Our mission has officially ended....but I'm a bit behind on my posts. So here is the second-to-the last post about our time in Portugal. Stay turned for the final post soon!
Jhonathan Yiraldo
We met Jhonathan the very first Sunday we attended the Barcelos Branch a year and a half ago. We learned that he is from Columbia and had recently become a member of our church. Our friendship develped over the coming months - so much so that he jokes that we are his new parents (and we are honored to be considered as such)!
Jhonathan is muit-talented. First and foremost, he is a talented actor (he won the "Best Actor in Bogata" award in 2015"). Because his Spainish accent has made it difficult to obtain an acting role in Portugal, he recently moved to Spain where he hoped to be be more successful at landing an acting job. And indeed, things are trending in a better direction for him now.
Jhonathan is also an author. When he was invited to present one of his five books at the Barcelos Book fair in ealy July, he jumped at the opportunity. It was a delight to host him in our home for the four days that he was visiting!
Jhonathan's reaction upon arriving just outside our apartment - so happy to be back in Barcelos!
The traditional "Galo of Barcelor" just outside our apartment.
At this "reunion lunch" with Juara, the two of them picked up right where they left off: lots of teasing and laughter!
The book that Jhonathan presented is "My Demons are Humans". It's an upliftoing romance about two people with troubled backgrounds/abusive family relationships that, because of their deep love for each other, were able to change their lives in a remarkable way. As I read it, I noticed many parallels with Jhonathan's own life. It's really a beautiful story of overcoming challenging situations to find happiness and hope for the future.
Above: at the book fair, Jhonathan was interviewed by his former Portuguese tutor. Their presentation was excellent!
Left: we hosted a gathering at our home for Jhonathan to reconnect with ward members. Afterwards, Johana Calles (also from Columbia) presented Jhonathan wit the perfect souvenir from his time in Barcelos.
Wonderful Families
Our dear friends Marco and Mairana (black and green shirts) invited Lucca/Rafaela and Elders Durado and Haslam to a wonderful dinner. Afterwards, the Elders presented a Book of Mormon to Lucca and Rafaela. I love their story, which I have shared below.
On a Saturday afternoon in June, both families happened to be at a park in Barcelos. Emily (Marco/Mariana's daughter) started playing with Aurora (Lucca/Rafaela's daughter). Emily noticed that Aurora had a cast on her arm. Then this dialogue occurred: Emily: "Has anyone prayed over your arm?" Aurora: "No". "May I?" "Yes!".
So she did. Aurora was touched and asked about her church. Emily invited her to come to church the next day. Marco and Lucca overheard their dialogue and Marco confirmed that their entire family would be welcome at church.
They came the next day. At the end of our two-hour meeting time, Lucca said that his mother always wanted him to attend a church but that he never enjoyed it - 30 minutes in church had been his all-time record! And he had hated every minute of it. "But today I've been in a church for over two hours and love it!".
They have come to church since almost every week!
Bryan loves their chickens!
In addition to his day job, Lucca is developing a line of plastic toys using a recently purchased 3-D printer.
Talasnal
We really enjoyed Elder Willardson during our car ride to his emigration interview in Portalegre. On the way home, we took a short detour and stopped at Talasnal, a mountain village constructed entirely of schist, a type of shale found locally. The stone is gorgeous.
We wandered around the narrow walking paths among the well-mainted houses, admiring the beautiful stone. The houses were constructed primarily in the late 1600s. The doors and windows are surprisingly small - brittle schist stone did not allow for large openings. The small openings also helped with heat retention and keeping farm animals out.
Gotta love the "busy-ness" of the small cafe located at the entrance to the village!
Terri and Peter Visit
We were thrilled that our dear friends from California (Terri Moss and Peter Bluford) tacked on a two-day visit with us on the end of a 6-week trip to Europe.
They loved the legend of the Barcelos Rooster. We bought a small rooter (hand painted) at our street market for them to pack in their already very tight luggage.
Terri and Peter enjoyed a dinner with our English-speaking friends to Anax and Deborah (fluent) and Ideolinda (somewhat fluent). A wonderful evening together.
In addition to hanging out Barcelos mostly relaxing and catching up, we toured the Kadoorie Mekor Haim synagogue in Porto. Terri and Peter are Jewish and specifically asked that we arrange to tour this historic site. Built in the 1930s, it was the last synagogue built in Europe before WW2.
Like many places, Portugal has a tortured history with Judaism. During the inquisition, Jews were forced to join the Catholic faith or face death or expulsion. Many were baptised, but were never fully integrated: they were labeled "New Christians" and always treated as suspect. Some Jews, known as Morranos, indeed continued to secretly perform Jewish rituals. Over time, many evolved their religious practices to include a blend of Judaism and Christianity.
Early in the 20th century, the broader Jewish community discovered the existence of a large number of Moranos in northern Portugal. The synagogue was built in anticipation of attracting them back into core Judaism.
Under the Salazar regime, Portugal remained neutral during WWII. This turned out to be a good thing for many European Jews: other nearby countries were occupied by the Nazies, but not Portugal. Thus many Jews were able to find safe haven in Portugal and subsequently find passage to countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Today, the synagogue is thriving, having grown from 200 members 10 years ago to more than 1000. Unfortunately, much of this growth is due to emigration from other European countries where Jews feel threatened, especially France.
This tour reminded me again the importance of doing all we can to protect religious freedom, and indeed to stand up for all religions that are discriminated against.
The tile inside the synagogue is gorgeous. (I can't get enough of these beautiful designs!). And the Torah scrolls are a work of art too. They are considered are considered so sacred that if the preparer of a Torah scroll makes even one mistake, he needs to discard that scroll and start again.
Another Festa Junina
Last month, the Barcelos Ward celebrated Festa Junina. This month is was Viana do Castelo's turn.
The image to the left is the Lima family, who arrived from Brazil about 6 months ago. Lucas Lima is serving as a counselor in the Branch Presidency.
Above: the Garcia family. Cassio serves as Branch President and Carolina as the Primary Music Leader.
It was a super fun evening, complete with wonderful food (mainly corn-based), a fishing pod, and a shooting galery.
Loving These Wonderful People
We enjoy playing board games with Hamilton, Elaine, and their son Rogério. Elaine taught Chris how to crochet, which now she often does when we are driving.
Kevin and Claudia invited us to dinner to celebrate the recent purchase of a new home! They are incredibly happy that they could achieve this milestone. (Only a handful of members here own their own home.)
Kamaraj, a new member from India, has become very dear to us. He is incredibly good-hearted - very gentle and kind. And always wanting to help. When he is at our home, we can't keep him out of our kitchen, always washing dishes!
Joaquim has cut my hair about every two months since arriving. He cuts hair after on weekdays after his 8-hour factory job, and on Saturday, just to make ends meet. He does a great job for only EUR 8 (but I always give him a healthy tip!),
A Sunday lunch with Franca, Maria Clara, and their dear friend Helly.
We've come to love the Lima family - just kind, good-hearted people!
One of our weekly lunches for new members - Adrianna, Porfirio, Cruz, and Carlos.
After five months of silence, Jorge reached out to us and asked if we could get together again. We were thrilled. We connected deeply with Jorge and Anna on this second round of visits, and are very happy that things are looking up for them and their two boys.
I picked up a screw in a tire one day on the way home from the Barcelos chapel. Just as I was starting to install the spare tire, our Bishop just happened to pass by and graciously helped me!
Laila (yellow shirt), her sister Lilian and brother-in-law Mateus invited us to a wonderful Leboneese dinner (Laila and Lilian's father is from Lebonon).
Luciano Freitas started meeting with the missionaries in Barcelos, then moved to Spain were he joined the Church. He recently came back to Barcelos for a visit and we invited him to join one of our new member lunches. Great guy, a future leader in the church!
Another dinner with the Calles family - Javier, Johana, Keinny, and Belem (who is was in hiding during this photo.)
Another fun P-day with Elders Marcario (photographer), Beck (District Leader), Strait, Fox, Jense, Skelley, and Seta.
Celebrating Sally Santos' birthday, complete with sparklers as candles!
Sally is a long-time member in the Barcelos Ward, originally from Argentina. She provides in-home health care. To supplement this income, she subleases rooms in her apartment - it's always fun to meet her housemates.
Dantas Family
Rodrigo and Sandra recently divorced, which has been hard on their girls. So we have made a special point to visit them regularly. Fortunately, Rodrigo and Sandra are getting along well - they spend a time together when he returns every other weekend from his truck-driving job in Spain.
Sara and Lorena gave us this beautiful note, sharing their love and appreciation. Their note is addressed to "Elder and Sister, Grandpa and Grandma". We told them that they are indeed our grandchildren of the heart!
Rodrigo was raised Jewish, and displays objects honoring his treasured family tradition in this cabinet, including a minora.
Speaking in Church
As our mission wound down, we were invited to give talks in both Barcelos and Viana. I spoke on the transforming power of love and Chris spoke on the joy of sharing the gospel.
I invited Kevin Lobo and Bishop Rafael to sing a special musical number in the Barcelos Ward: "As I Have Loved You".
I extended special invitations to several people who often don't attend church. I was pleased that Helen, Moroni and Jazmine came for the first time.
Closing Thoughts
To close this post, I would like to share some thoughts about changing for the better (aka "repentance").
Perhaps the most important step in making positive changes in our lives is to develop a new mindset. The word "repentance" is derived from the Greek word "metanoia", whose core meaning is "meta" (after, beyond, change) + noia (mind, intellect. It literally means "a change of mind", implying a fundamental shift in thinking; a reconsideration that leads in a new direction.
Repentance therefore requires humility; if we fail to see our weaknesses clearly, if we defend our unproductive behavior, we can never develop a new mindset. One of the reasons that a regular habit of prayer is so important is that it is a time to be brutally honest with ourselves, to set aside self-justification and to listen very honestly to what we need to change. And the sooner we open our hearts to changing for the better, the sooner we can enjoy closer and deeper relationships.
Perhaps that is why in the Book of Mormon, Alma counsels "do not procrastinate the day of your repentance" and why Elder Harold B. Lee once said "The most important commandment is the one that you are having difficulty living! The sooner we shift our mindset, the sooner we can enjoy stronger relationships.
We are grateful for this powerful principle, which is blessing our lives!
With love and affection, Elder and Sister Longhurst
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Wow, Dave. Peter and I are honored to have made it into your epic blog posts! We loved our stay with you and Cris, meeting your church and market friends, and observing how both of you are truly love in action. Your generosity, love, and thoughtfulness are apparent to anyone with one eye open (much less two plus a heart). We so appreciated your setting up the Porto synagogue tour and I love the summary you gave in this blog about WWII and religious freedom. Truly if one group is oppressed, we're all oppressed and we must stand up for one another. We are looking forward to hearing your talk at your local church on Aug 30 and having you and Cris over for dinner when you're ready. Thank you again for the true gift of your friendship. You are both a blessing.