12/15
I had a really hard time updating this week. There just didn’t feel like any point, there was NOTHING that HAPPENED!
I’ll be honest, this was probably the worst week of my entire mission, we taught one lesson, ONE!
It’s not like some previous weeks we’ve had like this where we had something going on that kept us busy elsewhere, it wasn’t like we weren’t proselyting or were sick, we just didn’t get to see anyone after Tuesday!
EVERYONE (except 1) has gone to their “Ushago” (hometown) for the Holidays, which means that the teaching pool of Elder Benson and Elder Tolbert is GONE. SOOOOO we’ve been contacting A LOT this week, but NOTHING has come of it!
We had this one lady agree to meet us, so we set an appointment and she calls us fifteen minutes before the time to say that she was there, well, we weren’t expecting her to come on time (nobody does), so we were over half an hour away when we got the call.
We immediately headed to the appointment to find that this lady had left and she refused to talk to us when she called. Oh, she’d pick up, but she wouldn’t talk, just wasting our credit.
Since phones here are all pre-pay, essentially this lady was making us waste money for no reason, only a few people do this, but when it happens there is nothing you can do but move on. I’ve seen this happen to Elder Clegg a few times, and he’s still unable to speak to these people.
Now, the biggest frustration I have here is the DOUBLE STANDARD. If these people are THREE FLIPPING HOURS LATE they EXPECT us to still be there! BUT! IF we’re so much as a minute late they give us a metaphorical middle finger and –like this lady- get their petty revenge. IT doesn’t happen a lot because –like I said- 99% of people are late to appointments. 0.99% are on time and 0.01% are early – if even that. IT grinds my gears to have to deal with this and I’m sorry that this isn’t a positive update, but I’m not in the mood to be positive, I’m still dealing with the crushing frustration that comes with not being able to work.
The only consolation this week is that I got Pizza Hut when my comp and I went to Karen to visit the Dentist for a follow up visit. The best part? IT WAS REAL PIZZA!!!! Admittedly, it tasted slightly off because the cheese is made from cows here, but it was good enough for me, it was real pizza!
I got a large pepperoni pizza and my comp got one call the “Carnivore” which was a bit disappointing since they had about 4 different meats listed, but only 2 on the pizza. Elder Tolbert and I swapped a slice and I thought it was alright, they don’t skimp on toppings like Pizza Inn does, but considering it’s $9.90 a pizza, they better not.
The price back home is expensive, but expected. Here? It’s something only for the RICH $$$$$$$.
I snagged the phone number for the place and while I don’t think they deliver this far, I can pray that one day I’ll be transferred closer, but at the same time I don’t want to be closer since that means I’ll be in N’gong, and Elder Tolbert will cheerfully tell me that he was lucky to teach 3 or 4 appointments a Transfer in that area. No thank you.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
12/8/2019 -- B. Benson was confirmed!
12/6
Well, it’s pretty annoying when you get a call “Can I meet you now?” “No, you need to give us advance notice.” It’s really annoying. Nothing we could do then.
Funnily enough, of course, I proudly announce how busy we’ll be today this morning to Elder Madsen, only for that to NOT happen, and for us to be completely bounced for a while.
We did end up having something to do in the evening as we visited some members, but it was still a bit of a slow day.
12/7
Busy morning. We went to unlock the church, then visited B. Steven, then we tried to meet with B. Benson (the Less Active), but he wasn’t around, so we went to the OPPOSITE end of our area to see S. Kate and S. Serena.
It was a bit of an awkward visit as their three year old decided to attend the lesson without any pants, but it was fun to answer all of their questions. People rarely ask any.
12/8
B. Benson was confirmed! That was all that happened today!
Well, that and another vicious round of Phase 10. I stayed out of it since there were already 7 players, but the game took forever.
Well, it’s pretty annoying when you get a call “Can I meet you now?” “No, you need to give us advance notice.” It’s really annoying. Nothing we could do then.
Funnily enough, of course, I proudly announce how busy we’ll be today this morning to Elder Madsen, only for that to NOT happen, and for us to be completely bounced for a while.
We did end up having something to do in the evening as we visited some members, but it was still a bit of a slow day.
12/7
Busy morning. We went to unlock the church, then visited B. Steven, then we tried to meet with B. Benson (the Less Active), but he wasn’t around, so we went to the OPPOSITE end of our area to see S. Kate and S. Serena.
It was a bit of an awkward visit as their three year old decided to attend the lesson without any pants, but it was fun to answer all of their questions. People rarely ask any.
12/8
B. Benson was confirmed! That was all that happened today!
Well, that and another vicious round of Phase 10. I stayed out of it since there were already 7 players, but the game took forever.
12/5/2019 -- B. Benson was baptized today!
12/1
B. Benson was baptized today! I was honestly worried that he’d disappear and re-appear next week because it was raining, and the Kenyans don’t do well with the cold, but he did come!
We spent some time in the evening playing a game with a bunch of missionaries to celebrate my birthday and E. Macapella going home. It was my own version of DND.
12/2
Why do I even bother writing something for today?
Most interesting thing was that my comp didn’t come till almost 10pm.
12/3
Well, mostly wandering today. Elder Tolbert is way too powerful for me (even if he denies it) and we had 10 people contacted like *that*. No lessons or anything, but we did stop by to see some members.
12/4
We got lost today.
We started with DDM, then we started looking for the home of this Less Active Member that we had arranged with, but I got us lost since I couldn’t remember the first turn, and guessed wrong.
The member had to come pick us up at one point, an hour after the appointment was supposed to start. Loads of fun that.
12/5
We had a few visits today, the first was with Mama Cynthia’s family and we ended up sharing “The Christ Child” video the church put out for Light the World this year. The scene with the Wisemen got me as we were watching, I teared up a bit.
We then went to see S. Esther and ran into her son by chance, so we were able to talk to them both for a bit. He ended up promising that he’d come to church this week, which isn’t something we pushed him into, but his mother did.
He left in the middle of the lesson after that then we answered some of S. Esther’s questions since she keeps having more and more about life after death – the fortunate thing is that she’s asking questions we have doctrine about.
This evening was a bloodbath. We were playing Skip-Bo and it got heated. There were shouts of “I just play for fun” and a tsukkomi of “I don’t believe you!”
That was E. Madsen and I by the way, he is super competitive but has been trying to tame it recently, but I still don’t believe him when he says he doesn’t care anymore.
B. Benson was baptized today! I was honestly worried that he’d disappear and re-appear next week because it was raining, and the Kenyans don’t do well with the cold, but he did come!
We spent some time in the evening playing a game with a bunch of missionaries to celebrate my birthday and E. Macapella going home. It was my own version of DND.
12/2
Why do I even bother writing something for today?
Most interesting thing was that my comp didn’t come till almost 10pm.
12/3
Well, mostly wandering today. Elder Tolbert is way too powerful for me (even if he denies it) and we had 10 people contacted like *that*. No lessons or anything, but we did stop by to see some members.
12/4
We got lost today.
We started with DDM, then we started looking for the home of this Less Active Member that we had arranged with, but I got us lost since I couldn’t remember the first turn, and guessed wrong.
The member had to come pick us up at one point, an hour after the appointment was supposed to start. Loads of fun that.
12/5
We had a few visits today, the first was with Mama Cynthia’s family and we ended up sharing “The Christ Child” video the church put out for Light the World this year. The scene with the Wisemen got me as we were watching, I teared up a bit.
We then went to see S. Esther and ran into her son by chance, so we were able to talk to them both for a bit. He ended up promising that he’d come to church this week, which isn’t something we pushed him into, but his mother did.
He left in the middle of the lesson after that then we answered some of S. Esther’s questions since she keeps having more and more about life after death – the fortunate thing is that she’s asking questions we have doctrine about.
This evening was a bloodbath. We were playing Skip-Bo and it got heated. There were shouts of “I just play for fun” and a tsukkomi of “I don’t believe you!”
That was E. Madsen and I by the way, he is super competitive but has been trying to tame it recently, but I still don’t believe him when he says he doesn’t care anymore.
11/30/2019 -- we used the Bible to help her understand
11/27
We got lost. We went to the dentist today, but got lost for a long time. Fortunately, I planned for this, so we still got to the dentist an hour early.
11/28
So. Much. Wasted. Time.
We were supposed to see this guy today, but he decided not to come, so we were sitting at the church for three hours waiting for the baptismal font to fill (need to fill it days in advance since you can’t be sure when you’ll have water) which was supposed to be a good use of time, but then this guy bounced.
Aside from that, we were able to see S. Emmaqulate and S. Esther.
S. Esther’s visit was a very interesting one. She had some family attacking her over her new religion, and we used the Bible to help her understand the points that these family members were attacking. It was a fun visit.
11/29
We got transfer news today. I’ll be staying here and my new companion is Elder Tolbert from USA. E. Mukendi is going to Eldoret.
E. Madsen is getting E. Ikahihifo as a companion, that means there will be four Americans in one flat.
We rushed out first thing and saw some people, our morning was completely full, but the evening was completely empty. Kinda sucked, but what made it worse was that the member we texted to see if we could come over responded over an hour AFTER the appointment was supposed to begin – long after we’d given up on seeing them.
Felt like a bit of a waste.
11/30
Well, yet another busy morning. We visited three people in the space of a few hourse, the first was a visit to Benson and Georgina (Less Active Recent Converts) to drop off a Kiswahili Book of Mormon.
Then we went to see a Brother named Steven who is a Recent Convert, but he’s well on his way to being less active now – he hasn’t been to church for a while.
After we saw Steven we went to see a pair of sisters named Kate and Serena. They’re doing well and they have a lot of questions, but his is only our second visit with them, so we’ll see if they’ll actually start progressing.
I tried to video call home, but the mic wasn’t working, so that sucked.
We got lost. We went to the dentist today, but got lost for a long time. Fortunately, I planned for this, so we still got to the dentist an hour early.
11/28
So. Much. Wasted. Time.
We were supposed to see this guy today, but he decided not to come, so we were sitting at the church for three hours waiting for the baptismal font to fill (need to fill it days in advance since you can’t be sure when you’ll have water) which was supposed to be a good use of time, but then this guy bounced.
Aside from that, we were able to see S. Emmaqulate and S. Esther.
S. Esther’s visit was a very interesting one. She had some family attacking her over her new religion, and we used the Bible to help her understand the points that these family members were attacking. It was a fun visit.
11/29
We got transfer news today. I’ll be staying here and my new companion is Elder Tolbert from USA. E. Mukendi is going to Eldoret.
E. Madsen is getting E. Ikahihifo as a companion, that means there will be four Americans in one flat.
We rushed out first thing and saw some people, our morning was completely full, but the evening was completely empty. Kinda sucked, but what made it worse was that the member we texted to see if we could come over responded over an hour AFTER the appointment was supposed to begin – long after we’d given up on seeing them.
Felt like a bit of a waste.
11/30
Well, yet another busy morning. We visited three people in the space of a few hourse, the first was a visit to Benson and Georgina (Less Active Recent Converts) to drop off a Kiswahili Book of Mormon.
Then we went to see a Brother named Steven who is a Recent Convert, but he’s well on his way to being less active now – he hasn’t been to church for a while.
After we saw Steven we went to see a pair of sisters named Kate and Serena. They’re doing well and they have a lot of questions, but his is only our second visit with them, so we’ll see if they’ll actually start progressing.
I tried to video call home, but the mic wasn’t working, so that sucked.
11/26/2019 -- Benson passed is interview! He'll be baptized next week! Dec. 1!
11/23
We met with B. Benson's parents today and got permission without any issue. Though, there is something I take issue with: they don't really care about the differences from one church to another since "we all worship the same God."
It really annoys me that people don't see something wrong with this. I had one guy in my last area say, "When I'm at home I attend AIC (African Inland Church) and when I'm here I attend PEFA (Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa)." Those churches teach VERY different doctrine, yet you believe in them both? How can you see nothing wrong with that?
*sigh*
After we saw Benson's parents we went to see that new family from Tuesday. The husband wasn't around, but the wife's sister was there so we still taught, but we'll have to review with the husband there next time. We'll see how this family does.
We got bounced and finished the day after that.
11/24
10 Months on mission.
I had to give a talk in church today. I was supposed to give it on missionary work, but I decided that doing the "army recruiter" speech is boring, so I talked about "WHY" we do missionary work.
"Missionary work is to desire that your fellow man partake in the joy and the blessings that the Lord has to offer us."
I spent 10 minutes rambling using different examples from the Bible and the Book of Mormon and the bishop thanked me for talking that long when I sat down because he didn't have to speak as long for the talk he was writing while I and the other speakers were talking.
After church we hung around waiting and eventually E. McGee and E. Ilanda showed up (their chapel is far from ours). Benson passed is interview! He'll be baptized next week! Dec. 1!
Nothing else for the rest of the day, but plans are being made for next Sunday...fun ones.
11/25
Called home, cybered.
11/26
We had Zone Conference today, it was a bit of a let down, but better than the last one.
Elder Sitati of the seventy came by to speak to us, his thought started good, but then everyone got confused as he did an exercise that made no sense to anyone but himself. Even the zone leaders who experienced this twice were still confused. If it had made sense it might have been a good thought, but made absolutely no sense to me, so I got nothing out of it.
President Mdletshe had a really interesting thought about Soloman that lead to an interesting discussion. I had quite a bit of fun during this because I got to define a concubine for everyone.
I actually ended up answering a lot of questions during Zone Conference, “What does it mean to deny the Holy Ghost?” is one example. Fun one, I did a lot of research on the Sons of Perdition early in my mission, so it was easy to answer.
It was definitely better than the previous zone conference, but I still want them to improve so that I can get more invested in them. I love a really good zone conference – it relights the fire in me for missionary work.
We met with B. Benson's parents today and got permission without any issue. Though, there is something I take issue with: they don't really care about the differences from one church to another since "we all worship the same God."
It really annoys me that people don't see something wrong with this. I had one guy in my last area say, "When I'm at home I attend AIC (African Inland Church) and when I'm here I attend PEFA (Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa)." Those churches teach VERY different doctrine, yet you believe in them both? How can you see nothing wrong with that?
*sigh*
After we saw Benson's parents we went to see that new family from Tuesday. The husband wasn't around, but the wife's sister was there so we still taught, but we'll have to review with the husband there next time. We'll see how this family does.
We got bounced and finished the day after that.
11/24
10 Months on mission.
I had to give a talk in church today. I was supposed to give it on missionary work, but I decided that doing the "army recruiter" speech is boring, so I talked about "WHY" we do missionary work.
"Missionary work is to desire that your fellow man partake in the joy and the blessings that the Lord has to offer us."
I spent 10 minutes rambling using different examples from the Bible and the Book of Mormon and the bishop thanked me for talking that long when I sat down because he didn't have to speak as long for the talk he was writing while I and the other speakers were talking.
After church we hung around waiting and eventually E. McGee and E. Ilanda showed up (their chapel is far from ours). Benson passed is interview! He'll be baptized next week! Dec. 1!
Nothing else for the rest of the day, but plans are being made for next Sunday...fun ones.
11/25
Called home, cybered.
11/26
We had Zone Conference today, it was a bit of a let down, but better than the last one.
Elder Sitati of the seventy came by to speak to us, his thought started good, but then everyone got confused as he did an exercise that made no sense to anyone but himself. Even the zone leaders who experienced this twice were still confused. If it had made sense it might have been a good thought, but made absolutely no sense to me, so I got nothing out of it.
President Mdletshe had a really interesting thought about Soloman that lead to an interesting discussion. I had quite a bit of fun during this because I got to define a concubine for everyone.
I actually ended up answering a lot of questions during Zone Conference, “What does it mean to deny the Holy Ghost?” is one example. Fun one, I did a lot of research on the Sons of Perdition early in my mission, so it was easy to answer.
It was definitely better than the previous zone conference, but I still want them to improve so that I can get more invested in them. I love a really good zone conference – it relights the fire in me for missionary work.
11/22/2019 -- they also responded positively when we mentioned tithing.
11/18
Do I bother writing anything?
11/19
We met with a new family today. We contacted the wife on Saturday (she called us over) and the lesson seemed to go pretty well.
Apparently, this woman and her husband stopped going to church because she hated all the demands for money she was getting.
"You, donate 200, the Pastor wants to go on vacation." kind of thing.
So they responded well when we told them that we didn't do that, they also responded positively when we mentioned tithing.
After visiting them we went and met with Benson to teach the last lesson. Since he's all done we just need to meet with his parents and have him meet with the District Leader then we'll be good to go, but because of the timing of things he'll have to be baptized next week instead of this one.
11/20
I did the training for DDM today - it went well.
After DDM we were bounced then visited a member family. We watched a few talks while we were there and called it good for the day after that.
11/21
We met with Sister Emmaqulate first thing today. She's doing well, but we're staring at the future with some level of concern: she's moving to Eldoret soon.
We're already making plans for her to meet the missionaries there, but we'll see how the future turns out - we don't want to lose this lady.
Later that day we also met with S. Esther to talk about life after death and the resurrection since her family was giving her beef for believing in "false doctrine" because she couldn't use the bible to prove anything. We turned to 1 Cor 15 and helped clear some stuff up, and she was very happy.
11/22
I am furious. Well, I can't say I didn't see it as a possibility, but I had hoped this guy would be more considerate than that.
We walked about 1 hr and 20 min to an appointment only for this guy to bounce. We did a stinking 13 mile or so hike to see this guy, and he wasn't there. Not happy.
The only other person we saw today also annoyed me because the guy just likes to make constant excuses. You'll ask why he hasn't done the reading or why he can't even remember simple things and he'll spent 5-10 minutes making excuses and wasting time. It's not fun.
Do I bother writing anything?
11/19
We met with a new family today. We contacted the wife on Saturday (she called us over) and the lesson seemed to go pretty well.
Apparently, this woman and her husband stopped going to church because she hated all the demands for money she was getting.
"You, donate 200, the Pastor wants to go on vacation." kind of thing.
So they responded well when we told them that we didn't do that, they also responded positively when we mentioned tithing.
After visiting them we went and met with Benson to teach the last lesson. Since he's all done we just need to meet with his parents and have him meet with the District Leader then we'll be good to go, but because of the timing of things he'll have to be baptized next week instead of this one.
11/20
I did the training for DDM today - it went well.
After DDM we were bounced then visited a member family. We watched a few talks while we were there and called it good for the day after that.
11/21
We met with Sister Emmaqulate first thing today. She's doing well, but we're staring at the future with some level of concern: she's moving to Eldoret soon.
We're already making plans for her to meet the missionaries there, but we'll see how the future turns out - we don't want to lose this lady.
Later that day we also met with S. Esther to talk about life after death and the resurrection since her family was giving her beef for believing in "false doctrine" because she couldn't use the bible to prove anything. We turned to 1 Cor 15 and helped clear some stuff up, and she was very happy.
11/22
I am furious. Well, I can't say I didn't see it as a possibility, but I had hoped this guy would be more considerate than that.
We walked about 1 hr and 20 min to an appointment only for this guy to bounce. We did a stinking 13 mile or so hike to see this guy, and he wasn't there. Not happy.
The only other person we saw today also annoyed me because the guy just likes to make constant excuses. You'll ask why he hasn't done the reading or why he can't even remember simple things and he'll spent 5-10 minutes making excuses and wasting time. It's not fun.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
11/17/2019 -- Why would you want to get baptized if you don't have faith???
11/11:
Cybered, Called home. Have a headache.
11/12
Well, today was just chock full of rain. We didn't really get rained on, but I made sure to walk out in it when it started coming down hard. Even after Dar I find that I still like the rain.
We ended up having a few really good lessons today.
We met with a B. named John who might be moving to Buruburu next month so we probably won't see him get baptized if he makes it, but he seems to be doing very well in the gospel for now. He just randomly showed up to church "for himself."
After we taught him we finished the last lesson with S. Emmaqulate then we saw B. Benson and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ which went well. He still feels good about his Baptism, so I'm feeling pretty excited for him.
11/13
DDM today, and A LOT more rain.
E. Clegg's trainee also got an ET today, he has asthma and the pollution here is just killing him, so they sent him out to Kisumu. We now have E. Sharp in the district as our Canadian representative.
After DDM the day was slow, we went to see a sister who hasn't been coming to church because the transition to this one has been hard on her, so her response was to hide in the house.
Her kid is also complaining, that doesn't help anything at all, and her very active husband isn't really doing anything, so we're scratching our heads trying to figure out how to help her.
Still have got nada.
11/14
Well, we went to see B. Steven today. Since his wife and children are finally back from Ushago (people here measure vacation on a scale of months, not weeks) he introduced us to his children, but his wife wasn't around for us to meet her. Regardless, B. Steven wants us to teach her and his elder son.
After that we did some contacting then met with B. Benson.
He's doing well and feels ready to be baptized. We blasted through Tithing today and we'll be teaching the Word of Wisdom next. I'm a little leery about that one since most people here had trouble with Tea. After that we went with the Dandora Elders to teach a lesson. Since we now know where the boundaries are we passed one of our investigators over to them, then we took them with us to a DA.
For the Spiritual Thought we watched Elder Renlund's talk from the last general conference: Unwavering Commitment to Christ is what I think its called. It was good.
11/15
We started the day off with a Zone Meeting that went way too long. I didn't speak much, but for some reason people kept quoting something I'd said at the beginning of the meeting. They had asked us what lessons we'd learned on mission, and my response was: "Letting go of what you can't control" which some people really picked up on for some reason. I heard people quote it at least twice, if not more.
After the meeting we went and hit up KFC, then E. Mukendi and I had to rush ALLLLLL the way out to Chokaa to visit a Less Active member.
It pretty much killed our day since the travel time is intense.
11/16
I don't understand, I don't understand, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! Why would you want to get baptized if you don't have faith???
This guy wants really bad to get baptized, but as is he won't be able to keep his covenants. We explained that to him and it seemed to shock him a little. He just...I don't get this guy.
Saw Benson after that, yup. Tea is an issue. Parental Permission is also an issue, so we'll be pushing back his date.
We also met with a sister named Mary and just shared some verses from Alma 7 with her as a kind of encouragement.
11/17
I wasn't expecting to go for a 15 mile hike today, good to know! It was over an hour long walk there, and over an hour back, this doesn't count the three mile or so walk to the church. My legs are dead...
And yes, it was a hike. I was overlooking a few small cliffs at one point, and we were walking up and down a hill. It was a hike.
Cybered, Called home. Have a headache.
11/12
Well, today was just chock full of rain. We didn't really get rained on, but I made sure to walk out in it when it started coming down hard. Even after Dar I find that I still like the rain.
We ended up having a few really good lessons today.
We met with a B. named John who might be moving to Buruburu next month so we probably won't see him get baptized if he makes it, but he seems to be doing very well in the gospel for now. He just randomly showed up to church "for himself."
After we taught him we finished the last lesson with S. Emmaqulate then we saw B. Benson and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ which went well. He still feels good about his Baptism, so I'm feeling pretty excited for him.
11/13
DDM today, and A LOT more rain.
E. Clegg's trainee also got an ET today, he has asthma and the pollution here is just killing him, so they sent him out to Kisumu. We now have E. Sharp in the district as our Canadian representative.
After DDM the day was slow, we went to see a sister who hasn't been coming to church because the transition to this one has been hard on her, so her response was to hide in the house.
Her kid is also complaining, that doesn't help anything at all, and her very active husband isn't really doing anything, so we're scratching our heads trying to figure out how to help her.
Still have got nada.
11/14
Well, we went to see B. Steven today. Since his wife and children are finally back from Ushago (people here measure vacation on a scale of months, not weeks) he introduced us to his children, but his wife wasn't around for us to meet her. Regardless, B. Steven wants us to teach her and his elder son.
After that we did some contacting then met with B. Benson.
He's doing well and feels ready to be baptized. We blasted through Tithing today and we'll be teaching the Word of Wisdom next. I'm a little leery about that one since most people here had trouble with Tea. After that we went with the Dandora Elders to teach a lesson. Since we now know where the boundaries are we passed one of our investigators over to them, then we took them with us to a DA.
For the Spiritual Thought we watched Elder Renlund's talk from the last general conference: Unwavering Commitment to Christ is what I think its called. It was good.
11/15
We started the day off with a Zone Meeting that went way too long. I didn't speak much, but for some reason people kept quoting something I'd said at the beginning of the meeting. They had asked us what lessons we'd learned on mission, and my response was: "Letting go of what you can't control" which some people really picked up on for some reason. I heard people quote it at least twice, if not more.
After the meeting we went and hit up KFC, then E. Mukendi and I had to rush ALLLLLL the way out to Chokaa to visit a Less Active member.
It pretty much killed our day since the travel time is intense.
11/16
I don't understand, I don't understand, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! Why would you want to get baptized if you don't have faith???
This guy wants really bad to get baptized, but as is he won't be able to keep his covenants. We explained that to him and it seemed to shock him a little. He just...I don't get this guy.
Saw Benson after that, yup. Tea is an issue. Parental Permission is also an issue, so we'll be pushing back his date.
We also met with a sister named Mary and just shared some verses from Alma 7 with her as a kind of encouragement.
11/17
I wasn't expecting to go for a 15 mile hike today, good to know! It was over an hour long walk there, and over an hour back, this doesn't count the three mile or so walk to the church. My legs are dead...
And yes, it was a hike. I was overlooking a few small cliffs at one point, and we were walking up and down a hill. It was a hike.
11/10/2019 -- He is heading to the washroom, STOP HIM!
11/9
Today was supposed to be busy, but then we got bounced twice.
We ended up seeing S. Emmaqulate and had a pretty good lesson talking about the Temple. She seems determined to go, which is only a good sign and a great blessing, both to us who get to help her, and to herself since this desire will keep her strong in the gospel.
The rest of the day was empty.
11/10
"My Personal Hell; A True Test of Patience"
Church was normal, I was frustrated when one of the investigators showed up late giving excuses that just didn't hold water. All I could think of was Elder Holland saying: "Get rid of the Ox or fill the mire."
Well, the real thing that sucked was what happened after church ended.
E. Mukendi and I had to run out before closing prayer (at 11:20, church is supposed to end at 11:00) to pick up a Recent Convert who used to attend Buruburu, then found out that there was a church closer to her from the other Elders. She thought we started at 10:30 since that's what time Buruburu 2nd starts, but she knows now.
That's still not the bad thing. The bad thing was that I was mobbed by children the second I got back. I'm not using figurative language here.
I had one child standing in front of me trying to keep me from moving forward by pushing on my chest, I had three or four hanging on my arms, and several others that were jockeying for a position. Almost nothing could get them to leave me alone, not my companion, not anyone else (everyone else probably thought I was just playing with the kids...).
Eventually, I realize that all the kids are girls, so I head over to the washroom fighting for every step, and they all peel off the second I get close enough, but they increased their efforts the second they realized where I was going. [One of the girls said, "He is heading to the washroom, STOP HIM!!]
Overall, horrible. Completely disrespectful to the church. Also, just horrible on a personal level. Too many children...too loud...too much touching.
Oh yeah, here's something funny. I have a flash drive I've loaded with talks and Mormon Messages. It's what I used to show that family on Friday talks. Well, they ended up borrowing it from me, and the eldest daughter ended up watching everything on it before returning it today. I have about five or so hours of talks on there, so I was impressed to say the least.
She asked me to put more talks on it and lend it to her again this Friday.
Last thing: I was asked to give a talk next week.
Last, last thing: Elder Madsen beat us in Phase 10 again. I took third place.
Today was supposed to be busy, but then we got bounced twice.
We ended up seeing S. Emmaqulate and had a pretty good lesson talking about the Temple. She seems determined to go, which is only a good sign and a great blessing, both to us who get to help her, and to herself since this desire will keep her strong in the gospel.
The rest of the day was empty.
11/10
"My Personal Hell; A True Test of Patience"
Church was normal, I was frustrated when one of the investigators showed up late giving excuses that just didn't hold water. All I could think of was Elder Holland saying: "Get rid of the Ox or fill the mire."
Well, the real thing that sucked was what happened after church ended.
E. Mukendi and I had to run out before closing prayer (at 11:20, church is supposed to end at 11:00) to pick up a Recent Convert who used to attend Buruburu, then found out that there was a church closer to her from the other Elders. She thought we started at 10:30 since that's what time Buruburu 2nd starts, but she knows now.
That's still not the bad thing. The bad thing was that I was mobbed by children the second I got back. I'm not using figurative language here.
I had one child standing in front of me trying to keep me from moving forward by pushing on my chest, I had three or four hanging on my arms, and several others that were jockeying for a position. Almost nothing could get them to leave me alone, not my companion, not anyone else (everyone else probably thought I was just playing with the kids...).
Eventually, I realize that all the kids are girls, so I head over to the washroom fighting for every step, and they all peel off the second I get close enough, but they increased their efforts the second they realized where I was going. [One of the girls said, "He is heading to the washroom, STOP HIM!!]
Overall, horrible. Completely disrespectful to the church. Also, just horrible on a personal level. Too many children...too loud...too much touching.
Oh yeah, here's something funny. I have a flash drive I've loaded with talks and Mormon Messages. It's what I used to show that family on Friday talks. Well, they ended up borrowing it from me, and the eldest daughter ended up watching everything on it before returning it today. I have about five or so hours of talks on there, so I was impressed to say the least.
She asked me to put more talks on it and lend it to her again this Friday.
Last thing: I was asked to give a talk next week.
Last, last thing: Elder Madsen beat us in Phase 10 again. I took third place.
11/8/2019 -- the world has ceased to make sense
11/7
Well, I got a phone call at 7 this morning: "Elder Benson, you have an interview with President Mdletshe in 2 hours."
I was spitting mad to say the least. If the guy I'd planned for at 11 hadn't cancelled I would have just said that it would need to be done at another time. I literally called the assistants to tell them I couldn't make it, but after a quick review of events I discovered that my morning was wide open, so it became a matter of wether I'd be on time or not.
E. McGee and I hustled our little selves over to his flat where I picked up my companion. We then caught a Matatu to Buruburu where we were just *barely* in time for our interviews.
The rest of the day was empty, just a few bounces and a lack of response from the member we were trying to visit today, so that's a no go.
11/8
Well, whadayaknow? Apparently that member wanted us to show up! We totally knew from the fact that we never received a response from them. No text, no call, nothing!
*sigh*...the world has ceased to make sense. Usually, the easiest form of bounce is never to respond to us, but it's the reverse this time. Just...waht? (yes, the misspelling is intentional)
Anyway, today was pretty good. We met with B. Emm (Emmanuel, but I've decided that it's sacrilegious, so I'm calling him Emm) and had a decent lesson, but it looks like we'll be passing him over to the Dandora Elders since he's actually in their area.
After that we did some contacting, followed up on a guy we contacted, I tried some chapate from a new guy and discovered that they were really good, had lunch, then we taught B. Benson the rest of the Plan of Salvation.
I actually thought B. Benson wasn't going to come since his phone was off -since that's usually the sign of a bounce- but it turns out that his phone died.
After B. Benson we went to visit S. Cynthia and her family. We ate, were accused of disliking the food when we didn't take seconds, then watched E. Bednar's talk from the last conference. My teaching flash comes in handy sometimes!
We also watched the talk about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. In that talk it mentions a moment when the speaker's mother conducts a baptismal interview on him and asks the question: "Will you come to church absolutely every Sunday?" to which he responded "Yes, of course!"
The reason why I mention that detail was the reactions in the room to that moment: shock.
All I can feel is a sense of malicious satisfaction in that this family (despite being active) now has a better understanding of the kind of commitment you need for church. Kenyans as a whole don't have a good understanding of church attendance. Some come when they feel like it, some come when it's convenient, and some come just because they think they need to, not because they understand "Why."
I really do take a lot of satisfaction from that moment, not to be mean to this family, but because I keep saying this and nobody gets it. They just did.
Well, I got a phone call at 7 this morning: "Elder Benson, you have an interview with President Mdletshe in 2 hours."
I was spitting mad to say the least. If the guy I'd planned for at 11 hadn't cancelled I would have just said that it would need to be done at another time. I literally called the assistants to tell them I couldn't make it, but after a quick review of events I discovered that my morning was wide open, so it became a matter of wether I'd be on time or not.
E. McGee and I hustled our little selves over to his flat where I picked up my companion. We then caught a Matatu to Buruburu where we were just *barely* in time for our interviews.
The rest of the day was empty, just a few bounces and a lack of response from the member we were trying to visit today, so that's a no go.
11/8
Well, whadayaknow? Apparently that member wanted us to show up! We totally knew from the fact that we never received a response from them. No text, no call, nothing!
*sigh*...the world has ceased to make sense. Usually, the easiest form of bounce is never to respond to us, but it's the reverse this time. Just...waht? (yes, the misspelling is intentional)
Anyway, today was pretty good. We met with B. Emm (Emmanuel, but I've decided that it's sacrilegious, so I'm calling him Emm) and had a decent lesson, but it looks like we'll be passing him over to the Dandora Elders since he's actually in their area.
After that we did some contacting, followed up on a guy we contacted, I tried some chapate from a new guy and discovered that they were really good, had lunch, then we taught B. Benson the rest of the Plan of Salvation.
I actually thought B. Benson wasn't going to come since his phone was off -since that's usually the sign of a bounce- but it turns out that his phone died.
After B. Benson we went to visit S. Cynthia and her family. We ate, were accused of disliking the food when we didn't take seconds, then watched E. Bednar's talk from the last conference. My teaching flash comes in handy sometimes!
We also watched the talk about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. In that talk it mentions a moment when the speaker's mother conducts a baptismal interview on him and asks the question: "Will you come to church absolutely every Sunday?" to which he responded "Yes, of course!"
The reason why I mention that detail was the reactions in the room to that moment: shock.
All I can feel is a sense of malicious satisfaction in that this family (despite being active) now has a better understanding of the kind of commitment you need for church. Kenyans as a whole don't have a good understanding of church attendance. Some come when they feel like it, some come when it's convenient, and some come just because they think they need to, not because they understand "Why."
I really do take a lot of satisfaction from that moment, not to be mean to this family, but because I keep saying this and nobody gets it. They just did.
11/6/2019 -- went to teach a pair of lessons which turned into one
11/4
Cybered, Called home, complained about the work here.
11/5
[Day's events Redacted]
Elder Madsen, Elder Macapella, and I have been playing Phase 10 every now and then in the flat. Currently, we're at two games with me winning the first one and Elder Madsen winning the second one.
I have learned that Phase 10 is a vicious and cutthroat game meant only for those callous enough to use a skip on the guy who was just helped you finish your run. All in all, fun!
11/6
Well, exchanges today. Elder McGee and I were together after we finished DDM. We had lunch as a district, then we went to teach a pair of lessons which turned into one lesson.
We had planned on a lesson at 2, and one at 3, but that didn't happen. They both showed up within seconds of each other just a few minutes after the member we asked to help showed up.
Since the member we had there was the one who referred these two to us, we taught with his help and did a good job with the Plan of Salvation - even if it wasn't planned on.
After we taught that lesson we ended up coming back to the flat since E. McGee wasn't feeling well - he is currently recovering from illness, so I can't blame him - it's mostly just low energy for now.
The evening was really fun, I cut E. McGee's hair and he cut mine, we got some shirtless pics together, then we played Phase 10 with Elder Madsen and Elder Macapella.
It was a vicious and cruel game, it only took a good turn when E. Madsen and I teamed up against E. McGee who was in the final Phase with both of us on Phase 8. We were able to hold him off with skips and prayers, then E. Madsen was able to make a huge come back.
E. Madsen walked away with first place and I walked away with second, it was loads of fun!
Cybered, Called home, complained about the work here.
11/5
[Day's events Redacted]
Elder Madsen, Elder Macapella, and I have been playing Phase 10 every now and then in the flat. Currently, we're at two games with me winning the first one and Elder Madsen winning the second one.
I have learned that Phase 10 is a vicious and cutthroat game meant only for those callous enough to use a skip on the guy who was just helped you finish your run. All in all, fun!
11/6
Well, exchanges today. Elder McGee and I were together after we finished DDM. We had lunch as a district, then we went to teach a pair of lessons which turned into one lesson.
We had planned on a lesson at 2, and one at 3, but that didn't happen. They both showed up within seconds of each other just a few minutes after the member we asked to help showed up.
Since the member we had there was the one who referred these two to us, we taught with his help and did a good job with the Plan of Salvation - even if it wasn't planned on.
After we taught that lesson we ended up coming back to the flat since E. McGee wasn't feeling well - he is currently recovering from illness, so I can't blame him - it's mostly just low energy for now.
The evening was really fun, I cut E. McGee's hair and he cut mine, we got some shirtless pics together, then we played Phase 10 with Elder Madsen and Elder Macapella.
It was a vicious and cruel game, it only took a good turn when E. Madsen and I teamed up against E. McGee who was in the final Phase with both of us on Phase 8. We were able to hold him off with skips and prayers, then E. Madsen was able to make a huge come back.
E. Madsen walked away with first place and I walked away with second, it was loads of fun!
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
11/2/2019 -- Usually E. Mukendi has to pull me back when I get excited and start sharing too much information
11/1
Well, today was fairly busy, but not as much as we wanted.
We started the morning off by visiting B. Steven who have a very interesting question about blessings and curses "unto the third and fourth generation." I'm personally not too sure in regards to blessings, I see the good things your parents left behind for you as blessings, the relationships, items, memories, and teachings received from them are all things I perceived as blessings passed down. I don't really know if blessings in the usual "mystical" understanding of them apply in this sense, I don't know of any doctrine regarding it.
As far as curses that was easy, I just (either perfectly or paraphrased, not sure which) quoted a scripture from the Book of Mormon: "I the Lord am a jealous God, visiting the curses of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation of THOSE THAT HATE ME." (Emphasis added) In the temporal sense, our forefathers can definitely pass down curses very easily to the children: debt, feuds, mistakes, and decisions will haunt their children, not always cursing them, but sometimes making them a victim. As far as other curses from the Lord I'm not too specific, but if you repent you don't need to worry about it.
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting question, so I just wanted to share what we talked about there.
We tried to go see a brother named Mutua after that, the Fundi wa Viatoo (Fixer of Shoes) we met a few weeks ago, but we took one look at his work load and walked away after a quick greeting.
Did a bit of contacting.
Then we spent a while at the church waiting for Benson and the member who referred him to us named Mike. We had a pretty good lesson with them and answered a lot of questions.
Usually E. Mukendi has to pull me back when I get excited and start sharing too much information, but this time we reversed roles with me being "yes, that is all very true, but there's too much information there for you to understand it all at once, we'll talk about it all more later."
After that we visited the Kasanga family and watched some of "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" while we ate, then I shared the Mormon Message "Continue in Patience" and we discussed it for the spiritual thought.
If ya'll are wondering, I have a flash drive specifically for teaching. I don't have much on it for now, but I'm staring at Monday like a villain while rubbing my hands together greedily waiting to increase my collection. Fun.
11/2
Weekly Planning, bounce, visited a Recent Convert named brother Benson, and met a guy named Emmanuel (is this sacrilegious?). He seems to be doing well, but he made me mad a few times during the lesson because I could practically see the Adversary putting words into his mouth to undermine the teachings.
He asked questions like "How did Joseph Smith come up with this church?" and the were all like that, all implying that this church was a church of man and not the church of God. Every time I noticed I would straight up call it out and cut it down. I'm not going to have a repeat of what happened to Moses.
"Moses, thou son of man, worship me!"
blah, blah, blah. If you don't know the full story I'm referring to ask someone who does, it's a pretty well known one after all.
Anyway, for the funny moment of the day. E. Mukendi needed to get his hair cut and since we were bounced again we had time, so we went to a kinyozi that E. Macapella recommended.
The second E. Mukendi's butt hits the chair this guy starts guilt tripping him to try and make him a repeat customer, then swaps strategies and baits E. Mukendi into contacting him. Of course, we being missionaries, he bites the hook and leaves a book. This guy is just trying to get us to come back, it's something I find hilarious.
Well, today was fairly busy, but not as much as we wanted.
We started the morning off by visiting B. Steven who have a very interesting question about blessings and curses "unto the third and fourth generation." I'm personally not too sure in regards to blessings, I see the good things your parents left behind for you as blessings, the relationships, items, memories, and teachings received from them are all things I perceived as blessings passed down. I don't really know if blessings in the usual "mystical" understanding of them apply in this sense, I don't know of any doctrine regarding it.
As far as curses that was easy, I just (either perfectly or paraphrased, not sure which) quoted a scripture from the Book of Mormon: "I the Lord am a jealous God, visiting the curses of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation of THOSE THAT HATE ME." (Emphasis added) In the temporal sense, our forefathers can definitely pass down curses very easily to the children: debt, feuds, mistakes, and decisions will haunt their children, not always cursing them, but sometimes making them a victim. As far as other curses from the Lord I'm not too specific, but if you repent you don't need to worry about it.
Anyway, I thought it was an interesting question, so I just wanted to share what we talked about there.
We tried to go see a brother named Mutua after that, the Fundi wa Viatoo (Fixer of Shoes) we met a few weeks ago, but we took one look at his work load and walked away after a quick greeting.
Did a bit of contacting.
Then we spent a while at the church waiting for Benson and the member who referred him to us named Mike. We had a pretty good lesson with them and answered a lot of questions.
Usually E. Mukendi has to pull me back when I get excited and start sharing too much information, but this time we reversed roles with me being "yes, that is all very true, but there's too much information there for you to understand it all at once, we'll talk about it all more later."
After that we visited the Kasanga family and watched some of "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" while we ate, then I shared the Mormon Message "Continue in Patience" and we discussed it for the spiritual thought.
If ya'll are wondering, I have a flash drive specifically for teaching. I don't have much on it for now, but I'm staring at Monday like a villain while rubbing my hands together greedily waiting to increase my collection. Fun.
11/2
Weekly Planning, bounce, visited a Recent Convert named brother Benson, and met a guy named Emmanuel (is this sacrilegious?). He seems to be doing well, but he made me mad a few times during the lesson because I could practically see the Adversary putting words into his mouth to undermine the teachings.
He asked questions like "How did Joseph Smith come up with this church?" and the were all like that, all implying that this church was a church of man and not the church of God. Every time I noticed I would straight up call it out and cut it down. I'm not going to have a repeat of what happened to Moses.
"Moses, thou son of man, worship me!"
blah, blah, blah. If you don't know the full story I'm referring to ask someone who does, it's a pretty well known one after all.
Anyway, for the funny moment of the day. E. Mukendi needed to get his hair cut and since we were bounced again we had time, so we went to a kinyozi that E. Macapella recommended.
The second E. Mukendi's butt hits the chair this guy starts guilt tripping him to try and make him a repeat customer, then swaps strategies and baits E. Mukendi into contacting him. Of course, we being missionaries, he bites the hook and leaves a book. This guy is just trying to get us to come back, it's something I find hilarious.
10/31/2019 -- he wants to know more than he's ready for
10/28
Cybered, Called home.
I also found a rather interesting bookmark in Articles of Faith by Elder Talmage. It has the DC temple on it, and the names "Sisters Davenport and Wilkinson." Cool find.
10/29
Well, today was a bit slow. The morning was a huge burst of activity, then the afternoon was empty. In the morning, we got 10 people contacted, handed out an additional 6 pamphlets, and got three new investigators, then we taught a lesson with a brother named Mutua.
We then had lunch and then............
.....
.....
Nothing. We spend hours waiting for the guy we were supposed to meet to even decide whether or not he was going to come - which he didn't. So that sucked.
The number for Pizza Inn was having issues too, so that also added to my annoyance for today. Just peachy.
10/30
I'm not sure whether to call this a slow or busy day. For our area, it was slow. We didn't do anything to help our area, but we did help E. Clegg and E. Tarry out with their area. After DDM we went to do some contacting in their area and I spent quite a bit of time chatting with E. Tarry since he's new, and I'm willing to answer questions since I remember what it was like having people tell you "you'll see hohohoh" when you asked questions.
Anyway, as for E. Tarry he's a good kid, still fresh outta the MTC so he powerful, hopefully he's able to keep it longer than I was able to, getting sick really killed the fire for me when I first started.
10/31
Today was interesting, we got rained on on our way to the church first thing this morning, then our appointment for 10 and the one for 11 both showed up at 11:15, so we had S. Emmaqulate help us teach B. Elijah, then we taught her.
It was a bit frustrating with B. Elijah because he wants to know more than he's ready for, he just wants to rush full steam ahead. He even sat in on our lesson with S. Emmaqulate as we talked about temples.
It was a bit frustrating, but whatever.
We saw another recent convert after that, then I called home. [He called home because Halloween is a national holiday]
Cybered, Called home.
I also found a rather interesting bookmark in Articles of Faith by Elder Talmage. It has the DC temple on it, and the names "Sisters Davenport and Wilkinson." Cool find.
10/29
Well, today was a bit slow. The morning was a huge burst of activity, then the afternoon was empty. In the morning, we got 10 people contacted, handed out an additional 6 pamphlets, and got three new investigators, then we taught a lesson with a brother named Mutua.
We then had lunch and then............
.....
.....
Nothing. We spend hours waiting for the guy we were supposed to meet to even decide whether or not he was going to come - which he didn't. So that sucked.
The number for Pizza Inn was having issues too, so that also added to my annoyance for today. Just peachy.
10/30
I'm not sure whether to call this a slow or busy day. For our area, it was slow. We didn't do anything to help our area, but we did help E. Clegg and E. Tarry out with their area. After DDM we went to do some contacting in their area and I spent quite a bit of time chatting with E. Tarry since he's new, and I'm willing to answer questions since I remember what it was like having people tell you "you'll see hohohoh" when you asked questions.
Anyway, as for E. Tarry he's a good kid, still fresh outta the MTC so he powerful, hopefully he's able to keep it longer than I was able to, getting sick really killed the fire for me when I first started.
10/31
Today was interesting, we got rained on on our way to the church first thing this morning, then our appointment for 10 and the one for 11 both showed up at 11:15, so we had S. Emmaqulate help us teach B. Elijah, then we taught her.
It was a bit frustrating with B. Elijah because he wants to know more than he's ready for, he just wants to rush full steam ahead. He even sat in on our lesson with S. Emmaqulate as we talked about temples.
It was a bit frustrating, but whatever.
We saw another recent convert after that, then I called home. [He called home because Halloween is a national holiday]
10/27/2019 -- How the heck-fire do you put the wrong person on a baptizmal form?
10/26
Well, today was busy.
We were kinda stuck in the flat for a while because of the rain, but not really. We were doing weekly planning, and just kinda stayed in the flat for a few minutes after finishing to see when it'd stop, which it did not too long later.
We went to teach a Brother named Benson (I've run into three or four other Bensons in the past week or so) and his wife Georgina.
Then we went to see a Brother named Julius and his son Emmanuel (I'm still trying to figure out if naming a kid this is sacrilegious, but they don't see an issue here). It was a good visit, but something interesting came up: ushago.
Ushago is the nickname for their home towns, it can apply to pretty much any county and the actual location changes from person to person, so when I ask about this I ask: "Where is your Ushago?" "Oh, it's in Busia" or "Oh, it's in Machakos" etcetera.
Well, the annoying thing is that we don't actually have missionaries in many places out side of Nairobi. We have two entire zones for Nairobi, and they are the biggest ones. Second place is Dar es Salaam, Mombasa is third. The point being that all the missionaries are clumped together, so we aren't in many "Ushago."
So a question I've been getting is: "How can we get the church in my Ushago?"
My response is to gather a list of names for people who are interested in the gospel. If we have an actual list then President Mdletshe might justify checking it out or even sending missionaries out there.
He's pretty eager about the gospel growing (Isn't everyone? He just wears it on his sleeve), so I can see him jumping on an opportunity if there is actually people to teach out there.
Here's hoping.
10/27
Well, there was an apparent lack of spirit during church today, but I'm not sure if it can be helped.
Here's what happened, sacrament was normal -E. Mukendi had to give a talk on a five minute notice - but after sacrament the Bishop of the Lucky Summer Ward steps up to the front of the room, whips out some laptops, and tries to get people to come do their family history.
It didn't work, I got to do an hour+ of indexing because I was bored and literally no one else was using the computers.
So a congregation just kinda sat there while a high counselor got up and started teaching about random things, I gave up on trying to follow his train of thought - it wandered quite a bit, but the biggest issue was that his teaching was like a pastor, so there was no spirit there.
What time I had that I didn't use for indexing, I used to try and fix people's Baptizmal forms. Missionaries here suck at paperwork, so Sister Sorenson and I are scratching our heads trying to get everything figured out and having minimal success.
I'm just left with a question: "How the heck-fire do you put the wrong person on a baptizmal form? Not even a simple mistake, but a completely different other person?"
Still trying to get that one fixed.
Here's a good piece of info for today, S. Emmaqulate got Baptized.
This makes my third Convert! (I'm counting Ernest, I taught him everything even if I wasn't there for his baptism)
On the way back to the flat, we had to deal with a pair of mzungu lovers, which was a huge pain. We ended the conversation and walked away, but still kept shouting at me for some reason, so I just ignored them. At one point -when I was more than 100 feet away- they shouted "are you deaf?" which just amused me. I'm more than a little bitter about the racism there, even if it is friendly. I can't wait for the day when I no longer have to deal with this.
Well, today was busy.
We were kinda stuck in the flat for a while because of the rain, but not really. We were doing weekly planning, and just kinda stayed in the flat for a few minutes after finishing to see when it'd stop, which it did not too long later.
We went to teach a Brother named Benson (I've run into three or four other Bensons in the past week or so) and his wife Georgina.
Then we went to see a Brother named Julius and his son Emmanuel (I'm still trying to figure out if naming a kid this is sacrilegious, but they don't see an issue here). It was a good visit, but something interesting came up: ushago.
Ushago is the nickname for their home towns, it can apply to pretty much any county and the actual location changes from person to person, so when I ask about this I ask: "Where is your Ushago?" "Oh, it's in Busia" or "Oh, it's in Machakos" etcetera.
Well, the annoying thing is that we don't actually have missionaries in many places out side of Nairobi. We have two entire zones for Nairobi, and they are the biggest ones. Second place is Dar es Salaam, Mombasa is third. The point being that all the missionaries are clumped together, so we aren't in many "Ushago."
So a question I've been getting is: "How can we get the church in my Ushago?"
My response is to gather a list of names for people who are interested in the gospel. If we have an actual list then President Mdletshe might justify checking it out or even sending missionaries out there.
He's pretty eager about the gospel growing (Isn't everyone? He just wears it on his sleeve), so I can see him jumping on an opportunity if there is actually people to teach out there.
Here's hoping.
10/27
Well, there was an apparent lack of spirit during church today, but I'm not sure if it can be helped.
Here's what happened, sacrament was normal -E. Mukendi had to give a talk on a five minute notice - but after sacrament the Bishop of the Lucky Summer Ward steps up to the front of the room, whips out some laptops, and tries to get people to come do their family history.
It didn't work, I got to do an hour+ of indexing because I was bored and literally no one else was using the computers.
So a congregation just kinda sat there while a high counselor got up and started teaching about random things, I gave up on trying to follow his train of thought - it wandered quite a bit, but the biggest issue was that his teaching was like a pastor, so there was no spirit there.
What time I had that I didn't use for indexing, I used to try and fix people's Baptizmal forms. Missionaries here suck at paperwork, so Sister Sorenson and I are scratching our heads trying to get everything figured out and having minimal success.
I'm just left with a question: "How the heck-fire do you put the wrong person on a baptizmal form? Not even a simple mistake, but a completely different other person?"
Still trying to get that one fixed.
Here's a good piece of info for today, S. Emmaqulate got Baptized.
This makes my third Convert! (I'm counting Ernest, I taught him everything even if I wasn't there for his baptism)
On the way back to the flat, we had to deal with a pair of mzungu lovers, which was a huge pain. We ended the conversation and walked away, but still kept shouting at me for some reason, so I just ignored them. At one point -when I was more than 100 feet away- they shouted "are you deaf?" which just amused me. I'm more than a little bitter about the racism there, even if it is friendly. I can't wait for the day when I no longer have to deal with this.
10/25/2019 -- we are back in the groove
10/22
Wow, Elder Madsen and Elder Macapella have some insanely high companionship unity between them, it's only day two, but they already have inside jokes and seem to be running the same line of dark humor, they are not happy about opening an area, but they're doing really good so far.
I have to laugh at a story Elder Madsen told us:
Kenyan: "Hey Mzungu! There's criminals here."
Elder Madsen: "Oh, REALLY? I hadn't figured it out!" (sarcasm)
For us, we just went proselyting with Elder Clegg, he'll be joining us today and tomorrow. We taught a brother named Mutua, and we got bounced, then we went to see the Kasanga family, which made both the Kasangas and E. Clegg happy.
10/23
Happy Birthday to Elder Madsen!
Today was pretty slow, we had DDM, then we visited a sister named Solange in the evening. She -and her children- were really happy to see E. Clegg.
10/24
Quiet day, but E. Mukendi and I are starting to get back into a groove. We went contacting for the first time in a while, taught a lesson, and got bounced twice. Truly, we are back in the groove. E. Mukendi is also back to trying to convince me to learn Swahili.
My response is the same as it's always been: "I don't mind learning Swahili, but I'm not studying."
I ask questions if there's a word I'd like to know and stuff, but I'm still not studying.
10/25
...
Well, there was some stuff today that wasn't so fun, but what was fun was the blasting I gave an investigator. It was fun because I just cut loose and said what I'd been thinking the entire time to this guy.
He'd been taking everything casually and just hasn't been progressing for a month, so I just let him have it, if he was going to leave after that, so be it, but I was done wasting my time.
We also saw S. Emmaqulate today, we just helped prepare her for confirmation and left her some scriptures to read.
Wow, Elder Madsen and Elder Macapella have some insanely high companionship unity between them, it's only day two, but they already have inside jokes and seem to be running the same line of dark humor, they are not happy about opening an area, but they're doing really good so far.
I have to laugh at a story Elder Madsen told us:
Kenyan: "Hey Mzungu! There's criminals here."
Elder Madsen: "Oh, REALLY? I hadn't figured it out!" (sarcasm)
For us, we just went proselyting with Elder Clegg, he'll be joining us today and tomorrow. We taught a brother named Mutua, and we got bounced, then we went to see the Kasanga family, which made both the Kasangas and E. Clegg happy.
10/23
Happy Birthday to Elder Madsen!
Today was pretty slow, we had DDM, then we visited a sister named Solange in the evening. She -and her children- were really happy to see E. Clegg.
10/24
Quiet day, but E. Mukendi and I are starting to get back into a groove. We went contacting for the first time in a while, taught a lesson, and got bounced twice. Truly, we are back in the groove. E. Mukendi is also back to trying to convince me to learn Swahili.
My response is the same as it's always been: "I don't mind learning Swahili, but I'm not studying."
I ask questions if there's a word I'd like to know and stuff, but I'm still not studying.
10/25
...
Well, there was some stuff today that wasn't so fun, but what was fun was the blasting I gave an investigator. It was fun because I just cut loose and said what I'd been thinking the entire time to this guy.
He'd been taking everything casually and just hasn't been progressing for a month, so I just let him have it, if he was going to leave after that, so be it, but I was done wasting my time.
We also saw S. Emmaqulate today, we just helped prepare her for confirmation and left her some scriptures to read.
10/21/2019 -- The Legendary Elder Benson
10/20
"The Legendary Elder Benson"
Well, my legend continues to spread among the members of the Kayole 2nd Ward. Specifically within two families, but all the same, it's spreading.
When I arrived here I met two Ward Missionaries: Cynthia and Maria, both of whom went home and told their families that I was super funny. Separately.
So when I met Maria's younger sister -Rose- she mentioned my legend to me and told me that it was true since I was "so funny."
Well great, I thought to myself, I've got a small reputation now. Well, it went further than I thought.
Apparently, Cynthia went home and told her mother the same thing, so when we went to visit them today the mother stops at one point during the visit and turns to her daughter to tell her that she was right about how funny I was, letting me know that my influence was spreading without my knowledge.
At this rate, I might be able to be a comedian.
As for the rest of today, Sister Emmaqulate was baptized without any issues (E. Mukendi almost dunked himself as well; apparently, the bottom of the font was slick) and we visited the first counselor: Brother Zachus. Zach for short. He tried to kill us with food. I told him I was done, he told me to keep going.
Overall, it was a really good day, great way to end the transfer.
10/21
Well, our flat is a four man now. We've got Elder Macapella (from SA, Cape Town Area) and Elder Madsen (From Utah, USA). We're all trying to make the best of the situation, but there's no room for them both, at most this is comfortably a three man flat, not four. Fun, fun, fun.
Nothing else much today, Cybered and Called home.
"The Legendary Elder Benson"
Well, my legend continues to spread among the members of the Kayole 2nd Ward. Specifically within two families, but all the same, it's spreading.
When I arrived here I met two Ward Missionaries: Cynthia and Maria, both of whom went home and told their families that I was super funny. Separately.
So when I met Maria's younger sister -Rose- she mentioned my legend to me and told me that it was true since I was "so funny."
Well great, I thought to myself, I've got a small reputation now. Well, it went further than I thought.
Apparently, Cynthia went home and told her mother the same thing, so when we went to visit them today the mother stops at one point during the visit and turns to her daughter to tell her that she was right about how funny I was, letting me know that my influence was spreading without my knowledge.
At this rate, I might be able to be a comedian.
As for the rest of today, Sister Emmaqulate was baptized without any issues (E. Mukendi almost dunked himself as well; apparently, the bottom of the font was slick) and we visited the first counselor: Brother Zachus. Zach for short. He tried to kill us with food. I told him I was done, he told me to keep going.
Overall, it was a really good day, great way to end the transfer.
10/21
Well, our flat is a four man now. We've got Elder Macapella (from SA, Cape Town Area) and Elder Madsen (From Utah, USA). We're all trying to make the best of the situation, but there's no room for them both, at most this is comfortably a three man flat, not four. Fun, fun, fun.
Nothing else much today, Cybered and Called home.
10/19/2019 -- We were blessed today
10/18
Sho!
We were blessed today, we got 4 new Investigators.
First up, we visited a Recent Convert named Stephen (Steven?) who has had some hard circumstances in life, but things are looking up for him, so it was a nice lesson.
After that, we stopped by a Fundi wa Viatoo (Fixer of Shoes) we contacted a few days a ago, and started to teach him a lesson with two other people just joining in. It was funny how it happened. One just started listening in, then the next just wandered in, another man wandered in, took one look at the crowded room, and left.
It was funny.
From there, we met with yet another new person who is experiencing some hard family circumstances.
We ended the day with a visit to the Kasanga family. The eldest daughter is considering a mission, the mother is certain. I told them to just work on the passport, since they take a long time here.
10/19
"Shifting Tides of War"
Three Christians and a Muslim, two missionaries and a Muslim vs another Christian who was stubborn in his belief of the Trinity, and also stubborn in ignoring the direct proofs contrary.
We started the discussion outside a shop owned by this Muslim lady, and she joined in on our side. It was funny. The Muslim belief surrounding Jesus is that he is something like the Greatest Prophet, but he isn't the Son of God, so she was completely on our side when this guy tried to say that God and Jesus were the same. It was funny, we mutually agreed to disagree and just stared at this one guy as he continued to confuse himself.
I told him to his face several times that he was confusing himself, but he refused to believe it, and ignored me when I brought up the Stoning of Steven.
The whole mess lasted a good half hour and we walked away in exasperation, but with no hard feelings.
For the rest of today, we visited Brother Benson and his wife Georgina. I ended up playing with their little girl while E. Mukendi had to teach them what Family Home Evening was in Swahili since they missed the finer points of my English, but oh well.
We got rained on, and taught a Sister named Mary who is a Recent Convert. We read 2 Nephi 30 with her, and that ended our day.
Sho!
We were blessed today, we got 4 new Investigators.
First up, we visited a Recent Convert named Stephen (Steven?) who has had some hard circumstances in life, but things are looking up for him, so it was a nice lesson.
After that, we stopped by a Fundi wa Viatoo (Fixer of Shoes) we contacted a few days a ago, and started to teach him a lesson with two other people just joining in. It was funny how it happened. One just started listening in, then the next just wandered in, another man wandered in, took one look at the crowded room, and left.
It was funny.
From there, we met with yet another new person who is experiencing some hard family circumstances.
We ended the day with a visit to the Kasanga family. The eldest daughter is considering a mission, the mother is certain. I told them to just work on the passport, since they take a long time here.
10/19
"Shifting Tides of War"
Three Christians and a Muslim, two missionaries and a Muslim vs another Christian who was stubborn in his belief of the Trinity, and also stubborn in ignoring the direct proofs contrary.
We started the discussion outside a shop owned by this Muslim lady, and she joined in on our side. It was funny. The Muslim belief surrounding Jesus is that he is something like the Greatest Prophet, but he isn't the Son of God, so she was completely on our side when this guy tried to say that God and Jesus were the same. It was funny, we mutually agreed to disagree and just stared at this one guy as he continued to confuse himself.
I told him to his face several times that he was confusing himself, but he refused to believe it, and ignored me when I brought up the Stoning of Steven.
The whole mess lasted a good half hour and we walked away in exasperation, but with no hard feelings.
For the rest of today, we visited Brother Benson and his wife Georgina. I ended up playing with their little girl while E. Mukendi had to teach them what Family Home Evening was in Swahili since they missed the finer points of my English, but oh well.
We got rained on, and taught a Sister named Mary who is a Recent Convert. We read 2 Nephi 30 with her, and that ended our day.
10/17/2019 -- it's moments like these that make being a missionary worthwhile
10/12
Hakuna stima.
Okay, conference so far was very good. I have a rather long list of talks I need to revisit, and it turns out my mother and father were very correct when they mentioned to me that Africa came up a lot. I mostly heard about DRC and Ghana though – not Kenya.
I think I’ll need to relisten to Elder Renlund’s talk. Between this one and Abound with Blessings he’s shown himself to be a worthwhile speaker to go back and listen to.
Elder Bednar’s was fun. The cheetas provided a very good image for explaining the adversary.
I thought the Australian had a fun talk too, and the Colombian guy had a hard accent to follow, but his conversion story had me doubled over in laughter. Even E. Cole was looking at me with some level of concern when I was still giggling a few minutes later. I think it’s been too long since I had a good laugh.
Overall, the two sessions I saw were very good. I look forward to going back to see what else I can glean from them.
Next two tomorrow!
10/14
Cybered, Called home.
10/15
It was a good day today. The Lord blessed us and we randomly got a new investigator when this guy named Gideon just walked up to us while we were standing outside the chuch trying to call the person we were supposed to be meeting at that time. Well, it wasn't hard for us to switch our sights to him.
We taught the guy, and I tried a strategy I've been wanting to for a while: teaching the Book of Mormon first lesson. More specifically, I wanted to try hooking this guy in. We hit him with some information that some people have a hard time accepting (Prophets, God still speaks, we belive in Miracles, etc.) when he asked what the difference was between us and the Pentecostal church. It was a good lesson, we'll see if he comes back.
S. Emmaqulate also passed her interview today! So she should be baptized this week barring any issues. It was fun chatting with E. McGee for the time we had waiting for her to come.
Last thing, since it's week 6 I justified ordering pizza, and I wasn't the only one. E. Smith and E. Segale both had the same idea and when E. Mukendi and I went out to pick up our pizza they just randomly handed me one with Segale on in and really confused me for a long minute there before those two walked up. Fun. I'm not even too mad that they messed up my order.
10/17
"How to Kill a Congolieze"
Give them American candy.
-------
Well, yesterday was okay. We had DDM, then E. Mukendi and I taught a lesson with a brother named Julius. I'm still waiting to see if this guy will progress, but I'm not sure yet.
For today, we got bounced a few times, got a new investigator when a guy who can't keep time or remember appointments (he had even forgotten today, our call reminded him) showed up with his friend.
I don't know how the lesson was, all I know is that E. Mukendi started begging me to learn Swahili when it was over.
Fun.
We also visited a Recent Convert named Esther and re-taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to help her review. We also learned that she'd been thinking long and hard about going back to her old church, but then she read Elder Cristofferson's talk: "Standing firm in the Testimony of Christ" and realized that she couldn't leave. Powerful, it's moments like these that make being a missionary worthwhile.
Hakuna stima.
Okay, conference so far was very good. I have a rather long list of talks I need to revisit, and it turns out my mother and father were very correct when they mentioned to me that Africa came up a lot. I mostly heard about DRC and Ghana though – not Kenya.
I think I’ll need to relisten to Elder Renlund’s talk. Between this one and Abound with Blessings he’s shown himself to be a worthwhile speaker to go back and listen to.
Elder Bednar’s was fun. The cheetas provided a very good image for explaining the adversary.
I thought the Australian had a fun talk too, and the Colombian guy had a hard accent to follow, but his conversion story had me doubled over in laughter. Even E. Cole was looking at me with some level of concern when I was still giggling a few minutes later. I think it’s been too long since I had a good laugh.
Overall, the two sessions I saw were very good. I look forward to going back to see what else I can glean from them.
Next two tomorrow!
10/14
Cybered, Called home.
10/15
It was a good day today. The Lord blessed us and we randomly got a new investigator when this guy named Gideon just walked up to us while we were standing outside the chuch trying to call the person we were supposed to be meeting at that time. Well, it wasn't hard for us to switch our sights to him.
We taught the guy, and I tried a strategy I've been wanting to for a while: teaching the Book of Mormon first lesson. More specifically, I wanted to try hooking this guy in. We hit him with some information that some people have a hard time accepting (Prophets, God still speaks, we belive in Miracles, etc.) when he asked what the difference was between us and the Pentecostal church. It was a good lesson, we'll see if he comes back.
S. Emmaqulate also passed her interview today! So she should be baptized this week barring any issues. It was fun chatting with E. McGee for the time we had waiting for her to come.
Last thing, since it's week 6 I justified ordering pizza, and I wasn't the only one. E. Smith and E. Segale both had the same idea and when E. Mukendi and I went out to pick up our pizza they just randomly handed me one with Segale on in and really confused me for a long minute there before those two walked up. Fun. I'm not even too mad that they messed up my order.
10/17
"How to Kill a Congolieze"
Give them American candy.
-------
Well, yesterday was okay. We had DDM, then E. Mukendi and I taught a lesson with a brother named Julius. I'm still waiting to see if this guy will progress, but I'm not sure yet.
For today, we got bounced a few times, got a new investigator when a guy who can't keep time or remember appointments (he had even forgotten today, our call reminded him) showed up with his friend.
I don't know how the lesson was, all I know is that E. Mukendi started begging me to learn Swahili when it was over.
Fun.
We also visited a Recent Convert named Esther and re-taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to help her review. We also learned that she'd been thinking long and hard about going back to her old church, but then she read Elder Cristofferson's talk: "Standing firm in the Testimony of Christ" and realized that she couldn't leave. Powerful, it's moments like these that make being a missionary worthwhile.
10/11/2019 -- I haven’t had a day that full since...
10/6
Ugh. Long day. We found someone new to teach, but time will tell as we start to work with her and her husband. She isn't happy with the way her pastor is doing things, but she goes to his church almost every day of the week.
Aside from that, we were bounced three times and had a meeting with the Bishop that I've elected to count as correlation despite the fact that we just walked into his office to talk to him when he showed up at the church to do some work. Fun.
I'm currently wiped, night.
10/6
Aish. Slow, long, day. Fast Sunday always kills as a missionary. We taught a lesson with S. Emmaqulate and had her meet with the Bishop to see if there might be any potential issues with something she mentioned to us, but there's no issue. So we are currently a-go for her Baptism on the 20th. We just need to use that time wisely to help her understand and grow her testimony.
Aside from that, nothing much. I had some extra minutes, so I gave E. Cole a call to chat with him. It was fun.
10/11
Well, I haven’t updated for a few days. No excuse, it just didn’t happen.
Oh, here’s an excuse: I was so overwhelmed by something I saw on Tuesday that I forgot to update for a few days: I just had to stop and appreciate the guy bouncing down the street on the back of a camel. I’ve seen cows wandering around the streets, goats and chickens are common place, and let’s not even talk about cats and dogs, but I’ve never seen a camel. I just had to take a moment to appreciate what I was seeing.
Anyway, for this week things have been up and down. We met a new guy named Ben, but this guy has made me mad because he’ll tell you a certain time, you call and he’ll say he’s coming, you’ll give up and walk away, and he’ll call an hour later to tell you he’s at the church.
My opinion of this guy is low right now. We met with him once and had a Swahili-only lesson. When we set up an appointment for him today he asked us to buy him lunch – something President made very clear we’re not to do – so we told him we couldn’t. When we arrived at the church today we waited for him, and waited, and waited. The member we brought with us was so patient as we waited for 3+ hours. I’m pretty sure the Bishop thinks we’re lazy now. The fact that we waited so long for this guy was due to the fact that everytime we called him to check on him he said he was “almost there” or “five minutes away” eventually, his phone was switched off when we called. That’s when I had a “forget this!” moment and we gave up on waiting for him. I told my companion as we left the church that we wouldn’t be meeting with this guy today even if he called us to say he was at the church. I was done with him wasting our time, and E. Mukendi agreed.
That was the lowest point of the week. The second lowest point was this lady who just decided not to come to church because she prefers locking herself in the house to worship Jesus. I just had to stop talking during that lesson after a certain point. I need E. Mukendi’s permission before I can really give fire. It’s a mutual “do or die” time if that happens. Either it’ll wake them up or it’ll chase them off. Either way, we’ll only do it as a last resort.
Anyway, those were the two lowest points of my week. The rest of my week was boom, boom, boom, and boom! We found a new investigator, taught a fun former investigator (he gives E. Mukendi a headache), worked with a member, helped out the Bishop, contacted, and just overall had a much better week for work than any other. Thursday was even so full it almost killed me. I haven’t had a day that full since my time with E. Kanda in Lucky Summer. It was really nice.
I also had a really amusing conversation today with a matatu driver. E. Mukendi and I had sat in the front next to this guy and he started ranting about bangi (weed) and we taught a mini version of the word of wisdom as the guy almost got us in an accident three times during the five – ten minute drive. We left him with a Restoration pamphlet and we’ll see what happens.
All I can say for now: I’m really pumped up for conference.
Ugh. Long day. We found someone new to teach, but time will tell as we start to work with her and her husband. She isn't happy with the way her pastor is doing things, but she goes to his church almost every day of the week.
Aside from that, we were bounced three times and had a meeting with the Bishop that I've elected to count as correlation despite the fact that we just walked into his office to talk to him when he showed up at the church to do some work. Fun.
I'm currently wiped, night.
10/6
Aish. Slow, long, day. Fast Sunday always kills as a missionary. We taught a lesson with S. Emmaqulate and had her meet with the Bishop to see if there might be any potential issues with something she mentioned to us, but there's no issue. So we are currently a-go for her Baptism on the 20th. We just need to use that time wisely to help her understand and grow her testimony.
Aside from that, nothing much. I had some extra minutes, so I gave E. Cole a call to chat with him. It was fun.
10/11
Well, I haven’t updated for a few days. No excuse, it just didn’t happen.
Oh, here’s an excuse: I was so overwhelmed by something I saw on Tuesday that I forgot to update for a few days: I just had to stop and appreciate the guy bouncing down the street on the back of a camel. I’ve seen cows wandering around the streets, goats and chickens are common place, and let’s not even talk about cats and dogs, but I’ve never seen a camel. I just had to take a moment to appreciate what I was seeing.
Anyway, for this week things have been up and down. We met a new guy named Ben, but this guy has made me mad because he’ll tell you a certain time, you call and he’ll say he’s coming, you’ll give up and walk away, and he’ll call an hour later to tell you he’s at the church.
My opinion of this guy is low right now. We met with him once and had a Swahili-only lesson. When we set up an appointment for him today he asked us to buy him lunch – something President made very clear we’re not to do – so we told him we couldn’t. When we arrived at the church today we waited for him, and waited, and waited. The member we brought with us was so patient as we waited for 3+ hours. I’m pretty sure the Bishop thinks we’re lazy now. The fact that we waited so long for this guy was due to the fact that everytime we called him to check on him he said he was “almost there” or “five minutes away” eventually, his phone was switched off when we called. That’s when I had a “forget this!” moment and we gave up on waiting for him. I told my companion as we left the church that we wouldn’t be meeting with this guy today even if he called us to say he was at the church. I was done with him wasting our time, and E. Mukendi agreed.
That was the lowest point of the week. The second lowest point was this lady who just decided not to come to church because she prefers locking herself in the house to worship Jesus. I just had to stop talking during that lesson after a certain point. I need E. Mukendi’s permission before I can really give fire. It’s a mutual “do or die” time if that happens. Either it’ll wake them up or it’ll chase them off. Either way, we’ll only do it as a last resort.
Anyway, those were the two lowest points of my week. The rest of my week was boom, boom, boom, and boom! We found a new investigator, taught a fun former investigator (he gives E. Mukendi a headache), worked with a member, helped out the Bishop, contacted, and just overall had a much better week for work than any other. Thursday was even so full it almost killed me. I haven’t had a day that full since my time with E. Kanda in Lucky Summer. It was really nice.
I also had a really amusing conversation today with a matatu driver. E. Mukendi and I had sat in the front next to this guy and he started ranting about bangi (weed) and we taught a mini version of the word of wisdom as the guy almost got us in an accident three times during the five – ten minute drive. We left him with a Restoration pamphlet and we’ll see what happens.
All I can say for now: I’m really pumped up for conference.
10/4/2019 -- The other lessons was with a guy I'm low-key frustrated with
10/1
Anger down. I repeat, Anger down.
We were able to teach a few lessons today: the first with S. Emmaqulate where we taught the Law of Chastity - may be problems there, but we'll see. She understood it well, and we gave her more stuff to read in the Book of Mormon.
The other lessons was with a guy I'm low-key frustrated with. He's the one who doesn't see an issue with all these churches since "they all teach of Jesus Christ." Fortunately, he seems to be getting it now, but only time will tell.
He said he got an answer to his prayers and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and the Book of Mormon is truly scripture. My response was that was great and since he founded truth he didn't need to go anywhere else to find it. *sigh* It remains to be seen with this guy how things will go.
We also got pizza today. That helped my mood quite a bit since I wasn't able to last week.
10/2
DDM today. The Zone Leaders weren't there because they went to Mlolongo for exchanges. I spent some time hanging out with E. Clegg and E. McGee because we all grabbed lunch together.
After that E. Mukendi and I came back and did some contacting. We got bounced, then helped get some confusion worked out with someone's Baptismal Record, then we went to see a member.
We shared a thought about Blessings and the Importance of the Sacrament when we're facing Trials. I referenced E. Renlund's talk: Abound with Blessings, and we read Doctrine and Covenants Section 122 with them. It was nice, but it made us late getting back to the flat.
Well, that isn't too much of an issue anymore: President changed Home Safe. It's still 7, but if you have appointments you can stay out till 8. You just have to let your District Leader know in advance.
10/3
Well, not much for today. Our usual weekly DA was cancelled and we got bounced. I had a headache, stuffy nose, and low energy and E. Mukendi had a headache, so our mutual desire to work hard today was cut down. We still taught a good lesson with a Recent Convert named S. Esther about the Kingdoms of Glory, so that was nice.
What's annoying me right now is the amount of mosquitoes I've killed in the past two hours. It's at least in the double digits. Geh! Some of them are immortal too, so it takes a few good smacks to kill them. In the past few minutes I've been writing this I've killed four, so I'm really mad about that now. Hate mosquitoes.
10/4
We met with a B. named Melik today. His father doesn't like the church, so we're trying to set up a meeting with his father.
While I would love it if this guy became converted, I will take him allowing his son to come to church. It'll be enough for me. Aside from that, not much today. We contacted some and my comp showed me around a bit more of the area. Neither of us are feeling that well. Head colds.
Anger down. I repeat, Anger down.
We were able to teach a few lessons today: the first with S. Emmaqulate where we taught the Law of Chastity - may be problems there, but we'll see. She understood it well, and we gave her more stuff to read in the Book of Mormon.
The other lessons was with a guy I'm low-key frustrated with. He's the one who doesn't see an issue with all these churches since "they all teach of Jesus Christ." Fortunately, he seems to be getting it now, but only time will tell.
He said he got an answer to his prayers and that Joseph Smith was a prophet and the Book of Mormon is truly scripture. My response was that was great and since he founded truth he didn't need to go anywhere else to find it. *sigh* It remains to be seen with this guy how things will go.
We also got pizza today. That helped my mood quite a bit since I wasn't able to last week.
10/2
DDM today. The Zone Leaders weren't there because they went to Mlolongo for exchanges. I spent some time hanging out with E. Clegg and E. McGee because we all grabbed lunch together.
After that E. Mukendi and I came back and did some contacting. We got bounced, then helped get some confusion worked out with someone's Baptismal Record, then we went to see a member.
We shared a thought about Blessings and the Importance of the Sacrament when we're facing Trials. I referenced E. Renlund's talk: Abound with Blessings, and we read Doctrine and Covenants Section 122 with them. It was nice, but it made us late getting back to the flat.
Well, that isn't too much of an issue anymore: President changed Home Safe. It's still 7, but if you have appointments you can stay out till 8. You just have to let your District Leader know in advance.
10/3
Well, not much for today. Our usual weekly DA was cancelled and we got bounced. I had a headache, stuffy nose, and low energy and E. Mukendi had a headache, so our mutual desire to work hard today was cut down. We still taught a good lesson with a Recent Convert named S. Esther about the Kingdoms of Glory, so that was nice.
What's annoying me right now is the amount of mosquitoes I've killed in the past two hours. It's at least in the double digits. Geh! Some of them are immortal too, so it takes a few good smacks to kill them. In the past few minutes I've been writing this I've killed four, so I'm really mad about that now. Hate mosquitoes.
10/4
We met with a B. named Melik today. His father doesn't like the church, so we're trying to set up a meeting with his father.
While I would love it if this guy became converted, I will take him allowing his son to come to church. It'll be enough for me. Aside from that, not much today. We contacted some and my comp showed me around a bit more of the area. Neither of us are feeling that well. Head colds.
8/20/2019 -- Photo of Elder Benson with kids in Lucky Summer
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| Elder Benson with kids in Lucky Summer. |
10/1/2019 -- We also had a heart attack moment
9/27
I was wrong, there was no fun to be had today. There were a few good moments, but nothing seriously fun in the end. *sigh*
The best part of my day is that I got both Saints: The Standard of Truth and Jesus The Christ for less than $7. I happily told the guy behind the register at the distribution center, "I love how true the church is."
I got Saints alone for 60 Bob. I'm really happy about that. I'll finish it soon. Who knows when?
...
Tonight. I just finished it.
9/28
Well, I'm mad. A lot of stinking time was wasted while I was stuck at the hospital today. I wasn't going to go, but when the Mission President's Wife says, you go. Plus, I didn't have grounds to refuse. I've been having issues all week. I tried to beg off or delay, but symptoms started showing by the time we reached the church after weekly planning, so I waved the white flag and went.
What did they find? Nobody knows. There don't seem to be any parasites, but they gave me something to treat for them - just in case. They said they'd have lab results in four days, so hopefully I'm better by then and it's not an issue.
The doctor I talked to seemed to think it was the Doxy's fault though. Apparently, it can mess up your system. I'll believe that, but it shouldn't apply to me - I've been taking Doxy for eight months now. Geh.
Anyway, we did have one lesson today. We met with a Recent Convert to discuss some issues he was facing, and to invite them back to church. He and his wife haven't been in a while.
We also had a heart attack moment when a woman E. Mukendi called in Swahili mentioned something about burning a Book of Mormon, but we hauled in E. Segale and worked things out. This lady's friend discovered that she was attending this church - told her it was a Devil Worshiping church and that she should burn the Book of Mormon.
Before that misunderstanding was cleared up I was spitting mad. This lady is a recent convert and the story seemed to be something along the lines of: "my friend told me that the church I've been attending for a few months now is actually a devil worshiper church, so I'm leaving the church and burning the Book of Mormon" kind of story. The saddest thing is that it's a believable story. It happens.
9/30
Well, not much today. We had church, taught a lesson, attended Ward Council, and chatted. Pretty much every other Sunday here. I miss the ones in Lucky Summer, they were always super busy.
10/1
Well, people really like to make me mad, don't they? I got a text first thing in the morning from a guy asking my comp and I to come unlock the church. We told him that we could be there at 11 and he agreed.
When we got there we waited for a fundi to show up and take care of the things, but when we called it turns out the guy texted the wrong pair of missionaries - so I started my day in a foul mood. The worst part of the whole thing? I even doubled checked several times that this guy was looking for Kayole 2nd ward. SEVERAL TIMES. Eventually he asked me if we were at the South B chapel, and that's when my annoyance turned to anger. GEH!!!
Nothing else interesting for today, we cybered, I called home.
I was wrong, there was no fun to be had today. There were a few good moments, but nothing seriously fun in the end. *sigh*
The best part of my day is that I got both Saints: The Standard of Truth and Jesus The Christ for less than $7. I happily told the guy behind the register at the distribution center, "I love how true the church is."
I got Saints alone for 60 Bob. I'm really happy about that. I'll finish it soon. Who knows when?
...
Tonight. I just finished it.
9/28
Well, I'm mad. A lot of stinking time was wasted while I was stuck at the hospital today. I wasn't going to go, but when the Mission President's Wife says, you go. Plus, I didn't have grounds to refuse. I've been having issues all week. I tried to beg off or delay, but symptoms started showing by the time we reached the church after weekly planning, so I waved the white flag and went.
What did they find? Nobody knows. There don't seem to be any parasites, but they gave me something to treat for them - just in case. They said they'd have lab results in four days, so hopefully I'm better by then and it's not an issue.
The doctor I talked to seemed to think it was the Doxy's fault though. Apparently, it can mess up your system. I'll believe that, but it shouldn't apply to me - I've been taking Doxy for eight months now. Geh.
Anyway, we did have one lesson today. We met with a Recent Convert to discuss some issues he was facing, and to invite them back to church. He and his wife haven't been in a while.
We also had a heart attack moment when a woman E. Mukendi called in Swahili mentioned something about burning a Book of Mormon, but we hauled in E. Segale and worked things out. This lady's friend discovered that she was attending this church - told her it was a Devil Worshiping church and that she should burn the Book of Mormon.
Before that misunderstanding was cleared up I was spitting mad. This lady is a recent convert and the story seemed to be something along the lines of: "my friend told me that the church I've been attending for a few months now is actually a devil worshiper church, so I'm leaving the church and burning the Book of Mormon" kind of story. The saddest thing is that it's a believable story. It happens.
9/30
Well, not much today. We had church, taught a lesson, attended Ward Council, and chatted. Pretty much every other Sunday here. I miss the ones in Lucky Summer, they were always super busy.
10/1
Well, people really like to make me mad, don't they? I got a text first thing in the morning from a guy asking my comp and I to come unlock the church. We told him that we could be there at 11 and he agreed.
When we got there we waited for a fundi to show up and take care of the things, but when we called it turns out the guy texted the wrong pair of missionaries - so I started my day in a foul mood. The worst part of the whole thing? I even doubled checked several times that this guy was looking for Kayole 2nd ward. SEVERAL TIMES. Eventually he asked me if we were at the South B chapel, and that's when my annoyance turned to anger. GEH!!!
Nothing else interesting for today, we cybered, I called home.
9/26/2019 -- the Lord blessed me
9/23
Well, my once-a-transfer routine of getting sick has reared it's ugly head yet again. Last night sucked. Not much for today, we just cybered.
9/24
Well, we tried to work. We taught a lesson, set up some appointments, contacted a bit, then had to come back early because of me.
The lesson we taught was with a guy who gave me a neat little headache because he exemplified several traits that I dislike about the people in my mission. 1: Money and/or Job. Even though it's been explained to him several times it's easy to tell that this guy is holding out a spark of hope that we'll give him one of those two things. 2: They all believe in Jesus Christ, does it matter which church I go to?
...
...
Okay, this is an attitude I've found here that I really, really hate. A lot of people aren't even looking for truth, they're just looking for a church to pray at or whatever. They don't really care that these churches all teach different things or whatever, they just don't care. The only church they seem to care about here is Jehovah's Witnesses. That "care" is an oddly omnipresent hatred for them. I had one guy explain that they don't teach things like the Bible explains them, so that's why he hated them, but I still don't really get it. Aigh...
Anyway, we just couldn't get it into this guy's head that, yes, there is ONE true church. I just waived the white flag in the end and just told him that he doesn't need to believe what we were saying, but he needs to ask God if it's true. He agreed to do so, we'll see what happens.
...
...
HOW DO THE PEOPLE HERE REALLY SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH ALL THESE CHURCHES AND ALL THIS CONFUSION??????????
9/25
Nothing today. We went to immigration first thing in the morning for my companion. We had planning on going to the Distribution center as well, but I said nope to that because of how miserable I feel. We've just been at the flat all day.
9/26
Well, we actually worked today. It almost killed me at two points, but we got things done.
We met with S. Emmaqulate this morning -she's the only one we have on date- and taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation. She's kinda having a hard time understanding this one, so we're having to take it slow, but we'll review next time to make sure she remembers and understands.
We went to see a member after that. She'd been wanting to have us over for a while, but she was always busy, so we went to see her today. This is the first point where I almost died: she whipped out food. My stomach isn't doing too good at this point, but I tried my best. I didn't feel too good after that, but the Lord blessed me and we were still able to share a good spiritual thought. We talked about making the sacrament more meaningful. It was pretty nice.
From there we had a decent walk to yet another member's home. This one is a standing weekly appointment and we had to follow up on a referral they'd given us last week, and see if they had anyone else they wanted to introduce us to. The answer to the first one is that we actually need to give that referral as a referral to the Mlolongo Elders. The answer to the second one is "yes," but they didn't come to church last Sunday like this family was hoping. Nice.
They also fed us, but I took one bit and waved the white flag. I wasn't as strong as I thought, and my illness overpowered me. Bleh. No, I didn't puke, but I did have to stop.
I explained the situation to this member and she was very understanding - still felt like dying.
I had the Spiritual Thought for this lesson so I pulled from Moroni 7 and talked about our ability to judge between good and evil, and tied that to what President Nelson has counseled us about in these last days, that "we won't be able to survive spiritually without...the Holy Ghost." It was a nice little thought.
Zone Conference tomorrow. My little playground. So long as I'm not too sick I'll have fun.
Well, my once-a-transfer routine of getting sick has reared it's ugly head yet again. Last night sucked. Not much for today, we just cybered.
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| Cyber cafe. Awaiting a computer. |
 |
| Fluffy kitties -- cannot touch! |
Well, we tried to work. We taught a lesson, set up some appointments, contacted a bit, then had to come back early because of me.
The lesson we taught was with a guy who gave me a neat little headache because he exemplified several traits that I dislike about the people in my mission. 1: Money and/or Job. Even though it's been explained to him several times it's easy to tell that this guy is holding out a spark of hope that we'll give him one of those two things. 2: They all believe in Jesus Christ, does it matter which church I go to?
...
...
Okay, this is an attitude I've found here that I really, really hate. A lot of people aren't even looking for truth, they're just looking for a church to pray at or whatever. They don't really care that these churches all teach different things or whatever, they just don't care. The only church they seem to care about here is Jehovah's Witnesses. That "care" is an oddly omnipresent hatred for them. I had one guy explain that they don't teach things like the Bible explains them, so that's why he hated them, but I still don't really get it. Aigh...
Anyway, we just couldn't get it into this guy's head that, yes, there is ONE true church. I just waived the white flag in the end and just told him that he doesn't need to believe what we were saying, but he needs to ask God if it's true. He agreed to do so, we'll see what happens.
...
...
HOW DO THE PEOPLE HERE REALLY SEE NOTHING WRONG WITH ALL THESE CHURCHES AND ALL THIS CONFUSION??????????
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| Study room at Kayole 2 flat |
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| Kayole 2 flat |
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| Elder Mukendi |
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| Elders Benson & Mukendi |
9/25
Nothing today. We went to immigration first thing in the morning for my companion. We had planning on going to the Distribution center as well, but I said nope to that because of how miserable I feel. We've just been at the flat all day.
9/26
Well, we actually worked today. It almost killed me at two points, but we got things done.
We met with S. Emmaqulate this morning -she's the only one we have on date- and taught the rest of the Plan of Salvation. She's kinda having a hard time understanding this one, so we're having to take it slow, but we'll review next time to make sure she remembers and understands.
We went to see a member after that. She'd been wanting to have us over for a while, but she was always busy, so we went to see her today. This is the first point where I almost died: she whipped out food. My stomach isn't doing too good at this point, but I tried my best. I didn't feel too good after that, but the Lord blessed me and we were still able to share a good spiritual thought. We talked about making the sacrament more meaningful. It was pretty nice.
From there we had a decent walk to yet another member's home. This one is a standing weekly appointment and we had to follow up on a referral they'd given us last week, and see if they had anyone else they wanted to introduce us to. The answer to the first one is that we actually need to give that referral as a referral to the Mlolongo Elders. The answer to the second one is "yes," but they didn't come to church last Sunday like this family was hoping. Nice.
They also fed us, but I took one bit and waved the white flag. I wasn't as strong as I thought, and my illness overpowered me. Bleh. No, I didn't puke, but I did have to stop.
I explained the situation to this member and she was very understanding - still felt like dying.
I had the Spiritual Thought for this lesson so I pulled from Moroni 7 and talked about our ability to judge between good and evil, and tied that to what President Nelson has counseled us about in these last days, that "we won't be able to survive spiritually without...the Holy Ghost." It was a nice little thought.
Zone Conference tomorrow. My little playground. So long as I'm not too sick I'll have fun.
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| Elder Bamongo, Lucky Summer companion |
Thursday, September 26, 2019
9/22/2019 -- today was an info dump because I was introduced to a lot of people in a short amount of time.
9/20
Well, today was fun. We started off by going to interviews in Buruburu. I am honestly impressed with President: traffic made him over half an hour late, but he was still able to get ahead of schedule with interviews. He's fast, mine was probably one of the longer interviews - the reason being because I asked him a few questions.
After interviews we went to lunch with a rather large group of missionaries - imagine trying to fit a group of over eight missionaries in a room smaller than my bedroom and still include space for tables and chairs - enough for everyone to sit. It was a tight squeeze.
After that E. Mukendi and I headed back to our area to teach a few lessons. Unfortunately, one bounced and the other was a few hours late - so we didn't have time like I wanted to for contacting. Oh well, it was a good lesson with this sister, and S. Cynthia showed up to help us teach so that was fun.
Currently, the power is on the fritz. It's pretty much back-to-back brown outs. It makes doing anything rather annoying. Oh well. It should work itself out in the end.
9/21
Well, another day of proselyting lost. We headed over to Lucky Summer first thing in the morning for the open house that was being held there. It was nice because I got to chat with E. Cole a bit, but we didn't really get the chance to seriously talk because our attentions were directed elsewhere. After the open house we had to come back and do weekly planning - so we had no time to really proselyte. It was annoying. I don't like doing weekly planning in the evening because it's just wasted time.
After weekly planning the other Elders came by to use our kitchen since their gas isn't working. They were here for quite a bit of time - E. Clegg beat me in chess - then left. Of course, I had to laundry after that. Ya'll are going to hear me complain a lot about laundry when I get home. I'm seriously considering giving the washing machine a hug when I get back home.
9/22
Well, today was an info dump. An info dump is when you give too much unfamiliar information in a short amount of time. You see it in bad writers.
Anyway, today was an info dump because I was introduced to a lot of people in a short amount of time. It happened last Sunday too, but this one was worse. I can only remember two names from today and I have a massive headache if it's any indication of how many people we met.
Well, today was fun. We started off by going to interviews in Buruburu. I am honestly impressed with President: traffic made him over half an hour late, but he was still able to get ahead of schedule with interviews. He's fast, mine was probably one of the longer interviews - the reason being because I asked him a few questions.
After interviews we went to lunch with a rather large group of missionaries - imagine trying to fit a group of over eight missionaries in a room smaller than my bedroom and still include space for tables and chairs - enough for everyone to sit. It was a tight squeeze.
After that E. Mukendi and I headed back to our area to teach a few lessons. Unfortunately, one bounced and the other was a few hours late - so we didn't have time like I wanted to for contacting. Oh well, it was a good lesson with this sister, and S. Cynthia showed up to help us teach so that was fun.
Currently, the power is on the fritz. It's pretty much back-to-back brown outs. It makes doing anything rather annoying. Oh well. It should work itself out in the end.
9/21
Well, another day of proselyting lost. We headed over to Lucky Summer first thing in the morning for the open house that was being held there. It was nice because I got to chat with E. Cole a bit, but we didn't really get the chance to seriously talk because our attentions were directed elsewhere. After the open house we had to come back and do weekly planning - so we had no time to really proselyte. It was annoying. I don't like doing weekly planning in the evening because it's just wasted time.
After weekly planning the other Elders came by to use our kitchen since their gas isn't working. They were here for quite a bit of time - E. Clegg beat me in chess - then left. Of course, I had to laundry after that. Ya'll are going to hear me complain a lot about laundry when I get home. I'm seriously considering giving the washing machine a hug when I get back home.
9/22
Well, today was an info dump. An info dump is when you give too much unfamiliar information in a short amount of time. You see it in bad writers.
Anyway, today was an info dump because I was introduced to a lot of people in a short amount of time. It happened last Sunday too, but this one was worse. I can only remember two names from today and I have a massive headache if it's any indication of how many people we met.
9/19/2019 -- I threw E. Mukendi under the bus this morning
9/16
Well, we went to Buruburu today. There was an activity there and my comp wanted to go. E.Cole wasn't there - so I wasn't really that interested in going. We chatted some with the other missionaries and I talked with E. Bamongo and E. Tshangu to check in on how Lucky Summer was doing. They started talking about one of the investigators and my response was: "when are going to drop that guy? He's not progressing, he's not keeping commitments, and he's not coming to church."Apparently, it's this guy's greatest ambition to become a Pastor... Apparently, E. Tshangu had to re-teach the great Apostasy, and he and E. Bamongo were planning on blasting this guy next time they saw him. My response was still: "Drop him.
"Nothing else much for the day. We just cybered.
9/17
Well, today was stressful. First thing in the morning at least. We had to go pick up allotment. I wasn't planning on it taking fairly long since I knew of an ATM nearby, but E. Mukendi failed to inform me that his card and that specific ATM don't get along. So I got everything just fine, but we had to speed-walk for over an hour to reach one that would work with his card. I had a "we need to find another ATM for you, this one is way too fetching far."
Something funny I've found in this area is that if I put my mind to it I can find things I want. The first example was with the cyber. I wanted a better, cheaper one - so I found two (and approximately four more today alone). I want an ATM closer to the flat that E. Mukendi can use - I found three potentials. I hope this skill translates well for when I get back home. It'll make looking for an eternal companion much easier.
Anyway, the reason why this was stressful to me is because I still place a lot of importance on punctuality - even if no one else here does. We had an appointment at 11 that bounced us. He might have been there if we were on time, but we were late and he wasn't there. *sigh*...there's no point wasting my time on "what ifs.
"We had to run back to the flat quick after that bounce and came back to the church. I had a quick lunch and E. Mukendi decided to forgo lunch with me by having a snack while we were at the flat. Well, not that it could really be called lunch anyway.
After lunch we taught two good appointments. I was really working with the spirit today, and asked some interesting questions I've never asked before. "Do you believe what we're teaching you could be possible?""Do you thing God could call another prophet?"and others. I always ask questions, but today's were rather pointed. It wasn't hard to figure out that this guy wasn't believing a word of what we were teaching him - spirit of discernment and all that. I'm reasonably sure that we're going to lose this guy, but it all depends on what he does once he's on his own. IF he prays he'll stick around. IF not he'll be gone like the expiration date on last year's cheese.
The second lesson was kinda hard. This lady broke down crying. I tried my best, but I'm not exactly the best at comfort in these kind of situations. She's a powerful lady though, she wants to be washed free of all her sins so badly, and she wants the same for all her children. Powerful.
We contacted after that then came back. My comp was in bed before 9 because he was exhausted from all the walking today. I'm pretty tired too, but I'm not weak enough to do something as out of character as going to sleep early. That said, I do need sleep - badly. Night.
9/19
For today we started off by being bounced - twice - both the primary and back-up weren't there.
We went contacting, had lunch, and headed to the church for our second appointment - who did show on time - I was honestly surprised this guy came at all. I had asked him last time we taught him if he thought that it was possible for God to do all the things that would make it possible for the Restoration - he said no....I kinda thought we lost this guy after that. It's why I like teaching the Restoration first. It weeds through all those who think revelation and miracles no longer apply to our time - they usually leave. Well, this guy stuck around so we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was internally chanting when E. Mukendi was teaching him Baptism: "Don't give him a date. Don't give him a date."Why? Well, this guy has told us he wants to be Baptized already, but I'm not gonna do it until I see the fruits of Repentance and Conversion.
After this guy we went to see a Recent Convert who was brought to the church by her son after he was converted, but her son has since gone less active while she's going strong. Funny situation, she literally pointed this out to us. We taught her about the temple and reminded her about family history, then we were outta there.
Our last appointment of the day was to see S. Angela and her family. It was a nice Dinner Appointment. I threw E. Mukendi under the bus this morning during planning and told him that he was in charge of the spiritual thought, so I got to sit back in amusement. Fortunately, I had the decency to give him an eight hour or so warning. Sometimes missionaries will look at each other (especially when there's more than one companionship) trying to figure out who'll do it while a spokesman is buying time for them to sell out one of their companions, or for one brave soul to step forward. I think it's funny.
Well, we went to Buruburu today. There was an activity there and my comp wanted to go. E.Cole wasn't there - so I wasn't really that interested in going. We chatted some with the other missionaries and I talked with E. Bamongo and E. Tshangu to check in on how Lucky Summer was doing. They started talking about one of the investigators and my response was: "when are going to drop that guy? He's not progressing, he's not keeping commitments, and he's not coming to church."Apparently, it's this guy's greatest ambition to become a Pastor... Apparently, E. Tshangu had to re-teach the great Apostasy, and he and E. Bamongo were planning on blasting this guy next time they saw him. My response was still: "Drop him.
"Nothing else much for the day. We just cybered.
9/17
Well, today was stressful. First thing in the morning at least. We had to go pick up allotment. I wasn't planning on it taking fairly long since I knew of an ATM nearby, but E. Mukendi failed to inform me that his card and that specific ATM don't get along. So I got everything just fine, but we had to speed-walk for over an hour to reach one that would work with his card. I had a "we need to find another ATM for you, this one is way too fetching far."
Something funny I've found in this area is that if I put my mind to it I can find things I want. The first example was with the cyber. I wanted a better, cheaper one - so I found two (and approximately four more today alone). I want an ATM closer to the flat that E. Mukendi can use - I found three potentials. I hope this skill translates well for when I get back home. It'll make looking for an eternal companion much easier.
Anyway, the reason why this was stressful to me is because I still place a lot of importance on punctuality - even if no one else here does. We had an appointment at 11 that bounced us. He might have been there if we were on time, but we were late and he wasn't there. *sigh*...there's no point wasting my time on "what ifs.
"We had to run back to the flat quick after that bounce and came back to the church. I had a quick lunch and E. Mukendi decided to forgo lunch with me by having a snack while we were at the flat. Well, not that it could really be called lunch anyway.
After lunch we taught two good appointments. I was really working with the spirit today, and asked some interesting questions I've never asked before. "Do you believe what we're teaching you could be possible?""Do you thing God could call another prophet?"and others. I always ask questions, but today's were rather pointed. It wasn't hard to figure out that this guy wasn't believing a word of what we were teaching him - spirit of discernment and all that. I'm reasonably sure that we're going to lose this guy, but it all depends on what he does once he's on his own. IF he prays he'll stick around. IF not he'll be gone like the expiration date on last year's cheese.
The second lesson was kinda hard. This lady broke down crying. I tried my best, but I'm not exactly the best at comfort in these kind of situations. She's a powerful lady though, she wants to be washed free of all her sins so badly, and she wants the same for all her children. Powerful.
We contacted after that then came back. My comp was in bed before 9 because he was exhausted from all the walking today. I'm pretty tired too, but I'm not weak enough to do something as out of character as going to sleep early. That said, I do need sleep - badly. Night.
9/19
For today we started off by being bounced - twice - both the primary and back-up weren't there.
We went contacting, had lunch, and headed to the church for our second appointment - who did show on time - I was honestly surprised this guy came at all. I had asked him last time we taught him if he thought that it was possible for God to do all the things that would make it possible for the Restoration - he said no....I kinda thought we lost this guy after that. It's why I like teaching the Restoration first. It weeds through all those who think revelation and miracles no longer apply to our time - they usually leave. Well, this guy stuck around so we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I was internally chanting when E. Mukendi was teaching him Baptism: "Don't give him a date. Don't give him a date."Why? Well, this guy has told us he wants to be Baptized already, but I'm not gonna do it until I see the fruits of Repentance and Conversion.
After this guy we went to see a Recent Convert who was brought to the church by her son after he was converted, but her son has since gone less active while she's going strong. Funny situation, she literally pointed this out to us. We taught her about the temple and reminded her about family history, then we were outta there.
Our last appointment of the day was to see S. Angela and her family. It was a nice Dinner Appointment. I threw E. Mukendi under the bus this morning during planning and told him that he was in charge of the spiritual thought, so I got to sit back in amusement. Fortunately, I had the decency to give him an eight hour or so warning. Sometimes missionaries will look at each other (especially when there's more than one companionship) trying to figure out who'll do it while a spokesman is buying time for them to sell out one of their companions, or for one brave soul to step forward. I think it's funny.
9/16/2019 -- We had three people we're teaching come to church.
9/13
Today was slow. We had one lesson, contacted, and did weekly planning. These three things took all day.
After about five hours sitting on the couch I was losing my mind: three hours for weekly planning, one hour for planning, and one hour for language study. Well, that was supposed to be how much time everything took, but some stuff was longer than other stuff. It still took five hours in the end. That really sucked, but it was nice to rest some. So far it has been go, go, go since I got here. We've been contacting 10 people minimum every day, teaching as many lessons as possible, meeting as many members as possible, and I've been working on breaking my comp's bad habits - the ones given to him by his trainer.
I can't blame him at all - he didn't know any better, and it usually happens anyway. I will say, mad props to E. Mukendi. He has been really humble and patient with this whole thing. If I have to train then I want to train someone like him.
9/14
Okay, there wasn't much today. We got one new investigator when a woman invited us to share a bit of our lesson when we were out contacting, clearly we contacted, we had one lesson, and we helped clean the chapel because enough people to clean it didn't show up. I swept if you're wondering.
Yeah, that was our entire day.
9/16
Well, today was a mixed bag.
On our way to church we ran into a referral we'd gotten from the other elders last night. She promised to come to church but didn't show.
At the church we set up chairs and I went back to my old routine of greeting everyone who walked through the door, and I was in my seat at 5 to the hour. The best part?
I got to sit with B.Richard, one of the people we met and started teaching this week. We had three people we're teaching come to church.
I gave what I thought was a nice testimony, but the PA system didn't pick it up too well, so apparently nobody heard it. I had a member mention it to me afterward. Dang.
During the second block I ended up adding a lot to the discussion - more than usual. I usually keep silent because I think it's important for members to contribute more than missionaries, but we were talking about trials today, so I felt qualified to talk.
After the service I said good bye to B.Richard and waited...and waited...and waited...and finally saw Bishop.
We had a good meeting with him and hopefully this will be the beginning of advancing the work in the Kayole 2nd Ward. After the meeting we went with a member to visit one of our investigators. This guy has made me mad. He bounced us three times this week and didn't even have the decency to tell us that he wouldn't be able to come whenever something came up - he just shut off his phone. I had dropped this guy, but he reached out to us so we went to see him. He introduced us to his wife and his brother in law and his wife.
We taught a pretty good lesson and left. That was the end of our day. Not too bad, but I'm wiped.
Today was slow. We had one lesson, contacted, and did weekly planning. These three things took all day.
After about five hours sitting on the couch I was losing my mind: three hours for weekly planning, one hour for planning, and one hour for language study. Well, that was supposed to be how much time everything took, but some stuff was longer than other stuff. It still took five hours in the end. That really sucked, but it was nice to rest some. So far it has been go, go, go since I got here. We've been contacting 10 people minimum every day, teaching as many lessons as possible, meeting as many members as possible, and I've been working on breaking my comp's bad habits - the ones given to him by his trainer.
I can't blame him at all - he didn't know any better, and it usually happens anyway. I will say, mad props to E. Mukendi. He has been really humble and patient with this whole thing. If I have to train then I want to train someone like him.
9/14
Okay, there wasn't much today. We got one new investigator when a woman invited us to share a bit of our lesson when we were out contacting, clearly we contacted, we had one lesson, and we helped clean the chapel because enough people to clean it didn't show up. I swept if you're wondering.
Yeah, that was our entire day.
9/16
Well, today was a mixed bag.
On our way to church we ran into a referral we'd gotten from the other elders last night. She promised to come to church but didn't show.
At the church we set up chairs and I went back to my old routine of greeting everyone who walked through the door, and I was in my seat at 5 to the hour. The best part?
I got to sit with B.Richard, one of the people we met and started teaching this week. We had three people we're teaching come to church.
I gave what I thought was a nice testimony, but the PA system didn't pick it up too well, so apparently nobody heard it. I had a member mention it to me afterward. Dang.
During the second block I ended up adding a lot to the discussion - more than usual. I usually keep silent because I think it's important for members to contribute more than missionaries, but we were talking about trials today, so I felt qualified to talk.
After the service I said good bye to B.Richard and waited...and waited...and waited...and finally saw Bishop.
We had a good meeting with him and hopefully this will be the beginning of advancing the work in the Kayole 2nd Ward. After the meeting we went with a member to visit one of our investigators. This guy has made me mad. He bounced us three times this week and didn't even have the decency to tell us that he wouldn't be able to come whenever something came up - he just shut off his phone. I had dropped this guy, but he reached out to us so we went to see him. He introduced us to his wife and his brother in law and his wife.
We taught a pretty good lesson and left. That was the end of our day. Not too bad, but I'm wiped.
9/12/2019 -- He would be powerful if he was converted.
9/10
PRAISE BE!!! I FOUND A CYBER FOR 30 bob/hr! It will probably suck, but so long as it doesn't suck more than the other one it will be tolerable. It's a 40min walk from the flat though... that's the downside.
Anyway, we spent 4 hours in weekly planning today and didn't get everything I wanted to done. I did get to experience another bout of horror when I got a good look at the area book. I barely made a dent in it during those 4 hours.
Anyway, things are pretty well on track here. We're gonna be contacting a lot, we're gonna try to see as many people as we can, and we're just gonna try to get this area up and going.
Not going to be easy - we were bounced three times today. The only person who showed was the member who was supposed to help us teach. I made her die laughing with my descriptions of the Old Testament. She now want to read it for some reason - despite that fact that I made it very clear that Leviticus existed solely as a cure for insomnia. I also explained Jacob's story like it was an anime plot: "NANI???? ANO BETSU NA ONNA WA AKUMA DA!!!"That was fun. She died laughing and I kinda hope my comp did too (he was sitting behind me so I couldn't see him). I then proceeded to strongly recommend Saints.
...
...
I suppose this is what it means to have a captive audience.
Anyway, we came back to the flat early and I tried to figure out how the heck language study works. I still haven't.
After we finished that the other Elders stopped by and E.Segale beat me in a chess game in less than two minutes. Man! It's been forever since I played last. I don't think it was hard for him to trounce me. Well, not that I was ever that good at chess to begin with. I never played it enough.
I got to see E. Clegg for the first time in three months as well. It was kinda weird.
9/12
Well, we finally got to see the fruits of some of our contacting today. We have four new investigators. 2 of the four have interesting stories.
The first interesting story is when we were teaching a Brother named Moses. Apparently, he hadn't told his father we would be coming, so when this guy walked in on the lessons he acted rather similar to a cornered animal. He was about to throw us out of his house when the spirit put it in my head that he thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses. I cleared that up instantly and he calmed down a little. I could see that he was still tense so I offered to leave. He had calmed down enough to be able to say: "no, it's fine. continue."I also invited him to join us, but he was too busy and "firm in his faith."
...
I wanna teach this guy. He would be powerful if he was converted.
As for the guy we were actually there to teach I have no idea what happened. The whole thing was in swahili and I decided to throw my comp into the fire. I know enough swahili by now to follow a lesson, but I just sat there and every-time my comp tried to pass it to me I just looked at him. He and the member we brought with us ended up teaching this short lesson without me and we left. Was I a jerk for doing this? Yes. Am I doing this without a reason? No. Looking back I know why I did it, but I don't know why I started doing that. Must be the spirit because E.Mathemera did the same thing to me when he forced me to take the lead during lessons to help me practice doing it. Fun.
As for the other interesting lesson we had this guy tell us he had two wives. One was sitting there with us who had introduced herself as THE wife, so I think there might be something there. I'm kinda hoping it's a Ï have two wives, but I divorced the first one"kind of thing. I pray that's what it is, because I don't look forward to teaching chastity and I'm trying to figure out whether I should teach it earlier or later. Do I show my hand now to force a decision or do I try to build a testimony while side-stepping a known issue? I'll probably end up asking President if we keep teaching this guy.
Oh, btw. I've only described our morning so far. We did all that before noon. It was nice. The afternoon was empty by comparison. We visited an RC and reviewed the WoW with him, then contacted, then went to see a member. It was a lot slower than the morning, but I'm really wiped for the day.
PRAISE BE!!! I FOUND A CYBER FOR 30 bob/hr! It will probably suck, but so long as it doesn't suck more than the other one it will be tolerable. It's a 40min walk from the flat though... that's the downside.
Anyway, we spent 4 hours in weekly planning today and didn't get everything I wanted to done. I did get to experience another bout of horror when I got a good look at the area book. I barely made a dent in it during those 4 hours.
Anyway, things are pretty well on track here. We're gonna be contacting a lot, we're gonna try to see as many people as we can, and we're just gonna try to get this area up and going.
Not going to be easy - we were bounced three times today. The only person who showed was the member who was supposed to help us teach. I made her die laughing with my descriptions of the Old Testament. She now want to read it for some reason - despite that fact that I made it very clear that Leviticus existed solely as a cure for insomnia. I also explained Jacob's story like it was an anime plot: "NANI???? ANO BETSU NA ONNA WA AKUMA DA!!!"That was fun. She died laughing and I kinda hope my comp did too (he was sitting behind me so I couldn't see him). I then proceeded to strongly recommend Saints.
...
...
I suppose this is what it means to have a captive audience.
Anyway, we came back to the flat early and I tried to figure out how the heck language study works. I still haven't.
After we finished that the other Elders stopped by and E.Segale beat me in a chess game in less than two minutes. Man! It's been forever since I played last. I don't think it was hard for him to trounce me. Well, not that I was ever that good at chess to begin with. I never played it enough.
I got to see E. Clegg for the first time in three months as well. It was kinda weird.
9/12
Well, we finally got to see the fruits of some of our contacting today. We have four new investigators. 2 of the four have interesting stories.
The first interesting story is when we were teaching a Brother named Moses. Apparently, he hadn't told his father we would be coming, so when this guy walked in on the lessons he acted rather similar to a cornered animal. He was about to throw us out of his house when the spirit put it in my head that he thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses. I cleared that up instantly and he calmed down a little. I could see that he was still tense so I offered to leave. He had calmed down enough to be able to say: "no, it's fine. continue."I also invited him to join us, but he was too busy and "firm in his faith."
...
I wanna teach this guy. He would be powerful if he was converted.
As for the guy we were actually there to teach I have no idea what happened. The whole thing was in swahili and I decided to throw my comp into the fire. I know enough swahili by now to follow a lesson, but I just sat there and every-time my comp tried to pass it to me I just looked at him. He and the member we brought with us ended up teaching this short lesson without me and we left. Was I a jerk for doing this? Yes. Am I doing this without a reason? No. Looking back I know why I did it, but I don't know why I started doing that. Must be the spirit because E.Mathemera did the same thing to me when he forced me to take the lead during lessons to help me practice doing it. Fun.
As for the other interesting lesson we had this guy tell us he had two wives. One was sitting there with us who had introduced herself as THE wife, so I think there might be something there. I'm kinda hoping it's a Ï have two wives, but I divorced the first one"kind of thing. I pray that's what it is, because I don't look forward to teaching chastity and I'm trying to figure out whether I should teach it earlier or later. Do I show my hand now to force a decision or do I try to build a testimony while side-stepping a known issue? I'll probably end up asking President if we keep teaching this guy.
Oh, btw. I've only described our morning so far. We did all that before noon. It was nice. The afternoon was empty by comparison. We visited an RC and reviewed the WoW with him, then contacted, then went to see a member. It was a lot slower than the morning, but I'm really wiped for the day.
9/9/2019 -- I got transferred.
9/6
I have a low-level version of the Gift of Prophesy. I got transferred. I'm still in the same Zone, but I'm now in Kayole 2nd. My new companion is called E. Mukendi.
We didn't do too much today - we had weekly planning where I took a nap since I'm leaving, we taught a few lessons and I helped a little, and we went to an orphonage to negotiate a service opportunity. I actually did help out with that last one. *sigh* President shouldn't be telling us this early. I've low-key lost the desire to work...well, it's not that I've lost the desire to work, but I've lost a connection with the work here in Lucky Summer. I certainly still care about the people and the area, but it feels almost like there's a thin glass pane between me and everything else here. It sucks, but it's better than when we received transfer news on Saturday night at 11:30.
9/7
*sigh* The glass pane feels thicker. We worked today, but it wasn't one of my best days. We got some new investigators this morning: a Trio of Software Engineers who I indirectly blasted by talking about my experience seeing so many Atheists back home in comparison to here. The interesting thing with these three is that a belief in God is so ingrained in their society that they do believe in him, they just don't practice or pray or rely on him in any way. It's actually the closest thing I've found to a Kenyan Atheist.
After that we went to the church for an appointment, then got bounced. We headed to our next appointment with E. Cole and his "son"E. Kulondwa to see a member: B. Airo (I-ee-roo). It was a nice visit, then we were out the door to see Steve and Vivian.
My comps taught the Word of Wisdom today, and the kids got it pretty well, so here's hoping that they won't struggle with Chastity tomorrow. Side note: I'm happy I don't have to teach Chastity to these kids - I dread the days of giving my children "The Talk"and I don't want to practice for it.
After those two we went to teach Wycliffe the Word of Wisdom...the longer I'm in Kenya, the more I realize that the major addiction here is Tea. Second place goes to Mirrah. Third to the AL-kee-hol (Karissa, thinking of you with that one). Coffee? Yeah some, but not really. Tobacco? Yeah, plenty. I just haven't taught anyone who smokes yet. Not for lack of trying, but because that's how it works out. I contacted a guy buying cigarettes once. It was kinda funny.
Also, I hate all the smoking here. My mother and siblings won't get the depths of my hatred, but my father has a very clear memory of my hatred of smoking. It hasn't gotten any better.
Anyway, that was the end of our day after that. I did laundry to prepare for my move and chatted with my companions about language. My attempt to convince them to think in English didn't work very well.
Man! I miss Japanese.
9/9
Well, today was horror experience. I got to the flat, changed, and started cleaning. I am honestly horrified by the kitchen - I don't want to be in there. I spent about three hours cleaning then E. Mukendi and I went to cyber.
I quickly learned that my area is expensive when the price I paid AFTER the discount was 230 bob. The cyber sucked too. I'm weeping bloody tears. I need to find a new one.
I have a low-level version of the Gift of Prophesy. I got transferred. I'm still in the same Zone, but I'm now in Kayole 2nd. My new companion is called E. Mukendi.
We didn't do too much today - we had weekly planning where I took a nap since I'm leaving, we taught a few lessons and I helped a little, and we went to an orphonage to negotiate a service opportunity. I actually did help out with that last one. *sigh* President shouldn't be telling us this early. I've low-key lost the desire to work...well, it's not that I've lost the desire to work, but I've lost a connection with the work here in Lucky Summer. I certainly still care about the people and the area, but it feels almost like there's a thin glass pane between me and everything else here. It sucks, but it's better than when we received transfer news on Saturday night at 11:30.
9/7
*sigh* The glass pane feels thicker. We worked today, but it wasn't one of my best days. We got some new investigators this morning: a Trio of Software Engineers who I indirectly blasted by talking about my experience seeing so many Atheists back home in comparison to here. The interesting thing with these three is that a belief in God is so ingrained in their society that they do believe in him, they just don't practice or pray or rely on him in any way. It's actually the closest thing I've found to a Kenyan Atheist.
After that we went to the church for an appointment, then got bounced. We headed to our next appointment with E. Cole and his "son"E. Kulondwa to see a member: B. Airo (I-ee-roo). It was a nice visit, then we were out the door to see Steve and Vivian.
My comps taught the Word of Wisdom today, and the kids got it pretty well, so here's hoping that they won't struggle with Chastity tomorrow. Side note: I'm happy I don't have to teach Chastity to these kids - I dread the days of giving my children "The Talk"and I don't want to practice for it.
After those two we went to teach Wycliffe the Word of Wisdom...the longer I'm in Kenya, the more I realize that the major addiction here is Tea. Second place goes to Mirrah. Third to the AL-kee-hol (Karissa, thinking of you with that one). Coffee? Yeah some, but not really. Tobacco? Yeah, plenty. I just haven't taught anyone who smokes yet. Not for lack of trying, but because that's how it works out. I contacted a guy buying cigarettes once. It was kinda funny.
Also, I hate all the smoking here. My mother and siblings won't get the depths of my hatred, but my father has a very clear memory of my hatred of smoking. It hasn't gotten any better.
Anyway, that was the end of our day after that. I did laundry to prepare for my move and chatted with my companions about language. My attempt to convince them to think in English didn't work very well.
Man! I miss Japanese.
9/9
Well, today was horror experience. I got to the flat, changed, and started cleaning. I am honestly horrified by the kitchen - I don't want to be in there. I spent about three hours cleaning then E. Mukendi and I went to cyber.
I quickly learned that my area is expensive when the price I paid AFTER the discount was 230 bob. The cyber sucked too. I'm weeping bloody tears. I need to find a new one.
9/5/2019 -- WHAT IS WITH THIS POWERHOUSE INVESTIGATOR???
9/2
It's Elder Bamongo's Birthday today! Fun!
We didn't do much to celebrate, but it was funny hearing President and his family calling to sing happy birthday to him. I asked him NOT to do the same for my Birthday in my email to him.
We ended up going to Zimmerman so E.Tshangu and a some other Elders could play Basketball. No, I didn't join. There's nothing else interesting for today.
9/3
Well, today started well. We met up with B. Redick and got to work.
We met with B.Daniel first we taught a bit about the Plan of Salvation and answered a few of his questions. One of them is one with a simple answer, but that people often have a hard time accepting: Why does God let bad things happen to good people? It was easy to answer, but I could tell he didn't like the answer that much. My companions had some good input, and I had him read from Doctrine and Covenants 122 and the fifth verse of How Firm a Foundation. My comps handled the other half of the answer.
From there we went to see B. Jack. He's going to boarding school tomorrow, so that's an instant kill to his progress. Hopefully, he'll still be interested when he gets back.
We went to see Wycliffe after that, and I'm still not sure if this guy is serious. Maybe? I'm hoping so, but I'm not sure. He needs to start coming to church.
After that we went to see a Brother named Wilfred. I had to actually stop myself from speaking at one point - I knew I'd give fire and it wouldn't be the nice kind of fire. This guy claims he's received that answer that this Gospel is true, but he's not acting on it at all. He doesn't seem to want to leave his church and he doesn't want to commit. E. Tshangu commited him to Baptism today, and I could literally see that this guy was saying yes to make him happy. I use some scriptures to TRY and coax a genuine answer outta him, but it didn't work. Aigh, I'm tempted to suggest dropping this guy, but we need to give him the opportunity to repent before we drop him - again. E. Ilanda and E. Johnson taught him several months ago.
We also got Pizza tonight. The delivery guy came an hour and a half late. The pizza was nice though -I will admit- that was my first time eating a large pizza in one sitting. I still have one other waiting for me in the fridge.
9/5
It was exchanges with E. Kasongo yesterday, nothing much interesting happened. The most interesting thing is that I saw that E. Sharp had a copy of Saints, so I started reading it the second we got back to the flat. I wasn't able to finish, but I got close enough to wonder if I should have stayed up late to get further. I was able to get through 400 pages, and it was pretty darn interesting. I need to get a hold of a copy for myself so I can read it on my own time and get through that last 100 pages. Highly recommended.
For today, we swapped back (they found me reading Saints this morning) then headed back to the flat for comp study and planning. We then got to work. We met up with B. Redick to see B. Daniel who came an hour late - again. I miss the concept of punctuality. It was a good, albeit depressing, lesson.
After B.Daniel we were bounced so we went to see B. Wycliffe. We ended up teaching the Plan of Salvation and had a pretty good lesson. He just needs to start coming to church.
After that we went to the church and waited for B. Joab.
He brought another referral.
...
...
This makes the 9th one.
...
...
...
WHAT IS WITH THIS POWERHOUSE INVESTIGATOR??? This guy is strong! He also starting working on his Word of Wisdom issues from the day he met E. Kanda and I - he reported that he'd slipped up twice since then! Twice! Before we ever taught the Word of Wisdom! We taught him it just last week! It's been over a month since he started quitting! Gah! THIS GUY IS POWERFUL!!!!
The issue here is now I don't want to leave. There's a few people I want to stick around and see grow and repent, but I'll probably be transferred. Dang.
It's Elder Bamongo's Birthday today! Fun!
We didn't do much to celebrate, but it was funny hearing President and his family calling to sing happy birthday to him. I asked him NOT to do the same for my Birthday in my email to him.
We ended up going to Zimmerman so E.Tshangu and a some other Elders could play Basketball. No, I didn't join. There's nothing else interesting for today.
9/3
Well, today started well. We met up with B. Redick and got to work.
We met with B.Daniel first we taught a bit about the Plan of Salvation and answered a few of his questions. One of them is one with a simple answer, but that people often have a hard time accepting: Why does God let bad things happen to good people? It was easy to answer, but I could tell he didn't like the answer that much. My companions had some good input, and I had him read from Doctrine and Covenants 122 and the fifth verse of How Firm a Foundation. My comps handled the other half of the answer.
From there we went to see B. Jack. He's going to boarding school tomorrow, so that's an instant kill to his progress. Hopefully, he'll still be interested when he gets back.
We went to see Wycliffe after that, and I'm still not sure if this guy is serious. Maybe? I'm hoping so, but I'm not sure. He needs to start coming to church.
After that we went to see a Brother named Wilfred. I had to actually stop myself from speaking at one point - I knew I'd give fire and it wouldn't be the nice kind of fire. This guy claims he's received that answer that this Gospel is true, but he's not acting on it at all. He doesn't seem to want to leave his church and he doesn't want to commit. E. Tshangu commited him to Baptism today, and I could literally see that this guy was saying yes to make him happy. I use some scriptures to TRY and coax a genuine answer outta him, but it didn't work. Aigh, I'm tempted to suggest dropping this guy, but we need to give him the opportunity to repent before we drop him - again. E. Ilanda and E. Johnson taught him several months ago.
We also got Pizza tonight. The delivery guy came an hour and a half late. The pizza was nice though -I will admit- that was my first time eating a large pizza in one sitting. I still have one other waiting for me in the fridge.
9/5
It was exchanges with E. Kasongo yesterday, nothing much interesting happened. The most interesting thing is that I saw that E. Sharp had a copy of Saints, so I started reading it the second we got back to the flat. I wasn't able to finish, but I got close enough to wonder if I should have stayed up late to get further. I was able to get through 400 pages, and it was pretty darn interesting. I need to get a hold of a copy for myself so I can read it on my own time and get through that last 100 pages. Highly recommended.
For today, we swapped back (they found me reading Saints this morning) then headed back to the flat for comp study and planning. We then got to work. We met up with B. Redick to see B. Daniel who came an hour late - again. I miss the concept of punctuality. It was a good, albeit depressing, lesson.
After B.Daniel we were bounced so we went to see B. Wycliffe. We ended up teaching the Plan of Salvation and had a pretty good lesson. He just needs to start coming to church.
After that we went to the church and waited for B. Joab.
He brought another referral.
...
...
This makes the 9th one.
...
...
...
WHAT IS WITH THIS POWERHOUSE INVESTIGATOR??? This guy is strong! He also starting working on his Word of Wisdom issues from the day he met E. Kanda and I - he reported that he'd slipped up twice since then! Twice! Before we ever taught the Word of Wisdom! We taught him it just last week! It's been over a month since he started quitting! Gah! THIS GUY IS POWERFUL!!!!
The issue here is now I don't want to leave. There's a few people I want to stick around and see grow and repent, but I'll probably be transferred. Dang.
9/1/2019 -- Something cool happened today with B. Michael.
8/30
We hauled another member with us today: B. Kelvin. It was a pretty good day, we got to teach B. Joan and he brought someone new with him. This makes the seventh referral from this guy alone. Crazy! Even crazier is that we got a referral today from someone he referred to us.
I'll admit freely: I have no idea what happened during that second lesson. Was it in Swahili? Yes, but that's not why I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea what was going on because my focus was..elsewhere.
This family had a kitten. A blue-eyed, white-furred, fuzzy, soft, and friendly kitten. I spend the entire time loving this thing up. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I got it purring for a while there. I had a really good time this lesson. It's been too long since I've been able to love up a fluffy animal. Not only that, it's a kitten as well; it was as tiny as Kiki was when we first got her and just slightly less cute. I was in heaven and literally could not pull my focus away from this thing until we left - I was physically incapable of doing so. Did I mention that this lesson was in Swahili? So I feel no guilt about loving this thing up.
Oh yeah, I also got to help Bradley out a bit today with FamilySearch.org it was fun putting the skills I know from home to use - especially since I thought I would be useless because of how little I've used the site, but he asked about stuff I knew. Yay! I'm still on a bit of a high from that kitten.
8/31
Well, today was pretty good. We started off by visiting a brother named Jack - he's the younger brother of one of our recent converts: Anthony. He's progressing really well, but we won't be able to teach him for a transfer because he's going to boarding school.
Side note: I'm convinced that boarding school is the root of all evil. I swear every other person mentioned during correlation today was leaving for boarding school! GEH!
Anyway, after Anthony we grabbed a quick lunch (mine was a few chapate) then we taught the kids: Steve and Vivian. It was still in Swahili, and I still have no idea what's going on.
For the last lesson it was supposed to be with a guy named Wycliffe, but when we showed up he had a friend at his shop - so we taught this guy the Restoration. We had to run to correlation after that, then we had to run home and made home safe by 3 minutes.
9/1
Hey! Whaddayaknow? I'm back home! One of my comps bumped the burner turning the gas on without starting the flame!
Well, that little tidbit aside, today was Stake Conference. It was great! I got to watch in amusement as President Mdletshe dropped fire from the heavens and made it bubble from beneath. He even went so far as to do the forbidden attack: comparing Kenya with DRC. DRC got the gospel several years after Kenya, and they now have 21 stakes and a temple. Kenya has two stakes. President gave a lot of fire about that; he put the blame on the members for the lack of the church's growth and made them feel it. I was internally cheering the entire time.
Something funny also happened. When the Stake President got up as the final speaker he realized that he had almost an hour to speak, so he changes gears and calls a few people up to share their testimonies. The first one was the most interesting: an American from California who had arrived earlier today in Kenya. The second he started speaking I leaned over to E.Cole: "You've lost your accent." After some listening and some hushed discussion, we both agreed that we've lost our accents. Hearing it in person instead of some American actor or my parents over the phone really drove that home. I can't decide whether I want my accent to get thicker or stay the same, but it'll probably get thicker.
Our first visit after that all ended was a Swahili lesson where I decided to read as much of proverbs as I could, then came the fun part: we met up with a Recent Convert named Edwin.
Man, this was a fun lesson. I love teaching and explaining things with people who are listening and understanding. It makes things nice! Anyway, his issue was one caused by the Trinity. He was confused about that.
We talked for a while and gave a few examples from the Bible. We whipped out Jesus' Baptism which he didn't really get, and the one I personally like to use because I think it's a little more clear: The Stoning of Steven. The reason why I think it's a little more clear is because it dispels the stupid justification of: "God just had his voice echo from the Heavens as he was Baptized, and he had a part of himself descend in the form of a dove." With the Stoning of Steven, it clearly states that he saw Jesus ON THE RIGHT HAND of God. I like that one a little more.
We also read Mosiah 15:1-3. Do you have any idea how big of a headache I had trying to figure out how to explain this one to an investigator, a recent convert, less active, or member? This scripture isn't too clear to those who haven't spent some time studying and it's just confusing to Kenyans in general. They don't like reading here. Anyway, E.Tshangu had B. Edwin pull this one up on his phone and I had a: "we're just gonna confuse him with this one" moment. I was right, but I made the best of it.
I taught this brother about how Jesus was the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and that's why verse 1 is worded the way it is. Fortunately, we took a different turn before we talked about the other verses. Can I explain to them? Yes. I'm not too confident about my explanation, but I can. The issue is that I don't think I can explain it simply. Oh well, I'll work on it.
The next visit after that was to see S. Linda and B. Michael who we haven't seen since last month!
...
...
No round of applause for that genius joke? Too bad.
In all seriousness, we haven't seen them for a few weeks.
BUT
Something cool happened today with B. Michael. When we came in he was looking at a copy of the Ensign and he started asking us about how one goes about speaking in church. He got super excited when we told him that it would be Testimony meeting next week. It was really cool to see the fire that had been lit in him to talk and share his testimony. This is why we encourage people to study on their own. It's when you earnestly ask God one to one that you gain a strong and spiritual witness. Sure, maybe you're in a crowd of people, maybe it comes from hearing someone else's testimony, but in the end, it's your own personal testimony. It's best won on your own in your own personal study.
I must say, it was pretty cool to see this guy using the atonement in his life in this way. It's one of the greatest blessings I've received as a missionary of the Lord: to see people be changed by this Gospel.
We hauled another member with us today: B. Kelvin. It was a pretty good day, we got to teach B. Joan and he brought someone new with him. This makes the seventh referral from this guy alone. Crazy! Even crazier is that we got a referral today from someone he referred to us.
I'll admit freely: I have no idea what happened during that second lesson. Was it in Swahili? Yes, but that's not why I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea what was going on because my focus was..elsewhere.
This family had a kitten. A blue-eyed, white-furred, fuzzy, soft, and friendly kitten. I spend the entire time loving this thing up. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I got it purring for a while there. I had a really good time this lesson. It's been too long since I've been able to love up a fluffy animal. Not only that, it's a kitten as well; it was as tiny as Kiki was when we first got her and just slightly less cute. I was in heaven and literally could not pull my focus away from this thing until we left - I was physically incapable of doing so. Did I mention that this lesson was in Swahili? So I feel no guilt about loving this thing up.
Oh yeah, I also got to help Bradley out a bit today with FamilySearch.org it was fun putting the skills I know from home to use - especially since I thought I would be useless because of how little I've used the site, but he asked about stuff I knew. Yay! I'm still on a bit of a high from that kitten.
8/31
Well, today was pretty good. We started off by visiting a brother named Jack - he's the younger brother of one of our recent converts: Anthony. He's progressing really well, but we won't be able to teach him for a transfer because he's going to boarding school.
Side note: I'm convinced that boarding school is the root of all evil. I swear every other person mentioned during correlation today was leaving for boarding school! GEH!
Anyway, after Anthony we grabbed a quick lunch (mine was a few chapate) then we taught the kids: Steve and Vivian. It was still in Swahili, and I still have no idea what's going on.
For the last lesson it was supposed to be with a guy named Wycliffe, but when we showed up he had a friend at his shop - so we taught this guy the Restoration. We had to run to correlation after that, then we had to run home and made home safe by 3 minutes.
9/1
Hey! Whaddayaknow? I'm back home! One of my comps bumped the burner turning the gas on without starting the flame!
Well, that little tidbit aside, today was Stake Conference. It was great! I got to watch in amusement as President Mdletshe dropped fire from the heavens and made it bubble from beneath. He even went so far as to do the forbidden attack: comparing Kenya with DRC. DRC got the gospel several years after Kenya, and they now have 21 stakes and a temple. Kenya has two stakes. President gave a lot of fire about that; he put the blame on the members for the lack of the church's growth and made them feel it. I was internally cheering the entire time.
Something funny also happened. When the Stake President got up as the final speaker he realized that he had almost an hour to speak, so he changes gears and calls a few people up to share their testimonies. The first one was the most interesting: an American from California who had arrived earlier today in Kenya. The second he started speaking I leaned over to E.Cole: "You've lost your accent." After some listening and some hushed discussion, we both agreed that we've lost our accents. Hearing it in person instead of some American actor or my parents over the phone really drove that home. I can't decide whether I want my accent to get thicker or stay the same, but it'll probably get thicker.
Our first visit after that all ended was a Swahili lesson where I decided to read as much of proverbs as I could, then came the fun part: we met up with a Recent Convert named Edwin.
Man, this was a fun lesson. I love teaching and explaining things with people who are listening and understanding. It makes things nice! Anyway, his issue was one caused by the Trinity. He was confused about that.
We talked for a while and gave a few examples from the Bible. We whipped out Jesus' Baptism which he didn't really get, and the one I personally like to use because I think it's a little more clear: The Stoning of Steven. The reason why I think it's a little more clear is because it dispels the stupid justification of: "God just had his voice echo from the Heavens as he was Baptized, and he had a part of himself descend in the form of a dove." With the Stoning of Steven, it clearly states that he saw Jesus ON THE RIGHT HAND of God. I like that one a little more.
We also read Mosiah 15:1-3. Do you have any idea how big of a headache I had trying to figure out how to explain this one to an investigator, a recent convert, less active, or member? This scripture isn't too clear to those who haven't spent some time studying and it's just confusing to Kenyans in general. They don't like reading here. Anyway, E.Tshangu had B. Edwin pull this one up on his phone and I had a: "we're just gonna confuse him with this one" moment. I was right, but I made the best of it.
I taught this brother about how Jesus was the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and that's why verse 1 is worded the way it is. Fortunately, we took a different turn before we talked about the other verses. Can I explain to them? Yes. I'm not too confident about my explanation, but I can. The issue is that I don't think I can explain it simply. Oh well, I'll work on it.
The next visit after that was to see S. Linda and B. Michael who we haven't seen since last month!
...
...
No round of applause for that genius joke? Too bad.
In all seriousness, we haven't seen them for a few weeks.
BUT
Something cool happened today with B. Michael. When we came in he was looking at a copy of the Ensign and he started asking us about how one goes about speaking in church. He got super excited when we told him that it would be Testimony meeting next week. It was really cool to see the fire that had been lit in him to talk and share his testimony. This is why we encourage people to study on their own. It's when you earnestly ask God one to one that you gain a strong and spiritual witness. Sure, maybe you're in a crowd of people, maybe it comes from hearing someone else's testimony, but in the end, it's your own personal testimony. It's best won on your own in your own personal study.
I must say, it was pretty cool to see this guy using the atonement in his life in this way. It's one of the greatest blessings I've received as a missionary of the Lord: to see people be changed by this Gospel.
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