Holidays with Friends and Family!

This holiday season, I was so blessed to be able to see so many family and friends. I traveled back to Utah and stayed with family for 12 days (Thank you Matt and Brittney!). I arrived on December 15 after a pleasant trip. I had Christmas presents for family members in my bags and a few clothes. In addition, I had a few presents other Senior Missionaries wanted me to take to the States for them. I was happy to do this, although it was a challenge to deal with two big (50 pound) suitcases, one regular suitcase, and one large bag! I arrived in Salt Lake around 11:30 am and Brittney got me at the airport. Since I was hungry, she asked me where I wanted to go and I chose Cafe Rio- I have missed that! It was wonderful!

December 16

I was able to use one of their cars to run errands. It was so great to be able to drive to the store, see what I wanted on the shelves, buy it, and drive it back home! I had a list of things that I wanted (my favorite brand of toothpaste, pump hair spray) and some things that other missionaries had requested that I bring back for them. I felt a little like Santa Claus, bringing presents! I also got my hair cut (hooray!). I hadn't gotten a good haircut in Brazil and my hair was looking pretty shaggy!

December 18

Today was a wonderful day. I went to two sacrament meetings- the first with Matt and Brittney in the early morning and then went to church with friends in my old ward. In the second sacrament meeting, we listened to Bishop England (our former bishop) and then the closing talk was President M. Russell Ballard (who is a member of the ward). He just gave what I call a "Grand Old Man" talk, where he just tells stories. Although the main point of his talk was that at Christmas, we need to remember that the Savior said, "Send me." We also need to remember all those two words entailed for Him. But he also told stories about having been a junior companion to LeGrand Richards for many years and being trained by him. He said that he has now been traveling for 48 years and has been to nearly every country in the world. One of the things he has learned is to work with translators who translated his words into many languages. He said that wherever he is, once he begins talking about the Savior Jesus Christ, a different spirit settles on the translator and on the congregation and there is more understanding.

December 19

My fiftieth wedding anniversary. I had thought that it might be a sad day, but it was a happy day! Yesterday, I had a zoom call with just my children (and their spouses) and me. With no grandkids there, it was a quieter call, just reminiscing and seeing how everyone is doing. The highlight for me was when Matt, Joseph, and Sarah said how happy they were to be in our family and to have Wayne and me as their parents. That meant so much to me!

Today, I had lunch with some famiy members and then, we had our traditional $10 night with other family members. On $10 night, we each get $10 to spend on soemone in the family whose name we choose out of a hat. It is a tradition we had had for over 40 years! We ended the day at a frozen yogurt place where we exchanged presents.  It was a really fun day that seemed full of love! (Thank you Matt and Brittney for organizing so many fun activities!

It has been a bit of an adjustment to the cold. It was 12 degrees outside!  And then the furnace went out and was out for four days! It took that long to get the needed part. During that time, the house was around 50-55 degrees. I was so cold- Matt and Brittney let me have one of the two space heaters they had, but it only heated about one foot out from the heater. I was dreaming of the warmth in Brazil!

Other fun things I did while in Utah-

• I also had lunch with Matt - we both love sushi, so of course, we had that. And talking with him is such a treat! He always is thinking outside the box, so a conversation with him is always full of new ideas and new ways of doing things.
• The whole South Jordan Cheek family went to an improv comedy club in Provo one night. I really liked that!
• I also had a dental appointment come up while I was there and so I got my teeth cleaned!
• I was able to exchange presents with the South Jordan Cheeks (Matt's and Brittney's family) on December 23 and Christmas Eve. I then exchanged presents with the Provo Cheeks at Joseph's and Rosa's new home on Christmas Day. I was so happy to give the gifts that I had collected for each person over the past two months. I searched to find just the right gift and I was so happy that they liked them!
• Lastly, I connected with some good friends. I didn't have time to see everyone I wanted to see, but I was so happy to see those I could.

I can't talk about going home without talking about the big event- the wedding! It is the reason that I was able to come home.

Simon and Kayla were married on December 21 and it was a wonderful day! All the family was there, with the exception of Sarah and Jack in the UK. Simon looked so happy, as did all the family. And Kayla and her family looked equally happy. I think Simon married into a very friendly and loving family. It was great to see nearly all of my family at Simon's wedding  It felt like a gift for my anniversary to see my family all together and happy.

The next day, some of the Atlanta Cheeks and I went to the Tree of Life (a favorite place of mine) and had an evening on Temple Square. There, another favorite thing happened! While Liza and Rachel toured the Tabernacle, Will and I sang along with a choir of sister missionaries on Temple Square. We sang Christmas Carols. It was wonderful to be singing among all the Christmas Lights in the evening in such a special place. I would rather sing than eat, or do almost anything else, so this was super special to me!

I started loading up the suitcases with things to bring back to  other missionaries in Brazil, like A&W root beer (yes, I did fit three bottles of A&W into my suitcase!), Stephen's Cocoa Mix, Ivory Soap , some games, some jigsaw puzzles . I also got a new telephone for me. It is a Google Pixel 7, supposed to be the best translating phone (to help me learn Portuguese).

My trip back to Brazil was rougher than the trip to Utah. I got as far as Miami all right, but then my flight was delayed 9 hours. It would have been all right if I had known at the beginning that it would be nine hours, but first it was two hours, then 6, then 7, then 8, and finally 9 hours. The good news was that it was a mechanical issue, so I could get a hotel voucher. The bad news is that all the hotels that were close were full and I had to get an Uber to one further out. (I hope to get reimbursed for that expense). Because I didn't know of all the delays, I thought I had to be heading back to the airport at 4 am. I was able to get one of the last three rooms in the hotel and could only sleep for 2 hours - but I was safe and not having to stay in the airport overnight by myself. I finally got home around 9 pm on December 27. It was a total of 27 hours of traveling. But my bags didn't get lost!

Then on December 28, I was visited by Silvio and Norma Guimarães and their children. We went to lunch at a really good Lebanese restaurant in São Paulo and had gelato afterwards. It was a wonderful afternoon, but I was really jet lagged!

December 31

I still am somewhat jet lagged today, but it is getting better. I found I had real problem with my legs from sitting too long- the insides of my ankles broke out in big red spots and bruises from lack of circulation, and my legs started swelling. The swelling is going down now and the red spots are fading. I am working hard to strengthen my leg muscles from now on. I will also take aspirin and wear compression stockings when on planes from now on. I hate to admit it, but I am getting older.

We went to a churrascaria (Brazilian Barbecue) this evening. Almost everything was closed for New Year’s Eve, so we were fortunate to have it open. But we arrived at seven and it didn’t open until 8. But silver-tongued Elder Muse got them to let us in early and we had the restaurant to ourselves! What a treat! A great way to end the year!

Happy 2023 to all of you!