1st Full Week!!!

Hello!!! 

1st full week in Portugal!! Bro mission's are hard!!! Why'd no one tell me!!! Haha I'm laughing now but 

Tuesday: 

- I realized the source of all of my problems : lack of caffeine 

- Weekly planning!! I was excited for weekly planning but also nervous because I wanted to address some things. It ended up going really well! And after some convincing, lol, we were able to make some goals that will push both of us outside of our comfort zones. 

- I just wish I could understand people better!! I'm gonna have permanent crease lines on my forehead from how hard I'm concentrating on their words. 

- Truly amazing that people can speak Portuguese with their mouth literally shut and with nothing but sh's and nothing else actually. 

Wednesday: 

- Ya okay, I know I said I prefer the heat over the cold. Ya I take that back so hard rn. I prefer the heat WHEN I have AC. Portugal is in a record breaking heat wave rn, and there's no AC anywhere and we only have one baby fan. Never been sweatier 24/7 in my life. 

-Starting to get calluses from holding water jugs when working out ha

Thursday: 

- Everyday is literally so different and is a rollercoaster of emotion. 

- A lesson with Leo! I'm super excited about him!! A member brought him to church, and he's come to church 2 Sundays now and continually wants to learn more.

- Dinner with members, the Nerys and it was soooo good. They're Brazilian and we had stroganoff and it was amazing!! They talked for a long time about why they like Portugal better than Brazil. Safer, cleaner, more job opportunities, which everything they said was so interesting to me. They said that the population of Sao Paulo is the population of the whole country of Portugal which is insane. Idk if that's the state Sao Paulo or the city so someone will have to fact check me on that but still.

Friday:

- We spent the whole morning waiting in line to get my metro pass. Which is the subway really. Long morning LOL

- It is crazy to see how missionary work is progressing with technology really!! We get lots of referrals just from people clicking on an ad and putting in their information. A man responded to an ad saying he wanted a Book of Mormon, so this morning we went and gave him one! Unfortunately it was just him so we couldn't go inside, so we made a plan to meet up this week. He called us later in the day saying he's read so much already!! Sooo exciting and so cool. 

- Every over-pound dollar was worth the chocolate that I brought here.

- Taught Carla today!! She is also Brazilian, and is so sweet, and if you read Maddy's email last week you'll remember, but she believes everything we teach her. But she told us that she doesn't feel ready for baptism. There's a few people we're teaching right now, including Carla, that are ready for baptism, and have been taught for a loooong time and have been pushing their baptism off for a loooong time. Idk why!!

Saturday:

- Lesson in the temple waiting room with a less active was awesome. He's an older man who I can barely understand lol. He was baptized a year ago and just received the Priesthood and was so excited to go inside the temple. This was suuuch a cool experience. I know I'm  gonna miss having the temple so close.

Sunday: 

- Fast Sunday!! The whole ward it seems got back from fsy this week, and I met sooo many nice members. It was so comforting. 

- Every other week, for second hour, they have this lesson that's for recent converts or less actives or investigators. And when I first heard that I thought it was kind of weird, because why would we want to segregate them from everyone and make them feel even more like outsiders? Idk tho is that normal?  Well today, Blanchard came to church!! And he's come to church a couple weeks now. He still feels uncomfortable at church, and we're trying to help him feel more comfortable and have more friends. So originally, us 3 went to the normal sunday school class, but then the teacher of the other class came to get us. Blanchard came with us to this other class, a lot smaller, and when we sat down, Bishop came in and asked to talk to me and Sister Taylor for a second. While we're talking to the Bishop, Blanchard leaves, and sends us a message saying that a girl in the class told him it was for members only. He was almost in tears in his audio, and now he won't answer our calls. I'm so so sad and am praying he responds soon 

- 2/3 lessons fell through today, which was really sad. But on the bright side, we got to knock doors!! Which terrifies me! But I need the practice!! Today, 3 people told us at different times that they couldn't understand sister Taylor's  portuguese and asked me to repeat it, and she did nooot like that hahah.

This week was so so hard, and I've never prayed harder. I've never had to exercise so much faith and trust in the Lord, truly a humbling experience on all fronts, and it's nowhere near finished. I've been studying, and trying to practice lol, patience this week. Patience with myself and learning the language, patience with my trainer, patience with finding more joy in the work, and these scriptures help me change my perspective on everything. 

Mosiah 24:15

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

Alma 38:4-5

"and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee. And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day." 

At times it's hard for me to remember, but I know I can bear all these things because the Lord is with me. He's not going to make my burdens lighter, but will strengthen me, and I know these challenges will only make me a stronger more effective missionary for the people I teach. I love you all!! 

Love sister menden 

1. Us on the metro!! With no one else surprisingly 

2. A cute neighborhood 

3. The cutest puppy in the whole world that almost peed on me 

4. The doors we knocked Sunday!

5. The police riding by on horses past our apartment?? Haha

6. My first pão de Deus and it was sooo good. Kinda like rise up bakery cinnamon roll tbh HAHA