Hello everyone! How is everyone on this fine December day? I hope all is well. You all are freezing up and I'm still sweating!! Don't you wish you could be me! I'm just kidding. But seriously though, it has been way hot lately, it's been over 100⁰ every day. But it's normal!
It was transfer week and I got a new companion! His name is Elder Kalombo. He is from the Congo. He is my 2nd Congolese companion. We are going to get some work done this transfer! Enough said, let me get into it.
A few highlights from this week: coconuts are in season. I have been eating them like crazy! Like seriously, every day they are so good. I included a little video on how you go about eating a coconut.
It's Hamatan season/dry season here; the dust and smoke are seriously so thick it's hard to breathe, but the sunsets are absolutely gorgeous.
My companion and I have been riding our bikes like crazy the past two weeks. My butt hurts so bad, but we are able to get a lot more places faster. You gotta give some and take some. We have really been focusing our efforts on contacting new people. Usually, when riding bikes, we pass people on the street. We will slow down and try to contact them. There was this one man who was walking towards us as we were riding towards him. We stopped our bikes and struck up a conversation. As my companion was talking to him, I noticed something fall out of his pocket. I looked to see what it was, and to my surprise, it was a big old joint. I seized the moment and got a video while he was distracted. Luckily he didn't notice. He was a Muslim, so naturally, he wasn't interested in what we had, and he walked off, but he forgot his weed. I stomped it into the ground, and we went about our day. But I still laugh about it! So that's what the subject of my email entails: high on the holy ghost.
We went on exchange with the Zone Leader's this week, and in their area, we found a bakery that has all sorts of American goods that they make fresh every day. We went there in the morning, and I bought a chocolate glazed doughnut. It was pretty amazing. It was so cool to see all the goods this shop had: doughnuts, chocolate chip cookies, hamburgers, muffins, etc. It's always cool to find some cool little shops like that. I've got a video and a few pictures of it down below.
This week the Christian kids are out on Christmas break, so there have been so many little kids around lately. And as the only white guy they have ever seen, they seem to be attracted to you. So this week has been full of playing with kids, which I do enjoy. Something I admire about these children is they can make anything. For example, some kids made a jump rope by taking old used plastic water sachets that they found in the bush and somehow weaved them together one by one until it created a long jump rope. Pretty impressive considering these kids are 5.
Another funny story: we were talking to a recent convert when we heard a kid screaming bloody murder just around the corner. So we got up to see what it was. Turns out it was a goat that came screaming around the corner with a bucket wrapped around its neck. There were some pieces of metal rattling around inside the bucket, spooking the goat. The faster the goat ran, the more noise came from the bucket dangling from its neck. Animals are funny. It must have been eating something inside the bucket, got spooked, and took off running with the bucket.
A spiritual thought I had this week comes from Luke 17:32, remember Lot's wife. Such a simple scripture, right? What meaning could a verse that only has three words entail? Well, you, just like me, would be surprised! I was reading Luke and saw this verse and thought, "What the heck? Why in the world do I need to remember Lot's wife?" So naturally, I did a little research on Lot's wife. Lot and his wife lived in Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord told Lot to leave, and his wife was hesitant but eventually listened and left. The Lord gave a simple command, "look not behind thee," but we read that Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt! What is the significance of this? And why does Luke want us to remember this? Earlier in the chapter of Luke 17, it talks about the second coming of the Savior. We see in verse 31 it says, "let him likewise not return back." So pretty much, leave everything you have and go to the Savior or follow the Savior. Pretty simple, right? We might think so, but it wasn't so simple for Lot's wife. The reason that Lot's wife got turned into a pillar of salt is one, because she disobeyed a commandment from God. And two, because not only did she look back, but she looked back wanting to GO BACK. Lot's wife didn't believe that whatever the Lord had prepared for her was better than what the city of Sodom and Gomorrah had to offer her. Often times as humans, we find ourselves as Lot's wife. We think, "the past was so great, I had so much fun. I wish I could go back." But we are failing to realize that whatever the Lord has in store for us is going to be better than what we had.
And I would like to share one of my favorite quotes, "The past is a place to be learned from, but not lived in." - Jeffrey R Holland. Plus, Christ's gospel is focused on where you are going, not where you have been. So I challenge all of you to do as Luke says and remember Lot's wife! Don't look back! Whatever the Lord has in store for you is much better than what or where you came from.
And look at that! All of that from three words! Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and I'll talk to you next time.
Don't forget to stick around for the photos.
Photos:
A video of a grinding mill that takes dried corn and turns it into flour.
A video of a little kid trying to get the last few pieces of rice out of the bottom of the bowl.
Random ambient sounds.
Coconuts!!
Sunsets.
A photo of a school playground with a palm tree in the background. I thought it was a cool picture, but Tamale looks a lot like the Middle East.
Tamale can be very discouraging, so it's nice to have some words of encouragement painted on a house.
The donut shop.
Weed man.
Small girl fetching water.
Goat.
New companion.
