Week 102

Sorry yesterday when i wrote the email to send to everyone the computer crashed so ill send a quick one. Everything is going great here. Dad asked when i will be leaving this island. I actually leave a few hours before i have to get on a plane in praia to go home! so Pray there is no problems with travel. Because there often is on this island. And if I miss it i will miss all flights.... haha!!

Love you all!!!! SEE YOU ALL IN A WEEK.... hopefully!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 101..interesting time

So for this week we had an interesting time! We had someone from our stake call us and say that the patriarch would be here saturday for a meeting and we had to get things found out for the group. This was i think thursday at night! so we didnt have a lot of time to figure it out. And we had it set up but they changed it so our group went to the other elders group for church and we all listened to him at church. It was stressful trying to get it all figured out. But in the end it was soooo awesome. 

At the end a member invited everyone over for lunch and we all ate lunch before the hiace came back to take us all back to tarrafal. It was stressful at first but it was fun for everyone and everyone was happy even the kids that were throwing up in the hiace rides... haha! Got a lot of pictures so ill show them to you when i get home!

 It was super awesome because we also were able to get 4 investigators to go. All family members of the members here. And they seemed like they all had a lot of fun.

Well...... 2 more weeks..... and pretty much one more email because i will leave at night that day.... Its a super strange feeling.


Love Elder McMullin

Week 100... Another good week!

Another good week! Getting near the end..... 

Questions for the week...

Any lizards here?
Yep i see them like daily if i pay attention.

Spiders?
Just the same ones in fogo. Big black and yellow. but supposedly harmless.

More people at church?
Sadly no! we passed EVERYONE the day before and everyone was so sure they would be there but sadly not everyone came.

Is it true that there are no mosquitos here?
No. just no. Multiple mosquito diseases have gone around since ive been here.

Did i hear about the elections?
yeah.....

Ever seen turtles?
Nope! but they are a protected species here.

Common names here?
joao.... maria.... antonia.... lots of bible names too. jesus....

Any pirates?
I have never seen any.....

Oranges?
As far as i can tell they taste the same as in America!

Love you all!
Love Elder McMullin

Week 99.....

Well this week was very simliar to last week! Still just working away on Sao Nicolau! We found out that we are not going to another island for zone conference so i wont be going to my last zone conference... or last zone meeting... so i didnt give a testimony my first one because they forgot and they didnt know that my last one was months ago so i didnt give it there! haha pretty funny huh??

No one left me questions so i dont have much to talk about...
We got a few more people to church this week so that was good.
We have a member that is gonna catch a shark so i can try it! I told her i wanted to try it before i left and her cousin is a fisher so she said she would get one from him and cook it and invite me!

Haha the members ask me just about daily if i know when im leaving yet but ive had the same answer for like 2 weeks. I dont know when im leaving this island but i leave Cape Verde 6th in the morning. 

We couldnt find a haice so we took a truck back to our area this week and i got a lot of awesome pictures... And saw a ton of drunk people because it was a holiday haha.

Well thats it! Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 98- October 31st , 2016- Last transfer! I stay!

So transfers! I stayed and my companion left. My new companion is Elder Podzikowski. He is from orem and i met him awhile back. He stayed at my house one night in praia. Since he came we were making sure he knows all the members and investigators. Due to the last few weeks being strange we need to find a lot more investigators this week.

Story with visiting teaching... Well I have two things that have to do with it. One is that helping people understand the importance of home teaching and visiting teaching is one thing that is emphasized a ton by our mission president to help the people here. The other was we had a less active that we passed multiple times a week for two transfers and taught her very often and she never came to church. but finally a member passed once! just once! when they had this activity of passing other people. And that week she showed up. Along with many other less actives. That week was one of our highest frequency thanks to that activity. unfortanetly people went back to their normal lives and started struggling on passing less actives again and they fell away. But I saw there that retention works so much better when its loving friends and family members that are helping rather than just the missionaries.

AMi going to bring souvenirs?
i guess you dont remember when i asked for ideas on what to bring people because i have no idea!!!

Halloween celebrations here?
They had like a party and i saw some people playing games together. Nothing like super halloweeny like home though.

Weirdest thing i ate this week?
Nothing weird. but we did eat calzones for lunch yesterday and it was awesome. First time in a loooonnng time. 

Whats the first thing i want to eat at home?
I dont know! There are a lot of things i want to eat!

Who will i hug first?
haha who knows?

How is my companion? does he think im weird? do i think he is weird?
Hes a lot of fun. And everyone is weird in their own way right? I know I am. I get told it often by many people.

Love you all!
Love Elder McMullin

October 24, 2016 Week 97- feeling better and a baptism

Hey loved ones. First off yeah I am doing better! It isnt completely cleared up but it isnt stopping anything anymore! Second off important business to take care off... my best friend on the mission Elder Toledo had a similiar sickness but it lasted for 6 weeks and they didnt know what it was. Well they found it last week but dont know what it is. Long story short he went home this last week. The reason why I am telling you this is I was planning on being at the airport when he was originally going to get home in 6 months. But now instead he is suppose to be with you guys at the airport and staying the night at our house the first night , that is if he is healthy enough. And still has the desire and no other plans here in 6 weeks. So that is the heads up on this... I hope that doesnt make anyone upset. But in advance if it does, feel free to talk it over with me and tell me why my best friend while i was out here cant be there... haha! Also I hope everyone has seen the flight plans by now! I will forward them just in case...

This week one of our recent converts was able to baptize his son and also prepare and pass the sacrament for the first time! So it was super exciting and he was awesome. This man is a living example of what the atonement can do when applied properly. He has changed so much and is doing so many great things. I can tell you a bit more about his story when i get home. 

One downside at church was we only had 14 people. That is what happens when you can only work for a few hours a day though. We will get everyone back this week though! 

Also I had my last interview besides the final interview with my mission president! It was good.

And today is the first day of my last transfer! But transfers wont happen until the middle of this week so i will tell you what happens here in a week!

Questions for the week!

Were we able to visit investigators this week?
Just our one that was baptized this week. Besides that we just passed members with our small amount of time.

More copies of the Book of Mormon?

Yes!

Any baptisms?
Just the one that i mentioned!

Who blesses the sacrament?
One will bless and usually we have a member to pass. One day we had to do both.

Fruits and veggies that i eat?
veggies are scarce... peas and carrots from cans. onions. green peppers... those are the usuals. fruits, apples, bananas, papayas, mangos, i found pears and plums one week and was in heaven but havent found any for awhile....

Trees and surroundings.... Palm trees... and these other kinds... kinda like african safari like trees i guess? Beach on one side and big mountains on the other that are brown but thanks to the rain lately are scattered with green patches.... 

I hope thats good enough!
Love you all!

Week 96- sick week

This week was .... boring. To be honest I am still sick and had to spend most of the week inside the house. Now i am telling you this but you cant call the mission and you cant worry. I am fine and it will probably pass this week. The biggest problem is just the boredom of being inside! 

To answer your questions....
When i go shopping is it a store or an outside market?
Depends where! and what i am buying! Fish and fruits and veggies are outside a lot of times. But like rice, drinks, packaged things, those are inside stores. There are a lot more outside markets in praia than here.

Last time i had a good Horchata?
The last time i made it! Which was in fogo about a year ago!

Are there cats here?
Yes. They roam the streets with dogs.

Did we get copies of The Book of Mormon?
Some. The others should get here on a boat tomorrow morning!

Have I been on any boats besides Ferry boats?

Nope!

How many people were at church this week?
20! Pretty good for not being able to pass a lot of people this week.

Any new baptisms?
Still just helping our recent convert baptize his son! We gave him the priesthood this week and saturday he will baptize his son!

Favorite food of the week?
I do not have one. Because im not allowed to eat just about anything because my stomach is not the healthiest place at the moment!

I love you all!
Love Elder McMullin

Week 95

We were able to watch conference! And i learned a ton! My favorite talks were if you combine all three of President Uchtdorfs talks including the womens session. The talks were all on really simple doctrines but they did an amazing job on really getting deep on each of them. I am SUPER excited taht the next time i will hear conference will be in english so not as many things go over my head. I mean i can understand the talks pretty well but in english it is so much easier to try and focus on the doctorine and just on learning rather than understanding first then learning. Besides that I dont think the week was super eventful. The whole weekend was taken up due to 12 hours of conference. Also I got a bit sick so that made it interesting. But it was nothing bad.

No one gave me questions this week soooo that means short email! We wake up work out, get ready, study, teach, eat lunch, teach, come home, plan, and sleep! Thats the everyday routine and its still going on! Trying to strengthen the members and find new people to teach. We also should get some more copies of the book of mormon soon so that should help. We are hoping to use conference to help the mothers that have children that they havent had baptized yet understand they have the responsibility to help their children learn the gospel in their youth. That will be fun!

I love you all! Hope you have a fun week!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 94- Didn't get to watch Conference

Hmmm so this week we were not able to see conference but we will watch it this weekend. So we just had regular church and i got to teach gospel principles just like when i was at home! Not very many people showed up which was sad we just had 18. But once again there was a record. We had more men then women in church! We found 2 men that were baptized on other islands that are now living here so now we need to work with them and they will help the group a ton!
Now to answer questions!

1. Any new baptisms?

We are working with the son of one our recent converts and he should be baptized here in a few weeks.

2. Any new investigators?

A few. I dont think i told you yet but we are having an interesting time in the mission right now. The mission has a book of mormon draught! We are all super low! In fact we have 2 and we searched the houses of members to get those. There is a boat coming from Germany with copies but... i have no idea when it will get here. And even worse then we have to wait to get them to our island! Good news is we have 5 copies on the way... but those might be the last ones ill be getting to teach people! It is making new investigators very interesting.

3. Any rain?

Just a small bit this week. didnt last long at all.

4. How is your toe? Anymore getting ingrown nails?

They are all fine. I havent had problems with them for awhile.

5. Any pictures?

Not that i can upload right now!

6. Are you taking pictures so that we can see them when you get home?

Im trying!

7. Favorite happening of the week?

Well this week i got what we call my trunky call! Asking which airport I want to arrive in and everything! So I should be home on time!

8. Favorite food you ate for the week?

Nothing really out of the ordinary.... oh i found some peaches and plums. That was a nice change from just bananas and apples. I am hoping they get another shipment tomorrow.

9. Favorite scripture or scripture story for the week?

Well i officially decided 2nd Nephi is my favorite book in the Book of Mormon. It is filled of two of my favorite things. Harsh reprimands and prophecies! Sometimes it hurts reading it though because i get reprimanded.... oh well. It helps right?

I love you all!


Love Elder McMullin

Praia West Zone

New area of Tarrafal, Sao Nicolau

This is right near Elder McMullin's home. He lives right on the beach!!

Week 93

Well this week i have some pretty excited news! The group got up to a record high frequency of 31! Fun fact about our group we only have 2 male members that are active that are old enough to have the priesthood and one was just baptized so he still doesnt have it. So that means me and my companion is 2 more. and 1 investigator that is a male adult. that is 31 minus 5. 26. That means 26 women and children were at our group this week. We are basically the same calling Mom! 

Working in this group involves a lot of passing recent converts seeing as every member is one almost! Mom asked how many members live in our area. Answer is 18 baptized members.
Other questions. Food is more or less the same between islands. There are some slight differences but mostly its rice fish chicken beans katxupa. I have been eating a ton of fruit since i have arrived in this area.

Am i going to be able to watch conference.... Doubt it! Seeing as we are in charge and we arent allowed to have laptops and such.... Honestly i have no idea though. I guess i will find out for sure this week.

How far do i walk? Less than most of my other areas. We only take haices when we need to go to the other elders area which we only do like every other week for district meeting and divisions. And it is like an hour ride. super pretty though through all the mountains and green areas.

The weather is super hot! But not as humid as praia. But i have heard this is one of the hottest areas on the mission. I think i have been to all the hottest now.

The other missionaries were able to get off last week! Finally everyone is where they are supposed to be.

No we have not recieved our call with our returning information. Maybe i will be extended and not make it home for christmas! haha just kidding!

I think that is it for this week! I love you and miss you all! That includes you too Bridger!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 92- Transferred to Sao Nicolau ...Tarrafal

(sacrament meeting in their house)

Welllllllllllllll I was transferred! My new area is Tarrafal! but not the one on the main island that i have already been to. This Tarrafal is on the island of Sao Nicolau. There are only 4 missionaries on the island and they are in 2 different towns. Both areas just have groups which means they arent even big enough to be a branch yet. The area that I am in has only been open for around a year. Which means everyone is a recent convert. So i guess the things that you guys will be most interested in hearing is that I am district leader of the island, group leader of our church group because we have no male priesthood holder to do it so i get to preside and conduct meetings, visit all the members to make sure everything is going well, and such, and also church is in our house. So this area is quite interesting. And seeing as i only have one transfer left after this one I will probably finish my mission here!

Some stories from this week. My first plane that was suppose to bring me here was cancelled due to rain but i was able to get here the next day. good thing too because if i didnt i wouldnt have gotten here for awhile! There are two elders that are suppose to leave this island but cant until this week due to planes and boats off the island are limited. My new companion is Elder Delgado. He is from Cape verde the island of Santo Antao. I have never been there but i know him because i was his district leader in fogo when he started the mission. He actually stayed with me a few days while he waited for his companion. Now he has a year on the mission! Time flies. The elder that i took the place of is Elder Bisk who i also knew on fogo when he started his mission. He is from Kaysville and i think used to live pretty close to where dad and christine and jordyn lived. He also played lacrosse but is 2 years younger than me, but he is still with us waiting for his boat tomorrow so he can finally go to his new area.

We had 2 baptisms this saturday and the area that i left had 2 baptisms on saturday as well! Once again i have an area baptizes in the ocean! That makes 4 out of my 6 areas on the mission that have had to do baptisms in the ocean.

I think that is it for this week!

Love Elder McMullin

week 91

So this week was pretty awesome! I have two cool things to tell you about and then i will answer moms questions. So first story was we had a group of investigators walking with us to church and this guy that claims to be a prophet (i have talked to him a few times before) comes up and starts yelling things about false churches and how joseph smith isnt our redeemer and things of the sort. telling the people they had a year and a half to repent or burn in hell.... Well i have enough experience to know that all you can do is hurry on the people and say have a good day until he left. Luckily everyone realized he was just crazy. 

Second story much more awesome... We had 15 investigators in church this week!!!!!! that is crazy. Like CRAZY high. It was so much fun but a little hectic trying to help them have members and stuff to take care of them but most of them had member friends so it was super awesome. now we just need to help them all out throught the week and help them realize the blessings so they will continue!

1. transfers.
yeah they are this week but for some reasons they will be in the middle of this week so i will tell you about them next week!

2. will i be transferred?
I have no idea.... haha i hope i will stay. i really like this area.

3. if i could go to another island that i have been to? not sure if you asked that the way you wanted...

but if i could return to any island. Well i only have the choice of fogo or sal... right now i would go back to fogo i think? i have some friends over there right now.

4. Will i tell you my weight?
yeah i guess so. I was 160 when i weighed myself a couple weeks ago.so im down 55 lbs from when i left the mtc. I am trying to eat super healthy and work out daily. really want a good habit so i can continue it when i get home....

So that is it for this week! i love you all! Have an awesome week!

Love Elder McMullin

Weight guessing during week 90

Elder McMullin let us know he finally was able to find a scale to weigh himself and now everyone was able to take a guess.

Gary (Hayden's dad) guessed 182
Chandler guessed 177
I (Mom) guessed 170
John guessed 175
Ryland guessed 160
Bridger guessed 127

Week 90

So this week was awesome again. But you all didnt ask questions this week so i dont know what to tell you about! We are still working with quite a few families. We had a few show up this week. The members went and passed a family and worked out all the things with some parents that didnt want to give permission in just one short visit and now they even bring the kids to church so we are getting some awesome help from the members!

Oh yeah highlight of the week. I was able to weigh myself. Everyone should guess what it was and i will think about telling you all!

I love you all! you really need to give me some specific questions because it is getting REALLY hard thinking of what to tell you all. The missionary lifestyle especially here in cape verde seems more normal than thinking of life at home at this point so it just all seems so normal to me! haha but still enjoying it and working with a ton of people.

Love you all!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 89

Well this week was strange! I had divisons with Elder Massey, we were in the MTC together but this was the first time we worked together just the two of us. It was fun and we had quite a bit of lessons. Also that meant the two people we are training were together but they did really well together. Then this week the stake did a wierd activity where every missionary in praia got a mini missionary for 2 days so it was like a two day division so i got to help my comp with his mini as well so we got to plan for 2 companionships in one area but it was good to teach a lot of people and once more we had quite a few families in church this week! All in all it was an awesome week!

Also Mom sent me questions this week so its question and answer time.

1. How often are zone conference and district meetings held?
Zone conferences are every 3 months. I only have one left..... District meetings are usually once a week unless something else is happening.

2. Schwarma?
Every now and again we make it.

3. How is my toe?
Pretty much all the way better.

4. Do i wear sandals?
Nope

5. My favorite seminary teacher?
Brother Ashcroft, I had him a couple times and he was really fun and a really good guy and teacher.

6. Am i actually in Praia?
Yep. I am one of the areas in Praia.

7. Has Elder Hingano been to Tonga?
Nope. Just Hawaii.

Well thats my update for this week! Oh yeah in case you are wondering somebody pointed out to me that working days left we have less than 100 now..... mind blowing. Very strange.

Love you all!
Love Elder McMullin

Picture of Elders Bullock, McMullin and Massey

Week 88- fun questions answered

Well Dad sent me some questions this week so I will spend the first part of the email responding said questions.

1. Status of my crown.

Uhhh its good. feels fine. I can eat well now. Only problem is it is very noticably a different color. but its in the back so its no biggie.

2. If the burgers I eat are from a place like McDonalds.

No.... they dont really have chains here of restaurants. Its just a small little restaurant that sells hamburgers. Like homemade grilled burgers. pretty good especially for here in cape verde.

3. My favorite thing to cook.

Hmmmm thats a tough one. I really like to make tres leches cake. or is baking not included? Well I also like to make stir fry like dishes. And salsa to put on things. And tacos. yeah one of those.

4. Can i cook something like cape verdian food.

Yeah..... i mean you give me rice beans and either fish or chicken and I can make quite a few of their dishes... haha. If i can get the right type of corn i could even do their main meal. katxupa.

5. Do the people here think he is from America.

Lots do. Some people have known other tongan missionaries and get it right away. its pretty impressive. Others think hes chinese. Others American. I dont think he has gotten cape verdean yet though.

This week was awesome. We had a ton of families that we are working with show up to church. Working a lot with part member families as well as well as friends of members at is helping a ton. In fact all of our progressing investigators either have a strong friend or family member in the church somewhere in cape verde. Member help is so important! 

I hope you all have fun going back to school! Cape verde gets out later so they dont go back until september. So a couple more weeks of summer here! And its still pretty dang hot too! And the rain should be starting up here shortly! We will see!

Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 87- the work continues!

So update for the week! My companion is adjusting! We have had some pretty crazy lesson experiences but in my opinion that helps to keep the excitement alive right?

It is really hot. We found a lot of really cool investigators this week. One is a family that is related to a lady that I did a baptismal interview for a couple months ago. So we are gonna ask her help to teach with us. She lives in a different elders area but its not too far.

A big family made it to church this week so we are working with them.
So yea thats what is going on!

Love you all!
Love Elder McMullin

Elder Massey taking the selfie with Elder McMullin, his new "son" Elder Hingano and behind him is Elder Massey's new "son" Elder Ronces.

Week 86- new companion

Mom got mad at me for not telling more about my companion... even though I had never met the guy at the time I sent the email! jeez! Well I was with a lot of different elders this week but Elder Massey and I were able to go to the training on training and pick up our companions Thursday and Thursday night they came home with us. 

My companion is Elder Hingano. He is from california (Sacramento) and he is half tongan. He is 19 and a big boy. I wont pick a fight with him anytime soon. He got a little sick sunday night but it seems like he is doing better now but that is not a fun first sunday in Cape Verde! 

The package was awesome. It is wierd to think I will not be getting any more! EVER! The surprise sauces and spices are really good. I love sauces. 

I still have not heard from the dentist. Hopefully he will give me a call this week. If he does not I might have to head over there in a week or two to see what is up. 

The weather is the same as always. The rain has not hit too well yet. Just a bit of sprinkling. I am super used to the heat and humidity. When I enter buildings with air conditioning (which happens like in 2 buildings that I am in often) I feel like the air is too cold and dry to breathe. It is super wierd. I am super afraid of Utah right now.

I do not hear much about olympics! In fact I have only heard about it like 2 times.

As far as families that we are teaching we have a couple right now but none of them has everyone in the family that is willing to sit down everytime we are there. It is a bit sad but we are working on it! We had a baptism of a child of a member last week that was cool!

Well thats it for this week! I love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 85

Well transfers were this week! I will be training someone from California! I do not know much more than that for now. But I will give a better update next week. The dentist still has not called so no update for that either! No one gave me any questions this week so I do not know what to talk about now! Oh well Elder Schlichte, the one that I trained a year ago, is also training this transfer! So I should see him on wednesday or thursday!

Sorry I dont really have much to talk about today! I love you all! Sounds like you are all enjoying summer! Enjoy the end! And dont believe in never ending summers because they dont exist!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 84- July 25, 2016

So this week I was able to go to the dentist! They did the stuff to make the mold and said they would call me when it is ready. So now I just wait until its time to put the crown on.
We are working a lot with part members and it is a really good time because they are helping a ton. 

Our recent convert will baptise two of his brothers this week so that will be awesome!

Also my D and C countdown has begun! I do not have very much time left! It is crazy...

I love you all! Have a good week!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 83- Power out

Well this week... We lost power for the whole week! So a lot of issues with that like spoiled food and we had to clean out our fridge and other things with that. I got sick at the end and my companion got a toothache! Oh and we had interveiws with our President! Oh and I went to the dentist and I will have to return on the 25th to start fixing it and it will be 150 dollars! Sooooo yeah that was my week! Haha but it should be a better week this week! At least I really hope so!

The work is going well. It is just a bit frustrating because I have to do pretty much all of the teaching! And then at home I have to teach my companion! haha Its good but a little tiring at times!
Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Zone Meeting

Zone meeting. Elder McMullin top row, on the far right!!

Week 82- no dentist yet

Weekly update! I did not go to the dentist. I was not actually marked. My companion that was going home was and they said while he was in I could do it. Well he is not here.... so I did not know if they would let me do it so I called and scheduled for this week. So you will get an update on that one next week!

It is quite interesting with my mini, he pretty much only speaks kriol. And sometimes he does not understand my portuguese so I have to speak kriol. Haha he gets mad when I do not understand his kriol but he uses a ton of gangster slang. But it is fun with him and we have quite a bit of awesome people that we are teaching. Also my companion I do not think has ever been without someone to take care of him. I feel like mom whenever I made her cook or clean up after me. But I have learned on the mission that is one thing I do not mind as long as they are chill about it. He cleans too just sometimes does random things like leaving garbage in the sink. Or heating up the lunch I made then leaving it out. Sister Mathews said something to me the other week. She said I bet you never thought you would learn so much about being a dad on the mission.... It is soooo true.

It is a good thing that I like this branch because I will be here for at least 8 more weeks! Because I will have Elder Teixeira (my mini) until the end of this transfer and I will stay at least one more to show the area to my new companion.

I am glad the birthdays all went well... but I did not receive a single photo. I am upset. And do not say I did not send any. I am well aware I am a hypocrite. But be the bigger people and send me pics!
Love you all!

Love
Elder McMullin

Week 81- Lots of companions

Well this weeks email will be quite a bit different from what you are probably expecting! So my companion.... went home. He had about 4 months on the mission and had decided a few times that he wanted to go home but other missionaries or President Mathews talked to him and he decided to stay. In fact it happened two weeks ago but he decided to stay. Then this week I tried to get him to do a practice and he got mad at me and decided he wanted to go home and this time it ended up happening. So he went home the next day and I had a member from here scheduled to my companion but he decided not to at the last minute. So I went with some other missionaries for a few days. It was Elder Massey ( we came in together) and Elder Neville (his training was finished by Elder Zuniga so he is technically my step brother as far as mission stuff with trainers and what not goes.) It was fun but a bit annoying not being in my area for a few days. Then I finally got another member from here to be my companion for the rest of the transfer. His name is Elder Texeira. If you have been counting along with me I am up to 14 companions. I think the Lord is telling me that people can not stand being with me for a long time. And that I will probably never get married.

We are working a lot with the families of members right now and it is a lot of fun seeing them be brought together and help each other. We have like 4 or 5 families like that.

For the fourth of july I just cleaned my house a ton. We did not play soccer because some people had to prepare things for some meetings for this week. I did go to an american store and I found some cool spices and a lot of things I want for cooking but it is all expensive!

I think that is it for this week! I love you all! Happy early birthdays for P, Ori, Ryland, Cade, and the rest. So many in our family haha.

Love Elder McMullin

Week 80- Dentist appt

Hey peoples. Happy 1 month anniversary Chum and Kelsie. If they do not have a couple name yet I say we use Chumsie. It sounds like a cute little puppy. 

(picture with Elder Penner)
As for my week. I will start with the dentist information. First off my companion and his wisdom teeth. So we went and they took one tooth out and he came out. And then we found out he can only have one of the 4 teeth pulled about every two weeks. So we have the joy of returning and he will have the fun of having one tooth missing for like a month! I marked to have my tooth looked at the next time that he will go in, which is on the 6th of July. So I will give you an update the week after that with my tooth situation!

Due to the wisdom teeth we were not able to work as much this last week but we still got out and taught some people. But the downside was that most of our investigators that were doing really good and progressing and keeping commitments either disappeared last week or stopped keeping them! One reason was last week was the week of graduations here so hopefully now that it is over those people should be easier to find. But some of the other ones just are choosing a different path but they are so much more sad then when they were doing the right things. It is one of the hardest parts of this work! 

But we are working with the family of one of our recent converts. He is awesome and he is helping us with his siblings and with his help I am sure that they will accept the message.

Well that is my week! Love you all!

Elder McMullin

Week 79- Get to go to the dentist this week

Well first off Happy late Fathers Day!
As far as me, I am doing pretty good! Transfers were this week and I am staying with my companion for another transfer. So we will be going to the dentist together and we will have some fun with that! I broke a tooth when I was on Sal about a year ago. And it has broke some more, so Sister Mathews said I needed to go to the dentist and get a crown on it.
Also with transfers ending guess what? The sisters that came in with me.... are at home now!
Other things... Well our investigator was not able to be baptized... Some personal problems came up with her and her boyfriend and he came over super mad at us. I may have bible bashed more than I should have but he deserved it and I will tell you the whole story when I get home. I promise that is one story I will not forget. Any ways she is still progressing and wanting to do everything to follow Christ she is just having some troubles leaving her boyfriend but we will continue helping her.
Sorry I think that is it for this week! I love you all!


Elder McMullin

Week 78-

Well this week was a fun one! No change of companions or anything of the sort. As for other stuff..... I don´t know!! The investigator I guess has´nt been able to fully break up with her boyfriend yet I guess but she is working on it. A bit more confusion came up with her and that situation but it should all be good and she should actually be getting baptized here this week!
Oh well I guess this is something I forgot to mention. My companion has his wisdom teeth growing in haha. So we have to go to the dentist this week and he will probably get them ripped out here in a week or two. So if you could give me some ideas on how to mother him and what to feed him that would be good. He is a happy little camper with my cooking so that makes things a lot easier. Speaking of which Mother I want to make the tiny spicy chicken... I have not eaten that in so long! Can you send me a recipe for it please?
Hmmm one more fun story. Some drunk dude was super mad at us for being in his house teaching his family because he thought we were from a different church and he kept shouting swears in another room it was pretty funny. But it was actually a really good lesson but from now on we will take that person to the house of a member haha.
Well thats it for this week! I love you all!!!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 77- Elder Gervais transfered

Hmmmm where to start? Well I guess with the random changes. So some unexpected transfers happened this week. I..... lost Elder Gervais.... :( :( :( I was super upset when I lost him. He was transfered to Boa Vista. I was only with him for 3 weeks! So now I am with my thirteenth companion. His name is Elder Ferreira and he is from Fogo. I didn´t know him there but we know a lot of the same people. He is on his third transfer and is waiting for a visa to go serve in Brasil.
Besides that we had a zone conference and they told us they don´t want us using the names of anyone here so I will be going back to being nameless here so stories will be confusing!!
Well we had a baptism for this week but something very interesting happened. Well we taught her about the law of chastity on saturday. Well some other intersting things happened in the lesson it was quite interesting but she accepted it. But she has a boyfriend. Well after the lesson he drove over because he drives a taxi. She said "uh oh that´s my boyfriend" She went over to talk to him and the conversation didn´t seem so happy. He started to drive away while she was still in the window more or less, and he drove away. She ran inside crying and we were like.... okay.... She came out a couple minutes later and we asked if everything was alright and if her boyfriend was okay. She said she just wanted to forget about him and never talk about him again. So that took care of the law of chastity i guess! She didn´t go to church though but we passed yesterday and she said it wouldn´t happen again and she is really excited to be baptized next week. She should be really strong though she has a lot of desire to follow the gospel and we always have a lot of male members with us when we teach her. Hahaha they all kind of fight over her It´s really funny actually.
There was a transmission of a meeting in the US for church this week. There were a ton of people and one of our families that we are teaching sent just the 11 year old kid to go to church with us. He couldn´t sit still and kept trying to take the phone out of my pocket to see the time and asked if we had games on it (we don´t). So in the middle of the meeting he decided he was bored and left to go home. Haha
I think that is about it for this week! I love you all!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 76- Another baptism!!

CONGRATS CHUM AND LADYFRIEND i mean wifey kelsie. I really need more pictures from it though. i didnt even see everyone that was there.


We had another good week of work. A really cool kid named tyson was baptized. Im guessing elder gervais will have some pics of it. He is 18 and planning on serving a mission here in a year! Hes a lot of fun.


Still just working away here in praia. Love you all!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 75- Praia

This week was a good week. We were able to have a baptism and he got confirmed then right after he got kicked out of his house and moved to a different city. that was interesting. but he already went to the church there in the past and tlaked with the missionaries there so he will be great.

It was actually quite an eventful week but most of the stories will just have to wait until im there to tell them. I went to the branch here for the first time. Its my first time having a chapel since being on the mission! it was wierd sitting not on chairs but on pews or however its spelled.

Still havent been robbed so i guess thats good. maybe one day itll happen! None of the nasty zombie dogs have bitten me yet either. so i guess its rather uneventful! haha Love you all! Good Luck this week family! especially chum and kelsie! I love you all!

Happy late birthday alex! im pretty sure i missed vics too! sorry vic but you too!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 74- in Praia

Well i promised a good update this week. i hope i dont dissapoint.... I am working in praia now. its a ``big city`` just by the standards of here. But it is nice having more things available to me here. We actually had a stake conference here this week. biggest meeting ive been to in a year and a half haha. 

Elder Gervais is my new comp. From springville utah. He was elder toledos mtc comp if you remember hearing about him. So we have plenty to talk about. Hes a goof and so much fun to serve with. He will hit a year on the mission with me. Also his bday is tomorrow! so we will do something cool. we went and ate pizza today for it! 

There are a lot more people to teach here that are a lot more willing to let you into their houses. Also the members gave us a reference that has already been to church twice and heard all the lessons and wants to be baptized so we found him and he will be baptized this saturday. hes a really really cool guy.

ill try to get some pictures to you. Hope all is going well. It was nice to talk to you all two weeks ago! well more or less. that call was by far the most frustrating yet but oh well! its the last. Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 73

Hey sorry i dont have time to write this week! i was transferred unexpectadly. i will give more info next week but im in praia in an area called bela vista and my comp is elder gervais i already know him and hes awesome. he is from springville utah. i love you all! until next week!


Love Elder McMullin

Week 72

(Sorry I forgot to post this last week since I was out of town.. Jolene Mortensen)

Hmmmmm this week was good. We taught some people. Did some service for
some people. Walked a lot. and tried to spread the lords message. One
of our investigators is making it to church and she has a lot of good
questions and is doing awesome.


If i have any other things about this
last week ill tell you on sunday when we talk! Cant wait to talk with
all of you.


Love you all
Love Elder McMullin

Week 71- work a little slow... kind of a tourist town and beach

This week was a bit of a downer! we werent able to teach a lot of people and the only investigator that made it to church was one that we werent even able to find or teach most of the week.

But at least our house has power. it didnt have power for the first 3 weeks i was there. it was a fun time.

Ummm there is a really cool family of members here that help us out a lot and they have a daughter that whenever she sees me she runs up to me smiling.... then punches me and runs away. just like my younger family members do. i dont understand what it is about me that makes everyone want to hit me all the time.

Everyone always sees the picture of our family and calls mom my sister. haha. when i tell them shes my mom they flip. and they flip even more when i say that shes an old lady just kidding mom. youve got quite a lot of people in this country that admire your beauty mother!

This town has a lot of parties and tourists going to the beach and doing stuff. I realize that i dont like big cities much since ive been on the mission. my last area was super calm and i loved it.

well thats about it for this week. 

Love you all

Love Elder McMullin

Week 70

Still going good here. got a lot of clothes tailored. that was fun. We had a district conference this week for church so we all went to assomada. it was fun.lots of people weree afraid in the haices because of all the accidents and people that have been dying here in car crashes. But everyone got there and back safely.
Struggling a bit finding solid investigators here. We have one that likes to ask a lot of questions and teaching her has been pretty interesting.
Happy birthday chum!!
Love Elder McMullin

Week 69- No time to write

Elder McMullin didn't have much time to write. He said he would write more next week.

Week 68- some old pics and a little about conference and new area

Pictures from last area, sent by Elder Deshler's mom-


Hey guys! Well conference was a blast! only had a bit of problems with power so i saw everything except the first hour of the last session. but my favorite talk was pres uchtdorf in priesthood session by far! i think the next one was elder cooks. But uchtdorfs talk about saving our familes and marraiges and relationships was awesome to me. how everyone needs it even the people that think they have good relations. i think its the most notes and quotes ive ever taken from one individual talk in my life. and cooks about families and the sealing room was awesome.

Im still learning the new area but ill try to answer some questions. i recieved a ton between mom and dad today. yes im back on the shore. its a bit warmer but still cooler than most areas. a lot of tourists.

My comp is elder domingos like i said. hes a short little happy dude from mozambique. He reminds me a lot of talon at home actually haha. But the problem is.... his camera and mine are broken! yay! good times! haha... sorry.

Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 67- Transfer to Tarrafal on same island

Haha!! Picture with Elder Hughes on Easter Sunday.

So this week was good. we were able to teach a lot of people and have another baptism. One interesting thing though was easter was the same day as day of african women and all the women talked about that instead of easter haha.... i made fun of one of the girls for it. But for easter a lot of people invited us over for lunch and a lot of people were having parties and cool things like that.

Well im sure you just want to hear about transfers. I was transfered but still in the same zone on the same island. I am now in tarrafal. My new companions name is Elder Domingos. He is from mozambique and he is on his 4th transfer. i actually have known him since he has been here on the mission.

There was a little mix up when i was coming here and i was waiting on the wrong church of ours for like an hour haha. But i was able to get all my things with us. the only problem is it turns out our house hasnt had power for a whole month. soooo i dont have a fridge. Im not sure much else about my new area but ill tell you a bit more next week!

Love you!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 66- Great birthday celebration and a picture!!!

Hey everyone! Well im sure you want to know stuff so ill try to get it all in there. First off thanks for the birthday wishes and letters everyone! Also i got my packages today thanks a ton for the things everyone! Tell the nielsens thanks for me!  The only thing about getting the package is if i leave next week (which i probably will) is trying to make the room to take it with me! 

We had another good week here. A lot of you asked about how my birthday was. Well the other elders woke me with breakfast in bed of pancakes and then we made schwarma for lunch also we made a tres leches cake saturday and also they surprised me with a cake that you can buy here that they bought saturday, for sunday night and lit the candles and sung to me and everything. The elders in my house are some really good guys. A couple members found out about my birthday as well and wished me happy birthday. It was awesome to here that all of you guys honored me with cakes on my birthday as well! hope it was a great time!

Also happy birthday mama and bridger this week! hope you guys have a lot of fun! its crazy how big everyone is getting!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 65- Baptism

The baptism was able to go through! We only had to stress and track him down for awhile haha. and then the person that was suppose to baptize him didnt show up so i ended up doing it and walking around in wet clothes the rest of the day haha. but its all good and he seems happy! We are now working with his girlfriend and shes been going to church and activities as well.

Well im a little disappointed my camera has been dead for awhile because of the charger mix up. and i still havent been able to get one but i really want to get one before my birthday. maybe i will be able to find one today. I figure i need it in case anything cool happens on my birthday and ill probably be leaving here in a week after anyways so i REALLY need to get it charged!

Thanks for all of you that sent the updates. still missing a few so i guess i need to single people out now! Dads family! Alyssas family! alex! you are the ones i need info! the rest are doing pretty good with keeping me updated! 

Happy birthday grandma mac saturday! Love you!

Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 64

Wow well it seems like you guys are up to some very interesting things! We had a pretty interesting week here as well. President Mathews came to our sacrament meeting this week. 

Also the guy that we gave a blessing to, is preparing for baptism this upcoming week and we are working with his girlfirend as well.

Well my days as a 20 year old are coming to an end. thats pretty insane! I didnt get my package at the zone meeting so that means ill probably get it next month. but thats probably a good thing because i am probably going to be transfered at the end of this transfer. So i should get the package at my new house and not have to worry about carrying it all around and whatnot. 

I need some good update emails this next week. I feel like i find out big things right after they happen and then i go into a state of shock.... haha not really but kind of! you can inform me of things before they happen so i dont have a heart attack hearing so many crazy new cool things in the same week! Please!

Happy birthday this week Jordyn! hope you have a fun birthday and get to do some fun things!

Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 63-

Well this week in church was a little bit better! people just show up either late or reeeeallly late. it makes me feel bad for being mean to mom about being to sacrament meeting on time... haha sorry mom!

Well this week ive gotten a bit sick. nothing too bad but it just doesnt want to leave. you know my normal cough that always ends up happening and sounds a lot worse than it is? yeah my bark is back haha. Its sad because i was actually getting pretty good at working out very consistantly and that just killed my desire haha... but im going to get back into this week! It doesnt help that its been pretty chilly here. i actually use a sweater now. i dont like the cold. at all. Im so scared to go back to utah haha!

We had an interesting thing happen with an old investigator of some other missionaries that moved to our area and we tried to teach her but she kept going to church in her old area. Then all of the sudden she was like i dont want to talk with you guys. ill travel back to my old area to receive the lessons. it was just like welll okaaaaayyy. haha. Guess she likes the sisters more than us! oh well shes still progressing well and is in the right place.

Well i think thats it for now.... Love you all!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 62

Well the work is continuing over here a little bit slower than is to be desired but we are trying to keep moving it along. For some reason like no one showed up at church this week. Its pretty frustrating because none of our investigators made it and lots of strong members werent there either. We have one investigator that just moved here from another area and always returns to her old area to go to church. She seems like she just wants to talk to the sisters and doesnt even want to talk with us. haha its pretty annoying!

A couple of you are mentioning weather and asking about mine. Well im cold haha. i think its around the coldest time of the year right now. and its windy. and this is one of the coldest areas in cape verde. So im prettty chilly! not too cold. but enough to want a jacket. but i dont feel like going and buying one seeing as when i leave i wont need it. so i just shiver a bit at night.

A few of you also mentioned jaxtons homecoming. well when you see him tell him he has to write me. he hasnt written me in a while and i only have his mission email so i have no way to contact him. someone get on that!

well Thats about it for this week! i love you all! Have a happy birthday john!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 61- transfers but I stay

Well we had two holidays this week so it was pretty interesting. Also transfers happened today lets guess what happened with elder mcmullin! whoever guessed that he stayed and so did his comp is correct. This will be my first time having 2 transfers with a comp since elder zuniga so thats pretty cool.

As far as carnival we had our meeting but we didnt see much of carnival but we could hear it all going on. Then we went back to our area and very few people were there but some of our investigators were there so we talked with them. Then the day after is cinza i believe lent in english? So we had a few of the members invite us over to eat lunch with them. that was pretty fun. We ate rice plantains potatoes and fish and then cous cous with honey. kind of like corn bread with honey. but their honey is mostly molasses. But that was a fun time.

And then valentines day yesterday. I gave one of our investigators a fool proof plan to woo a lady here but he didnt use it. It was a list of the perfect date to do in our area and his sister even said it was a good plan but he didnt follow through with it. And then he didnt show up to church! so now we need to find him and find out why he didnt go to church. hes been going for quite awhile now but he still needs permission from his parents to be baptized because he is only 17 years old. But yeah as for anything else for valentines day nothing cool really happened. Just passed investigators that didnt show up to church after they said they would. One of them said that their pastor called them and told them not to go and to stop talking with us. 

Well she listened to the part about not going but she says she still wants to talk to us. She says she has already read a ton of the book of the mormon but she keeps having things come up on sundays.

Well thats just about my week in a nutshell.

Love You guys!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 60 - Carnival Week

Well this week will be carnival which means a few things.... one of them being that i have now been in cape verde for a year! Well this year during carnival we have a meeting in assomada which is the main town close to here so thats where the party will be going on... not sure how thats gonna work but oh well i guess we will see haha.

We had an interesting lesson with the law of chastity this week where a less active member popped his head in for a second and i just asked if he had any questions about it. he did and we answered them and he said oh i have a few things i need to change.... and then he finally showed up to church! we had tried inviting him so many times but that little thing somehow got him to show up. it was a really interesting experience.

so many things are changing at home i think ill just stay here forever haha.... but it is really weird.

I love you all. talk to you next week.

Love Elder McMullin

Week 59- Teaching English

Sounds like everyone else had a very eventful week! thats awesome. Our week was a pretty good one here. One downside was we have 2 17 year old guys that are family members of some members but their parents wont let them be baptized yet but we are still working with them. They are a lot of fun and one of them is really spiritual. The other one is a bit more or less with it but they are both trying to fulfill commitments so itll eventually happen.

Also we were able to start our english class last week and this week we played simon says. Its tought because everyone is on completely different levels of english but its a lot of fun and people open up.

Besides that it was a usual week out here. walking and teaching people about the gospel. My favorite things are the family nights that we are able to do with members and investigators. They help a ton to have the trust of everyone and they are a lot of fun.

There is a chance that i will get my camera this charger this week! im excited i hope i get it. i dont know if you remember but i left it in my house in fogo.... ive been able to use other peoples so im still getting pics so no problems there but i would really like to get it back.

Love you all

Love Elder McMullin

Week 58- Missionary Broadcast

well another week was gone.... my week probably wasnt as eventful as yours seeing as ravyn was born! But it was a pretty awesome week. We had some interesting things happen such as the missionary broadcast that was worldwide that we were able to watch. That was pretty awesome. Also we managed to make some shwarma and tacos at home and i made some tres leches cake. i love being able to make delicous food when i cant buy it.

We had divisions with the zone leaders in assomada which is the big city in our zone it was really weird serving in a biggish city seeing as ive been in the small towns for the past year. But it was a lot of fun seeing another different area because the area where you are at changes a lot of things from the work to what you eat and all that. Its a lot easier finding people to contact there haha.

its wierd.... im gonna finish my last january on the mission here in a week... thats crazy! The more im here the more i think itll be super wierd going back to america after living in africa for so long. Oh well still got awhile til i have to worry about that!

Love you guys!

Love Elder McMullin

ps mom if you could put another j dawg sauce when you send that package out... everyone loves it. thanks love you!

Week 57- Interviews with President Mathews

Well we had interviews with president mathews this week and had the opportunity to speak with sister mathews during the other missionarys interviews. It was a really good time.

Its cool with the split areas. we are able to get a lot of work done here and there are plenty of people ready to be taught so its awesome seeing the difference that this will make. 

The members here are helping us a lot with the work and they are a lot of fun to be around and the branch has activities about every day of the week that we can take people to, to help them be integrated with the ward members.

The other elders are looking for a place to live that is in their area so they dont have to walk so much everyday but until them we will live together. 

My new comp is a cool guy. Hes really into playing and watching sports. He already knows the language very well even though he only has 4 transfers here in the mission.We made tacos together yesterday for lunch. They were pretty amazing. I am thinking about getting myself a birthday present and buying a blender for about 40 bucks and taking it with me from house to house til i leave the mission. im still not sure if i will do it yet. but with it i can make salsa and guacamole and horchata. It would be marvelous.

I think thats about it for this weeks update! Love you all! Good luck sissa!

Love Elder McMullin

Week 56- New missionaries added to his area!! First there were 2, Now there are 4

Well transfers happened! actually both me and my comp are staying... BUT we are both getting new comps. the area is being divided and we are going to have a 4 elder house! my new comp is elder deshler hes on his 4th transfer and guess where he is from.... Louisville KY!!! but he doesnt know jaxton unfortunately. That would have been soooo cool. especially because he goes home next month.

The plus side of the division is we dont have to cover as much ground but trust me we still have plenty. But this could be really good for our branch.

This area has a lot of branch activities that help a lot with the work and help us to work with members so its a lot of fun. I think we are starting an english class up pretty soon because a ton of people here have asked about one and said they would love to go to one. We will see how well i teach english haha.

Well i love you! have a good week!

Love Elder McMullin

Ps sissa happy birthday and good luck with everything!

Week 55

Well it was new years and i hope you guys had a good time! We ate some delicious carne asada fries with the jalapenos and what not so i enjoyed mine. 

Lots of drunk people here for new years! in fact me and and my comp got chased out of a house by an old drunk guy with a knife. haha dont worry he was really old and really drunk. Unfortanely we found a lot of people drinking that shouldnt have been!

Well transfers shouldve been this week but because of somethings they are happening next week! We are probably both staying here together though. Ill tell you for sure next week!

Today we went to this giant tree in our area for p day. it was pretty fun and it wasnt too bad of a hike. 

This week we recieved two people that live realllllly far but still in our area so we might head on a little field trip this week to go find them. Itll be super hard to teach them and for them to go to church though.... We will give it a try though.

Im almost out of sriracha already! its made many people happy though. but im gonna need another one in the next package! Oh yeah and if you can find salsa habanero pringles and some habanero hot sauce that would be awesome!

Sorry this is a bit scattered but its just me trying to remember the things that have gone on this week haha!

Happy late birthday pops! hope you had a good day!

And congrats cy! Wish i couldve been there to see the special day!

I love you all! Until next week

Love Elder McMullin