So, A big ol thank you to the wonderful people I received letters and
dear elders from this week :) Sister Peterson, Aunt Deb (awww poor
aunty), Cassy (do I have to call you mrs p now?, Jeff Hales, JENALYN,
Miranda (I wrote you a letter dearest candian but don't know your byu
addresss so both have been sent to canada), JENALYN again :), Moma,
Dad, Moma again, Drew Hooper, Rebecca, and thomas and laura I got two
post cards from you :)
Ah mommma dearest! it is so good to hear from you :) let me address
your letter step by step! Ah I am so glad that Elder Hale's pictures
got there okay and geez all these pictures of me on the mission blog.
I want to see these pictures myself haha, maybe you can send them to
me? The hamburgers were amazing. It was an egg/hamburger ah so yummy
:) and french fries might I add, so delicious. Not many places around
here you can find it, but the mission will spoil us sometimes ;) and
Sister Lauritzen, one of the couples, made crazy cake for us, which
was especially delicious. Nice to have some delicious food every once
in a while :) Elder Hales and Elder Symons should be moving out in 2
weeks, and us as well possibly, but nothing is really final yet, and
besides, transfers are in 2 weeks as well, so should be some exciting
news by then. Thank you for the boxes momma, but in the last package
all I found was $15 in the pictures, so i hope that was all that was
in there but you are so sweet for sending me them momma. I like how
you send me money slowly though, it keeps me from spending too much ;)
hahah like me and my companion bought nigeria jerseys today! legit
ones too that you can't buy off the street. So sweet! we bluff big
time (bluff here is a common word used to mean you are trying to look
fancy or rich, in a way, used as friends as a joke, but could
be taken rude I believe if used on a stranger )
Everything is a learning experience with a
child in Africa so no worries my dearest mother! hahahah Elder Hales
has been STACKING in the boxes this week! I think he may have gotten
2-3, geez he was so happy :)
Ah, so good to hear about all the school and everything back home,
awww grandparents....Please tell Grandfather how much I love him and
pray for him, i sent them an e-mail, but that is before I read about
the surgery...I will definitely be praying for him.
and wow momma you are so awesome! i am reading the New Testament
right now as well :) Paul is the man! no doubt! but thank you for
sending stamps and pens, I definitely need them forreals, but mommma
your packages are perfect, I just love PICTURES :) everyone always
gathers around and I get to show everyone you guys, so pictures of the
house maybe, the family, anything. I love them :) but on to the
weekkkkkk
So, Sierra Leone is amazing! I love it more and more every single day,
so here comes another letter of complete chaos while I try to tell you
loved ones my week here :) So, we will start with my new hobby of
polishing shoes. I do it about every other day now haha, I love
polishing my shoes and always making em look nice, even though 30
seconds out of the compound they are dirty again, but I know the Lord
wants me to look my best so I sure do try :) the shirts are all
started to slowly get a nice lil yellow tint to them :) shows
character huh?
I got hit by a car this week! we were in the market trying to buy
some things for the apartment (joys of district work) and it was super
crowded and my backpack was full of stuff for the apartment.I was
talking to this lady trying to get her to lower the price for some
soap when a van came by quickly and hit my bookbag and sent me flying
past the lady, knocking over a couple things hahah gosh all the
africans who saw it started brushing me off and helping me up and some
even started chasing down the van and beating on the side of it haha
:) oh, but not even a scratch on me forreals, so don't you worry :)
another testimony that the Lord truly is looking out for me :)
So, my white pant bottoms got a little dirty when they fell last week, so i
was trying so hard to get the dirt out that my knuckles started
bleeding trying to wash em. Ah, still got scabs on them :) but, geez
, I will forever more appreciate washing machines when I return home
:) but they are healing nice and quick, but it was really hard to wash
today.
Elder Ekpo scammed me this week. the zone leader. He is borrowing a
chess board from a member and came and asked me if I would teach him
how to play, so I did. Then he wanted to watch me play someone so he
could learn. so I beat Elder Hales and Elder Symons...then Elder Ekpo
said he was ready to play...in which he beat me in 4 moves...Yes, He
hustled me hahah he is his school/district champion back in Nigeria.
Gosh, he is the man :) he kills everyone. Elder Hales played him like
4 times, and Elder Ekpo even removed his queen and both rooks and was
able to win...he is crazy good.
My biggest temptation on a mission in Africa...football!(soccer) the season
has truly started and it is everywhere. I have to hide from it!
everyone is just sounding it in the cafes and on radios as loud as
they can! you can hear people roaring at 11 at night whenever someone
scores. So we usually can guess the score of the game before it is
even over. Even during church I knew who was scoring haha, but I
manage to always keep my mind focused, so no problem :)
So, this week and last week I have been suffering from bronchitis (as
confirmed by momma Sister Roggia :) ) I have had a terrible cough and
trouble breathing, but after I started taking some Augmentin
antibiotic, I am doing a lot better and I am almost at 100 % again.
Everyday, no matter how bad I felt, I made sure to get out and go at
the right time, and while I was proselyting, the Lord truly blessed me
with strength...at the apartment....not as much haha but, when I do
his work he gives me all the strength I need ::) but I am doing fine
now so don't worry about me. I am back to gyming and even played
football today :)
The amazing Wednesday with Elder Hales!!!!!! Finally, the day came
that I got to go and proselyte with Elder Hales in my area. First time
taking another Elder to my area as well :) but Saidu joined us and we
went on up the mountain and had some SWEET lessons. All the lessons
were with guys our age and wow it was so sweet. Elder Hales is a great
missionary and teacher and the people understand him great :) It was
so sweet to work with him. We had a sweet lesson with a boy David
Mansurray. I took out the plan of salvation to teach that, but after
following up on a book of mormon reading (alma 34 do not procrastinate
the day of your repentance) he asked what is repentance? so I took out
lesson 3, gospel of Jesus Christ and man we had the sweetest lesson
like so far on my mission. The spirit was so strong, and the boy was
like, well when I prayed about the message, I started crying...So i
went to sleep, is that bad? and we explained to him what he was
feeling and ahh sweet sweet lesson :)
On our way down the mountain, we had a very uh...strange encounter. A
drunk army man yelled at us from the other side of the road, so we
went to go and see what he wanted...yeah, it is kinda uncomfortable
talking to a drunk soldier with an ak in his hand, asking to have a
bible. |So, we gave him a Word of wisdom track :) and he sent us on
our way haha, oh Sierra Leone, you got to love it :)
Elder Ngerem and I started eating at this one shack right outside of
our apartment who cooks some beef and stuff for us at night. He just
puts it on a metal pan over his fire grate and presses on it with
newspaper to cook it, but it is super delicious, and we add it to our
spaghetti meals for a very yummy treat! also, had bread (about 2 feet
long hahaah) with milk on it this week. It was super yummy and super
filling. Guess it was just sour milk or something, but it was yummy
forreals :)
We also got a giant bag of rice this week! which should last 6 weeks I
would say. ahhh we had our branch missionary george carry it and man
he was struggling. It is super big :) so we will enjoy boku rice.
For some reason I feel inspired to give Aunt Deb a shout out :) "Do the Roar!"
So, we have been spending a lot of time with the assistants Elder
Barth and ELder Appleby this week. Ah, I love those guys so much. We
talk about everything and it is really sweet to hangout with them and
see how all their duties and responsiblities, and geez those guys
are busy. They truly are veterans of the mission, and I learn so much
from them. Elder Barth is my father (papa, he being Elder Ngerem's
trainer) he has taught me so much :) I truly enjoyed talking to him
this week and learned so many things.
but,, Zone conference this week was truly inspiring ( besides the
amazing food) and I learned so so so so so many things! this week has
been a week of personal revelation to me :) everytime I have opened my
scriptures it just has been flooding me! but the greatest revelation I
have received this week is that Priesthood authority (and really
anything) is useless without faith. If you don't have faith in the
power you hold, then it is powerless. Just like in Matthew when the
apostles ask Jesus Christ why they were not able to cast out the
devils, he tells them because they didn't have enough faith. and also
when the people in the city believed not, they received no mighty
miracles because of their unbelief. Jesus Christ can't work miracles
in our life if we don't have faith that he can. You can't expect
miracles if you don't EXPECT miracles. SO, I have started a miracle of
the day account in my journal :) and I truly see them every single
day!
Saturday was another exchange day, so Elder Baffou Apiah accompanied
me to my area, in which we had like 5 bounces haha but for some reason
he has never really liked me. He is a Ghanayan, and I tried so hard to
be friendly to him haha, asing question and everything and talking
about life and everything but he wouldn't even look at me, just say
yes or no and keep walking...so, not everyone is going to like us in
life :) but, we just have to do our best and pray for the rest and
then pray to God heheheh but, I love him, or try my best to at least.
Also, random fun fact. Couples here really don't hold hands? at all?
or show any sort of public affection, or even attention to each other?
weird yeah. but, guys hold hands here, not gay at all, it just means
you are best friends. Like, Saidu will always grab my hand when we are
walking and stuff but there is nothing weird about it. Of course, for
me I would always be like ah man what are yo doing kinda subtle deal
in my mind you know? but then i see what it means to them in their
culture and it is still weird for me, but I love them so i will not
offend them haaha ;)
The mission is so sweeet and I love it more every week :) I love all
of you so much and I enjoy hearing from everyone so much :) Sierra Leone is
truly sweet and this mission is amazing! we may get a stake this
month! (fingers crossed) but I Love you all and hope for the best!
Take care and may the Spirit always be with you :)
oh, and Jeff Leavitt, if you are reading this...I love you. Hope you
got my letter. You are the boss.
Love
Elder Jesse Sumrak
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