Our First Trip to the Island of Sal

This past week we made our first trip to the Island of Sal.  There are three branches on Sal, two in Espargos and one in Santa Maria.  Presidente Carlos is the branch president of the second branch in Espargos.

The Home of Presidente Carlos

The branch in Santa Maria actually has a food storage project for it's members.  This is unusual for Cape Verde.

Road construction in downtown Santa Maria.  Some roads are asphalt but most are made from these volcanic cobblestones.  It takes about one minute to set one cobblestone.

Waiting for a ride.  Despite the desolate surroundings, our hotel was actually quite nice.

Murdeira Village is the Hotel where we stayed.  A little water and a lot of hard work can make a big difference.

This is where we caught the ride to Espargos.

Sister Erickson relates the following:  We had our first hitch-hiking experience this week. Wednesday morning we needed to travel 5 miles to get to the city Espargos. To travel from one city to another, people travel in large vans with 14 to 16 other passengers.  Our Hotel was situated between Espargos and Santa Maria. To catch a ride we needed to go out to the main road and wait for one of those vans to pass. There were many vans that passed but all were completely full. Finally a truck stopped and asked if we needed a ride. Well, not only did they give us a free ride but they were very helpful in connecting us with many of the organizations that we wanted to meet while we were on Sal.  I felt the lord tenderly taking care of us.

Each Sunday we try to have one of the missionary companionships over for dinner.

Sunday dinner with Elder Floyd and Elder Candland.