So We land in Natal and surprise surprise our bags don't make it. We had a few people meet us at the air port which was nice. Douglas, Isabele, Diogo, and one of my baptisms Belinha. Now the family in this pic is Douglas and Iranete. I served in Pajucara and they were in my ward. One sunday Iranete was bearing her testimony and she said she was thankful for the elders that baptized her millions of years ago.. Then she said their names..... Elder Critchfield!!! Wow, I knew Dave had served in my same mission so I knew it was him. Long story short they had been trying to get in touch with him for like 15 years since he left and walla... Heavenly Father really has control of even the smallest things. Any way super cool family. We were going to go straight to Caico from the air port but not without our bags. So we spent the night with the Magaldi family. Douglas, Iranete, Isabelle, e Diogo, Foi muito bom ver voces novamente e muito obrigado por tudo que voces fizerem para nos. Foi muito divertido passar tempo com voces!!!! Dave also had some goodies for them as we arrived. For you Oakleyites reading Isabelle was the one who stayed with Neil for the summer. Super cool Family.
Brasileiros. Se esta querendo saber pq eu estou colocando esta foto no blog e porque aqui nos EUA nao tem avocates assim. Sao bem menor aqui. entao.. So this is a small avocado in Brasil.. they get huge.. Kel wanted pics of everything. I probably won't post lots of the little stuff like this.
Ok so I will show some of the typical foods. This is called cuz cuz. Kind of a north eastern dinner thing. Some people eat it with milk kind of like we eat cereal. Vou mostrar algumas comidas gostosas e tradicionais do Nordeste!!!
So in the day we waited for our luggage to show up we went a few places. Missionaries of my time will appreciate this bridge because we did not have it and the bus ride from zona norte to the center of Natal was not fun. I puked from that bus ride.
So we went to the beach of the fort with Isabelle and her boy Nicolous. He is a stud as well. so here are a few pics from that.
Voces sao otimos. foi legal passar o dia com voces.
After the fort we went back to Pajucara (taking the new bridge.... nice) So here is the chapel in Pajucara one of the nicer ones for sure. Granted when I served here we did not attend here this was being reformed.
This is actually where we had church meetings. Granted it had a little better looking paint job. It was just yellow. The baptismal font was in the dirt yard behind and it was just a shallow cement tub. Water is water right.
So this family is the main reason I wanted to go back to Pajucara. We had baptized the wife Darci. She was awesome. Her husband Assis was a drunk and we never really thought much of it. Well, Darci approached us to teach him. We asked if he was open to it and she said yes so we did. We sat down with him and taught him and he really was receptive. But loved to drink. Morning to night. He even stood us up the first Sunday because he was embarrassed to go because he was either drunk or hung over. Well we kept teaching him and it was like a whole new person. He was baptized in like three weeks and never looked back! They are now married and sealed in the temple as a family. All but their oldest son Jonathon. Well I did not know if they had moved or even if they would remember me but I clapped at the door and Assis popped around the corner and yelled that Elder Burch was there so it was all good. We talked and I marked a day to eat lunch with them later on in the trip when we came back to Natal!! That was awesome.
Assis e Darci, Eu queria compartilhar sua historia de conhecer o evangelho. Foi um dos mais especiais da minha missao. Eu amo voces e sou muito grato pela felicidade que voces tem com sua familia. So falta Jonathon. Um dia ele vai.
Keli could not get over all of the donkeys and animals just wondering in the roads. so Might throw in a few of these just to relive the moment.
Keli nao consiguiu acustomar com todos os borros na rua solto. entao vou colocar algumas fotos disso.
On the way back we walked up the bridge to take some pics. It was a pretty good view of the city.
Em nosso cominho de volta de Pajucara subimos o ponte para bater algumas fotos de Natal
Our luggage finaly got to the airport in Natal so we grabbed it and headed out to Caico. First things first when you get to Caico..... Guarana dos Amazonas and the Dantes Family. Guarana dos Amazonas is a type of smoothie with guarana, peanuts, chocolate, and other things. This lady in Caico was the absolute best. The only. so we stopped there while Jaynara Dantes came to meet us. Yes everthing in the city was familiar but after 7 years in the dark I could not remember how to get to their house. So this picture is of the Dantes Family. Elder Pickett and Chaffin (a super stud comp) baptized them the week before I was transferred here. One of my absolute favorite families. More on them later.
Familia Dantes, Foi um dos meus sonhos pra voltar aqui e rever voces. Eu adorei a visita. E sou muito grato a voces por sua bondade. Tudo foi perfeito. A menos a falta de tomar mais guarana dos amazonas :). Amo voces. e mais uma coisa..... Jady ta pelada visse!!!!
So Rayara made us lunch the next day and it was amazing. This was the best lamb ever. And yes Keli loved it too.
Rayara estou mostrando o mundo sua comida tao gostosa!!! valeu viu.
So in Caico we pretty much hung out with the Dantes family. We stayed one day but knew we were coming back Sunday so we explored my old areas. Vila do Principe and Serido. This is a picture of the vila do principe branch church house. Again another house. I think I had church in a house like 14-16 months of my mission. I loved it.
This is Jady and Rayara Dantes
Rayara quando voce ler isso to me lembrado de uma coisa... Voce me prometeu duas coisas nesse dia. Lembra Quais sao. entao estou esperando. ainda nao ouvi falar de Marcela. Valeu
Some more randomness.. I guess Keli liked the pink house.
Welcome to Sousa!!!! My favorite area!!! I love these people so much!!! Well let's take you through it. These are a few of my baptisms and I will go over each of them in a sec.
Now a lot of the people I know and love in Sousa have unfortunately left so that was kind of sad. I knew where Filippe and Rosemary lived and we stayed with them so we went there first. This is them. Sorry it is so dark but this is in front of the chapel there.. Yes they have a nice huge chapel now. Awesome! This area was brand new opened when I was serving here. Now it is it's own district. The church is growing so fast. Anyways also one of my favorite families.
Now as you can imagine this trip would be tough for Kel not speaking Portuguese and all. She did AWESOME!!! She loved the people and they all loved her obviously. Every one loves Kel. She is perfect. Any ways the first night in Sousa hanging out at the church she made some new friends. It was great watching them trying to communicate.
Mocas!! foi muito legal conhecer voces. Espero que tenha recebida as fotos que eu enviei.
So the bycicle is the mini van in Brazil. So I guess they did not think Kel could ride a bike or ride it with lots of people on it so Kel's competitive side came out and took on the challenge. Lets see what happens!
Load up the peeps
and it's a success!!! well for a family of three anyways. Good job Kel always knew you could do it.
This is at Cosma's house. We love Cosma.
The next morning we went to The Valley of the Dinosaurs!!! This is where they have Dino foot prints.
Gustavo. Lygia's son.
O ponte mais seguro do mundo nao foi!! Foi tao bom com voces. Lygia foi muito quente sendo gravida de 8 meses!! Mas tiramos algumas fotos legais de gustavo.
Some more randomness.
This is Quiteria and Joao Paulo!!! She was my first baptism as a sr. comp. I love this lady like my own family!!! She is one of the best people I have ever met. She made me some passion fruit mouse. I guess that is what you call it here. But she is so sweet. Joao Paulo has grown up so much. Love this family.
Quiteria foi bom demais ver vc novamente. o maracuja foi gostoso como sempre. e foi curto demais. Eu sempre penso em vc e sua familia. Amo vcs demais.
This is Sister Maria!!! She lived so freaking far away but every sunday she would feed us luch. I mean feed us. She always had a huge meal for 10 but it was just me and Wiberg or me and Price. She never really shows emotion but is so awesome.
This is at Terezinhas house and her cute daughter Jennifer
Sunday was awesome. We went to priesthood in the Sousa branch with Cosma, Filippe, Rosemary, Mary Alice, and Caio. then we drove to Cajazeiras to catch sacrament with these guys. Quiteria, Jefferson (branch president and Quiteria's husband and STUD) Lygia, Her husband Francisco, and Geany. I love these people so much. Church was probably Keli's worst day. She was so tired through the whole trip because I was just going non stop loving it and trying to see everyone I could. It was hard for her to stay awake in church not knowing anything being said. But when sacrament meeting ending she was a rock star. Every one gathered around her asking for pictures, emails, and her face book.. Haha it was so funny. Pretty american girl, they have to take advantage. Then we went over to Lygias and ate.
Lygia is on the right Geanny on the left. lygia had her baby a few weeks after we left. All went well.
This is Filippe, Rosemary, Caio, and Mary Alice. They let us crash at their place and it was so nice. They treated us like royalty!!! I love them a ton.
familia Langbehn, Foi perfeito nossa visita. muito obrigado por tudo e esperamos sua visita aqui.
Some more randomness
After sacrement in Cajazeiras we went to Caico. They have late church so we took the Dantes family to church. It was awesome. I saw lots of good people. This is Keli with Jaynara on the left and Rayara on the right
Jaynara e Rayara. Keli adorou voces. Ate ela me disse que ela gostou voces demais!! Obrigado por tudo!!!
A better family picture of the Dantes Family. The dad is Joao, Mom is Reginalda, Jaynara, Rayara, Jady, and Baby Rickson.
Keli fell in love with a few kids this is one of her favorites. Rickson.
Keli adorou Rickson. Ela queria levar ele conosco.
Keli loved the fact that Rickson slept in a hammock. Even when they have a pack and play right next to it.
So We took off to Joao Pessoa and stayed at Cida's house. She lives right outside of Joao Pessoa in Tibiri. This was my last area. I absoulutely love this family. When I arrived as a missionary her daughter Raquel, who lives in Italy now, Had a dream about me that I would be transferred to Tibiri. She told the elders the day before transfers about it and they did not think much of it. But she knew my name and everything. So I heard about it and went over there first. She flipped out because it was the person she drempt about. Well she had been investigating the church for like 5 years, which is not normal in this part of the world. She knew it was true but for some reason would not get baptized. Any how I thought this would be her sign. Nope. She still would not. So after a week or so I asked if I could go to her Baptist church with her. I knew what the reception would be like she was clueless. She was so excited. So we went and ya they treated us aweful and her as well. So the next day she chose to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ!! Cida and Daylson the son in the picture as well. I think she just could not give up her love for her church. Any ways I served here for only five weeks but loved it and this family is one of the main reasons why!!!
Cida, Elder, Raquel, e Manu! amo vcs. so contou um pouco sobre voces e como foi os seus batismos e tudo. Espero sempre receber suas novas!!!
Some of the food Cida made us. and also some fruit trees she grows in her yard. Also we were in need of some clean clothes so what better way to do it then Brazi style. Cida did not really like the way I washed clothes by hand so she took over. What a mom!!
Coconut tree, she also has a few mango trees, I guess we did not get one of those.
Papaia
Bannana Tree
Here is one mango. yummy. one of my favorites.
We tried some of Cida's fish.... Sorry Cida not so good. We all had a good laugh about it.
So in Tibiri we walked around the town at night. It was nice never felt threatened or anything. The next night we were at one of my other baptisms house in JP when we heard that Cida was robbed at gun point right in front of her home. It was so sad.
Cida gave us some good gifts. She made us decorative pillow cases, gave us a painting right off of her wall, and gave Keli a nice pink hammock. She is such a good person and we loved staying with her.
Muito obrigado por tudo Cida!! Amamos voce!!!
Also in Joao Pessoa is the furthest point East in the Americas. So we went to check this out. They have done some remodeling so not quite as cool as it was 6 years ago. Here are some pics of that
This is what the traditional wear is in the North East of Brasil. We're bringing Sexy Back I know
It was the windy season so the water is a little more brown than normal.
This is Flavia 2. Her real name is Flavia Ponce De Leon. Yep like the famous guy. Well she lived in Sousa When I baptized her. Now she is probably the person most prepared and ready for the gospel that I have ever met. Her story is a good one too so I will share. We (Me and Elder Price) were walking to the part of town we normally were the busiest and we got to talking and missed our normal rout. So we took a road next to this big sewage ditch we did not normally take cause it was next to the sewer ditch thing. Any how Flavia was walking towards us. Now she was sick in this picture but she was above average on the good looking scale so I was not going to make a contact with her because I did not want my comp to think I did just cause she was pretty. So I had my mind made up that I was not. Then we got closer and I kept getting the prompting to talk to her. But nope not going to do it... Then she was like right next to us and It was like a kick to the pants. The spirit literally shoved my and I like jumped at her and contacted her. Well long story short she already knew the true gospel she just did not know it was in existance today. Awesome story. She was baptized shortly. My last week on the mission she was in the MTC!! We also baptized her little bro flavio and he served as well. Now her mom and dad are baptized as well. Any ways she is very special. She Married an absolute stud and they have a cute little girl named Biatrice who Keli fell in love with. Flavia is prego and she is like ten times worse than Crystal so you know it is bad. So that is why she looks so torn up. Well her friend made us lunch it was good. I tried blood there. not so good.
Other things we did in Joao Pessoa... Shop, eat acai bowls, shop, and eat some more acai bowls. So delicious!!!
After Joao Pessoa we headed off to Praia do Pipa. Pretty awesome beach. here are some pics of all the sugar cane fields along the way and some pineapple fields as well
(Keli writing about Pipa)
We spent 3 days in Pipa, just John and I, and celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Our room was on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Our porch had a hammock on it and the view was incredible. While staying in this hotel, it was the first time in a week and a half that we had a hot shower. It was wonderful.
The beach! our rooms were up on the ledge above all the greenary.
Monkeys eating bananas
The staircase going up and down from the beach to our room.
The clubhouse/restaurant. There was also a pool right along the cliffline too.
The view from our porch. It was secluded but still had a great view of the ocean.
Our front porch
The massage hut on the left
View from our room
John made sure to make a BYU Y :)
View from the cliff
The cliff we climbed over to. It was actually John's idea to climb over there believe it or not :)
climbing back to safety
Our view from our table at the restaurant
We did a lot of shopping in Pipa for souvenirs at night and just hung out on the beach all day. It was our best anniversary yet and if Praia do Pipa was not so far away, we'd go back every year. It was so nice to spend time with John.
My experience in Brazil was amazing and beyond words. To be able to meet the people my husband served for two years was priceless. I always knew John was a good missionary but to meet the people he baptized and see their love for him was a whole different story. The people there are incredible. Some of them don't have much but they were so generous. They gave up their beds and insisted we stay with them. They dropped all of their plans to spend the whole day with us. They cooked many great meals for us. They seemed so honored to have us in their homes and treated us like royalty. Although I couldn't speak the language, I felt completely comfortable the whole time and could feel their love and what great people they were.
(Back to John writing)
So Back to Natal from Pipa!! This was a very fun part of the trip as well. We mostly hung out with one of my favorite baptisms Isabel or Belinha. I baptized her in Mossoro. Mossoro was HELL. Every one that knows me knows the story but I know I was sent there just to baptize her. I don't think any one else could have done the deed. So here is her story. We taught her the first discussion and the spirit was definately strong. I knew she knew it was true. She had heard the discussions before when she was like 14 so this was the second go around. She was 18 at the time. Any ways she was progressing really fast and wanted to be baptized. But as we all know you don't get a baptism without war from the other side if you know what I mean. So her mom, a staunch Catholic, got her whole church and had them over and just grilled Belinha to the point she was bawling. She chose to not get baptized to appease her mom. In her mind at least until she moved out. Well I know better. If she did not then Satan would not let her later down the road, it would just be ten times harder. So we had a long chat and she still was not going to be baptized. So I was bumbed because she grasped the gospel so much deeper than most. Any how we went on to our other appointments. We had like 3 baptisms scheduled that day.. It was suppose to be a good day being my birthday and all. Well, all of the scheduled baptisms fell for what ever reasons. So it was getting late and the missionaries were going to have a birthday party for me after the baptisms so the whole stake pretty much was going to be there. I did not want to go seems how there were no baptisms. Well they talked me into it and we got to the stake center and I walked into the chapel and turned around and saw Belinha dressed in white!!! I'm sure my face was a site but literlly it was like seing an angel. I swear she was glowing. any how she saw my comp in the street (we had done divisions to get all our baptisms prepared) and told him she changed her mind after thinking about it and wanted to suprise me. Well, it definately was a suprise. One of the more special moments for me. We have been great friends ever since. I'll post a throw back picture of her baptism and then our adventures in Natal with her.
This is from our hotel in Natal. We stayed at Ponta Negra beach. One of the more popular beaches in the North East. Kel loved that Belinha is getting her masters in coral bleaching because she dives like every day for two weeks a month or so. Any ways she says there is no sharks at all in this part of the North East. So Kel was fully relaxed in the water :).
So we spent one day at my favorite beach. Genipabu. I love this beach. We went on a dune buggy ride which was a blast. We about died but all the more fun. Shopped a bit there then after we ate at the best rodizio I have been too. Yes Andy better than the one next to the Gremio stadium. It was DELISH!!! Well here are some pictures of the rest of our adventure in Natal. Enjoy. We did. I am just so thankful that I could finally go back. I loved every bit of it. I am so glad that I have the best wife and friend in the world to share this with. Keli was such a good sport about everything. I know she was scared and nervous before hand but she did perfect. I love you hun.
Well That was my favorite vacation EVER!!! Loved it. Unfortunately it ended with American Airlines. Suprise suprise our flight was cancelled in Recife. We waited in that airport for like 10 hours and they finally got us a ticket from Brasilia to the States with Delta. So we barely made that flight and we Slept pretty much the whole flight home. Thanks Mom and Dave for watching the girls! We love you two so much.
So Sunday I really wanted to go back to Fillipe Camarao (an area I served in in Natal) but Kel really did not want to go since it was this area I witnessed a few murders. Well, we went any ways. Man it has grown. There was like 3-4 wards where there was only one when I was there. So I did not get to see as many people as I thought. We did see Selma and Alini, Selma's mom. Cool story about them. Crystal's neighbor Mark baptized her. We became friends and before Crystal was Mark's neighbor she donated a winter dress coat to Selma for her mission. She served in South Brasil where it gets cold. Then we find out years later her neighbor baptized her. Small world. Hope that made sense. We saw a few other cool people there. Then headed back over to Pajucara.
So our last Sunday we ate with Assis and Darci, hence the new picture again. It was so fun catching up with them and seeing how happy they are. Also while we were eating a little monkey decided to pay us a visit and climbed through the roof to the refrigerater to the bannana stash!! Keli loved that.
We gave Assis lots of ties as you can see. I tried to teach him how to tie them but nothing gave so I just tied them all for him. Thanks Dave for helping out with lots of ties. He is a worthy recipient!!
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