1/2/17 - Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! It was an amazing week here in Tavira! So first off, as the work goes, it was kind of slow...our 2 baptisms scheduled for the week fell through but it’s all good because I know they have testimonies. They are just timid and will find the strength! 

We had TRC's this week in Faro. TRC's are when the whole zone gets together and we teach all 5 lessons to the AP's and leaders! It was freaking nerve racking, but even though it was a practice we learned a lot and felt the spirit really strong! My comp and I did well and learned about the importance of teaching to the needs of the person and not just teaching the lesson!

This week was ALEGRIA in Tavria!!!  Alegria means joy and the reason there was so much joy this week was because there were SO MANY tourists!!! And when there are tourist everyone is happy, the tourists are happy because this place is pretty awesome, the merchants are happy because they finally have someone who will buy their stuff, and the missionaries are happy because we have the opportunity to talk to so many people!!  It was great!

Something that was crazy here was that for New Year’s Eve they put up this HUGE stage filled with speakers and everything in the center of the town plaza! They had all of these little beer stands and I knew that New Year’s Eve was going to be a FESTA! We passed by the stage and it was really cool! I wanted to stay and dance but I’m still a missionary...what can you do, haha!  We went back home around 9:30 when everyone started arriving at the party and we could hear the music blasting ALL NIGHT!! There are 4 bridges in Tavria and one of them was completely filled with fireworks! We watched them from our room and they were crazy!!!!! They were so loud they were shaking our apartment building and there were car alarms going off everywhere.  We finally went to bed or at least tried. In the morning it looked like a zombie apocalypse had happened and no one was in the street and everything looked abandoned. You could smell Mary J and beer on every street!

I finished the Book of Mormon on New Year’s Eve and man, do I love that book!!! It is so sweet! It is really sad how it ends but still soooooo sick! My favorite book is Ether!!! I would love to read the whole extended book of Ether instead of the condensed version. I am so excited to start it over again!!!

In reviewing the past year I have thought about all of the events that occurred in 2016. I loved 2016 and realized how things that happened in 2016 will have such a huge impact on my life and eternity! So I want to go through some of the notable things that happened in 2016:

- Started off the year in the best way possible by getting accepted to BYU and receiving a scholarship!

- My nephew Liam was born!

- The SITH LORDS winning the intramural basketball championship was SWEET!!

- Receiving my mission call to LISBON PORTUGAL

- My OHS soccer team making it all the way the state finals, we had an amazing fun filled season!

- GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!!

- The Cavs winning the NBA finals (hate the Warriors)

- The best senior trip to Lake Powell with so many of my friends!

- Family vacation to Lake Powell and Bear Lake

- Leaving my family and entering an amazing 6 weeks at the MTC

- Arriving in Portugal 

- Sammy marrying Tessa and becoming my brother-in-law!

- Preaching the gospel and helping people every day!

This past year has been so amazing and I loved it so much! I am so excited for 2017, as the entire year I’ll be in Portugal! I love this gospel and my family and friends! I hope you guys have the best start to the New Year!! 

BOA ANO!!!

-Elder Herrmann ​

Me and the Bishop of Algarve

Me and my companion

The stage before the party