Jeff and Kallie

We have slept for over 12 hours each night since we got here...kinda embarrassing, but it sure feels good. :) We made it to conference on time yesterday. We got there just as it was starting and had to go quickly into the little room where there were a couple of missionaries watching it in English (Jeff´s little sis Angie is here with us...we didn´t think it would be fun for her to watch the whole thing in Portuguese.) Anyway, ~it was incredible to be there, and to know how many people that I LOVE were in the room right next door. I spent a lot of time on my mission in that chapel for stake conferences, transfer conferences, etc, and hadn´t realized before what a sacred place it is to me. I felt the spirit very strongly.

The opening song that the choir sang was so perfect for the way I was feeling, it even made me cry a little...seriously though if you pay attention to the words it will get you too. Plus the magic of the music and the harmonies, which don´t come across in the words as much, but there´s something there:

Oh, what songs of the heart
We shall sing all the day,
When again we assemble at home,
When we meet ne'er to part
With the blest o'er the way,
There no more from our loved ones to roam!
When we meet ne'er to part,
Oh, what songs of the heart
We shall sing in our beautiful home.

Tho our rapture and bliss
There's no song can express,
We will shout, we will sing o'er and o'er,
As we greet with a kiss,
And with joy we caress
All our loved ones that passed on before;
As we greet with a kiss,
In our rapture and bliss,
All our love ones that passed on before.

I re-found a piece of heaven here, and I understand a little bit better why heaven is so centered around families, and the ones we love. Truly there would be no heaven without the people who mean the most to us in our lives. The celestial kingdom will be a wonderful place...

It´s been super fun to see Jeff feeling the same things too, and being so excited to see the people he met here. After conference last night, we went and visited with a family he baptized...what joy! They, of course, love him as a son and couldn´t believe he actually came back to visit. (We all say we´re going to come back, they said...but no one ever comes). This is a really fun thing to share as husband and wife....our mission experiences and the experience of being here and meeting each others´loved ones is priceless. (cheesy, I know, but true). :)

I´d forgotten how happy Brazilians are and how much they joke around about stuff, which makes it even more fun!! They even get Angie giggling with their jokes and the funny faces that go along with them. :)

Anyway...we checked out of our hotel this morning...I think we semi-offended our friends here by staying in one in the first place. They all said with so many people around, we don´t need to waste money on a hotel, which is GREAT! Now we can waste money on souveniers. Haha! While it would have been more comfortable to stay in a hotel, we´re opting for the memories of staying in houses. :) Tonight we will stay with Floriano and Raquel, who are affectionately known as my brazilian parents. Floriano said to me, ´would you stay in a hotel if you knew your dad was so close?´ :) So nice. We just had lunch at their house...I thought I´d done ok at making Brazilian Food, but not so..it is SO much better here. I´ll have to pay more attention this time around so I can come home and make it the right way.

Well, we´re in an internet cafe where we came so Jeff could work for a while, and I´m pretty much just wasting time. Soon we´ll head out and visit some people I taught here, and hopefully grab some ice cream from the place where my trainer and I ate it about once a week...hate to brag, but it is SOOOO good. I´d bring some back for you, but..you know.

I have pictures, but no way to get them onto the computer, so sorry! Maybe I will figure it out for next time. Chelsea...I took a picture of my hair (everybody...it´s brown now), but we were late and the computer was already packed and ready to go...I will post it asap.

For those of you who don´t know, Chelsea´s b-day is the 9th - wish I could be there to celebrate with you sis!!!

Love to you all!!!!

xoxo