We are best friends. One night we sang the ENTIRE Bohemian Rhapsody before falling asleep. It was EPIC.
My new planner for this new transfer. A bit more practical and useful.
This is the view from our balcony. I am convinced that we have the most amazing apartment in the entire Lisbon mission!
This is picture Paulo when he was younger! Haha! Nacho Libre anyone???!!!
Sister McChesney and Paulo's niece, Carin in their backyard. We were playing with their adorable kittens named Mickey and Minnie!
Last prep-day when we went to the lake, a seagull dropped a gift on Alexandra's arm and here she is washing it off. Haha!!!
They say this lake is green because a princess with green eyes fell in love with a shepherd, and when her parents wouldn't let her marry him she cried green tears...enough to make a lake. ='( Hehe
This is a beach with BLACK sand....Mommy will be happy because I got some for her in a cup to add to her sand collection! =D
A cool looking rock formation pool with volcanic rock. There are lots of cliffs on these islands. It is really dramatic and pretty.
This is called the tunnel of death. It is where all the water goes when the island get flooded. If you get stuck in there during a flood....you die.
We brought down the house!
My Letter Home:
Hey everyone! Greetings from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!
We found this adorable family this week that we are teaching, and they all want to be baptised! They are really open people, they have a lot of faith and a desire to learn....but they have a big obstacle that faith is mostly in images. A lot of people will pray to images here, whether it be statues of Jesus or Saints, and have trust that these inanimate objects will grant them their wishes. Sometimes it's kind of strange, because they believe these statues have power or are alive. Like they will believe that each year it's nails grow a little bit or that it's eyes cry real tears or stuff like that. Anyway, we have been tenderly trying to redirect this familys AMAZING faith onto our Savior Jesus Christ, who is in fact LIVING and has a body! They absolutely LOVEEE us, they will drop anything to come and talk to us about Jesus Christ. We are starting to help the father quit smoking. He is very nervous about quitting, he has been smoking for over 17 years. But he came to church this Sunday and he absolutely LOVED it! He was commenting in class and hearing things he has never heard before. I even saw him swapping phone numbers with a member in our ward. That is when you know that Portuguese are friends! Having a friend in the church is so critical to whether or not a recent convert will stay active. They need emotional support!
I love little Nuria. She is very cute, sweet and innocent at first, she has a wild head of red curly hair...=D she is soosos so adorable. (I gave her my last little bracelet.) But the more comfortable she has grown with us, the crazier she has become. Now, when we go over there with our friend and member, Paulo Jorge, one of us has to constantly be entertaining Nuria. She has bit me, scratched me, kissed me, pulled my hair, and ripped up my pamphlets. It is a serious test of patience. I am SO grateful for all my years of babysitting and being the oldest sibling. Out of us three, I definitely can keep her distracted long enough for the other two to teach something to her Mom. It is actually hilarious. We always leave those lessons exhausted. And laughing. But they are progressing so well.
I realized this week that my testimony has changed. That it is being tested. I feel like my whole life my testimony has been easy...that from the moment I was born I have just accepted all of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as truth. It was like my testimony was a bright, happy balloon....full of air. But here on the mission our testimonies are tested. They are battered, beaten, denied, and laughed at. I feel like my happy little testimony was popped. I was feeling scared and alone. So I prayed really hard to my Father in Heaven. I asked him with all my heart for another confirmation. I followed Moroni's promise, just as I have done many times in my life. And this week at our ward Family Night I recieved an answer. We were watching the film of the Restoration. It was the scene when God the Father and Jesus Christ appear to Joseph Smith. The choir in the background sings. I felt the spirit so strongly. It feels like a tingly feeling in my heart, on my back, down my arms. I felt so happy. I started to cry. I knew I was feeling the spirit and I knew the spirit never lies. I could not deny it. I knew that it was true. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I love you all and wish you a WONDERFULLLL week:) Good luck on school to those that are taking tests!
Sister Barron
