Niaji!!!? (Total Kenyan Shang for Hows it?)
Well hello everyone, so this week has been a much better week, really I am feeling much better this week than the last few, it’s getting there slowly, but I know it will take some time and there are some lessons I must learn, and increase of faith that first must come.
So This week was really a pretty busy week, but it also felt really long,
So on Tuesday, it was just a half day of teaching because the Kitale and Kisumu elders were coming and we had to meet them and pick them up. Kisumu came around 11 because the heat and the Matatu's give one of the elders headaches, but that was okay because when they arrived, we were able to do splits. My companion and Elder Nyambita taught one of our investigators in Kiswahili, then I and elder Ndaba, one of my MTC brothers went together and visited sister Elizabeth, the mama who has been sick with diabetic complications for 3 months. We had a nice visit there, Elder Ndaba loves to use his Kiswahili and she was telling us about her son who is serving in Liberia, she also fed us Matoke.. I don’t know if I have ever told you what it is. I probably did while I was in Kilungu, but it’s unripe bananas that are used as a starch rather than as a fruit and they are really nice, kinda sweet, but a better taste than potatoes. They usually cook them together to blend the flavors and yeah, really tasty, they also cooked cabbage to add on top and it was really delicious. She is really improving a lot now that she is on the proper medications, hopefully she will be able to make it to church soon. After eating, we went and rejoined with our companions at the flat where they were cooking food. We were stuffed, so we went and met with the other Elders at the Jerusalem chapel. Soon we were again with everyone, playing soccer and having a good time. It’s nice to be able to relieve some stress and enjoy the time together as well as prepare to be spiritually edified the following day. After soccer we went to the supermarket and bought food to make for dinner. Sossi (it’s really tasty and totally fake meat... I had the genius idea to make sossi joes! so this week I will be attempting that... it may not work so well, but if it does.. boom! success!). We cooked the sossi with spaghetti, so it was a really nice meal. we enjoyed the remainder of the night talking and joking one with another.
Wednesday was the Mission Leadership Council. When we got there at 8:00, we scavenged through the chapel searching for tables to create some sort of coffee table set up so it could be more like a council rather than instructional. We informed the sisters to arrive at 8:25, but ST (Sisters Time) is an our late, so I plan to buy each of them small watches to wear so they have no excuse for being late. The Council was really nice. We covered Pride as our main topic, which really is the root of almost all problems. It is genuinely the universal sin. We also discussed budgeting allotments each month, and how to get rid of racism. In regards to racism, it’s an interesting thing here. It is present, but different than what you would expect. One of the elders brought up a good point - how many of the missionaries here from Africa come from places where they never or rarely have interaction with Whites, the same goes for the whites, many whites come from places where there are very few Blacks, so there are different backgrounds and when two cultures come together, usually there is a bit of a clash, thus the case here. Not that its blatant racism, but rather its just separation between whites and blacks when it comes to talking and things. The reason for that is just different things to discuss and joke about. We discussed how we can fix that, and really it comes down to living the gospel culture, when we live the gospel culture and keep things in unity, there is greater harmony one with another and love for each other. As in 4 Nephi, we learn that there were no separations of black and white, or ites of any sort, but rather the love of Christ one for another. After the conference, we had lunch of Pizza. We were the ones in charge of ordering pizzas so we ordered 10 medium pizzas and 5 smalls for the 11 of us present, it was nice because we got almost every variety, but wow did the pizzas look interesting... cheese here just isn’t the same, so it doesn’t look so good. It was alright though, everyone enjoyed all the meat and the pizzas were all eaten. I then went with Elder Barney, one of the current assistants to go visit people in the area. He used to serve here and was here for 7.5 months, so he was really reminiscing as we went around. It was cool. He was able to show me many places that I have never been before. He said they used to have lots of time to go visit people because the new chapel had yet to be built, and no one wanted to come out to the old chapel. After visiting for a while, we returned to the chapel and found President Hicken was still interviewing people. I asked him a little later if I could meet with him after he finished interviewing, so I was really looking forward to that. They were to go to the airport at 6:00 to catch their flight back to Nairobi, and at 5:50 he had finished interviewing everyone who had been planned to interview. Then I was able to sit down and talk with him. I love President Hicken, he is so inspired, and even though they were to go to the airport at a certain time, he still made time and didn’t worry about the clock. I really explained all my worries and stresses that I have had lately, and he gave me some really great advice, he told me a quote by President Packer and told me to "Leave it alone, the atonement of Jesus Christ already paid for all the worry and suffering, we must believe Him, trust in Him and know that He shall never abandon us." There was much more that he told me, and it was really exactly what I needed to hear. Overall Wednesday was a great day and it really allowed me to look forward with a bright future and learn that in order to overcome this trial I must trust in the lord, really TRUST him.
Thursday was Service! We didn’t go to the hospital this week, but rather went to a member’s in Langas to help them plant trees and cut grass. We were to meet with the others at the Langas chapel at 10:30, but in the mean time when we got there, we met with a woman who was referred to us by the guard. She was seeking a job and then once we kindly told her that we could not do that and that there were no jobs to offer, she asked us for money. It was some what annoying because the guard who is not a member of the church and only speaks Kiswahili was telling us that we need to help the mama. That we look smart and have money so we should give it to her... In companionship inventory last week, my companion told me I need to work on not getting frustrated with investigators. To be honest sometimes its really tough, because when they come persistently seeking money, and won’t listen, it’s a bit hard not to be sharp with them, but I am working on it and am doing much better at it. (that is one of the things we are asked for most, mainly because the chapel is really nice so everyone things there is vaults and vaults of money somewhere.) The other missionaries soon arrived and we went and negotiated for a Matatu at the road. If only all Matatu conductors were fair, it’s common for them to assume that we don’t know the correct prices, so they try to charge much more, then when we tell them we understand their Kiswahili and know they prices they get all "uh....." So we eventually negotiated fair prices and got out to the home of Sister Jane where we were doing service. I really enjoy working out in the shambas, and it was beautiful day with perfect weather, so it was even better! We planted a bunch of tiny trees to help build a sort of wall to keep the chickens from coming in and devouring all the vegetables. Im telling you, the chickens are seriously like raptors... they look like it and run like it too. They even devour each other if they see blood... just a fun fact about chickens. when the chickens would get in I would go corner them and then they start to spaz out and jump and flip in the air because they have no idea what to do.. We worked for a few hours, then ate bread and butter sandwiches with juice for lunch and helped move massive bags of manuer to the home... while working the wheelbarrow on the road with a big bag in it a police lady pulled up next to us and kinda mockingly said “ah he knows how to work!” and then just drove next to us for a while... Once we finished service, we rushed back to our area and changed and then went and taught 3 people at the church and on our way back home we ran into Newton. He is a nice guy, just very confrontational about our doctrines. He always wants to reason and pretty much convert us to whatever he is.. He was really shocked when we told him that we don’t watch the world Cup or television while on mission.. That one got him going at us with all sorts of stuff.
Friday was a LOCK DOWN... yes my first lock down on mission. The reason is because the opposition leader was coming to town to have rallies and demonstrations so in order to have everyone remain safe, we were put on lock down, just Eldoret. from what we were told, there was security everywhere! Full suited armored police patrolling all the streets in town and such, so I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t have missionaries out there. When things get crazy in Eldoret, they really escalate quickly... "well that excalated quickly"(anchorman). It was nice though being able to cook, relax the mind and body, study a lot, wash clothes, and catch up in my journals. It really makes the days feel a lot longer though when you have to sit inside all day..
Saturday was a nice day, in the morning we had to run over to Huruma to do a baptismal interview for the Sosiani Elders, afterwards we got out of Huruma and went and had lunch in town where we were informed that the television, a big flat screen had been stolen at the hotel that morning by thiefs armed with guns. When it comes to guns, everyone is terrified of guns here because they are such a rarity for civilians to have them. You see big automatic rifles all the time with security and police and such, but not amonst civilians. After lunch we returned back to the chapel in Langas where we found the institute and seminary teachers. It was assessment day, so they were doing their assessments. We borrowed one of them to see how we would do. It was really basic doctrine and really easy for the most part, but I messed a few up because there were multiple right answers, those questions are always tricky. We then taught with Elvis present, and then rushed out to Mkona Mbaya where we were to teach Joshua one of our recent converts how to have FHE. It’s really cool to see the blessings of the gospel in peoples lives, and how it really becomes a part of them as a family and brings them closer together. While there, they had all the children in the compound come and shake hands with us, "to meet the muzungu"..
Sunday was a great day, I can really feel my confidence returning and my desire to work really hard. For the last few weeks, I have been going through some stress and stuff and it was really a bit demoralizing and debilitating to my desire to work as hard as I can, but now it’s coming back and it’s making me really happy. After church, we did splits again and taught some of our investigators at the church. I and brother Jones, one of the recent converts, were teaching together a small child of nine years old. Jones really has a talent for teaching, he is super good with children and works with them until they are able to fully understand the concepts. I then joined my companion in teaching brother Samuel, the father of Lucy and Paris. We taught him the law of chastity and he committed to live it. We had to explain some of true definitions of marriage and what is seen by the church as marriage, because it is very common here for people to consider themselves married even though they are just living together with no formal recognition.. But that was pretty much it for Sunday, we were able to meet with a few others after, got some referrals and did some contacting.
Well yall that it for the week, really a nice week, with a really enjoyable time with the other elders, its always nice to get together with other missionaries for conferences and such.
Well I love you all and am so grateful for all the prayers and love you offer on my behalf, it is so much appreciated and gets me through much of the trials and difficulties here on mission,
Love always, Elder Rushton Jay Hiltbrand
No comments:
Post a Comment