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| Recent convert and young adult Janiza Silva (with her favorite Senior Couple) |
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| Wheelchairs are of little use in a warehouse |
One of our big projects, and one of the Church’s major humanitarian initiatives, is the distribution of wheelchairs and other mobility devices to those in need. Back in late June we received a shipment of 383 of these devices, mostly wheelchairs, that had been prepared and ordered by Elder and Sister Goff while they were serving here. Friday we began the formal distribution working with our partner the Red Cross of São Vicente and of Cape Verde. We almost always work with partner organizations to build off of their experience and connection with the community we desire to serve.
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| Our young men volunteers teach their volunteers |
We held a formal presentation at the local hospital Friday morning and invited institutions, selected wheelchair recipients, and volunteers. It was the culmination of several planning meetings and a visit to the warehouse to verify the shipment inventory. We met at the hospital at 10 AM that morning to do final preparations for the event.
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| We have found the Red Cross of São Vicente to be an excellent partner |
The team at the Red Cross have been very good to work with. They identified about 10 institutions around the island that have a need for wheelchairs to serve their clients. One of the largest of these is the hospital where we held the presentation.
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| We had a full house for the presentation. President Ribeiro is in the middle with Red Cross representatives on both sides. |
Conducting the presentation was the Vice President of the local Red Cross. Our special guests and speakers were the director of the hospital, the National President of the Red Cross, and President Cesar Ribeiro, President of the local LDS Church organization or district. Each spoke giving their praise to this effort and recognizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for their generous donation. The local TV station was present to film the event which aired on their nightly journal the next night. If you want to take a peak, go to this link and test your Spanish, uh Portuguese: http://www.rtc.cv/tcv/index.php?paginas=40&id_cod=11996&data=2011-08-20
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| Always smiling, often serving, always having a good time - LDS Young Adults |
The volunteers present that day included some of our young adults we had invited to be there to help set things up. As often happens we found our way with them to the library, the presentation room, and discovered that the Red Cross had already moved wheelchairs into the room and done most of the work. We had 7 enthusiastic young adults who were able to do a few things to help, including help some of the handicapped, but mostly they were witnesses of their church serving the community.
There were also about 10 handicapped and older residents present to represent the many who will be assisted by this program. Many came from the Red Cross Nursing home, but we had two brothers from one of our LDS Branches present. We witnessed some touching moments and heard lots of nice words.
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| Wheelchair recipients come from all backgrounds - its a little sobering to see and hear |
Our Church was very prominently represented by the full name as the financial contributor. President Ribeiro was able to describe the Church’s philosophy of helping people increase their self sufficiency, helping them help themselves. He mentioned some of the other areas we focus on for our humanitarian aid. We all felt it was a very positive experience and very good exposure for the Church.
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| A priesthood brotherhood grows as brothers help brother |
After the event we helped the disabled get to their vans and cars. We thanked all we could who had contributed to the experience. We also had opportunity to speak with Eloisa Borges, a very gracious woman and Red Cross National President, for a couple of minutes. We indicated our interest in doing a wheelchair project for the southern islands. She said it would need to be twice the size, but expressed interest in supporting this as well as talking with us about other opportunities to partner for the benefit of the community. These connections are very important for our work.
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| Câmara Municipal = City Hall = 10 Wheelchairs Ludmila on the left is another partner of ours |
I should mention that this event is only the first of about 6, but clearly the largest. We will distribute about half of our devices on this island (São Vicente) and the other half on four other islands making up the northern group of Cape Verde islands. Visiting these other islands will be very valuable as we seek to extend the reach of our humanitarian assistance to more of the whole nation.
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| Our Chef with his assistants, Fredy center starting his 2 kilo cake with Hugo left and Vi right |
We were feeling pretty good as we walked a mile or so home to get ready for our next event. We had a quick dinner then welcomed three young men of the young adult group into our house to make a cake for the youth activity that night. Fredy, a very recent convert, was the head chef. Hugo Cruz and Vilson were his assistants. Vi has had a tough couple of weeks being thrown out of his house by his aunt, but seemed strengthened by this association. He was very interested in speaking about his experience and confirming his determination to live the gospel and stay close to the church. He and I made a side trip to the mini-mercado to pick up the bread and a few extra ingredients for the sandwiches to be served later that night. We chatted much along the way.
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| The Chef lays in the batter while assistant does dishes |
The three young men worked hard on the cake. Fredy and the others worked the sugar and butter until they got a very smooth blend, checking it frequently. Fredy knew exactly what he wanted and what he was doing. We agreed to make 2 kilograms of cake filling two large cake pans. After almost two hours he had it ready to cook just a little before we were to meet at the church for the activity. Janet offered to stay and cook the cakes while we did the activity. She really wanted to join us for our visits to the Nursing Homes, but couldn’t do both and was committed to helping the young men succeed at their cooking.
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| Ducha does her best to cheer up the sad |
The activity for the evening was to divide the young adults into two groups and visit two Lars de Idosos (Old Folks Homes) in very poor areas of the city. We ended up with 14 of us and split into two groups of 7. Our group walked at least a mile and a half to the home in Campinho. They were very animated and interactive the whole way going and returning. At the home we found 8 residents in various states of existence. We introduced ourselves (we were expected as we had spoken with Francisca the director earlier; she was also one of the representatives at the wheelchair presentation) and sang a couple of hymns. We then divided up for one-on-one visits and activities. Some played checkers. Some just visited. Others got into rhythm sharing. I had a copy of the Liahona which I read to a small man that could barely speak and was covered in flies. We all managed to connect and pass some quality time.
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| Nuno writes to his new friend |
At the end we took sheets with a young adult group photo we had prepared beforehand and wrote a note to the person we had interacted with and left it with them. We also took some photos of the combined group. The youth would like to take a copy back to leave in the home.
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| Everyone felt a little better |
We arrived back at the church in even better spirits and began making preparations for our light meal. Janet was there with the cakes cooked to perfection and the sandwich fixings ready. This time the sisters helped cut bread and add the chicken salad filling. We were more than ready when the other group also returned. They dived right in and ate and drank all in sight. When the cake was brought out we got lots of help from the younger youth who were in the other rooms practicing for the Talent Show. Two kilo of cake disappeared pretty quickly, some topped with left-over chicken salad filling. The cakes were a very fine texture and delicious, showing the mark of a master chef.
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| Chicken salad on cake for late comers - yumm |
After the food we had a meeting with the young adults to talk about their experiences at the old folks homes. It was very touching as they expressed their feelings. We had one investigator, Janiza Silva, participate in both events of the day. She does quite well in English and would have been a member but her mother wants her to wait until she turns 18. She shared her very tender feelings about the event as did about 8 others. It was a very positive sharing experience that I will file away as not only a very full day, but a series of blessed memories.
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| All smiles for a miraculous day - Janiza and her missionaries |
As a wonderful postscript, Janiza reported to us the following Tuesday night that her mother was considering giving her permission to be baptized sooner and asked us to join her in prayer. We did. The next night she reported that her mom had given permission and she was working towards baptism on the 3rd of September. We congratulated her, but apologized that we would miss it due to a project commitment. She was aware of the project and wanted to participate if possible. We asked if she would consider moving her baptism up a week. She discussed it with the missionaries and was baptized that Saturday. She is now a member and very grateful for this big miracle in her life.
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