July 28, 2013

Our office was pretty empty most of the week.  Our two co-workers Olinda Silva and Luiz Silva, who had their positions moved to Germany, left during the week.  It was sad to see them go.  Besides that several people were on vacation.  At times we were the only ones on the second floor of the office.  No one was prepared with a spiritual thought for our devotional on Monday morning, so Elder Henry stepped up to the plate and gave a nice presentation about the pioneers. 

Elder Henry also helped two of our Elders (Rhodes and Shumway) move to a better place in Costa de Caparica.  Four Elders had been living together in Mt. de Caparica, so this was a good move for these Elders into a nice place owned by our bishop’s mother.  I stayed at our apartment so there would be more space in the car to move their belongings.  I worked on indexing, something I have really enjoyed doing when I have a little time.

On the 24^th of July—not a holiday here even in the Church office building—when we walked in the morning, we took a large bag and picked up the garbage which was littering the beautiful park across the street.  I guess you could say that we had our own little “Helping Hands”.  For several days after that I had really sore muscles; but Elder Henry, who does more exercises, did not suffer as much.

We had been asked by Raquel, a Young Single Adult, to give talks on the pioneers for a YSA activity last Friday.  She asked us several months ago, so we had been reading pioneer stories and preparing and translating our talks. On Friday she came into our office and apologized that they would not be having the activity because someone had dropped the ball and it had not been properly advertised.  It didn’t hurt my feelings at all.  I enjoyed reading the stories and it renewed my appreciation for the sacrifices made by our early-day Mormon ancestors.

We had an enjoyable day on Saturday visiting the National Palace of Queluz.  I have posted quite a few photos on Facebook for any who are interested.  It was a very beautiful and interesting place to visit.

Wishing Tristen a very happy 13th birthday on July 31st.  We love you!

2nd floor of our office--where we work for Perpetual Education Fund.

National Palace at Queluz

One of many beautiful rooms inside the palace

Don Quixote Room

Sister Henry on palace grounds

Beautiful grounds outside the palace

July 21, 2013

It has been a wonderful week in the mission field.  We made lots of contacts early in the week.  On Friday we had a farewell luncheon for the two co-workers who are leaving for other positions  this coming week.  We enjoyed a very nice meal and visiting with Olinda Silva and Luis Silva (not a married couple) who have new assignments with the Church in Germany.  They both have families who will be going with them, although Olinda’s husband currently works in Angola and only comes home a couple of times a year.  He is here now to help with the move.  They are excited about the new experiences they will have, but it is also difficult because Olinda is leaving behind a daughter and son-in-law and Luis has elderly parents who live here and also 2 children in college who are staying behind.  I think that they all plan on returning at some point in the future.  Olinda is actually renting out her very nice apartment to the mission and will have two sets of Sister missionaries living there.

We were asked by Elder Joaquim Moreira, the new Area Seventy from our area, to help out at a Mini MTC which was held this weekend in Setubal.  So, after our luncheon on Friday, we came home, finished packing, and headed for our hotel in Setubal.  Our assignment was basically to look after about 40 young potential missionaries (about half a dozen who have their calls) who were also staying at the same hotel with us.  We were to see that they were all settled in for the night on Friday and Saturday and that they were not causing any undue noise, etc.  On Friday night there were several very late arrivals, so Elder Henry waited in the lobby downstairs until 1:30 AM.   We always enjoy being around the youth, so we enjoyed the weekend.  We only attended one of their meetings, which was the Sacrament Meeting held today before they returned to their homes.  We were asked to sit on the stand and then called on to bear our testimonies during the meeting.

On Saturday we were able to visit castles in Setubal and Palmela and just enjoy a relaxing day together.  We also had a wonderful salmon lunch to celebrate my obtaining the very young age of 71 years.  Thank you to all who sent birthday wishes.  It’s great to have more time to make a difference in the world.

These were our handprints, signatures and words describing friends for Olinda and Luis.  Personally I don't know what they are going to do with such large items or how they will get them to Germany since the truck with their belongings has already left.

Elder & Sister Henry with a few of the Sisters at our Mini MTC Weekend.

I was intrigued with this chartreuse ferry.

Love these blooms which we see in so many areas.  These were across from our hotel.

Elder Henry at the entrance of the Pousada/Castle in Setubal.  I will post more pictures of our visit to the castles on Facebook.

July 14, 2013

We are feeling great again in Portugal as it has cooled off quite nicely.  We are able to sleep with a nice cool breeze and a sheet over us instead of having the fan hit us all night and still not quite be comfortable.  The last four days have been especially nice.

We were able to make lots of contacts last week at the office and get a good start on our high-priority contacts.  Some of them may actually miss us when we return home.  We have talked with many of them frequently and hope that they have felt our love and desire to assist them.

On Wednesday night we had the baptism of Zamira.  Her daughter had been baptized a few weeks ago.  She took a little longer because she had to quit smoking and also has to work some Sundays.  She has been at church the last two weeks, though.  Apparently an inactive member had told Zamira and Paula (who was baptized in May) not to bother with any other churches because this was the only true church.  So Paula actually contacted the mission office and requested missionaries.  She is great.  She is serving as a ward missionary, has spoken at a baptism, born her testimony, and today gave her first Sacrament Meeting talk.  She also asked complete strangers for donations for a center for homeless children.  This was a project that the church was supporting here.  It is fun to watch the enthusiasm of new members who accept the gospel with all their hearts.

We went to Lisbon on Thursday to take care of some business at the mission office.  Elder and Sister Rose were there and we went to lunch with them and really enjoyed our visit with them.  They live and work mostly in another area a little distance away.  Elder Johnson was asked to be the branch president of a small branch for the next few months.  They will finish their mission in October.  We love the opportunity to get acquainted with so many wonderful people.  Couple missionaries are in great demand all over the world, especially with the increased number of young missionaries and the responsibilities of these wonderful mission presidents and their wives.  Couples can take on many tasks to relieve their workload.  Any couples out there who are willing and able—YOU ARE NEEDED AND YOU WILL LOVE SERVING A MISSION WITH YOUR SPOUSE.  Whatever abilities and talents you have can be put to good use.  Even if you go to a foreign country and you don’t feel very adept with the language, you can still make a valuable contribution.

In our lesson today in Relief Society we talked about the importance of the women in the church and their need to reach out to one another with love and compassion.  The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us how to be happy by serving others.  Over the years I have learned so much from my sisters in the gospel and I hope that I have been able to give back in some small way myself.  We are truly blessed by the teachings of our Savior.

Zamira's baptism with Elder Rhodes and Elder Shumway and her daughter, Liliana.

One of many statues in Lisbon.

Benfica Soccer Stadium in Lisbon.

I love these beautiful purple blooms seen in many places here.

July 7, 2013

Wow!  It has been a hot week here in Portugal, as well as in the United States.  We don’t believe that it ever got quite this hot last summer.  (106 degrees)  It makes our time at the office and church very much appreciated because it is so much cooler there.  Yesterday, our P Day, we spent some of our time driving in our air-conditioned car and also ate lunch and then just sat and enjoyed the coolness of the mall in Montijo.  The malls here have comfortable seating stationed around in various places (I think it is for the husbands to wait while the wives shop.)

Our missionaries (2 sets) in the Caparica Ward are doing well.  We have another baptism scheduled for this Wednesday night.  I’m glad that I already have my cookies baked because it is too hot to be baking right now.  I made some cookies a couple of weeks ago and froze them just for an occasion such as this.

Our children and grandchildren had a wonderful family reunion this past week and I must say that it made me quite homesick just thinking about them enjoying this time together and us not being there.  We look forward to the day when we can have our next reunion. 

Elder Henry and I have been asked to share some pioneer stories at a Young Single Adult evening on the 26^th of July.  We have been reading some stories on our kindles because that is our only source of information here.  We have some great books at home which won’t help us in this instance.

We had a great lesson in Relief Society about our freedom to choose.  When we make the right choices and live the commandments of God, it is followed by a clear conscience, confidence before God, and happiness that cannot be found when we choose to make poor choices and break the commandments.   Things may not always go as we would like them to, and we may sometimes feel that prayers are not answered; but if we will trust in God, all things will be made right in the end.  Righteous living will be rewarded.  We are so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and know that it is worth every effort to follow His plan for us.

Old buildings in Moita

Interesting paintings - building in Moita

Common site along this highway--lots of red potatoes and other produce for sale.