Wednesday, April 20, 2016

P-Day Adventure

For P-Day we decided to visit Baia das Gatas - a beach on the other side of the island. Once a transfer we can do a district activity and so we made it today. We took the bus to Cidade and waited with all the women who sell bananas, papayas and cilantro for a hiass (how you spell yas) to take us. However the hiass never showed and so the elders convinced a truck driver to give us a `baleia` (term for hitch hike) for mil escudos (roughly $10). Once there we took some pictures on the beach and watched a man snorkel with a small harpoon gun - it´s how he earns a living without a fishing boat. It was so cool!


After chilling on the beach for a little bit, we found an open restaurant for `pequeno almoco` or breakfast. It was hamburger with a fried egg, canned corn, and french fries. Exactly what I wanted at nine in the morning. :)


And then we waited along the main road for a car to take us back. I literally hitch hiked my way across the island today. 

Love,
Sister Hanzel

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Seja Bem-Vindo a Sao Vicente!

What a whirlwind of a week, I haven't been this tired since the first weeks of my mission. We were so busy that I lived on nothing but bread products, went without sleep for the first few nights, and didn't get to wash my hair with conditioner until the weekend.  Yet we were still teaching and training like a pro.

Last Monday I was ready to spend the rest of my mission in Santo Antao, and I was perfectly happy with that. I miss Santo Antao. But the call came that I was being transferred and so I said goodbye, bought a passage to Sao Vicente, and after arriving, packed a bad for leadership council in Praia the next morning.
Saying good-bye to Sister Santos
Reunited with my former companion, Sister Cerquiera
 Tuesday morning we were up at 4:30 AM to hit the airport for the leadership council in Praia. That whole event is just kind of a blur of mission statistics and such because I was so new and tired, but it was fun to see all the missionaries in Praia again! We didn't get to visit Palmarejo though because right after council we were back on a plane to Sao Vicente.

Thursday we had Zone Meeting and I gave my first training with Sister Cerquiera. It went well (I think) but next month I'm going to be more prepared for council and therefore more prepared for Zone Meeting. Haha. Helloooooooooo new calling!

Saturday and Sunday we were in Cidade again for Conference. And Sao Vicente is chique so we got to watch it in English. I loved Elder Kearon's talk on the refugee efforts and President Holland's talk as always (and we did indeed get ice cream afterwards).
Watching General Conference
Well... that is my blessed rushed update for the week, I spent a lot of time trying to load pictures for you all, because I know that's the best part. Haha. Basically, I miss the people I was with in Santo Antao, but Sao Vicente is the place to be, and we're about to get work done!

Love to all,
Sister Hanzel

Beautiful Sao Vicente - my new home