From Portugal With Love: October 13, 2013

This past Monday we spent a few hours at the office and then went to the mission office to get Mike’s insurance papers and on to the hospital where he had two tests scheduled for his leg. When we arrived at the hospital they said one test he could have soon, but we would have a 3-hour delay for the other. As it turned out, we were only there for an hour and 15 minutes and the sonogram and x-ray were done. We had to wait a few hours for his doctor consultation and it wasn’t worthwhile to return home, so we had lunch at the mall close-by and had some photos made for members and missionaries. He didn’t get in to see the doctor until 6:30 PM. The doctor said that his problem is arthritis and there is not much that can be done until he can’t live with the pain. The good news is that he is doing quite well and has been walking much more than he was able to do for a while.

We had a busy week at the office making our PEF contacts. Mike made lots of phone calls and did some interviews for new loans. I have texted everyone except those students who live in Spain and made a few phone calls and emails. This week my main task will be to send text messages to Spain.

We had a surprise in the middle of the week. Olinda Silva, who was transferred from our office to Germany, came to help with some interviews. It was nice to see her, but she was only there a part of two days. She brought us a wonderfully delicious chocolate bar from Germany.

The Oversons who were in SLC waiting for their visas to Brazil for 10 months finally received them and are in Brazil now. The other couple, the Markhams, will be coming to Portugal as soon as they receive their visas. They haven’t been waiting quite as long, but I am sure it has required patience on their part. They have been helping to train other couples for the new PEF-Self Reliance program.

After working part day at the office, Elder and Sister Johnson picked us up about 2:00 PM on Friday and we traveled to Evora, a city we had wanted to visit for some time. We stopped by Montemor on the way to see a castle and chapel there. We checked in to our hotel in Evora and then went for a drive to see the walled city and drive through it for a while. We met up with Elder and Sister Sommers who traveled from a different area to spend some time with us. We ate at a very nice little restaurant we found on one of the little side streets and found out that it was supposed to have the best food in town. It should be good, because the prices were quite high. It did have some of the best appetizers we have had to this point. In Portugal the waiters always bring little dishes of appetizers and you pay extra for whatever you eat. It can add quite a bit to your bill. In most places even the bread and butter cost extra. But the good part is that you are not obligated to eat anything you don’t want, and you can tell them to take the items away.

On Saturday we ate breakfast at our hotel and then walked over to the walled city of Evora to meet the Sommers, who had a hotel there. We spent several hours walking the streets of this quaint little city and visiting cathedrals, shopping and visiting. They even have a Chapel of the Bones which has human bones on the walls. (Quite an unusual concept, if you ask me.) We ate lunch outside of a small restaurant and enjoyed the pleasant coolness of the day. It was a cloudy day. All of the women decided to have a sandwich called “Crazy Cheese Panini”, which was quite good.

We left Evora about 3:30 PM and started for Arraiolos, but decided to take a side trip to see the Portuguese version of Stone Henge at Cromeleque dos Almendres. They have 92 stones in this location. Next we drove to Arraiolos to see the castle there. It was a small town and Elder Johnson stopped and bought some bottled water for 12 cents each. We also visited a little tapestry shop and enjoyed seeing the beautiful creations. There was a small one I loved, but it cost 53 euros.

The Johnsons finish their mission on the 23^rd of this month and then are spending a few days in Spain before returning home at the end of the month. We will miss having them close by, as we have enjoyed their friendship. Hopefully we will see them again before they leave.

We did receive some flight plans this week. If they stay the same, we will fly from here to London, then to Los Angeles and on to Sacramento. With the time change, we will leave here in the morning and arrive home late in the evening of the same day—December 10--but it will be a looooooong day. And this is without any delays. I already know it is going to be a sad-glad day. It is difficult to leave a country and people you have grown to love so much, but a very happy occasion to return home to family and friends. We send our love to all!