Loving Portugal!

Snails!

this week was awesome!!!!

So on Wednesday we had divisions, and my sister training leader is.... Sister Carroll!!!! my first comp in Madeira!!! it was so good to see her and serving with her again was so easy. I loved it, and i love that girl! all together we taught 15 lessons that day and found 10 new investigators. best division since my first area.

We had a miracle this week. We went to a part of our area that we don't usually go to because we had lunch with a member there. We decided to work there after. After leaving the house, i was tired, really full, and just didn't feel really up to talking to everyone. But in my division with my STLs, i had talked about how badly i just wanted to have the spirit with me for the rest of my mission. And i knew heavenly Father would trust me more if i listened to and obeyed every prompting that came to me. So i said a little prayer in my heart and tried to see what promptings would come.The next lady we talked to on the street was a less active member from another area. The next predio we passed was opened, so we decided to go in and knock it. We knocked the first door. While waiting, the thought literally passed through my head: I've never had anyone open a door and just be really prepared by the Lord, waiting for us. Maybe it will be this one. Then the door opened. It was a man who had been a member for 20 years and inactive for the last 10, but who had served in the bishopric and had even been to the temple. He told us he had been reading the book of mormon the past few days and asking God to send someone from the church to his house because he truly wanted to come back to church, but just didn't have the courage to do it alone. I know we were guided there to answer his prayers.

Today we went to the Torre de belem!! and ate pasteis de Belem!!! and I'm so happy to be back in Lisboa and its soo cool!!! its weird being so close to where i was the first months of my mission. but now i speak Portuguese and am totes comfortable and i just love my life here. at least on pdays. the other days, i sweat a lot and my feet hurt. but its worth it.

funny food stores. i ate snails this week! it wasn't as gross as you think.. but it wasn't very good. also, last week we ate cachupa at a members house... its like an african chile. ive mentioned it before. but there was a huge chunk of skin looking stuff on my plate that i knew i was just not going to be able to stomach and so i pushed it to the side and ate the rest. the guy that made it was like, well! i see that this girl doesn't like pig ear! i was like, nope, sorry... haha it was funny. from now on i will be serving my self.

we are working with this lady named catia. we have had some really good lessons with her. we showed her temples in our last lesson, and she loved them. shes has said, don't be sad sisters, I'm gonna get baptized! we just don't know when. but i love the lady and i know that she will get baptized, and we are preparing her right now.

i challenge you all to finish the book of mormon before i get home. challenge accepted?

love you all!

paz, amor, casamento do templo,

sister briggs