July 27

Ola Familia.

TUDO BEM??! 

So one of the sisters in our zone got sick this week and ended up in the hospital, so Sister Andrade and I ended up being in a tripla for a few days this week with Sister Mancuso. I think we decided that 3 is better than 2, because while doing contacts we can almost completely surround people so they can't just walk away from us. #winning We had a lot of fun together, but after a few days Sister Mancuso's companion got better and she had to head back to Faro. 

I really can't remember a whole lot that happened this week because it was honestly just a blur, so sorry if this email is chaos.

Friday was a super crazy day for us as well. It seemed like we were either laughing, running, or dying because of one thing or another. All the funny stories of the week seem to have happened on Friday. We had made something for the Roberts this week to officially welcome them to the Mission, and that afternoon we were taking it to their apartment. It was pretty fragile, so Sister Andrade was being careful to hold it so it wouldn't fall apart, but it was super windy that day. Anyways, we were walking down the street and a huge blast of wind came. Both of us were wearing flowy skirts, so of course both of our skirts went flying up. I was trying to hold down my skirt, sister Andrade was trying to protect the Robert's present, I was trying to hold down Sister Andrade's skirt as well.....and well basically we both ended up on the ground dying of laughter because I am sure it was a pretty humorous sight. We eventually recovered and got to the church with their present all in one piece. That same afternoon we had a lesson with Otilia, and during our lesson her "husband" Zeca came into the house. I think Zeca is probably the most hilarious, blunt, and dirty man I have ever met. He is SO crazy!!!!! If he isn't accusing us of being nuns he is accusing us of being lesbian......oh boy. I don't know what goes through that man's brain, but he hilarious nonetheless. Anyways, in the middle of our lesson he came in and we got talking and the next thing we knew he invited us to come eat with them! They have an apartment in one of the ruas that is for the workers in the area to store stuff and it has a little kitchen where he had been making some portuguese food, so we walked to this apartment and ended up having lunch with them and some other people in the neighborhood. I was one of those crazy spontaneous moments that was so good and so priceless, and we ended up getting 3 novos from that one dinner which was awesome!

 We didn't think we were going to have many people in church yesterday, because even though we worked hard, we still didn't have a ton of success with finding people who were actually interested in our message, but we were definitely blessed for our efforts. We ended up having more people in church than we have had in the last 6+ weeks here! It was awesome! People that we hadn't invited just showed up to the church. I have no doubt it was a tender mercy from God. 

This transfer is going to be full of miracles. I know it! Olhao is challenging, but I love everything about it. I know the Lord is preparing the people here.

Amo Voces.

-Sister Selk

A little bit of a crazy photo to capture this crazy moment. Also, I was so disappointed that you can't see Bruno's face in this foto, because he is honestly the cutest boy I have ever met! His eyes melt my heart.

Desculpe Mason.....Tenho um novo namorado :)

Oh also! Sister Andrade and I figured out this week that we could sleep with our heads at the foot of the bed so we would be closer to the fan. #Genius

fotos da primaria

This photo is just too perfect. Including our little friend in the back there.

July 20, 2015: Just like a fubeca!

olá família!

Well, It is official. I will be staying in Olhão for another transfer with Sister Andrade. We are pretty excited about it because we have a lot planned this transfer! It is going to be a good next 6 weeks, and one of the most exciting parts is that after this next 6 weeks summer will be almost over! I don't think I have ever wanted summer to end....until now. 40 degree weather just isn't my thing.

We had lots of news and changes that happened this week.

Starting with divisions! The Sister training leaders from Faro both came to work in Olhão this week. It was a little bit strange because normally one sister goes to Faro and the other sister stays, but they both wanted to come here, so we had a party with 4 girls in the house. I got to work with Sister Cardoso. She is super sweet, and super powerful. The native sisters just know how to tell it like it is, and I always learn a lot from them. 

During our division we went to visit Shana again, and she had a new helper named tina there. We  shared a message with her again, and Tina just absolutely loved it! She just kept saying "Amo ouvir as palavras de Deus." and explained how good she felt when we prayed. She asked if we could bring a book of Mormon for her the next time we come, and obviously we said we would love to.  #golden The only problem is that we think she might be lesbian.....hahaha but hey, nothing that can't be repented of and changed. So we will see where that goes!

Also while we were on divisions we were walking across the train tracks to get to the capela and we saw this lady that was in absolute distress. It was so sad! She was 90 years old and as she was walking across the train tracks her sapato completely fell apart! She had no shoes, it was rocky, and the look on her face was pure desperation. Luckily 2 nice missionary sisters were able to come to her rescue and help her out. We walked her over to a nearby bench and then tried to contact her son for her with no luck. So we just sat on the bench and talked with her for a while. She was in tears because she just felt so helpless, and I felt so bad for this little 90 year old lady! Finally we were able to find a lady who was able to give her a ride to her apartment and all was well! I saw her again yesterday and she had some nice looking new shoes on hahah She thanked me again for helping her, and it was just a tender moment. She is so cute.

On Wednesday Sister Andrade and I totally spaced that we had planned to have lunch with Nuno, Rosalia and their family, so we went home and made a decent lunch only to get a phone call after we had eaten from Nuno saying they were waiting for us. SO BAD. We felt so bad, and had to run over to their house and try to pretend that we hadn't just eaten food right before going there. Oh my goodness family, it was SO much food. I literally said a prayer in the middle of the meal just asking Heavenly Father to keep all the food in my stomach and not on their dinner table. We went back to our house after that to do language study and just about died in a food coma. Eating that much food in this heat is always a bad idea.

We found a new lady this week named Dunda! She is super cool-I know because the night we met her she was wearing the coolest Jesus Dress. It had pictures of Jesus all over it and said "I love Jesus" As soon as I saw her dress and I knew I needed to talk to her, but besides the dress she is actually super nice, and we are hoping to have a lesson with her this week. Sidenote: if anyone can find me a dress like that..... I want one real bad. 

We also ran into a group of guys from germany this week. They had biker vests on and just looked like some super cool cats, so I made Sister Andrade go with me to get a picture with them. Surprisingly Sister Andrade didn't think I was completely crazy and was really excited about the idea, so we went and asked them and they were super hilarious and a good time. 

We got a new casal this week! The Roberts will be taking the place of the Crossmans here in Olhão. I AM SO SAD!!!! The Crossmans are just the most incredible people, and even though I am sure the Roberts will be great.....it just won´t be the same. Uhhh... tears fam. I love the Crossmans. We had our last supper last night with them and the elders before transfer calls. I am going to miss all of Elder Crossman's witty commentary. Like yesterday when we were cooking in the kitchen and he asked us if we knew Miley Cirus, and then proceeded to sing "wrecking ball" (is that what it is called? I don't even remember....) But instead he changed the lyrics to "Just like a Fubeca!" So funny! Wish my explanation of this experience actually did it justice. Basically they are my favorite, and I am so sad that I won't get to spend the last 3 weeks of their mission with them, but fortunately they said they would drive up to Canada for my homecoming, so their is still hope in this world! Muitos obrigados para eles. 

I think that about sums up my week for you. It was great, and fast, and sad, and all the things that a mission usually is. Love you guys! Thanks for everything! Ficam bem. Muitos beijinhos. 

-Sister Selk

Our 90 year old lady friend we helped out this week. So cute, I just had to take a picture

divisions with our lovely Sister training leaders

last supper..... :,(

One of our German friends

I think we take pictures with Nuno and Rosalia about once a week. 

July 13, 2015

Well, I don't have a whole lot to say this week. It was a good week, but not a whole lot new happened. Still just preaching the gospel here in Olhão. 

We finally got to meet Presidente and Sister Tavares this week! They are incredible! We had our zone conference in Faro with them and the moment Presidente Tavares walked into the room I was just filled with the spirit. It was an instant confirmation to me that he is definitely called of God to lead and direct our mission at this time. And the exact same feeling happened again when he was speaking. I was blessed during the conference to be able to understand a lot of what he was saying-despite his thick Brazilian accent! haha My interview with him was a different story....my mind just goes blank when I feel like I am under any sort of pressure with the language, but I think I was able to understand the main ideas of what he told me. The language continues to be a struggle, but tudo bem!

That night after talking with the presidente, I was writing in my journal and I had some revelation just hit me like a brick wall. I have never experienced revelation so clear before. It was incredible. I am not going to say too much more about it in this email, but it was definitely one of the neatest experiences I had this week.

This week we were able to go over to Shana's house. Shana is a lady that a lady in our ward tends. She is 46, paralyzed, and really can't do anything for herself. She has a huge beautiful house, but lives by herself and spends all her time in one room. It is so so sad. She is such a smart lady, but you can tell this trial is anything but easy for her. We were able to help her around the house and read some scriptures with her. It was a humbling experience to say the least. We are going to try to visit her more throughout the week, and I think it will be an incredible opportunity. Hopefully we can bring some hope back into her life.

So our Ramo in Olhão right now is struggling a little bit. It seems like all of the main leaders in the Branch are some of the weakest, so this week we spent a lot of time meeting with the leaders, the branch president and other members of the ward. We are already seeing the benefits of this, which is awesome! After almost 6 weeks without a ward mission leader, our branch presidente finally called one yesterday! #queprogresso! Luis Xavier is a solid member, and seems to be really excited about this call-it is exactly what we need to push the summer drag along! I am super pumped about that.

As for the people we are working with....it is limited, mas ainda bem. Otilia is SOLID! We have to get her married and baptized this week because Sunday is transfers and who knows what President Tavares has planned! I absolutely love Otilia. They are still just waiting for dinheiro, so keep her in your prayers because she is elect and ready for baptism! She comes to church every week now without us calling her or dropping by. I just love a dedicated member. So good.

Isabel is finally back from Porto. We haven't been able to talk to her in person for 3 weeks, but we finally have a compromisso set up with her this week which is awesome! We have been able to have small lessons with her over the phone-we just had one with her yesterday, and I just know she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, which means she has a testimony of this church! Another elect.

On Saturday we had a little random lunch in the capela with the elders and some of our recent converts. It was the most odd group of people but turned out to be really fun! haha We have one lady in the ward who is a recent convert....and a little bit....crazy....she has a strong personality. We will put it that way. Anyways she was doing some work in the church when we got there, so we kind of felt obligated to invite her even though we were a little worried about how it was going to turn out, but like I said it was good! We are trying to get the branch to be more united!

We will see what happens over the next week! I just need to stay one more transfer in Olhão. I don´t want to leave the people here! We have so many amigos. This morning I ran into one of the old men that always asks, "Vais a praia hoje ou não?" every time we see him, and I just about cried thinking about leaving everyone here. 

I love the people, and just can't stop smiling.

Other news: This week is Mason´s one year mark! WHAT IN THE WORLD!!!!!!! CRAZY. You better believe I will be having a little party for myself and for him this week. So make sure you all send some love his way because he definitely deserves it!

Hope you guys have a great week this week! Don't stress. Be happy. Enjoy the simple things.

Amo Vocês! Paz e Bênçãos! 

-Sister Selk

Fotos From July 13th email

I was so incredibly excited to get a foto with this bike...! I saw it my first week in Portugal and thought the 4 saints mounted on the front of the bike was a golden idea. I finally saw it again this week so I had to go knock on this guys door and ask him if I could take a picture. After we gave him our pass along card with our contact, and it was just perfect.

Random little lunch in the capela

Poutine e minha querida valentina!

Visiting Patriarcha e Maria-Clara

This is probably my favorite meal that we have at Rosalia and Nuno´s house. So simple. So good.

Speaking of fish....Fish market in Olhão. The people here just love their fish

Makin poutines, makin bacon poutines!

I hope at least Rawley understands my subject line for this email, because I thought it was pretty clever..... ha.

I have decided that the first week in July is just the week for festas! I feel like we have literally been cooking so much this week, which doesn't make our apartment any less of a sauna, let me tell you. July 1st, July 4th, July 5th...they were all important days.

The beginning of this week was a little hectic because the Crossman's daughter came to visit, so they weren't around to do aula de English and Noite familiar like they usually are. So....I got to teach aula de English this week! Just a warning to any of you thinking about attending an aula de English class taught by Sister Selk.... you probably shouldn't. If you can imagine me in my broken Portuguese/half english trying to explain the principles of English grammar you can probably imagine that it was just one big mess! It was great.

We also were in charge of Noite Familiar this week which fell on Canada day, so of course I thought it was necessary to make Poutines. :) Quick shout out to Canada for being so awesome. We had a super good turnout and tons of the ward members came that usually don't, so it was lots of fun, super stressful (Because Portuguese people aren't very patient when it comes to food), and everyone really liked the poutines I made. #success #Canadianpride

Miracle of the week. Huge Miracle of the week! So we have been working hard to put more emphasis on working with members here in Olhao, and on Wednesday we set up 2 different members to work with us. One in the morning and one in the evening. In the morning we had a lady named conceicao that we had contacted and really wanted to go visit with a member. We had her address, but didn't know where she lived, so we ended up asking around and finding out that she lived pretty far away in the Elder's area. We literally walked around the whole city of Olhao that morning with this sweet member in the blazing heat. Finally we were able to find her house, but of course after all our efforts she wasn't there. I will be completely honest and say I was pretty bummed. I was so determined for this lesson to go well for us. I really can't explain how the timing and direction of everything worked out, other than to say it was an undeniable miracle from God. Fam, it was incredible. We were walking across the LAST street before we were going to say goodbye to the member that we brought, and guess who I saw....CONCEICAO! Oh my goodness! It was so incredible! We passed right by her on the crosswalk and we almost missed seeing her, but at the most perfect moment I looked up and saw her. Uh. MIRACLE! We were able to have a lesson right there on the street with her and our member. I have no doubt in my mind that God directed us right to her. It is unexplainable.

For an update on the challenge with Nuno: He definitely made a lot of progress this week. Still has some progress to make, but it went super well! He went from smoking 3 cigarettes a day to smoking 3 this week! Not eating sugar really was not as hard as I thought it would be as well. I think we have decided to cut out sugar out of our diet completely, except for on P-day haha.

This week we have been working some more with Norma-the Spanish lady in our ward. She is incredible. Seriously an angel. She helps us out with a lot of our lessons, and we also went with her to visit Patriarcha and Maria-Clara (the most perfect elderly Portuguese couple in our branch) It was such a good visit, and Patriarcha reminds me so much of grandpa Johnson. So wise, so kind, so giving, and even has the tiniest waist like grandpa Johnson haha

Saturday we put together an activity for the jovems. We made a bolo, the leaders brought some food and we had a short spiritual message with some games. It was pretty simple, but it ended up being a really good activity as well.

Yesterday was Sister Crossman's birthday! My mom on the mission :) She is incredible, so we made sure to make it extra special for her. We made dinner for her- I made roast chicken, Sister Andrade made some rice, and we made another cake. It was the first time that I made chicken without any sort of directions and it ended up turning out really well! Sister Crossman just loved everything and was so appreciative. I also made a photo book for her which she loved too, so overall it was a success.

I can't believe we are on the final 2 weeks of this transfer! Time is flying! Hope your summers are all going well! Have a great week. Amo Voces!

-Sister Selk

Tears or sweat.....can't tell?

Olá! Tudo Bem Família?!

Before I write about the week, I am going to give myself about 2 minutes to rant about the BLAZING heat. Ready. Set. Go! O my goodness fam! It is a freaking furnace here in Olhão! The +35 degree weather is absolutely destroying my soul! We work all day in the sun, and then come home to our apartment that feels like a sauna! Sleep really doesn't happen because of the heat- now I know why they gave us queen size beds here......white ninjas in starfish position..that's all I am going to say about that. And then in the morning, I wake up and feel like I have been beat up by some gang here in Olhão. Throughout the day I really don't know if its tears streaming down my face or sweat. #soattractive I think the heat is getting to everyone here, because the work here has been a serious struggle. We have not had much success this past week, and have had a difficult time finding anyone who will even stop and talk to us in the street. It is definitely not all rainbows and unicorns at the moment, but at the same time, it is so worth it and I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

Last Monday we went to a beach near Taveira with the Crossman's for our P-day. It was amazing! I have never seen so many seashells in my life! So many Seashells, it was incredible!

Like I said before, this week was a bit of a struggle. I thought a lot about myself as a missionary and the work here. I have to be completely honest and say I was a bit depressed. The heat makes it incredibly hard for me to feel like I am working as hard as I should be, because most of the time I just feel half dead. And the other half of the story is that Portuguese is still a struggle for me. I don't think it comes naturally for me. It is especially difficult when Sister Andrade is amazing with words and can say everything she wants, and I am stuck with a very limited vocabulary. And even though I know that the spirit will still speak to the people I teach despite my horrid Portuguese, it is hard not to think that I would be such a better missionary if I could only speak the language. But don't worry, there is an upside to this story! Before going out to work on this particularly hard day, I just kept having the thought come to my head: "All you need to do when you walk out this door is smile and talk to everyone and you will have an incredible day." This really was the last think I wanted to do, but I did it anyways, and it really was an awesome day! We talked to sooo many people, and the heat had nothing on us because we were on fire! It was incredible, so hopefully we can keep that fogo for the rest of the summer. I absolutely love being a missionary! Every night as I write in my journal I am OVERWHELMED with how blessed I am. I cannot even comprehend it.

Other events of the week:

I attemped to make José Carlos´s chocolate cake this week.....fogo. SO difficult! We have absolutely no kitchen tools so I have to HAND BEAT egg whites until stiff. Never again. It was 20 minutes of pure arm workouts. But in the end it ended up being edible and all the people at aula de englais liked it.

We had zone conference this week. It was way good, and definitely got me pumped up to do some solid missionary work! It was our last time seeing the Fluckiger's which was so sad. They are just incredible, and I respect them a lot. I learn so much every time I am around them.

Otilia came to church yesterday! Whoo! So hopefully everything is on track for her to get baptized by the end of this transfer, but they are still trying to earn money for their wedding. I have faith though!

We still visit Nuno and Rosalia almost everyday. Nuno is still having an extremely difficult time giving up smoking, so yesterday I made a challenge with him. As of tomorrow I am going to give up sugar, and he will give up smoking. It will be a bit of a competition, and I hope that this will help him. I am also hoping it gives me a bit more of an understanding about what it is like to have an addiction and how hard it is to quit, because I know with this hot weather about the only thing I want to eat is gelado, so this is going to be a struggle for me too.

I am super excited to find some new, incredible people here in Olhão. I know without a doubt that there are people here that are prepared. We just have to find them, because like the scriptures say, "they know not where to find it" It is like one big treasure hunt to find the elect, and I just know we are gonna catch em' all!

You guys are the best! Thanks for all your love and support every week. It really means the world to me! Hope you all have an incredible week. Amo Vocês! Ficam Bem.

-Sister Selk

Endless seashells...:)

Classic nametag in the sand #original

Sister Fluckiger!  Isn't she the cutest?  And not to mention the shoes...perfection!

BOM DIA ALEGRIA!!! June15

Familia!!!!

First off I want to say a big ol fat congratulations to Rawley and Lindsay!! They are getting married this weekend! LOUCO!!! I am so excited for them and can't wait to see pictures of the model couple on their wedding day. Man I just love you guys so much! I am going to have to work extra hard this week so I don't have any time to think about the fact that I won't be there!

I wish I could say I was fluent in Portuguese already with Sister Andrade, but.....unfortunately, I think native companions just make you realize how awful you are at Portuguese. It is a struggle, but it can only get better right? I would be lying if I said there wasn't once this week that I was crying in the street because all I wanted to do was have a fluent conversation with the person that I am with 24/7. It is not easy, but it has been really great at the same time. I am learning MUITAS COISAS! It is nice having a walking, talking Portuguese dictionary/expert right at your side to ask questions to! Sister Andrade is from Cabo Verde and is tão fixe! She has the coolest conversion story and a huge testimony of this gospel. I feel extremely blessed to be serving with her. 

This week had its ups and downs, but for the most part it was awesome! We had zone conference at the beginning of the week and guess who is in my zone......SISTER DOMAN! My soul mate! I think I shed a few tears when I saw her face. I thought all the sisters in my district would be up north, but it turns out Sister Doman and I are in the South and Sister Parkinson and Sister Barrett are in the north. #BOO! But at least I got one of my lovely sisters!

We had a super fun Jovem activity this week. We played soccer and some of the jovems from Faro even came so we had a good turn out! I was one of the only girls to play and all the Jovems were super nice about how bad I suck at soccer. haha They were telling me that I "joga bem" but I know the real truth! They are all super good at soccer, but it was still so fun.

This afternoon we are heading to Lisbon to do residency for Sister Andrade, so I have even less time to email. Desculpa, this email is going to have to be a little short! But nonetheless, I love you all! Have a blast at the wedding. I will be praying that everything goes perfectly! Ate Proxima Semana! Amo Vocês!

-Sister Selk

SIS ANDRADE!!

Our Zone

My soulmate! Sis. Doman!


FUTBOL!

Trying, not succeeding!

Guess who got the cutest, nicest, most fantastic package from Mason? ME!