Temple Dedications

"On Thursday I dedicated a member's house. That was kind of weird. We told them that we weren't so much dedicating the building as we were the people in it. They needed to be at their best for their house to have the Spirit of the Lord in it. Just like the Temple, if the Saints go to the Temple just for the food at the cafeteria, they are forgetting the whole meaning and the Temple is really of no value. People must be dedicated to the work that goes on inside the building, not the building itself. That could be wrong, but it's what I think is right."

A temple dedication is a supremely sacred ceremonial enactment in the Church, which consecrates the building to the Lord before the beginning of temple ordinance work. From the time of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836, one hundred twenty-four LDS temples have been dedicated.

LDS Temple Dedications

Churrasco

"Elder Jones and I eat tons of food on the street. We've decided it's one of the best parts of our downtown area. Our favorite has to be the Churrasco Grego which is this sandwich with this hot sliced meat and some chopped up "greens" that we smother with hot sauce. Its cheap."

More than 400 years ago cattle ranching was introduced to the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil. Gauchos herded these cattle and created a new style of cooking. They called it Churrasco, which is Brazilian Barbecue. Churrasco started in the 16th and 17th centuries and spread throughout all of Brazil in the 1940's as the Gauchos spread across the country.

Churrasco is much more than a way of cooking in Rio Grande do Sul it's a way of life. The Barbecue capital of Brazil is the city of Nova Brescia which has a statue of a man cooking barbecue in the central plaza. In the 1940's this city had a population of about 150,000. Since then the population has dropped to about 30,000 due to the mass exodus of people leaving to open Barbecue restaurants across Brazil.

All meats are cooked on long skewers placed on racks over the fire with fattier items placed on top so that the juices will drip down and flavor the other cuts. When the meats are cooked waiters carry the skewers around table to table carving off pieces onto your plate. Without moving from your table you can experience virtually unlimited dishes until your stomach fails you and it's time to lumber home. This is truly a great dining experience.

Thanksgiving

"Can you believe that Thanksgiving is upon us again? Wow, time is sure flying. Elder Jones and I are inviting Elder Smith and Elder Barney over, two really funny missionaries from our zone over for some chicken, stuffing and the fixings. It is going to be really cool."

"There is sure a lot to be thankful for this year. I am really thankful that I am on a mission and serving the Lord. It is exhilirating! It isn't that knock on the door and tell people that we are missionaries thing. It really is fun to go out and work with Elder Jones and bring them the good news of the Gospel. I'm really thankful for this chance I am having."

"I am thankful, this time of year, for all you have done supporting me on my mission. You have all helped me out from the day I was born to the day I was baptized to the day I went on a mission and beyond. And I am not just talking to my family and friends, but everyone that reads this e-mail. You have all been my support for so long and I could never pay you back. Thank you so much. I love you all. Have a good Thanksgiving and eat some of those green beans with the crunchy things on them in my honor."

My Neighborhood

"We are going to go to the Sao Paulo Cultural Center today. It's like two minutes from our house on foot. We also live next to a famous hospital called the Beneficência Portuguesa. We live across the street from it."

Centro Cultural São Paulo was inaugurated on May 13, 1982 and it was initially conceived to shelter an extension of Biblioteca Mário de Andrade (Mario de Andrade's Library), but the project gained new dimensions and it transformed itself in one of the first venues for multidisciplinary culture in the country. Throughout the years CCSP became a support pole to experimental productions, a point for artists' encounter, a place for coexistence that gained the face of an extension of people's house. It receives 800 thousand users a year, a visitation comparable to the largest museums and cultural centers around the world.

Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa is considered one of the largest medical centers of Latin America. The hospital has great prominence in the areas of cardiac, neurological surgery and transplants.

Military Service And The LDS Church

"I went on a division with Elder Stokes, from Pocatello, Idaho yesterday. He was in the military before the mission, so he is really disciplined and the missionary regimen was no sweat for him. He was in Iraq last year but got home in time to do some school and now he's in the only Army that counts, the Lord's! I was really impressed by him."

Although the Church is opposed to war and recognizes that going to war is a very poor alternative in resolving conflicts, tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints have served their countries' armed forces, sometimes even fighting in opposing forces, especially in World War II. The Church considers being loyal citizens to be a duty of its members, irrespective of nationality. Responding to a call for military service is one appropriate manner of fulfilling this duty of citizenship.

Military Service and the LDS Church

Family Responsibilities

"We are teaching a really cool family. It is a mom, her next-door neighbor, and her daughter, by the names of Jeçi, Fatima and Gabriela. They came to church on Sunday and loved the Gospel Principles class about Family Responsibilities."

Each person has an important place in his or her family. Through prophets the Lord has explained how fathers, mothers, and children should behave and feel toward one another. As husbands, wives, and children we need to learn what the Lord expects us to do to fulfill our purpose as a family. If we all do our part, we will be able to live together as a family forever.

A loving and happy family does not happen by accident. Each person in the family must do his or her part. The Lord has given responsibilities to both parents and children. The scriptures teach that we must be thoughtful, cheerful, and considerate of others. When we speak, pray, sing, or work together, we can enjoy the blessings of harmony in our families.

Family Responsibilities

Proclamação da República

"So today Elder Jones and I are at the worst internet cafe in the world. It is some holiday and the good internet places are all closed. It's wierd at how much closes on holidays and on Sundays down here, yet about everyone we teach is never home for the holidays and they all work on Sundays. Its a vicous cycle I tell ya."

The holiday that Curtis is talking about is Proclamation of the Republic Day - November 15. Brazil was proclaimed a republic on this day in 1889, after the demise of Pedro II, emperor of Brazil since 1840. A military rule was then imposed for the next four years until general elections were organized in 1893. On Proclamação da República large celebrations are organized throughout the country. The largest celebrations are held in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. On this national holiday, Brazilian flags are displayed.

Brazil Public Holidays 2006

January 1 New Year's Day
Jan 20 Founding of Rio de Janeiro (Regional)
Jan 25 Founding of São Paulo (Regional)
Feb 25 - Mar 1 Carnival
Apr 14 Good Friday
Apr 21 Tiradentes Day
May 1 Labor Day
Jun 5 Corpus Christi
Sep 7 Independence Day
Oct 12 Our Lady Aparecida, Patron Saint of Brazil
Nov 2 All Souls’ Day
Nov 15 Proclamation of the Republic Day
Dec 24 Christmas Eve (1/2 day)
Dec 25 Christmas Day
Dec 31 New Year’s Eve (1/2 day).

Horizontal Rain

"Brasil has been quite cold recently, especially here in Sao Paulo. But that's not how the whole week was. The first part of it was warm and then on Saturday night there was a cloud hanging over the city that looked like the mother ship from the movie Independence Day and the rain and cold hasn't stopped since. On Sunday it was seriously horizontally raining. I thought that was something invented for science fiction movies, but oh, how wrong I was."

Sao Paulo Climate

Though generally considered by Brazilians to be drizzly and rather cool, São Paulo's climate is by world standards actually warm and mild. Summer temperatures seldom reach 30°C (86°F), while frost is extremely rare. All-time record temperatures are 38°C (100°F) and -2°C (28°F). Rainfall is abundant, especially in the warmer months. Snow flurries were reported on one occasion in 1918. Neither São Paulo or the nearby coast has ever been hit by a tropical cyclones, while tornadic activity is uncommon.

Knocking Doors In Vila Mariana

"But for now, I am down here knocking doors in Vila Mariana with Elder Jones. A post about missionaries knocking doors would be quite the laugh. Just ask Detrick, he did it for about 75 percent of his two years up there in Canada."

"I Stand at the Door, and Knock"
by Elder Ronald T. Halverson
Of the Seventy

Elections In Brazil

"How was your week? Was it as nerve-racking and ever so sweet as mine was? Since I am very doubt-filled I thought a bunch of things would happen that I didn't want to, but somehow my faith was strong enough and much good came out of the week. After a transfer, a trip to McDonald's, and a Presidential Election, the week turned out to be excellent. I am still in Vila Mariana and Elder Jones is still my companion, which is great."

Brazil elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a four-year term by the people. The National Congress (Congresso Nacional) has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) has 513 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. The Federal Senate (Senado Federal) has 81 members, elected for an eight-year term, with elections every four years for alternatively one-third and two-third of the seats. Brazil has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which often no one party has a chance of gaining power alone, and so must work with each other to form coalition governments.

"Brasil re-elected Lula as President of the Republic on Sunday. He's cool because he has a sweet beard, just like I will one day have."

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva

Born: October 1945
Birthplace: Vargem Grande, Brazil
President of Brazil, 2002-present

Luis Inacio "Lula" da Silva was elected president of Brazil in 2002. He was a populist left-wing candidate, leading a coalition of parties behind the banner of the Partidos Trabalhadores (PT, or Labor Party). Da Silva was born into poverty and trained as a metalworker, gradually becoming active in the Metalworker's Union. He was elected president of the union in 1975. He was a prominent labor spokesman during a series of strikes (1978-81) and became a co-founder of the PT. He was elected to the country's House of Representatives in 1986 and in 1990 made his first of three unsuccessful runs at the presidency. Lula was finally elected in 2002 on a platform of economic and political reform, promising especially to attack hunger in Brazil. He ran for reelection in 2006; despite a corruption scandal that tarnished his reputation as a reformer, he beat challenger Geraldo Alckmin in October of 2006 for a second term.

He legally adopted the nickname Lula in 1982; the name, a play on his first name of Luis, means "squid" in Portuguese.

A Young WhipperSnapper

"We are going to baptize a little dude by the name of Lucas on Sunday. He reminds me of me when I was a young whippersnapper looking for the True Church. I always knew which one it was, I just had to wait for the Elders to pass by and start shooting hoops with me. Good old Elder Lewis and Elder Da Silva, they sure have changed my life."

(one week later)

"The baptism on Saturday was great. Lucas was pretty excited and after some minor font problems, we filled, heated, and baptized in it. It was really cool to do. I just look at him as the guy who could one day go on a mission and baptize a whole bunch and then do his family history and the results never end and lives never stop being changed. Thats how I look at each and every baptism I've had."

Curtis grew up and became the guy that when on a mission, baptized people, and changed their lives. Maybe Lucas will do the same.