Week 5 in Brazil (Jonathon's Update)

{I am still including Jonathon's weekly facebook updates on this blog, even though they are very similar to mine. He has a different perspective and his own style, so I want to make sure I don't miss any of the memories. I will only include pictures if they are different than the ones I post.}

Week 5 in Brazil:

I am whole again! On Monday, I flew down to meet my family in Rio de Janeiro. I flew down Monday night to make sure I was there before they arrived Tuesday morning. My parents were also coming down, but they fly standby, so they ended up taking a separate plane to São Paulo and then a connection over to Rio de Janeiro. Sarah and the boys arrived first, and we were able to find a taxi that could hold all of us and their luggage. When we got to the hotel, Sarah and the two oldest boys immediately took a much-needed nap, so Hyrum and I walked around a little. Later in the day, we all went to lunch on the beach, and Hyrum even danced with the musicians that came by. We then went to the hotel and waited for my parents, who, after some trouble, were finally able to get an Uber from the airport to the hotel.

The next day, we went on a tour to see the major sites in Rio de Janeiro, including Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, Maracana Stadium, and the Seleron Steps. Luckily, we started with Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain, because it started raining by the time we got to Sugarloaf and continued the rest of the day. The rain here is warm, though, so it wasn't too bad and added to the experience. We even got to see monkeys on both mountains, and we watched planes landing at the airport from sugarloaf. They would fly over the city and then turn at the last minute to land. The whole time, they were below us!

On Thursday, we were supposed to go Paragliding with one of my mission companions, Diogo Rodrigues Costa, but the wind was too strong, and there were still low clouds in the sky. We decided to go to the beach instead and played in the strong waves the wind had created until three people told us we needed to get out because it was dangerous. The waves seemed pretty typical for the Pacific Ocean where I grew up, but it was a lot stronger than they are used to here, so I can see their concern. We then went and cleaned up to go to the temple. It was great for my dad and me to do baptisms in Portuguese. That night, we also got to eat churrasco with my mission companion and reminisce about old times. Churrasco is the Brazilian BBQ you can find in the United States and actually comes from the region where we served, so it seemed fitting.

Despite the weather not cooperating, Rio de Janeiro was very pleasant, with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees and less humidity than we have in Salvador. We had a great time, and I would love to visit it again sometime. Diogo still owes me some amazing flying.

Friday was spent traveling back to Salvador. My parents ended up on an earlier flight, so they waited in the airport for us to arrive and were at our gate waiting when we got there. Getting home took forever, as the driver thought we needed to be taken to the airport and not picked up at the apartment, so he went to the wrong place. There was also an accident that blocked the main road, so we went through some pretty crazy places to get around it.

Saturday morning, I finally got a cell phone plan here. It turns out I can run two plans on my phone at the same time, so I won't have to pay $90/month for international data here. I was able to get a plan with 20 GB of data for $6 per month. What a deal! We then went to the historical part of town and saw the sites. It was funny because I ended up following almost the exact same route I did with Emilio and Fernanda a few weeks ago. I don't really know much about the area, but I can repeat what I have done! This time I even tried a local dish called acarajé. In the evening, we went to dinner at the mall and got some groceries. It is surprising how different foods are here. I was used to it, so I never noticed, but it was an adventure to find things we are used to having, etc.

Today, we finished off the week by going to church together. The ward (congregation) was so friendly, and it seemed like everyone came up to say hi. Andrew's Portuguese skills showed, and the missionaries are already interested in taking him on visits with them. Hyrum also says he understood a lot, and his red hair was complimented repeatedly. Christian has never had formal training in Portuguese, but he did some lessons when we homeschooled during COVID, and he has picked up things from the rest of the family. Even with his limited experience, he felt he understood well and could even say a few things. Sarah is also a star, as she has had very little training and is learning what it feels like for all the new missionaries trying to catch a few things here and there. I sincerely hope they can continue to settle in and feel connected with the wonderful people here.

After church, we walked down to the Christ statue and the lighthouse, got completely dumped on in a rain storm, and finally got home soaking wet. That's what we get for visiting Salvador during the rainy season. My parents will only be here until Tuesday, and then it will be just us settling into our normal routine.