Letter to Marian, February 22, 1973

Passport photo, Early 1970's

Aunt Marian

My Aunt Marian kept many of the letters my mother, Donna Biel, wrote to her.  She recently returned them.  The most interesting parts are recorded here.

Dear Marian, Frank, Lisa and Eric,

Yesterday your package arrived.  It is quite nice getting presents after Christmas for everyone seems to enjoy or appreciate them more.  Rachel and Helen were thrilled with their music boxes.  At supper time we had enjoyable music.  Rachel can hardly wait to start her cat paintings.  Charles was busy shooting his gun and getting his games ready to play with Joey and I experimented the candy.  The calendar is hanging in the kitchen- it is lovely and the sachet has already made my clothes smell better.  The tie will go very well with a new suit Joey had made a year ago.  We had a Crazy Eight card game that got lost so the game was familiar.  I showed Helen and two of her friends how to play it.  The other one will have to wait a bit until Helen learns to read better.

I suppose by now you have another son or daughter.  We are anxiously awaiting the news.  You sent your letter to Loanda and it was forwarded to Maringa.  Our box number (caixa postal) is changing this year to number 1281.  We will still use 964 this year plus 1281 for it will take a while to notify everyone of the change.  The church did not have its own box number so decided when some new ones became available to buy one.

The children are back to studying.  Helen goes to first grade Brazilian school in the afternoon.  They have to wear uniforms- white blouse, navy blue skirt, white socks and black collegial shoes.  I wish she didn't have a uniform as she has plenty of clothes that she could wear.  

It is a grind to get her English assignment done in the morning- it takes about 2.5 hours. 

Rachel likes to wear bermuda shorts to school but she wore most of hers out during vacation.  I made four of them for her before school started.

Charles had a low fever for four days which developed into a bad cough.  I took him to a doctor and he is much better. 

Because of Helen's wetting problem we have decided we will fly right away to Rochester to see what treatment she needs.  I wrote the Mission Board to see if she can have an appointment for June 25th.  I told Joey that I can't possibly enjoy a trip until we get her problem taken care of.  We plan to leave here June 19th and may spend a couple of days in New York.

The week after Lent starts we will have a week of Evangelization.  It is more to wake up or alert our members for it says that our church doesn't have anyone converted to our church as many others do.  Joey was gone one week to two preaching points three hours from here.  He used the summer vacation time to give one week of Confirmation class and in the evening he held services. 

 Confirmation class in a rural preaching point in Brazil.

He got back in time to give three services on Sunday at different preaching points then took a bus Sunday evening to Joinville.  He had meetings for two days, then spent Wednesday traveling back here with the Regional pastor getting here in time to have a meeting with two men that came from a church in our district that is about an 8 hour trip from here.  Thursday Joey and the Regional pastor visited two neighboring cities to discuss problems with pastors there.  Now in a week he will be going to a Bible Camp for 5 days.

Joey has already read Zane Grey and Agatha Christie. I like Aggie, too.  At the larger centers they have books in English for sale.  I finished reading "Kim" by Kipling.  Many read this in college but I hadn't.  The Indian society is quite complicated and that boy certainly had adventures.

...  I'm glad the Viet Nam war finally came to an end.  Every time I took the children to their dentist he gave me a lecture on the war and wanted to know what is wrong with some of my people.  I told him most of the people wanted the war ended.  He said a magazine interview with a US colonel said that the war was necessary to test some of the weapons.  I told him that many career service men may be cold hearted and look at war as something necessary.  The time Magazine told how one little girl told in Baptist 5.5 that her father was a prisoner so when the mother went to a parent's meeting someone asked her why her husband was in jail.

I'm going to see if I can get the others to write now.

Love, 

Donna

Before I mailed this we received the candy and present you sent.  We had to pay only 50 cents.  I'm going to have Rachel and Charles write you letters.  I think my gift is from Hungary and it is beautifully embroidered.  Joey has been helping Charles with the Whiz-z-er whirler to see if it will perform everything that it is supposed to.  Those balloons should last a long time.  The panties we will save to use when in the States as they will need new ones about then.

Saturday two Missouri missionaries stayed overnight.  Each has two children, one which is a baby.  We had a barbacue dinner.  One of the families stayed with us in July.  They live quite far away and were on their way to see the water falls of Iguazu, about a six hour drive from here.  They happened to get a hot time- about 100 in the shade every day this last week.

Guess I had better get this in the mail.  Thanks for all that you sent.

Love, 

Donna and Joey

Donna Biel