Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Zone Conference in Fogo

This week felt a bit slow, but things are going excellent. The Gonçalves family is doing very well. It was such a joy to have the opportunity to prepare them for baptism. They’re perhaps some of my favorite investigators because they’re a family, and to find a family in Cape Verde is something unusual here.

Zone Conference was this Friday, so President Oliveira came to Fogo to talk to us. The spirit was extremely strong, and we learned so much. I’m so grateful that he's our mission president.

We don’t have any baptisms planned for this week because of General Conference. We’ll be focusing this week on finding new people to teach.

I have a very strong love for the Goncalves family. They’re very educated, well-behaved kids that I have seen in my mission. A single mother named Elsa raises them, and they knew so much about the gospel before we even taught anything to them. They treat each other with love and respect - qualities that are uncommon in Cape Verde

This letter is a bit short because I have pink eye (It’s been going throughout the whole village) and it’s a bit hard to see. It’s a very minor infection and there is medication here for it. I'll be fine before next Monday.

Elder Cuestas

Monday, September 19, 2011

Zone Leaders Council was AMAZING!

This week was indeed CRAZY.

We left Monday around 4 in the afternoon, and the assistants to the president (APs) picked us up. We stayed at their house. Elder Fonseca is one of the APs right now, so I got to stay at his house, and we talked and talked a lot. He’s a much closer friend to me now than when we served together. We have learned a lot since then, and we’re the best of friends now. It was really nice to see him again.

Zone leaders council was amazing. The Spirit was the Strongest I have ever felt it! I’m so happy that Heavenly father has given me the opportunity to be a zone leader and receive the training from President Oliveira that we got.

I can still speak Spanish, except that I struggle some not to mix it up with Portuguese. Portuguese from Brazil is the same as from Portugal just different accents. To say refrigerator, Brazil would say Geladeira, while Portugal would say Frigurífico.

The new members are helping each other out to stay active in the church. The branch president is giving them all callings and the priesthood to the men. Like I said, the success has been incredible here, and all of our recent converts are staying strong. We have a baptism this weekend where 3 people will be baptized (Família Gonçalves).

Fogo is as hot as ever, but things are still going incredible! I’m very excited for General Conference that is coming up in two weeks. Two weeks after that, I’ll have reached a year on the mission. After that, time will be on the downhill until I get home.

Elder Cuestas

Monday, September 12, 2011

Zone Leaders Council in Praia

We’ve had some 10 baptisms since I’ve been here, and miraculously, all of them are coming to church every Sunday without a problem. Nuria, Cleusa, and Vania are all doing great. Vania is a bit laid back about reading the scriptures, but we’re making sure that she stays on track.

We’re getting towards the hottest part of the year with the weather. Temperature has reached about 95-98 degrees and 85% humidity. I haven’t been around air conditioning since the MTC, but it’s funny though, I don’t miss it that much. As long as I have a fan, I sleep just fine.

We went to Brava last week to do divisions there. I think that Brava is the most beautiful island in the mission. It’s incredibly green and cool because it’s always cloudy. It looks like a green jungle. We took a boat to get there and on the way back, it was so bumpy that at least 3 people got dizzy because they were getting seasick. The boat moved up and down a lot. Personally, I don’t get seasick, but it makes me very sleepy for some reason.

Work is very busy here in the area. We’re working with a family called Gonçalves. They should be baptized soon, as well as this mother and her child. Her name is Tereza and the kid is Sandro. Hopefully things will work out for them.

Chuchuka and Luana have become my favorite people that I’ve worked with here in Fogo. They’re true converts to the church, and they love everything that has to do with church. Chuchuka is very sarcastic and lively, and she is fun to have a conversation with.

So this is random, but it’s awesome! I’ve been drinking this juice called Compal. It’s the most natural juice that I’ve ever tasted, and it’s delicious. It has nectars of Peach, Mango, Pineapple, Apple, and Orange. It comes from Portugal, and it’s like nothing we have back home.

In a few hours, my companion and I'll be on my way to the airport to Praia again. We have Zone Leaders Council tomorrow, and we’ll fly back on Wednesday. I’m excited to hear what President Oliveira has for us. His tactics have been very successful. He’s truly a blessing to all of us!

Elder Cuestas

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

This week was a great success!

So here is my synopsis on the week.

This week has been an incredible success. Three investigators were baptized and their names are Nuria, Vania, and Cleusa. They were glowing when they came up out of the water. I had the honor of baptizing Nuria. She is about 4 feet 11 tall.

We had 10 investigators in church and 9 of them are marked with baptism dates. This is incredible success, and it’s all due to the training and new techniques of teaching that President Oliveira has been giving us. We pour out our hearts in success to the Lord for his mercifulness.

I've grown to love the people of this island almost as much as I loved the people of Tarrafal. I feel that I’m constantly improving and listening to how the Lord wants me to grow. I feel that I’m getting spiritually stronger and just heading in a general positive direction.

We are now full of recent converts to teach, after the 8 baptisms we have had since I got to Fogo. Our schedule is crazy. Sundays are less hectic. For the most part, we just go to church and look for our investigators, if they don’t show up. Thankfully they almost always do...just late, but that’s Cape Verde.

Pai is stronger than ever and should be getting the priesthood this coming week. He has not had any problems with temptation and is always at the church. He teaches with us often.

At this time, we’re teaching a new investigator named Tato. He has huge issues with drinking and smoking, so we’re hoping Pai can help us teach him.

Elder Cuestas