May 1st Email to Mom

Hi mom!

Dad sent me a couple pictures of the Joseph Smith activity. Sounds like it was a big success! That's awesome! I like the addition with Kevin and Kimberly doing the tarring scene. Haha yay the tramp pit is done! I can't believe it took two years!! That's really funny. 

Like I said in the email, we had a cool missionary-work sacrament meeting. It went well! I sang "I know that my redeemer lives" and a sister accompanied me on the piano. It was a pretty arrangement that I've heard before but I couldn't tell you which one haha!

We've been working hard in our area - Santarém is so much smaller than Porto, so it's really different. This area has a few different people who could be baptized, but they all need to get married and are all not from Portugal (they are all from Romania; Portugal has a TON of romanians. Most of them are gypsies), so it's kind of a long process. But we're trying to get them married and baptized! I really really really really want to baptize... like, a lot of people before I leave. I haven't baptized since Gaia and I'm kind of tired of not baptizing. There isn't anything big landmark wise, besides the fact that the main part of Santarém is on the top of a big hill, which is our area. The chapel is down the big hill in a little offshoot of the main part of the city called São Domingos, so we climb this hill a lot! Being a zone leader is good - it's not super different from anything else, really; we call the district leaders (we have 3) and talk about their districts and their progress in their areas and ideas to get the work moving, we gave zone meeting last week; it's a three hour meeting where we talk about mission and zone goals and share new ideas from president for the things he wants us to focus on (this time it was planning and finding new investigators) and it's pretty fun! It was both Elder Carrelo's and my first time giving a zone meeting, so it started a little rough (just technical issues) but was fun! We also do divisions with the district leaders, and the AP's do divisions with us. And besides that, we are free to do whatever else we feel will help and bless our zone. We do competitions and send spiritual thoughts and things like that. And do baptismal interviews. We did one last week. I really am enjoying not being in the office to be honest! I like not being cooped up all day. It's hard work, but it always has been! Like I said, this area is a whole lot smaller. The buildings are smaller, the streets are smaller, the branch is smaller, stuff like that. We only go up to Porto for mission council once a month, so we'll probably go back up to Porto sometime in May. Yes I have a phone! We have one for each of us for zone leader stuff. The Santarém branch has been struggling the last couple years - the branch president, President Barata, wasn't very liked by some members, from what I understand, and the sacrament frequency dropped from about 100 to what it is now, about 50. So by half! But yesterday, actually, he was released and a new branch president was called, and just from yesterday we can tell that he is really pumped up to help the branch, so we're excited! Because the branch is smaller, the members are affected by little things like gossip and stuff, which is like the main issue. Members talk bad about members and then someone stops going to church. It's so sad! So we're trying to help the branch grow! We're really lucky because the church building a new chapel and is only 2 years old. It's really pretty! Elder Carrelo is great - there was no problem starting to work with him. From my experience, the only reason why it's hard to get along with a new companion is if one works harder than the other. If both comps aren't on the same hard-work page, there is contention. But we both want to work hard, so there's no problems! We have had different ideas for different ways to teach and to find new investigators and stuff like that, but it's just a matter of trying out what works better and sticking with it. No problems!

Wow! It's weird that it's close enough for Amanda to already be choosing a dress. My temple recommend expires in June, so I'll have to have an interview with President Amorim so that I can renew it before I get home. 

Yeah so for mothers day... I'll have to tell you more next week. Elder Carrelo will skype next Sunday because Mother's day is next week for Portugal, but on our Mother's day there will be 5 missionaries wanting to talk to their families, so we'll just have to coordinate it. I'm not worried about it - everyone will get a fair amount of time! President is letting us have an hour this year, which is cool! Just as long as Christmas!

Okay! I gotta write some other people. Love you mom! You're the best!

Love, Elder Valentine!

On Mon, May 1, 2017 at 2:31 PM, Linda Valentine <lindacmemail@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, Elder Valentine! What a great week this has been! The Joseph Smith activity was a huge success. Anna opened another show, and is amazing as usual. I had a choir concert in the Salt Lake Tabernacle- we sang the most beautiful music and we got a standing ovation! We finally finished the trampoline pit you helped start two years ago! 

Those are the highlights, anyway. What have you been doing this week? Have you been out and about teaching and enjoying your new area? How is being a zone leader? Is it hard? Or easier than being in the office? Fun/not fun? What is something that stands out to you about the new area besides that it's warmer? Have you seen any cool landmarks? How often do you travel back and forth to Porto? Do you have a phone as a zone leader? What is the ward/branch like in this area? What kind of building/chapel? Was it hard meshing with a new comp? Do you think you adapted to his way of doing things or did he adapt to yours, or is it not really like that- like everyone does things the same in the mission? That's a lot of questions! I know you don't have as much time, so answer what you can. :)

As you could see from the pictures, Amanda picked out her wedding dress the other day. It's crazy that you'll get home and the next day go to the temple with us when she gets her endowment, and then two days later it's her wedding!  

Mothers Day is right around the corner and we'll get to talk to you! I'm excited! It's kind of different this time though, isn't it- because you'll be coming home so soon! You should go last so that the other missionary moms who don't get to see their sons for longer get enough time in case time is short. I get you back sooner than them most likely! Just don't give away ALL your time ;) Let us know the plan!

I can't believe it's May already! April was gone in a blink! The kids will be wrapping up school and then you'll have a little sister who's a SENIOR, and a little brother who's in 9th grade!! (Technically high school! A Freshman!) Crazy. Ethan got his life scout award last night. 

We've been doing our scripture study as a family where we just take turns and share a chapter from wherever we happen to have read individually that day, and share something we learned from it. It's working pretty well for us. it will be fun when you're home to have you share scriptures with us!!

I started this last night (Sunday night) and finished it this morning before work so I could have written more or better, and include a spiritual thought, but I've run out of time! If I can I'll write more after I get to work. 

Love ya tons!!

Love, Mom