Happy Dios de Bruxes!

Olá!!! Happy Halloween!!

Crazy that it is already Halloween!! Also crazy that 2 years ago today I got back surgery to fix my broken back! Now here I am 2 years later in a foreign country walking A LOT everyday. Miracles are so COOL!!!!

But this week was CRAZY! Basically a week of autocarros and traveling haha

On Monday after my colega left me (sounds a tad dramatic but its true) I stayed with the sisters in Benfica (Lisboa) for the night and went and taught with them. IT was pouring like CRAZY but it was also really cool to see how other people teach and I feel like I learned so much. And the people we taught were so nice I already love them and I don’t even know them! 

Then on Tuesday we went to Seite Rios to find my new companion. Her name is SIter Conrad and she is SO CUTE and SO COOL! I already love her and she is a great teather. She is from Utah and has almost 1 year here. She is the exact same age as Mackenzie with the same birthday and everything!  I am learning a lot.   She is such a powerful teacher and a great missionary and I am learning so much from her. This transfer will be so good. We are also a lot alike in a lot of ways, like apparently neither of us know how to make rice, and us grocery shopping together is a little pathetic also HAHAHA pray for us please! 

Navigating Mafra is really really hard but we have a map and so I study that a lot. We had a lot of traveling this week so we didn’t have too much time in Mafra so this week we will definitely work hard here!! 

Then on Wednesday we had to return to Lisboa for Counsel de Missão because Sister Conrad is a STL. It was really cool and I feel like I learned a lot but also felt really out of place because I don’t know anything about being a missionary haha

Then on Friday we went to Cascais, sister Conrad’s old area, because she had a baptism. It was really special to watch the baptism and see how happy he was. But we had to take 2 busses to get there and one was like an hour long and the road was SO WINDY- like Ortega and the bus was just flying around these turns. I was pretty close to losing my lunch, and my dignity, but it all turned out okay. 

Then yesterday we went to Mem Martins for the primary program. The spirit there was so sweet and their ward is HUGE! I am so used to our 7-10 people every week so I was so blown away when they had like 70 people it was crazy!! Then after we ate at Enivaldos and Andreas house. Love them so much and their food is always SO good!! 

But yea this week we did a lot of traveling- and also a lot of prayers. Trying to lead an area when I only have 6 weeks of experience in Mafra, and Portugal in general is REALLY difficult. But Sister Conrad is awesome and I am so excited for this transfer!! We already have "Soarin flyin" from high School Musical as our ringtone and we listen to Musica de Natal every morning so of course we get along really great. I do exercises everyday but a lot is just stretching or jumping jacks or yoga poses because really early in the morning, haha

Also I have started to dream in Portuguese recently and sometimes I can speak without thinking before hand its so crazy!! But I still have a ton I need to learn but its cool to see my progress every once in awhile. 

Have a great week and an awesome Halloween!!! (kind of jealous because they don’t celebrate here) . We saw a few people in costumes today but its not really a thing like America and they don’t have trick or treating. Kind of sad. But its fine its not like we could celebrate it anyway haha 

SIster Jonesy 

Sister Santos and Sister Jones

European Chocolate is a major weakness!

Sister Conrad and Sister Jones with Halloween decorations from Grandpa and Grandma Wright

Zone Conference 2016

Everyone needs to talk like sloths here and my life would be so much easier!

Ola’ friends and family!!

Wow this week was awesome! Not gonna lie it had some real lows but also had some real highs at the same time so it is all good over here in Portugal!!!

We had transfer calls last night and I am getting a new companion!! Sister Santos is going to the Azores so I am staying in Mafra and my new colega is SIster Conrad. She is an American but we won’t speak English ever hahahha I hope. I am staying with the Lisbon sisters tonight and then get my new comp tomorrow.  I am so scared to lead Mafra because while I know my way around I don’t know streets so when people tell me where they live I have so idea. We are definitely going to have to be using a map. 

Last Monday for P day we had Pday for our zone and we watched Zootopia and I literally only understood the sloths it was so funny. Everyone needs to talk like sloths here and my life would be so much easier. But an elder that has like 9 months on his mission said he didn’t understand much either so its all good hahaha I felt a lot better!

THIS WEEK I SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH SHEEP! We were in an area we had never been in before and we were having like no success and I saw sheep and I was like wait we have to go over there. So I went over there and at the top of my lungs I was like "BAAAHHHHH" And they all looked up and then came running in my direction. Luckily there was a fence so I was safe hahaha and then we talked for like a solid 5 minutes and they were the most receptive thing people we talked to all day. I don’t think we will baptize any of them, but it lifted our spirits and helped us keep going that day. I also learned that I can speak 3 languages (English, Portuguese (kinda), and sheep).

We had 2 investigators in church yesterday and one is marked for baptisms so this transfer will bring MILAGRES I know it!!!!!! 

Okay I am sorry but because of transfers we are in Lisboa agora so I don’t have anytime or any pictures this week but I have so much I want to share so next week for sure!!!! 

Love you guys and love this country and love this Gospel and love working hard!!!

Introducing the newest BYU Cougar!!

Madalyn spent the past year at BYU Idaho and had the best college experience! She loved her time there...the people, the scenery, the campus, the teachers and all the opportunities that the Idaho campus offers!  It truly is an consecrated University.  However she had this feeling that post mission she was suppose to be in Provo.  So she went on a limb and applied for BYU Provo campus and turned in all her paperwork and essays the week before she left on her mission.  We got notice on Friday night (actually I checked it on Saturday morning) that she was accepted into BYU Provo!  When I opened the admissions decision it took my breath away.  As a mom I had mixed emotions....I also LOVE BYUI, but I know that Madalyn felt she needed to be in Provo.  She does not know why, but she is following the prompting and will attend BYU Provo after her mission.

I emailed her acceptance letter to her and she opened it today.  Here is her response:

"I cannot believe I have been admitted to BYU! I am wearing a BYU sweatshirt right now so its perfect!!!! ahhhh okay dont really know how I feel because I LOVE REXBURG! But I think Provo is the right place for sure. "

She also has the same mixed emotions!  As a mom I am proud of her obedience to follow her feelings.  This will stretch her socially and educationally, but I know that this is where she is suppose to be and am happy for her!  Now to figure the whole Provo housing/classes thing out!  Maybe I will finally go to a football game in Lavell Stadium with my cougar daughter!
 

UM MEZ EM MAFRA!!!

Ola Família e Amigos!!!~

 This week I realized I have been in Portugal for ONE MONTH!!! Time literally flew by so fast it’s so crazy!! It’s the last week on our transfer this week, which is just so crazy to me!!!

This week we had zone conference on Tuesday and it was SOOOO fun!! We combined with another zone so there where 3 people from my district from the MTC there! It was so fun to so them and we already know so much more Portuguese! They were so blown away that I never speak any English. The elders live together and one of their companions speaks English so they always speak English and I was like wait no we NEVER speak English. But it’s good. I am so glad I have a Brazilian collega because I am learning so quickly!!! 

But it was really weird speaking English with a few people during conference because I was like “no we have to speak Portuguese”!!!!! Its one of our mission rules to never speak English even if we can and I know I will learn so much quicker if we are obedient!! 

Then after conferencia we had divisions in Mem Martins!! We had to travel for like 3 hours to get to Mem Martins from zone conference so we wouldn’t really do much Tuesday night but Wednesday it was me and Sister Carr. Sister Carr arrived 6 weeks before me so it was 2 "trainees" together. It actually boosted my confidence a bunch because when I don’t have anyone to rely on I can speak a lot more than I think I can. So it was so good and it was also pouring rain so I think people took pity on us and talked to us. hahaha

At Zone conference I learned that Mafra is the only area in the whole mission that hasn’t had a baptism for a whole year. It is also the smallest group (or branch) in the mission. I would compare Mafra to Ladera in size and we cover a huge area but it’s really far from the church so we don’t really have any investigators there.  We visit people but they aren’t progressing so its really frustrating.  Also we haven’t had any new investigators in 2 weeks and don’t have many people to teach.  The mission president was like "You are really getting a European mission experience in Mafra" and I didn’t realize what he meant until I was in Mem Martins. People there are SO much more receptive its CRAZY I was like wow they will actually talk to us??? Haha I love Mafra SO much but I am glad not every area is like Mafra. But we still try hard every day to find new people to teach!!!! 

My companion has already been here for 3 transfers so she is pretty sick of the area and doesn’t really feel motivated to work. Its really hard trying to work hard when she is always making excuses for why we can’t do things. Its hard also because I don’t really know how to find new people to teach because I don’t have any experience really and don’t know how it works here. I don’t really know what to do about it but I just want people to teach!!!! It’s the last week of the transfer and she thinks she is going to get transferred but I think she will stay. It’s really rare to transfer in the middle of training. While I don’t want to lead, I want someone excited about our area and ready to work too so I don’t really know what will happen. 

Our monthly allowance is 180 a month (so like 200 US dollars) for food and the 70 or 80 for transportation. I don’t remember exactly. We normally end us spending a little more for transport but last month it was fine. I think this month it will last all month too. But it really just depends on the area. Transport is really expensive here but we have enough for most of our things. We don’t really eat out that much. Just at bakeries so it’s pretty cheap. 

To answer my mom: yes I still say “like” hahaha but also “tipo” is how you say “like” in Portuguese so I just use both now hahaha!

Yesterday we went to Seixal (another city in our area) and it was rainy but it was so pretty there! It’s like tropical and SO green! Like Hawaii but not as nice and it wasn’t warm either. But we literally had to hike to get to places in dirt roads in church shoes it was so funny. Also any sister who is going to be serving a walking mission PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy Cole Hahn Oxfords with the Nike bottoms. They are literally saving my life! I love them SOOO much they make walking on cobble stone streets all day enjoyable!! (This is not a sponsored email) But it was SO pretty and so different from Mafra ahh I love Portugal!!!!

Also Huge shout out to the Sheppard for dropping off a package at the mission home! Literally love the American candy and can’t wait to make those brownies!! Means so so much!! 

Also shout out to my grandparents for all the Halloween decorations! We are going to have a FESTA!!!! Hahaha

Love Mackenzie’s hair so much it looks so good!! I want to chop mine so bad because its at such an awkward length right now and with the foggy mornings and nights it always looks so not done. hahah but  tudo bem short hair is a lot more work!! 

Okay sorry this week was actually not that exciting!!! But we are in Mem Martins agora for P day de zona!!!! Going to be SO FUN!!!

Okay love all of you so much!

Zone Conference October 2016

We Got Locked In Our Own Apartment!!

Oi!!! 

This week was a CRAZY one!! Literally so many weird things happen  to me. People always stop me on the street and say the weirdest things because I’m American and I am always like "Desculpe não percebo"and then Sister Santos grabs me and explains what they said as we walk away. Most of it is all about politics and Donald Trump HAHAHA. Makes for great stories afterwards. 

Okay so this week we got locked INSIDE our own apartment WITH the keys. Before we went to bed Sis Santos locked the door from the inside (not really necessary because its locks automatically but we do it sometimes anyways) and then in the morning we had appointments so we go to leave and the door wont unlock. Like the key would not turn to unlock. We sat there for 30 minutes trying everything we could think of and nothing worked. We finally called our investigator and were like "sorry something came up and we can’t make it" but in reality we were just sitting in our apartment. We had no idea what to do because we are like an hour away from other missionaries or our branch leaders so finally we called a member from the ward, threw him the keys out of our window, and he unlocked it from the outside. So yes we are never locking the door again before we go to sleep HAHAHA so lame

Then the next day we were walking the street at night and this drunk guy stops us and starts reading my face and said he was analyzing me eyes. He was saying all these things that I didn’t understand at all and it was just really weird. I was trying so hard to not laugh because it was just really really weird but he was because serious about the whole thing. Then he started touching my face and I looked at my comp with a face of complete horror and she was like okay time to go FINALLY. SO weird.

THEN the next day we ran into one of SIster Santos old investigators and Sister Santos introduced me and he looks and me and asked if I was PREGNANT!!!!! I clearly need to stop eating all the Portuguese Pastries and bread because that’s BAD

Yesterday at church João Pedro AND Isabel came to church!!! João is the investigator from last week that is marked for baptism at the end of this month. He is awesome and stayed for all 3 hours and then lunch afterward!! Isabel is a menos activos that I love so much! She is awesome and there is a lot more work that needs to be done to get her reactivated but 2 Sundays at church in 1 month is awesome!!!

The language is still hard and one lessons I will feel like I understand a lot and be able to respond, and then the next lesson I will be so lost and have no idea what anyone is saying. But my progress from my first day in the field is so much and I know so much more Portuguese than I did just 3 weeks ago. I am nowhere near good but I learn more and more everyday. Onward and Upward.

Every week I get a little better but it just seems SO SLOW. Like I have no idea how I am supposed to be fluent one day because I feel like it will take YEARS! The pronunciation is really hard but its getting better. Its funny though because I have a little bit of a Brazilian accent because of my companion hahahaha but tudo bem 

Today for P-day we went to the huge castle that’s in Mafra!! It was so pretty!! We walk past it everyday but it was fun to go inside and see what’s inside. We also went to McDonalds and I literally enjoyed it so much. It was so lame but I would not stop talking about how good my burger is hahaha. It tasted like home and idk so good. I am so lame.

We make most of the meals and have like 1 meal a week with a family if we are lucky but its not normally planned. It’s like spur of the moment they will be like oh hey stay and eat with us. So we normally make a big lunch so we don’t have to stop working and eat dinner also and then just eat stuff when we get home at 9:30. 

Wow ahh so excited to get the package!! We have a zone conference tomorrow so I may get it tomorrow!! Wow so nice of the Sheppard’s!!! 

Thank you for all of the recipes!!  Also if you send another package I’d love random foods like granola bars and stuff. They don’t have much here. And yes seasonings would be awesome!!! Um also any cardigans I have in my closet. Like the brown one that’s long would be so nice. It is literally so cold here at night I am dying!!!!!!! And the clothes here that are cheap are really not cute.  I want to buy a pair of boots also but they’re kind of expensive here. Like 50 euros. How much can I spend?? I still have to try them on and make sure they’re comfy but I don’t want to spend too much. 

Yep that’s my week! It was hard when it came to lessons this week and a lot of them fell through which led to a lot of finding. Last night we rang like 50 apartments and only gave out 3 pass along cards which was a bummer. But its good practice for me so I should be grateful for it!!!

Have a great week, make good choices, and always choose the right!!!

Sister Jones  

This room is really funny because Sister Santos was disgusted at the thought of these in someone’s house and I was just laughing about it hahahaha!