First off, New Years has
been very interesting! Proselyting has been dismal because everyone has
been at their own church... Everyone, that is, except for the Latter-Day
Saints. We had a whopping three members at Sacrament Meeting yesterday
which may be an all time low for the mission. The good news is that
those members included a less-active family that are on the brink of
re-activation! So yay for missionary work! #yay
I also had two FM's (Free Meals) today... which is why I'm emailing so late. One was at 3:00 where we had rice balls and groundnut soup and the other was at 4:30
where we had all you can eat rice, pasta, and chicken. It was delicious
but we put down so much food. Like... I'm talking we ate SO MUCH!
#yayformyinevitablerunnytummy
The first FM was
with one of the members of our district presidency and the second was
with the acting-president of the Tamale Rotary Club. I guess sometime
the transfer before I arrived in the Tamale zone did a service project for
the Rotary Club helping them with a blood drive they were organizing. As
a result they were able to collect almost 400 pints of blood. The FM
today was to express gratitude for that. (Even though most of us weren't
even there when the service project took place) #
Many
of you are curious about Steven so just to let you all know, he is
progressing well and should be baptized by the end of the month. We've
had to postpone his date to the 22nd but we shouldn't have a problem
getting him there. It's great to see him looking forward and eager to be
baptized.
It's weird to think that when I look
back at my life and reflect on 2017 it will be "The year I was on a
mission." My mind is honestly still in October (when I left) and it
might stay that way my whole mission (especially since I will also be
returning home in October) but I seriously can't believe that it has
already been three months since I left home. And I can already say with
infinitely more surety that this truly is the true Gospel of Jesus
Christ. A mission is for everyone. If you are on the fence about serving
a mission, I would encourage you to do it. There is nothing else in
this world that you could do that would be better. Whenever I get
discouraged or homesick, (and believe me I do) #everymissionarydoes I
just remind myself that there is absolutely nowhere else in the world
that I would rather be than in Africa right now, teaching people about
my church from back in Utah. The convert baptismal ceremony is really an
amazing thing to witness but for me the most special part of a convert
baptism is the part people don't typically think of... It's the
confirmation that happens the next day. Every time someone is confirmed a
member of the church, the realm of the influence of Christ expands
further and further and God's kingdom becomes more firmly established.
It is my prayer and my prophesy that one day Tamale with experience the
same devotion and organization that the church has in Utah. I love you
all so much and I can't wait to get the New Year started.
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