Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Shouldn't a Pianist Have a Toilet Seat?

Hello family! Thank you so much for the emails. It was nice to hear about the adventure of the upstairs window. I am glad that things went well for you all.

Well things in Faro are going GREAT! I love it here and it's wonderful to be down in the Algarve. Let me tell you, the Algarve is where it's at! The Church actually functions here like it should. We had Branch Council and PEC on Sunday. The Branch Presidency met with us to see about the work. It was great! They are wonderful members and it's great to be here. Unfortunately, no one here can play the piano, so they are left with me to play during church. Poor things. It was a little rough this week, as I only played the melody, but it was better than nothing, right? Beggars can't be choosers. The good news is that we have a simplified hymns book and with a little practice I can play the hymns out of that book. So Mom, those years of piano lessons were not in vain. I can still play something! Yay! The members seemed to appreciate my poor attempts at playing the piano. Really this branch is great. It has about 50 people and a great chapel. It's nice.

Another great thing about Faro is my apartment. It is new and nice and BEAUTIFUL and right next door to a comic book shop. Funny! The house is so nice. But as it's new, it's missing a few things, like pots, pans, a dish rack (which we've already bought since I got here) and a toilet seat. That's right family. I do not have a toilet seat in my apartment. I thought that Irma Churak was trying to play a joke on me, but no, no she's not. So, we'll be talking to our apartment owner to see what he can do. Oh the joys of the mission!

I am also in the biggest district in the mission right now. There is a triple of elder covering both Olhao and Tavira, so they come to our district meeting, but we've got elders in Loule as well as a couple, the Nelsons, and then our amazing elders here in Faro. It's really nice to be around people again and to see other missionaries.

Irma Churak is from around Tyler, Texas. She's about 5'10" and has a Texas accent. She's very nice, but also very sensitive. So I've been learning how to talk in a different way so as to not hurt her feelings, a good thing for a Thomas to learn. But she's a nice girl and wants to do her best. We're going to have a good transfer together I think.

As for the work, we are working with a great woman, Albertina, who is progressing well. She's great and I'm excited to get to know her better. We also teach English class two times a week and it's intense here! We have four levels and I teach the second highest level. My students really want to learn and aren't intimidated by my intensity. They actually really like it!

We've been finding and teaching a lot and things are going well. Life is good here in the Algarve, as well as the weather! I hope that you are all doing well and that this week brings you greater happiness through the gospel! Have a great week!

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