Sept 29 To Be Busy Is the Best Medicine

Hello there Friends and Family,

This week sure was busy, but it was definitely what I needed to get my mind away from myself and rather focus it on others. When we do that the Lord is then able to heal us and work amazing works within us. When we focus on ourselves during our trials, it seems that the trial continues to linger on and on and it causes us to question our testimony because we turn into sign seekers, seeking that sign that all will be alright, but when we focus our attention outward, it shows God that we are willing to trust in Him that everything will work out okay. It's the hardest thing to do, but I have learned that is the best thing we can do.

So this week has been hectic and busy, but great none the less. To begin the week we went to Busia early on Tuesday and did exchanges. I was with Elder Ntsele and we had a really successful day. We taught some of their recent converts. They are doing a great job in teaching for understanding, those who they have taught that i have met really know the lessons well, even the little things. We also did some tracting, this might be a big shocker to some of those return missionaries out there, but this was actually my first time actually doing legitimate door knocking tracting... one of the homes we knocked was a home of three older women and their children. They allowed us to come in and it we taught them about the Restoration. They even had us stay for lunch, so that was a blessing. They brought out a huge mound of Ugali and Sukuma Wikii, we were suffering to eat it all because we had just eaten at our previous appointment as well, the same thing, just a different kind of leaf.  One of the appointments we used the church history dvds for teaching. I have never seen all of those before, but wow are they powerful, truly inspiring and wonderful for teaching. We had a great lesson with a part member family after showing one of those dvds. It was great to see the mother who is the member in the family able to teach her son about the church and bear testimony of the Book of Mormon. The Exchanges turned out well, and then the following morning we had DDM in which Elder Ntsele taught about how to keep commitments and extend commitments to investigators. It was a really nice training that he gave, after DDM, we had lunch at a members home who had invited us over and then we headed back to Kisumu. On the return trip it poured and then hailed, my first time seeing hail in Kenya, everyone would just leave their stuff and run for cover, motorcycles were left out in the lines that they line them up in and everything, it was crazy! After returning we stopped by the couples and they fed us a delicious meal of soup as we talked about our trip to Busia and the planned trip to Migori the following day.

The following day on Thursday we went with the couples to Migori where we visited the few members there. It's amazing how God truly works in mysterious ways, on the way there I had to go the bathroom really bad, but held it till we got to Migori. We had initially thought that we would only be able to meet with one of the members there, because the other contact we had was in Tanzania. Well as we were waiting for Shadrack, the one contact we did have there, we stopped by the Easy Coach (Bus Station) to use the restroom, well while there we found Brother Bernard and Tom Okila, Bernard being the contact who had told us that he was in Tanzania. If we hadn't gone to that bathroom at that time, we probably would not have been able to meet them. They were crucial to the rest of our time in Migori, brother Tom took us to the college that he is over, and while there we had the opportunity to teach the Principal a lesson on the restoration and then also teach a full classroom of students about the Restored Gospel and the Plan of Salvation. We left them with pamphlets, so that one day if the Lord opens up Migori for missionary work, then possibly some of those who were taught can have a remembrance of that which was taught and seek to know more. The Trip to Migori turned out to be a great experience and we saw another example of the great potential that Kenya has for the spreading of the gospel. Oh and because we were really close to the lake (Lake Victoria), on our return trip we saw Flamingos!! Tons of them! my very first time seeing them on mission, they come in huge flocks of them, the camera could hardly pick them up, but also they were pretty far off.

Flamingos in the wild.

Friday in the morning we had a dental appointment for my companion, the noises at the dental office truly make me cringe... drills in the teeth.. ouch. After lunch we had a lesson with Andrew Maruka. He is a strong member, and is worried about his kids who have gone less active and how to strengthen them and bring them back. We also met Geoffrey who is a less active member, he was pretty stubborn when we talked to him. It will take time and much visiting, but I feel he will come around. We had some further appointments in Manyatta and Mamboleo, one of the funny things our recent convert mentioned is that Muzungus don't fight but rather we just talk too much when we are mad at each other. By fighting it is meant physical fighting, which is somewhat the culture throughout Africa. We had a DA (dinner appointment) at brother Nicholas'. His wife made us a great meal of fish and ugali. It was delicious. I am really loving the fish here, I just wish that it wasn't so expensive..

Saturday I felt exhausted, but we kept on trudging. We went and visited Cyprian (the man he helped build his house), he really lives in humbling circumstances. He told us that he only eats one meal each day and gets water rarely. It's sad because no one helps him out, even his neighbors, but he finds strength and faith in the gospel and truly inspires many. As we were leaving, we left money to the mama next to his home who makes chapatti (tortillas) and beans, so that he could have a meal. We then met Walter and rescheduled his baptism till the 12 of October. Then headed back to Mamboleo where we taught Catherine and her family without power, intense rain had come while there and it knocked out the power.

It's always a guess when it comes to the Sunday prior to Transfers, you never know whether your moving or staying, so you just say goodbyes in case. I don't think I am leaving, so I wasn't so concerned as my companion, but anything can happen. After church we went to Sister Sarah's home. She is the Daughter of Elder Sitati of the 1st quorum of the seventy. We took the couples with us and she had made us a delicious lunch, it was great and really some wonderful food. She is really a nice lady and her child is so cute. That was the jist of Sunday for us. 

Well there is the week this week. I'm trying to write really fast, so if it doesn't make too much sense I apologize haha. The church is true, the gospel changes lives. That I have seen and know is true.

Thank you for all the love and support,
Love always,
Elder Rushton Jay Hiltbrand