"You can take the boy off the farm...
...but you can't take the farm out of the boy".
If you had grown up in my childhood home, you would be very familiar with this saying! And for me it's absolutely true - I love getting my hands in the dirt, especially during spring planing season.
I loved helping Marco and Mariana plant a vegetable garden, complete with peppers, tomatoes, kale, lettuce, eggplant, cucumbers, and mellon. And a month later, the plants are thriving!
Marcos and Sofia
We have spent several evenings with Marcos, Sophia and their son Marquinho ("little Marco"). Sophia recently served as Relief Society President and Marco in the Viana do Castelo branch presidency.
Marquinho loves English and is amazingly fluent. Because he is autistic and doesn't handle noisy environments well, Chris often teaches him the weekly Primary lessons - in English! Sophia always expresses immense gratitude.
Elder Mangum relished the challenge of eating a chicken head!
Goreti, a new member of the church, is boisterous and has a gentle/genuine heart.
Raul, a new member of the church, with his wife Joaquina, overlooking the wonderful family farm just outside their back yard.
Johana (in pink) moved from Columbia a month ago. She has attended church regularly for over two years - is more active than many members! She is living with her long-time friend Heidi (in white), who moved to Viana do Castelo two years ago.
Raul, with his lovely, bright, and wonderfully precocious granddaughter.
Between meetings at stake conference, I took this photo of Cassio Garcia, our new branch president in Viana in a brand new suit, and his wife Carolina. President Cassio has risen to his new calling and is doing wonderfully!
Torgana and Yuri
Togana and Yuri have their hands full with their two active young boys! There is a wonderful spirit in their home.
Together with her family, Torgana joined the church as a teen. She stepped away from the church after her first marriage fell apart. But she still appreciates gospel teachings. She recently asked me to dedicate their home; i.e., offer a special blessing on their home to be a place of peace, love, and unity. It was a special experience.
Great news for Val and Carol!
In my last post, I commented on Val and Carol's new baby - born in their car on the way to the hospital!
Six months prior to the birth of their new baby, Val was laid off when his company in Viana was acquired. Val took a job working in Spain and then in Germany, as he could not find a well-paying job locally. Living apart was almost unbearable for both of them, as Val is a very involved and dedicated father. So their initial plan was for Carol to move to Germany after the birth of their baby. But then they began to feel like they should stay in Viana. So they decided to exercise their faith and pray that Val could find a job locally. We joined them in prayer.
And that's exactly what happened! Val was one of over 100 applicants for a work-from-home administrative support role with the Church area office. After he received the good news, we invited their dear friends Bruno and Raina celebrate with us this great blessing for Val, Carol, and their family!
Val holding our celebratory cake, made by Torgana (see photo of her and her family above), who recently started a cake-making business. Delicious!
It seems like a long time since I held a tiny baby - holding a newborn never fails to bring a sense of wonder and awe!
We met Ana Maria at José de Faria's home - our artist friend. After getting acquainted, we introduced and read from the Book of Mormon, which she seemed to enjoy. Ana Maria is also an artist - she painted the smaller toucan on the right. It is an image of a toucan that regularly visited the balcony of her home in Brazil and "talked" to her.
We bought the toucan painting by José on the left, and are looking forward to displaying it in our home in California.
The Vital Family - Special Experiences
It was a thrill to accompany Luca Vital when he received his endowment in the Lisbon temple. (The endowment ceremony is a sacred ceremony in which Latter‑day Saints make covenants with God, learn about His plan of salvation, and receive symbolic instruction and blessings meant to guide them back into His presence.)
It's probably obvious to most women that Mayara is pregnant! Their two children are from a previous marriage - this will be Luca's first experience experiencing birth as a father. Another reason to be thrilled for them!
We were impressed with how many people from the Viana branch participated in the "temple caravan" to Lisbon. It was a long day for them - they boarded the chartered bus at 5:30 am, and arrived back in Viana at around 9:30 pm. Some (like Luca and Mayara) had an hour car trip to drive home after arriving in Viana!
So that they didn't have to drive an additional hour to their home in Viana, we invited Luca and Mayara and their two children to stay over night with us after the Saturday sessions of stake conference - so they didn't have to drive an additional hour to Moncao, and then just turn around and come back the next day for the Sunday session of Stake Conference.
Guess what the fingers on Laila and Theo's hands represent? Clue: note the cookies on the table.
Yes, you got it- it's the number of chocolate chip cookies that each of them ate at the conclusion of our Sunday dinner! (Everyone LOVES Chris's cookies!!)
Two Wonderful Families
On a Sunday afternoon, we planned to visit Hamilton (beard) and Eliana (Chris has her arm around this recent convert), after several weeks of trying to align our schedules. (By the way, Eliane is teaching Chris how to crochet.)
Anyway, just before our visit, their neighbors (Abrao and Solange Liima) invited them to come their home for ice cream. So we got to tag along! Love these two wonderful families!!
Friendship
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of our mission is the deep friendships we have developed. There is something about being invited into the heart of another person that is both beautiful and thrilling. I love what our founding prophet, Joseph Smith, had to say about friendship:
I don’t care what a man’s character is; if he’s my friend—a true friend, I will be a friend to him…
And on another occasion, he said this
Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism’; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers.
These thoughts inspire me to be a better friend. I hope our learnings here will help us to deepen friendships back home after our mission.
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Dave and Chris, You are both such an inspiration and shining example of love and friendship. Peter and I can't wait to see you both in a little less than a month!!! Speaking of friendships, we treasure ours with you!