Brava!

Nova Sintra

Mural in Nova Sintra

This week we finally took the ferry ride to Brava.  What a beautiful place!  Surprisingly the ferry was full of Americans with Cape Verdean heritage who were going to Brava to relax for two weeks.  It was very strange hearing people speak in English all around us!  We loved seeing the lights of Fogo behind us on the water as we crossed the channel. 

It was cooler on Brava!  They had a blanket on the hotel bed, which we used.  Nice to be cool, and it was very quiet.  We slept well.  The following day we enjoyed a breakfast of cachupa at the hotel and headed out for a hike.  We found this mural on a wall, depicting a man strapped to a whale's back, with a suitcase, and a map pointing to the United States.  It is funny, and it is true.  Brava has a long history with the United States. Early whaling ships would stop and recruit sailors, who sometimes ended up living out their lives in Boston.  Which is one of the reasons Boston has a large population of Cape Verdean immigrants.

Nova Sintra Plaza

Although Brava is having a drought like the rest of Cape Verde, there were flowers everywhere.  We saw a beautiful square in the center of the main town.  Brava has a population of about 6000 people.

Flowers on the Plaza

Nova Sintra House

We thought this old house was beautiful.

View of Nova Sintra

This is the view of the largest town on Brava, Nova Sintra, below us as we hiked up the mountainside.  All of Brava is mountainous.  Looking at the photo, you can see where the town ends, and there is a steep incline down towards the sea.  The clouds obscure the view of the Fogo volcano about 40 miles away.

After our hike we had lunch with the two elders serving on Brava, Elders Kempe and Vance.  They don’t get a lot of visitors and they were wonderful hosts, showing us where to eat and how to get around town.  It was a great day.

The following morning we returned to Fogo on the ferry.  It was a rough ride, but we were relaxed, having had a “day off” or p-day from our normal daily work as missionaries.  We are glad we went!

Supper with friends

Elders Vieira and Nelson with the Portelas

We also enjoyed a visit from the Portelas recently.  Since they speak Portuguese we had the zone leaders over as well and they had a lovely conversation.  It was fun to be with friends.

Three Months

Projects

Mosteiros Red Cross

Mosteiros Pharmacy

With only three months left of service Elder Biven is writing up very few new projects, and mostly wrapping things up. This is a photo of the Mosteiros, Fogo health project to improve the quality of life for diabetics through education.  This includes limited use of blood sugar meters,"'glucometers".  We have received most of the 90 glucometers and a few other medical supplies.  We were pleased we were able to purchase these at the local pharmacy in Mosteiros.  There was a surprise as the project developed when we discovered our friend Nelo, the project initiator and local Red Cross chapter president, had gone to the US for five months.  But he left some good people to manage things in his absence, so we are moving ahead.  We hope to see the training, which will be organized by the local hospital, begin in the next weeks.

And although we are not writing up many new projects, we did recently receive approval for a project to improve self reliance for some families on the north side of Fogo, through a shared boat and motor for fishing.  It will be managed through a local NGO co-op.  Fishing is an important source of food in this area, and the project will give families periodic access to a boat and motor, in addition to some training (and life vests, a requirement from Germany). We are enthusiastic about this project.

More chickens

New Chicken Coop

This beautiful woman is part of a ward-based member welfare project.  She and four other families received supplies to build coops—and she is standing proudly in front of her coop, located on the second floor of her house (the first floor is a doorway into a room with the stove, and another larger room where there were children playing).  Today we delivered chicken feed, and she thanked me profusely, and thanked God, for the help she is receiving, so that her family has more food and a little more money.  The families will receive their chickens soon.  We make sure we aren’t the ones that deliver them anymore :)!  

Enjoying life on Fogo 

Elder Biven & Lucindo Headed to the Volcano

Recently Elder Biven was able to climb the Fogo volcano!  He and his translator and guide, Lucindo, made it to the top and enjoyed the spectacular view.  Then they navigated the crater and came down the black sand side, which is too hard to climb up but is a whole lot of fun to run down.  It took six hours.  I stayed at the bottom and enjoyed the small community at the base of the volcano, and moved the car to the pick up location.  Elder Biven and Lucindo had big grins and sparkles in their eyes when they arrived back at the car.  FUN!!!

Elder Biven at Arnauldo's Restaurant

One of our translators, Arnauldo, has opened a fantastic restaurant on the outskirts of São Filipe, overlooking the sea, with a view of Brava.  It is so quiet and relaxing there, and they play wonderful music by Cape Verdean artists, and the food is so very good.  An evening at Arnauldo’s restaurant is a wonderful little escape to life in the first world for a few hours.  We wish Arnauldo success!

Apartment inspections

Patim Kitchen

We continue to inspect the missionary apartments on both Fogo and and northern Santiago, the Assomada zone.  It is a great blessing to interact with our missionaries.  Here is a photo of the kitchen in the Patim apartment.  They had done a good job, they had running water the day of the inspection.  

Birthday Parties

Casal Portela

Here is a photo of the couple who live downstairs from us in Praia, on Santiago, the Portelas from Brazil.  Last time we were there it just happened to be Elder Portela’s birthday.  I made brownies, which I have learned is what Americans are famous for, and we joined the Portelas, here serving as self reliance missionaries, and the Moraes, who serve as the office couple, for a birthday party.  There was lots of laughter and Portuguese conversation.  We were so very grateful to be included, even if we couldn’t keep up with the conversation.

Moira and Diana

And we had another birthday.  One of the two little girls who often come to play with us on our porch turned four this week.  Wonderfully, I still had a bright pink writing pen from the US in my possession, and I gave it to her with congratulations.  What an important birthday!