Weeks of February 15 - February 28, 2016

We have enjoyed a busy, but productive couple of weeks. The February transfer went well, the missionaries have settled well into their areas and the work continues to move forward. We are losing 7 missionaries this next transfer (2 elders and 5 sisters), but we are getting a group of 17 missionaries (7 Elders and 10 Sisters) which will provide five more companionships for the mission. So things have been busy, but the busy of doing things we have reported on in the past and will have other opportunities to report SO we thought we would share some recent pictures, you will probably wonder if we are still in Brazil or if we have been transferred to.....

GERMANY....

A little history lesson of the church in Brazil from the July 2014 Liahona.  

"In both physical size and population, Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. But 100 years ago, its population was sparse, and few took advantage of its natural abundance: a tropical climate, rich land, and a wealth of minerals and water. 

Max and Amalie Zapf were intrigued with Brazil and decided to make it their home. They had joined the Church in Germany in 1908 and immigrated to Brazil in March 1913. As the first known members of the Church to live in Brazil, they were excited to be in a country with so much promise. Yet the Church was not established in South America, and Max and Amalie soon realized how lonely they felt without the privilege of attending church and interacting with other members.

After 10 years in Brazil, Max and Amalie Zapf learned of another faithful Church member, Augusta Lippelt, who had emigrated in 1923 from Germany with her four children and nonmember husband to the Brazilian southern state of Santa Catarina. The Zapfs moved to Santa Catarina to be close to the Lippelts.

Two years later the Souther American Mission opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The second mission president, K. B. Reinhold Stoof, also from Germany, was inspired to establish the church among the large German immigrant population in southern Brazil. In 1928 he assigned tow missionaries, William Fred Heinz and Emil A. J. Schindler, to Joinville, a city with a large population of German immigrants. In 1930, President Stoof visited the Zapfs and Lippelts and established a branch, where both families could finall attend church together and partake of the sacrament.

What a difference 100 years has made. Before the Zapfs arrived in 1913, Brazil had no members, no missionaries, and no Church organization. Today more than a million members live in Brazil, making it the country with the third-largest population of Church members (after the United States and Mexico). The Church now has congregations in all of Brazil's states and major cities. Max and Amalie's descendants enjoy the benefits of a strong and vibrant Church with a unique and fascinating history.

A prophecy given in Argentina in 1926 by Elder Melvin J. Ballard (1873-1939) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles suggested that the region would initially have slow growth but that it would one day be mighty. He prophesied: "The work of the Lord will grow slowly for a time here just as an oak grows slowly from an acorn. It will not shoot up in a day as does the sunflower that grows quickly and then dies." Definitely a prophecy fulfilled!!

Domingos Martins is a town founded by Germans more than a hundred years ago and still has a very German look to it. We bought a loaf of bread, some spices which Elder Burkinshaw mixed with olive oil when we got home, ate on the bread we bought and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was loaded with garlic so the mosquitoes won´t be biting him for a couple of weeks, no ZIKA worry here.

A city street that might look like old Germany in Domingos Martins.

Our tour guides for the day, Bishop Jocimar and his wife Renilsa.

COLORADO?? maybe...

We now know where the "Pedra Azul Água Mineral" or blue rock mineral water, for which we are very grateful, comes from...

The headquarters of Pedra Azul, the supplier of mineral water to many in the Brasilian state of Espirito Santo. 

We go through 20 liters of Pedra Azul mineral water every week in our apartment and probably another 20 liters in the office.

Cachoeiro (water-fall) near the Pedra Azul mineral water bottling facilities.

The granite outcropping on the right is the Pedra Azul (blue rock).  
Normally, the granite is dark gray but this rock is unique and can look green or gray or blue depending on the angle of the sun.

The Pedra Azul (blue rock) from close up.

We actually felt like we were on the mountain. Sister Burkinshaw was wishing she had put on the sweater she brought. We have had our warmest week yet in Brazil (high 90´s all week).  We loved  this cool break!!

Pedra Azul from a different angle.

On this map, you can see Vitória on the coast at the right and just left of center you can see the picture of Pedra Azul, in the blue area highlighting the town of Domingos Martins.

These are vacation homes in the mountains. We actually were approached about a time share,on the other side of Pedra Azul but decided Brazil was a little too far from home.

IDAHO...  sprinklers??, but not potatoes and most farming is done on the side of the hills or mountains as you will see in the rest of the pictures of the beautiful Brazilian farmland.  However, you won`t see many palm trees in Idaho :-)

Coffe is the crop on the hillside to the left.

A grove of young eucalyptus trees which are raised for the paper and pulp industries.

More mature eucalyptus groves with sweet potato and coffee in the foreground.

This is definitely COLORADO, right??  Only the purple Jacaranda trees belie the location.

Among the purple Jacaranda trees, you have also noticed white trees.  An interesting fact is that they are not white - the leaves are green.  The shape and shiny surface of the tree`s leaf make it look white in the sunlight. Had we not seen it close up, we wouldn`t have believed it when Bishop Jocimar told us it was the reflection of the sun.

Maybe Elder and Sister Burkinshaw are still in Brazil, the flowers were beautiful. 

Sister Burkinshaw couldn't resist taking pictures of these flowers as everytime she saw them she heard her Aunt Helen's voice and what she called them (Some of her siblings may remember).

We spent some time at the home of Bishop Jocimar's cousin who owns a farm. Angela, his wife, was a wonderful hostess.  She had ridden her bike to their farm which is their weekend getaway from the city of Vitória, about an hour away.  We picked and ate some delicious oranges there.  We came home with fresh fruit and as always an appreciation for the "Law of the Harvest".

Angela, our hostess, actually speaks some English and she made Sister Burkinshaw feel better when she talked about how much easier it is to learn English than Portuguese.

The view from the front of the farm house. We heard a couple of cars drive by on the road, but it was very difficult to see where the road was, we finally found it at the truck of the three purple trees. 

This is part of the farm. We climbed a small hill to the edge of the house
 to get this view, Amazing!!

More of the farm crops!!

Here Bishop Jocimar and Renilsa are purchasing German bread from the woman who makes it in ovens similar to how it was made in the old country.

The ovens were outside (a great idea in Brazil) because heat is not necessarily a good thing inside. We did not see any bread mixers but we did see metal bowls so we surmise the dough is mixed by hand.

What an amazing trip and all in one day and yes we are still in Brazil. This area is just an hour outside Vitória in the "Interior" and we so appreciated the Bishop and his wife taking us out for the day - an opportunity we would not have had without their kindness. The Gospel is true and the members who live by it´s teachings are truly amazing people!!

Love to all, and yes we are still in BRAZIL and grateful everyday for this opportunity to serve in such a beautiful place. We took a couple of pictures last week of our morning walk before we changed from daylight savings this past Sunday. It is light now when we walk.

The Terçeiro Ponte (Third Bridge) during our 5:30am walk prior to the "Fall back" from daylight savings to standard time.

A beautiful sunrise during our morning walk out to the point on Praia do Camburi.

Avante Vitória!!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of February 1 - February 14, 2016

We still love our early morning walk along the beach. We find that even if the day gets warm, and it is definitely summer here, our 5:30 am walk with no sun and a light breeze makes it quite pleasant and we see some amazing sunrises. This is part of our pathway looking back toward our apartment. It gives a nice view of the lighted walkway reflecting off the water and the sun just beginning to come up. It is a beautiful area.

Looking out on the ocean at dawn during our morning walk along the Praia do Canto.

Our dawn walk taken from the Ilha do Fato looking along thebeach with the Terçeira Ponte (Bridge) in the distance.

We experienced the first "Carnaval" of our mission.  Carnaval literally means "adeus à carne" or "goodbye to meat" as catholic adherents celebrate before the 40 days of lenten fasting.  From our small vantage point in Vitória, the only difference was that it was very quiet the entire week. We were able to walk the short path across the entrance to the Terçeira Ponte bridge to the office as there was very little traffic. Until Thursday, most people were not working so we pretty much had our office building to ourselves except for the guard at the front desk. 

The weekend before transfers is always a busy for us.  The Friday before, we had six of the ten missionaries going home come into the office for their final exit interview with President Young and five of them took the English test and all did quite well.  The Church encourages the non-English speaking missionaries to take advantage of having English-speaking companions and learn to speak English and then provides the resources to take a computer administered exam to judge their speaking proficiency. Sister Melo impressed us with her recitation of all 13 Articles of Faith in English. Here is a short video of the tenth Article of Faith with Sister Young giving an occasional prompt - very impressive.

Elder Burkinshaw spends a very long Sunday afternoon preparing a spreadsheet that organizes ~70 individual transfers between 60+ areas coordinated with bus schedules and keeping the missionaries in pairs or threesomes. The zone leaders still have to work out additional logistics of the transfer and we are finding that they probably need a little training on using the information provided which really means they need to read the instructions before they start doing things.  As the Brethren sometime say about church policy, if you want to keep something secret from the members, put it in the handbook!  In this case it is  if you want to keep a secret from the zone leader, put it in their e-mail!

Elder Burkinshaw on Sunday afternoon putting together the transfer logistics spreadsheet.

On Monday, the departing missionaries have Autosufficiência (Self Reliance) training so we arrange the lunch for the class. We order esfiras (mini-pizzas), guaraná and Sister Burkinshaw makes cookies for their desert.  We have been looking for a roll of paper to cover the typically very worn tables at the Church without success.  But a couple of weeks ago, Sister Burkinshaw saw a large roll of gift-wrap paper so we purchased it to cover the tables which added a nice touch.

The "gift-wrap-paper" covered tables for the self-reliance class lunch for departing missionaries with Elders Machado, Martins and Garcia with Elder Burkinshaw.

Sending the missionaries home is accompanied by lots of emotions like: They have been such a good group so we will miss them; Excitement for their next step in life; And a little wistfulness that they get to go home and see family. We thought it interesting when we first arrived that the missionaries keep track of their time in the mission field by how many transfers they have left. We now understand that reference, so in case you are wondering we have nine transfers left.

Elder Martins, one of the assistants, who is returning home to São Paulo.

Late on Monday afternoon, one of the sister missionaries who was with us in Teófilo Otoni came into the office with her companion to pick up a package and a mission bolso (bag). She is a very sweet, good missionary and we always enjoy her visits. When she left, there was a pretty pink flower post-it note on my computer expressing her love and appreciation. 

Sister Viana, one of our favorite sister missionaries when we were in Teófilo Otoni visited us in the office.

Elder Verçoza (staying), Elder Machado (returning to Rio Grande do Sul), Elder Portillo (staying), President Young, Elder Martins (returning to São Paulo), Elder Garcia (returning to Rio Grande do Sul) and Elder Burkinshaw at Vitória airport.

Our transfer took place on Tuesday, February 9th, which was one of days of Carnaval. The airport and bus station were unusually quiet so that worked out well. We are following the new format of direct transfers (no transfer meeting).  We still have a training meeting for the newly arrived missionaries and Sister Burkinshaw prepared a PowerPoint presentation on understanding the administrative and health issues in the mission. This is a list of just a few of them:

• Passports and RGs (Registros Gerais - Brazilian identify cards):  These are kept in the mission safe and we give the missionaries cópias autenticadas (notarized copies) to use in their day-to-day activities (i.e. the originals won't go through the washing machine or be lost or stolen).
• Finances:  We explain how their debit card works, their mesada (semi-monthly living allowance), what expenses can be reimbursed and counsel on keeping a "reserva" (savings) for a rainy day. 
• Fichas (batismal forms for converts): How to fill them out (i.e. preferably legible), what information is needed to create a membership record and most importantly if you can't read what has been written on the form, Sister Burkinshaw will not be able to either. President Young often comments that in their training, they were reminded everything they would teach new principles at least seven times before they took root. 
• Instructions on staying healthy and what to do if you have to see a doctor.
• Reminders on the importance of keeping a clean apartment. We actually receive calls from Landlords who are concerned with how the missionaries are maintaining their living quarters. We would prefer not having to call the missionaries and chasten them, but we are "ambassadors of Jesus Christ". We enjoyed Elder Larry R. Lawrence's General conference talk , "What Lack I Yet?" when he spoke of reading a "....story in a church magazine years ago about a girl who was living away from home and going to college. She was behind in her classes, her social life was not what she had hoped for, and she was generally unhappy. Finally one day she fell to her knees and cred out, "What can I do to improve my life?' The Holy Ghost whispered 'Get up and clean your room.' This prompting came as a complete surprise, but it was just the start she needed. After taking time to organize and put things in order, she felt the Spirit fill her room and lift her heart."  Vivid is our memory fo the picture Elder John Burkinshaw sent us while serving in the Brazil Porto Alegre South Mission. The picture showed his bedroom and one side of the room was in perfect order with bed made, clothes hung up, etc. and the other side looked like a tornado had hit. We need to get a copy of that and use it in our presentation (of course Elder Burkinshaw's side was the clean side).
• And of course some great cookie recipes. I think we have mentioned before, but Brazilian do not make a lot of cookies. They do however make some awesome "bolo "(cake), but cookies are a novelty and so we try to make them and share when we get the chance.

We enjoy the Maruipe Ward. Bishop Jocimar made a very kind offer on Sunday that he and his wife would like to take us for a drive to see some of the state of Espirito Santo. Since we don't have a car and we haven't really had the opportunity to see a lot of the greater Vitória area, we were happy to accept their invitation and look forward to spending an afternoon with them in the near future. Sacrament meeting was great Sunday and we came away with an Ensign article worth reading from September 2015 by Lori Cluff Schade (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) titled "Blessing Our Children by Improving Our Marriages". We remember how easy it is to fall into the routine of raising a family forgetting that time is also needed to nourish our marriage. Sister Schade said, "Many couples devote their attention to causes that are worthwhile but that do little to strengthen their marriages. Some diligently adjust their schedules to attend children's performances but can't seem to find time for a date with a spouse. In the whirlwind of children rearing, career building, and fulfilling Church callings, marriages are easily neglected....As couples become more aware of the powerful influence their marriages have on their children, it becomes clear just how far-reaching the benefits can be when couples actively seek to nourish and strengthen their marriages." It has been a great blessing for us to serve together as missionaries. We spend pretty much 24/7 together. We continue to learn new things about each and grow in our appreciation not only of the talents that we each have, but the blessing it is to share those with each other in an effort to do the work the Lord needs done here in Vitória. Truly we continue to see the fulfillment of Sister Burkinshaw's Patriarchal blessing which says, "Labor together in the kingdom united in so doing, and you will have a joy that nothing can take away nor replace."

Avante Vitória!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of January 11 - January 30, 2016

We send our love to all from Brazil. We still love starting every day with an early morning walk along the beach in Vitória. Sister Burkinshaw says she always wanted to live by water so this has been an added blessing of serving a mission here in Vitória.

Sunrise (about 5:50am) from Ilha do Boi in Vitória.

One Saturday morning (P-Day) we saw a triathalon (ride, run, swim) on the Ilha do Boi.  Notice the water truck (left) which waters plants and grass on days that it doesn't rain.

We regularly see rowers on our morning walk along the beach.  By the way, Vitória beaches are pristine without the problems you may have heard in Rio de Janeiro.

Things are going well in the Escritório da Missão (Mission office). We feel like we understand the workings of the mission now, have things somewhat organized and are truly enjoying serving the young missionaries. They truly have a light, optimistic outlook on life (especially missionary work) and are so appreciative of all we do to make things run smoothly for them. A few examples:

We have tried for several months to get the Teófilo Otoni Elders into a new home. They have been in the same house for 11 years, which was working well until the last half of the year when they started having water leak into the house from a neighbors drain, which we were never able to repair, hence the relocation.  After several attempts to rent a new apartment (a multi-step process with many forms and documents required which makes it a very long and complicated process), we finally closed a contract on a very nice apartment.  Unfortunately, the proprietor did not tell us the electricity had been disconnected.  Normally, we just leave the power on in the name of the proprietor or the last renter since the process in changing the name on the electricity bill requires multiple notarized documents and several hours waiting in line.  And this time, they required a notarized copy of the Church's original charter (1967 in São Paulo) and the Procuration of the Mission President giving him authority to act on behalf of the Church.  Then we had to send these documents to a city 11 hours north of Vitória.  When we told the Elders it would take 10 days (i.e. no refrigerator, lights, fans or heated showers) the district leader, Elder Dias, responded happily that it would be no problem and they would make it work.  In the end, they met the family who lives in the apartment above them and they offered a live extension cord and any other help they needed.  The Elders are now teaching that family.

Elder Burkinshaw, Elder Cardoso and Elder Fernandes at the Praia da Costa Mall in front of the McDonald's ice cream stand just before enjoying a McFlurry. 

We had an Elder and a Sister come in on the bus from outlying areas in the mission to renew their Brazilian visa - one from Cabo Verde and one from Mozambique.  Sister Burkinshaw has to complete a detailed form and then schedule online an appointment with the Polícia Federal at the nearby Praia da Costa Mall.  When they come in, we treat them to lunch in the food court before their appointment and then afterward, Elder Burkinshaw loves to take them for a sorvete (ice cream) treat.  While we would love to introduce them to Braums ice cream (Vitória is not within the 300 mile radius of Tuttle, OK ;-)  they do have a McDonald's ice cream stand.  They are always so appreciative and the Elders offered a verbal thank-you while Sisters prepared a nice thank-you note.  This is a manifestation of one of the key traits that President and Sister Young have tried to engender within each of the missionaries, GRATIDÃO (gratitude)!

A poster of the Christ-like virtues emphasized in the Brazil Vitória Mission.

Since we work all day and evening in the mission office, we don't have many opportunities to teach but we were recently assigned to five families to home teach so we leave the office early when we make visits or go on Sunday afternoon.  Our families are a mix of new members and established multi-generational members.  We are reminded of how much you come to love those you serve. All of them are a blessing to the growth and spirit of the ward.  Speaking to full-time missionaries but counsel applicable to us all, President Russell M. Nelson, said, “... you can always have you as a convert... You should be rock solid, absolutely true and faithful all of your lives.” (Pres. Russell M. Nelson—Provo MTC 22-01-2016).  We are also very impressed with the young adults in the wards, many who are returned missionaries and have a great attitude and provide special strength to the wards. Many serve in the youth program and teach not only in word, but by example.  These young adults remind us of the story that President Monson recently shared again in General Conference about the establishment of the BYU Jerusalem Center.  "In order to obtain the permissions needed, the Church had to agree that no proselyting would be undertaken by our members who would occupy the center.  After that agreement had been made, one of the Israeli officials, who was well acquainted with the Church and its members, remarked that he knew the Church would honor the no-proselyting agreement. 'But,' he said, referring to the students who would attend there, 'what are we going to do about the light that is in their eyes?' "  President Monson then continued, "May that special light ever shine within us, that it might be recognized and appreciated by others." (Be an Example and a Light, General Conference, October 2015).  We recognize and appreciate the light that shines in these young adults and the love they show to us.

Hometeaching (left to right) Dayane Gomes (a recently returned-missionary and our guide), Almira da Silveira (who joined the church two years ago) Paulo and Renata Cardoso (Renata was baptized last week) and daughter Mayra (baptized in December).

Our missionaries are not perfect, but where they fall short, the Spirit compensates.  This past week, President Young asked Sister Burkinshaw if it would be possible to identify among those baptized, how many were families.  Sister Burkinshaw replied, "Even going back through the fichas (baptismal recommends) or photos of the fichas (which is how the missionaries send them to her by e-mail) one at a time to extract the information would not provide a complete list because the missionaries often do complete the information on marriages or children for converts.  (With the help of the Spirit) I become aware of that as I am putting the information in the system and try to connect family membership when I can, sometimes it has been months, but the name and information comes making it possible to connect the memberships." The spirit of Elijah is at work here in the mission. "....it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times,....that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place...." D&C 128:18.

We have enjoyed two special events during the month of January.  One was the world-wide broadcast for Missionaries held on Wednesday, January 20th.  We were able to view it from the mission office while the other missionaries gathered to centrally located chapels to watch the broadcast together.  The theme was "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts". The emphasis on teaching repentance is needed. Change is a part of accepting the Lord's standards as opposed to the world's. It is a process for sure, but there must be a solid understanding of the need to repent and the role of the Savior in that process. What follows is a few of the thoughts from Elder Neil L. Andersen which Sister Burkinshaw included in the newsletter for this next transfer.

Elder Neil L. Andersen—Missionary Broadcast, 20 Jan 2016

“The most important thing we do is testify of the Savior and invite all to come unto Him....Always keep His name on your lips and be prepared to testify of Him when the opportunity comes for “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven.” (Matt. 10:32)....We testify of Christ when we TEACH the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST....the doctrine clearly stated in the missionary purpose which is:  ‘Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, REPENTANCE, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.’....Your first responsibility is to help lift people in their understanding of the Savior´s Atonement. (how do you do that PMG says) ‘As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel, as Lehi did, the ‘great....importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth’ (2 Nefí 2:8)....Be careful not to move too quickly from your powerful witness of faith to the challenge of baptism without sufficient teaching about REPENTANCE....Repentance is critical to faith in Jesus Christ.”

This past Sunday we were asked to do a fireside in one of the wards on missonary work. Elder Burkinshaw put together a PowerPoint presentation that was very well received. The chapel was full and we were reminded again of what good people these are, and that they are anxious to learn and do their part to build the Kingdom. We provided some interesting statistics of the churches growth worldwide and the growth here in Brazil. Elder Burkinshaw ended on a personal note with the stories of two of his own baptisms 42 years ago in São Paulo. Several years ago when Facebook was becoming popular (we were not on Facebook yet) we got a call one day from a couple of our daughters who said someone from Brazil wanted to visit with Elder Burkinshaw. They connected on the 30th anniversary of Brother Yabe's baptism.  As we participate in the baptisms the missionaries are having here we are reminded of the joy that comes in watching them "baptize converts".  How appropriate that the scripture we go to when we think of that joy (D&C 18:15-16) not only reminds us of "the worth of a soul", but teaches that "...the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh wherefore he suffered the pains of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him... how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!" (D&C 18:10-16 - the exclamation point is in the scriptures). Sister Burkinshaw couldn't help but remember hearing many times in her home growing up the song "O That I Were an Angel" spoken of in Alma 29:1 "O that I were angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" We are so grateful to be here in Brazil and a part of this work!!

Fireside Presentation:  English       Portuguese

Poster prepared by the Laranjeiras ward for the missionary fireside held on January 24th.

Elder Carvalho, Elder T. Garcia, Ward Mission Leader, Presidente Osorio (Mission Presidency Counselor), Sister and Elder Burkinshaw in front of the Laranjeiras Chapel following the Fireside.

Avante Vitória!
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw

Weeks of December 27, 2015 - January 10, 2016

2015 has come and gone. We enjoyed the Holidays but, although we were able to FaceTime often and visit with everyone, we still very much missed our family. We ended 2015 with two new adventures. The first was transfers on the 29th. Transfers are always an adventure, but this was unique as it followed the new guidance from the Brethren to have no transfer meeting.  It is an evolving process as we figure out how and when to perform tasks that were normally done at the transfer meeting. The new format for transfer day makes it much more "tranquilo" (a word Brazilians use often for when things are good and relaxed).  We now have to figure out how and when to distribute materials, letters, packages, etc. and the missionaries will have to figure out how to submit the "original" baptism and confirmation records (fichas) in a timely manner.  Once again, some great missionaries went home, but we also welcomed some equally great missionaries. 

Sister Burkinshaw's peanut butter cookies and candy which make up the best part of lunch for the departing missionaries. (It is hard to find paper tablecloths here.)

Departing missionaries and their companions.  Left to right, Sister Jenson (companion), Sister Alós returning to Argentina, Elder Portillo (companion), Elder Perez returning to Las Vegas and Sister Montenegro returning to Columbia.

Sister Alós, Sister Burkinshaw and Elder Burkinshaw.

Lunch at the new missionary training meeting.  Elder Dial (new missionary from West Jordan) and his trainer Elder Soria, Elder Perez our outgoing assistant to the president and Sister Barra who will be training Sister Ferretiz (new missionary from Mexico).

This transfer took place on the Tuesday after Christmas so shortly thereafter we had another major holiday with New Years which gave us our second adventure for the week. President and Sister Young invited us to come to the Mission Home at 9:00pm for goodies, games and to watch the fireworks. The mission home is across the street from Praia do Camburi (Camburi Beach) where they placed two barges just offshore from which the launched the New Years fireworks shows.  The mission home is on the 12th floor so it provide a perfect location to watch the show, which was about seven minutes long.  This was shorter than in previous years, from what we were told by others, but the Brazilian economy is going through what the U.S. economy did in 2008-09 and so that may have resulted in a shorter program.  Nevertheless, the fireworks were very impressive and there were tens of thousands of people there on the beach to watch the show.  The main beach highway was closed for about 2 miles to facilitate all who wanted to watch.  There were several live bands along the beach as well.  Here's a short video of what we saw.   

Our adventure came with getting to and from the mission home from our apartment which is a little over three miles away. For our arrival, we were finally able to get a taxi, a very aggressive taxi, who took us around the back way and dropped us off a block from the Mission home. Going home was a little different. We walked the three miles, two miles of the walk was making our way through the throngs of people still celebrating the New Year--there was a definite contrast. Our walk home at 12:30pm however allowed us to start the New Year getting plenty of exercise and although a little warm, it wasn't too bad. We enjoyed dinner at Outback Steak House (we ate chicken) on New Years Day and spent some time preparing spreadsheets for the Mission for the coming year. 

The Assistants and a friend in the office preparing for Zone Leader Training. This picture of the Saviors baptism is actually quite amazing. The texture is sand, very appropriate for Vitória.

This past week, the office has been much quieter, meaning not as many visitors, but still plenty of work. We had a very sweet experience with President Young on Monday. After visiting for an hour about some challenges in the mission, we ended by watching a youtube video produced by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We had seen it during the holidays, but it took on new meaning after our discussion. We have included it here in case you missed it (Infant Holy, Infant Lowly). The final words of the song are "Christ the babe was born for you." Elder Burkinshaw later shared the messianic scripture from Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;" 

On Thursday after Zone Leader Training we had several of the Elders stop in the office. We had a little more time with the Nanuque Zone Leaders as their bus does not leave Vitória until 9:30pm, a bus ride that is very familiar to us. We had a nice visit with them since Elder Conde, a new called Zone Leader who had previously served in Teófilo Otoni which allowed us to catch up on the families in the Ipiranga Branch. It was great to hear how everyone is doing. Just a quick story about the other Zone leader, Elder Garcia. We happened to read a post from his companion who just went home that illustrates the kind of missionary he is. The post reads as follows:  "Miracle - James 5:16-18 'The prayer of a righteous man availeth much' - even more so when a whole stake prays together! We have been passing through a drought in our city - it's been months since it rained. The city has discussed rationing water, and the water had already been shut off a few times during the week. Last week, all the members of the Church in Nanuque were invited to fast on Saturday, asking the Lord to send rain. After lunch my companion and I opened our fast together. Elder Garcia then shut all the windows in our house, he said we needed to show our faith that God would send rain! When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was cool and cloudy, the usual bright sun was nowhere to be found. It had rained! And continued to rain throughout the day. Truly a Miracle!"  Our missionaries have great faith and are doing a great work here in the Vitória mission.

Sister Burkinshaw, Elder Burkinshaw, Our Nanuque Zone Leaders Elder Conde (served in Teófilo Otoni) and Elder Garcia (from Porto Alegre) who will be going home with our February Transfer.

By Friday we had most of the Christmas packages delivered to the Zones so we have the storage closet back as well as the room where we have the safe and the file cabinets. It is nice to have the space back, but more importantly it is nice to know the missionaries have finally received their Christmas gifts. Just a word of counsel to anyone reading this with a missionary in the field:  Send the package early if you want it to be in the hands of your missionary by Christmas. In missions it is a time consuming process to get packages to the outlying areas.

Storage Closet shelves and cart filled with Christmas packages -
this was half of them the other half were in the file cabinet room.

Almost everything delivered. We received two other packages the next day.

Having settled into a routine of sorts, I am amazed at how natural our Saturday morning walks have become. It always includes a stop a one of the grocery stores to pick up our weekly groceries. This morning we walked down to the Praia do Canto and stopped at São José (grocery store) on our way home. If we don't have too much, we just carry the groceries home.  They do deliver so sometimes we just pay the $R10 and have them deliver them. It is about four mile walk so work out pretty well. It is quite a nice grocery store as you can see from the pictures. 

One of our favorite grocery stores about 2 miles from our apartment.

Elder Burkinshaw checking out at the São José supermercado on Saturday morning (our P-Day).

Our baptismal service today after church reminded us of Sawyer's (Elder Vaclaw's) e-mail when he spoke of "piecing together an eternal family one person at a time" through baptism. For the family of Renata, first her mother was baptized about two years ago, then a few weeks ago, her daughter Myra was baptized.  Then today she was baptized connecting three generations - so great!!  Elder Burkinshaw felt honored to be invited to perform the baptism, something he has not done in Portuguese for 41 years, but he did great.  Besides performing proxy baptisms in the temple, which he has done often over the years, this was the first living baptism he has performed since Chelsea was baptized 18 years ago.  This sweet sister, Renata, got a little emotional as she was walking down the stairs into the font and one couldn't help but reflect on what an amazing blessing this ordinance is in a person's life.  Also baptized today was the young man who was in the mission office with the assistants earlier this week.  He is part of a group of several friends who have joined the Church this past year.  They are an amazing group of young men and surely the Lord is continuing to prepare an even larger missionary force here in Brazil.  We are so grateful to be a very small part of the work here.

Renata, her husband Paulo, her mother and Elder Burkinshaw prior to the Baptismal service.

Three generations of the Cardoso Family are now members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The entire Cardoso Family.  We hope that Paulo will soon join the others as a member.  Although we have visited their home several times, we are now their home teachers and look forward to helping them progress towards the Temple.

Avante Vitória!!

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw