August Zone Conference

The picture taken here is of our entire mission when Elder and Sister Anderson were visiting our mission in July. (down from 180 some missionaries to 154.)

We had zone conferences this week and Mom and I did a power point presentation for the missionaries and it turned out pretty good. We have been taking pictures of the missionaries at their houses each time we visit and we gave them a show during conference. I think they really enjoyed it and it helped take up part of the 20-25 minutes we were given. Mom had her part all written up in Portuguese and did a marvelous job I think. It takes some real courage to get up and talk in a foreign language to about 80 people in each session - all of whom can speak the language you are struggling to speak. I was going to include the presentation here but I am not sure if I can send about forty slides in this posting.

Also this week we had a real tragedy in the mission family. One of the Elders from Utah who has been here about eight months found out (the parents called the President who had the missionary come into the office) that his little eight year old brother had died in a home accident. We talked to the Elder after he found out and he was truly in shock after hearing such terrible news. He has another brother on a mission and the parents wanted both the boys to come home for the funeral on Friday. We are going to pick him up Tuesday at the airport when he returns. The church does not pay for the trip but his parents really wanted him home. He was reluctant to go but honored the wishes of his parents. We hope that focusing on the mission when he returns will comfort his grief and that he can continue strong, serving the Lord here in Recife.

On a happier note we went to dinner with two couples who are temple missionaries last night and had a fun time. They are both from California and one couple goes home in six weeks. They live in very nice temple church housing
The two Elders in the other picture above are the Executive and Financial Secretaries and they are the ones that keep the mission running smoothly. (Elder Paiva and Elder McBride). We pick them up each day, as they live here in Boa Viagem and we pass by their apartment on our way to the office. Elder Paiva is from Sao Paulo and speaks excellent English, Elder McBride is from Tennesee and speaks excellent Portuguese. We love them, they are our good friends.

I think that sums up our week and we both send our love and prayers for the blessings of the Lord to be with each of you.

Dad and Mom, Grandma and Grandpa
Elder and Sister Ivey

The first day of August. In the country 5 months. This last week was an interesting one. Tuesday we had the opportunity to take a new arrival (Sister Taylor from Eager, AZ) to her first assignment in Caruarú. We had no idea how beautiful the countryside is going west of here. We saw and felt it actually change from ''tropical island hot'' to higher mountainous cool with hardly any humidity and nary a palm tree. It was nice to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and breath clean air and drive on a nice road for a few hours. Caruaru is a couple of hours away. We saw the most beautiful sunset as we left there to come back. We´ll hope to find reasons to go out there again. We had every intention to snap some pictures while there and forgot to take out the camera!!

Then on Thursday we drove a companionship of sick Elders home from the office and then again, we took them to the hospital to see the doctor. Turns out that one of them has Dengue Fever and the other one has an intestinal infection (probably food poisoning). We were glad that neither one had the flu and they were not infectious. There have been several people on the mission who have had Dengue Fever (an illness brought on by a specific mosquito which infects people when it bites). Several of them caught it while living in the house these elders live in. It comes with high fevers, very painful joints and severe headaches, and can even be fatal in rare cases if ignored. Elder Henrique dos Santos, who we took to the hospital, received 2 IV’s of fluid. It is easy to become dehydrated because of the vomiting that sometimes comes along with it. Taking them home from the office, we had to pull over while the Elder with food poisoning threw up on the sidewalk. We were glad it was a quiet neighborhood with the houses behind high walls. Our hearts go out to these elders. They've been ordered to stay home for an extended time to get better and that cannot be fun.

Friday we visited and inspected Bom Pastor casa where Elder Johns and Elder Soffiatte live. President and Sister Emerick gave us one of their GPS's which we have been learning how to use. What a blessing it is! It is a great help, took us right to the street where they live, had a hard time finding the right house, but it was much better than Google Maps, and no more guessing at street names (we hope).

It is the weekend and we are both tired today. Yesterday we did our usual P-day work, getting the laundry done and making some food for the coming week. I was so excited to find some celery at the market yesterday and made a Crab Salad to celebrate the find. By the weekend we don’t have much energy to do anything else. Ed keeps saying that we are working hard for a couple of old retired people. I keep forgetting that I am old so am surprised to find myself worn out after a week of missionary work. We definitely don’t keep the same hours and energy levels as the young missionaries, but it feels like we wear out easier.

Still studying and trying to learn Portuguese, our vocabulary is growing but using it feels like it is still done poorly (if at all, in Jessie's case). Reading the Book of Mormon is getting easier. Jessie reports that she is even starting to enjoy reading it in Portuguese.

Our thoughts and prayers are with our family and friends back in the USA and those serving missions in other parts of the world. We missed one of our dear friends' wedding yesterday and would have liked to be there with all our hearts, but that's how it goes! We are grateful to be here right now, serving however we can in the great missionary work of the church. Our lives are being enriched, our love for one another is growing, and we hope that our work is valuable in some way to the Lord. For all that is good in our lives has come from Him and we realize we are, and will always be, in His debt.

We love you all. Yours truly, Elder and Sister Ivey, (Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad)