Week 12 - March 17- 23

We didn’t know it was St. Patrick’s Day today until after lunch – 

the days and weeks are all running together.

I played the piano for Sacrament meeting and then for youth choir practice for District Conference. While we were practicing, Merl went home to put the enchiladas in the oven so we could get lunch on the table on time for the missionaries schedule (plus Jairo and Jared). Today we had chicken-veggie enchiladas, strawberry spinach salad, steamed veggies, bread, ice cream and cookies. I think they were most excited for the salad with a homemade dressing (honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper). It was really quite good!

We have decided that Sister Brown is quite a thinker. Before she finishes dessert, she says, “Elder Egbert, I have a question.” I think Merl misses giving doctrinal lessons at church, and the missionaries and their questions fill that void. They had great conversations (today, Evangelicals, grace vs justice, evil spirits, etc. part of Elder Ribeiro’s conversion story.) They stayed until 4:30.

My phone finally gave up the ghost. . . Elder Payne tried all his tricks to revive it and ended up shattering the back. Hopefully I can get a replacement from Lisbon soon. We are lost without the navigation programs.

Later in the evening, we met the missionaries at the church to practice a song for a baptism on
Tuesday (If the Savior Stood Beside Me). Merl made late night phone calls to Curt and Aaron concerning duplex issues.

Monday P-Day morning usually finds us doing Sunday’s dishes. Today was no different. We did our scripture and Portuguese studies and caught up on things around the apartment.

After lunch, we took a walk up to the park to exercise. We also walked up the highway behind the park to check out all the construction (dirt moving) taking place. We think they are expanding the skate park.


On our way home, we went to Pingo Doce to get more lettuce and strawberries. The strawberries are so good this spring. I made a batch of banana chocolate chip bars for the after-meeting treat tomorrow. We had several phone conversatins with Sister Garrard from the mission office concerning installing bathroom safety bars in the Portimao senior missionary apartment. We went to the church in the evening for a song practice again. . . but the Elders and Sisters were a no-show.

Tuesday started off early with an apartment inspection of the Loule Sisters’ aptartment. We attended the Conselho de Distrito meeting, enjoyed the treats (Sister Warren made a peach cobbler - her farewell offering before she goes home next week), and then had our (missed) music practice before leaving.

Merl reports that he read his first 100 chapters of scripture this year (from all 4 standard works). He has created some fancy charts to track his progress.

Wednesday morning we inspectedd the Loule Elders’ apartment and then drove to Lagos to inspect the Elders’ apartment there. With my phone out of commission, we had to rely on memory to find it. Elders Cook and Flores have a great apartment with a beautiful view of the ocean from the 5th floor.

We had been asked to get a meter reading at the Portimao senior couple apartment because the mission received a very high electric bill for no one living there. We stopped there before going to do an inspection of the Portimao Elders' apartment (Barrios and Vidal). We have (or I should say the new couple has) a big water and mold problem in the bathroom.

We found Elder Barrios sporting a new hairdo – cut and dyed  he is heading back to Paraguay next week and looks like he really wants to shake things up. (We later learned that he dyed his hair black again after doing a video chat with his parents.  They told him they wouldn't pick him up from the
airport if he didn't fix his hair.)

The Portimao Sisters were our last to visit this go around. Sister Wilson and Carr are on the 9th floor of a large apartment complex. I get dizzy looking out their windows. Merl brought a bath cabiinet door home to repair/replace some broken hinges. We ended up taking the Sisters to lunch at a nice Indian restaurant. The food was good – but much more expensive than we expected. After lunch and returning the Sisters back to the church, we headed home to get ready for a baptism in Faro. We picked up the Sisters and Jairo at the Loule chapel.

Walzita Maria Costa Rezende was baptized by Helama Lima (son of Miriam Cavalcante). Our Loule Sisters taught her the lessons. She is a lovely young woman from Brazil – many of her family there are members of the church, but Walzita needed to come to Portugal to accept the gospel. The special musical number was beautiful, and the refreshments were amazing as usual. We got everyone home safe . . . it was a long day.  (Helama Lima, Walzita, Sister Brown, Sister Prado)


March 21 is Arbor Day in Portugal. I sent Merl down to our little fruit market for some oranges this morning, and he saw people carrying sacks and containers of trees, plants, flowers. Our Market friend told him we could go to the municipal office and get free plants – and go plant them somewhere (since we don’t have a place of our own). It is not a national holiday but schools nationwide celebrate this day with environment-related activities, namely tree planting.

I fixed a big pot of chicken noodle soup to share with Elders Payne and Ribeiros who are fighting bad colds. We also took them decongestants and cough suppressents. Before going home, we stopped to visit Alice and her garden. She loves to take us around to see everything that is growing. Last month she was harvesting potatoes, and her new crop is already up and growing. Fava beans are everywhere as well as little cabbages, garlic plants, peas, lettuce. . . Her son from Lisbon had been helping her get all the new seeds and plants into the ground. What amazed me was the orange trees are in full bloom with oranges still ripening on the limbs. We looked at pictures of her grandchildren and admired her beautiful crocheted pieces (something we do every visit). Today we had the pleasure of actually meeting her son as we were leaving. We came home with lemons, oranges, and couve leaves for soups; and a couple of carnations that had broken off a plant.

 Merl’s arm is now in a sling with the hopes that a suspected rotator muscle will heal. We have been doing a lot of internet research about what to do and not to do. Night time is the worst, and he is not getting much sleep. So far he is refusing to access the medical system here.


Friday we took pictures of apartment ceilings in Loule and Portimao that need some work. Due to poor ventilation and high humidity, bath and hall ceilings are susceptible to cracked and peeling paint along with mold. We have three apartments that are particularly bad; we have requested to scrape, seal, and paint them. The office wants pictures.

We did some grocery shopping for Elder and Sister Anderson who will be arriving tomorrow evening. We will be driving back to Portimao to turn over the key and help get them settled. We thought it would be nice for them to have a few basic food items in the kitchen so they could just come in and crash. We remember how we felt after the flight to Portugal and two days of training in the office, and then driving to an unknown place.

We listened to a talk given by Ezra Taft Benson on the Divine nature of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. Time spent listening to it was well worth it.

Saturday started slow – Merl isn’t sleeping well because of his shoulder pain; so when he does go to sleep, I let him. I started preparations for Sunday’s lunch. I am trying a new recipe inspired by Brian and Rachel’s vegan taco replacement – quinoa, spices, salsa. Then added black beans, pinto beans, corn, onions, tomatoes, spices, etc. and layered tortilla shells with the filling in a casserole dish. Smells yummy.

The Olhao Elders had baptisms for three children of part-member families this afternoon. We drove to Faro to participate. Diago was baptized by Domingos Rodrigues; Filipa by Jose Pires; and Flaviana by Nelson Mendes. What was special was this was the first baptisms performed by each of the men; Nelson was baptized just a couple of weeks ago. Special day for these families!

(Elder Weber, Nelson Medes, Flaviana, Diogo, Domingos Rodrigues, Filipa, Jose Pires, Elder Harper)

We left quickly after the meeting and drove to Portimao to meet the new senior couple, the Andersons. We arrived before they did, and we got the apartment opened up, turned the heat on, and put the food in the refrigerator. Mer then instructed Elder Anderson on how to find us – by phone. Was an interesting conversation. It was good to meet this new couple (about 4-5 years older than us). This is there fourth mission (previous temple mission in Brazil, office mission in England, MLA mission in Cabo Verde). Well seasoned! After getting them settled and visiting, it was determined that we would purchase suction-cup bath support bars. That will be a lot easier than drilling holes in the tiled walls to install what we had been looking at.

(Sister ad Elder Garrard, Elder and Sister Anderso, Pres. and Sistr Fillmore

We had another long drive home and pulled into town just in time to stop for a head of lettuce for a salad tomorrow. . .Lidl was all out, but Continente’s door was still open – and they had what I needed. We also later received a call from the Elders saying that they wouldn’t be able to have lunch with us – so we are doing a late dinner instead. That will be nice so I don’t have to rush to get a meal on the table after church.

Week 11 March 10 - 16

Sunday: (Merl) Up, prepare for church. We have a young lady who has been called to play the piano

for Sacrament meeting. . . but if she isn’t comfortable playing a song, she asks Sister Egbert to play. .  today the Sacrament hymn only. Sister Egbert also played for the District choir practice after church. As far as understanding what is said in meetings, I don’t know that I understand what is being said any more today than I did 7 months ago. My brain is just not recognizing spoken Continental Portuguese. I do know that I am reading more easily.


After the choir practice, we came home, and finished preparing the Sunday meal for the missionariaes. The meal (baked potatoes with chili and toppings, salad, crusty bread, and lemon mousse dessert) was good. As we were eating dessert, the discussion was changed when Sister Brown asked a question. . . “Elder Egbert, will the’ time’ during the millennium be according to the time of Kolob, one year = 1000 of our years?” The discussion following from their many questions traveled through some ‘last days’ events, gathering of Israel brought about by the Book of Mormon, the nature of our Heavenly Parents, marriage, and our purpose in life. We had a great discussion. They were picking my brains.

Sister Egbert and I took a nap after dinner, I later did some reading – read the first fifteen chapters of Moses – looking for an answer. I know we have only a small fraction of the writings and prophecies of the prophets.

Before bed (very late here), we received phone calls from Angela, Curtis, and Brian.

Monday we shared our P-Day with the Sisters from Portimao. Sister Warren will be going home to Utah in two weeks, and neither she or Sister Larson had been to Ponte de Piedade. . . a must see for every missionary who serves in the Algarve. We made our preparations and ate breakfast before
driving to Faro to pick up the Sisters. We enjoyed visiting with the sisters on our one hour drive to Portimao. (foto:  Sister Warren, Sister Larson)

Our first stop was at the couple’s apartment to make sure everything was in good shape after the Elders moved out. We tidied up a bit and gathered a few things left behind. We then went to the Elder’s apartment to drop off supplies. They weren’t there, but we did find them at the church. That was handy because we were able to leave all the supplies for all the missionaries at one location. They will all be at the church for their District Conselho meeting tomorrow.


 Then we were off to Lagos and our visit to the Ponte. I still very much enjoy the beauty and dynamics of this place even though we’ve probably been here about 8 times now. Every time there is something new to see. We have now seen it in late summer, winter, and early spring - high tide and low tide.


The Sisters loved the area and took pictures in “dangerous looking” places. After showing them what was to be seen there and walking along the boardwalk, we went to the nearby Camilo beach and climbed down the 200 or so stairs to the sand. The three girls instantly had their shoes off and were wading in the water. It was the perfect day to be here – sunny, warm, and just enough breeze to be comfortable. 

 We had planned a nice lunch at one of our favorite shops back in town on the historical plaza, but time ran out. Sun and sand were more important than food!. We did grab something to eat at a Burger King located by the gas station. Everyone was happy with that.



This Sisters needed to home around 4:00 to get ready for an appointment, and we arrived at their apartment in Faro shortly after their desired time. We drove home and both collapsed on the bed for a short nap. At 7:00. I received a phone call from the Portimao Elders – they had lost their keys! They said they would keep looking and call me back in 15 min. We had already made that trip once today! I quickly said a prayer and asked Father in Heaven to help them find them. I didn’t want to drive back over there this evening (1.5-2 hrs. there and back). About five minutes later, Sister Carr called. She had picked up their keys thinking they were hers; she found two sets in her pocket. I thanked her and my Father in Heaven.

We checked our emails, etc. and read articles on the Rome Temple dedication and activities –
amazing event!  Would have loved to have been there this week.

Tuesday morning I made apple cinnamon cookie bars for the District meeting. I didn’t have time to cook several pans of cookies and I had extra apples – so this new recipe was perfect. With the Sisters in tow, we drove through lots of traffic today to get to the meeting. . . only a few minutes late.
We came home and finally washed and dried our Sunday dinner dishes. We didn’t have any more clean dishes to eat with! We also did several loads of laundry – all while watching/ listening to a movie on the computer in the kitchen.

Later we walked up to the park and worked out on all the exercise machines. Merl feels better after getting some fresh air and working out here. With the rain we received last week, the whole Algarve is bursting into bloom. The trees and flowers in the park are blossoming and are beautiful.

We are becoming accustomed to taking a short afternoon nap (either at the computer or laying on the couch). Today Merl did some computer research on Trifle ingredients.

Wednesday

We slept in a bit this morning. Merl has been having a lot of discomfort with his left shoulder/arm. He has concerns about the possibility of another torn rotator cuff – and he refuses to even think about doing a surgery here. He plans on healing it with positive thinking and prayer.

We had a late breakfast and took a walk around the city streets. The weather has been very pleasant after several days of rain earlier last week. I found a couple of sweaters on season clearance that will be nice for these transitional days. We spent most of the day doing house chores and studying.

Thursday was a momentous day. The city of Loule has a very nice athletic complex a couple of
blocks away next to our favorite part. We had visited the facilities before, asked questions, and picked up paperwork before. This morning I decided I would take the plunge (literally) and check out the swimming pool. Senior missionaries are allowed to swim here. Merl wanted me to check it out first. . . he doesn’t like cold water or getting cold after he gets out of warm water. I completed the paperwork, had my photo taken for my pass card, paid €5 for my first five visits, and then went to the dressing room to change. The hallways and rooms were warm, clean, and not crowded in the morning. There were three indoor pools (lap pool, kiddie pool, and a pool used for swimming lessons and water aerobics. The water was warm (although the lap pool was a little cool after getting out of the aerobic pool). I spent some time exercising in the water with two other “older” women and then checked out the jacuzzi and sauna. The jacuzzi is small, not hot, and big bubbles for 10 minutes. . . then you have to get out while it goes through a cleaning cycle for 5 minutes. . . but the room was very warm as was the sauna.

While I was swimming, Merl walked up to the outdoor exercise equipment to stretch and move. He met me back at the pool and we walked home. I hope he will join me in the pool on another day.


We received a phone call from Sister Garrard from the mission office asking us to schedule a trip to Portimao to evaluate the possibility of putting safety bars in the tub for a new couple Andersons, arriving on March 23.

Friday morning we drove to Portimao to check the couple’s apartment for installation of tub safety bars. Merl took measurements and checked construction. . . ceramic tile on top of concrete walls. We went to AKI, a home improvement store to see what products are available.

We stopped by the Elders’ apartment to pick up the sleeping pads we let them use while staying at the Couple’s apartment. Elder Barrios will be going home in a couple of weeks and wanted some counsel on girls. He is a crazy Latino missionary – but a good missionary and hard worker.

Later we stopped at the Overseas market (British grocery store) to check out their specials. I was excited to find cans of cream of chicken soup on sale. Canned soup is difficult to find in Portugal, and to find it for only €1 a can was incredible.



We had some extra time, so we decided to drive to Silves, a beautiful little city about 15 kilometers away. Elder and Sister Layton recommended we visit it sometime while we are here in the Algarve. It was one of their favorite places.  The highway winds through the hills, and a view of the city with it’s castle was inviting.



 We drove around the city and found it to be small but pretty and clean.


After driving through some neighborhoods and up through the hills, we turned back into town to find visit the castle and old cathedral.

The cathedral itself is being renovted, and a rock layer was outside with a pile of small white rocks building the walkway around the cathedral.  What a tedious job - and most Portugal cities have many of these tiled roads and sidewalks.

We didn’t have time to actually go through the castle today, but we did find a ceramic tile shop where all the products are hand painted. The lady noticed our name badges and said, “I have a surprise for you.” She showed us a binder filled with pictures and patterns of LDS temples, prophets, Book of Mormon scenes she has painted for missionaries and members over many years. Needless to say, we are not trying to decide which temple we would like her to paint for us.. . Lisbon, Idaho Falls, or Twin Falls. We will get back with her on a future trip.




 I love the Moor chimneys, and this one was particularly beautiful with a weather vane on top.

Drove home to get ready for a District adult dinner/dance at the chapel in Faro. The event was very nice and well attended. The missionaries and the YM/YW groups served little appetizers at the table, creamed bacalhao in a bread bowl, salad, and platters of rice/potatoes and pork chops. Chocolate pudding or jellowas served for dessert. We have a branch member who is a DJ; he played fun 60-70’s music for listening and dancing, many songs by request. He did a nice job; huge success! We left at 10:30 p.m., and the party was still going strong!

 

Saturday we started our apartment inspections again in advance of missionary transfers next week. We were able to complete inspections of both Elders and Sisters apartments in Faro and Olhao. We had nice visits with each set of missionaries and found everything in great shape! We have great missionaries in the District!

I started dinner preparations for our Sunday lunch with the Loule missionaries and did a little grocery shopping for items I needed. Curtis called with a request for us to send him an update on our mission activities. He will be speaking in Sacrament meeting and was asked to include a report from us. So we spent time in the evening thinking and talking about or experiences here before typing up and sending him an email. 

Mission Update: 

Every day, no matter where you are, you need to take care of your daily needs: eating, sleeping, cleaning, laundry, shopping, exercise. It is the same for us on a mission. . . we just get to do the every day things in a different place, with different people, in a different language.

We are having the opportunity and blessing of working with and learning from other senior couples who have become great friends. The missions around the world are always needing more seniors to help in the work. We highly recommend it to everyone who is in a position to serve.

We daily rub shoulders with and support wonderful young missionaries who are a great, trained force of powerful teachers. What an example of dedication and hard work they are to us. We serve with missionaries from many countries with a variety of backgrounds, races, colors. . . but we are all children of our Heavenly Father. We are brothers and sisters in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - which has no national boundaries.

We have the blessing of teaching and counseling these young people as we share experiences and gospel insights. The dinner table is often the place this happens. Oft times, Elder Egbert has given blessings of comfort or health; and we have spent many hours in hospital waiting rooms with different nervous “kids” facing uncertainties away from parents and family. Yes, we are sometimes surrogate parents and grandparents.

This past week, a young man preparing to return home to in a few days (Elder Barrios) approached Elder Egbert and said (in Portuguese Spanish), “We need to have a conversation before I go home. I need to talk to you about girls.” He embraced Elder Egbert and said "Voce pode ser meu Avo." (You can be my grandfather.)

We enjoy working alongside members and missionaries with inactive members helping them to rid themselves of bad habits or doubts while returning to activity and fellowship in the branches. We have truly experienced what a difference the gospel can make in their and our lives.

We didn’t really know what to expect when we put in papers to serve a mission. We have been surprised to be involved in the administrative end of negotiating with apartment landlords, contractors, local government agencies while closing apartments and opening new ones as needed.

We have been called to use our talents and abilities, whether it is with music or fixing meals, apartment repairs and inspections, to having input from our public health experience to help keep our missionaries safe and healthy.

Being a missionary is about bringing others to Christ. . . but we now have time to have a greater focus on studying the scriptures and the gospel ourselves to help strengthen our own conversion and bringing ourselves closer to Christ as we work with others.

If you see our occasional posts on Facebook, you are probably aware of one of the perks we have of spending our P days sightseeing and discovering the amazing relics of history and beauty of Southern Portugal. We have also had the opportunity to travel twice to Madrid to attend the temple there with our Branch members, spending three days at a time doing ordinances in Portuguese, Spanish, and French. We are excited as we anticipate the opportunity to participate in the open house and dedication of Portugal’s first temple in August and September. What a blessing this will be to the great saints here.

We love you all and are deeply grateful for your prayers and concern for us and all missionaries. We also want to thank Sister Sue Hanchey’s Young Women’s class for the cards and letters last month. What a fun surprise.

Week 10 - March 3 - 9

March 3

Sunday: We decided to attend meetings in Portimao today because President and Sister Fillmore were going to be there. . . and we thought it would be a good idea to check on the Elders we had moved into the couple’s apartment. We renewed some acquaintances in the Branch and enjoyed talking with President and Sister Fillmore and the missionaries. We met the new Sister missionary, Sister Carr.

We drove home to the opening day of the Carnival in Loule.  It goes for three days. We knew that it was going to be a big deal, being the biggest, longest running Carnival celebration in Portugal (100 year history). (normal street photo)

The streets were backed up or blocked off as far away as the church. I didn’t want to get caught in all that traffic, so I tried different routes around the other side of the city. Streets were either all one way or didn’t go where we needed to go. I found a road that went up the hillside and wound all around going higher and higher through nice homes and eventually turned into a dirt road. The GPS directed us to another dirt road that we followed across the top of the hill and joined another road going down past Nestor’s home on the hill. We weren’t lost anymore. As we entered Loule, from the North side, we found our street blocked off. Because we have a parking garage, the GNR (police) let us through to get to our apartment. It had actually been a nice drive.

We fixed dinner and then took a short nap. The rest of the evening was spent studying and talking with Curt and Anna. We have designated Sunday evening (9:00 our time) to go over the mail and any other developments that we need to be aware of. We appreciate his help!

Monday. I (Merl) have a sore throat – started last night. Gargled with salt water four times since last night. It is working. As the morning progressed, the sore throat started to go away. Breakfast. . . I’ve been loading my body with veggies this last week or so. I chop onion, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, leek, celery; place all into a frying pan with oil and butter, salt pepper and a little water. Steam. Then scramble 3-4 eggs and dump in on top, mix, add a little cheese and have myself a big vegetable omelet. For lunch sometimes I do the same thing with the vegetables, then dump a can of soup on top and have fresh vegetable whatever soup. It’s all good.

Study, finances, read, Portuguese practice, walk up through the Carnival part of town before it opened for today and came back home. Carnival does not attract me, but Kathlyn is much more curious about the activities. I guess I’m boring sometimes. It rained most of the afternoon, but the crowds still came with their umbrellas and rain ponchos.  Three days of hoopla and noise is not my favorite thing.

Tuesday morning we drove to Olhao.to deliver a package to the Sisters, pamphlets to the Elders, and veggies to Hellen.   Hellen is required to lose weight before she can have the breast cancer surgery; and, with very limited funds, she is not able to eat the way she needs. We also stopped at Aldis in Faro looking for chocolate for the zone conference tomorrow.  The senior couples are in charge of the lunch and to also provide the chocolate for the afternoon “wake up” break.  Aldi had nothing suitable, but we later found candy at Jumbo.  At home, we packaged the chocolate bars (three per person) and loaded the car for tomorrow.  We need to leave early so we got everything ready tonight. I called Curtis about the rent, deposits, apartment repairs, etc. I also called Aaron and asked him to check out a couple of issues at the duplex.   It rained all night.

Wednesday we were up at 6:00 a.m. and on the road to Setúbal by 7:00 a.m. with the Sisters (who slept most of the way). Lots of rain and some sunshine along the way with a rainbow or two. We arrived in Setúbal by 9:05. We planned out the serving and eating areas for lunch before the zone conference started at 10:00. We sat through part of conference before sneaking out to set up the tables and chairs with one of the local members that came to help. Lunch was served at 12:45 - lasagna, salad, potato chips, apple, roll and a drink. There was enough food and not much to spare- so all was good. We helped the caterer clean up a bit before going back into the conference.  

The afternoon portion of the conference was focused on the use of new smartphones distributed today. These phones can be an amazing missionary tool if used correctly. Before the meeting closed, the missionaries who are going home in two weeks shared their testimonies.

 Our zone will be losing three – Elder Barrios, Sister Sonneveld, Sister Warren). We later helped put the chairs and tables back to where they belonged – with the help of some of the Elders. The Garrards came to help during the lunch time which was nice. Chocolate break went well and the supply distribution had a problem – the office Elders forgot to bring the Algarve box. 

stayed at the church to wait for the suppies and sent the missionaries on their way (via bus and train). We will deliver their supplies to them later. We drove home between 6:00 and 8:00. I dozed off just a bit while Sister Egbert fixed dinner; and we ate at 10:00 pm.

 Thursday, we stayed home all day, except for a jaunt up to the  park to work out on the exercise machines.  Kathlyn is still not on top of her cold and spends a lot of time resting.  

I dyed my cargo pants that Sister Egbert spilled some bleach on some time ago. They are darker now! Studied scriptures, and a bunch of other computer stuff.

Friday we stayed home in the morning. In the afternoon we made a trip to deliver mission supplies to the Faro and Olhao missionaries. We also did some grocery shopping for Hellen and visited with her. She is still waiting on several different government agencies to get direction on housing and medical care.   We asked the Sisters (Sonneveld and Bradley) if they would contact the Relief Society President in the branch to find ways to assist Hellen through all of this. 

We talked with Brian and learned that his family was all recovering from a nasty sickness but otherwise doing well in their new home. Talked with Curtis about getting the Costco certificates cashed and deposited.

Saturday morning I received a phone call from the Faro Zone leaders (Elders Mortinsen and Plummer)  asking me to look outside our window. They were looking up and waving. . . but didn’t know how to get to our apartment. They had come to Loule to participate with the missionaries here in a Family History campaign on the street near the fountain. I invited them in while we got ourselves ready for the day. I prepared and fed them my famous vegetable omelet that I often for myself often.

We joined four sets of missionaries on the street and took pictures of their setup and the interactions with people. Kathlyn and I went to the market for veggies for dinner tomorrow. Then took the missionaries (Sister Trainers and Zone Leaders) back to Faro.

We later returned to Faro for the 4:00 baptisms of Nelson and Ermenijldo Mendes. They were taught by Elders Weber and Harper in Olhao. There was a special spirit particularly as Nelson was baptized. His humility and gratitude was evident. On the way back, Kathlyn requested we take a detour to drive past the big soccer stadium that we pass everytime we come or go to Faro or IKEA. We were then even more adventurous by taking an unknown route home that took us up and through the communities on the hillside above the stadium. We wound in and out of neighborhoods and agriculture areas and eventually found our way back to Loulé via the road by the large Continente Mercado north of Loule. It was a pretty drive.

Lunch tomorrow is a baked potato bar, so Kathlyn made a pot of chili and prepared the toppings for the potatoes. I cleaned and prepared the front room and table. I have started reading the Book of Mormon again and finished reading the 1st Nephi again.

(photo:  Elder Harper, Ermenijldo Mendes, Nelson Mendes, Elder Weber)