Contacts and Cliffs and Seminary Graduation in Africa!

On top of the Cliff on the other side of the World!

Loving the view!

I am loving Lubango, I want to stay here forever!  The Work here in Africa is booming and it’s an exciting time to be a missionary.  Wow Riley you made the Varsity Team! That’s Amazing!  I am also needing new shoes as I have had to repair them 2 or 3 times and new boots would be nice, it rains so much here that we have to walk through rivers, it feels like anyway!  I loved the package so much… peanut butter and honey are so expensive here, so thanks, I had some this morning with pancakes it was so awesome!

So this week is rained harder than ever.  I felt like it was hurricane season in Texas, which can get pretty bad.  We were soaked by the rains and everything got wet!

Jumping across!

Elder and Sister Lopez, married couple- missionaries and Elder Wilson left this week.  We spent time in meetings and getting things organized for the Lubango Branch.  We are seeing some progression in two of our investigators.  Jorge, a friend of a member named Henrickes, that is working towards baptism.   He came to a baptismal service on Friday and after he said that he wasn’t far away from that..I gave him a hug and I could tell that he was able to feel the spirit, which I think is one of the best things.  He is participating at church and getting involved during Gospel Principles.  He is working hard to be able to be baptized on Feb. 22^nd. He has to leave town for Military purposes so we are hoping that it will happen before he needs to leave. We also have another investigator her name is Zani she is about 15 or 16 and is very smart.  We also are also teaching an investigator  who has been taught by the missionaries for a long time but is finally getting baptized on the 8^th of Feb. Which I am way pumped for! We are getting him prepared and I hope everything goes well!  We went over the baptismal questions with Domingos to make sure that he is ready for his interview, he is excited to be baptized.  We had training with the Zone Leaders this week as it is just 4 of us in Lubango.  We talked a lot about the growth of the ward and how we can get the Branch to flourish.  There is great member support here and it is truly a blessing when the members are helping you and the work really grows a lot more effectively.  I am so grateful for member support!  So Elder Lopez came down (Brazilian Missionary) in his 60’s a super funny guy and he came to the house to give us all training that I think we all needed to hear.  He talked about our emotional and physical health, our well being and trying to stay happy.  He has served a mission and he knows that it is tiring and that you can get very exhausted. He talked about how we need to be a support unit for each other since there are only 4 of us down here.  He pointed out that everyone wants to talk to us because we look different and everything and this can also be very tiring.  But is the mission and you just have to force up a smile and the Lord will do the rest. 

On Sunday it was a great day and we had a great turn out at church. I brought suckers to keep the kids quiet during Sacrament meeting.  After that we ate at the Branch Presidents house, it was a beautiful day and we ate outside and had a wonderful meal.

Then we went to the church for the seminary graduation meeting, even here in AFRICA! It made me think of when I graduated seminary!  We had cake and there were lots of the youth here that are preparing to leave on missions.  Last year we had 13 missionaries leaving from Angola!

Other than the parasite and allergy that I have had over the past week or two the missionary work has never been better! We are contacting everyday and always looking for new members and investigators to teach and the work here is thriving and I am loving this area here in Lubango!  I hope to stay here for awhile! I wish you all the most wonderful week full of spiritual experiences!  We had a wonderful week and the Lord is my life at all times! I hope that you recognize that too!

Love Elder Dunkley

Serra de Leba mountain and....the Chameleon!

Serra de Leba

Serra de Leba Mourntain

On the cliff at Serra de Leba

On the edge at Serra de Leba

Lubango is probably the coolest province!  Today we went to go and see Serra de Leba, which is a windy road that goes up a mountain on the way to Namibia... super cool... It had cliffs too, I didn’t get too close this time Mom!

Some great news! We just got 3 new elders here!! I won’t be meeting them any time soon, maybe in a few months, but anyways so Visas are finally coming thru.

 I love Lubango so much! We have a baptismal date marked with a man who has been investigating the church for about a year, he decided to not get married and join the church. Elder Wilson and Elder Wilhelm had a baptism this past Saturday it was way cool, our baptismal pia(font) is way tiny,  and Elder Wilhelm is so big it is difficult to baptize under the water.   Things are going very well, and I am loving the area!  Elder Wilson leaves next week, wow Mom you are heading to another trip to Honduras hopefully you won’t get any parasites!

So here in Lubango., the members are really strong and they work with the missionaries.  I’ve never had more close relationships with members on my mission, than here in Lubango. They are so wonderful, and we are working with them and their friends, for referrals. I am finding that it is a really good way to do missionary work. My companion and I are doing great... the work continues to move on strong!!

Cristo O Rei statue like the one in Brazil

Cristo o Rei statue..its huge

This week I was on a division with Elder Wilhelm in my area, and we had a lot of success.  We taught this guy named Belmiro inside his taxi.  He explained to us his biggest concern was being afraid of going to church, because a lot of churches here can put fear into people especially if they aren’t paying tithing.  So we explained to him that he wouldn’t feel any fear if he came to our church. Cool lesson..then we taught another new guy named Simao and we had a lesson just getting to know him and his pasture friends.. they offered us a drink we talked about the church... super cool guys... very open.. they were from The Congo... and spoke French and Portuguese! So this Sunday at church we had about 82 people come! Super good turn out!!  We had so many new people come!! We didn’t have to teach primary thankfully... oh also we are teaching one members friend named Henrickes, who is such a cool guy!  We are helping him make changes in his life of giving up alcohol and other things, and make good choices for friends, I know that will help him a lot. After we met some more of Henrickes friends playing foosball outside of one of the bars. They challenged Elder Money and I to some games,  I wrecked, haha, I won like 8 times in a row,  then a really good Angolan was destroying and beat me, anyway super fun..

Chameleon!!

More of me and the Chameleon!

Well this week was a success, I can see the Lord’s hand in our work each and every week, focusing on those that are ready to hear the Gospel and having the spirit with me during lessons is my focus. It’s a wonderful time to be a missionary I love you all sooo much and I wish you the best week! Love Elder Dunkley!

Tunda Vala and Waterfalls....teaching Primary!

Waterfall at Tunda Vala

P-day at Tunda Vala

It was wonderful to hear from you guys on Christmas and also another email today…it makes me feel connected!  So you guys are in Park City! You must be having a blast! I wish I could see snow, it will be another year!  People here have never seen snow, I served with Elder Francisco and he is Angolan and he went to the MTC in Provo and saw snow for the first time and he was amazed! He sent me some pictures, super cool,  Anyways another trip to visit the relatives, I miss those times, sometimes I feel like I took it for granted…But hey then I am home and then we can go up for spring break or something- right mom?!  And Happy Birthday Mason! I wish I was there!

So there are two Elders here that are going home soon.  Elder Wilson and Elder Wilhelm which means we should be getting someone new missionaries next transfer and the following.  I am sad because Elder Wilson is my running buddy and he leaves this month.  We run through Lubango and up by the train tracks and up the mountain, it is so cool!  Hopefully they will send someone down who likes to run.  I keep on taking the Vitamins but I have no arm strength...I just do cardio!

 Here in Lubango it is pretty chill, I love the work here, the people and the atmosphere.  The work is going devagar…slowly... getting to know the area.  Here in Lubango everyone is so nice. We get huge rainstorms and they don’t leave their house if it rains. It is cool it’s like tropical rainstorms! Way awesome. We got stuck in our member’s house for 2 hours the rain was sooo bad!

River by Tunda Vala

Well the festivities are pretty normal here unless you are in the tribes. I am glad you liked my singing on the video that the Merrill’s made.  I will try and download some more pictures; the internet is really slow here.  I know the Skype was frustrating and cutting out but we did some good connecting and yes mom that was section 4 I quoted in Portuguese. I just wanted to memorize it. I can read the Spanish off of the cereal boxes so I can understand it.  I am sure that you can understand a lot of Portuguese as it is similar. Hopefully my future wife will speak Portuguese that way we can talk without the kids knowing like you and Dad did.  I think I want to teach my kids Portuguese also.

Our Mission is getting small because the Visas are taking so long.  There are only 3 Elders that are younger than me!  So the Elders from Huambo a province about 8 hours north came down by bus to stay with us for the holidays since it was just 4 of us here in Lubango...  We met up with them on Tuesday and we all got a Taxi and paid 50.00 to take us to Tunda Vala which is like a 7 wonder for Angola.  It was amazing, a mountain, thousands of feet up…it’s indescribable!  It also has famous waterfalls, it was too bad we could not jump in…but so cool to see!

Elders from Huambo

We also got burritos at this place call Habibis.  The only place open on Christmas Eve. 

The next morning we all opened up Christmas present from our families and we also did a gift exchange for one another.  I got a light saber…so cool! Then we all skyped our families which took like 6 hours because the internet is so bad here. Everyone looked so different especially my younger siblings, it is so crazy!  We had a Christmas meal at President Marques house it was so good.  On Thursday we said goodbye to all the Elders and we got back to work.  No one could meet with us because it was the day after Christmas and we ended up contacting that whole day.  I took the Elders out to lunch with the money I received from Christmas.

Gift exchange with the Elders...Light Saber

Presents from Family Christmas Package

Elder Wilson and I were walking on Christmas night and we saw a homeless man carrying a trashcan full of his stuff so we offered to help him carry it for him.  He was so happy and smiled with his 6 teeth. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to help him out.

So for New Year’s they light off fireworks at the Cristo O Rei estatua...Christ King Statue, so Elder Wilson and I watched the fireworks and then everyone went running into the street and started chanting something, anyways it was way cool. On New Year’s Day we hiked up to the Cristo O Rei Estatua! It is so big and huge up close! And we found a chameleon bigger than my hand!  We took pictures of it and it also changed colors depending on what color your shirt was! I loved the hike it was awesome!  We grilled hamburgers on our new grill that we bought and we met some new people this week, one of which was Jose.  He is the advertising manager for Coke here and his Boss is Mormon and that is how he came in contact with the church. He also speaks English and has a wonderful testimony; he is a humble awesome guy and wants what is best for his family.  He came to church this past Sunday. Lubango needs a great member like him in the branch. 

At church we had an amazing turn out!  So many people came, the chapel was overflowing!  We had over 93 people there. The primary teachers were not there so Elder money and I taught primary.  So it was hard to get the kids to get focused and listen and 2 boys kept trying to fight each other.  It took both of us to try and break them up and they were jumping on us and we were picking them up trying to get them away.  I thought about how I was in church sometimes when I was younger and can relate to the teachers. I guess I am getting a little taste of it now.  We played musical chairs and sang songs and had them draw pictures it was fun but a lot of work.

Primary Class- all ages in one small room

  Elder Money and I are still doing a lot of contacting in this new area, the days and weeks blend in so much I can’t possibly remember everything that goes on, but it is the spiritual moments that matter,  the Lord is working through us like never before,  I am stronger with Him on my side, the best feeling is seeing the fruits of our labors. It is a wonderful time to be a missionary and I couldn’t be in a better place in the World! I hope you have a wonderful New Year’s celebration! Prospero ano para voces! Amo Voces! Love Elder Dunkley Chau Chau!

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