mini mission before his actual mission and lived with Nate and his companion. They became good friends. Nate was so happy to see him again and meet his family. They were so sweet. We brought Salt Lake Temple puzzles with us to give away and their little girls loved it. They had gifts for us too, one of which was a soccer jersey for the local team with Nate's name on the back. Nate was so touched. We had a great visit and lunch with them and said our goodbyes with the hope that we will see them again. They want to come to Utah and we told them they could stay with us and we'd show them around. I hope they can make it happen.
Our next stop was Coite. We met a couple of families there at their beautiful new church building. Nate was blown away that they have a chapel now. We first met Erivaldo and his family. Nate baptized Erivaldo. He was a minister for another church when Nate met him. Nate was so impressed with his faith and how readily he accepted the gospel. He currently serves on the High Council in the stake there. We also met up with Erivaldo's sister Elivania and her family. Her husband is serving as a bishop in the stake. And we saw Erivaldo's mother and a few other members that Nate knew when he served there. We had a really nice visit at the chapel. I noticed how both of the bishops we saw at their church buildings that day and the night before were in their white shirts. They were busy doing their callings even on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon and they were dressed appropriately to show their respect. It was an impressive example and made me think how we may sometimes get a little too casual with things like that where we live. I also noticed, however, how the little kids in the chapel kept running up to talk in the microphone just like they do here and also how the sisters from the Relief Society were busy setting up for the Relief Society birthday dinner that night just like we do here. And I took pictures of the Primary room and the Young Women's room to show our kids how similar they were. I've always heard how the church is the same all around the world, but to actually see it was pretty cool. Again and again while we were in Bahia I was struck by how similar we all are even in very different parts of the world. Heavenly Father loves His children all over the world and wants to bless them. I am so grateful we got to witness some of those blessings. And I'm so grateful that Nate was able to be a part of some of those blessings.
Before we left, Erivaldo went with us on a drive around the city. Nate was surprised by what had changed but also what hadn't changed. It had been almost two decades since he'd been there, but I'm sure in some ways it felt like yesterday.
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