Email 7/5/10

Happy Independence Day everyone! Both American and CV. So to celebrate CV Independence Day the only thing I´ve seen so far is a commercial yesterday that had a cake and it played the happy birthday song in the background. We thought stores and stuff would be closed today like on other holidays but I guess not. So I´m starting to make a list of foods I miss in America or that I have no idea how to make (or if it’s even possible to make it here) so you´ll have plenty of things to make when I get home :D. This is probably the first time in my life that I´ve actually been hungry and now I don´t have all the yummy things we normally have in the fridge or pantry or wherever.
So here´s some things that happened this week. First we were walking to/from an appointment and we passed by 2 investigators of ours and a member that’s a fubeca and their little kids were playing together and one of them was running and tripped on the curb and fell and just laid there and didn´t cry and I was really surprised that there was no screaming or tears... and then the child of one of our investigators threw a rock about the size of my fist and hit him in the face and I´m not going to lie I had to stop myself from laughing. There defiantly were tears after that and the parent’s didn´t really even do anything about it. That´s how lax things are here. Other things that happened that were awesome this week happened yesterday. One of our investigators came to church by herself (I really didn´t think she would show up unless we went to her house beforehand which we didn’t) so that was awesome and then another one of our investigators who´s only 14ish brought his brother to church and that was awesome and then the same investigator got up in sacrament and bore his testimony and he´s not even baptized yet! He´s so awesome. His baptismal date is in 2 weeks so were really excited about that.
Oh Transfers! I didn´t even write about that yet hehe. Well that’s because nothing really happened for us. Our zone leaders are still the same and only 1 person got transferred out of our district and she got sent to fogo and were receiving an native African sister but she´s not from here and I don’t think she speaks Portuguese so idk how that’s going to work. So me and E. Moreira are still companions so yay. Oh and I think I kinda figured out how mail works here. Well for missionaries. So we have district meetings once a week and I think every other week the secretaries bring mail to those so that’s how often we get mail here in Praia IDK about other places. Most likely less often. I love you all and miss you.

-Elder Weiss

Email from 6/28/10

Hey I´m not the only one who was sick! Don’t worry though I´m better now. I had some weird cold or flu virus but Sister Palmer (mission nurse) gave me some antibiotics and I´m all good now. I don´t think it´s possible to get used to this heat. Since I´ve been here I have seen 1 traffic light and it’s actually like 30 ft from me right now. But that’s the only one and I swear it´s not there sometimes. It like moves or something IDK. So to answer your suburb question I really have no idea. I just know that the place our house is in is São Filip, the area south of us which is also our area is ponto da água or waterpoint in English and south of that is where the church is and where we are right now but IDK what it´s called. The distance from the mission office.... não sei. Maybe 15 min drive I really have no idea. And what I mean about nobody having addresses is that NOBODY has addresses. I think there are a total of 5-6 places in CV that has addresses. The embassies of other countries and CV and the mission office/pres Neves house have addresses and that’s it. I have no idea how other people receive mail and stuff. Maybe they have PO boxes IDK. I don’t think we can give things to kids. It’s funny that you mention Paige because I was on a division with an elder in assomada and he knows Paige and her friend that I can’t think of her name but she´s the daughter of the crossing guard at quail hollow. Well I’m sorry it wasn’t CV Independence Day but my email said "or whatever holiday it is" meaning I really had no idea. Remember the person who explains things to me doesn´t speak English. I can´t believe Brian has lost 35 pounds that just seems crazy to me. I need pictures. And you probably gained 2 lbs of muscle.
Alright now that I’m done with questions for this week I´ll write some stuff that’s happening here. First off I need something for collar soil! Don’t you have some special bar of soap that’s magic or something? And maybe deodorant cause I here the stuff here sucks but were about to go to the store so ill probably just buy some anyways. BTW these thoughts are in random order so yeah. Tell Paul Cardall I love his music and I listen to it every day while I study. Oh and also here’s some more things I could use in the future but don’t need right now. Ok just one thing glasses cleaner like that little repair kit you sent me but just the cleaner. It’s really dusty here and I should probably clean my glasses more often. Also don’t think someone’s robbing me I made 2 withdrawals from my account that will total 2k escudos (probably 18 dollars). So want to hear a funny random fact? We were in a members home eating and they had the soccer game on between England and Germany and England has a player named A.COLE and I almost peed when I saw it. Oh and you know how Jake calls his mission the red deer mission since he was there for 11 months. Well elder moreira´s brother served in 1 area for 12 months so take that! He wins. Um not sure what else to write. I´ve already been on 4 divisions since I´ve been here and served with 4 other people than my companion. Guess that´s what happens when your comp is district leader. Oh and I decided when I get home it´s going to be impossible for you people to get me out of the shower because I miss it. Oh here´s some fun news. So you remember elder Vance right (I hope so or there’s something wrong) well his family is moving to Utah lol. That would be funny if he moved into our ward. But right now there not moving because his dad is still doing some training dealio for work in Arizona but they will be moving to salt lake area so that would be silly. Oh and the last thing that I wrote down that I needed to write is I need some recipes for some stuff that’s easy to make and maybe things like mint brownies and other junk that would be fun! Well I love you all and I look forward to your emails every week. I´ll still be on for a little be longer if you happen to get on send me an email it will probably be until 7:50 your time that ill be here.

eu amo vocês

-elder weiss

Email from 6/21/10

Yay my memory card got there safely! Yes I just sent it regular mail IDK if they have like fast mail or something. Before I continue I would like to say that this computer doesn’t work as fast as a type so the leertts (like that) letters get jumbled really quickly so maybe you get to learn a new language this week but I try and fix it. My bed didn’t have sheets on it because I hadn’t put them on yet silly. And no they give everyone a new pillow. But the sheets you gave me don’t have a pillow case with them so I have to wrap it in another sheet or maybe Ill buy some fabric here. Haha so you want to know something funny before I continue with your questions? Gas here stss costs (ignore the misspelled words) 10$ for 10 liters lol. It’s so cheap. Anyways the elder I mentioned his name is elder Gomes. Yes we don’t have pasteurized milk. Instead we have irratiated (no idea if that’s how you spell it) milk and its so gross but yes dairy products are safe here. I have yogurt everyday but I guess that’s safe because it’s shipped in from Portugal. And we have cheese quiet often. I have no idea if its goats milk or cow btw. I got one of your packages and my guess is the other one is just in the mission office. The kool-aid will probably last for about 3 days since we have 1.5 liter bottles instead of the 16.9 oz or whatever .Yes the bread and egg thing was zac´s recipe and you can tell him that I have improved on it as well. I thought I already explained this but I guess I will again. The reason I can’t put photos on a CD is because I have no way of connecting my camera to the computer and I don’t have a card reader like we do at home. Also if I don’t send home the cards you wont have the audio files with them so Ill just send home the cards probably unless you want to buy me and send me a sd card converter that plugs into usb slots. Well anyways now that I’m done with questions....
We had like a little mini sandstorm here yesterday and we leave the windows of our apartment open during the day so we had fun cleaning today for p-day. Oh apparently there writing a bible in criolo and my companion translated some of it for me. One of the things Jesus says to Paul is: What are you doing man! Are you crazy! Another thing that one of the apostles says is: come over here and ill beat you. One of our investigators stared a prayer with Oh my god and I almost peed. Um what else. Oh we have 7 people committed for baptism right now but I’m thinking only 2 will go through with it. One is a 15 year old named Jwilson and the other is a woman named Su and IDK how old she is. Oh one more thing before I run out of time. Our district had a baptism this week which is kind of a big deal since our district is one of the 3 hardest areas in CV and I didn´t even know the woman that was being baptized but I was so happy for her! After she came up from the water she was soooooooo happy and I just smiled the rest of the day. Well I love you all and appreciate your emails stay safe!

-elder weiss

Email From Monday June 14

ola!
well to start ill go with your questions. I don't know if we can buy bleach, we cook for ourselves ill usually have a grilled cheese or cereal or ramen or pasta, we don't have to boil our water we have filters, I mailed the card because I have no way of putting the pictures on a CD or on the computer, Communication is OK between us he mostly speaks Portuguese and I try to speak Portuguese and that's how it goes. If i had an English speaking companion we could speak English yes, zone conference was OK, I didn't really understand much because it was all in Portuguese except for when the Simonsen's spoke because they don't know much Portuguese so one of the missionaries translated, and I dont' know how many missionaries we have in the mission but we have 12 in our zone. I don't know elder Calderwood's email address and it would be tough for you to email his parents anyways because I don't think his mom speaks English and its his dads second language. Well things are still tough here but ill get by. We had our first zone activity today. We went to the big tree in Assamada which is just a long hike to see a really big tree but it was pretty fun and I have pictures. Um what else. By the time I end my first transfer ill have served with 4 elders because of divisions. My companion is district leader so I have served with another elder (didn't speak English) and right now I'm with one of the zone leaders because my companion is with the other. I'm not sure what else to write. The things I´m going to write to you I write in my planner and I don't have it with me so I'm not so sure what else happened this week. We taught a lesson to one of our investigators and see went into the hall for a second and came back with a live chicken and it peed on the floor. Um what else. I still haven't gotten your package yet but that's probably because I wont get it until transfers because its just sits in the mission office since no body has an address.

Então, vocês dissem que gostam tentar e traduzir meu português no inglês assim eu vou escrever para vocês. Vou descrever cada dia para nós. Na menhã, nós levantamo-nos e orar. Então, eu uso a casa de banho. Depois desta, eu tenho cereal com leite grosseiro. Próximo, vou usar o duche se nós temos água ou eu vou usar muito desodorizante. Então eu vou escutar à música em meu ipod. Enquanto faço esta, eu leia O Livro de Môrmon até novo horas quando nós temos estudar companherismo. Então eu vou estudar português até saimos, ensinar duas lições normalmente e temos o almoço depois desta. Eu vou estudar mais depois de e então vamos trabalhar até oito ou novo horas. Planamos comer jantar e dormir. E isto é cada dia para nos.

There now you can have some fun. Well I don't have much else to write so I´ll just end by saying I love you all.

-Elder Weiss

What Are The Chances?

Elder Moreira and Elder Weiss

Sandy received this email from Norm's cousin Helga the other day:

Hi to the Weiss Family,
You may know that we're on a mission again in England. There are 37 missions and two MTCs which are divided among three doctors for medical care. We live by the Preston Temple where there is an MTC and we take care of the missionaries for medical care in the "Atlantic Islands" of the Europe Area, which includes England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Cape Verde, which is a long ways off from our stomping grounds. Of the three doctors we're the only ones who speak a little Portuguese so we were sent down there to make a visit and do presentations at zone conferences and look at a few hospitals.
Our first day there, Monday, May 31st Sister Neves, MP wife and Sister Palmer, nurse for the mission took us to see a few apartments where the missionaries live. The first apartment we went to there were two missionaries, an Elder Moreira from Brazil, I think and Elder Weiss from the US. He told me he was from SLC and I asked him where and he said Sandy. I said my cousin Norman Weiss lives in Sandy, and he said that's my Dad. That was exciting. We enjoying seeing him again. I guess the last time I saw him would have been at my Aunt Annie's funeral and he would have been still a younger kid then.
I'm sure it was a surprise to you for him to get that call. Most people would say where is that? We really enjoyed our visit in the mission. President and Sister Neves are remarkable and wonderful mission parents. The Church has only been there 20 years, so everyone is fairly new in the gospel. The people look much like the Brazilians, especially those in the north and along the coast which were settled by the Portuguese, just like Cape Verde and then there were the many slaves which they brought from Africa to Cape Verde and transported them from there to other nations where they could be sold. So there is a wide spectrum of people from white to almost black. The president told us that he hopes that before his mission is over next year that they will have a stake there. So this is a time where much is going on. Most of the leadership of the Church are young returned missionaries who have served either in their own country or others, mostly Portuguese speaking countries. He will have a wonderful opportunity in helping this country and it's people grow in the gospel.
We have lots of catching up to do since we were gone nine days, but I wanted to send some pictures to you. We hope that you are well.
We send our love

Chapel being built across the street from their apartment

Extra room in the apartment

Kitchen

Bathroom!

Practicing teaching at Zone Conference

The elders and Cousin Helga

Email from 6/7/10

Happy Cape Verde Independence day! well at least it was on... Mon. I think idk whatever day was the first. So here´s something really random. IDK if she told you already but I met dads cousin here in CV. Sister Simonsen or however you spell it. Apparently her husband is the mission doctor for several places including here and they came by our apt and we met. Other random things from this week: People shake hands like fish here and its gross, I saw a poster of a Rapper that was being held up by a picture of the last supper and I didnºt know what to think about that, dogs here are proud of there gender if you know what I mean, mom you would probably die here from first heat and then claustrophobia the autocarros (minibus´ like E. Gledhill's van) can carry anywhere from 1-17 people in them at a time probably more and the buses are bigger but carry even more people, People here are never in the same house twice. We go teach at a house make an appt to come back return and someone else is living there its really strange, I had my first mango here nothing too impressive and I miss fruits and vegetables since there A) really expensive here and B) IDK if there sanitary and were supposed to soak stuff like that in bleach before we eat it and we don't have bleach so good thing I have vitamins, I could work in an Internet cafe here. All they do is give you time on the computer then watch youtube or movies or TV all day. Everyone here listens to American music and its really weird because they don't understand it. Here's a random fact for Portuguese. In English we call this "!" an exclamation point and "?" a question mark but they call them " the point of exclamation and the point of interrogation" Other random things. I saw a Portuguese TV show and there was yogurt rapping on TV and IDK what to think about that. It was weird. Its good to know the enjoyments of bubble wrap are universal, I thought I escaped Twilight here but apparently not I saw some people watching new moon and I almost threw up, If there was snow here children would pop out of the snow like daises because they are EVERYWHERE. And apparently to people here in CV America is just another word for Boston. I saw my first doorbell here yesterday it was weird it was a light switch that you turn on then off to make it ring. Anyways that is about how my week has been going. Its still hard for me to understand people and to help my companion teach lessons but this week we got 6 commitments for baptism so that was good even if there baptismal date isn't for another month. But it was a mother and 3 of her sons even though 1 isn't old enough and then we committed 3 women that live together. You know one rule that is really annoying here in cv? We can´t as missionaries enter the house unless there is a man there (for obvious reasons) but men are NEVER home so we either have to teach outside which doesn't happen too much or send the sisters there or come back another time and hope a man is there. Oh and I came really close to throwing a chicken off a cliff side to see if it would coast like cuckoos (ask Jake to explain). Um Not much else to write but I miss you all and love you and appreciate emails.

-Elder Weiss

Email from 5/31/10

Yeah we don't get much time here since we have to pay for it but to start here is a list of things to be grateful for in America: running water, safe water hot water microwaves pasteurized mild stores bigger than 7-11 English cleaning supplies traffic laws napkins food alone time cars Google texting news flushable toilet shower Sunday as a day of rest and shower mats. So here’s my list of random thoughts and then ill tell you other stuff: People like to honk here IDK what the dealio is but they honk when they see people they know, people they don’t when people are in the road when the busses want to pick someone up or just because they feel like it. I also wrote a song based on what do you do in the summer time. It goes as such: oh what do you do with your mission time when all the field is white? Do you look at the grass and sit on your ___ and watch as the cars go by? Is that what you do? Neither do I. Since I’ve been here I’ve only seen 2 other people with glasses and it’s weird. I also saw some guy get arrested yesterday and some militia walking around which was weird. I´m surprised I still am I man after being squished into the autocarro (bus) with 30 other people if you know what I’m saying and it is soooo hot here but the wind kind of evens it out when your outside. So the first day they lost my luggage so that was fun. I didn´t have new clothes other than the ones in my backpack until Saturday. So here are all the fun things I saw on my first day here. 12+ goats 9+ cows too many dogs 4-6 pigs 3ish roosters a woman breast feed in our lesson 3 naked children more cleavage than I´d care to think about a drunk man talk about the devil and the apocalypse in criolo and a partridge in a pear tree. More randomness I hadn’t showered in 4 days until today because our shower was broken and I got to have a bucket shower this morning. We wash our hands w achole sometimes and one investigator said it was cold when the wind blew in her house and I almost punched her.
So yeah life is good here. It’s defiantly challenging to be here and away from all of you and away from all the normal things in America. My first day here we got off the plan didn´t get our luggage and then went to the AP´s house and took a nap and everything. Then we went to Pres and Sis Neves house and Sis neves made us lunch (there big meal here) and then we had our orientation and met with the pres and then I emailed you and then we drove around and dropped everyone off with there companions and I met elder Morreira and I´ll tell you what I know about him. He is from Brazil and is engaged and has been here for 17ish months (if I understood him correctly which I probably didn’t) and he barely speaks any English and it’s really difficult for us to communicate and he probably hates me because I don’t say anything and I’m basically useless in lessons. But he’s a hard worker. But anyways we went to bed and then in the morning we had "breakfast" and then we went out and taught then lunch then taught then dinner. We ended up teaching 8 appointments so that was pretty cool. Well elder Morreira taught 8 lessons I sat there and didn´t understand. It´s really tough to accomplish my purpose as a missionary out here and I hope to understand this language(s) in at least 22 months but I know I´m supposed to be here and that I´ll be blessed for it and if I were serving an English speaking mission I don’t think I would be challenged at all really because its easy for me to teach in English so in order for me to have growth I needed a struggle right? Oh and FYI I hate these Portuguese keyboards. Yesterday was kind of neat though after one of our teaching appointments fell through (even though we ended up teaching someone else who wasn´t from this island) we walked up to the actual chapel they are building really close to our apartment and even though it isn´t finished yet it still has the spirit there and we walked around inside and it just felt peaceful and even though the chapel isn’t close to being finished we walked by the baptismal font and I heard that I would one day baptize someone in that font and that there would be many baptisms there so that was pretty cool. So what is going on with the family? Are you enjoying your "hot" weather yet or did it decide to snow again? Anyone have any big plans for the future? Or little big plans? I think 6 am your time is usually when I´ll get my actual email time but it´s really dependent on when we want to so yeah don´t wake up early just for that. First church was weird and I didn´t understandI like prez neves and he seems like a hard workerYes they took a picture of all of us but IDK if they are sending it out or anythingthe food is food for my first breakfast I had a mini loaf of bread because that was all we had but we went shopping again so were good.Irma lords stayed here in Praia. Yes they have stores and I haven’t even seen a market well I think that’s everything and my times almost up so I´ll just say Tchou e Eu amo voces -Elder Weiss