Music In The Morning

"The rules have changed in Sao Paulo East. We can now listen to music every day in the morning, but the sad thing is that I only have three music tapes. Could you send me a few more, maybe of a mens choir and one of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? It still has to be hymns, but now it's hymns...more often, which is quite sweet. There is a way cool hymn thats only in the Portuguese hymnbook called "Ide por todo o mundo" , #163, and if you can find it you should download it and listen to it. It's cool, really upbeat and about missionary work."

If anyone has an LDS music cassette tape that they can part with, I'm sure Curtis would like it. You can mail it to him or bring it to me and I will send it to him.

Music on cassette at DeseretBook.com

Taubaté, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Taubaté is a city in the State of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. Its strategic geographical location, between the two most important Brazilian cities (São Paulo (123 km) and Rio de Janeiro) (280km), and between high and cold mountains and the Atlantic Ocean has helped the development of the city. The city has over 250,000 inhabitants and has become an industrial center, seating branches of several companies, including Volkswagen, Ford, LG, among many others.

Taubaté is also an university city, which attracts young people from all over the country who comes to study in one of its many colleges, such as Medical School, Law, Dentistry, Engineering, Business Management, of the Universidade de Taubate.

Undoubtedly, Taubaté plays an important role in this part of Brazil.

Official Taubaté Website

Where is Curtis Now?

Curtis has been transferred. This is where he's at now.



"My new area is Taubaté - it's in the Guaratinguetá zone. Sound familiar? Cruzeiro is on the east side of this zone and the Taubaté is on the west. I think if we work hard this could be my favorite area yet."
(click image for larger view)

Saying Prayers

(Elder Pieper - bottom, Elder Tonks - top)

LDS Prophet Joseph Smith taught:

"The things of God are of great import; and time, and experience, and careful, and ponderous, and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, oh man, if thou wilt lead a man unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanses of eternity; thou must commune with God!"

Latter-day Saints find great meaning in prayer, study, and meditation, as properly directed prayer and meditation can help us to achieve inner peace and to better serve our fellow man.

Avenida Paulista

This is the area of Sao Paulo where Curtis has gone for doctor's appointments.

Long and straight and set on a ridge above surrounding neighborhoods, the Avenida Paulista was once lined by the proud mansions of coffee barons and rich industrialists, but now boasts rank upon rank of skyscrapers, the headquarters of the city's powerful banking and financial interests. It's generally regarded as the most expensive real estate anywhere in Latin America. Along the adjacent side streets there are numerous hotels catering to business travelers. Halfway along the street is São Paulo's top-notch Museum of Art, known by its Portuguese acronym as MASP. Avenida Paulista also effectively marks the border between the older working-class areas and the newer middle-class neighborhoods.

Pictures and Comments

Curtis usually sends me several pictures with his email each week. He includes comments as to what the pictures are. I made another website to put these picture and comments on. The address is http://tonksmissionpix.blogspot.com. Click on each individual picture to make it larger. He also sends pictures home on his camera card. The link to those pictures is still on the right side of this page under Links.

Curtis' Mission Picture Blog

Mans Search for Divine Truth

"Did you read that talk on the internet from the October 2005 Conference by Elder Charles Didier called "Mans Search for Divine Truth"? I've started to apply what Elder Didier said, but I'm still in the testing stages with a lot of stuff, we will see what happens."

Following the Lord's pattern to hear and give heed to divine truth will help you build a personal spiritual foundation and determine what you will become.

Click here to read Elder Didier's talk.

The History Of The LDS Church In Brazil

(Click graph to enlarge.)
The LDS Church first came to Brazil in 1928, when several German converts emigrated to the German colonies in the southern states of Brazil and asked the Church for materials to teach their children. The Church grew slowly in Brazil until the 1960s and 1970s, when great numbers of Brazilians began joining. The first mission was divided to make new missions, stakes were organized and then divided, and in 1985 Brazil became an area with a resident area presidency of General Authorities. In January 1991 Brazil had an LDS temple, an area presidency, 12 missions, more than 2,100 LDS missionaries (over half local Brazilians), 87 stakes and districts, and over 800 wards and branches serving 366,000 members of the Church.

Click here to read an article about the Church in Brazil

Melissa Anderson

"Melissa Anderson is a way cool girl, she is my hero. She is so sincere and nice about things. She knows lots of my friends. She had a few classes with me, took me to a dance, took Detrick to a dance, worked with him and Brody at Hogi Yogi and is good friends with Jessica Junk. I wrote her an 8 page letter a few months ago. Long, but she writes me a lot and puts tons of good song lyrics in them. And tells me the latest - she is great. Melissa sent me a large package yesterday filled with tons of stuff. So if you see her tell her I send a hug. That sounds weird, send a hug, but in Portuguese you say "manda um abraço" and you can say it to anyone."

Brazilian Samba & Bossa Nova

"I heard a bunch of Samba yesterday and I really liked it. We heard it on the city bus on the way to zone conference. They have some other musical styles that I really like too."

Brazil is the birth place of the Samba. Much of the music in the heavily populated coastal areas shows a remarkable combination of African, Native Indian, and Iberian influences. Modern Samba was developed from an earlier Brazilian musical style called Choro. Both Samba the dance and music can take many forms, from the vivacious call response of samba de enredo, the music of Carnaval to samba-cancon or song samba, a more relaxed guitar and rhythm variant. Bossa Nova, which translates to New Wave, hit America big time in the Sixties with "The Girl From Ipanema". This song by the legendary composer Antonio Carlos Jobim became a classic in jazz and elevator music.

Listen to the Bossa Nova hit Aganju by Bebel Gilberto.