Sao Filipe ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! is da beeest

The first thing I have to say is that I’m extremely happy right now. I love my mission so much, and I’ve been blessed beyond belief from the good Lord.

The Lord put me in an absolutely amazing place. I LOVE SAO FILIPE

Elder Weiss is really cool. He talks a lot which is awesome because the days pass very quickly here. I enjoy working together. We teach in so much union, and I feel the spirit so incredibly strong in our lessons. He’s quick to laugh and is a great sport, even when things get difficult. He’s instant to make friends with me, and life in the house is never dull.

Elder Weiss is the youngest in his family. He’s some 6 feet 3 and laughs at anything. He’s very good at speaking Portuguese and teaching. We’ve already marked a baptismal date with a new investigator this week.

I just cannot emphasize how happy I’m. I’ve a companion that loves to work and loves to talk. He’s very clean, and I look forward to companion study with him every day. I have been pouring out my heart to the Lord in thanks for this marvelous blessing he gave me.

Fogo is HOT!!!! We’ve been having days of 100 degrees or more. The city though is beautiful. You can compare it to an old Italian village. It really looks that way. It’s much cleaner and attractive than Tarrafal. There is a chapel here, too, so that means the branch is much stronger here. We don’t have to do any branch stuff, just our job as missionaries. I have sweat more than I’ve ever had in my life. Even the sister missionaries sweat profusely here. There is no wind and no clouds. hahah. However, because of how awesome the area is, and how amazing Elder Weiss is, it has not bothered me a single bit. What I do is freeze a big bottle of water and carry it in my bag, so I’ve cold water all day. It’s all I need.

Honestly I just feel like a regular missionary. The zone covers all the areas of Fogo and the island of Brava, which is one area. The total comes to 7 areas. Both Elder Weiss and I are the zone leaders of FOGO, and we work together to establish goals and discuss difficulties we have in the zone. I’m glad to be able to serve the other missionaries, and I’m just happy that the Lord is blessing me so much right now. I know I owe EVERYTHING to him, and I know he’s blessing me and pushing me to be all I can, so that I can serve him. That’s how I feel.

So I’m flying back to Praia today for Zone Leaders council. This is when all the zone leaders from the mission (5 zones) get together and receive trainings from President Oliveira for the zones. We discuss goals and ways to improve. The council will be tomorrow, but for some reason, they wont fly us back until Wednesday evening.

We live in a house with two other Elders. They’re the ones that serve in Fonte Alexio which is the village next door to Sao ~Filipe. They’re really cool, too. Like I said, life is never dull. We all buy groceries together, so we save money, and take turns making lunch. The house is HUGE with 4 bedrooms and two bathrooms. It’s very nice. Everything works perfectly from the toilets to the stove. We even have a microwave and an eggbeater. I use the eggbeater to make powdered milk, which is a ton cheaper than milk

Fogo is extremely safe - dead quiet after 7 in the evening. We even leave the door open in our house to let the breeze in. We shut it when we go to sleep though. It’s even safer than Tarrafal. Nothing happens here. There are even less dogs here, and they are not mean. The worst thing that happens is that if you fall asleep with the door open, which we did once, the banana lady will come in the house, wake you up and try to sell you bananas...or mangos.

We’ve a good and faithful dog that comes to the house every night and lays on the porch in front of the open door. Her name is Tony and we’ll feed her the leftovers.

I’ve already called elder Coleman and we chatted about the good times we had. We left on an excellent note. Elder Coleman is doing a very good job back in Tarrafal

Overall, I’m overjoyed. I’m very happy, and I’m feeling the spirit stronger and stronger every day. I love my work. I love the Lord, and I love my life out here in this country. We’ll be doing great work here because we both – Weiss and I - have a strong desire to serve the Lord and do His will.

Elder Cuestas

FOGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SAO FILIPE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is da beeest

I got transferred to Fogo in the city of Sao Filipe

So last Saturday, I got a call from President Oliveira saying that I was going to be transferred, and here I’m in a new area. I’m now on the island of FOGO in the city of Sao Filipe serving as a Zone Leader.

This mission is so small that there are only 5 zones here: Fogo, Santiago South, San Tiago North, Mindelo North, Mindelo South.

I’m now in the hottest city in the mission. It is about some 98 degrees here, and this seems to be pretty typical according to my companion.

My new companion is elder Weiss from Utah. I have met him before in my first area when the missionaries in Praia would get together to play soccer. I’m excited to take on the responsibility of a Zone Leader. I have no clue as to what I’m doing, so I know that I’ll be praying a lot to see how the Lord is going to guide me.

Last week with Elder Coleman was great. We had a great time and we worked hard. The family that we found last week seems really cool. The couple seems like they have genuine compassion and love for each other, which is something rare in Cape Verde. They have two infants, and I am sure Elder Coleman and the new missionary are going to be great with them.

Leaving Tarrafal was hard - sort of. I said goodbye to all the members there, and Alex took us all the way to Praia. We went to Praia Sunday night because my flight to Fogo was early on Monday morning. Alex took us to an elder’s house, so we could spend the night in Praia, and we said our goodbyes there. I’ll miss that kid a lot. I’ll miss all of Tarrafal, but I am excited to start my work here in Sao Felipe.

The flight was on TACV Cabo Verde Airlines. It was a tiny little airplane with propellers, and the flight to Fogo was just 15 minutes long. Shortest flight I have ever experienced ha-ha

Fogo is Portuguese for Fire. Did you know that there is an active volcano on this island? The island is very hot and hilly. The only place that there is a lot of wind is Mindelo. It's just hot here ha-ha. I don’t miss hot showers at all. You look forward to cold showers here.

Tony and Michel are doing amazing. They have families that are very supportive of their baptisms. We had Family Home Evening in the house of Tony last Monday before I left.

I’m just overall excited, and it seems that Elder Weiss and I are going to work well together. I have heard good stuff about him.

Elder Cuestas

Great Week!

This was indeed a wonderful week!

What we need to realize as followers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we’re here to let go of our own will and accept the fact that our own will is not always best for us, even if we cannot see it right at the moment. As we let go of our will, and let our Heavenly Father work in our life, at some point or another, we will see that our Father in Heaven indeed does everything out of love for us and that his will is that we be the best persons possible on this short life experience. Bottom line: I love the work. I love being a missionary. I love all that I have learned about my Father in Heaven.

As for Tony and Michelle, their baptisms went great! Elder Coleman baptized Tony and I baptized Michelle. They’re doing very well and ready to start a life of learning Gospel principles. They’re very happy.

We found (my first) a family to teach last Friday. Nelinho and his wife Lé. We’re so excited. It’s very hard to find families here.

E aconteceu que eu, Nefi disse a meu pai, Eu irei e cumprirei as ordens do Senhor, porque sei que ele nunca da ordens aos filhos dos homens sem antes preparar um caminho pelo qual suas ordens possam ser cumpridas

What scripture is this?

Elder Cuestas

Zone Conference with President Oliveira

We were walking home from the Tavares family (Alex and his entire family are members) I was very frustrated because the whole family does things that are against the commandments, and we have been working so long not just with Alex, but with his whole family as well.

I asked my companion how is it that we, two 19 year olds, know more than this 45-year-old man who is in charge of his family? He told me that the only reason we can see more is because we are converted to the Gospel.

I got really quiet for a few minutes, and I thought about that statement. I didn’t realize that I’m really converted to the church and the gospel. I realized right there that I had no doubt in my mind that I knew the gospel was true. I knew that through the experiences I have gone through as a member of the Church and as a missionary, that I, without knowing it, had built a personal relationship with my father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. Everything was revealed to my eyes yesterday through that one statement, and the Spirit just started flooding my heart. I felt the confirmation from Heavenly Father saying "That’s right" and I had tears of the spirit forming in my eyes.

Zone Conference with President Oliveira (our new Mission President)

Wow, this man is incredible. He has such a confidence, yet such humility. I know that God called him to be here as the Mission President of this mission. His counsel was incredible. His love for us was very clear. His excitement is radiant. His wife is planning to be as involved as him in this mission. He is just overall incredible, and I know we’re going to benefit so much because of him.

Tarrafal is very hot right now. We have daily highs of some 34 degrees - 95 in Fahrenheit. The sun is strong every day and it never rains here. There is no AC in the house either. But of course, I am used to it

I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that ANYTHING can be worked out, and that our Heavenly father is willing and delighted to support us in the work as long as we turn to him.

E Cuestas

TARRAFAL (Still)