Funda

Hey everyone!

so this past week was awesome! One of the best on the mission. Our lessons have been going great, and were working hard. Funda was the highlight of my week.

Funda is a place that's outside of the city of Luanda. Luanda is super dirty, there is trash and sewage and people everywhere!!! its packed. sooo many people in such a small area. We also have missionaries in the provinces, which are outside of Luanda, and all the missionaries want to go there cause its clean and more like Africa. But on Saturday, Elder McAllister, elder Hyde, and Elder McCune and i all got to go to Funda. All the Youth of the church in Luanda had a 3 day camp out at Funda. its out of Luanda, and its on a lake. It was beautiful. sooo pretty. and Elder McAllister and I even got to teach some people who lived there. it was super cool and such a blessing to see the pretty side of Angola for a change.

We also had like a ward family night. we watched 17 miracles. It was awesome. the Spirit was way strong. Its crazy to think of all the hard times that the pioneers went through just to get to Zion. I love church movies. we watch them whenever we can haha. they're super cheesy but they're awesome. Legacy is my favorite.

Family nights are my favorite things on the mission. Every Monday night after p-day, we pick a family and have a family night with them. We share a spiritual thought and then play a game. They're awesome. If you don't have family night, you should start. it really is such a blessing. The other day i was thinking about the church in general. and just thinking of what a blessing it is in my life. All my best friends, come from the church, i love the blessings of knowing that i can live with my family forever, because of the church. I have the opportunity to serve for 2 years, in Africa, because of the church. and it just got me thinking, this church HAS to be true. there is no way it isn't. You look at all the good things the Church has done for the world. My life is immensely blessed because of the church. I love the scripture in Mosiah 2:41. its one of my favorites. When i think of the people who are happy, they are always those who keep the commandments. I know that if we do this, the Lord will bless us. A igreja é um benção em nossas vidas. o evangelho abençoa todas as familias.

I love you all! thanks for your examples to me.

love,
Elder Money

Translate: The church is a blessing in our lives. The gospel blesses all families.

Another day Another Dollar

Hey everyone,so things are going good. Same old, same old. This past week we had a baptism. The niece of H and A, the couple that got married and baptized. So that's good. Not a whole lot of new things going on. So today i figured i´d talk a little bit more about Angola in general and some of our investigators.

We have two boys that were teaching. M and G, Their dad is a member, he was baptized in Brazil and now lives in Angola. Hes dating a lady from Brazil and wants to get sealed with her in the temple. But he wants his two sons to be baptized first. they already know everything. they're super smart and they always play soccer with us on Mondays.

Were teaching a mom and her daughter named Y and J. They're awesome. They're a reference from a member. and he served a mission in Portugal. So he always goes with us to the lessons which is nice, cause we get a free ride, and he knows his stuff.

Were teaching 4 families right now.They're awesome. They all have kids, super cool. We actually had all of them at church yesterday which is awesome!!! but they all need to get married, which is way hard here. And they don't have a good enough job, or a job, to save up money to get married. so were working with them on that.

Here's kind of a funny story. so this past week, we had to finish cleaning the old house. it was already clean, but we just had to take some things out, like an old cabinet and bunk bed and stuff. they're all pretty much broken. and there is a dump right in front of the apartment and some shoppas right next to the dump, so we were just gonna let the people in the shoppas have it. But its up 3 flights of stairs. which is kind of a pain. But some kids saw us moving and they've talked with us before, so they came up and were helping us clean, like sweeping and stuff. and they saw the bunk bed and asked if we were gonna throw it away, so we asked them if they wanted it. they said yeah! it was two little kids. probably about 12 and 10. So we took it apart, so we could fit it through the door, then put it back together, and they took it from there back to their houses. They were super excited. it was cool.

The kids here are my favorite. they're so nice and innocent. They LOVE magic. So we've learned some little tricks that we can do. They love the one, where you pull of your finger, its super simple. but they don't know how to do it haha. so there are a couple neighborhoods that we walk through and they always come running up to us telling us to ´´tira o dedo´´ which is like take off your finger haha. so we do, and they're always way freaked out by it. haha. and theres always the doubting Thomas who doesn't believe until he sees it. those are my favorite. haha. so if you know any simple magic tricks, let me know ;)

so yeah. Now for a spiritual thought. I often ask myself why is this so hard. why don't they understand that this is good for them. why cant they just stop drinking. why do they have to hate us. or even more simple, why is it so hot. or why do we have to follow this rule or that rule. In this past zone conference, we watched a video with Elder Holland that related the atonement to missionary work. He talks about how we ask ourselves these questions. and he replies, that we should look on the example of our Savior. and think about the Atonement. Elder Holland says ''It wasn't easy for Him, why should it be easy for us?'' I think we can apply that to all aspects of our lives. Nobodys life is easy. Everyone has their challenges. We might ask ourselves questions like why don't people just know that this is the true church, or why do i have to work so hard to get a testimony or to get this etc. But we can think of our Savior, and this quote from Holland. It wasn't easy for Him, the greatest of all beings, so when its a little hard for us, we should gladly accept it. its not going to be easy. But its the price we have to pay. Sou bem grato por nosso Salvador. e pela sacrifício dele. Eu Sou grato por vocês. E a suporta que vocês me darem. Esta é a Igreja de Jesus Cristo. Não era fácil por ele. não vai ser fácil para nos. mas é o preço nos temos que pagar. eu Amo vocês!

love,

Elder Money

Translation: I'm very grateful for our Savior and his sacrifice. I'm thankful for you and the support you give me. This is the church of Jesus Christ. It was not easy for him. It will not be easy for us. but it is the price we have to pay. I love you!

Crazy Week!

I Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!

This past week was pretty crazy! we had mission conference, mission testimony meeting, and interviews. so all the missionaries in Angola came to Luanda and went to these meetings. President and Sister Merrill are awesome!!! We already love them a ton! they're perfect for Angola.

So we had all that going on, and then yesterday we were teaching one of our investigators named J. Hes from the Congo. And we had marked with him to get baptized on the 27th of this month. We sat with him yesterday, and he told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon, (we gave him one in French cause that's his native language) and he said that he really liked the part of Nephi and Laban, and he really really liked Nephi's prayer. then he told us if it was possible, he'd like to be baptized on the 13th!! so now we have to worry and work so he can get baptized on that day.

Hes awesome. He lives with another Member named S. He was less active but we taught him and he started coming to church again and now he introduced João to the church and hes getting baptized!! crazy how things work out.

One of my favorite things on the mission is our study time. Every day we study the scriptures and I love it. We´ve talked a lot about creating sanctuaries for ourselves. They can be at the church, or at the temple, and also in your house. Your house should be a sanctuary for you and your family. A place where you can go to get away from the problems of the world. A place where the Spirit dwells. I love my study time because if this. its a time when i can get away from the problems of the world. and just focus on the gospel, the scriptures, the Spirit. So my challenge to you this week, is to make sure your house is not only a sanctuary for you and your family, but for those around you as well.

I love being a part of this work. I love seeing the Gospel change lives. I have had soo many wonderful experiences on the mission.I have felt the spirit stronger than i ever have before. The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the one and only true church on the Earth today. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I love you all!!!!!

Love,
Elder Money

 

 

(Last picture take from Elder Cafferty's blog)

 

Independence day/4th of July!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone!!!

So a lot has happened this past week. We had a baptism on Saturday. His name is C, hes 19 years old, super humble, super nice kid. so that was cool. after the baptism we went to KFC so that's always good. Right now we have to get two taxi's to go out to the chapel in Cassequelle that has the baptismal font. but our chapel is in the process of getting its own so hopefully that is all set up by our next baptism!

So as of today, Angola is its own mission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! finally!!!!! So all the Elders have been, calling today Independence day. Its the day we gain our Independence from Mozambique haha. It is such a blessing to finally become our own mission, and have our mission president here in the country. Speaking of which, President and Sister Merrill got here on Saturday. They Are awesome!!!!!!!! I already love them so much. All the Elders do. They are soo nice and funny and caring. They are exactly what Angola needs. Angola is going to grow so much more and have soo many more opportunities and blessings now that it has its own mission president and mission.

So for this week with the 4th of July coming up, I wanna talk about gratitude. Angola is great and all, but it is nothing like America. Angola has taught me sooo much about gratitude and to be grateful for the things we have. Especially as Americans. A couple things to be grateful for that you might take for granted:

-Sewers

-Garbage men and Garbage cans

-Police who enforce the laws

-Delivery Pizza

-Street addresses

The list goes on.... There is sooo much to be grateful for, especially in America. This morning before we played soccer, we sang The Star Spangled Banner. :) I love the scripture in 1 Nephi 18:23-24. it talks about the promised land, and i love the last part that says ``we were blessed in abundance``. So this 4th of July, be grateful for all the things you have and are blessed with. I am soooo proud to be an American. God bless the USA!!

Love,

Elder Money