Week 8 Fernando Pó

Unfortunately, this last saturday Yasmin was not baptised. She was not sure about her desire. We remarked for the 7th of April and she is feeling more desire now. This week has been good, with lots of door to door contacting. We found two different people the other day who did not believe in God which is very unusual for here. I kind of enjoyed talking to them for a little just because it was a change from the usual "I´m Catholic", or "Pass by another time and we will talk". They did not want to meet with us but it was interesting in any case. All of the other Elders here in Mndelo followed my example and cut their hair short this week. Yesterday before church I took the time to take some quality photos of a small bird I saw on a tree. We are continuing to help Olímpio quit smoking, and he is close. We have a baptismal date marked for him for the 14th of April, but he wants to move to Mozambique soon so we will see. I think that that is about it, until next week. Actually one more thing, with the coming of easter we saw a giant crowd of Catholics walking down the street with crosses and chanting. It was very creepy.

Fernando Pó week 7

This week I was with my new companion, Elder Brito. I´m sorry that I do not have pictures, I am pretty terrible at that. We have been working hard to prepare our eight date marks for baptism. Every companion that I have been with has done things differently, in teaching, and in general life. I think that Elder Brito and I will get along well. Having a native speaking companion really is not too diferent. Mainly because Elder Sailors towards the end of last transfer wanted to only speak Portuguese. Hermes and Zuleika, the couple that we are trying to get married, are having serious doubts about marriage, or just cold water. There is literally nothing preventing them. We remarked their marriage for the 18th of May. I have high hopes that Yasmin will be prepared for baptism this Saturday. Dulce and her kids will have to prepare for another day. Normally when you invite people to church and they say yes it means no, but yesterday we brought some great people to church of whom I had serious doubts. CHurch is always very tranquille but I will admit that I just read the Liahona during Preisthood. I actually love reading the Liahona now. Things are going well and I am continuing to learn more and more about the gospel. Until next week.

Fernando Pó week 6

Boa tarde. Today we received our transfer calls. I am going to stay here in Fernando Pó with a new companion, Elder Brito. He is Cabo Verdean, and it will be the first time for me with a companion who does not speak English. Elder Sailors will go to Assomada tomorrow. Today we ate in this super nice restaurant to celebrate leaving. This morning I did not play soccer because we were doing a service project with the blind. We were training them, one on one, to use canes to get around by themselves. As we were walking with them by a ledge one old man fell the five feet onto some rocks. it looked pretty bad, but by some miracle he was fine. This week we marked a lot of dates for baptism. We marked a couple to be married on the 21st of April, and baptised on the 28th. Their names are Hermes and Zuleika. We hope that it will work out. This week had a lot of eventful things, including a verbal fight between a mother and her 40 year old son, which we witnessed. Once in a lifetime experiences happen all the time. I am grateful to serve in such a wonderful place as this. The old man who is squating in the bottom picture is Olímpio.

Fernando Pó week 5

This week we gave even more preisthood blessings. I hope that people do not begin to spread the word about the Elders using their magic powers to cure people. The kids on the street already ask us to show them magic tricks. I got another haircut today. The barbers here take time when they cut your hair. This week as well there were a lot of deaths in our area. Some old but some are a lot younger, like 40. The funeral services here are a sight to see. Women wailing and everyone within a mile radius standing around in the street. One time a band started playing super sad music with a trumpet and all. We marked a family to be baptised on the 24th of this month. Dulce, a single women, and her three kids. I hope it will work out, they came to church this Sunday. Because of our contact with sick people I am feeling a cold coming on again, but I don´t think that it will be too bad. I had a great experience testifying to a less active who had relapsed into smoking of the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. He is commited to not smoke any more. I know that Jesus Christ is our savior.
Oh and I included a picture of a burger I made.