Brazilian Summer
Okay, so December was busy, busy, busy and we didn't get a minute to blog. So here's a quick review of how our month went. It started off with a trip to Marilia, in the Londrina Mission. We made the car trip (4 hours) into the interior of Brazil with the Binghams and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of huge sugar cane fields.
Okay, so December was busy, busy, busy and we didn't get a minute to blog. So here's a quick review of how our month went. It started off with a trip to Marilia, in the Londrina Mission. We made the car trip (4 hours) into the interior of Brazil with the Binghams and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of huge sugar cane fields.
We went through some small country towns with beautiful churches. (Sorry we cut the top off of this one.)
We made it safely to Marilia, where we spent the night. The next day we attended a Zone Conference where Elders Jones & Bingham talked about clean water and, of course, knee exercises. (We've seen a decrease in the early departures due to knee problems.)
Holiday Parties
December = parties.... we enjoyed the yearly traditional CTM dinner with all of the CTM employees, teachers, and Branch Presidencies. The food was amazing and very gourmet!! It reminded us that we have now spent one full year here in Brazil. Time is flying by!
Avenida Paulista Decor
We couldn't resist a trip down Avenida Paulista to see the Christmas Decor. We were somewhat disappointed to see that it wasn't as elaborate as last year. But still nice!
Mall Decor
Mall Decor is always over the top gorgeous, so we checked out Eldorado Mall as well as the upscale Iguatemi Mall. They didn't disappoint us.
Christmas Eve and Day at the CTM!
But the highlight of the month was Christmas Eve and Christmas day! We spent all of Christmas Eve and then all night at the CTM with 170 missionaries who had recently left their families to serve in Brazil. Each of the senior couples baked 4 dozen cookies so we could hand out a bag to each missionary as we sent them off to bed (notice I didn't say to sleep). About midnight the fireworks started, with many of them sounding like small bombs. On Christmas day we had games, food, movies, devotionals, and more food.
The large number of missionaries didn't totally make up for missing our family for the second Christmas in a row. But thank goodness for FaceTime we were able to see them as well as talk to them. They have been very good at looking out for each other and have received many blessings for giving us such great support.
What better way to spend Christmas than serving in the mission field?