Spencer and Dad Email - November 14

Hi Dad!

You asked last week how I was doing - I'm doing alright! Like I've said before, I really don't think I could ever just be super sad and depressed and stuff like some missionaries, but sometimes it's still hard! It's been a really difficult proselyting switch from before the office to now. I feel like every week passes and I just didn't have the time I wanted to work and teach. It's already november! And by the time we leave the office it's already super dark. Haha I don't see the sun anymore! But yeah, it's been really strange. I get along alright with Elder Yoder, but this is the first time in my mission since training that I am not technically the Senior Comp, and he doesn't really listen to me or like to hear my suggestions on stuff. I never say anything negative to or about him, it's just like stuff when we'll be working or office issues, but it's been hard. Now, I'll stop talking about it because I'm really doing fine; it's just weird and I've been struggling to get out of these kinds of stressed and frustrated feelings that I get by working. We found a really awesome brazilian family on Sunday! They are from the "assembly of God" I think it's called in English, and they got here in Portugal a few months ago, and they were super interested in the Book of Mormon! And we have an appointment with that guy Virgílio tonight and we'll teach him the Plan of Salvation, and invite him to be baptized, and we'll see how it goes! I really love teaching! I get the best feeling when people understand or have more questions to understand, because it means they want to get closer to God. And I love that!

The bed bugs are gone, fortunately! Haha I didn't realize that I hadn't told you guys - Elder and Sister Roque (who are the office couple who are brazilian and awesome) took our mattresses and had them burned, got us new ones, and had an exterminator de buggify our house! So it's all good! Haha I thought is was a little much, but I haven't had any bites, so I can't complain! 

what I miss about Utah/America - I miss American food so much. Like homeade hamburgers and mashed potatoes and campfire hotdogs and breakfast burritos and milk and pot roast. And roomy houses are nice too! Everything in Portugal is small and squishy, and nobody has room for anything! And grass. There is like no grass here! Besides that, just non-missionary stuff like walking slow for no reason and relaxing after eating a meal. That never happens on the mission, haha!

That would be awesome if you could be partners with the Plymouth society! I understand better how important it is to have good records because here they don't have as many good records, and it makes genealogy harder. 

I didn't know that that is a problem in the church to have more faithful women than men, but now that you say it it is actually the case here too - the relief society is really big in my ward, and last week they joined the high priests group and the Elders quorum together and released the Elders quorum president because there aren't enough men. Strange! What do you think about it? What do you think needs to happen or what can we do as faithful priesthood holders to change? 

I wrote about Trump in mom's email. I'd like to hear your thoughts if you guys are comfortable with it!

I like to think eternally when I realize that this time on Earth really just isn't enough! It makes me happy to know that I will have the opportunity to progress eternally, depending on what I do here. 

Okay love you Dad! Thanks for your email! 

Love, Elder Valentine!

Elder V to Mommy V Again, November 14

Hi mom!

Haha I forgot to say that Bishop Vanderley is not actually my bishop, he's the bishop of Porto 2 (I'm in Porto 1) But he works here in the office for President Amorim so it's lots of fun! He's from São Tomé e Principe. 

You should send a picture of the bridal shower cake! Haha I saved all of your cake pictures and sometimes I like to look at them because they are so awesome.

That stinks that you got sick again! It could have been from the aliens in that movie! Does your stomach still hurt from the surgery? Or is this the only side effect? I'll make sure to pray lots for you. At least you'll be all the way better by the time I get home! :)

You know, not like you guys have to, or even do it until it's close to me getting back, but you should make a list of good movies/other stuff for when I get back, so that we can party! I already have a request if I haven't said it yet - when I get back home, since it will be July 4th, you guys should save all of the yummy american food that I will be missing out on that day (I think missionaries normally return at like 10PM so I'll totally miss July 4th!) and I've been craving real chocolate chip cookies and GOOD milk my whole mission, so yeah. Haha this was a trunky paragraph, sorry! :)

Anna had sadie Hawkins? Is that like a girls choice dance? I didn't ever have that dance at Northridge. Did she have fun? You guys are so cool to have the dinner at home! I always thought it was a lot of fun to do a dinner like that. Haha I guess I could just ask her about it, but I'm sure it's different from a mom's perspective too!

Oh yeah, Trump won. I heard about that! Apparently (Really apparently, since I haven't heard anything but what portugal and my office comps have to offer) lots of people (like other moms and stuff) are happier with him than Clinton! My friend Jacob Jackson made a good point and said that the best we can do is pray for him, because he'll be the leader of our nation and should be influenced for good and righteousness as much as we can help him be! If you have any thoughts on the situation, I've been in the dark and wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts! And Dad's too!

Wow, Christmas is coming up so fast! I can't believe it! I've been in the office since the 1st of August! That's nuts! I think it will be fun for you guys to go and have dinner with the Braeggers (did I spell that right?). Grandma Folkman told me that Zach is living in Brigham or something and that he's working down here with Uncle Mark. That's neat! 

That's a really awesome quote. I remember hearing the Portuguese version and the English is better. :) I think that's the best way that I work, actually - when I see the blessings and good things God has given me through the Gospel, it makes me want to share it even more! Those are good days, when I can have that attitude!

My computer is being lame and won't let me send pictures! :( I'll figure it out.

Random Fact: I have lots of ties and socks right now! I have received a bunch of ties from members/missionaries and I have like 45! Haha they're not all awesome ties though - chinese stores are a big thing here (they are all really run by chinese people) and so I have like 8 ties that cost €3 or less. It's pretty funny! And all of my socks are in good condition. I don't have any holes in any of them! Also, Elder is a name here (they spell it Helder) and so most of the time people will be confused and say "both of your names are Elder??" It's pretty funny. Apparently there was also a TV show where someone says "oi Elder!" that was pretty popular, so we here "oi Elder!" about 80 times a day from random kids and teenagers. 

Okay, well I love ya! Have a good week mom! :) Sorry I couldn't get pictures in! I don't know what's up.

Love, Elder Valentine!

Elder V to Daddy V - Reply to "A Week at Home"

Hi Dad!

I did get to read your email and see all the pictures. It is all so amazing! I loved the pictures because I have been reading Jesus the Christ and James E. Talmage explains a lot of the topography and geography of the Lord's ministry, and sometimes it helps me visualize or imagine the scriptures better to see where it happened. Your trip sounds really amazing! I know that it was probably stressful sometimes, but I'm learning on the mission that the best times to remember are a lot of times the busiest or most stressful! 

Oh! You didn't watch Young Frankenstein?? I was counting on you guys watching it in my honor! I have mentioned it as a family tradition to the elders in my house. 

I hadn't heard that there were more Meet the Mormons segments - that's awesome! Was it pretty short or basically a new movie? I definitely wish we had more youth. There is a total of 2 young men and 1 young women (or woman haha)! 

Haha that's a funny prophet joke. I've got a Mormon one for ya - How many Mormon's does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 5 - one to screw in the lightbulb, one to preside, two to say the prayers, and one to bring the refreshments.

But on the serious part, I have thought a bit about your job in the church, and I remember one time that you said that one of the things you love about your job is that most of your meetings begin with a prayer. How sweet! Also, I like your job because it's the Lord's work - He won't let something bad happen to the business if it will slow down His work, so you can have faith that as you do your job and live the Gospel and fulfill your calling etc. that you will have real success at work! I like that. 

Haha yeah you big tough guy not getting sick! I bet it was just because you traveled so much and stayed out of the house!

More trips! Wow!

Answer to question - I think that the most important thing about the gifts of the Spirit is remembering the fact that, without God, we would be nothing. God gives us gifts for the benefit of others, so if we are striving to serve others with the gifts we are given, He will make those gifts/talents bigger in our lives. For example, I bet Amanda is going to get better with her music abilities quickly because she is writing LDS music now. Like I said, God gives us gifts to serve, and they can be huge parts of our lives if we use them how He wants. I see people who are dedicated to the Gospel, and people who are not, and I see the difference in "progression" in their lives. Family, social, personal, whatever - people who really live the gospel seem to be able to do more or serve better, but it's not because they are just special, but they dedicated themselves to God and God blessed them with more, because they used it well! It's like the parable of the pounds. Christ will give more to him who has a lot, because that man will use that "more" better! And those who don't use what they have don't progress, and get what they have taken away. That's just a little thought! 

Okay! Love you dad! Gotta go! You're awesome! Be safe on your trips!

Love, Elder Valentine!

Elder V to Mommy V - Reply to "What a Week" email

Hi mom!

I can't believe that everyone got sick! That's crazy! Did Dad just not get sick because he has been gone on trips? How are you feeling now? Has your snoring gone away? Haha it's a little bit funny but mostly just sad! I agree - being sick is just no fun! My least favorite thing is being burned, then being sick. I'll pray for the family to be feeling better!

Halloween sounds like a lot of fun! I took some pictures of my halloween costume - Elder Yoder  - but I can't find my camera! I don't know where I put it. I've been running around so much and getting home late every day and leaving early so much that I haven't even had time to look! Haha I'll have a lot of really crazy memories of being in the office, for sure!

The lesson with Virgílio was good! There is a cultural thing here that is hard for missionary work. It's that people will literally talk over each other so much that two people can be "talking" to each other but they are both talking at the same time, the whole time! That's not even a joke! They just interrupt and talk FOREVER. Virgílio is a little like that, haha. I have had to learn to draw the line of patience and just teaching. Preach My Gospel says that sometimes people will dominate a conversation and that we need to learn to handle the situation and teach effectively, which is super important in this country! So yeah, it was a good lesson, we just didn't get to teach as much as we wanted. We will keep teaching him and helping him with the stuff I talked about in the big email!

I'll try to take more pictures. I'm sorry! It's just never something I think about until Pday and then the week is already over!

Elder Wait is from Boston. He already graduated as an Architect with his Bachelors, I think! I don't know if he gets a lot of packages or anything. I'll ask him, discreetly, if he does or not and if he needs anything. Thanks mom!

I love big letters! I always read your and Dad's letters, no matter the length, and frankly letters from the family are better anyway! So write as much as you want!

And because of that, I'm sorry my letters have been short lately!

I love that scripture! God is so good!

Well, I gotta write Dad and I'll see if I can write the fam anymore. I love you mom! :)

Love, Elder Valentine! 

November 7 Group Email

My people,

What a fantastic last week this was! I do hope that you all felt the same!

Let me just say, as I have said before, that I love the Gospel for it's clarity and veracity. We taught Virgílio, who I think I mentioned last week. He's great! He just needs to have a better understanding of who God is. He believes firmly in Mother Nature and America. Two positive things, but he doesn't yet understand that God is a true and living Father in Heaven. He (Virgílio) is lost in religion, and thankfully we're here to help! God loves His children and wants them to know Him!

We also found a guy named Walter. He is super prepared for the Gospel! He accepted baptism right as soon as we invited him! The only problem is that he lives past Valongo, a city about 1:45 hour drive from us. Thankfully it's still in our area! Have I already said that I have a big area? Well that puts it into perspective - and I can drive a car for another couple hours past that and still be in what is technically my area! Sometimes I feel like Alma, who in Alma 29 wanted to preach the gospel to all as an Angel, and said - 

 9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.

 10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.

Unfortunately, I can't preach the gospel to all of the people within that 4 hour radius. I would love to, but I am just one missionary in big place. But I know the Lord uses His servants to bring souls to Him, and I will go forth with the Gospel to as many as I can! And how can we apply this to a non-full time missionary life? Well, "by small and simple things are great things come to pass, and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." God doesn't ask for us to be instantly be ready to serve in our callings, or to talk openly to our friends about the gospel; He gives us the way as we DO. So DO! I love you all!

- Elder Valentine

Halloween Group Email - October 31

My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day,

(Name that scripture reference)

Hello! Well! It's been quite a ride! transfers happened last week, and I'm staying with Elder Yoder. This will make transfer #3, and next transfer is his last, which means we'll almost certainly stay together for 4. 6 months with one comp! Woop! In the office, I had to make sure everyone who was transfered in the mission got to where they needed to be, and people missed buses and got into their areas at midnight which means I was up until midnight, which was just dandy, and now I am alone as the Exec. Secretary here, so I'll have a lot more to do now! 

We found a funny guy this week who loves 'Merica, and was really interested in talking to us! His name is Virgilio, and he has a cute little family; they're perfect candidates for baptism! We have a lesson with them tonight so we'll see where the Spirit takes us! 

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." One thing I learned this week is that Christ didn't tell us WHEN to be perfect. He didn't say "be ye therefore perfect right now," He just told us to do it. The fact that we don't have a time limit is so important! Perfection is not achieved in one miraculous moment when we feel the spirit super strong or overcome a big challenge. Perfection is achieved after a life of trying, failing a lot, repenting, and trying again, and as we do so, we become better, and through the Atonement we achieve perfection. My friends, try your best! God is so good, and just wants you to keep pushing forward on your journey to Him. He is your Father, and that relationship gives you power to ask for His help and guidance, and you can know that He is always on your side! Even when you fall. Especially then! So keep going! Don't let a bad day or bad week or bad year, as President Nelson put it, keep you from achieving your ultimate potential. I love you all! Have a week full of hope and joy, because God is on your side!

Also, Happy Halloween! 🕷🕸🍬🍫🍭🎃

- Elder Valentine!

"Portugal Got Hit By Rain Like a Drunk Kid Gets Hit By Another Drunk Kid" (Oct 17)

Dear Everyone, 

That subject line is a horrible comparison, but fortunately both of those things happened this week, so it works out!

This has been a pretty fantastically average week! I would love to tell you about all of the adventures I had proselyting, but my time has been eaten up by helping new missionaries declare their presence in Portugal and translating my mission President's letters into English. Sorry for the exciting details. :)

But! We did almost take part in a little gang fight this week. We were waiting for the metro (subway) to show up when to our great surprise, three drunk 17ish year old kids ganged up on another drunk 17ish year old kid, and someone threw the a punch. Luckily it broke up before we could get to them, or we would have hit them... with the gospel. 

The rainy winter season has also hit Portugal! All day every day!

We have been working to bring back some of our less active friends to church, and sometimes it reminds me of Laman and Lemuel. In 1 Nephi 3, Laman and Lemuel SEE an angel, but continue to doubt God and His power. Sometimes, we get impatient or doubtful with things that happen, but like Nephi, we need to remember that we won't always "know beforehand the things which we should do!" People who leave the church can have several reasons for doing so, but one thing is for sure - they have lost some of the faith they had in God in His ability to help us. I know that God loves us, and that He will show us the way - but only when we start walking on the path. Take the first step, trust God, and He will lead you through. I know that! Have a fantastic week!

- Elder Valentine! 

Reply to "On My Way to a Country Near You" (Oct 17)

Daddio!

You're probably preparing for your fancy dinner with the Vice President of Findmypast! Que chique! You're such a stud.  This isn't even your first time, is it? Speaking of this, I don't remember when you got your new position anymore; was it before I left or after? I remember that you for sure didn't travel as much as you are right now. What would you say is your average travel schedule? Like, once a month for a few days, or something like that? Or more? What's Tel Aviv? 

I haven't thought about obedience as a gift of the spirit like that before! But it makes sense because I wonder how people just don't get it sometimes. It seems so logical to me as a life rule. Thanks dad!

I don't remember if I said it last week, but it's really fun to respond to your questions and it gives me some things to write about! Your question is really good, too. I think the differences between the church here and in Utah are enormous! And I hadn't actually thought about it like that before. Actually, missionaries will sometimes complain (and I'm not excluded, unfortunately) about different things that we think should be better. But to think about it in the light of the church being "young" here is a much healthier train of thought! I think because of the small size (congregationally) and big size (geographically), it's hard for the members to have a close relationship sometimes. We have members that live a half hour away to come to church - that's like us going to brigham city every sunday! When Elder Bednar came here, he put a huge emphasis on "putting them to work", as in giving more members callings to help them serve and stay active. The less active rate here is HUGE - like, enourmous. We have less than 100 attend church every week, and the member list copy that I have has over 900 people on it. That's so many people! There could be another 4 or 5 strong wards with that! But a big part of it is the isolated feeling that I see - members without callings, and members who live far. These aren't negative things, just things that "are" because the church is young here. I think the church only has 40 or 50 years here. Those are just some thoughts off the top of my head, but I'll think more about it!

Thanks dad! I love you! Here's a fat face picture for your enjoyment. 

Love, Elder Valentine!

Hola Spencer - Email Between Dad and Spencer

Here's another personal email between me and Spencer that I want to share and preserve:

Hey dude!

I mean dad.

Err, Bishop.

Wow, you're schedule is really booked! How do you feel about it? I mean, before I left you were busy and I was always surprised at how much you had to do, but you've definitely gotten a lot more responsibility since I left, so how is it all going? What is a really awesome thing about it? 

Hey I like these questions! It's fun to think about the answers!

1. Well, there are a couple ways that I have learned from him; things that he says, and things that he does. Something he always says is "the most important time to work is when you don't want to," which is super true and is the stuff of great people. He is one of the most dedicated and hard working people I've ever met in my life. Dad, he has a wikipedia page. You can totally look him up. Did I ever tell you he's filthy rich? But only because he worked for it! He is an awesome example of dedication to whatever you are doing, in this moment preaching the gospel, but he's dedicated to anything does. So I guess dedication.~
2. Haha this is a funny question just because it totally happens. In the Book of Mormon, I share 1 Nephi 17:2-3 a lot. Haha in English it says the women "gave their children much suck" or something like that, in Portuguese it just says they had "bastante leite," which means "plenty of milk," which sounds better to me. I love it because Nephi was in a really sucky situation if you think about it, and Laman and Lemuel were probably murmuring, but Nephi focused on the fact that they were so blessed! And then he testifies that "if the children of men keep the commandments of God, he will feed them and strangthen them and give them ways by which they may fulfill the things which he ordained" or something along those lines. I'm currently translating that from my portuguese scriptures, want to see a picture?? (my scriptures, and then my face by my scriptures) I also share the story of Peter walking on the water a lot, partly because it's my favorite bible story and partly because it applies to everyone! We lose sight of Christ and start to fall, and then he catches us and asks us why we doubted. There's more to it than that, but I'm trying to be frank.
3. Obedience is so essential. My favorite D&C scripture is 130:20-21 which talks about blessings being given based on our obedience. Obedience is how we fulfill everything we came on earth to do. Faith is followed by obedience, to gain knowledge. Repentance is being obedient to God's will be leaving behind old habits and starting new ones. Baptism IS obedience. The first law of heaven is obedience, and I never really knew why, but now I know! Obedience is how God governs everthing. When God formed the earth, the materials used obeyed his command through the priesthood. His plan is based on obedience bringing blessings. Again, I've gotta be frank, but that is a short version of what I have learned. Applying it is the hard part!
4. One cool thing about the office is that I'm doing, like, grown up stuff! I deal with money and visas and other people and if I mess up, it's not just a wrong answer on a test, it's kind of a problem! So it's cool to have big responsibilities.
5. Yup!

Haha oh my goodness When you said Anna had a story to tell, I thought it was going to be a good one. HOW LAME! Oooh, boys. 👿

Well, love you dad! Guess what? In a few days you'll be a couple hours flight from me!! I could take a trip for €40 and come see you! Should I?

Have fun!

Love, Elder Valentine!

On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 2:40 PM, Stephen Valentine <ValentineSJ@familysearch.org> wrote:

Dear Elder Valentine,

Greetings, my son! I hope you are fully recovered from bed bites! Wow. And here I thought you were going to a first world country! 

It was a long week for me last week. Work is a bit stressful right now as I prepare for my trip to London and Tel Aviv. There’s also a ton of other stuff going on at work that’s keeping me extremely busy. My usual work day is that I start meetings at 8 and don’t stop meeting back –to-back-to-back meetings until about 430 or so, including through lunch. Then I have to actually get things done that requires work at home in the evenings or late into the afternoon because I can’t get much done being in meetings all day! As for the home front, Monday night was yard work. Tuesday and Wednesday are always church nights. I get to the church about 6 and stay until about 10 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Thursday I went to Provo in the evening for dinner with one of my teams, then met up with Anna and Mom at a theatre in Salt Lake and watched “Jekyll and Hyde.” Friday night I helped the Gibbys move out of their house (they are moving within the ward) and Saturday I helped another family move, then worked around the house and yard. Anna went to Homecoming on Saturday so we were here taking pictures of her, etc. I’m sure Mom or Anna will tell you more and send pictures, so I won’t spoil their thunder.

Yesterday we celebrated Grandma Valentines 80th birthday. Can you believe that? My Dad is 85 and my Mom is 80. I can’t believe my parents are so old. It feels like yesterday that I was at home with them. Isn’t it amazing how time flies? You are now under 9 months until you come home. Before you know it your mission will be what you tell other young men about rather than something you are now actively doing. I feel the same way about being a bishop, knowing that someday that will end and I won’t have this opportunity any more. All we can both do—you and I—is to work as hard as we can while we can. 

I have a few questions for you, if you have time to answer them:

1. What is one thing that you have learned from your mission president that will stay with you after your mission ends?
2. What story from the Book of Mormon do you find yourself telling over and over again?
3. What one principle of the Gospel do you understand at a deeper level now than a year ago? 
4. What is your current favorite thing about working in the office?
5. Bonus question: have you learned to like shrimp??

I hope Mom sends you pictures of her incredible cake! And you need to see pictures of how beautiful Anna looked at the dance. She has a crazy homecoming story to tell you. 

I’ll be in London at this time next week, so I’ll write you a bit earlier this week before I leave. I get to spend a couple full days in the Holy Land, so I should have lots of good stories and experiences to tell you next week. 

Have a great P-Day! I hope you actually get a bit of time to relax for a change!

Love ya!

Dad

October 10 Group Email

Dear Everyone,

Olá! In Portuguese, Olá does not have an "H" like it does in Spanish. Consider yourselves pro's at Portuguese. :) 

This is gonna be a short one - I've got lots of emails to catch up on! 

Brazilians, Cabo Verdians, and Angolans are very elect people. We found this big old Cabo Verdian family who have all talked to the missionaries in the past, a brazilian less active who's family members are interested in the gospel, and a member from Angola, who was baptized here and then returned to Angola for a couple months, basically started a group in Angola by herself after being baptized like 3 months ago. Now she is helping the missionaries find people to teach here! 

I think it's pretty common to have lots of homeless people in big cities, but no matter where you are, it's a sad sight to see. A homeless guy was walking through the Metro (Subway) asking for money, and we took him to a grocery start and bought him some dinner. Even though he didn't want to hear about the gospel (nor would it really work out without a home to teach him in) it was a good experience to help someone out. I feel like sometimes we judge unrighteously(or maybe it's just me) and let opportunities to serve pass by, but I have gained a testimony that by serving with only the good of others as your goal, miracles happen and everyone is blessed! Elder Cook quoted President Marion G. Romney in his talk during conference; 

"Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made."

I love that! Service is a heavenly principle, and requires us to have heavenly eyes towards God's children. Go and serve someone today! 

Have a jolly week!

- Elder Valentine!

Conference Weekend (Oct 3)

Dear peoples of all the world,

How good was general conference??? Ah! I love the church!!! We have a 7 hour time difference here so we got to stay up till 11 PM to finish the afternoon session wooh!

So, I watched all of the sessions in Portuguese, so I can't quote the speakers word for word, but some of my favorite talks strengthened my testimony of the goodness of God of the restored Gospel. I loved the talk by Elder Christoffersen about God's love; he explained that God's love is not "unconditional" in the common sense, because our response to His love allows us to be partakers of His blessings. One thing that people that we teach don't understand is how God allows bad things to happen in the world - why He doesn't fix everything - and it's because God's love is divine, but not unconditional! He truly loves us, but I think His love is like that of our mortal parents in the sense that they can't force their children to do everything right, and when a crisis happens in a child's life, the parents are obviously concerned and full of love, but they can't just fix all of their child's problems for them! I saw this principle with a less active family that Elder Yoder and I found. We were looking in the member list for people in our area that we didn't know, and we passed by a pretty scetchy house without a lot of expectations, but a little family of a mom, dad, and 18 year old daughter answered the door and said it had been three years since the elders had passed by, and longer since they had been to church! I shared Alma 7:9-11ish with them about the Atonement of Christ and what He feels for that family. They were very moved by the spirit and even came to General Conference, and kept commenting on how the apostles "seemed to know what they needed." It was so amazing! It was the same feeling as anytime I have seen an investigator feel the Spirit for the first time to see this family re-see the blessings of the gospel. They had to partake of God's love to feel it - God always loved them and always will, but because it is not unconditional, they had to act to get that feeling again. Elder Ballards talk also applied well to them (and fortunately that was the session they went too) as he asked, like Peter, "where would (you) go?" In all, I loved conference and saw some very big blessings happen in a lot of peoples lives, and I LOVE the gospel! The church is true! 

 Follow the words of Elder Andersen and Elder Oaks this week, and be a missionary! How great will be your joy if you bring many unto Him! 

Love you all!

- Elder Valentine!

Loving the Gospel

This is an email between me (Dad) and Elder Valentine (son) that I found interesting and satisfying:

Hi dad! 

Jordan's home! Wow! I literally cannot believe it! It seemed like so not long ago when he left! 

You've been a bishop for that long already? wow. 

Haha that was a lame restate of your letter, but I read it and I liked it all. :)

I think the Atonement should rightly be the favorite part of the gospel for everyone, since everything in the Gospel revolves around it. But one thing that I have come to understand is God's wisdom shown through the gospel. I love that the gospel makes sense! It isn't vague, or strange, or full of rituals or scriptures that we don't understand or gods who are "unknowable." The gospel is clear in who God is, why we are here, and how we can get back to God. That's kind of everything in forever, when you think about it! Everything I do or study in the gospel has understandable application for my own life, and by applying it I understand more about God because He shows us His will as we follow it. I try and find out about other religions and I just can't understand them sometimes. For example, and as an honest example - there are a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses here, and I have yet to understand why knowing "the name of God" is so important for their religion. I mean, it is important, but basing doctrine and a church around something so specific is hard to understand. Our church is based on Christ. That's it! Because it's through Christ that we have everything. He is the Creator, the Savior and Redeemer, and our King. What else could the true church be about? It's things like that that I think about sometimes. I love that I can understand, and continue to study and gain more knowledge that I understand. I also have understood something about grace recently. There is a talk by I don't remember who where they compare the grace of Christ to piano teaching. Christ didn't "make up" for what we can't achieve - there isn't a line where we have to get to and Christ will do all the rest, Christ did everything, and we have to do what HE asks, not necessarily "pay the debt." For piano teaching, Christ "payed for our piano lessons" when we don't have any way to pay them. Now, he doesn't ask us to pay anything else, but he asks us to "practice the piano," and do something with the debt that was already paid. I hope that that analogy makes sense through email the same as it did when I heard it. I really loved the analogy and it made me understand grace so much better!

Alright, well, sorry that was kind of a lame letter. But I love you! Good work at work! Have fun in your big long meetings!

Love, Elder Valentine!

On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 6:37 AM, Stephen Valentine <ValentineSJ@familysearch.org> wrote:

Dear Elder Valentine,

Hi, Spencer! I’m back in town for a couple of weeks. This is a busy travel season for me. In about three weeks I’ll be headed to London and then to Israel. I had a great trip to Vermont. It was fun because I got to talk about the Church to a bunch of business executives. I shared with them why the Church has temples and why we do family history work. It was really enjoyable to talk about our focus on families and that we believe that family relationship will continue after death. I also got to visit Sharon, Vermont while out on my trip. I think I sent you pictures. I hope so! It was pretty cool to visit Joseph Smith’s birthplace. We have a nice visitor center there, and you can also see the foundation of the house that belonged to Solomon Mack, the grandparents of Joseph. I love our Church! I love our history!

So Jordan Jaramillo came home yesterday, and was in church today! After giving me a big hug his first question was about you. He wanted to know how you are doing and I told him that you’re having a great mission and tearing it up in Portugal. It was so great to see Jordan. You just can’t believe how much Jordan has grown. He is so mature in the Gospel, so solid in his testimony. It’s also really weird because Jordan was the first missionary that I sent out while bishop, and now he’s back!! I’ve been bishop long enough to have missionaries coming and going! You will be home before you know it, my son. Work your guts out!! 

I think about this same thing in my calling. This December will be exactly 2.5 years for me. Most bishops are in for five years, so that would make it half way for me. Yikes!! That makes me nervous that I haven’t done enough and haven’t worked hard enough. I know you know what I’m saying. You and I both want to do our best while we can. So I promise to do all I can to be a better bishop; I know you’re doing all you can to be a great missionary!

Last email you asked me my favorite part of the gospel. That’s a great question. Of course I love the doctrine of the temple. I love the ordinances and covenants that we make. I love that we can provide saving ordinances for our entire family, both the living and the dead. I love the focus on family and service, missionary work, the humanitarian focus of the church. I love so much of the gospel. But the thing that I love the most is the atonement of Jesus Christ. Many churches believe in the atonement, but none of them understand the fulness of the atonement that we understand. We know that it covers every person who has ever lived. We know that it enables us to become perfect, not just redeems us from our sins. We know that we can become a God, not just an angel. We know that we can thus be with our families for ever. We know that grace saves us after all we can do. This are glorious doctrines, and only we truly understand them! Yes, this is what I love the most.

What about you? What is your favorite doctrine or part of the gospel? Before I go I should also mention that I LOVE the Book of Mormon. I have a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. I love reading it. I love talking about it. I love quoting it and teaching from it. I know you do too!

By the way, your mother is just finishing the Doctrine and Covenants. That means she’ll have read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and New Testament this year. She’s amazing!!

I gotta go now. It’s about midnight and I have an early morning. I can’t wait to hear from you tomorrow!

Have a great week! 

Love, 

Dad

Good night, sleep tight, watch out for those bed bugs tonight... (Sep 26)

Dear Everyone,

This week was pretty exciting! We had some good success finding people here in our ward - we did a big Hawaiian party at the chapel and had about 150 people there! Some non member families came and loved the feeling they had in the church, and unfortunately for us they live out of our area but fortunately for them other missionaries will teach them now. I love watching families recognize the blessings of the Gospel, even from just being in a church building. It's so happy to see!

So a few weeks ago, some Elders came into the office to get some stuff from us, and little did I know that they had fleas/bed bugs/whatever other little bugs portugal has. A couple weeks ago I woke up with about 45 bites (it was hard to count because there were lots) all over me. I had no idea what was going on - I thought a swarm of mosquitos had gotten me the day before, then that night I got even more! Long story short we sprayed the house with some bug spray and I washed all of my clothes and it was going good, but then I was in a meeting with President Amorim (our mission president) and his wife Sister Amorim, and I had my arms on the table with a short sleeved white shirt on, and she saw all of the bites and decided to take out all of our mattresses, take them to a place to burn them, and de-infect our house professionally. So we have been sleeping at the mission home for the last few days! I look like I have chicken pox right now, but I haven't been bitten in a while, so things are looking good. :) 

I would like to share a story with you all! My mom sent it to me and I love it. Disclaimer - it's long, because it's basically a talk. So don't read if you don't have time, but if you don't have time then make time. Because it's good. It's part of a talk called "the lord's wind" by Elder John H. Groberg.

Before you read it I'll wrap up - Prayer is an essential aspect of the Gospel. It is how we comunicate with our Father in Heaven! It is His established way to thank him, talk to him, and ask him for help. But sometimes we need to have trust in the Lord and truly be His wind, truly be the answers to our own prayers as well as the prayers of others. I love my Father in Heaven and I know that He answers prayers! Have a great week everyone!

- Elder Valentine!

Lots of Random Pictures (Sep 20)

Elder Valentine has really figured out how to use his camera! This is his full, rich, informative description that accompanied these photos:

"These are a bunch of totally random pictures of me, Elder Yoder, Porto, and Catholic churches. The last three are inside a catholic church where we saw a little bit of a mass. Enjoy!"

TGIPDAY (Sep 20)

Dear Everyone,

Thank Goodness It's P-Day! It's been a while! The office has been busy and I haven't been able to get emails out! 

Update - I'm still here in the office with Elder Yoder; Elder Karthigeyan left and went back to Gaia close to our old area. Our ward is one of the biggest in the mission and has a lot of wonderfully old members. We have a recent convert here who is preparing to serve a mission named José. He is 25 and used to be a Jehova's Witness, so he knows a lot about the bible! He's awesome because he loves helping the missionaries find people to teach! It's also been very hot here. And when you are taking the public bus which has no air conditioner and is full of Europeans who don't like deodorant, it's just a splendid game of "lets see who can hold their breath for the longest!" 

We have been teaching a young guy from Cabo Verde named Alberto lately. He is a student at a university here in Porto. He believes in God, but doesn't have a super strong foundation in religion. He likes the Book of Mormon but more as like a "study help" for the Bible, but we'll change his mind! 

One thing I love about the Gospel is that we have so much material about the Savior. I am pretty sure there isn't a page in the Book of Mormon that doesn't mention the Lord in some way. It makes it so easy to learn about him! I have been thinking about faith in Christ lately, and I have a stronger testimony of why it is so important to have that faith. . Faith is believing that the Christ is the Savior and that through Him we can receive the glory of our Heavenly Father, and Faith is following Christ's example. That's, like, it! So no wonder that we need to teach Faith to the whole world; no one really knows exactly who Christ is! He is our Savior, but we need to really know what that means to have real Faith in Him. We need to know that he wants us to be perfect like Him! And so the times that I feel like I have the most faith in Christ are when I am following His example. Serving a mission shows my faith in Christ and grows that faith in me, but it works for everyone! If you want to know the Savior more and have more faith in Him, be more like Him through service and love, and you'll know Him better! I love the simplicity of the gospel.

That's a rap, folks. 

- Elder Valentine!

Yikes! Bug bites!

When I was a kid, my parents would tease me to cover my head so the bed bugs won't bite . . . Well, Elder Valentine really DID get attacked by bed bugs! So nasty!!

Elder Valentines Apartment

Here's some pictures of where Elder Valentine is living right now (September 2016):

Pizza Hut!

Elder Valentine Enjoying American Pizza!

Shine the Light! (Sep 7 2016)

Dear Everyone,

I'm sorry for the lack of emails lately! Office work is crazy. Yesterday we had a mission conference with Elder Zwick of the Seventy, and it was super super good, but it messed up our p-day again, so now it's today! 

It has been a really good couple of weeks! My comps Elder Yoder and Elder Karthigeyan and started a game to contact as many people as we can by trading contacts, and if you don't do your contact then you owe the other two lunch. I hope that makes sense. It has been amazing! We have been talking to literally everyone that is on the street! Haha I even contacted a teenage couple making out on a bench; I gave them a Law of Chastity pamphlet. :) It was an amazing way to overcome any fear I had left of really "opening my mouth" to the whole world! We are teaching a couple of people right now; we have invited them to be baptized, but they want to wait until they hear more. Their names are Carlos and Gustavo.

The conference with Elder Zwick was so amazing! I can't imagine how the church could be false with such amazing men running it worldwide. Elder Zwick talked a lot about our obedience and sacrifice, the first two commandments of the gospel, and how we can sacrifice MORE. As a missionary I have left home and my family and school or whatever eles, but that's not all there is to it. I can sacrifice my thoughts, my pride, my fears, my sins; anything that "dampens" my light; to do the Lord's work. And when we do that, Christ becomes a light in our lives that shines through us, and we can share that light with the whole world! We almost literally become a light that other people can see and follow. How amazing is that? We as members can sacrifice parts of ourselves and become stronger lights that our families and our friends can see. There is a quote that says "preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words." This is how we do it! I love the gospel and I am so excited every day to try and be a stronger light to bring more people unto Christ. 

I won't have a p day next week, I don't think, because we in the office help the mission president with Transfer plans which is this weekend, and it means that we need to work through our p day. So I will talk to you all in a couple weeks!´

- Elder Valentine!

Lots of Photos! (Aug 23 2016)

Spencer sent us 14 new pictures! I have no captions or descriptions of any of them, but I'll take it! We love photos!

Photo of Elder V District Missionaries

Very cool picture! But who are all these missionaries? No caption, no names . . . Darn!

Quick Notes Between Elder V and Daddy V (Aug 23)

heyyo, daddio! That's so awesome that there are so many missionaries going out of our ward. Jordan comes home in 30 days?? Haha when I read that my heart was pounding really fast because I realized again how quick the mission passes by. A thing that has been on my mind lately has been about that - I think about how I am using my time, and if it will be enough at the end of my two years. I mean, I really don't want to get to the end of my mission and look back and think about all of the missed opportunities that I had to serve the Lord to the fullest. That's like my biggest fear. I'm not saying that I think that's how it's going to be, but I just worry sometimes that my time isn't enough to do everything I could here. Does that make sense?

Like I always say, I love hearing the spiritual stuff you have. It strengthens my testimony every time I read! I had a really spiritual interview with President Amorim last thursday. Haha it was only my second in my whole mission because he is super busy and works super hard and has had a lot of stuff to deal with lately. Anyway, he talked to me about kind of what I just said; how I felt about my mission so far, and he talked to me about being more tolerant. It was kind of interesting to think about. I have really worked on being humble and learning from every opportunity, and he showed me something I hadn't really thought of. I have a really strong testimony of the importance of obedience, but like 99% of the missionaries don't have that. So I will get frustrated when I feel we could be doing better and being more obedient and christlike and he told me basically that the most important thing is that I focus on my own "salvation" and not about the way others do things, that I should just be an example and work my best to be obedient with those that I serve with.

I'm running out of time but thanks for writing! I'll send a couple pictures in just a sec. Love you dad!

The Office - Episode 2 (Aug 23)

Dear Everyone,

Sorry I didn't write last week - I didn't have a p-day! We work on a different schedule than the rest of the mission which includes having p-day on Tuesday, and it sometimes doesn't work out because we will have a zone conference or something of the like on Tuesday, so our p-day doesn't happen for that week. But we are trying to fix that! We might convince President Amorim to move p-day to Monday with the rest of the mission, so I might write on Monday next week. Or I might not! We shall see.

It's just been a real big adventure here in the office! We have only 3 hours of proselyting time everyday, but we need to meet the same standards as the rest of the mission, so we have been working really hard here! Elder Yoder (my new companion with Elder Karthigeyan) doesn't really know this area and we didn't really have anyone as investigators when I got here, so we are working to build up an investigator pool right now. It's another huge area - the farthest out we can go is like 2 hours by bus. Haha we haven't gone there yet, but we will eventually. 

Scripture thought - I read 3 Nephi 12-14 which is the Nephite's Sermon on the Mount, and I did it while reading Matthew 5-7 doing a comparison. It was a really amazing study to help me see how much our Savior loves us and how the gospel is true! Christ came to fulfill the Law which was established by Him with Moses, and he did it, while giving us a formula for real happiness as we follow Him. He invites us to be "perfect, even as He or His Father which is in heaven is perfect," through his Atonement and teachings. And it's so real! We can be just like our Heavenly Father. That is the greatest gift He could give us. I know that He is our Father and that the Book of Mormon adds to the testimony of the Bible that Jesus is our Savior. 

That wasn't the best explanation but it was really a great study. You should do it! 

Besides that, missionary work is good. We are working hard and I know we will see success as we work to serve the Lord! Have a great week!

- Elder Valentine!

Mid-Way Through August Already

Hey mom and dad! So your pictures are all super awesome. You guys looked like you had so much fun! I have a couple things to tell you for the week. Office work is busy, and it's funny because everyone has been really stressed lately but I've been super chill working! I mean, we are really busy like always and stuff like today happens where I don't have p day but it's not like the worst thing in the world. My area here is kind of weak; the missionaries who have been here recently are like super... not the most hard working elders I have ever met and left us with not a lot, so I have some big work to do with proselyting! It has been REALLY hot here - so hot that fires are popping up spontaneously around here! There was a HUGE fire really close to porto and it has been super smoky everywhere! We don't have airconditioning here in portugal in houses and stuff, so we have our windows open a lot, and all of my stuff has ash all over it! It is so crazy! 

Also, random facts - when car accidents happen, people have to wait for the cops - like, they can't move their car an INCH from the scene of the accident. So if an accident happens in the middle of the freeway and is in the way off lanes of traffic, it just stays there! And accidents are like super common, haha! They are like Utah drivers but since there are a lot less mormons, drunk people crash a lot more and drive even crazier. Also, something that portugal does really well is the garbage. They have these huge garbage can/pit things all over the place; they dig down about 20 feet and put a big garbage lid over the whole, and you just take your stuff and throw it in the whole that is just dug into the sidewalk. It's pretty cool! They also put the same types of holes for recycling bottles, paper, plastic, etc. right next to the garbage wholes, so recycling is a big thing here. Have I already said that I use the metro a lot to get around? It's basically the subway. And lots of public buses! Like I use them a few times a day and I have a monthly pass with my picture and my name "valentine, stephen" because they don't understand here what my name is. 

Also today for the mission council President Amorim used Apollo 13 clips to show examples of faith and hard work, so I totally watched parts of a movie today!

That's about all for this moment. I'll try and write as much more as I can to you guys. I feel really bad that I haven't been able to write more or send pictures, but it's just been really busy here. I love you lots though! don't stop sending letters or anything. I'll just read them later! Love you!

Love, Elder Valentine!

What An Office Secretary Does (Aug 9)

Hey dad! So. Um, I haven't learned everything yet, but I will say basically what that entails. We help president do transfers every 6 weeks - not that we decide, but he will tell us who goes where and we will update all of the information for phone numbers and addresses and the transfer boards and stuff on the computer etc. That takes like three days. Plus we make all of the travel plans for every missionary, which gets crazy for transfers, and half of the time missionaries do something wrong and don't show up at the right place with no phone, so we have to make calls and help people get to the right places. We also work through a government agency called SEF to get missionaries their residency in the country, so we have to make appointments and bring missionaries to their building and help them with the documents, and we update any schedules or projects or reports that go to the missionaries or to the mission president. We work from 11 to 5:30 every day and then go proselyte for the rest of the day. The office is really nice! I have a computer that I am using right now and there is an office for the mission president etc. I'll try and send a picture. Our house is SUPER SMALL and doesn't fit three missionaries haha! I have apparently been speaking a lot in my sleep lately, and most of the time in Portuguese! How sweet is that? 

Mom and Dad Email (Aug 9)

Hi mom and dad! 

Sorry I didn't write yesterday. These last few days have been really hectic! I haven't gotten the opportunity to do really anything, haha I haven't even sent your letter yet, which I feel really bad about but I literally have had 0 time for anything. We have been running all around town to get things done here in the office, so yup. 

I don't even really know what to say for this week! I guess I'll give a random fact for mom - It´s about the crossing signs, like those white and red ones when you cross the street at an intersection. I have totally forgotten that they are different since I am just used to it, but all of the white "walk" signs with the little person walking, are green! It was so strange the first time I saw it! Also there are lots and lots of motor scooters here, like the kind that jonathan perkins had, and ZERO trucks. It's so funny that I have forgotten these things but I thought about them the last couple days.

Also! Sorry I didn't say, but I bought two ties and a 4 euro pack of fun socks. It was 18 euros in total. I liked them and so I bought them. Sorry I didn't tell you! :( and actually I had a question - president amorim lets all of the missionaries use a backpack. There is a really good hiking backpack for like 35 euros which would just be like the best thing ever. Elder Kiki had it (you can look at some old pictures maybe and see it) and he said it was a super good backpack, and right now I am using a shoulder bag but it would be super nice to use a backpack. But I don't need it! It's just if it was like a possibility.

Anything else you guys want to hear today? I have way less time today because we took Elder Karthigeyan to the doctor but I still have a bit of time. Love you parents!

Love, Elder Valentine!

The Office: Season 1 episode 1 - pilot (Aug 9)

Dear Everyone,

This will be short. Also it's Tuesday! I got transfered to the mission office, and I am now one of the two executive secretaries. That basically means I get to make phone calls to lots of missionaries and make sure they are legal in the country. I also get to have a cool signature for sending emails, which I will put down below. Elder Karthigeyan is still with me! We got transferred together, which is like unheard of. We are in a triple companionship now with Elder Yoder, one of the financial secretaries in the office. This has been a crazy week of picking up new missionaries fresh from the MTC and taking missionaries to the airport at 4 in the morning. I'm tired! But happy!

Spiritual thought - the war chapters in the book of Mormon (Alma 40 -50 something) Have been a really cool learning experience for me lately! When I got to them I thought "why would Moroni put in all of these chapters about war? What did he want future people to learn?" and with that mindset I have been learning so much! Every time the Nephites (and sometimes the lamanites) put their faith and glory to God, and were humble and repentant, they were extremely blessed. Every time! I think Moroni wanted to prove that God keeps his word - that if you have a doubt if you will receive a blessing, or get help, or receive an answer, He will fulfill EVERY word that comes from His mouth/the mouth of His prophets. There is a scripture where God says "though the earth and _____ may pass away, yet not will my words pass away, and they will all be fulfilled" or something close to that. Blame my lack of knowledge on the fact that all of my scripture study is in Portuguese. 

Peace out people! Have a sweet week!

Élder Valentine

Secretário Executivo

Missão Portugal-Porto

M – 910 046 438

T – 220 941 645