5.26.2015

Week 16: Never Thought I'd See the Day

Heyo! Bom Dia!

Well after skyping two weeks ago and being told by someone...*cough cough* (mom) that I sound like a Mexican, I was quite offended and have been working on my accent. I do not speak spanish. I speak Portuguese, but better yet, Portuguese with a Cabo Verdean accent... and trying to learn a bit of Creole because it sounds so cool.

Anyways, this week we have zone conference on the island of São Vicente, which is an hours boat ride away. I usually am fine on the boat, but on the way back it was bad. I have a cold and well I was just sick as usual. Not to mention EVERYONE around us was throwing up, but I didn´t, I just felt like I was going to. Zone Conference really takes it out of you since we have to travel so far and then stay for two days. But we did find out that we will no longer we attended the monthly zone meetings since we are further than two hours travel time. But that also means that the next time I go, I need to stock up on deodorant and print pictures and buy lots of other stuff since Santo Antão doesn´t have it. For conference, we talked about the importance of prophets, the Book of Mormon, the temple, laws and ordinances, and having an eternal perspective and not just concenrating on the steps and on baptism. I think that was really stuff that we needed. Sometimes we get so caught up in  baptisms here since its so common to get them every week, and when you dont have one, its weird. Actually, out of all the 8 missionaries here in Santo Antão, none of us had a baptism this last week. Super weird. But this saturday..... best news ever......!!!!!

We (sister johnson and I) will be having.....3!!!!! baptisms this week! and ALL of them are rock solid. It is truely incredible. They are amazing. I just wish you guys could meet them. Their names are Anilton (20), Rosilene (22) (brother and sister), and Maria (28). Anilton is seriously a boss. He loves to study the scriptures and answer questions in church, and his sister Rosilene is a sweetheart. She read 100+ pages in the book of mormon in under one week. She is amazing. And Maria is just adorable. She is just so little and tiny! You´ll see them all next week in the pictures!

Okay so you all know our Cabo Verdean mom, Julinda, she is just my favorite. She is hilarious! This week she was all about our clothes. She always says that our clothes are feia (ugly) or bonita (beautiful) and that she wants them when we leave (because all the missionaries give away their stuff when they die). She also acts like she hates us at times in the middle of the street or comes up and tries to dance with us. She is such a goofball. Love her. 

So... one thing about cabo verde. THere are lots of baratas (cockroaches?) everywhere. So one few into our study room last night and I about died, so I ran to get sister johnson so she could kill it with her chaco, and the other sisters came to see it, but it crawled away and we couldnt find it! Of course the other sisters couldnt pass up the opportunity to scare me, so they pretended to see it and I just about jumped off the balcony. It was hilarious.... but I also really dont like baratas. Nasty little... or really big... things! They get pretty big here. Like really big. Its gross. But anyways, we were talking in the kitchen, when one of the sisters yelled ´´BARATA´ and pointed above sister johnson, who of course freaked out, and followed by yelling at the sister for messing with her. But she wasnt joking! The barata had crawled from our study room into the kitchen and was climbing upside down beneath the cubboard(?) right above sister johnsons head! One of the sisters grabbed a chaco and smashed it, but it continued to live a but in the sink till she stabbed it several times with a knife. Yeah. They don´t die easily.

Okay, so enough about the baratas. I think I have already mentioned our investigator, Romilton, but just in case I haven´t, he is 22 years old, we were teaching his brothers and he said he wasn´t interested in the first lesson, but then we taught him one on one, and he was so into in. We have been teaching him for a while now, and he has been reading and praying, and has been to church the last two weeks! He had a severe problem with coffee, so that was what we were working on with him. He would not drink for a day, but then get headaches so he would drink before his soccer practice so he could train. But we had a solid lesson with him, and told him to keep trying, and then we say him at church on sunday. He said his headache went away at church! But then he drank again after because it returned when he got home and he had soccer. But we continued to work with him and called him every morning to remind him and see how the previous day was. Long story short, we talked with him on friday, and he sneakily slipped in that he hadn´t had coffee for 5 days! what! Seriously a miracle. He no longer has a desire to drink coffee and no longer has headaches. The power of revelation is real. The whole story is a bit more personal, so I won´t share all of it, but heavenly father hears our prayers. 

I love you all! Hope this letter was better than the last, oh and its cooling down a bit here, well its not as hot. its still hot though. I dont think I´ll be using any of my sweaters for a long time.

Okay, love you all! Till next week,
Sister Kohlert

Week 15: Pictures




Week 14: Feels Like I Just Talked to You

Dear Familiy,

Well another week down! Im doing good, as always. 

Sooo... This week:

We went to São Vincente for zone meeting. I like going on the boat because its cold. But everyone else gets sea sick so that makes it lame. before there was one missionary who didnt so i talked to him, but he went home so now everyone else gets sick. so i just sit there trying not to bother the people who look like they are going to lose it all. Hahah

We didnt have a baptism this week. We always have lessons. We NEVER knock doors here. We use references instead and contact people on the street and maybe set up appointments if they seem interested.

I have decided that getting sick every week or so is just normal. Me and Sister Johnson just expect to get sick at least once every two weeks. Its super fun. But we just walk it off and just keep working!

Our ward in Porto Novo will be splitting, probably will be announced officially at stake conference on june 7, the last day of the transfer as well, so we are guessing that they will take out one of the sets of missionaries here so there will only be 4 total again. Probably 2 sisters and 2 elders. So either me and sister johnson will be moving or the other sisters. I hope its the other sisters! I dont want to leave my area. It really is the best. In the entire mission. Not even kidding. Like its one of the only areas that is a small city. All the rest are much bigger. 

I dont really know what else to write! We have one investigator who is amazing. His name is Anilton and he is 19, he asked if we could teach him basically. He read like 30 pages of the Book of Mormon in under one day which is unheard of here. He also does the additional study things in the pamphlets. He is basically teaching us! So he will probably get baptized with his sister who is equally amazing on the 30 of may or maybe the 23. well see. 

We also have two moms who both love to come to church, so hopefully they will be getting baptized in the near future, they just either have to get married or separte from their boyfriends. So we´ll see about them as well!

Okay so.... yeah! Thats life! I´ll take more pictures this week! I promise!
Love you guys!
Sister Kohlert
Like Cream of  Wheat but 1000 Times Better
Tan Lines From My Sandals


5.04.2015

Week 13: Lizards!

Bom Dia (or Tarde or Noite)!

Finally sent some pictures! I´ll try to take more next week and send them. So this week... where do I start! Oh! A pipe broke here in Porto Novo, and it supplied water to the city. Oops. They have to get a new one from Sal... so who knows how long. So everyone doesn't have water, so they are using the stuff they have stored and buying whatever else they need. We have a tank, so hopefully it will last till they get it fixed or else we will be spending a lot of money on water. Oh and its getting hotter! The wind is hot. Ive never experienced anything like it. Even the natives say its hot, and will be till August. Every week I will probably say that I didn't think it could get any hotter. But oh it can!


As you can tell from the pictures, we had a baptism this week! She is seriously amazing and was so happy!
Dont have anytime this week sorry!



One crazy thing that happened:
We were in a lesson with Antonia, yeah same one. Everything strange always happens there, I dont know why. But during our lesson, their cat was playing with something, turned out to be a lizard! I thought it was a cockroach, then a mouse, then I knew it was a lizard. Sister Johnson saw it in the middle of the hymn and freaked out a bit and we just tried to laugh it off because Antonia didn't know it was because of the cat. Then you could hear it chewing on the bones haha. Then at the end, we looked over, and the whole thing was gone. there was nothing left! Oh the things that happen here in Cabo Verde! I love it!

Love you all, sorry it was short this week!

Sister Kohlert