A mi é Badu pá sempre!!!

Hey everyone!! 

So... this week was a little different. Transfers happened on Wednesday instead of Sunday night because of the early arrival of the new missionaries. Also I got transferred and am no longer a zone leader. I am back in Praia in an area called Achada Santo António. President Oliveira has asked me to be his new assistant though which means I am serving with Elder Hill again!!! How nuts is that!?!?! I’m still learning what I am supposed to do as an assistant and this first couple days have been kind of crazy with transfers and everything. There were so many people transferred and we had to take a lot of trips to the airport.

The mission is still growing and President opened up two new zones, one on the island of Sal and one on the island of Santo Antão. We are going to continue receiving more missionaries and the mission is growing super fast. I am really excited for this opportunity to get to know and serve all the missionaries here and to work so closely with President Oliveira. It’s gonna be a lot of work but a lot of fun as well.

Not much else really happened this week. A got baptized but unfortunately I missed his baptism. Elder C is going to send me pictures though so that’s ok. It was hard to leave São Filipe so quickly but I am excited to be back in Praia. They just can’t seem to keep me off this island for very long. I love it here and once I get to know my area and the people I know that I will grow to love it just as much as my previous areas.

I attached a link that opens up to the Cape Verde Church website and on the left hand side there is a link that says Cape Verde Terra de Luz. This is a video that someone made of the country just before they organized the first stake here in Praia almost a year ago. I love this video and the Spirit is so strong as it talks about what it took to get a stake in this amazing country. I love it here and am so glad that I was called to serve these people. 

Well, I don’t have a lot of time left so I’ll try to write more next week. I love you all and home that you have a good week! 

http://www.igreja-jesus-cristo.cv/

WINNIPEG!!!!!

Shane got his call!!! I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been looking forward to finding out where he is going all week! That is so awesome!!! He’s gonna love it and is going to see some amazing things, Best news of the week!

Our week wasn’t all that exciting. It was Carnival on Tuesday and that meant lots of parades, drinking and loud music. Also meant that we had to be at home by 6:00... not cool. But we were able to teach a few lessons during the morning and we did some service and de-shelled some beans. That combined with being out of our area for an entire week left us really unorganized but things started settling down by Thursday and we had a pretty good week. 

Two really awesome things happened this week. First: A came back! This is the guy that was supposed to be baptized a month ago but was then "kidnapped" by his aunt and taken out of town forever. He finally came back and is super excited to be baptized this week. 

Second: We have been working with this couple for almost two months now and they both have received spiritual witnesses that the church is true. The only problem has been getting them to church!!! However the father, I, went to church for the first time yesterday and he absolutely loved it! We taught them both last night and he couldn’t stop talking about how strong the Spirit was and how happy he is. Now all he wants to do is change his life and get baptized so that his family can be together forever. He told his "wife" (they’re not married yet but we’re working on it) about six or seven times that she needs to go to church and next week they are both going to go together. It was amazing!!! 

So that’s about it. It’s the last week of transfers and I really don’t want to leave São Filipe. I love this island and the people here are amazing. There are going to be a lot of changes in the mission though and I have no idea what is going to happen. We’ve gotta prepare A this week though so we’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m so pumped! Love you all! 

Ja´n chatia cu bô, jobí?!

This week was so AWESOME!! Every day was just full of miracles and our area is growing like never before. So we had zone conference this week and once again, me and my companion were in charge. It’s really cool how the Spirit guides you as you plan for a conference like this because all of the trainings always fall under a central theme. This weeks theme was Alma 37:6-7 "through small and simple things, are great things brought to pass". The Spirit was really strong throughout the entire day and we received some really great trainings.

Best part of the week though, J and I were baptized!!! This is our miracle couple and they were so excited! They had both prayed last weekend to know if this was really the day they needed to get baptized and they both received answers right away. The whole week, everything just played out perfectly and it was a real blessing to witness their baptisms. They are both so happy and they both bore testimony at the end of the baptism service. They are going to be strong leaders in the church as we continue working to establish a stake here in Fogo.

We are going to Praia today for Zone Leader’s Council so we spent most of the week preparing our two baptisms for this week. They are all super prepared and we have been working with members who are going to be taking care of them while we are gone. I love the members here and I really feel like we have gained their trust. They have such a strong desire to serve and they really make the difference in our work. It’s really comforting to know that we can leave our area for three days and come back without anything happening,

Other than that, nothing new happened this week. Time goes by so darn fast and this transfer is already half way over.  It’s carnival time here in Cape Verde so lots of parties and loud music. I love it here and I hope to stay for a very long time. Have a good week!!