New desk, Ponte de Piedade, Jorge, and Halloween

Monday, October 29

This morning we received a phone call from Sister Lima letting us know they wouldn’t arrive until around noon. They were having phone problems and turned around and went back to their apartment  to get their personal phones. That cost them over an hour in travel time.

Last night the Loule Elders stopped to pick up some weights and other exercandise equipment that had been left in our apartment. After some investigating, we learned that Bro. Nestor had loaned the equipment to Elder Schloffman when he and his wife were living in the apartment. He was okay with us to pass it along to the Elders. Merl gave them some instruction and caution in the use of it. . . no dropping anything on the tile floors or placing weights where they will be exposed to moisture. We have found rust on some floors during our inspections. They agreed.

So with the weights gone, a nice corner opened up – and we thought it would be a good study area for me. Merl has his office in one of the extra bedrooms and has a nice computer desk/printer setup. In our walking around the city, we have found three used furniture businesses.

The second store we went to today had a nice hardwood table that looked just the right size for a decent price. Parking on the streets is so difficult to find – and we were only four blocks away from home. . . so Merl and the store owner took the legs off and put them in a big IKEA bag for me to carry, and Merl hoisted the table onto his shoulder; and we headed for home. We received some smiles and pleasant comments on our way. . . we are fitting in with the lifestyle here.

Our Loule Sisters wanted to go shopping at the Mar Mall which is on our way to Faro. We gave them a ride, and they will return by bus.

We drove to Faro to meet the Limas and to pick up the Faro Sisters. The Elders joined the Limas and another set of Sisters in Lima’s car (six passenger); and we were off to Lagos and Ponte de Piedade. We have been there several times, but it is a beautiful place that all the missionaries want to visit here in the Algarve. It is about an hour’s drive from Faro.  (Sister Collins from Salt Lake and Sister Pastrana from Brazil. 

It was fun watching the six young missionaries (and the Limas) as they hiked, climbed, and  discovered new views of the coastline. We never grow tired of the raw beauty of rock and water along the southern coast of Portual.  We think this is our fifth trip with different missioaries. 

No one had lunch before the trip, and everyone had worked up quite the appetite. We drove back to the Old Town Lagos area across from the marina to find something to eat. Pizza is always a winner with this group, and we ordered three large family size pizzas – letting the owners decide what toppings to use. Everyone found something they liked – even though I had to pick the salty pieces of sardines off what otherwise looked vegetarian.

(Foto left to right:  Sister Chagas, Elder and Sister Lima, Elder Alves, Sister Pastrana, Sister Collins, Elder Patricio, Kathlyn, Merl.  . Sister Tavares taking the picture)

We and our Loule Sisters had a dinner appointment with Jorge and Blanca at 7:30 in Albufeira. We left Lagos around 5:30, drove an hour to Faro, and then back to our apartment to change clothes and pick up Sister Ngalu and Sister Jackson. We were just a few minutes behind schedule when we left.

George and Blanca Ushina is one of the first couples we met in our Branch.  They are from Ecuador and have been in Portugal 19 years.  They have four beautiful chilcren and were sealed in the Madrid Temple earier this year. 

The Sisters gave a Family Home Evening lesson on important things in our lives - and the most important thing.  Sister Ngalu placed four cards naming good things on the floor and asked a family member to eliminate one.  As she added a new card, another choice would be made.  It came down to making a choice between family and a testimony of  Jesus Christ.  A tough choice. . . but it was decided that without a testimony of Jesus Christ, nothing else really matters.

They shared stories of how their faith and choices have blessed their lives.  I am going to encourage them write or record these stories if they not already done so.

Blanca fixed a tradition celebration meal which was not only colorful but very good.  The red on the plate is beets - and Merl will never eat beets.  Since each plate was prepared separately for each of us, he gave it a try and cleaned up his plate (beets, tomatoes, purple onions, lemon juice).  

Jorge is a musician and plays the panflute and has a group that has recorded several CDs.  He gave us two of his recordings, one traditional and one romantic melodies.  He reached over to pick up a framed picture of his family, all dressed in white in front of the temple when they were sealed.  He dropped it, shattering the glass and breaking the frame.  We cleaned up the glass, and Merl asked if he could take the frame and repair it (it matches the frame of a picture of the temple).  

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Tuesday, October 30

Woke up this morning with either a sore throat or an ear infection. . . couldn’t tell – both hurt when I swallowed. As the morning developed, and the pain dissipated, I started sneezing and my nose was running uncontrollably.

We went to the Loule chapel for a special Zoom conference call for the Zone. I sat in the back away from everyone. The summary of the meeting is that everything (and they meant everything) that a missionary needs to know and do is found in the Preach My Gospel book. Next to the Book of Mormon, this should be our resource.

When we got home from the church, I heated up some chicken noodle soup and made some hot lemonade and honey. I spent the rest of the afternoon wrapped up in a big blanket trying to get warm and trying to get some sleep. I even turned on the electric bed warming cover before dozing off. When I woke up, we walked over to the market and bought some more lemons and then to the pharmacy across the street to get a decongestant with no acetaminophen , a box of kleenexes, and some throat lozenges. Did the trick for a while.

While I was trying to sleep, Merl cut an inch off the end of the table we bought yesterday. It was just that much too big to slide into the nook vacated by the exercise equipment. Now I won’t need to unplug and move everything when we have company for dinner. Might need to hang a picture or two so it isn’t so plain.

Wednesday, October 31

I think I probably slept half the day. I put garlic essential oil on the bottom of my feet and sniffed On Guard during the day. Hope it helps. When Merl came into the front room, he asked what was cooking. . . it was my garlic feet. We missed a dinner appointment last night with the Sisters and District Counsel today, but I don’t think anyone would want me to be around them right now.

It rained all day. We closed all the blinds and curtains to keep the heat in and the cold out. In other words, it was a pretty dark, dismal day. My only happy sight was my basil and chives plant that

indicate some life.

I think Merl appreciated a down day to catch up on month end finances for the mission office, studying, reading the scriptures, etc. . . he had a lot of time to himself.

We talked to Curtis in the evening about how things are going at home, home finances, and Halloween. We have seen some decorations in stores and lots of bags of candy, but that is all we have seen. I looked to the internet and found a little more of how Portugal celebrates Halloween – or Day of the Witches.

https://www.portugalist.com/portugal-halloween/

In Portugal, Halloween on 31 October is celebrated by children dressing up and going trick-or-treating, as well as taking part in pumpkin-carving competitions in schools. The first day of November, All Saints’ Day, is a national holiday in Portugal. Traditionally, children go from door to door to do a different type of trick-or-treating on All Saints’ Day morning, asking for pão-por-deus (bread in God’s name) and reciting poems in exchange for bread, cakes, fruit or nuts. Later in the day, families cover the graves of their loved ones in candles and flowers.