Casal Conference- March, 2014

top left to right:  The Roses', The Ransoms, The Jeffers, The Markhams, The Sommers, The Crossmans, Bottom row: Our mission President and his wife, The Fluckigers, The Phippens (serving their 4th mission)

Dinner at the Mission Home in Lisbon with all the couple missionaries serving in Portugal.  We are blessed to be in the company of such wonderful people!  Cafe Rio for dinner...a taste of home, so good.

The Carriage Museum in Lisbon

Famous Portuguese painters were commissioned to paint the exterior panels and doors.

Beautiful blue interiors.

The wood on the carriages was carved into intricate shapes and designs, with so many curves that it takes on a fluid feeling.

 I especially admired the fabrics on this carriage.  See the plume at the top meant to look like feathers, but constructed of fabric and some kind of stiffener which has kept its shape all these years.  This carriage is early 1800's and was used during a visiting Catholic clergy's visit.

The pictures above and below are of the carriage that was created for a visiting Pope, and probably only used one time.  It was so ornate, a real masterpiece of craftsmanship.

The gilded portion at the end of the carriage represents the four seasons.  Sr. Fluckiger is admiring one of the carriages.

This modest little carriage was the one that Elizabeth II rode in when she visited  Portugal many years ago.

The details were amazing.  All carved out of wood.

The Crossmans

We are so happy that Ron and Rhonda Crossman are the newest missionary couple to Portugal and living and working in our district.  They live in Santarem which is a 45 minute drive due east.  They are a lot of fun and very good missionaries.  We are learning a lot from them.  They are from Bluffdale, Utah

Ron and Ron

This little lady was crocheting in a very cold, drafty area of the castle walls.  The women here do beautiful crochet and knitting work.

A beautiful painted ceiling in the castle entry.

Ron and Rhonda Crossman, boms amigos.

Foz de Arelho

Foz de Arelho  is the closest beach to Caldas da Reinha and one of the most beautiful that I have seen in Portugal.  This is the location of Fatima's baptism on a good day.  In the foreground is a river of seawater washing into a lagoon. Pictures and my words just don't do it justice.

 

 

Foz de Arelho

The lagoon at Foz, where we have baptisms.

Carmen

 Carmen and her husband Carlos and 2 daughters are new to Caldas da Reinha Branch.  They are from Brazil, then Italy, then England and now Portugal.  They have an amazing story.  These pictures show Carmen making a baby blanket for our newest grandson, on her knitting machine.  She won't be able to make many more of these because she has macular degeneration and is losing her vision more and more each month.

Carmen and her daughter, Ana with us on P-day at Foz do Arehlo. 

She also makes jewelry, another handicraft where good vision is required.  Carmen and Carlos had a very successful life in Brazil.  She had 3 businesses which she managed, and he had several more of his own.  They owned 6 homes, a yacht, very nice cars.  They had everything for a very comfortable life.  Several years ago, Carlos' grandfather appeared to him in a dream an told him that he needed to do the temple work for his ancestors.  So, they sold everything except for one house and went to Italy (where the grandfather was from) to search for the family records.  Now the work has been done, but they still don't feel that the time is right for them to return to Brazil so they are living and he is working in Caldas.  Carlos has been a member for years but Carmen was just baptized a year ago.  She was 15 when she got married, he was 19.  Another amazing example of faith.

Farewell, Sr. Santos

 Sr. Santos "died" in Caldas Da Reinha on April 14.  We had a party for her at Family Home Evening. She was a great missionary.  President Fluckiger said that he wished that we had more like her.  She is 30 years hold, has a degree in information systems and had a great job in Brazil before she left.

She was introduced to the gospel by a young man at work.  She joined the church a year ago, came on a mission, and she and that young man will be married this summer in the temple in Brazil. I must mention that Elder Rigby is the one making a funny face in the background.  I think they call this photo bombing.

Fatima, the first baptism in our new area.

 On a freezing cold day in February we watched with wonder as Fatima, a 50 year old mother and grandmother was baptized in the bay at Foz do Areilo.  In spite of the cold, she just very matter-of-factly just walked right into the water.  What a marvelous spirit.  Elder Knight from Salt Lake City, Fatima from Angola and Elder Andrade from Cabo Verde

 They had to go out pretty far to get in deep enough water to baptize her.  She was amazing.

 And she came out of the freezing water with a smile.  We were all very happy.  Funny thing was that Elder Andrade (above) was not supposed to baptize her, the branch president was, but none of the mens' baptismal pants fit him.  So Elder Andrade was the lucky one to step into the water with her.  She brought a change of clothes, he didn't.

These are the people in our branch who braved the elements to see her baptized.  She is in the front row, second from the right.  The missionaries are teaching her daughter, third from the right.  This is the 3rd picture that I had taken.  The first two were typical in that no one smiled.  So on this one they really went way out of character and gave me happy faces.  The man in the back next to Ron is an artist and so he gave us his profile.  So great.