Ginger Water is Awesome!

SO MANY Sierra Leoneans live in Virginia, it is crazy. At least like 15 of my investigators here have told me they have so much family in Virginia but they all live up north near Washington DC, Oh, I can't wait to run into some one  day and start speaking Krio with them and go to their houses and eat all of their smuggled cassave and potatoe leaf :) oh, it will be so sweet!

SO, I think some of my college friends are already there in the Virginia mission, but some are Spanish speaking so I am not completely sure, but I hope to hear from them very soon. I think Miranda comes in March? And my transfer news? Delayed one week...so I will find out Sunday.

Got some sweet letters from Bekki, Katie, Kristen, Rebecca, and Ma and Pa and thank you so much all for writing me. I have written you all a letter back so I hope you will be receiving it in the next couple weeks!

So this week...pretty sweet!

Well, on Tuesday we had Bi-Zone Conference, and Elder Curtis from the Seventy came and gave us a sweet instruction along with his wife. To be honest, it wasn't super like applicational or anything, but it was a really good pick me up lesson he gave on the church progression and our mission progression and Africa progression and it just left us all feeling a little better about ourselves, which I guess is good to have every once in a while.

It was SUPER awesome to see my buddy Elder Hill from my MTC! Ah, we had such a great time, because it was the first time I have seen him in 7 months and gosh we were the best buddies in the MTC. We were up every morning early to study, always ate together, had class together, and it was just awesome to see him happy and doing well and his spirit still so strong. This work is so sweet and it’s so good to see my fellow brethren excelling in the work as well. Just like it always cheers me up to hear how well Drew is doing and Katie, and I truly find joy in their success! I love all missionaries, maybe my cousins a bit more, and it’s such a blessing to have this opportunity to serve!

Got my buddy a Liverpool jersey last Monday, and he was so happy when I gave it to him. I see him everyday on the street and we always talk about football for at least 2 minutes before I carry on to the next appointment, but everyone on the street calls him CAPITANO, or Steven G. so I bought him a Gerrard jersey haha :) PS...He has now gotten everyone on the street calling me Gareth Bale for the past 2 months haha, oh football is so magical. Isn't it. a whole new language? :)

On Wednesday I got to go on an exchange with the district leader, Elder Adah, and we had a great day going about. His area isn't quite as far up the mountain so it was a nice break on my poor legs haha, I am really hoping to get transferred...6 transfers would just be too much hiking this mountain everyday haha. Hope the camera gets here this week though so I can snap all the places on the mountain, all my investigators/recent converts/ and maybe even video the journey :)

So, something happened to me last Monday night that has just got my body SCREWED UP! it was a hot hot night and my sleep was complete tish, just lying in a pool of sweat, stuck to my sheets, and in the middle of the night my left calf just got so tight and I pulled it super bad :/ so I spent the next day limping around and what not, went to sleep Tuesday night, and woke up and my BACK is now SCREWED UP haha I have no idea why. Now, when I breathe in hard, my whole upper back aches, I have no clue why :/ Sister Roggia says drink more water, but I’m tired of water haha :) but, I’m still obedient. I will make it through. Ibuprofen is a blessing :)

I did eat Cow heart while I was on my exchange. We got some fofo soup and inside was a cow heart, and gosh I could not get the whole thing down my throat! It was too squishy to cut so I just put the whole thing in my mouth and literally chewed on it for 5 minutes before my gums were getting so raw that I just took it out and threw it to a rather grateful dog sleeping near by haha :) love trying new foods though!

Started a new workout this week. Every morning I get up and go outside and do sprint in like a 20 yard area which is super uh, not flat, and kinda rocky, but it gets the job done. I do 20 sprints, then do 10 sprints up our flight of 12 stairs, and do that 3x, so its a good start to the day :) followed by my favorite oatmeal, what could be better?! uh, nothing!

Well, we got balanced earlier this week and spent 30 minutes at this girls house with like 14 little kids sitting around, so I decided to just get the picture book out and show them some pictures, which turned into the lesson of the restoration...and then the gospel of Jesus Christ...and parts of the plan of salvation haha, it was such a good time. They loved the gospel art book. They even sang us some songs about the pictures like: "JESUS SAID, una now come out, an me I go make una na fisha mendem!" and this song continues with the same line over and over for about 5 minutes haha it was great :) teaching kids is my absolute favorite!

So....ginger water, so good but I stopped drinking it because they were not using filtered water...but too late, I am addicccccccted! so I got some ginger and then took it to the neighbor with a gallon of fresh water and gave her 10,000 to make me a gallon of ginger water :) ah so good, such a good deal gosh i am going to be doing that every week now! ginger water...so good :) I am going to come home and start a ginger garden and everything. gosh I am weird, but I don't even care :)

Saturday! wow Saturday, what a sweet day. Started the day off very nicely with a rather large baptism with all the wards attending and participating. We had I think 11 for the day and 2 were from Mount Aureol. I had the awesome opportunity to baptize Benjamin and Melvin.  It was an awesome experience and honestly one of the most spirit filled baptisms I have attended on my mission. It was just so quiet and peaceful and you could just feel the spirit touching everyone’s heart, whispering that yes, this is true, this is of God. Even had a stubborn investigator there who approached us after the baptism and asked us to come later this week...he would like to have his sister and her daughter baptized. So, it was a super awesome experience!

Benjamin is an awesome guy who is currently in university. He is super smart and has read so much of the Book of Mormon. More than any of my investigators really. and he not only reads but he understands very well, even the small details. Ones I don't even know! I ask him what he read and he talks about how Lehi named the valley of Lemuel and the river Laman and I probably even got it wrong off the top of my head right now but gosh he is just a super awesome guy with a great testimony. He hasn't missed church since the first time he was invited in December...awesome to see him receive the priesthood yesterday!

Melvin is great as well! He is the boy who had sickle cell disease, but gosh this gospel has really changed his life. Before, he was living from day to day in depression, and told me he had NO friends. Now, he is joyful all the time, has tons of friends in church, and is just a ball of sunshine. It is a miracle what the gospel can really do. It’s not me. It’s not Elder Etuk. It is God. We are his instruments and it truly is a blessing to have the Lord wield me however he would like to. All it takes is humility (which I really could always need some more of) and diligence. Do the work, even if you know not the reason, even if you’re tired, even if it’s hopeless seeming, for for the Lord, it is a wise purpose in him (think that is like Alma 37 or something.....I do not profess to be a scripture master haha, rather I profess to obtain the blessings promised in DC 84:85)

Random...but bought apples today....I missed apples :)

Saturday after the baptism, we all bucketed the water back into the tank like usual, which usually takes like 30-45 minutes if all the missionaries are contributing and helping out. After, we run the wet clothes home and hang them to dry, then we went to Melvin’s house and walked him over to the young women and young men combined activity at the chapel...which was a BLAST! We showed up and even the Belliar Park Elders were there. We ended up having about 60 people there, 15 of which were not members, and 10 were new contacts, so it was a super productive activity and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. It was all outside in front of the chapel. It started with a nice hymn and prayer and then our 2nd counselor in the bishopric, Brother Thomas Johnson, gave a good 10 minute lesson on the Restoration of the gospel to everyone present. We then proceeded and had a comedian (one of our members) get up and tell some jokes and ah he was great! now of course if you don't understand krio, you’re left out hahaha, and even more, if you don't start to catch on to African (or maybe just Sa lone) humor, you will not find anything funny haha :)

The activity continued with a dance competition in which the girls dancing was uh...a bit concerning, but I guess everyone can pull the whole "culture" card, but I never buy that tish haha but it was funny and they had a good time. These 6 boys came, just off the streets from Melvin’s house, and were called the Chemical boys, and were like a rehearsed boy band and were doing all these synchronized dances, in which members threw them over 20,000 leones while they danced haha, it was pretty awesome. The kids couldn't have been over 12-14 years old. Quite impressive. The dancing here is super funny. Africa has their own dances here with their music. They have the Alingo, the Zonto, and many others. Just like we have the jerk, the dougy, the soldier boy, man they got their own crazy ones here, which I must say can put up competition with our own. Watch out Africa trendy!:)

We then had food for everyone which was like couscous, rice bread, coca-cola, chicken, and other stuff I am not familiar with and was super good. They had a volleyball net outside, giant speakers with music, people playing football, and even a ping pong table set up. Yes, Kendall boy, Alex Morton, Evan Verbeek, wherever you are in the world, if you ever even read this haha, I still got it! I thought I would be complete tish but I showed them Africans what’s up. My companion Elder Aluka was some good competition though, with long arms and a nasty forehand, but it was such a good time! We stayed for a couple hours and then left to go teach some more people...even though to be honest all of our progressing investigators were at the party haha, but it was a good time.

Well, mission truly is flying by and it is crazy. Each week passes by with the blink of an eye and its hard to keep up. I need some change to slow things down a bit haha, because I have been blinking a lot lately! I love this gospel and know it is true. I was moved almost to tears as I stood on the 2nd story balcony of the church and looked down below on the courtyard during the activity. Idriss Kangbo came beside me and talked to me and said Elder Sumrak, look down there, those are your converts...and I looked and saw a large group of kids, all having a great time, involving the new converts, involving new investigators...and it’s those small moments that make you remember what it’s all about. We are bringing souls to Christ. We are changing lives. We are giving life. This gospel has changed my life, as well as this mission, and I will never be the same again, fortunately. I am becoming more and more converted everyday as my testimony is forced to become stronger and stronger. New challenges and new experiences come every day, forcing me to grow in ways that would never have been possible without this mission, so I am grateful for my trials, knowing if I bare them with patience, the blessings will come (the last verse of Alma 35 I believe?). Thank you all so much and I love you all more than you will ever know. I miss the tish out of everyone and everything, but this mission is a blessing. As Katie said in a letter I received from her yesterday, can you believe that we are in the middle of the best 2 years of our life...amen cousin amen :) Farewell all!

-Love,

Elder Jesse Sumrak 

Happy to Serve!!

NOTE FROM MOM:  Last week Elder Sumrak asked anyone to write
him and tell him why he loved Alma 17:26 so I gave him my best guess.  This
is his reply:

Well mother, your guess was very good, but to be honest I hadn't even
thought anything about the water but that actually applies
perfectly!:) you definitely win for the most in depth study and
answer, BUT the answer is because: Alma 17:26 says "LamaniTISH"
hahahahaha oh, I have no idea why I am so easily amused. I'm so mature.
but, i did think it was funny because it isn't really necessary but
just oh so awesome!

Glad that all of my letters got there okay, I had
some extra free time one Monday night so I sent a lot to some old
friends who I miss. 3 of them got mission calls and 2 of them are
going to Virginia on their missions so I thought it would be cool to
start writing them. Wow, a snow day? that is super sweet. I had a 15
minute discussion with Elder Etuk about what snow was like yesterday.
We were watching the PMG district training dvds and he asked me what
the snow was like, so I spent a while explaining, and then he was
confused that we had a north and south america...and it had to be
explained that AMERICA and the United States of America are different
hahaha...that took a very long time for some reason...I'm not sure if
he ever quite understood haha

Thank you for gathering those addresses and sending those letters
moma, i hope they are all still friends with me on Facebook so it
shouldn't be TOO big of a problem I hope. I love and miss you Lauren
Byrd :) hope you get my letter soon!

So, got the WEIRDEST mail the other day momma. Got a big envelope from
Norfolk, and it said "found loose in mail" and inside the envelope was
a smaller envelope and inside that envelope was half of an envelope
that I had sent to the USA, and inside was 10$? but, I never sent 10$
so did I just get free money?

Also, thank you so very much to Grandfather and grandma and Aunt Deb
and my mother for the wonderful packages I received this week. I hid
all the food from the other Elders so I could share it with my Sa Lone
boys and they loved it so much today haha :) Saidu and Idrissa loved
the protein bars and were very grateful so thank you so very much. All
of the letters and cards were just awesome, as well as all of the
pictures, and I just had such a great tuesday night looking through
all of them. Thank you so very much for all the love you have for me
and I love you all so much. The pillow case was just awesome and I
immediately threw it on my pillow and it always gives me a good
smile before I go to sleep :) thank you so much for that, the
sentimental things mean more then all the other things in the world!
Thank you all you wonderful cousins for the letters you wrote me for
Thanksgiving, and thank you so much Quinn, because I had like 6-10
notes from you haha you are the sweetest and I love you so much!
Thank you also to the 2nd grade class at Isle of Wight Academy who
sent me the wonderful Christmas cards! I have written a letter to the
class and I hope it will get there in the next couple weeks :)

So, awesome experience with a young man this week. Came to teach him
Tuesday and he admitted he had a problem with the law of
chastity...and he wanted help quitting his pornography addiction...the
next day I asked him how it went and he said he was able to overcome
it, but then he said it was really hard, so I told him to bring me all
the cds and pictures in a bag, so he brought them all out and I
snapped them all in half and took the bag and threw it in a dumpster
along the way back home...ever since he has just been loving the
church and the spirit, going to seminary, institute, young men
activities, church :) ah its great to watch the gospel change lives!

So much hiking this week! we are teaching a group of people up PAST
Treeplanting. So about, an hour hike from the apartment, geeze my
calves are still burning today. But, if they come to church, I will do
whatever it takes to go and find them and teach them haha because
those are the people who can and will be converted to the gospel!

Went on an exchange with Elder Aluka earlier this week, another
Nigerian, which was a pretty food day. Lots of lessons and teaching
and sweet people. He is a great guy, with a very different style of
teaching from me haha, and it was fun to serve with him for the day!:)

So, Saidu Conteh finally obtained his passport this week! so, he is SO
excited about that and came and showed me today. congratulations to
him, he is planning on sending his papers at the end of this month
with 3 other ward missionaries, idrissa, george, and patrick.

Saturday was a great baptismal day! two upcoming priesthood holders
were baptized, Sullayman  and Edward  were baptized into
Mount Aureol and I was able to baptize Edward :) it was really sweet
because we have been teaching Sullayman since like beginning of
November, so it was great to see him finally accept the gospel and
commandments and he was so happy and his testimony was powerful!

Church yesterday was great and stressful like usual. Showed up to
church 30 minutes early to find that there was no bread and little
water and that the hymn books were all locked in another bishops
office...so, we started sacrament with 40ish people and only 5
hymnbooks, but fortunately, tons of members filled in before the end,
and we had close to a 100 again, which was super sweet! had 14
investigators in church yesterday, which is another record for us here
at Mount Aureol and also a tish load of work this week hahaah! I like
to see my progressing investigators everyday of the week to continue
with assignments and the spirit and all the teachings and gosh its
impossible to see 14 people a day haha, but it will keep us nice and
busy and we will always have someone to teach, that is for sure.

After church I took about 7 investigators and 7 recent converts up into
the mission office and we all watched the restoration together. the
spirit was so strong and I know that everyone felt the truth of the
message in that wonderful short video. I know with all my heart that
Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he did see God the Father and
Jesus Christ. Its so true, and by the way I feel in my heart, I could
never deny. Forget which apostle talked about it, or prophet, but its
so true that the spirit communicating with your spirit has a greater
impact upon you than even if an angel visited you or a miracle
happens. It's so true.

Well, one of our investigators at church was a young lady of about 20
in a wheelchair...from Cassava farm, which is bushy and farther than
Treeplanting on the top of the MOUNTAIN! so, she comes to church and
her wheelchair is just completely destroyed from the road. The two
front tires are absolutely destroyed and the two back wheels are just
caked in dirt and tish, so the only way to wheel her around is like a
wheelbarrel sort of :/ ah, not easy and none of Sa Lone is really
handicap friendly, so to get her in the chapel we have to pick her up
and lift her up 3 flights of stairs haha, but she really enjoyed
church and it was awesome to see her there :) she called me over after
church and told me that she wants to be baptized haha, so I told her
we would be coming Tuesday :)

Well, upon leaving the chapel, we were walking down the road after our
meetings and I noticed that Mary, the girl in the wheelchair, was
being pushed by her older sister and they were struggling big time. I
noticed someone from church walking beside them and so just
assumed he would help them, but after walking down the street, the
spirit prompted me to turn around and check on the girls, to find that
the two girls was struggling to maneuver the wheel chair down the road
all by themselves.

Elder Etuk and I ran back to help, to find that they were going FAR to
go and get taxi to go home...so Elder Etuk and I took turns pushing
her like a wheelbarrel down the road haha. yes...down the middle of
the crazy african road with crazy african drivers and crazy crazy
tish. Pushed her like a good mile haha and then had a ferocious uphill
battle trying to get her up to the place of transport, oh boy, we were
just SOAKED in sweat haha, but we LOVED the opportunity to give
service and just to see the smile on that girls face as we left made
it all worth it...I can feel in my heart and my very soul when we give
service we are literally in the service of our Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ.

Last night the assistants called us up and asked us to come spend the
night at their apartment, since they have an extra Elder, Elder
Richards staying with them, and they were leaving at 5:30 in the
morning to travel to Bo for a conference. So, Elder Etuk and I went
over for a pleasant little sleepover. We played black jack with some
Werther's orgininal toffees and that was a lot of fun haha :) gambling
elders? aren't we great? then, got to sleep on a bed with a sofa seat
cushion as a pillow. Woke up and took Elder Richards back to our
apartment in the morning and cleaned up the place super well :)
Apparently there is a rumor that Elder Curtis from the area seventy
presidency is coming and is checking elders apartments so we are
making sure everything is looking good! but, we get to go hurry back
to the assistants office to let all the East End Freetown Elders in
haha, they are calling me like crazy!:) they are all coming to spend
the night for the big bi zone conference tomorrow. super excited to
see some of my MTC and good friends on mission. Soon I will start to
see my good buddies go home :( before, elders were just leaving who I
didn't even know. Now, these are the ones I have come to know and love
leaving me...haha going to miss those guys. Kusheh to their two years
of service.

Also, a thank you thank you to Rebecca Cutler. Rebecca! I just found
your christmas card while cleaning my suitcase!:) Wow, thank you so
much my sweet sweet cousin and thank you family for the gift. you are
all so very sweet to me and I'm so grateful for the letters you all
wrote me in advance, they have always come right at the right time!:)
and Rebecca, I have no idea about the whole santa noah symbolism
thing, but I must agree it is pretty awesome!

Oh, everybody, I love you so much! I feel my time in Mount Aureol is
coming to an end very soon, and I will be moving on from the place of
my birth to somewhere very strange and new. I hope at least. I have
been here for quite some time. Great to hear how wonderful your
missions are going Katie and Drew. You are both wonderful examples of
amazing missionaries and your testimonies and experiences truly keep
me motivated and inspired. you both are amazing :) jealous that you
guys will both get home close to each other and I will follow much
later...try not to exhaust your stories before i get home! ;)

Everyone, have a blessed week and I love you all so much, hope your
week is full of miracles and blessings. I assure you as you press
forward with faith that the Lord will answer your questions and you
will see miracles in your life. As hard as it gets, never give up,
because He never gives up on us. I know that's true in my life. I have
no idea where I would be without the Atonement in my life. Sheesh...I
don't even want to think about it. I know that God Loves each and
every one of us personally. We all have the potential to become like
God. He made us in his own image...Tish Darwin...Farewell my wonderful
family and friends! I love you all

-Love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak

Study Time

Elder Sumrak studying
Thanks to Saidu for this picture!

Give Service Get Blessings

Hello everybody and mother dearest! :)
hahaha I am glad Mr.Whitley is still using my RAPPS. I even used that
while I was at BYU haha. It is the rights to the 1st amendment,
standing for: Religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech. Oh, I
sure do miss that class with Mr. W...even if he did make me be part of
the Democrats in the mock election haha, oh good times :)

Wow, I haven't gotten to see the pictures of the ground breaking of
Sierra Leone's new mission home or the picture of the new stake center or
anything yet! maybe I'll get the chance tomorrow when I go to the
office after District meeting. I saw Sister Roggia showing some elders
yesterday in church but i was just so busy with the normal stuff to
get a chance :/ boo haha.

Got stood up going out with the missionaries? haha I'm sorry momma,
I only taught 1 lesson with the Elders when I was home and
I went out with them at least 5 times haha.
people and the gospel...they just like to stand us up ;)
hahaha

Hahahaha oh mother, you and your hiding skills with the packages you send
are amazing. and hiding the stuff in the last package
actually is very clever...I am sure someone will try and steal
it...and I'm sad I'll miss the gum, but thank you for sending that
mother!:) I pray it arrives here safely, thank you for everything
momma, and kusheh on your constant genius ;)

So, just wanted to thank Jen, Sis Peterson, Moma, Pops, Rebecca, Aunt
Deb, Drew, Katie, and ELDER MANN, for your letters this week :) thank
you so much for taking the time to write me! It was a very nice
surprise after proselyting all Friday, after a pretty bouncy day, so
thank you for giving me a smile when I returned home :)

Well...my week...pretty eventful I guess, with a possible 5
conversions this coming Saturday! so, I am super excited about that,
but more on that to come! where to begin?

On Tuesday we had zone meeting, and I was asked to conduct, which
wasn't a big deal, but I realized that I had never conducted anything
before haha, so it was a nice new experience and it went very well.
Learn something new everyday. Had a very nice meeting in which we
discussed about applying the 8 fundamentals that are taught in the 12
week teaching program...and I am the only one currently training in
the whole zone haha, so it really applied to me the most, so I have
really been trying hard to apply everything I learned and making sure
I train Elder Etuk just as the book instructs.

On our way up the mountain in a poda poda on Tuesday, the van weighed
too much as a result of us cramming close to like 30 people inside, so
as we made our way up the hill, the battery died, for like the 2nd
time already. we managed to crest to the top, and the 3 woman in the
front seat had to get out while the passenger mechanic went to fix the
problem again. a passing impatient truck tried to get by and SMASHED
the door and almost took the door completely off the van. oh wow,
there was some fierce krio words being thrown, and I don't know what
they mean, but i got the jist of it haha, oh fun sa lone :)

Had the opportunity to train one of our shy ward missionaries the
other day for a pastor battle. He informed me that his pastor had
stopped by the previous day and had tried to talk about the devil book
of mormon with his investigator mother, so he tried to shut the guy
up, but the man wanted bible proof and stuff. so i showed the young
boy some scriptures and he took notes and everything and I gave him a
pretty good basic defense. I still am waiting to hear how it went :)
proud of the boy!

On Monday last week we went and visited some boys who have been a lil
less serious as of late. After leaving, one of the boys wanted to walk
with me. he informed me that the old women in his compound were
getting up late at night and doing juju in the compound and he said he
felt evil in the place now. He felt bad and he
asked me to come with the elders and cast the devil out of hm....I
wasn't sure about all that so I encouraged him to just go read the
Book of Mormon tonight, attend church on Sunday, and continue to pray,
and see what happens first, and now he has no complaints...oh the
small things that bring the spirit :)

So, I have taken it on me this past week to do more and more service.
I had read a inspiring talk in the Liahona and I felt like i needed to
do more each day, so I took the advice from the talk and prayed each
morning for at least 1 opportunity to help someone during the day, in
more then just preaching the gospel. I found my prayer answered
everyday, and was able to help multiple people throughout the day in
acts of service before I didn't even recognize. I toted water some far
butt distances, helped mash pepay, hang clothes, simple things that
weren't hard at all, but the people were so appreciative :) it takes
so little to make such a great impact on someone's life. I encourage
everyone to just take the time to do something small for someone else,
and see how you feel when you're done...I promise you will love the
feeling and want it again and again!

Sierra Leone...dry season....SUCKS!!!!! so, if the previous
predicaments with water and light are not enough, let me add some more
to the list of my humble complaints :)
Well, the gift of the generator...we are out of district funds
(miraculously might I add, because we have never run out before on our
full month budget, and were only 2 weeks in..I don't know whats up
with that) so, no GAS. no gen...no light...no ironed shirts ;) haha
Water...well we have no money to pay young boys to fill our tank.
So...we go and get it every other morning and night. good 20-30 minute
workout/project just to have enough water to take a bath and have a
bottle of water to drink. fun :)
And now...DUST! with no rain since November, it never occured to me
that dust might become an issue. but...now it's settling in. Every
morning there is a nice coating on EVERYTHING. my bed. my books. my
contact case, my shirts, just every tishing thing. my food, our
plates, ugh. it is nasty. i go around with a rag and try to dust
everything off but its pointless...it's just dusty again in 2-3 days.
done polishing shoes, they are brown 3 steps out the door...sheesh it
is pretty frustrating, but :) nowahala, i love chewing dirt from my
fan in my sleep.. :) oh I love Sierra Leone

As a result, woke up Wednesday morning and went about my normal
business until one of the elders commented my eye was looking WO WO!
so, I went and checked it out and gosh my right eye was so
bloodshot...geeze it was gross. I figured it was contributed to by all
the dust and everything, but fortunately i was able to use those eye
drops you sent me momma (thank you:) ) and was able to clear it up
over the last couple days, but I was forced to proselyte in glasses
for the first time. always having to use my tie to wipe off the dust
from my glasses. ugh...never doing that again haha! very frustrating
:) and my investigators were all so confused and couldn't comprehend
how before I always wore a piece of plastic in my eye...they just
couldn't understand that, until I showed them later during the week.
They flipped! they were like ah, that is so bad, take it out take it
out. don't put those on your eye haha oh they are so funny!

Finally found the reason for my exhaustion...Alma 17:5 "much labor in
the spirit" more exhausting then climbing a mountain in the middle of
dry season in africa...but, also more rewarding then any prize you
could ever receive :) we missionaries are funny here. we are toting
water and aching and everything is just sucking and we are just not
smiling at all, yet we all get back to the apartment, think about our
investigators, and all laugh and joke about how blessed we are to serve
in Sierra Leone Freetown mission...I wouldn't want to be anywhere else
in the world!:)

Also, amazing scripture Alma 17:26...can anyone e-mail me or write me
what about this verse I love?! if you can then you know me so well :)
and I love you!

Also, this boy we have been teaching, with the sickle cell
disease, he is being baptized this Saturday :) but, I had the greatest
experiences with him this week. One: service, but in the opposite. He
saw how dusty I was and wanted to help, but instead of me denying his
help, I let him, and he went and got a wet rag and came and cleaned my
shoes for me.
As I watched the happiness on that boy's face as he helped me and I
showed my gratitude, I felt the spirit very strongly. just as I would
never want someone to deny my service, I am glad I allowed this boy
to give me service, because it made him happy, like service does for
me!

Also, had an Ammon like moment of listening that changed his mood and
attitude since it happened. We had just studied in the morning and I
had taught my companion the example of Ammon when he listened in
silence to King Lamoni for 1 hour, and I told him we need to do the
same. wait, be patient. listen. We had a good 5 minute silence with
this boy...and I saw the miracle from it. He was upset, did not like the
law of chastity we had explained, but told me he didn't want to come
to church and that this law was hard...I forget what question I asked
him...but I remember he didn't answer...he looked down. but we didn't
say a word for the next 7-10 minutes and finally he looked up and
tried to talk...then put his head back down. eventually he looked up,
smiled, his eyes glistening and asked "Can I wear a white shirt and
black trousers like you guys on Sunday?" hahaha it was so simple but
ever since he has been so happy and told us how much he loves the law
of chastity and wow and how he wants to keep it. he came to church and
had a great time and made friends and just wants to be baptized now
haha so great!:) love the teaching of preach my gospel. they truly
work and bless lives!

So, no baptisms this past Saturday, but like I said, we are hoping for
at least 5 on saturday. ...so we will see what happens :)

Best day of the week: Sunday! suprisingly yes, it was still the most
stressful day of the week, but also the most rewarding. after having
the 9 people converted, i was pretty pessimistic about the immediate
future due to a lack of progressing investigators...but boy did the
ward come together on Sunday...oh man! we had 102 present in Sacrament
meeting, the most that we have ever had in Mt. Aureol, and all 9 of the
recent converts were there...along with 13 investigators! 9 I have
been teaching, and 4 others who were brought with members! oh my, do
we have a busy week this week haha, trying to see all this people!
trying to prepare 5 for the 19 and trying to prepare like 2-4 for the
26th and now all these amazing people! ah, the ward wants to kill me
but, it was so sweet! everyone was in their classes, all the leaders
were doing their duties, we actually were behaving like a legit ward,
and it was a super sweet experience to watch.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being here for 7 months now,
being able to witness the fruits of my labors and all the sweet
conversions and even the conversions of the members. Sierra Leone is
growing QUICKLY!:)

And, I'm so happy and proud of my recent converts. Sister Jane gave a
talk on repentance in Sacrament, and Emmanuel's friend Edward is being
baptized, and he even went out proselyting with us all
Saturday...these people are becoming so strong. future relief society
president and ward mission leaders right here!

But, my time is comin to an end today and I just wanted to tell
everyone I love you and I know this gospel and church is true, and the
simple things are what bring us closer to God. One step at a time. one
decision at a time. I just finished all the conference talks yesterday
and I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet, and if we follow the
advice of the apostles and prophets we will all be blessed and have a
greater life! Missionary service is amazing. it is hard as tish. but I
can promise there is nothing in life that will bring you greater
joy...sorry for my spelling today, but you would marvel at how crappy
this keyboard is...farewell everyone and take care! God be with you
till we meet again next Monday!

-Love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak

Sweet is the Work!

Hahahaha, I am glad that you enjoyed the pictures mother...Saidu has
been enjoying taking all of them.

And when I return home it's going to be very sweet momma.
It's not to far off! actually,its next year!;) haha,
oh boy isn't that funny. ugh I'm tired...but, I
am doing my best to enjoy every single moment here as well!

Well, I got a haircut today, isn't that exciting? Sister Randall cut
it for me and it actually doesn't look too bad. They took pictures so
maybe they will post them on their blog haha but it was getting pretty
long, so finally got it cut. its been since October that I got a
haircut ;).

Hahaha oh mom, you being a Grandma...that is funny :)
oh you're not old yet momma, you're a young hip grandma,
isn't that so cool? and I'm almost an uncle haha, at
my 1 yearish I will be an uncle! ah that is so exciting :) can't wait
to hear if its a boy or a girl! and oh mother, (you being late for church)
that is pretty funny.
quite similiar to me. Last night after i broke my fast i went and laid
down to listen to some of the teaching of the prophet Joseph
Smith...yeah, layed down at like 7ish and woke at 10:25...boooooo,
tish nights sleep last night, I am not the type to get 12 hours sleep
haha but, gosh my body is still worn out.

The celebrations for New Years they had last Sunday night were really
the only celebrations...the one that kept all of us up all night haha,
but that is about it :)

And wow! you went out with the missionaries?! kushayo mother :) I am
so proud of you. that is sweet. You are such a wonderful missionary,
you really inspire me along. well, here, they only need to come to
church legitimately twice, but i like to shoot for 3 to make sure they
are nice and serious. but, we interview plenty after only 2.

And that is so cool about Elder Hales father and his nephew serving
with Thomas! that is so sweet! the mormon world is so incredibly
small, but i really like it that way :) so many crazy coincidences!
along with 3 sisters from my freshmen ward are coming to serve in
Richmond Virginia! isn't that so sweet. that girl Miranda from Canada
i told you about, and also 2 other girls in the ward. so sweet!

Well...on to my week i guess.

I will start with the amazing baptisms on Saturday. Had all 10
candidates interviewed during the week, after much stress, and much
hiking, and many lessons, and stress stress, but it was completed. had
to borrow clothes from some of the other wards because we didn't have
enough, but i guess that is a good thing to complain about :) had
about 17 people being baptized, with all 5 wards in the area in
attendance, also with our entire bishopric present (for the first
time) and all 10 candidates showed up on time. 9 of them asked me to
baptize them and 1 asked Elder Etuk. So we got dressed up and prepared
for the battle. you know, got to do your curls, your stretches, your
dips, to get ready ;) hahah, no it was really sweet. I had the amazing
opportunity to baptize 9 of them...but, only 8 were baptized...more
about that later. 4 little children (sheka, mable, anima, and nabi)
and 4 young ladies (Alice, Sarah, Fatmata, and Isatu) while Elder Etuk
baptized another young lady (Fanta). yes, concerns have arisen that we
only baptize women ;) hahaha. but, all of them went really smoothly
except...for Ivan....

Ivan is the young boy i talked about long ago who ran into Elder
Burton and started having a seizure. He has epilepsy i think, and has
them quite often, about every other day at least. His mother has the
faith that if he is baptized then the "evil spirit" will come out of
him and he will be healed. but, because of his condition, his whole
life he has been cautioned to avoid fire and water, because it can
kill him. so...stepping into the font, he immediately started crying.
I was able to calm him down and do the ordinance, but he went berserk
and started kicking and screaming and all the adults tried to calm him
down and I, but it was useless, he had to leave and be calmed down. I
continued the baptisms and he came later and we tried again, but he
freaked again and kicked his foot out of the water...so he has been
pushed until a later date, I will go and practice and stuff with him
until he is comfortable hahah :) poor kid...it was really really sad,,
but he will have his chance.

Had quite an uh...awkward moment in the testimonies following the
baptism. the 20 year old young lady we baptized, Alice Marie Sesay,
got up to bear her testimony and all she said was...i am so happy to
be baptized today and I just want Elder Sumrak to know that I love him
so much...Elder Sumrak I love you! and then left the
pulpit...Yes...the other missionaries are STILL giving me crap for
that one hahaha

All 9 were confirmed on Sunday and I was able to confirm Mabel and
Nabi, which was really sweet. I love being able to participate in
priesthood ordinances! It is so great to be a direct part of the
Lord's work and I can feel his love while administering these saving
ordinances to those prepared :) Also, had 8 more investigators in
Sacrament...What!? yes! that means my pool didn't die! which is really
sweet. hoping for 4 baptisms on the 19...the work never stops...never
stops. :)

Well...sweet lesson this week. had a referral given to us and somebody
gave us the wrong address. so we went to this house and knocked and
some "half cast" (the word they use for a white/black mixed
person...gosh i don't like the word) answered the door. She was an
older women who REALLY reminded me of Grandma Betty. She was awesome!
We told her we would come back in an hour after we found the other
young lady. so we went and taught and then returned. she has a super
nice taken care of place and invited us inside...and in walks her
niece who was uh one of the first non black girls I have seen in like
6 months but she wasn't able to stay for the lesson hahaha, but the
old lady, Sis Conteh, could speak perfect english. she is actually
British, so i was able to teach my first whole lesson in full english,
with big words and everything and it was so sweet to actually say how
I really feel and my real testimony in my real words :) it was amazing
and the lesson went awesome. She then offered us like 20 pieces of
cake, because she is a caterer , so we gratefully enjoyed all hahaha :)
how sweet!

Well, on New years day there was SOME celebrations...a lot a lot of
devils about that day. we were teaching one lesson and a parade of
about 7-9 of them went by, all in various shapes sizes and
heights...and one saw us and broke from the parade down the street
where we were teaching. I didn't really recognize it until it was
right behind me when I was teaching. it was dancing and going nuts and
had a big long staff and kept pointing it at me and everyone around
us, including the people we were teaching looked really freaked out,
but i half acknowledged him, and turned around and continued teaching,
much to the amazement of those present hahaha and he got bored and
left after about 30 seconds. so yeah...my encounter with the
devil...not as epic as I could have made it, I should have battled it!

I had my first mango this week! they are not very plenty here yet, but
I found one lady selling some, and I was able to buy an almost ripe
one, which was just absolutely delicious, but it was super ropey, and
got all stuck in my teeth...but, I am going to seriously enjoy mango
season, especially since I am praying I will leave in 3 weeks and go
up line (bo, or kenema ) :) hahaha where mangos are like doitch marks
in WWII...people just use em for soccer balls hahahaha

Got up Friday morning and had to use the bathroom before district
prayer...yeah...there was a rat stuck in the toilet trying to get
out...i shut the lid and used the other one. we left him there all day
until night time he still hadn't died. so we bucket him out, pushed
him off the balcony, and watched 2 sa lone bobos beat him to death
with sticks...oh my life :)

Well, I have been working out super hard every day this week, and
doing some nice gyming exercises, making sure I do at least 30-40 mins
every morning. also, been eating just a protein bar for lunch, and was
able to lose 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks :) so, not bad, might be
water weight, but its getting there. I am keeping up my vigor and hope
to continue to see results. lets go sa lone! get your boku boku rice
and oil outta my house. i can say NO ;)

Well, leaving the apartment Saturday afternoon, encountered a boy
walking down the street that might be in competition with Katie's
friends.
T-shirt of the week - this boy was wearing a shirt that said in bright
red letters "I <3 Mormon Boys" and I just could not let that guy alone,
so i pulled him off the road, and then introduced him to the Book of
Mormon haha :) oh, and invited him to church, but he didn't come :(
not too surprised but people here don't know what mormons are. we get
excited if someone calls us mormons...that means they are from the USA
:) so we love to go talk to them. Came to find out at the end of the
night that the freetown elders ran into the same boy and talked to him
after us...poor kid, probably doesn't want to wear that shirt
anymore...almost bought it from him :)

Went to teach one young lady Mayeni on Saturday and showed up to find
a man there cooking in a giant pot. he invited us to join him and I
got to try something new:) it is called ebay (prounounced eh-bay) and
it is cassava root, potatoes, pepay, salt, maggi, fish, and beef mixed
in a sort of warm gravvy. it was super yummy though and my companion
didn't like it but all the people were very happy that I sat down on
the ground and enjoyed with them. then shared a super sweet message
about prayer, and the spirit was super strong. the spirit is always
stronger on a full stomach ;) or so our apostasy says out here hahaha.

While we were waiting for ward council to start yesterday, one of the
older women in the ward approached me and gave me 10,000 leones and
thanked me and tried to run off haha i chased her down and gave her
her money back and she got super upset with me, until the other women
explained that we aren't allowed to accept money, and encouraged her
to cook us a tasty meal with the money, to which she beamed brightly
and told us she would be having us over this week :) hahaha oh what a
sweet woman.

So...a sweet week, and more to follow. the work never stops, even if
my legs want too haha. I am tired but the spirit is quickening me. I
will continue on in this marvelous work with my head high and my hopes
higher. I love sierra leone so much and i love this opportunity to
serve the Lord. I love misssion. I love life and thank the Lord for it
:) I love you all so much and must say that this church and gospel is
oh so very true! thank you so much to dad, aunt deb, katie, drew, mom,
miranda, Mr. Whitley, sis peterson, and uncle andrew for your awesome
letters this week! thank you all and may everyone press forward in so
great a cause. there is none great. there is none that brings the
lasting joy that this one does...others do bring joy...let me tell
you. but, this one will last forever. i love you all. take care :)

-Love, Elder Jesse Sumrak

Precious Water

Saidu Conteh sent this picture of Elder Sumrak hauling water for a young boy

Happy New Year!

Awww it was so great talking to all of you too! it was so sweet also
to hear about little baby sumrak on the way! gosh I am so excited for
them. they are going to be such wonderful parents! Glad that everyone
got my letters and you were able to help out with sending them all out
to everyone but, im super sad that that letter got destroyed.....I had
taken one of the pencils you gave me and took my swiss knife and had
carved in some personal messages and even a scripture from Alma that I
love....wow, that took hours of work hahaha...but, just know I love
you momma and wanted you to have a sweet christmas present...i didn't
forget about you, i promise.

And just wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful people who I
received letters from this week. Bekki, Maddie, Momma, and poppa!
thank you all so much and I wrote you letters this morning so expect
them within the month :)

and wow! I am anxiously awaiting this box with all these super sweet
surprises inside :) definitely gives me a lot of hope each time I go
to the mission office on Tuesday mornings :) thank you all for
thinking of me!

Well...on to my week! I already told all my family since I had the
wonderful opportunity, but for those who did not get to talk on the
phone with me, I will elaborate a small bit :)

Well...Christmas day...I was up all night with emergency trips to the
bathroom, nothing new really, but woke up feeling terrible...but, I
had a surprise prepared for my apartment. After everyone went to bed,
I snuck into the parlor, wrapped them all presents, made a tree out of
liahona magazine paper and a bottle, spread out a bunch of candy and
sweets all over the table and put the presents under the tree ( soccer
socks of random bright colors). So, in my terrible state, I slept
through my alarm to awake to the sound of elders screaming "Santa has
come! Santa has come!" So, we had our morning prayer and then took
lots of pictures with the tree and the presents and had a grea ole
time. The elders prepared an awesome breakfast with rice, stew, and
fried plantanes, (which i wasn't able to enjoy because of my state :(
), but it was great! we all went to district meeting and watched the
first presidency christmas message which was awesome!:) then, made our
way back to the apartment for our extra hour of companion study. then,
we got transport up the mountain and were able to see one of our
investigators, before making the long hike down so we could call our
families.
So, absolute chaos was on the street with fireworks, street music, and
just loudness, so i got to lay in bed under my mosquito net and talk
to my wonderful family for a good little while, which just absolutely
made my day, and i couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night. I
love my family...and I'm going to be an uncle! which I am so stoked
about! ah!

Well, onto other craziness this week...I got hit by a firework set off
by some crazy kids! I was just outside the apartment and was asking a
woman how much she was selling her oatmeal and next think i know,
something has hit me in the head, and I can't hear a thing! geeze! I
couldn't hear out of my ear for the next 5 minutes! and then randomly
for the rest of the week my ear will just start ringing, so hopefully
nothing permanent, because if so, i know where those kids live and i
will come cook them into a big pot of cassava leaf! hahaha oh
christmas in Sa Lone...its all about giant music parties, dancing,
fireworks, noise...noise...noise....

Well....training...um...I am learning
patience/charity/love/patience...patience...patience...or at least I'm
praying for it and trying. I don't want to rant too long about it but I
am trying my best. He is learning very slowly, but at least he is
learnin :) He is a great guy with a great desire who will develope to
be a great missionary and i am priviliged to be here with this
responsibility to aid in this task. I just pray that I can do an
adequate job and the Lord will be pleased with me...small small :)
...but, I know he can do it! and practice practice practice. I
make him practice for like an hour every morning haha so i hope it all
pays off! I love the guy though, he is hilarious. We have nothing in
common, but yesterday I asked him about what he did back home, and man
he talked for the whole rest of the day about Nigerian politics and
Juju and how he almost died in a giant "bad boy battle" in Nigeria
when some election stuff went down and crazy Nigerians came and
started gunning down all of the supporters and hacking em with
machetes...I was struggling to follow and uh believe, but he said he
was there and saw it with his own eyes, guys who cast juju on
themselves and were not dying when they were shot, and were absorbing
machete blows ???? yeah, i have no idea, but he really enjoyed talking
about it so i listened :) hahaha

Well...Friday was subsistence day, and man did i blow a large part of it
quickly! Elder Barth told me there was a supermarket selling froot loops
and frosted flakes so i ran and found it, bought 2 giant boxes of
froot loops and frosted flakes and even a box of special K :) oh yeah!
enjoyment, topped it all off with some pastuerized milk, my first
Real(ish) milk and gosh it is so soso soso sososooso tasty! but, it
really gives me cramps in my chest haha, but i can't help but enjoy it
and endure the pain ;) hahaha

Also, proselyting this week I saw some members who were toting large
large bags of sand down the hill to their new house their bulding...so
I offered to help. Gosh, these bags are HEAVY! so heavy that they
can't carry them, only by putting them on top of your head and
enduring the pain of having your skull crushed temporarily haha, so I
decided to help and gosh they all just LOVED IT! all the african
mommas were running outside and were all yelling AH, somebody take
that sand from that white man before he hurts himself, but I surprised
em all by making the whole journey hahaha, but it was NOT easy in
church shoes up there! I was slipping and sliding and even cut my hand
on one of the zinc roofs (oh boy tetnis ;) ) but, gained new respect
for all the women and men who carry EVERYTHING on their heads...they
must have some really hard heads hahah because it is not as easy as it
looks ;)

Well, some super sweet christmas present we received on Friday...a
GENERATOR! now, everynight there is no power, which has been super
frequent lately, we turn the generator on till bed time! so, now i can
study, now i can gym, now i can do everything at night, instead of
just wasting time by going to bed early :) which might be good for me,
but I have never wanted more then 8 hours of sleep anyways...so might
as well gym morning and night now. so that is a great present and
blessing from the mission :)

LAST NIGHT = TERRIBLE! starting by like 6, they had a GIANT party in
the street, complete with lights, giant speakers, and total
chaos...when we went to bed the party hadn't even started yet
either...it was like 50 people all dancing in the street, drinking,
all that....The bass was so loud it shook our windows ALL night. I got
up around 3 from a restless sleep and went to the parlor and looked
out the window and it was just chaos! hundreds and hundreds of people
on the tables, cars, roofs, streets, gutters, everywhere possible just
dancing and going crazy...we elders did not sleep well at all
haha...nobody gymed this morning. we just all layed on the floor in
the parlor and tried to muster energy to even stretch hahaha. we
didn't even go do anything all p-day. just sat at home because we were
so tired :/ crazy parties...sure tonight will be even worse!

On to the most exciting news....There will possibly be 10 conversions
this weekend! and the font has water so we don't have to go to the
beach :) we worked super duper hard last week and taught tons of
amazing people and had 5 people interviewed for baptism yesterday,
with 5 more later this week when we finish their lessons. I was
previously going to just push them until next week, but they are all
family and related (somehow) and want to go on the same day, so Elder
Etuk and I told them that they would need to be taught Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday, and interviewed Thursday night if they wanted
to qualify and they all are so excited!:) so we are going to have
quite an amazing day on Saturday that I am SO excited for :) what a
great work that is going on in Sierra Leone. We truly are blessed as
missionaries...I have people just approach me and beg to be
baptized...well its not that easy since desire and committment and
covenants aren't as simple as asking, but it sure does make finding
easy...especially  when you have 12+ investigators at church for the
past 3 sundays :) :) :)

Ah the work is sweet. this week really has been amazing. so so so so
so so so busy, i just get home at night and collapse haha. speaking
krio is exhausting and teaching t can be more
exhausting then climbing the hills, but the holy ghost is so powerful
in our lives. as we push our shoulder to the wheel and do our best, i
truly can feel the holy ghost powerfully in our lives and in our
lessons. I love these people so much, and I have come so close to all
of them. we had 5 young ladies from ages 16-22 and 5 young children,
ages 8-12. and then next week possibly 3 more young adults and oh sa
lone, these people are so ready for the gospel here, it really is
amazing :) I am so grateful for the Lord for sending me here, its
certainly not easy, but its not easy anywhere, but it is what YOU make
it. I really loved President Uchtdorf's talk about no regrets, it was
so sweet. enjoy the now, enjoy today and quit looking to the end. I
feel like some people spend all their time waiting for mission, all
their mission waiting to go home, and then get home and wait to get
married...then what, wait till you die to be happy? be happy now! its
a choice!:) i will continue to be inspired by old conference talks as
we have just received the newgeneral conference addition ;) hahaha

I love everyone so much and wish everyone a Merry Merry Christmas and
a happy new year. 2013....the year I disappear from the world. The
year that I am gone totally. The year I give completely to the Lord.
The year I will change so much. The year I am so grateful to be alive
for. I love everyone. thank you for everything you have done for me
and i miss you all so much! enjoy the new year...don't let a moment
pass by...I already feel old as tish and I'm only 20...hahaha :)
Love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak