Other than being amazing, we learned quite a few lessons about traveling. Such as:
A. Always have a plan B... and maybe even a C.
B. It will always cost more than you imagine.
C. This one we already knew, but it has been reiterated of just how many wonderful people there are in the world. Cuiaba was simply perfect. It is so amazing how two little small town kids from Utah and Idaho were called on missions to a rural city in Brazil and made such lasting friendships with so many wonderful people. We had conversations that felt like we just left yesterday. We have very different backgrounds but the gospel brings everyone together.
We had been planning this trip for a long time with some really good friends of ours, Jason and Brooke. Jason served in our mission the same time we did and is in the Accounting program with Dustin here at BYU. They were AWESOME travel companions!
I want to focus most of the trip on the part to Cuiaba since that was the highlight of the trip. But I will give a little synopsis of Sao Paulo. We arrived and first thing had an authentic plate of Brazilian food. We spent most of the day lost in the car but we enjoyed being in the city, the language, and the culture again.
The next day we enjoyed a nice walk through the city and visited the Parque Ibirapuera. I enjoyed a nice coconut water straight from the coconut. The weather was perfect and we had such a good time relaxing and enjoying the vacation.
Later that night we got a rental car and headed out to a city outside of Sao Paulo called Peruibe. We had to wait on a friend to take us there and didn't get there until 4AM! Boy were we tired. Then we woke up at 7AM the next day to go see some waterfalls. It was pretty and we got in the water and there were fish swimming all around our legs. Afterwards, we stopped by the beach and ahhhhhh.... it was so nice! We ate at a seaside restaurant and walked around and chatted. I love the beach. It is just so pretty and calming.
On the ride home we stopped to get a Passion Fruit Fanta soda. That became a favorite on the trip. I was eating anything passion fruit I could find. That is my absolute favorite taste from Brazil and I enjoyed every minute of it!
Next thing we knew we were on a plane headed to Cuiaba!!!! Funniest thing happened. We got off the plane and almost suffocated from the humidity... but that's not the funny part. The new missionaries got off their flight at the same time! haha... So, after getting our bags, we met the new mission president and his wife. They seemed like wonderful people and I hope they are enjoying their experience. We were also met by a good friend Alessandra. She was amazing during our trip. Gave us a phone to use while we were there, helped us get everything to our hotel, and then took us out to our first visit.
First visit was lunch at Rosana and Wagner's house. When we arrived in Cuiaba I had a message from Wagner saying to pick anything we wanted for lunch. I served in their ward for 6 months and when I got that message it was like I was back again because that is exactly what he would say each time we were going to eat at their house. And boy can Rosana cook! She is one of the best cooks in Cuiaba! And sure enough when we got there she had prepared everything we had requested and more. It was delicious!!
When I had left the mission, Wagner had told me that if I come back there always will be a hammock there waiting for me! Sure enough after we ate we all went out on their back porch and talked and laughed and I reclined in the most comfortable hammock. Ahhh... it was amazing! A bunch of the ward members that I loved came by and visited too. Cleide, Oriones, Vera... It was so much fun and ended all too soon.
We met back up with Jason and Brooke and had some acai for a late night snack. It was so delicious! I had only had acai once that I remember. This acai was like a straight acai frozen yogurt base with yummy yummy diced fresh fruit on top. If I hadn't been so full from the wonderful lunch we had eaten I could have eaten a huge bowl but I was so so full that Dustin and I had to share. I had to laugh at how we had so many places we wanted to eat at when we were planning the trip but when we got there our stomachs just weren't big enough and we barely made it to 1/2 of the places we were planning!
The next morning we woke up early and headed to see some of the sights that Cuiaba is famous for. We went hiking, saw lots and lots of parrots, and saw more waterfalls. It was amazing what beautiful sights there were to see that I had no idea even existed! Brazil is a beautiful place. I am so grateful we had the opportunity to go back and visit the people we love and also see some of the beautiful places that surround the area.
This day was also wonderful for me because I was able to meet a lot of the people that Dustin taught in some of the areas he served in. Pablo picked us up and took us to his house where Tanny and Taina were waiting. Tanny had made a delicious dinner of cachorro quente, Brazilian style hot-dogs, guarana, and passion fruit cake. They are such a sweet family and their little girl is adorable! She is a sweet little Brazilian Shirley Temple. Perfect curly hair and blue eyes. I just couldn't get enough of her. :)
Josania, Jard, Julia, and Zilma are another special family we met us with at the church that evening. Josania and Jard are getting ready to serve their missions. What a special family! Dustin always tells me stories about how great they are and I finally got to meet them and see why. The visit with them wasn't long enough so we made plans to spend our last day with them as well.
The next day we were able to make a few more visits around the Cuiaba area and at least visit on the phone with some people we wouldn't get to see. Alex, Elaine, and their children, Mendonca, and Evanilce. It was raining that evening and in Cuiaba the world basically stops when it rains so we waited about 2 hours for everyone to show up. But it was worth it 1,000 times over! I met up with Evanilce and got to talk to her one on one for about an hour. She is such an amazing lady! She was baptized the Sunday before I went home and I couldn't have asked for a better finale to my mission. She is doing so well and just talking to her made the trip worth it. :) I said that at least once a day during the trip how basically each thing we were able to do had made the trip worth it. Anyways, it was almost as if everyone had it planned because as soon as Evanilce had to leave Vicentina and Nilza arrived! Nilza is such a sweetheart and so easy to talk to and Vicentina couldn't stop hugging me! She is 75 years old and goes to church every Sunday by herself! I had so much fun catching up with them.
After everyone had to go home we went out to pizza with the bishop and his family who had organized so we could all meet at the church. Dustin had served in the area and really had become friends with him and his family. It was amazing pizza and now just another thing that I miss! I had a chicken stroganoff pizza that I have no idea how they make... but after some thinking I am going to have to make a knock-off version. They just spoiled us and some of the ward members came and we visited until we were too tired to stay any longer! It was so hard to say goodbye to our last night.
All too soon it was time to face our last day and get packed and ready to leave our hotel. But we got packed and headed out for our last visits! Dustin and I went to visit Zilma, Josania, Jard, and Julia. They made us a special lunch of Brazilian tapioca with meat fillings and sweet fillings. Once again just spending the afternoon with these people that are so special to Dustin made the trip worth it. They were so inviting and made us feel so special to be with them.
It wasn't until we made it to the airport and got ready to leave that I was getting really homesick for my little Luke. The plane just wouldn't go fast enough! Dustin and I had decided that we would play a little game as to who he would go to when he saw us. We decided we would both reach out to him and see who he reached to... well, poor thing got so confused he started crying! But after a few minutes he was all laughs and smiles the rest of the day! It was so good to be back with our little man. He will hardly let me out of his sight now... he has turned into my little shadow and I am loving it.
And that is it! Our trip of a lifetime has come and gone and only left us with wonderful memories and wanting more. Only time will tell what the future holds. :)
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