whole mission).  Since Sister Young is not interested in driving in Brazil, one of the cars remains at the mission office in Vitória.  As President Young has explored options for us to have a car (using the extra car one of them), he said he received a note from someone in the Area Office in Sao Paulo specifically instructing that they were the only ones approved to use the cars, so obviously letting us use the other car isn’t an option either - darn!  I have to admit when President Young asked if there was anything we needed, I said, “a car”.  I know I'm a little rebellious, but President Young always tells us he has a little of that in him also, so I figured I wouldn’t be sent home (maybe I was secretly hoping I would be - ar, arr, arr).  We did have a nice visit with the Youngs, and Sister Young gave me her perspective on missionary work, which I found to be quite accurate; “The days seem long, but the weeks are short”; and how very true that is.  Just a little side note on this experience and to show you how thoughtful our younger missionaries are:  Elder Moreira (the district leader) called us on Monday evening about 9:00pm, as we were walking home from an appointment, to let us know about our interviews the next morning.  At first he said it would be at 8:00am.  A few minutes later he called back and told us we needed to be there at 10:00am.  It turned out we had the last interviews and Elder Moreira, ever the great leader, took the 8:00am appointment, which means he had to leave his house about 7:00am to be there a few minutes early.  These young Elders are impressive!!

The first batch of cookies with peanut butter from Sam's Club.

   As we visit the homes of members to have a family home evening with them to get to know them better, one of the themes that has emerged is a common desire for these families to go to the temple.  We have ordered materials so we can begin teaching a monthly or bi-monthly Temple Preparation class.  As we talk about the blessings of the temple and the sacrifices required to be worthy to go to the temple, Elder Burkinshaw and I are reminded of how much we miss our monthly work weekend at the temple.  We miss the peace, the people and the reminder of the promises made with a loving Heavenly Father. As we observe the challenges in these two branches, we see how focusing on the temple can become an overarching source of strength and unity for the members as it was to the early Saints preparing to cross the plains.  Temple covenants not only bind us to our Heavenly Father, but provide peace and strength in times of trial.   Sarah Rich, the wife of Charles C. Rich, wrote in her journal how important the temple endowment in Nauvoo was in helping them endure the hardships on the pioneer trek. “If it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple . . . , our journey would have been like . . . taking a leap in the dark” (Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich, “Autobiography, 1885–1893,” Family and Church History Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 66).

   For the Saints here in Teófilo Otoni, the trip to the temple in Campinas is like going from Oklahoma to the temple in Salt Lake.  For the most recent temple trip (they call it a "caravana"), they left Nanuque in a bus at about 4:00am on Monday morning, stopped to pick up members in Teófilo Otoni at about 8:00am and arrived in São Paulo about 2:00am the next morning.  It's not possible to do that often so they schedule a caravana at the end of June and the end of January, but the blessings that result are tremendous.  The process of providing strength to the church is simple, but is not easy for many.  We are thankful for the opportunity we had to work in the temple and to hold a current recommend even though we cannot use it right now.  We recognize that the key to growth here in Teófilo Otoni is the TEMPLE.  We had such a sweet visit with a young couple (below) on Monday night who have not been to the temple yet and left knowing of their desire to prepare to have those blessings.  I cannot express strongly enough how much we need the temple and how much the work that is done there is needed—it is definitely a win, win experience.

Rayssa, Diego and Kaleb Fraga family.  Diego served in the Brasil Cuiabá Mission.

   We had another great birthday (anniversário) celebration this week.  We celebrated with dinner and cake at a member’s home.  The YM President in the Teófilo Otoni branch and Elder Morreira, our District Leader, both had a birthday so of course a celebration was in order.  We had several new members there to fellowship and it was a beautiful cool evening out on the patio.  We also learned the mother of the family, Rosimeire, is a twin and her twin (who is not a member of the church) and her family were there.  It was a fun evening and we were reminded again of what good people these are and how very welcoming they are. 

Aniversário (birthday) celebration for Elder Morreira and YM President Marcelo Barbosa. 

   Our English class continues to go well.  We have several non-members attending and they seem to be enjoying the association with the members as well as the opportunity to learn English.  We aren’t able to do a lot of contacting on the streets except when a Brazilian who wants to practice their English recognizes we are American and is brave enough to stop us and visit.  We always invite them to church and to our English class.  Several of the class members are very dedicated and some actually are picking it up pretty quickly.  This week, in one of my classes, the lesson was on “Talking About Your Health” and we learned how to tell someone when you’re sick.  For example “I have a fever", or "I have a headache”, and "I need to go home" or "I need to see a doctor."  On Sunday the branch president’s wife, Andrea, who is in the class, came up to me and told me (in English) that her son, João Pedro, had a fever and was at home.  She was so excited that she had actually remembered how to pronounce “fever”.  We are making good progress and hopefully those who aren’t members are having a good experience with the members.

   These next pictures are for the grandkids.  I looked out the front window of our house one morning this week and saw horses just slowly making their way down the road looking for something to eat.  We have come across their tracks (poop tracks) while walking and always wondered where it came from.  Now we know, somebody must be letting them loose to find food and then gathering them up at the end of the day.  Grandpa (Elder Burkinshaw) isn’t very happy when he finds their "tracks" while walking home at night in the dark!!  Also we are including a better picture of the three-toed sloth we took in the Praca a few weeks ago.  One of the members of the branch here had also taken a picture with a telephoto lense.

Horses across the street from our house.

Teófilo Otoni's resident three-toed sloth in the praça (downtown park).

   After English class on Saturday night we took the Elder’s out for Pizza where a member of the Teófilo Otoni branch ward works, Irmã Claudia.  We have visited her several times and she has been coming to church the past few weeks.  She normally works in the back taking telephone orders, but she came out to visit with us and her boss took pictures for us.  On Sunday, we recognized another person we met at the Pizzaria at Church, which turned out to be a blessing for us both.  So although we thought we were going for pizza for Claudia, perhaps the Lord was guiding us with an additional plan in mind.

We treated the Elders to pizza Saturday night after our English Class.

   We received the Father's day gift in the mail this week.  As you can see from the picture we hung the framed pictures in the Living room.  The frames matched perfectly and everyone who walks in the door goes right to the family picture.  By Brazilian standards we have a "familia grande" meaning big family, although we think they are pretty grand also. The package was at the nearby post office so we were excited that the walk was relatively short to pick it up.  However, we weren't so excited about what it cost us to pick up the package.  My mother's day package didn't cost us anything so we were caught by surprise when we had to pay a tax based on both the declared value of the contents and the US postage to ship the package.  So in the end, we paid another 100% of the cost to purchase and send the package.  Thus, we suggest not sending anymore packages to us unless it is something we absolutely need and cannot get here (such as hard contact lense solution). Priority shipping only reduces the time by a few days but greatly increases the odds that the package will be taxed so just use a plain brown box with the lowest postage available.  And assume anything you purchase was bought on clearance from Walmart for the customs declaration and be general in the description.  Even though they were expensive for both you and for us, we do love the pictures, the candy and the new tie.

Elder Burkinshaw studying with the framed pictures on the wall.  They really do add a nice touch to our home here in Teófilo Otoni!!

   We continue to be amazed at the hospitality of the Brazilian people and the work ethic and devotion of our young missionaries.  The Teófilo Otoni economy has shifted in recent years from the "precious gem" (pedras preciosas) trade to a greater dependence on higher education, with several large universities being established here.  The Brazilian economy didn't suffer the same decline as much of the rest of the world in 2008-10 but unfortunately it is experiencing recession and significant inflation along with political turmoil which you may read about in the news.  This creates challenges for the community in general and many of our members.  But having the perspective of living prophets helps us remember that even in the midst of problems, life can be and should be good.  At another time of challenge for the world President Hinckley made the following statement:

"Are these perilous times?  They are.  But there is no need to fear.  We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us....  Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God."  (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Times in Which We Live", Ensign, November 2001, 55).

Following the prophet, despite the challenges to religious freedom and economic hard times is the only path to peace in both our hearts and homes.  We love you all and appreciate the many prayers offered on our behalf.

Avanté Vitória

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw