A Week of Funerals...July 9, 2013

ANSWERS TO MOM'S QUESTIONS:

What did you mean when you said your companion looked like he could kill you?  Is he big or mean looking?  Is he bigger or smaller than you?  Does he speak English?  Are you getting along?  Is he helping you with the language?

The picture of my companion made him look like a big, tough, scary, black man...but he is tiny.  I tower over him. He does speak English, but his accent is so thick that its sometimes difficult to understand him. Yeah, we get along, It’s funny though because although not intentional, there is segregation amongst missionaries. Blacks associate with blacks, and whites fit better with whites.  Yeah he helps me a bit with the language.

Are there 2 other elders in the same complex?  Are they both African?  How many other people live in the building? 

Yeah the 2 other elders live in the same apt complex.   They have a big room with two bed rooms and a kitchen.  We have a tiny apt with a single bedroom for us and a sink. I’m not sure how many people live in the building, because it is an apartment complex and has an upstairs.

What do you eat?  Do you still have some protein bars?  Is there anything that you need that you can’t get there?  (maybe some disposable gloves to clean the nasty bathroom?)  Are there stores to buy groceries?  Why do you only eat 2ce a day?

We eat a lot of carbs, noodles,  rice and bread, some eggs in the mornings, but milk and meat are pretty much nonexistent.   The milk they do sell is sour though. I still have protein bars and beef jerky, but not much. Um, you mentioned gloves to clean the bathroom with-- the only thing I’d feel comfortable cleaning the bathroom in is a hasmat suit. The market is small, mainly stuff from peoples gardens, and we eat twice a day because we're out the rest of the day proselyting.

Where do you go to have access to the internet?  How much time do you have?  Can you send pictures?

We take a matatu (bus) to the bigger village to email.  The time ranges from an 1hr to a little more.  I can send pictures, but the computers have many viruses, so i dont know that I want to risk it.

Is there a rope to at least hang your clothes on in your apt., just to get them up off the floor and to hang them when they are wet?

Yeah there are wires to hang clothes on, hand washing is so ineffective.

How is the weather? Weather’s good, not too hot, kinda chilly at night

Are your shoes proving to be comfortable?  How far do you usually walk every day? We walk about 10 km or more a day, really depends on the day, and the Eccos I’m wearing are great.

Why do you have to be in by 5pm?  Isn’t it still light?  Is it because of the animals or the people? There is no light at 6, and my comp says that "my mzungu will get stolen" meaning me.  There are no animals here besides goats, chickens, and cows.

What were the additional shots you had to get in the MTC? Hepatitus boosters

Do you use the filtered water bottle? Yeah use it all the time, I’ll send a pic of the water here when possible.

A WEEK OF FUNERALS  JULY 9, 2013

Hello again!

Well this week has been quite busy, but it has gone by really quick. Wednesday, we had our District Development Meeting (DDM) with the Zone leader ZL (Elders assigned leadership over a large geographical area – several districts)  and the District Leader DL (Elder assigned leadership over about 4 missionary companionships) and his comp (companion) and me and my comp. We had to hike all the way to church to have this meeting which consisted of reading from the missionary handbook.  Afterward, we went to a "Hotel", that is what they call restaurants here. We had real African food. I had some sort of tiny green pea soup thing with two tiny pieces of mystery meat.  I was told that it was most likely donkey or goat. The ZL and his comp then piled onto the back of a picky picky or motorcycle and went their way. Elder Kazomba and I walked back towards our area with one of the members, Big Mike. He's called that because he is the heaviest guy in the village. We went to his house and taught him and his family a lesson using nails. -- Where you have to find a way to stack 15 nails on top of 1 nail. It’s very difficult and seems impossible if you don’t know how to do it. We applied that lesson as the basis of strengthening less active members and how much one member can do. I preferred to teach it on a basis of faith and prayer and how man’s ways aren't God’s ways, but for that time I let my companion teach. Big Mike was blown away, he was so confused. It was hilarious. Big Mike always likes to feed us, but we turned him down this time because we had just eaten at the hotel.

The next day we got a call from the branch president saying that the mother of a member had died, so we had to go visit him. It’s not an easy hike to get to his house, it’s up a sheer mountain side and past the church. We visited him, though, and that made him happy. Though sad, he was excited because when someone dies, people give the family money. We did some service for him by building a bathroom out of a hole in the ground and a bunch of tree limbs to make some privacy. Like I said last week, the bathrooms are primitive. They wipe with leaves or don’t wipe at all. We were there all day, so that pretty much summed up Thursday.

Friday we were able to go teach in Matua, the area by the church. I like this area a lot, the people are friendly, speak English, and almost all are members. We taught two mothers about the importance of the Priesthood in the household.  (Their husbands are priesthood holders.) It was amazing to be guided by the spirit teaching this lesson, I pulled out scriptures from the back of my mind that I didn’t even know I had read. After we left, both my companion and I knew we taught a good lesson. We tried to teach another lesson after that, but sadly the people were not there. Oh and I forgot, when we first got to that area, Papa John the village chief wasn’t feeling good and asked us for a blessing. He doesn’t speak much English, but he chose me to give the blessing. That was the first blessing I’ve given, what an neat experience it was.

The next day we visited Kikoko, our other area. We taught the nail lesson 3 times that day, and each time I adjusted the meaning of the nails to fit the person’s needs.  I could tell the spirit was prompting me in how I should adjust the lessons. Sunday was a rainy day, my companion being stubborn wouldn’t admit it was raining but only drizzling, so when we got to church he was soaked.  Luckily I had my umbrella (thanks for that mom).  At church I really came to the realization that "the gospel is perfect, but the church is not". The function of the Mitini branch could use a lot of work, so hopefully as time goes on I can help it to change. Maybe that’s why the part about knowing the functions of the church was included in my blessing when I was set apart?  The church continues to avoid English here and speaks their native tongue.   I can’t understand anything, so it’s hard for me. The other missionaries have told me that church here will make you lose your testimony, but I’m going to be sure to do my best to not allow that to happen.

Yesterday was the funeral of Brother Antonie's (his nick name is mzungu) mother. It was a long day.  It was hot and the whole service was in Kikamba so I didn’t understand a word. We ate some sort of meal, rice with watered down spices with two tiny cubes of goat meat. It’s strange here how the women are treated so inferior to men, the men eat first, and the women do all the work in the household while the men just sit around. I really don’t like that part of the culture.  It’s weird that I actually miss allowing all the girls to get their food before us and such.  Love is very rare here in Africa.  If people want kids, they just find a woman marry her and pop out 7 children.  It’s one of the reasons thatI really make a push for family unity here. The best way to do that is through family prayers and scripture study, as the general authorities have said "a family that prays together, stays together." I encourage all of you, members and nonmembers to make that a priority. It will greatly help build unity among your family and the blessings will be poured out to you.

At the close of the funeral, when they were lowering the casket, one of the family members that was speaking to the crowd looked at me through the bushes and we met eyes.  He noticed that I being a “mzungu” did not speak their language so he made a statement in English. He said “What are you known for? What are you famous for? Right now these elders are known for spreading the word of God and of the restoration of Christ’s church (this guy was not a member of the church).  They are doing a good work.  I welcome them to our village and ask that all of you listen to what they have to say."  When he said this, it really stuck in my mind, and made me think about my future. What do I want to be known for? I ask all of you to ask yourselves, what are you known for? What good have you done in the world? What will be your legacy?

After the funeral we were walking home when Elder Kazomba and I were confronted by a guy rambling about the church and science. He claimed to be a retired pastor.  He had many questions.  Each question he had I was able to bear testimony of the truth of the church, the plan of salvation, and the restoration by Joseph Smith. I felt prompted to give him the Plan of Salvation pamphlet, so I gave him that and the Restoration one.  He promised he would read them and that we could meet with him sometime soon.

Well that’s pretty much all for the week, tomorrow we teach English and keyboard class for the first time, so we'll see how that goes. Thursday we have ZTM (zone training meeting), so it will be nice to see another mzungu, I’m seriously the only one besides the zone leader. I love the African elders, but they all relate to each other and speak in a foreign tongue that I don’t understand, so it’s nice to see another American. 

I’d like to leave you with a quote I found while reading the Liahona (church magazine). "The gift of the Holy Ghost, if you consent, will guide and protect you and even correct your actions. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought or a feeling put into your heart... it is not expected that you go through life without making mistakes but you will not make a major mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the spirit." - President Boyd K. Packer.

Love, Elder Hiltbrand.