Campinhas Temple

Yesterday, aside from the fun rain adventure, we went to Campinhas to go to the temple and then out to dinner. It's only a little over an hour away from Sao Paulo. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to see another one of the temples here in Brazil. Plus, the past few days I've been missing home a lot and I figured going to the temple would be a nice, peaceful break from the stress of class and crowded streets. The temple was built in a really pretty spot, it's up on a hill and you can see it as you're coming in on the highway...very different from the Sao Paulo temple which is on a really busy street.

We were able to spend about 20 minutes walking around outside and taking pictures before it was time for Rebecca and I to head to the baptistry. I was a bit nervous that no other girls were going with us just because I wasn't sure about my Portuguese, but there was an older sister missionary (on a mission with her husband) from Bountiful, Utah and she was very excited to find some people who spoke English! They've been in Brazil for 6 months, but her Portuguese is pretty limited. You could tell that she loved serving in the temple, but that it was also hard to be away from home and her grandkids. The Campinhas temple (at least what I saw) is beautiful inside and we had a really good experience. When we got out, the rest of the group had barely started a session so we ended up having almost 2 hours to spend hanging out while we waited for them.

Rebecca and I decided to walk around outside again and I'm so glad we did. When we walked out of the temple, everything seemed perfect! It was at the end of sunset, so still light enough to take pictures, but the sky was also really pretty colors. The temperature was great and there weren't many people around at all, except for a woman with these four little girls (under 5). The girls were singing and dancing around by this water fountain and it just seemed like the most pure, innocent picture. One of those simple, perfect moments when I could easily imagine God looking down from heaven with a big smile on his face, watching these beautiful, happy little girls.

We could see quite a bit of lightning off in the distance and tried in vain to capture a picture of it. We walked around to the back of the temple to get a better view, but not long after that it began to rain. We waited inside the rest of the time and I was able to get ahead on some scripture reading. By the time we made it to dinner, and then back to Sao Paulo, it was pretty late and I had a headache and was very ready for bed, but it was a wonderful evening. Probably one of my favorites of the trip, simply because of how peaceful it was. All in all, quite the adventure filled day!

I now only have a week of class left. We're leaving for Ubatuba tomorrow morning, just staying for the weekend. Next Thursday is my last day of class and then a few days later I fly home. I can't believe it's almost done, but I'm excited to go home. The next week is going to be crazy busy though, so hopefully I'll make it through!