We Made It!

Today we spent our first day with Jerry and Gail Heiderich in Itu, Brazil.  They drove an hour and a half from Itu to pick us up early this morning from the airport in Sao Paulo.  On the drive back to Itu I was blessed to get to know Jerry a bit and pick his brain about Itu, their family, and their work.  He graciously fielded the flood of questions.
Itu is very small compared the Blumes' city Porto Alegre.  Itu is about the size of Abilene, Texas, while Porto Alegre contains 1.5 million people.  If you didn't know, Summertime in the US is winter in the southern hemisphere and the directional change in temperature is reversed.  The farther south you go, the colder it gets.  Porto Alegre is close to the southern border of Brazil, while Itu is closer to the middle.  Last Summer in Porto Alegre we bundled up and filled hot water bottles to sleep with.  The Heiderichs have never really needed to do that in Itu.
When we arrived to their house, Gail cooked a delicious meal for us before they showed us around town.  First we went to Mark and Ali's house where we met with them and a few of the Aggies.  My friend Daniel Sancho was also there!  Then we went to the town square to look around.  Itu proclaims itself as the town of "big things."  In the square there were a few giant telephones, a giant stoplight, a giant bench, and some giant pencils.  There are also a few stores where you can buy Itu souvenirs like giant scissors, giant pencils, giant cigars, etc.  After that we took a trip to Walmart, yes Walmart, for some supplies went to a paneria (bakery) where we picked up some bread.  We also got to eat a bowl of frozen açaí (small blueberry-like fruit) with strawberries, bananas, and granola.  It was so good. 
We have already had a blast being with the Heiderichs on our first day and we are so excited! 
Sorry that I don't have any pictures from today, I didn't bring my camera on this outing.  There will be lots though!