2nd Week in Angola

 Oi! Family and Friends,

So week 2 here in Angola down. Crazy huh? I guess that it has hit me that I´m spending the next 22 months living here, it seems like a lot but I know it will go by pretty fast. 

So like I said, we had a baptism on Saturday with Cahilo. He is so amazing and going to be an amazing member in the church. And now we are teaching his family of brothers, sisters, and cousins who live in one house all by themeselves and take care of themselves, its really sad and breaks my heart but I hope that they can gain a testimony of this church as it will bless their lives. Anyways so the baptismal font is in Cassquel which is about a 2 hour trip from Viana. So Friday we had to go there and clean and fill the font, and then on Saturday we had to go out there for the baptism; lots of traveling and tiredness but it was worth it. 

On Friday when we were walking back to the taxis after we cleaned, we were stopped by a man. He was telling us that he was this leader of thieves in Luanda where the Denique, which is pretty much like the SS back in the days of Nazi Germany, is after him and he hides in this vietnamese copy shop with all these different disguises. And he was just spouting off his life story to us, and he started crying because he was telling us how his dad died doing the same stuff he was doing. He told he stopped cocaine and dope and he wanted us to help him. We asked him to put out his cigarette and he wouldnt do it, so we gave him a number for the local elders and went our way, but it was weird. 

Lets see for food, Haha I dont know what I buy really, just what ever looks good. I took up Griffin´s idea and I love eggs and ketchup, it's one of my new favorite meals for sure. And this past week we got some meals with people. So I tried funge, and its this rubbery dough stuff that doesnt taste really good plain, and you make different kinds of sauces for it. The sauce that I had with it was pretty good so it was good. And I had fish, and all they do to prepare the fish is gut a fish and throw in on the grill, so when I ate it, it was just chocked full of bones haha I didn't like that. Other meals we had frango which is just chicken, and I have had this rice which is kind of tomato based which is pretty good. But food wise I am fine, sometimes I starve a little but its fine, its part of the experience. 

Oh today I got a package from my family, the first thing I have gotten. I haven´t been able to open it yet but it doesnt look like its been open, and its the package with a two on the side. Next P Day I will probably get more mail from you guys and probably Laura too. 

But being out here has humbled me alot. These people go through so much stuff in their lives, and just bad things happen, and they don´t live in good living conditions and yet they still just truck along and make the most out of it. Like I said sometimes it feels like I am going to be living here forever and am never going home, but I know that I will someday and that these people won't. Its sad. 

Anyways for this past sunday we broke another record for our branch and had 100 people their, and our companionship had 14 investigators there too. It was super good. And when we were walking up to the church before it started like 50 yards ways little Delson starts running towards us and comes and gives me a hug, and then wouldn´t let go of my finger for the next 20 minutes, it was so cute. I will have to for sure get a picture with him because he is just so adorable. 

Jehovahs Witness are our enemies down here, they always try to bash with us and we just try to avoid it as much as possible but it sometimes comes to a point where we have to talk with them so its alright haha. 

Now for some more random facts about Angola. The girls here hit on us so much. They either say things at us, or whisper to themselves, or just eye us down, haha its a little uncomfortable. And its weird being white here and being the minority. It just has this whole differnent vibe that i cant even explain. 

Oh and the new missionary from New Jersey, Castleton, yeah he got robbed like his second day here. It was him and his companion and another companion. It has only been the third time missionaries have been robbed ever so its really rare, but it just sucks that it happened to him in his first week but oh well. Hmmmm, there isn´t anything much else that I can say or remember. Just know that I love you guys and you all are always in my thoughts and prayers!

Tchau,