Opposite of pride is humility

Amadora: Não Ama, adora. This area where I am serving now is literally right next to Lisbon. Instead of taking 3 hours by train to get to the mission office from the Algarve, it takes 15 minutes. IT's really nice. Our area has three stops on the train that goes through it.  It's pretty big. There are a lot of people from Cape Verde that live here or basically there are a lot of people who are from Africa. Also I moved from below the River Tejo to above the river to the North Western part of Lisbon so the weather changed a little bit too. It's freezing cold here. There's literally a part of the city that is called «Venteira» basically windy city. The ward has about 120 people. It's really big. There are a lot of returned missionaries that live here. It's really good. Não Amo, Adoro.

Iago: Eleitissimo.   We found one of the elect. This guy named Iago. He is really cool and pretty ready for baptism. He came to church this week. When we talk to him on Saturday, he said that he had problems with work and he is changing or looking for new work or something. Something is getting messed up with the papers or people are being racist. Something is happening but his mom told him as he was leaving to buy juice for dinner to not get discourage something better will come. Then he talked to us. It was really cool. He is really receptive. I hope he progresses. He is really cool. He is 19 years old. that means that he could still serve a mission. 

Caridade v. Orgulho. The opposite of pride is humility but one thing that really helps to kill pride is Charity. When we love our neighbors we see over their weaknesses and their faults and we help them grow. When we love we forgive the wrongs that people do to us. As missionaries this will be critical. In the D+C and in the New Testament. The Lord teaches that as missionaries, we will be at the judgement of the people that we helped or tried to help. We will be there and give an account of what we did. Sometimes people reject us hard core and it's not easy to be humble. But as a messenger of the atonement of Jesus Christ we need to believe that not only we are worthy of forgiveness and not only our converts are worthy too but those that reject are also worthy of it. If as missionaries we can't forgive those that reject in the hardest of ways we are not worthy of entering the kingdom of god. Some of them will have a change of heart and if we hold it prideful then we won't be worthy of the gift of forgiveness of Jesus Christ. The power that keeps us from being prideful is the Charity. It never fails.

Elder Fogg

Missão Portugal Lisboa

2016-2018

Pics of dog bite

Transferred to Amadora

I know this church is true and that Jesus is the Christ. I know that God is the same yesterday today and forever and with that always called, calls and will call prophets. I know that's how Moses talked with god ''face to face'' and received power to act in his name. Joseph Smith in our times received the same power and that Thomas S. Monson has that power now.

Bom Dia Alegria! Como vocês estão?!?!?! Estamos bem aqui.... mais ou menos bem na verdade. Mais tivemos uma outra semana maravilhosa. Era muito bom. Tivemos muitas boas experiências e Recebemos Ligações de transferências. Era uma outra semana em paraíso.

A pé de Élder Harper: Na verdade, naverdade vos digo, aquele que anda numa fractura de stress provavelmente quebrará-lo. That's exactly what happened with Elder Harper. Turns out that he actually had a stress fracture from before the mission and from all the stress from walking and most the time running after the elect, it broke. He now has a cast and is in a wheel chair. We went to the hospital on Tuesday and sister Tavares went with us. When she got there the first thing she said to Elder Harper was that ''this is nothing'', so Elder Harper was really scared that it was going to be just tendonitis because he didn't want to waste the time of Sister Tavares. We found out it was actually a broken bone in his foot. They sent us back home with only two crunches that were pretty bad. The next day we went and rented a wheel chair from an old person store (not lying that is literally what they call it in Portuguese.) So we have been trying to do missionary work with Elder harper sitting in a wheel chair and I pushing him. It has been pretty funny. 

 

Transferencias: Vou para Amadora. We got the call for transfers yesterday. I am going to Amadora. That is apparently right next to my first area, Odivelas. Apparently it's going to be a pretty minor change from here. There, it's basically mini Africa. Actually, I heard a funny statistic about Amadora that there are more people from Cabe Verde there in Amadora than actually are in Cabe Verde. I don't know if that's true but It's going to be great!

O grande e espaçoso edificio: Não tem um alicerce. I was talking with Salmon about this the other day and I thought it was a cool thought. They talk about the Great and spacious building and how it is high in the air.(1 Ne 8:26) (The great and spacious building being the pride of the world(1Ne 11:36) ). The thing that bothered me as a child is that I always wondered how the people entered into the great and spacious building if it was in the air, where was the entrance on the ground. As I was talking with Salmon about this I realized that it doesn't matter if the great and spacious building was on the ground or not, it was a better thought that that pride of all the earth had no foundation. That ultimately that building will fall because it was built on ''those secret combination of the evil one''. Build on a sure foundation, where on men build they can  not fall. Jesus is the Christ. He Lives. He is our rock and foundation! 

Elder Fogg

Missão Portugal Lisboa

Pics

The "FoggMachine" still has leg speed

Bom Dia Alegria! Esta semana foi muito bom! Ensinamos, trabalhamos e comemos! Tivemos muitas adventuras! Era uma semana de MILAGRES. Em fim foi uma outra semana em paraíso.

A pé de Elder Harper: Provavelmente quebrado. He said last week that his foot was hurting. We went running on Tuesday or something and it kept on getting worse. On Wednesday we showed his foot to the sisters in our branch. They said that we needed to call Sister Tavares in that moment. Then I got a good look at his foot. It was swollen, like really big. It was bad. This week we weren't able to do as much ''work'' as we usually do in the usual sense, basically we didn't walk as much. We worked in a different manner. We had to work smartly. We didn't walk as much but we used our phone a lot more and tried to get a hold of the people that had the most potential. We now have to wait until Tuesday so see what is wrong with his foot. (that's the earliest appointment that they could get for us). It's great to see how the Lord blesses us when we try to do our best. 

Noticias na programa de treinemento: Sou mais rapido de que um cão. So this week we were trying to visit one person called Sandro. We found him in his house and made an appointment with him for the weekend. As we were going to head down the stairs, we heard a door open on the top floor (they had 6 floors and we were on the 2nd), and all of a sudden ravenous barking filled the stairwell. As we made it to the first floor, we noticed that the barking was getting really loud and that the footsteps of the dog actually sounded like leaps. Bolting for the door, Elder Harper hobbled out, I was closely behind. Tried to jam the door shut to block the ferocious beast on the other side alas but to no avail. He came bolting out barking. I did the thing I was trained to do from a very young age, I'm talking 4, 5 or 6, I RAN. (iraq, afganistan, but I shouldn't make these joke in the middle(east) of the story... lol puns). We were off to the races. I dashed out into the parking lot, the beast close behind, I couldn't tell and then I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I couldn't stop to look at what happened I had to get away. I could feel him on my heels. I veered to the right.  I did the longest and fastest stride of my life. (If any of you were wondering if the "foggmachine" still has leg speed, let's just say all the dog could eat for dinner was my dust.) I out ran a dog. The Africans that were sitting viewing the spectacle actually said it was impressive.  The dog did bite me but the worst part is that he ripped my pants. And they were my comfy pants too. But we actually went back to the house after the fact and knocked on the door. Turns out the dog's name is Max. The owner actually came to church and we taught him this Sunday. 

Escritura: 2 Ne 31:17 ''Portanto, fazei as coisas que eu vos disse ter visto vosso Senhor e Redentor fazer; porque por esta razão me foram mostradas, para que possais conhecer a porta pela qual deveis entrar. Porque a porta pela qual deveis entrar é o arrependimento e o batismo com água; e vem, então, a remissão de vossos pecados pelo fogo e pelo Espírito Santo.'' As missionaries we have a lot of circumstances that are like what the Savoir passed by.  When we invited people to come unto Christ through baptism and receiving the holy ghost by laying on of hands, we are basically taking the place of the Savoir. We are showing them the door that he has showed us and we are helping them like he has helped us. I know this work is true and that Christ lives. This is his church and I am his representative. 

Elder Fogg

Missão Portugal Lisboa

2016-2018

Building a foundation by faith

Apesar de: muitas dificuldades, humilhei-mi mesmo e vi o que Deus queria que eu fizesse. «Apesar de» signifies despite of. These past weeks have been really humbling. We have not been having the success we ought to have had. I had been a little upset about that. Instead of just giving up and becoming overcome, I was able to see the why. I have seen that I haven't been sufficiently prepared to help people. That I have been relying to much on hope instead of building a foundation by faith. I will build the foundation that I need and become the missionary God wants me to become.

 

Milagre: Olhando para atrás é impressionate como eu consigo falar portugês. The miracle  is that I can speak Portuguese fluently. A year ago that was my biggest preoccupation. But I received a blessing from my stake president when I was being set apart that I would be able to learn and speak Portuguese above my natural capabilities. I have seen that promise fulfilled time and time again here in Portugal. It's awesome seeing the shock and awe on the faces of the people after I respond fluently in Portuguese. They always respond in English and I always respond in Portuguese. Because it is actually easier. The biggest reason I know that this is a blessing from God is because I learned to speak French «fluently» for 8 or more years, using the best learning method of men. But in less than 12 short months I have learned to speak Portuguese 12x better using the power of god.

Pics - My greenie baptized. #aguinha