P days are pretty good...

They are not as good as Praia but they are not bad either. I have grown to love Tarrafal for many reasons, and I'm very happy here. One of the most awesome things here are the members. Most of them are young, and many of them will help us and go with us all day to teach our lessons. There are a few that I have grown really close to. One is named Mulato and the other is Elizeu. They help us and hang out with us all the time. Mulato came over to our house last Friday for pizza, which I made.

The week was a bit slower, and we did not have power for 3 days. The refrigerator melted and made a huge mess in the kitchen. Kind of frustrating. We ran out of candles too, so we had to walk with the cell phone. Ha-ha

Something that will make you laugh is that Tarrafal is full of pigs. They are everywhere, and they are the friendliest animals in Cape Verde. If you click your tongue they'll start following you because they think that you have food. They'll never let you touch them, and they're scare to death of people. The little ones are kind of cute, and I managed to pick one up.

Other animals here are
Sheep
Goats
Chickens
Roosters
Lizards
Cows
And more pigs...and dogs.

Elder Fonseca likes being Branch president, but it can be stressful at times because it takes from the proselyting that we do.

Something cool is that we had a zone activity today. We have them every transfer, and I got to see Elder Rodriguez. It was so cool. We went to a beach with black sand and played Frisbee. All the missionaries on the island of San Tiago came, and we had an amazing time. I got to laugh a lot with Elder Rodriguez remembering all the good times that we had.

Ok the members and investigators

Pillow is coming back to church every week, which is good. He is a less active member, and we just have to help him with his friend choices..., but it is no big deal.

Julia is tons better. She has stopped drinking for now. This week we didn't buy corn for her. Better we went into the mountains and helped her get corn from her field that she owns. She now has food for several months, and it looks like things are going very well for her. She looks genuinely happy.

Evandro is our investigator and he's doing very well. We taught him the two most difficult things here in Cape Verde, which were the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. He accepted and is working to live those laws. We're delighted.

Steven did not come to church this Sunday, but we are not loosing hope because he has a testimony.

I had a pig follow me yesterday for about 2km. Elder Fonseca and I were laughing all the way.

Something that I've learned here on the mission is that you can get used to anything. I know it because I live in a 3rd world country right now, and I am happy.

I'll never forget the Family home evenings that I have had here in houses without roofs and one little candle to light the place. I wont forget all the joy that I have experienced here living under the poorest circumstances.

I know that the gospel is the only true source of happiness and that Heavenly father loves all his children, including the ones in Tarrafal. I know that this plan is perfect, and I have seen it change lives already.

Elder Gianluca Cuestas

P.S. If you would like to know more about the MTC, read the next post. KSL 5 TV a local channel in Utah aired a short story. Enjoy it!

Tarrafal is a great place to grow

Being branch secretary is quite easy. There is nothing especially challenging about it except for the fact that the computer at the chapel is way jumbled up with all sorts of viruses and no sound, but nothing we can't handle.

We found some other kids from the local school to play football with. Pillow was with us and he liked it a lot. It made me very happy because he is less active, and he's enjoying the time with us. I think it is giving him encouragement to come back to church. He did this Sunday, and I was so happy to see that.

So now that Elder Fonseca is the new Branch President, we're getting stuff done. He works really hard, and has a genuine care for the members, which is good. We helped this one woman, Julia today. She came to meet us and we bought a bag of 25KG of rice for her. She lost her job and had nothing to eat. Tomorrow we're going to go into the mountains and get corn for her, too. She is wonderful, and she is also coming back to church.

Last Sunday was the best church I have had here in Tarrafal. ALL the less actives came and as well as an investigator, whom we are working with and is progressing towards baptism very well. His name is Steven and he is 16. We marked a date with him yesterday, and he said that he could feel the spirit at church.

Yes, I did go to Assomada last week. President Neves was there and gave us the training. It was pretty good, and we have some more guidance to help us find people here. He's very loving and helping toward the missionaries. We're working as much as we can to put his ideas in action.

I'm so grateful for Steven and my companion. I am very happy here, and the work is moving a long. Elder Fonseca said that Tarrafal is a great place to grow because of its difficulties, and I see now that that is true. I feel that I have grown a lot and that I am going to be a much better missionary because of the experiences here.

The best part about Tarrafal would have to be the members. They are the nicest people who're instantly your friends. They're warm and friendly. I have made strong friendships with several of them.

Again, I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I'm grateful for having the chance to be here, helping the people. They make life amazing anywhere you go. I have seen people’s lives change already including my own, and I know that it is all due to the beloved Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his presence in my life and all the help that he gives me in finding his people to bring to him. I know he lives and I know that this gospel is true.

Elder Cuestas

Elder Fonseca is the new Branch President

I'll be going on an exchange in Assomada tonight. I will be there until Quarta Feria and then President Neves is coming to give us training.

Elder Fonseca got called as the new Branch President of the Tarrafal branch.

Life is getting better every day here. I'm still happy, and I'm still confident as a missionary. We have some investigators with some good potential. They're doing well and 2 came to church last week. That was pretty sweet.

Our apartment is pretty basic now. We do not have hot water and working toilets. We have to pour water down it to flush it. Oh well. Used to it already.

Still love being a missionary. I'm growing up really fast in Tarrafal. The Creole is getting better. My companion and I teach really well together. He's excellent to work with, and we listen to each other’s inputs very well. No arguments. Can’t ask for more.

He is also teaching me to cook some amazing stuff with rice, beans, and pasta.

Can you believe that in two months I will have already completed 1/4 of my mission? Seems like yesterday I was in the MTC. This is truly one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life.

Oh yeah. Elder Fonseca is the new Branch President, and I'm the branch secretary. Something that is awesome is that the members that are strong here are really cool, and I have made some really strong friendships with them.

So...the names here are quite different:

Toto
Chooka
Cuca
Pillow
Nice

Punda

Chuna
Mulato
Pululuca
Mae

Zeleche

Elder Cuestas

Learning Creole

Elder Rodriguez is now training another new missionary. His name is Elder Josephson. Elder Olson went to another Island called Santo Antão.

My companion, Elder Fonseca, is very nice and we get along great. He is teaching me a lot about the Creole, which I really need because no one speaks Portuguese here.

Tarrafal is like a rural city - maybe 20,000 people here. It is about 2 hours away from Praia, on the other side of the island. Because it is rural no one speaks Portuguese. At least, they understand when we speak to them because as a rule of the mission, we are not allowed to teach them in Creole.

The whole city is our area, and there are no other missionaries out here but us. The only time we get to see other missionaries is in Assomada for district meetings on Wednesdays. As a result, P day can be somewhat long. Nothing I cannot get used to however.

There are no busses here. We take a Toyota Hiace to Assomada, which is 45 minutes away.

We have some investigators, but we need more. We had a baptism this Saturday, although I only taught the investigator 2 times upon arriving in Tarrafal. He is really nice though.

Tarrafal is a lot quieter than Praia. There are maybe 10 roads in the whole city. We work one area on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and another area on the other days. To get to that other area, we have to take a pickup and ride in the back. They fill those with up to 12 people at times.

Life is pretty good; just have new adjustments to make. I miss getting to play soccer with the other Elders on Monday mornings. Something that is nice is that the members are pretty cool, and they go teaching with us all the time. We're trying to organize activities with them to maybe start playing soccer on P days.

Temperature doesn’t change much here. It’s always around 80 degrees give or take.

Life is well, and I'm constantly growing and learning from the experiences that I'm having here on my mission. I would not trade it in for anything else.

I know that this is going to bless me for the rest of my life. I know that I'm called to be out here and that I have a purpose. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and that he loves the people out here in Cape Verde.

Elder Cuestas

Got transferred today to Tarrafal

I got transferred today. I'm no longer in Praia. I'm in a city on the other side of the island called Tarrafal. There is only one missionary companionship, and the whole city is ours. We have to get to Assomada every Wednesday now for District meeting. It's going to be quite a change.

The last week in Praia was extremely busy. I left that area with 5 baptismal dates set for February.

Tereza is doing fine. Elder Rodriguez stayed in that area, so he is going to take good care of all the other people.

My new companion is Elder Fonseca, he is from Mindelo Cape Verde. I'm going to learn a lot more Creole from him, which is good because that is what all the people speak here. They understand when we teach them in Portuguese, but they always speak back to us in Creole.

Eduino is awesome! He attended a baptismal service and felt the spirit very strong. Celso did too. We have another investigator who is starting to progress very well. Her name is Naldina. She went to church yesterday, and she's very happy that we're teaching her. Elder Rodriguez will keep me updated.

Everything is well. I know that there is already a baptism set for next weekend. so that is going to be cool.

I'm happy to be here, and I'm excited to get to know the area.

Elder Cuestas

P Day - eating pizza and playing soccer with my companion

I'm doing amazing. Wow this week FLEW! It seems like I was in this Internet cafe yesterday. I'm doing excellent. The week felt like an hour. We taught 32 lessons.

Tereza did not make it to church, but Eduino did, and we also have another investigator named Celso. He seems really interested, and he made it to church already 2 times. Life here is so busy and we had some very good lessons with Eduino and Celso. José Miguel is now an investigator and we like teaching him.

My companion and I went on an exchange. I stayed in my area and worked with Elder Sargent. He was pretty cool. It felt strange speaking English.

My companion, Elder Rodriguez is great! We get along great and talk all the time. I have learned to cook. I have even learned to make Pizza. Elder R, however likes to cook, so mostly I just let him. So houses here don’t have gas. Instead the stove is attached to a big tank of gas, kind of like a grill. We have to light a match and light it like a fireplace.

I'm doing so well. I have had some of the most spiritual moments of my life here. I am grateful every day to the Lord that he directed me to serve a mission. I have already experienced some of the happiest moments of my time in the church on my mission. I am safe and healthy.

Elder Cuestas
A Igreja De JESUS CRISTO Dos Santos Dos Ultimos Dias

Cape Verde

This week was extremely busy. We taught 34 lessons. We have 10 new investigators and 4 came to church, which is a HUGE step towards baptism. It was so cool to see them there. Tereza was one of them. Toto is struggling. He says he doesn’t drink anymore yet we still smell alcohol on his breath.

As for the stores here, there is a Supermarket group called “Calu & Angelas” that is as close to an American store as it gets. It’s a little bigger than a Walgreens would be and offers everything we need. The other stores are all pretty much the same. All the stuff is thrown all over tables or stuffed in the shelves on the walls - nothing like any store in America.

We were extremely busy with some very promising investigators this week. Tereza is actually the mom of the second counselor of the branch presidency. He's very happy that we are teaching her and that she is moving along. We found Eduino last week, and he came to church yesterday as well as two other teenage girls. A less active member that we were working with came to church. The church was very welcoming and they were all very happy to be there. Of course, we were happier!!

Nevertheless this is a new area, so it may take some time to see progression of someone getting to baptism, but it will come. My faith is stronger than ever on the fact that I am called to be here.

Life is good. It’s tough but rewarding. I come home every day so happy to be a missionary. I love that I am making a difference in some of these peoples lives. Tereza really looks like she is going to make it to baptism. That makes me happier than anything.

Life here is great, and we are just working our 2 years away. I am joyful, and I am completely accustomed. I am busy, and I am more faithful in our Divine Savior than ever.

I know that this plan that I speak of every day is of a Loving Heavenly Father that is eager for each of his children to return to him. I know that our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson was chosen of his divinity to serve this planet and call us as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to help this people.

I testify that the Gospel is the only way to true happiness and that it is available to every one of God’s children including the people of Cape Verde, and I say that in the name of his grace, our master Jesus Christ.

Elder Cuestas