Jaraguá and Osasco

Monday was a holiday (birthday of São Paulo) so the offices were closed. The senior couples decided to have a Family Home Day instead of a Family Home Evening. We went to Parque Estadual Jaraguá, the highest peak in São Paulo.

Jaraguá peak

A marmoset in the tree was quite a hit, posing for a lot of pictures.

Our friendly marmoset

There was really a nice view from the top.

View of São Paul suburbs 

There were 254 steps going up and the same number coming back down.

I think I can:-)

When it started to sprinkle we started back down, not wanting to be on top during a lightning storm. Sure enough, as we got to the bottom it rained hard (very refreshing) and had lightning and thunder. It wasn't long before the storm passed over.

Our thunder storm is now on the city below

We had a picnic lunch then gathered for our Family Home Day. We sang songs - attracting strange looks - and told experiences of the mountains in our lives.

Tabernacle Choir on tour?

On the way back we stopped at the Vila Lobo Shopping for ice cream.

She liked the strawberry-flavored

We went back to the office on Tuesday for a short, but very packed week. Diane worked on the report for technology specialists while I worked on training for chapel sound systems. I have commented that the sound system in our chapel is the worst we have encountered in Brazil. After several meetings this week they may consider some changes.

View from our apartment window

After dinner on Wednesday we had a big lightning storm with lightning close by, followed by flashes of light down the street which was followed by a power outage. We wondered if Christa and Allen were going to make it for our English practice session. They finally came and we had the session even without power. We got out our flashlight which was very weak. They ended up using the flashlight feature on their cell phones, which worked very well. With no power we got to bed early. When the power returned in the middle of the night we found out we had left some lights on.

As we looked through our bedroom window Thursday evening we saw that a car had run into the Nelson's Store across the street. Police were standing around. When we went to bed the car and police were still there. They finally got the door closed with the car inside.

Is this car for sale at the Nelson's store?

Friday was a very busy day. It started with an 8am meeting with Emerson and Paulo to get their corrections on a presentation for Elder Aidukaitis of the Area Presidency. Then I had a meeting with the Area Engineers about training I had prepared on meetinghouse sound systems. Our meeting with Elder Aidukaitis went very well. It was a matter of showing him our plan for self-sufficiency in technology for the stakes. He was very supportive.

We didn't really get a preparation day on Saturday (although we did clean the apartment). We were invited to a training meeting in the afternoon for the São Paulo West council. It was held in Osasco, a city to the northwest of São Paulo. It was a bus ride, a train ride, and a mile walk to get there.

Osasco as we left the train station

Most of the walk was along a busy pedestrian street with many shoppers out for a Saturday stroll. It was a hot day, but we were early so we stopped in a small park for a brief rest.

Snow in Logan, but heat in Osasco

Colored houses on a side street.

 It was very nice having a Council Technology Specialist doing the training instead of us. There were not a lot of people, but I think the training was meaningful for those who were there.

More STS training

My Portuguese is getting worse. On the way back we found some pixeição on a wall that was actually labeled as pixação. It ends up that even that is spelled wrong because the dictionary lists it as pichação. How am I ever going to learn this language?

Is this pixeição, pixação or pichação?

On the way back to the train station we walked through the Osasco Shopping.

At least they spell "mall" as shopping

Artwork in the shopping

Since we transferred from train to bus at El Dorado Shopping we decided to get dinner there in stead of fixing something at home after getting back late. We tried Applebee's, but after a wait we learned that they have gluten in their oil and butter they use for cooking so we went to Divino Fogão for a quick bite before returning home.

I have been doing some reading in Portuguese (besides the scriptures and everything else I need to read for the work we are doing). In Porto Alegre I found a book of the history of Rio Grande do Sul I thought looked interesting. I finally finished it. It was written from the point of view of an Indian who was cursed to live 400 years and personally experiences everything that happens in the history of the state. (Oh, that kind of sounds like the Steel family in Church history).

A history for youth

I have a new friend, Chico Bento. He's a young Caipira, a country boy from the interior of São Paulo state. There is a whole series of comic books about him. It is fun to read the local accent he uses to speak. I can understand it a lot better reading than when I hear someone from there.

Meet Chico Bento

Well, January is winding down and we will soon be in Carnival season. There seems to be a lot we need to do and not enough time to accomplish it.