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| Back: Piccini, Silva, Floriani, Cerano, Cooper, Oliveira, Rebeiro, Rodrigues Front: Neves, David, Ann, Kathlyn, Merl, Gallardo |
Sào Francisco de Paula: Elder Rebeiro (Brazil - 2 mo.) with Elder Gallardo (Chile - 13 mo.)
Canela A: Elder Piccini (Argentina - 9 mo.,) with Elder Rodrigues (Equador - 1.5 mo.)
Canela B: Elder Cooper (Ut USA - 22 mo.) with Elder Oliveira (Brazil - 11 mo.)
Gramado: Elder W. Silva (Brazil - 8 mo.) with Elder Neves (Brazil - 3 mo.)
Petropolis: Elder Floriani (Brazil - 19 mo.) with Elder Cerano (Argentina - 1.5 mo.)
With so many missionary changes (totally new ones in Gramado and Petropolis), the main discussion at the meeting was on the importance of keeping the Area Books up-to-date and accurate
(III Nephi 18:31).
Ann brought some homemade oatmeal cookies to share with the Elders. It was a good thing as it was Elder Christensen's birthday (from the Taquira District). Previously, the Sisters would bring a yummy dessert, and Sister Copa would usually bring deviled eggs (missionaries love them). Copas are out of the country for awhile, and the Sisters were replaced by Elders. Looks like we may need to step up!
After the meeting, we ran into Pres. Nunes and his wife. We took the opportunity to ask for guidance in preparing the Family Home Evening message for the youth camp. Our understanding (from the Copas) was that the four of us were asked to give a message and organize an activity. Pres. Nunez said that Copas had been asked to do this with Merl and me as their helpers. Now he wanted us to do it - rely on our faith as we still have difficulty communicating. This really caused some distress for Merl as he would be the one leading the discussion (my choice, not his).
We stopped by the German Bakery and purchased muffins and cheesy rolls. Some of the Elders also picked up something to eat before catching the bus back to their areas. I needed to go to the Artisan building with the hope of exchanging some woven ribbon scarves (that apparently my girls didn't get real excited about) for a leather/ribbon purse. The lady that makes the products was gracious and let me exchange them. Now I have a lovely purse that I love!
David and Ann walked to the bead store while Merl and I caught the bus back to Canela. (Later found out that the bead store was closed for the two-hour lunch break; they didn't want to wait so they came home, too.)
Merl and I have arranged to borrow a barraca (tent) from Pres. Marcos, but we decided to purchase our own air mattress. We had previously looked for camping gear and knew which store we were going to go back to - our favorite hardware store. We also purchased a lazer-like flashlight with lithium ion rechargeable batteries (Merl and David think it is pretty cool). Next we went to the pharmacy to get some mosquito repellant; we already have sunscreen. We made a quick stop at the fruiteria to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables. Then home for Merl to take a nap before the long activity ahead for the afternoon and evening - cooking and putting together the 250+ chicken/polenta dinners.
Cooking was to start at 4:00 p.m., and we arrived shortly thereafter. The first batch of barbecued chicken was already cooking - Churrascaria style - behind the church. Several of the faithful, older women in the Branch were cooking huge pots of rice and deep-fat frying polenta that had been made earlier by a Sister in Gramado, Tina Oleiveira.
Other than putting chicken on the spits and then cooking the chicken, things were a little slow up in the kitchen. A big pot of rice was ready, and the oil to fry the polenta was heating. We prepped an assembly line with Meri filling a container with rice; I then added the polenta (five pieces); and Tina used the device on the right to seal the tin foil lids to the top of the container. Pretty slick! As the chicken was brought in from outside, we would put six pieces of chicken in another container. Each order that was picked up included a container of rice/polenta and a container of chicken (20 R$ per order = $7.25). Not too bad for dinner for a family.
It took many hands to make the evening successful: tireless sisters in the kitchen, dedicated men cooking the chicken, packaging crew, youth stacking and handing out the containers as the customers came to pick up their orders. The chicken took longer to cook than expected due to some rain showers that can never be predicted. After cleaning up, everyone was out of the church before midnight - several needing to be back to the church by 8:00 a.m. to go to camp.
While all the cooking was being done, the Elders had a baptism of Keterlin Brito. David and Ann participated in the meeting.
Later in the evening David and Ann visited with the Narciso family. A son, Bruno, had been baptized earlier, and this evening the parents were completing the paperwork for their younger son, Arthur, to be baptized tomorrow. The parents are planning to be married and hopefully baptized soon. From David's report of the meeting, a crazy lady came to the home, sat down, and started talking against the church. After about five minutes, she got up and left. The family is anticipated to be at the baptism in the morning.
(III Nephi 18:31).
Ann brought some homemade oatmeal cookies to share with the Elders. It was a good thing as it was Elder Christensen's birthday (from the Taquira District). Previously, the Sisters would bring a yummy dessert, and Sister Copa would usually bring deviled eggs (missionaries love them). Copas are out of the country for awhile, and the Sisters were replaced by Elders. Looks like we may need to step up!
After the meeting, we ran into Pres. Nunes and his wife. We took the opportunity to ask for guidance in preparing the Family Home Evening message for the youth camp. Our understanding (from the Copas) was that the four of us were asked to give a message and organize an activity. Pres. Nunez said that Copas had been asked to do this with Merl and me as their helpers. Now he wanted us to do it - rely on our faith as we still have difficulty communicating. This really caused some distress for Merl as he would be the one leading the discussion (my choice, not his).
We stopped by the German Bakery and purchased muffins and cheesy rolls. Some of the Elders also picked up something to eat before catching the bus back to their areas. I needed to go to the Artisan building with the hope of exchanging some woven ribbon scarves (that apparently my girls didn't get real excited about) for a leather/ribbon purse. The lady that makes the products was gracious and let me exchange them. Now I have a lovely purse that I love!David and Ann walked to the bead store while Merl and I caught the bus back to Canela. (Later found out that the bead store was closed for the two-hour lunch break; they didn't want to wait so they came home, too.)
Merl and I have arranged to borrow a barraca (tent) from Pres. Marcos, but we decided to purchase our own air mattress. We had previously looked for camping gear and knew which store we were going to go back to - our favorite hardware store. We also purchased a lazer-like flashlight with lithium ion rechargeable batteries (Merl and David think it is pretty cool). Next we went to the pharmacy to get some mosquito repellant; we already have sunscreen. We made a quick stop at the fruiteria to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables. Then home for Merl to take a nap before the long activity ahead for the afternoon and evening - cooking and putting together the 250+ chicken/polenta dinners.
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| Janice Acosta da Silva |
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| Marli Bernardes |
Cooking was to start at 4:00 p.m., and we arrived shortly thereafter. The first batch of barbecued chicken was already cooking - Churrascaria style - behind the church. Several of the faithful, older women in the Branch were cooking huge pots of rice and deep-fat frying polenta that had been made earlier by a Sister in Gramado, Tina Oleiveira.
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| Meri Mendez, Tina Oliveira, me |
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| Irene de Oliveira, Marli Bernardes, Tina de Oliveira |
It took many hands to make the evening successful: tireless sisters in the kitchen, dedicated men cooking the chicken, packaging crew, youth stacking and handing out the containers as the customers came to pick up their orders. The chicken took longer to cook than expected due to some rain showers that can never be predicted. After cleaning up, everyone was out of the church before midnight - several needing to be back to the church by 8:00 a.m. to go to camp.
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| Keterlin Brito |
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| Arthur Narciso |
Later in the evening David and Ann visited with the Narciso family. A son, Bruno, had been baptized earlier, and this evening the parents were completing the paperwork for their younger son, Arthur, to be baptized tomorrow. The parents are planning to be married and hopefully baptized soon. From David's report of the meeting, a crazy lady came to the home, sat down, and started talking against the church. After about five minutes, she got up and left. The family is anticipated to be at the baptism in the morning.
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