Last Email and Wonderful Testimony

Well, Mama deary, I do not know who will be filling my shoes quite yet, but I laughed when I read what you wrote about filling shoes and then thought about my own shoes...Oh, BOY they are so wo wo, they are completely falling apart, but I don't know what's in store for the future of the mission, poor President Ostler is going to have to make SO many changes this transfer, losing lots of people in the mission this transfer, and the next transfer, and pretty much all the leadership will be gone, but the Lord is in control and will help others to fill those roles and move this great work forward :)

It IS weird that this is my last time emailing as a missionary...but, it is quite exciting as well. My past week has been another extremely busy one, and we are exhausted, but my awesome companion is keeping me going and we are still hustling and going strong until the very end. Up every morning working out and going on runs and starting the day right. Tuesday, we went over to Kissy and joined them for their zone conference and it was wonderful! I was given the opportunity to give an instruction on how to begin teaching and I enjoyed it so much and had such a great time instructing! The conference was sweet, though it was strange to see Elder McDonald and Nwosu give their farewell testimonies... and then the Ostlers took us on back, where we rushed out to our area to go teach our wonderful investigators. 

Wednesday, we had another zone conference in Lumley, and it was another powerful one. Much smaller but a lot of spirit and I got to give the same instruction again, which went better that time :) There was no departing missionary from that zone, so they requested that I prematurely bare mine, even though mine won't be until next week, but it really was great to bare my testimony to my wonderful missionaries and friends. I love bearing my testimony so much and never want to pass up the experience like I did so very often before I came on mission!

Thursday, teaching!

Friday, we went and taught a little bit, then we had to rush over to Kissy to go and join the Thunderhill district for an area blitz...but, President Ernest Bai Koroma had different plans for us. As we approached the new roads, lots of traffic. Mr. President decided a publicity stunt to walk the 5 mile road and greet all the poor people who had built little zinc houses and pan bodies on the side of the road and smile and hug them and give them small money and tell them, sorry we are coming to tear your house down...so, thank you Mr. President, because I fell asleep in a hot coma in the back of the taxi for over an HOUR! So, its easy to stay focused when you are busy. Not so easy when you sit in the back of a hot taxi with a rather large man who is obviously confused about the difference between "President" and "God" and calling all the people sinners for building houses there hahaha...well, that went on for 3 hours, we were very late for the blitz, so decided to go finding our own and found some sweet people to at least turn in at the evaluation...then back in transport to get home close to 9 at night haha...oh good times. 

Saturday...had a sweet baptism that we attended, then we went to go and see Mr. Sheriff...and we had a really emotional/spiritual lesson about the sabbath day. I don't really know how to explain it, but nevertheless, my faith was tried, I saw a grown man, ex solider, almost in tears, and I felt a lot of uncertainty and doubt for the rest of the day. I studied my scriptures and preach my gospel and even called President Ostler and searched the words of modern day prophets and I am so grateful for revelation...I can't show my gratitude enough for that blessing I have received on mission. I will be honest, before my mission, I didn't really recognize answer to my prayers. I knew that coming on mission was the right thing to do, because I had ENOUGH faith to believe the prophets, but never received a spiritual witness for myself until I came...but, that's not completely true, because God was answering me all along, I just didn't recognize how the spirit spoke to me...but, I am grateful beyond words for the knowledge and testimony and ability to recognize the spirit that the Lord has so richly blessed me with and it has changed who I am today and who I will be for the rest of my life. It took 2 years to develop and I am certainly still developing it and trying to refine it, but if the Lord had required me to go and serve a 10 year mission to even get where I am today...I would do it, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Sunday, Elder Stanford and I decided to fast for our area and Brother Sheriff and it was one of the best fast Sundays of my life. We were just so happy and we had so much energy, more than after a pday, more than any day, and yet we had no food or water, it truly was the spirit that was running our withered and exhausted bodies as we laughed and joked and literally ran through some of our areas, talking to everybody and finding some amazing contacts. The first one we had been trying to get inside the BOMBA house for so long, and the Lord provided an opening when we randomly contacted this Muslim pa, and that was obviously going to fail, but we tried anyways, and then a sa lone mommie started Palava, but that even led to the next opening, a woman came out of the BOMBA house and we were able to contact her and she was from Denmark...she married a man from Denmark and had lived there for years but he died and her and her kids moved back. Her kids didn't even look black at all, they were almost WHITE but they spoke pure krio haha, it was the coolest thing as we sat down with her and her 2 white kids  and were able to have a small discussion with them :) continued to see miracles throughout the rest of the day as we found and taught prepared people, found less actives and received referrals from contacts for very prepared families and wow, it was truly a spiritual high as we RAN back to the apartment, late for follow up calls, ate real quick to close the fast and were on the computers until 10:20 hahaha. oh so sweet!

Today, my last football game and it started POURING during our personal studies, but I had faith it would stop for my last football game, and it did and ALL the missionaries in Lumley zone and Freetown zone came, so we had close to 30 or so and we just had a great time playing and oh boy...my last concrete football game, it was sad but I enjoyed and received a hearty salute from my boys as I left for the last time for seeing some of them. Eddy Bangura of Mt.Aureol ward bought me a custom jersey with my name on the back, so all the children now saw me wearing it, so thank goodness it was my last Monday and I didn't ever wear it before, because now children ALL know my REAL name...I liked it better when they called me "Eto" ;) hahah we then were joined my Elders Kvist, Flament, Tucker, Rogers, Maxfield, and Khumoetsile and went to Meds for the last time for a hamburger and then made our way back to start emailing...

Have a very busy week ahead of us, and will be making the 4 hour drive to Makeni tomorrow for their zone conferenec, then Wednesday we will have zone conference in Kossoh Town, then Thursday we will have zone conference here...in Freetown, for the final time. Saturday, my last baptism for the Sherrif family, Mr sheriff and his 2 children, Mohamed isn't old enough yet, poor little guy ;) Saturday, Elder Weller comes in, Sunday I will bear my testimony to the members of the Dwarzak ward for the last time, in the chapel that I have been worshiping in for 20 months now, with the people I have been laboring for and with for the past 2 years...I'm probably going to cry like a little baby haha, and then that night we will gather all of us departing missionaries and have our final farewell dinner and testimony meeting. Monday, we will take the missionaries shopping, or rather I guess the APs will take me shopping and then we leave to go to the airport for our 5:00 flight...oh boy, it is coming too quickly..

Wow, 2 years has truly flown by and it has certainly been the hardest 2 years of my life, but without a doubt it has been the best. I love Sierra Leone, I love the people, I love the culture, I love the food, I love the weather, I love the church here, I love the opportunity I have had to come here and serve and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to come and serve in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission...I was privileged to serve a lot of missionaries and members and people, and blessed to witness the creation of the 3,000 stake by Elder Holland. I have seen miracles, I have been an instrument in the hand of the Lord in performing miracles, I have gained and built a testimony that has changed the fibers of my being and changed everything from my spirit to my countenance. I left Virginia in 2012 as a little boy, and have grown into...a bigger boy, still trying to become a man, but I know that I have become the man that my Heavenly Father wanted to make me. I have gone through wonderful physical trials, terrible emotional trials, spiritual stretches, doubts, answers, and confirmations that have converted me beyond my ability to express...I am a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I tried my hardest and though it wasn't easy...not at all, I know I have done everything I  could, and that make me honestly shed tears, always looking at from day to day how tired I was, and how I doubted I could ever go another week at the same pace...watching time and the world pass by and feeling like I could never catch up, the Lord has blessed me immensely and I have come to know Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost more and more. I still have so much to learn, study, and apply, but I am grateful for the person that the Lord has changed me into. I am not the same boy, I don't think the same, I don't talk the same (mostly because now I am an uneducated bush bobo), I don't feel the same, I don't look the same (surely Africa has made me a lot more wo wo) and I am grateful for that. I know that my Redeemer lives and what comfort that gives me to know that this isn't a waste, it never is and never was and never will be. There is a greater plan and we are all a part of it, and we have so much potential that we don't ever fully comprehend and probably never will and I know...I know that our Heavenly father loves us, we really are his children and I know that he hears and answers us. Even though sometimes we might feel alone and want to cry out, Father where art thou? he is there...He is listening, and he is trying to make us grow. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, it changed my life, started my repentance, and gave me a testimony and witness of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I can sing the song of redeeming love and it makes me so happy. I am tired, exhausted, beaten and torn up and looking uglier then ever, but I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. My testimony is so long and so broad now, but in the end it all just comes down to one thing for me... Families can be together forever, through Heavenly Father's plan, I always want to be with my own family, and the Lord has shown me how I can...and I showed them how they can...I love you all and can't wait to see your wonderful faces...thank you for all writing me, thank you for your encouraging words and testimonies and just the fact that you were thinking of me...your prayers changed my life and probably saved my life and I love you and thank you all! I will see you all soon enough :) Till we meet!

Love,

Elder Jesse Sumrak

Love the Work

So, I am not "trunky" at all, though I must admit that my one suitcase is already packed and pretty much the only thing I need is my scriptures and my plane ticket and I'm ready to go ;) but besides what is actually packed up, I am far from being "trunky"  with my wonderful work that we are doing here! Such a busy week has passed and an even busier week ahead, since President Ostler decided that we are going to be having zone conference week 5 and week 6.  I will get to give 5 last instructions before I leave, so I am really excited for that and Elder Stanford and I are praying hard and studying to make it the best so far! 

Tuesday, we had our monthly MLC meeting and it went really well as we discussed some of the weaknesses we are seeing with some of the missionaries in the mission as of right now, and it really set up well for president to announce the zone conference training ideas that we will be instructing on starting tomorrow! 

Wednesday, we had a lot of office work and the like to do, but ended up catching a ride with President Kargbo out to Allentown where we were to join up with the entire Waterloo Zone for their Zone Blitz training on finding and contacting families. So we get a call that they started early and were having the training, and the traffic delayed us small, but Elder Stanford and I napped...yeah, we're pathetic and we got a call who we would be training...so then epicly of course, we see them standing at the junction, ready to go and teach the Lord's Lost Sheep, and our driver pulls up, we throw open the van door, scriptures in hand, jumping out with our marine haircuts..."Let's go save some lost souls boys!" so, yeah maybe Elder Stanford and I made it a lot more dramatic then it actually was, but Igot to take Elder Udofot into his proselyting area and help train him on finding and teaching families and kingdom builders...first contact, my mistake, 2 pastors and a muslim, show down, bear testimony, lets go! on to the next one, its a hardcore Muslim who won't even look at us and snubs our outstretched hands...going really sweet thus far. 3rd contact, inspired, stopped a man and he asks if we are Jehovah's witness, strange this is, he says it in perfect English, to be honest, quite better then even my own English , as I was having difficulty speaking to him because I am a stinking bush bobo who can't even speak english anymore, but he invites us back to his house, he is a journalist and recently divorced and trying to raise his children and just struggling with life and believes that God sent us to come and help him...prepared?I think so, so the training turned out pretty well and we returned to the chapel to meet with the other 20+ missionaries and close and fly home to go and teaching 1 lesson in the complete dark at Mr. Sherriffs house :) 

Thursday, off to the Kissy Chapel where Elder Stanford and I were invited once again to do a training on the Urgency of the work, so we were able to give that insruction and got to see my good ol pikin Elder Rogers, who just got pre-transfer transferred here to Freetown west tody so I am happy to go and see that boy sometime this week...>AGAIN:) but yeah, we flew home and managed to get on out to the field for the rest of the day and teach and find some sweet families, including the Kamara family, which is a sweet pa teacher and his wife  and their 2 sons...mohamed and mohamed ;) oh yeah, thats right and they are all christian as well, booyeah! 

Friday, weekly planning and a meeting with President Ostler to discuss some emergency transers that would  be taking place all over the mission to prepare for the 8 of my MTC who are going home...poor president, losing 2 APS and 3 Zone leaders and 1 district leader, he is a bit stressed, but these measures are really helping to make it a smooth transition, so then on Saturday we had our stake conference start and we were invited to the afternoon session which was pretty well attended and I was happy to see lots of my friends and converts from the various wards I have served in in the area, so that was inspiring and always uplifts me. President Ostler spoke as well as President Charles so it was really uplfiting and inspiring, then Elder Stanford an I were sprinting up into the dark hills once again to preach the gospel! 

Sunday, we had stake conference at the U building once again and it was very ill prepared and the chairs were not even half enough, so about 50 % of the people got inside and got to listen and watch, about 20 % got to sit outside and listen and the rest of the people, who stayed (half of them didn't) couldn't see or watch, so rather disappointing to be honest and as Elder Stanford and I sat on the stairs outside, not able to see or hear, we silently and almost verbally prayed that all the investigators we invited WOULDN'T Come hahaha...sad, I know. After, got a ride back to the mission office with the Ostler and we sat down and planned and organized the zone conferences, then Elder Stanford went and sent out assgigments to the various zone leaders, then back up to the hills of Dwarzak, where we got to go and teach a Mr. K. and his family, and he is a really intelligent but deep in apostasy and it was frustrating but we practiced patience with him as he tried to tell us that James 1:5 should be interpreted if anyone lacks "Christ" because Christ is Wisdom, am I right...WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT?! hahaha oh these Born again people, I love them so much, they are so funny. Home again in the dark to teach the Sheriff family, love them so much! 

Monday, today, played some sweet football, and my best buddy Sonaldo from Bo came all the way from Bo to spend the day with Elder Stanford and I because he knows I am leaving. So we got to play some wonderful and sweet football...which, if you don't know, I love a lot and yeah, then we got swarmas in town, and now I am just waiting for the man with your guys Africana (clothing) to show up, he is on the way now, so I hope that they are sweet :) I am going strong and not giving up, I am feeling light and full of the spirit and ever so happy as I go out to do the Lord's work. It is so sweet and watching the atonement take place in these people's lives, over 2 years time, over a years time, over a weeks time, it truly is just magical and beautiful and I love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so much...I wish I could understand the atonement more and more and know that I never truly will, but that doesn't stop me from doing my best to try to understand more and more through my studies of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is so sweet and has changed my life and taught me so much, I am about to finish it for my 5th time, but I don't think I will finish it before I get back, only in Helaman 12 right now, and I like to take my time, but I AM about to finish the Old Testament for the first time, finishing up Zecariah and then Malachi and then bam! but, yeah, life is great I love it...Take care family and friends! 


Love, 
Jesse 

Elder Sumrak

Keep Going Til The End

A. S. did have his baptism on Saturday and it was very special! I was pretty emotional about it haha, but he bore powerful testimony about the truth and divinity of the church and especially the Book of Mormon, as he is now cruising through 2 Nephi, it's giving him a little trouble but he is hanging in there and doing his best, naturally, and we even got to teach his wife yesterday who is happy to see the changes in his life and is finally showing interest, which is surprising since she is super muslim and all her family is, but its exciting...their WHOLE family live in this compound, so if this whole family joins, her sisters and cousins and uncles and aunties will surely follow, so the work we are doing is slow but crucial and we are determiend to help the Lord and these people! 

I have had a slight issue this week, as I was having some intese upper abdominal pain earlier in the week that was sending me into the fetal position most of the night and the only way I could relieve myself of the pain was to get up and walk around in the night, and that has been continuing, the only thing that has been helping me thus far is popping 10-15 pepto bismal, but I am doing well today and hanging in there :) Just got to survive! that's all, just survive! but, seriously I am doing okay, no problems. I received a beautiful blessing from my companion and Elder Kanzler that really touched my heart and soul and I know the Lord is looking out for me and He is going to help me finish out this work strong, going as strong as I possibly can! Elder Stanford and I had another busy busy week and still managed to get 20 lessons again, so we are dying haha and laugh about how dead we are but are seriously enjoying hastening the work and finding and teaching more and more families!

On Tuesday we went out to Waterloo on the multiple different transports and attended their district meeting which was really sweet and great to see my boy Elder Weller again. Then, the long trip back, then a meeting with President Ostler, then an office meeting with everyone, then ran out the door to go and see the S. family really quick. He has been doing fantastic! He has completely left cigarettes and after I sewed his glasses back together, he has been marking the Book of Mormon a whole lot more now and is making good progress. He and his children all came to church on Sunday, now we are just working on his muslim wife haha, all of these muslim wives! He had a big problem on Saturday though when we showed up and the whole compound was very gloomy and his daughter was in tears, and he didn't look very happy either, but we sat down to talk to him and helped him understand the holy spirit and how he didn't feel it right now and what the source of that dissension of the spirit was and he argued about how white people have different skin and don't take beatings, but black skin is tough and its the only way to teach the children, and we went to the scriptures and during the lesson his countenance changed and the spirit really bore witness to his heart that this was wrong and he promised to never hit his kids again and it was beautiful...it was funny when I thought...I am a 21 year old white kid sitting here helping YOU, an old 55 + family man with your family...and then I realized yet again, I am not doing ANYTHING. It's just the Holy Ghost and the power of God working through Elder Stanford and I, his rusty tools who are trying their best to be polished and usable, and accomplishing his own work...I love being an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

Wednesday was a super sweet day as in the evening time we returned and had a district blitz of the freetown area with the zone leaders as well, and that was sweet as we took 10 missionaries into a single area and just started contacting as many families and kingdom builders as we could. I got to take our phillipino, Elder Alvarino, who can barely speak English haha, and got to take him and we had so much success! we found 4 families and one was full English from New York haha "you guys are the latter day saints right? " No dad! They're the Mormons!" oh, Im sorry Im sorry," :) haha, haven't had that my whole mission...but that was a really sweet experience all going into that area and getting the community and missionaries excited in that difficult part of town.

Thursday, we did our weekly planning, then got to help prepare and send out 2 departing missionaries going to Liberia and Nigeria, so that was nice being able to assist in setting them apart, then lots of teaching that day.

Friday, we had our own zone meeting but had to leave early unfortunately to get taxi all the way to Jui to meet the kissy zone leaders to give them money for the Lungi Elders district funds because they ran out, then headed back and got to go and see some people,

then Saturday was the sweet sweet baptism, and the rest of the day was spent proselyting our faces off.

Sunday was sweet and I was privliged to confirm Abdulai Samura and it ws really sweet and he was super excited...maybe one of my last confirmations for a very long time...at least for the living ;) but then spent the rest of that day out teaching as well, and follow calls in the vening form Thursday night to Sunday night, so were pretty exhausted from that,

but we ran into town this morning, ditching our own zones super pday haha, and I took all the measurements to the tailors and material people and hopefully will be getting some fine africana clothes for my wonderful family, or at least trying my best, then came home and elder stanford  had found some clippers and tried to barb my hair and WHOAH was it WAY too short, and then it died after the first swipe, so I put a hat on and we went down the street and somebody, Ogggaaaaaa, is his name :) he finished up my hair after laughing at my silly haircut and now we look like stinking marines haha our hair is so short you can see our white scalps, but whatever right, its not like I'm trying to impress anyone :) Just as long as I am an appropriate representative of Jesus Christ, but to be honest I look more like a mercenary than anything right now...but, small small, life is great and I am loving it...not too much to say but I love you all, work is sweet ,keep it going till the end!

Love,

Jesse

Elder Sumrak