10/21/13

Baptisms of Lala & Tati... and avoided Jail!

Baptism of Lala and Tati

So this week has been awesome!  We are starting to see the rewards from all of the finding that Elder Hannay and I did together and Elder Dredge and I are reaping the blessings. It seems like forever since I have been in America.
This week I had a terrifying experience, so we were in a car with an Angolan who lives in Lubango and we ended up getting pulled over by the Angolan police who were in full armor AK 47's and he asks for my documents and I had forgotten them in the house as we were on our way to soccer.  In the words of my companion here is what happened:
"Today on the way to Soccer we caught a ride with a man in his truck (this time we sat inside) on the way there in crazy traffic we were pulled over by the police.  The police here drive around on motorcycles and have machine guns strapped to their chests.  So they stopped us and asked us for our documents. We all had them except for Elder Dunkley.  The police became very angry and started to rip into Elder Dunkley Then he told him that he was going to go to jail.  I had already been praying like crazy and I felt like everything would be fine, but when he told him that he would be going to jail my heart skipped a beat and then he ordered him to get out of the car and then my heart stopped This policeman was going to take my companion to an Angolan jail, I immediately got out of the car as well and he told me to get back in the car. I told him as missionaries of the Church we have rules and that I have to stay with my Companion.  He turned away from Elder Dunkley and looked straight at me and with a very commanding voice told me to get in the car right now! He put his hand up close to my face and ordered me again to get in the car, my mind was running, this guy has a gun,  when he told me a second time I had the thought that "You have to stay with your companion".  So I told him again that I WOULD NOT let Elder Dunkley go to jail without me.  He got really angry and raised his voice and started waving his arms in the air, but the whole time telling me to obey his command and get in the car. I slowly started moving back toward the door and then he just snapped. The both of you...get in the car..he yelled!  He gave us our documents and left.
I am convinced that the hand of the Lord was in every step of that encounter.  I was scared out of my mind, but I was a calm as could be.  I know that the Lord protects his missionaries and that we are here to do a sacred work.
After this experience I will never forget my documents again...anyways I avoided going to the Angolan Jail mom, no need to worry.
So I am glad you were able to go to Conference and see Grandpa, I remember the priesthood blessing that I got from him before I left on my mission it was very special to me.
Luis is still preparing to be baptized on the 2nd and I could not ask for a better birthday!  We had zone meeting and that was awesome, learned a lot the Angolan mission is so new and there are so many things that we still need to work out.. it is a work in progress but things are picking up as we speak. 
We had a discussion with a guy who sells saldo cards outside of our condo, who is from the Congo.  Saldo is a phone card, when we got to his house there was a picture of Elder Ferguson and Elder Hanson.  We invited him to church and gave him a tie and he wore it to church and he even tied it right!
We met Filomena's brothers and talked about the Restoration and talked with Osvaldo about tithing, he didn't know how to pay it...paying tithing in Viana is different here, you have to go to the bank instead of handling a slip to the Branch President because they were robbed once and lost all of it.
We had 2 baptisms on Saturday in Cassaquel.  We had to get the signatures for the forms back in Viana so we had to go back and get them from the parents. I conducted at the baptismal service for the first time and it went very well, Lala and Tati they are 9 and 10. We had 6 investigators show up for church and it was a great day.  On Sunday we had 145 at church and that was a record high for this branch.  We said goodbye to Fernando who is leaving on his mission to Cabo Verde.  We went to Norberto's to teach his family after that.  That was the week, had a great week, I hope you all are doing fantastic, I love you so much!
FIGUEM BEMM (stay well)
Elder Dunkley, Chau! Chau!

After the Baptism, and a long tiring day! Elder Ferguson and Dredge!

"Today on the way to soccer we 

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