Island of Fogo (Fire)

We traveled to the Island of Fogo, which is an inactive volcano. The whole island is built on the sides of the volcano, so no matter where you go, you are either going up or down. People there get quite a workout just walking from place to place, and most people walk.

This is the view from our hotel window. The ocean is top left.

The streets of Fogo.

Rocks, rocks, everywhere! If they could export rocks, this would be a thriving economy! So many buildings, fences, etc. are made out of rocks.

Interesting that the church is blue. The one in Santa Maria, on the island of Sal, is also blue. We are wondering if they are all blue. There really aren't very many. Even though the Catholic Church is the primary church in Cape Verde, you don't see many Catholic churches.

While waiting for the elders, this sweet girl started chatting with Sister Alvarez. She is a member of the church, and says she enjoys going to church on Sunday.

We went to look at an apartment for E. Schlichte and E. Santos. E. Schlichte said a mission is the best thing that a young man can do! He is loving his mission! Missionaries are so incredible! We love them!

Another example of the things they make out of rock.

A rock house.

We went to Fogo to train the new stake presidency and the bishoprics in auditing procedures. Here Elder Alvarez is with a member of the auditing committee and the counselor in the stake presidency over auditing.

Elder Alvarez

Training for bishoprics.

By the sea, by the beautiful sea.

The new Fogo Stake Presidency, with Elder Alvarez. President Pires, second from the left, is the stake president.

A beautiful girl at church on Sunday.

The day we flew home, we went on a drive. We thought we might try to go all the way to the other side of the island, but didn't have time. What looks like a hill in the background is the top of the island (part of it is the crater). A lot of people go to Fogo to hike the volcano.

Fogo is the greenest island. It is also the hottest. Many of the fruits and vegetables are grown here.

We are always struck by the cheerful colors on homes and buildings!

Mission Presidency

Cape Verde Praia Mission Presidency

L to R: Elder Carlos Alvarez, First Counselor; President Robert P. Mathews, President; President Lucilino Mendonça, Second Counselor; Elder Craig Carnell, Secretary

President Mathews and his wife had been office missionaries here for two years when they were called to serve as mission president and wife. They gladly accepted. So they have been here for four years and have one more to go. Amazing dedication!

President Mendonça was the first bishop in Cape Verde. He is in charge of the Self-Reliance program on the island. The Europe Area is working hard on self-reliance, and there is a big push in Cape Verde. Many members have completed the self-reliance program. Our maid finished the self-reliance course and the self-employment course. She got up the courage to start making and selling meals to the construction workers in our area, and has done well. She moved out of an apartment where she had no water nor plumbing, and now lives with her children in a nice apartment. They LOVE taking showers now that they can.

Elder Carnell and his wife are from the area of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are half way through their mission. They are the Humanitarian specialists for the mission, so they do quite a bit of traveling to the different projects they have going on.

This is Achada Mato

I gave Lenifer a notebook to draw in and she brought it to church the next Sunday to show me her drawings. This is one of the pages she wrote. It says "I like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

Primary girls during the break between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School. We only have two meetings because we're a group and we don't have enough rooms to have the other meetings. For sacrament meeting and Gospel Principles, we meet in what used to be the living room, and Primary meets in a bedroom.

Main street in Achada Mato.

Sweet little Kelton, about 3 years old, fell and cut his chin open. He had to go to the hospital to get stitches. No anesthesia. :( 

These cobble stones are placed one by one by hand.

Celebrating Katia's 20th birthday. We celebrated at the home where we have church. Katia is on the right between Sister Alvarez and the woman holding the little boy on her lap. She goes to the university and is engaged to Steven, the boy on the left in front. He is a carpenter. They are both in our temple preparation class.

The children at the party. Eating fish soup.

Serving up the fish soup.

And yes, Sister Alvarez ate some. :) 

Birthday cake! We love how they sing Happy Birthday here with a Brazilian/African twist.

The following Sunday there was a sister in our group whose sister had passed away, so after meetings we all walked a couple of blocks to her house to pay our respects. It's customary that the person who is grieving serves food to their visitors.

This is the sister that is grieving the loss of her sister. Traditionally, they wear black. Sister Alvarez chatted with her the following Sunday at Church, and she has been in the church for over 20 years, one of the pioneers. She understands the doctrine well and knows that her sister is well and that they will be reunited.

Yummy homemade bread, cookies, milk, soda.

This is the room where we have church. Here Sister Alvarez is waiting for the Temple Preparation students to arrive for class. We love Achada Mato. Wonderful, loving people!

Regional Conference on the island of Sal

The island of Sal as we arrived for the weekend.

We arrived on Friday, and spent the afternoon inspecting missionary apartments. The Sister on the right is Sister Larsen, from Provo. Do any of you know her?

Elder Clegg and Elder Bowman. We're pretty sure there's a family connection with Elder Bowman.

This is at our hotel. A lovely hotel with a beautiful view. 

This is a view of a city street in Santa Maria. Sal is a very popular tourist area for Europeans. But the tourist season is during the winter, when it is very cold in Europe and they want to get away to a warmer climate. The summer is a wonderful time to visit because there aren't too many tourists, and the climate is beautiful.

On Saturday we had a training for branch presidencies on audits and handling finances. This is a district, with only three branches on this island and another branch on the island of Boa Vista. We had two of the three branches on this island represented in the training. The third branch is in Santa Maria, where our hotel was. It is about a half hour drive away.

At the hotel. Five "musicos" giving a serenade. ;)

On Sunday there was a Regional Stake Conference broadcast from Salt Lake and Germany. General church leaders in Salt Lake spoke, and also a member of the Area Presidency in Germany. It was great. There were three different buildings in this district where they showed the transmission. This church serves two branches and both branches met here. It was super packed. In fact, there were people that came late that were not able to see the conference. Elder Alvarez was presiding as a counselor in the mission presidency.

These two sweeties sat next to Sister Alvarez through the whole conference. They were obviously best friends, but had this intense "sibling rivalry" going. The girl on the left is Andreia, and the one on the right is Bremwa. Sister Alvarez thought that giving them paper and pencil would keep them happy through the meeting, but then they both wanted the same pencil, etc. etc. They were both quite assertive, but Andreia always won. :)

This cute boy sat by the girls very reverently through the whole meeting.

On Saturday Elder Alvarez released this missionary who had just returned from her mission to Brazil. She said it was difficult, but the best experience of her life. She is so on fire. Interesting that the day she returned home and was released, her boyfriend attended the training meeting. Very diligent. He is a new counselor in the stake presidency. They will make a great couple and be great leaders in the church.

Outside the Espargos chapel after the Regional Conference.

One day we went to a restaurant for lunch and our server turned out to be a member of the Church, although he doesn't go to meetings because he works every Sunday. Can you guess his age? Can you believe he is 39? His name is Jose.

The district president and the president of the Santa Maria branch.

Sal is one long flat island and it has beautiful beaches all around the island. That's why it's such a popular tourist site. By the way, those are footprints from all the people that went walking on the beach.

Fishing boats.

The plaza in Santa Maria. In the back of the photo notice the splash pad. So fun for the kids. And sometimes they also show old, old, old movies (think silent films) in the plaza for everyone to see.

This was our happy and friendly craft market salesperson with his little girl. The sales people here try to make friends with you first and then try to make a sale. A pretty good sales tactic.

While we were eating lunch at a restaurant in town, all of a sudden we heard drumming and singing, and this group of Senegalese men came around the corner performing for the public. During the off season, there isn't very much traffic, and so a lot of people walk on the street.

We loved our time on the island of Sal. It is a beautiful place, and the church needs a lot of strengthening here. It would be an awesome place for a senior couple to come and live and strengthen the district. Hint, hint. :)