mais uma semana!

Elders Lobo and Colby. That IS a short haircut!

Zone Conference!

Lisbon's famous trolley!

Hey everybody!

Quick items of business:

HOLY COW DREW - DIGA WHAT?!
HOLY COW JASON - EYES OH CRAZY
HOLY COW MOM - SERVICE MISSION WOO

I don't even really know what to say with all the news!

So Cleriston really wants a copy of the painting of Lehi's dream from the lesson we did with him. Elder Stott got it from the Ensign, but he doesn't remember which one. It's INCREDIBLE. If you could find it somehow and send a few copies to me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Roseane (the amazing RM member that the ward said would never come back) is coming to church now and she is working with the Bishop and committed to get back to the temple!

We are in need of some cool historical sites to see. If you want to buscar some for us and send some, that would be cool! I know nothing but what I have already seen!

Portugal is out of the Euro Cup. Triste.

We do get the Ensign, Church News, Liahona, etc. So if you want me to read something, you don't have to send the article itself. Thanks anyway!

We're going to Palácio da Pena in Sintra today with a few other duplas from the Lisbon area - it should be awesome.

I am in need of music! In zone conference yesterday, President recommended the new Called to Serve CD [We sent it to him 2 weeks ago]. I would like to remind all that music should invite the Spirit, focus the mind on the work, and direct thoughts and feelings towards the Savior. As president said, "if you think my standard is high, just think of the standard of the Holy Ghost!"

Definition of the week: "Dar faca" (to give knife) v. to reprimand; to point out exactly what people are doing wrong in hopes of correcting their behavior. "Arivelton just got some mad faca from Bispo." "President gave us mad faca at conference about our choice of music."

So this week's letter, luckily, has roughly the same content of what last week's letter was going to have. It has been really hard.

I've really had to step up and be the one to make the first move in just about everything. I have to lead the lessons, I have to get us out the door (I tried this one day - and we ended up staying inside for another hour and I almost died of fubecaness), lead planning sessions, start contacts, decide where to go, decide when to talk to our investigators, etc. I know I'm not doing my job as junior companion here. Most of the days have been roughly the same. Try to get in contact with our investigators, try to get a hold of the members who are going to help us, and then try to find people. I've been really struggling because I don't know how the work should be done, and I hadn't been getting much help.

When an elder gets to his new area, it's typical that the elder already there leads around for the first week. But after a week of learning, usually they both make the decisions on roughly the same level of information. I've been passing information and passing information but it's not making a difference. I'm trying to get to know him and and really interested in everything he says, but it hasn't had a significant effect (but if I didn't do that I wouldn't even know where he was from). I've opened up several times, mostly with the build up of not really talking much and stress. It's not venting - it's desperation. I've told him about hard times, good times, things I've been thinking about, etc. I don't know what more I can do.

I was really starting to get worn down but kept going. Then I started facing up to the fact that I really needed to focus more on fixing what I'm doing wrong if everything I do becomes the action of the companionship. I started seeing so many ways that I am just a horrible missionary. I'm slow in the morning, I'm not very creative, I'm not bold like other missionaries, etc. Comparisons. I was definitely ready for zone conference.

Zone conference came and I was just dying of happiness in the bench. I had been so spiritually famished from 6 weeks of our ward and discouragement that spilled over into my studies that I just had become a routine door knocker street talker lesson teacher. I loved the people in the moment that I am talking to them, but between the times of actual interaction has been a big struggle. Zone Conference was the best faca I had ever gotten. I need to focus my studies on Preach My Gospel - like the brazen serpent the people were commanded to look at.

Someday I'll write home about an amazing paradigm shift I've had with regards to bonds (between people, etc). It's really applied well and I explained it to Elder Colby on Monday and today he applied it and we got an INCREDIBLE investigator. Pretty much, we are based on inputs and outputs. Bonds with people are based on initiative and reciprocation. So when we make the initiative with people and they reciprocate, we should keep reciprocating back and forth however possible.

Anyway, I'm out of time. Thanks for the heads up about flea collars - I'll pass it on to the other elders.

AMOR PARA TODOS

ELDER LOBO

Wooo

Hey everybody!

First things first:

Thanks for all the emails and support and news of what's going on. Oh my goodness! It sounds crazy over in Jason's hood. Happy Birthday to Alexander! I celebrated a little for him and I hope he is being a good boy and saying his prayers and reading his scriptures!

I remembered one time in Minnesota when we had church in our house... what was up with that?

Favor: Could you google a little bit about flea collars and see if there are any health risks? Such as... flea collars make you sterile. That's what I heard in the MTC.

THANKS FOR THE PACKAGE! The CD player, the shirts, the candy, pictures, cd. Awesome.

So. Wow. Third transfer already.

Last P-Day, Elder Baldwin and I spent our last P-Day in Lisbon and hung around with Elder Blackburn and Elder Hobbs. I got the shortest haircut I have had since middle school, probably because I misinformed the haircutter on how long I wanted it. I said something like dois dedos (two fingers) and showed him that was how long I wanted it. So, he went along the top, cutting it between two fingers, meaning my hair became one finger long. I think I'll talk in centimeters next time. You can't cut hair between two centimeters.

So Thursday, I went with Elder Blackburn and picked up Elder Coombs, and then all three of us went and picked up Elder Colby. He is so so so so quiet! It's unbelievable. I know I'm kind of a quiet person, or I at least used to be very quiet, but wow. I remember what it was like to be that quiet, and I remember how annoying it was when people would try to interrogate me about my life and everything, so, so far it's really good. He likes physics, BMX, he worked in ISRAEL on an archaeological project – lots of cool stuff.

GOOD GRIEF this internet café guy is like “I'm hungry so... you guys have five minutes.” More or less.

I've had to kind of take the lead on a lot of what we've been doing. He's so quiet and lets me take the lead, so it's interesting. My language is getting a lot better and I'm learning to just forget about my doubts and worries about myself because they're just a waste of time. I'm not confident in my abilities at all, but I don't let my doubts get in the way.

Grrrr... No time. Oh well. Sorry! I'll try to do an extra good one next week.

AMOR
Elder Lobo

oh snaps, son!

Elder Lobo loves IKEA! What a guy!

District transfers.

How to tell if you have a real tie! It appears that he has purchased several local ties to spice up the wardrobe.

Good Morning AMERICA (the one on TV is a sham)!

Thanks for all the support and advice for everything that has been going on. It's been a crazy, crazy transfer. I really appreciate it and I printed them all off so I could read them later. It's definitely been a learning opportunity, and I hope I'm learning the right things. Elder Baldwin said that this transfer has been the most draining transfer he's ever had – and he served in Lagos (Algarve) during the summer. It has been really hard to stay motivated, but I'm learning a lot about different ways to be motivated and more ways to apply them in everyday life. Anything you know only means something if you put it into practice. Anyway, onto the news:

So TRANSFERS. This is part of what made the transfer so discouraging.

Our ward used to be huge in the past, apparently. The church kept growing and growing and when a ward would get over about 100 members, it would get split. Over time, though, it has been splitting so quickly that the members haven't been able to keep up with the growth – their friends are in other wards, people move in and out, etc. So the rumor (which was told to us by the bishopric) has been that the Queluz and Amadora wards would combine (meaning there would be 8 elders in one ward). In fact, he said that the wards would combine on the first Sunday in July. That's next transfer. And, six elders are going home and only two were known to be coming in. It was all adding up to Amadora A closing (us) and Queluz B closing (only one other area has any necessity in being closed). Plus, with very little ward support for Amadora A and Queluz B... it all added up pretty quickly to the fact that we were just going to be setting up the area for the other elders to take over.

And then T-CALLS (technical term) yesterday. Elder Baldwin is “going zone leader” (also a technical term) and I'M STAYING! None of the areas in our district are closing!!! So we still have no word on whether the ward is combining or not. Elder Colby (from Enterprise, UT, two transfers younger than Elder Baldwin) is coming from Odivelas B (which is the only area being closed – but Odivelas A is becoming a tripla with three elders – with two from my MTC district who did NOT get along!) Elder Coombs is coming from Costa da Caparica – and he's from SALEM, OR! That's four out of eight elders in our district from Oregon.

So the WEATHER here has been reallllly nice. It feels like the last day of school in Oregon. About 80 degrees, sunny, etc. But that means that everybody goes to the beach. Hey – if I lived in Amadora, I would definitely go to the beach, too. But still. We have been making pretty good contacts and have been doing our best to pass every single member in our area (most of which are inactive).

So the ward. It seems like it's starting to turn around. The last couple Sundays have had some answers to prayers with the bishop and EQP talking about the problems with communication in the ward! Home teaching has been a big push, too. But we're going to try to help our ward mission leader step up to the plate so we can at least get our part rolling along.

This just goes to show – if you take care of one big problem with many small solutions, you'll get to a point where you have tons of small problems that need one huge solution. The problem becomes something completely different.

Anyway, we went to IKEA last week for P-Day. It was INCREDIBLE. IKEA is like the church. You can walk into one ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD and it feels the same. Every time I go into IKEA I feel like I'm in this sub-world that is like a secret passage that connects Oregon, Utah, and Portugal. Anyway, it was awesome and we got a packet of swedish meatball sauce which was also awesome.

Oh yeah: Dad: Where and when did you get baptized and what is the story? Everybody keeps asking me about it and I tell them but they want to know more than I usually know.

Scripture of the day: 2 Tim 1:7

Oh, also.

So Portugal won their first game of the Euro Cup. We ran into Cleriston watching it on a TV in the Amadora train station on our way home (He was on his way to work. He blows my mind.). It really wasn't as crazy as I expected, but it's only the first game. When Portugal wins the Euro Cup, I'm sure it's going to be a lot crazier.

What else...

I've been thinking a lot about things I misunderstood before. Optimism, purpose, etc. One thing I learned from Preach My Gospel Ch 1 the other day was about those. It seems like with purpose we think (in my case), “OK, I've been called to be a missionary here in Amadora and these are the investiagtors we have. My purpose is to help THEM come unto Christ and help THIS ward and serve with THIS companion etc...” It seems like we overspecify our purpose. After reading preach my gospel, my purpose is clearly in the VERB. HELP. INVITE. SERVE. That makes it so I'm not a failure if something bad happens that I have no control over.

Anyway, you guys are awesome and I really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really appreciate all the emails and thoughts you send to me.

Oh, and the weather report was really nice to have, too.

Anyway, FIQUEM FIRME! Oh my goodness. There is nothing more important.

AMOR

Élder Lobo

Respira, respira

Hey Everybody!

First of all, thanks so much for all the emails and everything you send - in all seriousness, it makes a huge difference for me.

I’ll just get right into this now and I’ll mention the rest in here:

Word of the day: Fubeca. n. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who knows what he/she needs to do but finds ways around doing it or passes the buck. “Zique said he would help with us with this lesson, but he called and said he is still sleeping. It’s almost time for dinner. It’s too late to get somebody else!” (see “slothful servant”) adj. frivolous; done, but not well “I had a really fubeca language study this morning.”

So about the Conselho da Ala on Tuesday: it was the moment when all of my confusion and frustration started making sense. We had been working with Roseane – RM, AMAZING – and in our ward counsel, we mentioned that and everybody started laughing to each other and our bishop told us, “She’s come and gone like 8 times – don’t waste your time on her.” Thus began the giant reveal of the Amadora ward to Elder Lobo.

Wednesday. We went to Belém – AWESOME. We had pasteis de Belém and saw a bunch of stuff. We saw the Navegadores monument! Check that off my life’s to-do list.

Thursday. We went to physical therapy in Lisbon and came back to a lesson with Miguel. We walked in and sat down….

And I don’t think I have ever had a moment so instantly depressing as this one: “Oh hey, one thing – I’m leaving the church.” For the next 10 minutes I couldn’t say anything. Elder Baldwin asked him about what happened and what his concerns were but he absolutely did not want to discuss it.

He had spent a week and a half with his family in Coimbra. After a few days, he stopped answering member’s calls, our calls, etc.

So during this lesson, it was like he had completely reverted into the typical Portuguese person. He argued against the apostasy, argued against new scripture, argued against the Old Testament, it was ridiculous. He was angry at us. He made us find the scriptures we used in previous lessons and then he proceeded to say that they didn’t make any sense and that they are the foundation of our church. He denied ever having felt anything and said he got baptized just because “it seemed like a nice thing to do.”

He had everything we had given him in a bag on the table and slid it over towards us. “I don’t want these things anymore.” Luckily, Elder Baldwin can’t carry anything and I had a sore arm plus a bag to carry for divisions. We made him keep them.

I bore my testimony more bluntly than I think I ever have, and he said, “Everybody has their own experience.”

And at the end of the appointment, I asked him if we could at least end with a prayer, and he hesitated for about 5 seconds and then motioned for me to do it. He just sat there during the prayer.

He doesn’t want to talk to anybody in the church.

That’s about as much as I want to talk about it.

After that, I was just a zombie. I went to Queluz for a division and had good contacts and I was not going to let anybody say the apostasy didn’t happen, especially when they agree there’s a lot of doctrine that is wrong in the Catholic church. I can barely describe it. I was just broken. I wasn’t mean or anything, but it was like we say here: “Sweetly bold, Elder. Sweetly bold.”

Friday we had interviews with President (THANK GOODNESS, I was about to explode), and I just laid it out for him. I told him about the difficulties we are having with the ward (only one member is dependable and both duplas use him) and Miguel and unfortunately, President wasn’t very encouraging. But at least he listened to Elder Baldwin and me in the interviews he had with each of us.

Saturday, Elder Baldwin was sick, so I sat in my ridiculously awesome chair and read scriptures, PMG, and wrote stuff in my moleskine. It’s really becoming my small plates. It’s not necessarily spiritual things, but they always end up leading to spiritual applications or confirming spiritual truths.

Sunday. Depressing. It pretty much culminated in Priesthood. We had to explain to everybody what happened with Miguel (since it hadn’t gotten out after we informed Gilberto and the bishopric) and talked about what Miguel had been missing. He had no friends, he didn’t have a calling, and he had been gone. The bishop said, “but I had a three-hour interview with him on Sunday!” The guy next to me said, “Who’s Miguel?” Then began yet another uprising about how the missionaries don’t baptize people who are converted. We just convince people to get baptized. We don’t help them have spiritual experiences or put gospel principles into practice and be blessed. We just make them get baptized.

Then they started talking about home teaching. Nobody does home teaching. And our Ward Mission Leader (who also doesn’t do his home teaching) set a great example for us by saying, “We don’t do it because we don’t know how – we do it because we just don’t want to.” If people won’t do their missionary work in the ward, it’s so much harder to do it outside of the ward.

Bispo got up and talked about how all the responsibility always falls to him. If there’s a problem in the Elders Quorum, it goes to him – not the EQP. There’s a huge imbalance in the ward and a lot the responsibility falls onto the Bishop and a lot of blame falls onto us (we’re gone in a few weeks anyway, so who cares about the missionaries?)

Oh, and we ate lunch at Luis and Cintia’s house for the fourth time in the last few weeks. “Man, all the missionary’s names are so hard to say.” “What about Elder Lobo?” “There’s an Elder Lobo???” “Hi!” “Oh…..”

Anyway, I got my visa renewed on Monday.

Tuesday I started getting over this giant downer of a week.

I had an amazing study this morning and while Elder Baldwin was getting worked on.

Jacob 1:19 and DC 58:29-33

More or less, our primary responsibility is to God. It’s not to anybody else and we can’t blame anybody else. We do as much as we can.

It’s like the three-way covenant. That principle. If we want to get closer, work better, etc, we have to get ourselves closer to God.

I’m doing a LOT better, I’m a lot more enthused.

By the way, if you mail anything, there is a high chance I am getting transferred – so email it.

Gotta go I LOVE YOU ALL
ELDER LOBO