FELIZ NATAL!!!

Christmas Turkey in Oeiras

HAZELNUT HOT CHOCOLATE
with our Portuguese Class

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
So I got the package on Tuesday! I opened it up so I could put up the nativity scene and put everything under the tree. It’s so weird not being home for Christmas! But it’s cool. Thanks for everything. Technically, I don’t know what they all are yet, but since Mom lists everything out exactly on the customs forms… Anyway, we’re really excited for Christmas – we’re going to pass every member in our area during the afternoon and give them all a card and maybe sing at them.
We had two Christmas conferences this week: one in Miratejo (across the river) and one in Oeiras. They were pretty unique conferences. The members at each of the wards volunteered to do lunch for us, and they were AMAZING. I’m so glad I could go to both. At the one across the river they had a roast and incredible desserts. At the other, it was a sit-down thing and the youth served. It was INCREDIBLE. Turkeys. Mashed potatoes. Bacalhau com natas. It was amazing. Luckily, I knew how to cut the turkey. Those were on Thursday and Friday and took the whole day. We left to the Oeiras chapel at 8:30 and went back home at 9:00. It was insane.
We had a lot of fun setting up the Christmas tree upstairs this week. It took us a while to finally find it, but we got it up after a concerted effort. I had never “put together” a Christmas tree before. It had all these metal branch things and you put them in the color-coordinated holes. It was bizarre. It’s cool. I remember staying up when I was little to stare at the lights on the tree. I can’t really do that here, but we turn the lights off early to get the effect.
Carla flipped out for some reason and we can’t get a hold of her. We talked to Angela, who lives with her, and apparently Angela is planning on moving back to Brazil, leaving the rent to Carla, so she’s in a sticky situation. She doesn’t answer the phone, we can’t get to her house because of all the locks and walls in the way. We did have a pretty cool experience, though, when we went last week. She hadn’t been answering her phone, and the place she lives has a gate that locks after 6 PM. We were going with Irmão Rau to a lesson with her, and we knew we needed a miracle of some kind to get in, so we asked for it. We got there at 8:30 after waiting a little, and the gate was shut, like it usually is at night. But I went to try the gate to go in and it opened. She wasn’t home, but that was when we talked to Angela about the whole situation. She said she wouldn’t mind having us over, but she hasn’t been answering the phone either. Paciencia.
On Sunday, Irisvaldo was in church again. He gave the talk, but his nephew ended up not coming. We had a quick lunch and then went caroling until we had to go to a stake musical fireside thing where we had been invited to participate. It was really cool. The Setúbal missionaries were really late, so there was a member who was AMAZING at the piano and played Christmas songs on the baby grand. We sang Silent Night and Joy to the World. I am so sick of Silent Night. Haha.
On Monday, it was Subway Tuesday. It’s transfer meeting. We had it on Monday because President and Sister Terry’s son Tyler was flying in on Tuesday. We went and got Subway, and TRANSFERS ARE GOING DOWN. Elder Wardenburg is set to stay in the office but as Executive Secretary. I’ll probably leave after this next transfer in February.
That night, we had to take a bunch of stuff to President at his house. It’s so funny how the magic of the mission home has completely changed. Most missionaries only are in the mission home when they get into the mission and when they go home. I’ve been there so many times. It’s funny.
Yesterday we had district meeting and a quick but good district lunch. It was amazing.
Today, we’re planning on going to Castelo dos Mouros in Sintra, and it’ll be my second time there. The weather looks pretty good today. Tonight, there’s a ward Christmas dinner, and we’re hoping that we can have Irisvaldo bring his nephew Edson. It all depends on whether they get back from work on time or not.
What else…
OH YEAH.
Last night, we took our Portuguese class to Starbucks that had just opened on the edge of our area to practice Portuguese and talk about Christmas. But only Tyler, our ward mission leader, and his wife Kristen came to class at the chapel, so we went anyway. FYI, he’s studying in Lisbon and she hasn’t really gotten settled yet. Our goal of practicing Portuguese at Starbucks was to help her feel at home and feel more comfortable here (they’re from Seattle). She had missed church a couple weeks, and with a Starbucks in our own area, we can’t let anybody from the Great Northwest feel disconnected. Everybody was pretty happy about it. It was one of those experiences that made me feel like “wow, I’m a human being again.”
Anyway, I’m out of time.

I love you guys and hope everybody has a great Christmas. Drive safely and make snowmen.

FELIZ NATAL

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