I keep noticing all the things here that are different from home.  Not better or worse just different.  For instance, every kitchen  does not have a microwave,  mine does but I can only turn it on 30 seconds at a time because I don't know what all the various symbols mean and it has dials?  The refrigerators are much smaller than ours at home but I also notice that my produce tastes better because I have to shop for it more often.
   People as a whole are much more modest though those extremely short shorts are all the rage (and I mean be careful or your thong will show short)  The biggest fashion trend here are jumpsuits.  Short ones,  long ones, big flowy leg ones,  tight leg ones
  At the produce section of the grocery store you weigh your own produce - It displays what it weighs and what is is going to cost.  Then you push accept and the scale spits out a receipt which you stick on your produce bag and take to the check stand.  The streets are reasonably clean and the people are environmentally conscious.  I often see someone pick up a random piece of paper that isn't his and walk to the trash can and dispose of it. Most of the apartments have a main door that is locked - No prosteyliting here -  So the sister missionaries talk to anyone they can and start conversations on the street - whatever. Most sheets are not fitted.  Funny - that makes me think of how excited my mom was to get her first fitted sheets. I'm teaching Gale to make hospital corners correctly and he's doing well. I always bought flour in 25 or 50 lb bags when I had all my kids at home.  Here they buy little 2 lb bags.  I used a whole one and a little bit to make "Apple Pie Bars" for Family Home Evening last night.  Butter comes in 1 1/8 containers.They use lard or butter to cook with - Guess what I use.
II like their toilets better. (nuff said).  Many many bathrooms have a Bidet.
   There is a lot of graffiti on buildings.  ?Apparently there is a famous graffiti artist here and he did the whole side of a building and everyone is so proud. But there is alot done by those who never took art  Another thing if an old building is falling down they don't hesitate to build a beautiful new buildinng right next to it
We visited Tav more later ccomputer malfunction

And the Beat Goes On!

I forgot to talk about the roundabouts in my last post.  As we were going back and forth to the hospital we had to use the GPS, of course.  Well, it would continually say in 200 meters enter the roundabout then take the second exit...in 1 kilometer enter the roundabout.  Right in the middle of a two or three lane highway "In three kilometers enter the roundabout"  I don't know if this translates but it was terribly funny at midnight after our fourth trip to Faro  (prounounced Far-O) and back.
Today is our P day.
We have spent a couple of hours at the chapel trying to send a copy of Dads receipt for Marine D (about $400 worth) to the Post office along with a copy of his Passport and their letter so we can pay the fee and get our package that has been sitting there since before we came.  We only have 30 days to get it or they send it back. Before I left home everyone kept saying no sweat you'll still have internet.  You can always order anything you want online. Not!  Anything that comes from a merchant of any kind is subject to an extra fee plus you have to go to the post office to get it.  So if I really need something I'll have to send it to one of my kids to mail here with a handwritten address label.  So that isn't going to happen.
In Relief Society Sunday I sat with the Stake Patriarchs wife.  She is so sweet.  I told her that I didn't speak Portuguese much and was learning. I then turned around and the Relief  Society President asked me to say the prayer.  So I said a short, simple prayer and the Stake Patriarchs wife clapped. It is hard to sit through three hours of meetings when you can't understand anything. Oh yeah I get a word here and there but not much.  I start later this week with my new tutor Victoria.  I can hardly wait.

Trial by fire or "now entering the roundabout"

After four days of trying to find a transformer for my c-pap we found a guy in Lisboa who was a supplier, didn't require a prescription and would meet us in Lisbon.  Yeah!  Best nights sleep I have had in  a week So we spent the night with our host couple in their new apartment in Lisboa.  We were going to see a couple of sights before heading back to Olho ( pronounced ol - yow nasalized) to teach an English class that night.  However, we got word that a sister who had had a migraine had collapsed and was taken to the hospital.  So we skipped the sight seeing and rushed back.  Gales first time driving in Portugal. He did wonderfully well wih only one accidental detour (Love the GPS) When we arrived   3 1'2 hours later they had left the hospital and needed a ride home but the sister was too sick to leave alone so we took her to our apartment.  This was a public hospital that people don't seem to think much of and they told her she had epilepsy and gave her prescriptions for very strong drugs.  The mission Dr. told her not to take them ( after driving around the block for 30 minutes to try to find a parking place at the pharmacy.  At home she ate but a little, felt nausous.  We tried to help her as best we could but she just felt awful.  We were all exhausted so we started to go to bed. We arranged the sisters with a fan in their room and they were just about settled when the companion, Sister Mancuso, called us and Sister Cordoso was having a full blown seizure on the bed.  Afterwards she was only semi-conscious and it took us about half an hour to get her alert enough to be able to drag her to her feet to lead her to the car to take her to the private hospital.  As I was holding her head as Gale checked her in she seemed to be having small seizures.  It took Gale  nearly 2 hours to get a guaramtee of payment from the insurance company which is required her for any treatment. After 3 phone calls he finally got the lady on the other end to get the email of the hospital correct.  They kept Sister Cordoso overnight but wouldn't let her companion stay unless she had a private room and the church paid for her to be here as if she was a patient so she came home with us and spent the night.  We got home about 2am and had to take another sister to the hospital for an appointment   at 8:45 and then go get Sister Cordoso and take her home. We are now waiting at Update:  They kept Sister Cordoso for two more days.  It seems that she had previously had a tapeworm and they didn't treat her long enough and the eggs went to her brain and caused little cysts.  Every time one of these cysts would break it would cause her brain to swell and give her seizures.   So this time  they gave her medicine for a year and she is back working.

Red tape

We have been here 4 days and 4 nights.  The first night we plugged my c-pap in and fried it even though it said 110 to 220 power was OK.  I have had a difficult time sleeping (Duh!) and have been a walking zombie. We have been tryhing very hard to get a new machine but they aren't as available as they are in the states.  The senior couple we are staying with until they leave have been calling all over Portugal but to no avail.  We are trying at present to get a c-pap from Lisboa today because it is transfers and there will be missionaries coming down from there so that would save u s a 6 hour trip.  There are a couple of local places but they won't talk to us with out a doctors order which could take weeks.  I have emailed Norco but haven't gotten a response yet (time diifference and all that) It has all been very frustrating.  President Tavares has told us to do or go whereever we need to to get it done.  Hopefully today.Getting mail can be a problem.  We have a package in Portugal

but can''t get it without ID (theirs) and paying a fee.  We are  hoping to talk them into letting us get it with just our passports but since it is medication they may confiscate it. which seems dumb since Gale walked in with a backpack with 7 lbs of medication and we didn't even have to go through customs

Brother and sister Crossman are leaving tomorrow leaving us in charge of this whole area.  we don't know all that we need to do but we do know some of it.  Our apartment is very nice and quite large by Portuguese standards.  It has three bedrooms and an office.  They are in love with tile here and the floors are covered with it.  The church also is tile clear up the walls and everything.  So we walk from cobblestones to tile to cobblestones.  Parking is very scarce so there is alot of walking (now you see why I need your prayers)   The fruit here is heavenly and Gale and I have been stuffed since we got here.  Once this couple leaves we will go back to our normal small meal eating pattern. They think nothing of having dinner at 8 o'clock. We usually like to eat at 5 so we can sleep.  This couple stays up very late.  The other night they didn't get in from shopping until 11 pm. So, we are still adjusting. Tomorrow we teach English class,That should be interesting.  Any hints Abby?

His Time

Our stay at the MTC is almost over.  Today was our last class and now I am doing the laundry. Isn't it funny that no matter what is going on in your life there is always laundry - there must be a lesson in that somewhere.  We came with trepidation and are leaving knowing we can do it!  They taught us wonderful ways of teaching things we already know.  They taught us new ways to study the scriptures to really know the intent of the author and find the principles that will help us in our work.
We are excited for ourselves and those we met here also.  There are only 90 senior missionaries for single young adults in the world.  Wow they need so many more. People have lots of reasons for not going on missions but they are not seeing the vision. We had many missionaries here who were serving from home.  Others had health issues and were serving where they could get medical attention.  Some serve part time.  I would tell anyone that we have been so blessed already and we're not even on the plane yet. Love to all.

Senior Missionaries really have it great.  We finished our last class on Friday and drove to Mellonee and Darens in Willard.   So while here  we did laundry and I got the chance to fix Sydnees dress for the Peach Days Queen Pageant. She will be a beautiful Peach Queen. I keep marveling at the lack of rules for Seniors.  I guess they are counting on the wisdom that comes with the white hair.  The only rule I have heard so far is that you wear your missoionary tags at all times. It looks great on my nightgown.  If we had known the schedule and the lack of rules we would have made a flying (no pun intended) to Dallas to be with our sweet AVA for her baptism.  Luckily her darling aunts, Breea and Tara, didn't want Abby to be without any of her family so they surprised her by just showing up at her house.  Glad they are so loving and mindful of each other.  Tara will be driving back with Abby so she won't have to make the trip alone with three children (though she has done it before)  I so love the way our girls take care of each other ( and me too)
   We have learned so much in the MTC this week and are looking forward to next weeks training on how to help the youth of the church.  What a love we feel for our Savior and the fact that for you and me he would be persecuted, tortured, and crucified.  So we would not be lost. He loves us so much and is ALWAYS willing to forgive us.  Always no matter what.  He will always welcome us back. How can we not be willing to serve him and help others learn of him and how much he wants us back.

Stuff, Stuff, And More Stuff

3 1/2 days until we leave for the Missionary Training Center.  We packed our stuff for Portugal that we won't need at the MTC and came in just under 50 pounds.  Gale said he feels sorry for the airline guy that has to heft that suitcase. Gale is up in Hailey today saying some goodbyes and I am continuing to clean out stuff to make room for our college girls to spread out since they will be here for a year and a half. We have one extra bedroom and we are using it to hold lots of "stuff" I remember when we didn't have anything.  This is ridiculous.  Gale has made lots of trips to Deseret Industries hauling "stuff" that we don't need, we have given away "stuff" and we still have too much.  It will be interesting to see how much "stuff" we get rid of when we come back.
I was reading in the Ensign about the gentle nature and pure goodness of the Savior, and then my visiting teachers came with the lesson on the same thing.  How sweet.  It's  hard to think of someone so pure. Amazing.