VINTE ANINHOS!!!

Scary haircut!!! Is that the elder with the lump?

Waiting at the bank FOREVER!

Twenty!!!

HEY EVERYBODY

HOLY GOODNESS LOOK WHAT DAY IT IS

Wow.

This is officially a Special Edition letter home because of how incredible you all are.

Thanks for sending awesome pictures and cool stories.

Thanks for letting me know about Annamaria – I couldn’t believe it when I read it. I thought it was about some other Annamaria that I hadn’t met or something like that. O tempo realmente passa a voar. [Celso's cousin died suddenly on Sunday.]

Thanks for the Olympic report – we found out about Nelson Evora from some members during a family night, and apparently Portugal has only gotten four gold medals in the last hundred years or so.

Thanks for the birthday money!

Thanks for the package (It hasn’t come yet, but não faz mal)!!

So this last week was pretty crazy. I won’t spend too much time because the vast majority was just office stuff, but on Thursday, a beloved Elder of ours called in to get a doctor’s appointment. So he came in –

WARNING: Disgusting.

– with a giant golf-ball sized lump on his neck. Apparently he had gotten an ingrown hair of some kind that went way out of hand. The Exec Secs took him to the doctor in Parque in Lisbon (right by Marques de Pombal, the giant roundabout) and were there until the mid afternoon. The doctor worked on him for a little while and then informed him that he would need surgery in the afternoon.

President was in Germany at the time, so we were all scrambling around trying to get authorization from somebody, so we had Dr. Taylor (the Europe West Doctor) send over some forms authorizing the surgery.

I ended up calling his mom to let her know what was going on. It was pretty funny.

Anyway, so we spent most of our day chauffeuring the two elders around from appointments to this and that and then to the Benfica train station to go home. They were officially my first ride given to any elders. I guess that’s some kind of milestone.

Yuck. (End of disgustingness.)

Backtracking to Tuesday night, though, I was on the computer doing some emails and reimbursements, and all of a sudden a new email alert popped up in the bottom corner with FLIGHT PLANS FOR ELDER BALDWIN. I was pretty crushed. His back has been causing him all kinds of trouble, and physical therapy fixes it in one part only to send it to another. The next day, Elder Croshaw and I went to Odivelas to approve a new rental. At the time, though, Elder Baldwin was on a division there, so he told me what was going on. His zone had just had interviews with President on Monday. President apparently had told the doctors about what was going on and they were going to get back to him with what they were going to do. Apparently, Elder Baldwin’s parents found out Tuesday morning (Tuesday night here, when we got the flight plans) and sent him some emails about how they were so excited for him, etc. Elder Baldwin, on P-Day, read these emails and was completely confused – he hadn’t been told yet. So he called President, who didn’t know either. So Elder Baldwin will be home in Kaysville next week. CRAZY.

It’s a typical example of how we find out about things in the office. It’s pretty crazy.

I’ve been driving the whole week.

What else.

DISCURSO! DISCURSO! DISCURSO!

Ok, ok. So with birthdays and everything, I studied this morning the need to be born again. And I realized something that makes a lot of sense to me. If you look at the world from a worldly perspective, you would arrive at the worldly conclusion that living for a long time or a short time or for a fun time or a boring time or whatever wouldn’t matter because, according to this perspective, it would all end at death. Basically, though, with living in the world and being subject to physical AND spiritual death, we are basically dead anyway, but our “time has been prolonged” (as said in 2 Nephi 2:21). So basically, we are dead because of the world, but can be born again through Christ – and not through the world. THE GOSPEL IS SO COOL.

Carla was in church on Sunday! She called us on Saturday as well and said she wanted to know how to pay tithing!!! CRAZY. She is SO ready, except for the whole not being married to the dude she’s living with.

Today for P-Day, we’re going to Chimarrão in Monsanto (the big forest-looking place in just south of Benfica) to have CHURRASCO. After that, we’re going to play tennis with Joãozinho, this incredible 13-year-old kid in our ward who plays soccer in the Sporting Club (even though he is a diehard Benfiquista). He’s so cool.

Oh yeah – a quick shoutout to everybody who wrote stuff for the INCREDIBLE book that Allie put together for me. OHMYGOODNESS. I don’t have it in front of me right now, otherwise I would go through and thank you all. I will be sure to write back.

Irmã Miquelina is making a cake tonight, and she gave me an escudo coin from 1966 with the Ponte 25 de Abril.

SO COOL

TCHAU TCHAU AMO TODOS VOCÊS

ELDER LOBO

Tasty Pastry

Elder Lobo and associates

The Alfama district

The best Pasta salad I have ever had!

Heeeeeey EVERYONE!

Thanks for the emails and the encouragement.

While I was writing last week’s whiny, annoying letter, I knew it was stupid that I couldn’t move beyond the mountain of little things and just get on with it. It made me remember what my linear algebra teacher always talked about while answering questions in class – avoiding myopia. But while writing it, I knew I had to get it out. The next day, I went on a new search for what I was missing – what was keeping me working instead of serving. I had really been just working in the office, and office work is not exactly the most fulfilling in and of itself.

The next morning (Thursday) I read Mosiah 2:17, again, for the millionth time since getting into the office - I wasn’t getting it before. But it finally made sense. I wanted to be serving God by serving my fellow Portuguese man, not the people around me. But it finally clicked. I finally realized that I wanted to serve God, and that I would have to just suck it up and charitably do the work of the office for the missionaries without putting them on the same level as the things they ask us to do. It also made me realize I would have to put aside all the faults of my fellow missionaries that the office had significantly magnified. After losing “respect” for many of the zone leaders and others in the mission, I realized I should replace the worldly respect with Christ-like love for them as fellow children of God.

That day, we went to Loja do Cidadão to do drivers licenses for Elder Croshaw and Elder Parker, and while there we caught a few glances of the whitewater kayaking and gymnastics from the Olympics. There was a guy next to us who asked us in a ridiculously awesome South African accent if we were the Mormon missionaries. We started talking to him about the mission and why we were getting drivers licenses and etc., and we asked him if he had ever talked to the missionaries. He said he had them in his house about 10 years ago, and they gave him the Book of Mormon. He had read parts of it and thought it was really interesting, but never did anything beyond that. He had incredible questions – not necessarily questions of the soul, but questions like, “so what do Latter-Day Saints get from the Book of Mormon? What is its message for the everyday life?” etc. The conversation gradually started moving away, and he wasn’t interested in talking much more about it, but we found out that he was an economist from South Africa. I talked to him about a few different economic principles that seem to be more than just philosophies, like making a comparison to Law of the Harvest or how intrinsic ethics (Light of Christ) really relate to true principles that show up everywhere else in economics. We talked about the differences between Europe and China – it was cool. He got a card and a few misconceptions resolved. We’re not (#1) crazy and not (#2) stupid either just because we can’t speak Portuguese very well. Good testifying.

So the next day, I decided to read the Beware of Pride talk. And I figured out exactly what my problem has been.

Pride.

It is so obvious that my problem has been pride. However, it was hard at the time to acknowledge that I was being prideful while knowing I was telling the truth, even though it was whiny. It's giving value to things that deserve less and not giving value to what matters.

“The central feature of pride is enmity.”

“Pride is the universal sin.”

If there is ever anything wrong that we are doing, there is always an amount of pride involved.

I would go through and quote a ton of the talk, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I think the talk speaks for itself.

Nobody ever talks about pride (except in scriptures and talks) because it seems to be so sensitive and talking about it will make you look like you think you’re so humble or whatever.

I don’t think we think enough about pride. It seems to me that the best way to avoid sinning is to fight personal pride all the time. Pride is the source of the problem. Fight the sickness, not the symptoms. You can’t cure cancer by treating death.

It seems like the opposite of pride is charity.

Helaman 12:4-8 – We’re nothing.
2 Nephi 2:25 – Then why does this whole struggle matter?
John 15:9-11 – How do we do that?
1 Peter 4:8 – Why does love matter?
Alma 34:29 – Why does charity matter if we are nothing anyway?

P-Day last week was awesome! We went to the Alfama District on those electric trolley things (called eléctricos). We saw the Panteão Nacional, another supposed site of the remains of Vasco da Gama. I got some cool pictures.

I saw the lunar eclipse!!!

Out of time….

ABRAÇOS A TODOS

Let me know if Portugal gets close to getting a medal.

ELDER LOBO

We're reimbursing for a grilled cheese maker??

Bom dia!

THANKS FOR THE PICTURES! Preston is such a stud. I really like the ties.

So I survived one more week in the office. I’m starting to get a little better acquainted with office elder life.

We did some more reimbursements, went to the zone conference in Corroios (across the river) and did pizza, cleaned up, exchanged phones, organized and mailed receipts to England, did some filing, fixed some mistakes of previous financial secretaries (one landlord was paid 300€ instead of 350€ for almost a year), got the oil changed in President’s van, got new name tags ordered, got stuff ready for the Azores zone conference, took the AP’s to the airport, sorted the old phone paraphernalia, arranged transportation money for all the missionaries, paid bills, did more reimbursements, and woke up this morning with some will to live still left over.

Zone conference on Friday wasn’t nearly as bad as the one here in Benfica. Pizza Hut finished the pizzas an hour late, and we got less whining about that than when the pizza was five minutes late here in Benfica. One of the few remaining perks of being a financial secretary, though, is that when we go get the pizza, we keep the few free breadsticks and Coke that come with it all. After all the trainings and everything, I exchanged all the phones. While doing that, Elder Blackburn came up and said I looked really stressed out and asked how I was doing. I was really stressed out, and explaining to him how the easy work of being in the office is the most stressful part of the whole job is really hard to believe sometimes. I’m glad zone conference week is done though.

WARNING: whining ahead.

I don’t think people really try to understand how hard it is to be a called, set-apart missionary and spend the vast majority of the consecrated time doing things like those listed above. To me, the office looked like fun before getting in the office – you get a car, AC, a dryer, an office, more keys, permission to talk to any missionary in the mission when you need to, etc. All the perks seemed to outweigh any monotony there could possibly be. But now that we can’t use cars on P-Day (except to do grocery shopping), there is little, if anything, to make up for everything that gets heaped onto us. It’s hard to feel like a real missionary when you don’t have time to be one. There is no article of faith that says, “We believe that a man must be called of God by prophecy to pay bills and buy pizza.” There’s no escape. Yeah, we are “just as important as any other missionary in the mission.” But what does that mean? Zone Leaders hardly have anything extra to do – a training here and there, fun divisions all over the place, and an extra phone call once a week – but they’re rewarded with a disgusting, overwhelming amount of recognition and prestige in the mission. It’s disgusting how big of a difference there is between normal missionaries and office elders, and where this difference is compensated for elsewhere in the mission, that principle of matching responsibilities with benefits that applies to everybody but the office elders. If we’re actually equal, why is it backwards for us?

Either way, I’ve discovered what seems to be “The Office Elder Complex,” which is that if you can somehow convince yourself that the job is noble and necessary, you probably won’t hate doing it nearly as much. I’m not very good at tricking myself into believing anything.

I know I’m whining a lot. I know. But I would rather that you knew what was going on in my head than trying to trick you. That’s not how I roll.

With all of this, though, we had a street meeting on Saturday which was awesome. We had about 12 missionaries at the Oriente station (FIND PICTURES ONLINE!) contacting people like crazy. We gave out videos, copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets – it was a bonanza.

Church on Sunday was really good – I taught Principles of the Gospel about the Word of Wisdom. They had a special testimony meeting for all the members who went to the Madrid temple the last week, and Joãozinho (he’s 13 and ridiculously awesome) explained how his second time in the temple was so much better than the first time – and it surprised me. Usually, the first time we go somewhere or do something is the best, and after that we just compare. With things in the church, though, they always get better. That’s something I’ve really noticed. I also had a good time remembering how awesome the temple was. Even a passing thought about the temple has the power to make preoccupation with the moment flee and eternal peace to take its place.

Monday, I had a division with Elder HOBBS! The Exec Sec area is Benfica, right around the office. It was a blast. I love Elder Hobbs.

I drove to and from our area on Sunday! I parallel parked on a hill. It was a horrible experience trying to get out.

This would have been a really short email if I didn’t complain. If you don’t think I should complain, let me know.

It’s getting better, though. We’re getting out a lot more to Alcântara, and I’m starting to accept the situation. With all the responsibilities that we have, it feels like we should be able to do something about it. But looking at Elder Prince and Elder Croshaw, it seems like the only way to enjoy the experience is to not worry about how well it gets done. I can’t think like that.

ABRAAAAAÇOS

Elder Lobo

PS: Jeff – Didn’t you serve in the office? What was it like?

Win. win. win.

How did he do that with his tie??

Elders Stott, Lobo, and Baldwin reunited.

Trying to figure out what to do with a starfruit.

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy everybody,

It has been a ridiculously long week.

Thanks for the updates on everybody. I was wondering how long it would take Preston to start getting goony. Well, he’s been goony for a long time, just not verbally. Thanks for the pictures from Alexander’s baptism, too! I’m glad to see the tie I sent to Dad actually made it there. I’ll have to send some more cool stuff for Christmas etc. I might just do a big box of stuff and cover everybody’s birthdays from November through February. It takes quite a bit of thinking ahead to get a package done here.

As for birthday stuff, don’t worry too much about it. You already had to go through getting stuff for a missionary who didn’t have all the shirts, ties, etc, but now that I have all that, it’s down to things like replacement razor blades and pen refills. So… yeah. Don’t worry too much about it. I liked Mom’s idea of depositing money in my account and then having me buy something I want sent home. Anything I could possibly want from the USA can’t be bought, so I figure any money would probably be better spent here.

I’m going to go through the week, because it was long, and I’m not really sure what else I have to write about.

So last week, we pretty much hung around for P-Day. That night, we had a lesson with an inactive member, Deco, who is really cool but works Saturday nights through Sunday mornings, all the way into church. After that, we had to get the pizza ordered for the Zone Leader Conference while going to pick up the other elders from Baixa (in Lisbon).

The next day, we had to let the zone leaders from the Azores and Algarve (including ELDER STOTT) and the AP’s shower before us, so we got downstairs late again, and then we had to go get ice cream and pizza, set it all up, and then clean up. That afternoon and evening, we got everything taken care of for area changes in the mission and all the changes in the houses, along with accounting for President’s purchasing card.

Friday, more office work, and then there was a wedding reception for Florina, an investigator of our zone leaders, who got married so she could be baptized. They’re from Romania, and they don’t really speak much Portuguese.

Saturday morning we painted the inside of a prédio for a service project with the elders quorum president. Then they fed us lunch, and they made us eat soooooo much. I don’t know exactly what it was (some kind of mashed-potato-like stuff and beef/chouriço) but we ate a ton and I felt sick afterwards. I’m pretty sure that’s against the Word of Wisdom. That night, there was the baptism of Florina, and it was really cool. Her husband, who has been a member for five years, baptized her.

Church on Sunday was good, and it really helped me start to figure out a lot of things that have been bothering me since getting in the office, which I will explain in a second. We talked a lot about service and the ways God answers prayers. After that, we had lunch at família Rau’s house, a Brazilian family that has four kids, Wendy is 15, Willian is 18, Wiwian (pronounced like “Vivian”) is early 20’s, and Wania (“Vanya”) is in her mid 20’s. They’re so much fun. They give ridiculous nicknames to all the missionaries that come. For example, Elder Croshaw is Pansy. And somehow I already got one: Fifi, which pretty much means “tattle tale.” Usually it takes a few weeks for elders to get nicknames, so apparently I should be proud of that.

Carla didn’t make it to church on Sunday! We need to get over there and explain the whole Sabbath Day commandment a little more clearly.

On Monday, President was finally in the office, so we got a ton of stuff signed off, transactions authorized, bills paid, landlords paid, reimbursements approved, month-end reports sent, and a bunch of other random stuff.

Yesterday was the Lisboa/Alverca/Sintra/Santarém zone conference (the one I used to go to because I was in the Sintra zone). We had to get everything ready that morning to get handed out after zone conference, and then we had to leave early to go get the pizza and ice cream for all 56 people.

And this is kind of where I start my rant.

Before being a missionary, I had missionaries on a pedestal. They set aside everything for two years to go serve the Lord. They kept themselves worthy, they studied like crazy, and they always had something awesome to say about any Gospel topic. When I got in the MTC and had to live with other missionaries, that image was lowered a little bit, but it was OK – they’re real people too. When I got to Portugal and started getting all the trainings from the financial and executive secretaries about how we needed to be the start of fixing the problems in the mission with money and baptismal forms, I couldn’t believe that missionaries would abuse the Lord’s money or not fill out a baptismal form. But the AP’s and the secretaries were so cool that the image in my head of the missionaries didn’t fall that much. Then I got my trainer, Elder Stott, who is awesome, but when we were with some of the other missionaries who didn’t really seem to try all that hard to do much of anything, I was shocked, yet again.

And now, as a financial secretary, I see a lot of the worst of the mission. We see all the medical bills (most of which result because of negligence), we see the abuse of cell phones, we see abuse of missionary support money, etc. We don’t deal with a lot of positive things – it’s not really our job. We pay for damages to apartments, we deal with the landlords when the missionaries won’t be responsible (such as getting yelled at for all the holes in the wall, etc.) and we just recently received the responsibility of inspecting new houses because of a few horrible choices.

Yesterday, at zone conference, we were working like crazy to get the pizza there on time and set up, and it seems like the whole Christlike attribute idea was on hold. It’s a lot like parking on the streets here: if you have your hazard lights on, apparently it means that you are exempt from all traffic laws.

I’m not a demanding person. I’m really easy to please. I never get angry. I’m a really flexible person because of all the bending over backwards I seem to do. I don’t mind it. I would rather help people all the time than keep to myself. But helping people who won’t admit they are being helped is something I can’t stand.

Being in the office has taken out all of the magic of the mission. I see how all the decisions get made, and though I know that the Lord has His hand in everything that has to do with His work, missionaries are not superhuman. We make mistakes. We can be pretty horrible people sometimes.

It’s really good motivation to get all of our work done so we can get out of the office and do work that actually brings happiness. I know that people have to obey the commandments to be happy, and I know I’m not as happy as I should be now because I’m being a dork and I’m just working – not serving. I’ve got to figure out what I’m working for here in the office. I’ll be here probably for six months – longer than I worked at StowAway2. I know at that job I had a ton of experiences that helped me, and that being like this in the first couple weeks is a reasonable start for an office environment. I know the Atonement can enable me to overcome all the negativity that is inevitably attached to anything worldly (like money, which is all we do). I know that living the Gospel is the ONLY way people can be truly happy.

I love you all and I hope everything goes well in this next week! I know your prayers really do affect the outcome of what you pray for.

Elder Lobo

Baptism of Alexander Lobo!

Larabeth and Bella, Alexander, Jason and Sofy,
with the Grandparents Lobo

Three generations of baptized Lobos on this side of the veil!!

Alexander Paul Lobo was baptized Saturday in Eugene by his father Jason! We are so pleased by his decision to take upon himself the name of Jesus Christ. It will be a delight watching him learn and grow in the gospel! Press forward with a perfect brightness of faith, Alexander!

Links to a WHOLE BUNCH of old family slides!!!

Wow! Uncle Rob has been scanning old slides and he's posted a bunch of them in Picasa web albums. I've looked through a few, and they are pretty cool!

Here are the links:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GrampaRob/SlidesFromBoydAndArdis?authkey=sehHEDwXcOg
http://picasaweb.google.com/GrampaRob/ScannedNegativesFromBoydAndArdis?authkey=mYSjouOWWCE


http://picasaweb.google.com/GrampaRob/07LifeStories?authkey=8i4eHUm8v1I