Hard life for the Angolan people....

My Angolan friends

The language has been coming along each week. I study hard to get it.  Talking to people is becoming easier. Plus the fact that they are starting to understand me.  Even more important. Anyways I do feel really bad for the people here.  They have a hard life.  Every day I see so many suffering and it really gets to me.  I almost want to cry sometimes.  It really gets to my heart.  I know that is one reason why I was sent here.  To learn of this suffering.  Angola needs the gospel here, more than ever.

We visited Kito and Miloka investigators waiting to be married then baptized.  We taught them about temples and the blessings. During the lesson their son Liao was in the house and ran screaming with his arm covered in blood. He had cut himself, so Miloka grabbed him and ran him to the hospital.  After that we visited with Yuri we taught the first lesson he is 20 super cool guy. Then we went to Joao and Paula who are preparing for their wedding so that they can be baptized.

The next morning we went to lunch with Serafim it was his birthday we bought hamburgers it was awesome.

Sarafim's Birthday Cake

Then we met with 2 Jehovah's witnesses, it was an amazing lesson. The father said in his prayer..thank you for sending these servants of the Lord to our home.  That really hit me.  I was so grateful we usually don't get  an opportunity to sit with Jehovah's witnesses. We visited with Siresty Grandi and talked with him about getting the Priesthood as he will be receiving it soon. Super awesome guy I love him.

Anyways saw a women in the street trying to stab a man with a piece of glass and he was trying to grab it out of her hand. And then after that we saw a young man pour gasoline in a shirt and then huff in it.  He was delirious and almost got hit by a car and then walked off.  Super sad the stuff that I see.  It makes me feel so grateful and yet so much compassion for these people.

We went to Irma Sarah's house..the Portuguese family both are sick with polideshimo (a minor form of Malaria).  Then we went to visit with our newly wedded investigators Joao and Paula.  We were so happy for them...they had been working for 4 years now trying to get married.  It is very difficult to get all the paperwork done, anyways now they can be baptized..super awesome! They were so happy. We celebrated with ice cream after.

Joao finally was able to get married!

We then met with Rita and Gelson and Sidonia.  We shared our testimony of how the Lord guides us out of every situation we are in. Rita told a heartfelt story of how her ex-husband used to beat her and she left him and crying she told us that for 4 years she suffered from the abuse until she met Paulo.  Who is an awesome husband my heart was truly touched.

On Saturday we woke up at 5:50 in the morning and ran over to full up the font.  We bucketed water for an hour and 15 minutes. We were a couple missionaries short.  My back was killing me, truly hard work...anyways the baptisms were in an hour so we ran back home and showered and then went back to the church. Antonio was baptized!!

Antonio's baptism

After that we went to Kito and I shared my testimony of how we follow promptings and then we taught Filomena about preparing to have the Priesthood in her home and how it will bless her family. I told her of how my father had blessed my family by using his priesthood.  I shared these experiences and spoke great Portuguese and even lead the lesson it was awesome!!

Sunday we had Elder Bricknell from the Seventy who is charge of  West Africa and South East Africa he bore an incredible testimony that touched my heart and I could feel the spirit immensely and it was in English! Super cool after we met him and he punched me in the arm (he does that to all the missionaries!)

We went to Wetglands the American family for dinner, they feed us food every Sunday from The Woodlands too. Super cool. It's like getting a little bit of home all of the time, anyways great week.  Love you all. Keep working and pressing on never give up- the Lord is always on your side! Ciao!