Merry Christmas!

So for me, Christmas is a time of reflecting on all the growth that I have gone through as I have been here in Cape Verde. A mission is what is known as the refiners’ fire. For a gem to be a gem, it has to be refined by fire and high pressure. It comes out looking like the beautiful gem that it is. I feel that I have gone through the same. The Mission is the hardest, but the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. There are some days where I’m the happiest person in the world. There are some days that are quite challenging and stressful. There are those occasional days where I just need a blessing and a hug from my companion. And then there are days where miracles happen right before my eyes as the Lord puts his hand in the work. Christmas is the time where I reflect on the mercy and tender loving care of the Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas is where we were given the best gifts in the Universe. These are gifts of repentance, eternal families, and eternal life. I have come to realize that there is not much that I need in this world, but the ordinances and doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’ll not matter how much money I have or not have. It’ll not matter if my house is big or small, if my car is extravagant or simple, or if my job is of high rank or humble. What matters to me is how much service I’m going to be able to provide for the Church of the Lord.

Christmas is the time where we think about giving the best presents possible to those we love. These are the presents of baptism and confirmation into the kingdom of God. These are presents of living testimonies, which we help our investigators obtain for themselves, and the love of Christ we help them feel, sometimes for the first time in their lives. We call this month, White Month because it is the month of baptisms, repentance, and purity as we strive all we can to bring in as many souls as possible as a Christmas gift to the Savior. I love this Gospel. It has changed my life. It made me a person that I love, and a person that knows Christ, and the sacrifice that he went through for me.

This week we’re working with Melany, a 11-year-old girl. She is among one of the smartest
11-year-olds that I have ever met. She speaks and reads better than 90 percent of the population. As we were teaching her last week, we asked her how she felt about all this. She said that when she prayed, she felt that God told her that she should be baptized in the church and that he told her that these things were true. This is one of the most incredible responses that I have ever seen to the Holy Ghost, and it is a testimony to me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be understood by anyone, from child to scholar. The Holy Ghost is the Universal Communicator, and it penetrated the heart of this pure child of 12 years old. This will be a baptism on Christmas Eve that my companion and I are very excited for. She is as stoked as we are.

This last weekend we had the baptisms of Estefaneo and Romario. Estefaneo is a military policeman. He works for the Cape Verde armed services and is currently on a vacation period of 6 months. It was hard to meet with him at first because we would mark appointments, and he would never be there. We were almost to the point of dropping him, as another appointment fell a few weeks ago, but the other day we saw that he was home and went to his house and talked to him. He said that he has done a good amount of reading on his own and had prayed about all this. This time we created a baptismal calendar with dates of our appointments and his baptismal interview. Everything went according to plan. His baptism went through, and I saw a huge smile on his face when he came out of the water. I knew that he felt the Holy Ghost. The baptism was incredible, and that day we made great friendships with the members that participated and with Estefaneo, as well.

We also went to Brava this past Wednesday. The boat ride was among the smoothest that were going to Brava, so I was very grateful for that. Brava has new missionaries, elder Reeser and Elder Abularach. This is the best spirit I have felt about the missionaries in Brava. They’re getting along, and the work is being executed very well. I’m grateful that they’re there.

Other than that, we and the missionaries from Fogo and Brava (The whole zone) are going to get together this Wednesday. We’ll be having a small Christmas celebration this day, so as to not impede baptisms on Saturday or Sunday. Everyone will be there in the morning, and we’ll play basketball. Then we’ll go home and shower and go to the chapel to meet with the sisters’ missionaries. President Oliveira paid for a high class catering service, so we can have lunch on that day, and we’re very grateful for him. We’ll have a marvelous lunch and then have like a family home evening where we’ll share testimonies and experiences of how much we have come to know our Savior.

Merry Christmas!
Elder Cuestas

I'm grateful to be here

This week we had the baptism of Helder’s little brother Agusto, and it went very well.

We haven’t found Lucindo in a long time. Hopefully he’ll show up to Institute this week.

We found out that another family member in the Gonçalves family wants to be baptized, so we’ll be preparing him for baptism, along with Sofia´s brother named Estefany and other investigators. We have a super busy week ahead of us because we have to prepare them as well as go to Brava. We haven’t been there since the huge storm I mentioned a while back, so we hope we’ll actually be able to get there this time.

I’m feeling just great like always. My coughing is almost gone, though I had a small issue this week. A few weeks ago, I switched soaps to this stuff that smelled really good. Little did I know that my hands were going to have an allergic reaction to the soap, and now they’re covered in a rash and are peeling like crazy. It’s not a big deal, and I already threw it away. It’ll just take maybe a week or so for my hands to get better.

Regarding Christmas, it’s quite simple here. There are no big stores, or fancy Christmas ornaments/lights, or elegant restaurants. Definitively, life is very simple in Cape Verde.

For us, Christmas is going to be very meaningful just because of all the work we been doing here, and the love we have for this people.

I’m very happy on my mission. I love this people like I can’t even describe. They’re incredible!
They’re kind, friendly and warm people… I’m grateful to be here!

Elder Cuestas

Special training with our Mission President

This email may be a bit short because we have been extremely busy with tons of things to take care before the end of the day.

Our Mission President came to Fogo, and we had a special training this last Friday for the zone. Much revelation was received, and it was followed by a fast this weekend. I learned tons of things from Heavenly Father that are going to help Elder Weiss and me continue to lead the zone in the success that we been having.

He did personal interviews with all the Elders, but since he didn’t have time for Weiss and me on Friday, we went to the hotel where he was staying on Saturday morning and did the interviews there. He then had some time to just chat with us, and we talked a bit about cars, which it was way too cool!

Denilson is struggling a bit because he started drinking again, so we have to help him more than ever before. He thought he was ready to give it up, but he felt into temptation again. I know that eventually he’ll be able to give it up for good.

Right now Elder Weiss and I are teaching 17 investigators in our area. We have been so busy lately trying to get everyone scheduled in. We’ll sometimes teach 12 lessons in a day, but is all good!

Elder Calderwood goes home in May, so he has 5 months left. He’s doing great.

Arderto was baptized this weekend along with Lila, Helder and Helde. This was one of the most reverent baptisms we have ever had, and the Spirit was incredibly strong!

Elder Cuestas

Great Week!

This week was very hectic because of transfers and what not. All the flights for the week were booked, so there was no way of getting the missionaries in the zone out of here by plane, and at the same time, the boat that goes to Praia was undergoing repairs, so missionaries were not able to get out of Fogo until Friday to their new areas, which is a bit late to start a transfer. However, everyone is finally settled in their new area.

We had a miracle come through this week as Denilson got baptized. We went to his house to teach him, and he said that he hasn’t been drinking for a while now and that he also felt ready to be baptized this weekend. We finished teaching him everything that he needed to know, and we had the baptism this Saturday. The baptism was very spiritual, and Denilson was almost in tears and constantly closing his eyes to pray throughout the service. He was baptized by Pae, who now has the Melchezidek Priesthood. It’s hard to imagine that Pae is the same person who 5 months ago had drinking and smoking problems. Now he’s a Melchizidek Priesthood holder and is baptizing his friends left and right. This is truly a tender Mercy of the Lord.

We have been receiving tons and tons of references lately with 17 new investigators to teach right now. This is big for us! All our time is currently booked, and we hardly have enough time to take care of these people. I know that the Lord is going to give us the strength we need to help all of them to get where they need to be.

The current stake that is being organized will be in Praia and will include the islands of Praia, Fogo, and Brava.

We’re currently teaching a family of 2. Arderto is 19 years old and feels that he has been having disconcerting thoughts and visions. He feels sick and desperate for help. He came to Pae, who came to us to set up a time to start teaching him. We taught him the first time and gave him a blessing. The next day, we met him and his mom who both told us that they wanted more peace and happiness. We taught them the Atonement of our Lord and Savior and told them how they could benefit from this, and how the Atonement can cure them. Arderto said that he was already feeling better.

We found an investigator the other day in an area of the city that we have not worked in a long time. His name is Lucindo, and he is 21 years old. He had tons of questions, and he explained to us how he was not happy with the choices he had made throughout the course of his life and that he wanted to be a better person. He smokes and drinks, but we have all the faith that he’ll make all the necessary changes that are needed, so that he can be baptized. We are very excited to teach him!

Elder Cuestas

It's an incredible time to be a missionary!

The trip to Praia was very good. Zone council was only 3 hours this time compared to the usual 6 hours, and we did not fly out until the next day, so we had some free time in Praia.

Elder Caussé gave the training at zone council, too. We’re really close to forming our first Stake here in Cape Verde, so it is an incredible time to be a missionary. He gave us tips on the things that we have to do to make this happen, but his main message is that we have to work harder and in more ways than we have ever before. I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I know the Lord will, and I know that he’s going to reveal his will to me on how I can accomplish this.

The Fireside was great with about 100 people or so attending. I indeed was his interpreter. I was really nervous to start out with, but when Elder Caussé was talking, I felt that something took over me and everything I said out of my mouth, I was not thinking about it. It was like something was doing it for me, and I was just moving my mouth. I know that it was the power of the Spirit. I was able to translate live word for word. He did not have to stop talking, and I just said what the spirit told me to say. Everyone seems to have gotten the message and Elder Caussé congratulated me on a well done job. I thanked the Lord for making me capable of something I couldn’t have done myself.

The week was not as hectic because of all the meetings we had and trainings, but nevertheless Sofia and Eidy made it to the waters of baptism this last Saturday. I have to say that this was one of the most spiritual baptisms we’ve had recently. Eidy is truly someone that has been transformed by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and especially after such a short time investigating the church. It just shows how powerful God is in changing and transforming the hearts of these people.

Truly it is a miracle how accepting these people have been of the Gospel. I really don’t know how to explain it, and I know that I have no credit for it, but I do know that the Lord has been very merciful of these precious areas of the islands of Fogo and Brava. I’m so grateful for how close I have grown to him and how much I have learned to rely on him, even though it’s something that I still need to work on.

Pai introduced us to a 30 year- old man who came to church yesterday. As we went later on that night to teach him, the spirit was extremely strong. He has been through problems that I cannot comprehend. Elder Weiss and I testified from the bottom of our hearts of the power of the atoning sacrifice of the Savior and the effects that it can have in his life. He said that he’ll pray to see if baptism is true for him. He was very open and extremely frank with us. It turns out that he doesn’t reach out to a lot of people, and yet he’s telling us so many things of his past, and he’s showing us how much he wants our help and how humble he’s to receive the things that we have to say. He´s huge too. He is like 6´7 or something.

Lalo, the man baptized 2 weeks ago introduced us to an investigator named Rosiana. She’s 17 years old, and she says that when she started to come to institute, she felt something that she couldn’t explain, and it got her to investigating what we’re all about. She accepted the invite to baptism, and she already has 2 friends that will help her integrate.

Elder Cuestas

Fireside with Elder Gérald Caussé

Last week we had this trip to Brava, but the boat ride was a nightmare because we got caught in a really bad storm, and the boat was rocking all over the place, and stuff was flying everywhere. The plates in the kitchen of the boat fell out and broke, and our stuff was falling out of the compartment case above our seats. Usually a boat ride to Brava takes 40 minutes, but an hour into the journey, the captain told us that we had to turn around and come back. I felt so dizzy at that point that I thought I was going to pass out. I asked Elder Weiss right there to give me a blessing, and immediately after he took his hands off my head, my sickness was gone. It was a miracle, and it strengthened my testimony deeply. We got back home around midnight, and we were so exhausted. The sad part was that we never made it to Brava.

Here is an update of some members and investigators we have worked with.

The Gonçalves family is doing very well, and we visit them often. They make it to church every single week, and they’re as happy as kids can be. I love them very much, and I have grown a strong relationship with the 6 year old. He hugs me every time I see him, and he’s so nice to me.

Chuchuka and Luana are doing very well coming to church and to many family home evenings and staying active in the church. We’re helping Chuchuka with her scriptures reading every day because she tends to get distracted with other things.

Kader is presenting us more people to teach, and Tereza has trouble staying active, so we’re visiting her often.

Melanie is amazing, and she wants us to teach her mom. She has changed a lot!

The most important thing is that we’re teaching this woman named Eidy. She has a health problem that makes it difficult for her to walk, and she has changed a lot since she has started coming to church. Anyway, she made it all the way to District Conference, which is saying a lot for her, and she listened intently to what the speakers had to say
We taught her, and she continues to improve and understand more and ask questions. She has already stood up to some people who are discouraging her from getting baptized, and we feel in our hearts that she is converted.

We found a girl and her name is Sofia. She is very smart and understands Portuguese very well. She asks tons of questions, and she was another investigator that was able to describe exactly what the Holy Ghost felt like. She said that before we asked her to pray about the Restoration, she had already taken the time before to do that, and she’s sure that she received an answer. She will be baptized shortly.

There is something really exciting going on this coming week. Elder Weiss and I’ll be going to Praia for Zone Conference and a fireside with elder Gérald Caussé from the First Quorum of the Seventy. He’s from France and doesn’t speak Portuguese, so our Mission President asked me to be the interpreter. Obviously I’m a bit anxious, but grateful at the same time for such an amazing opportunity!

Elder Cuestas

Elder Weiss hit his 19-month mark!

Fogo is very safe. Even the bad parts of town, everyone respects the Elders, and they know that we don’t have anything in our backpacks, so there is little to no probability of something happening to us. However, this island is extremely poor. Poorer than Tarrafal. There are very little conditions here on the island, and power and Internet go out often. So in the future, if I cannot write on a Monday, it is because of those reasons.

Last week we did the training in district meeting, and we ended up doing it with all the elders in Fogo. Everyone took it pretty well, and we felt that the spirit was pretty strong.

A week ago, we baptized Indira, the investigator with the heart problem. It was a wonderful experience! We saw her again yesterday, and she appeared radiant and happy. She seems like a whole different person. She still has that heart problem, and she is waiting for medication to come from Praia, so that she can start treatment, but she is doing well. Her spirit is very strong, and she is anxious to learn fully what she needs to know.

Elder Weiss hit his 19-month mark yesterday. He has 5 months left on the mission. He is OLD!!! ha-ha. We’re almost certain that at the end of this transfer, one of us is leaving this area; we’re going to miss each other very much. When he leaves the mission, I’ll have 7 months left and had become an old missionary, too.

Elder Weiss is from Sandy Utah, about 45 minutes away from BYU, but he said he would probably go to UVU (10 minutes away) for College. He likes video games and graphics design, probably something he wants to go into. He has 2 brothers, both married, both served missions, and one sister, married too. He loves his parents, and his family is very special to him.

By the way, popsicles are sooooooo good here. We have become immune to the water, so now we can drink it. That being said the people here sell these popsicles that they make at home. These are called fresquinhas (Pronounced fresquiñas) and sometimes they’ll have yoghurt or cream in them. They’re so good when we’re walking out all day in the 92 degrees temperature…

Elder Cuestas