Baptism and Confirmation, Brazilian Barbecue, and Light the World

Saturday, November 10

I woke this morning wondering what I should fix for Sunday dinner. The Loule missionaries (along with whoever needs a place to eat), will be joining us. We stopped by the Farmer’s Market to see what we might use. I love buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, and enjoy the crowds of
 tourists that are in town. Today I found really nice radishes and scallions, red/purple sweet potatoes, and some little star-shaped mild peppers. The carrots were beautiful – but I need to use what I have in the fridge first. Later we will stop at the grocery store to decide what the main dish will be tomorrow.

While doing an Olhao inspection yesterday, Elder Paul informed us that there would be a baptism today for a woman from Zimbabwe that they had been teaching. They are excited for her and requested we come to the baptism. She only speaks English, has one 17 year old son in Portugal with her, and two other older sons in Zimbabwe.

We met Hellen Nyika at the church in Faro. Because she only speaks English, she welcomed being able to talk to someone. While I did a little piano practicing in the chapel, Merl visited with her. This is Merl’s comments on their discussion: “I had a discussion with her just before her baptism o the importance of this day and the challente it is to remain faithful throughout life. She said her challenge might e intimacy as she was single now. I just made a brief statement that intimacy should be kept within the bounds of marriage. She knew that. I said the Holy Ghost will help her if she strives to keep the commandments throughout life.  Kathlyn later had a discussion with her and the two became friends quickly. After the baptism, she made a request that we be at her confirmation on Sunday. We said we would be there.”

Foto:  Elder White, Elder Pugh, Francisco Fernando, Pres. Paulo Azevedo, Hellen Nyika, Tania Freire, Sis. Azevedo Lia Azevedo, Jose Duarte; (front):  Elder Paul, Elder Carreira, Sammuel Azevedo.










We stopped at Jumbo to finish our grocery shopping. We found chicken on sale, so the decision was made. We will have chicken pot pie, sweet potato casserole, and a big fresh salad – and banana cream pudding for dessert. When we arrived home, I put the chicken in the pressure cooker and prepared all the vegetables. I had enough chicken to actually make two dishes – chicken/vegetable pot pie with biscuit toppers and barbeque chicken/vegetable casserole with mashed potato topper. Everything was prepared tonight except for the biscuits and mashed potatoes. That will wait until morning.

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Sunday, November 11

So grateful to remember family members who have served (and continue to serve) our great country.

First thing this morning, I made a batch of flaky biscuits and set them out on the balcony to stay cool while we were at church. Then we hurried to get ready for church.

We were invited to attend the Branch Correlation Meeting this morning at 8:00. Pres. Rui is taking seriously the initiative of reaching out and strengthening the core of the membership. Great effort by all organizations of the Branch to reach out to those in their stewardship was emphasized. Missionaries were asked to assist members in this process, as well as help find and “invite back” those who have been lost. We had to leave the meeting a little early in order to drive to Olhao for a confirmation.

We were fortunate to pass the Olhao Elders (White and Pugh) on the street as we were trying to locate the chapel. Our GPS will get us to an approximate area, but all the little winding streets are not shown. We arrived a few minutes early. When Sister Nyika saw us, she started to cry. She was so grateful that we thought she was important enough to support. We sat with her and shared the songs and sacrament prayers that she could read on Merl’s Nexis. I know what it is like to sit through meetings and not understand a single word.   (Foto:  Elder Pugh, rt; Elder White, lt).

 

Elder Paul confirmed her and gave her a beautiful blessing (in English) which I tried to write down for her. I got most of it, I think. Again, she shed tears. Elder Paul sat behind her so he could whisper his translation of the testimonies. He was kept very busy! It was good for us to visit the Olhao Branch now that we will be working more closely with all the branches in the Algarve. We were given a copy of the new family study manual to be used starting January 1. It is a beautiful book – I hope all our family embraces it.

We drove back to Loule and arrived in time for Merl to go to part of Priesthood meeting. I had him drop me off at home so I could finish up the lunch. Everything was ready when the missionaries as well as Jairo and Miguel arrived. 

 Vera Silva was also invited to lunch today, but she said she had to be home to fix lunch for a mother and grandmother who live with her. We was touched by the offer and came over as we were finishing our lunch. She shared some dessert and stayed to visit with us after the others left. She is a delightful young woman (36 yrs old) who has recently been reactivated. We learned why the Sister missionaries love her so much.

We took a much needed short nap, ate some more banana cream pudding, and did some studying. Another good day! We received a phone call tonight inviting us to join with the District missionaries for a barbecue and game day at the Faro chapel. Sounds like fun, and we accepted.

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Monday, November 12

When I got up this morning, I felt my nose dripping. . . I have had a cold recently, but congestion and nasal issues were pretty much gone. My first thought was it must be a bloody nose. . . I grabbed a tissue and found a bright yellow, clear liquid was dripping off the end of my nose. What in the world? It didn’t last long, but was a bit concerning.

We got ready, gathered a few barbeque supplies, and picked up the Sisters at 9:45 a.m. for the drive to Faro. We found the Olhao and Faro missionaries already there playing soccer and cooking potatoes and carrots. Merl joined the game, and I went to the chapel to go through some Christmas music for Sacrament meeting prelude and for the special Christmas Sacrament meeting on December 23.

As we went back to unload the car, we were approached by a young pregnant woman with a big bag of new socks (from Spain she kept saying). She was selling them on the street to make money for the baby. Merl definitely didn’t need more socks, but we bought four packs – 2 for him and 2 for me. Merl’s philosophy: The Lord has well blessed us, and we are in a far better place than many around us; he has a hard time denying those in need, regardless of their reasons.

 All the missionaries participated in the cooking and the games, rotating as needed. Everyone chipped in on the expenses. They played soccer, basketball, and ping pong. They also rotated using the office computers for their weekly emails.




The idea for this activity came from the Faro missionaries (all Brazilians), and the menu was a typical Brazilian meal. Chicken, pork, and sausage on the grill, mayonaisse salada (potato salad with carrots and peas), potato chips, bread with spicy spread, and Guarana to drink. I added a fresh green salad with ranch dressing.

 I continue to say that no one cooks chicken like the Brazilians. Elders Patricio and Alves took great pride and care in getting the meat to the table. It was amazing! (I had another drippy nose episode. . .) It was 4:30 before the dishes were washed and the garbage removed. It was fun watching the missionaries interact and work together.

We dropped the Sisters off at the library in Loule and came home. I wasn’t feeling bad but was curious what was going on with my head. I search on the internet resulted in symptoms of a cranial spinal fluid leak (CSF). It was all pretty scary sounding. I went to bed not knowing what direction this was all going to take. 


When I got up, I tried to reach Dr. Sandison back at home and was finally successful at 11:00 p.m.  He asked me all kinds of questions and didn’t have any answers – he thought it was really strange because I had not experienced the trauma that usually causes this condition. He said to rest and to contact a doctor here in Portugal if things don’t improve – and to contact him again if needed.

While I waited for Dr. Sandison’s return phone call, I watched the church’s video for the Light the World campaign – narrated by Elder Brent Nielsen from Twin Falls. I enjoyed watching the ideas that were given on how we can each be involved.

We went to bed after praying for the health necessary to continue serving. I had a restless night.

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Tuesday, November 13

District meeting started at 11:00 this morning. We even arrived a few minutes early in spite of me sleeping in this morning. The church still smelled of churrascaria – a wonderful smell.

The sun was shining today, and so I requested the opening song to be “Minha Alma Hoje Tem a Luz” (There is Sunshine in My Soul Today):

My Soul Today has the Light.                                               Minha Alma Hoje tem a Luz,

A splendid light.                                                                      Uma esplendido clarao.

shines brighter than the sun in the blue sky                             Brilha mais que o sol ceu azul

because it comes from salvation.                                             Pois vem da salvacao.

A light I feel in the soul                                                           Uma luz eu sinto na alma

in moments of joy and peace                                                   Nos momentos de alegria e paz

And, in the Lord's influence,                                                    E, na influencia do senhor,

My soul delights.                                                                     Minha alma se compraz.

Pres. Fillmore’s weekly newsletter was discussed. The remainder of the meeting was in brainstorming ideas for the Light the World 2018 campaign. It will be fun to assist in the various activities that will be coming. It will require a good coordination with the Branches and the District.

 Today was the last meeting that Sister Tavares will attend with the District missionaries. She will go to Lisbon on Sunday and return to her home in Brazil on Tuesday. She is a beautiful young woman and a great missionary. She has always had a smile and a positive attitude.

On our way home, we stopped in Almancil to give a November Liahona that has the General Conference talks and a missionary handbook to Edgar Morena; he wanted to read about ordinances now that he has been ordained an Elder. We had a short visit before heading home.

We dropped off the Sisters at the church for a teaching appointment and lunch with Jairo and the Loule Elders. We fixed some lunch, and I laid down to rest – following doctor’s orders. Things have been normal so far today. If there is any kind of weakness in the bony plate surrounding my brain above the sinuses and nasal passages, I was told not to exert a lot which would increase the spinal fluid pressure.  It takes time for the bone to heal . . . whatever all that means. So I am being careful.

Merl spent most of the afternoon/evening studying using a new program we discovered online – PortugueseLab.com. We know most of the vocabulary, but we are now being exposed to the continental Portuguese pronunciation at a speed we can understand. Every little bit helps! I copied the files to my computer so we can each work at our own pace. . . he is usually ahead of me.