Cape Verde Week 23

Bom Dia, tudo bom?

Week 23 has been rather eventful, we had rain!!! Finally we got a little rain on Tuesday night and early on Thursday. This is really good as it keeps the dust down, so we can open the windows and get a little breeze.

Monday was District meeting as usual, and I took the opportunity to review with the Missionaries the rules in the white handbook. They have gotten lax on some of the rules and needed to be reminded. They are having problems with staying within their allotted budget. Then they have to live off their companions for a week. Also they are getting bad at using their phones for other things than missionary work. Probably the biggest problem is children; the Church has specific rules about not picking up children, tickling etc. The Church has gotten into trouble with law suits. Really is unfortunate as these children are so darn cute, but we need to follow the prophet and be obedient.

Tuesday we had a piano lesson with Eddie Max; he is doing good but needs to practice playing music slowly. He thinks everything needs to be played fast, the faster the better. He really dislikes playing prelude music. But is amazing how well he plays after only 2 years. The other students are slowly improving. Sharon is looking for about 2 more students.

Wednesday was preparation day and the Zone decided to head over to a beach. The area was extremely dry, with little to no vegetation. In one area, men were out shoveling dirt into sifters to get to the gravel, which they then sell. They use it in their concrete. The brown dust was just flying; we live on the other side of the island but I am sure it is a big source of our dusty air. There was a movie a few years ago called “ Holes”, and the area where these men were working looked similar. The beach was okay; a lot of lava rocks, water looked nice; the Elders played football and Frisbee, then went off to either walk around the tidal pools or do flips in the sand dunes. All in all it was a nice morning just sitting and listening to the water and feel the cool breeze. Sister Waller sitting on the soft sands of Calhau beach. Sisters checking out the blow hole on the reef. Terrain on the way to the beach, holes dug everywhere!!

We are excited that the Ashby Foundation container has arrived with many new supplies, including a care packages for us. Erika thanks so much for putting it together, we hope to get into it in the next day or so. We have also received some story books from a few of you; E/S Redd, JoAnn Forsyth, thank you so much. Gran is also getting a box off to SLC with books for the kids. We appreciate everyone’s help. We also want to thank all those who have taken time to write us, great to get news.

We are getting prepared for a busy fall here in Mindelo. James Tavares (manager of Ashby Foundation) here in Mindelo, has many projects that are in conjunction with the Churches Humanitarian projects, and we will be representing the Church. This will mean some traveling to other islands, which ought to be fun. We are also looking forward to seeing Steve Jorgensen in about 2 weeks. Steve is from Moses Lake, and works with the Ashby foundation. He is also bringing a care package, but we really are excited to see him also!!!!

Our new Elders and Sister are doing great in their new assignments. Sister Alencar fits right in and is catching on quickly to missionary work. She is enthusiastic and full of energy. We are going to love her; like we do all the missionaries. She will probably be here for at least 5 transfers (6 months), so we have plenty of time to get to know her, and Mom Alencar, she is safe and we will watch over her for you, OK?

Friday was a busy day as we inspected all the apartments. Surprisingly they were very good, with few problems. Unfortunately coming home from piano lessons, Sharon fell on the rough sidewalks. Some bricks were missing and she rolled her ankle and twisted her knee. I think she will be okay, just sore for a few days. Glad I was there to catch her, though! It would be no fun to break and ankle here in Cape Verde!

Well hope this message finds everyone safe and happy. Remember it is important to share your testimony everyday.

Tchau!!
E/S Waller, Mom & Dad, Bama &Bampa Sisters were very excited to be on the beach!

Elder Hill with his sun blocking hat on the beach at Calhau.

Sister Waller & Sister Souza

This is the reef at Calhau beach. How do you like this picture Alisha? I used the continous setting and got about 10 pictures. Also had the setting for beach so the colors are vibrant, rather than washed out with reflective light.

Cape Verde Week 22

Bom Dia,

Howdy everyone, well it has been another speedy week here in the blowing dust and sand. We started the week in Praia, finishing up our visit with the Youth Institute Conference. Sister Waller was able to get a little shopping done and be fore we knew it, it was time to head to the airport. There we met Elder Dance who was being transferred to Mindelo. He is from Redmond, Washington. He will be a great addition to the Elders and Sisters in Mindelo. Our plane was very late, which not usually with TACV airline. They sure need some competition as their customer service is very, very poor. Anyway we arrived around 11:30 PM in Mindelo, when we should have been home around 6PM. Oh well we arrived safe and sound to find everything in order.

We spent most of the week just catching up on things like; laundry, grocery shopping etc. I did get to do some discussions with the Elders though. Wednesday night we were sitting down for dinner and Sharon said, “Oh my ankle hurts”. She had no history of twisting or spraining it, it just started hurting. There was no sign of bite or anything. Later that evening it started swelling. So I put her on ‘RICE’ treatment. I headed down town to get some ibuprofen and Tylenol. On the way I saw this little vacuum cleaner, and decided to get me a belated birthday present. It was such a nice surprise. It should help with keeping the floor cleaner. Sharon’s ankle has continued to swell, but her pain is less. We are just watching it at the present time, and treating with meds. Strangest thing though!!

Friday night the President called and said he was flying in on Saturday morning to do some interviewing about problems with one Elder. It was good he called, so we made sure we were up and ready to take him around. We even got to visit some of the Elder’s apartments. They were really surprised to see President Tolman at their door step. The apartments needed a little work. By the time we got back to the apartment Sister Waller had a nice lunch ready for us; Soft burritos with all the fixings, great.

We then spent some time discussing the mission and things that needed to be done. While I was talking, the President’s eyes kept drooping, he was worn out. So I suggested he take a little nap, he needed it. It only lasted about 40 minutes but I think he was refreshed. Soon he was off to the church for some additional interviews before heading to the airport. Nice short visit!

On Thursday, Sister Alencar, arrived to start her mission. She is from Brazil and will be trained by Sister Vaterlaus. We have hardly seen her as they have kept busy in their training. I am sure we will get to see and know her well though. Sister Bikhazi was transferred over to another District here in Mindelo, to be sister Souza’s companion. Elder Ellis arrived and will be serving with Elder Burgess in Ramo 1, and Elder Dance will serve with Elder Swapp. This week I did get to play Doctor a couple of times; Sister Bikhazi needed some toe work as well as Elder Ellis. I rather enjoyed breaking out the ‘olde’ tools again. Even the injections were fun, for me at least. Sister Alencar and companion Sister Vaterlaus, and the Waller's

Well that is about it for this week. Keep safe and know we are thinking, praying for you all. Love to everyone.

E/S Waller, Mom & Dad, Bama & Bampa

Sister Bikhazi needed a toe job, and hit a very high 'C' during the injection, but she survived the whole procedure with sort of a smile. See how concerned her new companion is?

The tallest companionship as well as best looking according to two sources; Elder Ray & Ence.

Cape Verde Week 21

Boa dia;

Hello everyone, it has been an interesting week as we have prepared for transfers this coming weekend. It is the topic among all the Elders and Sisters, who is being transferred and who is coming to take their place. They get so excited and some very nervous as the speculation goes around. As for Sister Waller and I, we are sure they will leave us together and here in Mindelo!

This past transfer, having a threesome of Elders, I have been kept busy going with the Elders for discussions. Sister Waller on the other hand has been busy baking, to every ones delight. She cooked well over 50 donuts for District meeting on Monday. I helped with the cooking, just like Krispy Kreme. They were gone in a flash!

District Meeting treats, everyone with big smiles!!

We held a nice FHE with a new member. I gave the lesson telling the story about ants in Sri Lanka, then related it to how we need the Holy Ghost in our lives, for guidance. Much of my evenings were taken up with preparing for the coming weekend. We will be traveling to Praia for the 1st Institute Conference. All the Islands are sending their youth 18-30 to the Conference, which will be something like an EFY. I am to speak in 3 sessions on Saturday. So I have been busy preparing a power point presentation on “A Armadura de Deus”, (The armor of God). I have some good ideas about stories and an object lesson planned.

Thursday was “P” day this week because of a National Holiday on Wednesday, we aren’t sure what the Holiday was about but everyone was off work, so our “P” days was switched to Thursday. It has been really hot and humid lately. Sharon and I just sweat all the time, especially when in the kitchen cooking. I am down almost 20 lbs and Sharon is down over 10 lbs., that doesn’t mean I have been cooking. I have been out walking. Her skirts are getting a little loose in the waist as well as are my pants!!

We had a nice flight over to Praia Friday evening arriving about 11:30 pm and made it to the Mission home with out any problem. President and Sister Tolman are in England for a Mission Presidents Conference, but allowed us to stay at the home. It was really nice sleeping with an A/C!!!! When you rolled over you didn’t stick to each other because of sweat! We were up early Saturday for the trip up to the conference area, about a 45minute drive into the center of the island. Elder Santos, mission couple here, came with the new mission car and picked us up; Elder Santos use to be a bus driver, taxi driver and truck driver in Sao Paulo, Brazil; which explains why he drives like a formula 1driver. By the time we got to the conference area we felt we had been on a roller coaster! I am sure the drive normally takes a good 45 minutes, but he made it in less than 20. They had originally asked if we would be staying at the conference for the weekend, I am glad we said no! Not a very pleasant place. Anyway we got settled among the 250 attendees. I gave my 1st presentation and the reaction was great. I really think everyone enjoyed the stories and object lesson. I had to repeat it 2 more times that morning for the rest of the group as they had been divided up into more manageable sizes. I told the story “Celestial Mail Order Bride”, “ You Must Be a Mormon” and “Light them Up”. For you that haven’t heard these stories sorry, in the future maybe I’ll post them on the blog. They were rather fun trying to convert them to Portuguese on the spot, everyone really enjoyed the time together.

Young single Adult Conference: Teaching object lesson on 'Armor of God'
We came back to Praia and rested that afternoon, then went our for dinner with E/S Allen ( office couple) to celebrate Sister Allen’s and Sister Waller’s birthdays., the 17th and the 18th. We went to the Tropico Hotel restaurant. We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to them before dinner. At the end of our meal the staff brought out a delicious chocolate cake with 2 candles and sparklers. Nice touch!! We arrived back at the mission home in time to meet the AP’s and learn of all the changes in the Mindelo Zone. We are going to have to say good bye to Elder Wixom. He has been our Portuguese tutor this last transfer, what a great young man. He is from Grand Junction, Colorado. We have enjoyed getting to know him. He is off to Praia to be a new Zone Leader, he will be great! He will serve with Elder Wada. We are getting Sister Alencar from Brazil, who will be trained by Sister Vaterlaus. Sister Delgado is being transferred to Fogo. We will be getting 2 new Elders, Dance and Ellis, looking forward to working with them in the Zone.

Sister Pollard and friend at Ramo 2, Praia

Today we are off to the Ramo 3 here in Praia, with the Allen’s for church. Yesterday Elder Allen baptized a Nigeria living here in Praia. Because the church building is being remodeled, the baptism took place at the beach. The waves have been rather large the last couple of weeks and Elder Allen also got baptized, from the force of the waves. I know quite a few Elders who would have loved body surfing back to shore! After church we had a very nice evening with E/S Allen, great chocolate cheese cake!

E/S Allen at the Mission home. Elders Mendonca, Kraniski. and Terry

That is about it for this busy week. Everyone have a great week. Tchau!

E/S Waller, Mom & Dad, Bama & Bampa

Cape Verde Week 20

Bom Dia,

Our week has flown by with all the usual happens; exchanges with the missionaries, visits to members home, preparing for talks, preparing for missionaries dropping by on ‘P’ day to ask if we had cookies, preparing for this and that. So time does fly by quickly. It was a rather uneventful week although each day had some minor happening. I have had some time to read and Sister Tolman has provided a few Historical Biographies for me to read. Some have been rather insightful and I have come away with a deeper appreciation for my native home land and freedoms we enjoy. I have also had the opportunity to read a number of church books, some for the 2nd time.

One of the things I need to be better at is writing in my study journal. Although I am studying; I fail to write down the thoughts and emotions that come to me as I study. I have counseled the missionaries to do better at this and I need to heed my own advice. I have been enjoying the Writings of Isaiah BYU roundtable discussions and have found them very helpful in understanding some of the symbolism.

Porto Novo on the Island of Santo Antao

I was reading in 1 Nephi this week and in chapter 2 came across the frequently read account of Lehi’s family leaving the safety (actually dangers) of home, and traveling into the wilderness. Where upon Lehi builds an altar and gives an offering to the Lord. I sat thinking about building an altar; according to the Law of Moses it has to be of natural stones, not hewn by man. Why natural stone? I sat for quite awhile think about the offering we have to give to the Lord; what in reality can we give to the Lord, but our heart. The thought came that the stones might represent the same thing that the oil in the parable of the ‘Ten Virgins’ represented. But since all that we are and can be, are directly associated with the blessings from the Lord, then indeed the stones are not hewn. Whereas natural stones are formed over eons of time, so are our characters formed under the direction of God, if we chose to follow His counsel, with all our hearts. Indeed the offering we have to place on the altar is a broken and contrite heart; a heart willing to do all that God commands; a heart willing “ to lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better” D&C 25:10. Just as Lehi and his family rejoiced and gave thanks for the ‘tender mercies’ of God, so we also need to build altars and give thanks for the ‘tender mercies’ of God; allowing Him to make of our lives what will be of the greatest worth to our souls and allow Him to accomplish His great work among men.

We have the opportunity to witness small miracles each day here in the mission field. Young men and women leave family and friends and go about trying to spread the Gospel. Some people listen, many don’t, but still the missionaries move forward seeking the opportunity to testify. We have all kinds of talents among the missionaries; musical, sporting, speaking, communicating etc. But all have one thing in common, when they speak with the influence of the Holy Ghost they speak with power; the power that has the ability to change lives. We find though that many accept the commitment and enter into the waters of baptism but then have extreme difficulties keeping the commandments.

This past week we had a local festival called “Baia” here in Mindelo. It is as I mentioned in last weeks news letter a Rock Concert. Many members attended and stayed away from church to participate. I have spoken to many people asking about the concert and what goes on among the participants. The consensus is; loud music, suggestive dancing, alcohol, drugs and generally a worldly party atmosphere. Some members say is great, that if you go during the day it is okay, you just don’t want to stay too late as things do get out of control. I spoke today in 2 Sacrament meetings and my topic was “Breaking bad traditions in our lives”. This was an assigned topic. I have given up writing out my talks and instead write down all the phrases that give me trouble and new words that I might use in my talk. I then ask the congregation to listen with their hearts, not their ears and try to feel the spirit of the message. I conjugate all my verbs in the “we” form if I can. This way I hope they feel I am speaking to myself, as well as them, when I call their attention to changes that need to made in “our” lives. I basically stated that as disciples, ‘followers’ of Christ, we need to ask ourselves the following question when we find ourselves in these places. Do I feel the Spirit of God here? If not, then I should not be here! My message was received as the missionaries told me, they understood every word perfectly; sometimes it so hard to call others to repentance. I hope it helped by including myself in that call.

Thank you for all you do. May we each build our altars of stone, by following the counsel of God with a contrite spirit and broken heart, willing to lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better.

Com amor,
E/S Waller, Mom & Dad, Bama & Bampa

Sunset over Face MountainElder Terry, Snow, Alexander, Sister Bikhazi, Elder Bueno, Sister Delgado, Elder Burk striking a pose.

Shack on Santo Antao

Grog Factory using sugar cane on Santo Antao.

Tchau!!!

Cape Verde week 19

Bom Dia;

We have had another busy week here in Cape Verde. It started with Zone conference and all the activities related to have 28 Elders and Sisters in one place. At least by that time sister Waller and I were feeling much better and the sickness bug had moved on to others. Unfortunately we had to sick days where either and Elder or sister were sick and we played nurse maid, while their companions continued the work. This is the sickness time of year here in Cape Verde. The weather is so hot and humid that it is extremely easy to get dehydrated and weaken the body’s defense. Then colds and flu like symptoms appear and you are down for 2 or 3 days. But everyone seems to be doing fine as of this weekend.

Zone conference Skit with Elder Hill showing training skills
Elder Ballantyne and Alexander showing morning exercise routine.Elder Snow and Wood in Zone Conference showing how not to prepare food.
This time of year also brings water shortages in the city; the powers to be shut off the water to different areas of the city on a cycle. Each area is shut down for maybe a week sometimes two. If you have a large holding tank on the roof it is no problem as that will generally last 2 weeks. Unfortunately many of the neighbors like to turn your water valve off, so it never fills completely and you run out of water quickly. This happens quite often with the Elders and Sisters. It really is difficult to manage without water!! Sometimes we send them to another apartment to shower and clean up other times they can order a water truck to come and fill their tanks. So far we have been lucky with our electricity. We have had on one episode of power outage since we have arrived. Praia on the other hand has outages almost daily for some periods of time. The Mission office has a large generator that keeps things running but it gets really expensive.

We attended a baptism of 2 young sisters this weekend. I have been involved in teaching one a few times. It was amazing everyone was on time and the service went smoothly, things are changing slowly.

Emilia, Sandra, Francesca, Julianna at FHE with Sister BikhaziLoriana at FHE

This weekend we had an island wide holiday. For the last 4 or five years the island government has held a rock concert at one of the beaches. They invite bands from all over to come and for 3 days everyone rocks out. Unfortunately the concert also has a rock concert atmosphere and carnival type activities. Today in one of the branch had only 26 in attendance and many teachers and leaders missing. We need to have a discussion about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy!!!
Elder Burgess, Wixom, Bueno
Well everyone have a great week.

Love to all
E/S Waller, Mom & Dad, Bama & Bampa