Primary Presentation, Mission Tour and Sao Felipe Basketball

Palmarejo II Primary Presentation

Our wonderful little primary had their presentation on December 3rd.  I shamelessly took a photo of them singing......parents were also doing this.......it was just so beautiful.

Mission Tour - President Johnson

President Johnson, the area president, came and encouraged us.  We were grateful for his thoughts.  It was a special bonus for Elder Biven and I that he spoke in English.  We were reminded that the Jaredites were pushed forward by ferocious winds, while they sang hymns and praised God.  And those furious winds got them where they needed to go, to the promised land!

Elder Biven donned an apron to help serve the missionaries, about half of the mission attended the Praia conference.  The meal was catered by a restaurant the Mission has used for years.  The menu seldom varies:  chicken stroganoff, lots of rice, french fries, and a salad of sliced cucumber and tomatoes.  For dessert we had a cup of fruit. What a great meal.  No one went away hungry.

We enjoyed taking part in the group photo, President Johnson and President and Sister Amo are at center in the back.  The Elder holding up a Book of Mormon is Elder Bowman, from Missouri.  He is a seasoned missionary and nearing the end of his mission, so he showed off a little by bearing his testimony in the native Kriole language, rather than Portuguese.  The missionaries just have to figure Kriole out, while they learn Portuguese in the MTC, when they get here they find out that many people speak Kriole.  So in order to teach them they have to learn at least some, which many of them do!

Sao Felipe Basketball

In late November we had a new project approved: Sao Felipe Basketball (SFB).  SFB's long term goal is to strengthen the Sao Felipe community.  To do this they will focus on strengthening families, starting with the youth, using basketball as the vehicle.  This past Saturday, Bila Santos (Coach Bila), the President of SFB invited Players from three other programs he has been involved with to Sao Felipe for a four team tournament.  The objective was to build excitement in the local youth and stoke their desire to participate.  There are few, if any, indoor basketball courts in Cape Verde and the outdoor courts share space with the concrete soccer fields. 

 

Setting Up the Basketball goal

The backboards and hoops had seen better days however Coach Bila brought new nets for the occasion.

You Need Two of Them

Coach Bila, in blue, Addressing the
 Assembled Players

Hands in - Ready to Play

Sao Felipe Basketball is a coed program and will start with youth from 8 to 12 years old.  Each year as a new group of 8 year olds join, the age range will expand until ultimately covering youth from 8 to 18.  SFB will use the mentoring relationships that they develop with the youth and will partner with other community organizations to provide the youth with education on health, self reliance and other life skills.  Community service projects for the youth and parents will teach the value of serving others.