Frying Pans.... Who Knew Right?

Right now my mission life is entirely in Portuguese. The happy: I am picking up Portuguese loads faster. The sad: nobody understands my movie quotes. Haha. But, I say them out loud anyway, and when my companion looks at me inquisitively, I just say, "Aquele filme que..." and then she tries to come up with the name of the movie in Portuguese. It's a fun little game we play.

For example, yesterday during church I could not understand the Creole in Relief Society. This one point all the ladies were yelling in Creole (Creole only has one volume) and I turned to my companion and said, "I like Mass better in Latin, it's nicer when you don't know what they're saying!" 

And today, after five months of burnt pancakes, we finally broke down and bought a frying pan - hence the title. I had real pancakes for lunch today. It was marvelous. 

This transfer my companion and I have been spending a lot of time in the far part of our area Achada Gomes. It takes about 30-40 minutes to walk there and the caminho is filled with hills; but Achada Gomes is very scenic (looks like that postcard you all picture when you think "Africa") and crazy things happen out there. 

This week as we were hiking out of Achada Gomes we could see a crowd gathering up ahead. We were with two of the Young Women in the ward, and they asked some people around us what was going on. Apparently a woman in on the other side of the ravine had died the day before and now her spirit was in an old woman on her porch just up ahead. The crowd was gathering to talk to the deceased woman and ask her specific questions to see if it was really her - she was getting them all right. 

I didn't want to draw any attention from the crowd, because I'm really pale and always draw attention, so we debated going back to one of the young women's houses until the crowd died down; but it was getting late and we needed to get back before the light was gone, so we decided to just walk past fast and with purpose. However I of course drew the attention of the crowd, and the old woman stopped talking and her eyes followed us as we walked past. We debated stopping and having her explain Paradise and Prison to everyone, but thought it better to just keep walking.

Also, big news, our house has been sprayed for cockroaches, so we are now almost cockroach free! There is still a few that hang out in the fridge, but the floor doesn't move anymore when we flip the light. Happy day! Now we're just working through some water problems, I can now say I know how to plunge a toilet and a sink!

Love you all!

Sister Hanzel

Sister Miller, Sister Fernandes, Sister Cardoso, and me

Life's a Peach

Well, not a peach; but life could be a plum, orange, mango, apple, pear, grape, watermelon, you name it. It's rainy season over in Cabo Verde and July showers bring August... fruit! 

And speaking of fruit, this week was a week of finding - and hopefully with all the new investigators we found this week in Achada Gomes and Covao Ribera we will see the fruits of our labors in baptisms later this transfer. We have twelve new investigators from the past week, and one really cute family. I made a giant Plan of Salvation game board to play with the three kiddos in the fam during our next visit, and I'm hoping we can help the whole family, parents and little ones alike, understand that our message is one of hope and they can be together forever. 

Weeks filled with the first lesson are exhausting, because that lesson is really long - but, those are also the lessons with the best quotes from investigators, because for them, our message is brand spanking new. To follow the fruit theme we've got going on here, I'll share my favorite quote from the week - we were teaching a 25-year-old mom and her daughter, and when we asked them why they thought the purpose of this life was, she said with all the seriousness of her heart, "To drink sumu (juice) and then die." How happy I am that there is more to life than Compal. We can all have "first lesson" quotes and experiences, we just need to open our mouths and share the happy news of the gospel with our friends. 

All of us can and should become engaged in the work of salvation. The Savior has given us the following responsibility with a promise:

"I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you" (John 15:16). 

Have a happy and fruitful week,

Sister Hanzel

 

Olá! Oi! Aloha! It's a Week of Welcoming!

Brothers and Sisters Aloha! 

This week Sister Tongi and I threw an Island Luao in the church for the whole of Assomada. Sister Tongi has been teaching hula to the mocas (young woman) and a few of our investigators - Suely and Heriana. We performed our hula and the Elders performed the haka with some recent members, including our recent baptism Jardel - he was front and center and looking fierce! We also taught everyone the Cupid Shuffle during the party. The members made Kachupa and cakes and I was in charge of decorations (heaven!).  All of the missionaries had investigators attend and the night ended up being a big success! 

 

This week I also went on divisions with my Sister Training Leader Sister Spolador. We had some great lessons and I learned a new technique for relieving stress - whacking at a pig head with a machete. 

Yesterday was transfers.... and my killer companion Sister Tongi was transferred to Santo Antao. I'm really going to miss that crazy girl - she's one awesome missionary. I will be staying in Assomada for another transfer with Sister Cardoso.  She is Cabo Verdean and doesn't speak English - so this will be my transfer to really practice Portuguese (and a little Creole too).  Assomada is a tough area but I have a lot of friends here and I'm happy this wasn't good-bye. Except for with Sister Tongi - good thing we live close by each other in the USA.

Well, with transfer craziness that is all for this week. Ate mais logo!

Loves,

Sister Hanzel

Losing at Mancala to a local expert

Girl Time

This was a really good week! We had a baptism on Saturday, our "little brother" Jardel. He's Maria de Jesus' son and we're excited because now they can help each other grow and progress together.

Jardel's Baptism

The women that vend around our apartment know us really well now. They're loud and funny and we look forward to our "Boa Tarde!" everyday as we leave to proselyte. This morning I was on my way to throw our trash in the dumpster outside when one of the vending ladies started shouting at me in Creole that I should stop throwing my garbage away and should instead give it to her - for her pigs. I laughed and we bargained in Creole for a second, I'll give her my garbage, and she'll give me mangos. 

Certain days the work is really long, and sweaty, and you wonder why you're hiking this hill for the four hundredth time. But then Heavenly Father gives you an investigator like Suely, who just needed some good girl talk, or Heriana, who needed a BFF to talk to about her school stresses. These two chickas make me feel happy and needed and I love all of our lessons and chats and inside jokes and adventures. Suely has a baptism date marked for this Saturday, and they are both dancing in our Island Luao this Friday at the church. All of Assomada is invited, and I'm excited for Assomada to see these girlies hula! 

Hula Practice

Have a happy week! 
Sister Hanzel





A couple of scrapes never kept me down!

The classic jumping pic with my BFF Heriana and a nice view of Assomada



I fell this week and scraped up my knees, Heriana and Sister Tongi found it really funny, until I told Sister Tongi my skirt material was snagging on my knees and making it impossible to walk, so she had to switch me skirts

This week we spent a day in Praia for trip number three of Sister Tongi's dentist adventure (only one more to go) and we also spent a day in the house while I got over a cold. But hey, team Tongi and Hanzel are back in business this week! We have a goal to find a family to teach and to find an inactive or less active every day, along with a new investigator. We're aiming high but if we do our best Heavenly Father will take over the rest. 

I remember reading about that in my favorite book, "Kisses from Katie".  She said that many times in her challenging life (Katie is a young single mother of 14 adopted girls in Uganda) people will tell her "God doesn't give us more than we can handle.", and she said she absolutely does not believe that. She believes that God will always give us more than we can handle, because that's when we stop relying on ourselves and turn to him.

I believe that is how being a missionary works as well. If we set our goals higher than we know we can reach, but continue to have faith and do our part, that's when the mission miracles come. 

So remember, God will always give you more than you can handle. It's a blessing in disguise. 

Love,

Sister Hanzel

View of the volcano island of Fogo

 

The Portuguese Fairy has Been Here

This week my mission was turned upside down and inside out. Being companions with Sister Friaca was a ball, but this week I finally connected with people. It was crazy. 

I don't know what happened, but the gift of tongues that's happening? I woke up on Tuesday, and bam - I could talk to people, and I understand them too! Obviously my Portuguese is still far from perfect; I still have to ask people to repeat a few things as well as stammer through a few sentences of my own. But, Monday I was still hearing gibberish and on Tuesday I was chatting with my Cabo Verde family like it was nothing! Twice this week I had people tell me, "Wow, how long have you been here? Your Portuguese is really good!" These people just last week were telling me I don't have it yet, but one day I will. Crazy right? 

Thank heavens for my new language blessing, because this week I was in charge. Sister Tongi is new to Assomada and my area, and so I was in charge of planning lessons, teaching lessons, and remembering everyone's beautifully difficult Cabo Verdean names and where they live (and in my area, remembering where people live means remembering whose house you walk through to get to the dirt path that switchbacks to someone's patio to which you then climb a ladder to reach their neighbor's roof to get you to the cobblestone road that leads to an investigator's house..... yes), but I did it! I remembered everyone (and we know a lot of people) and was able to talk to them all and it was the coolest. My twelve weeks of training are over and I'm an all out missionary now!

My New Companion, Sister Tongi, and another stab at Cous Cous

Sister Tongi is super cool. Oh man, we're going to have a "hecka fun" transfer. She's one crazy hilarious Tongan with attitude. But she's a really good missionary. Together we're gonna help Assomada rise up to it's full potential. I seriously am so excited we are companions.

We had a baptism on Saturday! I'll include a picture even though it was hot and I look like two days ago. Pitoto is amazing, talk about future priesthood. He already has a crazy strong testimony and I'm so excited to see him in leadership positions in the church someday. Pitoto's baptism was exciting because he was my first baptism that I contacted and taught all the way through.

Pitoto is the one closest to us. The one baptizing him is Sandy (Nelida's husband and an awesome member)

Alright well I love you all! Until next week.

Sister Hanzel

Maria, Sister Tongi, Sister Heriana, and me  - I'm so white here in Assomada I glow

It's the season of...

Cockroaches! Lots and lots of cockroaches. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), we only have the little ones in the house. It's always a treat to be the first ones home at night and flick on the kitchen light. We then commence the competition of who can step on the most cockroaches before they scurry back into their cracks. If you make a game out of it, it's not........ that bad?

 

Fortunately, Heavenly Father decided to have mango season be at the same time, so as to have balance in all things. The mangos here are so good! Still a little expensive at 2 for $.80, but once the summer gets rolling, they'll be four for $.20 - and hopefully in larger abundance then the cockroaches. (Anybody want to look up home remedies for killing cockroaches?)

My first baptism was this week! Maria de Jesus is one short woman with one tall testimony. It's amazing to see how much the gospel has already impacted her life. She's happier, more bubbly, and she has broken out of her shy shell and loves to share her testimony when she comes teaching with us. It's amazing!

Baptism of Maria de Jesus

This past week was Zone Conference. It was great! Ok honestly, it was a lot of Portuguese. Eight hours of Portuguese. However, I was able to understand a lot of what President Matthews and the AP's (Assistants to the President) said. I was also able to understand a lot of church the past week, which was really exciting, and now that I can understand his Portuguese mais ou menos (more or less) our Branch President is actually really funny. Creole is still a challenge but I can catch the general phrases like, "Where are you going?" and "Is Cabo Verde "delicious"?" Oh Creole.

Zone Conference with President Matthews

 

Assomada Zone

 

This week we had a neat experience with a less active...

Friday night Sister Friaca and I opened our planners to see who we had planned for Saturday, and to our surprise, we had both failed to plan a single person! So, plan B's became plan A's and we had no choice but to just "wing it" the next day.

But God doesn't "wing it", he had been orchestrating Saturday for a while and was ready to conduct.

We met Lucienne (Lu-cee-enney), or "Lu". She's been a member for 13 years but has been paralyzed for the last 7. We were sitting on the steps of a pretty purple house trying to call people and find someone to teach, when a woman came out of the house. Now Cabo Verdeans are really chill about people sitting on their porches, because all the houses are so close together - and often one person's roof is another person's patio; however Sister Friaca and still felt like we should probably move to the next rooftop, but God gave us a little nudge and we decided to talk to her instead. When we asked her if she knew the Church, she got really animated and she said she had a daughter who was a member but was paralyzed. "Come inside! Come! Come!" she said. So we did; and inside her cute purple house was a cute girl, tucked in the back bedroom in the back bed, unable to move. Lu can slightly turn her head, and we are able to understand a "sim" or "nao", but that's it. She spends all day, everyday, in that bed, if her mom sits her up she falls; however, she's got a light in her eyes that couldn't be ignored.

And on Saturday, God was not ignoring Lu. 

We sat and chatted with her and her mom, and found out no one from the church had been around for a long time. Someone used to come take her to church, but he has since left Assomada. We told her we would absolutely love to come visit throughout the week. She was beaming, and we were too! Yay! A new friend! 

The terrain to her house is too rocky for a wheelchair, but we're going to work something out with the Branch so that Lu can come to church, and in the meantime, the Elder's Quorum will bring her the Sacrament. She's such a gem, and we've got to get that gem out into the sun!

I have a testimony that God knows each of us personally, we are all his children. All these days here in Assomada I've passed that purple house and had no idea who was inside. But God knows each and every one of these people in every colored house, and he's waiting for us to act on His nudge or respond to His tug.

How grateful I am Sister Friaca and I were horrible planners.

Much love!

Sister Hanzel


Family Photo: Sister Friaca, me, and Chupa