Jeff and Kallie

Hey everybody! Back for more....we are having a blast. Last night we tried to see a couple of different parks and stuff, but we got out too late, and the parks were closed (we´re going to try again today right after we´re done using the internet). Since we had nothing else to do, we decided to venture out and try to find a family that I taught. I could see their house in my mind, but you know....missionaries don´t get around the city as much, so I could have gotten us there if Jeff got us within a couple of miles :). Luckily something missionaries do a lot is look at a map, so I spent 10 or 15 minutes cruising around the GPS trying to figure out where we needed to go. I knew I´d remember the road as soon as I saw the name...and I did! We drove there and surprised the heck out of them. It was awesome to see them again. (For the mission fans ie my parents and Chelsea, this was Lairson and Rejane that we went to see....Lairson is the one who said he was so happy about having the gospel in his life that sometimes he felt like laughing so he did!) I was sad to hear from some other members that he´s gone a little inactive, but his wife is going strong and is raising their baby girl in the church...wait til you see pictures of her. She is a DOLL!

Today we haven´t visited any families yet, which I think has been good for Angie (and I´ll be honest, good for the rest of us too). Poor Angie can´t understand anything anyone says, and I´ll be honest I´m not the best translator. So we went shopping and I bought a purse that I LOVE...it was expensive, but I knew I would think about it for the rest of my life if I didn´t get it. It´s seriously my fav. I also found some beads which are made out of seeds. I bought a few packs of them and hope that the twins will like them. Jeff bought a bow and arrow....he likes the brazilian indian stuff, and I do too, I just don´t know what to do with it. After he bought it he said he knows he´ll have to put it up in his office, since I don´t really do the indian decor thing. He learned that right when we got married. He´s a super good sport.

And here´s some more....Jeff is awesome. It´s so fun to be here together and to share this experience. He is a joy to be with, and I´m thankful to have him as a companion. He´s a real man, and admitted that he was super stressed out right when we got here, which I didn´t understand. I´m glad I didn´t make a big deal about it because later he apologized and told me he was worried about getting us where we needed to go safely. That´s a manly instinct that I hadn´t understood or felt at all...I felt at peace and safe, probably because he always takes care of us. I´m glad he´s that way.

Anyway, where was I...oh I lied when I said we hadn´t visited anyone today. I called Alessandra and Fernando´s house to see when we could come visit them....we were thinking maybe tomorrow. When Alessandra answered the phone she asked where we were at (we were downtown at a place called the Mercado Central), she said to gie her 15 minutes and she´d be there. :D After I hung up with her, we went back into the Mercado and started looking around, and the next thing I knew there she was right in front of us!! She gave me a long hug....LOVE THAT....and we talked for a while. She invited us to go with her to see some cities that are about an hour or two from here. We were already planning on seeing one of them, but with her and Fernando we will be able to see more. It should be fun. We are also going to stop by her house tomorrow night so we can see her kids, Pedro and Carolina. I can´t wait to see them again. :)

On our way out, we took a little walk looking for the store that one of the other ladies I taught owns. (She sews stuff). It took us a minute, but we found it and I waited while she finished talking to someone else. When she looked up and saw us, she didn´t recognize me for a minute. When she did she couldn´t believe it, and I got another big, long hug. We only talked to her for a minute before we had to go....we are going to see her again on Monday. That will be fun. (Mission fans...her name is Marcia, and she got baptized along with her daughter Mariana...when we talked on Christmas, it was from her house.)

We are going to stay with one of Jeff´s families tonight and tomorrow night, which will be interesting. They live in a teeny tiny house, but are the happiest people. It´s fun to be with them and to see how happy it makes Jeff to be with them. They told me over and over that they love him like a son...how could they not? :) Anyway, we will visit some more of Jeff´s friends later this week and next week...I can´t wait for that.

So...like I said, later we are going to see a couple of big parks, and taking Floriano and Raquel with us. That should be fun. I think Raquel likes to ride in the car...she doesn´t get to do that very often...Floriano does more often since he has friends who have cars.

While we´re on the subject, let´s talk about Raquel...she is incredible and reminds me a lot of my mom. She´s so pure and loving. There are things she loves and she shows it without holding back...it´s easy to see that she loves us, even Jeff and Angie who she´d never met before Sunday. She loves pregnant woman, and told me that she can´t help but fall in love when she sees one. She´s in love with her dog and talks to him as if he were her son...it´s so cute. I wish everyone knew what it was like to be with her. :)

Anyway, I´m sure there will be more to come later...sorry I don´t have pictures yet again. Those might have to wait until we get back. Ohhh the suspense. :)

LOVE YOU!!

Kallie