It all began in Ipoméia.
Ipoméia, or Morning Glory, is a plant, whose flowers are in the form of a trumpet.
It is also the name of a little settlement far, far away from Curitiba.
And, so, the story begins...
In 1920, Robert and Auguste Lippelt and their seven children were living in Germany, when their fourth child became gravely ill. This child who was dying, looked at his sister who was 12 years his senior and said, "Here in this room. . . just a bit ago were our grandparents, who said to me that next Thursday, at this hour, they will come get me and I will be dying. . . And on the Sunday after my death, when you are going to church, a woman will invite you to attend her church with her. And this other church is the one to which our grandparents want you to belong."
Exactly as he had said, on the specified day and at the specified hour, he died. On the following Sunday, the Lippelt children were going to their Protestant church, when on the road they encountered a Sister Demmel, who invited them to accompany her to the church of which she was a member, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They remembered the words of their deceased brother, and on July 20, 1920, the mother and the children who were old enough were baptized members of the Church. They immigrated to Brazil in 1923, and settled in an area in southern Brazil called Ipoméia.
Auguste wrote to President Heber J. Grant, asking that he send missionaries to Ipoméia. President Grant asked her to contact the president of the South American Mission, in Argentina, Elder Reinhold Stoof, who the family had previously known in Germany. Soon, President Stoof visited the Lippelt family in Ipoméia and held the first sacrament meeting in 1927. From there, other pioneer families were discovered, such as the Max Richard Zapf family, or were baptized, such as the Blinds, the Bauers, the Hacks and the Kirstens, all of whom had come from Germany.
The first Church-built chapel in Brazil was in Ipoméia. It was dedicated by Elder Spencer W. Kimball.
(After traveling there on 'good' roads, I can only imagine what the trip was like for Elder Kimball.)
This little blue chapel is truly out in the middle of nowhere.
The plaque says, "Fayette, NY, USA. April 6, 1830. The light of the restored Gospel illuminates the world. Ipoméia Santa Catarina, Sept. 23, 1923. The light of the restored Gospel illuminates Brazil."
And, since Presidente knows everyone, we were able to visit with some of the posterity those early pioneers. They were so gracious. They showed us around their farm, shared their pine nuts (pinhãos), refreshed us with a very tart homemade pink grape juice, and made us feel super welcomed.
FYI
It is important to not confuse the Chapel in Ipoméia with the Girl from Ipanema. They are two entirely different things!!
Just saying.😎
