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.