November 9, 2009

This week was crazy! I think it has been the craziest week of the mission. Last week I was telling you that it was looking like the family wasn't interested in the church very much anymore. We couldn't even get them to church. Well, last Monday, we went to their house and knocked on their door, unexpectedly. Their daughter Tánia answered and said her parents weren't home. We were feeling bad, because we knew that we had their baptismal date set for that weekend, the 7th. So we started heading back, and we saw the parents Silvino, and Seseltina walking together towards the house. They were just on a walk. They let us come to their house and talk to them! So we sat down with them and found out that the reason they didn't go to church and hadn't seemed interested was because Seseltina had been really "confused" lately. We started talking and I didn't really know what to talk about, but I just bore my testimony that I knew that living the gospel would bless their lives no matter what. I told them that if they would live the gospel, that Seseltina would start to get better. She is still pretty ill, but seems to be really interested in coming to church lately and getting baptized. It was a really good experience, and after that night, we knew we could get them baptized. So this week we worked with them a lot. We taught them almost every day. We found out that Silvino and Seseltina aren't married, so they can't be baptized. One of their sons still hasn't come to church because he has soccer games every Sunday. But the other 2, Paulino and Tánia were still able to. So we taught them the rest of the lessons, got them interviewed and baptized them yesterday after church. It was a way good experience and went very well for how quickly
it was put together and pretty disorganized it was. A lot of people showed up too, and we didn't even get it announced in church until the day of. A lot of friends came who we have taught as well. Me and Elder Thomas had to take up most of the program, since we made it the day of as well. He gave 2 talks, ha ha. And we both sang a duet. Paulino chose me to baptize him. It was way cool. My first time! He actually ended up doing a back-flop into the water on purpose. There is a lot we still need to teach him. Ha ha. President Barros baptized Tánia. It was an awesome experience. My favorite baptism so far. The spirit was there, even though he entered the water pretty rowdily. It was awesome. I will attach some pictures. Anyways, I am sure you are surprised that we had a baptism, since last week I told you we weren't doing too well. Everything has been going awesome this week. We have found a lot of good people to teach who are ready to accept the gospel. It is still hard for me and Elder Thomas to teach, but I think we are getting better. The weather here has been pretty cold. It has been raining the past few days. Our house is way cold and we only have this one space-heater. I am loving being comps with Elder Thomas. He is way cool. We have a lot of fun trying to talk to people and not understanding them. He is way cool. We also had Zone Conference this week. It was good. Elder Kapishky from the Seventy came and spoke to us. (I don't know how to spell his name.) He is the the Area President of Europe. He is actually from Germany, but speaks flawless English, even without an accent. He served his mission in Germany too. I don't know when. I was just thinking that maybe dad knew him. That's about it about here. I didn't get your letter last week mom. I just barely read it. I don't know what happened. I still got dad's letter last week though, and this week. It sounds like everything is going way awesome at home. Sounds like Kaenan had an awesome halloween. Is he getting into X-men or something? What's his latest obsession? Halloween is pretty lame here. They have it, but not a lot of people do it. And their costumes are lame. We actually had a few teenagers knock on our door. They say "doces ou dinheiro," which meens "candy or money." I told them we didn't have any. Later I realized that I actually had some candy left over from a package I got, but I forgot. That's too bad about Uncle Richard. I hope he gets better. He's still got to serve a mission in Brazil, right? I forgot to give Sister Torgan his address. I hope I remember next time I see her. Well I love you all and hope you are all doing well. You are in my prayers. Tenho saudades! Tchau!
Elder Walker

November 2, 2009

Wow, I finally get to write! This week has been crazy! Last P-day, wasn't really a P-day for me. I had to go down to Lisbon to renew my visas, so they don't deport me. I had to wait in line for about 5 hours, on P-day of all days! Then, me and Elder Dean were on our way back from Lisbon to go write emails, and we got our transfer calls. President Torgan called and told Elder Dean that he was going to a place called Santo André to "white-wash," which means that he and his companions are both new there and they have to start from scratch. I found out that I would stay another transfer here in Sacavém with an Elder named Elder Thomas. Oh yeah, and we had to transfer the next day. It was crazy! So we spent the rest of the P-day saying goodbye to people, and then cleaning and packing. So I didn't have time to write. And it looks like I'm staying here for at least another 6 weeks. So the next day I met up with Elder Thomas. He is a way cool guy. Way nice, way chill. He was in the oldest district at the MTC when I got there, so he has only been out here for 6 more weeks than me. We are both about equal in our language skills, so the work has been pretty crazy the past week. I think I speak a little better than he does, but he understands better than me. I actually have really enjoyed it the last week. I have had the responsibility of remembering all of our investigators and doing most of the talking in lessons. Elder Dean was a really good teacher, so it is kind of hard to follow his shadow. Both of us are pretty new, so it's been tough. But he is a contacting machine! He talks to everyone. Its way cool. I have never spoken so much Portuguese my entire mission. It was pretty easy to sit back and let Elder Dean do all of the talking when he was here, even though I tried not to. But now that I am forced to do most of the talking, I am realizing that I'm not too bad at it. The work sort of halted after Elder Dean left, but I don't think it's because he left. We have been teaching that one family, but everytime we go to teach them, the dad isn't there, even though he tells us he will be. It seems like he is sort of running away. Almost everyone else we are teaching are either their friends or family members. We tried to get them to church this week, but the dad said they weren't coming. We tried really hard to get them all there, at least the kids, but he wouldn't let them come either. He said they had to stay home and watch their mom, who is sort of mentally ill. So they didn't come, and neither did any of their friends or family. The family is scheduled to be baptized this weekend too, but I don't think they will make it. We haven't really been teaching many other people. Moisés is running away from us. He is avoiding our calls. We have even seen him on the street and he looked away. Colombo said he saw him with a big sack full of "something" the other day. We are thinking he went out and drank and is ashamed to talk to us now. Colombo introduced us to one of his cousins though, and he seems way awesome. He says that he and his family are catholic, but Colombo brought him to church yesterday and he really liked it. We have an appointment with him later tonight. I think he will be really open and accept. I hope the work starts picking up this week. I am really having an awesome time with Elder Thomas. He is way cool. It's pretty fun that both of us aren't real great with the language. I am excited for this transfer. It's going to be a big challenge, but we are both going to learn a lot. Well, it's really nice hearing from y'all after 2 weeks of nothing. Sounds like everything is going really well at home. What is the thing that Brennan is doing? I don't know if I heard about that. Is that where he is just trying to stay away from Brandy? How are Griffin and Gretchen doing? Are they still moving to California? How is Kaenan, is he still liking Kindergarten? Well, I love you all. Thanks for you email, and everything! I love this work. I love working with these people here. I love doing the Lord's work and feel very blessed to have the opportunity to serve Him. My testimony grows everyday. I have learned so much out here, it's ridiculous! I am learning stuff I never knew before. I think I am getting better at talking to people too. Especially as of late. The Lord is really blessing me. I'm thankful for all of you, and your examples. I know this is the Lord's work. I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I know He leads and guides it personally. Continue in your daily prayers and scripture reading! I love you all! Cheers!
Elder Walker

October 12, 2009

Hey fam. Its gonna be a quicky! Dont have much time. Last week I didnt have much time either because our P-day was a holiday and we didnt know, so the internet place was closed. We went to a different place the next day, but we were in a hurry. There was some sort of error on the internet and it didnt let me sent my email. Sorry, I had it written but it didnt send and got lost. This week is going well. We had a really successful week for the most part. We are teaching an entire new family. There are all pretty catholic, but their mom is mentally ill and they need our help. We gave her a blessing. We talked to our Mission President about it and he said that whatever it is that is making her that way, to "cast it out." That sort of weird. We dont really know what it is. But the family says that since we have been teaching them, she has been a lot more calm. We also have a few other new investigators who are really progressing well already. They were all doing awesome, and were sure they would come to church, and we thought we had done everything to remind them, and none of them ending up coming! We were expecting about 8 people and none came. That was a big disappointment. Everything is going well. I have still been having trouble with my shyness. Sometimes it is really hard for me to talk to people. I dont know why! Any suggestions would be appreciated! Conference was awesome! I loved every second of it! I didnt get to watch the Sunday afternoon session, because it ran too late here. But I saw mom a few times, including her big closeup. Awesome. And I got to watch it in English. Sounds like everything is going great at home. Its crazy hearing news about the US. I dont hear much out here. That sounds pretty aweful. Well, despite all of the hardships, and all of the evils in the world, we have the gospel that gives us hope in our lives. Despite all of the hardships, we can always find peace and happiness in knowing that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for that knowledge. I hope to continue improve as a missionary. Thanks for all of your help. Anything advice you have, go ahead and tell me. I need it. Its getting tough. I love you all fam! Hopefully I will have more time to write next week! This new P-day on Monday thing is kinda driving me crazy. Com amor,
Elder Walker

October 19, 2009

Alright. I finally have an entire hour for email today! The last few weeks have been crazy busy! But really, really good. We have so many new investigators. And President Torgan is really stressing baptism as soon as possible. We still dont have anyone getting baptized this week. We have one that is marked for the 24th, but we will see what happens with him. Its Moisés. He is actually progressing quite well. We had some really good lessons with him this week. One where we basically bore our testimonies and told him we love him and want him to stop drinking. I bore my testimony of living the word of wisdom and how it has blessed my life. It was really cool, and he was crying and stuff. Then, our last lesson with him was with our recent convert Colombo. Colombo has a stronger testimony already than a lot of our members I think. I love the guy. So awesome. Anyways, so Colombo was there, and he bore strong testimony. We all did. And Moisés said that it the question isn't whether or not he needs to be baptized anymore. He told us that he already knows that his baptism in the Baptist Church wasn't valid. He has even had dreams about Jesus Christ and baptism, and has been reading the book of mormon. The problem is that he needs to stop drinking. We committed him to stop drinking for 1 entire week, and if he does, we are going to give him a Priesthood blessing. Also, we have been calling him twice a day. I hope it all works out with him. Im sure we will have to move his date. Also, I cant remember if I mentioned it, but we found a family of 5 that we have been teaching. Silvino and Seseltina are the parents, and there kids are Luís (16), Paulino (14), and Tanha (10.) They are a really cool family. All Catholic. None active. I think I already mentioned Sesaltina's mental problem. She tells us about weird dreams and stuff she has had. We gave her a blessing. They are progressing well, and she seems to be doing better. Even her family has noted a difference. They are awesome. We played basketball with Paulino and Luís and some of their friends and taught some of them as new investigators. Also, we are teaching some of their neighbors. They all live in this place called Apelação. Almost all of the people that live there are African, including some Ceganos (gypsies.) Its actually sort of a scary place. Its pretty ghetto. Anyways, we used to kind of avoid going there, other than to teach Colombo. But we have so many people there that we are teaching, that we are there almost every day. Our Branch President lives up there too, as well as some other members. He is really excited that we have started teaching up there. He is a really awesome guy and does a lot for the branch. Also, President Torgan has been stressing ward missionary work and all of the branches and wards are getting excited about it. We just had Stake Conference for the Lisbon Stake yesterday. It was way good. The stake president spoke, as well as one of the counselors. Also President and Sister Torgan, and the Madrid Spain Temple president and his wife, who spoke spanish. I am surprised how much spanish I can understand. Its cool. Anyway, it was really good, and we got 7 investigators there! So awesome. Yep, so we are having really good success here. The Lord is really putting people in our path to teach. I really love this area and will be sad to leave it, but I know I will eventually. Most of the other areas dont have so many African people. It will be sad to leave them. Transfer are in about a week and a half. I could stay, I could go. I dont really know. You cant really predict it. I would really like to stay, but it would be kind of cool to be in a new area too. Me and Elder Dean have our predictions. He thinks he is leaving and going back to the the Azores. I think I am staying and "greenie-breaking," or getting a companion that has just left his trainer. That would be really hard, but a good challenge. The language is coming awesome. Im speaking well, and understanding well for the most part. It just depends on who is speaking and what the situation is. It sounds like everything is going great there still. Thanks for the shy tips thing mom. So basically, I need to start conversations and ask people questions. I think that will help. I think a big problem is that I get scared I wont understand them. But I will try that. Thats awesome the cabin is done. I bet it is really nice. I cant wait to get back and go sledding at the cabin. Its crazy you got swine flu mom. How bad was it? Any worse than a normal flu? I heard its the same. Kaenan's getting his tonsels out, huh? I still have mine. I had a dream last night that Kaenan learned a new cuss-word and was walking around yelling it at everyone. It was weird. I have really weird dreams out here. Thats crazy that you are doing High School Musical mom. The kids will love it, I'm sure. I have never seen it. I really miss plays, and singing in choirs. I cant wait to get back and get into acting and stuff. So, my shirts are alright. I dont like wearing them mostly because I like the other ones so much. Shorter sleeves, stretchy collar, looks good. My other ones are big, have an annoying collar, have sleeves that are too long, and make me look like a dweeb. Mostly its just my OCD I guess. I can live with them. I usually just end up washing the other ones a lot. I guess I would like them more if they were smaller, thats probably the biggest thing. But Im sure thats hard since my neck is 16. My shoes are awesome. They are way comfortable, dont hurt my feet, and I can walk in them all day. No worries about the shoes. I really dont need anything. Maybe your new Motab CD, whenever it comes out. I just got a huge package from Jessie. She sent me mapleine, rootbeer flavoring, candy, pancake mix, tortillas and a bunch of other stuff. It was cool. David Baker sent me a letter too! He started on his mission papers! He could even be done by now! He was already ordained an Elder. Im way excited for him. I was thinking he wouldnt go. Well, it feels good to have finally written a long email. I dont know what else to say. Oh, I talked to President Torgan about Uncle Richard and he told me I would have to bring a picture of him for him to remember. Later, I talked to Sister Torgan, and she said she remembers him. She asked me for his address. Could you send that for me? And maybe his email address as well? She also gave me her email address to give to him: manatina@ig.com.br could you give send that to him for me? Thanks. Well, I love you all. I am really happy out here doing the Lord's work. It has been sort of hard sometimes, but really awesome. Thanks for the email. I love you all.
Elder Walker

- Show quoted text -

verdadeira: true
verdedeira: misspelled word

Translation of Portugese from September 28 Letter

This is translated by Google Translate:
I write in Portuguese so you can see my progress in the language. Also because I have much time. I think the language is progressing well. I can speak well. I'm still trying to understand. It is still difficult for me. One day, I realize. I have to have patience. It takes a lot of patience! But I do not have anything else to say. I love you! Remember that this church is verdedeira, and there is no other church has the fullness of truth. I know this is true. Remember that God knows all their children, and He loves each one of you! I know that this church is verdedeira. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

September 28, 2009

It's already P-day again since we have it on mondays now. It's kind of a bummer because supposedly, all of the castles and cool stuff here are closed on Mondays for maintainance. I don't know why President changed it. Oh, well. Not much is new since I wrote last. Sort of just the same stuff going on. We invited Moisés to be baptized again. His answer was still the same, that he wants an answer first. It was funny, because we always teach him at Colombo's house. Colombo is awesome, and before our last lesson with Moisés, Colombo told us to invite Moisés to be baptized and then he 'dou Moisés facas' (he gave knives.) Basically meaning he let him have it. It was kinda cool. I am hoping Moisés does some more thinking. He already knows the Book of Mormon is true he says, but he told us we wants a 'conviction' that he needs to be baptized. We have been praying for him. We also started teaching a guy named Samora. He is from Guiné-Bissau. He is actually isn't a legal resident here, so he doesnt have a job. He was living and studying in Russia before he came here. He speaks English fluently, which is cool for me. He is a cool guy and said he really wants to be a part of our church. Thanks for sending Sonny's address. It will be cool to write him. Well, nothing else is really new. I don't know what else to write. How are Griffin and Gretchen doing? Where do they live? What are they doing? Working? Going to school? How is everything else? You got the fireplace mantle finished? And the gazebo? How is the construction at the cabin going? How is the Burke Hill family doing? I haven't heard anything about them since I left. Steven and Hannah are seniors this year, right? Crazy. Is Steven the lead in another play yet? Has Megan been doing any plays or anything? How is Liz doing? Does she still hang out with Megan in AZ? How are G&G Hill doing? How is Uncle Richard doing? How is Grandma Walker doing? How is Ryan Walker doing? Did he graduate this year? Is he going on a mission? Ok, enough questions. I think that's all.
Vou escrever em Português para que vocês possam ver o meu progresso na língua. Também porque eu tenho muito tempo. Acho que a língua esteja a progredir bem. Posso falar bem. Ainda estou a tentar de perceber. Ainda é difícil para mim. Um dia, vou perceber. Tenho que ter paciência. Leva muita paciência! Mas, não tenho qualquer outra coisa para dizer. Eu amo vocês! Lembrem-se que esta igreja é verdedeira, e não há qualquer outra igreja que tem a plenitude da verdade. Eu sei que isso é verdade. Lembrem-se que Deus conhece todos os seus filhos, e Ele ama cada um de vocês! Eu sei que esta igreja é verdedeira. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, amém.

Elder Walker