Chamados ao Servir

*the title is part of the chorus to Chamados ao Servir (Called to Serve) (fighting for a celestial cause!)

Sounds like lots of things are happening at home! That is so great that Russell made the trip down for the weekend and that you all will go to the cemetary together!! Jacob sounds like he is having the time of his life! He sounds so enthusiastic and I am sure the people just love him!! That is so funny that the bisop called the president to see if he could stay another transfer!! :) Do you know if he got the little "Andrew" that i sent a few weeks ago?? I hope so... have fun together today!!!

Well, another week here in Linda-a-Velha! Remember Ana from last week, who we helped get to church? Well, the Lord was working with us as He helped us participatein lots of miracles during this week!! First a little background on her life...
She is 19 and has a super cute 1 year-old daughter, Diana, who is just starting to walk on her own, and we met Ana at a bus stop as we were waiting for our bus after church (i think on the 8th) we received her contact and marked to go back later that day. Well, when we went by she wasnt there, but irma graf later realizd that we ahd been on the wrong street... So we finally met with her in her house and here is here story...
Her mom is portuguese and her dad is from Cabo Verde. Her dad died several years ago, and about a year ago or so, her mom left the kids in the house and moved up north with her boyfriend. Her younger brother is in a colegio, which is kind of like boarding school, but run by the catholic shurch for people who don´t have housing. Her other brother is a drug dealer, and her older sister, well we´re not sure what she does. Anyway, basically it is just a really sad situation, but we started teaching her and we invited her to be baptized and she accepted!! This week, it was kind of rough to get a hold of her, but we would just be walking around in her bairro and find her. It was kind of like Heavenly Father kept putting her in our path, saying dont give up on this girl!
I have been recognizing more and more that Satan is really working super hard against all that is good. Last Sunday President and Irmã Torgan gave a fireside for our ward, and they both talked about how we all fought in the war in heaven and we have to keep on fighting here on earth. Especially, now as we prepare for the temple! President Torgan said that the temple is probably only going to be 20 minutes away from this area, which means we have to prepare the people here to enter the temple and continue the work of the Lord.
Well, we are here to fight the good fight! Pai Celestial is our Father and He knows what is best! In church on Sunday roght before Ana´s baptism, a man from the stake talked about gratitude, and he talked about how he visited Cabo Verde, were it is a very poor country, and he came away with more gratitude for what he has. I was crying throughout the whole talk, because he was talking about people who dont have very much. and i was thinking about the kind of life that Ana has. Yesterday morning, we went to get Ana to bring her to church, but she had to sign some paperwork so that she and her siblings could get their monthly supply of food, like a government program they have here, like welfare, because they dont have money and dont have work. So many people here in Portugal are in similar situations, it is hard to get jobs and just is crazy. Anyway, so the man was talking about how poor some people are, and there i was sitting next to Ana, who is living in that kind of situation!! It hit me really hard!! But, at the foundation of it all is the gospel of Jesus Christ! And Ana made the decision to be baptized, what a marvelous day it was! We had taught her the lessons rather quickly, but she felt that it was something that she wanted to do, and she will continue to learn and see the difference that the gospel makes in our lives. Oh, and the man that baptized her was only baptized about 2 months ago!! What a great experience for him!!!! TI was so neat!!!

SO to explain the pictures...
we ate SNAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Uhhh, it was an adventure that Irma Graf wanted to try before she goes home next week! We were at Bishop´s house! YUM!!! hahaha.... :)

THis is the work of the Lord! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the People here in Portugal! I love the people, and I love the Lord! Joseph Smith nade so many sacrifices for us hoje em dia!
Love, Irma Michael

COME YE CHILDREN OF THE LORD

Irma Graf and I sang this song at a fireside that Irma and President Torgan gave to our ward yesterday :)

Interviews with President Torgan were absolutely awesome!!! I love him!!! He is such an incredible man! He kind of reminds me of Tevia from Fiddler on the Roof. Anyway, well, President is full of love for the Lord and for the work here in Portugal. He is here to do the will of the Lord and that is to baptize! There are several missionaries who have been baptizing for several weeks in a row, and he reminded us that this is possible with every missionary. The assistants gave a training about some things we can be doing to better use our resources, and it was so amazing! I was full of "fogo" as we say here (fire) and excitement about this work!

sorry the time is almost up...
We have this really great investigator, Avelino, an older portuguese man who is really awesome! He has lot"s of thought-provoking questions and he just wants to follow the Lord! Also, this girl, Ana, who didn't come to church, but we felt we should go get her. So,in the middle of sunday school, we left for her house. We found her outside, and suavely guided her to the church!!! She was there for Sacrament meeting! I gave a talk on the law of chastity :) great fun!!
I am so grateful for our Savior and His love for each of us! An individual atonement was necessary!
xoxo
irma michael

WOW

This mission is such a humbling experience! I have been humbled a lot these past three weeks, especially yesterday when we didnt have any investigators in church, it was a weird feeling. But we did get to teach Sunday school, so we taught about the Atonement, the most imoprtant thing that has ever happened. I am so grateful for the power of the Atonement, and that we have the opportunity each day, to get on our knees and access the sweet blessings of the atonement through repentance. The Savior is calling out to each of us to come unto Him. His grace is sufficient for all men who humble themsleves before the Lord and He will heal us, everyone.
Irmã Graf and I decided that we are going to start this transfer over today! We have 3 weeks in front of us to start over and really focus on doing the Lord´s work here. It is so amazing to see His Hand at work here. There are so many people that we have talked to who have already met with missionaries in the past. Heavenly Father is always preparing His people!
We have interviews with President this week! We are super excited about that!!
Really, the thing i am learning right now the most is that Heavenly Father knows the more excelent way, and as we are humble and seek His will, He will show us the way!

Have a great week!

Remeber who you are!
love,
Irmã Michael

PLEASURE AND SORROW

I Walked a Mile with Pleasure

I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But, oh! The things I learned from her,
When sorrow walked with me.

-Robert Browning Hamilton

Happy Mother's Day

We spoke to Hillary on the phone Sunday morning. It was a wonderful Mother's day gift from our little Irma. She is doing well and continues to spread sunshine along the path of all she meets in Algés Portugal. She is a blessing in our lives and in the lives of the Portugal People. She shared her testimony with us in Portuguese and seems to be fluent--we could feel her love for the work and we are grateful she is a missionary.
Thank you for your continued prayers,love and support. She commented that she feels that love all the way in Portugal.

Linda a Velha

hey everyone!!!
So we are here in our new area of Linda-a-Velha!!! It is way bigger than Almada, and our house is huge! It is just the two of us now, so it is different compared to having 4 Irmas in the house together. It is really great serving with Irma Graf. I have lived with her since I got here to Portugal but havent served with her except o a division a couple times. She is awesome! We have some great goals this transfer to help this area grow a ton! The ward is about the same size as Almada, as in active members, but there are less people in total that are baptized members, if taht makes any sense. We have been working with some of the investigators that the elders were working with, but really the work had slowed down a ton, so we have lots of new work to do!! It is really neat being in a new area because everything is new and fresh and there are tons of new faces and new opportunities to meet people and help the work grow. The ward is similar to Almada, but really different. There were a lot of problems in Almada with leadership, and it jsut had a different feel, kinda like the ward was dependent on the missionaries, but here the ward functions on its own, and the members are willing to help us with the work!!! There is one family here, the Hinckley family, where he is american, she is portuguese, and they have three kids, with one on a mission. We still aren´t sure what their story is, but they know how a ward is supposed to work, so they are helping this ward a lot. Our bishop and his wife are super nice, they have helped us out this week to do a division when Irma Graf wasn´t feeling well. We have been in teh house for a few days because she had some virus, and just needed to sleep a lot, but she is feeling better today so we will begin to work and work hard through the transfer!!!
As far as the work, this week we marked a lady for baptism, Ervila, who already ahd a date marked wiht the Elders, but then got scared and changed her mind. She is excited again about baptism, and we will continue to work with her this week to help her stay strong. Please keep her in your prayers this week! Also, we invited this girl, Sumira, to be baptized this weekend as well. She is definitely on the search for the truth! It is so neat to see how Heavenly Father is preparing the way for His children to receive the gospel. She had contact with the Elders a few years back, in Cabo Verde, and she had a friend who was a member. Now she is here, and preparing to make the decision to be baptized herself!!
I am so grateful for the blessings of the gospel. Esta igreja é a unica verdideira igreja que existe na face da terra. Sei que qunado nós temos fé no Senhor, ele vai ajudar-nos ver as milagres que estão a acontecer.
Eu amo vocês!!!!
Have a great week! And remember who you are!!!

Com Amor,
Irmã Michael

PS we are going to Caiscais for P-day!!!