Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink

You would think with so much water around us there would be plenty to drink. Not so. The water system is good but sometimes landlords for whatever reason don't get the water pumped up into the tanks on the roof so it doesn't flow into the apartments or sometimes the city will shut it off for awhile. Some days it is just hit or miss. Knowing that, we require each missionary apartment to have a water barrel full of extra water. The barrels are about 3 1/2 feet around and about 4 feet tall. Finding them is hard. Though you see them at people's homes, where they buy them remains a mystery to us. We have checked at dozens of stores. Each time we need a new one we have gone to great lengths to find it. This time a sister in the ward knew another sister in another ward who had two that she would sell. We called this sister but she did not return our call until we were out of the office and driving around in the corolla. We decided to go look at the barrels anyway to make sure they were what we wanted even though we knew they would not fit in our car. So we asked for directions. We knew we were in trouble when she gave us partial directions and told us to wait there for her children who would lead us the rest of the way. Well we made it to where the children were, and they hopped in and lead us to this wonderful spot we didn't even know existed in Praia.

This is as far as we could take the car. We walked with them along the rim of this lovely valley. Down below was an imitation of Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro. It is a statue of Christ with his arms spread out.

After a wonderful visit with the family, we decide the water barrels were just what we needed and told them we would pick them up the next day. Then while driving out, we decided we better find some serious landmarks to help us find this place again. We knew there was one turn we had to get right or we would never make it back there. A quick prayer and there it was ... Suzy's Bar of all things.

So the next day the water barrels were purchased and we drove them all the way across the island. At our farthest stopping point - Terrafal - we dropped the last barrel off. We were so proud of ourselves until we got about a block away and spotted a store with several water barrels just setting out front. Ha. Elder Mathews stopped the car and we bought one. We will be opening another apartment in Assomada in a few more weeks so on the way home we stopped by the Elders there and asked them to store it for us. I am not sure the mystery of the water barrels has been solved but I love the randomness of this place.

More Donations - thank you!

Since the youth are studying the New Testament this year in seminary we needed to order some Portuguese Bibles. I had just placed the order to Brazil the day before when we received a call from the airport saying we had received a shipment. Of what? When we received the paper work we found out it was a donation of 2000 Bibles as a gift from some church wards in Europe. While Elder Mathews was trying to figure out a quick way to get them through customs and out of the airport, which charges us for storage by the kilo, I was trying to catch the right person in Brazil to cancel my order of 500. Well we both succeeded and in record time. The next hurdle was picking them up at the airport. We had to hire a truck and driver, and then once we got them here, we were short missionaries to unload them. The two assistants helped and Holden volunteered. Elder Mathews, Elder Cruz dos Santos, Elder Olsen and Holden unloaded 2200+ kilos into the basement. It was so hot the four of them were dripping wet. So here are the heroes standing in front of all the Bibles.

Thank you Europe. Very few people here have a full set of scriptures. This will be a cherished gift for a great many families. Now we have to start the process of getting them to each of the islands.

Baptisms at the Ocean

The last few weeks we have had trouble with water at one of the chapels. Though that happens sometimes here in Cape Verde, the frustrating thing was that this is the only chapel in Praia with a baptismal font. So last Saturday having many baptisms scheduled we did the next best thing. We loaded the entire meeting into the back of pick up trucks - a.k.a taxis - and took everyone to the beach. Here is a shot of Elder Mathews trying to organize everything. He was presiding at the meeting as a High Councilor.

It really was a beautiful experience to see each person go out with the Elder who would baptize them. The other two Elders acted as witnesses. You can see the Praia light house to the right.

A Mission Miracle

About 2 weeks ago the mission received a donation from the Ashby Foundation. I was given the responsibility of going through it all and sorting it. My  first priority was to look for suits, ties, dark pants and shirts for out-going missionaries. Those things not suitable for missionary attire were to be donated to those in need throughout all the islands. I had just started on it Tuesday with the help of Sister McKnight. The last thing I did before I went to bed that night was to look through the few suits we had found and hang them up. When I went to bed our apartment looked like this and there was still more to sort.

The next morning I went downstairs and stumbled into Holden's office looking for something. There visiting Holden was a young man from Terrafal with his father. I greeted them in my limited Portuguese and then Holden told me the young man was leaving that day for Brazil to start his mission. I asked if he had all he needed. He bravely said yes. He had a yellowed white shirt on, visible holes in his shoes and no suit coat on, so I was a bit suspicious. I  asked Holden to be more specific in his questions. How many shirts? Does he have a suit? Well I almost panicked as he answered 3 shirts and no suit. I had only uncovered a handful of suits in the donation boxes yesterday and I hadn't seen any shirts in his size. But I raced upstairs and grabbed the 8 suits I had found and had him try them on. I was thinking if we could find one close I could alter it really fast. But to our amazement, he walked out of the bathroom ten minutes later in one of those suits and it fit him perfectly - everywhere!! I then raced through some unopened boxes and found him 4 shirts. Then out of the blue the first mission president called to Cape Verde, President Hobson, come to the office. We were shocked. He is the one who had been working with the Ashby foundation and had been instrumental in getting the clothing donations all here. He walked in about the time I came back with the shirts and he was so touched to see the donations being used and how handsome this young man looked in the suit. He helped him pick out a few ties and then noticed his shoes. I didn't know there were shoes in the shipment but President Hobson did! Brand new Rockports! President Hobson went down in the basement with me and we searched through several more unopened boxes until we found the one with the shoes. We raced upstairs and found out the young man's size. Sure enough there was a pair in the young man's size. The young man had been completely transformed head to toe in less than an hour. Looking at him President Hobson started tearing up, as did the young man's dad and then all the women. This young was radiating the spirit of joy and worthiness - for lack of a better words. I can't describe it. This was suppose to happen. What are the chances that I would walk in at just the right time (and that I had stayed up late to sort those suits just the night before), and that Pres. Hobson would show up when he did.  Heavenly Father wanted that young man looking and feeling like His representative.  And he did. This was not a coincidence. This was planned. And I think for both the young man and President Hobson, who is also leaving on a mission to Brazil in just a few weeks. He will be serving in the Recife Brazil Temple. He opened the city of Recife as a young missionary many years ago so you can imagine how thrilled he is. Our Father is in the details and because of that miracles still happen today. Here is Holden, the young man, and his father. And the next picture is of the Hobsons with Sister Cummings.

Cutie Pie

I was sitting behind this little angel in a Relief Society meeting about two weeks ago. She kept smiling at me and then she started playing a game with me. She kept dropping the little bandana she had. I would bend down, pick it up and hand it to her. She would smile at me and then drop it again. This went on for awhile until I decided to play a little trick on her. Her response taught me volumes about cultural differences. When she dropped the bandana again, I bent down but didn't pick it up. Instead I handed her my Portuguese/English pocket dictionary. Her eyes lit up and I thought for a moment she would thumb through the pages but instead she jumped up, picked up the bandana on the floor, twilled it around to make a rope and then coiled it on her head like a nest and then proudly placed the dictionary on top of it. I was amazed! All the women here carry things on their heads. And the way they balance things is to use scarfs to make a bit of a nest or cushion on their head. She is only 2 and already knows exactly how it is done! She sat there for the rest of the meeting trying to show me how well she could balance it. It was amazing.

Tying the Knot

This has been the big month for weddings. First, Holden the young man we work with, finally was married. He has been talking about his wedding with great anticipation since we arrived here. Weddings are done a bit differently here. People gather at a notary building that is decorated like this.

The couple sits in those chairs as the notary behind the desk reads the legal agreement of marriage and then they sign the papers. They pick two close friends to sign as witnesses. It is a big honor to be chosen for that. After this 30 or so minute legal session everyone heads for the church or wherever they choose to hold a reception. On the way there, the caravan of cars belonging to the wedding party honk their horns to let everyone know that something wonderful has just happened. Here they are arriving at the church and then at the reception.

But it was not over for them there. The two flew to Brazil two days later to be sealed for time and eternity in the Recife, Brazil Temple. Four other couples that we taught in our temple preparation class went with them. A few more will be going next week. We are so happy for each of them.

We also had the honor of being involved in another wedding. A couple of months ago the missionaries introduced us to a young couple that were planning to be married. Well whenever the subject of marriage comes up the missionaries call us in. They figure with 36 years of experience in the institution of marriage we ought to have some advice. We visited with this couple. He is a returned missionary but has not been involved with the church for many years. She is not a member of our church. But the closer they got to a wedding the more they both reflected on religion. Anyway we have kept up with them over the last while as she has investigated the church and as he has been trying to get his footing back in the church. Then to our surprise they asked us to speak at their wedding. Now Robert who has been a marriage sealer in the Temple in Houston had no worries about the invitation. He used to do this thing all the time. But I had worries! and mostly because I had to say what I wanted to say in Portuguese. Well the big event come last Saturday. They gathered at the notary and we watched the legal ceremony. Then we came back to the church. But instead of going directly into the reception they choose to have a small religious service in the chapel. They walked down the aisle to the tune of a song sung by the children in Primary. It is entitled, "Love is spoke Here". It talks of the joy that can be had in a family when Christ is the focus. Then they took their seats at the front of the chapel. The Bishop said a few words and then it was my turn. I knew I couldn't speak long as my Portuguese vocabulary is nothing to brag about so basically I said.... Marriage is a covenant between three individuals. The husband, the wife and the Lord. It forms a triangle. The husband on one side, the wife on the other and the Lord at the top. At the bottom, the husband and wife look far apart, but as they draw closer to the Lord (or move up the sides of the triangle) they draw closer to each other. I told them that was the secret to a wonderful marriage. I then bore my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the church and scriptures can help us grow closer to Him and thus strengthen our marriage. And I did it in Portuguese. It was about a dozen sentences and it felt like it took forever. Afterwards I asked if they really understood me. They said they both did and my pronunciation was great. Then the most amazing thing happened. In broken English the groom said, "Sister Mathews, I love you." Wow. By the way Robert did an amazing job too. He spoke of how if you want something to last, you treat it differently. He gave the analogy used by Bishop Howard about his wife and how she treated their wedding silver so carefully. At first he thought she was a bit too careful until he saw how long is lasted and how perfectly kept it was after so many years.
Here they are arriving at the notary and after the legal ceremony.

Then to top it off, the very next day, she was baptized. They wanted to begin their married life united in the same faith. They hope to be able to make a trip to the Temple next year. This is them just after she was baptized.

Spinning Webs

Okay I will admit I have a bit of an arachnophobia. How I got so frightened of the little spiders I left behind in the States I will never know. (Well I did get bit by a brown recluse once)  Here I could understand developing such a phobia. We don't have them in or near our home - thank goodness. But when you go out into the country more or in open feilds you see them, and they are big.

The other day the President was doing interviews and needed his assistants nearby so we were summoned to pick up an Elder at the airport. I have been to the airport several times. It is of course away from the city near open fields. It is also small with sort of an in/out style, meaning that some of it is inside and some of it is under a permanent tarp. We were just standing there under the tarp waiting when Elder Mathews said, "Hum, look at that." Of course I looked up to see what he was looking at and saw this.

I bravely took a picture and then started thinking. "Okay that is like thirty or forty feet high maybe and still they look that big. How big would they look if they actually fell down right ... on our heads cause we are right under them!" That is when I got a shiver and quickly moved out from under them - and tripped on a metal bar I didn't see. I will not tell you how hard Elder Mathews laughed for fear your opinion of him would change. But suffice it to say he had been watching me carefully wondering just how long I would last. It was even less than he expected.