2022- Week 3(Jan 17- Jan 23)

Ethan gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas. I love the book annex. So many wonderful books just waiting to be discovered. I could live at this store. I think I'll go get a job there one day.

These are all the books I am currently in the middle of reading. I have a very bad habit of starting a book and then hearing about another wonderful book and starting that one and it taking me forever to finish a whole book so I am not allowing myself to read any of those books until I finish these. 

We got Ashtyn's flight plans! She will officially come home on the 11th of February. To say we are excited is an understatement! I can't believe her mission is coming to a close. It has gone by so fast. 

There have been some amazing sunsets lately. These cotton candy clouds get me every time. I have started a new ritual of looking out the window while I eat breakfast. It is so calming to just be looking out the window- not multi tasking or looking at a screen or reading a book, etc just being in the moment. It's been really good for my mind.

Activity Days got cancelled this week by our stake because of Covid so I made the boys a little at home activity. I gave them all the things they would need to make a paper boat, watch a paper boat race and learn about things involving boats. I also included a little treat. 

Melinda and I went over to Liz's house to show her a few cooking techniques. We helped her make chicken and rice and a winter salad. I showed her how to make the yummiest candied walnuts in the oven. It was fun to see her cute house. We plan to do this a few more times. 

Brian Hall invited Jeff and Ethan to sit in a box at the Jazz game. They had a blast.

Greg sent me this photo. It's me holding Danielle in 1992. I went to visit Greg for the holidays when he and his family lived there. These are Danielle's great grandparents. They couldn't speak English and they fed me until I was so stuffed and sick but Greg said not to refuse because that is very rude culturally in Germany. I loved that trip. They were very nice.

Whitney and I have been dying to try Brookers Ice Cream. All of their flavors are named after people from colonial times. I tried the James Madison and the George Mason flavors. Whitney had the John Hancock. I loved that the workers were wearing period dress. It was really really good. 

Ashtyn's Letter:

Olá! Another week! Uau this week was fast and stressful and we saw lots and lots of miracles because God NEVER STOPS WORKING and neither do we! 

First off we found 7 new people this week! 7! We've been cleaning out our area and so that meant lots of time for finding and we saw lots of miracles street contacting! We walking through a park on our way to go back home and we saw a man walking in our direction. I wasn't planning on stopping him because of some premisconceptions I created in my mind as we approached him. It sounds cliché but like the famous saying says NEVER judge a book by its cover. We called out to him and explained that we were missionaries and we share messages of peace. He said he has been looking for peace and was even getting ready to move to find more peace. We also brought up the Book Of Mormon and he lost his mind when we told him we would give it to him for free. But the coolest part was when he looked up towards the sky and said "this is a moment. He is aware" an incredible example and experience of how God places us in the exact place where we need to be:)) we also found an awesome woman named Luìsa when we were knocking doors! We shared a bit about the Book Of Mormon with her and she said she wanted to come to church! She told us that when she lived in Brazil she helped a lot in the church she attended and has been wanting to do that again in Portugal! YAY! 

Now for the people we are teaching we had some pretty awesome lessons this week. We were finally able to meet with our friend Sara (I think I talked about her a couple weeks ago) and it was so good! Our lessons with her are very ocnverstaional and open and we usually cover a lot. We talked alot about the premortal life and how we are spiritual beings trying to navigate imperfect mortal bodies. That idea seemed to stick with her and it was cool to see her open up. We also met twice with Luzinete e Erri this week! One of our lessons was on the word of wisdom and they miraculously had no problems with it! Expect we have to move their baptism date back again because they missed church and you have to attend church at least twice before baptism! We had a wild lesson with our friend Julio this week. We'll the lesson itself wasn't wild but how we got to it. He wanted to meet in person in Belém (a city 30 min. South of us and we chose to meet at a park. We'll we apparently misunderstood him and we showed up at the wrong park🤦‍♀️ after talking on the phone for 10 minutes and trying to understand his crazy difficult accent, waiting for him for 25 min. we finally understood where he was at and took an Uber to the other park haha. The lesson went well and he bought us McDonald's ice-cream afterwards so was a success! 

Now to leave you off on a spiritual note: this week and honestly these past few weeks I have been thinking of how I can strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ. I feel like in my head it's been easier to have a relationship with God because we pray to him and one of the biggest lessons I have learned on my mission is God's REAL nature and character. And I want to have that with Jesus Christ. I read a talk this week by Elder Bednar and it was amazing! It gave me some great insights and ideas on how I can strengthen my relationship with Christ. So if that's something you need, go read it! 

Everyone have an amazing amazing week!!

Tchau tchau 

-Sister Shaw 

*finally went and saw some cool stuff for you dad 

1-6. Palácio de Pena in Sintra! Super cool and got to recreate some of my dad's photos from his mission

7. The sky here will never cease to amaze me

8. Torre de Belém, a really pretty monument in our area!

9. One of the guys I taught in DC got baptized and I was able to watch it through zoom and see some of my old comps❤❤

10. Sleepy sleepy on the bus 

 

2022- Week 2(Jan 10- Jan 16)

 I took lunch to my friend Marilyn for her birthday. She is my minister. She is in her late 80's and can't get out much but she is so sweet to call me all the time so I wanted to do something nice for her. She is the one who got me into DUP. I love our visits. She is amazing. She told me the story of how she met her husband and it happened at a bowling ally. She kept using a ball that was in the rack on her lane and it turned out to be his ball. I thought that was cute.

Ethan is sick again. Just when I thought he was finally doing better he came down with another sore throat and cough. I went to several stores to try and find a Covid test but then my amazing neighbor gave me one of hers. He tested negative so I ended up taking him to the doctor to see if he had strep again. That also came back negative so I guess he just has a virus that will have to run it's course. I feel bad for him. He's been sick since right after Christmas. 

Ashtyn will be home so soon so we ordered this banner to take to the airport. I am also going to hang it at our house at her homecoming. We are so excited to see her!

We had the missionaries over for Dinner on Sunday. We made Ethan stay downstairs. They are both from the west coast. I love having the missionaries in our home. We also invited Mike Shepherd over as well. We had a nice visit.

Ethan got accepted to the U. He isn't sure if he really wants to go there yet or not but wanted to keep his options open. By options I mean he only applied to the U so that was his only option and we are glad he got in. I never doubted he would- his grades and test scores are great. I really think he is just more focused on serving a mission at this point so school is taking a backseat. He can always apply somewhere else when he gets home, it's just a whole lot easier to apply while you are in high school. We won't find out about scholarships until mid February so that may be the deciding factor on if he chooses the U when he comes home. I can't believe all my kids will be college age this year.

Ethan's math teacher gave him a stick of butter with his name on it at school one day this week. I thought it might be a girl asking him to the sweethearts dance so I made him open it and melt it down to see if there was anything inside. There wasn't so we were a little stumped but then later that night the doorbell rand and this poster was on the porch. He got asked by his friend Zoie that he has known since first grade. He is excited. It's a 50's themed dance this year.

Ashtyn's Letter:

Olá! Tudo bem! I hope everyone has had an amazing week! I don't have too much to update on since my pday wasn't too long ago...but this week Sister Meredith and I have been working our butts off this week trying to clean up our area and find new people! A couple updates:

☆we've been meeting a lot more with members this which is a miracle in and of itself because ever since I've been in this area it's been a battle to try and meet with the members. We had 3 member meals this week and it was amazing to connect more with the members. The members here in Portugal are few but they are so faithful, they also really like talking about the U.S. and how crazy it is.

☆we had another lesson with our friend Joaci and unfortunately  we pretty much went in the same circle we have been going in for the past few lessons. But we did have a member present and she was bold and straight forward and it was awesome. Pray that his heart can be touched

☆we met with Erri and Luzinete, the couple on date to be baptized, and it went well! We talked to them about the importance of church and re-emphasized the importance of baptism again. We seem to be going on the uphill track with them so pray for them as well! 

☆We've been going out on the street and knocking doors more and have had some cool experiences. After we had our lesson with Erri and Luzinete we went and knocked a building and were able to have a really interesting with this girl about the soul. We were able to bear testimony about the Book Of Mormon and how it answers the questions of the soul! She took a copy and told us she would read it! 

☆I've been thinking a lot about our focus lately and how important it is to focus on the right things. For example I'm about the finish my mission and it could be really easy for me to have all my focus on that. To only think about home and the things of world and not gonna lie sometimes it's difficult. And not that it's bad to think about those things at all, but I have noticed I'm a lot happier when I place my focus on our Savior. I had a cool experience the other day when we were calling people who were formerly taught. We called this lady and she said she would really like to talk to us but then went on to list a 100 different reasons of why she doesn't have time our couldn't. I felt the need to testify to her that if she puts God first and acts then he will help her balance everything out. She had been talking and talking and after I said this she got quiet and said she would have a little time on Thursday. It was so awesome to see her perspective change when she had things put in perspective. The important things. Definitely a big testimony builder to me. You are the focus of God's life so don't forget to make him the focus of yours:)

Have an amazing week!! 

Tchau tchau

-Sister Shaw 

Only picture sorry!

2022- Week 1(Jan 3- Jan 9)

 

For Jeff's work party this year they held it at Soldier Hollow. I have to admit I was less than thrilled about this. It's a drive and it's cold and I was so tired but I knew we'd have fun once we got there. Ethan was sick. We found out he has strep this week so he didn't go and Whitney had to work so it was a fun little date for Jeff and I. Vernon's family was there as well as Ray and Shelby and her dad and that was it besides us. At the end they gave everyone an insulated bag and we had hot chocolate and donuts. It was crowded but the lines went fast and it was a lot of fun. I love that Jeff has no fear and doesn't give a darn about following the rules which is the opposite of me. He helps me to have a lot more fun than I would alone. It was cold but not too cold. I wore my Muck boots from the park and they helped a lot.

I'm back on my emergency preparedness journey. These are some of the things I am focusing on.

Not only did Ethan get strep but three days later he ended up with pink eye- poor kid.

Here are some great tips that I want to implement this year.

The cute pioneer shirt Kristy got me for Christmas was too big but the arms on the size smaller were too short so I exchanged it for this shirt. I love it.

When I was a little girl my grandma would bring me back a doll when she would go on trips. I have a whole collection. I found out this week that my mom gave them to Brooklyn because she forgot they were mine and well let's be honest I have left them at her house for more than 35 years. I didn't care if Brooklyn had them I just wanted to see them again but Melinda ended up giving them all back to me because Brooklyn thought they were weird. Jeff wonders why the heck I want to keep them and what I plan to do with them and Whitney thinks they are possessed ha ha. So They will probably go into my special box but here is a photo of them.

I have been wanting to replace my kitchen chairs with white ones for a long time but haven't wanted to spend the money. Well for Christmas the park gave me two Visa gift cards so I got right online and ordered a set of the chairs. I need two sets for my table so I will have to save up and get the other one at a later date. I love them. It's kind of growing on me to have a mix of black and white chairs but I do plan to do all the white ones soon.

I got a new group of boys for Activity Days. This year I got the younger group and all the new boys. I love them so much. They are still at that age where they think my ideas are fun. We held our first activity this week and we made dream boards. We had carrot and celery sticks with pretzels for the treat and I read them the Dog Poop Initiative book to remind them that setting goals is great but if you don't take the initiative to make your dreams happen, they won't.

I went to a cake making class with Callie Mundy. She is my amazing neighbor who is a professional chef. The one we get our cake jars from. She showed us how to make smores cake. She uses a mix of American buttercream and swiss meringue for her frostings and I love the combination. 

Whitney and I went mattress shopping. We haven't gotten the kids new mattresses in almost 12 years so it was definitely time.

I put my Christmas away. Usually I am so eager to get this done but I didn't mind it this year. I am glad to have the house back in order though.

My mom's friend Marla stayed at our house for a few days. She lives in Eureka and her son was in the hospital so she wanted to be closer. She is really nice. Her mom was the relief society president when my mom joined the church. Marla's younger sisters use to babysit me and my brother when I was a baby. My mom said they would go with my parents to Mesa to go to the temple and play with Greg and I at the park while my parents did a session. Her son had kidney stones. He was hospitalized because he has some other health issues. He is doing a lot better. She stayed at the hospital most of the day and then would just sleep at our house. She gave us a cookie platter to thank us. 

Ethan went to the Chinese Language Fair. He competed in the story telling competition. They show you four pictures and then you have to make up a story on the spot about them in Chinese. 

He won first place.

I had my annual hair appointment with Leanne. I had her cut off seven inches. I still wanted it long but not pioneer long. She also updated my highlights. I love it. 

This is a painting of Heavenly Mother by artist Emily Hawkins. I love this so much. She perfectly captured my feelings about her. We don't know enough to see her clearly but she is always there- just beyond helping us and watching over us and I like to think advocating to the father on our behalf just like a mother does- sending help when we need it.

Image emilywhawkins.com

Jeff and I did initiatories on Saturday. As I was sitting outside the room waiting for my turn my nose started to run. The bathroom is right there so I got up to get a tissue and my nose was bleeding. There was blood all inside my mask. I tried my best to get it to stop but when they called my name I had to ask them to give me a minute. They gave me a new mask and after a few minutes I just stuffed my nose full of tissue, put on the mask and told them I was ready. I had brought five names. After the first three they asked me to wait so they could use the room to do a live initiatory and then they let me finish my last two names. My nose luckily had stopped bleeding so I was able to stay and complete the names. That was a tender mercy. Jeff ended up getting done fifteen minutes before me and was waiting in the lobby. After we got home we ran and got Mo'Bettahs to eat with the kids. 

We started a group chat in our family and call it Forever Shaw based on our favorite movie Forever Strong. Kia Kaha is a Maori phrase used by people in New Zealand and it means to stay strong- basically to be forever strong or never give up. I hope that can be our family motto. 

Ashtyn's letter:

Olá! Tudo bem! This email is coming a little late because we went to the temple today for pday! It is always so refreshing to be away from the world for a little bit. 

This week has been good. Stressful but good. I finally was able to go back to Linda-A-Velha after 10 long days of quarantine and it's been so good to get back into the area. On Friday we got out of quarantine and I spent a majority of the day at the temple with my MTC comp Sis. Bailey waiting for our greenies to arrive! After several hours we were picked up and taken to our mission Presidents house to meet our new comps and eat dinner! I am now comps with Sis. Meredith! She is from Georgia and is straight out of the MTC so she's got an awesome fire in her! Training has been good but stressful. Learning how to be a missionary is hard enough and then you throw learning a language on top of that and it's stressful. We are both a little overwhelmed! Linda-A-Velhas been a little slow recently. Lots of time spent trying to set up lessons and find new people to teach. We've also been running around trying to get bus passes and phones so we haven't had much time to breathe! 

We had a couple of cool lessons this past week. We taught our friend Julio about the restoration over video call and he was hard to read. we invited him to read the Book Of Mormon and go to church with us on Sunday. Despite him being tired and telling us no the first time, he ended up walking two hours to church! He unfortunately showed up late but we were able to give him a copy of the Book Of Mormon and read a scripture with him! 

As far as our other friends, Luzinete and Erri are still on date to be baptized we just need to meet with them a couple more times! But really other than that I don't have too much to update on. 

Everybody have an amazing week! Read your scriptures, say your prays, and trust God!

-Sis. Shaw

Super lame but I have no photos this week!