Gaia 7/3/17

Gaia, at night, from the top
of our apartment building

Aloha Família!

This week has been complicated, haha. 

My companion was sick and we had to stay home a lot of times for him to recover and stuff. I had the opportunity to give him a blessing, clean the area book, clean house, and give service. He’s feeling better though, so we’ll do even better this week!

We taught this Muslim family, and because of me cleaning the house, we were able to give them a pamphlet they could understand in Arabic!

Elder Adams,  Carlos Peixoto,
and Elder Andrade
Elder Kim "found" him several
times, each time encouraging
him to be baptized, which he
was finally able to do!

I went to Mirandela to do a baptismal interview. Was super far! But really so beautiful!

Carlos Peixoto got baptized! I wasn’t able to make to his baptism, because of Elder Karthigeyan’s health, and our lack of an investigator, but I was able to talk to him on Sunday, and really he is a changed man! The gospel is true!

My trainer, Elder Meza, along with Elder Gabbitas and Elder Jonhson, and the sister missionaries that came in with me all died (slang for going home)....I’m kinda sad....but I’m sooo grateful for the good examples they left for me. Good people, good missionaries. I salute them, and wish them the best in real life (slang for “irl” for all you net savy individuals).

Oh by the way, me and Elder Karthigeyan are staying together one more here in Gaia 1A! Elder Dias (missionary trained by Elder Kim, his “son”) baptized last Saturday and will be staying in Covilhã! Elder Nunes (another “son”) is going to Matosinhos, taking Elder Bortolo’s spot there, and Elder Bortolo (former companion) is going back to Coimbra! It’s all too crazy!!

(l to r) Elder Meza, Elder Kim, Elder Gabbitas
Love These Guys!!! They are headed home after serving honorable missions.
All lived in the same house when Elder Kim started his mission in Aveiro.

Family, I love you guys! Seta get better! Jonah, nice haircut! Sam, camp looked fun! Be Sam Gibson’s friend! Bring him to church! Brandon, U da man! Also shoutout to Elder Ishibashi (ʻIo)! Thank you for your great example as well! Keep up the great work everyone! I know that God lives and loves us and is actively involved in our eternal progression. The gospel is still true!

com amor,

Elder Kim

The river in Mirandela
They have jet ski races here
every summer!

In the Elderʻs place in Mirandela,
hangs this sign. Every Elder who has
served in this area has signed it, for the last
5 years. A famous legend in the
Porto Mission, everyone wants to be assigned
to this area just so they can sign it. 

From Gaia to Mirandela is a 3 hour bus ride, but very scenic.

Lots of time, so I made a new
cover for my planner!
#BurningItUp

Gaia 6/25/17

Aloha Família!

It was suuper hot so Élder Karthigeyan and I were joking

 that we'd start proselyting like this, or in shorts, haha. 

Irmão Carlos Braga took the pict for us.

We were blessed this week and it cooled off small kine.

We "re-found" Carlos Peixoto on the street! He was the guy we marked for baptism, but then had to pass to the other elders. He had stopped progressing, and had given everything back. He didn't wanna hear anything more, but we were able to get him to take back the Book of Mormon, get him marked for baptism, and re-made the plans for his baptism! Was super cool cuz we hadn't planned to be in that part of town, but after a suggestion from the sisters about passing a refferal they had given us, we felt good about it. We went and he was there! Soo grateful for the opportunities we have to serve as tools in God's hands.

We were able to do service for this young couple of our ward. We helped them move! Sadly, I didn't take pics....

The Stake Presidente's daughter with her plastic
hammer. Some of the kids in the background
also have hammers.

 So, this past week we had our Festa de São João Festa for the ward! Festa de São João is a catholic holiday that celebrates Saint John the Baptist, but really, it's just an excuse for people to get together and party haha. Grilled sardines and broa, a type of bread, are traditional foods for this holiday. Also, everyone walks around with plastic hammers and hits each other. I don't know why, but they do, haha. Was fun.

Other than that, we are still working hard, opening our mouths and talking to everyone! We have some investigators that are showing promise, and we will continue to do our best to help them gain the blessings of heaven. I love you family! Have a great week!

com amor,

Élder Kim

This is behind our chapel. This past Friday was a catholic holiday called Festa de São João. It was pretty fun to be able to eat good food, help our investigators get to know people, and have a good time. 

Wikipedia explains: "The festivities have been held in the city for more than six centuries, yet it was during the 19th century that Saint John's day became impregnated in the city's culture and assumed the status of the city's most important festival. An interesting tradition among the people of Porto during the 'Festa de São João', with roots in pagan courtship rituals, is to hit each other either with garlic flowers or soft plastic hammers."

Here is a picture taken in Porto. We go to porto, right across the river, to do email. This is of the Praça de Aliados, or Square of Aliados. There are tons of tourists and stuff. Élder Karthigeyan and I went and ate kebabs. Was mean! I love the kebabs! (Sorry no picture of that. I ate it too fast, kkkk.)

 Here is a view of the of the rain coming in one morning. It can be raining one minute, then sunny the next, as you can see the light reflecting off the buildings.

This is a family we found and taught the last two weeks. Right to left: The dad is José, the mom is Ana, the daughter is Maria, and the son is Bernardo. They are a part of a hard core sect of the Catholic church, like a church within the church (not sure how it works, it doesn't really make sense to me). They are really committed, however, to God and serving Him. They accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, and we're excited for them. I know that if their faith is in God, as it should be, and not in their church, they will receive an answer of the truthfulness of these things.

Élder Karthigeyan took this pict to show the similiarity between my hair and the dying weeds on the side of the path as we were taking the "mountain pass" to get from a reference in the sister's area, to a potential investigator in another area, where we would "re-find" Carlos Peixoto. 

Here is a pict of our mission training we had this past week via a Skype-like application called Zoom. It was pretty cool. Sad thing was, even tho' we could see and hear everyone, we could not be heard or seen bcuz we neva have camera or mic. My companion and I are the one black square. Lame... someone took the camera we had, so yeah, small kine sad, but it was still a good training.