12/26/16 - First Christmas in Portugal!

Well it finally came--the first Christmas in the mission field. To be 100 % honest I was kind of dreading it because I did not want to be home sick or have distractions from the work! But as it got closer and closer I really learned about the true meaning of Christmas. Every Christmas in my life has been all about me--my wants and my needs. This Christmas was different, not just because I was not with family or at home, it was really different because I was totally focusing on other people and thinking of their welfare, their wants, their needs.  I’ve always given gifts to my family but now I wanted to give the very best gift through inviting others to come unto Christ.

On Christmas Eve we had no appointments and no one wanted to meet with us.  So we knocked doors and got rejected, knocked doors and no one answered, knocked doors and got yelled at. Then while walking in the back alley ways at 9:00 at night in the cold, it finally hit me. This Christmas was one of the most cherished Christmases in my life, not because of the presents or the holiday cheer but because of Christ. I felt Christ that night telling me, "Don’t give up, just keep knocking."  I was able to see how our relationship has grown over the past 5 months. I saw how happy I’ve been and how much I have changed.  For these reasons I knew this Christmas would be special.  Then on Christmas day as a sat there in the chapel, with only 8 other people, singing Christmas hymns, once again, I felt my Savior’s love.  It was a really special moment for me!

I loved my Christmas package and the letter I got from each member of my family telling me how they have grown closer to the Savior this past year. I skyped with my family and it was amazing! They were all the same and still weird!  I love them so much!

THIS NEXT WEEK WILL BE AMAZING! We have two baptisms scheduled and I’m so excited! I love you all so much.  Have the best week ever! 

FICA BEM!!

-Elder Herrmann 

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12/19/16 - Happiness!

Well it’s been another beautiful week here in Tavira! With only a new branch president and no other priesthood holders there is lots to do. It’s a very good learning experience but so stressful. We meet with all of the members and they tell us their problems and we try to help them. I’m getting a little taste of what it’s like to be a bishop and man it’s hard work. Because we need to focus so much of our time on the members and the running of the branch so we don’t have a lot of time to find new people. Like I said we are learning a lot! For example, this Sunday we gave talks in sacrament meeting, taught the 2nd hour Sunday School and also the 3rd hour....

We are working with a recent convert who wants to serve a mission but is having a hard time quitting smoking. We have met with him and have set up a plan so he can quit. We have a lesson with him every day and call him every 3 hours to follow up with him. And at the end of the day we call him to do a prayer together! It’s helped a lot! He quit smoking for 4 days until he relapsed 2 days ago but we will not give up on him! He wants to quit smoking and serve a mission and change people’s lives! This transfer I have seen the atonement change people, it truly is a beautiful thing! 

We had divisions this week with the district leaders and man, I love our district leader!  His name is Elder Jose da Silva and man is he crazy! He’s Brazilian and has no fear! He has a lot of fun when he works and we worked really hard!  He has a cool story too as he’s a recent convert of only 3 years and is the only member in his family! I love talking about life and the gospel with him.  We also played a little bit of football.

Friday we had to change comps again.  We had to go pick up our comps in his area which is Beja, 5 hours away. So I went on a bus ride for 5 hours to get him and then came back to Tavira for 5 more hours. We had zone meeting this week and it was amazing! I learned so much and there is something different about this zone.  Being in Algarve where it is sunny, we feel so full of life and it’s sick!

The work this week was going pretty slow so we decided to sacrifice our dinners to focus more on finding people and the Lord has blessed us for this. We have this investigator named Ryan who is 14 years old but looks like he’s 18. He’s super chill, ripped, and just kind of like the perfect kid! He doesn’t have a cell phone so it’s hard to contact him so we just decided to pass by his house which is a risk because if he isn’t home it is far away and a big waste of time. He was in the house and we talked to him and gave him the 1st lesson.  We all felt the Holy Ghost during the lesson!!!! It was so powerful!!! He committed him to baptism on the 31 of December!! One part I loved was after the lesson I said, “How do you feel right now Ryan?” He said, "Happiness!" THAT IS WHAT THIS GOSPEL BRINGS--HAPPINESS!!! 

Also my investigator in Miratejo, Luis, is getting baptized this week! I will not be able to be there but I am so happy for his decision to change his life and take one step closer to God.

One thing that was hard this week was the release of the new Star Wars movie...it was hard seeing posters of it.  Something I love here in Algarve is that there are orange trees everywhere.  They are public and you can just reach up and pick some fruit and eat it--they taste so good.

This Christmas season and all the time I am so grateful for Jesus Christ.  I really feel that Christ and what he did for us is the best present ever. My mom would always have us think about what gift we wanted to give to Christ and work on during the upcoming year.  We would write it down and wrap it up and put it under the tree.  This year I am thinking of all the things I can give him.

I love you all so much and hope you guys have the best Christmas ever!!  FELIZ NATAL!!!

-Elder Herrmann 

Mission Address and Email Address: 

Elder Chase Herrmann

Portugal Lisbon Mission

Rua Jorge Barradas 14C

1500-370 Lisboa, Portugal

chase.herrmann@myldsmail.net 

Tavira at night

Zone Conference

Faro in the Sea

With Elder Haroldson 

Boo Sporting

I want to cry- missing Star Wars

Elder Jose Sa Siva and I played football

The castle of Tavira

12/12/16 - First week in Tavira!

WELL, I AM HERE IN TAVIRA!!! Wow, it is so pretty here and I already love Tavira so much! Basically it is a very old city in Algarve, and there is a river right in the middle of the town so there are 4 bridges. It feels like a combination of Rome and California. It is all old buildings with cobble stone streets and tiny alley ways but at the same time has this California vibe. There is a big castle from the 1300s that is just a block away from where I live. There are a lot of tourists here! When we are contacting if they are American they are surprised that I speak English, though as my Portuguese gets better my English gets worse.  I forget so many English words and by habit respond in Portuguese, it’s only been 5 months; at this rate in 2 years I won’t be able to speak any English!  The streets are very narrow with old buildings on both sides and they curve and bend and each street has a different 3 worded confusing name. So it’s pretty easy to get lost. I feel like I am in a maze all day long.

Something cool about having a Mexican comp who doesn’t speak a word of English is that we speak 24|7 Portuguese which is helping me get better at the language. I’ve gained a lot of confidence and feel comfortable talking to anyone about anything now. It feels so good to be able to express myself! Something also I love about this place is that the people are so nice here! People are so open to talk and its truly a blessing.

We had district meeting this week in Olhão and it was really good. I love the other elders and we are really good friends already. After the meeting we went to an “all you can eat” Japanese restaurant. The elders of Olhão said that the workers there hate missionaries because we eat all of their food. We went in and said, "Table for 6 people," there was a big moan from the worker. It was really funny but we ate so much I can see why they don’t like us.

The work here is very slow and not progressing. I heard the branch was small but when I showed up to church there were only 9 members. ​It was a real big culture shock to me with no priesthood holders other than us and the president of branch. Because of this, we elders get to do a lot. We bless the sacrament, pass it and do everything the priesthood holders needs to do. We had the primary program but there is only 1 kid in the primary so basically everyone just sang. It was kind of funny but to be honest I felt the spirit so strong. It was such a testimony builder to me that these people still come to church even though they are so small, it really touched my heart.

This week we had a special experience. We went and saw this less active member, the previous missionaries said not to bother with because he is crazy. He was really nice and we talked soccer with him and after he told us he is actually a Jehovah ’s Witness. We still gave him a lesson and he said he felt the spirit so strong. At the end of the lesson he looked at us and said, "I think this lady needs your help right now."  We didn’t even ask for a referral, he just gave us her name, Lucressia. We went over to her house and she opened the door we said how we are there to help her and we love her. She broke down in tears, and told us that her husband died recently and they cut her lights and she was having a really hard time. We instantly started teaching the 2nd lesson to her and she liked it a lot. We did all of this in her doorway on the street. At the end I asked if I could pray for her. She said yes and during the prayer I felt the Spirit so strong. I was saying words I don’t even use or know. When we finished I looked up to find her crying, my comp crying, and me crying (it was a crying fest)!  It hit me so hard that the Lord prepared her and had us go to the less active so that we could reach her. I love being the Lord’s servant and being a tool in his hands.

Today we went to Faro for p-day and it was really really fun. We played football in a park which I really needed!! I love my mission so much! I love helping the Lord and finding people to come unto him. This is what it’s all about.

I love you all and FICA BEN!

Elder Herrmann​

Tavira at night

Tavira at Christmas time

Boo Sporting! Go Ben Fica!

Faro

Football in Faro

This is the view from outside our house

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