Sand City and Dinner with the Mazi Family

Monday, August 27

This P-Day we had made plans to go to Sand City in the town of Péra.  This is an attraction that Sister Madsen had hoped to visit before she was transferred from the Algarve.  Today was the last chance.

Because it has been so hot (and due to other commitments), we decided to be at Sand City as soon as it opened – 10:00.  We were a few minutes late due to trying to avoid the toll road to get there.  GPS took us on an alternative route which sent us back to the same freeway just in time to get zapped by the toll cameras.  We did have a nice rural tour of Boliqueime where we saw people harvesting carob pods from the trees.  The countryside was beautiful.

Sand City is a unique “tourist” attraction in the middle of almost nowhere.  (sandcity.pt)  Artists from around the world have assisted in carving scenes into sand.  This is the 15^th year of adding an additional theme, and it was Star Wars.  The essence of this kind of sand sculpture is based on the optimal combination of sand and water to make a moldable material that can be carved in many ways.  Almost any form can be carved in this material depending on the technique and skills of the sculptor. The fine detail in faces was particularly amazing to me.  The sand dries hard and the sculptures can last for years, can be patched, and some times destroyed to recreate something else. 

The Sisters were particularly fun to watch as they would try to pose in front of characters that different family members liked.

We spent a couple of hours there and headed for home just as the big crowds were arriving.  We timed it perfectly today

.

The afternoon was spent in studying.  We had been invited for dinner with Michael and Corrinne Mazi – our new friends here on holiday.  They asked Merl to present the Family Home Evening message.  Bro. Mazi speaks several languages, and his wife speaks mostly French or Dutch with a little English and Portuguese.  The two sets of Loulé missionaries also were invited.  

Sister Mazi had given us a hand-drawn map that was rather confusing, so I tried to put it into the GPS – took us to house under construction in Quarteira.  A phone call got us and the Sisters on the right track again, and we found the lovely home with its beautiful, natural gardens/yard.  Bro. Mazi showed us around his yard - he gets so excited about everything that is growing there.  The property is located about ¼ mile from the beach.  The Elders got lost so Sister Madsen and Sister Mazi went to find them – while the rest of us enjoyed the appetizers.

Sister Mazi had spent all day preparing a beautiful and delectable French dinner – cous-cous with chicken and fresh vegetables cooked in a broth.  At the end, I shared that it was our 48^th anniversary  - and Merl had taken me to a wonderful French restaurant for dinner with our best friends. (The Mazis gave us a quick tour of their house with the upstairs bedrooms.  They invited us to return to Portugal after our mission to stay in their home for our holiday.  We just may do that!)

Merl’s added comments:  
Brother Mazi: story of conversion.

 It appears he randomly stopped by a neighbor’s house and was invited to listen to the missionaries that were there.  After a few future meetings with four missionaries – a sister sitting next to him invited him to read the Book of Mormon.  He didn’t accept at first.  She told him if he did not commit to read it, this would be the last time they would see him. He went home, and began to reason with himself. “I have two choices, read the book or not read the book.  If I don’t read the book, I cannot know for sure if it is true.  If I read the book, then I can know.  Once he began reading, he read until 3:00 am the next morning.  His mother came to his room and said, you must be to work at 5:00.  He didn’t want to stop reading.  He stopped and knelt down and prayed about the book … He knew it was true.  Then he wanted to be baptized immediately.  He called the missionaries and told them he wanted to be baptized on the weekend.  They told him he had to have all 12 lessons before they could baptize him.  So – he had all 12 lessons, 2 a day, that week so he could be baptized. Now he is a sealer in the temple in Holland. He flies back and forth to Holland each week that he is assigned to serve as a sealer – most weekends.

His wife was 7 years old and was instructed by her parents to prepare for baptism.  She wanted to know about the truth of the Book of Mormon.  She read it and began praying  - for nine months she asked for an answer.  When she turned 8, her parents asked her if she was ready. She said no. she had not received an answer and wasn’t going to be baptized yet.  Then one day, the thought ( answer) came into her mind, “why do you ask me to know if the Book of Mormon is true when you already know it is true? And she did know, she just wanted an answer. She then accepted to be baptized.

                                           

Another experience: While he and his wife were relaxing out on their patio, the spirit told him to go into the center of the city.  He didn’t know why or where (and his wife initially wasn’t pleased to be disturbed).  He soon found four missionaries; one set had left the keys in their joint apartment, so they didn’t have keys to the car or the apartment.  They asked him why he was there; and he told them he didn’t know.  He was just told to go into the city – so he did.  He assisted them in solving their problem and got them on their way again.

I have been very impressed with this couple who always respond immediately when they sense a prompting from the spirit.  And they attest to the guidance of the spirit any time something occurs that they hadn’t planned that seems to be a coincidence in their lives for good. They felt they were in the market at the right time and place to meet us; they were supposed to be there to meet us. They didn’t know why they were there.

After dinner, when they found out it was our anniversary, they immediately told us they had a discussion whether to have us to dinner Sunday or Monday and then decided Monday would work best and then invited us and the four Loulé missionaries to dinner.  Not only was it our anniversary, but Sister Madsen is leaving tomorrow for Porto. They were just overwhelmed at the seeming coincidence – supposed to happen – dinner on this special day.  The spirit guided them; and it truly was a dinner fit for royalty!  We could not have planned a more special anniversary dinner.

I had been assigned ahead of time to give the FHE lesson. I used a portion of the farewell talk I gave in TF on Spiritual Gifts.  When he saw I had printed two copies (one for Kathlyn so she could follow along), he asked if he and his wife could read along with me (written in Portuguese and English).  I gave it in Portuguese. I was told that they could understand my words and message. This turned into a testimony meeting where each one of us bore our testimonies. This was really a special day.

The Weekend and Transfer Notices

Saturday, August 25

I have been wanting to make a traditional Portuguese vegetable soup (even if it is still way to hot to eat soup).  I checked out several recipes and found I had all the ingredients, except a leek.  Sounded like a good reason to me to head to the Saturday Market this morning.  I came home with my leek as well as a big slice of winter squash, strawberries, cilantro, tomatoes, and a jar of local honey.  I walked through all the fish aisles again today, but still couldn’t talk myself into buying something.  I think it might be all the eyes looking up at me. . . and for some people here, that’s one of the best bites on the plate.  Just can’t do it.

After shopping and eating a late breakfast, we walked over to the local Campo de Futebol (soccer

field) to watch a jogo de futebol (soccer game) between Loulé and Faro.  Faro is in black in the pictures – and seemed to be the better team today.  It was 95^o at 11:00 this morning and these kids were running their hearts out the whole game.  The footwork and strategic moves were amazing.  We were sitting in seats under a large canopy – I told Merl that I had to imagine we were in a luxurious spa in a sauna to make the heat bearable.  The round-trip walk is about a mile.  We were cooking by the time we got home.

(Foto:  painting on the side of an apartment building close to the soccer field.)


The afternoon plan was to support a district primary activity in Faro.  Candida, one of our Branch members, is the District Primary President.  Instead, we spent the afternoon in Olhão cleaning and working on the Elder’s apartment there.  It had been empty for a while, but it is anticipated that new Elders will be coming on Monday – the next transfer day.  Sister Bower (senior missionary) has been assigned to coordinate the housing inspections; she sent an email requesting that all the apartments be “missionary ready” by Monday evening.  The Olhão apartment needed some major cleaning and lighting/electrical issues taken care of.  So that is what we did this afternoon.

While in Olhao, we received a phone call from the Sisters inviting us to dinner at a recently baptized family’s home.  Noberto and Dolores Maldonado from Equador. They live in Albufeira – one of the tourist capitals of southern Portugal.   We drove to Albufeira around 8:00 p.m. and found the city crowded with tourists, and we finally had to resort to a paid parking garage to find somewhere to park.  We located the apartment on the third floor and were greeted by Dolores.  Noberto found the Elders downstairs and joined us.  The children were working in the family shop on the street in front of their high-rise    apartment.  The family (as do many of the              (Foto:  art piece on a round-about in Albufeira)
families from Equador) import dolls, bracelets,
 etc. and customize them for the tourists. 

Norberto worked for 15 years in Portugal before bringing his family here from Ecuador about a year ago.  During that time, he joined the church; his wife and children joined within this last  few months.  After being apart for that long (except for three months each year), Dolores said it was difficult at first being together all the time.

(Foto:  Merl, Kathlyn with Dolores, Kevin, Melanie, Norberto - taken after church on Sunday)

We had rice, potatoes, roast pork, and a cucumber/tomato/onion/avocado salad (which was delicious.  And the best part was a big pitcher of fresh squeezed orange juice.  After a hot day, that hit the spot.  A little appetizer was a bowl full of home-made corn nuts – large corn kernels, salted and baked in the oven.  We visited after the meal, Elder Heiner gave a message, and then we left to figure out how to get out of the parking lot.  After a failed first attempt, the sisters got some instructions from an attendant, and we were on our way home. 


(Foto:  Bad shot of the same art piece after dark, going fast around the circle)

Sunday, August 26

Happy birthday, Cooper!  We miss you and hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

The Sunday mornings seem to come more frequently than the other days of the week.  We were ready to head out the door by 9:10.  I helped arrange for Sister Mazi to play the piano for most of the Sacrament meetings while they are here on holiday.  Update on the Mazis:  After a facebook post, I received a comment from Cheryl Okleberry (preiously Cheri Calico from Twin Falls) saying they knew the Mazis and what a wonderful family they were.  They had crossed paths in Belgium where the Mazis were living and the Okleberrys were serving a mission a few years ago.  I told Bro. Mazi about this, and he was amazed that we knew someone he knew. . .  His wife also showed me some pictures of them in front of the Idaho Falls Temple when they visited the U.S. in 1997 – red tulips were blooming in front of the temple – the flower of Holland.  Small world!  They also invited us missionaries (Couple, Elders, Sisters) to dinner at their vacation home in Quarteira – next to the beach.  Merl was asked to present the Family Home Evening message.  Should be a lot of fun!

One announcement made from the pulpit was interesting to us.  There will be a series of classes taught on Saturday evenings taught by the Elders’ Quorum President, Nestor Querales.  The topic – The Apocalypse.  The Sisters later said that he is the only one in the area authorized to teach this.  Should be interesting. . . wish I could understand Portuguese better.

Hymn of the Day:  Secreta Oração

 

There are hours of precious peace in which my heart

of the world is spent in secret prayer.

The path that had led us to the heavenly throne

only discovered by secret prayer.

When navigating this sea of despair

my soul comforts itself in secret prayer.

And when you say you walk through temptation,                            The Maldonada Family

To my master I will raise a secret prayer.

(Chorus) I will surrender my heart in secret prayer.

I will gain by these gifts with the communion angels.

I attended the Gospel Principles class today with Merl.  Several of the recent converts were In the class.  The lesson was God’s Plan for Eternal Families.  I felt like the teacher was the perfect teacher for the class – she spoke distinctly (with some animation) and kept the interest of everyone. 

 

Jared and Jairo Ferreira came in late (the sisters had called them and woke them up – but they came).  (Jaiiro - center - is the Branch Mission Leader, Jared is his older brother and is being taught by the missionaries; and Elder Heiner from Burley). 

 Jairo thinks it is funny when he says "I am the brother of Jared."

In Relief Society, “Where Love Is” from the children’s hymnbook was practiced.  I gathered that the RS Sisters will be singing it sometime soon in Sacrament meeting.

After lunch the Sisters had set up an appointment with a member (less/non active) who they thought we could start working with.  We had a good (but tearful) hour with him as he shared his life and problems/concerns with us.  He speaks no English and our Portuguese is so-so; but the spirit was there, and there was enough communication to earn trust and another meeting scheduled on Tuesday.  We pray that we might be of some help to him in his desire to get back on the path.

 

Transfer notices were sent out tonight.  We are SAD to see Sister Madsen leaving (going to Porto) – happy for her but, sad for us.  She has been such a blessing in our lives getting us going here in Loulé.  Sister Kelson will be getting a new companion (Sister Hawes), and I am sure they will be great.  

Loulé Elders and Faro Elders remain intact.  Sister Enders (from Twin Falls) is being transferred.  Four new Elders are coming to Olhão so we will need to make another trip over there to finish a few projects in one of the apartments.

But we will start the P-Day tomorrow by treating the Sisters to a trip to Sand City.  

Catch up Day and Random Things

Thursday, August 23

We woke this morning with nothing pressing or on the schedule.  It was a good feeling.  We spent a good deal of the day studying and catching up on things.  Merl made French toast for breakfast which was yummy – I love the bread here.

We have been working on memorizing the missionary purpose statement in Preach My Gospel.  We are adding to that the mission scripture found in D&C 24:12:

“E em todos o tempos e em todos os locais abrirá a boca e anunciará meu evangelho como com a voz de uma trombeta, tanto de dia como à noite.  E dar-lhe-ei uma força que não é conhecida entre os homens.”

One major thing we accomplished today was organizing most of the “things” left here in the apartment by previous missionaries.  We sorted through papers, pamphlets, and miscellaneous items that had cluttered shelves and drawers.  We even found some information on the stove top and microwave. . . maybe we will be able to understand better how they function. 

The next big project is to organize boxes and bags of tools and fix-it items.  We put a big tool box in the car that also needs to be organized.  One step at a time.  We actually didn’t leave the apartment until 7:00 p.m. when we thought we needed to take a walk and get some fresh (and yes, hot) air. 

We found a new street to walk today which took us to Parochial Center.  Many trees were wearing sweaters (which an internet search revealed is called yarn bombing - a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk).  

We found a neighborhood futebol field with some young boys playing soccer.  A little further up the street, we found a larger stadium where two teams of older boys were practicing.  We stopped to watch for a bit – they are amazing.  The drills the players were running showed how serious this sport is at a young age.  

After watching for a while and deciding there wasn’t going to be an official game, I asked a mom when the next game would be played there.  She didn’t know and referred me to a man in a “vermelho” shirt by the fence.  In my best Portuguese, I asked the question.  The next game is at 11:00 next Saturday – Loulé against Faro.  Sometimes conversations go jut as planned, and basic Portuguese is getting easier.  Should be a good game. . . and if isn’t too hot, we just might watch it.

We had a late dinner of lasagna, salad, steamed vegetables, and crusty bread.  Then back to some computer work and then bed. 

Friday, August 24, 

Nothing special planned for today.  It has been good to have a couple of days to get things in order and take care of “housekeeping” items.  Even when you live in a beautiful country across the ocean, there are still the every day things to do:  laundry, dishes, sweeping, dusting, sorting and taking out the garbage (everything has to be sorted and put in four different collection containers out on the street). 

We take time to read scriptures in Portuguese and memorizing different missionary assignments.  We watched a BYU Devotional  (Michael Goodman, July 12, 2016) that we would highly recommend about the ability to know truth.

I am in search of a crockpot (almost don’t exist here – the few that can be purchased in one store or on Amazon-ES are €80-130.  What I would really like is some type of Instapot (multi-purpose pressure cooker)  but they are expensive here, too.  I think that would help with our meal preparations because we oft times don’t know what are schedule is going to be – just throw something in and it will be ready whenever you get home.  

One good find in our search for a crockpot – a dry cleaning establishment inside of a little shopping center.  It will be about $10 to dry clean a suit.

We filled the car with gas which cost about €45 – that is the equivalent of about $7 per gallon.  It is a good think that the majority of cars the church purchases here are small Toyota hybrids.  (This is the price per liter, and the top two prices are for diesel.)

A couple of observations here:

Due to very limited parking and very narrow streets in the cities, cars actually park on the sidewalks all over town.  If that doesn’t work, double parking is common.  Sometimes we will see a car stopped in a lane of traffic with the blinkers on and no driver.  (narrow main street with two way traffic and cars parked on sidewalk)     

Pedestrians (at least here in Loulé) have the right of way so you have to be very alert when driving.  Almost every corner is a round-about.  I have an international driver’s license, but I don’t plan to ever drive here.

Grocery shopping is interesting.  All the carts are chained together with a mechanism that can be released with a $.50 coin or a plastic plug.  The coin/plug stays in the cart handle until you release it by hooking the chain back up when you are finished using it.  

You either bring your own reusable bags or purchase bags at the checkout stand. People bring boxes and all sorts of containers to take their groceries home in.  All cashiers sit to do their job (wise), and customers stand in a long line waiting to hear the box number over a loud speaker – then one by one, you can approach a check out stand.  The smaller neighborhood stores are not quite so formal.

I have been fascinated by small 

structures atop almost every house and/or building herethat  look like miniature lighthouses.  I found out recently that they are actually chimney toppers – and the design and architecture is a carryover from the Moors. 

When Spain and the Algarve were conquered by Muslims over a thousand years ago many new technologies and plants were brought to the region. Castles were built to defend against invaders of all sorts, whether marauding Vikings or Crusaders en route to the Holy Land to save Christianity from Islam. Housing and public buildings were built in a style more familiar to North Africa. Citrus trees, almonds and other plants were introduced to the area. And ornate chimneys topped homes.

The Algarve still retains citrus trees, ancient castles, almond trees and the beloved Moorish chimneys. Some are rustic with layers of old paint. Others are pristine white highlighted by blues, yellows and occasionally reds to match house trims.

If you would like to see some really cool chimneys, check out this website: 

https://portugalupclose.com/2016/10/15/algarvian-chimneys/

  

District Meeting and Beach Time (finally)

Tuesday, August 21

Late last night, our internet stopped working. Merl was in the middle of a Duolingo lesson, and I was adding pictures to a blog post.  We were both in a panic.  We checked everything we could think of and turned everything off and went to bed – slept restlessly. 

Tuesday morning 10:30 is our weekly District meeting in Faro.  We need 30 minutes to get there.  We got ready so we could go to Vodofone (which opens at 9:30) for some help.  We were the first customers of the day.  It only took a minute for our favorite Vodofone lady to fix the problem – reset the modem.  Don’t know why it went off, but so happy it was an easy fix.

The Sisters were ready when we returned, and we made the drive to Faro.  Elder Buarque energetically welcomed everyone to the meeting that focused on extending an invitation to be baptized after the first discussion on the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We divided into two groups and practiced the presentation.  Elders Rogers and Vigne (Zone leaders) came towards the end of the meeting and gave a message from President Fillmore.

(Foto:  There are very few street signs where you can see them .  They are either written high on the side of a building or placed on tile plaques on a cement wall or fence.  This is the name of the street bordering the church, blue tiles laid on concrete.

After the meeting, we walked to the Faro Elders apartment (Rogers and Vigne) to do an inspection.  We then returned home with the Sisters.  After lunch, we did an apartment inspection for Elders Buarque and Heiner.  Instead of heading west to come back home, we took a left turn and went east just to see what was there.  We traveled through an area with more individual homes than we have seen before.  The road wound around the foothills, and I finally got close enough to a plant that we occasionally see along the highway so I could get a picture.  It grows kind of like a giant yucca plant, sending up a tall stalk from spiky foliage.  Some of these stalks are 15-20 feet tall.

Yesterday on our walk around the castle in Lagos, we were able to get close enough to a tree that we have seen many times from a distance; shaped like a pine tree, but instead of needles, the “leaves” are like a juniper stem that is waxed over.  It felt just like plastic. 

We took care of some personal paperwork and coordination with our home ward to ensure the funds we put in our mission account are being withdrawn properly (housing and car).  Worked on some Duolingo and blog before going to bed.

Wednesday, August 22

I finally decided that today was the day we were going to discover a local beach.  We have been instructed to take walks, eat healthy, and be an example to the younger missionaries.   We were up early and had breakfast before we headed for Quarteira Beach – about 15 km away in the city of Quarteira. 

The settlement of the region dates back to, at least, the Roman occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. Some suggest that settlement of the region may have remoted to the period of Phoenician or Carthaginian traders.^[4]

For several centuries, Quarteira was a modest fishing village, situated on the edge of a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) beach, encircled by pines. King Denis authorized a charter for the settlement on 15 November 1297.

In the 15th century, King John I of Portugal ordered the first cultivation of sugar cane in continental Portugal.  Created in 1916, the civil parish quickly became known for its beaches, fishing, and its forests of pine.

As we drove towards the coast, the landscape changed.  The trees were more plentiful and a lot taller.  There were tree-lined streets, a golf course, and lots of grass around houses – much different than in Loulé.  It was still early, but the area was busy with other walkers, bikers, and swimmers.  I do love the sound of waves crashing into the beach; and I must confess I got caught by a few as I jumped out of the way.  We had a nice walk along the beach looking for shells and taking a few pictures.  It was getting hot early and we headed back to the car for our short ride home.

We changed clothes and headed out to purchase fire extinguishers and a few other items for the apartments we had inspected.  We gathered all our things together and went to Faro to deliver our goods and pick up a package for Sister Madsen.  While at the Zone Leaders apartment, we learned of some upcoming meeting and conferences that will keep us busy for the next month.  August 30 is District Council; September 4 is a “workshop” zone conference; September 18 is a zone conference in Lisbon with Area President Johnson; September 22-23 is Algarve District Conference; and we will be added to the every Friday evening “Miracles Experienced” conference call with all the missionaries in the district. 

h.We did some grocery shopping and had been home for only long enough to make a sandwich when the Sisters rang the bell.  They had been “doing service” in an orchard all afternoon picking carob pods off trees for the Branch Elders Quorum President.  They were hot and exhausted – and still reminded us of the English class tonight at the church.  So everybody got ready for our trip to the church.

We worked with a young man named Jared, tall 21 year old of Angolan descent.  His younger brother, Jairo, is the Branch Mission Leader.  Jared was baptized three months ago and speaks decent English.  He wants to move to London to pursue schooling and a career in dance.  His mother moved to Portugal where the two boys were born, but then returned to Angola to work for a better future for them.  The boys stayed in Portugal with a relative (situation didn’t last long); then the boys were on their own.  Life can be pretty tough. . . but they are now new members of the church working for a better future.

Home again – had a full day.  All is well.