Great Conference

Dear family,

Wow, what a great week it sounds like all of you had! I had a great week too. Life is in the fast lane for me now that I am in downtown Lisbon. So, to start, we are so excited for the temple announcement! To tell the truth, most of the missionaries didn't hear it. All of the missionaries in our zone went to the stake center in Benfica (which is where the office is too). We were trying to get computers set up in English, but everyone in the world was trying to hear conference at the same time. About 15 minutes into the meeting, we still didn't have it set up and then all of a sudden everyone's phones start going off from other members and missionaries that told all of us they announced the temple. But, nonetheless we all ran into the Portuguese room where all of the members were and it was basically a party. Lots of cries of joy and happiness. The best part is that it was the personal goal of President Torgan (our mission president) to prepare Portugal for a temple. Needless to say, he accomplished his goal. So that was really exciting.

Also, we had another baptism this week of a man named Jose, who is really amazing. He is in his 40s and went to Salt Lake last year for some business. He speaks English very well. He was intrigued by all of the Mormons there and decided to go see Music and the Spoken word. It really touched him. He talked to a couple of people and they got his information and gave him a number to call and get a Book of Mormon. He called and got a Book of Mormon but wanted to know more and didn't know how to get in touch with the church in Portugal. So, he kept calling the number in America and apparently his information never got passed on as a reference until now. When we taught him, he already knew everything about the church and had read a good part of the Book of Mormon. Basically, all he needed was the invite to be baptized that no one ever had the chance of extending to him until now. So, it was really great. He is such a great man. Very humble for being a powerful, intelligent business man. We just don't come across those everyday. So, that was really cool because they had the priesthood session broadcasted here at 10 on Sunday morning. We had the baptism right after with all of the men from the stake there as a support. It was really cool.

I got to see most of conference. I really loved it. I saw about half of it in Portuguese, so it didn't resonate with me the same as it does in English, but it was good all the same. My favorite talk was by Jeffrey R. Holland.



I love when he talks. I always feel such a strong spirit. It made me realize how I should thank those people in my life for getting me to the point where I am. So, I just wanted to thank all of you for absolutely everything. I know I cannot even begin to imagine the sacrifices that you have already made for me and are making for me. Just know that it has all been completely worth it. Some times I still wake up and I can't believe that I am actually here—in Portugal, serving a mission. It has been my dream for as long as I can remember. And I wouldn't trade any second of it for anything else in the world—yes, even the rough times. I am forever grateful to all of the people who have gotten me to this point. Heaven knows that I wouldn't ever be able to be here because of my own efforts. Thank you. You have no idea what your sacrifices have done for me. It means everything to me.
Well, I am still getting used to the area and trying to figure out transportation. It is basically a headache and a half. But, Irma Geiger is such a sweetheart and she is very patient with me—especially since about 90 percent of the time I don't know where we are or where we are going. But, the good thing is that I can speak Portuguese, so I am learning a lot faster than I would have 3 months ago.

To answer your questions:
Questions:
1. What is your mailing address? I have some letters to mail to you but don’t want you to have to go to the mission home to pick them up. (By the way, how close are you to the mission home?)

My mailing address is the mission home address: Rua Jorge Barradas, Nº 14C 1500 Lisboa Portugal. We don't get mail at our house (Yeah, it is a pretty ghetto house with lots of character and faults a mailbox, so we just use the office address).

2. Did you get the box with your shoes in it?
Not yet, but it will come soon. :)

3. I’ll be sending your birthday box this week. I am assuming that the mission home is still the best place to mail to for packages. Is that correct?

Yes, I'll get it just fine. The executive secretaries are in our district. I live about 30 minutes away from the office, so I will get everything just fine.

4. What is your ward/branch like? How big? How old? Do you have enough members for the full program or do they have the small-unit program in place?

We are serving in a ward. It is not as big as I thought it would be. I´ve only been one Sunday but I am guessing that there are about 60 to 70 active people. It is a very old ward. There used to be three sets of missionaries in this ward, but now there is only just us, so our area is really huge, but I like it because it leaves lots of possibilities. This ward has been around since the founding of the mission in Portugal. Our bishop was one of the first members baptized.

5. How much musical talent is there overall in your wards and branches in Portugal?

Not much. The missionaries usually play the piano if they can and if they can't it is usually a capella. Sometimes there is someone who knows a couple of hymns, but it is rare to find someone who is Portuguese who can play the piano or sing well. The youth usually like to try to play out of simplified hymns. I've played in every area that I have been in, so I have been brushing up on my piano skills :)

6. What kind of building do you meet in? Do you share it with another unit? What time are your meetings?

We meet in a building that used to be a huge house. The church owns the first two floors and then up above are a couple of apartments that other people live in. It is very Portuguese-style with blue tiles lining the walls, wood and tile floors with very little heating. Our baptismal font is old yellow tile and our water heater was disconnected because they want to redo it, but they just realized that they do not have the funds yet to do so, so they will be waiting for about a year. Every baptism has to be a freezing cold baptism. (just like the olden days, right?) haha, but no, it is worth it.

7. Were you able to watch some of conference live or do you watch video streams later? Do you go to the church to do that or the mission home or what?

The Saturday morning session was broadcast on Saturday at 5PM for us. Priesthood was 10 AM on Sunday. Saturday afternoon was at 1PM on Sunday. Sunday morning was at 5PM on Sunday and then the Sunday afternoon session was at 9PM on Sunday. I got to see most of it when we weren't running around to get investigators or traveling back home. But, overall, it was good. I'll review the talks...

Summer's senior picture is GORGEOUS! She looks amazing. I was surprised to see her without braces. I knew that she got them off forever ago, and I have a couple of pictures of her without them, but she just looks awesome in the picture.

Anyway, that is all for this week. Stay tuned for the miracles of next week! Love you all!

Irmã Pérez