September 17, 2012 - Dondo

September 17, 2012

Bom Dia Famila,
          Tranfers were good! I left Thursday and flew through Tete and then down to Berra. It was hard to leave but I was super excited at the same time. An elder that just got here from the US took my spot in Nampula but I have not met him. I'm sad I didn't get to see Joseph baptized. He should get baptized this Saturday. The mission is a pretty crazy experience. You do a ton of work and see little success but the success you do see is amazing. For example, I was in Nampula for 12 weeks and saw 1 baptism in our area and he had already been being taught before I got there. But Joseph will be soon. We were in the finding stage most of the time and that is super hard. Everybody here says they will meet with you and come to church when you invite them but nobody means it. So frustrating. Everybody we contact says the exact same things. It's getting pretty old. Nobody says what they really think or mean - they just say what you want to hear. They think it's nicer to lie to your face and say they will do stuff and then not do it than tell you no.
       But I'm not sure if I told this story about Joseph so I will today. So he lived with some friends and worked at their hair salon right. But they were a bad influence on him and didn't want him to miss work to come to church or meet with us. But he did anyways because he really has a testimony. They ended up kicking him out of their house and firing him. Because he is a refugee he had nowhere to go and he can not legally work here in Mozambique. He came to us in tears and asked us to help him find a place to stay. We found a member who is letting him stay with them now. His faith is truly amazing. He sacrificed everything because he knows the gospel is true! But he has been blessed for it. So there is a refugee camp about an hour chapa ride from Nampula and he had an interview the next day to get papers to be legal here in Mozambique. We had been praying and he was praying that everything would go well and that he could pass his interview. Well he had no money for the chapa the night before and so he asked us for money - but as missionaries we can't give out money. I felt so bad but he said it was ok and he prayed for help getting enough money to go to his interview. The next morning he walked to the bus stop to catch a chapa with no money and some lady who used to go to the salon he worked at asked him what he was doing. He explained and she paid for his chapas there and back!!!  On top of that he said the guy who did the interviews came up to him and promised him he would pass and he did! So now he is just waiting to receive the actual papers.
      But Joseph always brings friends to church he says he wants to be a missionary so last Sunday he brought one of his friends, John, to church. He loved church and came up to us and told us he wanted to meet. So Tuesday we sat down with him and Joseph together. One of the best experiences of my mission by far! He is from Congo like Joseph and is probably 40 or 50 years old. He told us his whole family - his wife and kids - were all killed in the war in Congo. He was a pilot before he came here. Super sad and so he fled and has been living in Nampula as a refugee for about a year now. He can't legally work and just has a super tough life. So we taught him part of the plan of salvation and promised he could see his family again and shared some scriptures. He just started crying. The spirit was so strong and he looked at us and said he really believed that God has a plan for us and that someday he is going to preach the gospel. I have a picture with him.  I really hope everything works out for him. I wish I could have kept teaching him. But Elder Bradford will. Joseph bore strong testimony about how the gospel has helped him and it was a great lesson. Teaching people that truly want it is the best feeling in the world. but finding people like that does not happen very often. Finding people who are really going to act is hard but when you do it is all worth it!
       So Dondo is about an hour chapa ride from Berra. about 20 minutes past Inhamizua that I told you I went to with Elder Largent after the conference here in Berra. Pretty small and poor and jungly. I am excited though. Our house is HUGE - at least for Mozambique. It is like a mansion. By far the best house in Dondo. The chapel is the bottom floor and we live in the upstairs. We have a pool in our backyard for baptisms. Dondo is not even a branch it is just a group. There are about 60 coming to church every week but there are not many worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders that come every week and so we are really struggling with leadership. Most of the members are youth or inactive.  But we are determined to work hard and find potential leaders.
             We had 1 investigator at church Sunday! We have some work to do for sure haha!! My comp only speaks Portuguese so I am learning! He is always super happy - it is awesome! He and Elder Leite are both from Cape Verde and then there is Elder Gergitz from Utah. This is going to be a crazy transfer but hopefully we can turn our area around. 
            We teach seminary twice a day Tuesday through Friday. Elder Gergitz teaches Relief Society. Elder Lopes teaches gospel doctorine class and Elder Leite and I taught primary on Sunday.  For two hours! Super hard! I had no idea what to do and kids were crying and running everywhere. It was worse than Nampula. Pretty funny. They never take me serious because I don't speak good Portuguese.
              Friday I caught a Chameleon - it was legit! People here are deathly scared of them though.  It is the weirdest thing! It was tiny. It looked just like the one on Tangled but everyone was running away and telling me that if it bit me I would have to go to the hospital. 
            I took pics  but I will have to send them next week. 
            I stopped taking Larium and I feel so much better it's crazy.  I will just have take Doxy instead everyday but everything is good.

          Friday I came with Elder Gergitz to Berra for an internet conference about training with President Kretley. It was pretty cool.
          I am super excited to do my best in Dondo Thanks for all your letters.
                I love you guys,
                                  Elder Bigelow