December 1, 2013

Last Monday I finally felt decent enough to go back to the office.  I had lots of apologizing to do to the participants who had birthdays while I was out sick, but I did get caught up.  There are two young Sister missionaries who are having problems doing much walking.  Rather than send them home, they are going to be helping out at the office with different assignments each day.  We met them there on Monday and gave them and their luggage a ride to their apartment.  It is cold here now and they were going to be without warm blankets on their beds, so we gave them a ride to the mall to buy some.

On Tuesday Elder and Sister Markham came to the office and we began our training with them.  They are anxious to learn and Sister Markham is asking me for lists of procedures which we have been working on for them.  That evening our apartment manager came by because we were having a problem with our toilet.  We were thrilled because he brought us a DVD of himself playing the accordion.  He is quite good and we had no idea that he played.

On Thanksgiving Day (in the US) the Markhams, Roses and Mike and I got together and went to a fun little restaurant in the old part of Lisbon.  We all had a wonderful fish lunch.  The other two couples went on to see some sights, but it was cold and I was a little tired.  So, we went by the Rio Sul Mall to buy a few groceries and returned home.  After putting away our groceries, I noticed that my wallet was missing from my purse.  After looking around the apartment to make sure I didn’t have it, we said a prayer and then returned to the mall to see if anyone had found it.  We talked with security and several different people, but returned home very disappointed and without my wallet.

After we had been home a short time, Mike received a called from Elder Fontes, who had received a called from Maria Lourdes, who had received a call from Sonia, who had received a call from Fernanda Reis.  Mike called Fernanda, who had found my wallet under a bench where I sat while Mike went to buy me some more cough drops.  She asked him lots of questions to be certain that she had the proper owner of the wallet and then arranged to meet us later at the same mall where she was going to have dinner with her son, Paulo.  When we met her, we offered her the 50 euros which were in the wallet as a reward because we were just so grateful to get the wallet and its contents back.  But she and her son were adamant that they would not accept a reward and wouldn’t even let us pay for their dinner.  We enjoyed a nice visit with them—what lovely, honest, people!  She said that she didn’t want to turn my wallet in to the police because they would have kept the money and it may have been more difficult for me to get it back.  We felt that the Spirit definitely was involved in those steps leading to the return of my wallet.  It could have been a very difficult return home with no way to pay the extra luggage fees the airports love to charge.   FEELING SO VERY BLESSED!

On Friday the Markhams came to the office again and we did more training.  We had them over to our apartment for Creamy Chicken Lasagna, fruit salad and rolls.

Mike and I both bore our testimonies during Fast and Testimony Meeting today, thinking that it would be our last chance to do so in the Caparica Ward.  Then Bishop Ribeiro asked us, as we were getting in our car, if we would both talk next Sunday.  I’m planning on recycling one I gave in Chapeco.  Mike gave a very nice training for the ward council after our block of meetings.

Luanne and Don Markham, our new Senior Couple

I know it's blurry, but this is the only group picture we got.  It was taken by our elderly waiter.

A view inside the Adega de S. Roque Restaurant.  What a fun place!