Christmas in Lubango!!

Missionaries with President Merrill

It’s almost Christmas and I cannot believe it!! Only 2 more days! Here in Lubango there are lights everywhere, and it actually gets cold here so it feels like Christmas!  Anyways Mom this computer is not letting me send pictures, such a bummer;  I will try and get them to you later.  The package with all of the presents is here,  so Elder Money and I pretty much guessed all of them, or at least I think, it was really cool with the scriptures!

On the way to Lubango

Sleeping on the way to Lubango- 18 hr. drive

On Our way to Lubango

So there are 4 Elders here in Lubango.  The other Elders are leaving soon from the mission.  The Hustle and bustle of Christmas do not exist here for Christmas, it’s pretty much the same, there are lights but life goes on pretty normal here. We bought a little Christmas tree and some lights so it feels like Christmas, super awesome, also the Elders from Huambo are taking a bus to come down here tomorrow for Christmas!  That will be so much fun! There will be 8 of us. So we won’t be going to the Mission home we are too far away 18 hrs. But it should be fun.  Christmas in Lubango.

Whole mission with Elder Hamilton

So sorry about Tomas from your mission Mom, it’s crazy how the connections of a mission last for eternity, its way cool, Gandia Spain is so beautiful,  one day I will take my kids back here to Angola to see the beauty here.

Lunch with our Mission President

So this week was absolutely wonderful we had a lot of success.  Elder Money and are finding a lot and trying to visit as many recent converts and members as we can.  The work is moving this is my first time, white-washing an area and it is definitely a challenge.  We don’t know the area well and we are working through members and references.  We met a man named Elias, he probably understood the Restoration better than anyone that I have taught on my Mission.  He is 20 years old, the same age as me, he has accepted the invite to be baptized.  Elder Money and I have been setting aside time in the day just to find and contact and the Lord has been putting people in our path daily.  It’s been a real eye opener to see the Lord’s hand.  So the other night we had basically finished the night it was at 8 at night and we decided to sit on a bench and wait for someone to walk by.  So after about 20 seconds this guys comes up and he asks us if we speak Portuguese, and we tell him yes and then he starts speaking English and then asked us if we could speak English.  Anyway he invited us into his home and he offered us a desert and a drink, He was super nice, and he told us how much he admired the work that we did and then he began to tell us his life story, he grew up in Portugal and then moved to Holland and he didn’t speak the language, it was difficult at first and he related this to us on our mission and how we have to learn a language on a foreign mission. He proceeded to tell us how his friends were not a good influence and they tried to take 150 kilos of heroine across the border.  They were caught and he was sentenced to 8 years. The judge gave him additional 8 for being black.  He took his case to the Government in Holland and his sentence was reduced to 3 years probation.  He worked in Canada at a Construction company.  Amazing story. I was blown away.  He offered to take all the Elders in Lubango to dinner.  This guy is amazing. 

On Sunday we had a huge turn-out at church.  The chapel is very small and I bore my testimony to the branch and it was a great day.  Wonderful things are happening here in lubango.  The Lord is putting people in our path as we are obedient to his council. I wish you all the most wonderful Christmas this year and hope that you feel loved wherever you are in the world! Elder Dunkley

Undefeated in Tennis!

Thanks to Sister Merrill for the additional pictures of the trip to Lubango!!

Lubango !!

Climbing an Imbondeiro Tree in Lubango!!

President and Sister Merrill by the Imbondeiro Tree

Loving this Tree...Imbondeiro - National tree

I’m down here in Lubango! This place is just like paradise…it is so beautiful.  There is a beautiful mountain here called Tunda Vala and we are planning on going there!  They also have a Cristo Rei Statue like the one in Brazil, and it is on top of a mountain so we will be going there also. The weather here is a lot cooler.  Elder Wilson and I go running in the morning and it is so chilly that I actually need a coat.  The city has Christmas lights here and it is so much calmer.  I absolutely love it! I could not have picked a better time to leave Luanda than now…seriously Luanda is heating up like a pot on the stove. 

On our way....18 hour journey to Lubango

Sites along the way

I have been having allergies I think, I have had a constant cold for the past 2 weeks and I am really congested, but it will pass. Anyways Lubango is sure a remote place in comparison to Luanda.  It is also very pretty and has a lot more mountains and more to do here.  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here, super awesome, I’m super excited and can’t wait to get started!

Along the River

So I am hearing about all your finals… very stressful…that is one thing that I like about the mission is that there are no tests and no grades, only the Lord’s work.  I love all of you so much keep being amazing and Riley keep singing!

Well it’s been a few days in Lubango and the trip down here was wonderful, so on Wednesday night Elder Money and I slept over at the AP’s house and we got all ready for our trip.  President and Sister Merrill showed up at 6 a.m. and we all loaded up our baggage and headed out.  The trip was so wonderful and so beautiful.  It was really fun traveling with the Assistants and also President and Sister Merrill.  Super awesome!  So when we arrived in Lubango it was very chilly, first amazing sign, the cold…back in Luanda it is heating up fast…so we settled in.  The house is absolutely wonderful, and the neighbors are great.  There are two giant dogs that guard our house, but when we enter they bark at us and try to bite, doesn’t make sense.  The next day we ate at a really great Restaurant Art Doce.  Then after that Elder Hyde showed us the area since he served there for 8 months.  We went around the city and visited some of the previous investigators and got to know the area…super cool.  The following day Elder Money and I did contacting the entire day and we tried calling as many people that we could find.  We are both new to the area.

Lubango

Lubango

On Saturday we had a ward activity and all the missionaries did a skit.  We did the day in the life of a missionary and Elder Money and I put on coats and the other Elders put their arms in behind and we acted out our day but they were doing everything with their hands.  It was super funny and all of the kids loved it!  Then on Sunday we had our Church service …I love the ward here…we got to hear the Primary Program and we had to get to the church at 7 to clean beforehand, it is a wonderful Chapel.  Very Humble and where we held Sacrament meeting is no bigger than my garage back at home, super tiny but I like it. Elder Money and I visited with Domingos after church it took us about an hour to walk to his house. We did contacts for about 3 hours after that and met a really cool kid named Misericordioso..which in English is Merciful. The work here needs a foundation,  Lubango is way awesome, I know that this transfer is purely guided by the hand of the Lord..where we will go and who we will teach.  I am excited to serve here and I hope that the work flourishes.  I know this Gospel is true.

Elder Dunkley

Lubango

Conference with Elder Hamilton of the 70 ...transfer to LUBANGO!!

Elder and Sister Hamilton

To start off this email I have some wonderful news…we received transfers and I have been transferred to LUBANGO!  It is an area out in the province.  It is the furthest away from all of the areas, I am so excited!! I will be heading out there this week with President and my new companion Elder Money.  We will be making the trip by van with the President and with Sister Merrill and driving the 18 hour journey all the way to Lubango.  This should be absolutely wonderful as I will get to see all of Angola, from the green forests to the desert.  I am so excited! Super Stoked!  So my companion and I will take over Lubango B…Neither of us have been there so it will be a complete white wash. This should be an adventure, and I am extremely excited and cannot wait!  Anyways that has been the show all morning…I am so excited.  Anyways I loved all of your emails!! I am so glad that you got all of my letters…there are more on the way.  Mom I received a very large package today…shipped on Nov. 20^th could this be the Christmas package??? Should I wait to open it till Christmas Eve…??

Elder Yeanapolus and I at the Conference

 I am going to Lubango in the thick of summer and in Lubango it doesn’t get as hot, and it is not humid and it rains a lot...should be a blast!  This week was wonderful, we had a lot of visits, and as always we are working with our investigators...documents, and trying to help them get married.  It is a constant battle that all of the missionaries are facing here.  We had a visit from Elder Kevin S. Hamilton of the 70 this week.  He spoke briefly with us about the mission our needs and also lifted us up spiritually.  He stated that Satan has done a great job with marriage. I pondered on this assunto (subject) and I have realized that practically every one of our investigators,  are just waiting on marriage.  It is so true, anyways something that we are trying to work through.  It is not easy to be married here, it is not cheap and there are many steps and on top of that we are battling to change tradition, where everyone wants a festa (party) and this is something that is keeping people from receiving all of the ordinances in the Temple.  So we (me and my companion) are trying to emphasize the eternal perspective on things.  Elder Hamilton came to speak to us during out Mission Conference on Wednesday.  It was a wonderful experience and I can say that he is someone that has inspired me a lot.  Such an amazing person and it was a super cool mission conference.  I learned a lot and also about what I want to apply in my life.

This week we had a fast with one of our investigators Mateas who is basically begging to be baptized.  He has a desire stronger than anyone that I know, he is working so hard, but the only thing he lacks is marriage, his wife is in the province right now, which makes it very difficult to work on their documents, and she has told him that she will not accept his new religion.

The daughter of Marcos, who is 9, had her interview and she will be getting baptized on December 14^th, super cool…but the others will come much later as the whole family is planning on being baptized.

The work is tough and at times when you feel like giving up that’s when you get on your knees and ask the Lord for help! I love you all…Elder Dunkley

Thanksgiving and AMTB!!

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Mission Home

Hello Family!! The pictures from Boston and Washington D.C. are super cool looks like you all had such a wonderful time.  Thanksgiving sounds like it was great.  I miss you all so much, the Christmas tree farm is always such a blast, miss it too.  It’s getting very hot here, and it doesn’t feel like Christmas season at all.  I sent some letters home with Brother Weggeland..do not read them until Christmas Eve.  So today, we just got Elder Dredge’s package it took almost 2 hours.  I also love having native companions they help out so much with the language and it is more fun.  I feel more immersed in the culture, it’s a blast.  Dad, yes the rat was an upscale, it was actually really good… President Pedro explained to me that it is some of the best meat that you can eat in Angola.  That doesn’t sound very promising on meat.

On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving as a mission at the mission home, we had a thanksgiving feast..just like home.  It was so good, we had turkey and stuffing! The best meal I have had since I have been here!  Thanks to our awesome Mission President and Sister Merrill! I Love them!  It was such a blast!

Best Meal since I have been here!

We left that morning and got there and had our AMTB the ANGOLA MISSION TURKEY BOWL ! We played soccer, as in the states Football.  Our district was the “Fast Turkeys”,  we did not win unfortunately..we came close in our game…3 to 4… It was such a blast.  Viana did not come out on top but we put up a good fight.  Besides football I also got to play tennis with some Elders.  It was way fun! I am undefeated on the mission thus far. Looks like I still have got my talent, anyways we will see in another year and 3 months.  We were pretty exhausted by the end of the day, I got pretty sunburned but it was super cool!

Amazing Thanksgiving Day!

The riots have calmed down and things are moving smoothly here in Viana, thank goodness. So right now we are working with 4 families and they are all working on getting married and then they will be baptized.  Ava Roasalina has said she wanted to be baptized on the 28^th of December she is such a sweet lady and she has very poor health so we are hoping that she will be able to make it into the baptismal font.  Celestina and Suzana are both so smart.  We are praying and working hard to help them find the importance of the church and the saving ordinances.  Keep praying that their hearts might be softened and that they might gain confidence to be baptized and become members of the church.

So cool story we met up with a family that had just moved here from South Africa. The night before they called up asking where the church was and said they could not find it.  We were in Vila the next day right where the church is and they called and said they were there too, so we ended up meeting with them and they speak English, and hardly any Portuguese. They were from Cape Town and they asked me where I was from and I said Texas, and they said I know an Elder who lived in Texas.  Elder Judd popped up in my head.  I said Elder Judd?! He said Yeah!  It turns out Elder Judd my friend served in his ward in South Africa Cape Town and now he is in my ward in Viana Angola, super cool, it truly is a small world.

On Sunday, Irmao Nickatela asked if an Elder would give a lesson in Gospel Principles (Principios Do Evangelho) This week, so Elder Dredge asked if I would give the class, I prepared a lesson, this was the first time ever and it was on the Final Judgement. The class was full, a lot of our investigators, and it felt like I was teaching them specifically, super cool experience. 

During Sacrament meeting I offered to translate for the new family from Cape Town South Africa. Then the husband wanted to bear his Testimony, so I went up to translate for him, he bore such a strong testimony. I could feel the spirit, so strongly. I will not forget what an amazing experience it was. 

I love this church and I love the Gospel, one thing that I have learned this week is that the Lord can change people as he has changed me.  I feel his hand in my life guiding me, and I feel the tides ever so turning, and I know with Him I cannot fail.  I love this Gospel and I hope you all have the chance to bear testimony of its divinity and power.  I never feel taller than when I am on the Lord’s errand.

I love you all, it was a great week!  From Angola, Africa….love Elder Dunkley

Riots in Angola.....Tasted Rat!

Happy with the Venancios Family

More with the Venancios Family!!

Albertos Family

More with the amazing Albertos family!

Hello family! It was wonderful to hear from you all today, we are on the computer a little bit early today at 3:30 a.m. your time, we are just doing our internet with emails today and shopping and having a half day P-day because we are going over to the Mission Presidents house on Thanksgiving. The riots have been affecting our work so this past Saturday again the entire mission was indoors and we were not allowed to leave the house, about something that happened at the jail with 2 citizens being killed and so the people are very mad and protesting .  So the whole mission in Luanda was not allowed to leave.  I really want all of the Elders that are waiting in Texas to get their Visas and make it over here…we need more Elders! Elder Dredge and I are still taking care of 2 areas, the biggest areas in the mission, crazy we need them, we are however receiving 5 Mozambicanos from Mozambique the 11^th of December which will be awesome!  Their visas have already been approved!

So the plans for this Thursday are that we will all be going over to the Presidents house to have AMTB the Angola Mission Turkey Bowl! We are going to play soccer and we all be divided into teams and then we are going to feast on a big dinner…I am so stoked!

With Elder Dredge

I will get to see all of you on skype for Christmas and that will be the best Christmas ever for me!

It is getting pretty hot over here as we are approaching the summer and its getting really hot!

Inancio and His wife

So this week it was great to see so many of our investigators progress, it has been a time of reaping the rewards of finding here in Viana and it has been amazing.  We were able to visit some of our recent converts Lala and also less actives. We had a wonderful lesson with Cilestina and Suzana and Avo Rosalina and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. I was on a division with the Zone Leader Elder Pimentel, he is a Brazilian and a Stalwart, amazing missionary.  We are so stoked because Avo Rosalina will be baptized this next month!

Avo Rosalina

Celebrating our Birthdays: Elders Dredge, Banta and I

Celebrating with the Birthday Package!

We weren’t able to keep some of our appointments because of the riots, such a bummer, we are hoping this does not continue because this is the second time.Yesterday we had lunch at the Presidents house and I ate rat for the first time, President asked us if we wanted to try rato (rat) I said yes of course…haha.. anyways so he literally brought out a bucket full of dead rats, still in their original form, and some with hairs still on it, I picked it up in my hand and took a bite out it, it tasted like beef jerky, that taste stayed in my mouth..it was cool! That was the week, the ward is doing great…the work continues to grow and Angola is receiving the blessings especially here in Viana, I love you all, Elder Dunkley(:

"Vale a Pena" It is Worth it!

With Elder Dredge and new converts

Hello Famlia!! I wasn’t able to get on the computer yesterday and I was sorry I could not let you know, I hope that you did not worry too much.  Yesterday Nov. 11^th was Angola’s Independence Day and no internet café was open so all of the missionaries weren’t able to email home.  I loved all the emails you sent... also Mom I finally got the Birthday Package…I loved it...especially the letters. Elder Dredges Birthday was on the 28^th of October and Elder Banta is tomorrow we are all in the same house so we are going to celebrate tomorrow night

 I sent you all letters today so hopefully they will get their soon.  It is expensive to send letters about 3.50 per letter.  Sorry there are not many pictures we are advised not to bring our cameras because of the dangers of being robbed.

 I always think about the times mom, that we would go on walks when I could not sleep at night, and you would always say let’s go for a walk.  While I was serving with Elder Hannay I had several nights where I wasn’t feeling well and we would go on a walk outside the condo, and I would look at the moon and think those same words you said to me about seeing the moon from the other side of the World. It is so refreshing to go on walks, I walk a lot but on the mission you walk with purpose and its usually fast so you don’t get much time to relax, anyway I miss you so much and I can’t wait to look at the moon from the same side of the world. So Mason you are the 1^st counselor again for the second time that is great!  I have been losing a lot of muscle and endurance on the workout side so we will have to workout when I get back.  Jensen I love your short emails they are uplifting and make me smile, keep being wonderful!  Riley you are doing so well in School and Track! Ashlyn, I miss you so much! I miss you guys like crazy, I hold onto those last memories when we all spent together and I think about it a lot.  So Dad, you have to cut down the best tree at the Christmas tree farm this year!

The mission is tough and the days are long and the hours are planned, but things fall off course here in Angola, they live a very sporadic life here, one moment there in their house and the next they are at the praca trying to sell food on a blanket.  They don’t have any routine, anyways I am learning so much and trying to keep up with the pace here. This week was wonderful, we had many great new experiences.  So we have these two investigators who have become the best of friends Mateus and Bula.  Both of them have wives/girlfriends but are not legally married.  Bula lives with his wife but Mateus’ wife is in the province of Luena.  They are both trying to get their documents taken care of so they can be married. Mateus says that since his wife isn’t here and he wants to be baptized, she is coming back in 2014.  We asked the Mission President and he told us that it would be better for him to wait to be married, than to be baptized and risk breaking his covenants with the Lord.  I know the Lord is preparing him for that which will come, he needs to live all of the commandments before he can be fully prepared to be baptized. They are both wonderful people, I love them.

With the Missionaries in the Zone and the Mission President

I also love teaching families.  I can truly say that I have been blessed here in Viana , we are teaching so many families and it is wonderful.  We are also teaching Alberto and Claudisse and Norberto and Elisa and Luis.

Norberto is working on getting married and their documents ready hopefully by the beginning of next year.  I cannot wait to see all these families blessed by the Gospel and to see the weddings, miracles and Temple sealings that will follow afterwards.  This week was rich with the spirit.  We also taught a new family from Namibia who want their kids to grow up in this church and with the standards and guidance of the church. I felt prompted to share a passage that I had read that morning out of the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi Chapter 17:55 at the end of the verse it says.  Honor thy Mother and thy Father that thy days may be long upon the earth. As the kids were sitting there, they heard the message and the desire of the mother’s heart.  She was touched and wants them to become members but also we hope that she will feel that desire also to join the church and become a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Super cool experience! So we had a Zone meeting and we talked about a basic principle that God is our Heavenly Father and has a body of flesh and bones.  Most people here believe that He is a spirit. So this week we focused every lesson with our families on helping them to get to know their creator.  It is very important for them to know who God is and knows that He loves them and wants them to be happy, so that they can become closer to Him and understand His doctrine and Gospel. We referenced Genesis 1:26-27 which talks about how God created us in His own image.  We saw the change in each one of them, it was a very touching experience to see someone’s view on God change completely. Something that they never knew, planted into their minds and see them accept this principal.

One lady Celestina , a Professor who knows the Bible, said she liked how the Book of Mormon  and that it was clear and easy to understand so we gave her the scripture Mosiah 7:27 which talks about how God has created us in His image as well.  You could see the calmness in her as she realized it was true.  I then asked her if she believed the Book of Mormon to be true and she said she did and then she said a duvida esta esclarecido agora…the doubt is clarified now. I love the power of the Book of Mormon, you can read the scriptures and the words are so clear and you can truly feel the spirit. So we are teaching 4 families now, it is a family boom right now in Viana.  Bula is the happiest man on the planet and always has a smile and is always looking to contribute, he came to help clean the church on Saturday, not even a member yet...what an amazing person!  We are also teaching Mateus and Norberto and Elisa.  We are also teaching the French family from the Congo and his brother Michele and they have stopped drinking and are preparing for Marriage, and looking towards Dec. 20^th to be baptized.  I hope that I will still be here in Viana to go to the wedding and the baptism! They are my favorite family right now and I love them so much.  So we are also teaching 3 avos (grandmas) it is surprising to me because I have never had much success with Grandmas here, but these women are so humble and ready for the Gospel.  I just hope that they can make it to the Baptismal font! There is one that lives right across from the chapel, we stop by everyday to see if she needs anything, she is such a sweet lady.  She has come to church a few times. She has stopped drinking and has read up to Second Nephi in the Book of Mormon, she gave up the wine on her own!  Super awesome!

So Saturday we had to stay indoors, because there was a riot in Viana and President told us the police were going to be out in full force making arrests.  We had a great day of study and cleaning up the house which was needed.  These past 2 weeks were wonderful the Branch is doing fantastic and is growing immensely, I love this work, it isn’t always easy but as they say in Angola “vale a pena” it is worth it!

Showing our silly side!

My Birthday in the Mission!

 Birthday Package lost in mail but still Happy!!

Thank you so much for all the Birthday wishes! They were amazing! I love you all so much!! I wish you could have been here with me to celebrate!  The time is going by fast..I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! That is going to be such a memorable day I cannot wait!!! I love you all with all of my heart! Probably going to have another crying session, on the Skype Haha...

Anyway Mom I still have not received the Birthday package yet, hopefully it gets here soon! I can’t wait! So for my birthday all the missionaries here in Viana went to a pizza place for lunch and bought Bay Side Pizza and it was super expensive…46.00 dollars.!

Then we went to a Branch Council meeting and we talked about way that the Branch can work more and communicate better with the missionaries and how to work in unison. We then had lessons the rest of the night.  It really didn’t feel like a Birthday, but I am so happy that you celebrated on that day. It was awesome to see pictures of the cake and all of you...super sweet…I feel loved.  You are the light at the end of the tunnel for me.  I heard a quote about grace the other week and it goes “It's not that grace at the end of the tunnel that saves us, but that grace that carries us through the tunnel that saves us.  I love that quote because we all saved by grace, but it’s not the final step, the last straw, it’s that with which is carrying us through the tunnel at this very moment.  I love this work and I love you all.  Mom and Dad thank you so much for being amazing parents and teaching me all that I needed to know. You are all so wonderful. 

This week was great we had so much success in finding and teaching people.  We have changed chapels and it is just beautiful and it is in a wonderful location. Perfect spot for contacting and getting people to church.   We have some wonderful people that we are teaching right now.

SOAKED after the Rain!!

We met with Alberto who was baptized in the Congo and his brother Michele. He expressed to us that he has missed the feeling of having the Holy Ghost present in his life as he has been drinking.  He missed the feelings that come with it of peace and happiness.  I shared my testimony of letting the Holy Ghost abide in our homes and told him of how my parents always tried to keep the spirit in our home and how it affected me and also how it will affect the lives of his kids when they grow up and will have a home of safety and protection to return to and to feel the love within the home, something that had touched me very much.  After that I saw him draw closer and feel the spirit in the room.  It was a great experience that happened and I could really feel the desire that he had to change.  It touched me as I could feel the change in him.

We had a very effective Branch council meeting in discussing with them how to get the members to know the new members that are baptized.  This will help the work immensely and as of right now Viana is the fastest growing branch in Angola.  The work is getting done.

More exciting news…we had 11 investigators come to church last Sunday!  It was so awesome to see so many at church, we invited pretty much every single person that we had contacted to come to church that Sunday, it was really cool.  So we have these 2 investigators named Bula and Mateus.  Bula is a motorist (driver) and Mateus is a cop, they both sit with us each Sunday and after church in the Chapel we have a combined lesson, usually with a member also.  They have both accepted baptism on the 30^th of November.  On Sunday during the lesson with them and they both bore their testimonies and it was so great to them grow closer to the Gospel.  They both already have sincere testimonies. So this week was wonderful with new people and the work is progressing.

I feel as if I am being carried all of the time.  Thinking this could not be done unless the Lord was helping me all along the way.

I loved this week, truly amazing and I love all of you. Elder Dunkley  

Tereza's Baptism....New Chapel....New Native Companion!

Elder Montgomery, Tereza, me & New Companion Elder Francisco

Ola Familia! I have missed you so much all the time! Wow Dad taking over the central region that is so awesome! And so Jensen, you want to be a missionary that is so awesome!

Anyway so I shaved my head again because my hair was getting so long, but it will grow back:). So you had a storm, wow I remember getting in the closet all of us during hurricane Ike that was so fun! Angola doesn't have hurricanes or anything of natural disasters, just heat, its getting hot, I really got sunburned playing soccer, I can't wait to have a warm Christmas...not! So we had transfers and...I WILL BE STAYING IN VIANA!!

This week was wonderful we had many successful events and lovely lessons with investigators who I have grown attached to deeply. I have some novidades (news) well Irmao Costa who is Angolan got his mission call to serve in Ghana Africa...learning English, he went to the MTC in Ghana but no one could speak Portuguese and everything was only in French and English. So no one could teach him English.  So they sent him back here in Angola and he is waiting for his Visa to go to the MTC in the United States. Anyway so I had an interview with President and he told me about his situation.  I had worked with Costa (Elder Francisco) in Cassequel before he was a missionary, so President asked if he could put him with me and Elder Dredge in a tripla (3 people) and I gladly said yes. I love Elder Fransisco he is so awesome, so I get the opportunity to serve with a native for a few weeks, and he is new so we are showing him the ropes of the mission, it has been wonderful, and I'm teaching him English during our language study...super fun!

So on Saturday Tereza was baptized.  I had the wonderful opportunity of going to the Baptism.  For just a reminder, Tereza is Serafim's girlfriend.  Serafim was baptized by Elder Montgomery and I while we were in Cassaquel.  So once he was baptized we started teaching his girlfriend Tereza and she was progressing when I got transferred to Viana .  She asked if Elder Montgomery and I could be there at the Baptism.  It was so awesome to see the fruits of our labors, she was so happy and it was a super great day.

Tereza's Baptismal Day

So really big news....We moved to a new Chapel in Viana. The church is now renting a new chapel in a place called Vila and it is wonderful and beautiful!  I think we have the most gorgeous chapel in Angola, truly amazing! I love it!  So as a branch we were able to watch General Conference in the new Chapel.  It was awesome, we overflowed the room.

New Chapel in Viana

Even has a pool!

Inside the Chapel

With Some of the Youth at the Chapel

We have found some wonderful new investigators this week, Irmao Mateus and Irmao Bula who have both accepted to be baptized on the 30th of November.  I think one of them still needs to get married but they both are really cool and I can see that they have been prepared by the Lord.  They are so ready and humble. Truly amazing experience to witness the Light of Christ in others.  So Irmao Luis was not able to come to church this week because he is out of Luanda right now, so we were not able to do his baptismal interview in time, so we are planning for the 16th of November.  I am super excited for him, and everything is going well here in Viana.  I will be staying for the next transfer and I am very excited for that, seeing that we just got a new chapel and there should be baptisms coming up in November! So excited! I love you and I wish you the best week!