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