First Few days in Quelimane

Week 8— July 8, 2013 - Quelimane, Mozambique

“The church was started in Quelimane only 2 years ago, so all the members and leaders are really new in the church. These new members are really helpful with the missionary work. Already this past week, we taught quite a number of lessons with a member present.”

Hey Family!

 I was so happy to get the pictures from the 4th of July from you guys! It looked like a lot of fun! Thanks for the letters from each one of you also. I was looking forward to today since I didn't get much time to write you last week. Anyway, I'll start off from last Monday: I worked in Maputo in a trio companionship with a couple other elders on Monday night and Tuesday. It was pretty good. I rode in chapas (a minivan stuffed with people) a few more times while I was there. The public transportation in Maputo is pretty crazy.

 Flying to my first area and meeting my first companion in the field.

On Wednesday(7/3/13), I was picked up from there and taken to the airport to go to Quelimane [Kelly-money]. When flying within Mozambique, you can only check one bag, no heavier than 20kg (44lbs). So I rearranged my things to fit in one bag without being too heavy, and left the rest in my other bag, which will stay at the mission office. It wasn't too bad; I didn't have to leave too much behind. The flight was about an hour and a half. Quelimane is a lot smaller than Maputo; it's like a mid-sized city. My companion and trainer is Elder Seone. This is his last transfer of his mission, so he will be going home next month. He's a really good missionary; he's had a lot of success during his mission baptizing families. I've already learned a lot from him about contacting and teaching lessons. He's in the branch presidency here. The branch here is pretty small. The average number of people that come to church per week is about 70. The church was started in Quelimane only 2 years ago, so all the members and leaders are really new in the church. These new members are really helpful with the missionary work. Already this past week, we taught quite a number of lessons with a member present.  

Arriving in Quelimane and the church here

One of the members with a car, Firmino, came with Elder Seoane to the airport to pick me up on Wednesday. The residence is fine. My perception of what a 'nice' house is has already changed a lot. So to me, the residence we have is not bad. My living conditions are pretty good. We went to the grocery store when I got here on Wednesday. I have just cereal in the morning, and we usually make pasta for lunch. We don't really have dinner, but I'll have a snack when we come back for the night. We don't have bikes, so we go everywhere on foot. In fact, most missionaries in the mission don't use bikes. There are only a couple areas, maybe.  Elder Seoane and I are the only missionaries in Quelimane. Usually, there would be 3 companionships here, but since the mission is placing a huge focus on the cities of Maputo and Beira, most of the missionaries are being concentrated there.  So it's a lot of work, but it is fine.

Church on Sunday was pretty good. We live on the same street as the church, so it's only a 3 minute walk which is nice. But in the morning we go to pick up investigators for church. This Sunday, most of them didn't make it. The sacrament meeting was really good. It was testimony meeting, as you know. It's a small branch, but the meeting went over a few minutes with members bearing their testimonies. The second and third hours were good too.  I didn't understand a lot of it, but I still felt the spirit of what was said.

 The Language

It's hard to understand people's accents and their fast talking sometimes, so it's a bit of a challenge. I guess it will get easier with time. The language is coming along alright. I'm still expanding my vocabulary. Anyway, I really like it here in Quelimane. I've only been here less than a week, but I'm starting to get to know the members and investigators, which is fun. Maybe next week I'll be able to tell you more about our investigators, since for now I don't know them too well.

Keep sending me pictures, I really enjoy seeing them. I haven't taken too many pics yet, since we can't have cameras with us when proselyting, but today we'll take pics, and I'll send them all next week for sure. I hope you had a good weekend and a good time at church. I hope you're having a great summer! I can't believe we're already into July! Time goes by so fast. I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy!

Don't worry about me, I'm staying healthy, eating safe food and water, Have a fantastic week, family!! 

I love you all so much

Elder Rebollo