Christmas Week

Pictures!

1. Our Starbucks trip on Christmas Eve

2. How we spent Christmas! In the hospital ha-ha visiting a bunch of members and investigators.

3. An awesome part of our area.

Ok first, I’m really sorry Brooke, Stu, and Katie that I didn’t get to talk to you guys on Christmas. We had some emergencies come up. I was only able to talk to Mom and Dad for the hour before I had to be in the house. I only saw Colin and Jen for like a minute. But it was really great to see you guys!

This week was crazy! It went by so fast.

Christmas Eve was awesome and it fell on our p-day so we basically just stayed downtown and went shopping and did touristy stuff. Then we had a ward Christmas thing for people who don’t have family here.

Christmas day we did studies and then went to visit some people. We had to go to the hospital and visit people and we really didn’t do all that much, but everything took forever because of transport. It was a really awesome day though and talking to Mom and Dad was way fun. I was glad that it didn’t make me homesick! Yay! Ha-ha.

On Thursday we had a conference with the Europe area president and it was really amazing. They showed this video and we were all a mess. I think the missionaries in our mission have really been struggling but the video definitely helped.


After the conference I realized I need to be studying a lot more effectively in order to stay focused in this area so I’ve been reading the conference Ensign like every second we are in the house and I just can’t get over how incredible this session was.

After working really hard to stay focused and be exactly obedient, my companion and I were so blessed to have six investigators in church. All of which were not even the people we had been calling or planning with. They just showed up! It was really great and I know Heavenly Father blesses us when we are really trying our hardest.

Sorry I’m short on time today because we needed naps. Like, really badly ha-ha. But I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and thanks to everyone in the Westminster ward for the Christmas cards!

I love you guys so much!

Stay strong, the Church is true! I love you!

Irmã Dean

It's Christmas!

12-24-12

It’s Christmas!

Sorry, today has been kind of crazy and we've been running all over the place so this will not be the most coherent email of my mission. peço desculpa. (I ask forgiveness...yeah it just means sorry.)

1. FYI I live with a caveman. When my companion is frustrated or tired or angry or annoyed or basically any emotion other than happy, she makes this caveman grunt noise and she has officially started rubbing off on me. Please don’t disown me when I get back.

2. I saw Pedro this week! (My physical therapist). I had to go in for a checkup and it was super fun to see him. He was all, "you have to come back! I need to practice English! It’s getting worse!" It was really cute. I go back one last time in another three weeks and then I guess if I don’t run into him later on the mission (when he decides he’s ready to be baptized) then I will just have to wait for the celestial kingdom. Sad, but also kind of cool. Because I really wanted to take advantage of one of the last times I would see him and like really testify about the Book of Mormon or invite him to church or something.

So at the beginning of the appointment I just said a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to guide me and to help me know what I should say to him and the spirit just said, "No, he’s not ready yet. You accomplished your purpose with him. Now you stay his friend and leave him with these good feelings about the church." It was kind of shocking but I felt so peaceful about it and I have no doubt that I needed to be in physical therapy for a reason.

3. Irma Olson and I are Heavenly Father's favorite daughters in the Lisbon mission.

I’m serious. This is the best area in the entire mission to be in for Christmas. I can’t even comprehend how beautiful it is. Last night we went with our Stake Choir to go caroling in the heart of historical Lisbon. There were huge crowds of people gathering to hear us sing and people were recording it and there were people crying. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. We handed out tons of cards and pamphlets and “Joy to the World” DVDs and it was so fun to spread the joy of Christmas like that. We were so lucky we got to be there because it’s in our area! This place is magical!

Well I still have to email president, but I love you all so much. Mom and dad I’m so excited to talk to you tomorrow! And everyone else in the family I will try to Skype with you if you’re on! I will be online probably between 1 and 2pm Lisbon time. I love you guys so much!

Merry Christmas!

Remember that the reason we celebrate the birth of Christ is because He was born to die for us. I know He is our savior and that He loves and care for every one of us. I know He is always by our side and that you can really feel Him with you tomorrow.

I love you all!

Boas festas e feliz natal!

Alma 7:10-13

Irma Dean

Santa I know Him!

12-17-12

Well hello.

This week is going to be a little shorter because I sent a bunch of pictures and those are worth a thousand words, right?

I honestly don’t really remember what happened this week. It went by so fast.

All I know is…

We had Christmas conference! Yay! And my camera stopped working the day before so that’s awesome. So, I have to bum pictures off of other people and send them later. Sorry. But the conference was seriously amazing. AMAZING. The spirit was so incredible and we had such a great time. President and Irma Fluckiger did so many nice things for us and the food was awesome. We got to see all our friends! It was pretty much just awesome. Also, one of the members from Mem Martins, my first area was there. Her name is Joelma and she was like a mom for me there. I ran and gave her a hug and burst into tears. It was like the biggest tender mercy ever. I love her so much. She said they had been talking about me the other day and didn’t know where I was but that they all miss me a lot, which is like a missionary's dream to hear from members. Well, mine at least.

Also, it’s been raining a ton and our house is so humid that our paper is moist. And I can see my breath inside the house.

Umm... yeah I really can’t think of anything else ha-ha. We had to push back the baptism date of the two girls in Família Pico because in a lesson with the dad we felt it was too fast. So just keep them in your prayers.

Other than that I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been writing me! I keep getting so many letters and I love you all so much and I’m so grateful! I’m sorry I haven’t had time to write most of you back but I’m praying for you guys and it always makes my day to get letters from you guys, especially from the ward! Thank you!

Ok, well, I love you guys! Next email from me will be on Christmas Eve! Woo!

Have a great week!

Irma Dean

Pictures!

This is  an Elder who is finishing his mission and came to Lisbon to meet with a recent convert who is now inactive and introduce us to her.  

  In a really cool part of our area with said recent convert, Ana.  

  Irma Olson and I at a members house decorating the tree.  

 Yuri (baptized three weeks ago), Hernani (our ward mission leader who was baptized just over a year ago), Aguida (basically our favorite member) and her daughter Marcia, Irma Olson

Irma Olson, Irma nelson, me, and Irma joão at the Christmas conference

Ana, me, and Christina (our gospel principles teacher) at the ward Christmas party.  

Preggo

9 months on the mission, pregnant pictures.

Lapa

12/10/12

Lapa!

Well I had my first week here in Lapa! It was great.

This area is the heart of Lisbon, in the historical district with all the awesome architecture and tourist attractions. It's decorated so beautifully for Christmas and I am so excited to be here for the holidays!

My new companion, Irma Olson, is from Utah and she's really great. We get along really well. If for no other reason, because she is also obsessed with Jersey Shore and movies. Basically we quote Jersey Shore every single day and we have a lot of laughs.

Our house is just about the smallest thing I've ever seen but it’s in a really cool old European building, so it's part of the experience.

The week went really well. We've been working mostly with two guys, Fernando and Yuri, who were both baptized last week. We taught them throughout the week and they both received the Holy Ghost on Sunday. They are awesome! Especially Fernando. He is the boyfriend of a member whose family, Família Pico, is part-member/part-active. He had no interest in talking to the missionaries but always came to activities and stuff and then started to read the Book of Mormon and talked to the missionaries and said he knew he needed to be baptized. This was two weeks ago, and today he is almost done with the book of Mosiah! He has been highlighting and making notes in the margin of his Book of Mormon and asked for one in English to start reading. He also brought his mom to church on Sunday to see him confirmed, and has already given her a Book of Mormon. What a rock star. He's so legit. He needs to serve a mission.

We've also been working a lot with that family, Família Pico, because they were baptized a few years ago but when they moved to Lisbon they went inactive. Now the parents are still inactive, but the two oldest girls are back in church (girlfriend of Fernando and another one) and the two youngest daughters haven't been baptized yet. They are nine and twelve and are always at church, the dad is just keeps saying it's too fast and they need to wait a little longer. They read and pray every day though and that whole family is awesome. The bishop came to a lesson with us and said that he would talk to the dad Joaquim, and that he should be the one to baptize the little girls. Bishop is on board and we are hoping to get Joaquim's permission to baptize them this Sunday. So pray for us and the family! Our President and the area presidency want us to complete families so we know the Lord is rooting for us on this one.

Tomorrow is our mission Christmas Conference! We are so excited!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh it's Christmas! Yay!

Whelp, I love you guys. Go watch the following.

Home alone

Elf

The Family Stone

The Holiday

Just Friends

The Santa Clause

It’s a Wonderful Life

And then drink hot chocolate with a candy cane in it.

Love you!

Irma... I mean Sister Dean... yeah they switched our tags. I don’t want to talk about it.

The Downhill Slope

12/04/12

The Downhill Slope

This Friday is nine months on the mission!!

I’m already reaching my half way! Can you guys believe that? Its blowing my mind I can’t even process it.

Sadly, next week I won’t be including my pregnant pictures because we have Christmas conference which means we don’t get a p-day that week and I’m not sure if we will be able to email the next day.

But guess what!!!

We had transfers!!

I got moved from Quinta do Conde to an area called Lapa. It’s right in Lisbon, and is amazing! Look it up ha-ha it’s exactly what you have in your mind when you picture Europe. We live across the street from the national art museum ha-ha. My new comps name is Irma Olson and she’s super nice and I think we're going to get along really well. Everyone says we are a lot alike so it’s either going to be fantastic or awful. Let’s pray for fantastic. Also, there is a Starbucks in this area. Tender mercy. We live like right on The Rive Tejo and we can see Cristo Rei (a giant Christ like the one in Brazil) from our window. The house is crazy small but its fun. I am already so in love with this area.

President wrote me back this past week and said that he feels that the Lord has more for me to do here and that "The Lord is sending you to one of the strongest wards in the country with a wonderful companion who will be a great help to you. He is giving you an area and counting on you to make it better than it is today because of your unselfish service. We love you"

No pressure.

I was really scared of coming here at first because my heart literally broke at having to leave our district and that ward, and I was so nervous to get here. Lapa has a reputation for being one of the best areas in the mission, let alone Irma area. So it’s a little intimidating but I feel so lucky and excited to be here.

Before we got the transfer call I was reading the scriptures to distract myself because I was so nervous. I read in D&C 103, which talks about how the saints received chastisement for a while and the Lord promised them that blessing would come after tribulation. Then it goes on to say that the time of the Lord’s blessing has arrived and they will be delivered. I felt so strongly that whatever was about to happen was going to be Heavenly Father giving me the blessing I’ve been needing and my reward for having stuck out the last two transfers that were pretty much an emotional and physical crap-storm. Everything I find out about this area is proving to me that the Lord knows me and he wants to bless me. I’m so grateful he’s given me this area and that I can learn a lot here.

Oh, also, our district is us and the four office elders... that part should be interesting ha-ha but they’re all pretty cool.

But yeah, I’m so excited to start the second half of my mission in this area and get back to feeling like I’m really here and really doing the Lord’s work.

Thank you all for the prayers and support! Have a great week and sing Christmas songs and stay happy! Because I’m happy. And the Lord wants us happy!

2 Nephi 2:25 Here’s my new address for letters

Rua do Olival Nº116 2º anda, Porta 5 1200- Prazeres Portugal

And don’t forget packages can only go to

Irma Erin Dean a/c Igreja de Jesus Cristo Dos Santos Dos Ulitmos Dias Rua Jorge Barradas Nº14C 1500-370 Lisboa Portugal

Love you guys!