1st Week in the Mission

Hey everyone!

Well, here it is, first week in the mission field! Not exactly what I expected but then again hardly nothing ever is right? It was good to sit and talk to Elder Easton (Kyle) on the plane and meet the other people going to Portugal! When we got there, President Tavares seemed suprised to see me, I laughed when he said they werent expecting me but then I realized, he wasn´t kidding! They thought I wasn´t coming! They had been told I was going to New Mexico or something. So we went to the mission office and I was put in a trio with Elder Marques and Elder Davis, neither of which have been trainers before, Hooray for firsts! We went to the mission home so that President could show me where grandpa had lived and mom and such.

My area is called Almada. Its across the river from Lisbon. It has bits of everything. Some regular, brazil looking city area, some old portugal looking streets and some in between and some not at all. We do a lot of walking! So far the shoes are good! We end up going to a lot of people´s houses that aren´t expecting us. So lots of walking and lots of turning around. I keep thinking that if we call these people ahead of time it would be a lot more effective but my companions keep saying that many times when they call they don´t let us come but if we show up its more likely. I say that it isn´t worth the time to wait and walk all that way to find out. I feel like there is a lot we can do in this area. I´m not sure what or how, and neither do my companions but we will figure it out.

Lots of fun things have happened. Lots of people here are from Angola or Cabo Verde and one of these people told me I had witch eyes. We also met an old man who was extremely old and extremely poor but excited to show us that he had 20 cents and a pocket stock full of cigarretes! We told him that that was bad for him and he should try to find better things than cigarrettes but he just smiled and kept going. We need to give more commitments in our lessons. We also need more lessons in general. I found a guide book written by an Elder from february about all the members in the area, all the inactives, and all the important investigators and everything about them and history and such! It was awesome! Written by Elder Sorenson! I think we can use that a lot. Its called the Almada white wash guide. The other elders seem to know about it but don't pay much attention to it. they dont tell me a lot about the people so I get my information from there.

We have had lots of good experiences and lots of learning experiences. I myself have learned tons. I love the story of the sons of Mosiah, how if they would be patient with their trials they would be blessed with success. Alma 17:10-11. Also in Alma 26:27 even the sons of mosiah became sad and wanted to go home but the Lord promises that if we work hard and and bare sorrows with patience they will have success. We can all see the results of their patience.

I am glad to be here and can´t wait to serve more effectively and work harder to always be obedient! The people here are awesome.

Love you all!

Elder Cordon