Summer In Porto Alegre

Dear family and friends,

It’s summer here in Porto Alegre! It’s so strange to see the date February on your calendar and it's super hot and humid here. I’m thankful for air conditioning in our home and cars so we don’t melt. I’m not sure how our missionaries stay out in the heat all day. It is truly admirable. When I have been out in the heat, your body gets so wet, that sweat comes out of pores that I didn’t know existed. On one division that I went on with the sisters, I had sweat pouring down my back where it truly felt like someone was pouring a cup of warm water down my shirt. Yum. Sticky icky. Did you know the back of your hand could sweat? I always knew that palms could get sweaty, but the back of the hand was a new one for me.

Camryn and I slept overnight in an apartment of two sisters that had extra beds. We put our mattresses on the floor and had a single fan blowing right on us all night. We hardly slept. I don’t know that we’ve ever been that hot. The next day Camryn went out contacting and inviting with those two sisters, and I broke off and went with two other sisters in the same zone. We learned so much about the work of finding and inviting. We learned what it is like to walk long distances, get blisters, endure heat, and invite, invite, invite people to come to church and learn more about Jesus Christ. It was a truly humbling experience.

The year is off to a mad rush and we as always are running a marathon to keep up. Two weeks ago we had our Mission Leadership Council (CDL) where we taught our missionaries and counseled with them about our mission goals. Four days later we made the trek to Pelotas (3 hours away) for a  stake conference weekend. Brandon and I both spoke twice that weekend. It was wonderful to be with the saints there. Tuesday and Thursday of that next week we had two zone conferences. They are draining. It required travel back to Pelotas which can really take a toll on your body when you’re already so exhausted. Our zone conferences, while a lot of work, are also a huge boost to our energy level because there is something indescribable about being with so many missionaries who are set apart to do the work of the Lord. The energy cannot even be measured. But let me assure you that it is electric!!

Those events all took place in a period of ten days. We were wiped out, but that didn’t stop President Jones from hopping on a place the next day and heading to Campinas to be in a face to face meeting with Elder Gary Stevenson.  We had a quick weekend with Cam and listened to her deliver her first talk in Portugues here in Brazil. She did an amazing job. Then President Jones jumped in the car and left for the entire week, interviewing all the missionaries in the south part of the mission. We’re already prepping for transfers in two weeks which seems to come like  a loaded bullet every time. It’s mock speed all the time and we’ve finally given up on the idea of “catching up on sleep”. We will do that in 2.5 more years.

A few weeks ago Brandon and I attended the Mission President’s Seminar in Sao Paulo. It is always wonderful to rub shoulders with other leaders who understand mission leadership and life in Brazil. There is much laughter, wonderful training, and great friendships made. One of the highlights of the trip was our early arrival to Sao Paulo and subsequent visit to Campinas.  We needed to go through a process to get our Brazil Driver’s licenses which took a few days, but is easier to get in Sao Paulo than in Porto Alegre. Because we were there four days early for the seminar, we went to Campinas for the weekend and stayed with our friends the Harkers who are the current mission leaders there. They are from Idaho and have become dear friends. It was so fun for Camryn too because they have two teen daughters with whom she stayed while we were all away at the seminar.

What a special experience it was to be in the very mission where Brandon’s brother Trevor served his mission 26 years ago.  The Harkers live in an actual home, not an apartment. It is a very lovely place and we marveled at them having their own backyard with their own pool. They were telling us the story behind the home. Apparently a mission leader many years ago came to Campinas Brazil with several young children. They were put up in an apartment like most mission leaders, in the middle of the city. With rambunctious kids and not enough space for them to live, this mission leader decided to purchase himself a stand-alone home in the suburbs. The name of the mission President was President Jackson. That was Trevor’s mission president. So we were standing in the very home where Trevor would’ve come for regular meetings as an Assistant to the President. We were in awe and felt so humbled to be where he once stood as a young missionary.

When you’re at a Mission President’s Seminar, it can be easy to find yourself in comparison mode. One could easily get caught up in comparison on language ability, spirituality, best practices or even hearing about their many successes that perhaps you’re not yet seeing. I can’t speak for Brandon on this one, but for me I definitely found myself comparing, but not in the way you might think. I actually feel quite confident that my talents and abilities are being utilized and I’m exactly what our missionaries need, and I do pretty well without comparison. However, for our friends that are in a different group than us, it was easy to feel sad.  Our close friends, three different couples to be exact, are one half through their mission. While we were celebrating six months, they were celebrating eighteen months of theirs. I had this gut punch to the stomach when I thought “we have one more year before we can say we’re even half way through”.  Just even thinking that made me feel like we are going to be here for forever. One year before we’re halfway through.

But we are finding pockets of joy in our missionaries, our interactions with them, and reading all of the amazing “miracles”posted daily on our Miracle channel on WhatsApp.

The greatest thing happening right now, is the missionaries taking full advantage of our recently implemented change of allowing them to travel to the temple with their recent converts no matter where they are in the mission. They LOVE IT!! Their hearts are becoming increasingly more converted as they watch their converts reaction and experiences in the temple. Our missionaries are catching the vision of long-term conversion and why we are pushing for them to find families to teach. “You’re teaching a 17-year old kid? Awesome! Can you start teaching his mom too?  You’re teaching a cute little grandma. So wonderful! Is her husband in the other room, and can you invite all their children over for a “Noite Familiar”(family night)?”  They are finding families and baptizing them and then taking them to the temple. We are watching on the sidelines and feel incredibly blessed to watch what these young adults are doing. Find me groups of people on the earth doing anything more worthwhile, and I promise I will win the argument that missionaries serving for the Church of Jesus Christ are the most committed and respectable human beings you’ll ever meet."

We celebrated Brandon's birthday, and although we were at a stake conference the entire weekend, we managed to have the entire mission compile the sweetest video of each pair of missionaries sharing quick birthday messages to him. He is absolutely adore by his missionaries.

Things we love: The Brazilian culture and Gaucho pride of the people of Porto Alegre,  seeing progress and change in our mission culture and our missionaries becoming “converted”, talk time with each of our kids in the states and in Ecuador, date nights away from mission life, P-days as a family (pretty rare when we actually President Jones, but we’re working on it).

Things we miss that we took for granted: delicious tap water, our own garage and easy access into our house, sour cream, Mexican food, a yard (living in the city can feel very clausterphobic), understanding everything spoken at church, Gilbert Temple which is open all day (Porto Alegre temple has very short times of being open).

Our newest and most wonderful challenge is the planning of the wedding of our eldest child Makenna. She got engaged on President’s Day and so we are in full swing planning her wedding in May. We have been granted permission to travel home for the occasion and we are so excited to be with family and friends as we come together to celebrate Makenna and Rob Lowe, our soon to be son-in-law.

We are so grateful for God’s many blessings on us, and for the opportunity to witness His goodness daily, in the miracles that happen in a mission. We pray that you are all well and that you will always seek for the fingerprints of Heavenly Father in your own lives.

Much love,

Wendy(on behalf of all of us here in Porto Alegre)

To see our photos from January and February, click the link below:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bXX3J96dWQnzUi8z5