Adventure is Out There!

Hello! :)

This week was fantastic! Today I'm actually not in Póvoa! I had to take a taxi and two buses with my companion to come all the way down and east to the city of Portalgre! So that my companion, and Elder Zwahlen's companion could go leave the mission limits together and take care of things in Lisbon today! So I'm spending p-day with Elder Zwahlen. He's pretty laid back, chill dude. He trained my last comp, Elder Morrison and they're very alike haha :) Oh man, the trip down here was soooooo long :) Going back is going to be soooooo loooooooong :) haha :)

This week we met and marked appointments to teach 3 families! We are bringing members to all of them so it'll be awesome! I'm super excited! There's a family with 2 older children and a younger one, there's a couple that have a small child and then there's a mom with two older kids and a niece! They've all got a lot of potential to accept the gospel! :)

We had a new couple move into our ward from the Oetis Stake down in the greater Lisbon area. They are very nice! He's a returned missionary and so he's happy to come teach with us when time will permit! They also invited us over for lunch on Friday, which I just realized will be my birthday!

Holy cow. I honestly can't believe that I'm turning 20 years old in only a matter of days. Two decades of life! holy cow! That's a large milestone. No longer a teenager. It's like the final nail in the coffin of my childhood haha :) It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I had my 19th birthday. I was still in my first transfer in Portugal. We had fasted from the day before until that morning as a mission and I had been on a division the day before with Elder Domingo’s, and had gotten the chance to only be able to speak Portuguese with him. It was interesting! And then that morning, he distracted me while elder fortes and my trainer Elder Cluff put the "candles"(matches) in my cake. I came in and they sang happy birthday to me :) It wasn't a huge ordeal, but it made me feel good :) It's weird to think that another year has come and gone since then. It seems like an eternity ago, and yet just the other day!

I love being out here on my mission. It's the biggest opportunity I have to serve others. I get worry about very few things. Truly when Christ told His Apostles to take no thought as to what they would wear or eat He was reminding them to think not of themselves, and instead focus their service on others. I only have 9 months left out here. And they're going to be the best 9 months ever. Because I get to spend them forgetting my worries and myself and instead focus on the needs of others and how I can help them! What a lesson and a blessing!

I know that Jesus Christ Lives. I know that through His prophet, Joseph Smith, Christ and our Heavenly Father restored the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth in the exact form that Christ himself established! I have sought and prayed and fasted and I know!

I miss you all very much! I hope you all have a great week! Feel free to send a note if you wish :)

Abraço,
Elder Buchanan