Hello everyone!
I wish I could remember everything that happened this last week of
transfers, but I left my planner at home again so I'll just have to go
off memory, which we all know will not be much. Anyway, my ankle was
really swollen all day, but I iced it and it went down...a little. On
Tuesday we went on splits, so I led Elder Baker around my sector for
the day. I was limping pretty bad the whole time, and then it started
raining, and I think the combination of the two elements made people
pity us, so I only heard "mundele" like one time from a kid. It was
really refreshing actually, both the rain and the lack of mockery
haha. The best part is that we went looking for a man we met a couple
weeks ago, and I couldn't remember how to get there so we called and
he told us to look for Pharmacie de Dieu. So Elder Baker says he
thinks he's seen a sign for it on the road, but we walked a little
down the road and couldn't see it, so I just asked the person next to
us if they knew where it was. They pointed us all the way down the
opposite direction, so we started hobbling that way. Half an hour
later and I asked someone else, who kept pointing us the same way. We
finally got to the next pharmacie and it wasn't even the right one.
We went in and asked and they told us to go all the way back to where
we came. So we walk all the way back up, got maybe 5 feet passed
where we had stopped to ask the people selling sweat rags to taxi
drivers and there was the sign pointing into the market. We walked
in, got about 10 minutes into the depths of Fond Che Che and asked
someone who told us to go all the way back from where we came but down
the next alley of vendors. Lo and behold, the pharmacie was basically
on the street just another 5 feet in front of where we turned into the
market. We met up with the man there, and he led us back to his
little wooden hut/boutique and we had an awesome time getting to know
him and reassuring him that our message would bring him closer to
Jesus Christ and finally after 40 minutes or so we asked if he wanted
to pray and he said "Well actually, I'm Muslim, soo..." so that was
awesome haha. He let us pray though, and then we needed to go just a
few feet down the road, but instead of going out to the street we
tried cutting through the market. I don't know how to accurately
describe this place...we eventually decided that it was the 7 layers
of hell. Since it had been pouring rain, we walked through about 8
inches of dark, black sludge for the next 20 minutes just looking for
an exit, going off of pure internal direction to guide us. It was
awful. We got yelled at more than I ever have been in my entire
mission in those 20 minutes. The entire lower half of my body was
covered in sludge. It got harder and harder to breathe the deeper we
went. The sky was covered by umbrellas and shacks and smoke. We
finally saw a light and headed towards it, and we were even welcomed
by a bridge of wodden pallettes across more mud. At the end of the
bridge though, were toll trolls, demanding money for having used their
bridge. Elder Baker just shoved passed them, but every time I tried
to step through this one guy pushed me on the arm and was insulting me
in kikongo and called me a Jehovah's Witness, which after that I
ripped my badge off and shoved it in his face and said "read the
badge! We are NOT témoin de Jehovah!" and he made some noise and
pushed me through onto the street and it was over and I had never been
closer to becoming violent. I have since repented, but it was so, so,
so frustrating.
We had a nice rest of the day. Very calm. I can't remember what
happened the next day, but I woke up and my ankle felt fine. I think
the repenting and hard work the day before opened up the door for some
blessings. The rest of the week was fine as far as that goes.
Some special things that happened that I remember : we had so many
random service opportunities. We were on our hands and knees helping
a taximan dig out his car that dove into the sand. We were on our way
to a less active member's house when we crossed him going to fill up
big water cans, so we went with him and carried the 60 pound cans back
ourselves. Also he was wearing a Happy Valley shirt. That was
awesome. It was even better when we were right in front of our
investigator's house the next day when a woman and her son come around
the corner carrying this really heavy propane tank between them, so we
offered to take it all the way back to where we had just came, through
another dirty market. On the way we ran into the woman's older son,
who happened to know a member. I hope that had a good impression on
him! We were on the way home one day when we saw a bus stuck in the
mud, spinning its wheels. We ran over and dug in behind the bus to
help one other guy push the bus out as it kicked mud all over the
place - except on us. It was awesome. People are always worried
about us getting dirty, but we really don't care. We were pretty
close to home when a woman was cutting logs in the middle of the road
with a pipe with an axe head soddered to the end of it. We offered to
cut the wood for her, and we got a crowd of little kids and big kids
and adults watching us work. It's like they'd never believe that
white people actually work with their hands haha. The next day we
helped sweep a member's dirt "yard" with a "broom".
Elder Brockbank and I walked to the top of the world looking for an
investigator, but while we were lost we walked along side this super
deep ravine of red mud, and of course when we got to the bottom of the
hill we decided to walk back through the ravine. It was cool except
for the bazillion flies that were chilling on weeds growing in the red
mud and also the piles of poop that lined the floor. Obviously we
weren't the first visitors. We got some cool pictures though!
I wish I remembered more about this week, but that's all I have...just
know that I'm having a blast and loving the work. We've dedicated a
lot of our time working towards reactivating less active members.
That is really rewarding. We don't have a ton of investigators at
church, but there is something special about seeing someone come back
to church after having been absent for several years. I absolutely
love that, and it's happening! Oh, which reminds me, one of our
investigators' sister gave us a pot of "losé," which is basically just
mashed up leaves and eggplant. It was...interesting haha. The fried
fish made it delicious though. Still prefer ndolé :)
I think the highlight of the day was having a very old man in a suit,
fedora, wielding a very intricate cane and smoking a very interesting
pipe say hi to us. Or maybe it was Elder VanAusdal's sweet and sour
chicken or chicken pot pie...
ANYway I have 0 time left but I love you all and you are ALL in my
prayers! Please pray for the Africans and the missionaries our here,
we all need your help.
Elder Garland
Monday, March 10, 2014
December 9
Hello world!
Life is wonderful. It's a little difficult now that I went up for a
rebound playing basketball and came back down on my ankle and now it
looks like a grapefruit, but nothing is broken so here goes week 6 of
my first transfer in Congo.
I made myself a sweet tie last Monday, which will inevitabally go to
Elder Brockbank when we part ways. He, in return, made me a sweet
belt out of plastic rope we found in the marché. We're the best of
friends. Elder Lundberg came over to dine with us that night on
splits, and I made more peanutbutter cookies. As I put the first
batch in the oven the generator ran out of gas and since there was no
more gas cans left we spent the next 2 hours in the black and miracles
exist because that first batch of cookies turned out perfectly and
warmed our little hearts as we ourselves cooked in our beds.
It's ok because the Bybees came to the rescue (the next day) and
refilled our gas cans and then on Tuesday we got up and left early to
see people who go to school in the afternoon, and I learned a lot of
kikongo and bought a cup of mashed mango which SURPRISE was salted
beyond edibility. So unfortunate. The best part is that we had
grenadine sodas and chocolate bread and that night I made
CHEESEburgers with a block of white cheddar that we bought on Monday
because we all miss America. After dinner and ripping my body apart
a.k.a. exercising I was taking a shower and hello the generator ran
out of gas again. I figured the missionaries would fill it up again
and start it which, thankfully, they did, so I just stood awkwardly
sudsy until the lights and water came back on.
Wednesday was fun. Every day is fun, but it's not every day that we
get fed. One of our less active members gave us a giant pot of saka
saka again, which we saved and made in a peanut sauce that night over
rice. Delicious. Before we got to her house we noticed a car that
had tanked into a sand bar (just kidding the whole road is one sand
bar but this car was actually bottomed out this time), so we dropped
our stuff to help. When white people do any sort of labor it becomes
a national event and everyone crowds around to watch. Not to help,
just to watch the mundele work. So here we are, digging in to the
sand with this poor taxi driver and huffing and puffing as another guy
tries to start the car to no avail, and eventually they're really
thankful but tell us they'll just call a tow taxi and sent us on our
way. People seem to be embarrassed to ask for help, but are super
thankful when you do. I love random service opportunities. We're
always on the watch.
I received a Congolese name on Thursday - Masala, which means, one who
works hard. I conveniently learned how to ask and give your name in
kikongo, so all day I was saying to little kids "kwiza munu mbote ! wa
faso ? muke bien. kumbia nghe nani ? kumbia munu masala, muke na
kilengi mingi." proceeded by bursts of laughter and cheers from people
standing there listening to the white guy speak their language. They
absolutely love it, and so do I! Learning more every day...
I also noticed that there are tons of foosball tables in our sector.
Instead of actually playing soccer (because they don't have balls to
play with) they play "baby foot" next to the bars. It's really funny
to watch, because they're actually really good. One of those things
you never expect to see Africans doing, ever. Right along side with
rollerblading.
On Friday we had an awesome time with President and Sister Cook who
came through our mission stopping in all the cities to see the
missionaries. We learned a lot about being "quick to observe" and the
difference between being agents and objects, teaching with the Spirit
and by the Spirit. It was really cool. I love meeting with them,
they're always a blessing and boost to our moral. In normal missions,
an elder could see his president several times a week. We're lucky if
we see him once a month! Anyway, we shared some Christmas videos as
we did interviews, and after we ate a fantastic meal prepared by the
Bybees. We had leg of lamb, steamed veggies, potatoes, pomegranate
salade, mixed juices, and for dessert homemade muffins with a fruit
medley and homemade whipped cream. It was divine. Without the couple
missionaries we would suffer dearly.
Sister Cook also brought us ties from their stake back home, so I
ended up with an awesome stained glass looking tie that I love. It
was a great day.
Saturday was pretty great too. We stopped by a less-active member's
house to say hello, and it turns out he was going the same way we
were, so he offered us a ride in the taxi that he'd already paid for.
It was so nice. I love these people. We had a baptism at the church,
and of course the baptismal font wasn't filled and the water wouldn't
turn on, so Elder Brockbank and I started filling it - one bucket at a
time. An hour later, the Bybees showed up and told us there was a
magic switch that got the water going, so 3 cheers for the senior
couple! Everything went really smooth after.
Church is always fantastic. It's a little discouraging when there's
no one there because of torrential downpours that happen the night
before, but we kept our hopes up. Our branch president gave us this
hilarious accordion talk for like 30 minutes when the 3 other speakers
were finished in seriously 15 minutes. Then the Bybees gave us our
transfer letters and I found out that my trainer is going to open the
country of Gabon and I couldn't be more proud! I wouldn't send any
other missionary in his place. He's seriously the most outstanding,
hardest working missionary out there. I love him, and I feel super
blessed to have worked with him for as long as I did. He's the best,
and Gabon deserves the best. I'll be staying at least 6 more weeks
with Elder Brockbank, and we're both really stoked about that. It's
been an awesome transfer with not a single problem between us. We's
like peas and carottes. Then we came home and the Bybees helped us
get more gas and gave us a keyboard that had been at their apartment
forever that apparently used to be at our place before, so now my
companion is teaching me how to read music and play piano like you're
supposed to, instead of cheating by looking at how other people play
and learning like that.
Anyway, it's been an incredible week. I love you all and I hope you
have as much fun as I'm having. I believe fun exists even in America,
even if you're not a full-time missionary. So go have some fun! I
forget that it's cold back home, but I'm sure you can figure something
out. While you're at it, help a random neighbor with some random
chore, see if you don't become the best of friends! :)
Elder Garland
Life is wonderful. It's a little difficult now that I went up for a
rebound playing basketball and came back down on my ankle and now it
looks like a grapefruit, but nothing is broken so here goes week 6 of
my first transfer in Congo.
I made myself a sweet tie last Monday, which will inevitabally go to
Elder Brockbank when we part ways. He, in return, made me a sweet
belt out of plastic rope we found in the marché. We're the best of
friends. Elder Lundberg came over to dine with us that night on
splits, and I made more peanutbutter cookies. As I put the first
batch in the oven the generator ran out of gas and since there was no
more gas cans left we spent the next 2 hours in the black and miracles
exist because that first batch of cookies turned out perfectly and
warmed our little hearts as we ourselves cooked in our beds.
It's ok because the Bybees came to the rescue (the next day) and
refilled our gas cans and then on Tuesday we got up and left early to
see people who go to school in the afternoon, and I learned a lot of
kikongo and bought a cup of mashed mango which SURPRISE was salted
beyond edibility. So unfortunate. The best part is that we had
grenadine sodas and chocolate bread and that night I made
CHEESEburgers with a block of white cheddar that we bought on Monday
because we all miss America. After dinner and ripping my body apart
a.k.a. exercising I was taking a shower and hello the generator ran
out of gas again. I figured the missionaries would fill it up again
and start it which, thankfully, they did, so I just stood awkwardly
sudsy until the lights and water came back on.
Wednesday was fun. Every day is fun, but it's not every day that we
get fed. One of our less active members gave us a giant pot of saka
saka again, which we saved and made in a peanut sauce that night over
rice. Delicious. Before we got to her house we noticed a car that
had tanked into a sand bar (just kidding the whole road is one sand
bar but this car was actually bottomed out this time), so we dropped
our stuff to help. When white people do any sort of labor it becomes
a national event and everyone crowds around to watch. Not to help,
just to watch the mundele work. So here we are, digging in to the
sand with this poor taxi driver and huffing and puffing as another guy
tries to start the car to no avail, and eventually they're really
thankful but tell us they'll just call a tow taxi and sent us on our
way. People seem to be embarrassed to ask for help, but are super
thankful when you do. I love random service opportunities. We're
always on the watch.
I received a Congolese name on Thursday - Masala, which means, one who
works hard. I conveniently learned how to ask and give your name in
kikongo, so all day I was saying to little kids "kwiza munu mbote ! wa
faso ? muke bien. kumbia nghe nani ? kumbia munu masala, muke na
kilengi mingi." proceeded by bursts of laughter and cheers from people
standing there listening to the white guy speak their language. They
absolutely love it, and so do I! Learning more every day...
I also noticed that there are tons of foosball tables in our sector.
Instead of actually playing soccer (because they don't have balls to
play with) they play "baby foot" next to the bars. It's really funny
to watch, because they're actually really good. One of those things
you never expect to see Africans doing, ever. Right along side with
rollerblading.
On Friday we had an awesome time with President and Sister Cook who
came through our mission stopping in all the cities to see the
missionaries. We learned a lot about being "quick to observe" and the
difference between being agents and objects, teaching with the Spirit
and by the Spirit. It was really cool. I love meeting with them,
they're always a blessing and boost to our moral. In normal missions,
an elder could see his president several times a week. We're lucky if
we see him once a month! Anyway, we shared some Christmas videos as
we did interviews, and after we ate a fantastic meal prepared by the
Bybees. We had leg of lamb, steamed veggies, potatoes, pomegranate
salade, mixed juices, and for dessert homemade muffins with a fruit
medley and homemade whipped cream. It was divine. Without the couple
missionaries we would suffer dearly.
Sister Cook also brought us ties from their stake back home, so I
ended up with an awesome stained glass looking tie that I love. It
was a great day.
Saturday was pretty great too. We stopped by a less-active member's
house to say hello, and it turns out he was going the same way we
were, so he offered us a ride in the taxi that he'd already paid for.
It was so nice. I love these people. We had a baptism at the church,
and of course the baptismal font wasn't filled and the water wouldn't
turn on, so Elder Brockbank and I started filling it - one bucket at a
time. An hour later, the Bybees showed up and told us there was a
magic switch that got the water going, so 3 cheers for the senior
couple! Everything went really smooth after.
Church is always fantastic. It's a little discouraging when there's
no one there because of torrential downpours that happen the night
before, but we kept our hopes up. Our branch president gave us this
hilarious accordion talk for like 30 minutes when the 3 other speakers
were finished in seriously 15 minutes. Then the Bybees gave us our
transfer letters and I found out that my trainer is going to open the
country of Gabon and I couldn't be more proud! I wouldn't send any
other missionary in his place. He's seriously the most outstanding,
hardest working missionary out there. I love him, and I feel super
blessed to have worked with him for as long as I did. He's the best,
and Gabon deserves the best. I'll be staying at least 6 more weeks
with Elder Brockbank, and we're both really stoked about that. It's
been an awesome transfer with not a single problem between us. We's
like peas and carottes. Then we came home and the Bybees helped us
get more gas and gave us a keyboard that had been at their apartment
forever that apparently used to be at our place before, so now my
companion is teaching me how to read music and play piano like you're
supposed to, instead of cheating by looking at how other people play
and learning like that.
Anyway, it's been an incredible week. I love you all and I hope you
have as much fun as I'm having. I believe fun exists even in America,
even if you're not a full-time missionary. So go have some fun! I
forget that it's cold back home, but I'm sure you can figure something
out. While you're at it, help a random neighbor with some random
chore, see if you don't become the best of friends! :)
Elder Garland
December 2
Greetings America!
What an awesome week. Elder Brockbank and I have been focusing on
people who are less--active in the church and we've had some pretty
incredible experiences with people who have just been looking for a
friendly face in their home and are suddenly super motivated to come
back to church and get involved with the branch. I love seeing them
on Sunday. They are always all smiles and the people who see them are
also so excited. It's the best. Anyway, in the meantime my companion
is also kicking my butt during work outs, but it's really nice to get
back into the habit of exercising other than our weekly basketball
games, which is still super fun.
SO. On Tuesday we started pretty early and saw a ton of people, some
new some old. You can always tell people who are less interested when
you've just finished discussing Adam and Eve and you ask if they have
any questions and they go, "Brother Garland, are you married?" soooo
welcome to Africa haha.
One of the inactive ladies we went to see was so excited to see us
that she gave us a whole bushel of bananas. We had just recently
bought several in preparation for Thanksgiving, so we went ahead and
that night made chocolate banana shakes which were seriously to die
for. You think I'm suffering out here...well, actually living pretty
large haha. That night I even made us all mango smoothies on the side
of our tacos. Now you're mad, I know. Sorry. My mission is the
best.
Wednesday was even more cool. I found out that my companion and I
were momentarily in the same Western Humanities class last year before
I switched out into a new one. That was crazy. Some random guy on the
street stopped us to tell us he used to meet with sister missionaries
in Brazzaville and wanted to study with us, so that was awesome.
Another inactive guy made us manioc fufu (so much better than in
Cameroun; it's thicker and tastes better and you will have to just
look up pictures and I will guarantee that whatever you see is exactly
how it tastes) and fish soup which was so good. We need to see
inactives more often. All they do is feed you.
We made split pea soup and bought rolls on the way home from some
street vendor and they were delicious.
Thanksgiving was a blast. I don't know if I would've even had that
much fun back home. Ok I would have but! In the morning we went out
to the church to play a Turkey Bowl basketball game, and our apartment
took the cup best 2 of 3! Then Elder VanAusdal and I were in the
kitchen all Wednesday night and Thursday making stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy, creamed corn, and then an enormous banana cream
pie with a cookie crust and fried apple pies, cookies and deviled
eggs. Elder VanAusdal made mostly everything, but I take credit for
the cookies and eggs. We each had our own rotissary chicken to go
with everything, but I could only finish half. It. Was. SO. Good.
Everything was. The best part was just being with the other elders
for the whole time. They're all really fun and we get along famously
and they like my cookies so that's also good.
We had a sort of Thanksgiving hangover on Wednesday, but I blame the
fact that our air conditioner in our bedroom is broken instead of
blaming all the food we ate. For the last week or so I haven't slept
very well. I just lay there in my sweat and...that's it. Stare at
the back of my eyelids. Thankfully fatigue gets the best of my
eventually, but I inevitably wake back up and lay there again. Either
way, we had a good Friday too. We were on a search for more inactives
and it went really well. Another inactive guy bought us this
delectable coconut pastry things that were sooo good. Then Elder
Baker made carbanara and it was sooooo good.
Then Saturday rolled around and we went to see that inactive lady who
gave us bananas and she had us look through an enormous stack of
pictures of herself which was super awkward while she made us saka
saka (another plant leaf that was, you guessed it, boiled, smashed,
and put on a plate), rice, and fried chicken. It was actually super
good, but I think I prefer ndole...either way. African food is
delicious.
We taught birthdays in English class while the other elders ran a
"basketball" class. I think they just didn't wanna teach English
haha. I had a blast though. I may or may not end up teaching English
some day.
Shmorgishborg for dinner = fries, rice, and chili. Try it out. So good.
We had a typically excellent Sunday. For the first time in a few
weeks we had coordination meeting with our DMB who just spoke the
whole time and we didn't really learn anything. Then the presidency
asked me to bear my testimony because I hadn't yet introduced myself
to the congregation. It went pretty good! I said, "brothers and
sisters, mbote!" and they loved that because most of the time they all
just speak French even though everyone speaks Kikongo, as a rule. We
met a lady who'd been coming to church for weeks and turns out is just
an investigator who's been trying to get baptized but didn't know how
soooo we're meeting with her this week. Welcome to Africa.
It was also fast Sunday, so I had an awesome study on fasting and
praying, which always go together in every single scripture you find
them. Fasting is easier when you always have a prayer in your heart
and a pot of sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and peanut butter
cookies with a chocolate pushed into the center waiting for you at
home :)
That's about all the miracles we saw this week. Just kidding they
were endless, but I only have 9 more minutes and I need to be home for
lunch (Sandlot). Seriously though! The Church is true! Christ lives
and loves you! I love you and want to hear from you, so gimme a
call/email!
Till next week!
Elder Garland
What an awesome week. Elder Brockbank and I have been focusing on
people who are less--active in the church and we've had some pretty
incredible experiences with people who have just been looking for a
friendly face in their home and are suddenly super motivated to come
back to church and get involved with the branch. I love seeing them
on Sunday. They are always all smiles and the people who see them are
also so excited. It's the best. Anyway, in the meantime my companion
is also kicking my butt during work outs, but it's really nice to get
back into the habit of exercising other than our weekly basketball
games, which is still super fun.
SO. On Tuesday we started pretty early and saw a ton of people, some
new some old. You can always tell people who are less interested when
you've just finished discussing Adam and Eve and you ask if they have
any questions and they go, "Brother Garland, are you married?" soooo
welcome to Africa haha.
One of the inactive ladies we went to see was so excited to see us
that she gave us a whole bushel of bananas. We had just recently
bought several in preparation for Thanksgiving, so we went ahead and
that night made chocolate banana shakes which were seriously to die
for. You think I'm suffering out here...well, actually living pretty
large haha. That night I even made us all mango smoothies on the side
of our tacos. Now you're mad, I know. Sorry. My mission is the
best.
Wednesday was even more cool. I found out that my companion and I
were momentarily in the same Western Humanities class last year before
I switched out into a new one. That was crazy. Some random guy on the
street stopped us to tell us he used to meet with sister missionaries
in Brazzaville and wanted to study with us, so that was awesome.
Another inactive guy made us manioc fufu (so much better than in
Cameroun; it's thicker and tastes better and you will have to just
look up pictures and I will guarantee that whatever you see is exactly
how it tastes) and fish soup which was so good. We need to see
inactives more often. All they do is feed you.
We made split pea soup and bought rolls on the way home from some
street vendor and they were delicious.
Thanksgiving was a blast. I don't know if I would've even had that
much fun back home. Ok I would have but! In the morning we went out
to the church to play a Turkey Bowl basketball game, and our apartment
took the cup best 2 of 3! Then Elder VanAusdal and I were in the
kitchen all Wednesday night and Thursday making stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy, creamed corn, and then an enormous banana cream
pie with a cookie crust and fried apple pies, cookies and deviled
eggs. Elder VanAusdal made mostly everything, but I take credit for
the cookies and eggs. We each had our own rotissary chicken to go
with everything, but I could only finish half. It. Was. SO. Good.
Everything was. The best part was just being with the other elders
for the whole time. They're all really fun and we get along famously
and they like my cookies so that's also good.
We had a sort of Thanksgiving hangover on Wednesday, but I blame the
fact that our air conditioner in our bedroom is broken instead of
blaming all the food we ate. For the last week or so I haven't slept
very well. I just lay there in my sweat and...that's it. Stare at
the back of my eyelids. Thankfully fatigue gets the best of my
eventually, but I inevitably wake back up and lay there again. Either
way, we had a good Friday too. We were on a search for more inactives
and it went really well. Another inactive guy bought us this
delectable coconut pastry things that were sooo good. Then Elder
Baker made carbanara and it was sooooo good.
Then Saturday rolled around and we went to see that inactive lady who
gave us bananas and she had us look through an enormous stack of
pictures of herself which was super awkward while she made us saka
saka (another plant leaf that was, you guessed it, boiled, smashed,
and put on a plate), rice, and fried chicken. It was actually super
good, but I think I prefer ndole...either way. African food is
delicious.
We taught birthdays in English class while the other elders ran a
"basketball" class. I think they just didn't wanna teach English
haha. I had a blast though. I may or may not end up teaching English
some day.
Shmorgishborg for dinner = fries, rice, and chili. Try it out. So good.
We had a typically excellent Sunday. For the first time in a few
weeks we had coordination meeting with our DMB who just spoke the
whole time and we didn't really learn anything. Then the presidency
asked me to bear my testimony because I hadn't yet introduced myself
to the congregation. It went pretty good! I said, "brothers and
sisters, mbote!" and they loved that because most of the time they all
just speak French even though everyone speaks Kikongo, as a rule. We
met a lady who'd been coming to church for weeks and turns out is just
an investigator who's been trying to get baptized but didn't know how
soooo we're meeting with her this week. Welcome to Africa.
It was also fast Sunday, so I had an awesome study on fasting and
praying, which always go together in every single scripture you find
them. Fasting is easier when you always have a prayer in your heart
and a pot of sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and peanut butter
cookies with a chocolate pushed into the center waiting for you at
home :)
That's about all the miracles we saw this week. Just kidding they
were endless, but I only have 9 more minutes and I need to be home for
lunch (Sandlot). Seriously though! The Church is true! Christ lives
and loves you! I love you and want to hear from you, so gimme a
call/email!
Till next week!
Elder Garland
November 25
Hello again everyone!
What a great week. I love the Congo. I love Africa, basically.
Central Africa, anyway.
Last Monday after writing home we got all our groceries, came home and
made food for a potluck that we threw over at the other apartment. It
was super fun to sit around with the other elders and just chat about
life and whatnot.
On Tuesday we ran into some guy on the side of the road who came up to
us while we were walking and who first blessed us, then sent us on a
mission, then tried to give us 500 CFA (a dollar), then told us he's
seen the glory of God. It was a very interesting experience. He
proceeded to put his hand on my badge, then told me to hold out my
right hand, then said, "you see that?" and said nothing more about it.
Then he asked if we wanted to be visionaries. When we said we were
just missionaries he said, "that's right" and continued on his merry
way. I wonder sometimes about what these kinds of people do in their
free time, or what they're like at Christmas parties...
Anyway, on Wednesday we were taking a taxi and you always cram as many
people as possible in the car, so Elder Brockbank and I were first in
the back, and then a girl sat next to us, and then this big fat guy
stands next to the door, looks at us and goes "well that's not right.
that's not going to work! you guys have to get out." and basically
tried to convince us that since there were two of us we had to leave,
because otherwise he wouldn't fit in the car. It was hilarious. Like
it was our problem that he was too fat to get in the car. Eventually
he got mad and walked away, yelling at us in kikongo, which is
typical.
Speaking of kikongo, I'm still learning a ton! I even ordered a taxi
in kikongo today to get home. It's awesome. Elder VanAusdal made
biscuits and gravy. He's awesome.
On Thursday we got a yogurt cup from a recent convert which was super
delicious and inspired me to change the recipe I've been using. I'm
hoping I can still replicate it back home. Some of the ingredients
don't match. Powdered milk, for example. I don't even remember what
liquide milk tastes like...
Another investigator gave us a dogbowl of little crunchy things
that...looked like dogfood, but were really good. I promised I'd give
her some cookies that I'd made. That night we made "shmorgishborg"
which is chili on rice on french fries and tastes like the angel
Gabriel himself made it.
Friday was pretty normal except I met some random Cameroonian from
Baminda in the market. We stopped and talked to him for a while and
invited him to church and I invited him to make us njammanjamma, but
not really. We did talk about it though. So good. I swear I'm going
to take random leaves off random trees from back home, wash them, boil
them, and mash them up and you will see how delicious these countries
are.
On Saturday we went to the church to teach English, but no one came to
our class and we had to wait for the other companionship to finish
teaching their class so Elder Brockbank and I played piano. One more
talent of my companion's: he's a musical genius. I could listen to
him play piano all day, and then he will completely turn it around and
talk about football and wrestling. Crazy. People are so talented. Oh
and that investigator I promised cookies to came to English class and
I forgot her cookies and then she wasn't at church sooo I ate them.
All of them. But I plan on making more so it's ok.
Church is always great and runs like a normal American Sunday. We
came home and made shepherd's pie and watched the Best Two Years which
was hilarious and wonderful and we went to bed and woke up and played
basketball and here I am!
Thank you for being incredible. I know you're incredible because you
are the spiritual offspring of God, your Heavenly Father, and he wants
you to be "perfect, even as {He} is perfect!" God wouldn't give us
commandments that are impossible to accomplish, which means you are
capable of becoming perfect! Jesus Christ Himself followed that
example, and asked us to do everything He did. That means that
miracles exist. That means that baptism is essential to enter into
the kingdom of God. That means that the Atonement is real, and that,
brothers and sisters, is the most important fact of all. It is the
most important event that has ever, or will ever take place on this
earth. Without it, we would be a lost cause, drowning in the guilt of
our daily wrongdoings that weigh us down when we are not repentant.
But the Atonement DID happen and we CAN be saved, if we choose to be.
Christ took our sins on Him, but not our responsability. You are
saved when you accept Him as your Saviour and Redeemer apply the
principles that He taught us through example and scripture. The best
part is that it's free! All He asks is a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. I promise it is real. I live it, and I love it, and you can
too. It is never too late.
Elder Garland
What a great week. I love the Congo. I love Africa, basically.
Central Africa, anyway.
Last Monday after writing home we got all our groceries, came home and
made food for a potluck that we threw over at the other apartment. It
was super fun to sit around with the other elders and just chat about
life and whatnot.
On Tuesday we ran into some guy on the side of the road who came up to
us while we were walking and who first blessed us, then sent us on a
mission, then tried to give us 500 CFA (a dollar), then told us he's
seen the glory of God. It was a very interesting experience. He
proceeded to put his hand on my badge, then told me to hold out my
right hand, then said, "you see that?" and said nothing more about it.
Then he asked if we wanted to be visionaries. When we said we were
just missionaries he said, "that's right" and continued on his merry
way. I wonder sometimes about what these kinds of people do in their
free time, or what they're like at Christmas parties...
Anyway, on Wednesday we were taking a taxi and you always cram as many
people as possible in the car, so Elder Brockbank and I were first in
the back, and then a girl sat next to us, and then this big fat guy
stands next to the door, looks at us and goes "well that's not right.
that's not going to work! you guys have to get out." and basically
tried to convince us that since there were two of us we had to leave,
because otherwise he wouldn't fit in the car. It was hilarious. Like
it was our problem that he was too fat to get in the car. Eventually
he got mad and walked away, yelling at us in kikongo, which is
typical.
Speaking of kikongo, I'm still learning a ton! I even ordered a taxi
in kikongo today to get home. It's awesome. Elder VanAusdal made
biscuits and gravy. He's awesome.
On Thursday we got a yogurt cup from a recent convert which was super
delicious and inspired me to change the recipe I've been using. I'm
hoping I can still replicate it back home. Some of the ingredients
don't match. Powdered milk, for example. I don't even remember what
liquide milk tastes like...
Another investigator gave us a dogbowl of little crunchy things
that...looked like dogfood, but were really good. I promised I'd give
her some cookies that I'd made. That night we made "shmorgishborg"
which is chili on rice on french fries and tastes like the angel
Gabriel himself made it.
Friday was pretty normal except I met some random Cameroonian from
Baminda in the market. We stopped and talked to him for a while and
invited him to church and I invited him to make us njammanjamma, but
not really. We did talk about it though. So good. I swear I'm going
to take random leaves off random trees from back home, wash them, boil
them, and mash them up and you will see how delicious these countries
are.
On Saturday we went to the church to teach English, but no one came to
our class and we had to wait for the other companionship to finish
teaching their class so Elder Brockbank and I played piano. One more
talent of my companion's: he's a musical genius. I could listen to
him play piano all day, and then he will completely turn it around and
talk about football and wrestling. Crazy. People are so talented. Oh
and that investigator I promised cookies to came to English class and
I forgot her cookies and then she wasn't at church sooo I ate them.
All of them. But I plan on making more so it's ok.
Church is always great and runs like a normal American Sunday. We
came home and made shepherd's pie and watched the Best Two Years which
was hilarious and wonderful and we went to bed and woke up and played
basketball and here I am!
Thank you for being incredible. I know you're incredible because you
are the spiritual offspring of God, your Heavenly Father, and he wants
you to be "perfect, even as {He} is perfect!" God wouldn't give us
commandments that are impossible to accomplish, which means you are
capable of becoming perfect! Jesus Christ Himself followed that
example, and asked us to do everything He did. That means that
miracles exist. That means that baptism is essential to enter into
the kingdom of God. That means that the Atonement is real, and that,
brothers and sisters, is the most important fact of all. It is the
most important event that has ever, or will ever take place on this
earth. Without it, we would be a lost cause, drowning in the guilt of
our daily wrongdoings that weigh us down when we are not repentant.
But the Atonement DID happen and we CAN be saved, if we choose to be.
Christ took our sins on Him, but not our responsability. You are
saved when you accept Him as your Saviour and Redeemer apply the
principles that He taught us through example and scripture. The best
part is that it's free! All He asks is a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. I promise it is real. I live it, and I love it, and you can
too. It is never too late.
Elder Garland
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