Sept 29 letter

The water was only off for like 2 days so it wasn't a big deal. We have a nice sized storage of drinkable water because no, we cannot drink tap water or any water that doesn't go through the filter or is sealed from the store.

This week was good. We had zone conference on Tuesday and on Wednesday we had interviews with the president. These were really cool experiences. Zone conference was super cool and I learned a lot. The food there was also super nice. We have some good progressing investigators and this week was just a really good missionary week. Days pass quicker and quicker and I really am starting to be enveloped into missionary work. There are a ton of things that I'm learning as a missionary. 

We have three families that are doing really awesome. Adriano and Avelena, Nordinho and Isabel, and Rosario and Dilha. These are all preparing for baptism and legal marriage on the 1st of November. Hopefully, all goes well and we can get them baptized. We have several other families with baptism dates marked and whatnot but they aren't quite as certain as these three. We gave Nordinho a priesthood blessing the other day because he was robbed and beaten. The next day he was feeling much better and it really was a miracle. I think that this experience really helped his faith grow as well as mine and my companion's. I always see the Lord's hand in the work. We have a poster in our house that we write miracles on everyday which really helps us recognize this fact especially. Our mission is a very obedient mission and I find little to no problem in keeping all of the rules.

Answers to questions

 I eat normal stuff like grilled cheese, burritos, potato soup, pb&j, cereal, other soup, burgurs, hot dogs etc. I haven't gotten the package yet. I get about 20-25 letters a weak. Friends, family friends on missions and such write me. I work out every day in the morning with lifting weights, push-ups, sit-ups etc. I've lost like 14 pounds since getting here so it's nice.

Sept 22 letter

So, this week was pretty much a usual missionary week. We are progressing several investigators and always finding new ones. We work in all spheres of the work, all the time: finding, teaching, baptizing and helping members to the temple. We just go out and work hard and the Lord takes care of the rest. 

On my Birthday, we went to the city for a training by our area seventy, Elder Kumbilani(Sp?). We went a little early as a district and ate a nice lunch for my birthday. It was really nice. The training was good, too. It was a little weird because he doesn't speak Portuguese so there was a translator and whatnot, but it was really nice. I am able to communicate better and better in Portuguese as the days go on and it is really exciting. 

I don't really have any crazy stories because things are getting to be more and more normal so I've lost track of what would be good to share. One of our investigators got beat up and robbed the other day so we had to give him a blessing of health. I had to say the anointing in Portuguese, which was nerve-wracking. Also, we didn't notice, but our investigator's wife held her hands about ours on the blessing when we were giving it. Technically, that isn't wrong I guess because she didn't touch our hands but it was still a missed teaching opportunity about priesthood power and such. 

We don't have many members in our area and only about two active families, which is really low so things are sometimes difficult in that respect. We are working really hard to strengthen the members in our area, though. The mission vision is still baptizing families but, as a companionship, we are working on the side goal of strengthening these members. 

Our water is currently out so things are tough with that. Hopefully, it turns back on soon because we will run out of water to drink.  We can't take showers, wash our hands and do all sorts of things. You never realize how important water and electricity and stuff are until you don't have them haha. This same thing is the case for a lot of things because I find myself missing the most random things about America and the most random people. For example, I really miss just driving my car. 

September 15 Letter

So this week was fairly uneventful compared to previous weeks, culture shock wise. I didn't see too many awesome or super weird things in that sense. It was a really good week spiritually, though. Adriano and Avalena are a really awesome family that we have. They are really receptive to the gospel because they literally have no previous gospel knowledge. I don't know if I already mentioned this, but they didn't even know what the word prophet was. They are awesome though. We visit them a lot and they came to church so they are a really good progressing family. Hopefully we can progress them to baptism soon. We have another family that has the husband as a nonmember and the wife as a member. They are an almost guaranteed baptism soon because they are such a prepared family. Those families are a real blessing to my companion and me. 

So, on Friday I went on a division with another elder in our district, like usual because my comp is DL. We did contacts all day and got sick of it so we decided to do some door knocking. We said a prayer that we would find someone and immediately some lady walked up to us and said she would like to get a visit; we didn't even have to knock a door! We went, taught the restoration, and it was really great. Every day I see miracles like this and the Lord's hand is so apparent in the mission. 

Missionary Experiences

We found a couple of really awesome families yesterday, it really was a miracle. One was a part member family and he wants to be baptized. The other was a family that had never been to church in their lives. This is really nice because basically whatever we say is straight doctrine to them. They didn't even know what the word prophet was which was nuts.  We had to explain it to them. Also when he prayed at the end all he said was "pai celestial, en nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen" haha. then later that night after we had gone to bed they called us and woke us up because they were about to pray to know if the church was true and they had forgotten how to pray. So Elder Hatfield explained how again and then we went to sleep but it was super funny and their faith is super strong. We have like, 5 families we are currently prepping for baptism so it's really going well. 

Daily schedule and finally answering some questions!

They do sell European chocolate which is nice because they import a lot of things from South Africa. They don't follow European sports at all so I'm totally cut off of everything. I don't know what sho means. I think that it is some random dialect thing but idk. The other missionaries are from: Hatfield-Tennessee, Thomas-Farmington, Armindo-Mozambique, Gage-Washington, Souza-Brazil, Lynn-Wyoming and Ence-Hurricane, Utah. We usually speak English at home only, unless Elder Armindo or Souza is in the convo in which case we kind of have to explain and do a mixture type thing. my district is just our house. I can understand if I really concentrate and I still miss a lot of things but my Portuguese is coming along nicely. I don't know the exact address of our house but it is on the fourteenth street in Maxasine(sp?) which is the neighborhood across the big road from Magaonine. We work in Hulene B and Laulani which are up the road to the round about and turn right. It's really hard to describe. Angola was part of the mission but now it is its own mission and Swazi was added like 3 months ago. All of the beds have mosquito nets. Our laundry day is Thursday because we have a laundry machine in our house but the drying takes forever and we only have three racks.

Normal day:

6:30 - wake up, eat, shower, shave etc. and work out.

8:00 - personal study

9:00 - comp study

10:00-12:00 contacts or lessons

12:00 - lunch

13:00 - 12 weeks study

14:00 - language

15:00-21:00 contacts/lessons

22:30 - bed

This could be different based on lesson schedules and whatever else might come up.

On Friday, we have district meeting for an hour and a half after lunch

Sundays

6:30 wake up

until church at nine we might just get ready or go pick up families to come to church with

9:00 church

13:00 lunch

all four studies until 17:00 and then lessons until 21:00

P-day

wake up and get ready at 6:30

from about 8:00 until 18:00 we do whatever which includes internet, sports, naps and we also have to do personal and companionship studies during that time. And we also shop on that day as well. but this week p-day was on Tuesday because Monday was a holiday.

After that it just turns into a normal day and we just do lessons until later.

We might have meetings with the branch president or correlation or other things throughout the week randomly. Also we have to do divisions usually on Friday because my comp is the district leader. 

Side notes from home: We think it's funny that Daniel is using a military clock already.  We also think it's funny that he called splits "divisions".  Also, Daniel's Nana told him before he left to be sure and send his address, even if it was just the third hut past the fork in the road by the cow, or something like that.  His address isn't far off from that description that we really laughed about a few months ago!  And Colin's really amused that his companion is Hatfield from Tennessee.

Second Letter from the Field

Ok so this week was super crazy.

We taught a lot and did a lot of contacting and the normal missionary stuff; it was pretty tiring. I learn how to say more and more Portuguese every day so it continues getting better. I think of home a lot but it's ok because the mission is really rewarding, albeit hard.

We have several progressing families and I hope that on the 27 of September we can get some of them to be baptized, but we'll see. There is a lot of weird stuff that you see and my comp is pretty impatient when people disrespect him or are drunk or something but I just think it's hilarious. 

The other day a bunch of 12-13 year old girls came up to my comp and I and ask for our autographs, I signed Joseph Smith haha. Also at the end of a lesson, one guy tried to pay us for our services.  We just said we do it out of love, not for money.

I don't know if I already talked about this, but some kid got hit by a car, something that happens often, and he just held onto his drink. No one even paid him any mind, It was pretty funny.

We taught a rich guy the other day who actually had carpet, so that was interesting. We gave him a Book of Mormon.

Things are so busy here, there's hardly a spare moment.

We saw some 18 year oldish kids running home yesterday with their faces all bloody. They had just gotten in a huge fight, so that was kinda cool as well.

There are all sorts of crazy fruits and I love trying all the new ones. I ate a huge papaya the other day which wasn't super good, and then there was another way weird fruit that I don't know the name of that was a bunch of seeds that you suck the fruit off of.

Yesterday, some drunk guy came up to us and my comp, who is way impatient with drunk people, stormed ahead so I was talking to him (in English which was weird and nice) and eventually we dumped his beer out and told him to go home. Haha, he was so drunk that I doubt he could ever remember us.

Anyways, love you guys,

Daniel 

Email Conversation

Since it was Donell's Birthday on Sunday, she decided to stay up late to see if she could have a "real-time" email conversation with Daniel (Mozambique is 8 hours ahead of Utah).  Here is their conversation (Elder Heald's words in green):

Tomorrow is Labor Day, so there’s no school or work and I don’t have to wake up early, thank goodness.  Maybe I’ll stay up and see if you write soon so I can write you back right away.  We won’t have many opportunities to do that because of the time difference, so I might see about doing it tonight.

well I'm emailing now if you are still awake

Yep

wow isn't it like 1:30 or something?

Yes.  I'm really tired now.  I was just heading off to bed and decided to check one last time.  How are you this week?  Do you feel like a real missionary now with over a week under your belt?

yeah but at the same time it is really hard to get used to missionary life. Especially when there are six other elders in your house with way more experience

Well, at least you have Elder Ence with as little experience as you.  

We saw that the other MTC missionaries arrived.  That's good.  You're senior to them, so you're not the greenest greeny.  

hahaha that is true but they get to go up to beira where the people are nicer. It's way better up there from what I hear.

Is Beira northern?  How are they nicer?

yes, and they are just way more receptive to the gospel, even though the people here are super reseptive as well.

Oh.  We had a talk with grandma and grandpa tonight about the boisterous nature of the singing.  Gpa wants to know if it's all enthusiastic make a joyful noise singing.

yes, they are super happy and sing as loud as they possibly can, I can't even hear the piano when I'm playing.

there aren't really other piano players so it kinda sucks

happy bday, I wrote "mom" on my hand so I could remember it was your birthday all day

Pictures from Mozambique