Recent Baptisms

Baptisms are always a weekly highlight for our missionaries.  We had Sebastiao, Rute, Hugo, Liliana, Johnny and Elena all accept the invitation to be baptized!

Life on Madeira

Trainings, zone conference, caroling, Christmas dinner and gift exchange, all kept us busy this December on the island.

Irma Christmas Get-Together

We had our first annual Irma get-togther this year.  We decorated the mission home, ate great Mexican food, sang Christmas carols, and exchanged gifts.  It was good to be together since we are few in the mission!

December Departures

December was a busy month for us with 5 missionaries all leaving over a span of 3 weeks.  We'll miss them, but they left us with their fine examples of success as great missionaries!

December Arrivals

Five new missionaries arrived from the Provo MTC.  They are all very well prepared, and we're glad to have them in the Porto Mission!

More training!

We continue to conduct trainings in all of our zones so that we can be better prepared to teach.

Transfers

With each transfer, we have several missionaries that go to Madeira.  Elders Wood, Fairbanks,  and Ellsworth got their turn at the December transfer.

Jovens in Coimbra

Elder and Sister Reina came from Spain to train us on how to get the JSA Centers up and running.  With the McConkies here, our centers are going to see great strides and growth in 2011!

The McConkies Begin the Organization of Our Young Adult Centers!

Now that Casal McConkie have arrived, there is a lot being done to get the Young Single Adult centers up and running.  This is an exciting step in our mission because Elder Perry promised us that the strength and future of the church in Europe will come from this age group.

Always Training!!

With 7 more months to go in this new training, there will a lot of posts with pictures of our many worthwhile trainings in all of our zones.  Elder McConkie was a nice addition when we discussed and practiced "Revelation through the Book of Mormon."  He definitely inspired us to get to know and study this great converter to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Holiday Happenings

Now that the holidays are upon us, there is the smell of roasted chestnuts in the air.  The Portuguese love chestnuts roasting on an open fire (to quote a famous Christmas song)!

Thanksgiving in Porto

Another great Thanksgiving in Porto.  Each zone got together for a turkey bowl football game and then a turkey dinner.  It was fun, delicious, and then we turned back into missionaries and went to work!

Another Madeira Adventure

There's always something fun going on when President and Sister Walton visit Madeira.  This month we hiked down to 25 Fontes.  Madeira has such varied terrain, but it is always very beautiful!

Missionary Life

It was a joy to have Elder Lucas Charon return to Porto.  He promised Paulo that he would come back for his baptism, and he did!

More Training!

One thing you can be sure of, every month in the Porto Mission there will be some kind of training going on.  This training is helping our missionaries become really good teachers of the gospel!

More Baptisms!

The missionaries have been busy again all over our mission.  They find the elect, teach them and then they have the joy of seeing them baptized into the Church!

Vila Real is Growing!

With lots of good missionary work and a great Branch President, the Vila Real Branch is growing and progressing.  This past weekend they officially became part of the Porto Stake.  They are no longer a mission branch, and now have the support and affiliation with many wonderful members in their new stake.

The Busy Fun Life of a Missionary

Our missionaries are always on the go, but sometimes take time out to enjoy this beautiful country and each other.

The Joy of Baptisms

With hard work and lots of faith to convert and baptize, our missionaries are seeing miracles in the lives of the Portuguese people every day. 

End of September and October Arrivals

We seem to be getting the best missionaries from the MTC in Spain and the MTC in Provo.  They come very well prepared and ready to work hard! From Madrid we received Irma's Dias and Dos Santos along with Elder Franco.  Later the same day Elder Silva arrived from Provo.  Then our new couple, the Wilsons arrived.  Finally we met Elders King and Phillips from Provo.  We are so blessed!

Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Paya

Elder and Sister Paya brought a lot of wisdom and experience to our mission.  We are so grateful to them for taking the time to be with us and teach us to be better missionaries and representatives of the Savior.

A Temple in Portugal!!

We love watching General Conference, but we were so happy when a temple in Portugal was announced by President Monson!

Teaching More Effectively

With new Preach My Gospel training in how to be more effective teachers, our missionaries are explaining, practicing, evaluating, and then repracticing so we can be the best teachers we know how to be for our investigators!

The Joy of Being a Missionary!

Missionary life is hard, awesome, tiring, and fun all at the same time.  We are so grateful for the wonderful missionaries here in the Porto Mission!!

A New Training Focused on Becoming Better Teachers!

We've been needing to focus more on our teaching, and we just received an outline for the next year to teach, practice, evaluate, and repractice our teaching skills.  It is awesome and the missionaries are already seeing better lessons and more success because of their recently practiced skills!

A New JSA Centro in Braga!

With the prophecy of Elder Perry that the growth of the church in Europe will come from the young single adults, Braga recently opened a center at their chapel.  We now have 3 groups - one in Braga, one in Porto, and another to be up and running in Coimbra.  In November we will receive the McConkies, who will devote most of their time to helping our JSA centros, and we will see even more success with our JSA's.

More Baptisms!

We are starting to see miracles and more baptisms in our mission as we focus with eyes of faith to find the people the Lord has prepared for us to teach and baptize.  Elenice was found while Elders were knocking doors!

Final September Departures

Elder Zayas and Irma Draper both had their mothers come to visit and take them back home.  They had a good time showing their mothers where they had served and how beautiful Portugal is.

Four Departures in September

Three seasoned Elders made their way home in September.  Our only Irma to leave was on Madeira with her mother when the others came for the farewell dinner at the mission home, so we'll feature her next posting.  So long to Elders Rocha, Cordeiro and Zayas!!  You will be missed!

Three New Missionaries From the MTC in Provo!

We were fortunate to receive three of the best prepared missionaries we could get from the MTC.  They've come to the best mission, with the best missionaries, so we are expecting the best they've got to give!  Welcome Elders Roundy, LeFevre, and Pilz.

Transfer Week Is Always Memorable!

Transfer week always brings unexpected excitement with new companions and new places to live.  Every area in this mission has great potential and wonderful members.

The Ulitimate Joy - Baptisms!!

The newest members of the Church in our mission have been well prepared and are the elect of the Lord in this area.  We are finding so many wonderful people in Portugal!

Missionary Life in the Porto Mission

Missionaries are at their best in the mission field.  They have a lot of fun, but they also work extremely hard.  Sometimes there are laughs, or injuries, or unexpected joys and miracles in the Lord's work!

MINI MISSION 2010

We had 10 youth in our mission come to participate in this years mini mission in the Porto area.  They were assigned to serve for 3 days with a full-time missionary to see what mission life is really like.

FOUR ZONE CONFERENCES IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST

In the space of a few weeks we conducted four zone conferences.  It is always fun and inspirational to hear from the leaders of the mission and zones and to get together to share in the spirit of this marvelous work!

AUGUST DEPARTURES - THE LAST OF OUR 27!

We knew things were going to be a little different for our mission when we realized that we had 27 missionaries leaving to go home in the space of 2 weeks.  Now that the last group is gone, we're letting the dust settle and moving on in the work here in Portugal.  We are left with many faithful and strong missionaries to serve in the Porto Mission.

THE FIRST EVER EFY IN PORTUGAL!!

We were so fortunate to have the first ever EFY in Portugal in the city of Braga.  There were over 250 youth from all over this great country that enjoyed a week of fun and inspiration.  It was worth all the hard work and effort for the youth to see so many other young members in one place sharing activities and their testimonies with each other.

MADEIRA ACTIVITIES

Madeira is still part of our mission and as beautiful as ever.  There are more hikes and mountains than we'll ever get to explore.  But our group of 10 missionaries on the island are working hard and seeing a lot of new converts and helpful members!

AHHH, THE MISSION LIFE!

There are many things going on daily in the life of a missionary from mulitple meetings to helping close apartments as our numbers go down.  Even though we are fewer in numbers, we are stronger than ever in faith and works!

AUGUST BAPTISMS

Down in Aveiro, a whole family is being baptized one by one.  Vadsen was the latest member of the family to be baptized in the river by his older brother.  Elders Cotter and Marlor are working well with the whole family as they commit to becoming members of the true church!

Yes, we really are sending home 15 of our best missionaries.  Then in 2 weeks we will lose another 12 of our finest.  Change is always good!  Our best goes with these wonderful missionaries!