Life is creeping up on all of us! 

 

Time is passing quickly here in Portugal and we just don't know where it has gone.  Our duties here continue to be many and varied, and each day brings a new set of opportunities, challenges, changes and blessings.  We continue to see baptisms every week now.  We get to be a little bit involved with some of them, from going to lessons to doing interviews to meeting with them after they are baptized.  Because we are spending time in so many cities and areas, we feel like nomads.  We are able to do a little bit here and little bit there.  The challenge is not being able to get really close to some of these good people but on the other hand, we get to meet and know and work with a lot of them.  We have a wonderful variety. 

 

Two places are kind of exciting for us right now.  Lagos and Peniche, both, continue to be groups, but are marching ever closer to becoming branches.  Attendance in both places has gone up over 50% in the last couple of months.  Our missionaries are finding and baptizing, and also bringing less active members back.  We are diligently working on leadership, training, Melchizedek Priesthood holders, full/tithe payers, and just finding and getting to know more good people.  It is wonderful. 

 

I think you can see how excited Elder Lemperle is there on the back row.   He has been working so hard with his companions over the last several months to get Lagos going strong.  This building is potentially the site of our new chapel in Lagos.  We are in negotiations right now and have preliminary approval.  Luis Melo, on the left is a counselor in the District Presidency.  He lives nearby.  The two men in the middle are in the Branch Presidency of Portimão, a neighboring city.  This group in Lagos is part of the Potimão Branch until it becomes its own Branch. We love working with these brethren.  Seeing the growth of the church has been a real blessing for us.

So, until the next time, we will just be sitting on our bench and enjoying the scenery.

 

 

 

How Cool Is This?

 

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a wedding ceremony in Caldas da Rainha.  Sara and Christophe got married.  This is a photo of their wedding cake.  How many times do we see a wedding cake based on a scripture from the Book of Mormon?  We were so honored to have met them just a few weeks ago at a baptism in Peniche and to have them invite us to their wedding. This was such a fun and wonderful experience for both of us ... one that we will never forget.  We have experienced hundreds of LDS weddings over the years, and we don´t remember one with an LDS theme.  This wedding was a civil ceremony, not in the temple, but one that had "Mormon" written all over it.  About half of those in attendance were members of the church, and the rest were friends and families from many different denominations.

 

 

 

 

 The ceremony was performed in the small chapel in Caldas.  About 50 people were in attendance.  The Branch President, Elder Silva, is a missionary here in Portugal.  He performed the ceremony.  (This photo was before the actual ceremony, which should not be photographed).  Elder Silva is one of our awesome missionaries from Brazil.  He and the speakers did a wonderful job.  Following the ceremony we all went to a local park for the typical "pictures after" event that we always have.  It is an absolutely beautiful park and a wonderful setting for wedding pictures.  The love and spirit of family and friends was so familiar to us that we felt right at home.

And so, why is this story so cool?  Christophe has been a member of the Church for several years  If we understand correctly, for about 5 years or so.  He has been unable to find a worthy woman to marry, and so has stayed single looking and waiting for the right woman to come along.  About 1 year ago, Elder Silva was serving in a city about an hour to the north of Caldas.  He worked with and baptized a family that included a daughter named Sara.  She was also single and hoped to find a worthy young man to marry in the temple.  It is difficult in an area with so few members to find the right one.  There are not as many options as we might find where the Church is large and strong.  Well, just a few months ago, after 2 or 3 transfers, Elder Silva was moved to the city of Caldas.  He was put in as Branch President.  There was a worthy young man who seemed to be the glue holding this little Branch together.  His name Christophe.  Christophe was called to be his Counselor.  And, he has been a wonderful and dedicated member and works hard to fulfill and magnify his calling.  Elder Silva asked Christophe why he was not married.  Christophe told him how difficult it was to find a worthy young woman to take to the temple.  Do we have to finish the story?  About 3 months ago the introduction was made.  They fell in love.  Sara moved down to Caldas and has been waiting for the 1 year time period to lapse so that she and Christophe could be married in the temple.  The time period has been completed.  They married civilly so that non-member family and friends could attend.  And, the rest of the story is that next Tuesday they will be in the temple in Madrid getting married for time and all eternity. 
 

Now, is that a love story or what?  We wish that we could go to the temple with them and enjoy the spirit of an eternal wedding.  It is going to be incredible.  Our only request of them was to bring us back a photo that could be emailed so that we could enjoy this together.

 And get this!  Their honeymoon for the next week is going to be spent in Madrid, doing temple work for their deceased ancestors.  Paula and I had to chuckle as we traveled home after the ceremony, the time in the park and the incredible afternoon luncheon.  Our honeymoon was spent in Disneyland and Sea World.  What were we thinking?  Some of these new converts really do get it.  They understand and know what is important in their lives.  What a wonderful example ... from the cake with the scripture from Alma 37:37, to a temple marriage, to a honeymoon spent in the temple doing work for their families!  How Cool Is This?  And, if you haven´t checked out the scripture yet, you should.   What an incredible theme to start out a marriage with.  Or, what an incredible theme to live our lives by!

 

 

And now to finish the story!