First Week In Portugal!

HIIIIIIIIIII

My family.. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy i am in Portugal. I LOVE it here. It is beautiful. There are palm trees here (which i never expected) and the bread and cheese is divine. I am serving in a city called Odivelas. It is in Lisbon and not too far from the Mission Office. My first week here has been insane. I have so much to tell you. When we first arrived at in Portugal we were greeted by President Torgan and Irma Torgan with two Elders. Elder Walter and Elder Olsen. We went to the mission office to drop off our luggage and then President Torgan took us to lunch at Chili's.. I love not eating MTC food :) At Chilis i got to meet some Elders that work in the mission office. They have all been here for over a year, so they were able to give us good advice and help us settle in to the mission field. Portugal is full of amazing missionaries. seriously. After lunch we went back to the mission office to have our interviews with President Torgan and we found out where we would be serving. President Torgan told me i would be walking into a baptism my first week here and spoke very highly of my companion! WHAT!!! I know.. He is an incredible and inspired man. When i shake his hand i can feel his spirit overwhelm mine. He is wonderful. After our interviews we had to go get our visas taken care of with some elders and that took forever. We were exhausted. I still have bags under my eyes. I know i will never catch up on sleep. For dinner we ate at the mission home and then had a testimony meeting and went to bed. The mission home is beautiful and clean and just like a temple. I love love love the mission home. We woke up the next morning and ate breakfast with President Torgan then we were off to meet our trainers at the mission office. My new colega is Irma Joslin. She is the greatest trainer! I was worried at first because Elder Walter told me she was Japanese and did not speak English. I was thinking.. okay.. i will just be immersed in the language and this will be hard, but it will be okay. So, when i met Irma Joslin and she started speaking English to me. I freaked out. ha ha Missionaries say and play jokes ALL the time. Irma Joslin is hilarious though. We will get along really well. We trained for the rest of the morning and then we were dropped off in our new areas. I unpacked and got right to work. Irmas usually just do contacting. We do not have to knock on doors or buzz apartments. This country is full off apartments. There are no houses unless your have lots of dinero. I actually stopped someone on my first and introduced myself and Irma Joslin.. then when the person started talking to me i freaked because i could not understand one word they were saying. Then I said a prayer right there on the street to bless this persons life. It was a rush. But i did it in my little broken Portuguese. So.. everyday since i have been here, that is what we do. We stop people on the street and ask them if we can say a prayer with them to bless their life. Then after the prayer we ask if we can come teach them about a principle we believe in. It is incredible. There are miracles here.

I also got to teach the first vision to an investigator this week. I was so excited. He was listening and we gave him a book of Mormon and invited him to church. He said he would come, but then he didn´t show up. So Irma Joslin and i went to pick him and we could hear him tell his sister to say he was sleeping. She got mad at him and said i am not going to lie to these people. It´s hard to get excited and hope they will accept the gospel and then they shut down. II didn´t leave everything behind just for kicks and giggles. If i didn´t believe in the gospel i would have stayed home. And that is what i told and person on the street the other day. I want others to feel what i feel. You know!!!

So.. I am sure you are wondering about this baptism. The little boy´s name is Bruno he is 9 years old and has been taking the discussions with Irma Joslin for the last 2 weeks. He was baptized yesterday and then on Tuesday the day before i got here Irma Joslin committed another girl to baptism. Her name is Doris and she is from Guinea. (can´t spell. Sorry) She was also baptized yesterday. SO i saw 2 baptisms my first week here. I got to bear my testimony at the baptism and i felt so much excitement for these two choice individuals. Heavenly Father has big plans in store for them. This week we are hoping to commit two more people to baptism. They are ready- they just need to say.. Yes, i will be baptized! I love it.. I love the work and i love the people. Almost every person i walk past looks so sad and the moment i say, hello- good afternoon.. they light up. I know they can sense our spirits. We get stared at a lot too. It´s funny. and most people think we are Jehovah's Witnesses. It´s annoying.

Portugal is getting ready for summer.. It is not tooo hot.. but each day gets warmer. And we walk a lot. I don´t like sweating in church clothes that i have to wear every week. Seriously.. The drivers here speed and cut you off like no one´s business. Cops don´t do anything about it. It´s strange. The cars are so small. They fit like 2 people. ha ha I live right by a market and pastry shop and we pick up fresh fruit every other day and bread for sandwiches. I love the different foods and treats here. They are so yummy. The other day i had this chocolate filled croissant. The chocolate here is like Nutella and i could live off nutella. I took the metro the other day.. Loved it. Mom- this is everything i imagined. I love it here. Europe is different but i haven´t really had culture shock. I thought maybe i would be freaking out by now, but it has not hit me yet. Yeah, it is really hard for me to be able to communicate.. but some day.. some day i can actually have a conversation with someone. I know i will be blessed. I just need to have MORE patience. and i am working on it. Heavenly Father blesses his missionaries and i bear my testimony, the spirit just fills my mouth. It is something i can´t describe.

I hope you are all doing well. I don´t know the postal code for my area.. so continue to send my letters to the mission office and i will be there in 2 weeks for zone conference and that is when i can pick up my letters. I will let you know my personal address when i get it.

Also.. My teachers from the MTC wanted you to forward my emails to them every week. I forgot to bring their email address with me to the cafe, but can you do that for me mom? Both of my teachers served in Portugal and wanted to read about where were were serving. I was so blessed with 2 great guys who taught me in the MTC. I was definitely spiritually prepared for this. I always continue to ask Heavenly Father why me.. Why am i so blessed. He never forgets about me and small things that i go through. I don´t know what i would do without this gospel.

I can´t wait to share more with you next week. Thank you for your love! I feel it everyday.

Sorry if this is all jumbled. I can´t seem to get all my thoughts out in order. I LOVE YOU!!

Take Care,

Irmã Boshard

XOXO


*Posted By The Boshard Family

Hi there my wonderful family!!!

I love you all so much! thank you for your letters and emails. The MTC is still grand. I love it here! I leave one week from today!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!! Can you believe it?! I can't. I have major butterflies when i think of leaving this place. I got my travel plans on friday.. Wanna know where i am flying?? On Tuesday morning the 19th i am leaving the MTC at 5am and leaving the SLC airport at 8:30am. I will try to call you at SLC in the morning if i have time. From SLC i am flying to Atlanta, Georgia... then..... PARIS!!! In Paris i will have a 3 hour layover and that might be where i call you. It will be like 11pm so answer the phone if i call :)

Sorry for the random message on our answering machine about me going to physical therapy. I had no idea i would have to call and tell you. My knee pain is not severe i am just paranoid and my companions and branch presidency made me go to the health clinic. There a doctor sent me to an orthopedic to have my knee looked at. He said i need to ice it twice a day, elevate and wein off the naproxen. Yesterday i went to physical therapy for about an hour and i should be good to go by next week.

Isla's bday is tomorrow!!!! OH MY!!! Wish her a happy birthday for me and give her a million kisses. What are you all going to do? Family party at the park? Send me pics too!

This last week was hard on our district. Elder Williams went home early. It was good for him because he has things he needs to take care of. My heart breaks for him and his family, but i know Heavenly Father has a plan for him and will help him get back to where he needs to be. someone from the branch presidency came tto talk to us and tell us to stay close to heavenly father. Satan takes this opportunity to make you re-evaluate why you're here. He is truly a master at pushing our buttons, but with the power of prayer and the scriptures i am doing just fine. I am truly grateful to be here. I can't imagine being anywhere else. I feel no where near ready to be speaking in Portugal but the blessings of being a missionary are never ending. I will be just fine with the language in time. I need to just have more faith and rely on the holy ghost so i can stop feeling so nervous.

Thank you mom for sending me Lauren's information! I have been thinking i so badly need to write her! I hope she is doing well and please send her my emails. If you can- will you send me hers too?? I am so grateful for all of you. I am thankful for your love and support. You mean the world to me and i truly appreciate you more and more as the days pass. It wasn't until i actually moved out and lost daily contact with you all. I sorry that i ever took you for granted! I am so blessed to have you as my eternal family. That is the one thing i constantly bear my testimony of here in English and Portuguese. It is so important to me and i know this central to God's plan.

Keep doing what is right. Make the right decision. I never want to lose the feeling i have as a missionary. I want to stay like this forever. What will i ever be like when i get home?? ha ha definitely not the same person.. But in a good way :)

Whitney's wedding is coming up soon. Take pictures for me and congratulate her for me. I am so happy for her.

Since i leave so early next Tuesday i don't think i will be able to email you until i am in Portugal. So- don't be alarmed.. However- you will get a phone call from me!! I can't wait to talk to you and hear your voices.

How is Boomer's driving skills? Is he so happy to be 16? Who is his first date? Tell me details!!

I've gotta go.. Time is up.. Take care my dear family!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love Always,

Irma Boshard


*Posted By The Boshard Family

Hi There Family-

Oh how i love you all so much! Dad- i am sorry about your TV. I can't believe that happened and i hope you're coping well without a TV downstairs. I will be the first one to tell you, you can so this. I have gone 7 weeks without TV and it feels amazing. No joke. Thank you for the Christlike Attributes. I can't believe there were 89!! I read that whole thing in teo days. I even read it to my companions and they loved it. I am going to make them a copy if that's okay. It was inspiring and so uplifting.

Mom- Thank you for the package and treats. YUM! you are so wonderful. We ate the treats as a district in TWO days. Gross i know, but they were so good :) One of my instructors always calls us "porcus" But i can't spell it in portuguese. Sorry.. It means pigs. ha ha we eat all the time in our classroom. ha ha

Hannah- Thank you for your letters! You're a gem and i love you. How are you sweetie? What are you up to this summer?

Boomer- Happy Birthday tomorrow!!!!!!!! I can't believe you will be 16 years old. WHOLY COW! Be safe and make the right decisions. I love you.

Drew/Tanner/Isla- What is new with all of you! Update me! Serio!

On Saturday one of my mock investigators was baptized. AHH so cool. We've been teaching him for the last 7 weeks and he finally was ready! I can't wait until i get to Portugal and that actually happens! It will be an incredible experience.

It was crazy to see Aunt Jenny and Molly Jane as i was crossing the street last week. I was just leaving the field from gym and i was shocked to see them! I didn't know what to do. I'm not use to giving hugs (weird i know).. so the last minute before the light was green i ran to molly's window and gave her a hug. Tell Jenny i am sorry i didn't get to give her a hug. In 16 months she'll get a big one!

We were able to celebrate the 4th of July here! It was fun and on Saturday we had a special devotional. We were able to hear from one of the Branch Presidents here at the MTC who use to work in the white house with presidents of the US. His name is Stephen studdard and he has written many books and he is very knowledgeable about our country history. We had men with bag pipes play for us and flags from all over the world were carried into the special devotional. We then got to go outside and they had Haagendaz ice cream bars for us as we watched the stadium of fire firework show. VERY COOL!

Sunday night at our fireside Jenny Oaks Baker spoke to us and played the violin. She is Incredible!! Please go buy her CDs. she has major talent. Of course she is the daughter of Elder Oaks and is a spiritual giant. I have been so blessed to hear from amazing servants of the Lord. Jenny has an amazing talent with the violin. she went to Julliard and has a masters in music or something like that. She also played in the national symphony. she's got experience. Serio... Go buy her CDs.

Last week Gma Bo sent me and my district a 4th of July package with sparklers and carmel, chocolate covered pretzels. they were amazing!! Tell her Thank you for me! That was so thoughtful of her.
Gma Jake writes me every week without fail. She is so wonderful and thoughtful. Tell her thank you for me too! I have received a lot of support here. Thank you to all of you!!

Can you do me a favor. I need to write sister Lauren Schmidt. But i do not have her address. Her sister has a blog for her and i am pretty sure her address is on there. Can you send me her address?? Is it pouch mail too?? I'm not sure/ Her blog is I-mtheboss.blogspot.com Thank you so much!

Last night we did a FHE with our district and it was the first time we've done that here. We each got to give a 5-7 minute lesson on something we learned from Mormon.org. It was really sweet and i watched a video on this boy named Paris. Go watch it. It's called Hi, I'm paris. I cried listening to his story but it's amazing what the gospel brings into peoples lives.

I got Whitney's wedding announcement this week!!! It's here!! she is getting married!! OH WOW! I am so happy for you Whit. you will be an amazing wife. I hope the wedding planning is going well. I'm there in spirit!!

I love you all!

I only have two weeks from today unitl i leave the MTC.. EEEkkkkk I get butterflies thinking of leaving but i am so excited!! Stay strong family. Remember who we are representing at all times. You are all so wonderful and i hope you can feel the bessings of me being on a mission because i feel them everyday.

LOVE,

Irma Boshard


*Posted By The Boshard Family

óla minha família :)

How is everyone?!! Thank you for bringing my prescription mom!!! You are so wonderful and how cool you got to see Elder Oaks. I saw him a lot this week. He was all over the campus. We just wrapped up Mission President week and it was amazing but such a catotic week here. Lines to eat in the cafeteria were awful. But, There was such a sweet spirit here with all the general authorities and mission presidents. On Friday night last week Elder Bednar spoke to us at a special devotional. Elder Oaks, Elder Holland, Elder Ballard, Elder Scott and Elder Anderson were all presiding. It was pretty neat. Elder Bednar IS INSPIRED. His talk was about becoming Preach My Gospel missionaries. He spoke with passion and such an indescribable spirit. He talked about 5 basic requirements that will helps us become PMG missionaries. i wish i could share all my notes with you right now. I'll have to send you a letter about it later. At the very end of his talk he began to cry and said, "You can do this! The savior knows you can do this. You will have his help. As his servant, i promise you'll have his help. In his help and strength you can do this!" He then bore his apostolic witness (thanks for teaching me that dad) and i can't even tell you how i felt after listening to him. I was giddy and on cloud 9. What an opportunity for me to listen to him. He also said before he closed, i evoke upon you every spiritual capacity, when you become what he wants you to become. Sweet!

Last week was crazy. We finally have a new branch and presidency. Some how with my old branch president being released. He was recalled to the new branch i am in. It is such a blessing. The missionaries in my branch are going to Brazil, Angola Africa, and Mozambique. We are all speaking Portuguese.

Today was my last going to the temple for 17 months. The Provo temple is being closed for cleaning and i will be gone when they reopen it. However- i may have the opportunity to clean the temple on my pday. Tomorrow i get to host the new missionaries. I am so excited. I hope i get to see Erin Nelson! But i am sure i'll see her in the next three weeks before i leave. Weird.. I leave in 3 weeks! OH MY!!! I leave sometime around July 19th. I received a letter from a friend who i met here and he is already in Portugal and he said get ready to work. He said it is so different speaking Portuguese in Portugal, but he loves out there. I am so excited to finally get out and share this amazing message that i have. We are so blessed to have this knowledge. I am so happy to be serving. I know i tell you every week, but i am truly called to serve and so grateful to be a disciple of Christ.

Mom- so, i have been craving some fruity pebble rice crispy treats, minus the rice crispy. ha ha can you make me some? Also, Before i leave the US i am thinking i might need a refill of my prescriptions. Do you think you will be able to send me a refill before July 19th? I just don't want to make you send me my pills to Portugal. thank you!!

To all my XANGO friends- Thank you for the package you sent me. I laughed so hard at the pictures and pom poms (can't spell, sorry). I loved you letters, treats and everything in the box. You are all so incredible and i am truly blessed to know all of you. You are so good to me. Thank you!

Drew and Tanner- How was Mexico? what did you do down there?
Fam- How is life? What are you all doing this summer? What's going on in the Boshard house?

This week in Class we watched a Mormon message with Elder Wirthlin and he talked about come what may and love it. Trust the Lord. We can Endure our trials. We should do our best and leave the rest to him. WE CAN DO THIS! God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I know this to be true. Satan has really been working on me, but i get on my knees and pray. We are never alone. Have faith and now we can endure to the end.

I love you all and i am so grateful to have you as my family for eternity!!!! Ahh i can't wait to tell other families about this plan. It is such a blessing for me to be a missionary.


XOXO
Love you,

Irma Boshard


*Posted By The Boshard Family