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.

June 30, 2013

Summer has arrived in Portugal, but it’s still cooler than California or Utah.  We have used our fan for the last two days.  Today is the hottest so far at 95 degrees, but it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow.  It didn’t get this hot very often last summer, so we are hopeful.    The nights cool off quite well and we often get a breeze if we open our windows.  Last night there was a lot of noise by children screaming and playing until all hours of the night.  The night before there had been a noisy gathering at the park across the street.   Sometimes they have demonstrations.  That’s the negative to living so close to a park; but otherwise we really enjoy having it so close.

Last weekend Mike had a stomach bug, so our holiday on Monday was spent  just relaxing in our apartment instead of visiting some sites.  I worked quite a bit on Family Search Indexing, which I am really enjoying. 

Sister Fluckiger (our mission president’s wife) came home from the hospital on Wednesday and when I called her on Thursday, she said she was doing quite well.  Speaking of operations, we heard from Erick yesterday that Tristen had to come home from girls camp early with appendicitis and had surgery on Wednesday.  We wish her a speedy recovery.  It hasn’t been that long since Camille had her surgery for the same thing.  We hope it doesn’t become a family tradition.

Since it was the final week of June, we worked hard to complete our contacts.  The most difficult thing is that we depend on a few other people in Spain and Cape Verde to help us, and when they haven’t made contact with everyone, we have to fill in the gaps at the last moment.  Mike went to the office today after lunch to contact 4 people who had been missed.

When we walked on Thursday morning, there was a huge group of Scouts gathered in front of the Catholic church which is a few blocks away.  There were boy and girl scouts and leaders with backpacks waiting to board a very nice tour bus to take them wherever they were headed.  The interesting thing to us besides having a mixed group was that they seemed to be anywhere from 8 years old to teenagers.

Our beloved family is gathering in Utah this week to have a family reunion.  We won’t be there in person, but we will be there in spirit.  All of our reunions have been so enjoyable for us, that it is a little difficult to miss this one.  It is so great to watch our children and grandchildren interact with one another and to be a part of this interesting group that we call FAMILY.  We love you and miss you so much.  Have a great time!

A picture from Sintra

I am having trouble sharing the pictures I wanted to put on this week.

June 23, 2013

Elder Henry and I spoke again today in Sacrament Meeting.  I spoke on “Families can be Forever” and he spoke on “Come to the Temple”.  I am always relieved when the talk is given and I won’t have to speak for another three months.  I know it is good for me, but always a little frightening.  After our meetings today we had the baptism of Alice Silva and then a small luncheon.  The Elders are keeping busy finding, teaching, and baptizing.

We heard that our dear mission president’s wife is in intensive care in the hospital.  She apparently had a colonoscopy, something didn’t go well, and she had to have her spleen removed.  We are praying for a quick recovery for her.  Her name is Dorothy Fluckiger and she is a very sweet lady.  Prayers in her behalf would be appreciated. 

Yesterday Paula (our friend from Brazil) came from Setubal to visit with us.  We met her at the train station, and on the second try she arrived.  We expected her at 10:30 AM but her bus didn’t show up on time,, so she missed the first train and came an hour later.  We showed her our office and then brought her to our apartment.  We visited, fed her lunch, and then showed her pictures of our family and some of the beautiful spots we have visited in Portugal.   We enjoyed the day with her and then drove her back to Setubal.   We hope to see her again before she returns to Brazil in early August.

This week Evan Poff has his 17^th birthday on June 25 and Ashlyn turns 15 on June 28.  We wish them both a very happy birthday and we send our love.  Gregg and Crystal also celebrate their (16^th?) wedding anniversary on the 27^th.  How we love each and every one in our family.  We miss you all!  Our children will be holding a family reunion without us this year and our hearts will definitely be there with them.  We are expecting to see lots of pictures.

There is another holiday here tomorrow so our office will be closed again.  We may have to find somewhere to visit.  It is close to the end of the month, so we have made most of our contacts already and just have a few loose ends to wrap up. 

We have been very blessed with cool weather to this point, but are expecting a couple of days in the low 90s this week.  We hope all of our friends and family are not suffering too much with the heat.  Stay cool and remember how much you are loved by God and by us.

Aneth and her mother, Camila  Aneth is getting married next month and her mother came to help with preparations.

Baptism of Alice Silva with Elder Almeida and Elder Shumway.

Love this driveway near our apartment.

So many beautiful blooms in Portugal!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Since today is Father’s Day, I would like to say how grateful I am for a wonderful father, father-in-law and husband.  What a wonderful influence they have all been in my life.  What more can we ask for than righteous husbands and fathers who honor the priesthood of God and bless the lives of their families.  It is also a great blessing to watch our sons and son-in-law with their children and we appreciate the example they are setting for future generations.   Hope all of you fathers have a special day!  We love you!

Today is also Natalie Poff’s 15^th birthday and we hope that she has a wonderful day.

We did as much work as we could the early part of the week because we had a meeting in Portimao in the southern part of Portugal on Thursday.  Mike met Paco Serrano (from Spain) at the airport, returned home to fetch me and we were off to our meeting.  It is about 2-1/2 hours away.  The freeway is very nice and the drive was easy.  We had a wonderful lunch of salad, bread, barbequed chicken and French fries (almost every restaurant serves French fries here) and dessert with Paco, the two young interns from BYU, the Johnsons and a family of four from Lisbon.   Our meeting was a workshop for those without jobs or seeking to find better employment.  We were not officially involved with the meeting, but since it closely coordinates with what we do and Paco needed a ride, it was a good experience for us.

We spent the night in Albufeira at a very nice hotel.  It only cost 45 euros and also included a nice breakfast.  The Johnsons and Paco also stayed there.  In the morning we took Paco to the bus station as he had another meeting and he didn’t want us to have to leave early.

The Sommers (who serve in a branch about an hour away) met us and we traveled to Lagos, where we were able to visit Ponta de Piedade.  I have included a group of pictures on my facebook site for those who are interested.  This was a gorgeous site and the ocean was extremely blue.  When we went back to our cars, the Johnson’s battery was dead.  We found someone with a cable and got it started, then headed for Lagos.  The battery died again and another person actually took the battery out of his own car to get the car going.  This time we headed straight for a motor parts store, where Elder Johnson purchased a new battery.  In the meantime, the Johnsons ate at a nearby restaurant waiting for the shop to reopen after lunch.  The Sommers were with us and we went downtown and ate at a wonderful restaurant, enjoyed some great ice cream, and walked around the quaint little city. It was fun to get acquainted with Elder and Sister Sommer, as we had only met them once before. 

Today the three young girls who were baptized last week were confirmed.  We also had two ladies at church who are being taught by the missionaries.  It is good to see them having some success in this area.  The gospel is such a blessing in our lives; we wish that everyone could enjoy the same blessings.

LDS Church in Portimao

Carson and Andy--BYU interns

At Ponta da Piedade

Elder & Sister Henry at Ponta da Piedade

The exhausting steps at Ponta da Piedade

Another shot of Ponta da Piedade

Green tile building in Lagos

Enjoying downtown Lagos

Elder & Sister Sommer

Henrys and Johnsons with Elder Staples

Castle in Lagos (We only saw it in passing.)