Responsibilities

Mission Responsibilities

After six weeks of pushing very hard to keep up with our mission responsibilities we have a little breathing room for a few days.  Just enough.

Before we came to Cape Verde we trolled the internet for blogs about senior missions.  And we were very interested in what senior missionaries actually do.  So here is a small list:

We have general mission responsibilities, which include attending zone and mission conferences supporting the junior missionaries in random ways like rides and apartment help, and helping the other senior missionaries with their jobs.  And we have a specific mission assignment to help with apartment inspections.  In the past it has been all 26 apartments on Santiago, which we do in one week at the end of the transfer.  We go out every day, and the real challenge is that this mission has the highest baptism rate in our area--  the European Area-- so our missionaries are very, very busy teaching and working with investigators and members. When we drive to do the northern island we go on their p- day and it's pretty easy to schedule.  But the other two zones are mostly in Praia and we have to squeeze our visits in between their teaching responsibilities.  Its really fun to see them.

Elder Biven was called as a humanitarian missionary and I am his assitant.  He has a small budget for humanitarian work and member welfare projects.  He spends one to two days a week managing the receipts and paperwork, and then we have multiple meetings and appointments each week to support our projects.  We often, but not always, work with a translator to help with the Portuguese.  We currently have about five open projects:  

1) The chicken project in Fogo, chickens began arriving at their new homes this week.  We were able to manage the work on Fogo by phone, and with the help of some amazing members and senior missionaries, (the Martineaus) on Fogo.  

2) Nós Saude, the health clinic that is nearly complete.  This has required more or less three trips a week to the site, with mornings spent purchasing the supplies and attending project management meetings. 

3). Eyeglasses for the poor and needy in Cape Verde-- a tender mercy on this project is that the doctor who provides the service to the poor (we only buy the glasses) he has been on vacation in Portugal for a month.  So we have 200 pairs of eyeglasses in our apartment awaiting distribution--the doctor did not leave the contact information for the eyeglasses with us before he left the country.  It saved us that this work was delayed for a month 

4). A school supplies project we have just gotten approval for, and 

5) Beds for the Remar rehabilitation facility, interesting story there.  We found bunk beds, we asked to purchase them and began the two to three week process of getting money transferred directly to the vendor from Frankfurt.  It would not be wise to describe on this blog what it takes to get thousands of dollars into the country for the cash payments we make, but in this case we felt we could do a rare wire transfer.  During the two week interim, while waiting for the transfer to arrive, Elder Biven was out of the country for a week, and then off on the island in Fogo for another week. So two weeks later we went to the merchant and asked if they had received the multi-thousand dollar wire transfer for ten bunk beds and 20 mattresses.  They had.  So can we pick the merchandise up right away?  Well, no, it will be thirty days......?  Our Portuguese was not sufficient to resolve the situation.

Our partner on the project, Pastor João, is Portuguese.  He made a trip to the store and asked them where his beds went.  They had been sold to the government, to the prison.  No beds.  Pastor João had already waited two weeks for the wire transfer and he needs the beds, he cannot wait another month.  We felt the frustration with doing business in a developing country and we were tempted to feel overwhelmed and frustrated.  But we were working with a very special partner.  Pastor João and Elder Biven went shopping for beds one more time, they had looked previously, but one more time.....they went and looked at the one other bunk bed they had found, a wooden, fragile set.  They did not want to buy this inferior solution.  Somehow they found a sales person in this other store who told them, of course you don't want those wooden beds for men, they are for children.  We have some metal bunk beds......and the sales person took them to another location where there were metal bunks beds -- of a higher quality than those that had been sold to the prison by the other merchant--  and mattresses that were significantly better.  And..... because the Lord was in the details of this.....it was all much cheaper.  They bought twelve bunk beds and twenty four mattresses.  As Pastor João and Elder Biven left they agreed that things had turned out exactly as the Lord wanted.

Here is a photo of purchasing electrical supplies for Nós saude.  Our translator, Neome, is in the background

Delivering Drywall (Pladur) Supplies

Cleaning up the mess at Nos Saude

Nursing Duties

In the letter Elder Biven and I received, calling us to serve as missionaries in Cape Verde, in addition to our humanitarian responsibilities I was also assigned to be Mission Nurse Specialist, and Elder Biven is my assistant.  So we work together.  And generally we are able to carry our load, together.

Two weeks ago we had a mental health event with one of the new missionaries, and he needed to go home immediately.  There was no time to bring someone in from Germany to escort him.  The Area President, Elder Hacking, called my medical phone and asked for volunteers.  I handed the phone to Elder Biven.  I knew that we had been divinely blessed and guided in handling the crises that evening.  I felt peace as I knew that the solution to the problem was going to be painful for me personally.  Elder Biven said yes.  Yes he would make the five day, eight flight segment, 70 hours of travel time, trip to the US.  So I became both full time humanitarian missionary and full time nurse for a week.  To be fair, Elder Biven did get a trip to a Walmart in a small town in Montana, and the Senior missionaries in Praia put in orders, blades for electric shavers, corn chips, I wanted new sheets.....things you can't find here.  Vitamin pills.  

This is a photo of the bounty he returned with.

I carry a medical phone 24x7.  I help missionaries with gastric distress and skin rashes, I do a lot of teaching and a little counseling.  I help President Amo watch over the missionaries, and he does his job very lovingly and tenderly, so I try to follow his example.

We have malaria in Praia now.  It just appeared, and by the grace of God we are ahead of it and we will distribute prophylaxis to the missionaries in Praia Friday at their zone conference.  We learned of the problem from a church member who works at the American embassy.  He forwarded an alert from the CDC a little over a week ago.  I sent it to our Area Medical Advisor who sent it to Utah.  "Just watch, not yet", was the message they sent back on August 25.

Then one week later the CDC increased their warning, all travelers to Cape Verde should take measures.  This was five days ago.  Salt Lake directed us to take measures and get medicine immediately.  Understand that the supply chains to Cape Verde are weak, we don't have interstates with trucks bringing us stuff, it comes in one container, on one boat, at a time.  So I began on Friday, walking into every farmacia I could find begging for doxycycline, a medication only available by prescription here.

I was fortunate, the farmacias I frequent regularly just gave me the medicine, by Monday I had 25 boxes.  There are 40 missionaries in Praia. Tuesday we drove north and hit each farmacia we found on the road, I would lay my missionary call, signed by President Monson, in English, on the counter, and my passport and say in broken Portuguese  "I am an American nurse.  I am a nurse for the missionaries (point to the name tag)". I lay a box of doxycyclina on the counter.  "Eu Preciso isso".  If they start to move toward their medicine cabinet I tell them I need lots, I need all that they have.  Miraculously, except for one Farmacia which refused because they wanted a prescription, each one gave me everything they had, three boxes, eight boxes, I bought it all.  One woman said she was a member of the Church as she gave it to me.  Another said, you need a prescription but because you are a missionary we will do this for God.

I don't know where we are going to get next month's supply, and the missionaries on the northern island need it as well.   But we can cover the missionaries In the most danger right now.  Elder Biven had malaria as a young man, he had relapses for years.  President Amo has also had malaria, it damaged his liver so badly he cannot take the medication to prevent it now.  I think that after you do all that you can the Lord gives you grace.  We are doing all we can.

Late August 2017

Nos Saude

Is the president of Nós Saude, Raimundo, with his son.  We have worked together to build a health clinic in the neighborhood community center in Achada Grande.





















Here is one of the stores we were able to get supplies for the clinic at-- we were very excited they had a selection of five different toilets, three different sinks to choose from, and incredibly, there was also a selection of faucets we could buy as well.  We found the store by accident, and it was a tender mercy to be able to get so many things we needed for this project in just one place.

Return to Fogo

This week we also went back to Fogo.   We had some wonderful experiences.  It seemed everywhere we went we ran into church members and missionaries who were working very hard, going about doing good!  We took the fast ferry.  Elder Biven had had to make a quick 70 hour round trip journey to the states last week, so it was not a good idea to fly this week.  The ferry was air conditioned and we saw Fogo from a new perspective.  On our journey over we were invited to the back deck of the ferry to watch the sunset behind Fogo.  Seeing the volcano backlit by the sun, and the lights coming on on the island as it got dark, that was a spectacular experience.  We returned to Santiago on the fast ferry as well, here is a photo of the ferry pulling into Fogo (the morning of our return journey). The beach is quite black!

We were all over the island once again doing business this time on the chicken project.  We are in the rainy season and Cape Verde is becoming very Verde-- green--  and so beautiful.

We met the family of the man who is raising our chickens on Fogo.  Here is his son and his father on their farm on the mountainside.
















We also visited the library in Mosteiros to which LDS Charities has donated three computers.  This is the only source of Internet in this little community (we were able to confirm this with our Elders and Sisters serving there, they know where to find Internet for P-day letters home!).   We were excited about this project, and so pleased to see the computers all set up and working.








These are the two men who proposed the computer project to us and who keep them running for their community.  What a blessing to get to help them.


















Throughout our trip we experienced such beauty.  We saw a rainbow, and we saw the rain over the ocean, and sunrise over the neighboring island of Brava.  It seemed at every turn we were being blessed.  On one occasion we ran an errand to Cova Figuera and we were able to meet the only other Missiourian in the mission, Elder Bowman, from Springfield.  He and his companion Elder Teles were standing on the roadside waiting for a ride to an area up on the mountain which is an hour and a half walk away.  We were able to give them a ride up to the beautiful village and see that incredible place.  We also got to know Elder Bowman just a little better.  As we returned to the main road after our visit with the Elders we saw another rainbow over the ocean.






      

Closure

Quiet Moments

Last week we had a good evening returning to the Praia lighthouse with Elder and Sister Anderson, the office couple who keep the mission running.  I caught this photo at sunset.

Last week we also traveled to the northern island nearly every day.  So it was a great day when we traveled for housing inspections together with President and Sister Amo, and President Amo drove!  You can see how relaxed we are in these photos taken from the rooftop apartment in which the Sisters in Assomada live.

During the final stage of the chicken project we had a class on caring for chickens, which we coordinated for the families who were receiving them.   A technician from a local company, UPR Animal, taught the class, and it was well received.
















Here is a link to the movie the church made about the chicken project.  We know most of the people in this short clip.  The humanitarian couple are the Carnell's, who proceeded us here and proposed this project.

https://www.lds.org.uk/stand-in-need

Closure

And this week we completed the chicken project on Santiago, and said goodbye to the last of our sweet galinhas.  We made three trips to the northern island in our car, loaded with 42 chickens each time, all bound for their new homes.  We had miracles, a grower lent us two cages to safely transport more birds in our car.  The count of the birds was so important, we would drive to the far ends of the island for deliveries and there needed to be exactly 21 birds for each family.  On one occasion we unloaded the first carrier and we were one short.  How did we miscount?  And the we unloaded the second carrier for that location and somehow there was an extra bird in it, we were ok.

At the end of the project we went to the home of Dina, the owner of the farm, to give her the last rent payment.  She had gone out of her way on multiple occasions to help us, novices that we were.  We had called ahead to see if we could drop by, so when we arrived we were surprised that Dina's family was having a holiday meal.  We were invited in and she insisted that we join them at the table.  It was a beautiful, beautiful hour as we made small talk in Portuguese, and thanked her for the help she gave to the 18 families who received chickens through the project.  It was such a pleasant thing to sit with her family and enjoy the delicious food.  Humbly, there are missionaries who go home from this mission having never eaten a meal with a local family.  It seems hard to comprehend, coming from the United States where missionaries get meals most evenings with members.  Food and water are simply very dear/expensive here, and many homes do not have running water or kitchens so many families have very little to share with missionaries.  And yet we had the blessing of a meal with a local family.  They even let me take a photo.  We will treasure the memory of this experience for a long time.



On Wednesday, we said goodbye to our friend Elder Teela, from Liberty.  He was pretty excited to go home.  It was nice having him in this mission, as I worked with the missionaries, taking their calls and helping them with medical problems, it was just good to be connected to Elder Teela.  We wish him well.

Chicken Deliveries

Going to Assomada

So this was the big week for delivering the first 187 chickens to their new homes. The logistics have been incredible, lots of details and personnel, and of course birds and trucks, all to be managed. We got 61 delivered here in Praia Tuesday evening.  It was exciting getting the birds into the covered truck. Then six stops around Praia.  What we learned was, move FAST because the truck gets hot when it is stopped.  In Portuguese galinhas are hens and frango is cooked chicken . . . . .a stopped truck turns galinhas into frango so Keep Moving!

Manuel Helping Load Chickens into Truck

then Saturday afternoon we loaded 126 birds into the back of a truck, using feed bags to space them out and keep them from smothering each other.  We moved quickly, there were four of us.  I stayed in the back of the truck as we loaded, working to keep the hens calm.  Finally we are loaded and we head to Assomada-- about 40 km over mostly mountainous roads.  Things seem to go well.  We have been blessed with a cool day-- a heavenly miracle, because we need cool to keep the birds alive.  And the wind in the truck helps.  

Pushing the Truck to the Gas Pump

About 10 km from Assomada we begin to head up an incline into switchbacks on the mountain.  The truck, which we are following in our missionary car, sputters and dies.  It sputters and dies again. They are stopped on the road ahead of us. The driver gets out and smiles at us . . . . they are out of gas.

I am certain this is a death sentence for our birds.  It's over.  But, truly miraculously, we are able to back the truck down the hill 100 yards and into a small bar/gas station that we had not noticed.  I help push the truck to the pump because Elder Biven is on the phone with the man in Assomada who will show us how to get to the houses. We purchase gas.  It takes WAY TOO LONG.  We need to get MOVING.  I can't get into the truck to check on them because the cover is tied closed.  We need to get MOVING.

Finally we are back on the road.  We go to the first house and and I get into the back of the truck and start working with the birds.  I pull them apart, they are hot and exhausted and three are dead.  But I put 21 in baskets for delivery to the first house and I work with them, I talk to them, I keep them off each other, I hold them on my lap and I sit in the back of the truck for the next five stops.  And at each stop I send the most exhausted ones to their new homes while Elder Biven works with the new owners to get the birds safely settled.  He quickly fills the water feeders we have provided with vitamin enriched water.  The hens perk up when they are out of the truck and in their new place.

Preparing to Put chickens in Coop

And at the last stop I perk up too.  An older woman, dressed in traditional black clothing,  comes to the back of the truck and thanks me for the chickens.  I get out with the very last basket of birds and follow a narrow walkway to the back of the house where the coop is.  Six younger children are in the coop, happy and excited.  Elder Biven is showing the oldest girl, who is perhaps ten, how to feed the birds with the feed that he and Paolo had delivered the day before (on a major expedition).  It is all worth it. To see the happy children so delighted about their galinhas.

Associação Nos Saúde - Work Begins

Water Tank

We were very excited when our proposal for the Nós Saude health clinic was approved.   In Cabo Verde access to an assured source of water can be problematic.  Therefore every building has its own water reservoir located on top of the building.  Associação Nos Saúde, needed a water tank to put on their roof to support the new bathroom. 

Here is what purchasing a water tank looks like:

Raimundo Monteiro, President of Associação Nos Saúde, and Elder Biven discussing the merits of various water reservoirs.

To the right, a workman inside the tank cleaning debris from the drilling of holes for various connections.

Raimundo with truck driver and helper discussing the best way to load the tank onto the truck.

Later, moving the water reservoir onto the roof of Pilorinho Community Center.  Like most things, this was a group effort.

Easy!

Cement Blocks

After purchasing the water tank and getting it on the roof, we went to buy cement blocks, cement and sand for the interior construction.  

Cement blocks are manufactured here in Cape Verde.  Cement can be made from volcanic ash and lime, so there isn't much of a shortage of supplies to make the new blocks.  They mix the elements up and then use a kind of block pressing machine, it creates blocks using molds.





After the blocks are formed, they are left dry in the warm Cape Verde sun.













Raimundo and our construction supervisor unloading 50kg sacks of cement.

This week, Raimundo, and volunteers from Pilorinho will begin construction.  Raimundo has already secured firm commitments from volunteer doctors and nurses for staffing the "Consultório Social" 


In addition, we have commitments from other NGOs, local companies and the local municipality to provide needed furniture, equipment and supplies for the operation of the clinic.

Two Busy Weeks

Delivering Chicken Coop Materials

What an exciting two weeks.  On a wet Cape Verdean Friday, Elder Biven and Paolo delivered supplies to the eight remaining homes in the Assomada District which will have coops built.













It was a day to witness generous acts.  And what a tender experience entering homes with great love inside them and very little in the way of comforts or possessions.  
















At one of the locations the mother was outside deep frying fish for her family.  She generously offered some to Elder Biven, Paolo, and the truck driver and his assistant.  The first two bites were good, it was kind of chewy....then it was crunchy.....the woman smiled as she watched Elder Biven eat and he told her how delicious it was...."Moray" she said.   She showed him the crushed head with all the sharp teeth (and Elder Biven is thinking, how did they catch a moray eel?  Those are mean little devils). Elder Biven continued to smile as he was given a second piece of the freshly cooked eel and he wandered over to the truck.  Where he can discretely give his second piece to the truck driver who ate it with relish.  But he kept the sweetness of her kindness in his heart.



At the end of the long day, with two more homes to deliver supplies to, one family was not home.  A neighbor approached, offering to store the supplies for his neighbor.  Gratefully Elder Biven and Paolo unloaded the goods into the neighbors humble three room house, taking the 'chapas' or large boards and well as the wire and smaller boards, into the neighbor's small bedroom for safe keeping.  Amazing.

Wood to Fogo

Following delivery of Materials to the Assomada District, the remainder of the wood, 1000kg, could be shipped to Fogo for framing the coops to be built as part of the Sao Filipe Member Welfare Project.  The wood would be shipped by boat, of course.  

So Paolo, NeNe (Paulo's assistant) and Elder Biven strapped the wood into bundles and got it on a truck and down to the dock.   

The bundles of wood were 350 lbs a piece, so Elder Biven was extremely happy to see the crane on the boat for loading the wood off the dock!  And it was funny, as he and Paolo and the truck driver pushed the bundles of wood off the truck onto the dock the dock workers shooed Elder Biven away........ they could handle this...... we looked at each other and laughed, perhaps it was our gray hair that caused the dock workers so much concern.  :). What a blessing that they helped us.

Nos Saude Project

Towards the end of the week, we received news that our project proposal to help with materials for a health clinic in Achada Grande was approved.  What joy we feel at being able to help prepare a small clinic for delivery of health services to this humble area.  We attended a celebration at the clinic location-- Pilorinho-- which included dance and song and shaking hands with the community group president.  We have enjoyed our time with the members of this small community and look forward to working with them on this project.

Tarrafal Wedding (Elder Biven)

Finally, this past Friday, we were invited to the wedding of President Mendonca's Mother in Tarrafal. President Mendonca is the 2nd Counselor in the Mission Presidency.  He is also the Director of Self Reliance for the Southern Cabo Verdean islands.  President Mendonca was one of the first people that we met when we arrived and has reached out to help us on multiple occasions.

It is common in Cabo Verde for couples to live together for their entire lifetimes without being married.  Of course without being married, a couple cannot join the church.  So this was a doubly joyous occasion.  The marriage was to be Friday followed by a baptism on Saturday.

Tarrafal is a lovely town on the northeast coast of Santiago.  Just perfect for a tired nurse to go walking in the sand.

Beautiful Place. . . . . . . . Beautiful Sister

Pastor João's Farm

Last week Elder Biven felt we should go tracting.  As humanitarian missionaries, that means we go out and look for NGOs(non-government organizations) who are doing good work that we would like to partner with.  In a country with no addresses and no phone book, tracting for NGOs could be challenging.  But Elder Biven has kept his radar on, as have I, and as we have driven through Praia to inspect missionary apartments, or to run errands for the chicken farm, etc. we have watched for signs with phone numbers.  That's how we find NGOs (and medical services, many times).

So last Friday we went tracting.  We went to an organization in Varzea that LDS Charities helped a few years ago.  At that time they were just getting started and they needed kitchen equipment for their services for the elderly.  We visited their site.  It appeared to be locked up tight, but as we approached I felt I should ask the guy across the street sitting on a bench about the organization.  He said he didn't know anything, but a fellow walking a few yards away overhead my question and nodded his head and took us in.  The manager was happy to see us, remembering the work we had previously done, and readily set up and appointment with the president.  I felt we were very blessed that this happened so easily.  (We actually returned and they have a playground project they would like help with.  It was good to reconnect with them).

Following our first success with tracting that day we tried another organization, Remar.  An international group, in 70 countries, they are seeing success in a faith based approach to overcoming addiction.  We had seen a sign not too far from where we live so we walked over to check things out.  It was the heat of the day on Friday, and once again, the location appeared to be locked up tight.  We lingered in front, then as we turned to walk back home a truck pulled up.  A man jumped out and spoke to us in English "I know you!  I know you!"  Elder Biven began to introduce himself but once again the man said "I know you!"  He had a story to tell.  Twenty six years ago he was a cocaine addict.  He was beginning to turn his life around and he was visited by two young elders.   In his words "they came to my house in Lisbon, and they prayed for me.  A week later I got the job with Remar.  Every time I see them on the street I remember, they prayed for me."  He was so happy to see us.  I wonder if those Elders know how they helped him change his life.  He is married and has four children.  His life has been good, filled with tremendous service to others.

We don't yet know everything about the Remar organization, or Pastor João whom we met that hot afternoon.   But we learned that Remar is building a halfway house on a rented farm in the mountains north of Praia.  This week we had the privilege of returning to visit João in his home,  meeting his wife, and then following him up into the mountains to see the farm.  It is quite a place.  The future residents are working to rebuild the interior, which is hard work, it is good work.  And perhaps we saw opportunities where we can help.   But the most precious moment of all was at the end of our tour.  Pastor João asked Elder Biven if he would like to say a prayer.  And so he did, blessing the farm and those who will live there, while such a sweet spirit attended!  We have felt such joy interacting with these incredible people who are working very hard to bless the lives of the people of Cape Verde.

Front View of the Farm.

Agricultural Areas

These two boys were playing in an abandoned car nearby, getting in and out and pretending to drive it.  What fun.  They allowed me to take their photo.

One tired missionary.