Mission and Leadership Conferences in Oeires and Lisbon

Thursday, Sept 20

We were out the door by 6:15, waited a few minutes for the sisters to come down from their apartment, and on the road by 6:25.  It was still dark, so we watched the sun rise as we headed out of town and towards the freeway.  It is about a three hour drive, and we are learning more about the landscape each time we make the trip.  We pointed out the cork trees, the castles on the hills, stork nests on power lines, etc.

We were about an hour from our destination, when we caught up with a car full of Elders from Olhão.  We passed them but later played leap frog as we were tied up in traffic for 45 minutes trying to get across the bridge to Oeira.   We were afraid of not getting to the church on time.  We then followed the Elders through the city, so glad they were there to maneuver the crazy busy streets.  We arrived at 9:47.

We met President and Sister Johnson, the European Area President stationed in Germany. The Johnsons and the Fillmores have been friends for many years as they had both worked in the church education system together.  Headsets were used today which was a blessing for us and a few other missionaries as President and Sister Johnson only speak English.   Young missionaries served as interpreters, bouncing back and forth between Portuguese and English depending on who was presenting information.  They did an amazing job!

We have learned that President Fillmore likes to use every day, visual examples to introduce and reinforce concepts.  Today he used a violin to demonstrate fine tuning to produce sounds that are in harmony.  An Elder and Sister (with their own violins) demonstrated the techniques.  Everything needs to be adjusted and in proper order (resin, bow, strings, bridge) to produce beautiful music.  The same steps need to be taken to implement the full doctrine of Christ.  Each step in the right direction increases agency to take the next step.   You have four notes (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost).  Each note (or step) needs to be in tune to proceed to the next note (or step) to make a harmonic chord. Those who the missionaries teach need to understand and be in tune with each step before they have the ability to receive and understand the next step.  (Some churches focus on one note and never reach the fullness.)  

Subway sandwiches, chips, carrot sticks, cookies, and bottled water were served for lunch.  They always order double – these young Elders are always hungry.

Merl's take away from the afternoon presentation by Pres. Johnson- 

If any man will know the Lord, he must do the will of the Lord.  Conversion is something that happens inside the investigator as he completes the invitations.  A missionary’s purpose is to invite a person to keep commandments. When they make a commitment and then do it, only then will they receive the blessing (Alma 32:28-35).  It is like having a desire to become a good athlete. Desire and learning everything you can doesn’t get you there. A person can ask someone to tell them how to become a good athlete– learn everything about a sport, but all this knowledge doesn’t make you a good player.  You must commit to practice, train and put in the work. There is no other way to become a good athlete. I a person wants to know and serve the Lord and become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, he must desire and do the will of the Lord – then will come the conversion.

 Is my work on the mission enough?  Don’t compare yourselves with others and don’t be self-consumed about your own weakness. Don’t be more concerned about yourself than the work and the service that you are called to perform.  Show your faith in Jesus Christ, and allow him to work his miracles in his timeline – not ours.  Don’t let your weaknesses get in the way of your work.  The Lord creates the miracles in spite of our weaknesses if we will let Him. As we serve him with faith, our weaknesses become strengths.

We dropped the Sisters off at the train station for their long ride back home; then we navigated the busy streets of Carcavelos to our hotel for the night - The Hotel Praia Mar.  The Mission office staff were excited that they got a great deal for everyone.  Online it looked wonderful! 

Accommodations were adequate – old and in some disrepair (and the bed was hard as a board).  We were so tired we were able to sleep anyway.  We checked out the swimming pool which was chilly and closed at 7:00 p.m.  It was too bad that there was not enough time to take advantage of the swimming pool or walking on the beach – just across a busy highway.

Four other couples (Laytons, Limas, Bowers, and Powers) were at the same hotel; we all got together to go out for dinner (except the Powers who didn’t arrive until very late.)  We walked around the area and found a small Italian pizza and pasta place.  We enjoyed a nice meal and had fun getting to know each other better . . I think the staff were ready for us to leave to open up some seating for other customers.  It was Elder Layton’s birthday, and he did (not) enjoy us singing happy birthday to him.  It was a beautiful evening.  

When we arrived back at the hotel, we found a group of people dressed in costumes lined up waiting to go into a large room.  We learned that once a week they have a performance - some indicated that we could go in and watch, and others said it was a closed group.  Not to cause a problem, we reluctantly all went to our rooms for the night.







 (Stained glass on the stairway)

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Friday, Sept 21

Happy Birthday, dear Alicia!  It was so good to talk to you today.

What the hotel was lacking in nice accommodations was made up for by the beautiful views from the 8^th floor where we had breakfast.  Each window had a new view that was amazing. 

We hurried through breakfast with the Powers, who we then followed to the Benefica Ward building (in Lisbon).  Traffic was heavy, so Sister Powers decided to take another route. . . ended up being just as heavy, and we arrived about 15 minutes late.  The drive was beautiful along the coast, so I didn't mind being stalled in traffic.

Sister West texted to check up on us and to direct us to the best door to use to enter the meeting (and to pick up our headsets). 

Following is Merl’s summary of the Mission Leadership Conference held today:

The purpose of Mission Zone Conferences is to teach and train the Zone Leaders and Sister Trainers how and what to teach the rest of the missionaries in their zones.  It is also to set the focus and mission of the work to be done.

 Whereas conversion and baptism has been the emphasis in the past, President submitted some statistics of Portuguese members, which have caused him to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to change the emphasis. There are 30 + thousand members in Portugal, but only about 4300 of them are active. There are areas like Southern Portugal (where we are serving) with enough members to create a stake, but not enough active, and not enough Priesthood holders.

 So, the emphasis has been changed to work with less active members and bring them back into the fold. The purpose is to strengthen the core which will also bring new members into the church through the association that exists within these families. As the core is strengthened and enlarged, stakes will be created which provide more secure and solid organizational foundation.

The Doctrine of Christ was discussed, and in that discussion, it was determined that the continuum of that doctrine is the principle of repentance. Salvation and Exaltation are processes that occur over a life time – and it is through Faith and repentance that perfection is attained through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We must continue to renew our covenant of baptism through daily repentance and then partaking of the Sacrament each week. Each step (personal decision) in the right direction increases our agency and increases the power of the spirit of the Holy Ghost to teach, testify, and assist us along the way.

Missionaries tend to teach the plan of Salvation, the doctrines, the commandments, etc. but do not obtain the commitments to repent and bring lives into harmony with the commandments and then continue through out life to repent and grow. The ‘endure to the end’ continuum is not sufficiently taught. So, this will be a stressed component of the discussion – the invitation and commitment to repent and follow Christ throughout the rest of their lives.

Also, the ultimate goal of becoming like our Father-in-Heaven through the Atonement Jesus Christ must continually be in our hearts and minds as the driving force – the ultimate incentive to ‘endure to the end.’ We must have the faith that this will be so if we repent and keep the commandments to the best of our abilities. 

After an additional short meeting for the senior couples, we walked next door to the Portugal Mission Office.  We took our bags of clothing downstairs to the supply room and did a little “shopping.”  We were able find a few things for our young missionary apartments – to help them out a little until all the inventories are completed and we know what items may be available as a few apartments are closed.

After a long drive home, we found our little city streets filled with people – a little unusual for the time of day.  We put the car in the parking garage and unloaded all our stuff before taking a walk to find out with the attraction was.   (Info to follow. . .)

Sept 18-19 District Meeting, Electrical Woes, and Trip Preparations

Tuesday, Sept. 18

District meeting in Faro this morning

Merl called the Landlady this morning to let her know about the water heater problem.  She said she would call an electrician to come look at it this afternoon.  We prepared to go to the meeting and took a load of the abandoned clothes to the church so we could then fit the sisters in the car to go to the meeting.  We also took some individual cups ofl limão mousse for a treat after the meeting.

The meeting today focused on discussing the reading materials assigned by Pres. Fillmore for the upcoming combined zone conference on Thursday.  Fortunately, we had printed them out in English so we could follow part of the discussion (The Doctrine of Christ by Brian K. Ashton and Repentance is not a Backup Plan: It is the Plan by Elder Neil L. Anderson). We also practiced the new mission song to the tune of Called to Serve.  Merl gave the closing prayer, and we enjoyed the limão mousse as we visited about the trip to Oeiras on Thursday.

On our way back to Loulé, we stopped at Jumbo so the Sisters could pick up some cold medications; and I went looking for peanut butter chips (right. . . not here) and chocolate chips – which I did find a small, very expensive package.  I was asked to make cookies for the Leadership meeting on Friday after the zone conference on Thursday.  I am going to try Amber’s favorite peanut butter cookie recipe – with a few substitutions.  (Foto:  my favorite bread right now - nuts and seeds on top and throughout with raisins and currents inside.  Yummy)

When we arrived home, we tidied up the apartment in preparation for the Landlady and an electrician to arrive.  (We had previously only worked with our Landlord, but his ex-wife speaks English and is still involved with the property.)  When they arrived, it was a pleasure to get to know her.  She served a mission in England 30 years ago and still speaks English very well.  A most pleasant person!

Merl:  The elderly gentleman electrician appeared more like a handyman than a licensed electrician.  I told them what the problems appeared to be – a loose connection in the panel, and the breaker that overheated.  He had a hard time getting the panel cover off too, but finally did. (I couldn’t see how it was fastened.)  Sure enough, a loose wire; but not only that, a wire that should have been in another breaker was shoved under the water heater breaker terminal.  The water heater breaker had melted and bubbled the plastic covering.  It had a terrible smell.  He installed a larger breaker to handle both circuits and the two wires.  He had a difficult time getting the larger breaker to fit in the place, but succeeded at that, too.  He tightened all the other wires and closed up the very small panel box.  I’m sure glad I was not an electrician in this country.  There is absolutely no room in the panels for extra wire.  Power is back on and everything works.  I’ll keep a close eye on electrical use and panel temperature.

We did some studying, blogging, and visiting with Brian who is now in Italy – only one hour time difference.  We pray for their success in finding suitable, affordable housing for their family.  Sounds like they are having a good experience so far.  We look forward to seeing them here in Portugal
and/or in Italy at the end of our mission.

(Fotos:  Curtis introduced us to Messenger voice/video capabilities.  Now we can see and hear who we are talking to - even if it is a bit scary!

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Wednesday, Sept 19

Tomorrow we will be leaving for the Lisbon area for missionary meetings.  Each of the Senior Couple missionaries were asked to bring a batch of cookies for the Leadership meeting on the second day.  I decided to try a new recipe that is Amber’s family favorite right now – Disneyland Peanut Butter Cookies.  I have peanut butter but substituted chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and peanuts.  Turned out pretty good.

We made preparations for the trip by doing all the laundry, printing documents for the meetings, and researching maps and directions of how to get to the two different cities and chapels for the meetings.

We assisted with the English class this evening – the topic being “Shopping for Clothes.”  We took some of our new cookies to share.  

Later, I packed some cut up fruits and veggies for the road trip.  Fortunately I had found an insulated bag with ice packs in a closet – perfect for keeping a few things cold for the trip.   Also packed a few of Merl’s snacks to tide him over until lunch.

Lagos again, Electric Sunday, Catch up Monday

Saturday, Sept 15

Another trip to Faro to the Jumbo store (best, most complete market in the area).  I needed sour cream and shredded cheese for the funeral potatoes; hoped to find cream of chicken soup, but was unsuccessful.  (Later found a recipe for the soup on the internet – turned out better than I expected.)  I bought 5 kumquats for €.12 just to try them.  I don’t think I had ever eaten one before – interesting citrus fruit with a sweet peel and a VERY tart center. 






Speaking of firsts, I forgot to mention earlier that I finally had a Bolo de Berlim that Todd loved while serving in Portugal.  After seeing and eating a real one, I now understand the confused look and dismay that Todd had when I tried to make the treat several months ago from a recipe he sent me.  I ate this one for you, Todd.

The Sisters met us at 2:00 for the drive back to Lagos to find their companions (Sister Kelson and Sister Tavares).  This time we went straight to the little road side gas station and had the sisters come to us.  Much easier and not near the headache.  They wanted to take pictures and then we were on our way back.  Sister Haws and Sister Kelson were so appreciative of our willingness to drive them two days in a row – they wanted to treat us to an ice cream treat.  We ended up back at the little waffle shop we had been to yesterday – tried new flavors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                              (Foto:  Sisters Kelson, Haws, Hansen, Tavares)

I received a phone call asking if I would accompany the youth on Sunday for District Conference.  Pres. Rui wanted them to sing Paz em Cristo again (the Mutual 2018 theme).  I hadn’t played it for some time, so we went to the church so I could practice.  Several of the branch members were there cleaning the chapel.  The missionaries are assigned to help clean on the 5^th Saturdays of the month.

Then home to begin preparations for Sunday dinner with the missionaries.  We had decided on pork chops (found some nice ones on sale), roasted apple/onion topping, funeral potatoes, steamed broccoli/carrots, home-made rolls, and salad. 

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Sunday, Sept. 16

Sunday morning came way to early.  I got up early and made the rolls and had them out of the oven in time to leave for church.  We had some visitors from England today (a mother and teenage daughter) who had just returned from a visit in the U.S.  They had been to California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho.  They actually spent a month in Marsing, ID, with the mom’s sister.  They loved Idaho and have considered moving there.  They were going to see some more of Europe before returning home. 

The song sung by the youth went better than the first time they sang it in Sacrament meeting.  There was a large group (a picture taken later didn’t have everyone in it, but a member of the District Presidency joined in).  They are a fun bunch of kids – many different nationalities and colors.  

I think we are understanding a bit more when listening to speakers at the pulpit.  Of course, it depends on the speaker and how fast or distinct they speak…but any improvement is welcome.

We hurried home after the meeting to finish the cooking before our guests arrived.  Miguel again came with the Elders.  While they waited, we gave them our Spot It game to play.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of them sitting on the tile floor as they really got engaged in the game.  It was great to watch!

The Elders brought a pitcher of hand-squeezed lemonade.  There was plenty of food to feed everyone, and no one went away hungry.  For dessert we had strawberry/vanilla ice cream with slivers of almond tart.  I thought it was a nice dinner.

I immediately laid on the couch and propped my feet up.  At these lower elevations, my feet tend to swell if I am on them a lot.   By sleeping with them elevated, they are back to normal in the mornings.  What a nuisance. . .  Merl cleared the table and stacked the kitchen with the dishes. 

In the evening, I asked Merl to put my computer back on the table so I could use it.  It was a tangle of cords and adapters.  He was trying to make things more compact and plugged in a different adapter which immediately sparked and knocked out our electricity.  Merl unplugged things and checked our breakers.  He turned them all off and on again, and we still had no power.  He checked the meter box that is out in the main hall of the building, and our meter was off, too.  The main panel was locked.  So we called our Landlord who had his ex-wife call us (she speaks English). 

She said there was nothing she could until tomorrow morning, so we took a walk around the city noticing some new things.  She later called us to see if we could read any numbers on any of the equipment that might identify the account with the electric company.  We used a tiny flashlight and a phone camera to try find something, with no success.  We were in and out of the apartment and then the building to find light and air.  She again called back with an old receipt from the Church that had the numbers she was looking for.  We were the ones that would have to contact the electric company, which we did.  We left the inside stairwell because of the echo on the phone and to find the light. We were told that someone would be coming within the next four hours (it was about 10:00 by then).  We thought we would just wait inside. . . but Merl discovered that he had left the keys in the apartment, and we were locked out – not only out of our apartment but also the building.  What a panic – but at this point, also quite funny. 


        We thought we would be sleeping on the stairs 
                                 in the moonlight.

We weren’t sure how we were going to let the electricians in to fix the problem.  Merl walked around looking for any way to gain access to the apartment (there was a rain-drain pipe on the side that he joked about shimmying up to an open window on our balcony).  He was feeling quite hopeless.  I noticed a light on in a top-floor apartment and took a chance of pressing a door buzzer so someone could release the lock on the outside door.  A man answered (I couldn’t understand him), but I said “eu esqueci minhas chaves.  Pode ser aberta uma porta, por favor?”  I was excited when I heard the latch open – at least we could get into the building to the main panel. . . but not into our apartment. 

Within the hour, we received a phone call from the EDP electrician trying to find out where we lived.  He had the address but didn’t know where the apartment was.  We told him we were close to the Loulé market and the town center fountain (in Portguese).  He and his partner showed up in a few minutes – about 11:30 now.  They replaced the main fuse in the hall. . . and fortunately, they had an extension ladder on their truck.  In short time, one of them retrieved the ladder and climbed up to our open window to open our door so they could check our panel.  They also discovered a breaker with a loose wire that caused the problem; fixed it and away they went.  We were relieved to be inside our we could get some sleep – instead outside on the tiled steps for the night.  We were wide awake by then, so we called some of our kids to check in and catch up before going to bed.  What a day!

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Monday, Sept 17

Usually Mondays are our P-Day but there were too many loose ends to really plan on anything big to do today.

We received a message from Sister Fillmore requesting we respond to a lady who had reached out to the mission office.  This sister (we think she is a member of the church) is from England and speaks no Portuguese.  We called her and found that she was in a hotel in Faro with two children – aged 8 and 2 – and is pregnant.  She thought she had housing arranged, but it fell through.  She is needing help to find someplace to live, preferably  in the Loulé area.  We engaged the Sisters, and we called a few people to help in this endeavor.  Affordable housing is a premium with so many tourists in the area.

We then spent time at the Sisters’ apartment taking care of some things that surfaced during their inventory on Saturday night.  Merl fixed a leg on their study table and was able to pull the table extensions out to give them a bigger study area.  He brought home a heater and a drawer that needed fixed.  My dining table is becoming a work bench some days.

Both of our Sister missionaries are under the weather.  They did a little grocery shopping and then rested while we went around with our projects.  I made another batch of funeral potatoes for them and the Sisters in Faro.  We removed all of the abandoned clothing from their apartment – will take some to the Mission office later this week and will give the rest to the Branch Relief Society President.  She said she would welcome the donation when I talked to her on Sunday morning.

We brought a few games with us, and the Sisters asked to borrow them while they were recuperating.  We had Spot It, Quirkle, and UNO. 

Early evening, I smelled something burning, and Merl tracked it down to the breaker box.  He checked it out and found the breaker for the hot water heater was melting (they are made out of plastic here).  Nothing was accessible, so he turned it off deciding to call the landlord in the morning.

To end our less than exciting day, we decided to take a walk.  We discovered that, not only do we have a nice park up the street, but it also has a complete sports complex for youth.  Many teams were practicing (school started today):  swim team, tennis team, rugby team. . . no soccer – it goes year-round and has its own stadium.  It was a beautiful evening to take a leisurely walk.  We had never seen anyone playing rugby, so we asked a man standing along the fence about the game.  It was fun to watch – and we were invited to come to the first game of the season on October 20 at 2:00 p.m. between Loulé and a team from Lisbon.  We hope to catch at least part of the game.

When we arrived home, Merl took a quick shower (water was still warm, but not hot).  I made a batch of limão mousse – put chocolate cookie crumbs in the bottom of plastic cups and filled the cups with mousse.  We will take them to the District Missionary meeting in the morning for “dessert.” 

I read a couple of more chapters in the book I borrowed from Sister Candida from Angola – “A Global Testimony.”  I have enjoyed reading about conversion stories of people all around the world.  Some of them are amazing – I would recommend it!

Apartment work, Trip to Lagos, and Something Good to Eat

Wednesday, Sept. 12

The missionaries came by this morning to pick up the soup.  We hope it will help.  What these “kids” need to do is drink lots of water and stay in bed so their bodies can recuperate.  Like that will ever happen!

Stayed in all day taking care of business.  Merl spent most of the day putting together financial transactions, receipts, reimbursement reports, etc. to be scanned and emailed to Lisbon.  Add that to his personal budget tracking, and you have a full day.

I organized the kitchen cupboards and finished the inventory of our apartment.  I sent inventory reports on our apartment as well as the Olhão/Tavira Elders and the Faro Elders.  Tomorrow we will deliver the desk to Olhão and do another inventory of the Olão A Elders and the Faro Sisters.  Then only two more to do here in Loulé.  We need to get them done this week – next week we will be going to Lisbon for two days (Southern Portugal Zone Conference one day and Leadership Council the next).  We will be home for a few days and then hope to go to Madrid to attend the temple with the Loulé branch.   I  watched some young girls playing under our window while their parents were eating at the little shop next to us.  We are situated in a nice location.

I made a big batch of sweet sticky rice that didn’t entice Merl at all . . . but I thought it was really good. Be evening, I felt like I was pacing like a caged animal, so we went for a long walk around another section of winding streets.  Merl didn’t bring his wallet, and I forgot my camera so we just enjoyed the cool weather and watching people and discovering new places we will want to visit in the future.  (Foto:  Finally found some vanilla - same size as a bottle of fingernail polish.)

We thought we would go to bed at a decent time but spent some time on our MajicJack phone talking with kids.  Brian and family have not yet been successful in catching Navy flights to Italy.  The approaching hurricane has not helped the cause.  In fact, they are heading north to get out of the path as the southern and central coasts are being evacuated.  The plan is to attend the Philadelphia Temple and spend a few days in that area.  Sure hope things work out for them!

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Thursday, Sept. 13

We received a phone call first thing this morning from the Sister Trainers in Lagos requesting a ride for our Sisters tomorrow.  They are planning splits, and the Laytons will be on their way to the temple in Madrid.  We said we could accommodate them. 

Before we took off to the east to do inventories, we delivered some soup and sticky rice to the Sisters next door. Then off we go. . . we do most of our traveling with my big tote of cleaning supplies and Merl’s big toolbox.  We usually end up needing both.

The first stop was at the Olhão A Elders.  They have splits with the Faro Elders today and needed a ride so our plans needed to be changed.  The car had a desk in the back, so while I did the inventory, Merl and the Elders somehow squeezed into the car to deliver and assemble the desk at the Olão B Elders apartment.  While there, Merl also replaced the shower head so everything is working well again.  Elder White had made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and sent everyone away happy.

I used my amazing grease remover to clean out some cupboards before replacing all the miscellaneous plastic ware.  Inventory done – now time to deliver the Elders to the church in Faro and on to the Sister’s apartment.

Merl repaired a toilet and jimmy-rigged a shower head while I did the inventory.  I got to the question about a bath mat – and the Sisters took us to the bathroom to show us something.  A big towel was spread out next to the tub – that looked normal; but they removed the towel to reveal a ratty, old mat that had glued itself to the floor.  They couldn’t pull it up or out.  Merl finally was able to pull the woven part off, but a nasty solid layer was left behind.  He used a hammer and a trowel to chisel it off.  Sister Esteban wanted to try her hand at it (thinking it looked fun).  It took some time, but they now have a clean floor; and we will send in the request for a new bath mat–  maybe bright pink to match their shower curtain.  

The Sisters bagged up a couple of sacks of abandoned clothing and shoes to either send to the Mission office or to a Relief Society President or to the trash.  They shared some fruit juice that was some of the best we have had here.  It was a gift from a member.  I took a picture of the box and made a goal to find it.  (They recommended Aldi.)  They also showed us a plastic wrap product that we can use to make ice cubes.  I need to get me some of that! 

There just happened to be an Aldi not too far away, so we stopped on our way home.  I did find the juice and also some other items not found in most of the stores:  a big bag of corn chips, a can of Thai soup, a box of packets of instant mashed potatoes.  It was 3:00 p.m. by the time we got home.  After a late lunch, I got the inventories completed and sent off to the Mission office.

The Sisters stopped by to get an update on a hurricane they had heard about.  Sister Kelson’s sister lives in North Carolina, and she has been worried about it.   We shared what we knew and let her know that most people along the coast had been evacuated (the storm has not hit yet).  They said they loved the rice with fresh mango – like the mango sticky rice from Prasai’s back home.  I hadn’t thought of that!  I insisted on a late outing to find a mango before the stores closed - made it just in time.  Merl also found a nice bunch of seedless grapes on sale. . . about $.80 cents a pound (pictured above). He says they are the best he has had here in Portugal.  Successful trip – and the mango sticky rice was wonderful (but I ran out of rice).

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Friday, Sept. 14

Apartment inventory this morning for the Loulé Elders.  They have a nice apartment on the other side of town, and it didn’t take much time.  I think we must be getting better at this.

We have been asked by some at home about our responsibility for apartment cleaning and inventory.  From what we understand:  When the two missions (Porto and Lisboa) merged in July, the office couple (Elder and Sister West) from Porto transferred to Lisbon to work with the new mission
president.  The two previous mission presidents had very differing ways of doing thing,s so many early efforts for us have been in getting apartments up to a new standard.  Some apartments across the country may be closed due to fewer missionaries scheduled to come as others leave.  Inventory from the closed apartments may be used to supplement apartments in need of things considered “essential.”  So we have been helping get apartments up to standard and taking inventory for the mission office staff.  About done with this now.  We will still have inspections once each transfer to make sure the missionaries are in a clean, healthy environment.  Who better to do this than a former Health Inspector!

 

After arriving back home, we walked over to Vodafone to pay our bi-weekly internet bill.  There was quite a line in the little office, so we continued up the street checking out the shops.  We rounded a corner and found a Waffle loja that had gelado (like our sorvete loja in Brazil).  We decided to each get a cup to eat on our way back.  I felt like people were looking at us strangely – eating ice cream on the street.  We then learned (from our Vodafone friend), that ice cream is not eaten in the morning here. . . it is an afternoon or evening indulgence.  We loved it anyway.  I told Merl that we needed to find all the gelado shops, try their flavors and check the cost, and pick the best one to patronize.  Later we learned that most of these shops close for the winter.  We had better get busy fast!

We bought another cup of soup from our little store below us and enjoyed eating it before meeting with the Sisters.  We gave them a ride to Lagos to exchange partners and then returned to Loulé.  Sister Haws had never been to Lagos and really wanted to see the cliffs of Ponta de Peidade.   This is her last transfer and will be returning home to Arizona in about 3 weeks.  This seems to be "right of passage" when you come to serve in the Algarve.  We left early enough to visit this beautiful spot for a few minutes – only about six minutes from the church.  The Lagos Sisters called and asked to meet then at the town square (praça) and we did our best. . . but cars just aren’t supposed to go on those streets.  We tried and had quite the adventure.  We finally got out of the maze and waited at a gas stop across the street.  They came to find us!  Then we took the new two-some (Sister Haws and Sister Hansen) back to Loulé.     
                                                                                                               (Foto:  Sister Haws, Sister Kelson, Sister Egbert)



 That evening, we decided we would try a new idea – take turns planning something to do for a date on a Friday night (as schedules permit).  So I decided that Merl would go first.  He thought it would be nice to find a little restaurant and have a nice dinner – didn’t know where, so we walked up and down several streets trying to decide.  We ended up at a little place called Tashquina da Malta with some outdoor seating with a little candle on the tables.  Their specialty was meat or fish.  Guess what Merl ordered… salmon which came with potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and a slice of lemon.  I ordered the sea bass with the same sides.  It was a nice dinner on a quite street.