Elder Dallin Anderson's Mission Blog: Bom Dia

Ola,

This week has been great, I am beginning to warm up to the Portuguese people and the language haha in Salt Lake it was easy to go up and talk to anyone, But here speaking to foreign people in a foreign language it has been difficult. On Thursday I had 5 contacts (that was my goal) it is not very much but it is improvement! My confidence in talking to strangers in Portuguese is increasing along with my language skills. I still understand roughly 20% of what people are saying, but everyday it gets a little better!

Wednesday when we came back to the apartment, I put the key in and the door opened, apparently we didn't close the door all the way...so we crept around the apartment making sure no one was in there. We searched the bedroom, kitchen, study room and bathrooms then went to the closet room. I looked to the curtains and one side was flat against the window but the other was sticking out, like a person was standing there It freaked me out so i grabbed a shoe and chucked it at it and heard a yelp! Brincadeira! haha it just hit the window and there air coming in from the bottom of the door made the curtain look like that. Fortunately no one entered our apartment or stole anything but we certainly learned a lesson

I did my laundry for the first time in Portugal in Friday. Washers here are not very good and ours takes a 2-3 hours to wash and 4 and a half hours to dry so we can`t do all of our laundry on P-day.

We taught Paulo the Restoration this week, he is a devote Catholic but listen sincerely to our lesson and told us that he was going to read The Book of Mormon! I am excited to follow up with him.

Thursday we had an appointment with João, he was in there listening to music and came to the door but didn't open. His apartment is on the 6th story and there is a sweet view from the window so I went and looked out the window for a few minutes and took a few pictures. We then walked back to the elevator and I then went and looked out the window there, the apartment complex is like and L and the window faced the inside. I looked down to the ground and saw this big concrete hole and was wondering what it was. I then realized it was and old pool and I thought about how nice the place probably used to be. This took a few minutes and when I was done and turned around Suzanne walked out of the elevator. She had stepped into a hole a few days before and broke her foot in 3 places. She wanted us to come by that night and give them some Comfort. That night were tracting on the 3rd floor and Elder Salmon had a thought to go up to the 6th. As soon as we got up there. Suzanne and her husband along with 4 of there 6 kids had just gotten out of the other elevator! We went to there apartment and taught them the Plan of Salvation. At the end of the lesson Elder Salmon looked to me to extend the baptismal invitation, after i did so she said hat she knows our message is true and she accepted the invitation! Rodrigo wants to think about it a little more because he want to make sure that he can keep a covenant that he makes. Our Branch only had 15 people at church yesterday and their family would be a huge addition! They have a Book of Mormon and have been reading it every night as a family! They are awesome! The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways!

This morning I studied the creation and read a lot about it in the Pearl of Great Price, I have hardly read it before and had never realized before the power it has, It truly is a Pearl of Great Price!

Until next week.