Viva Brasil!

I'm here! Viva Brasil! After my last visit eighteen years ago, it is wonderful to be back. The flight (15 hours in total) was great. I think I got about five hours sleep on the Atlanta to Sao Paulo leg. That, plus the fact that the time zone difference is only three hours, means I've adjusted pretty easily.

Today was a series of meetings. Much of it in Portuguese. I could keep up with most of it. Thirty years is a long time, so I've lost a lot, but I won't beat myself up too bad because I can still get by. Asking questions, ordering at restaurants, light conversation, etc. is fine. Some of the business stuff gets challenging. We (Raul, Plinio, and I) are headed to dinner in an hour. More meetings the next two days.

The bad news is that I can't get my computer to read my camera's SD card. So sorry, no pics.

So here is something that is a bit serious, but heartfelt. Enjoy.

Thirty-one years and one month ago I first set foot in Brasil – called by a prophet of God to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I was new, fresh, and green. My speech was flawed. There were so many things I didn’t know. Yet enthusiasm, desire, and faith seemed to overcome all my fears and inabilities.

Brasil was untamed and burgeoning. My mission area was the second largest geographic mission in the church. Thousands of miles separated small remote branches. Most Brasilians knew nothing of the Mormons. Curiosity was often their biggest motivator.

I witnessed as an apostle rededicated Brasil for the preaching of the gospel. I saw my own growth. Miraculously, in their initial steps toward eternal life, I saw dozens of people enter the waters of baptism – people, whose descendants now number in the hundreds. For me, Brasil was then, and is now, sacred ground. As I return, I’m filled with gratitude for the significance that the gospel has had in my life, appreciative of the companions who I served with, mindful of the people who I was able to share this eternal message with, and privileged for the opportunity to return.