HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
E.Mathemera was getting his hair cut this evening, and the power went out in the middle of it! The good thing was that he didn't look too bad till you looked really close. Fortunately, the power came back before we left, so he was able to get it fixed, but he was having to prepare himself to attend DDM with the half finished hair cut. I found the whole thing funny, so it'll probably happen to me when I get my hair cut next week. Knowing karma, the power won't come back in time for me to get my hair fixed. True horror there.
"Finally, Kiingereza"
So our phone has been in Swahili for the entire time I've been here. We've essentially been in the blind the entire time. For the phones here, it's all pre-paid, so if we want to check our balance it would be in Swahili. For all we know, they were just sending us a court date, or telling us that our car had been stolen. Sijui Kiswahili, so we were completely in the dark. Calling home was a right old pain too. I ended up having E.Bailey show me on his phone the steps, and I wrote them all down, just because I couldn't understand anything. For all I know, I was selling my immortal soul for 1200 seconds of calling time.
BUT!!!
We got help from a member today, and now, finally, the phone is in English! It's sweet relief, almost a dream. It...almost doesn't seem right. Anyway, for my own sanity, I'm writing the language changing code here: 140. Type that into the phone, call it, and you can change the language. FUN!
Ahh, here's a fun fact: Hakuna (as in Hakuna Matata) essentially means that you "don't have" something. It still translates to no worries, but I know what hakuna means now. Now I need to figure out the subtleties of: Aina Shida. Which also means no worries. Near as I can tell, it means something more along the line of "it's not a worry." Dunno, still working on it.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Monday, June 17, 2019
6/10/2019 "I know you won't remember any of this, but I take comfort in the fact that you'll remember it all during Judgement."
6/3:
Dang. Nothing today. We'd hoped to go to the Zoo, but it didn't happen. The Senior Couple was busy with errands. So we did nothing but clean, and went to withdraw allotment. E.Mathemera got his just fine, I wasn't able to. We checked three different ATMs, but they were all out of money. It's really frustrating right now that that happened. I'm gonna have to go back into rationing mode with my money since I don't know how long it will be before they top off the ATMs. Great.
We hung out with the other Elders for a little while today (not long) then went looking for a place to email. E.Bailey and E.Amegakpoe went to the church, and we went to one in Salaama. I really hate the one in Salaama, but there's nothing you can do. The best I can say about it: it works.
The only other mildly interesting thing that happened was that I burned my mouth to oblivion when I went a little too ham with the spices, but I still finished dinner (was crying) so that's all that matters. Note to self: be careful with vinegar, but you need more than you used you stupid fool. You also don't need to add chili powder when you already have creole and two other spices. You did finally get the right amount of salt though, so don't forget it.
6/4
Argh. Still wasn't able to get allotment today. They need to top up the ATMs, but it hasn't happened yet. I even tried twice today, once in the morning, and once in the evening.
Anyway, today was a bit slow, we were able to teach a Sister named Brenda who we've been trying (without success) to teach for this entire transfer, so it finally happening is nice. Hopefully she'll be able to progress nicely.
Aside from that, really nothing today. Just a lot of time spent trying to see if there were people we could meet. No dice for various reasons, but such is the life of a Missionary.
6/6
Oh boy, you'll notice a missing day. We were on exchanges yesterday, which means no update.
What happened yesterday? I died. Figuratively yes, but almost literally. We headed over to DDM first thing in the morning (11am, not really first thing in the morning, but still the first appointment of the day). Nothing exciting there, just a regular meeting. The Shirtliffs came near the end and brought penutbutter bars, so they were warmly welcomed. E.Bailey and I chatted with S.Shirtliff for a while about stuff we had no control over, and no news in the x amount of time since we started our respective missions. It was fun.
After that, we headed over to a member's house: Brother Prince. His food is fire. He also gave us Chapate in addition to everything else, so I was extremely content with the meal. E.Amegakpoe and I had to rush out a little early to make an appointment (exchanges, remember?) and 4 Daladalas later, we arrived at the meeting point. We taught a Brother named Elisha (Eeh-lie-sha) and his family. E.Bailey and E.Amegakpoe had taught the wife once before at her work place, and this family VERY eagerly received us.
It was almost scary how happy they were to see us. They brought their three kids, their nephew, and their neighbor's kid to listen in. That was the normal part. What wasn't normal, was the extremely reverent attitude they had towards us. I've never had that before, but they definitely felt that we were representatives of Jesus Christ.
It was a very good lesson, but we'll (and by "we" I mean "they") have to give President Msane a call before they continue teaching this family. B.Elisha is a Preacher, so -apparently- the policy is that he has to talk to the Mission President before they can continue teaching.
I wish they'd keep a book of these little details, because I didn't know that one till later. It's almost a miracle that I know about the policy regarding the need for President to interview a Muslim before they're taught.
Regardless, it was a good lesson, and they fed us afterward. It was really good food, and I was extremely appreciative, but my appreciation lost hard core to E.Amegakpoe, who was excited to see a vegetable he hadn't seen since he was home.
Nothing much for the rest of the evening. We had to take a Daladala back, it didn't drop us where we thought it would, and we had to walk to the flat. It was late when we got back.
I was very happy though, E.Bailey has a copy of Articles of Faith by Elder Talmage that he left laying around, so I started reading it. I need to get a hold of a copy to finish. I was only able to reach Chapter 4.
Today was a lot less exciting. We held English Class (*I* held English Class) then we taught B.Ernest the Word of Wisdom. It went very well, he didn't have any issues with it.
After that, we went to S.Veronica's place with a Portable DVD Player and watched the Restoration video with her and B.Kevin. We left not long after that and approached the flat in horror (at least on my part) because the power was out.
From the fact that I'm updating, at least you know it came back on, but only after about half an hour. Well...a little less than that.
That's it for today.
6/7
"Mission: Impossible -Lockdown-"
-_-
...
...
-_-
My companion left the keys in our flat. It was during exchanges, so I wasn't there, but apparently E.Bailey hopped our wall, discovered that the electric fence was turned off, tore his pants on the spikes, and retrieved the keys. Loads of fun. I kinda wish I was there to see it.
My companion told me after he finished telling the story that the whole situation would never happen with me around.
I take pride in my ability to keep track of the keys, so yeah, the situation probably wouldn't happen with me around, but it's not 100%. Regardless, here's another funny story for you.
Anyway, for today it was pretty slow. We got a hold of some church movies that we'll be using in later lessons with S.Veronica and B.Kevin. I was finally able to pull allotment today, so that was nice. E.Mathemera and I experienced more despair when we got back to the flat, only to find the power out again. It was off for about 45min before it came back on.
I've developed the habit of saying "Huzzah Magic Powers!!!" every time the power comes back. For those of you wondering why I'd say that, go search "Studio C Dungeons and Dragons" on Youtube.
6/8
"A Weird Bragging Right"
My beloved (earthly) father is a business man. Businessmen spend a lot of time shaking hands and greeting people. Not only that, but my father is a friendly man, he shakes a lot of people's hands.
I still think I've got him beat. I think that in one month on my mission I've shaken more hands than he has in his lifetime. I'm over four months now, I'm pretty sure I've beaten him several times over.
It's a weird bragging right, but Africans love their handshakes. Since tomorrow is Sunday, I'll explain a standard Sunday for a missionary.
First, you hang out by the entrance and greet everyone with a handshake -sometimes two or three if they're friendly-, young or old, men or women, everyone. If you see them picking their noses as they walk up you grin and bear it, and shake their hands anyway (it doesn't happen often). At about 5 minutes to 10 you head in and take your seat. Most members don't arrive till late, so we end up turning our heads a lot to see who comes in late, and always hope that it'll be that one investigator you were hoping to see -but usually isn't- I find that it's YSA a good chunk of the time. After Sacrament meeting ends, you go and shake the hands of EVERYONE who attended, as well as the people just arriving. Did you shake their hand earlier as they entered? Yes? You're still shaking it again. You shake everyone's hands. Expect a repeat of this process at the end of church.
The good thing about handshakes here is that they aren't boring. I think I know...uhhh. Actually, there are too many variances of handshake here to count, but there are 5 basic and common ones. Six if you count this random one I learned in SA that I still can't properly preform. It's rather amazing the variety. They're so rooted in the culture that even the Mission President does them.
Well, there's my cool fun fact for the day.
So our day started rather simply with English Class, we taught B.Ernest the Law of Tithing, then prepared for what was to come next:
"Deja vu"
...
...
...
I think I've done this before.
...
...
...
Yup. It was in Vegas. I went with my pops there on a business trip (I hate Vegas BTW) we attended a kind of conference, set up a booth, and tried to get people to buy his signs. We were on our feet for hours just chatting and talking to people, and smiling. Lots of smiling.
That's pretty much what happened today. We set up a sign on a road near one of the 11 or so satellite campuses of Dar Es Salaam Uni (I've honestly lost track at this point). We then spent a few hours just handing out pamphlets. There was a bit of a panic moment when we actually ran out of pamphlets. We started handing out the Joseph Smith pamphlets that we had, you know: "I know that Joseph Smith was a Pamphlet, I mean Prophet." -Elder Calhoun. Those Pamphlets. I personally don't like handing those ones out, but we did anyway. Near as E.Bailey can figure we contacted roughly 150 people today between the four of us. Didn't take long either. I doubt we're gonna do this very often. Took us forever to write all the phone numbers on them.
There was a moment when I was hiding behind the sign writing phone numbers as fast as I could to hand a stack to E.Bailey.
I also discovered why he hates contacting women. These two girls walked up and started reading the sign, so I contacted them. I turn to some other people, contacted them, then the two girls walked over and started to pester me about helping them get to the U.S. I informed them that I was unable to help them, but it took me a while to shake them. Rather annoying.
I also had yet another person lecturing me about how I needed to learn Swahili. People do that here, random people, some we've never seen nor talked to before, will start telling us that we need to learn Swahili.
One time with E.Phokane, we were passing by a cafe and a guy greeted him, so he responded in Swahili, then we head over to the guy and without any preamble he begins lecturing E.Phokane on the importance of learning Swahili. He hadn't even spoken a single word in English to the guy before this lecture started. It's kinda funny.
6/9
I got lectured again today about my Swahili. I'm also starting to wonder if this is a daily thing, and I just haven't noticed up to this point. Quite possible, quite possible indeed.
Today was Sunday, which means chuch, which means a lot of handshakes. I also had to give a talk today. I found out yesterday, forgot, and remembered as I was saying my evening prayer. I prayed for inspiration, recieved, and gave a talk on the importance of remembering the Blessings we've received from the Lord. I talked about how stupid the Children of Israel were as Moses led them to the land of Canaan (been reading the Old Testament, I've facepalmed a few times now, also just finished Numbers today, so I'm happy), I also talked about Laman and Lemuel. After them, I talked about how the people forgot the Lord's Blessings and rejected him in the Book of Mormon (the book written by him, takes place after 4 Nephi). Then I just tied it back to them, and told them to not forget the blessings they've received from the Lord, and to take the time to look and find them. The people in the stories I told all had it easy, they'd had experiences with miracles first hand, not just miracles, huge ones, ones that clearly scream: THERE IS A GOD. Now, it's a little harder to see those blessings, but when we look, we will always find. The more you look, the more you realize that you won't be able to find them all.
Know ye not how the Lord has blessed you?
Anyway, I hadn't been given a speaking time, so I spoke for ten minutes, then we sang the intermediate hymn, then E.Amegakpoe got up and spoke for five minutes. There was twenty minutes until the meeting ended. I had a "whoops, I thought I talked long enough" moment in the back, but it was all good. B.Mhango (the first Councelor) got up and translated my talk into Swahili (not word for word, but the basic idea, and he used the same stories), he then spoke for a few minutes and ended the meeting.
I sat in the back in smug amusement as we sang the closing hymn: "Count your Blessings." I assume you know why I was a bit smug? No? I'll give you a hint: Alma 26:12,16.
I even had a moment in Priesthood where I thought that they'd announced that we'd be talking about Elder Renlund's talk, but I was wrong: it was Elder Rasband's. I had a "so close, yet so far" moment after that. It was fun at church today.
After church we went with the YSA, S.Veronica, and our investigator: S.Neria, to visit a Less Active member's home. It was a very long, and very crowded bus ride, but we got there.
I think it was a nice enough lesson. I missed most of it since it was in Swahili.
We ended up giving the wife a blessing before we left. Fortunately, I didn't have to do anything but stand in the circle. My companion had to anoint though. It's better if members do these things, but it is the choice of the one being blessed, so we just rolled with it.
Since it was YSA, there was no way we were leaving without some photos (they'll be on FaceBook by now), so if you're curious you can see a picture of Elder Benson in agony with the sun directly in his eyes, on the far right (looking at the picture) side of the group. Fun!
We visited another member after that, and very nice brother named Phineas. He actually served in this misson four or so years ago, so he's very nice to the missionaries who come to his branch.
"Having me as a Companion"
At the flat I ended up lecturing Elder Mathemera about Japan. This is a regular thing with us. I cheerfully tie anything we're talking about to Japan and share my knowledge. I always end with the line: "I know you won't remember any of this, but I take comfort in the fact that you'll remember it all during Judgement."
E.Mathemera has even told me that he'll probably remember me for that line. So I had a fun evening, we didn't even need dinner after all of that either. Too full from Phineas' place.
Dang. Nothing today. We'd hoped to go to the Zoo, but it didn't happen. The Senior Couple was busy with errands. So we did nothing but clean, and went to withdraw allotment. E.Mathemera got his just fine, I wasn't able to. We checked three different ATMs, but they were all out of money. It's really frustrating right now that that happened. I'm gonna have to go back into rationing mode with my money since I don't know how long it will be before they top off the ATMs. Great.
We hung out with the other Elders for a little while today (not long) then went looking for a place to email. E.Bailey and E.Amegakpoe went to the church, and we went to one in Salaama. I really hate the one in Salaama, but there's nothing you can do. The best I can say about it: it works.
The only other mildly interesting thing that happened was that I burned my mouth to oblivion when I went a little too ham with the spices, but I still finished dinner (was crying) so that's all that matters. Note to self: be careful with vinegar, but you need more than you used you stupid fool. You also don't need to add chili powder when you already have creole and two other spices. You did finally get the right amount of salt though, so don't forget it.
6/4
Argh. Still wasn't able to get allotment today. They need to top up the ATMs, but it hasn't happened yet. I even tried twice today, once in the morning, and once in the evening.
Anyway, today was a bit slow, we were able to teach a Sister named Brenda who we've been trying (without success) to teach for this entire transfer, so it finally happening is nice. Hopefully she'll be able to progress nicely.
Aside from that, really nothing today. Just a lot of time spent trying to see if there were people we could meet. No dice for various reasons, but such is the life of a Missionary.
6/6
Oh boy, you'll notice a missing day. We were on exchanges yesterday, which means no update.
What happened yesterday? I died. Figuratively yes, but almost literally. We headed over to DDM first thing in the morning (11am, not really first thing in the morning, but still the first appointment of the day). Nothing exciting there, just a regular meeting. The Shirtliffs came near the end and brought penutbutter bars, so they were warmly welcomed. E.Bailey and I chatted with S.Shirtliff for a while about stuff we had no control over, and no news in the x amount of time since we started our respective missions. It was fun.
After that, we headed over to a member's house: Brother Prince. His food is fire. He also gave us Chapate in addition to everything else, so I was extremely content with the meal. E.Amegakpoe and I had to rush out a little early to make an appointment (exchanges, remember?) and 4 Daladalas later, we arrived at the meeting point. We taught a Brother named Elisha (Eeh-lie-sha) and his family. E.Bailey and E.Amegakpoe had taught the wife once before at her work place, and this family VERY eagerly received us.
It was almost scary how happy they were to see us. They brought their three kids, their nephew, and their neighbor's kid to listen in. That was the normal part. What wasn't normal, was the extremely reverent attitude they had towards us. I've never had that before, but they definitely felt that we were representatives of Jesus Christ.
It was a very good lesson, but we'll (and by "we" I mean "they") have to give President Msane a call before they continue teaching this family. B.Elisha is a Preacher, so -apparently- the policy is that he has to talk to the Mission President before they can continue teaching.
I wish they'd keep a book of these little details, because I didn't know that one till later. It's almost a miracle that I know about the policy regarding the need for President to interview a Muslim before they're taught.
Regardless, it was a good lesson, and they fed us afterward. It was really good food, and I was extremely appreciative, but my appreciation lost hard core to E.Amegakpoe, who was excited to see a vegetable he hadn't seen since he was home.
Nothing much for the rest of the evening. We had to take a Daladala back, it didn't drop us where we thought it would, and we had to walk to the flat. It was late when we got back.
I was very happy though, E.Bailey has a copy of Articles of Faith by Elder Talmage that he left laying around, so I started reading it. I need to get a hold of a copy to finish. I was only able to reach Chapter 4.
Today was a lot less exciting. We held English Class (*I* held English Class) then we taught B.Ernest the Word of Wisdom. It went very well, he didn't have any issues with it.
After that, we went to S.Veronica's place with a Portable DVD Player and watched the Restoration video with her and B.Kevin. We left not long after that and approached the flat in horror (at least on my part) because the power was out.
From the fact that I'm updating, at least you know it came back on, but only after about half an hour. Well...a little less than that.
That's it for today.
6/7
"Mission: Impossible -Lockdown-"
-_-
...
...
-_-
My companion left the keys in our flat. It was during exchanges, so I wasn't there, but apparently E.Bailey hopped our wall, discovered that the electric fence was turned off, tore his pants on the spikes, and retrieved the keys. Loads of fun. I kinda wish I was there to see it.
My companion told me after he finished telling the story that the whole situation would never happen with me around.
I take pride in my ability to keep track of the keys, so yeah, the situation probably wouldn't happen with me around, but it's not 100%. Regardless, here's another funny story for you.
Anyway, for today it was pretty slow. We got a hold of some church movies that we'll be using in later lessons with S.Veronica and B.Kevin. I was finally able to pull allotment today, so that was nice. E.Mathemera and I experienced more despair when we got back to the flat, only to find the power out again. It was off for about 45min before it came back on.
I've developed the habit of saying "Huzzah Magic Powers!!!" every time the power comes back. For those of you wondering why I'd say that, go search "Studio C Dungeons and Dragons" on Youtube.
6/8
"A Weird Bragging Right"
My beloved (earthly) father is a business man. Businessmen spend a lot of time shaking hands and greeting people. Not only that, but my father is a friendly man, he shakes a lot of people's hands.
I still think I've got him beat. I think that in one month on my mission I've shaken more hands than he has in his lifetime. I'm over four months now, I'm pretty sure I've beaten him several times over.
It's a weird bragging right, but Africans love their handshakes. Since tomorrow is Sunday, I'll explain a standard Sunday for a missionary.
First, you hang out by the entrance and greet everyone with a handshake -sometimes two or three if they're friendly-, young or old, men or women, everyone. If you see them picking their noses as they walk up you grin and bear it, and shake their hands anyway (it doesn't happen often). At about 5 minutes to 10 you head in and take your seat. Most members don't arrive till late, so we end up turning our heads a lot to see who comes in late, and always hope that it'll be that one investigator you were hoping to see -but usually isn't- I find that it's YSA a good chunk of the time. After Sacrament meeting ends, you go and shake the hands of EVERYONE who attended, as well as the people just arriving. Did you shake their hand earlier as they entered? Yes? You're still shaking it again. You shake everyone's hands. Expect a repeat of this process at the end of church.
The good thing about handshakes here is that they aren't boring. I think I know...uhhh. Actually, there are too many variances of handshake here to count, but there are 5 basic and common ones. Six if you count this random one I learned in SA that I still can't properly preform. It's rather amazing the variety. They're so rooted in the culture that even the Mission President does them.
Well, there's my cool fun fact for the day.
So our day started rather simply with English Class, we taught B.Ernest the Law of Tithing, then prepared for what was to come next:
"Deja vu"
...
...
...
I think I've done this before.
...
...
...
Yup. It was in Vegas. I went with my pops there on a business trip (I hate Vegas BTW) we attended a kind of conference, set up a booth, and tried to get people to buy his signs. We were on our feet for hours just chatting and talking to people, and smiling. Lots of smiling.
That's pretty much what happened today. We set up a sign on a road near one of the 11 or so satellite campuses of Dar Es Salaam Uni (I've honestly lost track at this point). We then spent a few hours just handing out pamphlets. There was a bit of a panic moment when we actually ran out of pamphlets. We started handing out the Joseph Smith pamphlets that we had, you know: "I know that Joseph Smith was a Pamphlet, I mean Prophet." -Elder Calhoun. Those Pamphlets. I personally don't like handing those ones out, but we did anyway. Near as E.Bailey can figure we contacted roughly 150 people today between the four of us. Didn't take long either. I doubt we're gonna do this very often. Took us forever to write all the phone numbers on them.
There was a moment when I was hiding behind the sign writing phone numbers as fast as I could to hand a stack to E.Bailey.
I also discovered why he hates contacting women. These two girls walked up and started reading the sign, so I contacted them. I turn to some other people, contacted them, then the two girls walked over and started to pester me about helping them get to the U.S. I informed them that I was unable to help them, but it took me a while to shake them. Rather annoying.
I also had yet another person lecturing me about how I needed to learn Swahili. People do that here, random people, some we've never seen nor talked to before, will start telling us that we need to learn Swahili.
One time with E.Phokane, we were passing by a cafe and a guy greeted him, so he responded in Swahili, then we head over to the guy and without any preamble he begins lecturing E.Phokane on the importance of learning Swahili. He hadn't even spoken a single word in English to the guy before this lecture started. It's kinda funny.
6/9
I got lectured again today about my Swahili. I'm also starting to wonder if this is a daily thing, and I just haven't noticed up to this point. Quite possible, quite possible indeed.
Today was Sunday, which means chuch, which means a lot of handshakes. I also had to give a talk today. I found out yesterday, forgot, and remembered as I was saying my evening prayer. I prayed for inspiration, recieved, and gave a talk on the importance of remembering the Blessings we've received from the Lord. I talked about how stupid the Children of Israel were as Moses led them to the land of Canaan (been reading the Old Testament, I've facepalmed a few times now, also just finished Numbers today, so I'm happy), I also talked about Laman and Lemuel. After them, I talked about how the people forgot the Lord's Blessings and rejected him in the Book of Mormon (the book written by him, takes place after 4 Nephi). Then I just tied it back to them, and told them to not forget the blessings they've received from the Lord, and to take the time to look and find them. The people in the stories I told all had it easy, they'd had experiences with miracles first hand, not just miracles, huge ones, ones that clearly scream: THERE IS A GOD. Now, it's a little harder to see those blessings, but when we look, we will always find. The more you look, the more you realize that you won't be able to find them all.
Know ye not how the Lord has blessed you?
Anyway, I hadn't been given a speaking time, so I spoke for ten minutes, then we sang the intermediate hymn, then E.Amegakpoe got up and spoke for five minutes. There was twenty minutes until the meeting ended. I had a "whoops, I thought I talked long enough" moment in the back, but it was all good. B.Mhango (the first Councelor) got up and translated my talk into Swahili (not word for word, but the basic idea, and he used the same stories), he then spoke for a few minutes and ended the meeting.
I sat in the back in smug amusement as we sang the closing hymn: "Count your Blessings." I assume you know why I was a bit smug? No? I'll give you a hint: Alma 26:12,16.
I even had a moment in Priesthood where I thought that they'd announced that we'd be talking about Elder Renlund's talk, but I was wrong: it was Elder Rasband's. I had a "so close, yet so far" moment after that. It was fun at church today.
After church we went with the YSA, S.Veronica, and our investigator: S.Neria, to visit a Less Active member's home. It was a very long, and very crowded bus ride, but we got there.
I think it was a nice enough lesson. I missed most of it since it was in Swahili.
We ended up giving the wife a blessing before we left. Fortunately, I didn't have to do anything but stand in the circle. My companion had to anoint though. It's better if members do these things, but it is the choice of the one being blessed, so we just rolled with it.
Since it was YSA, there was no way we were leaving without some photos (they'll be on FaceBook by now), so if you're curious you can see a picture of Elder Benson in agony with the sun directly in his eyes, on the far right (looking at the picture) side of the group. Fun!
We visited another member after that, and very nice brother named Phineas. He actually served in this misson four or so years ago, so he's very nice to the missionaries who come to his branch.
"Having me as a Companion"
At the flat I ended up lecturing Elder Mathemera about Japan. This is a regular thing with us. I cheerfully tie anything we're talking about to Japan and share my knowledge. I always end with the line: "I know you won't remember any of this, but I take comfort in the fact that you'll remember it all during Judgement."
E.Mathemera has even told me that he'll probably remember me for that line. So I had a fun evening, we didn't even need dinner after all of that either. Too full from Phineas' place.
Monday, June 3, 2019
6/3/2019 Kinondoni Daladalas are the most inhumane thing I've ever seen.
5/27
Nothing much happened today. We tried to go to Choir practice, but weren't able to arrive till right as it finished. We spent half an hour trying to catch a Daladala to Kinondoni -where choir practice was held- and in that time, only two going there passed by: the first was so packed that we laughed at it. The second one is the one we took. The unfortunate reality, was that the second one was ARRIVING as the place we wanted to go, not taking the shortest route to it. The second longest route possible -as near as I can tell- was the one that was taken.
We were still able to arrive in time to greet the other missionaries. I chatted for a little while with Elder Redpath. I like him quite a bit, he's from the UK, and is overall a fun and interesting guy. I probably won't end up as a companion with him, he's white. It does happen, but only rarely. The mysterious and interesting increase in prices might have something to do with that.
Anyway, another Daladala ride back to the flat, and I spent some time reading Jesus the Christ. So close to done now. I'm on the Chapter that talks about the Savior's ministry to the spirits in the spirit world. I'm also noticing that that chapter needs some revisions. Some details that are shared are not in harmony with later revelation received in Doctrine and Covenants 138. Still good.
We went and cybered after that. Had to use the most in human and uncomfortable chair on earth while doing so, but I survived. I'm just a little bitter because I've sat on more comfortable concrete.
Some shopping after that, some minor cleaning, eating way too much food even though I wasn't hungry. Just a standard P-Day.
5/29
You may have noticed a missing day. I tried to finish Jesus the Christ before bed, and missed the mark by a chapter and a half. The fact that not much happened yesterday adds to my lack of urgency in updating it.
"What did happen yesterday?"
We taught a lesson at 9:30 in the morning with B.Brown, then headed over to Kinondoni for interviews. At Kinondoni it was mostly waiting and chatting with the other Elders. I've come to the conclusion that I like all the white Elders in my Zone. Not even intentional racism, we just bond over the mutual pain of being white in Tanzania. The fact that they're all funny helps. The list is as follows: E.Bailey, E.Redpath, E.Puddicombe, and E.Ackley. I'll also chuck E.Robinson on the list, mainly because I like the guy. We just chatted all day yesterday. We were also back after home safe because the public transport is impossible in the evening.
As far as today, we weren't able to catch a Daladala so we took a Bajaj. We had Zone Conference, tons of fun. I almost fell asleep in the morning, and President joked that he'd have to tell me that my mouth is closed again. ("You're talking too much, the others need to contribute") We had KFC for lunch, very nice. Ice Cream? YES PLEASE. Cake? Meh, I still ate it. Wasn't missing out on anything. Still not a cake guy.
Chatted with E.Ackley and E.Redpath during lunch and had a lot of fun, then back to the meeting. It ended eventually. We got back after home safe again. Kinondoni Daladalas are the most inhumane thing I've ever seen. We even caught one that took a route, to the place that we wanted to go, that I can only call "drunken." Despite that, I think we still beat some Sisters home. Crazy, huh? Fun, right? I'm dead tired. Oyasuminasai.
5/31
"Why didn't you update last night?"
"I have bigger priorities when I'm dying, and the power is out."
"Okay, first: why were you dying? Second: the power was out again?"
"I'll answer the second one first. Yes, the power was out again. It was out today too, it just came back on right as we got back to the flat."
"That's a nice piece of luck, so why were you dying?"
"I discovered that my body can't handle Ugali."
"Can't handle in what wa-"
"Don't ask."
Anyway, we taught B.Ernest yesterday. It was a really good lesson. He has accepted Baptism. Excuse me for a moment while I go do a happy dance in the corner.
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Okay, I'm back. Aside from that, yesterday was pretty slow. We held English Class, talked with B.Okanda, ate Ugali for lunch and immediately regretted it. Stuff like that.
The power went out in the evening, and didn't come back on till just before one in the morning. I hadn't really been able to sleep before it came back on. I was just dozing, and dying from a combination of heat stroke, and Ugali side effects. It came back on, I shut the windows, turned on the A/C and went to bed properly.
We did weekly planning today, so most of it was shot, but we did end up teaching B.Kevin and S.Veronica. They both gave me reasons to be proud of them during the lesson while we were talking.
B.Kevin finally landed a highly competitive job at an airline as a Flight Traffic Officer. It's one step closer to his dream of being a Pilot. He also shared the Book of Mormon with his Uncle. I jokingly offered him my name tag after I heard that.
S.Veronica shared her testimony with a Pastor when her sister hauled her to her church. It was a good story, and I felt proud of her too.
I take literally no credit for raising these two right. All credit to our Father in Heaven who has given this two extremely powerful testimonies. We shared Matthew 25 with them, then left. It was a really good lesson with them.
6/1
Whoohooo! New month! Plastic Bags are now illegal in Tanzania! Fun! FUn! FUN! FUN!!!
Okay, all sarcasm aside, today was pretty good. We got to teach B.Ernest: Usafi wa Kimwhili; The Law of Chastity. It was a pretty quick and easy lesson.
I also taught English Class today, and had two of my students show up, so that was nice. Two is the max I get on any regular basis.
We had to skip lunch because we spent so long teaching between English Class and the lesson with B.Ernest.
After that, shopping. Since last month is over and I have money left over, I "balled" while grocery shopping. I got a new Razor and some Boneless Chicken Breasts. Both of those things are stuff that are usually way out of my regular budget.
This evening I -with my companion's help- created a pretty good dinner using the chicken and some instant noodles. My companion helped me with creating the marinade for my chicken, then I cooked them by frying them up, cooked some instant noodles, dumped them in the pan with the chicken and fried them all together. Created a fake Yakisoba. It was really nice. I'll have to make it again tomorrow when I break my fast.
I was even crying while I ate it, not because it was that good, but because I happily went heavy on spices. It wasn't that spicy, I've just discovered that my body reacts strongly to spice. It's kinda funny, I can be crying, my nose can be running, I can be sweating, and I still won't think it's that hot. It's really funny.
Oh yeah, there is one other little tidbit about today: the power went off twice. It went off at 6 this morning, then came back at about 8, then went off about 8:45, then came back on at about 1:15ish.
E.Mathemera melted the plastic on our iron when he was determined to iron his shirt despite the power outage, and put it on the burner. He was really funny because he kept updating me on how damaged it was during the entire process. BUT!! It still works. Used it to iron four shirts as a piece of wisdom to combat the power outages in the future.
6/2
Fast Sunday. They really hurt as a proselyting missionary. Hunger? Not an issue. Most missionaries I know can go for days without food if they're actively working. I've never tested it my limits, but I'm more or less the same way. The issue is with water. We work in an extremely humid environment in the heat, thirst is an absolute killer on fast Sunday.
Breaking the fast was fun. I made the fake Yakisoba again, and my companion made too many pancakes, so he gave me one. I downed an Embe drink with it, and I'm down for the count. Can't move, no thank you. No, those aren't cookies you're seeing me snack on, they're just an illusion. I'm not snacking at all.
Anyway, we did have a good lesson today with Kevin's little sister: Neria. She told us straight up: she wants to get Baptized, and she wants to serve a mission. I think she's funny. B.Kevin told us that the missionaries had taught her everything before, she just needs a review. She had to leave before she got Baptized last time for her job. She works out in Zanzibar. She's a really good singer too.
Anyway, here's something funny today -that proves my point about people here disappearing and reappearing at random- we got an SMS today from a guy that told us he'd been given the number by a missionary named Coombs. Coombs has been home for 7 or so months now. It's kinda funny that this happens. Annoying when they disappear on you, funny when they reappear from another pair of missionaries.
Nothing much happened today. We tried to go to Choir practice, but weren't able to arrive till right as it finished. We spent half an hour trying to catch a Daladala to Kinondoni -where choir practice was held- and in that time, only two going there passed by: the first was so packed that we laughed at it. The second one is the one we took. The unfortunate reality, was that the second one was ARRIVING as the place we wanted to go, not taking the shortest route to it. The second longest route possible -as near as I can tell- was the one that was taken.
We were still able to arrive in time to greet the other missionaries. I chatted for a little while with Elder Redpath. I like him quite a bit, he's from the UK, and is overall a fun and interesting guy. I probably won't end up as a companion with him, he's white. It does happen, but only rarely. The mysterious and interesting increase in prices might have something to do with that.
Anyway, another Daladala ride back to the flat, and I spent some time reading Jesus the Christ. So close to done now. I'm on the Chapter that talks about the Savior's ministry to the spirits in the spirit world. I'm also noticing that that chapter needs some revisions. Some details that are shared are not in harmony with later revelation received in Doctrine and Covenants 138. Still good.
We went and cybered after that. Had to use the most in human and uncomfortable chair on earth while doing so, but I survived. I'm just a little bitter because I've sat on more comfortable concrete.
Some shopping after that, some minor cleaning, eating way too much food even though I wasn't hungry. Just a standard P-Day.
5/29
You may have noticed a missing day. I tried to finish Jesus the Christ before bed, and missed the mark by a chapter and a half. The fact that not much happened yesterday adds to my lack of urgency in updating it.
"What did happen yesterday?"
We taught a lesson at 9:30 in the morning with B.Brown, then headed over to Kinondoni for interviews. At Kinondoni it was mostly waiting and chatting with the other Elders. I've come to the conclusion that I like all the white Elders in my Zone. Not even intentional racism, we just bond over the mutual pain of being white in Tanzania. The fact that they're all funny helps. The list is as follows: E.Bailey, E.Redpath, E.Puddicombe, and E.Ackley. I'll also chuck E.Robinson on the list, mainly because I like the guy. We just chatted all day yesterday. We were also back after home safe because the public transport is impossible in the evening.
As far as today, we weren't able to catch a Daladala so we took a Bajaj. We had Zone Conference, tons of fun. I almost fell asleep in the morning, and President joked that he'd have to tell me that my mouth is closed again. ("You're talking too much, the others need to contribute") We had KFC for lunch, very nice. Ice Cream? YES PLEASE. Cake? Meh, I still ate it. Wasn't missing out on anything. Still not a cake guy.
Chatted with E.Ackley and E.Redpath during lunch and had a lot of fun, then back to the meeting. It ended eventually. We got back after home safe again. Kinondoni Daladalas are the most inhumane thing I've ever seen. We even caught one that took a route, to the place that we wanted to go, that I can only call "drunken." Despite that, I think we still beat some Sisters home. Crazy, huh? Fun, right? I'm dead tired. Oyasuminasai.
5/31
"Why didn't you update last night?"
"I have bigger priorities when I'm dying, and the power is out."
"Okay, first: why were you dying? Second: the power was out again?"
"I'll answer the second one first. Yes, the power was out again. It was out today too, it just came back on right as we got back to the flat."
"That's a nice piece of luck, so why were you dying?"
"I discovered that my body can't handle Ugali."
"Can't handle in what wa-"
"Don't ask."
Anyway, we taught B.Ernest yesterday. It was a really good lesson. He has accepted Baptism. Excuse me for a moment while I go do a happy dance in the corner.
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Okay, I'm back. Aside from that, yesterday was pretty slow. We held English Class, talked with B.Okanda, ate Ugali for lunch and immediately regretted it. Stuff like that.
The power went out in the evening, and didn't come back on till just before one in the morning. I hadn't really been able to sleep before it came back on. I was just dozing, and dying from a combination of heat stroke, and Ugali side effects. It came back on, I shut the windows, turned on the A/C and went to bed properly.
We did weekly planning today, so most of it was shot, but we did end up teaching B.Kevin and S.Veronica. They both gave me reasons to be proud of them during the lesson while we were talking.
B.Kevin finally landed a highly competitive job at an airline as a Flight Traffic Officer. It's one step closer to his dream of being a Pilot. He also shared the Book of Mormon with his Uncle. I jokingly offered him my name tag after I heard that.
S.Veronica shared her testimony with a Pastor when her sister hauled her to her church. It was a good story, and I felt proud of her too.
I take literally no credit for raising these two right. All credit to our Father in Heaven who has given this two extremely powerful testimonies. We shared Matthew 25 with them, then left. It was a really good lesson with them.
6/1
Whoohooo! New month! Plastic Bags are now illegal in Tanzania! Fun! FUn! FUN! FUN!!!
Okay, all sarcasm aside, today was pretty good. We got to teach B.Ernest: Usafi wa Kimwhili; The Law of Chastity. It was a pretty quick and easy lesson.
I also taught English Class today, and had two of my students show up, so that was nice. Two is the max I get on any regular basis.
We had to skip lunch because we spent so long teaching between English Class and the lesson with B.Ernest.
After that, shopping. Since last month is over and I have money left over, I "balled" while grocery shopping. I got a new Razor and some Boneless Chicken Breasts. Both of those things are stuff that are usually way out of my regular budget.
This evening I -with my companion's help- created a pretty good dinner using the chicken and some instant noodles. My companion helped me with creating the marinade for my chicken, then I cooked them by frying them up, cooked some instant noodles, dumped them in the pan with the chicken and fried them all together. Created a fake Yakisoba. It was really nice. I'll have to make it again tomorrow when I break my fast.
I was even crying while I ate it, not because it was that good, but because I happily went heavy on spices. It wasn't that spicy, I've just discovered that my body reacts strongly to spice. It's kinda funny, I can be crying, my nose can be running, I can be sweating, and I still won't think it's that hot. It's really funny.
Oh yeah, there is one other little tidbit about today: the power went off twice. It went off at 6 this morning, then came back at about 8, then went off about 8:45, then came back on at about 1:15ish.
E.Mathemera melted the plastic on our iron when he was determined to iron his shirt despite the power outage, and put it on the burner. He was really funny because he kept updating me on how damaged it was during the entire process. BUT!! It still works. Used it to iron four shirts as a piece of wisdom to combat the power outages in the future.
6/2
Fast Sunday. They really hurt as a proselyting missionary. Hunger? Not an issue. Most missionaries I know can go for days without food if they're actively working. I've never tested it my limits, but I'm more or less the same way. The issue is with water. We work in an extremely humid environment in the heat, thirst is an absolute killer on fast Sunday.
Breaking the fast was fun. I made the fake Yakisoba again, and my companion made too many pancakes, so he gave me one. I downed an Embe drink with it, and I'm down for the count. Can't move, no thank you. No, those aren't cookies you're seeing me snack on, they're just an illusion. I'm not snacking at all.
Anyway, we did have a good lesson today with Kevin's little sister: Neria. She told us straight up: she wants to get Baptized, and she wants to serve a mission. I think she's funny. B.Kevin told us that the missionaries had taught her everything before, she just needs a review. She had to leave before she got Baptized last time for her job. She works out in Zanzibar. She's a really good singer too.
Anyway, here's something funny today -that proves my point about people here disappearing and reappearing at random- we got an SMS today from a guy that told us he'd been given the number by a missionary named Coombs. Coombs has been home for 7 or so months now. It's kinda funny that this happens. Annoying when they disappear on you, funny when they reappear from another pair of missionaries.
5/27/2019 S.Veronica was Baptized
5/13
"A Difference of Accent"
Ever since I got here I have pronounced all the Swahili words like they were Japanese, and it's worked pretty well for me, but it's funny to watch E.Bailey. Nobody here can really understand his accent. Last Wednesday, we tried to buy some eggs. In Swahili, "egg" is "yai" and "eggs" is "mayai." E.Bailey tried a few times to buy them, and failed, so we left. We came back later, and I gave it a try. I pronounced it like it was Japanese, and this Ma-ma knew instantly what I wanted. First try. So, either my accent has changed without me noticing, or pronouncing everything Japanese works.
I remember a few times when I first got here, people not being able to understand what I was saying. It's gotten a little better since then, so my accent has probably changed. Well, so long as I don't lose my English, it'll be fine.
Anyway, we had choir practice today. I found it boring, so I pulled out the Old Testament and read as we sang. It wasn't hard, I know "God be with you till we meet again" a little too well by this point. It's super over-played by missionaries. I much prefer: "Lord, Bless Us Ere We Part" - seems less like a funeral, but I'm not the one picking the song, so whatever.
We hung out at E.Bailey's flat after that and had lunch. I had the pleasant experience of setting aside a chicken's bladder as I was trying not to thing too much about the fact that I was pulling meat off it's spine. Note to self: once home, always get boneless meat. Always.
E.Mathemera and I had to go hunting for a place to cyber too, our usual place was closed for no apparent reason, so we had to use one that the other Elders refuse to use because of how bad it is. I didn't have a horrible experience with it, but I know that trying to call home from the computer I was using would have been no good. Sore wa muri desu yo! Muri, muri, muri!
After that we did a deep cleaning of the flat. Well, "deep" being sweeping and mopping. I did the mopping if you're curious.
5/14
Another day, another visit to S.Veronica. We taught her from Moroni 6, and had some pretty good thoughts. She is very well prepared for her Baptism.
So, I forgot to mention this new habit I've developed. When we have extended moments of downtime, I whip out the Bible, and read from the Old Testament. I'm reading it like a book, and I'll probably have it finished by the end of the year. At the latest. I'm close to finishing Genesis now. This new habit came around after I got a new set of scriptures, a mini set for proselyting. When I showed them off to my parents they mentioned "The Military" so I assume they're a set normally given to soldiers. They're nice though. I like them.
Nothing else for today, E.Mathemera and I walked around the area to help him learn it better.
5/15
Had DDM today, then ate lunch with the Tabata sisters. It was nice enough, but I had to do the training during DDM today, so I talked about conversion. I sorta got a discussion running about conversion. My first question was: How do you check if people are converted? The biggest one mentioned was commitments. If they're keeping commitments, then it's a sign of a willingness to repent.
My second question was: How can we open people up to be converted? That one was mostly me talking since we were short on time. Essentially, you need to open them up to the spirit. I suggested that every opportunity during a lesson should be taken to help them feel the spirit. The first opportunity is the Opening Prayer, any time you testify, and when you share things of eternal truth. I also mentioned scriptures.
It was nice enough, but I only feel that it was "all right" the discussion got a little derailed at one point when everyone focused on an example I'd given, like it was how I actually taught, and spent way too much time on that.
After that, E.Mathemera and I took a Daladala back to our area, and had to wait a little while for our appointments to show up. Turns out, B.Ernest showed up two hours too early, and left. B.Dennis came two hours late, and we did end up teaching him. It was nice, but I had to haul E.Amegakpoe over to help me teach since E.Mathemera was busy doing an interview with E.Bailey (one of his duties as District Leader). Once they finished, E.Mathemera tagged in, and we taught the lesson. We're still learning how to work together, so today was a good learning opportunity.
We visited a Sister in the branch after that, and parted for the evening. E.Mathemera made dinner, and shared some with me. I did the dishes as thanks. It was a good day. I like it when they're busy.
5/16
Had a new student show up for English Class today. I had to teach her about "tenses." I kept it simple and talked about "past," "present," and "future" tenses. I didn't get any deeper. I defined some words for her after that, and she left. I still can't remember, nor say her name, but I'm pretty sure (99%) that she's Muslim. Pretty brave of her coming to a Christian Church - even if it was only for English Class.
We taught B.Ernest today, we're working over the Plan of Salvation with him, and he's an interesting one. We extended Baptism, but he told us that he'd already been Baptized. We didn't out right say anything like: "It doesn't count," but said it in a roundabout way, and re-explained about the priesthood. We didn't force him to give us another answer, but we did encourage him to pray about it. We also invited him to attend S.Veronica's Baptism on Sunday, and got a clear response that he'd be there after a little pushing. He gave us a non-committal answer, and I whipped out something that I've been waiting to use for a long time: 1 Nephi 3:7. Paraphrased: "The Lord always prepares a way for his commandments to be fulfilled." Since we are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy, the Lord will provide a way for us to keep it holy, so long as we exert all our efforts on our end to do so. We got a hard "yes" from him after that. Felt good. I've been waiting for a chance to use that one since my first transfer in the mission, never had a good opportunity.
We then traveled to Ma-ma Kawinga's place with the other Elders to visit her. It was a lot of traveling. Had to take two Daladala and a Bajaj, but we got there.
We shared a spiritual thought, ate dinner there, and left. That one sentence comprises about an hour and a half. Getting back was the reverse process of getting there: a Bajaj (finally learned how to spell that word while riding it), and two Daladala. Fortunately, we got seats for three of the four Daladala rides, but it still wasn't fun. At one point, I was standing butt to butt with one guy. Literally. There was no way to move, and nowhere to move to. It's always an exercise in agonizing discomfort when they're that full. It's worse about 3 pm when school is letting out.
E.Bailey has taken to referring to the school children as "cockroaches" and I'm inclined to agree. Take my previous descriptions of Daladalas, and combine it with what you know of cockroaches, then you'll understand why I agree.
When we got off the Daladala near our flat it was raining - hard. So we sprinted through the rain to get back. It lightened up as we got close to our flat, so we walked the rest of the way. We were both still completely soaked. Fun, fun, fun. -_-
5/17
MORE...RAIN>>>NOOOOOOO! JK. There was rain again today, but I'm not complaining. It beats the heat in my arrogant opinion. Apparently, winter is just starting here. It feels rather weird for me, seeing as this is when summer is just about to start. Not here.
Anyway, we taught S.Veronica today, and tried to teach another lesson, but the rain interfered. We'll try again tomorrow.
For how few tasks we completed today, it was very busy. I like that.
5/18
A slow day, for the first half. We held English Class, and B.John was the only one to show for it, at about 12:50 or so, right before it was supposed to end. I let it run over.
Fortunately, B.Robert was told about the Baptism after the fiasco last week with the bucket brigade, so the font was filled today. Now we just need the Couples to bring some Baptismal clothes, and we'll be good to go.
We got a call not too long after lunch by a Brother named Elias, so we paid a visit to him with a member showing the way and taught what I think was a good lesson. I can't be sure since it was all in Swahili, and I was the only one who needed a translator. I caught some of it though, so it seems like I'm learning Swahili the same way I learned Japanese: one word at a time, and with constant exposure. I do take a small amount of pride in being the best at Swahili time, but E.Bailey is about to surpass me, so it won't last long. He is actively studying though, so it's not too surprising.
We visited B.Steven after that, and shared a spiritual thought with him. It rained pretty hard while we were there, but fortunately stopped before we left.
We shared Alma 32:28-32. It compares faith (or the Word of God) to a seed. I like it, I've been using this a lot recently. This one, and Ether 12 are the really good ones for talking about faith. There are others, but these are the two I have memorized, and can whip out in a moments notice.
5/19
S.Veronica was Baptized today after church by a brother named Meshack. E.Bailey Baptized one of their Investigators named Hadija right afterward. It was a nice service.
S.Hadija cried during her testimony, and S.Veronica was crying after her testimony. Full on crying too, practically inconsolable. I was worried, but she looked so happy that even though I was worried, I couldn't stop smiling. E.Mathemera called her later this evening, and told me that she sounded very happy. I must say: I'm rather looking forward to the second half of her Baptism. The one of fire, and of the Holy Ghost. That will happen next Sunday.
We had a meeting with the Branch Leadership (literally just the first counselor, the branch clerk, and a member) discussing needs in the Chang'ombe Branch, as well as Missionary Work. We've now been given a side quest (which may turn out to be a story quest, depends on how the story progresses) about hunting down inactive members. It looks like it will be a lot of work. Fun, fun, fun.
We went and visited a member after that. I ate until bursting. I commented that I'd had too much food (or something in the spirit of that style of comment) and E.Bailey laughed at me saying that he would be fed four plates like I had back in Kenya. Apparently, the line: "Eat, Elders" is quite a fearsome one in Kenya. One of our host's sisters kept bugging me about being too quiet.
Everyone here thinks I'm super quiet. I personally don't think I am, I just don't talk unless I have something to say. People her just don't get that mentality, and I'm left wondering how many people back home thought I was quiet. I had a lot of people tell me I was quiet in the MTC. I also think I've gone off on this tangent before. Anyway, we were there for a long while, and headed back to the flat by Bajaj. They call them "Tuk Tuk" in Kenya. Try looking up a picture. They're loads of "fun." Still trying to figure out what we're gonna do tomorrow. Cleaning, certainly. What else? I dunno. Kariakoo?
5/20
Yep. Kariakoo. We headed there after a guy came and did maintenance on our a/c. It runs a little better now, so I'm happy. Right when it's the most useless: winter.
Anyway, Kariakoo was crazy. I ran into someone -who I think- is the same guy that grabbed me the first time I was there. Guess what he did? Grabbed me. My right shirt sleeve specifically, the first time.
So I was walking, and someone grabs my shirt sleeve hard. I look back and it's either the same guy, or a guy with the same look on his face. I grabbed the sleeve with my left hand, and jerked it out of his grip without hesitating. I've been through this song and dance once before, now that I have an appropriate response planned: I don't hesitate.
Caught up with the other Elders, and we stopped at another shop. E.Bailey was looking for a webcam. It wasn't there, so we moved on. As I turned to leave, this guy walks up and grabs my left arm. I jerk it free, and follow the other Elders. It was only a few minutes later that I realized that my left front pocket is empty.
That's the pocket I put my sweat rag in, and the way I fold it just so happens to make it look like the wallets they use here.
E.Bailey laughed when I mentioned the theft, but I hadn't taken it out of my pocket since I'd put it in this morning. So someone stole it, and I'm inclined to think that it happened when that guy grabbed my arm. Fun, right?
Nothing else happened today. Just some cleaning, went and cybered, some shopping, it was a pretty nice P-Day.
5/21
We got an SMS early this morning. One of our PIs was telling us that he'd meet us at 10 today. It took me a while to see this message, and E.Mathemera a while to remember that he'd seen this message, so we were rushing like crazy the second we remembered/saw.
We taught the guy, met up with the other Elders to exchange some paper work (more like the Devil's work) and grabbed lunch together.
Side note: we have a new investigator, his name is: Brown. ...I have long since stopped questioning the names here. You shouldn't ask either. It'll save your brains from over-heating.
After lunch, we headed over to the church to do some comp study, and E.Mathemera checked to see if the church computer was working. It does. They also installed Wi-fi last Saturday, and Sunday was the first day it was working, so the YSA will be a lot happier to attend from now on. I think you can find their FaceBook page if you search "Chang'ombe" on FaceBook. Apparently, you can find pictures from the Baptism on there. I haven't seen it, I've just heard about it. Though, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
We tried to visit S.Veronica today, but B.Kevin wasn't around to translate, so we decided to see her tomorrow instead.
Another side note: during the lesson with Brown, "I" came up with a pretty good analogy to explain the Priesthood. Essentially, God is like the Head Coach of a little league team. The Assistant Coach is like the Prophet (or other Priesthood holder) who carries out the Head Coach's instructions. While the kids listen to him, they don't respect him, but the Authority he has from the Head Coach. I did a better job explaining it during the lesson, but the Spirit was leading that one, so this is the best job I can do now.
5/22
Sho! I was boarding the flight here on this day 4 months ago. Time? Doesn't exist. It's already gone. The days are long, the weeks are short, the months are fast, and the years are already gone. I came up with that one (I think?).
Nothing much else today.
5/22
Slow day. We almost had a new Investigator, but he lives in the other Elder's area, so we passed him over to them. The funny thing is that he's sorta a referral. He's friends with B.Ernest, one of E.Mathemera and I's investigators.
B.Ernest told him about being taught, and this guy decided he liked the sound of it all, and came by the church today. He seems excited to learn, and I'm sad that I don't get to teach him, but so be it. So long as he's taught, it's fine. His name is Geoffrey.
We hit up a new grocery store today, and both wept in agony when we realized that it was better in every way than the one we usually use. The reason why the pain, is that it's a half hour walk there - one way. We only checked it out today since we were already close. We had tried to visit S.Veronica, but she wasn't around.
In any case, I was overjoyed to finally find chocolate that I'd been searching for for 9 or so weeks now. It may be cheap, but it's chocolate.
We had to walk back in the pouring rain, after the sun had set, so it was a bit miserable. We will be returning though. That place has everything we're after. Maybe once a week?
5/23
It rained this morning, so I was a little surprised when I had two students show up for English Class today. Taught them both, and the second one kept trying to pull the "just one more" to get me to extend the class time, but I ended it anyway because B.Ernest showed up for us to teach. Told the guy to wait till next time. Apparently, my English Class is one that keeps my students desperate for more...
Well, that weird guy aside, the lesson with B.Ernest went well. We decided that we would try and extend Baptism again, so we used the scriptures to teach so that he'd understand a little more about the priesthood. Apparently, we made it "too clear" and my companion said we "bombed" him with scriptures. We talked a bit more, and finished the Plan of Salvation, then we extended Baptism once more. He told us with a great amount of sincerity that he'd pray about it.
I have quite a bit of hope that he'll do it too, he's the only investigator (aside from S.Veronica) that I've had who so readily does their reading assignments. Most usually just give us excuses.
After that, a Brother named Okanda paid a visit. He's the one who referred B.Ernest to us (this was after Ernest had already left) to see if he'd come today. We chatted for a bit, and he left satisfied that Ernest had come.
5/24
We had correlation today, and it took a long time to finish. After that, we had to do weekly planning, so the day was pretty shot as far as the work. We ended up visiting a member, a brother named Luis. He's a nice guy, and he's the one who referred B.Kevin.
Aside from that, not much else to tell. Today was pretty busy, just light on variety of busy.
5/25
It was a very empty day. We spent most of it trapped at the church because of the rain. When it gets heavy enough, you don't play. It gets dangerous, and the traffic gets worse. It somehow goes from everyone driving like there's a mild disaster, to everyone driving like it's the end of the world. I don't get it, but that's how it goes.
Because of the rain, there were some cancelled plans and appointments, but we were finally able to see S.Veronica this evening. She's doing well, and she's ready for Confirmation.
5/26
Well, the Confirmations went well. Both S.Veronica and S.Hadija were Confirmed without any big issues. S.Hadija's Confirmation was very nice - it was in English. I assume S.Veronica's was very nice - it was in Swahili.
After church was over I moved quickly and got President Kawinga and B.Mhango to sign what they needed to. I don't play when it comes to paperwork. It may be annoying, but I recognize and understand the importance of it. Remember: If it isn't recorded on Earth, it won't be recorded in Heaven.
Anyway, after that E.Mathemera and I went with a large number of YSA to visit a less-active member. E.Bailey had to conduct an interview, so he couldn't tag along.
What little of the visit I understood was nice, but it was almost all in Swahili, and we had to spend an hour waiting for this brother to come back home. Swahili time is an hour late to everything I guess.
E.Mathemera and I visited Kevin in his home after that and they fed us dinner. I made it through the Ugali. Barely. Slowly getting used to it.
We did a quick visit to S.Veronica's home after that with Kevin tagging along. She wasn't feeling well, but we were able to share a pretty nice message before we left.
"A Difference of Accent"
Ever since I got here I have pronounced all the Swahili words like they were Japanese, and it's worked pretty well for me, but it's funny to watch E.Bailey. Nobody here can really understand his accent. Last Wednesday, we tried to buy some eggs. In Swahili, "egg" is "yai" and "eggs" is "mayai." E.Bailey tried a few times to buy them, and failed, so we left. We came back later, and I gave it a try. I pronounced it like it was Japanese, and this Ma-ma knew instantly what I wanted. First try. So, either my accent has changed without me noticing, or pronouncing everything Japanese works.
I remember a few times when I first got here, people not being able to understand what I was saying. It's gotten a little better since then, so my accent has probably changed. Well, so long as I don't lose my English, it'll be fine.
Anyway, we had choir practice today. I found it boring, so I pulled out the Old Testament and read as we sang. It wasn't hard, I know "God be with you till we meet again" a little too well by this point. It's super over-played by missionaries. I much prefer: "Lord, Bless Us Ere We Part" - seems less like a funeral, but I'm not the one picking the song, so whatever.
We hung out at E.Bailey's flat after that and had lunch. I had the pleasant experience of setting aside a chicken's bladder as I was trying not to thing too much about the fact that I was pulling meat off it's spine. Note to self: once home, always get boneless meat. Always.
E.Mathemera and I had to go hunting for a place to cyber too, our usual place was closed for no apparent reason, so we had to use one that the other Elders refuse to use because of how bad it is. I didn't have a horrible experience with it, but I know that trying to call home from the computer I was using would have been no good. Sore wa muri desu yo! Muri, muri, muri!
After that we did a deep cleaning of the flat. Well, "deep" being sweeping and mopping. I did the mopping if you're curious.
5/14
Another day, another visit to S.Veronica. We taught her from Moroni 6, and had some pretty good thoughts. She is very well prepared for her Baptism.
So, I forgot to mention this new habit I've developed. When we have extended moments of downtime, I whip out the Bible, and read from the Old Testament. I'm reading it like a book, and I'll probably have it finished by the end of the year. At the latest. I'm close to finishing Genesis now. This new habit came around after I got a new set of scriptures, a mini set for proselyting. When I showed them off to my parents they mentioned "The Military" so I assume they're a set normally given to soldiers. They're nice though. I like them.
Nothing else for today, E.Mathemera and I walked around the area to help him learn it better.
5/15
Had DDM today, then ate lunch with the Tabata sisters. It was nice enough, but I had to do the training during DDM today, so I talked about conversion. I sorta got a discussion running about conversion. My first question was: How do you check if people are converted? The biggest one mentioned was commitments. If they're keeping commitments, then it's a sign of a willingness to repent.
My second question was: How can we open people up to be converted? That one was mostly me talking since we were short on time. Essentially, you need to open them up to the spirit. I suggested that every opportunity during a lesson should be taken to help them feel the spirit. The first opportunity is the Opening Prayer, any time you testify, and when you share things of eternal truth. I also mentioned scriptures.
It was nice enough, but I only feel that it was "all right" the discussion got a little derailed at one point when everyone focused on an example I'd given, like it was how I actually taught, and spent way too much time on that.
After that, E.Mathemera and I took a Daladala back to our area, and had to wait a little while for our appointments to show up. Turns out, B.Ernest showed up two hours too early, and left. B.Dennis came two hours late, and we did end up teaching him. It was nice, but I had to haul E.Amegakpoe over to help me teach since E.Mathemera was busy doing an interview with E.Bailey (one of his duties as District Leader). Once they finished, E.Mathemera tagged in, and we taught the lesson. We're still learning how to work together, so today was a good learning opportunity.
We visited a Sister in the branch after that, and parted for the evening. E.Mathemera made dinner, and shared some with me. I did the dishes as thanks. It was a good day. I like it when they're busy.
5/16
Had a new student show up for English Class today. I had to teach her about "tenses." I kept it simple and talked about "past," "present," and "future" tenses. I didn't get any deeper. I defined some words for her after that, and she left. I still can't remember, nor say her name, but I'm pretty sure (99%) that she's Muslim. Pretty brave of her coming to a Christian Church - even if it was only for English Class.
We taught B.Ernest today, we're working over the Plan of Salvation with him, and he's an interesting one. We extended Baptism, but he told us that he'd already been Baptized. We didn't out right say anything like: "It doesn't count," but said it in a roundabout way, and re-explained about the priesthood. We didn't force him to give us another answer, but we did encourage him to pray about it. We also invited him to attend S.Veronica's Baptism on Sunday, and got a clear response that he'd be there after a little pushing. He gave us a non-committal answer, and I whipped out something that I've been waiting to use for a long time: 1 Nephi 3:7. Paraphrased: "The Lord always prepares a way for his commandments to be fulfilled." Since we are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy, the Lord will provide a way for us to keep it holy, so long as we exert all our efforts on our end to do so. We got a hard "yes" from him after that. Felt good. I've been waiting for a chance to use that one since my first transfer in the mission, never had a good opportunity.
We then traveled to Ma-ma Kawinga's place with the other Elders to visit her. It was a lot of traveling. Had to take two Daladala and a Bajaj, but we got there.
We shared a spiritual thought, ate dinner there, and left. That one sentence comprises about an hour and a half. Getting back was the reverse process of getting there: a Bajaj (finally learned how to spell that word while riding it), and two Daladala. Fortunately, we got seats for three of the four Daladala rides, but it still wasn't fun. At one point, I was standing butt to butt with one guy. Literally. There was no way to move, and nowhere to move to. It's always an exercise in agonizing discomfort when they're that full. It's worse about 3 pm when school is letting out.
E.Bailey has taken to referring to the school children as "cockroaches" and I'm inclined to agree. Take my previous descriptions of Daladalas, and combine it with what you know of cockroaches, then you'll understand why I agree.
When we got off the Daladala near our flat it was raining - hard. So we sprinted through the rain to get back. It lightened up as we got close to our flat, so we walked the rest of the way. We were both still completely soaked. Fun, fun, fun. -_-
5/17
MORE...RAIN>>>NOOOOOOO! JK. There was rain again today, but I'm not complaining. It beats the heat in my arrogant opinion. Apparently, winter is just starting here. It feels rather weird for me, seeing as this is when summer is just about to start. Not here.
Anyway, we taught S.Veronica today, and tried to teach another lesson, but the rain interfered. We'll try again tomorrow.
For how few tasks we completed today, it was very busy. I like that.
5/18
A slow day, for the first half. We held English Class, and B.John was the only one to show for it, at about 12:50 or so, right before it was supposed to end. I let it run over.
Fortunately, B.Robert was told about the Baptism after the fiasco last week with the bucket brigade, so the font was filled today. Now we just need the Couples to bring some Baptismal clothes, and we'll be good to go.
We got a call not too long after lunch by a Brother named Elias, so we paid a visit to him with a member showing the way and taught what I think was a good lesson. I can't be sure since it was all in Swahili, and I was the only one who needed a translator. I caught some of it though, so it seems like I'm learning Swahili the same way I learned Japanese: one word at a time, and with constant exposure. I do take a small amount of pride in being the best at Swahili time, but E.Bailey is about to surpass me, so it won't last long. He is actively studying though, so it's not too surprising.
We visited B.Steven after that, and shared a spiritual thought with him. It rained pretty hard while we were there, but fortunately stopped before we left.
We shared Alma 32:28-32. It compares faith (or the Word of God) to a seed. I like it, I've been using this a lot recently. This one, and Ether 12 are the really good ones for talking about faith. There are others, but these are the two I have memorized, and can whip out in a moments notice.
5/19
S.Veronica was Baptized today after church by a brother named Meshack. E.Bailey Baptized one of their Investigators named Hadija right afterward. It was a nice service.
S.Hadija cried during her testimony, and S.Veronica was crying after her testimony. Full on crying too, practically inconsolable. I was worried, but she looked so happy that even though I was worried, I couldn't stop smiling. E.Mathemera called her later this evening, and told me that she sounded very happy. I must say: I'm rather looking forward to the second half of her Baptism. The one of fire, and of the Holy Ghost. That will happen next Sunday.
We had a meeting with the Branch Leadership (literally just the first counselor, the branch clerk, and a member) discussing needs in the Chang'ombe Branch, as well as Missionary Work. We've now been given a side quest (which may turn out to be a story quest, depends on how the story progresses) about hunting down inactive members. It looks like it will be a lot of work. Fun, fun, fun.
We went and visited a member after that. I ate until bursting. I commented that I'd had too much food (or something in the spirit of that style of comment) and E.Bailey laughed at me saying that he would be fed four plates like I had back in Kenya. Apparently, the line: "Eat, Elders" is quite a fearsome one in Kenya. One of our host's sisters kept bugging me about being too quiet.
Everyone here thinks I'm super quiet. I personally don't think I am, I just don't talk unless I have something to say. People her just don't get that mentality, and I'm left wondering how many people back home thought I was quiet. I had a lot of people tell me I was quiet in the MTC. I also think I've gone off on this tangent before. Anyway, we were there for a long while, and headed back to the flat by Bajaj. They call them "Tuk Tuk" in Kenya. Try looking up a picture. They're loads of "fun." Still trying to figure out what we're gonna do tomorrow. Cleaning, certainly. What else? I dunno. Kariakoo?
5/20
Yep. Kariakoo. We headed there after a guy came and did maintenance on our a/c. It runs a little better now, so I'm happy. Right when it's the most useless: winter.
Anyway, Kariakoo was crazy. I ran into someone -who I think- is the same guy that grabbed me the first time I was there. Guess what he did? Grabbed me. My right shirt sleeve specifically, the first time.
So I was walking, and someone grabs my shirt sleeve hard. I look back and it's either the same guy, or a guy with the same look on his face. I grabbed the sleeve with my left hand, and jerked it out of his grip without hesitating. I've been through this song and dance once before, now that I have an appropriate response planned: I don't hesitate.
Caught up with the other Elders, and we stopped at another shop. E.Bailey was looking for a webcam. It wasn't there, so we moved on. As I turned to leave, this guy walks up and grabs my left arm. I jerk it free, and follow the other Elders. It was only a few minutes later that I realized that my left front pocket is empty.
That's the pocket I put my sweat rag in, and the way I fold it just so happens to make it look like the wallets they use here.
E.Bailey laughed when I mentioned the theft, but I hadn't taken it out of my pocket since I'd put it in this morning. So someone stole it, and I'm inclined to think that it happened when that guy grabbed my arm. Fun, right?
Nothing else happened today. Just some cleaning, went and cybered, some shopping, it was a pretty nice P-Day.
5/21
We got an SMS early this morning. One of our PIs was telling us that he'd meet us at 10 today. It took me a while to see this message, and E.Mathemera a while to remember that he'd seen this message, so we were rushing like crazy the second we remembered/saw.
We taught the guy, met up with the other Elders to exchange some paper work (more like the Devil's work) and grabbed lunch together.
Side note: we have a new investigator, his name is: Brown. ...I have long since stopped questioning the names here. You shouldn't ask either. It'll save your brains from over-heating.
After lunch, we headed over to the church to do some comp study, and E.Mathemera checked to see if the church computer was working. It does. They also installed Wi-fi last Saturday, and Sunday was the first day it was working, so the YSA will be a lot happier to attend from now on. I think you can find their FaceBook page if you search "Chang'ombe" on FaceBook. Apparently, you can find pictures from the Baptism on there. I haven't seen it, I've just heard about it. Though, it doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
We tried to visit S.Veronica today, but B.Kevin wasn't around to translate, so we decided to see her tomorrow instead.
Another side note: during the lesson with Brown, "I" came up with a pretty good analogy to explain the Priesthood. Essentially, God is like the Head Coach of a little league team. The Assistant Coach is like the Prophet (or other Priesthood holder) who carries out the Head Coach's instructions. While the kids listen to him, they don't respect him, but the Authority he has from the Head Coach. I did a better job explaining it during the lesson, but the Spirit was leading that one, so this is the best job I can do now.
5/22
Sho! I was boarding the flight here on this day 4 months ago. Time? Doesn't exist. It's already gone. The days are long, the weeks are short, the months are fast, and the years are already gone. I came up with that one (I think?).
Nothing much else today.
5/22
Slow day. We almost had a new Investigator, but he lives in the other Elder's area, so we passed him over to them. The funny thing is that he's sorta a referral. He's friends with B.Ernest, one of E.Mathemera and I's investigators.
B.Ernest told him about being taught, and this guy decided he liked the sound of it all, and came by the church today. He seems excited to learn, and I'm sad that I don't get to teach him, but so be it. So long as he's taught, it's fine. His name is Geoffrey.
We hit up a new grocery store today, and both wept in agony when we realized that it was better in every way than the one we usually use. The reason why the pain, is that it's a half hour walk there - one way. We only checked it out today since we were already close. We had tried to visit S.Veronica, but she wasn't around.
In any case, I was overjoyed to finally find chocolate that I'd been searching for for 9 or so weeks now. It may be cheap, but it's chocolate.
We had to walk back in the pouring rain, after the sun had set, so it was a bit miserable. We will be returning though. That place has everything we're after. Maybe once a week?
5/23
It rained this morning, so I was a little surprised when I had two students show up for English Class today. Taught them both, and the second one kept trying to pull the "just one more" to get me to extend the class time, but I ended it anyway because B.Ernest showed up for us to teach. Told the guy to wait till next time. Apparently, my English Class is one that keeps my students desperate for more...
Well, that weird guy aside, the lesson with B.Ernest went well. We decided that we would try and extend Baptism again, so we used the scriptures to teach so that he'd understand a little more about the priesthood. Apparently, we made it "too clear" and my companion said we "bombed" him with scriptures. We talked a bit more, and finished the Plan of Salvation, then we extended Baptism once more. He told us with a great amount of sincerity that he'd pray about it.
I have quite a bit of hope that he'll do it too, he's the only investigator (aside from S.Veronica) that I've had who so readily does their reading assignments. Most usually just give us excuses.
After that, a Brother named Okanda paid a visit. He's the one who referred B.Ernest to us (this was after Ernest had already left) to see if he'd come today. We chatted for a bit, and he left satisfied that Ernest had come.
5/24
We had correlation today, and it took a long time to finish. After that, we had to do weekly planning, so the day was pretty shot as far as the work. We ended up visiting a member, a brother named Luis. He's a nice guy, and he's the one who referred B.Kevin.
Aside from that, not much else to tell. Today was pretty busy, just light on variety of busy.
5/25
It was a very empty day. We spent most of it trapped at the church because of the rain. When it gets heavy enough, you don't play. It gets dangerous, and the traffic gets worse. It somehow goes from everyone driving like there's a mild disaster, to everyone driving like it's the end of the world. I don't get it, but that's how it goes.
Because of the rain, there were some cancelled plans and appointments, but we were finally able to see S.Veronica this evening. She's doing well, and she's ready for Confirmation.
5/26
Well, the Confirmations went well. Both S.Veronica and S.Hadija were Confirmed without any big issues. S.Hadija's Confirmation was very nice - it was in English. I assume S.Veronica's was very nice - it was in Swahili.
After church was over I moved quickly and got President Kawinga and B.Mhango to sign what they needed to. I don't play when it comes to paperwork. It may be annoying, but I recognize and understand the importance of it. Remember: If it isn't recorded on Earth, it won't be recorded in Heaven.
Anyway, after that E.Mathemera and I went with a large number of YSA to visit a less-active member. E.Bailey had to conduct an interview, so he couldn't tag along.
What little of the visit I understood was nice, but it was almost all in Swahili, and we had to spend an hour waiting for this brother to come back home. Swahili time is an hour late to everything I guess.
E.Mathemera and I visited Kevin in his home after that and they fed us dinner. I made it through the Ugali. Barely. Slowly getting used to it.
We did a quick visit to S.Veronica's home after that with Kevin tagging along. She wasn't feeling well, but we were able to share a pretty nice message before we left.
Monday, May 13, 2019
5/13/2019 The Death of Sanity, and The Death of Hope.
5/9
Things have been rather crazy this week. We spent Monday in a Trio. It was: E.Bailey (District Leader), E.Tonda, and I. We were like that for Monday, and most of Tuesday. Nothing happened Monday. It rained, and every Internet cafe was closed because some important guy died, and they paraded his body through the streets. So we hung out at the flat all day. Tuesday, we were able to email home, but only one shop, way out in Buza, was open. After that, we gave E.Tonda to the couples and he joined his companion E.Redpath. Wednesday, my companion finally joined us, just in time for DDM. He, E.Bailey, and I will be a companionship until E.Bailey's companion shows up. It's quite crowded.
We've gotten to teach a few times together at this point, on Wednesday we taught one of E.Bailey's investigators. Her name is Hadija, and she's close to Baptism. We taught her the last lesson together. It was nice.
Thursday, we got RAINED on. It wasn't the worst rainfall ever, but it was the worst one I've ever been caught in. We taught a lesson with B.Ernest, and E.Bailey conducted S.Veronica's Baptismal Interview. She has passed, and should get Baptized on the 19th. It's overall been a good day, but I'm wiped and tired.
5/10
"The Third Kind of Death"
There's Physical Death - where the body and the spirit separate- Spiritual Death -where the soul or spirit is cast out of the presence of the Lord- and Sanity Death -where Elder Benson is separated from his wali nyama- this one is also called the death of hope.
Well, the restaurant I ate at for 12 weeks is closed for the month of May. The Muslims do this fast for forty days -patterned after the forty day fast of Jesus- [according to Wikipedia, Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief."] where they don't eat from 6am to 6pm. I don't remember what it's called, but a lot of businesses close during May because they won't be able to make enough money to keep from going bankrupt because the Muslims don't buy anything. My favorite restaurant was one of the ones to take a hit. I found a back up, but it isn't as good. It is cheaper though, so at least there's an upside.
The other thing I'm despairing over is that I need to find another place to buy Chapate. That restaurant is the only one I've found that sells them, no one else. It really hurts. I miss my Wali Nyama, I miss my Chapate, this is truly: The Death of Sanity, and The Death of Hope.
Anyway, E.Bailey's companion arrived today. I can't spell his name, but it's nice to no longer be in a Trio. For the most part I just spent the day showing E.Mathemera around the Area. There wasn't much to see, but I think he knows his way around pretty well now. Not much else today, just weekly planning where we both scratched our heads over the Area Book.
Everything AFTER E.Phokane arrived was well done, everything BEFORE was a mess. So we had to do some cleaning.
5/11
More rain today. It's really bad. Utah has nothing on this. It was quiet too, nobody showed up for English Class...
Fortunately, we did get to teach B.Dennis. He disappeared during my first transfer here, and I haven't seen him since. He reappeared last Saturday, and said he still wanted to learn. We tried to teach him Tuesday, no dice - Transfer issues. Wednesday, no dice - Rain. Thursday, no dice - Simba was playing. Saturday: success! We finally taught him again, and he's more serious than I though. He remembers a lot of what we taught him, and we're the fourth (counting E.Phokane and I during my first transfer) Companionship to teach him. Looks like teaching him this time around will go better, but with all the rain, I could be wrong.
Here's a funny thing about this brother: if Simba is playing, he'll say that he can't come because of the rain, but if Simba isn't playing, he'll bike through the rain. *shakes head* The attitude about sports is very different from my home.
So, apparently, my new favorite mango juice has an interesting name. Apparently, the name of the drink is a bad word in Showna. My companion is from Zimbabwe, and he told me that's why he refuses to buy the stuff. I'm kinda amused, and kinda torn at the same time. Stuff is still really good though.
5/12
Today was Mother's Day. It was rather interesting though. We went to church, not expecting anything unusual, and get there to find out that the Baptismal Font hasn't been filled. We missionaries had heard that the Branch President's son was getting Baptized today, so we were a little confused.
It turns out that no one talked to the guy who normally fills the font, and let him know ahead of schedule that he needed to do so.
He started filling it right after Sacrament Meeting, and was still trying to fill it after Church had ended. After about a half hour of waiting a hasty bucket brigade was formed to assist the hose in it's work, and I helped pass buckets down the line. It took a while, about 20 minutes I want to say, but we got it filled enough for a child's Baptism. There was what I assume was a good program -it was 100% Swahili- then two children were Baptized. The Branch President's son, and one other. I'm not sure who the other kid was, but his father looked proud. It was a good Baptism overall, and S.Veronica and B.Komba both watched, so they have a personal testimony of how it's done. Next week, it'll be S.Veronica's turn. S.Hadija -who we taught on Wednesday- will be Baptized the same day.
After the Baptism E.Mathemera and I headed to the Couple's flat and called home for Mother's Day. It was amazing having a semi-decent connection for once to call home. The first one I've had. It was funny talking to S.Shirtliff afterwards, and her telling me about how bad their wifi was. So my sense of "Good Internet" is probably screwed up pretty badly by this point.
Before we left, I borrowed a copy of Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage from E.Shirtliff, and I will be reading it as fast as I can, so I'll probably be done with it by the end of the transfer.
Things have been rather crazy this week. We spent Monday in a Trio. It was: E.Bailey (District Leader), E.Tonda, and I. We were like that for Monday, and most of Tuesday. Nothing happened Monday. It rained, and every Internet cafe was closed because some important guy died, and they paraded his body through the streets. So we hung out at the flat all day. Tuesday, we were able to email home, but only one shop, way out in Buza, was open. After that, we gave E.Tonda to the couples and he joined his companion E.Redpath. Wednesday, my companion finally joined us, just in time for DDM. He, E.Bailey, and I will be a companionship until E.Bailey's companion shows up. It's quite crowded.
We've gotten to teach a few times together at this point, on Wednesday we taught one of E.Bailey's investigators. Her name is Hadija, and she's close to Baptism. We taught her the last lesson together. It was nice.
Thursday, we got RAINED on. It wasn't the worst rainfall ever, but it was the worst one I've ever been caught in. We taught a lesson with B.Ernest, and E.Bailey conducted S.Veronica's Baptismal Interview. She has passed, and should get Baptized on the 19th. It's overall been a good day, but I'm wiped and tired.
5/10
"The Third Kind of Death"
There's Physical Death - where the body and the spirit separate- Spiritual Death -where the soul or spirit is cast out of the presence of the Lord- and Sanity Death -where Elder Benson is separated from his wali nyama- this one is also called the death of hope.
Well, the restaurant I ate at for 12 weeks is closed for the month of May. The Muslims do this fast for forty days -patterned after the forty day fast of Jesus- [according to Wikipedia, Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief."] where they don't eat from 6am to 6pm. I don't remember what it's called, but a lot of businesses close during May because they won't be able to make enough money to keep from going bankrupt because the Muslims don't buy anything. My favorite restaurant was one of the ones to take a hit. I found a back up, but it isn't as good. It is cheaper though, so at least there's an upside.
The other thing I'm despairing over is that I need to find another place to buy Chapate. That restaurant is the only one I've found that sells them, no one else. It really hurts. I miss my Wali Nyama, I miss my Chapate, this is truly: The Death of Sanity, and The Death of Hope.
Anyway, E.Bailey's companion arrived today. I can't spell his name, but it's nice to no longer be in a Trio. For the most part I just spent the day showing E.Mathemera around the Area. There wasn't much to see, but I think he knows his way around pretty well now. Not much else today, just weekly planning where we both scratched our heads over the Area Book.
Everything AFTER E.Phokane arrived was well done, everything BEFORE was a mess. So we had to do some cleaning.
5/11
More rain today. It's really bad. Utah has nothing on this. It was quiet too, nobody showed up for English Class...
Fortunately, we did get to teach B.Dennis. He disappeared during my first transfer here, and I haven't seen him since. He reappeared last Saturday, and said he still wanted to learn. We tried to teach him Tuesday, no dice - Transfer issues. Wednesday, no dice - Rain. Thursday, no dice - Simba was playing. Saturday: success! We finally taught him again, and he's more serious than I though. He remembers a lot of what we taught him, and we're the fourth (counting E.Phokane and I during my first transfer) Companionship to teach him. Looks like teaching him this time around will go better, but with all the rain, I could be wrong.
Here's a funny thing about this brother: if Simba is playing, he'll say that he can't come because of the rain, but if Simba isn't playing, he'll bike through the rain. *shakes head* The attitude about sports is very different from my home.
So, apparently, my new favorite mango juice has an interesting name. Apparently, the name of the drink is a bad word in Showna. My companion is from Zimbabwe, and he told me that's why he refuses to buy the stuff. I'm kinda amused, and kinda torn at the same time. Stuff is still really good though.
5/12
Today was Mother's Day. It was rather interesting though. We went to church, not expecting anything unusual, and get there to find out that the Baptismal Font hasn't been filled. We missionaries had heard that the Branch President's son was getting Baptized today, so we were a little confused.
It turns out that no one talked to the guy who normally fills the font, and let him know ahead of schedule that he needed to do so.
He started filling it right after Sacrament Meeting, and was still trying to fill it after Church had ended. After about a half hour of waiting a hasty bucket brigade was formed to assist the hose in it's work, and I helped pass buckets down the line. It took a while, about 20 minutes I want to say, but we got it filled enough for a child's Baptism. There was what I assume was a good program -it was 100% Swahili- then two children were Baptized. The Branch President's son, and one other. I'm not sure who the other kid was, but his father looked proud. It was a good Baptism overall, and S.Veronica and B.Komba both watched, so they have a personal testimony of how it's done. Next week, it'll be S.Veronica's turn. S.Hadija -who we taught on Wednesday- will be Baptized the same day.
After the Baptism E.Mathemera and I headed to the Couple's flat and called home for Mother's Day. It was amazing having a semi-decent connection for once to call home. The first one I've had. It was funny talking to S.Shirtliff afterwards, and her telling me about how bad their wifi was. So my sense of "Good Internet" is probably screwed up pretty badly by this point.
Before we left, I borrowed a copy of Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage from E.Shirtliff, and I will be reading it as fast as I can, so I'll probably be done with it by the end of the transfer.
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| Photos from Erik's Mother's Day call! Notice, he's wearing THE SAME TIE as seen in all previous photos. He ALWAYS wears this tie!! |
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| Erik, show us how skinny you are! |
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