The new year just started and I already know every single word to the new youth album

Feliz Ano Novo!!!

Stats:

Number of times I said mulher instead of melhor: 4

Amount of hair lost: 3 clumps full

Number of times guys that have disgustingly checked us out: Way too many I could actually go off about this it's like every other guy on the street

Number of times we listened to Alívio by Jessé Aguiar: 34

Baptismal Dates: 1!!! ❤️‍🔥

This week was INSANE! Here are some highlights. Sorry these emails are 5 years long oh my gosh.

Wednesday:

- Had a dream that me and Sister Woolley were hanging out with Harry Styles but as missionaries.

- Because of a mix up with interviews with Pres, we ended up going to Coimbra to do a combined district council with their district while President did interviews. And then after he took us all out to lunch So fun.

- I don't know if Coke Zero really does indeed have a big effect on me or if it's just the placebo effect, but either way, literally after one sip, I can go from having a mid day to being able to literally take on the world.

- Our english class this night was soooo fun. I love the little things like this in our schedule that are different.

Thursday:

- Ok this day was a testament to me of the power of members in lessons.

- I don't know if you guys remember Gean!! But I wrote about him in my email a couple week ago I think. We've been teaching him and he is amazing. He has such a strong testimony. and on Thursday, we had a lesson planned with a member at the church. With the rain and lack of cars, Gean couldn't end up making it to the church, so we ended up deciding to do a videocall. I was super bummed at first, but it ended up being so good anyways. This member that was in the lesson is a rm, and I kind of just sat there in awe. He was saying and doing everything that I would hope a member would say and do in a lesson. He just did such a good job of loving while teaching and was showing Gean so much support and he explained the principles so well. Pois I'm sure it's a lot easier to express yourself and explain doctrine in your native language, but it was just very cool and powerful to see. We taught the Doctrine of Christ and it was amazing because as we taught, Gean percebered that the next step for him was baptism. Quoting The District, LOL, it was very natural in the way that we were "drawing" him to baptism, not "dragging." We extended a baptismal convite and he said yes!!! January 21st!!! I'm SO excited you guys he is so tender. You better believe I took a screenshot of our videocall. All of our smiles are so pure in that pic my heart ❤️‍🔥 In our lesson, the member told Gean that when he had seen him at church, he thought that Gean was already a member because of the light he has in his eyes - the light of Christ. and there really is not a better way to describe Gean.

- We were walking to our next lesson, and I had a Book of Mormon in my hand. And this guy walked up to us and before we could even say hi he said, "Are you people from the church?" We said yes!! He said "Oh I need a church. I've been looking for a church. I've been in Portugal for 4 months now, I need to go to church." He even recognized what a miracle it was, him running into us, he said, "If I had been walking on that sidewalk I wouldn't have seen your book, God is so aware."

- Our next lesson was with that cute Brazilian family I talked about last week! We brought another member who is also an immigrant from Brazil and it was just sooo amazing because they bonded super well and the lesson was super spiritual as we explained how they can live together forever.

Friday:

- I had a division with my STL Sister Collins!! We worked in Aveiro and it was so fun. It was honestly a really chill division and it was so fun to hang out with her for the day.

- On this day, I kind of had a panic attack lol because as missionaries, we really have so much responsibility!! We are in charge of all of our friends and their spiritual progression and we spend our personal studies studying for them and doing all we can to make sure we meet their needs. I don't have any time to be distracted, like I should not be quoting She's The Man right now, I should be worrying about Rafael and how I can better help him understand that he actually does need to pray. But then again I'm also human and I'm not a robot missionary, I don't want to be a robot missionary, but I want to be more consecrated.

Saturday:

- Had a bomb street contact where Sister Adib asked a fire pergunta inspirada and our new friend started tearing up after we shared a scripture with her Milagres people. I have to take note of this contact because tbh doesn't happen often.

- Guys, I love to celebrate. Give me any reason to celebrate and I will. But I am SO sad because get this. Bispo decided to ask both me and Sister Adib to give each a 10 minute talk in sacrament So we spent our new years eve night writing them. Soooo evil.

Sunday:

- We gave our talks on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and my portuguese was so bad ngl to you guys. I've had better moments. But still was a cool experience for me to see how far my Portuguese has come.

- They asked us to help in Primary and oh my gosh those kids are soooo cute. Little baby portuguese is so cute I could die. We went to help and then turns our their just wasn't any lesson or anything so we attempted at teaching but mostly just played.

- After church we had a meal at my favorite members house. Yes I do have a favorite haha and get this they're actually Portuguese. We ate with this member couples parents and it was funny because their parents are the classic old, crazy catholic people we avoid on the streets. We ate the most portuguese dish ever, Bacalhau, or codfish, and I honestly really like it. BUT it's always served with all the little bones and the spine of the fish so it's always suuuch a pain to eat because you have to dig the little bones out of your mouth while youre chewing. The little spine bones are too little to pull out with your fork, and you can't just swallow them because they can puncture the inside of your stomach and things, so with all things considered, I'm not a fan.

- Oh my gosh this next story I'm about to pee my pants it's so funny. So last night our dinner hour had just started at 8:30, and I had gone to change clothes and Sister Adib was on the kitchen about to make some food and then an alarm goes off. Like so loud piercing the air. I quickly pull up my pants and we both meet in the hallway with huge eyes just like omg what do we do. We find the alarm in the kitchen and turns out it's the natural gas alarm and we literally just stand their watching it go off lol. It goes off for a minute and then stops. We had no idea what to do we were like this is like every safety zone video ever we are going to die. So we open some windows and call the office elders but they don't answer pois. So for like an hour we didn't know what to do and we were starving. It was the last day before pday so the only thing left for us to eat in the house was literally rice and bread and we were so scared to use the gas stove so for dinner we both ate a literal single piece of bread. The office elders finally called back, and we even talked to Sister Barcellos, and we did some tests of the other natural gas detectors and everything ended up being chill thank goodness. This morning when we woke up, not in the spirit world, Sister Adib realized why the alarm went off. She said that as she was in the kitchen the night before, as she was getting food out of the fridge, right under the detector, she farted. And then a minute later the alarm went off I cannot oh my gosh. You mean to tell me that we called the office elders, even Sister Barcellos, ate just a single piece of bread for dinner, because Sister Adibs fart set off the natural gas detector

This whole year, minus a few weeks at the end, I'll be a missionary!! Sometimes that seems daunting, but also I'm really excited because think of all the things I'll do and all the things I'll learn this year! When Elder Soares visited, he said that "setting and planning goals are eternal principles." "Plans and goals are not about numbers, they are about people, about Children of God." So this week I've been thinking about new years resolutions and how I want to see myself coming out of the mission. Something I've always loved about Mallory, is that I feel that she is very intentional about the things she does and the things she learns. I was thinking about her this week when I made the resolution to be more intentional this year!!! I want to be more intentional with each aspect of my testimony and really use that to help my friends. I want to be more intentional in each aspect of missionary work so that the Lord will bless me with more opportunities to serve and minister to His children. I'm so excited for this year and the opportunity I have to grow and really know my Savior better!!

I love you all!

Sister Menden

Pics!!

1. Pre-convite aceito

2. Lunch after district council!

3. Sister adibs mom got us uber eats

4. GEAN!!!!!!

5-7. Our division!! We found the jehovahs witnesses knocking doors lol that was weird. Only we're allowed to do that.

8. Aveiro máquinas

9. Dog cat pee house

10. Bruno has no idea whats coming if he doesnt pick up the phone. Also our mission devotional shot game LOL

10. Me celebrating new years eve