Hello everyone! I hope all is well and that you are enjoying the last bit of summer before it ends.
Things have been good for me. It's been cloudy and cool, which is a nice change from the scorching heat. There's been a lot going on lately. I've really been putting my nose to the grindstone and getting things done, so here are a few highlights from the week!
Monday was a good day. We didn't do much, which was nice. We pounded fufu with Clementina and called it a day. It was awesome.
Tuesday we had district council and a ton of appointments, so it was a super busy day. We were able to accomplish everything. We met a new contact named Solomon. He's a cool dude and he works at the Fan Milk store that sells bagged ice cream. Every time we go to teach him, we get a nice treat! It's the little things that make you happy.
Wednesday was a wild day. I have been wanting some nice pork meat, which is impossible to find because of the heavy Muslim population. But I asked around and found a member who has a pig he was getting ready to kill, and he was willing to sell us some of the meat I wanted. Somehow I ended up being the butcher! If I had known this, I would not have been in proselyting clothes because I got blood all over me. But it is what it is. I helped the member kill the pig, burn the hair off, and cut it all up. It was a process and a half, and not having the correct tools made it much more difficult. I was okay with everything, but my companion was a little horrified with the process. All I'm going to say is be thankful that you can go to the store and buy nice, clean, refrigerated meat.
Thursday we met a monkey named Kilo. He's a pimp, but he's scared of white people. He warmed up to us, though.
Friday was packed with appointments. We have found a few promising people who are looking to come closer to Jesus Christ. The good thing for them is we have exactly what they need!
Saturday was awesome. We went farming with a member who has a big farm in the jungle where he farms plantain, coco, cassava, yam, and okra. We headed for the hills at 7:00 am and worked there until about 11:00 am. We planted about 50 plantain trees. It was great. It was also cool to just be in the mountains again. It's rainforest, so it's not the same, but it's what I've got. There's a super cool tree we found that they call a rope tree, and it apparently has some really cool medical purposes. But it doesn't grow like a normal tree. It grows vertically and winds up and around other trees. He also had a nice trapping setup where he traps bushmeat. After we were done with the farm, we did our normal proselyting and ended the day at 8:00 pm, so a solid 13 hours of work made for a good day.
Sunday we had three investigators come to church, which is always nice. After church, we did some service and called it a day.
All in all, it was a packed week, but it was so good. I've been studying in 3rd Nephi, and I'm right at the point of Jesus Christ's death. I love to see how seamlessly the Bible and the Book of Mormon match up. Right at the time of Jesus' death is where it is most prominent to me. I love having such a valuable tool in such a crazy modern day.
I hope you all enjoy the new week, and I will talk to you all next time.
~Elder Gilbert
This week's photos:
A video of the rope tree and a few pictures of me and my companion sitting on it, and some with me and the member in front of it.
Butchering up the pig.
Kilo the pimp monkey.
Beautiful sunset.
A video of the farm work. I was digging holes for plantain trees.
And if you are queasy, I would suggest not watching the video of the pig being butchered.
Also, a picture of me cleaning the meat before I froze it.
