Congratulations Brit on your new job!!! Holy cow! I'm so happy for that. That rocks! Ah having your life firmly planted into a nice school. (How firm a foundation!) Speaking of a firm foundation, nice new couches britt. I will have to sit on them with my skinny African behind and roll around on them while playing monkey island for awhile when I get back. Deal?
Don't worry mom, about me using the machete. I usually have to confiscate them from small children running around naked. Remember kids take baths just kinda wherever, front yard, street, whatev; so kids running around naked is usual. Kids having to cut the grass is usual as well so after their bath they just grab the machete and start working. Ya know, no biggie.
Well this week was pretty usual. I got some fun stories here or there, let me dig back into my brain to find some.
So this week we were running around all crazy going to the mission home for Zone Conference and then I had 'trainers' council. Elder Holt is going to train as well as Elder Yahaya. There are 2 Americans coming, a whole slew of South Africans and a couple of Nigerians and another country here or there sprinkled in. They taught us that we need to not scare them, some of them are sensitive and stuff.
I'm working on teaching about self-reliance lately in the apartment and out in the field. I have to ask, "Who didn't empty their washing bucket and now there is mold in it stinkin' up the place?" Then nobody will confess to it because it is 'icky' and then I'll have to do it. Lately I've been forcing them to learn to do it. By helping them out a lot I am not teaching them to be self reliant. So instead of carrying books for people when their bag breaks, instead I will help them get the bag fixed so they can carry their own bag. Self reliance. My bag strap finally gave out from carrying peoples books, so I went and had someone sew it up for me and viola! Super strong and usable again. Cost me 40 cents to fix. So now I'm teaching more to carry your own crap because one day they will have to carry their companions crap and you can't help your companion if you can't help yourself. Dig? So now instead of plunging out the sink drain when the Elders clog it up with rice, I'll go and hand them the plunger and have them do it. Self reliance. They gotta learn to do it themselves. Dig?
During zone conference they scared us into being exactly obedient so we don't get into any trouble. They then said that the two Elders are in prison because of breaking just the tiniest rules, their companions went on an illegal split so they could buy bread downstairs. They said that even the smallest stuff can get us in trouble. So then he had their companions come and speak about how stupid they are and scare us into being obedient. It was a day full of long scaring and etc. Then they said that we need to call each other by our titles "elder" and "sister" rather than just like "yo bills, come here." I guess president Smith had some missionaries in his car and one of them called another elder by just his last name and president slammed on the brakes and said "why can't you call each other by your titles?" (he told us this story in zone conference) Man president must be getting stressed. He keeps having to send people home because they are being really stupid, it starts with small bits of stupid and leads to bigger and bigger stupid. So he wants us to avoid even the small stupid or the appearance of stupid. Also he has been having to deal with the whole Elders in prison issue and still do all of the missionary stuff like abortion interviews etc. He did an interview for one of our candidates and he still had a smile on his face somehow. Just say a prayer for him and his wife specifically.
Well nobody came to church yesterday. The only feeling that compares to it is the feeling I had after taking the ACT test for the first time. At first I was just in shock, kinda no feeling. After the ACT test I just kinda walked down the hallway, made a few jokes about how foreign that test was like "man, nobody told me the test was going to be in Spanish!" but mostly I kept to myself. I then walked directly to my car, drove with no music on kinda contemplating on what just happened, then I found myself at Super Target grocery store buying a dark chocolate cake with loads of messy chocolate frosting. I then sat on the hood of the car alone in the Target parking lot eating my chocolate cake. Well Sunday I kinda had that same feeling after nobody came to church. Our people called us an hour before church and let us know they weren't coming so it kinda lessened the blow slightly. We then we waiting for some more people who didn't show up. It was a bummer. So directly after church Elder Bobareh and I went and had some lunch at home, in which I ate about 10 of those bite sized chocolate snickers and twix you sent. YES! Then we went back out and started trying to find some more people. We then had a feeling to stop by Celine's house. She said she went to go meet her Mr. biological father and he didn't show up. We then talked to her family and stuff and the woman she is staying with told us that she can do what she wants. We then read from Mosiah 18 and I asked her what she learned. She said that she doesn't need to put off her baptism and that she needs to do it. I committed her to be baptized this Saturday and she accepted. Man it felt so good, it felt like I gave Satan the rock bottom followed up by the peoples elbow.
So we read the next verse in Mosiah 18 about how after the people accepted to be baptized, they jumped for joy and clapped etc. Well I let Celine know how happy I was and said that inside I was clapping for joy etc. Well it felt great. We are going to have the ZL's interview her today. YAHOO!!!
Man I got your potato goodies. I gave Elder Holt one, and poor Elder Boyd one and then kept the rest. I ate one last night for dinner YUM! Then I also devoured the chocolate you sent. SEND MORE CHOCOLATE and TATOES! Those are the best things ever.
Thanks Britt for the M&M's. They were awesome!!!
I talked to one of our relief society leaders and scheduled a free meal for my new missionary so he can practice with no stress. She is going to pretend that she isn't a member and I'll practice with him and have him give the 'baptismal date' to her. That way he will build his confidence and not be scared or anything. We will have fun with him so he feels at home.
Well I love grandpa Bob's kente cloth photo. I can even tell what he said after Dewey and Junior mocked him.
Oh one cool story I just remembered. Philip, recent convert computer guy, had a friend who was bashing on the book of mormon and joseph smith etc. Philip wanted us to go and share with his friend so we went. Philips friend had nothing but bad things to say and was disagreeing with everything we taught just for the sake of disagreeing. He and his other collegiate friends just were speaking nothing but apostasy. We gave them a pamphlet and told them to read it and then gave them one book of mormon and told them to read it before they say anything bad about the book of mormon. We went back to philips house to tell them how it went. Philip bore his new testimony about the Book of Mormon and how correct it is. He is getting the priesthood on Sunday and has been given a calling. He is going to be fine. YAHOO!!!
Well I gotta run. Sorry my time is short today.
I love all of you. Cool hats mom! I'll love to have some hair when I get back. Until then, I'll keep on working with my short cut hair. Don't worry, it is kinda fun to be here. It feels that this is where I am supposed to be.
Glad you saved Grandpa bobs house. Keep it up. No resting. When you want to rest, just think of me riding my bike straight up a mountain with goats naying at me with a big headache, with people staring at you and you are sweaty sweaty sweaty. Just keep on going. Always be doing something good and indeed you all are. I'm so blessed to have you guys for my family. I love you.
Well i'll letcha know about my greenie next week. Hopefully we will baptize Celine on Saturday and we will give some more baptismal dates this week. I feel like a work horse. (Neighs)
Well gotta run.
Talk to you next week. LOVE YOU!
A photo from Elder Holts area, Nswam.
Baptismal trough...I mean font.
This by far is the coolest thing I have ever seen.
