Excitement in Vila Real

For the first time our little branch of Vila Real no longer has a missionary serving as the branch president.  Elder Cordeiro was happy to hand over the care of the members to President Castro.

Missionary Moments

Something interesting is always happening in our mission as you can see.  Missionaries are so much fun!

Madeira Zone Conference

There was a lot going on for the Madeira Zone.  Not only did they have zone conference, but the district recently received a new district presidency and new branch presidents to work with.  On top of that, they received the first car ever on the island for missionary use.  There is still clean-up going on from the fierce storms that blew through a month ago and then there is always the joy of a fun Preparation Day to look forward to when the whole zone shows President and Sister Walton the blessings of serving on such a beautiful tropical island.

Recent Baptisms

The number of baptisms continues to increase in our mission, and it is difficult to get around to all of them, but here are photographs from baptisms in Porto I and Povoa.

District Meetings

Oh the joys of visiting with each district during their weekly meetings and sharing in the spirit of their group and a peanut butter sandwich with them!

March Farol Visit

After a few weeks here in Portugal, we visited the Lighthouse with our newest Elders, Elder Aamodt and Elder Crowther, and their trainers, Elder Magoon and Elder Lawson.  President Walton had a chance to talk with them about the prophecies concerning the work here in Portugal and we were able to see how things are going for them thusfar in their mission.

The reason for the Blog update delay

As most of you might know our son-in-law, Clint Layton, passed away on March 6.  He had been struggling with leukemia for a year, and after many miracles that inclulded a successful bone marrow transplant, they found more cancer in his stomach and there was nothing they could do for him.  After a quick memorable trip to Disneyland with his family, Clint passed away 4 days after they returned home.  I flew to Utah to be with our daughter and our family at this sad time.  President Walton stayed behind in Portugal.  At this time we are so grateful for the gospel and for our extended family here in the Porto Mission.