Patient

Ola! Tudo fiche?

I hope everyone is having a great week! We had some great experiencias this week. Let me start with the follow up with one of the familias that i wrote about last week. Sergio and Irene... They are awesome. So we went by their house during this week and taught the restauration again for Sergio. He understood and acted like he already believed all these things were true. Then we followed up on how the plans for marriage were going.... NONE. they had done nothing and sergio was still saying how it would be too soon. Well... idk.. i feel like i have changed a little (or a lot) on my mission, but i wasnt going to let that one slide with a nice loving answer that i think might have come in the begginning of my mission. But dont worry, the spirit was still there. But i asked them how long they have been together... 30 years they said... almost 31... Then sister kohlert, sister cardoso, and i started to say that that was high time to start worrying about marriage and that it is not "too soon." We got pretty direct saying that the time would never come to have a huge party or all these big things they want because they arent keeping a commandment of god and they wont be blessed with those things. And then i think he finally understood or changed... or idk, but then we said that we gave them one month to get married and it takes one month to fill out the papers. Then sergio said "it doesnt even take that long." To our surprise!!! IT DOESNT?? Well then... they better get going! haha so he said on monday... after the weekend.. which is today.. he would go take out the papers and start them so that they can get married! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! We are following up on that tomorrow and i sure hope it happens! I just remember getting so passionate in that lesson and afterwords i was beyond excited! The best part is after sergio said that we all went silent for a little bit... and then he broke the silence and said "Yay.." haha kinda sarcastically but we always say "yay" so i think he was making fun of us but it was funny. 

Anyway so that is the story with Sergio and irene. i will try to give little updates each week.

Next is why i put patience on the subject... Well i have realized this week that is a huge weakness of mine. But i always had in my mind that patience was just waiting... well yeah kind of but it is so much more than that. It isnt just waiting things out. But it is enduring through the trials with a good attitude. At times i think i have patience with things but i will see that really i just complain and complain and then when it is finally over i feel good about myself because i didnt give up working or something. But that isnt patience. I cant complain during the hard times! And it all starts with thougths too. I was readying in Mosiah 4:30! We need to watch our thoughts during these times when we need to have patience and that will affect our actions. I have had times here these last few weeks where i have needed to have patience but i havent. So this week in district meeting we really talked about this attribute of christ and i have decided to really watch my thougths and not be negative about things that happen.. it could always be worse. And it isnt even that bad. I am so lucky to be here in cabo verde, healthy, and everything else! So you all check with me on that... i hope i can say that i have been patient during my afflictions :) And i challange all of us to be patient with ourselves, our family, and others, and most of all with the lord and his timing :)

So another thing i need to be patient with... THE HEAT. Ya´ll have NO idea. hahah it is so hot. They call it the heat from africa... The wind is like blowing hot firing air in your face. And the sun... oh the sun! I want to know if there is such a thing as a reverse tan when i get home. I cant even describe how hot it is...but i will say that when i get out of the shower and put on my clothes... it is like my clothes just got out of the dryer.. So i am living in a human drying machine. hahaha love africa.

So i think that is about it. Great week! We also had a baptism of the sweetest girl. Silene! I love her soooo much! :) And her smile afterwards was one for the books. i love being around people who just get it. She has been waiting so long to be baptized and now she finally is and hse is great. She has a goal to finish the book of mormon now and we are going to help her achieve it. :)

Love Sister Johnson