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