Wow! so glad to hear that everyone is doing well and you guys weren't
affected too bad by the hurricane. Elder Laurizten told me about
his brother meeting Laura and I thought that was totally awesome!:)
Well....Let me apologize in advance for any pessimistic subliminal
messages or very obvious messages found in this letter. The past
couple days have been very stressful and I am going to try to make it
as cheery as possible. So, lets begin with the best news of the
week....I GOT ASSAULTED!!!!
Yes, Saturday evening after a very very bouncy day (8) bounces, Elder
Burton and I decided to forget it and go and get some district errands
off the list. So, we went into town and got some more keys made for
the new apartment and uh, there was this guy all dressed up in white
sitting on the ground writing on a sign board. We walked by and a
couple guys nearby were like talk to this guy, he needs help. So, we
talked to him and he introduced himself as Prophet John. Elder Burton
asked him how he became a prophet, well he said because he received
the call while he was in his mothers womb, like Jeremiah...so, Elder
Burton asked how he did that? and he told Elder Burton that if he said
another word he would slap him in the face. So, Elder Burton and I
immediately backed off and started to turn to leave him, and he stood
up and started screaming saying stuff like Your devil prophet Joseph
Smith and your demonic book of mormon, and we were just like woah,
lets get out of here. Next thing I know the guy is up and like drop
kicks me in the quad, and we are continuing to back off and he comes
and does it again hahaha and all the guys around came and grabbed him
and we kinda just hurried off and got around the corner and started
laughing our heads off....we weren't sure if he was possessed/crazy/
or just really wanted to start something but gosh he kicked me hahaha!
there were shoe prints on my pants!...so yeah...that was the
excitement for the week...gotta love it
Well, Tuesday we had our apartment moving day, which took the whole
day. We took apart EVERYTHING in the apartment, beds and all and
dressers and anything and packed it into vans which 2 vans had to make
3 trips to our apartment to drop everything off. not too bad I guess,
but it took the whole day and was a tish load of work and lots of
things still weren't put into place...
The dressers finally showed up Friday, so were finally able to move
them in and get unpacked. The apartment isn't bad. It has tiling (woot
woot) um, 3 bedrooms that are smaller than your master bathroom, and
our kitchen is smaller then nick's and mine bathroom...for 6 guys. One
shower...no curtain...and uh....tish we don't even have a study table,
so we are using the parlor eating table..nasty.
Uh...current situation...no water for the past 3 days pretty much. Um.
the pump is broken, we kinda fixed it, but the rest of the compound
residents are taking the pump water and we get well water that has to
be pumped up to us (when we have power) and first it has to fill the
3rd story tank before it will fill our 2nd story one, so we are screwed
on that end...the man in charge of taking care of the missionaries is
swamped right now and wasn't able to get us our electricty on
saturday...so our prepaid meter died last night...and we lost over 10
pieces of chicken from spoiling this morning...yeah, that was fun to
clean out of the freezer...no water...so I couldn't gym, and slept in
my own filth. We went to the street and bought satchet waters this
morning, (lil sacks of bacteria filled water) so I could cut them to
shower. Also, sucked yesterday because I fasted, then came to find NO
WATER when i got home, not a happy Jesse at all, so I pretty much dove
inside the well, trying to reach my bucket in enough to get a bottle
full at least haahaha, yeah it was pretty pathetic, but we are getting
by. Hopefully we will have water tonight and maybe electricity...I'm
kinda in a bad mood about the whole thing, but its okay. I know it
will end up okay, im just bummed because all our food spoiled, I'm
super dirty, breaking out everywhere, and just feel gross...but, this
is only one end of missionary work in Sierra Leone. The first
part..Surviving. The second amazing part...proselyting...so at least
one thing is going successful right now ;)
We have met some amazing people this week and are starting to refill
our teaching pool, which is totally awesome! and Saturday I had the
wonderful opportunity to baptize Christiana Samba, the girl who had so
many problems and everything. She gave it all up and chose me to
baptize her and it was awesome. She started laughing afterwards
because she was so happy and couldn't stop talking about how she felt
so "holy". hahaha so that was really sweet. Lots of people here are
totally receptive of the gospel and are just like sure baptize me, but
this girl had to change, she had to make committments, she really had
to have that desire, and it was really awesome to watch this
conversion :)
I have been getting up 45 minutes early everyday to gym now...so I get
up at 5:45 and workout from 6-7. which is a really nice way to start
the day. But, I got up the other morning and forgot that I had had no
water to wash my hands the night before..and had cut pepay...so, yay
when I put my contacts in in the morning and couldn't open my eye for
about 5 minutes because I was crying so much hahaha, I laugh now, but
it was terrible! I couldn't even get my eye open to take out the
liquid hot contact...ah.....! so I just went and gymed and cried it
all out hahaha. so pathetic.
um...more dogs. the compound doesn't have money to buy a guard, so they
have viscious dogs that are just as bad as the ones before! ah it
sucks!
and our neighbours are crazy! there are some cools guys our age, but
their is a crazy woman who I am pretty sure is a mom, but gave me a
handshake the other day and did this thing with the index finger that
is the Sierra Leone way of pretty much saying you want to do bad
things, so ran away up stairs and haven't seen her since. thank
goodness. so thats nice and awkward.
Washing dishes is fun too hahaha I feel so legit. Sitting on the floor
in the parlor with 3 buckets in front of me, one for washing, one for
rinsing, and one for dries...hahaha oh boy africa...
Well, with no water to gym, and no electricity to do anything, I
passed out at 8 last night, and 9 the night before haha. so lame. I
feel like I am wasting time but there is nothing else we can be doing
:/ the assistants asked us to try to be in our apartment by 7ish
because of the crazy area we are in....blah.
no mail this week :/
Been eating tons of boiled chicken and fried plantanes
Well, craziness yesterday...um nobody told us that we would be
watching conference at church on Sunday at 9 am...our church meets at
12 and we told all of our investigators that but, they decided to
watch the general conference...um yeah, not even half the district
could fit inside to watch it. we got to watch one talk, before we
decided to get up and give up our seats so others could watch. and all
our investigators who did show up early didn't know what was going on
and it was hard to explain that this isn't how church normally goes,
but we did our best. so sketch. They had bed sheets covering all the
windows to block light, and they were using like a 20 inch tv with a
micropone in front of it haha, oh boy :) but, everything went okay,
and we actually had 10 investigators at church, and even taught this
boy Charles afterwards in a classroom.
Met a awesome kid named Charles who is the smartest Sierra Leonean I
have met. He is about 14 or so and passing the other day asked us to
explain our doctrine. we talked for like 15 minutes and he was
explaining the Orthodox doctrine he has, in a giant book he carries
around. but he asked about our title and stuff and a statement I gave
him really hit him. I asked him if Moses was to start a church, what
would he call it? if Paul was to start a chuch what would he call it?
and he was like the Church of Moses, the Church of Paul, and I asked
him about Jesus Christ and he was like hmm....and we left him, and he
showed up at church on sunday and told us that that had really touched
him, because he wanted to be a part of Jesus's Christs church....the
kid talks so well and he knows so much. I had not even met an adult
here who speaks English like he does. And he understands so well. Like
we were teaching the restoration and he was looking at the picture and
was like...hmm....it appears he is praying, but the way they are laying
hands on his head seems like something else is going on. Are they
giving him the Holy Ghost? or are they like giving him the priesthood?
we were like uh...Out of the hundred some lessons I have taught while
I have been here nobody has even come close hahaha :) he is great!
baptismal date on November 24, along with a friend he brought to
church. So funny...his friend was falling asleep and he woke him up
and told him to keep watching the tv. ah he is great :)
well...yeah...sorry I don't have so much to say. Feeling gross,
looking gross...got plenty of worms inside my body, no mail this week,
no water (which means no food, no washing, no washing clothes, and no
shaving), no electricity....NO PROBLEM:) everything is going great
but, I didn't write letters this week....sorry...don't really have
energy to do anything....just come home, close, and go to bed. but, I
am doing my best to get pumped up and write some. Proselyting just
drains me hahaha
oh, was supposed to get transfer news last night but nope...nothing.
so who knows, maybe I'll be somwhere else next week. maybe not...i
don't know anything anymore. I just miss you all very much and want
you to know that this gospel is true. If it wasn't for trials then we
wouldn't have reason to grow. So, may the Lord humble me and make me a
better person then the whiny baby I am now. I love this gospel, I love
the church. I love missionary work...just wish I could focus more on
missionary work and less on surviving hahaha, but hopefully they will
balance out soon. But, life is great and I really am doing well so
don't worry about me :) I love youu soooo much. I love you all.
I did get the music by the way! but...it isn't mp3, so it won't play.
but its okay, the zone leaders took it today because they said they
got a place that will convert it for free. so hopefully they take care
of that :) but than you so much for the music. Maybe if I get power
tonight I can charge my battery and try it and let you knows :)
It is super hot here by the way and I am tanning too quickly. it looks
gross when you take off your priesthood attire...but, all the white
guys look that way I guess. so no problem :)
I love and miss you all. take care and be safe!
by the way, in the internet cafe with Elder Hales too right now ;)
Love,
ELder Jesse Sumrak
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