Recife, Brazil (continued)

Thu Dec 1
Well this was the big day we have looked forward to for the entire trip. We arrived in Recife and all went well hooking up with the remaining Porciuncula family. Two family members have passed away, the father and the older brother. We were met in the ship terminal by the two daughters, Maria Dolores and Maria Do Carmo. These girls were twelve and fourteen years old respectively when Dad saw them last.

Porciuncula family in March 1966 on Boa Viagem Beach
Left to right: Father, Antonio Duarte, Mother, Dalva Alves, daughters, Dolores and Do Carmo and son, Marco Antonio

Time does change us, however. This was Dad in Recife in March of 1966 enjoying a drink of coconut milk on Boa Viagem Beach.

Dolores on left and Do Carmo on right greeted us in ship terminal

The mom, Sister Dalva, Do Carmo's twelve-year old daughter, Thais, and a couple of their friends were waiting at the cars. They had an amazing day planned for us for the short time we had. We first visited the historic city of Olinda on a hill overlooking the city.

We ascended in an elevator to the top of a high lookout platform for a beautiful panoramic view of the city and the ocean.

Left to right: Dad, Dolores, Sister Dalva, Mom, Do Carmo, a family friend and Thais



Thais with Sister Dalva showing a necklace she had made from a U.S. 50-cent coin Dad gave her back then

Many tropical fruit, nut and coconut trees were in the vicinity as was a small store that seemed more like a museum with beautiful lace, dinnerware and much else.

We had a treat and a drink...

and then traveled to the Recife LDS temple grounds where we admired the immaculate landscaping and beauty. It was amazing for Dad to see a temple in a city where there were barely eighty members in one tiny branch forty-five years ago.

From there we traveled to the chapel that was just started while Dad was in Recife.


Construction site of first chapel in Recife in early 1966



It has now been converted to serve as a church employment assistance center and Dad spoke with a brother who knew people in the Recife branch when he was here during his mission. We then visited the Boa Viagem beach. It is still as beautiful as Dad remembered but now there are hundreds of high-rise apartment buildings lining the entire way that were not there at that time.


Boa Viagem Beach in early 1966



After visiting the beach we went to a fine restaurant and had a wonderfully delicious dinner that Dolores and Do Carmo would not let Dad pay for no matter how much he tried.

During dinner Dad conversed with Do Carmo about her many long hours of work as a medical doctor. We then drove past the LDS chapel where the Porciunculas now attend church which is one of three chapels in Recife designed by Maria Dolores as the architect. On the way to the apartment where Dolores and Sister Dalva live we passed by the home where the family was living on the night that Dad and his companion first knocked on their door just a block or so off the Boa Viagem beach. At the apartment we were treated to many beautiful paintings that were painted by Sister Dalva with butterflies and figures made of sea shells. There was also an unusual painting that includes hand-made crocheted items and photos of ancestors in a genealogical collage.

We then traded sharing photos of families and Dad left the family with a CD made up of photos of our family through the years, homes we lived in, pictures of Dad's mission in Recife, pictures of Brother Porciuncula's visit to our home in Pocatello at general conference time in April of 1981, many pictures they sent to us over the years tracing Porciuncula family history and PDF copies of all correspondence that we have received from this family in years past. Upon leaving, Sister Dalva presented us with a beautiful painting she did of the small fishing sail boats on the beach, called jangadas, that were common years ago in Recife.


Picture Dad took of jangadas on Boa Viagem Beach in 1966



Also two beautiful books about Brazil which we will cherish for years to come. Dolores and Sister Dalva then returned us to the ship terminal for a goodbye where it was difficult for Dad to hold back the tears and a promise that we will be back before very long. This day was truly a dream come true!