Pepper Palace

This is the Pepper Palace (Palácio Pimenta).

It's part of the Lisbon Museum which is actually five places where you can go to learn about Lisbon in different ways. We haven't found the other four yet. Anyway, this museum is in an 18th-century summer manor in Campo Grande. It houses a collection of paintings, ceramics, tiles, and archeology to show the evolution of the city. There is even a model of pre-earthquake Lisbon on display.

Zoo

What a beautiful day! No rain. No wind. Just sun.

A perfect day to go to the zoo.

The Lisbon Zoo (Jardim Zoológico) has been operating for over a hundred years. In fact, it's one of the oldest zoos in Europe. 

The zoo holds over 2,000 animals representing more than 350 species.

We enjoyed those cute dolphins do their thing.

The overhead cable car was also really fun. We had a great aerial view of the zoo and its inhabitants, as well as the city around the zoo.

We had a lot of company at the zoo today since it just happened to also be a national holiday.

Freedom day, Carnation Revolution, 25th of April, all of these describe Portugal’s most important national holiday. After over 40 years of fascism, on April 25th, 1974, a (peaceful) military coup led by leftist military officers known as the Carnation Revolution brought about freedom for the Portuguese. It led to a transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa. 

Who knew?!

Sweet is the Work

 Sweet is the Work

(Doce é o Trabalho)

Today I thought I'd tell about the real reason we came to Portugal - to serve in the temple. (I know) At this time the Lisbon Temple is only open four days a week - Wednesday morning, Thursday and Friday afternoon, and all day Saturday. Endowment sessions run on the hour. Endowments, baptisms, sealings, and initiatories are all done by appointments. As temple missionaries, we do it all. We officiate, hand out clothing, help fold the laundry, greet, become patrons, you name it - all in Portuguese. We are still wearing masks, but hope to see them disappear soon. The government has given the okay. Now they are waiting for SLC to say yes. Next month the temple will open up to 75% capacity per session and in June we will be at 100%.

Our apartment is a 20 minute walk down the hill to the temple - through the park or through the neighborhood. 

We work with some wonderful people who don't seem to mind that I am killing their language. They are very kind, in fact.

One of our favorite couples is the Mouras - Leonel and Fátima. They serve faithfully in the temple almost every day. In fact, he is one of our sealers. Their conversion story is so cute. In a nut shell - their twelve year old daughter invited the missionaries in to teach her mother and her. Leonel was working on a cruise ship at the time. He actually received a Book of Mormon from a passenger about this time but it was in English. He just tucked it away with his stuff because he didn't speak English. Mother and daughter joined the church. Dad joined a bit later. He stopped doing the cruise ship. Opened a little 'fast food' place in Lisbon - which is now a real restaurant. Got sealed in the Swiss Temple. Raised two wonderful children. Served for six years in the Madrid Temple. And now...they are leaving next week to serve as MLS missionaries in Barcelona, Spain, for a year. We will miss them so much, but know what a great job they are going to do there. Not only that, but Leonel is a professional Fado singer. (Fado is the folk music of Portugal.)

For spring break, about 20 youth and 6 adults traveled from the Azores to spend five days in the temple doing baptisms and other ordinances. 

This was a really big deal.

Most had not even been off their island (Terceira or São Miguel) - even some adults! This opportunity was made possible by a generous American church member who visited the Azores and fell in love with the faithful saints in such a remote area of the world. Before he left, he gave the District President money to be used to one day take the youth to the temple. The kids prepared for a year finding family names. They had hundreds! And before they knew it they were in Lisbon!! 

They stayed in a hostel nearby, we senior missionaries in Lisbon furnished their evening meals in the church next door to the temple, and after full days in the temple they were able to even see some of the sites of their nation's capital. 

They were darling kids and so very grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some of them. 

In other temple news, our fellow missionaries - Sonja and Wilson Duffle - have a beautiful daughter who will be getting sealed in the Lisbon Temple next week. 

She is a doctor in Vienna, Austria. Her husband works in international law enforcement in Europe. So we send our love to Ester and Chris.

This is a rather odd angle of the church, but...

A ward is called an Ala.

A stake is an estaca.

At this time there are 6 stakes, 4 districts, 32 wards, and 35 branches in Portugal. There are 45,576 members, making it the third largest body of LDS Church members in Europe behind the United Kingdom and Spain. (In 1975, the membership in Portugal was only 91.) All of Portugal is one mission.

We are members of the Lisbon Stake. Our stake president is President Moura. (Yes, those are his parents mentioned above.)

We belong to the Sacavém Ward. Our bishop is from Brazil. Our Relief Society President is from Cabo Verde. The ward is very eclectic. Many dialects of Portuguese are spoken. I guess you could say that anything goes.

The ward is small but very enthusiastic. 

The most recent Relief Society activity.

                      

Two wards meet in our building. We go at 9:30.

So there you have it. We don't just do the 'missioncation' thing. We actually do some work! We feel so blessed to be here. But, can I just say - we sure do miss our family and friends back home. You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers.

💜💜💜💜

Sintra - Pena Palace

Pena Palace (Palácio da Pena) is  most spectacular!

It is one of the most recognizable tourist attractions in Portugal.

Often compared to Germany's Bavarian castles, Pena is as symbolic to Portugal as Neuschwanstein is to Germany, but it actually is 20 years older and is considered the first Romantic palace in Europe. It was planned by King Ferdinand, who also ordered the planting of Pena Park below it.

In 1840, King Ferdinand II commissioned the Palacio Nacional da Pena to be erected on the ruins of a monastery. Monks had lived here for many years, but the monastery had been destroyed during the earthquake of 1755 and was then abandoned. (That earthquake was a very big deal in Portugal. It is referred to constantly in Portuguese history)  The palace stands on a rock in the Serra de Sintra, high above the small village of Sintra.

In 1837, Ferdinand II bought what was left of the monastery and some farms in the vicinity.

He wanted to build a palace here as a proof of his love for his wife. Unfortunately, she passed away before the completion of the building. His second wife, Countess of Edla, was involved in the design of the interior.

The Pena Palace was built in various architectural styles. The trained eye can discover elements from neo-renaissance, neo-gothic, neo-Manueline and Moorish building elements. The interior was predominantly designed in the style of baroque and rococo. 

Since 1995, the Pena Palace and the cultural landscape of Sintra have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The art and furnishings that decorate the interior have been preserved to show what it was like to live like royalty between the end of the 1800s and the early 20th century. 

Now, some of you are probably saying, "Hey, I think that I have seen this before!"

Well, yes. Yes you have. You see, we have pretty much 'been there, done that' to all the sites in the greater Lisbon area and we are now doing another tour of them. So, sorry for the reruns. But I'll try to add further information regarding them as we go. Who knows. This might make you want to visit Portugal even more!

And speaking of visiting Portugal. Guess who we had dinner with last night? 

Brandon and Alys Rees

We love company.

Just saying...

P.S. Our first visit to Pena Palace was in the November 3, 2019 post.

Convento do Carmo

In 1755, the Convento do Carmo was the largest church in Lisbon. The great gothic church and monastery actually dated back to the 1300s.

But then...on November 1, 1755...All Saints' Day in the Catholic Church...as everyone...including the king and his family were attending Mass...a devastating earthquake rocked the city.

 The force of the quake brought the roof of the church down killing many of the congregation inside. Elsewhere in Lisbon the death toll was measured in the tens of thousands and large fires broke out in the city. If things could get any worse they did; the riverside area was hit by a tsunami drowning many more. The Great Earthquake was felt throughout Western Europe and had a profound influence on Portugal's self-confidence as a nation.

The church was never rebuilt. The ruins are a memorial to Lisbon's losses on that fateful day 377 years ago. It really is very beautiful - in a haunting sort of way - with arches pointing for nowhere overlooking the sky.

Sometimes called the Church With No Roof, you can get to it by way of the Santa Justa Lift. Or, of course, you can also just take a hike up that vertical hill!

In what used to be the main altar is now a small archaeological museum with an eclectic collection of tombs (the largest one is of King Ferdinand I), statuary, ceramics, and mosaics, shrunken heads, South American mummies, old coins, and much more.

The church was also the burial site of Christopher Columbus’ wife, Filipa Perestrelo, who was a native of the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, 

At the entrance of the museum is a stone engraved with gothic lettering, informing visitors that Pope Clement VII granted 40 days of indulgence to "any faithful Christian" that visits this church. 

(Not a bad deal for just one visit.)

One of the rooms of the museum shows a 15-minute projection, narrated in Portuguese and English, explaining the six centuries of the convent’s history. 

So there you have it. Another been there done that virtual experience!

And speaking of churches...I'm so grateful for ours...General Conference was amazing. Last week we enjoyed Stake Conference here in Lisbon. And, of course, Easter is just around the corner. 

My little Easter message to you...

Love you all so much!