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.

week 5

Hello again,

This week was busy, and as with every week I am worn out. Every night I fall on my bed and sink into blissful sleep. My shower doesn´t work so every morning I wash under a cold stream from a faucet in the shower. My toilet also is broken so I have to fill a tub with water whenever I go to flush. But I don´t say these things to complain. I mean, for the first time in my life I have a bathroom to myself and there is a humanitarian couple on the island over who says they will try to get these things fixed. And really we missionaries have it much better than most of the people in our area. But by now I am used to the people here and I love them. We are taching this guy named Stiven who will be baptized this saturday. He is great and it is a great story because when I first got to Porto Novo we teaching him and he was homeless, and addicted to drugs, but he has come so far through the efforts of members and missionaries. We had a division with the zone leaders on wednesday which I was nervous for because I would have take the lead for the entire day. But it ended up being good, and we found 10 new investigators. I attached a picture of some bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes that I cut to show that unlike a lot other companionships here we eat other food besides rice and beans. It is fun and adds some spice to our day. We try to make icecream and it is good but not like in the USA. Just today the humanitarian couple took us with them to the top of the island to teach a school of kids how to brush their teeth. It was fun and cool to see the island from the top. We are teaching this couple who will be married on the 17th of November and then baptized on the 18th. Their names are Salvador and Lenny. The work here is good, but the temperature in Porto Novo is one of the hottest in all of Cabo Verde. There is this nice strong family of members by the name of Oliveira and they are nice to us and showed us this bird they have. Though a mission is not easy nor easily described, I will say that it is not something that I would miss out on for the world. I love my Savior.

Elder Gale

Week 4 in Porto Novo

Bom Dia, este é Elder Gale aqui and this week was good. Actually is was great. We started off going on a split with the Elders from Rebeira Grande in Rebeira Grande. It is on the other side of Santa Antão and it is beautiful. We were right by the ocean and the waves were gorgeous. Also it is very green there and moutainous. I found a frog but that wasn´t that interesting. Right after this picture it peed on my hand. One downside to Rebeira Grande is that they have giant cockroaches. Also the branch is very small and it is hard for people to come to church. Some nice lady gave us Cachupa the other day in Porto Novo. It is this delicious traditional dish of corn, beans, and something else. We added sausage and bread as well. Maybe one day I will learn how to make it. They also have Cus-cus here which is great. The work is moving along here and we have lots to do. The Sisters here were transfered randomly and now we have only Elders. I found this giant spider it was sweet. I love the gospel and testify that the Book of Mormon is true. I wish these people at this internet shack would let us stay on longer so I could write more.

Week 3 in Porto Novo

       This week was very busy, and I am happy to say that we had a baptism on Saturday for Davi. I did not Baptise him but it was great to teach him and talk to him. We didn't really have any problems with him and he flew through the lessons and next he will recieve the Priesthood. One interesting thing about Cabo Verde is that there are many poor people. There are almost no people here who are even middle class. It has really made me grateful for the things I have and had. We have another couple who lives together that we have taught all of the lessons to. They will be married in november and then baptised. Their names are Salvador and Lenny. Salvador works at a Barber shop and he will probably give me a haircut soon. They have a little baby and another one on the way. nobody is really married here because of the cost so that is always a challenge. One day we found one of our investigators drunk and he talked to us for a while and we brought him home and put him to bed. Tomorrow we go to Rebeira Grande, which is on the other side of Santa Antao to go on splits with the missionaries there. It is supposed to be more green there and cooler. Sometimes fog roles in and you can't see much. We generally try to do our missionary work in the late afternoon and evening because it is cooler and more people are home. One of my companions is going to his mission in Portugal today so soon I will be in a normal companionship. I ate some papaya last night that a member gave to me and I realized it's not good. Everything is going good and my Portuguese is improving. I know the church is true. Lastly sorry about no pictures but I think Elder Oliveira broke my usb converter.