Verae and the Banannas

A few days ago we went for one of our walks. Still on the temple property.  This picture was taken at the bottom of the temple hill and looks opposite direction from the temple.

 I always seem to catch Verae with her eyes closed, but you get the idea of the size of the tree.  There are quite a few of them in this area.  I bet you can't find the bananas in this photo.  They are just above the big leaf hanging down.  This is why I didn't see them the first time I went down to this area to take pictures.

This picture is a close up of another tree and as you can see there big stem hangs down with a purple bulb/ flower at the bottom.  You need to click on the picture to enlarge it and then you can see the bananas grow curling up from this stem.

Verae was so fascinated with this little flower/ bulb she took some pictures of just this part of the tree.



One more final picture of the temple on our way back up the hill.  It is about a ten minute walk to the bottom of the hill, but about twenty five minutes to climb back up it.  It is a pretty good work out for our hearts.

The Portuguese language is coming along pretty well, a bit faster than I thought it would. Verae can't see her progress yet, but I can see here becoming more at ease with it.  She can read and pronounce all the ordinances she is supposed to do and goes alone on sessions as a worker and helps at the veil.  I am being trained as a coordinator.  One difference I notice at this temple, from the other temples I have worked at, is that  buses arrive with officiators and patrons in the caravan.  We help those who come to do all the ordinances.  These caravans come and stay up to a week and then return home again.  For many it is a 2 day trip to get here and for others, it is longer.  There is housing for them here on the temple grounds.
The temple here in Campinas server members from 94 stakes and districts from 10 of the 27 states and the federal district.  They are:
São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Federal District (Brazilia), Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Acre and Tocantins.

The distance from Acre to Campinas is about 2000 miles or the same as from San Francisco to Chicago.