August 19, 2013

We had a very interesting week.  We started by making lots of contacts with our PEF participants and doing 4 different apartment inspections.  Most of the missionaries had their apartments looking pretty nice, but we felt that one apartment could have used a little more care.  We have one more inspection to make this week in Seixal.

The weather turned a little warmer again, and then cooled off some.  This week is supposed to be in the mid to high nineties, so we may be looking for the shade and any cooling breezes.  Last night was pretty comfortable, but there was lots of noise and later fireworks, so it took me a while to get to sleep.

Thursday was a holiday here, with our office closed, so we left for Porto and other cities in the north.  After a drive of one hour, we arrived at Santarem and met Elder and Sister Rose, who traveled with us to Coimbra, a university town, and then on to Porto.  We went to our hotel and then drove over to Ana and Reginaldo Cruz’s home.  We worked with Reginaldo in our office until he was transferred with a better position in the late fall of last year.  He and Ana are in their thirties and just the nicest people.  Since their children were visiting grandparents, they called us their children for the weekend.  They even offered that we stay with them and sleep in their children’s beds, but we thought it would be better to stay in a hotel.  They live in Gaia, which is across the river from Porto.

Ana was willing to feed us all of our meals, but we ate out a few times and bought their lunch and dinner.   She did fix us three lovely meals, though, and we were especially grateful that they fed us on Sunday so we didn’t have to stop and buy food on the Sabbath.  They have a darling place that they are renting and we felt really comfortable with them.  What a delightful and fun couple!

We were able to visit some very interesting places in Porto, Guimarães, Braga, and Gaia.  We saw several old churches, a castle, a museum, several of our churches, and we loved seeing their bridges.  One night we actually walked across the Dom Luis Bridge on top (it was cold and windy up there) to go have dinner near the Douro River and then returned later on the bottom level.  It is a gorgeous area that gives you an old-world feel.  It was fun to walk around the area and see all the restaurants and narrow rock streets and tall buildings.  There were lots of people, but we did find a nice restaurant where we had the entire bottom floor to ourselves.  Many of the people eat outside, but this time it was a little chilly and we decided to eat inside.

We attended Reginaldo and Ana’s ward on Sunday and really enjoyed it.  It felt the most like a home ward of any we have visited thus far.  Sister Rose said that it made her a little homesick.  They still have almost 11 months to go on their mission. 

The University at Coimbra

Dom Luis Bridge (The one we walked over on top and back on the bottom.)

Our wonderful hosts--Reginaldo and Ana Cruz

Castle in Guimarães

Cathedral de Bom Jesus at Braga

Night-time on the Douro Riverfront

Having lunch at the riverfront.

August 11, 2013

It was another very quiet week at the office as some days there were only three or four of us working.  But we were able to accomplish quite a few good contacts.  Our high-priority list is a little longer this month, so that is a good thing.  We have found that quite often if we send a text or leave a message when we make a phone call, the participants will call back and need help with making a payment on their loan or have some other concern for us to resolve.

This week we will start on our apartment inspections as we do them every three months.  I guess I need to get busy making cookies.  The missionaries enjoy receiving a treat.  I suppose it helps them to be a little happier about our visit to check up on their housekeeping skills.

Last week was transfer week, so we have two new missionaries serving in our ward.  One of each set stayed.  We lost our wonderful pianist, Elder Oliveira, a great Elder who always had a great big smile.  Today we were fortunate because Jer Lima was there visiting his parents.  He and Elder Oliveira both have exceptional talent on the piano; they are self-taught and play with great ease and extra little flourishes (I don’t know if that is the correct word).  I love to listen to them play.  I think when you don’t have a pianist for a time, you appreciate it much more when you do, especially when they play so well.

We had to say “Tchau” to several wonderful members of our ward today.  Tabitha, our Young Women’s President, and her two sons are headed for Utah.  She will marry a fellow from Vernal and live there.  Her roommate and good friend, Maria, is also going to Utah for the wedding and then will be returning to her home country of Brazil.  She has been Tabitha’s assistant with the Young Women and also an outstanding Gospel Doctrine teacher.  It is very sad to see them leave.

Elder Henry gave another exceptional talk in Sacrament Meeting today.  He talked about the Law of Tithes and Offerings and how they have blessed our lives. He also mentioned the importance of work, of being careful with the money we have at our disposal, and the importance of saving a little each month. We can truly testify that the windows of heaven have showered blessings upon us for obeying this law.  Our Father in Heaven has blessed us with so much, it is a small amount to give in return.

Our weather finally turned warm again for the first time since early in July.  We are hoping it is a short time until our more agreeable temperatures return.  It has actually been hotter here this week than in Corning, but It looks like that will change in the middle of the week.  We hope so.

Last Sunday was Erick and Camille’s anniversary and today is Russ and Laura’s.  We send both couples our love and best wishes.

Elder Shumway and Elder Baker (the greenie)

Elder Lima and Elder Bascom

Tabitha, Gabriel, Lorenzo and Maria

Roundabout near the church in Costa de Caparica

August 4, 2013

We were few in numbers at the office this week.  Besides losing a couple of employees to Germany the rest of the employees are taking three-week vacations sometime this month.  Our supervisor, Miguel, was there this week, but will be on vacation the next two weeks.  Several others are gone for two or three weeks, so it has really been quiet.  At least we should be able to get lots of work done.  We were able to contact almost all of our participants one way or another and to reach 100 percent of the high-priority contacts in July.

On Monday afternoon we went to the mission office to take care of our car rental, return a housing contract and pick up some fire extinguishers and fire blankets for the missionaries’ apartments.  We met  Elder Curfew, who is the brother to Elder Curfew who served in the California Roseville Mission and was in the Corning Ward for a while.  He was excited when he found out that we were acquainted with his brother.

The little Padaria-Pastelaria near our apartment will be closed for the entire month of August, as it also was last year.  So, this week we had to enjoy some of our favorite treats from there.  Just like in Brazil, some businesses shut down for a month or two and go on vacation.  Many people here go to a beach.  There are many popular beaches in Portugal, one of which is Costa de Caparica.  We have to leave a little earlier for church during the summer because of the traffic heading for the beach.

As we walk back and forth to the office during the week we like to greet people with a smile and “Bom Dia!”  This week I got the best reaction that we have received so far.  A sweet little older lady just kept thanking me over and over for speaking to her and carried on quite an animated conversation for a few minutes.  It made my day.

Our pool liner gave out in May and Brett and April and family went through some of the hottest part of the summer without being able to swim.  We are sorry that they went about two months without it, but the pool is finally usable again.  We miss being there for the almond harvest and to enjoy the fruit from our trees.  Hopefully next year the trees will all produce again.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of using our Preparation Day to enjoy a visit to two more sites in Portugal.  We picked up Elder and Sister Johnson and drove to Sintra, where we visited the Park and Palace of Monserrate.  I have included pictures on my facebook site and will also include a couple here.  We enjoyed a nice lunch in an outside area in Belem, and then visited an Oriental Museum there.  There is so much to see here in Portugal, and our time is getting short.

Our spiritual thought in the office this week was on the Book of Mormon.  How I love this wonderful book of scripture which we have to add to our study of the Bible and our other scriptures.  I know it is the word of God whose pages were given to and translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  Even though I have read, studied and had many lessons from it, I still have so very much to learn and understand.   

A very happy birthday to Laura Henry and Rylee Henry on August 6th.  We love you!

Palace of Monserrate

Elder & Sister Henry inside the palace.

The beautiful trail at Monserrate.

Baby bed at the Oriental Museum

Love this monkey riding horseback.

Buddha

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.