The last 12 weeks

Hey everyone,

    I am glad your week went well.  This week was cool.

    We had our 7 baptisms this week.  5 were for Kossoh Town, they were Geniba, 2 small girls who are sisters to the clerk: Fatimata and Susan, and 2 part member family, Osie and Ishmael.  Then there were 2 from Kossoh Town who the branch missionaries taught.  The service was held on Saturday.  It was supposed to start at 9 am but didn't until around 11 due to the fact that no one was there to preside.  We called the Branch President and he said he couldn't, his councilors wouldn't pick their phone, the District President was to far away and also couldn't reach anyone to come to our aid.  Elder Miles who was there showed me in the church handbook that district or zone leaders could preside if necessary.  Luckily, the zone leaders were already coming with a candidate of their own. Their chapel had no water.  But finally the service was started.  Baptisms are way more stressful than they should be.  It is kind of ridiculous.  That should not have happened.  We weren't very happy with the Branch Leadership.  Back home if I am asked to help with a baptism, I will do everything I can to make it happen the way it should.  It doesn't help that missionaries haven't been here in 2 years.  So they are used to doing it other ways and we are trying to teach them the right way.

     Missionaries quite often do talks at baptisms, sometimes members if they show up.  The talks are always on Baptism and the Holy Ghost.  They were all confirmed on Sunday.  On Sunday, I spent the last 2 hours of church helping the Kossoh Town clerk put in the baptism information for the 2 sisters into the computer and print our forms for the area book.  After, I helped him and a sister open an LDS account and open their mission portals.  They are going to Nigeria in August, not Ike's mission but leaving the same day.  It was fun to help them.

 

    This week we had some of the strangest food I have eated on mission.  They were both on Tuesday within about 2 hours of each other.  We went to Allen Town and met a woman close to an investigators house.  We taught her and her daughters and after they gave us some food they were making.  They boiled mango in palm oil and added sugar, salt, magi (shrimp seasoning), and fish.  It was ok, but I would rather not eat it again.  The second was at the members salon. She gave us boiled mango.  That was pretty flavorless.  I just want to eat the plain mango. I can eat that all day.  No jollof, no fried rice.  Just rice and leaves with lots of oil.  One thing about mission.  Eventually you stop eating for enjoyment and start to eat to survive.  This week I am going to make another German pancake.  I might also try finding out what is in the supermarkets around Freetown if I can find them. We have nothing to make fufu in.  Also the plantains here are gross.  I tried making fried plantain but threw it out.  Most things are imported here.  They only like leaves and mangos.
   (I asked if they ate jollof rice in Sierra Leone or was able to make fufu with Elder Samche) 

    This week we had another mouse hunt.  This time it ran from the stove around the room and took shelter several times under our fridge.  We had to lean it over and poke it out.  Then chase it around the room again.  By the time we killed it, we had broken our broom.  We have a mouse trap, but I watched it jump over it as it was running around the room.  I can't for the life of me find out how they get from the roof to the kitchen.  I know how they get to the roof and I have no control over that, but how they get down I don't know.  It is driving me crazy.  The walls are cement, so unless they jump, I am at a loss.

     Well this week the greenies come to the mission.  They will start the first 12 weeks of training and I will start the last 12 weeks of mission.  Today I started my 16th planner.  With no packages, it is very hard to find things to decorate my planners now.  I used sticky notes for this one.  Not as exciting as my other planners.

   We got our boots a few weeks ago.  I hope to send pictures but today the connection is bad.  Next week if the network allows I will send plenty  The pics I have are of the baptisms and my boots + rain jacket + umbrella.  And whatever I can take this week.  My new comp will be one I guess.

    Have a great week.  Enjoy your last few days of school.  Sorry about the 6 days of work.  I love you all.

Love, Elder Warner Ashby