Casais (couple missionaries), bakers, returned missionary, guard/soccer player

March 13 Elder and Sister Martineau arrived in Praia to process their visa renewal. They are assigned to the Island of Fogo and don't visit other islands, so they were excited to take advantage of the opportunity to spend a couple of days getting to know our island a little bit. This is the top of a Country Club housing development on a hill, with a nice view of the city of Praia. We love the Martineaus. They are awesome, down-to-earth, humble servants of the Lord. And they have helped us so much with the missionary apartments on Fogo.

Sister Martineau, Sister and Elder Alvarez, and the typical unflattering wind :)

Dinner at a new Italian restaurant by the beach for the couples to spend a little bit of time with Martineaus while they were here.

Celso and his wife have a small neighborhood store. A few years ago he got a small oven (only fits one cookie sheet) and started baking bread. Now they have a thriving business, and he wants to buy another oven so he can bake two sheets at a time. Their son is a missionary in our mission, but on another island. Every chance they get, they send him fresh bread :)

We invited Carnells to a restaurant in Cidade Velha as a farewell from us. They are leaving at the end of the month back to Canada. A new Humanitarian/Medical couple is coming to take their place. We have really enjoyed our friendship and association with the Carnells. We will miss them dearly.

Farewell dinner for Carnells at President and Sister Mathews' home.

Carnells and Alvarez' at the mission office. 

The new Humanitarian Services/Medical missionaries, Elder and Sister Biven from Liberty, Missouri, friends of our cousins Paul and Jodi Gale :) Welcome!

Morning scenes of Praia

This is a sweet sister missionary returning from her mission to Brazil. She is from Assomada. We picked her up at the hotel where she spent the night after the long and late flight from Brazil, and took her to the Hiace (public transportation vans that they pack as tight as they can with people, luggage, animals, and anything else you want to take with you) to send her home. She was so happy!

Soccer: One of the guards next door plays on a minor league soccer team. They won the championship and are now major league!!!!!

His name is also Carlos, but he goes by Calú. Elder Alvarez has made friends with all the guards (of course).