From Cuiaba Brazil: November 2014

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Back in Sorriso

We arrived back in Sorriso on November 5. We have been busy since. We love the work. We are in the place where Heavenly Father wants us to serve. We are being blessed tremendously.

Rainy season has officially arrived in Sorriso. People here generally describe the weather as 6 months of dry followed by 6 months of wet, and always hot.

Rodrigues family

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Saturday morning, October 25, I sat at my laptop to do some work, when I realized my vision was impaired in my left eye. I held a card over my right eye and discovered that my vision was dark and blurry and had dark blotches that prevented me from seeing images with clear definition. in my left eye. Needless to say, this alarmed me.

I called Laird Swensen (actually via Face Time) the Church's medical adviser for Brazil, who was in my same mission group when we studied together at the Language Training Mission, traveled together to Brazil, served in the same mission and traveled home together after the mission. I explained my symptoms and he advised me to come to Sao Paulo as soon as possible. We arrived in Sao Paulo on Sunday night and checked into the Church's lojamento (temple lodging) that is adjacent to the Sao Paulo temple and church office building for Brazil. On Monday morning we checked into Einstein Hospital through the emergency outpatient services.

I was examined by an ophthalmologist who told me that I had suffered a clot in a main vein that supplies blood to the eye (vascular occlusion). He referred me to his partner who specializes in retina conditions. She examined me on Tuesday and explained a treatment that has been found to be effective in treating this condition. She said I should not plan on my vision being restored to normal, but that by injecting two medications into my eye I could get some help in preventing further loss and might even regain some of my diminished vision. She showed me on a computer image what my eye looks like. It has lots of blood in it which needs to be reduced or eliminated. The medications she suggested should help get rid of some of the blood.

Most often people who have this condition have a history of diabetes, heart trouble, or high blood pressure, none of which I have. Fortunately, I have been blessed with excellent health throughout my life. I trust that my healthy lifestyle, and, more importantly Heavenly Father's blessings and healing will restore my eyesight. I received a blessing from Moacir Macedo, the Sorriso district president, before traveling to Sao Paulo and I received a blessing in the Sao Paulo temple, from two senior missionaries on Wednesday night after I had received my treatment. In that blessing I was promised that my vision would be restored to normal. I have faith that will be the case.

On Wednesday morning, October 29, I was wheeled into the operating room and received injections in my eye of Lucentes and Cortisone. The Lucentes is fast acting and will last for about 30 days and the Cortisone will continue to act for up to 4 months. My eye had been anesthetized so I didn't feel much pain. I did feel a little as the needle went in, but it was not bad. For the most part I have not felt pain since. The days right after the injections my eye was full of dark webby designs that resulted from the medication. In spite of this, a test on Thursday morning revealed that my eyesight was actually better than it had been when I was first examined on Monday. I was able to read both letters on one chart and two out of five smaller letters one out of two rows of letters on a second chart. This surprised me and seemed to maybe surprise the specialist.

I so much appreciate Laird Swensen who was at my side through all examinations and in waiting rooms, etc. from Monday morning through Thursday afternoon. His Portuguese is much better than mind and he understands the medical terminology. I would not want to have been without him. Lou Ellen and I received so very many blessings and tender mercies throughout the trip. I refer to it as a miracle trip. So many things happened to bless us just in the moment we needed them. They were by no means coincidences. They came from a tender, loving, Heavenly Father.

This is the second time Laird has come to my rescue. In the end of December, 2000, I had a skiing accident and the biceps tendon became detached from the bone and receded to the muscle. Dr. Swensen came by the examination room where I was and agreed to perform surgery. I didn't know he was in that group of doctors, and he didn't know I was in the clinic at that time. Fortunately, the examination room door had been left open. This was another tender mercy "non-coincidence" blessing in my life.

Photos that follow are from our Sao Paulo trip. It was fun to be in Sao Paulo where I served a year of my mission as a young man in 1965-66.

Thanks to Laird's relationship with the hospital two facilitators were assigned to us (Lou Ellen was with me all the time--thankfully). They even brought us a snack from the cafeteria and helped expedite our processing as a new patient. We truly received VIP treatment.

Elder/Dr. Laird Swensen, Sister Romrell, and Elder Romrell prior to Elder Romrell's surgery (eye injections in operating room).

View from Einstein Hospital

Church office building in Sao Paulo

Last evening in Sao Paulo at the Feijão da Corda Restaurante, near the temple.

The House of the Lord in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We had the wonderful blessing to live in lodging at the side of the temple for 8 days and to attend the temple. We loved being there.

Beautiful, fragrant gardenia's line the walk to the Sao Paulo temple entrance.

Family Home Evening with sênior missionareis.

Good friends Regina and Rosangela (sisters to Ligia Galhardo) with their mother.

Swensens and Romrells in front of Chic Iguatemi Shopping Center in Sao Paulo.

A little Halloween with the other sênior missionareis at Church headquarters.

Dinner with the Swensen's at a rodizio de pizza close to the temple.

Elder Swensen and Elder Romrell, 50 years after our first missions to Brazil.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

2014: Sept 27--Nov 8

Fun branch activity eating "tapioca" (Brazilian crepes) made by the sisters at a branch activity. Tapioca (Portuguese pronunciation: [tɐpiˈɔkɐ]) is a starch extracted from cassava root (Manihot esculenta). This species is native to North Region, Brazil but spread throughout the South American continent. The plant was carried by Portuguese and Spanish explorers to most of the West Indies, and continents of Africa and Asia, including the Philippines and Taiwan. It is now cultivated worldwide.

Same branch activity--fun games

Branch member drinking Chimarrão. According to Wikipedia: Portuguese: [ˈmatʃi]; sometimes spelled maté in English, but never in Spanish or Portuguese), also known as yerba mate, chimarrão (Portuguese: [ʃimɐˈʁɐ̃w̃]) or cimarrón (Spanish: [simaˈron]), is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink, particularly in Argentina (where it is defined by law as the "national infusion"^[2]), Uruguay, Paraguay and Southern Brazil, and to a lesser degree in southern Chile, the Bolivian Chaco, Syria and Lebanon. It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis, known in Portuguese as erva-mate) in hot water.

Mate is served with a metal straw from a shared hollow calabash gourd. The straw is called a bombilla in some Latin American countries, a bomba in Portuguese, and a bombija or, more generally, a masassa (type of straw) in Arabic. The straw is traditionally made of silver. Modern, commercially available straws are typically made of nickel silver, called alpaca; stainless steel, or hollow-stemmed cane. The gourd is known as a mate or a guampa; while in Brazil, it has the specific name of cuia, or also cabaça (the name for Indigenous-influenced calabash gourds in other regions of Brazil, still used for general food and drink in remote regions). Even if the water is supplied from a modern thermos, the infusion is traditionally drunk from mates or cuias.

Caju fruit in a member's back yard. Easy to grow, fruit and juice are wonderful, caju (cashew) nut delicious!

Pineapple plant in the same back yard.

Family whose back yard contains the above and other wonderful fruits, herbs, and vegetables.

Missionaries assigned to Sorriso. From left to right: Elder Araujo from north Brazil, Elder Nere from Natal, Brazil, Elder and Sister Romrell, Elder Weeks from Georgia, and Elder Rivera from Peru.

Nelson preparing fresh coconut from his yard.

Being entertained by Nelson and Juliana in their wonderful back yard. Vicente (2nd Counselor in Branch Presidency and his younger brother, Victor) on the right. Vicente has only been home from his mission a few months.

Fresh coconut water

Mission Financial Secretary and Executive Secretary buying things for the apartment for 2 sister missionaries. Elder Bonaro and Elder Tavares. These are the same two who furnished our little "kitchenette."