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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

8/20/2019 -- Photo of Elder Benson with kids in Lucky Summer

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.

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.

Cyber cafe.  Awaiting a computer.

Fluffy kitties -- cannot touch!

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??????????

Study room at Kayole 2 flat

Kayole 2 flat

Elder Mukendi

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.

Elder Bamongo, Lucky Summer companion