A P-Day Adventure

P-days are our days off but the P stands for preparation. It is the day designated for missionaries to do laundry, shop and clean. We did most of that last night so we could go on a little excursions. Robert and I don't always agree on what would be fun. He likes to explore crazy places in foreign countries. I like to stay in familiar territory.  Our drives across the island of Santiago have kept us on mostly paved roads. The road from Praia through Assomada and then to Terrafal is actually called the national highway and is well traveled. And though there are some interesting twist and turns on that road I have come to trust it. Now there is a place on the highway where you can see an antenna tower way at the top of a mountain. Robert made the comment to me a couple of weeks ago that the stake president told him there is actually a road that takes you to the top of that mountain and right by the antenna tower. Though that sounds like fun to him, he knows it does not to me. Not only is it unfamiliar territory, it involves heights. I don't like heights. How he ever got me to the top of mountain to ski down it, is still a mystery to me. I am still not sure how he convince me to even get in the tram. So he dropped the subject and didn't mention the antenna tower again. Instead he started talking of a city they take tourist to. It is suppose to be really quaint with an old church and nice hotel with a lovely view. I thought now that is my kind of fun! So off we went! Well as it turns out the city is  right next to  .... the antenna tower. To get there you have to drive on a narrow, narrow cobblestone street with zero guard rails. And to make it worse, it was misting. So we are talking slick cobblestone. The next thing I know we are driving in the clouds!
But in the end, I had to admit it was really amazing. It is actually so high up that it gets rain so there was lots of green vegetation. And the hotel and church were pretty quaint. I did manage to get some pictures of it when I wasn't gripping the seat and closing my eyes.

Here is the church and the hotel. And a cute little donkey.

And here is the antenna tower and a picture that told us just how high up we were.

Don't laugh but he has nearly convinced me to go back on our Anniversary. The hotel owner said if we come back on a clear day we can actually see Maio and Boa Vista, the next closest islands. Tempting.

Always ready to hit the Deck

We love having a deck and sit out on it every evening we get a chance. It is a great way to unwind.
We have had some amazing sunsets! But on this night the action was in the east. I don't know what you would call this but it was really pretty to watch.

 

 We also like the fact that we inherited the mission home BBQ grill as President does not have a deck where he lives now. These were the shishkabobs we made last week to enjoy out on the deck.

Also fun is watching the ships come in. And to be honest, we are surprise by how few come in. The ships include the fast ferry, freighters, and on rare occasions a cruise ship. But this week there has been a military ship just off shore, going back and forth. This was our view this morning of it coming and going.

And last but certainly not least - a whale sighting. I was headed to the kitchen and the door was open so I had a clear view of the ocean. I suddenly saw some water spraying up really high and then a whale come flying up. I screamed for Robert and together we saw two more water sprays and the tails flipping up. It is whale season so we are going to keep our eyes open and a camera closer.

Dog Days

I spoke once before about our dear street dogs, Buddy, the Brownies, and Jack. Poor Jack is getting so old. In the mornings that I go out to run, he will get up and start the run with me. Poor thing only makes it about a block. Then there is Buddy. He is a healthy black lab who loves to sneak up behind me and lick me on the fingers. He runs with me too until something distracts him and off he goes. Then there are the Brownies who look like sisters but I suspect one is the mother and the other the daughter. These poor gals take turns having puppies. For some reason the puppies are always black and for that reason we suspect Buddy is somehow involved. Well  in the litter before last, our neighbor's guard decided to keep one of the puppies. He sits out by the gates at night with the dog chained nearby. The dog is now a nearly full grown lab but he still acts like a puppy. One night we were walking down the street and the guard had not yet chained the dog up. And he was so excited to see us! He jumped up and his paws landed on my back and slid right down to the ground - taking my elastic waistband skirt all the way to the ground too! I think the fact I was laughing so hard encouraged the dog because he kept jumping on me and I nearly didn't get the skirt up again. We think only Robert witnessed this but ... the guard might have too. No picture included with this story. Blush!
There is now also another addition to the street gang. The neighbors who are kind enough to look after the puppies when they are born and then try to give them away, decided we needed to keep one on the street. We call him Buddy Junior or BJ. He is so funny to watch. He digs through the trash and gets his head stuck in cartons. He also likes to bite the adult dogs' ears to get them to play with him. And he is always a mess. This is a picture of BJ with leaves stuck to him. And you can see Jack just laying in the shade - in middle of the road.

Off to Tarrafal

Last week we had the privilege of driving to the other end of the Islands to deliver about a dozen computers to the Tarrafal High School. The Brodericks, the humanitarian missionaries, had arrange this but couldn't be here for the deliver, so they were kind enough to let us participate in the big event. Since we needed some help loading and unloading the computers, we took some friends with us. Holden and Sandra came to help and to visit with his parents who live in Terrafal. Bishop came to help and visit with his mom and grandma who live in Terrafal. And Leonel came to help and also to spray the Tarrafal missionary apartment for bugs. Leonel is a return missionary from Portugal. When he came to spray our apartment he saw a picture of Dave and Danielle and said, "I know him. He was an assistant in my mission." Small world. Here they are in the mission van with us - obviously being very serious for the photo.

The principle of the high school was very excited to see us, as were the teachers and students. Here they are helping us unload the van.

Here is Robert unofficially presenting the computers to the principle.

Then they took us to the English Club. There the students spoke English to us and were anxious to here us speak. I always love it when I understand someone and they understand me.

Aren't they all so cute in their uniforms.
Then this week the computers were officially received - meaning the Brodericks and the Stake President came to a ceremony the school put on to recognition the church for the donation. We weren't there but caught it on the news. Here are a few pictures from the TV.

Bispo, are you kidding me?!

Today we went to Assomada again. I will never tire of this drive.

We had to get there early so Robert could call a counselor to the Elder Quorum President. He was about to do that when the Bishop (Bispo in Portuguese) looks at me and in his broken English invites me to speak in Sacrament meeting - TODAY. Since Friday was the International Day of Women, he wanted me to say something of the importance of women. It is a few minutes before the meeting begins and he thinks I can whip that out -  and in Portuguese no less!!!

Well I went into a room and prayed like crazy. I came up with a short talk but I knew I couldn't do it in Portuguese. Not without internet connection. I need Google translate. So when Robert returned, he promised he would translate for me. So when my time came, I stood with Robert at the podium and I said a line in English and he translated it in Portuguese. I talked of how the man is not without the woman in the sight of God and neither is the woman without the man, as the Apostle Paul stated. We are of equal importance in God's eyes. I read from Moses 5:4,5,12 and 16. I pointed out how many times the word "they" is used. The Lord spoke to both Adam and Eve from the Garden. They prayed. They heard. They worshiped. They sacrificed. They taught their children.They both built up the kingdom of God. I said that as women today we have the same responsibilities. We too can pray and hear. We too can sacrifice in obedience and in service. We too can teach our children. We can teach each other and we can teach all around us. We can build up the kingdom in Cape Verde.
When the Bispo told me how much he appreciated it, I told him if he had given me more time I could have done it in Portuguese. He said, "Okay, we will do that next month." Oops.

I'm a Real Missionary!!!

I feel like Pinocchio when he announced he was a real boy. I am about that excited.
A couple of weeks ago, I walked out of our building to take out the trash. There are no trash cans and no dumpsters here. You just put your bags out on the street. But there is a trick to it. You have to put them up high or the dogs will help themselves to them. I was walking across the street to put our bag on the wall of what looks like the beginning of a house that was never completed. While doing so, I saw a young woman trying to get her bag there too. She didn't have any shoes on so I volunteered to take her bags the rest of the way as there are some rocks and briars on the ground there. To my surprise she thank me IN ENGLISH. It was broken English but still! Then she pointed to my badge and said, "I know who Joseph Smith is. I have friends in your church. Anytime you want to talk of it, come over." To my surprise she lives two doors down from us. Well the last couple of weeks have been insane so I never made my way over there. Then last Monday while Robert and Holden were working on a project I decided it was time. With a bit of concern for our language barrier, I ventured down the street. She welcomed my into her home and I meet her little two year old daughter. We talked in broken English and Portuguese and somehow managed to communicate with each other. I asked her if I could bring the missionaries with me next time I visited as they speak better Portuguese than me and Creole, which she prefers. She said, yes, and to my surprise when I asked her when, she said, "Today at 4."

Well I rushed back to the office and told Robert and President what had happened. My concern was that the missionaries assigned to this area do not speak Creole well, and that is what she really understands. President suggested I go with the three sister missionaries that are in the next area. One of them is a native and speaks Creole! Well four o'clock came and off we went.

The lesson went well in spite of the fact we were speaking in three different languages. I actually understood more than I thought I would, but I wasn't the only one really trying to understand. Creole is a tough language to crack. The native, Sister Barros, understands 100%. Sister Graca, who has been out the longest, understands about 75%. The brand new sister, Sister Thembo, from Portugal understands about 30%. Me, nada. I really don't follow any Creole. So the Sisters spoke in a mix of Creole and Portuguese and she answered in the same mix. I spoke English when I said anything and she understood. And the crazy thing is I knew when to say something! I actually only said two things but they were applicable! I can follow the first discussion fairly well in Portuguese so that was not too hard, but she had a list of questions that I got a bit lost on, but the sisters did great. I didn't know what they said all the time but I could feel the Spirit and could see Sandra's reaction. They touched her.

At the end, Sandra told us she had been taught a first discussion by missionaries, when living on the other side of Praia several months ago. That is how she knew of Joseph Smith. She had been thinking about it and religion in general. One morning she took a notebook out and started recording her thoughts and praying for answers. Right after she had done that, she come outside and ran into me. She told the missionaries I was her angel. I had no idea about this. Isn't the Lord amazing how He hears and answers our prayers, and He can do it even when we are taking out the garbage. 

Well we set up another appointment with her for Wednesday. I spent two days preparing my testimony of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese. And at the end of the discussion, I was able to say it. She even understood it. (trust me my Portuguese is not that great) She committed to read the Book of Mormon, and we will be visiting with her again next week. 

I'm Famous!!!!

Apparently I am famous here is Cape Verde, but not always for the right reasons.
I am famous at a little place called Pao Quente. It means warm bread and is ,as expected, a bakery. We go there to buy bread but once or twice a month we go there to buy just the dough. We make pizza with it. Robert always likes to test my Portuguese skills there so he makes me order. All I can say is that I always leave them laughing. The other day I went in to order a "meio quilo de massa"or a half of a kilo of dough. Well knowing I was buying it to make pizza my tongue misfired and I said "Eu presciso de um meio quilo de pazza." The lady laughed and said, "meio quilo de massa para pizza, sim?" Which basically means you need a half a kilo of dough for pizza, yes? I said sim, and then "e tambem four carcasas" Carcasas are big sandwich rolls. She laughed again and said quatro. I nodded realizing then I had said four instead of quatro. Robert of course stands behind me and rolls his eyes which makes them laugh even harder. So that is what I am famous for there.
The next place I am famous at is a Chinese store. All of the nicknack stores are owned by the Chinese. The one we go to the most is the biggest in Praia, and it is the closest thing we have to a one-stop-shopping Walmart experience, although it is more the size of a Walgreens. We go there often to buy for the mission, and I did do all my Christmas shopping there - 7 flower purses for 7 granddaughters. Anyway, last Tuesday Robert and I were extremely busy and he took off with one of the Assistants to get  TWO things for the missionaries. They went to "Walmart" with out me.The owner and employees at the store wanted to know where Robert's "companheira" was. He told them I was busy somewhere else, and they told him to be sure to bring me next time. Well about four hours later we realized we needed to buy some things for a brand new apartment - iron, ironing board, dishes, shower curtain, shower curtain rod, pots and pans, dishes, silverware, curtains, etc. There is only one place we can get all of that in one stop, so off we went to "Walmart." Now when we started walking up the steps to the store, we noticed almost all the employees were outside enjoying the cool weather. When they saw me I waved not knowing what had transpired earlier with Robert. Then to my surprise they all started CLAPPING! Three of the young women excitedly followed me right into the store.
And it took all three of them to carry, in the tiny baskets they have, all the stuff we needed. We spent about $200 which explains the clapping and why I am so famous there.
Here is the front of the store. We love the very dated mannequin by the door.  

Here are the three Walmart helpers.

The next place I am famous at is in our office. I keep a little dish of candy on my desk. Everyone who comes, which includes missionaries, those involved with the Perpetual Education Fund, President, the guy who washes our car, the maid who cleans the office and just about anyone who comes to visit. I guess candy is an expense most people can't afford to make around here so they all get really excited to take one, or two or sometimes three pieces. Well recently our Bishop has been coming to the office to help out with a few things. He always comes into the office to say hi and claim his piece of candy. 
So today we are at church and it is Fast Sunday. There are several babies to be blessed but most of them are toddlers - children of recent converts. Well the first little toddler got spooked and started screaming just as they were to begin the blessing. His mom took him to the back of the chapel to calm him down. Then the second toddler came up and he too started screaming. It was like the two little guys were communicating with each other. Both were looking across the chapel at each other crying. That is when the Bishop leaned over the railing of the podium and asks out loud in front of the whole congregation, "Sister Mathews do you have any candy?" Robert about died! I quickly rummage through my purse, but no candy, only mini altoids.
I raced up to the front and handed them to the Bishop. He literally took one out of the tin and placed it in the mouth of the crying child. He looked like a Catholic priest placing a wafer in someones mouth. But the child stopped crying and the blessing was given. The Bishop did it with the next child and it worked again. Finally the little guy in the back was brought forward and it worked with him as well. After the meeting the Bishop gave the altoids back and called them magic pills.
The other thing I am famous for at church is my Ipad. I make friends with it. I can't speak Portuguese well, as has already been discussed, but it wouldn't matter with the kids anyway. They don't learn Portuguese here until they enter school. They speak creole in their homes. So I have to figure out clever ways to communicate with the little guys, especially when I am asked to babysit them during Robert's Temple Preparation class. So we play on my Ipad. We take pictures and look at pictures, etc. These are a few of the people I am most famous with. The last two came and sat by us at church today.