Week 9

Óla, bzot dirét. That is a little bit of kriolo for you. I have really come to appreciate the langauge here in Cabo Verde as it is so unique and special. Many people will speak Portuguese to us here, but at the same time the language that everyone speaks in their houses, work, and recreation is Kriolo. A question like ´what is your name?` becomes ´qual é seu nome?` in Portuguese and ´mone ká bo nom` in Kriolo. We are not supposed to speak Kriolo though many missionaries here do. This week I was only able take a few pictures but I chose to try and capture some of the beautiful scenery. We can see the island next to us, São Vicente, pretty clearly. We went on slpits this week wit the Elders from Porto Novo North. It was interesting to see the other side of the city. We had a little thanksgiving lunch with those Elders. We made mashed potatoes and gravy and had some other stuff which was pretty good. Yesterday one of our investigators came to church after many months of difficulties. It is a miracle that she was able to come. She has had some bad experiences in the past with other members and missionaries. Her name is Leontina and we set a date for her baptism in december. I can say now with confidence that I love these people here in Porto Novo. I want their salvation and will continue to work hard every day. One more thing, my companion needs a root canal and they only have doctors who can do that in São Vicente. I am brushing my teeth more often now so that I do not need any sort of surgery or operation. Anyway everything is great and it is getting a little colder which is nice. When it hits 75 degrees people throw on the coats to keep warm.

Week 8

Hello again. This week I don´t have a lot of time to write but I would like to talk about some great things that happened. Salvador and Lenny were married. And then the next day they were baptised.
And then the next day they were confirmed and their little girl was given a baby blessing. It was overall an awesome experience, and it is what you live for as a missionary. I also included a picture from a family that we had family night with. They are all cool and it is fun to teach them and have a little fun. We can´t have dinner with anyone as most are too poor, but everyone is happy here. I realized that they don´t have a lot to worry about here. No storms, not much crime, it´s warm all year round, and they live by the ocean. Also everyone here is related to each other. Well that´s all I have time for. I love all of you and am grateful for my Savior.

Week 7

Hello from Porto Novo, Cabo Verde again. This week was full of interesting experiences. First of all I included a picture of the empanaudas that we made a week ago and I hope they make you hungry. I am learning to cook a lot of different things. And it is all pretty good, but it is always eaten with rice and sometimes beans. In this mission we walk everywhere and there are plenty of hills so I have cooking with the mindset of one, staying within budget and two, giving myself calories to fuel me throughout the day. We take a lot of time for lunch and then don´t eat dinner except for small snacks on the road. This week we were contacting and we met this guy who seemed normal and receptive but in actuality wanted to argue with us about religion. He turned out to be a jehovah´s witness and he just wanted to prove to us that God was Jehovah and Adam was evil so we left as fast as possible. We had Stiven, our new investigator with us and he is normally really quiet but with this guy he just wanted to defend the truth which is great but in this situation would not have been productive. In the same day this mom of a girl we were teaching was mad at us because she said her daughter needed to study and didn´t have time for religion. I have a testimony that God blesses those who are obedient because of an experience I had yesterday. We really wanted to teach this girl Irina the first lesson but we did not have another man with us and she was alone in the house. So we followed the mission rules and went and grabbed the brother of a member who didn´t even know us and returned and taught her. After a little bit of time three other girls came and listened to our lesson and it was great. God blessed us for our obedience. I included a picture of a shirt that a member made for me. He is cool and that entire family is great actually. I included two pictures from the top of Santa Antão when we were helping the kids learn to brush their teeth. It was green and beautiful. Thanks to all at home who read this blog. Até mais.

Week 6

Òla, another week gone by. We are supposed to recieve our transfer calls today but I doubt me or Elder Cañizares will leave Porto Novo. Here is a picture of our district after a meeting. It´s all Elders now and it is fun to be with them. Sadly we only see the ones from Ribeira Grande once every two weeks for District meeting. On this day in the photo we made pizza and Calzones for lunch which was delicious. Today for P-day we made Empaladas. I made the dough and it was delicious so now I can make bread whenever I want. Not that I will its like ten cents per loaf here. The short Elder in the front went home to Mozambique today because he finish his mission. On Saturday we had the baptism of Stiven and it was an amazing. We made brownies for the members and they went crazy on them. The beach here is beautiful and I am so lucky to be serving here in Cabo Verde so close to it. Other than those things this week was pretty routine. I am now one transfer in and I am pretty used to the people, weather, and lifestyle. I love improving everyday with Portuguese.