Greetings from Brazil 2/12/2015

Dear Family,
I am sorry that we were unable to send a letter last week. The mission president asked us to visit the houses of missionaries in a region outside of Belo Horizonte. We were checking on issues related to security, health, and cleanliness. We had a three day road trip to visit missionaries in Curvelo, Sete Lagoas, and Pedro Leopoldo. These cities comprise the Sete Lagoas Stake. Sorry, you will have to look them up on the internet. We took a 4 hour bus ride to Curvelo, a city located at the geographic center of the state of Minas Gerais. After lunch and two visits, we had another 2 hour bus ride back to Sete Lagoas. We spent the next day and a half making visits. Being far away from the big city of Belo Horizonte, the people in these communities were much more open and friendly. These first two cities are also flat compared with the many hills of Belo Horizonte and the surrounding region. Sete Lagoas is named for the 7 lakes or lagoons that are located in the city. After two nights in Sete Lagoas, we had another 1 ½ hour bus ride to Pedro Leopoldo make our final two visits. We arrived home later that afternoon after two more bus rides.
In our current assignment, we split our time between working in the Santa Lúcia Ward and following up on referrals throughout the mission. We are also working to identify and organize members of the church in various small communities throughout Minas Gerais where there are currently no wards, branches, or missionaries. We are working with the Santa Lúcia Ward to hold family home evenings in our apartment three days per week, inviting recent converts, less active members, and investigators. Ward members are invited to participate to provide fellowship and integration with the ward. This past week, we had evenings that focused on groups from the Elders Quorum, Young Men’s organization, and Young Single Adults. We have been blessed with spiritual experiences every evening. Each family home evening ends with American desserts (a big hit) made by Diane. .
That’s all for now.
Love,


Dad/Cliff