Friday,
December 28
I
woke up early and walked to our little fruit store to purchase some
fresh fruit and bread to serve for a quick breakfast along with
yogurt, cereal, juice, and boiled eggs. I was surprised that the
other couples slept in as they wanted to be on the road early. Elder
Lima said he needed to move to the Algarve because he has slept
better here than anywhere else. They left around 10:00. It had been
a fun but exhausting couple of days.
After
recuperating a little and getting caught up on things, we went to the
Loulé
Elder’s apartment to
assess cause and intervention with severe mold issue. We started in
the bathroom where most of the moisture is generated. I sprayed
every inch of the walls and ceiling with bleach and scrubbed the
surfaces until they were clean. We turned on fans to completely dry
it out. Merl gave them instructions on moisture removal and habits to see if the issue will resolve itself. While I was working in the bathroom, Merl cleaned the ceiling and walls in part of the kitchen and down the hall. He fixed a rolling blind in the back bedroom and scrubbed shoe marks off the walls. He had the missionaries take apart their fans and completely clean them.
Our
previous assumption for the mold problem was moisture from the roof;
after actually looking at it closely and finding that it was surface
mold, we think it is a missionary issue. Merl reported this back to
Elder Hunter in the mission office.
It
was nice to get back home and have left over soup for supper and
spend some time on reading and studying before bed. I can feel a
cold coming on. . . probably caught it from Andreia and Daniele.
* * * * * * *
Saturday,
December 29
The highlight of the day for Merl was his breakfast - cereal with bananas and frozen blueberries from Costco in Madrid. He spent the morning reading while I did laundry and made plans for dinner tomorrow. We went to the Farmers' Market to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables.
We later returned to the Loulé Elders apartment and cleaned mold and black marks from the ceiling and walls in the office. This is definitely not a fun job.
I had decided on making Hawaiian haystacks for dinner tomorrow and needed to visit the grocery store for a few more ingredients. Couldn’t find chow mein noodles or wonton strips anywhere; I decided to use the tiny shredded potato chips for the crunch component. Should work. I just hope this cold doesn’t settle in. I’ll need to ensure germs stay out of all the food.
Sister Ngalu asked if Merl could come to the church to give her a blessing of comfort. She has been troubled by a lot of things lately; this is her last transfer, and she has concerns about returning home, school, and the future. Afterwords, she said that Elder Egbert always knows exactly what to say.
* * * * * * * *
Sunday, December 30
I spent some time this morning prepping all the toppings or our Hawaiian Haystacks this afternoon. I try to make extra each Sunday because we never know who might be invited to join us.
We had some visitors from Utah at church today. The whole family is touring Europe. After Sacrament meeting, the next two hours were spent on the new Come Follow Me manual and program. The first hour was presented by Sister Sandra (Nester’s wife). She talked about all the resources the church has in place to assist families to be successful in teaching the gospel. The third hour was a continuation on the topic of Come Follow Me presented by the Primary President, Pollyanna.
Dinner with missionaries also included Jairo and Miguel with his three-year old daughter. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and we visited for quite a while as we sipped on currant sorbet in 7-up.
Later that evening, our Loule missionaries came over to be with us as the transfer phone call was received. Our missionaries will be the same, but the Faro Elders are being transferred along with Sister Chagas and Elder White. Nothing like last transfer when almost everyone was white-washed (whole districts transferred).
* * * * * * * * *
Monday, December 31
We spent most of New Year's Eve in Portimao. The first part of it was working at the Elder's aparatment in Lagos. It is being closed and needs to have a significant amount of work done. Fortunately, Elder Mann will take the lead on this one and call Merl if needed. Plumbing will probably be the biggest headache here.
The Manns had invited us to spend the evening with them to bring in the new year. Merl and I first stopped at the British Store to purchase some mint sticks (found them there earlier and didn’t buy
enough). When we arrived at the Mann’s apartment, they gave us a bag of mint sticks they purchased for us. . . I don’t think we will run out for a while. I brought things to make some appetizers and a big salad. Sister Mann made a big pan of bow tie pasta with tomato sauce. We nibbled on holiday cookies and mint sticks as we played Spot It and Quirkle – both hits.
Elder Mann handily beat us at Quirkle. It wasn’t midnight yet, and we thought we might be leaving. . . but Elder Mann asked if we would like to see a video he had made about their first mission as heads of the Translation Department of the church in Salt Lake. I had no idea how comprehensive and detailed the whole process is to ensure meetings and written materials are available to members around the world. We listened to the fireworks and people on the street at midnight, toasted the new year with a bottle of Guarana, and visited until 1:30. We were finally home at 2:15 a.m.
Hope I start feeling better this year. . .
One of the new looks for the Sister missionaries for next year. . . will take some getting used to.
Sunday, December 30
I spent some time this morning prepping all the toppings or our Hawaiian Haystacks this afternoon. I try to make extra each Sunday because we never know who might be invited to join us.
We had some visitors from Utah at church today. The whole family is touring Europe. After Sacrament meeting, the next two hours were spent on the new Come Follow Me manual and program. The first hour was presented by Sister Sandra (Nester’s wife). She talked about all the resources the church has in place to assist families to be successful in teaching the gospel. The third hour was a continuation on the topic of Come Follow Me presented by the Primary President, Pollyanna.
Dinner with missionaries also included Jairo and Miguel with his three-year old daughter. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and we visited for quite a while as we sipped on currant sorbet in 7-up.
Later that evening, our Loule missionaries came over to be with us as the transfer phone call was received. Our missionaries will be the same, but the Faro Elders are being transferred along with Sister Chagas and Elder White. Nothing like last transfer when almost everyone was white-washed (whole districts transferred).
* * * * * * * * *
Monday, December 31
We spent most of New Year's Eve in Portimao. The first part of it was working at the Elder's aparatment in Lagos. It is being closed and needs to have a significant amount of work done. Fortunately, Elder Mann will take the lead on this one and call Merl if needed. Plumbing will probably be the biggest headache here.
The Manns had invited us to spend the evening with them to bring in the new year. Merl and I first stopped at the British Store to purchase some mint sticks (found them there earlier and didn’t buy enough). When we arrived at the Mann’s apartment, they gave us a bag of mint sticks they purchased for us. . . I don’t think we will run out for a while. I brought things to make some appetizers and a big salad. Sister Mann made a big pan of bow tie pasta with tomato sauce. We nibbled on holiday cookies and mint sticks as we played Spot It and Quirkle – both hits.
Elder Mann handily beat us at Quirkle. It wasn’t midnight yet, and we thought we might be leaving. . . but Elder Mann asked if we would like to see a video he had made about their first mission as heads of the Translation Department of the church in Salt Lake. I had no idea how comprehensive and detailed the whole process is to ensure meetings and written materials are available to members around the world. We listened to the fireworks and people on the street at midnight, toasted the new year with a bottle of Guarana, and visited until 1:30. We were finally home at 2:15 a.m. Hope I start feeling better this year. . .
One of the new looks for the Sister missionaries for next year. . . will take some getting used to.
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