Week 2

Rainy day in Sao Paolo.

Elder DeGraw in his soccer jersey

Visit to the Campinas temple

Elder DeGraw with his companions and roomates

I {finally} got to video chat with Elder DeGraw yesterday. He said that that morning they went to the Campinas temple-- which is about 2 hours away-- and it was awesome, but as a result, he didnt have much time to do any of the ususal P-Day things. He hadn't even eaten anything other than breakfast because they were traveling. (It was almost 5:00 his time when he called). So... that means no email to post this week, but I wanted to share some of the info that he told me. He said the Campinas temple was beautiful. He liked it a bit more than the Sao Paolo one that he went to last week. He chose to do the session in Portuguese, and was able to follow along well enough.

I asked him about his trip down...

He said on the flight from Idaho Falls to SLC he met another missionary, Elder Christofferson (Elder D Todd Chirstofferson's grandson). When they got to the Salt Lake Airport, they said good-bye. Kyle then flew to JFK and then from JFK to Sao Paolo all on his own. His flight landed at 8 in the morning! Once he made it through customs, he ran into Elder Christofferson again. They waited and waited at the CTM pick up location, but no one was there. The two of them went to Burger King, and came to wait some more. Finally the transport van came-- it had been delayed due to the intruder at the CTM that morning. He said that the drivers are crazy and the traffic was crazy. He finally made it to the CTM around 4 pm. So, he wasn't there when the intruder broke in-- which Kyle said he was so grateful for because everyone who was there (basically everyone) has had to go for a psychological evaluation and (if needed) further counseling.

I asked him about the food...

He said they have panini or pancakes every breakfast. They don't have peanut butter in Brazil, so my parents sent Kyle with a bunch of little PB to-go packs. Kyle said he brought one down to have with his breakfast and everyone was coveting his peanut butter. For lunch they have the main meal. Beans and rice with some type of meat. He said it is good. Dinner they serve American food, but he said they aren't getting it quite right. Its "Brazilian American food". The worst thing hes had so far is hot dogs.

I asked about the CTM and a typical day...

He said they are supposed to speak Portuguese as much as possible. I could tell learning the language (and the pressure to learn the language) has been overwhelming to him. He feels like he isnt getting it as well as others are. I'm sure hes doing better than he realizes, but I feel concerned that my son who has always looked at life with a pretty easy breezy attitude is telling me he is really stressed. He said that they wake up at 6:30, but he is waking at 5:30 to try to study more. They get ready and have breakfast at 7:15. Class from 8:30- lunch, then more class until about 5:00. After 5, they have dinner, exercise, companionship study, etc.. They go to bed around 10:00.On most P-Days they can go out on the streets within a few parameters, and visit shops. He went across the street last week and bought a cookie that was as big as his head.

He said he rooms with his companions (Keyser and Noble) and 2 other missionaries-- one from Brazil and one from Bolivia. I asked their names and he said he didn't know. He said he isn't a huge fan of those two. Kyle has always been my kid who makes friends no matter where we are... so I was surprised by that info.

Lastly, he said that he has had a sore throat since he got there-- so hopefully that clears up!

It was mostly just good to see his smile and hear his laugh. I asked if he was happy and he quickly said yes! He is loving Brazil.

THAT'S MY BOY!