Palavra. (Word.)

Hey everybody!!!

Quick things:

Mom – If you can fit 1 Corinthians 13 on there, that would be awesome, but otherwise, deixe-me pensar (let me think).

So just in case anybody was worried or anything (heaven forbid), I felt tons better on Thursday and then found some good ways to take care of the fleas. I switched mattresses and sheets etc. the week before, and then I heard fleas don't like fragrances. So, every night, I spray myself with whatever stinky stuff I can find (I was using some Axe that was from like... 6 transfers ago). Anyway, I haven't had any bites since. But I still hate the pulgas.

Last week for P-Day, we went to Caldas da Rainha via the A-8 freeway. Elder Wray, a financial secretary, drove us. The secretaries get cars, but everybody else goes on foot or with public transportation. It was pretty cool. I laid in the car for a couple hours and then took pictures.

That night, I started a division with Elder Fleming (from Idaho, wants to study architecture, has been out 7 transfers). We knocked some predios, it poured, etc. The next day, we kept knocking in a part of our area we had never been (our area is huge, it's actually Venteira, Reboleira, Damaia, Buraca, and Alfragide – and Alfragide is actually HUGE. THERE'S AN IKEA IN ALFRAGIDE. WE HAVE AN IKEA IN OUR AREA = THIS AREA IS OFFICIALLY AWESOME). I was at the Quem È box, and I buzzed one, and this 25ish guy put his head out the 3rd floor window and asked “quem é” and I told him “Somos missionários da Igreja de Jesus Cristo!” “Ah, eu estou a tratar o bebé!” “Tá bem, podemos pelo menos deixar um cartão consigo?” “Tá bem” ( Tradução: We're missionaries! I'm taking care of a baby! Ok, can we at least leave a card with you? Ok.) So we went up and this guy Pedro talked to us for like half an hour! We gave him pretty much the whole first lesson in his doorway, and he was really interested. Dumb excuses are rampant in Portugal – people are pretty closed when it comes to religion. Of the people who aren't members of the church, there are pretty much only people who want to understand and people who don't. Pedro, Cleriston, Miguel, and all of the other awesome people we're working with make sure they're understanding as we're explaining it to them. We don't have to ask them questions all the time to see if they're understanding – they do it themselves. It's awesome. Anyway, I talked a lot with this guy (Elder Fleming's Portuguese is pretty rough, but não faz mal). More about him later.

So on Saturday, Elder Stott, the bishop, and I had a lesson with Josiane about prayer. We read the part in True to the Faith about prayer (which is awesome) and had an AWESOME lesson. Apparently, she has started receiving some answers to some of her questions, but not in the way she anticipated. The week before, in that lesson when I wasn't feeling well and testified like crazy how knowledge and conversion to the Gospel brings an eternal perspective that makes so much of the world fall into insignificance. That was hard for her to accept at the time, but she was reading in 2 Ne 9 (awesome) and read verse 42, which pretty much says God despises people who are prideful in their riches and knowledge. She told Elder Stott (I can't really understand her that well) that the answers were more along the lines of what I had told her. Let me make this clear – I'm not being like “Yeah! I did that!” but just in shock that something we said helped her have such a tangible effect on her life so quickly. It blows my mind. We missionaries are not making any of this stuff up - the Gospel really is awesome and it really does bless people. (more about that later) Oh, and the Bishop was AWESOME in the lesson. Great, brief testimony and experiences and very simple!

Later that day, we had a lesson accompanied by another member of the bishoprick. Let me summarize: Every member of this church should know the first lesson in PMG and be able to teach it simply and clearly!!! Just because we know the church is true doesn't mean we have to shoot everything awesome all at once. Keep it simple!

Also, the order of the first lesson is critical to know. God loves us, his plan for us really blesses people's lives, he reveals it through prophets, Christ established His church based on the pure Gospel and gave the apostles authority, that authority was lost, Joseph Smith prayed to know the truth and had the first vision, the Book of Mormon is a fruit of Joseph Smith (we know prophets by their fruits), and everybody who really wants to know can read, ponder, and pray to demonstrate their faith to God and receive a confirmation that it's true. That's it, pretty much.

We also taught a family that night as we were knocking. Elder Stott randomly asked if we could come in and teach them all (we usually don't ask right away if we can come in). It was pretty good, but they didn't come to church, so I hope we can help them come.

Sunday: We only had Cleriston in church. Everybody else had to work or was out of town. We had lunch with a member (carrot soup, I think, and rice and rabbit). We went to South Alfragide (which is where the IKEA is). Our area is huge.

Monday: We went to the office to get some pamphlets and stuff, and I got my absentee ballot! I only voted in the primary. Rock on, democracy! Oh and in District meeting, I talked about giving service, and then that day in Buraca we helped a guy push his car because it wouldn't start. We couldn't talk to him, but like PMG says, God will put people in our paths so that our good works will always have an effect.

Yesterday, we practiced Abide With Me to sing in Church on Sunday with Cleriston. We also went to pass by Pedro, who wasn't there when we rang his apartment, but right then he came around the corner. We reviewed the 1st lesson, talked about the BOM, and found out even more that he's awesome. He's 22. That night, I played Onward Christian Soldiers for Ward Council. Well, at least the right hand. I'm getting better at piano.

Man, I wish I could type faster.

So food: My two favorite things are “Believe” and Feijão. Believe is what we named pasta with a cream/milk sauce with onion, meat (chouriço or ground beef), etc. We named it after that crazy drunk guy. We discovered Jasmine rice a couple days ago, and it's so much better than the other kinds we've had (I know that's what you always made, Mom :) ). I'm going to use it for the rest of the mission.

More later.

I love you all so much! It sounds better in Portuguese. Amo vocês tanto!!!

Elder Lobo