Parties!!!

So this week was a party week for my area! Basically since last Friday until yesterday there has been a huge party! So many drunk people and so many not well dressed people! It was sad to walk down the street and see the only people out were at the bars, going to and from the party, or drunkingly walking around.

A Monkey

... That being said! We did get an investigator to church! His name is Jannin! He is a barber and he makes the rocks that you use to make the cobble stone road (hardest manual labor I can think of!!!) he is great. He really wants to follow God and has the desire to be baptized! He already loves the Book of Mormon and we were able to talk last night about the atonement and resurrection. He will for sure get baptized, he just wants to prepare a lot before then, so we will see where that gets us. I love the guy! :) 

The Volcano on Fogo

We also had 2 less actives show up! I am very pleased with them! They are still struggling but its not as much of a fight anymore to get them to do stuff! :) That's progress!! :)


Our bishop just got back from the temple!! Imagine this man has never even ridden a plane, or left his little house and farm, then in one week he flies to Brazil, gets his endowment, gets sealed, does all the work stuff for the dead, gets to visit a high functioning ward. Sits in on his first ever high council class, and then comes back! He has changed a lot and has a real vision for our ward now! You should hear how he talks about it (side note: he actually gave a talk about the experience and Jannin loved it so much he wanted to go to the temple, and that was his first day ever going to our church and he already wanted to go to the temple!! :D)

We also had another baptism in our district and this one went a lot better than the others! Transfers where last night and me and elder young will stay together for one more run here! :) I am happy about this. Kinda wanted to stay and I love my comp so I can't complain! :)

love Elder Naylor

Loved the package. Thanks a ton!!! :) Hope this weeks email was a little better!\  :)

New Tie from Mom and Dad

My new little Friend ( also in the package, kinda like Scout )

Parties not only make your investigators miss appointments, it knocks the power out...

I don't have a ton to say this week. The work has picked up now that I am back and 100%. We also had another baptism in our district!

The one thing I want to write today is about a lesson we had yesterday! We walked to one of our appointments and they were not there. (There is a horse race and a huge party that's going on for the whole week. It's really hard to find people in their houses!)  We passed by to see a woman who we have been working to bring back! She was sitting outside her house when we found her. We asked how things were, and she said more or less (kind of like "just okay"). We asked why, and she said she would explain later. We insisted and she took us to another spot, away from the other people, and began to explain all the problems she is facing. And believe me when I say it's a lot, and the problems are out of her control!! So we talked, and she said two words that are the exact words used in Matthew 11:28-30. So I shared that with her, and we talked about the Atonement and how it can help her, and if she believes in Christ and follows the commandments, everything will be ok! 

We asked her to pray and she wanted me to, so I did, and I asked God to help her, to give her the answers she needs, and give her strength to carry on! Then I closed the prayer, but I kept looking at the ground. Then my companion started talking, but she cut him off and said *direct translation* "Never has a prayer brought water to my eyes". I was a little confused, then looked at her and she was crying! I know that she felt the spirit and I know that she was going to be ok! To be honest, I didn't really feel the spirit that strong, but I know she did!

That's what this work is about. It's not about numbers. It's not about how many people you can get to church. It's about helping our heavenly brothers and sisters come unto Christ. Sometimes maybe it seems small, but I can make all the difference!

Love,

Elder Naylor

Still Recovering...

Well, the recovery took a little longer than planned, so nothing has really happened this week... My toe has made a great recovery, and I was very happy with the medical staff here on Fogo!! 

Last week I already shared my thoughts, but I did come back to my area to see the baptism that my district had!! :) Finally we had something happen! :) This Wednesday I will get the "all clear" to go back to my area! :)

Glad to hear the trip to Seattle went well, and that Allyce gets the halo off this week!! :) 

That's all though,
fica fixe
Love,
Elder Naylor

A Lot of Down Time...

This week I read a lot of the Book of Mormon, tons of Liahonas, and got to know some elders better in my zone!

I don't really have anything to report, other than I am happy and the recovery has been great! I will be back in the area this next week!

One special thing that happened this week is that I grew a lot closer to the Lord as a missionary. It's kind of weird, seeing as I was not working this week, but let me explain. As I had time to sit and study and think, I was able to see things from a different angle. Instead of being caught up in the heat of the work, and the stress of being a leader, I was able to see things clearer. 

While I have been stressed, I always thought, "I am doing everything I can," but in reality, I wasn't. I found some personal things that needed to be changed. I found some things that I can  do to be more like Christ is. And not only that, what the Lord wants from all of his children. He wants our love. For those of you who have seen the movie God's army, "The Lord gives us 100 reasons to believe, and then gives us one or two reasons not to believe, so that we have the right to chose." If we are looking for solid answers, if we are looking for signs or an easy path, we will find one. But that is not always what God wants. We need to be faithful and always follow his council. 

I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that he wants all of us to come back to live with him, but that does not mean it will be easy. We need to fight for it every day. Like the Lord says in the parable of the Pearl of Great Price, we need to sell everything so that we may obtain the pearl of great price!! That means letting go
of addictions or bad habits, and letting go of any cultural, social, or family traditions that are not in keeping with the Lord. Sometimes we need to let go of our pride accept that we might be wrong and follow the Lord.

My faith has been tried a lot these last few weeks, but I am happy to say I hung in there. Many times I honestly wanted to give up, but I hung on, and know I have been lifted up!! :) Sometimes I think it's
cheesy when missionaries do this, but I want to invite everyone that reads this to follow Christ a little more in your lives, humble yourself before God that he can show you the right path, and stay strong in your faith when the troubles come. Lift those up around you that are in need of help, and never think "some other time, or some one else will" because "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" not next week. TODAY! I love this gospel and everything I have learned on my mission. I know that my Savior lives, and I know he is guiding us in the last days!

fica fixe everyone! :)

Love,
Elder Naylor

Cool restaurant

My week in a nutshell

My Toe

Transport!!!

KA STA!!!

That little phrase, my friends, is the one thing that gets my blood boiling and makes me really not happy...

This week was another slow week. We had some great lessons, but when it came to the fourth quarter (aka church...), it all fell apart. I'm not sure what is going on in our area, but nobody seems to be worried about their salvation. We are trying very hard to make things happen, but its been a long, uphill battle.  I don't know what to do. I will not quit, and I will not leave these people in their unsaved state, but dang. I am getting hit in the face with a stone wall... I am trying very hard to follow the examples of the missionaries in the Book of Mormon. Every day is a quest for saving some of our brothers here in a foreign land.

That's all I have for this week. I will send pictures in separate emails.

New White shirt compared to older shirt

Todd's Flag

Love, 

Elder Naylor 

Onward, Ever Onward!

So, this week involved a lot of meetings, traveling, and a bit of disappointment.

 

First off, Francsica was not baptized this week. She says that she still needs more time. So we will keep working with her and hopefully she will be baptized here in the near future!! She knows the Church is true, she just doesn't want to make the covenant yet.

 

Next! We had interviews with the new mission president!! He is super awesome! His name is Elder Mathews. He will bring something new to the mission! He is a little different than Pres. Olivera, but I feel will still be just as good! So those went well, but my comp got sick. As we were coming back from our meetings, we had to get in this big work truck and ride to a place where we could take a taxi home. (I have become good at hitchhiking on this mission ;)) He was throwing up off the back for a time. Poor comp :)

 

Then, we had a meeting on the other side of the island the next day, so we kind of lost two full days of work... During the rest of the week we re-established contact with all of our investigators and it went well, until Sunday when no one came to church. No one right now has the desire to do the things they know they should. No matter how many times you tell them they need to, no matter how many scriptures you show that say to do this or you won't have salvation, if they don't want to, they don't.

 

We are working hard, and we set up some good transfer goals as a district. I am excited to get those up and running!!

 

That's all from Africa this week fellas! :)

 

Love,

Elder Naylor

PS: Family, hey sorry, I meant to send pics, but I forgot my camera today, so I will get on that next week!

Fourth of July!

After many weeks of very slow progress in this area, this week went a little bit better! Let's just say a lot of time was used waiting around for people to show up to meetings, and not having the meeting, and planning other meetings, and waiting for those... lots of meetings.

 

Did things get better at those meetings? I hope so. Our leadership here is making progress but still could use a little help.

 

BUT!! This week, we are going to have a baptism!!! If it all works out ok. Her name is Francisca, and we have been working with her since I got to this area! She finally has accepted to be baptized! I am so happy for her! She will be a great addition to the ward. She is a philosophy teacher here and she really understands how things should be! Plus she studies well! She will be very valuable to our ward! :) 

We also did a lot of walking this week and a lot of getting rejected! I am determined to find what the Lord wants us to do. He would not put me here just to waste time. I will find it!! :) Other than that, nothing super special happened.

 

The fourth was fun! We woke up and my comp (from Australia) was soooo excited for some reason, more excited then I was! :) He said, what do you do on the fourth? And I said "parade, fireworks, BBQ, and family," but I said those things would never happen here! Then we left our house and what happens? A wedding goes by with the bride and groom on top of a car waving and a trail of cars honking. The parade! Later that day we were walking and someone shot off fireworks. And then, that night we walked passed this lady cooking chicken on a grill, BBQ! Super funny, we laughed so hard!

 

The new mission president has come in, and I get to have an interview with him tomorrow!! I'm really looking forward to that! :) Also, Elder Young and I are here together for one more transfer!! :) I really like him! He acts kinda like the polys do! He has this dream in his life to own a pirate ship and to sail around and live on a beach in a little shack ;) I love this guy! Well I wish I could make these emails more exciting, but I am out of ideas! :)

 

Love you all!

Elder Naylor