Traditions, Reunions, & Changes!

Well, hello there dear family and friends! Well, to go down your
letter momma -  the rats are quite small really, but I have seen some
big bush rats about the size of a football here as well ( and I would
love to say that is an exaggeration...but no, no its not ) But, the
ones in our apartment are pretty small :)
Giant spiders haha? We smash em of course. The old days of running to
get toilet paper is over, you just smash 'em with your bare hand of
course, and pick em up and throw 'em out the window.
And what do you mean your next beach trip will be with me?! Are you
guys not planning on going this summer? Don’t ever skip beach trip!
Even if its just you and dad!:) we've got to keep the tradition alive. I
already decided I am going to continue to go to Nags Head with my
family for the rest of my life. I was inspired by an Ensign talk I
read and it said something about what is more important? Paying off
your car or redoing your bathroom, or taking your family on that small
vacation tradition every year that they will remember forever...I pick
the latter. I love that tradition greater then everything in our life
and I wouldn't trade it for the world :)
Coping with the many dialects...well here to be honest it is really a
little overwhelming, and its exhausting trying to remember and learn
it all so I'm really not trying anymore...if I absorb anything its just
going to be naturally and by repetition because I will not waste any
of my time or energy trying to learn it haha
Well, its hard not getting letters from you guys but I am doing okay.
I will get used to it haha, only getting letters every 3-4 weeks or
so, but like I said, I am expecting on next Tuesday, so that will be
super nice!:) That is when we have our next zone conference, so I am
happy to see President and Sister Roggia again! Miss seeing them so
much throughout the week.
Well on to my super sweet week in Messima Bushy, BO! So, we started
last week by waking up early Tuesday and going on down to the
transport station. We met up with the zone leaders Elder BURTON and
Elder Stewart, yeah that's right my boy elder Burton :) he is sitting
in the cafe right beside me emailing right now, so good to see that
guy again! So, the 8 of us elders got in a poda poda, mashed in nice
and tight and we made the hour long trip to Kenema to go to our Zone
Meeting. Yeah, its weird, there are 2 zones in Bo, and our zone
includes a district from Kenema, so we get to go to Kenema for zone
meetings, and Kenema comes to us for zone conferences haha, no bad.
The trip was super fun and we got to go see tons of stuff on our nice
and bushy drive :) we took tons of pictures and stuff so when my
camera finally gets here and I transfer all the pictures I can send
you all lots of pictures and videos hopefully. But, the drive was
really nice, except for my dead butt from sitting on the window/seat
the whole way haha, but it was cool. Kenema is really sweet, but is
even bushier then Bo is.
So happy when we got to the Elders apartment and I go to see my
favorite ELDER HALES! Yep, so happy to see that guy! And got to see
fellow MTC Elder Edwards, and my PAPI Elder Ngerem, and my grandpapi,
ELDER BARTH! So awesome to see those guys :) but, they are having
CRAZY thief problems in their apartment. They haven’t slept all week
because every night they have had people sticking their hands through
the windows, stealing anything they can get their hands on. They now
have some brutal traps set up, such as nail boards under the windows,
they all have metal pipes underneath the windows, so if they see a
hand they can grab it, and use the metal pipes to smash it hahah,
But, the zone meeting was really nice and Elder Burton
and Elder Stewart gave us a great message and instruction about
recognizing and trusting the hand of the Lord, the holy ghost, in all
that we do. It really has helped us in our area as we have turned to
the Lord in prayer and have received our own personal revelations for
our area :)
After the zone meeting our apartment went down into Kenema city,
which is just one long road pretty much, and they have a super nice
hotel there that serves food, so we all went back to the serving area,
which is a nice breezy shaded area outside with a pool on the side and
even a pool table and everything, and we got giant hamburgers for BOKU
money! But, it was delicious and we all enjoyed together, then we
caught Taxi all the way back home. And I had Elder Weller literally
sitting on my lap for the whole hour drive, so my leg was dead when we
got back, and we were all exhausted...we all collapsed when we got to
the apartment, but always to the work, we managed to pray for strength
and get up to go teach the gospel for the end of the evening :)
Elder Jones and I caught bike over to the chapel to go clean the font
and start filling it for the baptism on Saturday...but, problems arose
quickly. The pump was broken, so we cleaned the font for quite some
time, and then prepared to start bucketing the water from the nearby
well to the font. Well, Elder Jones got the first bucket and then I
got my opportunity to do my first bucketing from the well. So, I threw
the bucket down the well and lowered it with the rope, then began
pulling the bucket out of the deep 25 foot well....and then the water
weighed too much for the rope, so about halfway up the rope snapped,
and we were like OH OH! NO! And I was like wow, first times a charm :/
but a branch missionary showed up and the guy just takes off his flip
flops and jumps in the well haha and starts climbing down just by
pressing his hands and feet to the side of the well, so he climbs all
the way down while I have my eyes closed praying he doesn't fall and
die, and Elder Jones is taking pictures. And he manages to stick his
feet in the water to get the bucket...but nothing. Too deep :/ so we
lower the good ole rake head down on a separate rope to give to him,
but the well is too narrow and he isn't able to turn the rake upside
down to grab it hahaha so, total failure, so he climbed on out and we
gave up for the night. Oh boy...
Well I learned a fun Sa Lone favorite here, they call it draft. And
its played on a checkerboard, but you use a 10 x 10, instead of 8 x 8
and ah its so much fun. Its just like checkers but you can jump
backwards and kings can do all this crazy stuff, and you HAVE to jump
or you lose your man, and ah its just a really fun change up on
Checkers, and everyone here plays it . Elder Weller taught me it and
destroyed me over and over the first night, but I caught on quickly and
was able to beat him the next night ;) but he is pretty good, so only
once haha
They also have another game they call Ludo, which is just like
Trouble, but you just roll the dice instead of bouncing it , that one
is pretty fun as well.
Valentines day was nice...I guess. We all just talked about our
dates, looked at pictures, and drank hot chocolate and were nice and
trunky for a good hour or so ;) but, now that's all over and we're back
to work haha. We are quite silly. A puppy came into the apartment and
Elder Penia literally scared the poop out of it...we were not too happy
about that. Not too happy at all...
We eventually and successfully did have the baptisms this Saturday,
which went very well :) We showed up at the new barracks apartment to
have a combined baptism with the district leader, but the battery to
their generator to pump the well was dead, so we cleaned the font, and
I hand pumped water out of the well, and a ward mission leader went to
our chapel and got the battery and brought it back...so, eventually
the font was cleaned and was filled deep enough to do baptisms. We
had 2 young men being baptized, Maxwell and Matthew.
Elder Jones baptized both of them and it was super sweet :)
Elder Coffie and Elder Penia baptized a family of brothers and sisters
of about 7, which was really nice. So, a successful Saturday morning!
More wonderful souls are returning to one day live with their loving
father in heaven...now they just need to endure to the end ;)
Well...Church was interesting. The woman who usually conducts wasn't
there, and the branch presidency sat around after giving the
introduction before realizing that she wasn't there. So, panicking
slightly, they caught my eye and asked me to go and conduct...so, for
those of you who know me and my musical rhythm...I have none, (only
when it comes to guitar hero) so, it was a bloody and painful musical
session for both me and the branch on that fateful Sunday. I got up
and did my best to swing my arm right haha but, I didn't even know the
crazy hymns they were choosing (since African favorites are NOT the
American favorites haha, you come here and sing those backwater songs
you never even heard about.) But, we all suffered through it together,
and I did my best and it was funny to catch the eye of the old women
who would just smile and laugh and even my investigators who it was
obvious to that I had no idea what I was doing...but I tried my best
:) had a good number of about 60 or so in sacrament, and even had 10
investigators! So, we are doing our best to push the work right along.
They even asked me to teach primary haha, but I refused and told them
I needed to stay with my companion oh that would have been too big
of a journey for me!
We are planning for 2 baptisms this Saturday. The boys both were
interviewed yesterday, so we are very excited, and then planning for 2
more the following week, so we are doing our best to just meet all the
appointments and get all of these wonderful people prepared, but gosh
the time is short and the sun is hot but we are going to work hard to
do our absolute best :)
Today was SO much fun! We went over to our area and our whole
district of 8 showed up to play some of our investigators in a
wonderful game of football. We even got like 30 pictures of the game,
so eventually I will be able to send them to you all, maybe even today
if the connection improves shortly. But, I didn't play too great,
because we were playing on straight dirt, but we came together and
actually won the game! They were pretty good too, but I think God just
always helps his servants in the end ;) we were down 3-1 at half time
but came back to win 6-5! Our poor investigators and soon to be recent
converts. Hope they still love us, but we invited everyone to church
so I hope they all come!
But, I am so exhausted and my eyes hurt so badly from the hot sun and
the bright pitch, but it was great fun to play again. Elder Stewart
and Elder Jones are good, so it was great playing with them, and Elder
Burton, Coffie, Symons, Weller, and Penia try ;) so it was lots of
fun!
Spent all last night with Elder Weller on the roof writing letters
and just chilling drinking hot chocolate and talking about good ole
missionary work. It is surprising how much I really have changed since
I came out on mission...The Lord is changing me and I don’t even
recognize it half the time :) I love you and miss you all family and
friends, but the Lord is giving me strength to continue on and be
strong in the work.
I love you all so very much and I hope you all are doing well. Know
that the Lord can take the dullest of blades, the rustiest of
instruments, and the most broken pieces of wood, and make the most
beautiful masterpieces out of them. I was completely inadequate and
still am, yet the Lord pushes the work right along through me, even
when I am completely incapable and oblivious...Funny...I just realized
it when I was talking to Elder Weller last night, because word had
spread to everyone about how down I was at transfer news long ago
back in Mt Aureol. So, I explained my story that I didn't even
remember had happened until I was reminded. Upon finding out that
Elder Burton was leaving me and I was going to stay in the
area of Mt Aureol, where the work was stagnant,  and I just felt
 like I was not helping with anything...When
the transfer news came and Elder Burton was so excited to find HE
would be leaving, I immediately retreated to my room and shut the door
and knelt down and began to pray to God...I was upset, angry,
discouraged, and I prayed that the Lord would help me, I had no idea
what to do, no idea how to fix the area, no motivation to continue at
all...Elder Burton apparently had opened the door and heard me praying
and left. I had forgotten. I didn't even realize until last night ALL
the blessings that the Lord gave me after that prayer. I took over the
area, a new missionary was trained, many people were baptized, the
members became strong and active, the presidency and auxiliaries all
started working, conversions were raining in like a waterfall, and
everything was perfect...and it wasn't me that did it. It was the
Lord...I encourage everyone to look back on their own lives at the
many ways the Lord has blessed you. Look hard, and I'm sure you will
find blessings the Lord has given you that you have failed to
recognize thus far. God truly loves us and hears our prayers. I, being
a useless tish am living testimony of that. Even miracles have come
through me, and I know that I am only an instrument in the Lord
hands...I love you all... Farewell till next week!

-Elder Jesse Sumrak