Flying over Lisbon. <3 I can't explain it, but I already love this country and it's people
and I have yet to touch the ground.
This is a picture of all of the incoming missionaries and their new trainers. We are about to head out to our assigned areas. =D
This is my Mission President and his Wife,
the Fluckigers.
Me meeting my trainer Sister Jones for the first time! She is from CA and has been
in Portugal for 9 months!
Us in front of the church building on Sunday.
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 Me in front of our apartment. =D My letter home: |
So to get here was a crazy adventure. Me and the other missionaries going to Portugal had to travel together. All in all, there was about 21 of us. It was nuts. Everywhere we went people had funny reactions- whether it was looks of awe or strange looks. Hehe The life of a missionary is great. We induce strong feelings from strangers. I talked to a few people about what we were doing and where we were going....most people think its so awesome that we are immersing ourselves in a different culture and learning a different language. That is fun, but our purpose is not to tour and see a new country but to help people COME UNTO CHRIST. Everything else is just a perk.
When I got here to Portugal it was completely nuts! We were soosososososoososos tired, we were running on probably 6 hours of sleep for the past 2 days. Our travel time was over 24 hours....yeah, I couldve slept on a bench and been so content. I got here and immediately met my new companion. Her name is Sister Jones, and she has been here for 9 months! She is amazing, from California and completely fluent in the language, so it's nice to know that I can rely on here to not leave me hanging. =) We met, listened to some speakers, and left for our assigned areas. It was sad to see Sister Dixon leave in a car without me. I hope she is doing okay in whatever area she is in. I know we are relatively close in the country of Portugal, so I kinda know what she is going through. She was assigned to Porto as well. Sister Jones will be an incredible trainer, I can tell. =D
The weather here is funny. Its pretty windy, cold in the morning and evening and hot in the day. Luckily its not so bad I need to use my huge coat. I am not near enough to the ocean to see it, it just seems like I am in a really windy, cute tiny city. Everything seems tiny here, its so funny.
I have been assigned to serve in the Porto North area, specifically in the Amial C area. We are in the very most northern part of the country. What a surprise! For some reason I had the strongest feeling I would serve in Lisbon or in the South! I hear the people there are really different. Lots of African immigrants, all very nice, but up here in the north it's a bit different. Everyone is only Portuguese. They are sososososoosoososos short, and me and my comp are SUPER tall compared to them (she's taller than me). People stare at us wherever we go. But I also think that the people here are very nice. They always say ´´Bom Dia´´ back, and they are alwayssss willing to give you directions if you are lost. Which is really good because me and my new companion are opening a new area. There have been missionaries here in the past, but there was a time when not a lot of people were getting baptized so they closed the area and sent the missionaries to other, more busy places. Probably Lisbon. But the work here is picking up and we are excited to figure out where the heck we are haha. She hasn't lived here before either, so we use our maps and kind directions from strangers a lot. Here in Portugal we walk A TON. No missionaries have cars. No missionaries have bikes (because the streets are all cobbled, you would crash in an instant. So I have had to get used to that. My calves will be like rocks after this year and a half. Its funny because we have to walk a little ways to get into our specific area. We walk on the side of a highway haha (Sorry, Mommy, I swear we tried to find another safer way.) Men are always honking and whistling at us ahah. I've started a cat call tally, Im at 12. Been here for 3 days. yepp. The Portuguese men are nuts. But I love it here. Such a different feeling than in the states. And I am working for a wonderful cause. Can you believe that I've almost been on my mission for 2 months!? Time flies!
Funny things I've noticed about Amial: there are cats and dogs EVERYWHERE. You have to be so careful not to step in poop all the time. I don't think any of them have homes, but they aren't mean animals. They usually just mind their own business and so do I. The power here is wierd. I plugged in my hairdryer once to use (in a converter) and after about 5 minutes the power in our apartment died!!! So I haven't used it again since then. There are tons of old people here! Soooo many, I would say we talk to 90% people over 55. But I actually love it. They are always really nice. There are always these funny old men standing on the street corners, not doing anything just standing there watching people. They always say ´´Ola meninas!´´ haha (hello little girls). Everyone smokes here. Like, the air itself in the city smells a little like cigarettes. It was really noticable when I came here, but now I only notice when we go into anyone's house. Woo, instant headache. =) The cars are all really tiny. Although not all Smart cars like I thought it would be. There are tons of these chinese stores everywhere. So many, I don't know how they stay in business. But they sell anything you could every want! Kinda like a dollar store, but everywhere. People are always surprised and confused when they see two white, tall, American girls walking around speaking Portuguese. Haha element of surprise!!:)
The ward we are in is so awesome! The church we go to is huge! And so new. I can tell they are anticipating a big congregation. We are happy to oblige! It's funny though because the building itself is new and a lot of the things are new, but all the hymn books (church music) are literally falling apart. I got to see the baptism of this old lady on Sunday. She was sososo adorable. She was super tiny, and when the man performing the baptism tried to baptise her she curled up into this tiny ball and he just picked her up and gently dunked her. She had this look of immense happiness and peace. She came out of the water and immediately said ´´Is that it!? All finished!?´´ ahha what a sweety! Her name was Fátima. That is really common name here.
The language is going.... I feel like I am doing really well. I've been here for only three days, but I feel like I understand a lot of what is going on. Its hard out on the streets though because a lot of people talk strangely, either mumbling or they don't have teeth or super super fast. I don't understand a lot of that, but luckily my companion has my back and can handle anything. ;D I'm not super stressed about it. At church I understand about 90% of what people are saying. I have definitely studied the religious aspects of Portuguese more than anything else. Everyone was so shocked at how fast I have progressed. The Elders in my area were so jealous of how I took a Portuguese class at BYU before the mission. It seriously helped so much. And to all my friends who have a mission call to another country: STUDY THE LANGUAGE BEFOREHAND. It definitely doesn't make you fluent, but you will be that much farther into the kinda painful process of learning a new language. It is awesome to do whatever you can.
Me and my comp were walking down the street and we saw this woman working in her tiny garden in her front yard and I said "bom dia" and ´´bonito jardim´´ because that was about all I could think to say, and she immediately came up to the fence and started chatting with us. She just had stars in her eyes. She said she would love to hear a message about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Her name was Rosalina (pronounced Hoshaleena). We shared a short message with her and then offered to say a prayer with her. We prayed for her health, happiness, and to find what she was looking for in her life. When we opened our eyes after praying on the side of the street, she had huge tears in her eyes. She got choked up and said she would love for us to come back again. She is the reason I am here. To find those people who are ready to hear this gospel. To bring them something they crave, something that will bless them for the eternities. I hope things go well with her. She seemed very ready and eager to hear what we had to say. I know that this gospel can help her, along with anyone on this earth. I feel the spirit so strongly at times, I know that what it testifies is true. I was called to come to Amial, Portugal to get all these cute, old people to church. To lend them a helping hand on the road to salvation. I am so excited to get this work going!
Thanks you all! My new mailing address is:
Rua Bernardim Ribeiro, 376 2º DRT TRAS
4465-041 São Mamede de Infesta
Dont feel pressure to write me a letter, I know it is super expensive to send stuff internationally haha. Like 5 stamps or something (a certain cost has to be on the envelope, I donºt know what) But yeah! That is where I live! Email me though! I love hearing from you all.
quincey.barron@myldsmail.net
quincey.barron@myldsmail.net
I hope you all have a wonderful day! I know I am! :D
Sister Barron
