Can you see Virginia from Africa?

Dear Family and friends, Life here in Freetown is going well. The Lord
has blessed us with many amazing investigators and many miracles this
week, which never seem to cease when on the Lord’s wonderful errand. I
had read to page 350 of Church history fullness of times and its
amazing to see the many miracles that occurred in the lives of the
early saints, despite all their many challenges and hardships they
were forced to suffer, the Lord helped them through the refiners fire
as they humbled themselves and came unto Him. It truly is a great
example in my own life. Often, things get simple, things get easy,
that’s when we get challenges to shake things up and continue to help us
to grow…we elders, former residents of the Celestial apartment of
Kiama Road, Brooksfields, were forced to face this challenge this
week…
Friday morning, Elder Dancan and I had gone deep into town to buy
somethings necessary for the zone service project to take place the
following day, when we received a call from the Assistants. They
informed us to immediately return home and pack our bags, we would be
exchanging apartments with the sisters at any moment during the day…
(this was due to some harassment from some neighbours in the sisters
neighbourhood). Well, we returned home quickly and began to pack and
no later then 30 minutes the van arrived to pick us up…well,
obviously we made them wait so we could get all of our stuff but gosh
it was a mess and we had to leave so much food and stuff behind :( it
was hard leaving that beautiful apartment of joy and blessings, but
happiness isn’t meant to last in Sierra Leone.

The new apartment is interesting and has many  cockroaches and not all
the necessities that we were enjyoing but, I do find comfort in that
WE now have to suffer while our dear sisters do not have to suffer
anymore.So much crap they were having to deal with and I am grateful
to take that sacrifice for them. Never for a second did I regret the
swap...but, life is good.

I am super jealous of your awesome family reunion this week and beg
that you guys have another one in like...2-3 years :) so then a lot of
the missionaries will have returned, but lets be honest, now that we
are at this age, there will ALWAYS be someone on mission haha, which
is of ourse a blessing and a curse huh? oh mission work is sweet!:)
Kayeagoma!

and I DID get my hot dog king story and it really cheered me up to read
it and remember words that I used to use that I had totally
forgotten...oh my vocab is gone, I am dead and gone. I have so many
more stories to write though haha, I can't wait. I have been recording
all the future stories I have to write...like for Thomas and I "the
ice cream man..." for me on mission "How Oatmeal saved my life" a
nutritional autobiography of Elder Sumrak ;) I'm such a dork...yeah,
whatever gets me going right?

NOTE FROM MOM:  I had asked Jesse if when he fell in front of his
mission president, if he got up smiling and this was his response:

and you're right about my smile in that circumstance, of course I got up
smiling, I'm not really one to go around being ashamed too much, just
get up and make a big joke out of it and then everyone feels better,
including yourself! you know me too well mother. well, I managed to
stay drier but gosh...everything is starting to mold. I hate to put
this image in your mind but when moving I removed my pillow case and
found my pillow GREEN...its a white pillow...so i threw that Tish away
haha, my shoes are even getting mold on them now overnight...I'm not
really sure what to do except clean them in the morning :/ any
suggestions?

and our relationships with our cousins has truly been a blessing and I
hope Nick and Clayton get to see each other lots. I loved spending time
with Drew when I was at college and he was my best friend. we didn't
live together :) but I think that helped make us best friends haha,
someone you live with and be with everyday you can tire of and get
impatient with, but me and Drew always got along great, and he was my
eating buddy, study buddy, gyming buddy, miss that guy like crazy.
can't wait to continue when we return. hope clay and nick can find
some time together as well :) always Sunday nights at Thomas' at
least!

So, more excitment in my life... I was thoroughly enjoying a piece of
frozen pineapple the other night when I thought I discovered piece of
rice in the pineapple (not  a big surprise, rice is EVERYWHERE) so, I
spat it out and continued my enjoyment...it wasn't until a couple
minutes later that I realized a small chunk of one of my back teeth
was missing haha :) life sure is funny sometimes...rice? boy oh boy
where am I?

To add to my injury list, yesterday morning I was cutting a mango, and
the knife was slightly dull, go figure, but not dull enough to stop
from chopping into my thumb...blood minimal, questions
lots...madagascar band-aid...mom for the win :)

Due to our distance form the apartment now, we must locate and use
Poda Poda transport now, which I hope to one day video for you so you
can see the craziness of Poda Poda :) just throw in as many people
into a stripped van with metal benches bolted to the ground and a
driver who is with the motto "Time is money" and use your
imagination...I tried to use mine but I'm still suffering from the
concussion from the low ceiling...

On Saturday we got to participte in a zone service project at...you
guessed it, A hospital! yea,  probably one of the top 3 places in sa
lone I wouldn't like to be, is a 3rd world hospital. but, we managed
and did our service, I mostly mopped and swept so I got to avoid some
of the dirty work that some were forced to do, like cleaning the
birthing room, which from the details from the elders sounds like a
nightmare. blood...guts...stuff...yeah , glad I missed out on that.
but, we sang some hymns to the patients as well and it was a wonderful
experience and the people there were very grateful so we all loved the
opportunity to serve and help out!

The baptism on Saturday was super duper sweet and we had to rush
quickly from the project to the chapel and it was great. Aruna and
Brenda were baptized. Brenda is the sister of the young lady I
baptized in Bo, who requested her sister wait until she came to
Freetown to be baptized..sweet...but its all good :) Sunday was great as well!
we had over 125 members and not even enough seats for Elder Dancan and
I and some of the priesthood brethren who volunteered  to
stand in the back with us :) it was great! we had 10 investigators
there and ah we were busy...and me...well me...I was sick the entire
service and ran to the bathroom about 6 times, but upon my final visit
I prayed to the Lord that he would allow me to do my proselyting and
do my work for the day, that I would sufffer in the evening and night
and instantly I felt better and had no more pains or troubles with my
stomach for the rest of the day...coincidence...NO...MIRACLE...YES!
the Lord is truly blessing me abundantly as I put my faith in him and
simply pray for his help :) ask and ye shall receive...I beg everyone,
just ask, he will give you...

During sacrament, another miracle happened, when one of my recent
converts Matilda, from BO, walked in to OUR service out of the
4 services for the day. I went and talked to her small but was
disappointed because I was busy and sick and hardly got to talk to
her, but I promised her as she left that we would see each other again
one day, so no worry, and then she admitted she was returning to Bo
tomorrow...but i re-extended the promise...the Lord fulfilled it. One
parent, was ushering his daughters to
class, when I then saw the teacher (our recent convert Charles)
turning her away, telling her to go to investigators class because she
no baptize yet, I questioned the father and he was like...well thats
true, my daughters are like 16 and haven't baptized yet, i guess you
should come visit the house and teach them...okay come do that
sometime this week...yeah, thanks for helping boss, terrestial
kingdom? I'm not the judge. Well after church we went and taught a sick
recent convert, and the father passed by, pointing us to his house. so,
we went high up the mountain to an area I had never been before, and
we found the 2 girls...turns out Matilda's family shares the house :)
so, she introduced us to her whole family and they all have baptismal
dates for august 17, so lets see how it goes with them hahaha :) oh,
their is no coincidences with God...he truly is our loving Heavenly
Father, of that I testify and know to be true!

Today was sweet, we went to Lumley Beach and met up with the other
district to play a football game on the beach with goals and
everything...the rain came down like a hurricane and it was complete
chaos and slippery and glass and tish and ah, it was great! we ended
up winning a dramatic game 14-10, and it was super sweet playing the
members and investigators and so much fun. ah, the beach is
amazing...I could see Virginia, you know?:) so, I wanted to leave the
beach as soon as possible before trunkiness could set it, but it was
really cool. their beach road has potential to be like Virginia Beach one
day, so they are trying haha.

but, that was my week, another week of greatness, business, business,
tired, ugh :) sweet! Love sa lone, love mission, love my family and
friends, farewell all!

Love,
Jesse Elder Sumrak

Trust in the Lord

So, my pessimism is over, for the most part, and the Lord truly
blessed me with a great week. I know that He knows me and loves me and
knows exactly what I need, and sometimes I just need to be patient and
wait for the Lord instead of wondering why the Lord doesn't answer
immediately. he knows and loves me...of this I am sure. The conference
this week was great and short but I really enjoyed it. I especially
enjoyed that we were running a little late because i wanted to buy an
umbrella and upon dodging a car my toe hit the curb and I spilled hard
right in front of the compound, but fortunately only mission president
and the assistants saw hahaha, not too much blood, only small small :)
The conference was sweet and the food was delicious. the new mission
president and his wife are amazing. they are super strong and
confident and I love them very much. Its funny, Elder Liufau and I
were talking about it today, but President Ostler is like the New
Testament God, the one that loves you and wants you to keep the
commandments because YOU love him...while President Roggia was the
God of the Old Testament, who made us fear him and be obedient out of
respect and fear haha, but both are amazing men and I love them so
much! President Ostler is going to continue this mighty work
here...assistants called last night...expecting 50 missionaries in the
next 3 transfers...thats more than half the amount we currently have
here in sierra leone...nobody has any idea how we are going to put
them all somewhere...

Mom, you asked about tomatoes:
We do have tomatoes here but they don't look or taste like our
tomatoes really, but I was never a big tomato fan so no bad. I do use
tomato paste though, to cook my stews haha. no french toast yet :/
but I eat a lot of boiled eggs during the day, they sell them on every
street corner so I usually eat 2 or so a day. What I made this week
was super yummy, made a tomato stew by adding tomato paste and water
and then adding a can of baked beans, an onion, pepay, and some taco
seasoning to make a super sweet stew that I ate with pasta for like 3
nights. so cheap as well, so I made it again last night. enjoyment :)
made kanya and had the President and Lauriztens try it and they liked
it haha, kanya is just when you brown gehrie in a pan, beat it
together in a mortar with ground nut paste and sugar, and my own
specialty, on accident, is left over pepay juice in the mortar because
people don't know how to wash things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but,
it turned out quite nicely actually :)

So, many miracles this week that I want tos hare with you all to
strengthen your testimony, because they have strengthed mine as well.

We were proselyting on Thursday and we were high up on the mountain
and I had a broken umbrella (that I had purchased that
morning...tankey tankey african CRAP!) and of course it started to
rain! this was not a calm rain, this was a torrential rain with tish
flying around and everything and I was already upset because zone
conference had taken up 3/4 of our day. So we taught our lesson and I
glummly waited for the rain to cease, which hadn't for the past
hour...We could go out in the rain...no problem. get soaked. we do it
all the time. but, I am worried for my pickin because he has only one
pair of shoes, and these ones are getting torn apart quickly by this
rain...but I put my faith to the test and closed my eyes and
prayed...and as I earnestly prayed for the rain to stop, the rain
started to pound harder and harder but I didn't giveup, I continued to
pray with real desire and intent, pleading to let the rain stop so we
could continue our busy work. the people present realizing what I was
doing started to laugh, talking how the rain was only getting
worse...but still I prayed. after a good 5 minutes of prayer, I ended
and the rain continued, no it didn't cease just like that, don't be
too silly...but I stood up, grabbed my stuff, put them in my bag,
apologized to my picking, and told him we must go. By the time we were
packed and started into the rain, it was a drizzle, by the time we
walked 30 seconds, the rain had completely stopped...its not a
coincidence, its not nature, its God and I know he loves me and
answers my prayers. Just have to be patient, and then put your faith
into practice :)

Second, yesterday I fasted and prayed for one boy,  that his
uncle would agree to let him become a christian and follow his
heart and desire. so we went and found the uncle far in the other
missionaries area, and he was bold and confident and very intelligent
and the conversation was going quite ...um...okay I guess. we weren't
gaining much ground, but we weren't losing any, when one quite,
STRONG, man, working in the tailor shop interrupted the man and
without ever looking at him, talked the most sensible things to him.
he asked him beautiful and gentle questions and I could tell that this
man was the answer to the fast, that  because I had centered my fast
on this, this man appeared to help. The conversation ended well, and I
believe everything will be okay now, but I left the shop almost
feeling like that man was one of the 3 nephites or something, because
it was so elegant and beautiful the way he took over the conversation,
and the way he put his words almost made me think he was an angel in
disguise...miracles are sweet. :)

Saturday was sweet, for Jestina Kamara was FINALLY baptized! she has
been taught by missionaries who ended their missions before I even
began. since 2011!!! but, she had finally committed to the gospel and
kept all her committments and was finally baptized :) I can't wait to
let all the missionaries who taught her know, ah it was so sweet. I
got to confirm her yesterday and The spirit was so strong in
manifesting that his daughter of God is going to be strong!

The work is going sweet, new missionaries on the way, the Lord is
hastening his work. my studies are going sweet and I am half way
through Mosiah using the Book of Mormon manual as well. I am almost
finished with preach my gospel again, and have reached about pg. 175
of Church history in the fullness of times. that book is so sweet!:)
so, studies are sweet, life is sweet, tons of work to do, too many
people to see. exercise is going great. up at 6 every morning. 30 -40
minutes of jogging. 20 minutes of gyming. kayeagoma!

We had an EPIC football game today, since it was raining like a
hurricane when we started, with a good inch or two of standing water
on the tennis court we used. We were soaked before it even started,
but we had such a good time playing :) we were all falling down and
sliding and bleeding and dying and people falling on their backs and
slamming their heads on the concrete and gosh, what a great time :)
but seriously it was a lot of fun, and we played for almost 2 hours,
before my legs couldn't go anymore :/ not like my good ole days at BYU
when I would get up Saturday morning and go play from 10am - 2 pm. and
couldn't walk home and would have to call Thomas or Laura to come pick
me up hahaha, I'll get back to that point though :)

Today...it's still raining. I'm still wet, and thats how it will be
mostly for the next 2 months. 4th of July...I
love our country and I love it more now then ever. USA!:) lets go
world cup baby, keep it up, take care my lovely friends and family and
know the Lord loves you and will answer your prayers. just be obedient
and have faith and all else is sweeto!

love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak

Saluting President Roggia

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, not going to lie, I'’m pretty bummed right now, maybe when this
internet opens up finally I will be happy to see news that I am an
uncle, but right now I am just burned. This day and week has been long
and wet. It rained about everyday this week hahaha and just walking
around all day, I am exhausted.
Well, the rain pounded the other day, and we didn'’t have our rain
jackets or umbrellas. so...put everything in zip lock bags and plastic
trash bags and walked out into the rain. Didn't take more then 2
minutes till we were completely soaked...then, up on the mountain we
encountered a bigger problem...our road was blocked by  dangerous
rapid water...like, rocks and what not and just craziness. we stood in
contemplation for 5 minutes while bathing children and others came to
watch to see what the Kenyan and American would do. They all started
yelling out suggestions, until one young man came out to show us the
most solid stones that we could safely cross on, so we followed his
guidance and I took a running start and made the leap over the water,
much to the jeers and satisfaction of all watching, and my compy
followed suit. Adventure Time yay! Finn would have been proud...My
little Jake is always following closely behind...love my companion
Elder Dancan so much. he gets pretty moody over how
clueless these stubborn people can be, but I can usually cheer him up
and keep him going. its not easy, but you just got to keep going :)

Yay email is finally open!
Jersey collection is going nicely. me and my picking went and got blue
sa lone jerseys last week so we got papa/pickin matching now haha. No
box yet. I will be getting an interview with the new mission
president, President Ostler, tomorrow, so I will be able to tell you
lots more after that and our zone conference on Wednesday, lots of
interesting things will be happening this week I am sure. But, the
roots of apostasy are already quickly setting in. missionaries
drinking from satchet water and what not...ugh, trying to help them
recognize the principle of obedience but I guess a good way to learn
is through a nice experience with typhoid. hope its not bad to pray
for the punishment of the disobedient ;) i still love them. they will
learn.

Oh, the beauty of Utah is just breath taking and I am super jealous
haha...beauty in Freetown?! beauty in Freetown! well, on the bright
side, everything looks beautiful when your farther away, just as a
sunset is beautiful in the most polluted skies, am I right? Not much
beauty, ironically wrote in my journal last night something along the
lines " I am sitting on the front porch relaxing as I look out over
our ugly compound, past the dirty walls and the sewage filled streets
and past the ugly houses littering the horizon to the ugly Freetown
sky" there is beauty in the hearts of the honest and faithful, but
that is all the beauty Freetown has to offer. Bo...Bo is beautiful.
Freetown, Freetown is not.

I miss adventure time haha! and Taylor Swift and Trevor Hall and
football...random :) but, finn...oh finn, how you inspire me. The way
he always deals with his problems is truly great. He is always
smiling and always thinks of a solution instead of despairing. he is
human, he fails and gets frustrated sometimes, but in the end he
always learns a lesson and comes out better then he was at the
beginning. he has fun and is joyful along the way, always full of
jokes and laughter even during the hard times. His pal Jake is great,
they are a good team. Guess its a lot like mission work. You always
got your buddy and you just got to make each other laugh and be stupid
to get through the hard times. If you are too serious, you'll fail. You
got to be serious, but don't take yourself too serious. remember you're
human. remember to have fun. remember to enjoy. My goal, as inspired
by the great Elder Hales, that I make every single week on mission
"have fun, feel the spirit, enjoy mission." if you feel the spirit you
are on the right track, then have some fun and you'll enjoy mission.
simple :)

Got to go on an exchange with Elder Otubu for my first time in the
Freetown area this week. Do not like that area the most in all of Sierra
Leone to be honest. just city city city and nasty streets and
smelliness and oh :) oh sa lone, i love you i really do. deep down.
But, had a new experience. Had one woman come out with rice, she
normally feeds the missionaries, and became very apologetic when she
saw me, a white man, and said ah, sorry, forgive me for the
African food. WHAT?! I must say, at first I was kind of offended, but
all is well, all is well...the reason being...

I am the only white man, and oftentimes I don't try to think about
that. I am with my brothers and sisters all day everyday and I feel
like I'm one of them. we talk, we laugh, we live, but why can nobody
else here see past color? I CAN, why can't they?! We are all human, we
are all gods children, and if they could just realize that their lives
would change. I'm honestly just tired of this racism here, its
terrible. get in a taxi, "5,000" "FOR WHAT!? its 1,000, you craze?"
"yeah, but you got money" "pull over, I'll find another taxi" "What,
why" " shut up and pull over" yeah...my patience is dwindling. Just
imagine that conversation in about 50 different contexts occurring
between 10-20 a day...it gets old, real old, real quick.

But, our great Bishop, bishop Abu Sesay, went out proselyting with us
twice this week which was a great blessing. he truly is a powerful man
and he has great love for these people, which is great to see in that
he is actually trying, which no one else really does in this country.
This man works and tries and kushey to him for that,
may god bless him and his family for his sacrifice.

Yesterday we showed up to church to find our new mission president,
President Ostler and old dying President Roggia in our sacrament
meeting, which was a great blessing. I had the opportunity to meet the
new president and introduce myself and the Lord further blessed us in
that the chapel didn't burn down in my 5 minute absence from doing
absolutely everything for these members hahaha oh my :) upon seeing
President Roggia get in the van and depart the compound for the last
time, I alone went out into the street and pouring rain to salute him
for the last time. he always had a tradition of saluting the
missionaries as they left for home...I thought he deserved the
same...it was the beginning to a very wet day, as we had no jackets
and umbrella again, but many appointments. we had a team of recent
converts and our bishop, young women, and prospective missionaries who
wanted to go proselyting with us...but not everyone is ready to go to
work just yet haha, so up the mountain I took my courageous young men
in the pouring rain, all soaked and cold, shoes spoiling, ties ruined,
hiking up the mountain. the women along with bishop joined us with
umbrellas after the rain had ceased, but we proved to the Lord that we
are diligent, and will not waste his time :) the work must go on, and
if the field is white and ready to harvest, its got to be done now!

Went and played football today with the whole zone. we played on a
tennis court and we had a great time all slipping and falling and
bleeding and yeah, sa lone style. it was fun though and I enjoyed
being on my element once again. oh football, you truly are a blessing
from God to me. FAITH, FAMILY, FOOTBALL. the 3 F's to my life :)
usually they go in that order ;) hahaha. but, life is good. life is
good. mission is great mission is great. Shout out to my wonderful
cousins Sister Cutler doing an amazing work in Hong Kong, and my
awesome cousin Elder Hooper, changing Spain forever. you are both
amazing. and shout out to Sister Future Cutler, going to Brazil,
kushey cousin :) I am so proud of you! farewell my family and friends
and hopefully my little niece will be born any minute now :) another
miracle in my life and my families life. the Lord is amazing.
farewell!:)

Love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak

Freetown Rocks

Another week has passed her in Sierra Leone and
everything is going great. Belliar Park is doing nicely and we are
keeping plenty busy, trying to meet up with all of our investigators,
train a new mission leader, meet with our bishop, re-activate less
actives who were baptized before I was even born… we are plenty busy
here haha. Had my first district meeting here in Freetown on Tuesday,
and it went very nicely. It was sweet having sisters, zone leaders,
and assistants in the meeting, and made for a very spiritual and
effective discussion.
The people in our area continue to kalo kalo us like crazy! Our
teaching pool expands everyday because everyone ditches out of our
appointments and we are forced to go and find new people to teach,
making our pool over flow too much! But, we are doing our best to
narrow down the serious ones and focus on the legit ones, no bad.
Had a sweet referral come from East Freetown though, 
and he was already taught almost everything and desired to be
baptized and he is just a boss. Boy learns so quick and wants to go
and serve mission and he will be baptized this Saturday, so its super
exciting. He looks like he is 30, but his information says he is only
19 hahaha, oh sa lone records, you can never really tell. Making
baptismal records here is quite painful, since they don’t have
records, and mostly just guess, since only 1/3 of them can actually
tell you their birthday, which is kinda sad when you think about it,
but then again, its not essential to know I guess…well except for
everything in life! Like school, job, church, um everything really,
but no bad.
Last Monday Elder Dancan and I had some extra time to go to town after
emailing so we just went looking around at some jerseys, and then our
eyes caught something awesome, and we just had to get them… Bob Marley
collared shirts! Why we got them? Who knows, but it sure was funny
when the zone leaders came home and found us closing for the day :)
hahaha, good times.
Mother! I got your package, tankey tankey tankey! I was just running
low on protein bars so I am super happy for the restocking haha and
oatmeal is just heavenly, and can turn my gloomiest day in today my
best :) those zotz candies are super yummy though, I have never had
those before ! super delicious momma tankey tankey. I enjoyed the
pictures as well haha, oh our family is so great.
Teaching at one house, and gosh it is complete chaos!
She is preparing to be baptized and all the 10 some kids there are
members and some of the older guys too, but the kids are just crazy,
jumping all over me and my companion, biting and scratching us and ah,
its just too much for me to handle hahaha I started hurling
kids this way and that way and oh my oh my, by the time we leave I am
just exhausted, completely drained in every way haha.
Tried some new sort of food they call like ground mango. Which is
where they cut up a mango into slices, then put pepay, dried fish,
magi, salt, water, and those sort of things on it, and its actually
kinda tasty haha :) I rather enjoyed it.
Had a baptism for Samuel on Saturday which was very nice,
except for it was delayed since we couldn’t find the plug to the
baptismal font :/ but, all is well. We then formed our assembly line
like usual to carry the buckets from the font to the tank, so that got
done pretty quick, but Samuel hurt his foot very badly and couldn't make
it down the mountain for his confirmation :( so hopefully next week he
will be doing better and able to make it!
Enjoyed TOO MUCH pineapple this week haha, every night almost I was
eating like a giant pineapple, and I love just freezing it. Not just
cold pineapple, but frozen pineapple, whew that is some good stuff,
that can make a tired crying old/young missionary man smile… oh the
small things in life :)
Have been studying the Book of Mormon manual and gosh it is so good!
Played some football today and it was sorta fun. The field is just so
terrible I just can’t describe it. Just bumpy and hilly and rocky and
cans and bottles and razors and cds are all over the field, including
rocks bigger then the football itself, not to mention if you miss the
goal you drill somebody house, knock over someones clothes on the
line, or knock over a pot of rice like today (well at least it wasn’t
me ;) ) hahaha so very uh not relaxing, but trying to find a new place
for next week to enjoy ahhaha.

Wow, I can't wait to do that new puzzle with you Mom  haha, I forget the
ones I have done...I think I did a chicken one with Laura, and maybe a
cow one? or alligator? or something? remind me mother!:) and Cristiano
Ronaldo and Rooney?! whatawhat!? that would be so crazy :) keep me up
to date on that, but I believe if that happens sa lone will text
everyone for free haha, we know where their priorities are.

But, all is well in Sa Lone, we have some super sweet investigators
right now and I'm really enjoying the people... :) haha I
love you family and I hope you all enjoy your time reunioning and what
not on all sides and don't let these moments pass. take advantage of
them. take pictures. write it down in your journal. these are the
things that last forever, our family. take care everyone. love you
lots!

Love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak

A Year Has Passed

I love sharing my mission
with you ...it makes it almost seem unreal and like an adventure
to me, which keeps me sane and keeps a humorous light on my realistic
living conditions, which might kill me if forever I realized that this
life I'm living right now is real...and not some other dream. deep
right? lets keep it that way :)
I did celebrate my year mark haha, I tried to get some MTCs to join me
but they were too far away at the time, so we had a baptism on
Saturday morning which was quite stressful
then had an amazing baptism :) so all in all that went nice. Then, I
took my companion down into town to go and eat at a restaurant I used
to eat at with the assistants, quick take! and we got nice eggburgers
and then ice cream and just enjoyed and had a little fun. Then I had to
go district shopping and dive into the back alleys and streets of
hassling for boots and pans and all that tish and it was very
stressful...but the day ended okay, with a nice big pineapple and some
chicken...so all in all I enjoyed my 1 year mark :) but, I have one
more year to enjoy so I'm trying haha :)
oh, and yes that is my companion Elder Dancan in the picture with me.
thats my BOY! love this kid haha.
and  love shopping with you momma and can't wait to go food shopping
with you when I get home because now I love to cook, so we can cook
some fun things together and I'll prepare tons of African dishes and
what not for you guys, because maybe by then I won't be exhausted
all the time haha ;) how much is a pineapple back home? here they are
less then one dollar haha, so i eat one a day!
So jealous about this big family reunion but glad that I will
photo shopped into the picture haha, tankey tankey! take lots of
pictures of our big beautiful family and have a safe trip to Utah my
dear momma. you fly safe okay? :)
My missionary friend is in Charlottesville and she loves it so much :)
she says that VA is the most beautiful place in the world...sorry
Utah, i second that!
So my diet this week: Oatmeal for breakfast, with a bowl of cornflour
as a snack before I leave. 2 boiled eggs for lunch. and a piece of
chicken with half a pineapple and some cornflour for dinner...
ENJOYMENT! I sure do love cornflour :)
Also, just remembered, don't know why it took me this long to realize
it but Elder Liufau reminded me. Call of Duty 2, that map by the name
Freetown, heck yes that is Sierra Leone, and now that I'm here, they
are really similar haha, go check it out! that's my proselyting area
right now!:) WHAT :)
So, had a batch of like 8 elders show up this week to be sent out to
various proselyting areas, but had nothing to do for the day since
they showed up early, so the assistants called our district and we
went to go take em. Elder Muthoni, from Kenya, joined us for the day
and we had a great time with him, haha the 2 Kenyans got along great,
and it was funny seeing his impression of Sierra Leone just
coming...and mine after being in this area for a year...oh boy haha,
good times.
Had a very uh bouncy week...had my first day on mission where we
didn't see a SINGLE person we planned for..but still taught 4 lessons
so I wasn't bummed out to tears, but pretty close since I had made
follow up calls that morning (which I never did in BO because nobody
had phone) and had confirmed all appointments. Kalo Kalo picking dem,
dey go sabe me just now, you go see.
So, was up at 5:00 a.m. on Friday to go outside and hook up the hose
to the water tap and fill out water barrels haha, the tap gets busy by
the other tenants by like 6 so we got to get up early to take care of
it...so that was fun and left me bitterly exhausted for the rest of
the day...fortunately my area is at the top of the mountain, sweet!
yes much sarcasm, I know. but thats me.
During sacrament yesterday, Cynthia Kargo, a convert I baptized in Bo
walked in and I was so happy I jumped up from my seat in the
intermediate hymn and went and sang with her haha, went and found her
house after church and got 3 referrals from her haha :) gosh it was so
good to see her! then, during investigators class I was busy running
around the church getting signatures and filling records and helping
the clerk and I saw so many of my recent converts that I was almost
like Ammon, so overjoyed that I fell over haha. had one little 8 year
old, Sally, come running at me, and the other 5 kids from ages 9-11,
and ah, it was awesome :) seeing all my little ones I baptized at
church haha....suffer the little children. AMEN!:) I want to see them
all on mission one day, gosh that would be AMAZING!
Spiritual contemplation for the week, The tree of life = the love of
god = John 3:16 = Christ = atonement. The tree of life is that God
loves us so much so he sent his only begotten son to come and die for
us through the atonement. We partake of the atonement (tree) through
the gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, holy ghost,
enduring to the end). I know that my redeemer lives and what sweet
comfort and peace this sentences gives, he lives who once was dead, he
lives...I know that. I know God loves us and misses us so much,
because i miss my family so much and God's love and feelings are even
more then mine, so I know that He must miss us incredibly, even if I
am "a wretched man" but, awake my soul, and be a man! I am trying :)

Well, another exciting week done...life is great. Freetown is..great-
but I just try to smile and be optimistic haha i miss
BO so much, but just pretend I'm a perfect missionary and I'll continue
and say I love my area, its so amazing, and all my investigators are
amazing and life is stupendous ;) try to figure out which ones are
real haha. love you all always and forever.

Love,
Elder Sumrak

Freetown Again!!

WOW! congratulations to Rachel on her mission call, 
that is so exciting and I am so happy
for her :) wow...Brazil, I belive she has opened the flood gates to
South America for our family, but we will see if my prophecy is
fulfilled!

Haha that is so awesome hearing about teaching that 2nd grade class :)
Book me when I get home and if I get home early enough in time I will
come visit them in 3rd grade and do a powerpoint of my own :) go ahead
and book me for the assembly for the fall 2014 :) haha momma you are
such a great missionary, you know that! kusheyo!

Wow, that sounds like a pretty crazy graduation, but I am so glad to
hear CJ is doing okay. I love that boy and that family...they really
are special :) and the priesthood truly is amazing, we really are
lucky to have it and I am so grateful...

So...my crazy crazy week has ended and another has begun...but, I will
try to cram all the adventure into this email for you.

My last district meeting in Bo on Tuesday was very nice with the whole
district gathered, including the zone leaders, and I gave an
instruction on sacrifice and the spirit guided it very well and I hope
everyone gained from it, because I know I did...I love doing district
meetings because they hardly EVER go as I plan them haha, the
spirit always carries me whichever way He prefers and it's a greater
blessing to everyone assembled...because let's be honest, I'm completely
incompetent, the Lord really has to take over for me haha, but He
just asks me to be available, He will do the rest :)

My last day in Bo was crazy and hectic. I had planned a day of seeing
my beloved recent converts to encourage and uplift them before I left,
but before 12 noon even reached I got a phone calling announcing a handful
of elders had arrived at the apartment and were awaiting me to unlock
the building. So, we rushed home and gathered the new missionaries. My
wonderful picking was there, ELDER ETUK! and it was great seeing him
again, and my best buddy mtc mate Elder Hill, so great to see him as
well...but, with Elder Weller and I our companions had just received
their new ones, so we decided to let them get straight to work and we
went and did our own thing.  We went off into his area first to say
goodbye to his recent converts, then to my area. Some tears were shed
and some laughs as well, and it was really a special day for the both
of us...one I will not forget.

Then, we all met up at Sabs to enjoy lots of food and each others
company. I invited Sonaldo to join and Elder Flament and I chipped in
to buy him his first meal there...I believe maybe one of the first
legit meals in his life. We bought him a plate of roasted chicken with
tortilla wraps haha, he looked like he  was about to cry he was so
happy :) it made my day! I slept at the Lewabu apartment and my
sleeping situation started off hilariously. They only had one net that
was covered in gas, so I hung that up, and had no pillow so I was
using toilet paper rolls, but Elder Clawson and his charitable self
came in and gave me a pillow :) what a great guy. so actually slept
okay, woke up at 5 and had some nice oatmeal before the van was there
to take us back to Freetown..and what a company we had. My papi, Elder
Ngerem, Elder Burton, Weller, Gyewu Appiah, Mills, and the dying
men....Elder Barth and Elder Esiaba...surprisngly we rode in silence
through the bushy plains of sa lone...listening to John Bytheway,
while I'm sure these old missionaries contemplated the next couple days
for themselves...their last time in sa lone.

We arrived and I was dropped off close to last, and it was so weird
to be back in Freetown....our apartment is a 30 minute walk away from
our area, but it's not bad. the apartment is really nice, with constant
water and light, and tiling, and its quite nice inside, but small, but
it's just me and my companion and the zone leaders, so very nice.

My new picking...Elder Dancan, only been out 6 weeks. KENYAN BOBO, man
he is such a great guy. his accent is hilarious and I love it,
especially when he tries to talk krio, which is painful. He sounds
like what you would imagine a stereotypical Indian guy to sound like
haha, but he really is a great missionary with great desire and work
ethic and I'm so happy to be with him...it's another trial of patience,
but this one I'm more prepared for :)

and by the way...a lot of people here want CTR rings...haha so if you
want to throw a couple of those cheap ones in a box these simple
people would appreciate it more then any of us could expect hahaha :)
tankey momma bear

So...news for the week. gosh it was so so so so sweet to see my boys
again from Mt. Aureol and even to hear their exciting news for the
week! they literally came rushing at me and it was great seeing their
smiling faces! Saidu - porta court nigeria, Idrissa - legos nigeria,
Patrick - ngu nigeria, Mohamed - sierra leone (liberia), Mabel -
calaba nigeria, George - nigeria. WHAT!? that is my mount aureol ward
missionaries, representing the Lord Jesus Christ...I am so very proud
of all of them :) they are going to change the world and this church
even more when they return. what great people, please keep them all in
your prayers, some are sacrificing and risking more than you would like
to imagine.

so, Elder Otubu and Aseidu, the zone leaders, cook the most oily
delicious fatty meals in the world and are so nice to always share with
me...but it was hard to tell them yesterday...I WILL NOT BE EATING
with you guys anymore haha they are so funny, they still try to give
me food but i humbly deny...they want to see me bump I know it! but
boy can they cook!

We had a wonderful baptism on Saturday for some people I really didn't
know TOO well but I had actually come to know and love pretty quickly.
It was a really special moment for me on Thursday when I went to go
teach my first lesson with my companion and get this. July 3rd last
year, my first lesson taught, in the chapel compound in the security
guard post to the security guard, towards the end of the lesson, I met
Saidu for the first time as he walked in.

June 6, 2013 my first lesson back in Freetown, the security guard
post, new security man, Saidu walks in at the end of the lesson...WHAT,
there are not coincidences with the Lord and it really was a special
moment for me and made me realize just how quickly mission is going
by...but that young man was baptized, as well as another strong young
man and a shy girl as well...and the 2 men already received callings
on Sunday as youth sunday school secretary and 1st counselor in the
young mens or something like that haha, so crazy!!! back to
Freetown...sure is a lot more fruitful then Bo...but boy do I hate the
city. honking cars, already got hit again, back to this tish and nasty
air...but, I will endure cheerfully and do all I can to love it :)
hahaha just pray...just pray :)

Well Sunday was SUPER sweet and I was so happy to find that...everyone
remembered me! and it was so awesome and I was almost brought to tears
as I went to give my opening testimony in the ward and I saw 2 of my
recent converts walk in the door and sit down...AHHH I saw lots in mt.
aureol ward and it was SOOO SWEET! it really feels so good to know
that I have made a differencein the lives of some people...and of
course it hurts not to see some people...but, just got to keep doing my
best and let the good memories and feelings drive me!

Trizone conference yesterday with Elder Dickson was amazing. President
and Sister Roggia gave the most beautiful farewell talks and I was
unbelieavably sad when we sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again as
our departing hymn...those wonderful people have changed my life
forever and I pray the Lord will bless and preserve them. The
conference was great and Elder Dickson was great and they even gave us
mini preach my gospels which was awesome!

We went out teaching and ended in the evening when we saw the darkest
of clouds approaching over the mountains. we ended the lesson and
began a fast walk home, as we were a good 30 minutes from the
apartment...well, it didn't take us that long because it soon turned
into a dead out sprint as we were in danger of very fast winds and
crashing cars as we ran home. fences were falling down and wind storm
kept hitting practically blinding us. cars and bikes were sliding
everywhere and we barely made it to the apartment before the real
winds and rain started coming, but gosh it was almost a 2 mile dead
out run...glad to know I'm still in shape :)  haha

Today was crazy and still is. played some football on a nasty ugly
dangerous field, but i just love football too much to care, and now
just got lots of stuff to still take care of haha, so I love you all so
much, I know this gospel is true. family means the world and even
beyond the world, especially I am drawn to this as my new neice is
quickly approaching. family is the most imporant eternal unit in time
and all eternity. i know that to be true...it is the heart of
missionary work. it is my pursuit and my mission, eternal family, I
love you all dearly! take care and be safe and don't forget to pray,
God be with you till we meet again!

love,
Elder Sumrak

Transferring Back to Freetown!

Wow, sure sounds like an interesting baccalaureate, but I am super
happy that you got my letter momma and hope you enjoyed it. I love you
and father so much and thank you for everything! Nick is hilarious,
I can't believe that boy is going to graduate! he is graduating on the
day that my best buddies are going home, so its pretty sweet, and one
day before a special somebody's birthday!:) happy birthday in advance
momma dearest and I hope it is an amazing one. You are still looking
like your 25 so grow up a little why don't you :)

Awww Raleigh...that is so beautiful and congratulations to her. I love
you Raleigh!

as for food, that's about right momma, as for cobras...well we find all
sorts of animals and snakes are here quite often. We usually don't
make too big a deal of it anymore. just kill it and toss it. no bad ;)
rats are back in the apartment as well. Caught one this week. One
touched one of my oatmeal bags...big mistakes, because now there will
be A GENOCIDE IN OUR APARTMENT. you don't TOUCH my oatmeal. I will
burn the whole apartment down to get vengeance on them...but not really
its okay :) I just like being dramatic.

As for baptisms for the week, we had one this past Saturday of Matilda
and it finally wasn't in the river, we felt inspired
to try to fill it at the chapel and the missionaries found it
depressingly difficult, until Heavenly Father came to the aid and sent
down rain from the Heavens, allowing the missionaries to pull the roof
gutters to empty into the font, success! so, it was a good thing too
because we found our river spot had flooded and would cause a drowning
in the attempt of any baptism haha, but Matilda is great. Nobody could
believe it when she showed up at the baptism, because she has been
taught by missionaries for close to 2 years now, but she finally kept
her commitments and decided that now was her time. She is a beautiful
young lady of about 20 years old with one child. She is great and
super sweet and really would have made an amazing missionary...but a
mother is nice too :)

Electricity is in abundance and we have enjoyed ALL week! Elder Weller
and Woodhead and I made the most delicious stew because we were able
to freeze it. Beef, Sausage, Chicken, egg, all thrown into a tomato
sauce with onions pepay and flavoring sauce and OHHHH it was great, we
put it in these wraps and enjoyed. Always have cold water, and YES!
for the past 2 nights I have been wearing a hoodie because we are all
too happy with light to ever turn the fans off, so I froze myself last
night and now I have a cold but I'm just too happy to have a fan to do
it any other way :) same with all the Elders in the apartment.
Sniffles for all! but, the days are still blazing hot and humid, but
when it rains at night it can get nice and chilly, especially for a
bunch of weak fasting missionaries haha :)

So...The big news from Saturday night...TRANSFER NEWS! Gosh, was their
excitement in our apartment, and really the whole mission. New areas
opening up, splittings, and a big change in our whole apartment, and
the entire district for that matter. Well first, Elder Hales is
district leader in Bo now, so yay! sad that I am leaving now that he
is coming but, he will do amazing. And my other MTC, awesome buddy
Elder Hill, is going to take my place as district leader...and
me...well, I'm going back to Freetown to be in Belliar Park ward,
district leader...so, a little background on it. Belliar Park and my
old area, Mt. Aureol, used to worship in the same building, live in
the same apartment, and walk through each others areas to travel, eat,
email and what not...so, I am now in a new apartment at least, walking
the same streets, the same path up the same mountain, worshiping in
the same building, buying my food from the same women, my jerseys from
the same dudes, walking the same streets and talking to the same
people and hanging out with the same ward missionaries...but,
strangely I am NEWLY excited and so excited to return to my roots. I
was such a baby then and its great to come back a little bit bigger
now with a little bit more experience. I am constantly growing and
will continue to do so so I am super happy to go and see my recent
converts again, and especially my BOY SAIDU LAMIN CONTEH! Ah, I can't
wait to see that boy again, gosh I am so so excited!

To top it off, I get to ride back to Freetown with the legendary Elder
Barth (my grandpapa) and Elder Esiaba. SO STOKED! I got to go on an
exchange in Elder Esiabas area with him this week and it was so much
fun, I love that guy so much. The most humble missionary in the world
and the farthest thing from trunky. With a week left the guy is still
going like a boss and I am so proud of that guy. What a great example
and I will be sure to follow it!

Also, I will be finishing training a newcomer, and be living with the
zone leaders, so I am super excited to learn from all of their fine
examples. Haven't served with any of these missionaries before so It
will be great to see some new faces and have some new experiences. Its
going to be GREAT!

Had a great week this week and did a lot of finding trying to build up
a nice big teaching pool for the new missionaries. Messima is
splitting once again, and its already so teensy, so I am happy to not
have that hahah but , I will have to split it today with Elder Flament
and draw the maps and send em in and everything, so that's always
exciting...for the 3rd time in 12 weeks haha.

Gave my farewell testimony yesterday and church and gosh...I'm going to
miss them!

Played an awesome football game this morning. We played on a small
small field and played 5 v 5 against another legit team, and we boys
pulled it out and won 5-4. It was pretty epic and there were more than
30 people watching, so tons of pressure. I got a goal and also
rainbow-ed a guy, so that can go down the bucket list - rainbow an
African - ;) haha it was fun!

 but, the mission is going great. I finished Jesus The Christ this
week and it was such an amazing read. I really enjoyed learning more
about the Savior's life and ministry and it has greatly increased my
love and appreciation for my savior. Jesus Christ is truly the god of
the Old Testament, and came to this Earth and died for us. He rose
again. He lives today. He loves us and this just makes me want to
serve him and heavenly father even more. As our testimony grows in the
atonement, so does our desire to share this gospel. I love this
people, I love them so much and its so sad to leave them again, but I
pray and fast for their well being, that they will remain active and
stay true to their covenant...I love them. I love this gospel for the
purpose it gives me. One boy asked me this week, "Why make me
christian"...I took a second to reply and I really learned a lot about
myself in the process. I am christian because it gives me purpose. It
gives me hope. It gives me knowledge how to live my life now and later
to obtain blessings. It helps me obtain happiness. It helps me
be...FREE! I love this gospel and church and know it is true! take
care my family and friends...I love you and Jeff Leavitt!!!! your
email doesn't work punk!

love,
Elder Jesse Sumrak!