The rain has come to Portugal. We have had some rain every day since
Tuesday. It is a nice change and we need
it, but it does make it more difficult to have our daily walks.
On Monday I conducted and gave the inspirational thought at
our devotional. I talked about the
importance of preparing ourselves to receive the messages and revelations that
can come to us through General Conference.
We learned this week that Elder and Sister Markham, who have
been waiting in SLC for 5 months to receive their visas for Brazil , have been
re-assigned to Portugal and will come as soon as they receive their visas for
Portugal. It must try a person’s
patience to wait that long to reach your destination. We hope that they don’t have to wait too long
this time.
Mike’s leg seems to be doing some better, but Sister
Fluckiger made an appointment for him to have a consultation tomorrow in
Lisbon. It will be great if there is
something that can be done to help him.
Miguel Adriano invited us to visit three sites with him, his
wife-Deanna, his son-Daniel and Daniel’s girlfriend and soon-to-be missionary,
Lorena. We made a few contacts early on
Friday and then left for the Caves of Mira de Aire. I was expecting to walk through a long dark
cave and see some nice views. This was an
amazing place with stairs that just kept going down (25-stories’ worth). We were
told there are over 800 steps going down. It was very beautiful and different from anything
I had ever seen before. The pictures
which didn’t turn out so blurry are posted on my Facebook site. To our delight, there was an elevator to take
us back to the top. There was a nice
restaurant on the site, so we had lunch there before continuing on to Óbidos.
Óbidos is an interesting hamlet surrounded by 45-foot walls
(which you can walk around). There are
quaint little shops, restaurants, old churches, a castle, etc. and it is a very interesting place to visit. It
is known as the “Wedding city.” This is
because King Dinis brought his new bride, Isabella, to Óbidos shortly after they were
married. She liked the village so much
that he gave the village to her as a wedding present. Afterwards, it became traditional for all of
the kings of Portugal to bring their new brides to Óbidos for their honeymoons.
Another interesting story about Óbidos tells how King
Alfonso Henriques (Portugal’s first king) captured Óbidos from the Moors. On January 11, 1148, Alfonso led a frontal
attack on the front gate which is opposite the castle. The Moorish ruler huddled in the castle and
watched the battle at the other end of town.
Meanwhile a band of Alfonso’s men snuck up the steep slope behind the
castle disguised as cherry trees. The
doomed moor ignored his daughter’s question when she turned from the rear
window and asked: “Daddy, do trees walk?” He should have listened to her because they
captured him and the city. Elder Henry
gives a little more history on the picture site on Facebook.
When we left Obidos, we drove to Azenhas do Mar and watched
the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. It
was a gorgeous site and we enjoyed that very much, too. The village sets on a
high cliff over the ocean with wonderful views, but a little scary to live so
close to the cliff. Deanna brought along snacks to keep us from getting hungry
and we had a most enjoyable day with our friends.
Today we were very involved in the proceedings in our little
ward. Elder Henry had been asked to give
the 5th-Sunday combined RS and Priesthood lesson. He gave a wonderful lesson on Covenants that
was very much enjoyed by the ward members.
Then the next period he taught his Gospel Essentials Class. I led the music and prayed in the first
meeting, led the music in Sunday School,
and gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting. My
topic was on teaching the gospel to our families in the home and I focused on
the nine principles mentioned in the Family Proclamation—Faith, Prayer,
Repentance, Forgiveness, Respect, Love, Compassion, Work and Wholesome
Recreational Activities. Note from Elder Henry:
Sister Henry gave a wonderful talk of about 20 minutes in perfect
Portuguese that was very well received.
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| Caves at Mira de Aire |
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| Elder Henry, Miguel & Deanna Adriano, Lorena, and Daniel Adriano |
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| Obidos |
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| Azenhas do Mar |
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