We had a more relaxed morning (nowhere to rush to, so
we thought). Ate a late breakfast of
pasties and fruit and had a surprise knock at the door. Moroni Probst, a member of the Branch,,was
here to pick us up to take us to his home for lunch. Previously there had been some discussion of
this, but the dates were changed. So, we
quickly got ready to go and rushed out the door.
We traveled to a part of the Canela countryside that D&A had never
been before. Behind a check-in gate, we
drove into the most beautiful community of LARGE, beautiful estates and
expansive vistas of the mountains and valleys below. 
We came to learn that Moroni, his wife
Victoria, and his mother Cleonir work for a magazine billionaire who lives in Sáo Paulo. He provides his estate for them
to care for, cook for him and his guests when they come for a few days of the
year, and manage his other properties around the world (by internet). What a job!
None of us knew! When Moroni
showed up at our door, I told David that Merl and I would stay home and study and
let them go – but I am glad that he insisted we go with them. What an incredible place! The missionaries were also picked up, and we
shared a delicious lunch prepared by Cleonir.
Moroni needed to take his wife to work at the bus station, so he took Merl and me to our first Portuguese lesson at The Wizard School. A member of the Branch (and wife of the Branch Presidente), Camilla owns and operates the school. We worked with her for an hour, and she sent us home with homework and practice discs. We met a few of her staff members (Alexandre, Elana, and Priscilla,) and took a picture of them along with Camilla’s husband, Pres. Anderson. We went to a grocery store and practiced some new phrases we learned: Voce pode me ajudar? (Can you help me?) Onde fica _____? (Where is _____?) And quanto custa? (what does it cost?) Important phrases for me here.
Ann taught piano lessons at the church that evening, and I walked up the hill to practice with her and Meri for their song on Saturday night. We walked home, had dinner, did a little computer work, and went to bed.
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