Parabéns Christian!

Congrats to Christian on his mission call to the most amazing country in the world: BRAZIL!!

Here’s a video of Justin opening Christian’s call, since people weren’t there for it, including Amy, Howard, and Christian! (sorry for the sideways camera work at the beginning):

Maceió is the capital of Alagoas, which is located in the Northeastern part of Brazil. It's know for its amazing beaches and lakes along the coast. As you go further inland, though, you quickly reach the Sertão. The Sertão has been ravaged by years of drought, famine and flooding. It's basically a huge desert that covers most of the northeast region of Brazil. Think of the southwestern United States, except hotter. Here are some pictures I found online:

While all this drought has been bad for the economy, it's been fantastic for the Gospel. The area has by far seen the fastest growth for the Church in Brazil. There is a beautiful temple closeby in Recife, just 190 miles from Maceió. It's possible that Christian may be able to do a session at the Recife temple at some point during his mission.

The incredibly popular singer Djavan is from Maceió (Kind of a Brazilian Al Jarreau). I can see Christian having a lot of fun trying to do Capoeira while he’s there – just don’t get hurt!

The northeastern people are known to be very laid back and loving, but also very quirky. Their accent is very distinct and is probably the most difficult of all the Brazilian accents to understand (but I’m sure Christian is up for the challenge!). They use a lot of slang that is not common throughout the rest of Brazil and they are sometimes looked down on by other Brazilians because of their poverty and accent.

It's too bad Christian will miss the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and the 2016 Olympics in Rio. But it’s a good excuse to go back and visit!

Parabéns (congratulations), Christian. You will make us all proud, I’m sure of that. The people of Brazil are very blessed to have you serve there. Arrebenta!