Cockroaches, the Plan of Salvation, and the Cabo Verde Death Cry

I LOVE IT HERE...Minus the cockroaches that are everywhere in our apartment... Whenever we get home the first thing we do is smash all the little baby "baratas" that are on our study table. And for some reason our Area Book is ALWAYS full of cockroaches. EVERY DAY. We also have bed bugs  Hahahaha #VidaDeMissionaria

But honestly, I love it here! It was a little hard to adjust to mission life at first, but now that I've got the hang of it I love it! I love teaching people every day and helping them come closer to Christ.  In the MTC Elder Holland gave a talk called, "missions are forever". He said in that talk that you shouldn’t go through your mission waiting to go back to, "real life". Because your mission is the closest thing to, "real life" you'll ever have.  When he said that I literally had NO IDEA what he meant, but after teaching the Plan of Salvation a million times I think I'm starting to get it: The purpose of this life is about preparing to meet God, and helping other do the same.  And thats exactly what I'm doing!  And I'm loving it!

Speaking of the Plan of Salvation, let me tell you what happens in Cabo Verde when someone dies: Everyone, like EVERYONE goes to the house of the person who died and does a, "death cry" (like think moaning and crying and yelling all at the same time) and guess when your supposed to make this visit? SUNDAY MORNING.  I don't like it when people die. It makes it really hard to get anyone to some to church, members and investigators! And... I'm sorry to say, but I swear someone dies everyweek! 

Charity

Things are so great at the MTC! I think something finally clicked here with the language because people talk in Portuguese and I can understand.. sometimes without even thinking about what those words mean in English, and as I teach lessons or talk with my companions the words just come to my head! I'm going to give all the credit to the Gift of Tongues because there's no way this is just me. But Portuguese is so beautiful!! People call it the tongue of angels for a reason! Its also apparently the "purest" of the Latin languages and (I'm quoting my teacher on this) you can understand 80% of Spanish and french  and 50% of Italian if you know it! I'm so lucky to be learning it!

1 Corinthians 13:1 - Though I speak unto you with the tongue of angels (Portuguese!!! jk haha) and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all the mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity I AM NOTHING. 

I have learned so clearly that Charity is the only thing that is really important. Who cares if you are good at teaching, who cares if you are fluent in Portuguese or know the scriptures cover-to-cover. You will be a failure as a missionary if you don't have charity, and a perfect missionary if you do. And that goes for being a good human as well! 

Today we visited a HUGE tree for p-day! So big and gnarly. It looked just like that tree on Lion King that the crazy money lives in! I couldnt get a very good photo because the whole tree wouldnt fit in my camera but I tried! ITS SO BIG!

My new companion

One thing I have learned on my mission is to always follow the Spirit. We have a little family that we're been teaching who are progressing SO WELL.  I remember when we first found them I was out knocking doors with my companion and I saw this little house out across this super sketchy ditch/pile of boulders, and I knew we should go knock it. I was a little scared it suggest it because it would be so hard to reach it but I did anyway.  This week the husband told us that he spends all day thinking about our church and he is ready and hungry to have the same testimony of it that we do. SO GLAD I KNOCKED HIS DOOR!

Hmmm... which one is Krysta??

This is the beginning of my second transfer of my mission and I’ve been serving in a place called Assomada! Its on the biggest island and is WAYYY up in the mountains.  Its so beautiful and green! There are obviously lots of Cape Verdeans here, but there are also tons of people who have moved here from all over Africa. Because of that we have run into some seriously CRAZY things.  Like one time we were talking to a member and he told us that his neighbors were cannibals from a tribe somewhere in Africa! What!! We also run into Muslims a lot too.  And also, whenever people hear the name of our church (Latter Days SAINTS) they think we worship saints like the Catholic church. Its so annoying!

Things here are... different.  Like for example, no one has addresses, but everyone knows where everyone else lives. If we need to find the house of someone, you can just walk up to any random person and ask, "a onde mora Eder??" And everyone knows! Can you imagine trying to do that in the United States?? Credo!

Also, because the people are so poor here and their food/houses aren’t very clean we can’t eat dinner with the members...and so.. we just don’t eat dinner.   I'm literally always hungry but its fine! 

First Weeks In Africa

This week has been so influential in progressing me to the missionary that the Lord wants me to be! You know how general conference usually has a theme even though topics aren't assigned? And we all know its because of the spirit leading people to what they need to talk about?  Well, just like general conference my week had a very inspired theme too.  Its always hard to explain things you learn from the spirit in actual words, but I'll try! I learned that this mission has absolutely NOTHING to do with me.  When I allowed a priesthood holder to lay his hands upon my head and set me apart as a missionary, he not only set me part from the rest of the world, he set me apart from myself (if that makes any sense... the spirit teaches it with so much more clarity!), or at least the person who I was up until that point.  There's a reason I don't use my first name anymore.  I'm not that person anymore, I'm a representative of Jesus Christ, and the only two things in my life from now on will be Christ and the people Christ are trying to being back to the fold of God.  I literally have nothing to do with that.  

I'm so blessed that Jesus Christ invited me to wear His name, represent Him, and find out the tiniest bit what it was like to be Him while he was on earth.  I love Him so much!

Sister McClellan

Getting to know my Zone!

       So this week was a lot like last week, except I got to know my zone a lot better! It doesn't even matter that we don't get to watch movies or listen to music, the elders in our zone are all the entertainment we need! We have an elder from England who uses weird words for everything. Whenever I talk too much he says, "I'm tired of hearing your yammer". No idea what that means.  Another of our elders used sunscreen as lotion for a week because he didn't know what it was, and another uses victorias secret perfume because he,"like it better than man smells". Elders are nuts.  Haha the biggest trial so far has been trying to get them to focus enough to actually learn something... pray for them because its a stretch.. 

Also we just came out of the temple after an endowment session. Someone was doing through for their first time and when we got out of the temple we went over and talked to her. and guess what?? SHES GOING TO CAPE VERDE! hahaha it was the hugest coincidence and for sure a tender mercy for her. 

I'm in a very Committed Relationship with the Word of God!

Please write to me while I'm in the MTC!  You can use DearElder.com and save the postage or send snail mail to the address below.  You can also email at Krysta.mcclellan@myldsmail.net.

Sister Krysta McClellan

NOV25 CAP-VDP

2005 N 900 E Unit 64

Provo, UT 84602

So I'm in the MTC and its the best ever! I'm really excited to have finally started my mission. So I know that my blessing said I was going to have leadership positions on the mission but I didn't expect any to come my second night in the MTC. haha but a few minutes ago the branch president asked me to be a sister training leader... if that’s not the blind leading the blind I don't know what is.