Boa tarde queridos

 

Hi!!! 

I love you all!!! 

Facts for the week!

- Had my first Cape Verdean Cachupa and man it was good but man did she keep piling that stuff on my plate. She served me the biggest mound and Sister Cornell literally nada. I walked away 10 pounds heavier that night my skirt holding on by a thread. 

- Had a movie night with Ben and Jerrys and watched meet the Mormons and Sister Cornell actually stayed awake this time!

- Moaning myrtle read her patriarchal blessing to us. 

- Talked to 5 Jehovahs Witnesses not knowing and that's actually impressive I feel like they are hard to come by. 

- Two times this week I can remember specifically where the metro started moving way too fast all of a sudden and Sister Cornell was inches away from sitting on people's laps it was hilarious. 

- Since daylight savings, the sun goes down at 5:30 and it's actually been so sucky. What used to be our best contacting time is now a time where no one is on the streets and no one opens their doors. It feel like it should be midnight but we actually have 4 more hours of missionary work. 

- I can't wait to get to heaven and show you guys a highlight real of all the evil rude Portuguese people on the streets. We'll say hi tudo bem and most of the time, they don't just try to avoid eye contact no. They look at us hold eye contact give us the nastiest glare and won't say literally anything even as we are asking about their day or complimenting their hair it literally is comical. 

Wednesday this week, really just proved to me how our Heavenly Father really is aware of us and our needs. After one of the longer weeks of the mission, I woke up to find that my Grandma had passed away peacefully the night before. But God really is in the details because that day we had district council as well as interviews with President and Heavenly Father knew I needed that. District council always lifts my spirits and helps me get motivated for the week!! Sounds cheesy but it's so real. And then interviews with President are literally just the highlight of every transfer. Whatever question or concern I have, he has a super spiritual personal experience to share with me, its so cool. I told President about my grandma, and what he said was so comforting to me. "Your grandma is closer to you now than she ever was before. You have one more angel helping you in this work." 

Here's a little update on our friends! Friends!! Plural!!

Diana we found this week and she's an ANGEL! She' from Columbia and pretty much just speaks Spanish with us. And if she's representative of what all investigators are like in South America, no wonder they have a million baptisms down there. She was a reference from a church ad online and we called her and she literally just wants to be a member. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and she's just like ok!! I need to read it!! I need to learn more!! She's excited to have a "community" she said. UPDATE: I wrote this paragraph on Saturday but as of rn she didn't come to church and didn't respond to our message so vamos ver. LOL funny how things change so fast. 

Ana! If you remember last week, Ana was our most progressing friend. Was  After our baptism convite she's been ghosting us and we're so sad about it. Praying for a change of heart. 

Jurdiney!! The guy who learned about us through the old for strength of youth pamphlet! Jurdiney is only maybe 25 and is from Brazil. Pois é all the good ones are from Brazil. Guys. We had a lesson with him on Saturday and it was one of the best lessons I've ever had. Maybe even the best lesson. It had been almost a whole week since our last lesson or successful contact with him, so we were starting to lose hope. But then we had this lesson and we taught the Doctrine of Christ, and he was so invested and asked "What do I have to do to be baptized?" He talked about how he's gone to other churches, but he's never found a church like ours where people actually want to share and help others come to Christ. He talked about how important and amazing our work is as missionaries. He said he saw my Facebook post about my grandma and that his grandma also passed away and that he's so grateful we can see them again in heaven. He asked us to show him the baptismal font and when we showed him, I literally want to remember the smile on his face forever. But guys I can cry thinking about Jurdiney and my love for him. Jurdiney is married to another man and we are yet to teach him the Law of Chastity. I'm studying and praying for guidance and strength and more knowledge and understanding of the Plan of Salvation and for him and his circumstances. At church, a literal miracle acontecered. This young married gay couple visited our ward from Brazil. And one of them bore their testimony in Sacrament meeting and it was so cool!!! He served in Portugal 8 years ago and now he's visiting with his husband and they have a daughter. He bore such a strong testimony of the church and of Christ. It was not a coincidence that this couple from Brazil visited this week. I know it was important for Jurdiney to see them as strong, welcomed, loved, members of the church. However things play out with Jurdiney, I just hope I'm able to show him God's love for him and make sure he knows he is always welcome.

Ali! Então this week, Ali messaged us randomly, we had no idea who he was. We met with him on Saturday, and he's so excited to keep meeting with us and to learn more!! What!! So apparently he's from Slovakia, and he's been living here since January. A friend of his from Slovakia recently reached out to him and asked how he was doing. He said not so hot so this friend sent him our number! Missionary work guys!! And he messaged us! Little does this friend in Slovakia know the difference she has made already just by the easy act of sending our number to him. We're teaching him in English and it actually was hard. I literally had to say words in Portuguese for Sister Cornell to translate. It was so weird. 

This week we have Elder Whiting of the 70 (i think) doing a tour of the mission. We have zone conference on Wednesday with him as well as other zones which meeeannnss SISTER CORDNER!! She's staying the night with us tomorrow night again  I'm so blessed. 

Tchau tchau!! 

Sister Menden 

Pics: 

1&2. I'm grateful for my family and the knowledge that families can be together forever  

3. A text message from a member who's a loyal attendee of our aulas de inglês that made me and Sister Cornell cry 

4. Otd

5. Noite de filme

6. Kenneth is missing out on a good time 

7-9. Toured the Benfica soccer stadium!!!! Kinda made me sad i miss soccer

10. Appreciate this picture of me and sister Cornell at efy in 2019