Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
8/6/2019 The Power of the Book of Mormon to Bring us to Christ
Brian (aka Erik's dad) asked Erik to "share with me your perspective as you use that sacred tome as an implement of conversion."
For the sake of my sanity, this won't be formatted as a talk, but a random collection of my thoughts. That way I can come and go as I please.
-The first thought I had about this topic is about something we discussed: true intent. While we can't get anything out of the Book of Mormon if we don't have true intent, we can LEARN true intent from the Book of Mormon. It's also true that we can learn a "full purpose of heart."
-Is it truly possible to come unto Christ without the Book of Mormon? 2 Nephi 25:18 teaches us that the Book of Mormon is there to teach us of the True Messiah. With the Bible alone I can't say that we know the True Messiah. Certainly, we know that Jesus Christ is our Savior from the Bible, but certain aspects of the Savior are left out, or have been taken out. With the Book of Mormon, we can know the True Messiah, we can understand his Eternal Nature, and we can understand that Jehovah is Jesus Christ.
-There is simply power in the scriptures. It isn't anything that I feel I can explain with an earthly understanding, but when we read the scriptures with true intent we are able to receive comfort, hope, peace, joy, and direction. This shows the power of the scriptures, no other book I've read has this power. All of the listed things have great power to lead us unto Christ. People seek after what makes them happy, right? The sad thing is that they don't "often know where to find it." The Book of Mormon has the ability to show with hard evidence the "where."
-Reading the scriptures allows us to connect with the blessings of God by allowing us to understand his counsel and teachings. If we didn't have the Book of Mormon, we would be lost like the rest of the world - many issues would lack a clear answer, and our hope for the life to come wouldn't be as bright. Having clear direction is a blessing with out compare.
-The Book of Mormon is simply an impossible book. There is no way for it to exist than through the hand of God. At every level, it's history, writing, grammar, and importance couldn't have been "made up" or a simple "story." The Book of Mormon exists, despite how impossible it is for that to be true, so that means that there must be a God, and Joseph Smith must have been his chosen prophet. There is no other way for this book to exist.
-I've mentioned hope a few times. I feel that people belive so strongly in Jesus Christ because of how great the hope he offers is. His is a Gospel so gentle and loving, so inclusive and caring, it is one that draws the thirsty soul after it. Why else would those who haven't hardened their hearts latched so strongly onto the Book of Mormon? The opportunity to hear more of the Gospel of the Lamb of God, the greater understanding, and the greater hope. It's no wonder the Book of Mormon is so loved.
-The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion. This thought isn't new. It holds everything together and keeps it all from collapsing. It supports all of the revelation Joseph Smith received, it testifies of Jesus Christ's Atonement, and of God's endless mercy and justice. It is what allows the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to stand apart in one simple move. If we didn't have it we wouldn't have a convincing proof of the truthfulness of the Gospel. Jesus Christ could still remain at the head of this church, it could still be guided by revelation, and we could still have all the ordinances, but we wouldn't be able to touch the hearts of millions of people. That's the power of our keystone.
-With the Book of Mormon, we have a promise, something to cling to. It is something that people have lived and died for. True, they died for the Lord, but they received the promises of the Lord from the Book of Mormon.
-We can't understand the Book of Mormon without the Spirit. We just simply can't. I've had experience reading the Book of Mormon without the spirit - I can honestly say I couldn't ever remember anything I'd read. However, when we do read with the spirit we are blessed with understanding and a greater testimony. In that way the Book of Mormon working in tandem with the Spirit of God can move us closer to the Savior.
-The Book of Mormon is pure good. From my personal experience with it, there is no way to fall away from the presence of God if you're reading it will all diligence and true intent - by following the counsels given. We just can't fall away.
-Living the Counsel given by the Book of Mormon, both in a temporal and spiritual sense, will move us closer to the Savior. As you live the temporal counsel you'll experience greater joy and peace; you'll have a greater capacity to love and respect those around you - especially those of your spouse, children, and parents. Following the spiritual counsel will prepare you to live the Celestial Law of Heaven. You will be able to create a heaven on earth within your families.
-This is a Gospel that teaches joy in posterity and in the family. By reading the Book of Mormon as a family we are able to fulfill the command to (paraphrased) "teach the children to walk in righteousness' path." We are able to feel a love an spirit that comes from nurturing a child with a love of the Savior, and all this with the Book of Mormon as a focal point that brings everyone together.
-The Book of Mormon helps us learn special lessons that are completely subconcious unless you look for them. It teaches us that the Word of God is perfect, but the people who speak it aren't. We still love them for their faithfullness and we love to hear their experiences with the Gospel, but they aren't perfect.
-Power...power...what power does the Book of Mormon have? It has the power to open up our hearts to the Holy Ghost. I think I've mentioned this before, but it still holds true. Hearts that have been closed for pride, greed, distraction, or something else can be opened by the Book of Mormon to received the spirit, and a testimony.
I hope you found some of this useful, I don't think I said anything original, and the one thought I had the entire time was "What does the Book of Mormon Lack?" Nothing. I dunno, hope this helps.
For the sake of my sanity, this won't be formatted as a talk, but a random collection of my thoughts. That way I can come and go as I please.
-The first thought I had about this topic is about something we discussed: true intent. While we can't get anything out of the Book of Mormon if we don't have true intent, we can LEARN true intent from the Book of Mormon. It's also true that we can learn a "full purpose of heart."
-Is it truly possible to come unto Christ without the Book of Mormon? 2 Nephi 25:18 teaches us that the Book of Mormon is there to teach us of the True Messiah. With the Bible alone I can't say that we know the True Messiah. Certainly, we know that Jesus Christ is our Savior from the Bible, but certain aspects of the Savior are left out, or have been taken out. With the Book of Mormon, we can know the True Messiah, we can understand his Eternal Nature, and we can understand that Jehovah is Jesus Christ.
-There is simply power in the scriptures. It isn't anything that I feel I can explain with an earthly understanding, but when we read the scriptures with true intent we are able to receive comfort, hope, peace, joy, and direction. This shows the power of the scriptures, no other book I've read has this power. All of the listed things have great power to lead us unto Christ. People seek after what makes them happy, right? The sad thing is that they don't "often know where to find it." The Book of Mormon has the ability to show with hard evidence the "where."
-Reading the scriptures allows us to connect with the blessings of God by allowing us to understand his counsel and teachings. If we didn't have the Book of Mormon, we would be lost like the rest of the world - many issues would lack a clear answer, and our hope for the life to come wouldn't be as bright. Having clear direction is a blessing with out compare.
-The Book of Mormon is simply an impossible book. There is no way for it to exist than through the hand of God. At every level, it's history, writing, grammar, and importance couldn't have been "made up" or a simple "story." The Book of Mormon exists, despite how impossible it is for that to be true, so that means that there must be a God, and Joseph Smith must have been his chosen prophet. There is no other way for this book to exist.
-I've mentioned hope a few times. I feel that people belive so strongly in Jesus Christ because of how great the hope he offers is. His is a Gospel so gentle and loving, so inclusive and caring, it is one that draws the thirsty soul after it. Why else would those who haven't hardened their hearts latched so strongly onto the Book of Mormon? The opportunity to hear more of the Gospel of the Lamb of God, the greater understanding, and the greater hope. It's no wonder the Book of Mormon is so loved.
-The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion. This thought isn't new. It holds everything together and keeps it all from collapsing. It supports all of the revelation Joseph Smith received, it testifies of Jesus Christ's Atonement, and of God's endless mercy and justice. It is what allows the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to stand apart in one simple move. If we didn't have it we wouldn't have a convincing proof of the truthfulness of the Gospel. Jesus Christ could still remain at the head of this church, it could still be guided by revelation, and we could still have all the ordinances, but we wouldn't be able to touch the hearts of millions of people. That's the power of our keystone.
-With the Book of Mormon, we have a promise, something to cling to. It is something that people have lived and died for. True, they died for the Lord, but they received the promises of the Lord from the Book of Mormon.
-We can't understand the Book of Mormon without the Spirit. We just simply can't. I've had experience reading the Book of Mormon without the spirit - I can honestly say I couldn't ever remember anything I'd read. However, when we do read with the spirit we are blessed with understanding and a greater testimony. In that way the Book of Mormon working in tandem with the Spirit of God can move us closer to the Savior.
-The Book of Mormon is pure good. From my personal experience with it, there is no way to fall away from the presence of God if you're reading it will all diligence and true intent - by following the counsels given. We just can't fall away.
-Living the Counsel given by the Book of Mormon, both in a temporal and spiritual sense, will move us closer to the Savior. As you live the temporal counsel you'll experience greater joy and peace; you'll have a greater capacity to love and respect those around you - especially those of your spouse, children, and parents. Following the spiritual counsel will prepare you to live the Celestial Law of Heaven. You will be able to create a heaven on earth within your families.
-This is a Gospel that teaches joy in posterity and in the family. By reading the Book of Mormon as a family we are able to fulfill the command to (paraphrased) "teach the children to walk in righteousness' path." We are able to feel a love an spirit that comes from nurturing a child with a love of the Savior, and all this with the Book of Mormon as a focal point that brings everyone together.
-The Book of Mormon helps us learn special lessons that are completely subconcious unless you look for them. It teaches us that the Word of God is perfect, but the people who speak it aren't. We still love them for their faithfullness and we love to hear their experiences with the Gospel, but they aren't perfect.
-Power...power...what power does the Book of Mormon have? It has the power to open up our hearts to the Holy Ghost. I think I've mentioned this before, but it still holds true. Hearts that have been closed for pride, greed, distraction, or something else can be opened by the Book of Mormon to received the spirit, and a testimony.
I hope you found some of this useful, I don't think I said anything original, and the one thought I had the entire time was "What does the Book of Mormon Lack?" Nothing. I dunno, hope this helps.
Monday, August 5, 2019
8/5/2019 "In whom I am well pleased"
I find that the most genius ideas come while showering. The idea for this talk is one of them. Well, it'll probably be quite a bit shorter than an actual talk, and I only have time for one draft, so it'll have to do.
While I was in the shower I -for some weird and unknown reason- started to contemplate my understanding of Pride. Since coming on mission, it has changed quite a bit. Before mission, I didn't think much of it. I was well aware that I was an extremely prideful person, but it didn't mean much. Since coming on a mission, I've started to realize it's importance. Rather, I've started to realize the importance of humility.
Humility is defined in Ch.6 of Preach My Gospel in this way: "Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished." It also goes on to say this: "Humility is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of spiritual strength." From this, we learn that Humility is an awareness and willing acknowledgement of the Lord's hand in our lives. We become aware that all that we are and all that we have is given to us by him; we also learn that we are extremely blessed that the Lord gives such great importance to such weak and small creatures as our selves. Humility gives us the strength we need to rely on the Lord, and it stands in direct opposition to Humility, but all pride doesn't seem bad, right?
Well, pride remains evil no matter how it is, but there is a feeling similar to pride that we can apply to many more things - to be "well pleased" or to "have joy in" something. When we are proud of something we forget the hand of the Lord in it. We forget his great mercies and blessings, and rely only on our perceived victory, forgetting to give the laurels to the one who has given us the chance to run the race. However, there is a sense of "pride" that we feel in other things that doesn't forget the Lord. I call this being "well pleased."
A Father can be well pleased in his child, he can be well pleased in the work he has done, and he can be well pleased with the wonderful wife he has.
A Mother can be well pleased in her children, she can be well pleased in her clean home, and she can be well pleased when there is harmony in her home.
None of these things forget the Lord, in fact, they rely on him. You can't feel "well pleased" without him. You can certainly feel proud, but it will be a fleeting thing that fades with time, or becomes something far more malevolent. To best highlight what I mean, it's important that I make an example using something positive, then I'll be able to best explain the negative.
It has been my experience that working on any of the Christlike attributes -Faith, Hope, Charity and Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience- will invariably increase the others. When you increase your knowledge your hope and humility increase, as your hope and humility increase, so too do your diligence and charity, and so on. Becoming a better person isn't treading down a single path, but weaving a tapestry into a single image. That image is Jesus Christ. We may focus solely on using a threat of "red" humility, but you will need to use blue and green thread to make progress or you'll have to stop working with the thread. For as beautiful as that image is, the reverse is unfortunately true.
As you sink further into one of the "Traits of the Devil" (as opposed to Christlike Attributes) the others also worsen. As your pride increases, so does your sloth. You feel no need to climb any higher, you've climbed higher than anyone else. The only thing that could drive you higher is your envy, which drives you to go higher so that no one else can have your place. If you can't climb any higher, then you tear them down; here we see an example of wrath. Most of the world knows these "Traits" by another name: "The Seven Deadly Sins." (in Japanese: Nanatsu no Taizai) These traits or sins are: Pride, Lust, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, and Envy. You can also weave these things together into their own tapestry, but the only thing it depicts is "Eternal Despair." Yes, Damnation, Suffering, Guilt, Agony, and Death. These tapestry woven by the "Nanatsu no Taizai" is empty of any form of joy or light. It is vanity. These things occur when we forget the Lord.
Every one of the Seven Deadly Sins actually takes on an interesting forum when you put the hand of the Lord in instead of forgetting or rejecting it. Pride becomes "well pleased," something we've talked about a bit. Sloth reflects "Mosiah 4:27," we need to work hard, but we don't need to run faster than we have strength. Envy becomes "The Desire for Eternal Progression" with the hand of the Lord you don't desire the progression of the others. Lust becomes the righteous desire to fulfil the Lord's commandment to "Multiply and Replenish the Earth." Gluttony is interesting "To him who has shall be given, and to him who has not shall be taken." Greed could be to desire greater blessings from the Lord, and wrath could be righteous indignation - to abhor sin.
So, what is my understanding of pride? It is the desire to see only yourself, it is selfish, destructive, retrogressive, and a prison. Pride would have you keep the spotlight at all costs, endanger those around you for petty reasons, pushes you to forsake God, and will lead to naught but misery and woe. Please, remember the hand of the Lord in your life, remember his "long arm of mercy." These are the last days, the Lord is at his most merciful, the higher law of Jesus Christ gives greater room for repentance and hope. The Mosaic Law carried death as the penalty for many sins, which cuts off the chance for repentance, we have so many more opportunities to repent now than the Jews and other tribes of Israel. This is a great blessing and offers great joy for us.
Please, instead of pride, embrace being "well pleased." Pray that you will be able to become someone who the Lord will be well pleased with. Pray to become someone who will be welcomed into heaven with a great amount of joy and rejoicing. After you pray, go and do. Listen continually to the words of the Spirit, thank the Lord for what you were able to do, and thank him for what you weren't able to do. Thank the Lord for your freedoms and liberties, thank him for his blessings, thank him for the people he has allowed you to be surrounded by, thank the Lord for the big things and the little things. Thank the Lord your God for the love he has for you, and thank him for allowing you to be "A Child of God."
I know that you and I, and all of us are Children of God. So long as we remember that we can continually rely on the Lord, and prevent the poison of Pride from destroying us. I echo the words of a beautiful hymn: "The Lord is my Light, he is my joy, and my song. By day and by night he leads me, he leads me along." I ask and beg you all to remember the Lord, walk in humility before him. Remember the prophet, his chosen servant. Be humble and take his counsel.
Embrace humility, and you will have far fewer shackles holding you back from the greatest joy that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can offer you. You will be able to become someone "in whom I [the Father] am well pleased." I share this short talk with you in the name of our Beloved Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Amen.
While I was in the shower I -for some weird and unknown reason- started to contemplate my understanding of Pride. Since coming on mission, it has changed quite a bit. Before mission, I didn't think much of it. I was well aware that I was an extremely prideful person, but it didn't mean much. Since coming on a mission, I've started to realize it's importance. Rather, I've started to realize the importance of humility.
Humility is defined in Ch.6 of Preach My Gospel in this way: "Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished." It also goes on to say this: "Humility is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of spiritual strength." From this, we learn that Humility is an awareness and willing acknowledgement of the Lord's hand in our lives. We become aware that all that we are and all that we have is given to us by him; we also learn that we are extremely blessed that the Lord gives such great importance to such weak and small creatures as our selves. Humility gives us the strength we need to rely on the Lord, and it stands in direct opposition to Humility, but all pride doesn't seem bad, right?
Well, pride remains evil no matter how it is, but there is a feeling similar to pride that we can apply to many more things - to be "well pleased" or to "have joy in" something. When we are proud of something we forget the hand of the Lord in it. We forget his great mercies and blessings, and rely only on our perceived victory, forgetting to give the laurels to the one who has given us the chance to run the race. However, there is a sense of "pride" that we feel in other things that doesn't forget the Lord. I call this being "well pleased."
A Father can be well pleased in his child, he can be well pleased in the work he has done, and he can be well pleased with the wonderful wife he has.
A Mother can be well pleased in her children, she can be well pleased in her clean home, and she can be well pleased when there is harmony in her home.
None of these things forget the Lord, in fact, they rely on him. You can't feel "well pleased" without him. You can certainly feel proud, but it will be a fleeting thing that fades with time, or becomes something far more malevolent. To best highlight what I mean, it's important that I make an example using something positive, then I'll be able to best explain the negative.
It has been my experience that working on any of the Christlike attributes -Faith, Hope, Charity and Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience- will invariably increase the others. When you increase your knowledge your hope and humility increase, as your hope and humility increase, so too do your diligence and charity, and so on. Becoming a better person isn't treading down a single path, but weaving a tapestry into a single image. That image is Jesus Christ. We may focus solely on using a threat of "red" humility, but you will need to use blue and green thread to make progress or you'll have to stop working with the thread. For as beautiful as that image is, the reverse is unfortunately true.
As you sink further into one of the "Traits of the Devil" (as opposed to Christlike Attributes) the others also worsen. As your pride increases, so does your sloth. You feel no need to climb any higher, you've climbed higher than anyone else. The only thing that could drive you higher is your envy, which drives you to go higher so that no one else can have your place. If you can't climb any higher, then you tear them down; here we see an example of wrath. Most of the world knows these "Traits" by another name: "The Seven Deadly Sins." (in Japanese: Nanatsu no Taizai) These traits or sins are: Pride, Lust, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, and Envy. You can also weave these things together into their own tapestry, but the only thing it depicts is "Eternal Despair." Yes, Damnation, Suffering, Guilt, Agony, and Death. These tapestry woven by the "Nanatsu no Taizai" is empty of any form of joy or light. It is vanity. These things occur when we forget the Lord.
Every one of the Seven Deadly Sins actually takes on an interesting forum when you put the hand of the Lord in instead of forgetting or rejecting it. Pride becomes "well pleased," something we've talked about a bit. Sloth reflects "Mosiah 4:27," we need to work hard, but we don't need to run faster than we have strength. Envy becomes "The Desire for Eternal Progression" with the hand of the Lord you don't desire the progression of the others. Lust becomes the righteous desire to fulfil the Lord's commandment to "Multiply and Replenish the Earth." Gluttony is interesting "To him who has shall be given, and to him who has not shall be taken." Greed could be to desire greater blessings from the Lord, and wrath could be righteous indignation - to abhor sin.
So, what is my understanding of pride? It is the desire to see only yourself, it is selfish, destructive, retrogressive, and a prison. Pride would have you keep the spotlight at all costs, endanger those around you for petty reasons, pushes you to forsake God, and will lead to naught but misery and woe. Please, remember the hand of the Lord in your life, remember his "long arm of mercy." These are the last days, the Lord is at his most merciful, the higher law of Jesus Christ gives greater room for repentance and hope. The Mosaic Law carried death as the penalty for many sins, which cuts off the chance for repentance, we have so many more opportunities to repent now than the Jews and other tribes of Israel. This is a great blessing and offers great joy for us.
Please, instead of pride, embrace being "well pleased." Pray that you will be able to become someone who the Lord will be well pleased with. Pray to become someone who will be welcomed into heaven with a great amount of joy and rejoicing. After you pray, go and do. Listen continually to the words of the Spirit, thank the Lord for what you were able to do, and thank him for what you weren't able to do. Thank the Lord for your freedoms and liberties, thank him for his blessings, thank him for the people he has allowed you to be surrounded by, thank the Lord for the big things and the little things. Thank the Lord your God for the love he has for you, and thank him for allowing you to be "A Child of God."
I know that you and I, and all of us are Children of God. So long as we remember that we can continually rely on the Lord, and prevent the poison of Pride from destroying us. I echo the words of a beautiful hymn: "The Lord is my Light, he is my joy, and my song. By day and by night he leads me, he leads me along." I ask and beg you all to remember the Lord, walk in humility before him. Remember the prophet, his chosen servant. Be humble and take his counsel.
Embrace humility, and you will have far fewer shackles holding you back from the greatest joy that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can offer you. You will be able to become someone "in whom I [the Father] am well pleased." I share this short talk with you in the name of our Beloved Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Amen.
8/5/2019 I need to go back to my "no caffine" policy.
8/4
Ugh, my head... It's official: no more caffine. They gave me a Mountain Dew today, and I was left with a pounding headache afterwords. I don't know if it's because I'm sick or what, but I need to go back to my "no caffine" policy. Though, this does bring my caffine intake for my mission to: 1 Sip of Pepsi (bleh), One cup of Coke (bleh), and 650mls of Mountain Dew (still tastes good, just what it does to me is no Bueno).
I also wrote a talk this evening. It's called "..in whom I am well pleased." I talk about pride in it. I think it's pretty good. It isn't my most powerful testimony, but I hope it's helpful to you. Try reading it during FHE if you want to share it with my siblings. I hope my two cents are useful.
8/5
It's early morning (9:19, I may get up early, but this is still early morning to me) and I was just sitting on the couch thinking about what I'll do, and what I'll change when I get home. I kinda just had the thought: "Do all of my siblings have a picture of the Savior in their room?" I had one, but it wasn't the most visible one ever, I just put it on my lamp. I suppose that could be a challenge from me, get everyone a picture of the Savior in a place that is clearly visible in their rooms. Just a random challenge.
Ugh, my head... It's official: no more caffine. They gave me a Mountain Dew today, and I was left with a pounding headache afterwords. I don't know if it's because I'm sick or what, but I need to go back to my "no caffine" policy. Though, this does bring my caffine intake for my mission to: 1 Sip of Pepsi (bleh), One cup of Coke (bleh), and 650mls of Mountain Dew (still tastes good, just what it does to me is no Bueno).
I also wrote a talk this evening. It's called "..in whom I am well pleased." I talk about pride in it. I think it's pretty good. It isn't my most powerful testimony, but I hope it's helpful to you. Try reading it during FHE if you want to share it with my siblings. I hope my two cents are useful.
8/5
It's early morning (9:19, I may get up early, but this is still early morning to me) and I was just sitting on the couch thinking about what I'll do, and what I'll change when I get home. I kinda just had the thought: "Do all of my siblings have a picture of the Savior in their room?" I had one, but it wasn't the most visible one ever, I just put it on my lamp. I suppose that could be a challenge from me, get everyone a picture of the Savior in a place that is clearly visible in their rooms. Just a random challenge.
8/4/2019 Suddenly the both start shouting over to me: "you need to take pills!"
8/1
Well, today was..what it was. We had service in the morning. We went to help a member move into a new home. I dumped some water off the balcony at one point and missed where I was aiming. I had to apologize to a woman. I still feel bad, and I'm wondering if I should have done more to apologize. Fortunately, I didn't hit her directly, for all I know she didn't even get hit by a drop of water, but I still had to apologize.
Anyway, after service we went and got lunch. It took us a while to find a good "Hotel" (what the call the restaurants here) since the Zimmerman Sisters hadn't found a good place to eat lunch before then.
After that, we went to withdraw our allotments. E. Bamongo ended up getting his card blocked. I was watching (and helping) as he was working, and he entered his pin correctly, but it still blocked him. It was a bit of a headache.
After that, we went to Alfred's place. I picked up my grey suit. It's nice. It's a better fit than the last one because I asked him to leave a little room: "in case I get fat" (I definitely will, I just barely got back to a healthy weight: 155lbs). It looks nice, Alfred even had a completely different reaction from the last time I got a suit. Last time, he was just grateful. This time, he wanted to get pictures with me. It was funny. I'm sending poorly shot selfies so ya'll can see it too.
After that, we got bounced, twice, so we went to a back-up plan. The backup plan was a flippant thing because we didn't have the number for the guy we planned to see, but I knew where he lived.
I mention it was a flippant thing because it suddenly became important and valid. The guy texted us. That. Never. Happens. So we went to see him. E. Tsangu asked him why he texted us, and he told us that he "felt like it." Clearly the spirit - E.Tsangu didn't hesitate to point that out. It was a good lesson, and this guy might progress. The issue is that he is "deeply" involved with his church.
We did some contacting and that was the end of the day. We wanted to plan but abruptly heard that interviews would be tomorrow. We waited around in our Priesthood attire for a few hours waiting for the schedule, but nothing. Eventually, we got the schedule, and I delivered the bad news to E.Tsangu: "We're gonna have to leave at 8 tomorrow, again." "Flip, dang it!" (He likes the Best Two Years) E.Bamongo: "Oh, no." (in a thick but thinning French accent, he's working on it). My reaction mirrored E.Tsangu's. We left at 8 this morning for service, and I always hate when we do that. It means I have to skip my morning shower.
8/2
Wow! President was fast. He (his assistants) called to ask where we were a full 25 minutes (or thereabouts) before my appointment was supposed to begin. I got in, sat down, did the interview, and left. President Mdletshe finished with the last of my companions right as my interview was supposed to begin. He's fast! I like the change in attitude he brings. President Msane definitely had something the missionaries of the past needed, the same is true for us and President Mdletshe. He brings a change this mission needs. It's nice.
I've got to make this very, very clear: I have liked both of my Presidents. I have the same feelings I had when President Monson died: nostalgia, love, and respect, but readiness for what's to come - to see what the next has in store. It's nice.
We actually made good time and got back pretty early. The issue was that various errands we had to do took a while. So we were at the church waiting for a 23-hour early correlation meeting (it had been rescheduled). Unfortunately, the AWML was quite late. The upside is that I got to meet E.Cole's new trainee. I still don't have his name memorized, but I thought it was South African for a long time (17 whole hours!). Nope! He's from DRC. He's still learning English, so he doesn't talk much, but in a few weeks, he'll probably be speaking a bit more.
8/3
Ugh...I've learned my lesson: Mountain Dew tastes good, but it completely messes with my head. For those of you in my family who are gasping in horror: "Erik tried Caffeine???" Yeah, I've had more caffeine on mission than I ever had before in my life: A sip of Pepsi (bleh), A cup of Coke (bleh), and 300mls of Mountain Dew (yum). The mountain dew also taught me that my avoidance of caffeine is a good thing. It's messing with my head right now, the fact that I'm still sick doesn't help anything, but it's still not good.
There was also a moment this morning where I had a: "really guys?" moment with my companions. We finished weekly planning a bit early, so I went to lie down for that extra time. I left my flash with President Nelson's talks running in the speaker, and they were both in the front room listening. Suddenly the both start shouting over to me: "you need to take pills!" I'm like: "yeah, that's a good idea." I take the pills out of my medicine storage (highly recommended) and came into the front room to get water to take the pills. I head what President Nelson's current talk was about: "Drugs."
...
...
...
These two.
Really?
Anyway, we went to lunch after that, then we went and taught a Doctor in his office. That's always a weird experience. It was our second time teaching this guy. I honestly can't tell if he's serious, but I'm hoping he is. I always hope, it's a bad habit.
We met with a new guy today too, a brother named Sammy who E.Tsangu contacted at our cyber on Monday. Not sure what to make of this guy. I let the other two do all the talking, I was out of it. I just did a bit of testifying there at the end.
Our next lesson was even worse as far as participation. The whole thing was in Swahili. I just stopped listening. It was kinda an upside for me since I needed the rest, but it's never fun feeling useless.
We went to visit a member named Winnie after that, just to introduce my companions to her, then we went to Bradley's place. We were supposed to see his sister and her friend, but both of them bounced us, so it turned into a member visit.
When we got back to the flat my two comps made Ugali and Pork. I will freely admit: I've learned the trick to eating ugali, so I don't care anymore. I still dislike it, but I'm used to it. The trick that works for me is that I focus on the piece of meat or veggies and ignore the ugali in my mouth. I find that it works for me, but if I only have soup to dunk it in then I won't be able to deal very well.
8/4
Well, today was a group of poorly planned failures. We were supposed to teach a lesson after church, but a miscommunication prevented it from happening. We were supposed to teach those two kids today, and they left early. The only thing that went right was when we visited S.Linda. That was actually a lot of fun, a good visit - it made up for the rest of the day.
We visited S.Linda and her Husband - Michael - with the "Elders Quorum and Relief Society." There were roughly 16 adults and 3 children.
I spent the evening after we got back cutting off and sewing back on the buttons of my new black shirt. It took forever. It was a second-hand shirt so I'm not surprised, but all the buttons were completely banged up - ready to fall off. It wasn't pretty once I'd taken a closer look. Why did I take a closer look? Because I'd lost one of the buttons on Monday. I only noticed when I realized that I was flashing my garments for all the world to see. I had to adjust my tie and my bag strap to close the gap. It wasn't fun heading back to the flat.
I have two morales to this story: 1: Check your second-hand clothing thoroughly for any needed fixes. 2: Make sure you bring a good sewing kit with you on mission. The only thing I'm missing is a thimble. The extra buttons were really advantageous. It's a good thing that I only needed to use one, I have a funny feeling that they'll become useful later on.
Well, today was..what it was. We had service in the morning. We went to help a member move into a new home. I dumped some water off the balcony at one point and missed where I was aiming. I had to apologize to a woman. I still feel bad, and I'm wondering if I should have done more to apologize. Fortunately, I didn't hit her directly, for all I know she didn't even get hit by a drop of water, but I still had to apologize.
Anyway, after service we went and got lunch. It took us a while to find a good "Hotel" (what the call the restaurants here) since the Zimmerman Sisters hadn't found a good place to eat lunch before then.
After that, we went to withdraw our allotments. E. Bamongo ended up getting his card blocked. I was watching (and helping) as he was working, and he entered his pin correctly, but it still blocked him. It was a bit of a headache.
After that, we went to Alfred's place. I picked up my grey suit. It's nice. It's a better fit than the last one because I asked him to leave a little room: "in case I get fat" (I definitely will, I just barely got back to a healthy weight: 155lbs). It looks nice, Alfred even had a completely different reaction from the last time I got a suit. Last time, he was just grateful. This time, he wanted to get pictures with me. It was funny. I'm sending poorly shot selfies so ya'll can see it too.
After that, we got bounced, twice, so we went to a back-up plan. The backup plan was a flippant thing because we didn't have the number for the guy we planned to see, but I knew where he lived.
I mention it was a flippant thing because it suddenly became important and valid. The guy texted us. That. Never. Happens. So we went to see him. E. Tsangu asked him why he texted us, and he told us that he "felt like it." Clearly the spirit - E.Tsangu didn't hesitate to point that out. It was a good lesson, and this guy might progress. The issue is that he is "deeply" involved with his church.
We did some contacting and that was the end of the day. We wanted to plan but abruptly heard that interviews would be tomorrow. We waited around in our Priesthood attire for a few hours waiting for the schedule, but nothing. Eventually, we got the schedule, and I delivered the bad news to E.Tsangu: "We're gonna have to leave at 8 tomorrow, again." "Flip, dang it!" (He likes the Best Two Years) E.Bamongo: "Oh, no." (in a thick but thinning French accent, he's working on it). My reaction mirrored E.Tsangu's. We left at 8 this morning for service, and I always hate when we do that. It means I have to skip my morning shower.
8/2
Wow! President was fast. He (his assistants) called to ask where we were a full 25 minutes (or thereabouts) before my appointment was supposed to begin. I got in, sat down, did the interview, and left. President Mdletshe finished with the last of my companions right as my interview was supposed to begin. He's fast! I like the change in attitude he brings. President Msane definitely had something the missionaries of the past needed, the same is true for us and President Mdletshe. He brings a change this mission needs. It's nice.
I've got to make this very, very clear: I have liked both of my Presidents. I have the same feelings I had when President Monson died: nostalgia, love, and respect, but readiness for what's to come - to see what the next has in store. It's nice.
We actually made good time and got back pretty early. The issue was that various errands we had to do took a while. So we were at the church waiting for a 23-hour early correlation meeting (it had been rescheduled). Unfortunately, the AWML was quite late. The upside is that I got to meet E.Cole's new trainee. I still don't have his name memorized, but I thought it was South African for a long time (17 whole hours!). Nope! He's from DRC. He's still learning English, so he doesn't talk much, but in a few weeks, he'll probably be speaking a bit more.
8/3
Ugh...I've learned my lesson: Mountain Dew tastes good, but it completely messes with my head. For those of you in my family who are gasping in horror: "Erik tried Caffeine???" Yeah, I've had more caffeine on mission than I ever had before in my life: A sip of Pepsi (bleh), A cup of Coke (bleh), and 300mls of Mountain Dew (yum). The mountain dew also taught me that my avoidance of caffeine is a good thing. It's messing with my head right now, the fact that I'm still sick doesn't help anything, but it's still not good.
There was also a moment this morning where I had a: "really guys?" moment with my companions. We finished weekly planning a bit early, so I went to lie down for that extra time. I left my flash with President Nelson's talks running in the speaker, and they were both in the front room listening. Suddenly the both start shouting over to me: "you need to take pills!" I'm like: "yeah, that's a good idea." I take the pills out of my medicine storage (highly recommended) and came into the front room to get water to take the pills. I head what President Nelson's current talk was about: "Drugs."
...
...
...
These two.
Really?
Anyway, we went to lunch after that, then we went and taught a Doctor in his office. That's always a weird experience. It was our second time teaching this guy. I honestly can't tell if he's serious, but I'm hoping he is. I always hope, it's a bad habit.
We met with a new guy today too, a brother named Sammy who E.Tsangu contacted at our cyber on Monday. Not sure what to make of this guy. I let the other two do all the talking, I was out of it. I just did a bit of testifying there at the end.
Our next lesson was even worse as far as participation. The whole thing was in Swahili. I just stopped listening. It was kinda an upside for me since I needed the rest, but it's never fun feeling useless.
We went to visit a member named Winnie after that, just to introduce my companions to her, then we went to Bradley's place. We were supposed to see his sister and her friend, but both of them bounced us, so it turned into a member visit.
When we got back to the flat my two comps made Ugali and Pork. I will freely admit: I've learned the trick to eating ugali, so I don't care anymore. I still dislike it, but I'm used to it. The trick that works for me is that I focus on the piece of meat or veggies and ignore the ugali in my mouth. I find that it works for me, but if I only have soup to dunk it in then I won't be able to deal very well.
8/4
Well, today was a group of poorly planned failures. We were supposed to teach a lesson after church, but a miscommunication prevented it from happening. We were supposed to teach those two kids today, and they left early. The only thing that went right was when we visited S.Linda. That was actually a lot of fun, a good visit - it made up for the rest of the day.
We visited S.Linda and her Husband - Michael - with the "Elders Quorum and Relief Society." There were roughly 16 adults and 3 children.
I spent the evening after we got back cutting off and sewing back on the buttons of my new black shirt. It took forever. It was a second-hand shirt so I'm not surprised, but all the buttons were completely banged up - ready to fall off. It wasn't pretty once I'd taken a closer look. Why did I take a closer look? Because I'd lost one of the buttons on Monday. I only noticed when I realized that I was flashing my garments for all the world to see. I had to adjust my tie and my bag strap to close the gap. It wasn't fun heading back to the flat.
I have two morales to this story: 1: Check your second-hand clothing thoroughly for any needed fixes. 2: Make sure you bring a good sewing kit with you on mission. The only thing I'm missing is a thimble. The extra buttons were really advantageous. It's a good thing that I only needed to use one, I have a funny feeling that they'll become useful later on.
7/31/2019 She's actually extremely passionate about the gospel, she was actually taking notes and asking questions as we were teaching her.
7/25
Walked to Zimmerman again today. It's killing me. That's an hour-long walk first thing in the morning. The four Mandazi I got didn't help much, but they tasted alright (for being a bland -fake- doughnut). They were fresh though so that kinda made up for that.
We had service at a children's home, then headed back. It took a while to get back, so our first appointment was at 3. We had to change then we headed over. My comp and this Less Active had a long conversation about African punctuality. I sided with the less active on this one. DRC has a weird perception of "on time."
After that, we headed over to the Elder's quorum president's home to pick up him and his wife, then we took them with us to visit S.Linda. We had S.Jacky show up right as we got there, and Eugene sat in on the whole thing, so I happily had a lesson with four members present.
Bringing the sisters was a good idea, it was a good lesson, and we were able to talk about callings, talks, and "learning and serving in the church." It was short but good. I just threw the sisters on the hot spot to explain things, and we sat there quietly. We also took the opportunity to have B.Charles (EQP) explain baby blessings to her. It was a good lesson, and we barely said anything! Yay!
After that, it was back to cleaning out the area book for me. I'm going through and writing down phone numbers and throwing away "unprofitable" records. Pretty much people who were dropped for being trouble, or disappeared after a single lesson. Everyone else goes back in the book; unfortunately, there are very few from my original pile going back into the book. Most are going into the bin with their number in my little book. Kinda sad.
I'm also kinda realizing how messed up the Old Testament is, it's kinda clear from Genesis alone, but it's present throughout the rest of it too. I like to share verses with E.Cole to see him cringe, it's fun. Like the one about David presenting the foreskins of 200 Philistines to Saul as a dowry for his wife. That was super cringe-worthy. 1 Sam 18: 25-27. Don't worry about it if you don't understand it. You parents will explain when you're older.
7/26
Oh boy. We got TRANSFER NEWS today. I'm still here, E.Kanda is going to Chang'ombe to be District Leader, and I have to suffer this transfer since I'll have two DRC companions. I'll never hear English again, they'll only speak French. Great. My first comp is E. Tsangu. He was my Zone Leader in my last area. Not sure who the other one is. E. Kanda didn't hear the name right, and there are three or four DRC Elders with similar names... regardless, they're both DRC.
I also got a few Shuka (shook?) today. They're the blankets that the Messai wear. I like them, may have to pick up one or two more. I look like Oliver from Ni no Kuni when I wear mine. Kinda fun.
Anyway, we had an..interesting day. So interesting, I had to check my planner to remember.
Actually, this day started really well. We had Bishop Peter come by the flat this morning. He's the one we turn to, to get stuff fixed, replaced, and to get new things. He finally got me my stinking light bulbs, and the good quality ones he got were ridiculously expensive (300 each). These are the same light bulbs the Zone Leaders were trying to get me to buy. Heck no. We needed 8. That's 2,400 KSh.
He also showed me how to use my water heater, so I got to take a hot shower lasting longer than 1 minute for the first time in a very, very long time. It's my first hot shower in a transfer too. Nice!
Aside from that, he helped us out with some other stuff, and we showed him what was busted around our flat.
The scary thing about Bishop Peter is that he can recognize me when I'm texting. I mean, it's not hard since I'm the only one who uses proper English, grammar, and punctuation, but the fact that he got it so quickly is scary. He's good.
After that, we taught a guy named Brian. I still can't tell if this guy is serious, but he's showing some good signs, and some bad ones, so it could go either way.
We had lunch, got bounced, visited a member, then waited for Eugene and Bradley to meet us. We went to visit an RC who's now an LA with them. We sat down, and she started telling us her life story. It's a tear-jerker too. I felt bad I couldn't do more. I'll be seeing her again later, so maybe we can help her spiritually. As a trio, ugh.
I probably won't be talking much next transfer.
7/27
Well, I got Pizza today. It was alright. No little chasers, but alright.
I also got a hold of a red tie. Why is this important? It means my new P-Day attire is complete. E. Cole will call me edgy boo, and I will take it. I think it's cool.
Well, today was kinda farewell day. We went and said goodbye to S.Tracy. She moved out to Mwiki, so it's super far. I'm kinda hoping that we'll be able to start working out there more. If Tracy is able to help us, then we might be able to get a branch out there in 6 months, but that might be a little too hopeful. It's just my wish. I agree with E.Kanda's wish: I don't want Tracy to go inactive, but as is, it will be hard.
Anyway, we spent some time at a movie shop after we got back. I finally finished the errand I've been working on the entire week: I have the movie: "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" on DVD. I had to download it at the church, then move it to my flash, then I had to take it to the movie shop for them to put it on a DVD. We'll be using it to help the RCs understand more of the church. I'm pretty excited, but I won't be around to watch it since we have lessons right after church tomorrow.
BTW, you can get it and Meet the Mormons on one of the church's websites for free. For some weird reason, they also have Johnny Lingo. Just search "movies" on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and it should bring up the link. That's how I got there.
Anyway, we met up with a member (if you remember Alan from 3 or 4 weeks ago). We tried to meet with a brother at his business, but he bounced us, so we went to teach those two kids: Steve and Vivian. Alan did all the teaching. He tried to turn the lesson over to me at one point, but I wasn't following since the whole thing was in sheng, and I don't care about trying to learn bad Swahili. I just passed it back to him because I couldn't understand, and tried my best to stay awake. That walk to Mwiki wiped me out. Thank goodness we took a Matatu back.
We got bounced again after that, so we called it a day since it was too late to do any work, and E.Kanda needed time to pack. I just played with my shuka, read the Old Testament, and waited for my pizza. It was good enough. I'm kinda wiped for today.
7/29
Wiped? I didn't know the meaning of wiped till today. So, a recap of Sunday, then today.
We had Sacrament meeting, then after services ended we watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" or at least half of it - the power went out in the middle.
We missionaries ran out after that. We recruited a member to teach a few of our Investigators that had shown up today, then we were gone. We went with some RC kids to their home in Dandora. To be completely honest, I didn't feel comfortable there.
After Dandora we went to visit Sister Winnie, the older sister to our RC Sister Niece. It was a nice farewell for E.Kanda. We headed over to S. Linda's after that, she actually came to church yesterday! So we were super excited to see her. We taught her the very last missionary lesson, and we invited her to church again next week. It was pretty exciting.
We headed back to the flat after that. I did laundry, and I played interior decorator. It isn't a lot, but the flat will look a bit different from this transfer on.
Anyway, I had a hard time sleeping that night. I took forever getting to sleep, got up in the night a few times, and when my companion got up at 5 I couldn't fall back asleep. So I haven't slept much. My comp left at 5:45 and they left me with E.Muanda, then at 6:15 or so we had E.Kasongo show up at the door. At 9:00 we had a bunch of Elders show up and take E.Muanda and left me E.Mboyo. E. Kasongo left a little later, then E.Mboyo and I went to the cyber for a little while, then came back when E.Bamongo showed up. Then we waited for E.Tsangu (chan-gu). After he showed up they took E.Mboyo away. It was another hectic day, and I played interior decorator, again. The beds needed to be readjusted. I forgot to send my weekly update with everything that was going on (sorry Mom!) so you'll be reading this a week later.
7/30
Not much today, but this transfer is going to be long.
We started with weekly planning, then we went and had lunch, then met with Bishop Peter (we're trying to get my comps' toilet fixed, he also brought the long-awaited whiteboard), we went to see Anthony after that, then we contacted for a few hours. That's pretty much it for today.
7/31
Well, I kinda thought today would be a rough day, and I was right, but for the wrong reason. I woke up with a sore neck (I can barely turn my head - the pain is too great), and I woke up with a small cold. No fever, but the stuffy nose, headache, clogged ears, and a sore throat. The trend appears to be that I have to get sick at least once a transfer. I don't like this trend. Not at all. I also get sick enough to be bedridden every other time or so. That kinda sucks, but the rest of the day was actually pretty good.
We started the day off with DDM. It went alright, then we headed to lunch as a group of missionaries. I spent most of my time chatting with S.Murenje. She -like E.Mathemera- is from Zimbabwe. Between her and E.Mathemera if I have to train, I want to train someone from Zimbabwe. South African takes second place. The reality? I'll probably just train someone from DRC. I do not want to train an American. I'll consider it if they're African-American, but the thought of training a white American scares me. We would get ripped off so bad at every shop, and we would instantly become a more..appealing target. It sounds like an absolute disaster.
Anyway, we went contacting after that. We ended up finding Bradley's home in the process. It was kinda ironic considering the fact that we worked with him later today. We met with a few members and then we met up with Bradley to go teach S.Sophie from last week.
She's actually extremely passionate about the gospel, she was actually taking notes and asking questions as we were teaching her. It was a unique experience. It's rather unfortunate that she let things distract her from the Gospel. Bradley was a huge help too. It was a pretty good day aside from the miserable condition of my body.
Walked to Zimmerman again today. It's killing me. That's an hour-long walk first thing in the morning. The four Mandazi I got didn't help much, but they tasted alright (for being a bland -fake- doughnut). They were fresh though so that kinda made up for that.
We had service at a children's home, then headed back. It took a while to get back, so our first appointment was at 3. We had to change then we headed over. My comp and this Less Active had a long conversation about African punctuality. I sided with the less active on this one. DRC has a weird perception of "on time."
After that, we headed over to the Elder's quorum president's home to pick up him and his wife, then we took them with us to visit S.Linda. We had S.Jacky show up right as we got there, and Eugene sat in on the whole thing, so I happily had a lesson with four members present.
Bringing the sisters was a good idea, it was a good lesson, and we were able to talk about callings, talks, and "learning and serving in the church." It was short but good. I just threw the sisters on the hot spot to explain things, and we sat there quietly. We also took the opportunity to have B.Charles (EQP) explain baby blessings to her. It was a good lesson, and we barely said anything! Yay!
After that, it was back to cleaning out the area book for me. I'm going through and writing down phone numbers and throwing away "unprofitable" records. Pretty much people who were dropped for being trouble, or disappeared after a single lesson. Everyone else goes back in the book; unfortunately, there are very few from my original pile going back into the book. Most are going into the bin with their number in my little book. Kinda sad.
I'm also kinda realizing how messed up the Old Testament is, it's kinda clear from Genesis alone, but it's present throughout the rest of it too. I like to share verses with E.Cole to see him cringe, it's fun. Like the one about David presenting the foreskins of 200 Philistines to Saul as a dowry for his wife. That was super cringe-worthy. 1 Sam 18: 25-27. Don't worry about it if you don't understand it. You parents will explain when you're older.
7/26
Oh boy. We got TRANSFER NEWS today. I'm still here, E.Kanda is going to Chang'ombe to be District Leader, and I have to suffer this transfer since I'll have two DRC companions. I'll never hear English again, they'll only speak French. Great. My first comp is E. Tsangu. He was my Zone Leader in my last area. Not sure who the other one is. E. Kanda didn't hear the name right, and there are three or four DRC Elders with similar names... regardless, they're both DRC.
I also got a few Shuka (shook?) today. They're the blankets that the Messai wear. I like them, may have to pick up one or two more. I look like Oliver from Ni no Kuni when I wear mine. Kinda fun.
Anyway, we had an..interesting day. So interesting, I had to check my planner to remember.
Actually, this day started really well. We had Bishop Peter come by the flat this morning. He's the one we turn to, to get stuff fixed, replaced, and to get new things. He finally got me my stinking light bulbs, and the good quality ones he got were ridiculously expensive (300 each). These are the same light bulbs the Zone Leaders were trying to get me to buy. Heck no. We needed 8. That's 2,400 KSh.
He also showed me how to use my water heater, so I got to take a hot shower lasting longer than 1 minute for the first time in a very, very long time. It's my first hot shower in a transfer too. Nice!
Aside from that, he helped us out with some other stuff, and we showed him what was busted around our flat.
The scary thing about Bishop Peter is that he can recognize me when I'm texting. I mean, it's not hard since I'm the only one who uses proper English, grammar, and punctuation, but the fact that he got it so quickly is scary. He's good.
After that, we taught a guy named Brian. I still can't tell if this guy is serious, but he's showing some good signs, and some bad ones, so it could go either way.
We had lunch, got bounced, visited a member, then waited for Eugene and Bradley to meet us. We went to visit an RC who's now an LA with them. We sat down, and she started telling us her life story. It's a tear-jerker too. I felt bad I couldn't do more. I'll be seeing her again later, so maybe we can help her spiritually. As a trio, ugh.
I probably won't be talking much next transfer.
7/27
Well, I got Pizza today. It was alright. No little chasers, but alright.
I also got a hold of a red tie. Why is this important? It means my new P-Day attire is complete. E. Cole will call me edgy boo, and I will take it. I think it's cool.
Well, today was kinda farewell day. We went and said goodbye to S.Tracy. She moved out to Mwiki, so it's super far. I'm kinda hoping that we'll be able to start working out there more. If Tracy is able to help us, then we might be able to get a branch out there in 6 months, but that might be a little too hopeful. It's just my wish. I agree with E.Kanda's wish: I don't want Tracy to go inactive, but as is, it will be hard.
Anyway, we spent some time at a movie shop after we got back. I finally finished the errand I've been working on the entire week: I have the movie: "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" on DVD. I had to download it at the church, then move it to my flash, then I had to take it to the movie shop for them to put it on a DVD. We'll be using it to help the RCs understand more of the church. I'm pretty excited, but I won't be around to watch it since we have lessons right after church tomorrow.
BTW, you can get it and Meet the Mormons on one of the church's websites for free. For some weird reason, they also have Johnny Lingo. Just search "movies" on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and it should bring up the link. That's how I got there.
Anyway, we met up with a member (if you remember Alan from 3 or 4 weeks ago). We tried to meet with a brother at his business, but he bounced us, so we went to teach those two kids: Steve and Vivian. Alan did all the teaching. He tried to turn the lesson over to me at one point, but I wasn't following since the whole thing was in sheng, and I don't care about trying to learn bad Swahili. I just passed it back to him because I couldn't understand, and tried my best to stay awake. That walk to Mwiki wiped me out. Thank goodness we took a Matatu back.
We got bounced again after that, so we called it a day since it was too late to do any work, and E.Kanda needed time to pack. I just played with my shuka, read the Old Testament, and waited for my pizza. It was good enough. I'm kinda wiped for today.
7/29
Wiped? I didn't know the meaning of wiped till today. So, a recap of Sunday, then today.
We had Sacrament meeting, then after services ended we watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" or at least half of it - the power went out in the middle.
We missionaries ran out after that. We recruited a member to teach a few of our Investigators that had shown up today, then we were gone. We went with some RC kids to their home in Dandora. To be completely honest, I didn't feel comfortable there.
After Dandora we went to visit Sister Winnie, the older sister to our RC Sister Niece. It was a nice farewell for E.Kanda. We headed over to S. Linda's after that, she actually came to church yesterday! So we were super excited to see her. We taught her the very last missionary lesson, and we invited her to church again next week. It was pretty exciting.
We headed back to the flat after that. I did laundry, and I played interior decorator. It isn't a lot, but the flat will look a bit different from this transfer on.
Anyway, I had a hard time sleeping that night. I took forever getting to sleep, got up in the night a few times, and when my companion got up at 5 I couldn't fall back asleep. So I haven't slept much. My comp left at 5:45 and they left me with E.Muanda, then at 6:15 or so we had E.Kasongo show up at the door. At 9:00 we had a bunch of Elders show up and take E.Muanda and left me E.Mboyo. E. Kasongo left a little later, then E.Mboyo and I went to the cyber for a little while, then came back when E.Bamongo showed up. Then we waited for E.Tsangu (chan-gu). After he showed up they took E.Mboyo away. It was another hectic day, and I played interior decorator, again. The beds needed to be readjusted. I forgot to send my weekly update with everything that was going on (sorry Mom!) so you'll be reading this a week later.
7/30
Not much today, but this transfer is going to be long.
We started with weekly planning, then we went and had lunch, then met with Bishop Peter (we're trying to get my comps' toilet fixed, he also brought the long-awaited whiteboard), we went to see Anthony after that, then we contacted for a few hours. That's pretty much it for today.
7/31
Well, I kinda thought today would be a rough day, and I was right, but for the wrong reason. I woke up with a sore neck (I can barely turn my head - the pain is too great), and I woke up with a small cold. No fever, but the stuffy nose, headache, clogged ears, and a sore throat. The trend appears to be that I have to get sick at least once a transfer. I don't like this trend. Not at all. I also get sick enough to be bedridden every other time or so. That kinda sucks, but the rest of the day was actually pretty good.
We started the day off with DDM. It went alright, then we headed to lunch as a group of missionaries. I spent most of my time chatting with S.Murenje. She -like E.Mathemera- is from Zimbabwe. Between her and E.Mathemera if I have to train, I want to train someone from Zimbabwe. South African takes second place. The reality? I'll probably just train someone from DRC. I do not want to train an American. I'll consider it if they're African-American, but the thought of training a white American scares me. We would get ripped off so bad at every shop, and we would instantly become a more..appealing target. It sounds like an absolute disaster.
Anyway, we went contacting after that. We ended up finding Bradley's home in the process. It was kinda ironic considering the fact that we worked with him later today. We met with a few members and then we met up with Bradley to go teach S.Sophie from last week.
She's actually extremely passionate about the gospel, she was actually taking notes and asking questions as we were teaching her. It was a unique experience. It's rather unfortunate that she let things distract her from the Gospel. Bradley was a huge help too. It was a pretty good day aside from the miserable condition of my body.
7/24/2019 "You like calling home too much." Heck yeah. It's fun, it's good for my mental health
7/22
This morning was fun. I played "mission barber" again; I got to cut E. Saunders hair. He just had me do the sides, he cut the top, and I touched it up a little. Nice and quick. Took less than twenty minutes. Nothing else interesting for most of the day. Most interesting thing was when I did a video call home. Dad pointed out how interesting the date April 6th was. I still find that one fascinating. I am looking forward to the 24th though, pioneer day. I get to call home.
7/23
Bounce Day is back!
Started the morning off with two bounces in a row. We had both of them scheduled at the same time in case one of them bounced. We spend a while waiting, then the next appointment came an hour late, so we spent a lot of time at the church - waiting. I chugged through a lot of 1 Samuel.
When we taught the game who came an hour late (this is our first lesson with him) we just start talking a lot about repentance outta nowhere. Completely the Spirit talking. I felt really..uhhh..loving and concerned when he started confessing his sins to us. Awkward is the third emotion I was feeling (is that an emotion?). It was a good lesson, we'll be seeing him tomorrow.
After that, we met up with a member named Eugene. He served his mission in South Africa, and he is the Acting Ward Mission Leader - he's actually the clerk.
The actual Ward Mission leader is too busy because he's getting married - in December. E. Cole and I had the same: "why would that interfere? That's months away." reaction. "Different culture" is the only explanation we've been given; we still don't know why he isn't fulfilling his calling.
Anyway, he helped us teach a Doctor who we contacted on Friday, then we visited a few recent converts. It was alright. It was still bounce day, but at least the afternoon wasn't so bad.
7/24
6 Months + Pioneer Day. Of course, I called home. My comp called me on it too: "You like calling home too much." Heck yeah. It's fun, it's good for my mental health, and it's good for my Mother's mental health. What are the downsides? Literally, the only one is Missionary teasing. So, no downsides to me who doesn't care what the "guys" think.
Anyway, today was DDM. It was alright, I tried to give some good advice, I had the Spiritual thought so I talked about how we need to be a "Samuel" and not a "Samson".
Samson came before Samuel, but their circumstances were remarkably similar.
In the cases of both these men, their mothers were barren. They both pleaded with the Lord for a child. Both of their children were Nazarite: a special servant of the Lord. They were given special callings or positions, and (based off the trend I'm seeing) were foreordained to be Nazarite.
Here's where the difference comes into play: Samuel kept his vows as a Nazarite all his life, and became a powerful man of God. Samson drowned in his own self-satisfaction and baser urges.
He often acted based off his passions: Revenge, Anger, and Lust. The scriptures didn't really go in-depth about it, but it even notes that he broke the Law of Chastity. Samson was one foreordained to free Israel from their captivity, but he married one of the people who kept them in bondage. He chose wrong at every step, yet because one aspect of his Nazarite vows were kept -that he would never cut his hair- he was able to retain a gift of the spirit throughout the vast majority of his life: his monumental physical strength. However, even this vow was broken when he informed his treacherous wife of the source of his strength, and she sold him for money. He ended up begging the Lord for strength one last time to kill those who mocked him when his strength was gone. He last act was one of revenge. He was a sad and pathetic man who had no self-control throughout his life, and he was that way to the end. This perfectly highlights our personal Agency. Samson defied the Lord's plans for him, and met a pathetic end;
he could have easily been great if he had surrendered his will to the Lord, but he didn't. Contrast that with Samuel.
Samuel, like Samson, was a Nazarite. His mother had promised the Lord that if he would give her a child, she would give him to the Lord. She upheld her end of the bargain and brought Samuel to the temple at the age of (approximately) 3.
Throughout his life, Samuel was always ready when the Lord called. When the Lord commanded, he obeyed. For this, he had joy and happiness throughout his life. He was a mighty man in the ways of the Lord, and he was respected for it. Samuel was an excellent prophet. No one can fault him for his life. He surrendered his will to the Lord, and for it, he has received joy in this world, and in the world to come. True, he wasn't perfectly happy, but his sorrow resulted from the wickedness of the Children of Israel.
In the end, we need to be a Samuel, and not a Samson. If we are a Samson, then we know that we can be forgiven from Doctrine and Covenants Section 3. Joseph was given a great task like Samson and Samuel and, like Samson, he had failed to uphold his task, but he could still be forgiven (and was). He was even still called to the same task, the same work. From this, we receive a "what if." "What if" Samson had repented at any point, would he have been as great as Samuel? We also receive an assurance, that even if we are a "Samson" we can become a "Samuel."
Anyway, that was more or less my spiritual thought from DDM. E. Cole told me that he thought it was good, so plus 1 for me.
E. Kanda and I rushed back from DDM for an appointment, only to have had no reason to do so since we were bounced. Fun -_-.
We went to visit a guy named Joshua after that. He started describing himself, and I kinda thought: "I've found an African Levi."
I have a friend named Levi who loves theatre, music, and that sort of stuff. This guy, Joshua, was describing pretty much everything that comes to mind when I think of Levi when he talked about himself and his interests. It was kinda cool since I could connect over some of those same things. His brother just kinda sat by and listened as we taught. +1 Investigator.
I will say, it was an interesting lesson. I've never taught the Restoration like that before. In the back of the pamphlet we give out, is a list of questions for the person. These questions also include scriptural references, so we just went through these questions and helped explain the answers for brother Joshua instead of our usual teaching style. It was a nice difference, broke up the monotony.
We headed to a Brother named Zackary after that. He met with the missionaries a year ago, and near as we can tell there was a whitewash and he was forgotten. Regardless of the "how" the fact remains that he lost contact with the missionaries. Turns out, he lives in the other Elders' area, so they're getting a referral. Fun! It's late, night.
This morning was fun. I played "mission barber" again; I got to cut E. Saunders hair. He just had me do the sides, he cut the top, and I touched it up a little. Nice and quick. Took less than twenty minutes. Nothing else interesting for most of the day. Most interesting thing was when I did a video call home. Dad pointed out how interesting the date April 6th was. I still find that one fascinating. I am looking forward to the 24th though, pioneer day. I get to call home.
7/23
Bounce Day is back!
Started the morning off with two bounces in a row. We had both of them scheduled at the same time in case one of them bounced. We spend a while waiting, then the next appointment came an hour late, so we spent a lot of time at the church - waiting. I chugged through a lot of 1 Samuel.
When we taught the game who came an hour late (this is our first lesson with him) we just start talking a lot about repentance outta nowhere. Completely the Spirit talking. I felt really..uhhh..loving and concerned when he started confessing his sins to us. Awkward is the third emotion I was feeling (is that an emotion?). It was a good lesson, we'll be seeing him tomorrow.
After that, we met up with a member named Eugene. He served his mission in South Africa, and he is the Acting Ward Mission Leader - he's actually the clerk.
The actual Ward Mission leader is too busy because he's getting married - in December. E. Cole and I had the same: "why would that interfere? That's months away." reaction. "Different culture" is the only explanation we've been given; we still don't know why he isn't fulfilling his calling.
Anyway, he helped us teach a Doctor who we contacted on Friday, then we visited a few recent converts. It was alright. It was still bounce day, but at least the afternoon wasn't so bad.
7/24
6 Months + Pioneer Day. Of course, I called home. My comp called me on it too: "You like calling home too much." Heck yeah. It's fun, it's good for my mental health, and it's good for my Mother's mental health. What are the downsides? Literally, the only one is Missionary teasing. So, no downsides to me who doesn't care what the "guys" think.
Anyway, today was DDM. It was alright, I tried to give some good advice, I had the Spiritual thought so I talked about how we need to be a "Samuel" and not a "Samson".
Samson came before Samuel, but their circumstances were remarkably similar.
In the cases of both these men, their mothers were barren. They both pleaded with the Lord for a child. Both of their children were Nazarite: a special servant of the Lord. They were given special callings or positions, and (based off the trend I'm seeing) were foreordained to be Nazarite.
Here's where the difference comes into play: Samuel kept his vows as a Nazarite all his life, and became a powerful man of God. Samson drowned in his own self-satisfaction and baser urges.
He often acted based off his passions: Revenge, Anger, and Lust. The scriptures didn't really go in-depth about it, but it even notes that he broke the Law of Chastity. Samson was one foreordained to free Israel from their captivity, but he married one of the people who kept them in bondage. He chose wrong at every step, yet because one aspect of his Nazarite vows were kept -that he would never cut his hair- he was able to retain a gift of the spirit throughout the vast majority of his life: his monumental physical strength. However, even this vow was broken when he informed his treacherous wife of the source of his strength, and she sold him for money. He ended up begging the Lord for strength one last time to kill those who mocked him when his strength was gone. He last act was one of revenge. He was a sad and pathetic man who had no self-control throughout his life, and he was that way to the end. This perfectly highlights our personal Agency. Samson defied the Lord's plans for him, and met a pathetic end;
he could have easily been great if he had surrendered his will to the Lord, but he didn't. Contrast that with Samuel.
Samuel, like Samson, was a Nazarite. His mother had promised the Lord that if he would give her a child, she would give him to the Lord. She upheld her end of the bargain and brought Samuel to the temple at the age of (approximately) 3.
Throughout his life, Samuel was always ready when the Lord called. When the Lord commanded, he obeyed. For this, he had joy and happiness throughout his life. He was a mighty man in the ways of the Lord, and he was respected for it. Samuel was an excellent prophet. No one can fault him for his life. He surrendered his will to the Lord, and for it, he has received joy in this world, and in the world to come. True, he wasn't perfectly happy, but his sorrow resulted from the wickedness of the Children of Israel.
In the end, we need to be a Samuel, and not a Samson. If we are a Samson, then we know that we can be forgiven from Doctrine and Covenants Section 3. Joseph was given a great task like Samson and Samuel and, like Samson, he had failed to uphold his task, but he could still be forgiven (and was). He was even still called to the same task, the same work. From this, we receive a "what if." "What if" Samson had repented at any point, would he have been as great as Samuel? We also receive an assurance, that even if we are a "Samson" we can become a "Samuel."
Anyway, that was more or less my spiritual thought from DDM. E. Cole told me that he thought it was good, so plus 1 for me.
E. Kanda and I rushed back from DDM for an appointment, only to have had no reason to do so since we were bounced. Fun -_-.
We went to visit a guy named Joshua after that. He started describing himself, and I kinda thought: "I've found an African Levi."
I have a friend named Levi who loves theatre, music, and that sort of stuff. This guy, Joshua, was describing pretty much everything that comes to mind when I think of Levi when he talked about himself and his interests. It was kinda cool since I could connect over some of those same things. His brother just kinda sat by and listened as we taught. +1 Investigator.
I will say, it was an interesting lesson. I've never taught the Restoration like that before. In the back of the pamphlet we give out, is a list of questions for the person. These questions also include scriptural references, so we just went through these questions and helped explain the answers for brother Joshua instead of our usual teaching style. It was a nice difference, broke up the monotony.
We headed to a Brother named Zackary after that. He met with the missionaries a year ago, and near as we can tell there was a whitewash and he was forgotten. Regardless of the "how" the fact remains that he lost contact with the missionaries. Turns out, he lives in the other Elders' area, so they're getting a referral. Fun! It's late, night.
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