Hey everyone!

I’m so glad to be here on a mission. Sometimes the most difficult weeks have been the best weeks for me. I have always learned so much through my trials and tribulations. I’m very grateful for the suffering we have gone through. I have never done something so hard in my entire life than to serve here on the island of Maio and open up the church. And I have also felt some of the most incredible joy that can be felt. I’m so glad that the Lord has sent me here. I love my companion, and I’m so glad that I am going on a 5th transfer with him (that’s 7 and half months!!), I love him so much.

Satan has really been fighting with us this week. All the other churches here in Maio do not like us. Their pastors are always teaching them to avoid us and not have anything to do with us. Many of our very solid investigators were influenced by outside sources and fell. The pastor of the Nazarene church came up to us the street because we were out teaching with one of our members Anastacio. The pastor began to criticize us that we have had so much growth and baptisms because we are tricking the people and we weren’t letting them repent. He told us we just hwanted numbers and weren’t trying to convert them. That same pastor has shown anti Mormon literature to one of our members and he said he would bring it over to one of the houses of our recent converts, perfect. What is so hard to understand? This is the work of the Lord. This is Christ's church, no attack could ever stop His work. We are messengers ordained in His name, we have gotten this far and we will not fail.

We had a super successful family night at Kakaka's house. I’m so glad he is back. He has become a stronger member than ever. One of our investigators Ze Boca is progressing incredibly. He came to the family night and had a great time. We talked to him this week and he has been reading in the Book of Mormon every day. He read in 3 Nephi 11 and gained so much more desire to be baptized. Ze Boca is probably one of the smartest Cabo Verdians I have ever taught, he would be an incredible member.

One of our recent convert's Ta has not ceased to give us references. He shows us EVERY SINGLE FRIEND that he knows. 90 percent of them are drunk, but we are going to help them. One of his references is a woman named Lola. Lola used to go to the Universal church, but the pastors weren’t acting very Christ like and not being examples or teaching correctly, so she lost complete faith in any church. She promised herself that she would never join any church because they are all made from men. We brought her exactly what she needed, the Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. We testified with all of our heart might mind and strength that the same, perfect, pure doctrine and church that was established by Christ was newly restored on the Earth. She was skeptical, but saw the importance of what we said. I could tell she just had the fear to be deceived again by another religion. We challenged her to pray in that moment with us and ask God if this was the true church of Christ and if Joseph Smith was a prophet. She prayed so sincerely, the whole time I begged and pleaded and fought and asked in my heart that she may feel the Holy Spirit of God. When she ended, she just smiled. Something came over her. She felt it. I know she felt it. She felt the Holy Spirit. As we were still kneeling down we testified of the confirmation she received and invited her to church. Without hesitation she accepted. The Lord hears our prayers.

In the midst of some suffering, we still saw some incredible miracles wrought by the Lord’s hand. If we believe, if we are obedient and if we work with all diligence, the Lord is obligated to strengthen and bless us in our tribulations. This is a marvelous work.

Love,

Elder Rice