Memories of Cape Verde

I've been procrastinating this post since last spring when the Church dedicated its first stake in Cape Verde. I was lucky enough to be a missionary there almost twenty years ago, and I really miss my wonderful friends. It's ironic that the Cape Verdians are the poorest people I've ever known, yet they're also the happiest. I had so much fun with them.

One of my favorite memories is of the first New Beginnings on Fogo island. Here are the beautiful young women, who dressed in the value colors. They also did a skit, which happened to be the first skit I ever wrote for young women.

 
This next picture is one of my favorites because it reminds me to be grateful for all I have. These young women, who were poor even by Cape Verde standards, decorated their wall with pictures from a church magazine.

Here is a typical group listening to a missionary discussion. My mini missionary companion was braiding hair.

This woman was a teacher and the wife of the branch president. The background has a good view of her street on Fogo.

This young mother visited us regularly with her children. In Cape Verde, the government made it so difficult and expensive to marry that most people didn't bother. She and her husband were waiting for the papers to go through so they could marry and then get baptized. This picture was taken in the sister missionaries' apartment.

Here's another picture of our apartment. Manuela was our maid, and Nina is her daughter. All the missionaries had maids because we ate beans every day, and there wasn't a crock pot. Manuela also did our laundry by hand. My companion teased her all the time about men we were going to set her up with.

I wish I could post all the pictures I have, but this post is probably already going to take forever to load. So, I'll just sum up by saying I'm grateful I got to live with these people for a few short months. They didn't have hot water or running water or electricity. Most of their clothes were thrift store rejects. But they have achieved a joy that most Americans spend their lifetimes pursuing.