Thanks!!
This past Tuesday was my official 8 months on mission mark. It’s crazy to think its already been 8 months, a year is right around the corner. Tuesday was a day of miscommunications and kinda hard times with my companion. Last sunday, we had both made appointments with people to see them on Tuesday. We had made appointments with different people, not knowing the other was making appointments for the same day, so when it came to Tuesday morning, we had to figure out who to see and who to reschedule with. It caused some contention, because during planning I guess my companion had not heard about the morning appointment, so when I reminded him we had an appointment and we were already late, he flipped. It’s tough killing a companion (having a comp finishing his mission). It’s a roller coaster in that situation. So yeah, that was interesting. If only we could just worry about people not willing to accept the gospel, rather than having to worry about companionship problems that hinder the work.
We went to the church where our appointment was and taught Kenneth, a nice man in the branch. He is a brilliant man, but suffers with some handicaps such as Schizophrenia, super nice guy though and incredibly humble. We give him church literature to read, because it helps the voices in the head go away. I’m not exactly sure how to go about helping with that, but we do what we can. We then took a Matatu (van) to a place called Duka Moja (One Shop) and yes there is only one duka there. There, we were to meet with Brother Mwakaba, a super amazing member of the Huruma branch. He was to show us where a referral stayed and assist us in teaching. Our lesson went well, our new investigator, Violet had come to the District Conference and really enjoyed it. From being there, she had some questions regarding the Book of Mormon, so we helped her with that and began discussing the Restoration so that things would make more sense. We also left her with a Book of Mormon. I have developed the habit of carrying a Book of Mormon in my bag each day just in case, and I am so glad I do, because at least twice a week, people come to us or we are in a lesson, and they ask for a Book of Mormon. After meeting with Violet, we went to Brother Mwakaba's home, and he told us his story about joining the church, and how it has blessed his family. It was really inspiring. He has been a member for 19 years and his whole family are also members. They are incredibly bonded, and love abounds between them. They are hoping to one day go to the Temple in South Africa and be sealed as a family. He explained that since joining the church, he has put God first, and had faith that God would provide the rest. That he has, although he only makes a meager salary working for a chinese textile company. (The chinese and Indian companies in Kenya pay very poorly, but a job is a job, and jobs are a rarity.) He has been able to put all his kids through school, primary and secondary and now has a daughter in University. "God wants us to be educated, so I must make that a priority for my family." Really an amazing man, and a great strength to the church here. We then had to reschedule an appointment and went to a LA (less active) who I have yet to meet with. Really a nice girl, she is a returned missionary, and has great faith in the gospel, but because of little issues in the branch, it has pulled her away from the church. That’s how the adversary works, little by little until he has dragged you all the way down to hell.
After Service on Thursday, we went and had a lesson with our investigator Sister Panina, it was really a good lesson, it is obvious that she has not been fully grasping what we have been teaching in the past, so we started over, but this time entirely simplified our lesson. We taught only about who God. We strived to teach as we would a little child, so that it is easy to understand. She desires to be baptized, but desires to know everything before her baptism on March 23.
Now on Friday, it was an experience of no one answering their phone. Everyone turns off their phones when not using them, so that they can conserve power. Most people do not have power at their homes, so they must pay 20ksh ($.25) to have it charged at a Duka (shop). This makes it incredibly difficult to get a hold of people and confirm plans for the day. After calling everyone in our phone, we had two appointments set for the day, the first being at 2:00pm. My companion then went to take a nap. This was difficult for me, and I needed strength from above, so I went into my changing room, and poured out my heart in prayer, seeking the needed guidance and counsel so that I could get through the next 3 weeks and do all that I can to assist in spreading the gospel. It was nice to have that time to be alone for prayer, I feel my prayers are able to be much more sincere when I pray out loud, and because my companion was asleep I was able to do so. That 2:00pm appointment was with Brother Mwakaba who had his wife in town from up country. We had a nice time with them and were fed a egg supu type thing and Ugali (maize porridge). Brother Mwakaba had thought that morning to call us to inform us his wife was in town, but as he was thinking that, he looked at his phone and it was us calling him. The Spirit works in mysterious ways, it knows what is needed when we ourselves don’t. Afterwards we went to Huruma town which is really poor, it’s basically slums, and after dark is incredibly dangerous. We went there to visit one of our members, Sister Kasina. She opened up a clinic/ pharmacy there, so she is rarely around where we stay in Huruma. We had a nice visit with her, and talked for a good while. She is hilarious, a big Kamba lady, so we always joke about stuff. She loves to laugh, so we three are always laughing when together. My companion had to get dewormers, so we were joking about that and she was telling us nasty stories of her childhood before there was dewormers.
Saturday morning we received a call from an unknown number which I picked up. It was Simon, the day guard at the church informing us that there was someone there who wanted to meet with us. We told him we could be there in an hour (my companion was in the shower and takes very long showers) and were there at 11:00am. The guy was not there, having run to town to get something, but would be returning. He returned after about 20 minutes, and we sat down and talked. We had a great visit with him. He was powerful, all the normal restoration scriptures applied to him. His name is Enock, and he informed us that he is seeking the truth, he feels there is a hole in his spirituality that his current church doesn’t fill. He wants direction in life and needs hope, so we talked to him about God’s plan for him and the love of a Heavenly Father. Really powerful visit. After teaching we went to lunch at a nice hotel down the road. It was expensive 250ksh ($3) for fries and one piece of chicken, but a nice change. They had the hottest sauce I have had here so far. It was intense on the tastebuds. That night we had FHE at the church, my companion shared a message while I prepared a game of charades. It was fun to watch everyone act out the different things, lots of creativity and laughter. As we had FHE, it poured rain outside causing immediate mud to build up everywhere. From Dust to Mud in seconds. While walking home that night after FHE, we were with our investigator Steve, as we were walking we saw a drunkard who was so drunk he could barely stand up. We watched him as he swerved across the road almost being hit by pikipiki's (motorcycle taxis) then he vanished...he had fallen into a mud ditch and was not able to stand up. People were gathering around just looking at him or laughing, my companion and I jumped down in the ditch, and grabbed his arms and shoulders and helped him up. We then walked him to his home nearby and left him in the care of his mother who was upset to see him drunk. People like that man just need help, they need a friend, and they need direction in life, it’s so easy in this life to look at the negative and sink down into the grasps of the adversary and waster our lives away. We are able to be thankful for a gospel that gives us those answers and hope. What a privilege it is for me to share this gospel with others so they too may receive that direction and love.
Sunday was pretty uneventful, while at church teaching Anabel, it rained once again, and after finishing our lesson, we looked outside to see thousands of Termites flying into the air! Thousands! everywhere. They live in the ground, and when it rains they swarm out. I have been told you can eat them, so I went outside and caught one, brought it inside and gave it to Simon who had no problem eating it (Luias eat bugs and stuff, he is of that tribe.) I wanted to do it too, so I went out grabbed one, came back inside and as others took pictures, I ate it. I ate a big Termite.. you pull the big wings off and bite the body. I then convinced my companion to try, but after 5 tries he was unable to keep it in, he said it bit his tongue, or it jumped out, it was funny to watch. Now I know that if I run out of my allotment during rainy season, I have food available!
Well I hope all is well.
Till next week, Love,
Elder Rushton Jay Hiltbrand
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| Rushton is back row 2nd from right. |
Hello everyone, this week once again has felt incredibly quick! So this week has been kinda bland, but there’s been some excitement as well.
This past Tuesday was my official 8 months on mission mark. It’s crazy to think its already been 8 months, a year is right around the corner. Tuesday was a day of miscommunications and kinda hard times with my companion. Last sunday, we had both made appointments with people to see them on Tuesday. We had made appointments with different people, not knowing the other was making appointments for the same day, so when it came to Tuesday morning, we had to figure out who to see and who to reschedule with. It caused some contention, because during planning I guess my companion had not heard about the morning appointment, so when I reminded him we had an appointment and we were already late, he flipped. It’s tough killing a companion (having a comp finishing his mission). It’s a roller coaster in that situation. So yeah, that was interesting. If only we could just worry about people not willing to accept the gospel, rather than having to worry about companionship problems that hinder the work.
We went to the church where our appointment was and taught Kenneth, a nice man in the branch. He is a brilliant man, but suffers with some handicaps such as Schizophrenia, super nice guy though and incredibly humble. We give him church literature to read, because it helps the voices in the head go away. I’m not exactly sure how to go about helping with that, but we do what we can. We then took a Matatu (van) to a place called Duka Moja (One Shop) and yes there is only one duka there. There, we were to meet with Brother Mwakaba, a super amazing member of the Huruma branch. He was to show us where a referral stayed and assist us in teaching. Our lesson went well, our new investigator, Violet had come to the District Conference and really enjoyed it. From being there, she had some questions regarding the Book of Mormon, so we helped her with that and began discussing the Restoration so that things would make more sense. We also left her with a Book of Mormon. I have developed the habit of carrying a Book of Mormon in my bag each day just in case, and I am so glad I do, because at least twice a week, people come to us or we are in a lesson, and they ask for a Book of Mormon. After meeting with Violet, we went to Brother Mwakaba's home, and he told us his story about joining the church, and how it has blessed his family. It was really inspiring. He has been a member for 19 years and his whole family are also members. They are incredibly bonded, and love abounds between them. They are hoping to one day go to the Temple in South Africa and be sealed as a family. He explained that since joining the church, he has put God first, and had faith that God would provide the rest. That he has, although he only makes a meager salary working for a chinese textile company. (The chinese and Indian companies in Kenya pay very poorly, but a job is a job, and jobs are a rarity.) He has been able to put all his kids through school, primary and secondary and now has a daughter in University. "God wants us to be educated, so I must make that a priority for my family." Really an amazing man, and a great strength to the church here. We then had to reschedule an appointment and went to a LA (less active) who I have yet to meet with. Really a nice girl, she is a returned missionary, and has great faith in the gospel, but because of little issues in the branch, it has pulled her away from the church. That’s how the adversary works, little by little until he has dragged you all the way down to hell.
On Wednesday, I woke up with absolutely no desire to go to the gym. This is a regular feeling in the morning, so I try to tip toe out of the room not waking up my companion, because if it gets too late we won’t go. It’s not that I don’t like the gym, but we are at the gym for a while, and it interferes with my personal study time. My study time is precious to me, and I really need it if I wish to progress into who I desire to be. The rest of the day is busy, so it’s hard to make up that time. As we were going to DDM, we stopped by Sister Sarah’s to drop off the clothes pecks we had been using when she would come and wash our laundry. We have not been using her lately, because it is costly. One of the difficulties of being a muzungu here in Africa is everyone expects you to have a surplus of money, just because you are white. The depiction they have of America is so wrong. Just like how the depiction Americans have of Africa is so wrong. DDM was good, Elder Nyirenda taught regarding how to develop Christ-like attributes. It was a nice lesson, and as I utilize the teachings, I will become closer to who I want to be. Christ set the perfect example, now we must walk in his footsteps, and we too will reach perfection when we rejoin our Heavenly Father. After DDM, the Sister Missionaries arrived from Kisumu. Because of increasing problems with Visas and Working Permits, 6 missionaries currently serving in the mission had to leave Kenya because of denied working permits. That’s a total of 40 missionaries waiting for Working Permits and or Visas. That is half the number of missionaries we currently have in the mission, and in 2 weeks, we will be down to only 70 missionaries in the mission (they were supposed to be up to 150). Luckily I have been blessed exceedingly so that I have a Foreign Alien Identification Card which shows and permits me to legally be in Kenya for 2 years. As the church is trying to grow in Kenya, it is being faced with increased opposition. But once again, missionary work never was easy, it wasn’t easy for Christ and he faced extreme opposition, so therefore his church back on the earth today is facing similar opposition. So back to the sisters, right away it was evident that they are incredibly high maintenance, wanting all sorts of stuff for their apartment like colored plates, and a rug... why? no clue. It’s mission life, we aren’t meant to be spoiled, we have what we need to do the Lord’s work, everything else is extra.
As we were at our usual hotel for lunch, Elder Turner attempted to open his soda using my soda, in doing so he had my soda upside down, and instead of popping off his top, he popped off mine causing soda to go all over and his not to open. Really a pretty funny sight, I’ve always wanted to see that happen, just glad it wasn’t me to do it haha. The rest of the day, we were teaching some of our investigators. We are to teaching the Law of Chastity with Anabel, who will be baptized on the 23 of this month. That lesson is quite to the point, it can be awkward, but only if you make it so. I like to just be blunt and get everything out immediately so they know, if we try to beat around the bush, then they get confused and unsure, so yeah.. when in a potentially awkward situation, be to the point and confident, all will go well if you do that. After returning to Huruma, we met with another one of our investigators, Brother Wilson, he is a really nice guy as well, new to Eldoret and trying to find a job so that he can bring his wife here. I guess some previous missionaries had promised him money so he could settle a debt for his rent, so that is causing problems. We as missionaries are not to give out money like that, and or promise things we cannot keep. The lesson was ok, but not spectacular. I am still greatly learning how to teach, and I am far from being a good teacher. I need to work on listening to promptings of the spirit, discerning, and asking inspired questions. I am just now getting a little better at using many scriptures to support what we are teaching.
So just so all of you know, Doxicycline (taken daily to prevent malaria) and Herbal Tea when taken together, cause some of the craziest most bizarre dreams. This is really a strange side effect of Doxi, but no complaining on my side. For me, sleep is really pointless and not enjoyable unless I have dreams that I remember. So I do all I can to remember my dreams, including writing them down immediately after waking up. Kinda strange but yeah that’s me haha. Thursday, it was usual service day at the hospital. We took James, the son of Sister Sarah because he always wants to go with us. Each week at the hospital, there are new children with different ailments, this week there was a young girl who had an incredibly swollen eye and it caused her eye ball to almost pop out of its socket, and also rose it up above the normal placement about an inch or two. Every time I see these children, my heart aches for them, but then I am reminded by the spirit that all these children regardless of their ailments will one day be resurrected and made perfect. Alma 40 - 41. While outside playing pick up sticks with the kids, Sister Anderson called me over wondering why James was not in school. I explained his situation of lack of school fees, and we talked a bit about how everyone here thinks us muzungus are loaded with money. The schools are crazy here, costing tons of money. 50,000 ksh ($580) per year and that doesn't cover uniform, books, etc. That's for a public Government school. I now am very grateful for Free Schooling offered in the US.
As we were at our usual hotel for lunch, Elder Turner attempted to open his soda using my soda, in doing so he had my soda upside down, and instead of popping off his top, he popped off mine causing soda to go all over and his not to open. Really a pretty funny sight, I’ve always wanted to see that happen, just glad it wasn’t me to do it haha. The rest of the day, we were teaching some of our investigators. We are to teaching the Law of Chastity with Anabel, who will be baptized on the 23 of this month. That lesson is quite to the point, it can be awkward, but only if you make it so. I like to just be blunt and get everything out immediately so they know, if we try to beat around the bush, then they get confused and unsure, so yeah.. when in a potentially awkward situation, be to the point and confident, all will go well if you do that. After returning to Huruma, we met with another one of our investigators, Brother Wilson, he is a really nice guy as well, new to Eldoret and trying to find a job so that he can bring his wife here. I guess some previous missionaries had promised him money so he could settle a debt for his rent, so that is causing problems. We as missionaries are not to give out money like that, and or promise things we cannot keep. The lesson was ok, but not spectacular. I am still greatly learning how to teach, and I am far from being a good teacher. I need to work on listening to promptings of the spirit, discerning, and asking inspired questions. I am just now getting a little better at using many scriptures to support what we are teaching.
So just so all of you know, Doxicycline (taken daily to prevent malaria) and Herbal Tea when taken together, cause some of the craziest most bizarre dreams. This is really a strange side effect of Doxi, but no complaining on my side. For me, sleep is really pointless and not enjoyable unless I have dreams that I remember. So I do all I can to remember my dreams, including writing them down immediately after waking up. Kinda strange but yeah that’s me haha. Thursday, it was usual service day at the hospital. We took James, the son of Sister Sarah because he always wants to go with us. Each week at the hospital, there are new children with different ailments, this week there was a young girl who had an incredibly swollen eye and it caused her eye ball to almost pop out of its socket, and also rose it up above the normal placement about an inch or two. Every time I see these children, my heart aches for them, but then I am reminded by the spirit that all these children regardless of their ailments will one day be resurrected and made perfect. Alma 40 - 41. While outside playing pick up sticks with the kids, Sister Anderson called me over wondering why James was not in school. I explained his situation of lack of school fees, and we talked a bit about how everyone here thinks us muzungus are loaded with money. The schools are crazy here, costing tons of money. 50,000 ksh ($580) per year and that doesn't cover uniform, books, etc. That's for a public Government school. I now am very grateful for Free Schooling offered in the US.
After Service on Thursday, we went and had a lesson with our investigator Sister Panina, it was really a good lesson, it is obvious that she has not been fully grasping what we have been teaching in the past, so we started over, but this time entirely simplified our lesson. We taught only about who God. We strived to teach as we would a little child, so that it is easy to understand. She desires to be baptized, but desires to know everything before her baptism on March 23.
Now on Friday, it was an experience of no one answering their phone. Everyone turns off their phones when not using them, so that they can conserve power. Most people do not have power at their homes, so they must pay 20ksh ($.25) to have it charged at a Duka (shop). This makes it incredibly difficult to get a hold of people and confirm plans for the day. After calling everyone in our phone, we had two appointments set for the day, the first being at 2:00pm. My companion then went to take a nap. This was difficult for me, and I needed strength from above, so I went into my changing room, and poured out my heart in prayer, seeking the needed guidance and counsel so that I could get through the next 3 weeks and do all that I can to assist in spreading the gospel. It was nice to have that time to be alone for prayer, I feel my prayers are able to be much more sincere when I pray out loud, and because my companion was asleep I was able to do so. That 2:00pm appointment was with Brother Mwakaba who had his wife in town from up country. We had a nice time with them and were fed a egg supu type thing and Ugali (maize porridge). Brother Mwakaba had thought that morning to call us to inform us his wife was in town, but as he was thinking that, he looked at his phone and it was us calling him. The Spirit works in mysterious ways, it knows what is needed when we ourselves don’t. Afterwards we went to Huruma town which is really poor, it’s basically slums, and after dark is incredibly dangerous. We went there to visit one of our members, Sister Kasina. She opened up a clinic/ pharmacy there, so she is rarely around where we stay in Huruma. We had a nice visit with her, and talked for a good while. She is hilarious, a big Kamba lady, so we always joke about stuff. She loves to laugh, so we three are always laughing when together. My companion had to get dewormers, so we were joking about that and she was telling us nasty stories of her childhood before there was dewormers.
Saturday morning we received a call from an unknown number which I picked up. It was Simon, the day guard at the church informing us that there was someone there who wanted to meet with us. We told him we could be there in an hour (my companion was in the shower and takes very long showers) and were there at 11:00am. The guy was not there, having run to town to get something, but would be returning. He returned after about 20 minutes, and we sat down and talked. We had a great visit with him. He was powerful, all the normal restoration scriptures applied to him. His name is Enock, and he informed us that he is seeking the truth, he feels there is a hole in his spirituality that his current church doesn’t fill. He wants direction in life and needs hope, so we talked to him about God’s plan for him and the love of a Heavenly Father. Really powerful visit. After teaching we went to lunch at a nice hotel down the road. It was expensive 250ksh ($3) for fries and one piece of chicken, but a nice change. They had the hottest sauce I have had here so far. It was intense on the tastebuds. That night we had FHE at the church, my companion shared a message while I prepared a game of charades. It was fun to watch everyone act out the different things, lots of creativity and laughter. As we had FHE, it poured rain outside causing immediate mud to build up everywhere. From Dust to Mud in seconds. While walking home that night after FHE, we were with our investigator Steve, as we were walking we saw a drunkard who was so drunk he could barely stand up. We watched him as he swerved across the road almost being hit by pikipiki's (motorcycle taxis) then he vanished...he had fallen into a mud ditch and was not able to stand up. People were gathering around just looking at him or laughing, my companion and I jumped down in the ditch, and grabbed his arms and shoulders and helped him up. We then walked him to his home nearby and left him in the care of his mother who was upset to see him drunk. People like that man just need help, they need a friend, and they need direction in life, it’s so easy in this life to look at the negative and sink down into the grasps of the adversary and waster our lives away. We are able to be thankful for a gospel that gives us those answers and hope. What a privilege it is for me to share this gospel with others so they too may receive that direction and love.
Sunday was pretty uneventful, while at church teaching Anabel, it rained once again, and after finishing our lesson, we looked outside to see thousands of Termites flying into the air! Thousands! everywhere. They live in the ground, and when it rains they swarm out. I have been told you can eat them, so I went outside and caught one, brought it inside and gave it to Simon who had no problem eating it (Luias eat bugs and stuff, he is of that tribe.) I wanted to do it too, so I went out grabbed one, came back inside and as others took pictures, I ate it. I ate a big Termite.. you pull the big wings off and bite the body. I then convinced my companion to try, but after 5 tries he was unable to keep it in, he said it bit his tongue, or it jumped out, it was funny to watch. Now I know that if I run out of my allotment during rainy season, I have food available!
Well I hope all is well.
Till next week, Love,
Elder Rushton Jay Hiltbrand
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