From Portugal With Love: 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.