Transfer day is always a bit hectic. Elder Anhanha arrived by plane from Lubango in the morning. Elder Allison's plane back to Lubango didn't leave until the afternoon. We hung out at the domestic terminal of the airport for a few hours. President had his interview with Elder Allison, and then the 3 Elders got a quick sandwich before saying farewell to each other for a few months.
Elder Allison has been serving for a long time in Luanda as a zone leader. It was time for him to spread his wings and literally fly to Lubango. Before he went however, he had to document all the scrapes, bumps, dents, and dings that the zone leader truck sustained during his leadership. Not that he did them all, quite the contrary. With the terrible traffic and crazy drivers, this truck was a magnet for bad Angolan drivers and it showed. This picture doesn't do it justice!
Change is always good in a mission. It helps missionaries keep sharp with the work and changes things up a bit. These are our two new zone leaders. Elder Bauer was serving in Viana. Elder Anhanha was serving in Lubango. They will now be serving in Luanda 1 Branch. This will be a good companionship and we look forward to some good examples of humble leadership from these two missionaries!
I love to post pictures so parents can see what the day to day, humdrum life of a missionary is like in Angola. Once the rains start, the red dirt turns to mud and our missionaries have to negotiate huge lakes in the roads. Elder Bauer and Elder Allison were so good to remove their shoes before entering the mission home! And Elder Eckman shows us what happened to his arms before he figured out how to hang his mosquito net properly and before Sister Reedy told him about a good mosquito spray that he can buy here. Don't worry Eckman family, he is doing much better and he always keeps a good attitude.
Josemar and Cecilia are both converts from Angola, both are returned missionaries, and they are being sealed in Johannesburg next Tuesday. In Angola, the couple has to be married civilly first, then they can travel to the closest temple to be sealed for time and all eternity! What a great example they are for the members in Luanda and for our missionaries, Elders Davis, Manuel and Harper.
Once the wedding festivities were over at the chapel the Elders manned the gate so the newlyweds could leave for their wedding dinner at a local restaurant. Elders Manuel, Davis and Harper talk with American members here in Angola, Sister Reedy and daughter, Maren, while waiting for the couple to emerge.
The Cassequel missionaries were a big help with the wedding of Josemar and Cecilia. They cleaned the place, they swept up the thrown rice, and they helped restore the light when it went out. What would we have done without Elders Davis, Manuel, and Harper?
