Week 70 - On Top of the World

Hey family,

This week was a good one. Things kind of got back to normal, I got my new comp last week and he is pretty cool. He is from Virginia and he is super new in the mission. He has only been here for 3 weeks but he speaks pretty well because of his Mexican background. 

The zone leaders have headed the house search so we kind of started doing real work again. They just need a house more than we do right now so we finally had decent numbers. Some other good news is that today the zone leaders found houses for both of us! And they are close so we don't have to run too far to have sleep overs.

This week we got a reference from the sisters for a guy who lives in our area and he is super dope. His name is Carlos and he used to be evangelical but he is looking for the true church. He wasn't able to come to church this week but he said he will next week. I have a lot of hope for him.

This week we had a Christmas conference with our mission president and it was pretty great. We ate a lot of good food, played some games and after we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" which trunked me out a little because our family would always watch that but I got over it. It was super cool to see a non-church movie haha. Best of all is that I got your guys´ package. It got here just in time so president could bring it to Madeira. Unfortunately they had to unwrap everything to bring it through customs so I know everything but I will act surprised on Christmas morning.

Today for P-day we did a super cool hike to the highest point on the island with a member and the zone leaders. It was so pretty and the pics don't do it justice. Probably one of the prettiest places I have ever been. We will have to vacation here after the mission.

I am so sorry, but because of the craziness of this week and last week I have not done any Christmas shopping. I am putting together a Christmas package this week but it will definitely get to you guys after Christmas. I feel really bad but I will hurry so it is not too late. Love you guys thanks for everything. 

Love,
Elder Ruggles

Week 69 - Big 3

Hey everyone,
This week was pretty crazy! My numbers were really bad but we didn't really work at all this week. We have been in a crazy search for apartments and haven't had much luck. The missionary couple here showed us one but it was really far away from the chapel so the zone leaders said no and now they are super mad because we didn't accept the first one...oh well.

We were in a 3 elder companionship all week because the sick zone leader was in Porto but he got back a couple days ago and everything went back to normal. It turns out that our zone leader Elder Da Veiga was just having an allergic reaction and it had nothing to do with his lungs but because of him we all have to move houses... baby. We all gave him a lot of crap for it haha he was a good sport though. President said we have 1 week to find a house so I don't know how much work we will get done this week either.

Unfortunately we are in a 3 elder companionship again because my comp got emergency transferred off the island. I am here waiting for my new comp with the zone leaders. We are the big 3! I don't really know when he is coming, I have heard in a week and also tomorrow but I will let you know next week. My new comp is brand new so I will be training again. It is going to be a challenge because I still don't know the area or a lot of the members, so it is kind of a white wash as well. 

Now you guys know why I didn't have a lot of time to write last week. Super stressful week but hopefully it calms down soon. Some good news is that they started putting up Christmas stuff here and since it is such a touristy place they go all out. It is kinda like Temple Square but on an island. I am trying to put your guys´ Christmas package together but obviously I haven't had a lot of time so it will most likely get there after Christmas... Sorry but I will do it as soon as I can! Love you guys!

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 68 - House Hunting

Hey family,

Sorry I didn't write yesterday, this week was super crazy. It started off normal, we taught some good lessons. Our investigator Sergio started to have his doubts answered and he accepted a baptismal date of this Saturday but he missed church because he got drunk so we might have to help prepare him a little more.

At the beginning of the week our zone leader was feeling a little sick and his chest was hurting so they scheduled a doctor's appointment. He went there and it turns out he has a lung infection because of some mold that is in our house. He couldn't sleep in the house so they got him a hotel and he couldn't walk around so I became his personal taxi driver seeing as how I am the only one on this island with a Portuguese drivers license.

Because the zone leaders needed to go from our house to the hotel a lot and they had appointments in their area our area kinda suffered a little. We still worked but I felt like I was not working a lot more than I was working. I couldn't write yesterday because president finally called and told us that Elder De Veiga, the sick zone leader, would stay at his house while he recuperates. I had to drive him to the other side of the island to drop him off at the airport.

This week won't be a lot different because we have to move apartments which I am not happy about because it is one of the nicest apartments I have ever lived in. Also, they are splitting us up with the ZL´s because they don't like 4 elder houses now. In the mean time the other zone leader, Elder Brown, is my comp and we are in a triple companionship. He is super dope and funny, we are going to have some fun looking for this apartment. 

That is all that happened this week but I will let you guys know how the house hunting goes! Love you guys.

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 67 - Beach Bum

Well Family,

My dream finally came true and I'm just living it up soaking up the sun here on Madeira. I wish I was here as a tourist and not a missionary because it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. I love working here, it is just a mountain in the middle of the ocean and our area is all the way up the mountain so I am able to see the ocean and the city from almost any place in my area! It is amazing here, words and not even pictures do it justice. I feel like Jake McCleary out here slacking off on the islands.

My new comp is Elder Gomes and he is from Lisbon Portugal, so he does not speak English but I am learning how to speak really well because of him. It doesn't help too much though because the accent here is really bad haha. I am also teaching him some English, just the important ones like "Shut up" and fun stuff like that so by the end of the transfer he will be ready to go to the US. We live in a 4 elder house which is always a good time. I haven't been in one since my first area. It is me, an American, a kid from Lisbon and a kid from Cape Verde.

I would like to tell you that our days have been spent sitting on the beach but we are working hard. Our most progressing investigator is named Sergio and his family. He is really cool but he knows the bible really well. He wanted to be baptized but he found a scripture in the Joseph Smith translation of the bible that switched the words "holy ghost" and "Fire" which I always thought WERE interchangeable but he seems to think otherwise... we have been trying to talk to him but he is a little upset. We will try more this week.

I pretty much did nothing for Thanksgiving. The american, Elder Brown, who lives in the house, flew to Porto to do some stuff for his Visa so I was alone in the house with 3 Natives... I just got pranked by them. The holidays should make up for it though. Here in Madeira it has the Guinness world record for world's biggest firework show for New Years! They do it out in the ocean and we are going to try to see it. It is a once in a lifetime thing! I am stoked for it. While you guys can have fun in the snow, I will be soaking up the rays in this nice, 80 degree weather with a slight island sea breeze! Love you guys and thanks for all of your prayers! I will be thinking of you guys while I am on the beach sleeping in a hammock with a tropical drink haha!

Love,

Island Ruggles

Week 66 - Islands

Well family, 

I don't have too much time to write because I was transferred. Last night we got transfer calls at like 11:30 and I was expecting to stay. Because I was group leader and driver, I thought there was no way that I was leaving. Not to mention that my comp had about 5 months there already. I got the call and it turns out that I am going to Madeira which is an island off of Portugal. I hear it is so pretty, I am going to paradise. I was surprised to get the call but I am super excited to go.

It was hard saying goodbye to all the people in Portalegre, I was not ready to go but now I am coming to peace with it. It can't be too bad on the island. I will be there for the world's largest firework show so there is no complaining here.

This week we had some good numbers and did some good teaching. We didn't have anyone in church because P. was sick but we went and visited her and she is doing alright with reading. Hopefully she will be baptized soon. We had a division with the zone leaders and it went really well. Me and Elder McColley tore it up and did some good proselyting. We also had some good heart to heart feelings talks which is always needed.

Well I will write more next week, I have to go catch a plane. Love you guys. I will definitely send pictures next week.

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 65 - Taxi Driver

Hey everyone,

This week was a ton of travel, I am so sick of having a car. We have to pay a ton for gas so we always run out of money before the end of the month and it's stressful to drive here in Portugal. We always have to do baptismal interviews because we are the only ones who can travel anywhere but then we don't have gas money. Oh well, patience.

This week we had a division in Tomar after our district meeting. I went with Elder Law and he is a super cool guy. He is new in the mission so it was fun to see him learn Portuguese and get to know the people. The next day we traveled some more to an area called Elvas which is so close to Spain I could almost touch it. It is right on the border next to a Spanish town called Bod de Joz (I think that is how it's spelled). We visited some less actives out there and it was way dope. The sad part is that this area is bigger than the city we live in and has a huge castle. We should just move our area there haha.

We had a normal day in our area after that but then we had to go do some baptismal interviews for 2 people in Abrantes so we decided to do a division while we were there. It all went well and they passed the baptismal interviews. This week was just divisions pretty much. The next morning we were supposed to go home but the elders didn't have a ride to get to Santarem to do the baptism so we got permission to give them a ride there. I felt like a taxi driver. It killed our day because we got home way late that night. President was in Santarem during the baptism and decided to pay us a visit and kind of chastised me a little for not having investigators at the baptism. 

P. is doing fine, we taught her some of the commandments including the law of chastity. It was easy for her to understand but she has a boyfriend she has been dating for 2 years so it won't be easy to follow. She said she would talk to him about it. We talked about getting them married but they are young and it doesn't look like too much of an option so we will see how it plays out.

That is all from me, I am just here in Tomar doing a P day with the district because one of the elders here is going home next week so we are doing one last hurrah! We went to a dope castle here, in fact it is the castle where the Templars actually started (like the ones from Assassins Creed) so there are a ton of dope things and secret rooms. I hope all is well with everyone and I hope grandma feels better. Love you guys.

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 64 - Family Night at the Farm

Hey Family,

This week was pretty good, we definitely had better numbers all around which was good to see. We have been teaching P. a little but she doesn't have a lot of time because she works at a beauty salon but she is progressing really well and she came to church this week. She has talked a little bit about baptism but says she is still not ready but she is already doing missionary work and inviting friends so you tell me if she is ready or not haha.

We haven't done anything too exciting, we did get contacted by a girl who was taught in the past and wants us to start teaching her again. She is pretty cool, her name is Janete and we hadn't heard of her because she went back to Africa during the summer but now she is back for school and wants to come to church.
This week was kind of boring, we had 10 people in church which was good. After church we were all invited to one of the members little farms outside of the city to roast chestnuts so we drove out there and all had a good time. We even had some investigators there including P. It was a good time and the members are doing a really good job making the investigators feel welcome and comfortable. 

In other news, me and my comp are trying to eat healthier and work out harder to try to lose some weight but in the end it just feels like we are fasting all the time. Kind of miserable because food is the only thing you can indulge in on the mission but oh well, sacrifice, patience and hard work is the key to the celestial kingdom and in this case a chiseled body as well. Well, that is really all that I have for this week, like I told you not much haha but hopefully something exciting happens this week. Love you guys! Don't forget to write haha.

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 63 - Coming Home Wet

Hey family,
This week was alright, we fell back an hour here too because of daylight savings but it doesn't feel like we slept an extra hour, it just feels like we work one more hour during the night because it gets dark so early. It has been raining quite a bit too, I will need to buy a better jacket this week so I will be looking into that. I guess I am just sick of coming home wet. 

This week was not great on the teaching and numbers, which sucks because President is really on us about numbers and making goals and sticking to your goals. He wants us to do everything we can to achieve the goals which might be a little harder here in Portalegre. That or we will have to make lower goals. This week we had almost no one come to church, only 8 people which is nothing compared to last week's 14. I don't know what happened. We had a lot of people who said they were coming but it rained and a lot of people went to their ancestors graves for all saints day so maybe that was it. The worst part was that President of the district, President Telas, who usually comes once a month to evaluate the branch, was there to do an evaluation. They are evaluating it to see if it needs to be shut down and unfortunately we had 8 instead of last week's 14. Oh well, next time.

Our investigator is doing amazing. P. has been reading and praying a lot. Sadly, she could not make it to church because her family went to cry at their family´s grave sites but she said she will come this week for sure. We still haven't gotten her a baptismal date but that is only because she says she doesn't feel ready. We are pretty sure she is ready. We taught her the word of wisdom the other day and she doesn't use any of the substances, doesn't even like iced tea or coffee. She is pretty elect. We just need to get her a date! I am super excited for her because she is really gaining a testimony of the gospel and everything.That is pretty much all for this week. Thanks for all of your prayers and if you are reading this it is probable that I am praying for you too! Love you all and remember that the Lord never leaves us to fight our battles alone!

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 62 - Reunited

Hey Family,
This week was pretty great! During the beginning of the week we had a couple good lessons and even though we don't have a lot of members we are getting some of them to help in the testifying aspect. They have never done it before so it is kind of shaky but they are getting the hang of it. It is awesome because I have already been seeing it strengthen their testimonies and it's helping the investigator! 

Last week I got a call from the office because they needed to renew my residency so I could stay in the country legally. To renew the residency we have to go to Porto for a day and sign papers and take finger prints. Because my residency was about to expire, everyone who came in with me was in the same boat. They did everyone is groups on different days so I wasn't sure who I was going to see in Porto but we got there late Wednesday night after a 3 and a half hour drive and got to the mission home to be greeted by Elder Bianucci. We had not seen each other in about a year and it was so good to see him again. We hung out a little after we did residency and went to an all you can eat pizza hut buffet and it was like good ole times.

This Sunday we had the most people in church that me or my comp have seen here. We had 14 people and one was our investigator P. who loved church and the other was a less active named Panka who has not been to church in over a year! We were way happy to see everyone and the meetings were just happier and everyone was participating.

Today we saw that it was raining and foggy so we decided to hike the nearest mountain to see if we could get above the fog. It kind of worked out and we got into a couple clouds and out of the rain but we got some sick pictures! All in all it was a great week! Love you guys and I love the gospel! Make sure you always read your scriptures!

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 61

Hey family,

This week was pretty good, we did a lot of contacting trying to get the work going here because there aren't many investigators who are progressing. This week we have been working with a family who is from Lisbon but moved here because of a drug problem. They are really cool and seem to be interested but they don't answer the door all the time and they have a new baby so it's hard to teach them.

After P day last week we hiked a big mountain during a super cloudy day and we hiked into a cloud. I got some super dope pics but I forgot my camera in the car so I will send the pictures next week.

This Sunday we got to church and we only had 2 members in church which made us pretty sad but my comp's class was about being a pastor for lost sheep so we all got in our cars and went and visited our members who weren't at church and got some more there. In the end we had 4 members so we doubled our attendance!

After church we went to a lady's house who approached us in the grocery store the other day and told us she wants us to teach her daughter. We went there and her daughter is really cool and wants to know more about the gospel so we are going to try to help her come to church. 

Today we are in Tomar for district P day. We are going to play volleyball and go to the castle and it's also why I don't have a lot of time to write or send pics but I will fill you in next week! Love you all.

Love,

Elder Ruggles

Week 60 - Killing Laban

Hey family,

This week was pretty eventful, it started off kind of slow, we basically just had a division with the zone leaders which was good. I went with Elder Elderidge, he is from Tooele, Utah and he is pretty cool. We did a lot of contacting, passed a couple recent converts and passed by some cool people. The other zone leader is Elder McColley who has already served here in Portalegre so he went and visited some members and then we had dinner at the end of the night with the Ferreira family which was way fun. 

During the past couple weeks we have been trying to pass by the people we have been contacting during the transfer. We had contacted a cool guy in the park named Nuno and we had been trying to pass him for a while but he didn't have a doorbell so we would just knock pretty hard but he never came down. The other day we finally were able to talk to him and he let us up and talked to us for about an hour about his life. This guy has been through it all. He was a drug dealer in Lisbon and got into some crazy stuff but he said his wife changed him and now he is a law abiding citizen with 2 daughters and one is only 2 weeks old! He really liked the lesson and we will be going back this week. I have a lot of hope for this family!

On Thursday we went to Abrantes to do a division and sleep over for Zone conference the next day. I visited some members and it was way good to see all of them. At zone conference we got some new trainings from Pres. which were interesting. Then we had interviews and I asked him to serve with Bianucci again but I don't know how much he liked that haha. He told me not to ask him to change revelation but I am just asking him to receieve specific revelation that is convenient for me haha.

In other news, this week we bought a live chicken because a friend of ours said he would cook it for us. We went and bought one and named him Laban. We had to keep it a while because we had a zone conference so we left him in the house which might have been a mistake. He got out of his cage we made out of cardboard and decided that the couch was a much more comfortable place to take his craps so our couch was covered in chicken dumps but that is the beauty of pleather, easy clean up. Saturday we took him to our friends and slit his throat. The prophecy of the Book of Mormon came true. He wasn't that good and I wouldn't do it again because we basically paid 7 dollars to clean our apartment and eat some alright chicken with rice but the killing was cool. Tobler got to restrain him while our buddy killed him. All in all it was a fun week! That is all. Also, I got the package at zone conference and it was awesome! Thanks so much guys I loved all the letters and the American food!

1 Nephi 4:13 -  Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked (chickens) to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one (chicken) should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

Love,

Elder Ruggles