Well, are y'all excited to find out where I got transferred to? It's basically like I got a new mission call........I got sent to the Azores!!!!! I'm on the island Terceira in and area called Praia da Vitória! It is way awesome! Last Monday, we got our transfer calls. As I said in my last letter, I was pretty sure that both me and Elder Ronson would be staying. But nope, we got the calls, and they told me that I would be going to the Azores. I had to pack my bags in about 3 hours, and leave my area that same day to go spend the night at the mission office. Then the next day, they sent me on a 2 hour flight with another Elder going to the same island. I got here, and met my new companion. His name is Elder da Costa. He is from Portugal, but is actually from the boundaries of the Porto Mission. He is way cool. Definitely the coolest portuguese person that I have met so far. He actually just seems like he is American, but he speaks portuguese perfectly. This is his 3rd transfer on the mission, so I am actually older than him and am now the senior comp. We live in this way huge house! 3 stories! Supposedly it's the best house in the entire mission. It has a dishwasher, and a dryer! And three toilets! We are actually without a fridge right now, because Elder da Costa broke it before I got here. We use the fridge at the chapel. We live there with 2 other Elders. Elder Dastrup, from Lindon, Utah (he says he doesn't know any of the Hills.) And Elder Barbosa, from Cape Verde. Elder Dastrup is one transfer behind me. He was in the MTC with me for 3 weeks before I left, so I knew him before getting here. He is probably the hardest working missionary in the entire mission. He is awesome and is always way excited about the work. He actually trained Elder da Costa 2 tranfers ago. That's how hard of a worker he is, he trained a native in his 3rd transfer. He is now training Elder Barbosa, who just arrived into the mission this week. He is cool too. We all live in the same house, but the other 2 Elders work in another area called Lajes. Terceira is a lot different than Portugal. I am basically re-learning how to understand portuguese. The accent here is ridiculous, and way hard for me to understand. It is probably the equivalent of a really strong southern accent in the states. But I am already sort of getting used to it. Luckily, Elder da Costa speaks portuguese perfectly, so no worries. It's really cool having a companion that doesn't have any language difficulties. He is a very effective teacher because of it. He is awesome. Although I am the senior comp, it sort of feels like am getting re-trained. It's good though. Elder da Costa is a really hard worker as well. I am learning a lot. We had 28 lessons this week! That is the most I have had on my entire mission so far. The people here are really, really, really Catholic. It's supposed to be one of the harder areas, but we are doing better, at least lesson wise than most of the areas in the mission. It's definitely because Elder da Costa and Dastrup tore it up the last couple of transfers and found tons of investigators. But me and Elder da Costa found some this week as well. We actually just had a baptism on Saturday. It was a guy named Chris. On Terceira, I think you guys already know, but there is a US Air Force Base, supposedly one of the biggest in the world. So there are a lot of Americans here. Chris is an American from North Carolina. He is in the Air Force. They found him only about 2 weeks ago. He is kinda nerdy, but one of the coolest guys I have met on my mission so far. He is way funny. He quit drinking and smoking and was baptized, all in about 2 weeks. The baptism was awesome. We have other investigators that we have found, and others that they already had. Almost all have problems with the word of wisdom and the law of chastity, mostly just because they live together without being married. It is hard to get them to progress. It is really crazy being here in this area. My trainer, Elder Markarian told me all about this area. He served here for about 4 tranfers about a year ago. (By the way, he went home this transfer.) Also, my greeny-breaker, Elder Dean served here right before me and him became companions. So I have heard all kinds of awesome stuff about the area. We have 2 branches here. There is the Portuguese branch or Praia-Lajes branch, and the American branch, or the Air Base 4 branch. There aren't very many active portuguese members. There were probably only about 20 portuguese people at church this week. Elder da Costa is the counselor of the branch presidency. There are a lot more active american members. It is cool being around american people. I'll admit it makes me a little bit trunky, haha. We ate at an American member's house yesterday. It was so good! Basically my first american food in 7 months! They also have rootbeer here! Anyway, I am almost out of time, so I will have to tell you more next week. It was good to hear from you. I love you all! Tchauzinhos!
Elder Walker
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
January 18
Dear Fam,
Everything is still going well this week. We didn't have quite as much success this week. We had some other meetings and other stuff we had to do, so we didn't have as much time for actual proselyting. I am still working to try harder. Sometimes I feel a little bit lazy and tired. It's a little hard to ALWAYS work hard. But I am trying and still learning.
This week I learned that we need to follow up with investigators a lot more. Meaning when we leave commitments such as reading in the Book of Mormon and stuff, we need to make sure that they are doing it. Basically none of our investigators are progressing right now. We can't seem to get any of them to progress. A lot of them are hard to even meet with. And it's hard to follow up and mark appointments with them when at the same time you don't want to annoy them. It's annoying though. I guess it might just be a part of culture. I have no idea. But it is really hard to meet with people enough.
Our investigator Margarita is sort of progressing, little by little. She has read in the Book of Mormon. She only wants us coming by twice a week and when we leave her invites, she says "if I want to, I will." It is good that she is honest. She doesn't "beat around the bush." If she didn't read or pray, she tells us. She REALLY does not like to be told what to do. I am surprised she even lets us come by at all. Not even she really knows. I am sure it is the Spirit. She was basically forced to pray and do stuff in the Catholic church when she was growing up, back when Portugal had a communist government. She hasn't prayed yet, but we are trying to teach her the importance of it. Anyway, she is probably our best bet for a baptism. Everyone else is really flaky.
We actually got a couple new investigators yesterday. The sister missionaries in a different area gave us some referalls. They were teaching their landlord and her husband, who actually live in our area, and they invited them to go to church in their area. They just showed up at our church yesterday. They are cool people. They are probably about your age, mom and dad. They are Portuguese, and of course Catholic. Their names are Conceição and Luís. They are really interested in our beliefs and want to learn more. They said they won't move churches, like everyone else. But I have a good feeling about them. So we will be working with them this week.
So it is good to hear that Uncle Richard is doing better. I wasn't too worried. I was pretty sure he would make it. That is really good that he is doing ok.
That is cool that you are doing High School Musical. I'm sure all those kids will love it. They are probably the right age that High School Musical came out when they were kids. I'm sure it will be good. I am just glad I don't have to help build the set! YES!!!
So I finally got a letter from David and found out where he is going! Chile! That is so rad! I am way excited for him. He actually took Spanish from about 7th grade all the way through 12th. It think when he was a senior, he was in Spanish 4 or something, haha. That will be a huge advantage for him. He can already speak it quite well. Do you know if there is an MTC there or not? I don't know if he is going to the Provo MTC or not. I want to write him a letter while he is there. Do you think you could send me the Provo MTC address?
So I actually don't know exactly what happened in Haiti. There was an earthquake and a tsunami, right? I didn't get all the details, seeing as we don't ever get the news. I did think about Sonny right away when I heard though. I did hear that our church was one of the first help aids there, of course.
Well, it sounds like the fam is doing really well at home. Everything is going great here. Oh! By the way, we get our transfer calls today. I have no idea if I am staying or not. Supposedly there are a lot of changes going on this transfer. Elder Ronson and I both think that we are staying. But we don't really know. So, I will know by the end of the day, and y'all won't know until the end of the week.
I don't know what else to write. Thanks for the email, and the prayers. The shirts are good mom. The collars are still a little stiff, especially since we hang dry our clothes. But they are good. Well, I love you all. I will try to send some pictures. I am still not sure if this computer will let me. Tchau!
Elder Walker
Everything is still going well this week. We didn't have quite as much success this week. We had some other meetings and other stuff we had to do, so we didn't have as much time for actual proselyting. I am still working to try harder. Sometimes I feel a little bit lazy and tired. It's a little hard to ALWAYS work hard. But I am trying and still learning.
This week I learned that we need to follow up with investigators a lot more. Meaning when we leave commitments such as reading in the Book of Mormon and stuff, we need to make sure that they are doing it. Basically none of our investigators are progressing right now. We can't seem to get any of them to progress. A lot of them are hard to even meet with. And it's hard to follow up and mark appointments with them when at the same time you don't want to annoy them. It's annoying though. I guess it might just be a part of culture. I have no idea. But it is really hard to meet with people enough.
Our investigator Margarita is sort of progressing, little by little. She has read in the Book of Mormon. She only wants us coming by twice a week and when we leave her invites, she says "if I want to, I will." It is good that she is honest. She doesn't "beat around the bush." If she didn't read or pray, she tells us. She REALLY does not like to be told what to do. I am surprised she even lets us come by at all. Not even she really knows. I am sure it is the Spirit. She was basically forced to pray and do stuff in the Catholic church when she was growing up, back when Portugal had a communist government. She hasn't prayed yet, but we are trying to teach her the importance of it. Anyway, she is probably our best bet for a baptism. Everyone else is really flaky.
We actually got a couple new investigators yesterday. The sister missionaries in a different area gave us some referalls. They were teaching their landlord and her husband, who actually live in our area, and they invited them to go to church in their area. They just showed up at our church yesterday. They are cool people. They are probably about your age, mom and dad. They are Portuguese, and of course Catholic. Their names are Conceição and Luís. They are really interested in our beliefs and want to learn more. They said they won't move churches, like everyone else. But I have a good feeling about them. So we will be working with them this week.
So it is good to hear that Uncle Richard is doing better. I wasn't too worried. I was pretty sure he would make it. That is really good that he is doing ok.
That is cool that you are doing High School Musical. I'm sure all those kids will love it. They are probably the right age that High School Musical came out when they were kids. I'm sure it will be good. I am just glad I don't have to help build the set! YES!!!
So I finally got a letter from David and found out where he is going! Chile! That is so rad! I am way excited for him. He actually took Spanish from about 7th grade all the way through 12th. It think when he was a senior, he was in Spanish 4 or something, haha. That will be a huge advantage for him. He can already speak it quite well. Do you know if there is an MTC there or not? I don't know if he is going to the Provo MTC or not. I want to write him a letter while he is there. Do you think you could send me the Provo MTC address?
So I actually don't know exactly what happened in Haiti. There was an earthquake and a tsunami, right? I didn't get all the details, seeing as we don't ever get the news. I did think about Sonny right away when I heard though. I did hear that our church was one of the first help aids there, of course.
Well, it sounds like the fam is doing really well at home. Everything is going great here. Oh! By the way, we get our transfer calls today. I have no idea if I am staying or not. Supposedly there are a lot of changes going on this transfer. Elder Ronson and I both think that we are staying. But we don't really know. So, I will know by the end of the day, and y'all won't know until the end of the week.
I don't know what else to write. Thanks for the email, and the prayers. The shirts are good mom. The collars are still a little stiff, especially since we hang dry our clothes. But they are good. Well, I love you all. I will try to send some pictures. I am still not sure if this computer will let me. Tchau!
Elder Walker
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
January 3, 2010
Hello fam. This week was pretty tough. A lot went wrong. We didn't have a whole lot of success, at least with our numbers. We only taught 6 lessons all together. I have never seen so little success my entire mission so far. We counted all of the lessons that fell through this week, and we had 16 lessons fall through! Meaning we call people and set lessons up with them, and then either pass by there house when they tell us that we can but they are not home, or we call them to confirm and they tell us to come by some other day. People do that a lot here. It's really frustrating. I don't get it. We seriously call people the day before, or even the day of, and we still show up and they are not home. It's like they tell us they will be home, but they know they won't. Or else they forget right when they hang up the phone. Obviously there are a lot that don't want to talk to us. But they won't straight up tell us no.
I think this week was especially bad, because of New Years. Their parties here for New Years are a lot bigger than in the states. They party all night on New Year's Eve, and then have another party the next day, and maybe more, we don't know.
So we did a TON of door knocking this week. We had 22 hours of finding time this week. We got 27 phone numbers or addresses. Hopefully some of these people start turning into actual investigators. We actually did get 4 new investigators this week.
We taught a guy named Edgar. He seems pretty cool. We still have only taught him once, so we don't really know. But he said he will read the Book of Mormon and pray. I think he is really curious about the book, but I am not sure if he will pray. That seems to be hard for a lot of people.
Anyway, so this week was alright. I think I learned a lot. I am getting better at knowing what to say when we contact people and stuff. Especially knocking, since we do it so much.
It sounds like the family is doing really good. Especially this time of the year. The cabin is always my favorite part of the entire year. I really missed out, huh?
Supposedly, we were allowed to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, but nobody told us, so we went to bed, and woke up and it was 2010. It's pretty crazy that it has already been more than a year since I got my mission call. About 4 more months and I will have been on the mission for a year. It's crazy, you don't really understand when everyone says that time flies on the mission, until you are actually out serving a mission. It really is going by fast.
It has almost been a year since Uncle Matt died, huh? That's pretty crazy. I still miss him. But it is really awesome being out on the mission, and every day realizing a learning more and more and knowing that we will definitely see him again. My testimony is growing all the time.
That's too bad to hear about Uncle Richard, but I think he is going to get better. He is in my prayers, as are all of you.
I don't really know what else to write. Today is really warm. It was pouring rain this morning. The weather changed like always. It really does remind me of Utah weather. We had to walk to this place to do internet after it rained, because the other place that we usually do it at was closed. We had to walk on this dirt path that was completely muddy because of the rain. So now my shoes and pants are covered in mud. It's ok though, I need to get these pants dry cleaned anyways.
The language is still coming really well. Its crazy, sometimes we will be talking to people, and I will forget that I am not speaking english. We have this member that likes to tell us a lot of stories, and I am surprised to find myself being able to imagine the scene of the story in my head, instead of trying really, really hard to understand. There are still a lot of people that I have trouble understanding. But the people that speak well and clearly, sometimes I almost understand everything they say. I have been really blessed with being able to speak.
So, everything is still going well. I am thinking this week is going to be a lot better, since everyone is back to normal after the holidays. Plus, we have talked to a ton of people. I am pretty sure at least some will turn into investigators.
Well, I love you all. Stay happy, and do what's right. If you are doing what's right, you have that promise. Thanks for your prayers and emails and packages. Abraços, beijinhos, tchau, tchau, sim, sim, fica bem, yah, tchau, abraços, até amanhã, yah, ok, tchau, tchau. (That is really how they say goodbye on the phone. They say the same stuff over and over for like 20 seconds. Usually we just hang up.) I love you!
Elder Walker
I think this week was especially bad, because of New Years. Their parties here for New Years are a lot bigger than in the states. They party all night on New Year's Eve, and then have another party the next day, and maybe more, we don't know.
So we did a TON of door knocking this week. We had 22 hours of finding time this week. We got 27 phone numbers or addresses. Hopefully some of these people start turning into actual investigators. We actually did get 4 new investigators this week.
We taught a guy named Edgar. He seems pretty cool. We still have only taught him once, so we don't really know. But he said he will read the Book of Mormon and pray. I think he is really curious about the book, but I am not sure if he will pray. That seems to be hard for a lot of people.
Anyway, so this week was alright. I think I learned a lot. I am getting better at knowing what to say when we contact people and stuff. Especially knocking, since we do it so much.
It sounds like the family is doing really good. Especially this time of the year. The cabin is always my favorite part of the entire year. I really missed out, huh?
Supposedly, we were allowed to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, but nobody told us, so we went to bed, and woke up and it was 2010. It's pretty crazy that it has already been more than a year since I got my mission call. About 4 more months and I will have been on the mission for a year. It's crazy, you don't really understand when everyone says that time flies on the mission, until you are actually out serving a mission. It really is going by fast.
It has almost been a year since Uncle Matt died, huh? That's pretty crazy. I still miss him. But it is really awesome being out on the mission, and every day realizing a learning more and more and knowing that we will definitely see him again. My testimony is growing all the time.
That's too bad to hear about Uncle Richard, but I think he is going to get better. He is in my prayers, as are all of you.
I don't really know what else to write. Today is really warm. It was pouring rain this morning. The weather changed like always. It really does remind me of Utah weather. We had to walk to this place to do internet after it rained, because the other place that we usually do it at was closed. We had to walk on this dirt path that was completely muddy because of the rain. So now my shoes and pants are covered in mud. It's ok though, I need to get these pants dry cleaned anyways.
The language is still coming really well. Its crazy, sometimes we will be talking to people, and I will forget that I am not speaking english. We have this member that likes to tell us a lot of stories, and I am surprised to find myself being able to imagine the scene of the story in my head, instead of trying really, really hard to understand. There are still a lot of people that I have trouble understanding. But the people that speak well and clearly, sometimes I almost understand everything they say. I have been really blessed with being able to speak.
So, everything is still going well. I am thinking this week is going to be a lot better, since everyone is back to normal after the holidays. Plus, we have talked to a ton of people. I am pretty sure at least some will turn into investigators.
Well, I love you all. Stay happy, and do what's right. If you are doing what's right, you have that promise. Thanks for your prayers and emails and packages. Abraços, beijinhos, tchau, tchau, sim, sim, fica bem, yah, tchau, abraços, até amanhã, yah, ok, tchau, tchau. (That is really how they say goodbye on the phone. They say the same stuff over and over for like 20 seconds. Usually we just hang up.) I love you!
Elder Walker
January 10, 2010
Wow! It was really great to hear from y'all this week. It sounds like everything is going great. It is crazy to hear about the family all growing up. I can't believe Hannah and Steve are almost graduating. Max, the little kid me and Sonny used to pick on is growing and his voice probably changed already. All of my brothers and sisters are getting married and having kids and I am out on my mission. It is crazy growing up. I still get weirded out sometimes when I stop and think, "wait, I'm on my mission."
Anyways, this week was better. A LOT better. We didn't knock quite so many doors, and actually had a decent amount of lessons. All of that door knocking is finally paying off, and we are seeing the fruits of our labors. We have about 4 progressing investigators right now. We are still working with Claudia. She isn't really progressing a whole lot. But she said she would pray to know if she should be baptized. She already prays every night, but is Catholic, and doesn't feel good about being baptized again. We are teaching another guy Edgar, from Guiné-Bissau. He is this big african dude. He is way cool and says he always likes hearing "the word." He is also Catholic, but says he will read in the Book of Mormon (even though he hasn't yet) and pray (even though he hasn't yet.) He is really busy with driving school, but he said in about 2 weeks he will have more time. We are also teaching this kid that is about our age named Júnior. He is way cool, and wants to know how to have more happiness in his family. He has a lot of good questions. I think he will progress too.
We also found this lady named Margarita. When we found her, it was incredible! We were kinda just walking around knocking some doors, and decided to pass by this young woman's house named Fátima, who said we could come back another day (the usual response.) We knocked on the door, and this older lady answered. She told us that Fátima wasn't home, so we told her who we were. We told her that we are here to help people grow faith in Jesus Christ. She kinda rolled her eyes and said "o que é fé?" or "what is faith?" We started talking, and found out that she is Catholic, but non-practicing, and that she doesn't really believe in God anymore. We talked to her about the importance of faith. We offered to say a prayer, and we promised her that she would feel something different during the prayer, such as peace, or happiness, and that if she felt something like that, that she would know that God exists. I knew we would feel something, and as I said the prayer, we all felt the Spirit really strong. Probably the strongest I ever have. It was incredible. Before the prayer, she seemed sort of annoyed at us, but when I ended the prayer, I looked up, and she was smiling. We all kind of just looked at eachother, and let the feeling soak in. None of us said anything for about 1 minute. And then we finally asked her how she felt. She said she felt really peaceful, and we testified that it was the Holy Ghost. We asked her if she had any questions, and she said "who are you guys?!" It was one of the best experiences that I have had on the mission so far. We couldn't go into her house because there wasn't another man in the house, but we talked to her at her door, and briefly explained the restoration. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and left Alma 32 with her, that talks about the seed of faith. She let us come back a few days later, and we brought another man with us, one of our members. We explained the restoration in more detail, and invited her to keep reading and to pray. She is still having a difficult time accepting God into her life again. The last time we taught her was on Thursday. We invited her to come to church, and she said that if she wanted to go she would go. She wouldn't let us mark another visit until tomorrow. I am hoping she has prayed and read. She didn't want us calling either. It's really funny. She is a tough cookie. But there is no way that any of us can deny what we felt. We still want to take it easy with her, but I am sure she will progress.
Anyways, it was really awesome. We have taught a lot of other people just once. It is usually harder getting a second visit, because after the first, they know who you are. So we are working to get second visits with a lot of people. But we are doing a lot better, and the work is finally picking up.
That is really awesome that you are treating one of your converts now dad. I don't know if I ever knew about him. That is so cool. I bet that is really awesome to see somebody that you brought to a knowledge of the gospel 30 years later. I hope somebody that I baptize names their kid after me! Ha ha. I can't imagine anyone here would. Everytime I tell somebody my first name, they can't pronounce it. They all say "gweg." I have to tell them that my name in portuguese is "gregório."
Well, the mission is full of awesome experiences like that. Miracles happen all the time, especially when we are being obedient, and diligent. I am still working to do better, and have room for a lot of improvement. But I have learned a lot... mostly from mistakes. I am loving the mission and want to continue to grow.
I don't really know what else to say. I just feel really blessed to be out here on my mission and to have the knowledge that I have about the gospel and for the testimony that I have. Thanks for all of your support and for your example. Thanks for the update. I love you guys! Tchau!
Elder Walker
Anyways, this week was better. A LOT better. We didn't knock quite so many doors, and actually had a decent amount of lessons. All of that door knocking is finally paying off, and we are seeing the fruits of our labors. We have about 4 progressing investigators right now. We are still working with Claudia. She isn't really progressing a whole lot. But she said she would pray to know if she should be baptized. She already prays every night, but is Catholic, and doesn't feel good about being baptized again. We are teaching another guy Edgar, from Guiné-Bissau. He is this big african dude. He is way cool and says he always likes hearing "the word." He is also Catholic, but says he will read in the Book of Mormon (even though he hasn't yet) and pray (even though he hasn't yet.) He is really busy with driving school, but he said in about 2 weeks he will have more time. We are also teaching this kid that is about our age named Júnior. He is way cool, and wants to know how to have more happiness in his family. He has a lot of good questions. I think he will progress too.
We also found this lady named Margarita. When we found her, it was incredible! We were kinda just walking around knocking some doors, and decided to pass by this young woman's house named Fátima, who said we could come back another day (the usual response.) We knocked on the door, and this older lady answered. She told us that Fátima wasn't home, so we told her who we were. We told her that we are here to help people grow faith in Jesus Christ. She kinda rolled her eyes and said "o que é fé?" or "what is faith?" We started talking, and found out that she is Catholic, but non-practicing, and that she doesn't really believe in God anymore. We talked to her about the importance of faith. We offered to say a prayer, and we promised her that she would feel something different during the prayer, such as peace, or happiness, and that if she felt something like that, that she would know that God exists. I knew we would feel something, and as I said the prayer, we all felt the Spirit really strong. Probably the strongest I ever have. It was incredible. Before the prayer, she seemed sort of annoyed at us, but when I ended the prayer, I looked up, and she was smiling. We all kind of just looked at eachother, and let the feeling soak in. None of us said anything for about 1 minute. And then we finally asked her how she felt. She said she felt really peaceful, and we testified that it was the Holy Ghost. We asked her if she had any questions, and she said "who are you guys?!" It was one of the best experiences that I have had on the mission so far. We couldn't go into her house because there wasn't another man in the house, but we talked to her at her door, and briefly explained the restoration. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and left Alma 32 with her, that talks about the seed of faith. She let us come back a few days later, and we brought another man with us, one of our members. We explained the restoration in more detail, and invited her to keep reading and to pray. She is still having a difficult time accepting God into her life again. The last time we taught her was on Thursday. We invited her to come to church, and she said that if she wanted to go she would go. She wouldn't let us mark another visit until tomorrow. I am hoping she has prayed and read. She didn't want us calling either. It's really funny. She is a tough cookie. But there is no way that any of us can deny what we felt. We still want to take it easy with her, but I am sure she will progress.
Anyways, it was really awesome. We have taught a lot of other people just once. It is usually harder getting a second visit, because after the first, they know who you are. So we are working to get second visits with a lot of people. But we are doing a lot better, and the work is finally picking up.
That is really awesome that you are treating one of your converts now dad. I don't know if I ever knew about him. That is so cool. I bet that is really awesome to see somebody that you brought to a knowledge of the gospel 30 years later. I hope somebody that I baptize names their kid after me! Ha ha. I can't imagine anyone here would. Everytime I tell somebody my first name, they can't pronounce it. They all say "gweg." I have to tell them that my name in portuguese is "gregório."
Well, the mission is full of awesome experiences like that. Miracles happen all the time, especially when we are being obedient, and diligent. I am still working to do better, and have room for a lot of improvement. But I have learned a lot... mostly from mistakes. I am loving the mission and want to continue to grow.
I don't really know what else to say. I just feel really blessed to be out here on my mission and to have the knowledge that I have about the gospel and for the testimony that I have. Thanks for all of your support and for your example. Thanks for the update. I love you guys! Tchau!
Elder Walker
Monday, December 28, 2009
December 21, 2009
FELIZ NATAL A TODOS!
This week was FREEZING! I had no idea it got this cold in Portugal. I don't know what the temperature was, but it felt like a Utah January. I had to wear about 3 jackets. Plus, it rained yesterday. Today actually got really warm out of nowhere, and right now I am wearing my short sleeve. The weather here reminds me a little bit of Utah weather during the winter, when it will be way warm one day, and then snow the next.
This week was really unsuccessful. Probably the most unsuccessful my whole mission. We basically knocked doors the whole week. We only got about 9 phone numbers, most of which we have called and can't get any lessons set up. It is really hard to find people. We found one guy named Kilson, and taught him. We actually found him when we went caroling. He was the only one that said we could pass by another time. It was funny, because when he opened the door, we started singing, and then he shushed us up and told us his dad was asleep. He is pretty cool and seems promising and has been searching for the true church. But he left for the holidays. He will be back in January.
Other than that, we don't really have anyone. It has also been harder to focus with 3 of us. I actually really enjoyed being 3. But missionary work will be a lot easier with the 2 of us. Elder Lobo leaves tomorrow. But we already took him to the mission home, so it's just the 2 of us now.
I definitely want to work harder, be more diligent, and have more faith. I believe we can find people if we do that.
I am still liking the area though. I actually really like the ward. Portuguese people are cool, if they are members. Or when you talk to them about non-church stuff. The members here feed us a ton. There is a lady in our ward who is probably in her 60s named Lurdes. She feeds us dinner every Monday and gives us a ton to eat. We will also be there on Christmas Eve. There is also a house where 3 member families live, and they trade off feeding us lunch every Sunday. And then there is another member that feeds us dinner every Sunday night named Geraldo. They are way cool people.
This week is going to be a good week I think, even though we probably won't get a whole lot done since it's Christmas. We have the big Zone Conference with all the missionaries on Wednesday, and then Christmas Eve, and then Christmas day is going to be our P-day. Today is sort of just a half P-day. We just do internet and shopping. But Christmas will be P-day.
I am way excited to call you guys. I hope I call at a good time. I will probably be calling around 5 PM here, which will be 10 AM for you guys. It could be a little earlier, or later. It just depends on when Elder Ronson gets done. So I will call you first I guess, since you want to do the Skype thing. I don't know if you have to dial a 1 first, but the 351 is the Portugal code. I am excited.
Sounds like I get to talk to everyone. Awesome. I am way excited for Megan too. That is so awesome! I can't believe she is gonna have a kid! Are they going to stay in Arizona?
Well, I am way excited to talk to you all on Christmas. I hope you all have a good American Christmas there. Christmas here is actually the same, I think. I don't really know of any traditions that are different. The only difference I think, is that Christmas Eve is kind of the bigger deal. They have their big party on Christmas Eve, which I guess is sort of the same in the states. They have Santa Clause too. They call him Pai Natal, or Father Christmas. I think he actually climbs through the window here, since everyone lives in apartments and nobody has there own chimney. They have street lights and lights on their houses, but it's nothing compared to the states. They even have all of the same Christmas music, some of it translated into Portuguese, some of it not. So yeah, it's really just the same here.
Well, I love you all, and hope you have a good Christmas. I hope to have a good Christmas too, and to think more about Christ's birth and mission as our Savior here on earth, more than thinking about my package and food. Hope you will all do the same.
I love you. Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal! Boas Festas! Tchau!
Elder Walker
This week was FREEZING! I had no idea it got this cold in Portugal. I don't know what the temperature was, but it felt like a Utah January. I had to wear about 3 jackets. Plus, it rained yesterday. Today actually got really warm out of nowhere, and right now I am wearing my short sleeve. The weather here reminds me a little bit of Utah weather during the winter, when it will be way warm one day, and then snow the next.
This week was really unsuccessful. Probably the most unsuccessful my whole mission. We basically knocked doors the whole week. We only got about 9 phone numbers, most of which we have called and can't get any lessons set up. It is really hard to find people. We found one guy named Kilson, and taught him. We actually found him when we went caroling. He was the only one that said we could pass by another time. It was funny, because when he opened the door, we started singing, and then he shushed us up and told us his dad was asleep. He is pretty cool and seems promising and has been searching for the true church. But he left for the holidays. He will be back in January.
Other than that, we don't really have anyone. It has also been harder to focus with 3 of us. I actually really enjoyed being 3. But missionary work will be a lot easier with the 2 of us. Elder Lobo leaves tomorrow. But we already took him to the mission home, so it's just the 2 of us now.
I definitely want to work harder, be more diligent, and have more faith. I believe we can find people if we do that.
I am still liking the area though. I actually really like the ward. Portuguese people are cool, if they are members. Or when you talk to them about non-church stuff. The members here feed us a ton. There is a lady in our ward who is probably in her 60s named Lurdes. She feeds us dinner every Monday and gives us a ton to eat. We will also be there on Christmas Eve. There is also a house where 3 member families live, and they trade off feeding us lunch every Sunday. And then there is another member that feeds us dinner every Sunday night named Geraldo. They are way cool people.
This week is going to be a good week I think, even though we probably won't get a whole lot done since it's Christmas. We have the big Zone Conference with all the missionaries on Wednesday, and then Christmas Eve, and then Christmas day is going to be our P-day. Today is sort of just a half P-day. We just do internet and shopping. But Christmas will be P-day.
I am way excited to call you guys. I hope I call at a good time. I will probably be calling around 5 PM here, which will be 10 AM for you guys. It could be a little earlier, or later. It just depends on when Elder Ronson gets done. So I will call you first I guess, since you want to do the Skype thing. I don't know if you have to dial a 1 first, but the 351 is the Portugal code. I am excited.
Sounds like I get to talk to everyone. Awesome. I am way excited for Megan too. That is so awesome! I can't believe she is gonna have a kid! Are they going to stay in Arizona?
Well, I am way excited to talk to you all on Christmas. I hope you all have a good American Christmas there. Christmas here is actually the same, I think. I don't really know of any traditions that are different. The only difference I think, is that Christmas Eve is kind of the bigger deal. They have their big party on Christmas Eve, which I guess is sort of the same in the states. They have Santa Clause too. They call him Pai Natal, or Father Christmas. I think he actually climbs through the window here, since everyone lives in apartments and nobody has there own chimney. They have street lights and lights on their houses, but it's nothing compared to the states. They even have all of the same Christmas music, some of it translated into Portuguese, some of it not. So yeah, it's really just the same here.
Well, I love you all, and hope you have a good Christmas. I hope to have a good Christmas too, and to think more about Christ's birth and mission as our Savior here on earth, more than thinking about my package and food. Hope you will all do the same.
I love you. Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal! Boas Festas! Tchau!
Elder Walker
December 28, 2009
Well, no email again this week. Haha. But I got to talk to y'all, so it's ok. It was way awesome hearing from everyone. It sounds like everyone is doing great. I don't really know what to say that I didn't already say over the phone.
This week was probably the best week that I have had in this area. Which is surprising, because it was Christmas week, and everyone was really busy. We didn't have a whole lot of lessons, which makes sense, but we found a lot of really good people to teach. We got 7 new investigators this week. Almost all of them seem really promising. But we can't really talk to any of them until after the holidays, just because everyone is so busy with their families and stuff. They all tell us to come by after the holidays. I think that this is the most success that this area has seen in a while. We are finally finding people to teach. We have taught this woman named Claudia a couple times. Her husband is an inactive member. We feel really good about her, and depending on how we feel when we teach her tonight, we will be marking her to be baptized on January 16. Hopefully she will accept, and that will help with reactivating her husband. Other than her, the rest of the people we have found, we have only taught once. This week we should be able to teach them more. Not a whole lot more is going on. Still a lot of door knocking.
Some cool things have been happening. Like, on Christmas night, when I was trying to call you guys and we decided to go to the chapel. We took the bus, which is about a 20 minute ride. I was just sitting there, thinking why I couldn't get ahold of you. I fugured there might be a reason, maybe there was somebody I needed to talk to or something. So I looked around on the bus and saw this guy that looked about my age, but he had a bunch of lip, eyebrow, and earings and stuff. But I felt like I should talk to him. I went up and told him that I felt like I had to talk to him. He was pretty cool, and told me he had already spoked to the Elders at his house before. He said they used to come and teach him. He said he was interested in having us over anymore, but he was cool, and we sort of just talked about life. I don't know what will happen, but when stuff like that happens, you know it's not just coincidence. Then last night, we were on a bus again, and I was looking around for somebody to talk to, and saw this girl who I had actually seen on a bus before, and felt like I should talk to her, but sort of chickened out. But I saw her again last night, sitting in the same seat as before! So I knew I had to talk to her this time. Turns out that she already knew the Elders too, but was also not interested anymore. We ended up giving her a Book of Mormon. I don't know what ends up happening with these people. But stuff like that doesn't just happen. There is a purpose in everything. It just strengthens my testimony that I have about this work. It is definitely not a work of man, but definitely the Lord's. Cool.
I am enjoying the Christmas presents. Thanks again for all of them. The sweaters are perfect, exactly what I was thinking of. I finally have more white shirts, which is awesome, and will be especially awesome in the summer. I have been pigging out on candy and need to stop, but that's really good too. I really like the book that I got, about the Catholic and LDS church. It is really helpful, and is exactly what I was wanting. Thanks fam, for the presents. They are way awesome.
I don't really know what else to write. I feel like I have already said everything, since we already talked this week.
Today we are going to Lisbon for P-day. I don't really know what we are going to do. It is really cloudy, and foggy and humid, but really warm. The weather is really weird here. I don't know if it will rain today or not.
So is everyone going up to the cabin this week? I can't believe I am not going. It will be the first time I haven't gone to the cabin after Christmas since I can remember.
How is everyone else doing? How are the Von Hills, and the Burke Hills? How are Grandma and Grandpa Hill? How are Tracy and Chris and Alex? How is Liz?
Well, I love you all. I am glad I got to talk to y'all on the phone. Next time will be in about 5 months. I will admit that talking to you guys made me a little bit "trunky," but just a little bit. Well, I am out of stuff to write, so see ya later. Tchauzinhos!
Elder Walker
P.S. Supposedly, from what Brennan told me, David Baker finally got his mission call, and I STILL haven't heard where he is going. It's driving me nuts! If anyone hears anything, let me know.
This week was probably the best week that I have had in this area. Which is surprising, because it was Christmas week, and everyone was really busy. We didn't have a whole lot of lessons, which makes sense, but we found a lot of really good people to teach. We got 7 new investigators this week. Almost all of them seem really promising. But we can't really talk to any of them until after the holidays, just because everyone is so busy with their families and stuff. They all tell us to come by after the holidays. I think that this is the most success that this area has seen in a while. We are finally finding people to teach. We have taught this woman named Claudia a couple times. Her husband is an inactive member. We feel really good about her, and depending on how we feel when we teach her tonight, we will be marking her to be baptized on January 16. Hopefully she will accept, and that will help with reactivating her husband. Other than her, the rest of the people we have found, we have only taught once. This week we should be able to teach them more. Not a whole lot more is going on. Still a lot of door knocking.
Some cool things have been happening. Like, on Christmas night, when I was trying to call you guys and we decided to go to the chapel. We took the bus, which is about a 20 minute ride. I was just sitting there, thinking why I couldn't get ahold of you. I fugured there might be a reason, maybe there was somebody I needed to talk to or something. So I looked around on the bus and saw this guy that looked about my age, but he had a bunch of lip, eyebrow, and earings and stuff. But I felt like I should talk to him. I went up and told him that I felt like I had to talk to him. He was pretty cool, and told me he had already spoked to the Elders at his house before. He said they used to come and teach him. He said he was interested in having us over anymore, but he was cool, and we sort of just talked about life. I don't know what will happen, but when stuff like that happens, you know it's not just coincidence. Then last night, we were on a bus again, and I was looking around for somebody to talk to, and saw this girl who I had actually seen on a bus before, and felt like I should talk to her, but sort of chickened out. But I saw her again last night, sitting in the same seat as before! So I knew I had to talk to her this time. Turns out that she already knew the Elders too, but was also not interested anymore. We ended up giving her a Book of Mormon. I don't know what ends up happening with these people. But stuff like that doesn't just happen. There is a purpose in everything. It just strengthens my testimony that I have about this work. It is definitely not a work of man, but definitely the Lord's. Cool.
I am enjoying the Christmas presents. Thanks again for all of them. The sweaters are perfect, exactly what I was thinking of. I finally have more white shirts, which is awesome, and will be especially awesome in the summer. I have been pigging out on candy and need to stop, but that's really good too. I really like the book that I got, about the Catholic and LDS church. It is really helpful, and is exactly what I was wanting. Thanks fam, for the presents. They are way awesome.
I don't really know what else to write. I feel like I have already said everything, since we already talked this week.
Today we are going to Lisbon for P-day. I don't really know what we are going to do. It is really cloudy, and foggy and humid, but really warm. The weather is really weird here. I don't know if it will rain today or not.
So is everyone going up to the cabin this week? I can't believe I am not going. It will be the first time I haven't gone to the cabin after Christmas since I can remember.
How is everyone else doing? How are the Von Hills, and the Burke Hills? How are Grandma and Grandpa Hill? How are Tracy and Chris and Alex? How is Liz?
Well, I love you all. I am glad I got to talk to y'all on the phone. Next time will be in about 5 months. I will admit that talking to you guys made me a little bit "trunky," but just a little bit. Well, I am out of stuff to write, so see ya later. Tchauzinhos!
Elder Walker
P.S. Supposedly, from what Brennan told me, David Baker finally got his mission call, and I STILL haven't heard where he is going. It's driving me nuts! If anyone hears anything, let me know.
Monday, December 14, 2009
December 14, 2009
I finally got transferred! I got moved to an area called Costa da Caparica. It is south of Lisbon on the other side of the river. Supposedly it is sort of a big vacation spot, because its just a huge beach. But right now, in the winter time, its pretty dead. The area is pretty cool. We are right across the river from Lisbon. It is seriously right on the other side of the huge bridge. We can see the brigde and a lot of Lisbon from our area. There is a big monument on our side of the river called "o Cristo Rei" which means "the Christ King." We can also see that from our area. We got the transfer calls on Monday and I was out of there the next day. I had to say goodbye to some people and it was pretty sad. I was really close to some of the recent converts. Especially Colombo. I have 2 companions! We are in a "tripla." My new comps are Elder Ronson and Elder Lobo. The reason there are 3 of us is because Elder Lobo is going home about 4 weeks early so he can get back in time for school. So he leaves next Tuesday. And then it will be just me and Elder Ronson. Elder Ronson was already in Costa da Caparica, and Elder Lobo was in Monte da Caparica, a litte further South. They used to be 2 areas, but they were combined this transfer, so we have a big area now. We actually live in Monte da Caparica. I like the area so far, but still like my last area a lot better. I just have to get used to living here. My comps are way awesome. They are way cool and funny. Elder Lobo is from Oregon. His dad is actually from Brazil. Lobo means wolf in Portuguese. I found out he is cousins with the Murrays in Mapleton. Golden Murray is Elder Lobo's mom's brother. Small world. Elder Lobo speaks the language really well. He is cool and funny. He is a bit lazy. I think that he thinks, since he is going home, he doesn't really need to work as hard. He gets up late, and doesn't really study. It is kind of hard to work with 2 other Elders. It is hard to be as unified. Especially with an Elder that doesn't work as hard. I don't really know, but it seems like he and his last companion didn't do a whole lot of work, because when I got here we didn't have one single investigator. So this whole week has been finding time. We have knocked a ton of doors. Elder Ronson is way cool and funny too. He is from Cedar Hills, Utah. He is actually younger than me by about 2 months, but will hit his year mark on the mission this month. So this is my new area. I already miss Sacavém. There are a lot less African people here. Almost none in the ward. It's actually a ward here and not a branch. They seem to be really cool people, and it is going to be a lot different working more with Portuguese people. It is also a little hard to understand. I am used to the African accent, and haven't really dealt much with native Portuguese speakers. It seems to be a good area. Hopefully we start teaching lessons! I don't really know what else to write. This week was pretty crazy. Mostly just knocking doors. We even went caroling. That was a failure. We were completely rejected almost everytime. The ward had their Christmas party on Saturday. We sang Angels We Have Heard On High in Portuguese. And then they wanted us to doing something less spiritual, so we sang Feliz Navidade, which is Spanish and English, not Portuguese. We put it together in about 2 minutes so it was bad. But we danced around and they all laughed really hard so it was good. I am hoping this next week is better. On the 23rd, the entire mission is meeting for one big Christmas themed Zone Conference. It will be really cool. Every missionary in the mission will be there, except for the missionaries in the Azores. Well, I'm glad everything is going well at home. I'm sorry to hear about Grandpa. It seems like there is always some new health problem that comes up with him. I hope he is OK. How is everyone else doing? Is everyone going to be home for Christmas this year? Are you all going to go to the cabin at all? Are Tracy and Chris going to be there? Well, I don't know what else to write. I love you all. Have a good week. You're in my prayers. I still don't really know anything about calling home. For sure I will let you know next week. I think we actually just call from our cell phones. I dont know though. It's soon though. I am excited. I love you all. Tchau!
Elder Walker
Elder Walker
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)