Slower week...

We had a lot of good lessons this week, but no one really came to church. It stinks, and I wish it wasn't so, but it happens. We have had a lot of rain lately, and it's been nice because its cooler, but it also scares people away from church. 

Super green right now

Janin is making a little bit more progress. The biggest problem we have there is, right now he has a contract with a soccer team that he can't break, and they require him there every Sunday morning... not cool, but we will find a way! Guta got all ready to come to church and as she walked out the door, the Catholic priest passed by to take her to church, and then took her there by the wrist. :(  Jerk! Next week we will not leave her house until she is leaving with us!!! 

Ward activities

We do have this one investigator named Myguy (not sure how to spell it, but that's how it sounds! :)) He is from Nigeria and really awesome! In the first lesson he said he knows the Church is true! So he should be baptized here really soon. We hope next week!

If you sell American stuff, expect it to be gone when the elders come :)

I am sad to say that I think this might be my last week in this area! I hope so much that these people I have taught and helped will keep going! I don't know for sure if I will leave but, if I do, it's all good!

Love, 

Elder Naylor

School is Back!

So to start off, Janin was not baptized. The problems he is facing have made it a lot harder then we thought. Also, Guta didn't come to church because her daughter was in the hospital. We are, though, having a family night there tonight, so that should be really good! Guta is so far in the Book of Mormon! It makes me so happy!

This week nothing huge happened... just kind of the normal teaching and walking and trying to find people to teach. It's hard because we always seem to find someone who seems to be so prepared, so golden, and then
something comes in and destroys what we had going. We seem to always be running into walls. Something we are really stressing right now in the mission is talking to everyone, That has been good, although a lot of people don't want to listen or do anything.

To be honest, this was just a very normal week. We have some good plans set up for the upcoming week, so hopefully they all go through!

Love,

Elder Naylor

Hold my hand!!! ...(that song by Akon has been stuck in my head! :))

To start off, this week was amazing! We had Elder Moriera from the Area Seventy come and talk to us!! Needless to say, it was super spiritual and I learned a ton!!!! I don't have time enough to write about everything, but the one thing I wanted to talk about is that he talked a lot about obedience to the rules of the mission and/or the commandments in general! He said that we need to follow all the rules to show God that we trust him and really love him. If we have a problem with any of these it's because we are selfish and think we know better than God! Ohhh, it was great! Can't argue with that! :) So that was great, and I still feel like I am on a spiritual high!!

Rainbow!!

The sad news for the week, though, is that Janin's wife has asked for a divorce... He was set to be baptized this week, but he has fallen off the track hard!! We are working hard to get him back, but it might be a while. Guta is still doing really good. She has gone down from 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day to only 4  times this week! She missed church this week, but she is coming to the family night with us today, so that's great! She has also read the Book of Mormon up to page 92!!! I think the farthest I have had an investigator read was up to  20, maybe 30 pages (they read really slow here, but thats ok! :)). We are going to set a date with her once her daughter gets back from vacation so they can be baptized together!

Good ole selfie

At church we had 90 people!! This week we are shooting for 100 and I think we are going to make it! A lot of good things are going on here in Fogo, and I get to be a part of it! :)

Yay!

I love the spirit and I love being here helping people out! Onward, ever onward!

Love,

Elder Naylor

Some Week in August...(on Sept. 1st :))

Hi Everybody! 

This week, a few good things happened. Janin is still doing great! He has been reading every day and still has a strong desire to get baptized. He will be gone this next week, but I think he will be alright for his date! I am so happy to work with someone who wants to progress.

We also found a lady named Guta, and she is amazing as well! She has a date for the 20th and seems right on track to make it! She just accepts everything so easy! She used to drink coffee 3 times a day, but has been working on cutting down!

We also have an investigator named Amancio, and he is already in 1 Nephi 11! He is hauling through the Book of Mormon! He is really smart, always has a question, and wants to know what the answer is! He is also learning guitar! I am going to teach him a little on Tuesday! :) I miss playing guitar!

The work is starting to go really well! After so much time of nothing happening, it's been really refreshing to have something now! Also, ever since our bishop came back (from attending the temple for the first time), he has been making things better! He now goes out with us once a week to teach and is really working to get the work going! It's funny how one trip to the temple can make someone want to serve the Lord more ;) So that's been awesome! 

This week the Area Seventy (General Authority of the Church) over Cape Verde is coming to do a conference, so that should be really good! :)

For those who want to know, Ebola has not been a problem here yet. There was one plane that gave everyone a scare but that got taken care of. The country is very ready for it and is doing well at getting the word out so that people prepare! We should be fine. If anything happens, we will be ok! :)

That's all I have for this week!

Love,

Elder Naylor

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