Ola Familia!
This week was pretty good! I did not get much opportunity to work in my area because we had to do a division in Porta Legre but dad, you will be super excited to hear that Porta Legre is 20 kilometers from Spain so we hiked to the top of a mountain and I got to see the rolling hills of Spain. I don't want to offend you but Spain was nothing special... it looked a lot like Portugal and I couldn't even see the white lines that divide the countries. It was really cool though.
This week was transfers and my comp was transferred out of the area and he went to Madeira which is super awesome. I stayed here and I got a new comp and his name is Elder Cluff. He looks a lot like Collin Toyn and he is super awesome. He only has 2 transfers left in his mission so I might kill him if I stay. But before he got here Elder Riggs had to leave on Sunday night so I went to Porta Legre again and we hung out there so I missed another day of working in my area but I was super happy that I got to go there again because it was the last day of Elder Di Niro's mission. He went home today and we were pretty good friends. He was an elder from Italy and he was way funny but it was sad to see him go.
I would send pictures today but we can't on these computers. Usually we would use the library but it is a Portuguese holiday so the library is closed! The Portuguese are all fubecas! I will make sure to send you the pictures next week.
I am super happy to hear that Sam is doing well and I got 2 calls to confirm that I knew. Dad always was thorough haha. President called me and I have never gotten a call from President Fluckiger so I was super scared and he just told me that Sam is good and asked me about my area but I almost peed my pants haha.
We taught Jose again and it turns out he hasn't been understanding everything we were teaching so we will be teaching him everything again, which is exciting... haha. This week in fast and testimony meeting he got up and bore his testimony which was awesome. He talked about how the Elders have taught him so much and he is a changed man because of us. It was a cool thing to see especially because Riggs was leaving. That is all that really happened this week. I will send pictures next week! Love you guys, give Sam a big hug for me!
Love,
Elder Ruggles
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Week 15
Hey everybody!
Not much happened this week! It was Thanksgiving and my comp and I totally forgot haha. We looked at the calendar and he said when is Thanksgiving and I said I think it was yesterday but oh well they don't have it here and we still wouldn't have done anything haha! I made my comp fast yesterday for Sam and he was cool with it so don't worry about the kidney thing, two fasting missionaries is pretty much a quick fix for everything. I heard that 2 fasting missionaries stopped the Civil War... that's a fact. Our investigator Jose doesn't have the same will to follow the commandments like he used to so we are afraid that he will become an eternal investigator. He still likes the missionaries and wants the lessons but he doesn't have the drive to quit smoking anymore. It breaks my heart but we can't make him do anything. We have been trying to find more investigators but no one here has the time or they just don't care so I feel like we try super hard and work a ton but there is nothing happening here. I have faith that something will happen here soon. We do have a baptism of an 8 year old but she is a daughter of a member. She is super funny and they are the coolest family ever. They are from Guinhea Basou and they are the nicest people ever. The oldest boy is named Diamentino and we have the same exact birthday. Now that I am writing this I am starting to think that I wrote this exact thing last week... but like I said not a lot happens here. I am a little frustrated with the language but my comp assures me that I am doing ok. I just feel like I have been here long enough and I still can't understand these people. We will see how it goes. I am not so good at the language study but I was never really good at studying. I have made a goal to do better though. All in all this week was normal. I did send you guys a package with Christmas presents in it so be ready for that. Hopefully it gets there before Christmas.
Love you guys,
Elder Ruggles
Not much happened this week! It was Thanksgiving and my comp and I totally forgot haha. We looked at the calendar and he said when is Thanksgiving and I said I think it was yesterday but oh well they don't have it here and we still wouldn't have done anything haha! I made my comp fast yesterday for Sam and he was cool with it so don't worry about the kidney thing, two fasting missionaries is pretty much a quick fix for everything. I heard that 2 fasting missionaries stopped the Civil War... that's a fact. Our investigator Jose doesn't have the same will to follow the commandments like he used to so we are afraid that he will become an eternal investigator. He still likes the missionaries and wants the lessons but he doesn't have the drive to quit smoking anymore. It breaks my heart but we can't make him do anything. We have been trying to find more investigators but no one here has the time or they just don't care so I feel like we try super hard and work a ton but there is nothing happening here. I have faith that something will happen here soon. We do have a baptism of an 8 year old but she is a daughter of a member. She is super funny and they are the coolest family ever. They are from Guinhea Basou and they are the nicest people ever. The oldest boy is named Diamentino and we have the same exact birthday. Now that I am writing this I am starting to think that I wrote this exact thing last week... but like I said not a lot happens here. I am a little frustrated with the language but my comp assures me that I am doing ok. I just feel like I have been here long enough and I still can't understand these people. We will see how it goes. I am not so good at the language study but I was never really good at studying. I have made a goal to do better though. All in all this week was normal. I did send you guys a package with Christmas presents in it so be ready for that. Hopefully it gets there before Christmas.
Love you guys,
Elder Ruggles
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| Division with the zone leaders |
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| View from our study room |
Week 14
Hey Everyone!
I don't have a lot of time today so it will be quick! Nothing really happened this week anyway so you won't miss much. We taught our only progressing investigator named Jose and he came to church again and he liked it but he was having a hard time feeling the same spirit he felt last time. We saw him that night and he was drunk and I was so sad. He asked us if we would have to move his baptism back and we said yes. He isn't sure if he needs to be baptized now and I feel like we are losing him. I really hope he can find the spirit again. I didn't get any pictures this weekend but next week I will. It is Roques birthday today, she is a little girl in the ward who is from Guinea Basou (spelled wrong) but she is so cool and I love her family and she is going to be 8 so she is super excited to get baptized. Her older brother is named Diamentino and he was born the exact same day as me in the exact same year so we are super tight. I now have a black friend!!! Well that's all for now, Thanks for all of the support. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Ruggles
I don't have a lot of time today so it will be quick! Nothing really happened this week anyway so you won't miss much. We taught our only progressing investigator named Jose and he came to church again and he liked it but he was having a hard time feeling the same spirit he felt last time. We saw him that night and he was drunk and I was so sad. He asked us if we would have to move his baptism back and we said yes. He isn't sure if he needs to be baptized now and I feel like we are losing him. I really hope he can find the spirit again. I didn't get any pictures this weekend but next week I will. It is Roques birthday today, she is a little girl in the ward who is from Guinea Basou (spelled wrong) but she is so cool and I love her family and she is going to be 8 so she is super excited to get baptized. Her older brother is named Diamentino and he was born the exact same day as me in the exact same year so we are super tight. I now have a black friend!!! Well that's all for now, Thanks for all of the support. I love you all!
Love,
Elder Ruggles
Week 13
Hello everyone,
This week was pretty awesome! My new area is getting a little easier for me to work in and my legs are less tired after I walk up the mountain to our house everyday. Earlier this week we had the awesome opportunity to hear from Elder Quinton L. Cook from the quorom of the 12 apostles and he was super cool! He said a lot of inspiring things and it was cool to see him come but me and my friends were wondering why he came. Usually when they come they announce stuff so we were waiting for him to talk about the groundbreaking of the temple and someone asked a question about the temple and he said it probably won't start before we go home so I was super sad to hear that I probably won't be here for the ground breaking. Then some of us started thinking he was going to announce that we would be using i pads which is supposed to happen soon but he didn't say anything about that so I don't know why he flew to Portugal. Maybe he is here for something else and he wanted to talk to us as a bonus, oh well. That girl that we had been teaching for a long time finally got baptized last week in Oeiras and I was sad I could not be there. Also that elect guy that me and Elder Yancey found on our division in Oeiras got baptized too and he wants to go to the temple which is super awesome but I wasn't there. This area hasn't baptized in a long time and we have one progressing investigator so hopefully he gets baptized. This town is full of youth who go to high school here and so they really don't want much to do with the gospel but on the weekends they all get drunk and get in fights which is hilarious. My first weekend here 2 guys were yelling at each other and I was like what's going on and my comp was not even phased by it. This area is on a big hill like I said and we live pretty close to the top and on the top is this big castle that the town was built around and it is pretty cool. The ward here is really cool and nice just like all members are and I shouldn't call it a ward because it is a branch. That's how small the church is here, but the branch president is so cool and he is really nerdy and so him and his son practice the real art of Ninjitsu and they teach a class at the community center and a lot of the members like to go so pretty much this branch is full of ninjas haha. I like this branch though. It is a lot colder here than it was in Oeiras but Abrantes is pretty cool. Thanks for all the letters and support! I love and miss all of you guys, keep writing.
Love,
Elder Ruggles
This week was pretty awesome! My new area is getting a little easier for me to work in and my legs are less tired after I walk up the mountain to our house everyday. Earlier this week we had the awesome opportunity to hear from Elder Quinton L. Cook from the quorom of the 12 apostles and he was super cool! He said a lot of inspiring things and it was cool to see him come but me and my friends were wondering why he came. Usually when they come they announce stuff so we were waiting for him to talk about the groundbreaking of the temple and someone asked a question about the temple and he said it probably won't start before we go home so I was super sad to hear that I probably won't be here for the ground breaking. Then some of us started thinking he was going to announce that we would be using i pads which is supposed to happen soon but he didn't say anything about that so I don't know why he flew to Portugal. Maybe he is here for something else and he wanted to talk to us as a bonus, oh well. That girl that we had been teaching for a long time finally got baptized last week in Oeiras and I was sad I could not be there. Also that elect guy that me and Elder Yancey found on our division in Oeiras got baptized too and he wants to go to the temple which is super awesome but I wasn't there. This area hasn't baptized in a long time and we have one progressing investigator so hopefully he gets baptized. This town is full of youth who go to high school here and so they really don't want much to do with the gospel but on the weekends they all get drunk and get in fights which is hilarious. My first weekend here 2 guys were yelling at each other and I was like what's going on and my comp was not even phased by it. This area is on a big hill like I said and we live pretty close to the top and on the top is this big castle that the town was built around and it is pretty cool. The ward here is really cool and nice just like all members are and I shouldn't call it a ward because it is a branch. That's how small the church is here, but the branch president is so cool and he is really nerdy and so him and his son practice the real art of Ninjitsu and they teach a class at the community center and a lot of the members like to go so pretty much this branch is full of ninjas haha. I like this branch though. It is a lot colder here than it was in Oeiras but Abrantes is pretty cool. Thanks for all the letters and support! I love and miss all of you guys, keep writing.
Love,
Elder Ruggles
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| My new area, Abrantes |
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| Me and my new companion, Elder Riggs |
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| Me and my old MTC buddies |
Week 12
Hey Everyone,
This week was awesome, Elder Yancey and Quinn had 2 baptisms and it was really cool. We had a party for the girls who were baptized after and we had cake and sang hymns. Elder Yancey got to do the baptisms which is cool because he is only in his first transfer like me but during the party he leans in really close to my ear and whispers... "I am winning now." He was kidding of course but laughed for like a half hour afterward. On Sunday night some members invited us over for some dinner and it was Portugal's own Balcaulhou which is salty cod fish. There is a reason that they are the only people who eat it haha. Just kidding it was really good and I really like fish.
Right before dinner though we got a call because the next day was transfer day and normally new missionaries don't get transferred before they are done with training which is 2 transfers so we weren't worried. When Elder Quinn picked up the phone they said, "who do you want to know about first?" and for some reason he said Elder Ruggles and the zone leaders said, "Elder Ruggles is going but you all are staying goodbye." I was so not ready to be transferred and I didn't eat much of the cod fish. What's worse is the area I traveled to today is super far so they couldn't have a senior comp travel with me so I had to go alone and I had to make like 4 train changes. It was really scary and super stressful. I was super sad to leave Elder Quinn and Yancey and especially my trainer Elder Simpson, but now I have a new trainer named Elder Riggs. Its Riggs and Rugs out to preach the gospel. I am now in an area called Abrantes and its way different than Oeiras. Oeiras was right on the beach but this city is smack dab in the middle of Portugal so I really miss the ocean. Also the ward in Oeiras was one of the biggest in Portugal and they had the biggest, nicest chapel in Portugal but here they have a branch of 25 people... This transfer is going to be a lot different and I think not having Elder Quinn will make it hard. But this is where the Lord wants me and I am super excited to serve the people here. Hope all is well with you guys. I love you.
Love,
Elder Ruggles
This week was awesome, Elder Yancey and Quinn had 2 baptisms and it was really cool. We had a party for the girls who were baptized after and we had cake and sang hymns. Elder Yancey got to do the baptisms which is cool because he is only in his first transfer like me but during the party he leans in really close to my ear and whispers... "I am winning now." He was kidding of course but laughed for like a half hour afterward. On Sunday night some members invited us over for some dinner and it was Portugal's own Balcaulhou which is salty cod fish. There is a reason that they are the only people who eat it haha. Just kidding it was really good and I really like fish.
Right before dinner though we got a call because the next day was transfer day and normally new missionaries don't get transferred before they are done with training which is 2 transfers so we weren't worried. When Elder Quinn picked up the phone they said, "who do you want to know about first?" and for some reason he said Elder Ruggles and the zone leaders said, "Elder Ruggles is going but you all are staying goodbye." I was so not ready to be transferred and I didn't eat much of the cod fish. What's worse is the area I traveled to today is super far so they couldn't have a senior comp travel with me so I had to go alone and I had to make like 4 train changes. It was really scary and super stressful. I was super sad to leave Elder Quinn and Yancey and especially my trainer Elder Simpson, but now I have a new trainer named Elder Riggs. Its Riggs and Rugs out to preach the gospel. I am now in an area called Abrantes and its way different than Oeiras. Oeiras was right on the beach but this city is smack dab in the middle of Portugal so I really miss the ocean. Also the ward in Oeiras was one of the biggest in Portugal and they had the biggest, nicest chapel in Portugal but here they have a branch of 25 people... This transfer is going to be a lot different and I think not having Elder Quinn will make it hard. But this is where the Lord wants me and I am super excited to serve the people here. Hope all is well with you guys. I love you.
Love,
Elder Ruggles
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| Sad transfer day |
Week 11
Hey Everyone,
This week was pretty good, we didn't have any baptisms but Elder Quinn and Elder Yancey found 2 elect girls who want to be baptized next week and we are hoping that Leticia can stop smoking so we can baptize her next week too. I am doing well and I am less tired every week. I am really starting to feel like a missionary and I can understand a good 60 percent of what people are saying so that is good haha.
I can't believe one transfer has gone by already, it feels like I just got here. I don't know if time is moving by as fast for you people on the other side but I hope that all is well with you. This next transfer is going to be weird especially because it is only 4 weeks and the next is 8 weeks and we don't know if we will be transfered this time. I hope we all stay in the same place because I love this area and the house we live in is awesome. Elder Quinn and Yancey are super funny and we all just joke around at night, it is super fun.
Not too much happened this week so I don't have much to write about. I hope you had a good Halloween. They don't really do that here which is why America is and always will be the best country in the world. We saw some children running around but their costumes were like a little toy sword so again, not as good as America.
That is all for now but keep the letters coming, I love you guys
Love,
Elder Ruggles
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| Me and my friends from my home ward, Ty and Dallis |
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