Friday, September 26, 2014
LIFE IN SORRISO--FIRST THREE WEEKS
One of the "mercados" we frequent.
A typical lunch we prepare in house. We also like turkey breast sandwiches with cheese, avocado, sunflower seeds, tomato, lettuce, touch of mustard, and cucumber.
We like to make lots of friends in all the stores where we shop. For the most part, they love having their photos taken. This place bakes good bread.
Same store--butcher shop
Some of our friends as Casa Aurora Mercado. Second from left is Wellington, a member of the Church.
Lou Ellen on our little quintal (back of house where we hang laundry to dry. Lou Ellen worked really hard to clean up left over construction messes.
Every 3rd day, about, Randy filters tap water using with this backpacking filter or the Steri Pen. It takes about 10-15 minutes to filter a 3 day supply.
The following photos are groups of saints in front of the Lucas branch. Lucas is a city an hour's drive south of Sorriso. The have a very impressive branch with great leaders, lots of very strong youth, and regular baptisms. They should soon be ready for the construction of a new chapel. They are now meeting in a converted house.
Typical of many flowering trees and bushes in Sorriso and surrounding area.
Monkeys, Araras, ducks, and turtles in an open animal preserve in Sinop, an hour's drive north of Sorriso.
Our little neighbor dog. I call him Pico.
Elder Machado, zone leader, being transferred to Campo Grande. We took him to the bus station. Mom has appreciated that he speaks and understands some English. He is being replaced by Elder Weeks, from the U.S.
Randy eating a fresh fruit cocktail of mango, papaya, banana, and passion fruit juice. It's really yummy.
Friday, September 12, 2014
MORE ABOUT SORRISO
Baptismal font outside the Sorriso meeting house.
Family Home Evening (Sunday night) at the home of Brother Arnelio and wife Maria Hoppe.
Sister Romrell, faithfully keeping up her Kinetix exercises. We go to the gym Mon through Friday morning at about 6:15, and Saturday at about 2:30.
Henrique, our friendly Fitness Center coordinator. He is always watching out for us and attending to our every need or desire. We are making lots of friends here at the Acadamia.
Look at the size of that Avocado! Very large and tasty. Lou Ellen displays it at our kitchen table.
Randy and Lou Ellen in front of the Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá. It is here that 4 of the June World Cup games were held.
THE ROAD TO SORRISO .....
The road to Sorriso is covered with trucks as far as the eye can see, on any given day. There must be thousands of them that drive this route. On our trip to Sorriso we came across a Policia Federal vehicle blocking the traffic. Beyond was an overturned truck trailer. We sat there waiting for some time while workers tried to figure out how to get the trailer back on the road and turn it right side up.
After a while we saw some of the cars take a side road (see them in the far left above) and by-pass the over-turned truck and then return to the highway and proceed. The side road was dirt and appeared to be kind of sketchy. We gambled anyway, and took it. Below is a photo of the result.
That's right. We got stuck in deep silty sand. Fortunately some of the detained travelers and road workers came to our rescue. With shovels and picks and lots of muscle they succeeded in freeing us and pushing while I drove out--and we continued on.
Here is the overturned trailer.
Below is what we faced as we drove on. These trucks were all waiting the direction we were going. We felt sorry for them, but glad we weren't in their predicament.
On the road to Sorriso, we stopped for a tasty lunch at a roadside cafe. Traveling with us were Rebecca and Sarah from Cuiaba. They live in Sorriso, where they are teaching school. We had fun with them. You should have seen how well they responded when we got stuck. They jumped out of the car and went into action like pros.
Here is another view of the restaurant. It specializes in food from the south of Brazil. There are lots of people in Matto Groso from Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná. They have influenced the culture extensively.
Bales of cotton, an important product in the rich fields of Matto Grosso.
Here is the lane that leads to our residence. It is a little gated community (gate open right now) that leads to 3 identical residences. Ours is the first of the three. In addition to the gate and walls, are electrified wires that are mounted on top of each of the walls around our complex. This gives us a sense of security from theft and harm. The district president's house was robbed a few weeks ago and his computer stolen. The trash to the left of the entry has since been hauled away.
Street looking north from our house.
Part of mission tour in Cuiaba.
After a while we saw some of the cars take a side road (see them in the far left above) and by-pass the over-turned truck and then return to the highway and proceed. The side road was dirt and appeared to be kind of sketchy. We gambled anyway, and took it. Below is a photo of the result.
That's right. We got stuck in deep silty sand. Fortunately some of the detained travelers and road workers came to our rescue. With shovels and picks and lots of muscle they succeeded in freeing us and pushing while I drove out--and we continued on.
Here is the overturned trailer.
Below is what we faced as we drove on. These trucks were all waiting the direction we were going. We felt sorry for them, but glad we weren't in their predicament.
Upon our arrival in Sorriso, the district president wasted no time calling a meeting of some of the district and branch leaders to introduce us, and to identify member families we can visit. Below from left to right are Elder Arauju from Brazil, District President-Moacir Macedo and son, Elder Romrell, District Secretary, Elder's president Arnelio Hoppe, Vicente, councilor in the Branch Presidency, Elder Reveira from Peru, Elder Vecchio from Argentina and Elder Machedo from Brazil. Photo taken in the chapel of the converted house that serves as the meeting house. There was a great spirit in the meeting.
Here is the lane that leads to our residence. It is a little gated community (gate open right now) that leads to 3 identical residences. Ours is the first of the three. In addition to the gate and walls, are electrified wires that are mounted on top of each of the walls around our complex. This gives us a sense of security from theft and harm. The district president's house was robbed a few weeks ago and his computer stolen. The trash to the left of the entry has since been hauled away.
House to the left of ours.
Street looking north from our house.
House to the right of ours
Our gated community from in front of our residence.
Front view of our residence.
Our little friend next door. I call him Pico (peeko). He is fun and frisky. I will attach a video someday.
Our local car wash place. It cost about $17 to have the car all cleaned up after being stuck in the red silt sand. Of course, someone washed and cleaned it inside and out for that price. They actually did an excellent job.
Our car in the carport and front of our residence. Since we will be working with 3 branches of the Church in 3 different cities, each about an hour apart, we purchased this Toyota Corolla in Cuiaba. It is a 2006 model with standard transmission. So far, we are pleased with the purchase. It costs us about $35 to fill it up. Purchasing and insuring a car in Brazil is a multi-step process. It took us about a week to complete the transaction and take delivery.
Nice and clean!!
Arrival at the airport in Cuiaba.
Arrival at mission home in Cuiaba. From left to right Elder and Sister Harris, Sister and President Reber, Sister and Elder Romrell.
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