Sunday,
December 9
After
some early morning preparations for lunch, we left to pick up the
Fillmores for church. Merl dropped me off first so I could start
prelude for the meeting. President Fillmore gave the last talk in
Sacrament meeting and always does a nice job – very engaging. He
had interviews after the meetings, and then Nester rode with us to
find a pharmacy that was open. Sister Fillmore needed to get some
medication for the train ride back to Lisbon.
We
had lunch with Elders Payne and Howard, Sisters Ngalu and Prado, and
the Fillmores. After lunch, President Fillmore shared some insights
to help the missionary work here. He suggested that questions about
families, parents, and grandparents could lead to an invitation to
visit with the Branch Family History Leader. Everyone likes to talk
about families. He challenged them to try to this approach and
report their results, kind of like a pilot project.
We
returned the Fillmores to the train station with hopes that Sister
Fillmore has a better experience than when she arrived.
*
* * * * * *
Monday,
December 10
This
P-Day, we decided to do some shopping for missionary apartments. We
recently received and activated new mission credit cards, and the
office staff asked us to us the card to ensure it was working. We
went to IKEA to purchased kitchenware, Wortens for a sandwich maker,
a hardware type store for light bulbs, and a Chinese store for a glue
gun. Merl took care of financial records and finished his testimony
for a project Amber is doing for Christmas.
We
found a small strand of colored lights for my little Christmas tree,
so I did a little more Christmas decorating.
It always seems a bit
strange to be preparing for Christmas away from home – and in a
place where it never snows. The polar bear and eskimo figures look
so out of place as does Papai Noel in his red and white suit.
*
* * * * * * *
Tuesday,
December 11
I
had received a message from Sister Haws (Caroline Haws now – she
has been home for a few months). She had been contacted by a man she
had taught in Martins (and was baptized) who has since moved to
Loule. He has been inactive and has a tobacco problem, but he is
interested in returning. She asked us to contact him. Today was the
day to call.
He
was excited to receive my phone call; he accepted the invitation to
meet at the church next Sunday. He says he is shy and it would work
better that way.
We
received a phone call from Elder Santos (from the housing FM group).
They have located a potential apartment in Faro for the Elders. They
need us to make arrangements with the property manager to see the
apartment and give our recommendation.
I
made a batch of molasses cookies and shared them with our friends
around our apartment. We made arrangements with President Gorjao
(Rui) to go to the temple next week. Most District members will be
going on a bus and staying a full week; we don’t feel we should be
gone that long and will take our car. President Gorjao asked if we
could take two other sister members with us, which was fine for us.
Merl
repaired the broken kitchen cabinet door from the Beja apartment. He
bound it together with a cord to hold it tight until the glue dries.
He has been a blessing to the Mission office and the missionaries –
he is handy in fixing so many things. We studied some Portuguese and
then watched a Hallmark movie on Youtube.
*
* * * * * *
Wednesday,
December 12
Each
morning the plan is to have prayer, scripture and language study,
reading, etc. Some days are better than others. . . Added to the
normal routine was for Merl to take care of bills at home and
entering everything into his budget form. We had two apartment
inspections in Faro and one for the Sisters in Loule.
I
spent the evening making final arrangements for the talent show at
Zone Conference in Setubal tomorrow.
*
* * * * * * * *
Thursday,
December 13
With
the Sisters in the back seat, we were on the road to Setubal at 7:30
this morning for the Christmas Conference for the Algarve and Setubal
Zones. It was quite foggy most of the trip. I never tire of watching
the landscape change as we make this drive to the north (although I
did join the Sisters in a nap today). Merl does a lot of driving and
doesn’t have the luxury of catching a little sleep on our many road
trips.
All
the missionaries were in great spirits this morning and the training
went well. President Fillmore and his Assistants always have good
presentations. There was a little bit of anxiety when lunch was late
in arriving, but everyone got plenty to eat. . . and it didn’t put
us much behind schedule.
I
was amazed at how talented (and sometimes crazy) our missionaries
are. We had a wide variety of performances: singing, piano, guitar,
magic, recitations, dance, rap, comedy. Everyone was given a letter
from President Nelson and a big Christmas card prepared by one of the
office missionaries that included a picture of all the missionaries
in the mission. After the conclusion of the meeting, the Algarve
Zone had a Secret Santa gift exchange that was really fun.
*
* * * * * * *
Friday,
December 14
We drove to Faro to drop off supplies for the missionaries. We had filled the back of our car with cases of Books of Mormon, pamphlets, pass-along cards, etc. While there, we finally found the property management office fort the prospective apartment. There are actually two offices around the corner from each other. We spoke with a person in one office who said Paula (our contact) actually was in Lisbon for the weekend. We sent another email, but we have been unsuccessful in getting a response. We can't finalize the contract on the apartment until we actually can get in and see it. Things take so long here.
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
Saturday,
December 15
I never tire of walking through the farmer's market - a ritual every Saturday morning. I can buy fruits and vegetables to use in meals throughout the week. After returning home, I made a pan of banana chocolate chip bars and shared some with our neighbors.
After seeing a post on our Branch's facebook message group, we volunteered to help clean the church today. A time was set, and we were the only ones that actually were there. Someone had come in earlier and cleaned the chapel and cavo (basement where the Primary and YM/YW rooms are). I even brought a pan of cookie bars to share. We cleaned until we needed to leave to go to Faro for a baptism of Helen's son from Olhao. This has been a wonderful story. Helen (from Zimbabwe) was bapatized a few weeks ago, and now her 17 year old son had decided to be baptized. In a few weeks, her two daughters with their families still in Zimbabwe will be baptized. All from the example of this one faithful woman.
While at the baptism, the Portimao Elders called. They had locked themselves out of their apartment. This required us to drive to Portimao on the other side of the Algarve. We found them at the church attending their Branch Christmas dinner, which we were invited to join.
The blesing of this little side trip was that we accompanied the six missionaries as they set up their Light the World display in front of a large nativity in a beautiful area of the Portimao city center with it's cathedral and lights. We gave the Elders our spare key to their apartment, with instructions to gie it to Elder and Sister Mann when they arrive in a week. We had a late drive home.
* * * * * * * *
After seeing a post on our Branch's facebook message group, we volunteered to help clean the church today. A time was set, and we were the only ones that actually were there. Someone had come in earlier and cleaned the chapel and cavo (basement where the Primary and YM/YW rooms are). I even brought a pan of cookie bars to share. We cleaned until we needed to leave to go to Faro for a baptism of Helen's son from Olhao. This has been a wonderful story. Helen (from Zimbabwe) was bapatized a few weeks ago, and now her 17 year old son had decided to be baptized. In a few weeks, her two daughters with their families still in Zimbabwe will be baptized. All from the example of this one faithful woman.
While at the baptism, the Portimao Elders called. They had locked themselves out of their apartment. This required us to drive to Portimao on the other side of the Algarve. We found them at the church attending their Branch Christmas dinner, which we were invited to join.
The blesing of this little side trip was that we accompanied the six missionaries as they set up their Light the World display in front of a large nativity in a beautiful area of the Portimao city center with it's cathedral and lights. We gave the Elders our spare key to their apartment, with instructions to gie it to Elder and Sister Mann when they arrive in a week. We had a late drive home.
* * * * * * * *
Sunday,
December 16
The missionariaes have been focusing on inviting inactive members back to church. Jorge (Sister Haws' friend) met us at the door of the church this morning, as well as several others we had not met before. Jorge said he would bring me a sack of oranges next week.
After church, we shared dinner with the Elders and Sisters, along with Jeiro and Jared. Then Merl and I took a good nap before preparing for our trip to Madrid in the morning. With some long-distance help from Hailey, I printed some family names to take to the Temple. Our Branch has had a program of the last few months to assist members to make this Christmas a "white Christmas" - a gift of temple blessings for ancestors.
Sister Gnalu came over about 10:30 in tears. She had experienced some comments/correction from a Branch member (who we all greatly respect) concerning her interaction at a serice project. She was devistated and questioning all her behaviors (she can be "over the top" sometimes). Merl counseled with her so she could recognize this as a blessing and not a chastisment. She and her companion left after 11:30, hopefully feeling better and determined to be more aware of their interactions.
* * * * * * *
After church, we shared dinner with the Elders and Sisters, along with Jeiro and Jared. Then Merl and I took a good nap before preparing for our trip to Madrid in the morning. With some long-distance help from Hailey, I printed some family names to take to the Temple. Our Branch has had a program of the last few months to assist members to make this Christmas a "white Christmas" - a gift of temple blessings for ancestors.
Sister Gnalu came over about 10:30 in tears. She had experienced some comments/correction from a Branch member (who we all greatly respect) concerning her interaction at a serice project. She was devistated and questioning all her behaviors (she can be "over the top" sometimes). Merl counseled with her so she could recognize this as a blessing and not a chastisment. She and her companion left after 11:30, hopefully feeling better and determined to be more aware of their interactions.
* * * * * * *
No comments:
Post a Comment