I'm in Europe!

Vizela or Guimaraes?

Guimaraes Castle

Irma Evans in Guimaraes or Vizela

District in Guimaraes

Needing a Charge in Europe

Well lets see what is there to tell you all from my neck of the woods. I still can’t believe I’m living in Europe, there’s some where I never saw myself living. I can’t tell you how unbelievably excited I am for conference this weekend. I need a charge badly; it’s hard to keep up that positive hopeful outlook on things at times. So let’s see what was notable about this last week. Well my last week with Irmã Svedin I’m so sad, it was a good 18 weeks, okay so if you remember when we were first comps I didn’t like her all that much, but now I love her, why do I have to be like that, and I hate this switching companions thing, I get so attached to people and then they get taken away, oh well only a couple of more times after this. So right now I’m in the getting use to a new companion and being a senior companion stage and let’s just say that I don’t like it at all. I’m going to end there and start on a better note or else this e-mail will get sad quickly.

A Funny Thing Happened . . . . .

So the first part of this week was full of dinner with members, I hated food after that, they’re out of control here ‘Coma mais coma mais’ I can’t coma any mais I’m going to pop!!! Those were my sentiments. (The verb to eat is comer and then it’s a command and so you come out with coma for eat!) Anywho the food is really good here or at least our members and investigators can cook. So Monday night we went to a member’s house, with Claudia and played my little prophet memory match with them that was fun, trying to get them prepped for conference. Then Tuesday we went with the Elders to their investigators home with Claudia and they marked Berta and Marlane (mother and daughter) for baptism, so if all goes well we’ll have another baptism on Oct. 18th yay! Anywho earlier that day we ate with Irmã Helena she’s a little African (Mozambic) lady who is always giving us things, bolos, cough drops, candies, ect. Then she makes sure you eat all of it. So we went to her house and it’s a sad little cluttered house, she’s a massive pack rat. Anywho, first she comes in and takes off her shirt in front of us, saying how hot it is, then she starts putting this giant pan in her bag, I’m like what is she doing, who puts a cooking pan into their purse, but then she takes it out and puts it into her sack and I. Svedin and I were like what the snap is going on, so then she tells us to vamos (lets go) so I’m like maybe she’s going to cook something at the church, no she takes us to this little café. The sad thing is we already had lunch that day, but we sit down and get this plate of pork loins (they’re massive) with egg on top and greasy soggy French fries then a salad that consists of scary looking tomatoes and onions and a little bit of lettuce, oh and rice, they eat rice with everything I’m telling you. So it’s good we serve ourselves and I’m working to get the meat eaten, I’m like I can finish this telling myself I can do it, when all of a sudden she starts piling more food on our plates, and it’s just way greasy and oily and I’m like no way am I eating that so I did the missionary move the food around your plate and pile it on top of each other trick...So the next day we made the mistake of going over there, to see if the Elders needed help cleaning her house, she invited us in and made us eat cake and kept giving us 7up, everytime we’d drink some she’d pour more. I. Svedin doesn’t like pop and the carbonation was hurting her, so she asked Elder Tysick to take hers, she’s pouring it in and spilled it all over his arm and the floor and so she’s wiping up the floor but teeny little I. Helena like 4’9’’ freaks out and grabs her broom and was like NO don’t clean stop and that makes Elder Tysick laugh and spill more, I’m just sitting back and laughing I wish you all could have seen this. Anywho we finally get out and she’s like wait, and brings back a little glittery golden change purse for I. Svedin and then she’s like wait again. And comes back with an envelope, now I. Svedin was wise to this because with Claudia (she went to Cape Verde) I. Helena stuffed an envelope with money in her back. Claudia’s like No Irmã! Anyway so I. Svedin like tries to give her bag to the Elders because she thought she was going to do the same thing to her, but this little old lady is keen to Irmã Svedin and chases after her and shoves the money down her shirt and then just picks up the bag and hands it to me and walks back to her home, I. Svedin was standing there shocked, and the Elders had their jaws hanging down it was hilarious.

The Work is Slow

So as you can tell the work is slow, there is nothing to report, and that’s kind of killing me slowly on the inside as now it’s all of my responsibility. It’s hard to get use to a new comp that’s a greenie in the mission and doesn’t know the area, now I understand all those trainers. She’s a really sweet and good person; she’s a little neurotic and the complete opposite of I. Svedin so it’s weird. She a great person it was neat to hear her conversion story, it was through her boyfriend that she found out about the church, anywho do you know Jessie Haws or the Haws it was him that first taught her. Her parents both died from cancer and she was an only child so the church is basically her family. She’s good though and will be good for Guimarães. Her name is Irmã Beckett. She’s from the Algarve down at the southern most part of Portugal and she’s lived in both England and Portugal but she speaks the language yay. If I can survive this first week maybe I can survive the rest. I still really don’t understand the language and it’s killing me, how am I supposed to help people when I still really can’t understand them.

So as of now we can’t get a hold of Gracielle, The família Santos said they were too busy for us, so now it’s down to my little old ladies, I hope they don’t cancel this week that would be triste. There’s so much to do and I don’t know how to do it. As you can guess I’m a little down so any helpful words would greatly be appreciated.

Paradise

Another week in Paradise, as vezes (sometimes) well autumn came in with a bang, we got caught in the rain yesterday, it didn’t help our contacting at all as you can imagine, I found out that I don’t like rain anymore, especially when my feet have turned into soggy prunes and I still have to walk around for another 3 hours, oh well I should be grateful it wasn’t cold, at least not yet. So that’s the weather report from Portugal.

Transfers=Senior Comp

I got word last Friday about transfers, I'll be training sort of, he didn't say I was but I'll be the senior comp, I don't know how to lead, seriously I'm a good little follower, plus I still can't speak the language-or really give good lessons, I haven't been able to practice much, we get cancelled on a lot. I shouldn't fear, I know this and I need to trust in the Lord, because I know this is good and right, when I was talking with President and he told me that I'd be in the leadership position, I felt the spirit strongly and it comforted me telling me that I could do this. SIGHHH the Lord is merciful though because she is half Portuguese half English, so the language isn't an issue for her, she's been here three weeks already, she's a recent convert to the church and an orphan, and so this should be interesting. It's weird because I've gotten so use to my last comp we were together for 3 transfers. Oh well change is good right? So I don't know we'll see if I've fallen apart next time you hear for me or that I've actually learned and retained the things I've learned here.So my favorite member in Guimarães leaves on her mission this Thursday, I’m really going to miss her and the great member missionary she was, but this will be good she’ll really bless the people in Cape Verde. We had a going away party for her, it was fun we played ‘Don’t Eat Pete’ (Não Come Claudia) with them they’d never played it before and they loved it, good times good times.

Contacting is Awkward

Well contacting just gets more and more awkward, we go to this park that has one opening, we go because usually we can get a good lesson there, because people don’t leave but it’s very awkward for us—just think I can go up to boys now when I get home because I’ll be so use to being awkward—sigh.

Lack of Progress

Not much to report on the work, we got cancelled on a lot, and nobody is progressing YAY. Of course Francisco really likes what we teach and eats it up and understands it, but his wife basically said that they have no time for us because they started working longer, she doesn’t believe man can talk with God, but she believed Joseph Smith saw what he saw—now where’s the logic in that. Oh we actually got let in to some ones house while buzzing apartment buildings, it was quite the shocker—we have an appointment tonight, I’m hoping it will go well and that they’ll want to know more, it was this little family that let us in but they didn’t have time to talk then. So we’ll see. Yay this next week is full of dinner appointments because Irmã Svedin and Claudia are leaving, so it will be full for the first part. So another 6 weeks in Guimarães, if anyone wants to suprise me with a hand written letter I'll be at the same address, because you people don't have lives, hah ahha thanks for all you do.
Address to send letters directly to Irma Aubrey:

Rua Manuel Saraiva Brandao
No 224, 5 esq
4810 Guimaraes
Portugal

Hanging In There

It's still hard for me not to be worried about things like getting a new comp and getting accustamed all over again to someone new, because you know me I take a while to adapt to things. Oh well, oh minha linga é muito mal, it's bad mama, it's better than what it was but if I were to train, I'd be coming home in a body bag, I'm just not prepared to lead, but I will follow what the Lord wants me to do, what ever that may be, he asks a lot of hard things I'm realizing, but it's good, all for my profet and learning right. I am so blessed this is what I'm finding out, like with grand child number 9, it sad though that it will live in New York for the first little bit, oh well you have enough crazies running around right.

Not the Best Week

Not the best week for a missionary, sigh….BUT not utterly horrible in the life of me. Lets see last week not much was accomplished, sadness I know. I started off with going to Gaia, there was a lot of traveling involved with that, Gaia is the closest a sister will get to Porto. I was able to see the beach, but not close up but still it was grand to see the beach again. I was with a Brazilian that didn’t speak English like I said, so it brought me back to my first transfer, but it wasn’t that bad, it was a quiet two days though. I understand and speak better but I still have a long ways to go. It doesn’t help that I haven’t been able to teach a lot of lessons to get the practice in, oh well it’s having the Spirit that really matters, right. Not much to report about Gaia, I’ll be fine though if I’m not called there, it was good though I guess. As for the rest of the week we only had one person keep their appointment with us.

Crazy Lesson

Manuela, we stopped her on the street a couple of weeks back, I’m sure I’ve told you, but anywho finally got a hold of her at her house and she’s like I’m home at this time time on these days-the shpill, so Irma Svedin and Irma De Mecedo tried on Tuesday and nothing, so we tried again on Thursday and nothing, and I was like that’s it, we're going to wait here, of course I said a little prayer first, and who ends up rounding the corner but Manuela. She invited us in, her kids weren’t home yet, so we went in and met the pets, it was cool to hear a parrot speak in Portuguese. So one of her daughters came home, and well they’re moving so a lot of their things were packed up, including their DVD player which we wanted to watch Encountering Happiness with her. So word to the wise don’t pack up a DVD player with a DVD in it, a DVD was stuck in there when they had it all set up, so then Irma Svedin and I watched as they proceeded to whack, jam knives, and destroy their DVD player trying to get the DVD out we were like eek. Anywho they went and retrieved a different DVD player but this time there was no remote…oh yeah and no sound….so Irma Svedin was like I’ll explain it to you, so we watched the Silent one in Danish, anywho, we sort of taught her and I felt the spirit there, but it was crazy because of her kids, dogs and just everything going on. It was funny though her daughter kept peppering us with questions and thought it was so cool we were from the United States.

Funny Thing at Church

Oh dear, I have a funny story, yesterday at church my companion was playing the opening song, and I was to lead but anywho I was preoccupied with smiling and figuring out how to lead it that I wasn’t paying attention, well anywho I start leading but it’s not right and no one is singing, and I was just confused and then I hear-GASP I’M SO SORRY GASP DESCULPHE! The Elders cracked up needless to say and she didn’t live that one down for the day. It made yesterday interesting.

Pictures from Portugal

Irmas and Elders

Castle in Guimaraes

Aubrey the Brave

The Best Book

I heard that Edwards verson of Twilight is online, so you'll have to print that off for me, SMILE, ha ha oh boy I miss reading. Oh well, I'm reading the best book that I possibly could be reading, in two languages, and it's amazing really honestly I love my morning personal study, and I will continue that throughout my life. I know I'm growing so much, right now I'm happy and life is good, I'm so grateful for my Savior.

How Elders Celebrate Turning 21

Wednesday we had our district meeting in Braga, it was one of the Elders 21st birthday and we just had to laugh because there’s how the world celebrates 21 and then there’s how most LDS males celebrate 21. He got a big care package with a chex mix, Reese’s, tootsie rolls and laffy taffy, so we helped him enjoy it and told the lame laffy taffy jokes to each other—what a great 21st birthday he had.

Gracielle

We were finally able to visit Gracielle. It was good we were able to talk with her, it wasn’t so awkward, she has quite the thick Brazilian accent too, shakes head, but we gave her a lesson on faith, and we questioned her if she believed if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and she was like you always ask this question, yes, and we’re like how do you know and she was all, because you said, you’re not liars are you? And we were like no, and thank you for trusting us, but you need to know for yourself from God you need to ask him, it’s so important that people do ask God and find out for themselves. Anyway it was good we asked her if she would like to be baptized and she said yes, we still have so much work to do with her, but we will get there with her eventually.

Francisco and Linda

Last Tuesday we were able to teach Francisco and Linda. Well, he believes that this is the only true church, and he believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that there are prophets today, now all we need to do is get him to act, he seems excited about going to church but he hasn’t been yet. His wife though she doesn’t like to read or pray she doesn’t feel she has the capacity for it, so we need to work with her and get her to see that she is a daughter of God and build up her confidence level. So the hardest things with those two are getting them to act but Francisco is amazing because he’s eating everything up.

A Day in the Life

It was horrifically rainy on Thursday-we went to a less active's house and she was a sleep and was like it’s not that important that you’re here is it? I want to go back to sleep, so then she sent us back out into the rain. So we went and had planned to do contacting that day, sigh, but we made do, we talked to a woman at a bus stop and then went door knocking and found a lady that knew about the church had a Book of Mormon, and had a great discussion with her and we’re going back YAY!

Going to Gaia

So I have to leave my beautiful Guimarães for a day, I’m going to Gaia tomorrow, and it just so happens that Irma Svedin planned like everything for Tuesday so I’m going to miss out on all our awesome investigators and cool lessons…oh well. The sisters there want to do a division, so I’m back with a Brazilian that doesn’t speak English YAY, at least my Portuguese is better….sort of…not really. SIGH, I will get this language I will, I read in PMG and studied about Faith in Christ today, it was really good, because it was talking about keeping commandments, and when we have faith is Christ we do our hardest to keep his commandments and repent and better ourselves. I was thinking yeah obeying like the Word of Wisdom, Law of Tithing, chastity, ones like that I have no problem with but I started thinking of others, and honestly the only way to better ourselves is to pray and believe that Christ will help us with our weaknesses.

Random Pics

At a museum in Guimaraes

This is in Braga. I thought it was an ancient structure

but no, it is a modern one honoring ancient ones.

Things are Good!

So things are good, I am good, I miss all of you, but thankfully the ache and hurt isn’t like it was before, it’s not easy but things are getting better. I just can’t thank the Lord enough for this wonderful experience I’m having. I’m so imperfect and I’m so grateful for the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I am grateful to be able to wear his name. I still have a lot of changing and working to become the type of person/missionary he’d have me be.

Contacting in Guimaraes

I had a wonderful contacting experience last Friday, we walked up to a group of old ladies, one lady saw us started waving her hands and yelling something that of course I didn’t understand, she walked away from us and wouldn’t even look at us, then her friends just laughed, we didn’t say a thing, and so we tried to talk to the friends and they just said ‘não vale pena’ which means it’s worthless, I was like I’ll show you worthless, ha ha just kidding but the lady that walked away like I said wouldn’t even look at us, so I told her boa tarde and walked on.It’s hard here with people being dipped in the Catholic religion, because they’re like oh I have faith in God but I don’t think they really know what that means, it’s sad because satan really has done a number on the nature of God and prayer.

Investigator Update

Well, our family that we were so excited about still hasn’t set up an appointment, and Gracielle we finally got a hold of her, didn’t teach her anything, and then she cancelled our appointment with her, so she is not progressing infelizment. But we got two new investigators, old ladies, yay, one she came up to us and asked for a Book of Mormon about 3 months ago and we kept trying her and trying and she’d always cancel or flake out on us, but she finally brought her friend to come see the church and they liked it and we taught them a lesson and gave the friend a Book of Mormon, we were suppose to meet with them today but they flaked out and didn’t come to church yesterday either which they said they would, this is basically the story of Portugal so I’m learning a lot of patience with these people, that seem to never have time, or interest, it’s very sad I’m like your eternal souls are at stake you better care. Speaking of that I was studying more about the Resurrection and Judgment, it’s such a great thing, I love the Book of Mormon, well all of the scriptures for that matter. That’s about it in ways of investigators.

This Week in the Mission

Oh, what is there to say about this week except there was a lot of contacting, door knocking and not a lot of success (sigh) oh well. I did have Zone Conference last week and that was wonderful, I love my mission president he’s such a good good man, and his wife is wonderful too, she gives talks that hit the spot, this last one was on prayer, and what a great privilege and blessing it is in our lives, as I’m learning how important and grand it is, you really do pray all the time as a missionary and that’s where my best Portuguese comes out is when I pray to my Father. Other than that, my Portuguese is very very sad, I just don’t get it, but I’m doing a lot better now at not worrying about it then I was, because you know me I like to compare and so I was comparing to when others said they understood and spoke the language and as those date passed and I still feel so inadequate with the language I started worrying greatly. Oh well little by little every day I learn something new.

Irma Evans with John the Baptist