Beggin' for Bags

If anybody has luggage they are thinking of tossing, please toss it our way. We are trying to round up some luggage to give missionaries leaving from the stakes in Fortaleza. Good luggage is expensive here, and it is hard for them to afford it. If anybody has luggage you no longer use or want, we could put it to good use.

If you don't have any you are getting rid of, please keep your eyes open if you go to DI or garage sales or other second-hand places. All we need is sturdy luggage that has some good use left in it. It doesn't have to be up-to-date or fancy or anything other than functional. When parents come from the U. S. to pick up their missionaries they can bring the suitcases down to us. The bonus is that we can have our kids (Rebecca, being the project manager) fill them with stuff we want. Did I say want? I meant need. That way you can accomplish two acts of charity with one suitcase.

Two elders have parents coming the first of December and Mom and Ellen are coming at Christmas, so we already have some carriers lined up. Post a comment or let one of our kids know and we will be glad to take your old luggage off your hands.

Thanks for your support!

I'd Love to See the Temple

In case you missed it in the first session of conference Saturday, a temple was announced for Fortaleza! We tried to look up how long it takes from the announcement to the ground-breaking to completion, but I think it varies a lot from temple to temple. Of course, we are very excited about it and so are the members here. We heard people were cheering and hugging and that there were other displays of emotion and celebration at the stake centers around the city when the announcement was made. We missed out on that because we were watching conference at home on the computer. We had our own little celebration; nothing elaborate, just a little Woot! Woot! and maybe a high five. I guess we North Americans aren't quite as demonstrative as the Brazilians.

Right now the members here travel to Recife to go to the temple. They hire buses and people go for about a week at a time. I have heard people say how grateful they are that they are only 12 hours away from a temple. (How spoiled did that make me feel?) On a really good day, you know one without any sheep or cows on the road, I'll bet I could have been to the Idaho Falls Temple in 12 minutes!

Anyway, it's exciting news and we just wanted to share it. The work is moving forward!