tear drops on the keyboard...

To all:

 

Ok did you like my emotional subject line? Well as you could probably have guessed at this point, my email account is still locked, and I have never had such a let down coming to the computer ready to hear from my family, dying to hear whats going on because it´s been two weeks...and its locked. Did you get my email from last week? Can you re-send your email from last week, today and from now on to this email address too (lizzie.mccrery@gmail.com), just in case? OK well I just quickly chatted with eric taylor and told him to call you so that this probelm could be fixed. That was a desparate move.

 

Ok but let me get the news from these parts. Basically its like this....

 

I live in Coimbra, Portugal. I live on the other side of the city than the University. But I can practically smell Harry Potter from here. The University is actually in the Elder´s area which means I don´t get to see it everyday.

 

I love this city. It was like coming home when I pulled in last monday. The sky was overcast and the city is tucked in rolling hills of greenery, but full of tall apartment buildings. It is so famiiar here but at the same time completely different and unique. It turns out that I didn´t end up taking the train to Hogwarts, but the bus. A little less epic. But I will say that I have had the Harry Potter theme song stuck in my head everyday without fail. It is so diverse here. There are parts of the city that are 800 yers old, mixed with buildings from the 70´s and then totally modern architecture around the corner. The weather is nice, breezy. We don´t live too far from the grocery store and barely 5 minutes from the chapel! Ok do you have a vision of where I am living now? There is a river that borders one side of the city. Ok now you know.

 

This Saturday a guy nmed Delcides was baptized! He is awesome. 22 years old and from Brazil he is studying at the university. He was seriously prepared for the Gospel, by the time I got here we just had to teach a few more things before his baptism. But basically it was such a blessing to be here for his baptism, also he is already starting to prepare for his mission. He is so excited to serve a mission. He will start teaching lessons with us and the elders.

 

Also.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLINTON!

 

The ward here is really very small, about 42 people attend each week, is what they are telling me. But lots of people are gone on vacation right now, so there were not very many people this sunday. But let me tell you about the Bishop here....

 

Bishop Pitarma and his wife Irmã Ana. From the fist 10 minutes of being in bishop´s home, I felt 100% at home. Do you know why? because Bishop Pitarma and Ana are Bil and Stepper´s Portuguese-personality-twins! It was like walking into Bil and steppers house. Bishop is 31 and Ana has got to be like 26. They have two sons Guilherme is 2 years old and will turn 3 in a few months (aka Portugese-twin for Wyatt) But seriously, even the way that Guilherme look s reminds me of Wy Guy. And then, the baby Salvador is probably like 1 year more or less. Basically, if Bil and Stepper were Portuguese, this would be their life. I will have to take a picture with them. Bishop Pitarma is awesome. He got back from his mission like 3 years ago. So misionary work is a priority in this ward, HOW REFRESHING! Irmã De Sousa (my comp) says that he´s got our back, that he will always defend us if there are problems in the ward. Right on. Talk about tender mercy from the Lord, after my refiner´s fire experience from my last area.

 

Ok also I just found out that Eric Talyor is getting married on wednesday. Cool!

 

Did you get my address from last week?

 

Irmã McCrery

Escadas Praceta Pedro Alvares

Nº5 1ºC

3030 Coimbra

 

We live super close to the mail office, so any packages sent here will be super easy for me to pick up...wink wink nudge nudge.

 

Also one more fun fact. Supposedly there is a place here that is like a little park filled with miniature versions of buildings and monuments in portugal. I´m dying to go there. They will be novetly size. Novelty size Portugal. What more could I ask for?

 

Peanut BUtter. Thats somethign I could ask for. Apparently northern Portugal has never even heard of skippy.

 

Also, the work is going great so far. Lots of changes with my new comp who has been playing by a different rule book with a different mission president.... but forward ever forward, we will whip this area into shape!

 

I actually really love being  a missionary. I love the work. Have I told you that lately? I do. I can feel it slipping through my fingers and I don´t want to miss a moment. Next week maybe I will go a bit deeper and talk about more than the weather and Harry Potter.

 

Please don´t forget to send me the emails from last week and this week to this email.

 

I love you all!

2 Letters...

EMAIL NOT WORKING!!!

My LDS mail is not working! I´m so frustrated! I have such exciting news, but now I´m breaking the rules to write and I can´t even read the emails that you guys sent me this week!

But get this...... I´m going to COIMBRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!

That is the northern part of Portugal, a part that I never would have served in if the missions hadn´t combined a couple weeks ago!!! This place has the university Coimbra which JK Rowling based Hogwarts off of.... so basically today I ´m getting on the train to Hogwarts and I will probably stay there for the rest of my mission!! Cool! Ok let me try my LDS mail account again. I don´t know what happened.

ate ja!

 

University of Coimbra, Coimbra Portugal. Very Hogwarts-like!

 

 

One of the libraries at University.

Is this reminding anyone else of the Great Hall in Hogwarts?

 

 

 

OK, I'm Back and Bitter

Dear Stepper and gang,

So basically I just wasted 15 precious Internet minutes trying to figure out why ldsmail won´t let me sign in. But I just have a feeling that I have some gem emails waiting for me there, but like I already told Stepper I have big news! I´m going to Coimbra! In the northern part of Portugal. It will be such a treat. I´m going to serve with a Brazilian Irma. It should be good. She has been in the mission for the same amount of time as Irma Lima (my old comp rom cabo verde) they came to the mission at the same time. So she is a younger irma in the mission. I´m so excited. I also found out that my dear old friend irmã De Almeida (my favorite Portuguese companion) will being going out the Azores for her last two transfers...It will be incredible to meet back up with her at the end of our missions, and talk about our experiences!

This last week in quinta do Conde was awesome. We were reminded that there are no weak areas in a mission, only weak missionaries. I had been a bit weak these past few weeks or so. A little bit burnt out of being in the same area for so long, and over all just a downer. My poor comp irma thayer got me on the tail end of a rocky road. But after these few weeks with irma thayer, I have grown to love her. As we really got to work, and stepped up our game, we started to see miracles together. This past week we found some people that I won´t ever forget. One of them is Eliseu (translated is Elijah, like the Prophet). On Thursday as we were getting ready to leave we prayed to know where we should go to find those who are prepared to hear the Gospel. After our prayer irmã Thayer said that she felt like we should go to a certain road right on the outskirts of Quinta do Conde, as we trekked our there, I felt a comforting feeling of faith that we would truly find someone up on that road that was waiting for us. As we knocked that street either people weren´t home or couldn´t care less. but we kept going until the end, when we reached the end we got the the cross street and saw a house that looked abandoned and didn´t think much of it, we turned the corner and kept going, but as we round the side of this ´´abandoned´´ house we saw towels drying on the clothes line and realized that the house in fact was not abandoned. So we turned around to find the front door and saw a man with a hard hat digging around the side of the house. We politely called his attention........ TO BE CONTINUED... our ride just got here.... see you at Hogwarts....



address:
Escadas praceta pedro alveres cabral Nº5 1ºC
3030 Coimbra
Portugal

Hello!

Big changes here in my neck of the woods.

 

This last week was a week of twists. Tuesday afternoon we received a phone call from the mission presidente´s wife informing us that Imra Perkins needed to pack her bags because she would be leaving to go to Setubal to serve with Irma De Almeida and Irma thayre would be coming to serve with me in quinta do conde. SHOCKER! We are in the middle of a transfer, did i mention that? we don´t move in the middle of transfers. But the reason it happened is because there were two irma´s whose time it was to go home, and it just happens to fall in the middle of the transfers, so they were going home last week and instead of giving us warning, they called the day before and gave us a good ole surprise.

 

Needless to say...I was devastated. Irma Perkins has become one of my best friends. So I got off the phone with Irma torgan and told Irma perkins. We were in shock for the rest of the day. But we know that Heavenly Father has purposes in everything He does and that there is a reason we were split and moved around. I hope Irma Perkins is doing great. I´m sure she is. She is serving with my other favorite companion of my mission, so basically it will be a real treat.

 

My new comp is Irma Thayer. We´re getting along well!

 

We´ve had a rough couple weeks here in the area. But I know that these are the moments that the Lords shapes us and molds us to be who He needs us to be.

 

So we have been teaching our favorite Brazilian family with Barbara and Josefina, When Irma Perkins had to say goodbye, our dear little Josefina (88 years old and still sharp as a tack) started to get teary eyed and told us how much she appreciated this time learning of the Gospel and having us in her home and she one the most tender things, as she described our travelling missionary lifestyle she said that when we leave we.. ´´deixa saudade onde passa´´, doesn´t translate as profoundly, but basically it means that as we missionaries pass through these homes and towns we leave a feeling of missing when we leave, there is an impression made where we pass through. It meant a lot. She is so ready for the Gospel, she just has to get past little hang ups. I wish you could all meet this woman. She is really something else. She is an incredible example of Christlike love and integrity. I will have to take a picture next time we are over there to show you how short she is. She has got to be like 4 feet tall or something.

 

Today we will be going to a place called Cristo Rei. It´s that giant statue of Jesus that sits looking out across the river from Lisboa. Neat.

 

I sure do miss you all. I hope all is well back there. More next week!

 

Lizzie

Explosion!

OK first some pictures before I forget... we tried to go to a castle last p-day, we got off on the wrong bus stop and ended up in this great little town called sesimbra. also remember when I left and Daphne looked like that last picture?

Wait...sorry about that last picture. Got the wrong number. That's not Daphne, that's Elder Blair.

Hello!

The subject line has nothing to do with this e-mail, just wanted to get your attention. This week was full of ups and full of downs. Do I say that every week? I feel like I do. The pictures included are from last week´s p-day. We spent the day in a town called sesimbra. It was too charming for it´s own good. If you are wondering if  Irmã Perkins and I are wearing coordinating shirts...we are, because we can do that. Well first things first. Yesterday it was 98 degrees outside and more humid than ever before. We realized that it felt exactly like a sauna, as we walked to and from our appointments. We ended up getting lost in a vast pine field, with lost of back roads in the blistering heat ( I thought we should try a short cut) Turns out it wasn´t a short cut, but also was not a long cut. It took the same amount of time as our normal route, it was just a lot more work. My legs are all scratched up from the stickery bushes we waded through in our skirts....Oh the adventures we have!

Well let me give you the highlights of the week....

Friday morning as we were studying in the morning, I gazed out the window ( As I often do because our neighborhood is always bustling) and saw I Mom and a Dad walking with a stroller. The people looked awfully familiar, as a did a double take I realized who it was a jumped out of my chair. Irmã Perkins later described my facial expression as nothing she had before seen. My face was a mess of emotions included but not limited to: confusion, excitement, joy, and shock. As I pointed out the window I exclaimed.... ´´WILLIAM IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!´´. Do you remember our recent convert William? he read 50 pages in the Book of Mormon the first night he got it? Well he has been gone for over 6 weeks working on the ocean with underwater robots (cool I know), and he finally came back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We didn´t know if he would ever be able to enter the country again because he does not yet have residency here in Portugal. He is from Africa. As we jumped up and down with joy we quickly threw our shoes on and grabbed our missionary tags, and ran outside to the street to track him down. We stopped in the parking lot of the nearby grocery store and talked a bit with him. He was still just as excited about the Book of Mormon, he said he is almost done, and has begun reading the pearl of great price! Well basically it was the best miracle that happened! He is an incredible missionary and will help lots of people learn of the Gospel. Neat!

Also we had Zone conference with 3 zones this last week. It was intense. It was awesome. I got to see the majority of my old companions there, it was a real trip.

Well I sure do love you all and miss you! Don´t forget to wear sunscreen.

Love, Lizzie

P.S. Evan I got your letter. Corinne I got your letters too! All of my other friends, all of you MANY letters must have gotten lost in the mail because I haven´t received them yet.......

Famous Last Words....

One more week has pasted and we are working working working hard. Irmã Perkins and I get along so well. We will be going to China after she gets home from her mission so she can show me around and be my translator. Also did I mention that in her last weeks e-mail her parents casually informed her that they would be spending a week with Elder Holland in India and then the following week with Elder Bednar in Vietnam....  then they all would go back to Hong Kong....where her parents live. Ya, I know. We laugh about it all the time. I tease her all the time about her crazy life, and she is just super humble and laughs about it too. But we get cool inside insights from Elder Holland through her Dad´s e-mails. Neat.

OK so this week was rough, but in the ´´We really worked`` kind of rough. We really worked at finding new people that are ready to accept the Gospel, and really worked at overcoming the natural man (AKA trying not to think about how hungry we were during the day, and refraining from speaking English with each other for 24 hour periods of time....) over all it was a good week. We have two new elders in our ward. It is a real blessing. One is a solid oldy in the mission and he is training a SUPER greenie. This new missionary is great, he was talking up a storm in Portuguese at church, just doing the  best he could for being in the country for three days. It will be awesome to be in the same district and ward as them so that we can fortify this ward enough to open a new branch.

Also important note: We have two extra mattresses now because are all by our selves in our apartment without Irma Lima or Irma Perez..... So we will be building a fort today.

Last night we had a really cool lesson with a family that is progressing and we hope that the Grandmother ,Josefina(88 years old) and Granddaughter, Barbara(30 years old) will be baptized this weekend. They are a Brazilian family and are very warm and welcoming. Last night when we went over there, we planned to teach about the plan of salvation and invite the two of them to be baptized this weekend. As we knocked the door, I looked at Irmã Perkins and said.... ´´Let´s make this brief.´´ she agreed. Let me just say those were some famous last words. We spent almost 3 HOURS there with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But in the end the spirit was there and testified of our Heavenly Father´s plan. Barbara´s husband was there and accepted to start reading the book of Mormon! And right when we finally thought we were getting out of there, they insisted that we stay to eat carrot cake and juice (classic Brazilian move, feeding us at every visit) we tried to resist but she gave us the death glare. The cakes was awesome and while we ate they asked us about our missions and if we missed our families, I responded that sometimes we miss our families, but that it´s worth it. I explained how it is worth it to leave our family to help other families. They were really taken aback. But it´s true, you know? 

For now, I´m where I´m suppose to be, doing what I´m suppose to be doing. This is the work of the Lord to proclaim the Gospel so that all may learn that Jesus is the Christ and because of  him we can all return to live with our Heavenly Father and our families forever. All we must do is follow Him, and He has already shown the way.

I really do miss you all and would love to hear from your side of the world....

My address is still:

Rua Salgueiro Alameda
Lote 82 R/C-C
2975-333 Quinta do Conde
Portugal

Love,
Lizzie

P.S. Thank you Emily Mickle for the package!!!!!!!!!!!! Emily Mickle, is your last name different from the last time I saw you? I know you Emily, but how?

Thick of it...

Bil,

I was busting up laughing about my terrible English. Let´s be honest I never thought I would get to the day when I couldn´t speak right. Because I always thought that it was a stupid thing that happens to other missionaries, something  I would be able to control. But I find myself in the street thinking in English sometimes and I can´t find the words I want. Or I will be talking to some elder telling a story and mix up the order of my words. Cool.

Bil. You know how you say I´m in the thick of it? And then you get all nostalgic and I can basically see the dreamy flash back that is happening in your brain of your mission. Thanks. Every time I remember that phrase (Lizzie,You're in the thick of it), I just kind of step back and see the knee deep goop of happy missionary work that  I am in the thick of, and I realize that I like it. I don´t like being stressed, but that feeling after being stressed and everything goes fine, that's a pretty good feeling. Worth it, one might say. I read my journal last night from one year ago. The entry was from the 26th of May. My entry was from my night staying in the Mission President´s house when I got into the country. I was so nervous, and I had no idea what was coming. It was such a trip to flip through my journal and read some things I have written. I realized how much I have learned, and how many pages I still have to fill up. Last night as I said my prayer, I spaced out for a moment, and when I snapped back, it all became very clear to me, that I was kneeling at the side of a bed, at 11:00pm, in a room with a girl from Africa and a girl who grew up in china, in an apartment located in a place called Quinta do Conde, in a country far far away from anywhere I know, having been a missionary for over a year. When that all became clear I thought... I really am in the thick of it.

Bil this week was thick. Real thick. On Thursday Teresa and Rui were MARRIED....and then 5 hours later........BAPTIZED!!! The ward threw a party of all parties. This is the second wedding party that I have seen for recent converts and it was the better of the two. There was lots of good food. They threw a bouquet (flowers taken from outside the chapel, picked on the spot). One of the members is like Alex Wood´s status piano player and he filled the chapel with beautiful music the whole night. It was an incredible day, real joy, you know?

Then Friday we had out interviews with Presidente Torgan. It´s an all day event. It was the most incredible interview I have had in my mission. Normally Preisdente Torgan is a man of few words with me, because I am a woman of few words and questions with him...But this time was different. I know I already described the last interview from a few months ago, and I described how President Torgan is a great big bear of a man, well he just fills the room with the spirit. He´s got this big smile and tells it like it is. Well he told me like it is in our interview, but instead of it being a harsh critique (that for some reason I always expect and never happens) Presidente Torgan looked me square in the eyes and told me that he could feel how much trust the Lord has in me. His words were powerful and the spirit filled the room. I believed him. I knew he really felt that. I also know that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers and my prayers were answered, just in that one comment alone. The whole interview was an incredibly personal and uplifting moment of my mission that I will never forget. In the end of our interviews we kneel down and Presidente Torgan offers a prayer. He pleaded for me to our Heavenly Father. As he pleaded for me and my well being, he affirmed my abilities and the things that Lord will require of me in the future of my mission. It was like receiving a blessing of comfort. Did you remember powerful spiritual experiences around your mission president Bil?

While we sat in our zone during the trainings we receive in between interviews, I looked around and realized that there were only two missionaries in the room with more time in the mission than me. Which means, I am close to the end. I am ´´old´´ in my mission as they say. I still have 3 transfers, or 4 months. But I feel like this time is slipping through my fingers, all of a sudden I realized the thick of it one day will get thinner, and before i know it I will be walking up the escalator at the airport to find wy guy at the top, standing at a whopping 5 foot, and everyone else will be there too. And this will be a memory.

But for now Bil, I´m in the thick of it. There is nothing in the world like this. There is nothing in my life that will be just like this. I am so thankful to realize it, because that means that I can enjoy it, bask in the challenges, and see the miracles that come. Thanks for everything.

-Lizzie

P.S. just put this one on the blog will ya?

Beautiful are the Feet...

I came across a scripture the other day that made me laugh..

``And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!``
- Romans 10:15

Let´s talk about my beautiful feet...

Also I forgot to tell you about a little thing called Mexican week at the grocery store....when they sell the basic Mexican food necessities for anyone who has been craving Mexican food for a year...

well lost control.....

This week flew by quickly. We just went to the court house again this morning to schedule the marriage for this Thursday for Rui and Teresa. They will be baptized Thursday night after the marriage! What a miracle. We will be the witnesses. What a trip.

Also...My zone P-day a few weeks ago.... Costa de Caprika. Did I mention that Portugal is beautiful?

OK this email is not well organized...but here is an inspiring miracle that happened on Saturday Night...

Long day, not a lot happened. We had spent the day walking to our appointments only to find that they were not home. We were walking to pass by a reference that the elders had given us, as were crossing a street we hear ever so clearly from across the street on the second floor...``Elders! Elders!!!`` We looked at each other a little bit confused, kind of laughed and then turned our attention back to the woman hanging out the window calling to us. We crossed the street and climbed up the stairs. The young woman opened her door and said... ``Come in, I'm Mormon too!`` we stepped into her apartment and sat down to talk with her. We asked how long ago she had been baptized and she informed us that, she never got to the pass of baptism, that she used to live a couple cities over in a place called Corroios and there she met the Elders and they taught her and her boyfriend. She had gone to church for about a year in Corroios but had not yet been baptized because her and her boyfriend live together with their son and are not married. She said that the elders were trying to help them with the paper work for marriage, but then all of a sudden they had to move for the work of the boyfriend and came here, not knowing how to find the elders, or the nearest chapel. That was about 2 years ago..... So she called our attention, and because of that we got her a ride to church and on Sunday she went back to church for the first time in a long time. It was awesome. Her son loved it, and she felt right at home. What a huge blessing that Heavenly Father puts these people in our path, sometimes at the end of a long day with little success, and when we think about turning back for the day, we hear the simple ``Elder, Elder!!`` from a second story window, and we have one more family to invite to come unto Christ.

That's the stuff, you know?

Well, more next week. I hope all is well.

You can ALWAYS write me a letter.......

Love,
Lizzie