Few things- So whenever people ask where I am from I say one of 2
things- America, then they ask where, I say Oregon and they have no
idea. I say it is close to California then they just think I am from
Cali. They have heard of California and New York. The other- I have just
started saying I am from Oregon and they just pretend they know
where/what I just said. It confuses them but that way they don't have
the wrong image of me- for example that I have money. I am in one of the
safest places ever though so no worries.
I'm not able to send mail unless we go to Nairobi- which
then it goes through pouch to South Africa then to Utah then from there to
wherever. We get mail sometimes. Roughly maybe once every 3ish weeks. We
got it this week because someone that works for the church came to our
area for the day, but other than that the last time I got it was when I
was in Nairobi. I also got the mail that went to my previous area before
I was transferred that I thought I might not see. Thanks for everyone
who has been writing! Super grateful for whenever it comes!
Last week we went to visit a member and he was
working in his shamba and said he would be done and come up soon, and
told us to hop up in the Mango tree- of course we did. Climbed up and
ate mangoes while we waited for him. The lesson ended up going well. I
love this mission- where else do you get to do that..
Also that reminds me, going to Machakos this past week we saw 18-20 giraffes and a dozen of those same ones on the way back.
Our
zone came together for our zone training meeting which was great- all 6
of us. After, we ate a goat which was reallyy good. Attached is a
picture of me and the goat from the beginning of the process. Some good
bonding time.
Alright the cool story I mentioned last week: Background
info: So when Elder Anderson and I were getting transferred from Mwanza
TZ to Kenya, we got into the airport, got through customs, and headed
out to find the APs who were supposed to pick us up at arrivals. They
weren't there and we weren't sure what to do. We looked for a phone but
who uses a pay phone anymore.. We were about to ask someone to use their
phone to call the APs when a man came up to us and introduced himself
as a member in the Zimmerman ward in Nairobi. I asked if we could use
his phone to call them and we got ahold of them- they were 45 minutes
away stuck in Nairobi traffic.
Fast forward 4 weeks into the transfer, my companion and I
went to Matwiku (not sure on the spelling) for the day to visit a few
members of the Ilima branch. It takes 1 hour 45 mins to walk to- a long
uphill walk and down the other side of the mountain into that valley. We
dont go there that often because of the distance and the time it takes.
We got to the first home of members we were going to visit, sat down
and the mama said we were lucky that her husband was home and that we
were going to be able to meet with him. I asked my companion if he was
less active and he thought so because he had not met him. He came from
the shamba and somehow looked familiar. They shared a reallly nice meal
with us, and we got to talking.
He had mentioned he met missionaries in
the airport a few weeks ago that were somewhat stranded. My mind went to
the January group of missionaries that came to the mission but because
of the work permit problems they had to fly back 3 days later to their
temporary assignments in South Africa til they are allowed in. Then I thought
wait they weren't stranded- as I asked if it was only 2 missionaries or
a group. Answered just 2 of them, and bam. It was me and Elder
Anderson. It was him whose phone we used. He introduced himself as a
member that lives in Nairobi because he is often in Nairobi for work and
attends the Zimmerman ward when there, but Ilima is him home ward- one
of the 2 branches we cover.
Later found out that he was the the first Kenyan to ever baptize a Kenyan which is his wife- pretty cool I thought.
I have a picture with me and my companion and them- I will try and send it tonight or next week.
This week right before we left our flat
(house) I was prompted to snag 2 Book of Mormons- one in English and one
in Swahili for an investigator we were going to stop by if we had time.
One in each language so she could choose which language she preferred
to read in. We went about our day, met with the wife of a member (that
we hadn't planned on) who is a non-member, and we taught her the
Restoration. She wanted a Swahili copy which I happened to have. Next
appointment we meet with this guy for the second time and teach him, he
had questions about who Joseph Smith was and his story from the pamphlet
we left with him, so we went over that and went perfectly into the Book
of Mormon. He preferred an English copy which I happened to have.
We didn't end up meeting with the lady I thought to take the
Book of Mormons for, but the prompting allowed me to be prepared for the
unforeseen opportunity of giving them out.
I hired a
member whom is preparing to go on mission to do my weeks worth of
laundry for me, now I really dont have much to do on preparation days
haha. It is really good though because he helps me out and I am helping
him out. He is actually doing it right now as I type this.
Side note, a bit random- I have learned how to catch flies, kinda proud of that.
I
have got questions that I have told some of you that I would answer in
my weekly email- those will come next week and send any more if anyone
has any.
Shoutout to my dad for this April Fools day article (yeah
sorry I already spoiled it) I really enjoyed- having to do with the
Church and NCAA basketball.
http://timesandseasons.org/
http://timesandseasons.org/
One thing I thought was really cool that I recently realized- I have served in 3 areas (Pinetown, Mwanza and Kyambeke), had 3 companions from 3 different countries (Madagascar, Florida, and South Africa), and those 3 areas have been in 3 different countries (South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya). Not sure how many others can say that.
Hey - was able to hop back on for a few minutes. Just got back from Family Home Evening. As far as the pictures go - the man I met at the airport, then again with his wife in their home.
Another is a decent sunset walking home this week.
Then the clearest picture with the most giraffes I could get while in the bus. I guess play some I Spy.
Elder Eveson
Til next week-
Elder Eveson
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| Bonding with dinner before feasting on it with my Zone |
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| First Kenyan to baptize a Kenyan, and happens to be the same guy that helped me out at the airport a few weeks earlier. Love the Small World experiences. |
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| View of Giraffes from the Bus . . . . Play I Spy! |
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| Sunset I enjoyed while walking home |
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| Yesssss! My Swahili Nametag. You only get one of these if you are serving in Tanzania. Thankfully my order was not cancelled after my transfer. Pretty cool. |
Editor's note: I asked Brandon where he lives, he said he is in Kyambeke, Kenya. When I googled it, the only landmark that showed up was "Church of Jesus Christ of LDS". I mentioned it to him and he replied, "Well, yeah. It's the only thing here." Thought you'd like to see some maps. First one is close up aerial of Kyambeke. The other shows relation to Machakos (where they go for food each month -- 4 hour bus ride each way) and Nairobi (7 hours each way by bus).
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| LDS Church and area where Brandon lives: Kyambeke |
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| Distance relationship from Kyambeke to Machakos and Nairobi |
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