Bela Vista, Mindelo South

Transfers came, and I finally retired from being a Zone Leader, and now I became a (dad) trainer. This means that I’ll train a brand new missionary, and I’ll be his first companion.  

I’ll be training Elder Fogelberg, and we’ll serve in the area of Bela Vista, Mindelo South. This is the first time in a year that I’m no longer a Zone Leader as our Mission President likes all the Zone Leaders to end their mission training the new missionaries. I’m a bit sad to leave Elder Fernandes, but I’ll go and do whatever the Lord requires of me. Certainly I’m very excited to get Elder Fogelberg started on his first days, weeks and months. This may be the missionary that is with me my last transfer, and I pray that I’ll have the capacity to give him all the necessary skills that he needs to go out there and be everything that the Lord wants him to be. It was interesting that when President called me, he said that he needed me to leave behind a legacy and take upon me a son who will possess my same characteristics and skills. I asked him, President, are you sure you want that? He laughed.

So Fernandes and I were doing our last planning session together, and we stopped for a minute. I thanked him for everything that he had taught me, all that he had helped me be, and all the patience he has had with me. I told him that I would never forget him and that he was one of the best companions that I have ever had. I only wish that it could have been more than 2 transfers, but I know that the Lord needs otherwise. 8 transfers as a Zone Leader is a long time. Half of my mission has been as a Zone Leader. In response to what I said to him, he told me that these have been the best 2 transfers of his mission and that we’re brothers for all eternity. Fernandes is an incredible missionary, brother, and friend. I’ll never forget him and all that he has done for me. I’ll miss him. However, I’m stoked that Elder Josephson, a missionary that I have known for a long time will take my place. He’s an excellent worker. He is a good friend of mine, and we will be able to see each other again in BYU next year.

The part about my new companion is awesome. Elder Fogelberg is from central California close to Fresno, and he is amazing! I went to Praia Monday night to go get him, and we got back to Mindelo around Wednesday night to arrive to the house. He doesn’t seem the slightest bit homesick and seems to really enjoying the mission. We’re already getting along great, and I can tell that he’s spiritually prepared to come out here and start working.

On the other hand, the new area is in very bad shape. There are very few investigators, members, and overall just a lot of work to do. We have to perform what is called a resurrection of this area, where we work, work to construct it again, find investigators, and get things going. It’s the same exact thing that we did in my last area with Elder Fernandes, just that this area is in a much worse shape. Elder Fogelberg already knows this, and it does not seem to bother him. He’s excited at working hard and being able to do everything he can. We just need to pray and work for miracles, because miracles are what we need to get this area going again.

Bela Vista is one of the poorest areas in Mindelo. It’s Tarrafal all over again…people living in tin shacks, no power, no roofs and no other basic things. It is not as ghetto as Praia, but for Mindelo, it’s very ghetto. However, it is called Bela Vista for a very good reason. There is a mountain in the middle of the area, and when you get up there, you can see ALL of Mindelo. It’s a breathtaking sight!

My new companion and I started this week just getting to know the area, the members and investigators. We should have a baptism soon of a woman named Zuleika. She has been investigating the church for a long time and has finally decided that she is ready to be baptized. We’re also working with this one woman named Joana who should be baptized in a couple of weeks. She has been talking to the missionaries for a long time, and she spoke about the peace that she felt in her heart as she read the book of Mormon. It was a very spiritual lesson, and we were able to commit her to a date for her baptism of two weeks from now.

Elder Fogelberg already can speak some pretty good Portuguese for being in the mission field on such a short time. He pays attention really well to the counsel that I’m giving him, and he never complains and is just getting used to everything really fast. It has been indeed a miracle to have him as my new companion.

Obviously, I feel somewhat nostalgic to know that I’ll never be Zone Leader again as it was one of my favorite positions in the mission, but I’m honored that the Lord put such a good missionary in my hands to train.

So the new area and responsibilities will keep me very busy until my last day, as I’ll be making sure to train Elder Fogelberg to do things the right way and set him off on the right foot, and I’ll work harder than ever to resurrect this new area.

Andirson’s wedding was incredible! I’ll write more next week.

Elder Cuestas

Santo Antao Island

This week was a little different as a huge part of this week was spent in the island of Santo Antao. Being the Zone Leaders here in Mindelo North, we have, as our responsibility, the island of Santo Antao. We went there this week on a three day division, and it was an incredible experience. To get there, we have to take a boat, just like going to Brava. I’m grateful that the sea between Sao Vicente and Santo Antao is a lot calmer, thus making the journey much more pleasant. The boat is much older, but much comfier because you can walk around and be outside where you can feel the wind.

So we got there, and we had district meeting with the missionaries of that island. There are 6 missionaries on the island of Santo Antao. We arrived in the city of Porto Novo and went immediately to the chapel there and met with everyone else. District meeting was pretty good. Nothing special, just district meeting (Happens every week).

The special part was going out with the Elders to the farthest point in Santo Antao to a place called Ponta do Sol. This is one of the most beautiful areas of Cape Verde. This is an area that is extremely rural with almost nothing, but people and pure nature. We went to an area of Ponta do Sol called Cuquoli (pronounced coo ko li) and took a look at the work of the Elders there.

Those two days out there were extremely spiritual, and we were able to help out the Elders a lot and give them some inspired counsel from the Lord. Next to Brava, Ponta do Sol, Santo Antao is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. It is an undiscovered paradise of greenery, mangos and nature. Santo Antao is famous for mangos, so we ate a lot of mangos this past week. Mango has become my favorite fruit, and I love anything made from mango.

We got back and continued to prepare Jocyleida and Andirson for their wedding, just two weeks away. Everything is going very well with them, and their faith is stronger than ever. We’re so proud of them. Andirson had a very special challenge this week. he was not able to work all week; thus he was unable to provide for his family. He got an offer to work on Sunday, and If he wouldn’t accept it, his family would go hungry all week. We arrived at his home and testified of miracles and the power of obedience to God’s commandments. We also said that he should go to church instead to protect his family from Satan’s temptations, especially so close to the wedding. I know it was something so difficult to understand to anyone else. Why would you go to church instead of work that day, especially if you knew that your family would go hungry, if you did not work that day? He told us that he would think about it. On Sunday, there were Andirson and his family all dressed up and coming to church. Andirson wore a white shirt and tie. My joy was so great to see the faith of this incredible man!

Now, what about that miracle?

It so happened that a member of another branch was visiting our branch that Sunday. I notified our branch president of Andirson’s situation and asked if they could help. Just a few minutes after church ended, this member that was visiting our branch walked up to Andirson and said: "Brother, I own a supermarket. Come with me right now and get some food for your family".

That is a miracle. Andirson and his family got something to eat that day and for some time.

Ana is doing very well. Despite suffering many health issues, she is strong, faithful and going to church every week.

Elder Cuestas

Thank goodness we're promised his protection!

The Lord performed a series of miracles one by one these past few days. Even though, we are preparing Jocyleida and her family for baptism on the 2nd of August, and that we had a few other baptisms, our area was running out of investigators. We had been having an extremely hard time finding new investigators these past weeks.

So we were working on Friday, and really not having much success in finding anyone. I was praying in my head the whole time, pleading the Lord that we could find someone interested in the Gospel.

When nothing happened that day, we went to our Correlation meeting with the Branch Mission leader around 8p, when the phone rang. It was one of the Elders from Mont Sossego (Another area). The elders there had talked to two people who lived in our area, and they said that they were interested in getting to meet us. At the same time, a branch missionary passed us a reference of another person that we contacted later in the week.  Finally, some new investigators to work with…!

But the following two miracles are just amazing  

Last Saturday, we did not have a baptism, so we were trying to find investigators to come and see the other missionaries' baptism. No one was home. We entered the chapel, thinking of what to do. We were in the chapel about 10 minutes, when a man we had never seen before walked in the chapel. He was a skinny man, about 22 years old and very tall. We went up to him and asked him who he was, and what was his interest in coming to the chapel. He responded "My name is Hernany, and I just felt in my heart that I needed to come here and find you".

I had never in my mission heard anyone say that before. The Lord clearly turned him in to us for help. He started explaining more about his life, which made his first impression to come here a lot more sense. He told us that his mother died a year ago, and he had not been able to cope well with that. He had been drinking, smoking, and using drugs for a very long time now. He said he felt lost and alone and that he wanted and needed help from us. He said that that morning he woke up feeling in his heart that he needed to find the Elders. We started explaining on how God Loves us and that he made a way, so that he could see his mother again and be with her again.

His eyes opened wide with tears forming. His whole countenance changed. He brightened up and instantly was filled with hope. He said that he couldn’t sleep, he couldn’t eat, and that he had to drop out of school because of how hard it has been to cope with his mother's death. Also, he has a daughter, and the daughter's mother had been making it really difficult for him to see her. This was a broken hearted child of God looking for help. We were filled with compassion, and we went with him afterwards to see where his house was. We told him that we would be there to take him to church with us the next morning.

The next morning he was not at home, and we found out that it was because he had arrived at church much earlier than it actually started. At the end of the meetings, he came up to us and gave us really firm hugs and thank us. He knew right then and there that the Gospel was true. Now we just have to teach him.

The other incredible miracle happened Sunday night.

On Friday, before going to Correlation meeting, we were not having much success in finding people, as I mentioned earlier. We were close to Aldina's house, an investigator we had stopped teaching some time ago. We felt that we had to go by her house. We found her outside her home. We asked how she was doing, and she said that she was still praying and that she was thinking of leaving her boyfriend. We asked if we could visit her on Sunday, and she said yes.

Sunday night comes around, and we head over there. Aldina lives in a very dangerous area of Mindelo. Her zone is called Impena and is about 60 feet away from the most dangerous part of the city called Ilha de Madeira. This zone is full of drunks, gangs, fights, thieves, and violence. The Cape Verdian SWAT team has had to come in that zone many times over the years. The only people in that zone that are spared...are the Elders. No one touches us. No one. Gangs swarm the area with knives, stones, and other stuff in their hands. We have to work in the zone frequently. Everyone there knows us. Most people aren’t very interested in talking to us because of their lifestyle, but they make sure that nothing happens to us, or that we are not involved in anything.

Interesting isn’t it.

Anyway, as we were walking through Ilha de Madeira to get to Aldina's house, the zone was pretty agitated. Some party was going on, and EVERYONE in the street was drunk, and there were a few fights going on...ugh. Anyway, one fight was right in front of Aldina's house, and I was wondering why. We made our way through to the front door. Aldina was there and looking extremely upset. I asked her what was wrong, and she pointed to the screaming drunks. One of them was her son. I had seen him a few times, but I had never had the opportunity to really talk to him. She had told us before that he had serious problems with drinking and that he hung out often in Ilha de Madeira.

Here he was, drunk as drunk could be and just about ready to start throwing fists at his opponent. I asked Fernandes "What do we do" He said that we should leave, but neither of us started walking. I then said that we should leave, but again, neither of us started walking. Fernandes then grabbed Emmerson (Aldina’s son) and started dragging him inside the house. I immediately started to help him. We dragged him over to the living room and threw him on the couch. He was so drunk that he could hardly speak, but he was raging mad and wanted to go back outside. Aldina was crying in the doorway.

Fernandes got up to take Emmerson into his room where we could talk to him and calm him down a bit. I went after Aldina, who was broken hearted and gave her a blessing and that immediately helped her to help us take care of her son. She got him clothes, a towel, food and water, so that we could help him. We had spent almost 2 hours in their house calming things down. He had been out in the streets for over two days and had not eaten anything.

In the midst of all his blabbering, he finally calmed down and revealed some information to us. He said that he had wanted to talk to us for a long time and that he wanted to stop drinking because it was hurting his family and himself. He said that he was disgusted with himself and that he needed help. This was another broken hearted child of God that the Lord sought conveniently to deliver into our hands. With this act, Aldina and Emmerson are once again investigators, and we will continue helping them to overcome their troubles. It was the most intense way the Lord has ever brought us an investigator, but the Lord places us where he needs us, even if it means being in the middle of screaming drunks. Thank goodness we’re promised his protection.

Elder Cuestas 

Jocyleida Conquers Her Fears

To follow up on Jocyleida's situation, two Sundays ago I was on a division in my own area, and I was with the District Leader from Santo Antao. We had an appointment with the family, and we started teaching them about the Word of Wisdom. At the very end of the lesson, Jocyleida asked if we could baptize her daughter the following week. I responded that we were planning on baptizing all of them together. Jocyleida looked at me and said:

"Well I don't really know about that".

There were a few minutes of silence, and I then asked, "What is your concern?"

She thought, and she thought, and she thought some more and then she answered "Look, it’s the same thing as before, and I’ve told you that I don't like the idea of having to get married".

More silence...is she putting a stopping point?

I instantly thought, no. There is no way that the Lord put a complete family in our hands to have them not make it to baptism, I completely rejected that idea.

I summoned up all the power and authority that the Lord placed in me. I felt full of his spirit, and I looked at her straight in the eyes and testified to her as an authorized servant of Jesus Christ that this was the Lord’s will for her life and that the Lord placed her where she was, so that she could prepare for the blessings of Baptism. I promised to her that if she took this step that she would be blessed for all Eternity and that she could return to live with her Heavenly Father again. I was as firm as I could be, and the words that came out of my mouth were things that God placed in me. I promised her that she would start seeing the blessings as soon as she said yes.

Silence for several minutes…my heart was pounding. I did not take my eyes away from hers. No one could have denied that the Spirit was there and that the spirit was testifying to her of the truthfulness of our message. After what seemed an eternity, she responded "I will think some more".

We left it at that.

I met up with Fernandes later and told him everything that happened. We prayed and prayed and prayed that night that she would accept. We spent hours the following day practicing our lesson for her in our companionship study. We were prepared to teach her about the Lord’s will and Satan’s will and that Satan was who was placing that fear in her heart. We wrapped up and went to go teach our other investigators waiting for eight o clock that evening when we would teach her.

Eight o’clock came, and they were waiting for us. We came in and sat down, had a prayer and some small talk. We asked if everything was ok. They said yes, and everything seemed normal. Jocyleida was a little quiet. The time for the question came up…

"So have you thought about what we discussed two days ago?"

"I have, and I have made a decision"

She paused and then said "I want to get married"

My heart skipped a beat right there. She did it!! She overcame her fear!! She felt that the Lord was there and that the Lord was telling her that this was the will he had for her. She felt it, and she knew that it was true!! She overcame 22 years of being against marriage to get married. What a miracle! What a joy!

This last week was all about getting papers and documents from several places including the City Hall, the registry, department of vital records and so forth. We helped them in all the processes as getting married takes some time and requires a lot of papers. I remember last Wednesday that we went just with Jocyleida to get a copy of her birth certificate. She seemed extremely happy that day. I was curious as to what was making her so happy, because she is generally very quiet.

When we walked out of the City Hall, she found one of her close friends walking nearby. She called her over and starting bragging and telling her on how she is preparing to get married. You could see this joy in her heart, and she was radiating. Then she pulled out her husband’s ID and showed it to her and said: "look! This is my future husband”.  

I smiled as I know that the Lord changed her heart, and she has not turned back since.

Something that is really cool is that we had the baptism of an investigator that we have been working for a few weeks now. His name is Ivan, and he was truly prepared to receive the gospel. We went to his house for the first time last week, (we usually teach him in the chapel) and as we began to teach him, his mother quietly watched through the doorway. After a few minutes, I looked at her and smiled and said "Would you like to sit with us?" She did.

Through Ivan, her mom and his sister are now investigators, and we’re hoping that this could be another family. We haven’t met the husband yet, so we will see, but we have some good hope for them.

Elder Cuestas

Politics and Elections in Mindelo

Mindelo has been getting really hot lately. It is starting to remind me of Fogo, except for that Mindelo is the windiest city in Cape Verde. This helps a lot.

Right now, they’re having campaigns for the Mayor of the city. The way they campaign is they set up stages in various parts of the city over the course of 3 weeks, and the candidate goes there and speaks to the people. The two main political parties in Cape Verde are PAICV (Partido Africano para Independencia de Cabo Verde) and MPD (Movimento para Democracia) PAICV tends to be the more conservative party from what I hear, and they’re more successful in Praia, as Praia is more conservative than Mindelo.  Politics and elections are something that is generally important to the people here, and campaign time is a big deal. It’s actually pretty cool to see. Elections here are very peaceful and lively with music and a political spirit.

P day is something that is always a joy here in Mindelo. All the missionaries really like one another, so we have a great time every Monday morning in soccer. We get up at 6:20am and catch the bus to the church that is on the outskirts of the island here in Mindelo. There are two churches here in Mindelo. We play soccer for some 2 hours, and then we go with the other elders to a bakery in downtown to eat bread and get something to drink. Mindelo has the best bread and pastries in all the country. So it is a small time we get on Mondays to relax, get some breakfast and get going with our day. After that, we go home and clean our enormous house. We live in the biggest house in the mission. It has three floors, and very difficult to keep it clean. We take the time to clean, sweep, mop, and keep it organize for the week.  Then we go out, use the internet, buy groceries and run other errands. Today, we are going to the airports to pick up some missionaries that are coming in as the transfers are going on right now.

Last week was full of spiritual moments and challenges. To start the week off, Margarida’s daughter told us that she wanted to be baptized this past weekend. Her name is Eriette. Being that Margarida's situation is somewhat complicated and that it’s going to take a longer time for her to be baptized, we decided to prepare Eriette for baptism this weekend. The young women in the branch did an excellent job of integrating her and helping her feel welcome in the church. By the time of her baptism, she was already participating in personal progress and in the church choir.  

We’re facing some challenges with Valdevino. He keeps saying that he’s going to come back to church and be a support to Margarida, but he’s not keeping up with his words. He keeps trying to stall on getting married to Margarida and completing his commitments to come to church. It’s extremely frustrating because Margarida is going through a lot of pain right now. She received one of the strongest testimonies I have ever seen an investigator received about the Church and the restoration of the Gospel.  It breaks her heart to see that Valdevino doesn’t show the same passion for the Gospel as she does. This also hinders her progress on getting baptized, as Valdevino still has to get divorced from his previous marriage and marry Margarida. We continue to try thought because we can’t give up on her.

We did get the chance this week to teach Andirson and Jocyleida about the law of chastity. This has to have been one of the most powerful moments of my mission. It was interesting as we helped them see the true purpose and blessings of marriage and covenants. We helped them understand that marriage is not a matter of fancy dresses, cakes, parties, and money, but more about the promises we make of fidelity to our partners and to God to receive the blessing of obedience to the commandments. They understood that clearly, and Andirson said yes. We’re only waiting on Jocyleida and being a little patient with her. She grew up her whole life thinking that she never wanted to get married, so it is a big thing for her to go against that. She has not said no, she just said that she needs some time to think about it. We’re praying for her that she will see the blessings of preparing for that.

We had a rather sad moment with Aldina as she said that she didn’t want to try anymore to change for baptism. Aldina is a woman who is a bit negative and would rather spend time trying to gain the pity of others, so that they can help her. We discovered that the man she lives with supports her financially, thus being the true reason that she does not want to leave him. She tried to make us understand that God has to be more considerate. I explained to her in a more firm manner that God does not accept and will never accept her situation and that he prepared a way for her to get out of it, but that she has to act to find out what to do. There is nothing more we can do, but pray for her.

We found some more new investigators this week, and the members have been doing an amazing job in helping us out and teaching with us. We had 15 lessons with a member present this week!

Elder Cuestas

"Teach People, Not Lessons"

These weeks in Mindelo have been the most intense moments of my mission. Every lesson is different in this area. There is no such thing as routine, and it’s truly a blessing because it really gives us a chance to grow and, as we say "Teach people, not Lessons."

This week has had a few disappointments, but overall, there were more miracles than there were not, and I think we’re finally starting to turn the place around and reach the objective to which we were placed here for.

As I mentioned before, finding investigators here is quite difficult as people in Mindelo are the least receptive to the Gospel, compared to all the other islands. Street contacting is completely useless here. That being said we have to be super smart and work with the members, members, members. We have been working with a few of them for a few weeks, motivating them to look for their friends, and finally we were able to get results. Our area has turned from dead to strong,  and there are a good number of people that we’re now working with. We have a beautiful family, as well as some other investigators, and we were busy as busy could be last week. I have never been so tired in my life hahaha. Just this morning, my companion went to take a 10 minute shower, and I sat on my bed for a few seconds, and before you know it, Fernandes is like "Hey....hey...Cuestas" as he was trying to wake me up. Ha-ha. This has been an intense week.

It feels really good right now. I have fought like I have never fought on my mission before to get these new investigators. We have tried more than we have ever tried to find the potential in this area. What a blessing that the Lord has given us to be able to finally have found these elected souls. It proved to me that there are people everywhere in this world that are being prepared to accept this marvelous gospel. We came in this area to show everyone, as the zone leaders, that finding, teaching, and baptizing in Mindelo is possible. We’re far away from the final goal, but we finally got the train going.

So, that being said, Mindelo is becoming my favorite area on my mission. As I said, here in Mindelo, baptisms don’t come that easy, but because we have to work so hard, we’re learning life lessons. After a few good weeks of struggling and not giving up, we realized how much we have grown and how much better we can teach, feel the spirit, and love the Gospel because of all we have been through. That is what Mindelo has done for us so far. Fernades and I were talking this week, and we were just marveling on how much our teaching has improved, and how much more we feel the spirit in our lessons, just because of all that we have endured here. We have suffered big time, but I would never go back, and if I have to suffer even more to keep picking up this area, so be it. I love the work that the Lord is permitting us to do here. Our accomplishments feel 10 times bigger because of how much harder it was to get them.

We taught our wonderful family three times this week. Imagine this. Jocyleida doesn’t know how to read. She said that when she was little, her mom told her that she was stupid, and as a result she was denied schooling. She never had the opportunity to go to school. It was something that was so heartbreaking to hear. Her mom used to abuse her and enslave her to whatever she pleased. She was like a little mule for her mother, and as a result, she has a true hatred for her mother, which we’re trying to help her with. Her husband, Andirson, being the amazing man he is, is reading the Book of Mormon out loud to her, so that she can learn the things that he’s learning, as well. I would never imagine something like this happening on my mission. We taught them about the restoration this week. At the end of the lesson, we committed them to be baptized in due course, and they accepted.

The husband said something very interesting: "My whole life people have been telling me what to do about religion. I don’t believe that you should do something just because people tell you to. How do you know that they’re right? This is different. You didn’t come in my house to convince me. You came in to teach me, and I feel the truthfulness of your message. I feel that this is right, and I, my wife and my children will be baptized in this church. I feel that I’m doing this out of my own free will, and that’s what is making such a difference".

This is a man that truly ponders about the things that we have taught. He thinks for himself and asks questions. He has a genuine curiosity and has the true desire to live the Gospel. The big lesson/obstacle is coming up, and that is that this couple has to get married. We’ll teach this lesson this week. We hope that everything will go well for this family and that they’ll accept to assume the hardest commitment in this country - The law of Chastity.

We had a major change as well with Valdevino this last Sunday. We came and visited their house with the counselor in the District Presidency and his wife, as well as another member to show the love that we have for him and the desire that everyone in the branch has to get him to come back to church. His countenance was so different this time around. He said to us that he was happy that his wife was going to church, but he was discouraged that he wasn’t finding it possible to go. He was on the verge of giving up, but after the visit, he felt rejuvenated to start up again and try again to start coming back to church... a true miracle.

Aldina was our major disappointment. Being that she has low self-steam, she didn’t reveal one crucial thing to us. Last Tuesday, she finally revealed that she lives with someone, and they aren’t married. Let’s see what happens, if this man is willing to get married, so that she can be baptized. This is going to have to take some time thought.

On the other hand, Gualdino made it to baptism this Saturday. A 57-year old man finally put behind years and years of drinking to change his life and accept the Gospel. This baptism completed his family of all members now. I’ll admit there were certain points in his progress that we thought that he was not going to make it just because of how many relapses he has had, but the Lord knows what he is doing. Gualdino was an elected one, and he is ready to begin a new life as a member of the Lord’s church.

Yes, indeed it was a super intense week… Let’s just say that, although a very small light, the light at the end of the tunnel has, indeed, begun to shine. These are weeks of fasting and prayer, and I know that the Lord is watching out for us and working with all our imperfections and setbacks to make us the missionaries that we need to be.

Elder Cuestas

Three Miracles!

Things here in Mindelo are going good. This week was both extremely hard, but with great miracles at the end that shows that Heavenly Father is truly watching over us here as his servants.

It was a challenging week to say the least. We tried so hard, but it was appointment after appointment falling through. We would be stuck with two or three hours straight of not finding anyone to teach. Like I said, Mindelo is not Fogo, and being that the people are more "Modern" they are less interested in things of God. We fight here to help people gain interest in the Gospel. So that being said, we had to drop a bunch of investigators this week that were not progressing or showing any interest. Dropping investigators is not the best feeling in the world, because you do everything in your power to help them understand how important the Gospel is, and they just keep going in their ways. That being said, you can’t teach them forever, so you just have to move on. The members did not really do their part this week either, and we had no support. We found no new investigators which is extremely rare, and we just ended up walking around and around trying to find people. 

It’s frustrating, no doubt, but I was expecting it. They don’t call Mindelo the hardest area for nothing. Of all the areas in Mindelo, ours is the nicest because it is right in the middle of the city, thus being the nicest houses and the wealthiest people (Not that they’re really wealthy at all, but generally a little better off than the rest, which is a big cause of pride).

So just when we thought that we were not able to accomplish anything this week, a series of three miracles in a row happened. 

We had been working with Aldina for some time and things have been very difficult for her. She does not have much confidence in herself, and it leads to her wanting to give up easily on the Gospel and so on... We even had a lesson on Friday, where she was crying and telling us how much pain she was going through. We gave her a blessing that day, and I promised her that if she would be obedient to God’s commandments, she would feel peace and joy in her heart, starting with going to church on Sunday. She said that she didn’t know if she was going or not. This was very disheartening to hear because it is crucial for her to go to church, so that she could be baptized one day.

Later on that week, it was Saturday night and Elder Josephson called me from Mont Sossego (Another area of Mindelo) he told us that they had been teaching someone and her friend stepped in the room and sat down with them. She then said that she lives in Morada (Our area). Josephson immediately after the lesson called us and passed us her contact info. We called and said that we would be in that area around 7 that evening. I had been expecting that 7p would come around and we would call and she would not answer the phone. With the way that things had been going that week, I was not expecting what actually happened.

Seven o clock came around, and we went to that part of the city to call her. We stood on a street corner and dialed the phone. Ring...no answer. We tried one more time....no answer. Fernandes had the phone. He put it back in his pocket, and let out a big sigh and looked at the ground. 

Another appointment that has fallen through. Another investigator with no interest…

We just stood there for a few seconds, when we realized that someone had been shouting at us a few blocks away. Sure enough it was her. She did not answer because she already saw us as she was standing outside her house waiting for us. We practically ran up to her with these huge smiles on our faces. Our intent was just to contact her and set up a time another day to teach her. We talked for a few minutes and marked a time. Just about as we said that we had to go, she goes "Wait”. Would you like to come in the house and meet my family?"

Meet your family?? No one in this country EVER says that.

"Of course we would like to meet your family!!"

We walked in the house and there was standing a husband and 5 little children, two twins, another boy and two girls. All the children under the age of 10 and all of them staring at us like we were the strangest people they have ever seen. We probably were...

The husband did something unusual. Instead of shaking our hand and then running away like most people, he started creating conversation with us. He told us that he had been looking for work on 3 of the islands to support his family. When his efforts were in vain, he came back home because he did not want to be away from his children anymore. They had been living together for 8 years, and they’re poor as poor can be. The house is in such bad condition that it was abandoned. They moved in and did not have to pay rent. I felt this feeling of intense happiness as we talked those few minutes. Right before leaving, we left them an invite to come to church. The husband was quiet for a few seconds and then replied

"...yes I think we’ll all go. We need to go"

I had never heard such sweet words up until this point in my mission.

Sunday rolls around and we spent that whole morning looking for our investigators. Most of them we could not find in their houses…

We arrived at church and discovered that Aldina was not home because she already left to go to church. Gualdino was already there as well as two inactive people we taught this past week.

First Miracle

We were overjoyed to see them there. Aldina had changed completely. There she was with a huge smile on her face as she sat in Relief Society. Gualdino had now been free from alcohol for over two weeks. His countenance had changed as well. He’s much more calm and eager to participate in church.

Second Miracle

Just as we were finishing up first hour, I stepped out of class for a minute and went to look out the window and drink some water. I looked a little harder to see a woman, a man and 5 little boys and girls all dressed up and walking towards the building.

Could it really be?? We haven’t even taught them once yet!

Yes, there was our beautiful family coming to church. I ran and got the Branch President, Relief Society President, and several other members to receive them and show them around. The little ones were taken away into primary with all the other little kids, and the couple was shown into Gospel Principles class. By the end of the church, a few members came up to us asking if they could come along to our appointments. I had a conversation with the Husband and he said that he felt this peace and that he loved it. He said that he wants to keep coming back and would like to come to church earlier next time.

Fernandes and I were with so much joy in our hearts. Our joy was full and we looked at each other knowing whole heartedly that God performed another miracle. We’ll start teaching them tomorrow. The woman’s name is Jocyleida and the Husband is Adirson.

Third Miracle

We had been teaching Valdevino and his family for some time. His non-member wife and step daughter had been coming to church for over three weeks, and they seemed very interested, just that Margarida was always very quiet. As much as they had been coming to church, Valdevino, the inactive member kept saying that he would come; only he never did. This last Sunday was no different. Sunday night we had an appointment to teach all three, and we were ready with our lesson plan...until we started the lesson. Valdevino was not home, just Margarida and her daughter. A bit disappointed, but we decided to teach them two anyway. We asked who wanted to offer the first prayer. Margarida said she wanted to. Ten seconds into the prayer she started bawling and could almost not finish the prayer. She opened up for the first time to us telling us how frustrated she was. She said she had never been so sure about anything in her life. She discovered that the Gospel is true and that it made her so sad that she was going to church with her daughter, and her husband who is already a member was not going. She wants so badly for her husband to go back to church, and she said that she wants nothing more now in her life than to follow the Gospel

What a miracle!! We have to work twice as hard with them now. I had no idea that she felt so strong about the church. We have so much work to do, and it’s awesome!

So yes indeed, I think the miracles were so worth the struggles that we went through this week!

Elder Cuestas