Ola familia!!!
Bom dia Bom dia!!! Obrigado for everything you guys and for the letters this week. It is way good to hear from all y'all!!!
This week went by in kind of a blur! Haha, I can't believe that I already get to talk to all you good people:) My week was great!! This week was fairly busy with just a bunch of random stuff that made it all go by super fast!
So on Tuesday, President Marques, the branch president, wanted our help with an activity that the youth had. We were also able to get some of our investigators there as well, so it was well worth it. At the beginning of the activity President talked a little about the importance of seminary and institute and we watched one of those really cheesy seminary videos that brother Greer used to show us:) It was talking about how the scripture can come ``alive`` as we read them:) haha it was pretty funny. Then after that we all divided up into groups and read a talk together with the youth and had to come up with a presentation. To end off the whole thing, there were sack races, a game that they play here called garrafinha, and a relay race of sticking their faces in a bucket of water to get something, then to put your face in a bucket of flour and find something, then they had to eat an apple on a string;) haha no one finished the race.
This past week our water pump went out so we had to wait for a repair man for like ever to come and fix it! We didn't have running water for quite a while:) it just brought really fond memories of the beginning of my mission.
On Saturday, Elder Chatwin and I had a lot of appointments, so we decided to plan some splits with a few of the ward missionaries in the branch. I went with a young man named Guilherme, who is preparing for a mission right now. He and I went to go meet up with a man that we found on the street, but it fell through. So an old ex investigator came to my mind that I have never taught. So we decided to go and see her. She happened to be Guilherme's aunt. So we got to Neusas house, the ex investigator, and started talking to her about the life and tried to get to know her a little bit more. She told us a story of when she was younger during the war. She was riding on a train returning to Lubango with her sister, brother and her mother. As they were about 2 hours outside of Lubango, Unita, a political party, had attacked the train, derailing it, and started shooting people as they were running away. As she and her sister jumped out of the train, she landed on her hip and broke it, but she couldn't just sit there. So she got up and followed after her sister down the rail road tracks. They could hear gun fire until they finally reached Lubango. When they got home one of her brothers asked where her mother and brother was. She didn't know. Later they found out that they had been shot in the ambush. So for all of her life she has been dealing with a bum leg and a constant reminder of what happened to her, her mother, and brother. She was angry, and full of hatred. When the missionaries finally found her she had had 3 different operations, but these only left her in more pain and the inability to do much more than get around the house. She goes on to explain that over time after sitting with the missionaries she has found so much comfort and love from the message that we carry. She and her family have been attending church every Sunday also.
After we saw her, Guilherme and I went to do a service project for an investigator named Ze who is now constructing his house. Once before elder Wilson and I helped him bring sand up to in house by hand so that he could make blocks. This last time with Guilherme we started to make some blocks with him! Ze is such a hard worker and wants the best for his family!!
Anyway, I love you all so much! I hope you all have a great week!!!
Elder Wilhelm
