Happy Happy birthday, Irma Graf!!!!

so. not much this week but some pictures from my birthday... um the elders that im serving with in my ward suprized me with brownies... which really are cake stuff doesnt cook the same here... haha. and it was still warm when they put the candles in so they melted into the cake haha. it was so funny but everyone at church still ate it! wax and all. um... the other pictures... a cool house in our area that i LOVE! a traditional portuguese-ish house thats not old and in the city... the cool road signs that are done in tile... um... what else did i include... a random picture of me on my birthday... im 22!!! and my hair is attroshish! ( i have no clue how to spell that... but my hair is that... nice and wavy and gross... but its growing... so im not complaining too much... um... then that night after planning we had an ice cream cake in our house and had a mini celebration... it was a great day. nothing special, but over all it was just want i wanted in the mission... a day that was just like any other. and thats what i got :)

dont worry, i celebrated last pday and bought a cute pair of boots and a super cute pair of gray shoes that i LOVE. the boots really are a necessity here because of the rain and the shoes... well, they go with my gray skirt! :) thanks daddy! youre the bestest ever! (dont worry this was the first time i bought something like this... promise).

okay... so this week... i have a cool story... last transfer we were contacting, knocking some doors and this guy answered and when we asked if we could offer a prayer (prayer contacting... i think i talked about it when i first got out in the field...) he was like i have to ask my wife... irma howard and i looked at eachother and thought okay what a weirdo... who does that... hes the man of the house... he came back and said she said no not now. so we asked when we could come back and talk to them he went back and asked his wife... at this time we really thought he was weird. he came back a second time and said he didnt know. she didnt want us to come back. so we just thought whatever, and we gave him a card, one of those offers for the finding faith in christ dvds with our number on it and left. later, like a week later we ran into him on the train. he looked at us like he knew us... (its normal for people to look at us... two giant americans in dresses...come on. its not normal.) and so i smiled and said hello and asked if we knew him from somewhere... he took the card out of his pocket and said yep and asked when we would pass by. i told him in the next week. well, that week irma howard was transferred, i got a greenie and it was super hectic and, honestly, i forgot about the guy. then, 2 weeks ago, we ran into him on the street when we were with an investigator... i said hello as he passed by and then he turned around and said hey! ive been waiting for you and you never came to by my house! I apologized, got his number and marked an appointment... i really honestly still know who he was... i had forgotten about him again. so, we met with him and he was receptive. i called him the day after to see if he had read and prayed, he had and he wanted us to come over to his house and talk to his wife about it too. well, we did but it was irma reis and a member because we were on division. he helped to teach the lesson to his wife. then they came to church and it was good. then we passed by last tuesday and i asked him how the reading was and the prayer to ask if the book of mormon is true. it was the most amazing thing to me when i asked his face lit up and he started talking about how he felt when he read. he is so ready for baptism! its crazy! they only thing is that they arent married and the wife is a little bit slower with the whole thing... ill give it to her... she recently had a baby and has her hands full with the 3 week old baby... but still... we are working with them and they are doing great! i learned so much from this experience... that really, its not our place to judge who can and cant accept the gospel, who does and doesnt need it. i learned just a little bit more really how much our heavenly father loves us and how he will prepare our paths, our lives... everything that happens to us, in our lives, happens for a reason.

i am so glad to be here in the mission learning and growning... but also, i know that this was a part of my life that heavenly father prepared for me specifically to help others, but also to prepare me for later in my life. i love this gospel and i know that it is true and that if we follow it, we can have eternal life. I know that this church, is the true chruch, the same church that Jesus Christ established when he was on the earth, and that through joseph smith, a prophet of god, it was restored to the earth.

have a fabulous week!

love,
irmã graf

7-up and soda crackers

um... this week... was a good week... just working hard and trying our best to do what the Lord wants here in Mem Martins... and of course loving every minute of it.

this week it rained for 3 days straight... its so weird here... it rains and its windy but it really isnt that cold right now... so i had an umbrella for the rain and then just a cardigan... i got sick... it was lame. but it was fun because we did a divison and i stayed in the house of Sonia (the recent convert that had the wedding and i sent the pictures) she says shes my mom here in portugal and she let me rest in her bed and she fed me soup and 7 up and crackers and i watched legacy in portuguese... it was so funny. but it was only for a couple hours... because i almost fainted in the street... fabulous. but im all good now, ive learned that here even if it isnt super cold if you arent dressed properly you will die. haha.

my filha (daughter) is learning a lot and so am i and its awesome. i love training! oh, also, we found the coolest and most elect couple ever!!! they are golden! We stared teaching them this week and they are so open and receptive... they just need to get married... freakin people here... noone is ever married!!

well, thats about it for this week... thanks for everything! i love you all!!!

irmã graf

Miracles in Portugal

Alright family, Im going to try and write a really long email... because i have been slacking lately and really, there has been so much happening that i should be writing about its ridiculous!

as you can see that ive titled this email week of miracles... really it has been... and i want to tell you about all of them, but i want to start off with the last miracle that happened, that is the biggest and most important to me.
Big miracle, i want to talk about the AMAZING conference that we had this past weekend... not only were the talks excellent, the spirit extrememly strong, but the most incredible thing was announced... WE, HERE IN LISBON PORTUGAL, ARE GETTING A TEMPLE!!! let me just tell you about my day saturday... we were late to conference because to watch it we have to go to a different chapel... well, we had a family of investigators that really didnt want to go to church that finally agreed to go to the first session on saturday with us... so we were late because of them... as we were walking to the chapel my district leader called me and says i have some really good news to tell you... we are getting a temple. I cant even explain how i felt... at first it was unbelief because he likes to joke with me. But then it sunk in and wow... the amount of gratitude that i felt right in that moment is indescribable. I imediately wanted to kneel down on the sidewalk and just offer up a pray of gratitude to Heavenly Father... but i was already acting really wierd and the investigators were already staring at me really funny, so i refrained myself. but when we got to the chapel i knelt down and just poured out my gratitude. You all probably think im crazy, but in the past 7 months that ive been here in the country working towards a temple has been our focus... to have the saving ordinances available to all these wonderful people here. I am sooooo grateful for everything that i have been apart of here in Lisbon. I KNOW that this work that we are doing is the most important thing ever. I KNOW that i was called here for a reason, to learn this language and love this culture... to serve the nobel people here. After the first session was over the stake president got up and talked. with tears falling from his face and everyone elses in the room, he bore an amazing testimony and then we all knelt down and the oldest member in the room offered a pray. it was the most amazing experience for me, to see the love and gratitude of all the members there. Really, talking about it now i can still feel and remember just how strong the spirit was in that room. What a miracle, what a day of miracles saturday was.

okay, to back track... the week started out and i got my tansfer call... that i was going to be training... i was excited but super nervous. I started a fast to help me to be the best i could be. I started praying a ton! the first full day of work we had, was amazing. we found tons of people that are interested and we even taught a few of them.

then, friday, we decided to do some finding in the area book... basically to look and see if anyone that had already been taught jumped out to us... as we were doing that a tiny thought came into my head that we needed to leave the house. and really, to be honest i wasnt sure if it was the spirit or me... but i thought, where would we even go... we dont have much time. and the thought came to me, go to the building right next to yours and start knocking. so i told my comp to put her shoes on, we were going out to work. she looked at me like i was retarded. so we started buzzing the little box thing outside the apartment building... the 4 one we touched let us in. it was a whole family!!! they are amazing! they and super nice and want to learn more. we talked a little and taught them and right as we were about to leave the oldest brother, hes like 35, said to us, "i know you were inspired by God to come and find us. I can feel something different about you girls when you are here in our house. Thank you so much for finding us." um, hello elect person. i really know that Heavenly Father is with us doing this work. I also know that every time we follow him and do what he asks of us it is that much easier to know his will and do it the next time.

I am out of time to tell stories, but there were tons more miracles that happened this week! really, i love this work! I am learning so much! it so awesome! I love portugal! I love the people!!!

com amor
irmã graf

my own greenie??

okay really fast... just an fyi heads up... IM TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i recieved my greenie, irma reis (yeah sister kings) today. we are staying in mem martins... um... yeah. thats about it. shes from Porto... up north. shes awesome love her. this transfer is gonna be awesome. lots of learning by the spirit. until next week love you all!

irma graf

"IT'S SOOOO GOOD!"

so this will be fast. long story but basically we dont have a full hour to do email...

um... so this past week... um, the work is moving along... slowly but surely. this is our last week of the transfers and i donno if im staying or going... duh. i will be fine with either. um... this past week was zone conference so i got a TON of letters thank you everyone that sent me stuff!!!! youre awesome i LOVE getting letters and updates about your lives :) keep em coming. i am working on writing back... it will take a while, but dont worry i WILL.

um...this week we marked a guy for baptism for this coming friday. im pretty excited other than the fact that hes kinda a jumpy fidgety guy, so im praying and hoping that he wont be like that with the baptism. um... weve just been working. nothing super exciting or interesting. sorry this email is lame... partically because we dont have much time and because i hate the keyboard because its really hard to type.

anyways, zone conference was AMAZING i learned so much and the spirit was so strong!!! i love zone conferences its like general conference but just for us! its SOOOOO GOOD!!!

this week i have been studying about desires... (sounds weird i know) but how when we desire something and we exercise our faith and work to make our desires reality thats exactly what will happen. it sounds really weird, but it is so awesome. i have been evaluating my desires and making sure they are in line with the Lord and His work here and then this week i am studying faith in accordance with this whole topic... its really weird to explain and doesnt make much sense when i try to explain it but ITS SO GOOD. i am learning so much and i can feel it changing the way im working. it is also strengthening my testimony so much! right now as im sitting here typing there are just so manything s that i want to write you about! cool things that i learned ways that i have grown and ways that my testimony has grown and been strengthened! I know that Heavenly Father loves us, really honestly this tiny fact makes such a difference in my life and the lives of others. Because He loves us so much He sent His Son to DIE for us. What a sacrifice... what an act of love. This week I have also thought a ton about the atonement as well... I am so grateful for the atonement. I am understanding just how important it is to use the atonement in everything in our lives especially the small and simple things. As a mission we are reading the BOM in portuguese in 60 days. it is amazing. i was reading in 2 nephi 4 just a couple days ago... where Nephi is talking about how he is a sinner and everything and his gratitude for the Savior and atonement... i LOVE that part in the book of mormon. its amazing! anyways, have to go. I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior, our Brother. I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves us and wants us to return to live with HIm.

thank you for everything. i love you all so much.

irmã graf

Ms. Wedding Planner!!!!

this week has been amazing!!! so i got to play wedding photographer, decorator, planner, baker, bridesmaid, maid of honor and EVERYTHING. it was so fun. i attached some pictures from the wedding and baptism of Sonia... she is the most amazing lady in the world no joke. she really is such a strong and has such strong faith. they have no money, but they took a leap of faith to pay for the civil wedding and once they did EVERYTHING feel into place... well, Heavenly Father laid it gently into place actually. Luis, her bf, now husband, didnt have a job and she has a health problem so she cant work... but after she decided to get baptized and married (duh first things first... marriage) he got a job. then someone in the ward let her borrow a wedding dress and shoes, someone else GAVE them the wedding rings... which are like 250- 300 euros here. then the whole ward helped with the food and decorations. someone else who owns a salon here got her ready... hair (colored it too) make up, nails... everything! and then someone else was the chafeur (however you spell it)... and then someone else bought them a hotel package thing for their honeymoon. it was so amazing to see how much Heavenly Father really helps when people make the right choices.


the work is going, its hard... of course. but its all good i didnt expect it to be a peice of cake. I dont really like cake anyways. Something that always help me have a better perspective when things fall through or it seems like we are working super hard and getting nowhere is about Jesus Christ and His atonement. Something that an elder always said and it has stuck with me is this... the atonement wasnt easy... for that matter the life of Christ wasnt easy either... why do we think that ours should be? when in comparison with the life of Christ, my trials look ridiculous and pewny (haha donno how to spell anything anymore). I am so grateful for His sacrifice for me; for all of us.


um... so the pics... some from the wedding... some with some cool people that are in the ward that i love. and then the last one (i think... thats if it went through) is from where we went this pday... its part of my area! sweet huh? Sintra (my area) is soooooooo gorgeous and has soooo much to see its awesome!!! we also took some pictures last pday... we went with our whole zone to belem... but we im almost out of time and i dont want to have to find that camera card... seeing as i took about a bazillion pictures this week... but i am sending some camera cards home this week or next week so you will see them!


well, i love you all and thank you for your support love and especially prayers! :)


have a fabulous week!


irmã graf

Beautiful Belem!

so fast email... because it just deleted the email i was writing to you guys with tons of pictures and everything... lame and annoying... anyways...




some pics from Sintra, its part of our area. its AMAZING. you can look it up to find out more about it. but it was gorgeous. tons of caves and cool buildings. it was someones summer house.


the area here is so awesome and beautiful! today we are going to Belem... so im excited!


i think that as long as im here in Mem Martins I wont be writing much and written letters... theres soooo much to do here on pdays! its awesome!


well, the work is going great. we have a baptism/ wedding this weekend so its gonna be pretty busy and awesome! and other than that we just really need to work on building this area up!


the work is slow but good and im definately learning and growing a ton.


well, love you all! have a great week! be safe! im sick of hearing about people being hurt, dying or doing dangerous stuff! :)


love,


irmã graf

An e-mail from Chauntelle's old companion/trainer....

haha oh irma west! i love getting mail from you!


so, mem martins is great... i think that the lord is trying to tell me something... every area that ive been in (besides miratejo) its right after theyve had a ton of success, but they havent built it up... maybe heavenly father is trying to tell me to better my contacts and finding skills... anyways, the work is slow and irma howard is struggling with stuff right now... shes really depressed and doesnt have much faith in herself and in turn the work... so its kinda hard, but its strengthening me for sure. i have been so grateful for heavenly fathers help and i can see how i have been prepared for this transfer and how this transfer will help me in other transfers... the mission is so crazy how it all works.


we have a baptism this weekend and a wedding too! (she has to get married before she can get baptized...) its been a ton of work but shes one of those elietos! its awesome!


the miracles that i have seen over the last week... i had gotten out of the habit of contacting with nkutxi and so i decided that i needed to get better. i was back to square one like i was with you... but i told irma howard that we were going to the chapel (on a main road here) and she was going to make calls and i was going to stand outside the chapel and contact everyone that walked by. it was INCREDIBLE! i could really feel my faith and trust in the Lord grow as words began leaving my mouth that i didnt have previously planned. Also, another miracle, well a lot of miracles has to do with our companionship... i have had more faith, strength, love and patience with her and i have really seen how the lord has helped me step up to the plate to carry the burdens of the work, but also her burdens a little more.


i havent kept up running.... sadly, i really wanted to... but its all good. ive still lost weight... like 5- 10 pounds. woo hoo!


youre teaching seminary? how fun!!! thats got to be awesome! and a guy?!?!?! what do tell me more! haha. i hope it goes well!


the other irmas are doing great! de almeida is in oeiras, geiger is in lapa, morrison and perez are in the açores, and coelho is in odivelas.


i saw bishop from miratejo 2 transfers ago for a second... he said everyone is doing well. next week we have conference in miratejo so im hoping to run into some people. i havent heard about anyone else... other than helder that one guy... hes a golden investigator and has helped tons of people find the gospel... thats a miracle in and of itself... remember him?


other than that everything is going great! well, gotta go write the fam! i love ya have a great week!


irmã graf



On Mon, Sep 6, 2010 at 10:29 AM, Rebecca West wrote:

Ola minha querida Irma Graf,
Well another Pday is here, can you believe it!
So, how are things in Mem Martins and with Irma Howard? What miracles have you seen over the last week? How is the running going too... hope you are keeping that up! You know that running is not my thing but I am walking every day!
Well, life is good for me, I started teaching seminary today, feels like I have been up for hours already!!! They are a good class though, I know we are going to have a lot of fun :o)
I am busy with job hunting too, went for a job interview last week so will see what happens with that.
I met a guy aswell last week at the conference, I was meant to have lunch with him last week but he was sick so am hopefully meeting up with him tomorrow.... we will see! He seems really nice, a normal guy for once, so fingers crossed that he will not cancel tomorrow!
How are the other Irmas? Where are they all serving now?
Have you seen or heard anything of anyone in Miratejo?
Well, hope you know that I love you.
Ps I am so sooooo sorry for the delay with your memory card, it is in the post.
Love you
Irma Bex West!!!