Our First Week in Portugal

Getting to know President and Sister Fluckiger

A great blessing of any mission experience is working with your mission president and his wife. Our situation is no different. We feel very fortunate to get to know and work with the Fluckigers from near Dallas Texas. They are near the end of their assignment so we will have a new mission president this summer, but they are doing a wonderful job leading the mission till then.

Sister Fluckiger met us at the airport our first day here, and we went directly to lunch at a Brazilian restaurant where President Fluckiger met us. Both of them served in Brazil as young missionaries and in the São Paulo area where Elder Broderick served.

We are also fortunately to serve with other senior couples such as Elder and Sister Ransom (above). They also met us at the airport and walked with us every step of the way till we were settled in our new home in Alverca. We quickly felt great love and gratitude for these new fellow servants in the work of the Lord.

Flying to Portugal on a Birthday

We flew to Portugal on Janet’s birthday and arrived in Lisbon on Elder Ransom’s birthday. The lunch at the Brazilian restaurant was in celebration of both.

Our flight itinerary include a 6 hour layover in Minneapolis before flying on to Paris and then Lisbon. We took advantage of that layover to visit with our kids and grandkids so they could wish Janet Happy Birthday. Here is what they looked like as we visited:

Unfortunately we didn’t get a photo of Spencer and family for this collage.

On the humorous side, the Minneapolis airport had a plumbing problem, possibly caused by the extreme cold weather they were having, that shut down some of the restrooms. To compensate they brought in the worlds largest port-a-potty:

That is a Boeing 747 if you can’t tell from the photo.

An Adequate Place to Live

Elder Ransom took us to our apartment about 30 kilometers north of the Mission Office in Lisbon in a town called Alverca, helped us move in our luggage, and showed us where to find the church, about a 5 minute walk away. He pointed out the nearby grocery stores and we made a beeline to the closet one to begin to fill the pantry. Here are some shots inside our apartment:

Our First Zone Conference

Very early in our first week (day 3) we were invited to a three zone conference on the other side of Lisbon. Our navigating skills around Lisbon were non-existent, so we invited the Sisters from our area to ride with us and help us find the way. Fortunately Elder Ransom had provided us with a GPS for the mission car we were given, and between the two we made it to our destination. Here is the whole group of very typical missionaries:

We were delighted to meet two missionaries from Cape Verde. They were from the island of Fogo, so we recognized them, but didn’t know them like we do the three Elders from our island of São Vicente who are also in this mission. Unfortunately we have not yet run into any of those three as they are serving some distance from Lisbon.

These three sisters became friends quickly: Sister Wood is the granddaughter of a couple we met in the MTC.

 

Sisters Corrêa and Miller were our missionaries in some role-play practices, and serve in one of the branches we will be working with, Torres Vedras.

Where to Buy Fish

We couldn’t go even a week without trying out their fish. A very kind customer at Continente (one of the super supermarkets) suggested some dourada. It was a wonderful recommendation. Janet cooked it up like she did fish in Cape Verde and it was delectable.

Our First Sunday

For our first in Portugal we attended the Alverca Ward, which will be our home base. It was the first day of daylight savings, and several people forgot to set their clocks ahead, including us. Fortunately our smart tablets did it for us and woke us up on time. Not so for others, including Bishop Martins. Douglas, his first counselor was there to conduct a combined meeting of the men and women. Everyone was there by Sunday School time. We attended the Gospel Principles class with the four young missionaries that serve in our ward plus the ward missionaries, the instructor, and at least two investigators.

Bishop Martins had invited us to share a short testimony during sacrament meeting, which we did. Janet did very well sharing her testimony in Portuguese. Janet also played the piano for the meeting. There is another piano player in the ward that Janet will trade off with, so we understand.

After sacrament meeting we were invited to attend Ward Council. It was a good meeting with good attendance, and plans were rolled out to invite investigators and less-actives to general conference sessions the following weekend.

Sunday evenings are the Ward Missionary Coordination meetings. Below is the group that attended this meeting. The Ward Mission Leader is the shorter brother in the center with his hands out, standing between Sister Camacho and Fernando. He is a strong member and a good leader for the effort. We had one visitor from the stake. We had to hurry at the end and get the Sisters to their apartment before their curfew.

We felt like we were off to a good start with our new ward.

A couple of days later the ward mission leader’s wife invited us for dinner at their home. Here we are with this great family:

To wrap up our first week we joined the Sisters to teach how to hold a Family Home Evening to a family from Angola where only the older daughter is a member of the Church. Not all the family members could be there, but we walked through the steps of how to hold a family night with a good lesson from Sister Camacho and hymns selected by the older boy, “I Am a Child of God” and “Silent Night”. We provided the game. Using two chocolate bars we played the chocolate bar game. The family picked up very quickly on the purpose of the game (eat chocolate) and we had fun, as you can see here:

We had two extra Sister missionaries join us, one of which was from our island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. What a joy to meet her. She was not a young adult we worked closely with, but she remembered us from Church.

Janet put together her first week comparison between Portugal and Cape Verde, our previous mission. Here is what she came up with:

It has been interesting to be in Portugal (PT) and see so much of Cape Verde (CV) here. In some ways, it has helped me understand CV more. So, here are ten ways they are the same and/or different.

1. When we first went to Cape Verde, I thought I would never feel cool again. Here in Portugal, I am not sure we will ever feel warm!! It is into the 40's at night and the apartment doesn’t have central heating. We only have 2 small heaters and it gets cold. We find if we bundle up we are sufficiently warm and I have enough blankets on the bed to stay toasty.
2. The roads are full of cars that go fast. While on our walks we don’t really see other people. Such a contrast to CV where everyone walked. And we have a car to drive now – so we do much less walking.
3. Most of the roads are paved, especially the busier ones. There are a few cobblestone roads and all the sidewalks are cobblestone. It’s like we are back in CV, though the sidewalks aren’t so broken up and uneven in PT.
4. The building seems to be built the same and have the same cement look, both inside and out. The floors are all tiled. There is the locked entrance door and another key needed to get into your apartment. We have also noticed that all the buildings are finished and painted outside. Very different!
5. We had a lunch at the zone conference catered by a small restaurant nearby. It was some grilled chicken with rice and potato chips and lettuce with a sliced tomato and oil & vinegar for a dressing. Totally Cabo-verdian!! Usually in CV we would have french fries; here in PT they substitute them with potato chips!
6. Our US debit card is working fine and is accepted at all places where we have shopped. CV was totally cash only until you got your bank account and got the debit card that was only used in CV.
7. The grocery stores are regular American sized stores. And there are many choices of sizes and kinds of many things. So, NOT Cape Verde. In some ways it was easier in Cape Verde because you didn’t have to take any time to decide which of one kind of thing you would buy.
8. We met many Cabo-verdian missionaries at the zone conference and enjoyed finding out what island they were from. We have talked on the phone to 2 that we knew well in CV from our island and hope to see them before they leave to go home. There are a good number of Cabo-verdians in our ward. And I can tell by looking at them!
9. In Cape Verde, we seldom went to the zone or district conferences – we usually had appointments to go to and didn’t feel that the meetings were needed. This week we spent one whole day in a zone conference (that we drove about 40 kilometers to) and enjoyed it very much. Rather than the missionaries coming over on a ferry and staying the night, the sisters and elders rode the train and walked to the church and went back that night.
10: **** The second day we were in CV, we went to a missionary district meeting and the culture shock and strange environment and the unintelligible speaking put me over the edge!! The 3rd day we were in Portugal, we had the above mentioned zone conference. This time, it either felt very Cape Verdean or normal European or something much more familiar – in other words, I am not feeling that much culture shock!!
    The morning of the conference, I prayed that I could hear at least one thing that would help me be a better missionary. I was very grateful that I could pretty much follow everything that was said – not that I understood all of it, but sufficient to enjoy the whole meeting with just a few questions to Dennis to verify what was happening. And my brain didn’t get so tired that it quit working after an hour. I am very grateful. Admittedly it was mostly American accented Portuguese, but in CV that was just as hard to understand as anyone else! I take my miracles when I get them!

P.S. We don't have to clorax all fruits and veggies and we drink water out of the tap! Much more convenient.