Week 24 June 9 - 15

June 9 Sunday This morning we got ready early for church and joined the Branch Counsel.  We presented the idea of starting piano lessons with focus on preparing a few students to be able to play hymn for church meetings.  The idea was well received, and a few names were recommended.  Now we just need to get the tecladas and lesson books ordered.  I played in Sacrament meeting.

Merl had pizza for lunch.  It seems strange to not have the missionaries and friends around the Sunday dinner table, but it certainly helps our Sunday to not be so hectic. Weekdays are working out better for us.  Sunday can now be spent reading, studying; and tonight we talked  with Angela and Amber (and families) in the evening.  Thanks for calling for Father's Day!

June 10 Monday P-Day   Started the day with laundry and dishes.  Even though it was chilly and windy, we packed up our beach equipment and snacks. I wanted to try out a new beach today, and we drove around Almancil area looking for one. We ended up back at Praia de Lobo – a beautiful beach close to two golf courses and resorts.  It was sunny but very windy today. We put up our umbrella and our two chairs and watched the choppy waves as we huddled under our towels to keep warm. Our plan was to read our Come Follow Me lesson while enjoying the the sound of the ocean; but we were probably there for an hour before we decided to head back into town to go to he new Overseas British Market that just opened.  We had good intentions, but the weather was not very cooperative.

It took us a while to find it again. . . browsed the store and picked up a few specials. Merl liked the pizza he bought a few days ago, so he had to find a couple more. They make a quick lunch for him. We returned home to get warm, curling up with blankets to take a short nap. Merl then enjoyed his new pizza and ate it all by himself. We went grocery shopping in the evening particularly to get some good apples for the “healthy” snack for District meeting tomorrow.

June 11 Tuesday. Started the day off with end of transfer apartment inspections of the two Loule apartments. They both earned their cookies today. We hurried back home to make the apple treats for District Council.  Just as we were ready to go, we learned that the AP’s would be in our meeting today.  I hurried to make two more – half an apple with peanut butter, raisins, dark choco chips, pumpkin seeds, and pecans.

Good meeting led by Elder Ribeiro.  Discussed President Fillmore’s letter and how to incorporate things into missionary work. The two sets of sisters were asked in advance to prepare a “role play” presentation to cover two different lessons in four minutes each: The Restoration and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Both sets did a commendable job. I was impressed with Sister Darnell who has only been here for a couple of months. She had memorized the First Vision story in Portuguese – and I could understand her!

Merl then had a few minutes to talk about the three parts of eternity: Pre-earth life, the fall and mortal life, and the atonement and after-life.  He always keeps the missionaries attention and gives them new things to think about.

Today we went shopping for a night stand lamp, paid the internet bill,  and bought a magnifying glass before checking on our storks.

June 12 Weds  We had a  9:00 appt in Faro for Sisters’ inspection.   Faro Elders postponed their appointment due to a messy house (small apartment with the APs there).  They also had a meeting in Olhao.  As we  were heading out of town, the Faro Sisters called and asked if we could give them a ride to Loule for divisions with the Loule Sisters who had two lunch appointments and couldn’t cancel. They needed two more people to share the lunches.  Elder Egbert just sighs and goes with the flow and turned around to go back to get them.

We had inspections today in Olhao, so we picked up a few items at home that were needed in Faro and Olhao.  

Did inspections at the Olhao Sisters and Elders apartments and had nice visits. All of our apartments are in good condition now, and the missionaries are taking care of them better than before. We returned to Faro and finished up at the Faro Elders. I went to work on getting smudges and scars off the walls while Merl got the meter readings. The Elders and the APs returned ,and we had a discussion on how to stay healthy (they think we are a good example – in spite of our aches and pains). We discussed eating habits, exercise, sleep, etc.

Went to the hospital to visit Sheila – doing better but still has many challenges ahead. She is staying as positive as possible. She will be transported to Lisbon tomorrow to have her jaw unwired so they can do surgery on her arm back in Faro on Friday. - then probably back to Lisbon to rewire her jaw. She feels that the hospital staff are skilled and caring and is happy with the care she has been given. She has been in the system for three weeks now.

As we drove back into Loule, I had to jump out of the car on the main road to take a picture of our storks nest – actually saw 4 storks – at least one of them was a young one.  I walked back home down one of the main streets into Loule.  Two contrasting pictures across the street from each other show two sides of the city.  A lot of restoration completed and other areas recentl leveled and something new being built.  

We fixed a nice dinner – pork chops, herb potatoes, sauted leeks and mushrooms, and steamed broccoli/carrots. Tasted really good tonight.

Sent the Algarve apartment inspection reports to Sister Powers and did dishes.  Tomorrow we head north to help with a couple apartments that lie half way between us and Lisbon.

June 13 Thurs   Beja and Sines were our destinations for inspections today.  We left early in the morning arriving in Beja at 10:00.  We found mold in the bathroom and had the Elders (Dowdle and Moreira) wash the ceiling.  We carry our ladder with us now as ceiling mold is a common thing.  We even had the Elders roll a new coat of anti-mold paint in the bathroom.  We spent three hours cleaning walls and taking care of the bathroom.  


 Merl also took time to rotate wheels on Elder Moreira's big suitcases.  The cobblestone roads and sidewalks destroy the plastic wheels.  

We took the shorter scenic route to Sines.  Using the GPS on our phone, we found the road marked as Turismo rural.  It was a beautiful drive on a narrow, winding road through farmland and cork and stone pine forests. Most of the hillsides that werent covered by trees had fields of sun flowers, corn, grapes, sweet potatoes,  Ut took us a little longer to arrive in Sines by taking the back road, but it was worth it.



We met the Elders (Mortenson and Cloes) at Sashimi for lunch in Santo Andrea.  The Branch is actually located in Santa Andrea.  We were each given a menu and a paper and pencil. . . We could write down the number of the items on the menu - as many as we wanted - and the food would be prepared (in small portions).  We tried some new things and found Sashimi to be a fun place to eatt.  And then to Sines to do inspection our first inspection there and to get started on some projects. 

We were aware of some of the problems, so we came prepared to tackle them.  The Elders assisted with the mold removal in the bathroom while Merl had the adventure of a clogged kitchen sink drain - full of the worst grease buildup we have ever seen.  

Plumbing for a small side sink was connected to the plumbing for the main sink.  The drain to the small sink was completely clogged with grease; some dislodged and then clogged the main sink. . .  lots of hot water and plunging kept moving it down the pipe.  

The Elders had appointments (conveniently), so Merl then worked on cleaning out the shower drain and patching the ceiling while I degreased the kitchen and did the inspection.  We did as much as we could in the four hours we were there and headed home - knowing we would be back to complete the cleaning and repairs.  At least water was flowing again and the mold was gone.  

Sines is along the coast, and it was a welcome sight to see a piece of the ocean as we drove out of town.  We plan on taking the coastal highway on our next trip up this way.  We enjoy seeing new areas of Portugal, so the working road trips give us the opportunity to  experience more of this beautiful country.

June 14 I think we must have been in a coma . . . no pictures no notes.  After being gone all day yesterday, we stuck pretty close to home catching up on work around the apartment.


June 15 Market day – bought squash, radishes, onions, peaches, and Estrellas (star treat made of figs and almonds).  I asked for one - just to try. . . but the vendor put in four . . . and charged me for four.  They were good enough to pay the price.


Today was Harry Potter Day.  Much of the main street was blocked off for activities that required an admission fee.


Watched kids on broom sticks play quidditch on the plaza.  Really didnt appear to amount to much. . . and Q Ice was open for business.   

Later in the day, we both needed to get some fresh air and decided to check out some new areas.  Instead of going north to the park, we went south through some of the old town.  We found an old church with a bell tower that chimes the time of day (one of the two bell tower clocks).  Also, a beautiful, quiet public garden tucked between the narrow streets.  



 It is common to see graffiti on street signs, but someone got creative and added a high jump figure to this "no entrance" sign.  


Doorway under the old road going through town above.




Resource pile of construction materials in an unscale neighborhood hidden from view. 

Very old tree hanging on to life along an old city wall.  We estimate that we walked at least three miles, venturing down unknown pathways.  It was fun.



We were in a strange place, and the sun was going down.  We decided it was time to head for home and were greated by one of our Algarve sunsets. 

Week 23 - June 2 - 8

June 2 Sunday – Fast Sunday today.  Played piano in Sacrament meeting - 2^nd hour was discussing the temple open house in August and the plans for taking buses to Lisbon – sign up and payment, lots of excitement. We had left overs for lunch – so nice to not have a the pressure of preparing and feeding the missionaries today. Took a nap and a leisurely walk to the park. The weather has been very hot this week. . . we stayed in the shade. I did some studying and catching up on the blog (the past 3 weeks to be exact).

June 3 Monday – P day - All the missionaries in the Algarve Zone met in Portimao for a Brazilian charrasco prepared by Elder Ribeiro. We packed up our lawn chairs and took the Loule sisters with us. 

When we arrived in Portimao, most of the missionaries were either talking with their families or playing games on the court and grass behind the church. I helped Elder Ribeiro in the kitchen with his preparations. He and Merl went to the market to purchase the meat that would be grilled. I cut up all the vegetables for the potato salad while they were gone. Of course there was rice and beans and a tomato/onion salad to go with all the meat.
  

The Andersons showed up for a short time to check on things, but didn’t stay for lunch. While the meat was being grilled, both the Elders and Sisters played flag football, capture the flag, water balloons, baseball – and it was sooooo hot! After the meal, we went to Andersons for a visit while the kids got everything cleaned up. Later in the afternoon, we picked up our Sisters and took them home to start their missionary work. . . we probably took a nap.

June 4 Tuesday – This morning I made tortilla “sandwich” roll ups for District meeting. This was the start of switching from yummy treats to healthy snacks. We took the Sisters with us to Faro for the meeting. Part way through the meeting, I received a call from Sister Bradley in Olhao. She was complaining of pain that she thinks is coming from her kidney. She has had a history of kidney related problems. I gave her the phone number of the nurse in Germany for her input and whether to take her to the hospital. While I was out of the room, Merl gave his weekly message. Everyone enjoyed the little sandwiches, and then we took our Sisters back to Loule. Our instruction from the nurse was that we should take Sister Bradley to the hospital in Faro to be checked.

So back across the Algarve to get the Sisters. We were given the name and address of the hospital to go to; but when we arrived we found it closed (good thing, it was the old one we didn’t like). This emergent care hospital had been moved to another location downtown in a better area. 

We finally found the new location by the Camarao Municipal and got checked in and waited for someone to call Sister Bradley back to an exam room. Merl and I patiently waited while the two Sisters visited with the doctor. Sister Bradley was not pleased with the diagnosis – a strained muscle. She was given a shot for pain and a prescription for pain medication. She was still convinced it was more than that, but she resolved she would just drink lots of water and take care of it herself. Back to Olhao to drop the Sisters off, then back to Faro to deliver something to the Sisters there, 

We stopped at Lidle for fresh vegetables and Continente for bread and lunch meat/cheese. We finally arrived back home around 8:00 p.m.. I fixed a late dinner, and we enjoyed a brisk walk up to the park. We sent out texts to all our missionaries to schedule this transfer’s apartment inspections and attempted to catch up a little on the blog. . . a month behind.

June 5 Wednesday was the day this week I that I planned to fix lunch for the missionaries.  The sisters called and said they had a Zoom conference call (during the lunch hour), so I decided to make wraps for them to eat at the church.   So thought we would only have the Elders for lunch. . . maybe make wraps for them, too.  Then the conference call was cancelled, and the Sister Trainers from Faro were coming for exchanges.  Now I had six missionaries - finally decided to quickly make a big batch of quinoa "taco meat" for taco salads (Rachel’s recipe).  With all the trimmings, lunch turned out pretty good - mostly vegan (except I did add a little chicken to the quinoa. For dessert, I made banana pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream.  Merl always enjoys the discussion and question sessions that seem to always follow our meals.  

A little nap (dishes can always wait), and then a walk through the tourist shopping district looking for a cork tie (which we found to be very expensive).  Instead, Merl found a cork bookmark with a blue Volkswagon van in the Algarve printed on it.  It reminded us of our honeymoon - so many years ago.

Our walk took us back along the crowded little streets near the castle.  We were so surprised to come across Q Ice - a gelado shop.  The first time we found it, we were in Almancil. . . they were remodeling a little shop that had closed, and we kept watching for it to open.  Turns out that they decided to move to Loule close to the Q Cafe instead.  It is in walking distance!  Their gelado is all hand made by an Italian, and is amazing.  They have some of the basic flavors that everyone makes, and then some amazing, interesting ones.  I tried a coconut/ginger scoop and a rosemary/pineapple scoop.  Merl tried Pistachio and strawberry.  

June 6 Thursday   Woke up early to an email from Pres. Fillmore asking us if we could help find someone in the hospital system. Sheila Brevin from England.  She is a member of the church, and a member of the Bishopric was trying to locate her. 

We had an early appointment in Faro for a 45,000 Km service on our  at the Toyota Dealer. We were told that it would be done at 12:30.  Merl sudied a conference talk while I contacted Ana Neves to see if she could help us locate Sheila in the hospital system.  Sister Neves is a nurse in our Branch.  She did some research and found her in a hospital in Faro. She was able to give us information on her condition.  She had a bike accident in Tavira and had been being shuttled around between hospitals.  I was able to contact Sheila by phone and found that she could talk pretty well., even though she said her jaw was wired shut.  She requested a blessing. 

We have spent many hours sitting in these chairs - also looking at the beautiful cars in the showroom.

We walked to AKI and the Forum Mall and returned by 11:30. The car  was out of the shop and parked in the front.   The attendant was busy with another couple, and then after a while he disappeared.  After waiting until after 12:30, we learned that he left for lunch. Merl was not very impressed!  Finally, around 1:00, another attendant assisted us and we got our car.

We called the Faro Elders to see if they could assist with a blessing for Sheila.  They were in Almancil doing a baptismal interview, so we picked them up there and returned to Faro.  Only one visitor was allowed at a time, so we had Elder Hernandez go to her room.  He was able to bring her down in a wheel chair to the chapel.  We visited for a while and found her to have a wonerful attitude (and quite funny).  She was pleased with a Lisbon hospital surgery to repair an eye socket (one eye pushed into her skull and pulled out and held in place with a post.  Actually looked really bad and was difficult to see.  She has no memory of what happened - has been an avid bike rider and was on a leisurely ride.  She woke up in a pool of blood and thought she was dying.  She has multiple broken bones in her shoulder, arms, and face, and bruised all over.  She is doing all the facial work in Lisbon and other orthopedic work in Faro - therefore shuttling back and forth.  Her daughter, Anita, went home to England this morning.   We had a good discussion and then she asked Merl to give her a blessing, and Elder Hernandez annointed her.  She appreciated the blessing of comfort and healing and returned to her room in good spirits.

The Elders had missed dinner this evening and had a teaching appointment before the Branch Integration activity. We picked up some things at Lidl to hold them over for the night (croisants with sliced turkey and cheese, bananas, oranges) and dropped them off at the church.  

June 7 Friday  Totally no energy today - yesterday had been exhausting. We decided to move our bedroom again in preparation for visitors later this month. This time we also moved Merl's office into our smaller bedroom on the opposite end of the apartment.  This is so visitors can have two bedrooms and a bathroom together on the other side.  We took awalk to park to exercise and picked up Oreo cookies at Pinga Doce (on sale!) for inspections next week.  The Portuguese class was canceled tonight so we studied by ourselves and went to bed earlier than usual.

June 8 Saturday  The morning was beautiful!  We made our traditional excursion to the market and bought some great tomatoes and some other cooking essentials (onions are always on the list.  We checked out the stork nest and then went to our favorite ceramic shop.  I love going into Teresa's shop to just look at her amazing creations.  Every time we go in, I tell her I will be buying something to take home with me.  Today turned out to be the day.  If it were possible (or practical), I would love to have several pieces of her ceramics.  Today, I chose two olive bowls, hand painted and signed.  They are small and light enough to fit nicely in our return luggage.  

In the afternoon, we drove to Almancil to pick up the Sisters. We finally found the new Overseas British Market and picked up a few things to try.  It is not as big as the Portimao store, but they carry some things we like that we can't get elsewhere.  

We had a dinner appointment with Miriam Cavalcanat and  and Walzita  Maria Costa Rezende - a recent convert (along with the Elders and Sisters).  I made a batch of pao de queijo to take.  We didn't know where they lived, but we knew it was close.  We asked to walk with our Sisters.  (Photo on left:  Elder Ribeira, Conrado, Elder Nichols, Sisters Darnell and Moulton, me, Merl, Miriam, Walzita)

 As we entered the apartment building, there was a man who joined us in the elevaor, and he was carrying a flat of figs.  They looked so good.  Not only that, but this man then followed us to Miriam's apartment. . . he was also an invited guest!  He is not a member of the church, is from Italy, and travels all around.  The missionaries had given him a few lessons in the past.  All I know is that his name is Conrado, and he was very personable and fun to visit with.  And the fresh figs were amazing!