It's 2014!!!

Queridinha família,
Happy new year! This week was a good start to the new year!
The funniest story of the week happened on New Year´s day. Remember how we have been killing umbrellas? Sister Warburton bought a new one for 5 euros Monday evening. It was a nice size and pattern ,and she was determined to keep it until at least the end of the week. On Wednesday, we went out after lunch, and the streets were absolutely empty. (I guess everyone was still hung over from New Year´s Eve.) Well anyway, we were walking, and the wind would start up. Sister Warburton would stop and grab her umbrella and shuffle against the wind to keep it safe. As we continued in our way, we reached a rotunda, where the wind started to come from all directions. I looked over at Sister Warburton just in time to see her throw her arms back, and the umbrella be stripped like a daisy´s petals being pulled off. She paused, then began screaming "NO!" and then just kept screaming as she started smacking it on the ground over and over again. She just kept screaming and whacking and laughing and crying and I was laughing so hard that I had to sit on the wet ground. Thankfully no one was around to see that missionaries are not always that dignified....
So I guess Friday was my 9 month mark? I kind of had a little freak out during studies that morning. I have so many feelings. I am happy and excited but also sad because I don´t want to leave Portugal. It´s like I just turned 50, and I realized how old I am. It´s like a little relieving becuase I am tired and wearing out but also really sad.
Other exciting events this week:
--I took apart? a giant shrimp. You know like peeled it and stuff so I could eat it. It was freaky.
--We had new year´s good luck lentil soup with our investigator Marta. She said there was a penny in there, and whoever got it would have super good luck the whole year. We ate and ate trying to find it but I think one of us ate it because we couldn´t find it.
--Sister Warburton has synethsisia? I don´t know how to spell it but it means she thinks in colors. She said I am a really nice warm brown.
--I accidentally melted one of my nametags... We have these little space heaters and we usually put our coats by them so they can dry a little bit during our meal. It was too close and my nametag got bent in the middle so now it pokes out where it says "Jesus Cristo". At least it´s emphasizing the right bit.

--We were walking out to see our recent converts Margarita, Ana, and Bruna, and we got splashed by a car. It was like a tidal wave from the street. It covered us from our heads to our feets. So luckily we didn´t have to fight the wind with our umbrellas anymore, since we were already soaking :) 

--We had zone conference on thursday! I got my birthday package :) Funfetti frosting, here I come.
--Sister Warburton and I experienced the closest thing to a Pokemon battle that a prayer can become. This girl was praying with us for the first time, and I guess she had been fighting with her family before we got there, because then her aunt cut in and was praying, kind of yelling at her in the context of a prayer, and it just escalated from there... all ending in the name of Jesus Christ. We kind of mumbled amem and left.

The best part of this week was during Princípios do Evangelho yesterday in church. We were in class and the assunto was Missionary Work. The teacher asked something like what is the best way to be missionaries. Our investigator answered that Sister Warburton and I were doing a great job because we were kind of just loving her into the Church. That made me really happy because I have been working really hard on having charity and focusing on the people here. I guess we are improving :)
I hope you all have a fabulous week going back to school! I love you all tons and you are all in my prayers.
Love,
Sister Gidney