Hey Mom!

Sorry, this will probably be short (I say that every time), but we're going to some hot springs with the Pinto family! Yes, you need to take Sister Pinto to lunch (if she survives, she's going back to SLC early because she is way sick!), you'll love her, she's awesome and her family has done a lot for S. Davis and I! Did I tell you that Irmã Pinto bought me new shoes? She's awesome. I wore a hole all the way thru my other ones haha. Zone Conference was really good. We had some sisters stay with us, which was fun and we also had the Sister Training Leaders with us this week also! It was a little crazy because we didn't have electricity for a while (we had to pay 70 euros to get it turned back on! Turns out no one has been paying the electricity bills at all!) and we were supposed to have the gas turned off but we walked the few miles to pay (it was only for 3 euros! A tad silly). But Conference was great. I learned a lot about how to teach with more focus on the LdM as not just a test that JS was a prophet, but that it's a guide for our lives also. President and the assistants LOVED the chapel tours that we've been doing (they got to hang out and watch for a while) and all the ideas of our elders. It was a good day for the conference though because it rained ALL day!

Thanks for reminding me of the birthdays, I was gonna say that I need you to send me a list because I can't remember them all! I remembered almost all of the ones you told me though, so not to bad:). Tell them all Happy Birthday for me! I didn't get the package yet, maybe today? The yellow envelopes take longer to get here than regular letters, so it will be a little longer probably. I've just given up on my ears. It sounds like you all had a great week with lots of fun stuff! That's sad that school has started, but it'll be good, time to start learning again right?!:)

Well, this week was good. We found Sister Davis an outfit to come home in on Monday (she's gonna be adorable, too bad she's getting home at midnight!). Tuesday we had our weekly activity, which was good, and a few more people than normal came. We also had Ward missionary training which was good. I think that they're gonna learn a lot and Irmã Lucia is really excited about the new training, she just kept giving me hugs! We were supposed to be teaching José at the same time, so instead he came and he helped by being the member present during our practice lessons. He did great. He was also funny because he and Irmão Moises (who baptized him), said that when they got in the water in the font, it was cold for a second, but then it was warm, and they were both totally serious:). Awesome. We also taught a lot of firm lessons this week. We didn't hit the mission standard (we did last week on everything and we got mentioned in the weekly email from the presidente! We felt famous! It's the first time that S. Davis has been in it, and it won't be my last!), but we feel like they were really good. We have a new investigator, his name is João (Pois) and he is old and has like 3 teeth (welcome to Portugal) and smokes a ton. He lives in a little shack in a public park because he's the gardener. Whenever we teach him, he always gives us stuff. The first time, he gave us a plant, the second he gave us tons of potatoes and cabbage! It's a good thing that we walked down Hill to take them back to the apartment, because they were way heavy. He's super sweet, and he came to church and he loved it! He told us a funny joke this week, like this: Quem foi o único que andou com Cristo que não subiu ao céu com Ele?---- O Burro! Hehehe. That's funny because andar means two things. I didn't get it until later because truthfully I can't understand a word that João says. Toothless people are harder to understand haha. Divisions with the Sister Training Leaders were good also. I went with Sister Prieto from Brazil, and wow, she contacts way way suave. She definitely has no fear! S. Davis says it's a Brazilian thing:). I want to contact like that! I hope that my next companion is Brazilian and can teach me that! Plus it'd be good to be forced to speak Portuguese all of the time. I try, but sometimes I don't do so well. My Portuguese has definitely gotten better this week. I finally figured out a secret. It's that if you actually open your mouth and speak whatever comes out, no matter how bad the gramar or no matter how little sense it makes, it's better than just standing there and saying nothing and feeling guilty later! Too bad it took me so long to figure that out!

This week is gonna be a little sad with S. Davis leaving. Turns out I have seperation anxiety haha. I don't want my mission mãe to die! It's so sad! But I'll probably get to go with her to Lisboa this next P-day, so I don't know if I'll get to email. I hope that I never have to kill another companion! It's awful, though I think it's making me more trunky than it's making her haha.

Well, got to go!

Love always,

Sister Wach