Reflections

   

Printer-friendly versionSend to friend

By Jay Peregrine, Executive Director, Urantia Foundation

Editor’s Note: In this article Jay Peregrine shares his reflections on a recent trip to Brazil with Irmeli Ivalo-Sjölie.

After an overnight flight from Chicago to São Paulo, I caught a local plane to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. At the Brasilia airport I was greeted by a delegation of Urantia Book readers lead by Nemias Mól, President of Association Urantia Brazil (AUB), Rosa Torres, whom I had met recently when she visited 533 W. Diversey in Chicago with her daughter, and Clebson da Silva, a minister and student of the Victor Frankl Institute who is enthusiastic about The Urantia Book. We all gathered with Irmeli at her hotel and had a wonderful visit.

The next day Nemias and Rosa took me sightseeing in Brasilia. In the evening we had a study group at Rosas apartment, and the attendees had many questions for Irmeli and me. The Brazilians are enthusiastic about The Urantia Book especially now that they have it in Portuguese. Book sales have been steady, and we explored ideas on how to spread the teachings.

Back in São Paulo a few days later, Irmeli and I attended a study group followed by a question and answer session at the home of Susana Huttner Palaia, AUB’s vice president, and her husband, Sabino, who is AUB’s secretary. The next day we attended the wedding of Iremli’s granddaughter, and it was a wonderful occasion. Sabino and Susana took me to the beach for the weekend where we met an interesting philosophy professor who discussed The Urantia Book and related topics with us two nights in a row.

Later that week Nemias joined us in São Paulo, and Ricardo Machado arrived from Portugal. While Nemias and Susana looked into local printers, Ricardo and I shared how we discovered The Urantia Book and what we thought we should do with it. After a day in the city we drove up to Kalevala, Iremli’s daughter’s ranch in Minas Gerais, for a gathering of Urantia Book readers in a beautiful retreat setting. This was the second such gathering this year, and everyone hopes that there will be more.

On Saturday we enjoyed presentations by Nemias, Irmeli, and Clebson. In the evening we had a delicious feast and danced to live Brazilian music. On Sunday, after a morning walk up the mountain, I gave a short talk and answered questions. Then, after lunch, we drove back to the airport where I caught my flight for the overnight trip back to Chicago.

I treasure the friendships I made in Brazil. I know from past experience that, because they have been initiated in the context of reading and discussing The Urantia Book, many of these relationships will last a lifetime and beyond.