Week 83

Hey I just got online, I'm emailing president but here in a few minutes I can start telling you how I've been soaking wet for the past 3 days....

So this morning we played some intense soccer in the rain, it was super sweet!! But I'm worn out now. It's been raining a lot in Assomada, and the zone is so spread out that it hasn't even rained in Chao Bom. This week was sweet, it really felt like hard work paid off. We had 8 investigators at church and 7 of them have baptism dates marked for sometime in September. Having 8 investigators is this zone's top, since it's super hard getting people to come to church.
Other than that I really don't have much to say for this week.
Oh! I got your birthday package 2 days ago! I opened it already and yes, I'll make Morty make the cake for me lol. Thank you soooo much for the socks, they have gotten soaked every time I've worn them, but at least they don't have holes so they feel a lot better.

Week 82

The pictures you sent made me trunky for carpet like you have no idea, lol. One of the first things I'll do when I get home is just lay on the floor for like an hour enjoying carpet.
Anyways, this week was sweet, it felt very long but it was still really good. We had some divisions with the APs before Zone Conference and it was awesome. I didn't work with Burch, I was with his comp Elder Lopes, who is also a boss so it was okay.
Afterwards it was sick talking to Burch about all of the stuff we went through in Ribeira Grande. We talked about our recent converts and all the comps we've served with since then. Also all the songs we used to sing while we were walking in between areas. And about how much we hate girls since we both got Dear Johned around the same time, lol.
The rest of the week was normal, same old work over and over again, but with different people.

A few weeks ago you said that the pictures I sent you sometimes scared you. Well, this morning I was able to climb the famous Assomada Big Tree. It was way fun but super hard getting up there. Only Elder Masubelele and I could climb all the way up. Our whole district went.

It was a sick view from up there, but I couldn't climb with the camera in my pocket or it would have gotten destroyed. Sister Miller took a video, I'll show it to you when I go back home. It wasn't scary, just really hard and it tired me out like crazy. 

So here's my current district. From left to right: 

Elder Masubelele from South Africa

Elder Layton from Peru

Sister Hanzel from Utah (I think)

Sister Cardoso from Cabo Verde

Sister Fernandez from Portugal

Sister Miller from somewhere in the U.S. 

and then Mortensen and myself

Week 81

My week was very interesting and busy. On Tuesday was Council day, we had to wake up at 5AM to catch an hour-long ride to Praia, but I woke up at 2 in the morning because of a HUGE roach crawling on my face. I don't know if I told you, but our house is INFESTED with roaches. I have never seen so many in my life. But yeah, I felt something on my face, woke up and slapped it away and it landed on my pillow. Then I realized it was a roach so I grunted "freaking roaches" and slapped my whole pillow off my bed, but it landed on Mortensen and woke him up, lol. Then we kept trying to kill it and it kept running back and forth between our beds, so I lost a good 45 minutes of sleep there.
But the actual Council itself was awesome, it really opened my eyes to how much planning and stuff goes on behind the scenes. It was awesome seeing people again, especially Elder Young and Romano and Burch. We got back to Assomada around 8:30ish at night so we were exhausted by then. Wednesday was a normal day, except we stayed up late finishing up all our plans and trainings for the next day, which made us lose a few more hours of sleep.
Zone Meeting was sweet! Or at least it was for me, lol. Everyone seemed to like it, and it was nice seeing everybody from the Zone again.
Right after Zone Meeting I left on a division with Elder Sosa to a city called Calheta, he's still soft lol but it was way cool being able to serve with him again.
I didn't get back until Friday, when I came home to see that our apartment had been sprayed with poison for the roaches. There were THOUSANDS of baby roaches all dead throughout the kitchen. I thought that was going to end the roach problem, but I think it just made it worse. Now they moved out of the kitchen and into the rest of the house. So now there's even more roaches in the bathroom, study room, closets, EVERYWHERE. I hate this house, lol.
Yesterday was awesome, the zone all came together and more than doubled the number of investigators in Sacrament Meeting. Two Sundays ago the number was 13 (I know, super low) and yesterday as a zone we had 27 (more than we have had in 3 months) so I'm super excited for Zone Conference in 2 days, we are going to keep pumping up the zone so we can keep improving.
Also, Burch and Elder Lopez (the APs) are coming over tomorrow for a division, so that should be fun.

Random Pics: Elder Mortensen still doesn't smile, haha.

Week 80

I'm sorry I didn't email mom and dad, I read their email twice and I thought I had responded but I guess I really didn't... brain fart.
Guys I don't need clothes for the cold, but the socks will actually come in very handy since most.... all of my socks have holes in them, but don't go overboard because my luggage is super heavy now. I really don't want anything... maybe just some stretch bands so I can work out. It's hard to get in shape when my only two choices are push ups and sit ups.

So this week was very tiring, we have been preparing for Zone Meeting which will be on Thursday and Zone Conference which is in 10 days. Both days we will be presenting zone plans and goals for the month of August and we will also be preparing trainings to go along with those plans. I was never exactly "gifted" when it comes to talking in front of people, so it should be interesting, lol. All week we have been praying, fasting, and studying to know what plans we can do to help out getting investigators to church.
Also, tomorrow will be council, which is in Praia. All the Zone Leaders and the 2 AP's go to a meeting with President Matthews to follow up on last month's goals and talk about next months' plans and stuff. It will be my first one and I'll get to see Elder Burch for the first time in about a year, and others more than that, so I'm pretty excited for that. I'm also a bit nervous because everyone at council is like the "top dogs" in the mission, everyone is smart lol. I feel like I was made ZL because I work hard, not because of my brains haha.

Week 79

One of my biggest fears in life is having my testimony become weaker after my mission and go inactive. I know I was never really "spiritual" back home, I never studied, and I hardly ever prayed, but my mission has opened my eyes to life. One of the most sacred things to me right now is the Book of Mormon, it literally changed my heart. Boyd K. Packer said that "true doctrine, understood, changes attitude and behavior". 

 When President Matthews called me to be Zone Leader he told me that I need to inspire the missionaries here to be obedient and serve not only with might and strength, but also with heart and mind. It's been a tough first week, I felt like a huge load of responsibility was dropped on my shoulders.
Getting sick didn't help, I had a really bad stomach virus for 5 days, but I'm doing better now. I have no idea what I ate, but it was BAD. I joined the club.
Being a Zone Leader is tough sometimes, but at least I have a boss of a companion who helps me out a ton. Here are some pictures of us, we climbed a small mountain this morning.
Assomada is sick! Sooo much better than Chao Bom, lol. This city is always way colder than other cities in the island because it's so high up.

They are starting the construction of a chapel here, that's the sign we are standing in front of. It will be done in 14 months, sadly I'll be home by then. 

So here I am standing on a cliff with 150+ foot drop on the other side. It was scary standing there because there was a lot of wind. 

Also, you made it on my planner. I need more family pictures, I'm running out because I keep putting them on my planners. I've been studying a lot about Peter, he's like my favorite missionary ever because he matured and changed so much. He even walked on water, a miracle that a lot of people only ever remember Jesus doing. 

I hit my Sister Mission this past week! 18 months! I celebrated with shawarma and a Monster. 

Week 78: Thirteenth Transfer, Fifth Area, & Zone Leader

Yes, so I got transferred and I am now a Zone Leader. I am currently in Assomada, which is like 45 minutes away from Chao Bom. I feel nervous, to be honest, but it'll work out. I'm serving with Elder Mortensen, who is on his 9th transfer, way younger than me but he is a total boss. He is actually one of the people in the mission that I have always wanted to serve it.
So I left Chao Bom and Elder Barros to Elder Santiago, from Mozambique. I first met him in the beginning of my 3rd transfer, when I got called to be district leader for the first time. Everyone in the district was way older than me so I was always super nervous to give trainings and stuff. He would give me so much attitude for everything, basically saying how he could have done better than me giving trainings. Elder Barros is a hard worker, but he is also super humble, so I hope that it works out between them.
So I took some pictures of the members I really liked, plus I finally threw out my Easter egg "contact cases".

This is my favorite family, the dad's name is Nito and he is one of the most converted people I have ever met. He got married a couple of years ago with another member, Sylvania. Now they are working to go to the temple and get sealed sometime towards the end of this year. 

Week 77

Hi! This week was pretty good, it definitely had it's ups and downs. Zone meeting was this past week, it was way sweet. It was the first time I got to see Elder Reid since we stopped being comps back in Santo Antao. I finally got your package! I now have 5 contact cases, lol. And freak you sent a ton of cookie stuff! Thanks, those things are worth their weight in gold out in the mission haha. Also, we had interviews with President Mathews yesterday, I feel like I trust him more and more every time I talk to him. He helped me out a lot with some things that have been bothering me for the past few months.
Transfers are this Sunday! I only have 4 more after this!!! That's nothing! It goes by like in a month!

Also, here's a random picture of me and Elder Kabanako the one time we went in the caves.