Torres Vedras

When we arrived in Portugal, we were given the assignment to support 4 units of the Church -- the Alverca Ward, the Vila Franca da Xira branch, the Torres Vedras Branch and the Mafra Group. We have already described Alverca. Today's area is Torres Vedras.

Torres Vedras is about 40 kilometers away from Alverca, where we lived. We would try to work with the missionaries monthly and attend their church meetings once every 2 months. It seems like a little  -- and it is -- but we enjoyed the time serving with the missionary sisters and meeting new people. This branch was quite small -- about 20 people attended each week. So, we could get to know them faster!

Sorry, we don't have a picture of the church front. It is the bottom floor of a building along the street. You wouldn't know it is a church except for the Church's placard in the front window.

But the most important part of the branch are the people!!


We are eating lunch in the kitchen/classroom. The 2 sister missionaries are on the left. Next is a young woman getting her mission papers in and finally, the branch president who finally was able to come in and have something to eat.

He is actually from a neighboring ward. Torres Vedras is too small to provide all their own priesthood leaders.

Members, leaders, visitors and missionaries make up this group after church.

The visiting team!! Standing next to me is the branch president's wife (she is included in the call to serve in the branch!). The six of us are going to squish into her car to do some visits. The branch is quite spread out. We drove for about 15 minutes or more to get to the first house.

It was beautiful rural countryside and it was fun to talk to the branch president's wife and to see how it feels to drive with a Portuguese driver. She was a good driver!!


Every town in Portugal has it castle or some interesting place to visit and Torres Vedras is no exception. We could look out the sister missionaries kitchen window and see the old fort high on the hill. So, it was always beckoning us to come and visit. So, one day we went to Torres Vedras early to explore the fort before going with the sisters.

We didn't get a distant shot of the towers -- so thanks to 

http://allworldtowns.com/data_images/countries/torres-vedras/torres-vedras-06.jpg

First, our history lesson:

The fort at Torres Vedras had been in existence for many hundreds of years with parts dating back to the Roman times. It's current claim to fame is being a major fort on the Lines of Torres Vedras.

The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, constructed by Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet, and his Portuguese workers between November 1809 and September 1810, and used to stop Masséna's 1810 offensive. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lines_of_Torres_Vedras)

Despite their name, the Lines of Torres Vedras were actually made up of a series of separate fortifications, carefully placed to provide each other with covering fire. These forts varied in size from the massive fort at Torres Vedras, designed to hold 5,000 men, down to small gun emplacements designed to mount three guns and 200 men. (http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/lines_of_torres_vedras.html)

It was interesting to learn that they even altered the landscape, removing dirt to expose rock cliffs, cleared out brush, took out houses, everything that the French could hide behind. When the French arrived, they didn't even try to fight. It was obvious they would lose too many men trying to get through the lines.

Every fort has it's entrance. And evidence that it is old is the worn down designs.

The first building you come to is the church. It is a functioning church for the Greek Orthodox church. We were surprised to find that church in this very Roman Catholic country.

Here is a map of what used to be there. Included is the shadow of the photographer!!

 Here is a view of the city from the parapets of the castle. You can see a loooong way!!

 

Missionary work never ends!! (Thank goodness)

Sister Broderick got a call from a sick missionary. I try to always have my phone with me. You never know when you will get a call. Fortunately, thus far, the only "out of hours" call was 5:30 one morning when the smoke alarm in the sister's apartment in Angra went off. They were worried they might get asphyxiated! "Just open the windows and get some more sleep. All will be fine!!" 



The inside of the walls. The castle that was within the walls is pretty much crumbled to pieces.
You can see Sister Broderick gingerly attempting the stairs. They were very narrow with no handrail. Doesn't do well for a person who gets dizzy with heights (even 10 feet heights when there isn't much wiggle room!)

There was a museum in one of the towers with some interesting artifacts.

To the left are large, catapult stones. I sure wouldn't want one of those coming at me!!

Walking around the hill with fort on top.

Parts of the fort are from ancient  times! To the left are cisterns built by the Romans.

We enjoyed our exploration of the torres. And it was time to get back into town and meet the sister missionaries for our visits. We walked back down to the entrance....








and down the road passing several quaint old  houses like the one below.

We picked up the missionaries and we were off to visit some families!!

Young missionaries are the best. They shine with light and love the people so much!!

A wonderful and happy family. The wife and 2 children are ready to be baptized once they get the correct papers from Brazil so they can get married.