What to do?

So I don't know what I'm going to do when I get home, I've been praying but I just don't know. I think it's to late to apply for the fall semester at BYU I miss that window of oppritunity-sigh-I don't know can you find out about that stuff for me BYU's ASU NAU I think that's all I have a desire to go to. I don't know I'm thinking I want to come home and earn money-so I can travel some more-some things just don't change-but come home and work and take Painting and drawing classes--I don't know it's really not fun to think about the real world again. Well have a great week, don't spoil those grandchildren of yours too much.

The Weather!

So it’s getting quite warm here, in the day at least which doesn’t help because Coimbra is all uphill, the weather here, is actually a lot like the weather in Arizona, it just rains more here. Now that I got talking about the weather out of the way we can get on to the more serious stuff. Actually talking about the weather is good it helps break the ice a lot—I love contacting because you never know what’s going to happen or what will be said it’s always an adventure, but on the other hand it’s so hard to get started. Anywho I have a story about contacting and talking about the weather. I went up to a lady and was like Tudo Bem –All is well? She immediately said no and I was like all is not well, and she was all I’m not interested. I was ready to move on and then I. Svedin started talking about the weather to her and we basically moved on to talk about a good amount of other subjects but then tied in the Gospel, she’s an atheist and didn’t want a pamphlet but we eventually in the end, ended up giving it to her, so that was our success. We have a goal from our zone leaders to make 8 contacts each day, so we’ve been pretty loyal keeping to that, I know that we’ll be blessed from doing that.

Pedro Miguel

We finally were able to go visit Pedro Miguel again which was nice, we found out he’ll be getting out in November, his mom was like can he be baptized when he gets out?! We were like yeah, well he needs to talk to Priesthood authorities first but yeah, so that was great, he accepts it all and he really is a good decent person just made bad decisions which robbed him of his agency.

The Bugs are Killing Me!

We had a really good lesson with DJC he’s sick of his life right now, he just wants to go to Africa, so it’s a good thing that we had a lesson on the Atonement with him, it was Elder Holland’s talk I stand all Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers me or something like that. It was really good and I was impressed with I. Svedin she was really frank and direct with him, that’s something I’m still striving for. He was baptized and not confirmed so he’s not really a member, and he’s been telling us he has no desire to go to church, which is frustrating, because his wife is a sweetheart that works too much and it’s just not healthy for their family. Other than that we’ve been having adventures getting lost in the woods trying to find less active members-you missionaries with cars I hate you all!! Ha ha just kidding. I’m still being eaten a live by I don’t know what now, but there’s no rest >_> I. Helena said they like American blood here, kill me now.

I Love My Mission! :)

I love it here in Coimbra I love the mission, I am so richly blessed I know this I find great joy in it. I was thinking about my favorite song it says ‘Never can I repay thee Lord but I can Love Thee’ and it’s so true we can’t repay Him for what He did, then the line in I’m a child of God struck me ‘If I but learn to do His will, I will live with Him once more.’ And that’s so true that’s our whole purpose here on earth is to learn how to do/live the will of our Father and that’s how we show our love for Him by doing His will and keeping His commandments. There that’s my little lesson for the day. Carnival is going on right now, it’s like a glorified Halloween that lasts for 5 days little kids go around every where walking around in their costumes-they do other things but I’m not quite sure what, it’s not quite like Halloween though where we focus more on the gory, scary horror ghost, and all things creepy. They just dress up in like nicer random crazy costumes. It’s interesting the different cultures. Well that’s about it for now. I love you all thanks for your support, letters and love you are all examples to me and I hope you have a fantastic week and remember who it is that we put our trust in. Heart the Irmã Evans

Pictures from Coimbra

We got "8" candles for the New Year!

Bowling for Irma Polito's last P-Day. The other girls is Juliana-she is from Brazil.

Josiane & son-hopefully she'll have a desire to be baptized soon. (Also Brazilian)

Irma Evans & Polito

Irma Evans and Irma Polito on Christmas at a ward member's house. They were rich for Portugal.

"I want MORE! I was a good girl this year!" :)

I got in trouble for being on top of a column-stupid Portugal!

This is Conimbriga - the center of Portugal and a lot of ancient ruins.

More ruins

and yet again more ruins in Conimbriga.

Glory to God!

Drownding Sorrows with Chocolate Cake

This week really was not the greatest for numbers and progressing investigators so I felt slightly deflated last night so Irmã Svedin and I drowned our sorrows in chocolate cake, it's really good and easy to make, she cooks it in the microwave, I'm going to have to still her recipes before she leaves, I'm really wondering if I'm going to kill her off, that means I'll have killed off both of my American comps-I don't know we'll see. So even though the week wasn't all that great, we got canceled on and all that other stuff, I was fed, First off we had Zone Conference, which is always good, it was my first time in the south, which is a lot different, there's not that many missionaries in this zone and I only have to take a 15 minute bus ride to get there. Anywho as always it was very good and I learned a lot like about damnation--go to the bible dictionary and read what it says about it, and you'll find out there are varying degrees of damnation like salvation, and President told us it was like a dam, that it's not like all fire and brim stone but daming is cutting off and limiting the flow and progression of things, it's the same as in the scriptures, so when your reading the scriptures now keep that in mind. Then we had Elder Kopishike-I can't spell that of the 70 and his wife they're from Germany and he has an amazing American accent, amazing, anywho she was so cute because she was very excited/nervous and took off not allowing the translator to translate.

Time with Elder Bednar

Then I had two great nights of Elder Bednar, where we learned that in the church we like to teach that there were two plans Christ and Satan, but this is wrong, there is one plan Heavenly Fathers and we had two choices and then he went on to explain to us more about agency and really we don't have agency once we make covenants. It's like going to BYU-I and keeping the honor code you sign away your right to choose, but convenants bless us and make us happy, so really people don't have their free agency, it was awesome, he's like you do you think you have a choice on whether you pay your tithing or not-YOUR WRONG-you have to pay your tithing. He's awesome it's interesting hearing it translated, because if you miss it once you get a second chance to hear it again, but it takes a lot longer. Apostles are amazing they have such a way of teaching like he talked all about covenants to be like you need to pay your tithing, and he applied the Atonement on member missionary work--that if you don't open your mouth and share the goodness of the Gospel with your friends and neighbors then you're not really converted. He shared a story about his son, and how when he was little he scrapped himself but they let him and the older brother take care of it, the older brother cleaned his scrape with soap and water and it burned the younger one and he cried then he put ointment and band-aides all up and down his arm, but he said was the funny thing was afterwards when he was healed and felt better he went and took the bandaides and ointment and put it on all his friends to make them feel better and happy, he applied that to the Atonement and sharing the Gospel, the sad thing is I have crappy eye sight--I gave up my seat in the choir--and couldn't really see him, and I never got to shake his hand, stinking Elders-it was all very good and an enjoyable weekend as we got to be with more members from the stake and I saw some of the members from Guimarães ^^ like Domingos and another convert family invited us for sandwitches-Berta and Marlene-I don't know if I talked about them but I. Svedin and E. Mortensen were there so it was like old times. We are so blessed to have apostles and prophets in our days they have the keys of the priesthood and they recieve revelation for us-so you heed the council of your stake presidents and bishops.

Read the Scriptures

I know this is the church of Jesus Christ he is our corner stone and Joseph is our apostolic link to Him. So there's more but I can't remember it. This church is so true, I am so simple I know but that's what it goes down to this church is true, and there is but one truth. You're either apart of it or your not. I want to be a soilder for Christ I want to help and fight for the elect and bring them to the truth 2 Timothy 2 The scriptures are amazing and true--READ THEM--I'm using command form with you--okay that's not so funny in English but don't forget we can't be saved in ignorance. I love you all and hope you had a fabulous holiday. Amo-vos!

Pics from Coimbra

Is this a self portrait?

Missionaries in Coimbra

Abus and Irma Polito