"Salvador" means "Savior" in Portuguese

Falling in love with a country is a lot like falling in love with a person.  You must get past the initial first impressions and the desire to fashion them into what you want them to be or not to be. It is only when you are willing to embrace all that they are, flaws included, that their true strengths can be revealed to you.  But this comes with a warning that once you do this, they can have a hold on your heart forever.

This has been a really good week, and not just because we found a beautiful huge mall that has a real Italian pizzeria and some halfway decent gelato, but for other reasons too!

There continue to be challenges but I can feel the enabling power of the Lord's help stronger and more consistently than I have ever felt it before.  I sometimes marvel at how calm and confident I am feeling in situations that I know would have rattled me before.  I have felt a spiritual confirmation and assurance that this is where I am supposed to be right now, in spite of how much I miss home.  And I have to admit, Salvador and its loving people are taking hold of my heart.

And being on the front lines of missionary work is truly a joy!  We love these missionaries so much and it's great to see what was once a bulletin board filled with faces we didn't know start to become the individual faces of missionaries that are coming to mean so much to us. I cannot imagine a better group of missionaries anywhere in the world!

We finished our mission tour by flying out to the northwest parts of our mission.  The country out there was drier and more desert-like and flat with wide open spaces. We even saw some cactus as the plane was landing.  The incredible thing is that we go to these cities that seem like they are so far flung on the planet and we see the Lord's work thriving there.  Two beautiful chapels in the city of Petrolina and a gorgeous stake center in Camacari.  And no matter where you go to church you can feel that same great spirit so identifiable where the Lord's church is established. Flying back to Salvador at night, we had a layover in the city of Recife.  As we were landing I could see the shining light of the Recife temple with Moroni blowing his trumpet. Truly a beacon surrounded by the many tall buildings of the city.  The sight of these temples anchoring the far reaches of the earth is thrilling!

Tomorrow we have to drive out to an area for church where they don't even have a branch.  They call it "a Group" that meets in a home.  We hope to lend some much-needed support to the missionaries and members there.

Here are some scenes from our last week:

This is Roberto and Jane. They are Brazilians who own a restaurant in Salvador that is frequented by the missionaries.  Roberto is Italian (hence the shirt)  and his dream is to one day go to Sicily to explore his ancestry. They are not members of our Church.  I'm hoping to be able to teach him more about the Church by helping him with his genealogy.  (Giovanni, I may need your help with this one!) 

This is the area of old town Salvador.  It was the first capital of Brazil in the 1500's.  It's known for its very colorful buildings. 

This is a statue of Zumbi dos Palmares, who inspired the slave rebellion.  Brazil had the world's largest population of African slaves.  Today you can see the influence of the rich African culture in Brazil's music, religion and food.  Especially in the state of Bahia where Salvador is located.
                                                                                                   

Typical Bahian woman.  The state of Bahia is known for its beautiful beaches,  music, and "Don't worry, be happy" attitude. 

Enjoying a P Day with our great office elders and a member (in yellow) named Roberto. Roberto was feeling pretty sad because he is waiting for test results from the doctor who thinks he may have prostate cancer.  We are all praying for him.  He's such a stalwart.  

Beautiful Stake Center in Camacari

Everyone's so sad here about Brazil's devastating loss in the World Cup.  We are trying to mourn with those that mourn.  Who knows, maybe they need to be taught about the plan of happiness more than ever now! 

We went to Sam's Club here (yes there is a Sam's Club here!) But you never know what you are going to find there. I was told  that if you see one of the "Holy Grail" items (that's what I call the things Americans miss most) then you should buy it because it may not ever be there again. So I jumped when I saw this very hard-to-find and greatly sought after item, especially by the American missionaries, Maple Syrup!  So I put four bottles in my cart. I later found out that each very small bottle cost 50 Reis which is about $25.00!  Each!

So I hope you are all thankful the next time you pour that big bottle of Log Cabin or Mrs. Butterworths all over your pancakes! 

Wishing you all the best!  Until next week, 

Love,

From Salvador
Sister Bianca Lisonbee