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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Elder Moss

Hey family - how are you doing? Well, it's been another week and I am not dead so that is just a great thing right? I have survived another week here in Africa. So I have decided that I won't make it another transfer in a single man box. I am asking president for a transfer out of
this apartment or I am going to lose my mind, not that I already haven't. Thank you for all your support and love that you show for me.  So I miss Elder Lowe.  My new companion always tells me to just figure it out! I am like just tell me what to do.  Ugh, man he hides stuff from me and makes me try to learn on my own.  It is sure a good thing that president is coming and I will get an interview this Wed or I would die because I am up to here with it.

My week it has been really crazy.  It is funny how some people can rely on you so much to do things. So I have been working hard on getting
people baptized and I have told you about the Bens family.  Well, I  got to baptize them this weekend and also comfirm them so it was a little crazy to be able to have to do all that work.  Man sometimes missionary work can be tough. Had to get talks and make sure everything was prepared. Sunday was good.  I  had the opportunity to lead music, bless the sacrament, confirm 3 people, ordain one to a priest, teach investigator class and visit with 3 new people.  Oh ya by myself cause my companion was in another place for the day.  I met some people from Kaysville, UT so that was cool.   She said that she is going to talk to you sometime this week.

Studies have been good.  I found out what a lot of numbers and colors mean in the Bible. So we should be having 4 more baptisms this weekend and 4 more the next.  We are teaching this guy he is pretty cool and he will be baptized really soon.  His wife is kinda weird though she always runs away from us.

I am getting my shirt tailored today.  He is taking off like 15 inches so thats cool.  I guess that I need to still lose more weight though because I constantly get reminded that I am a fat white man. It is nice that people are so caring ha. In sacrament meeting something new happened. I never thought that I would see a speaker stop talking and text then continue speaking but wow!  This branch needs work!  There were 21 people at the begining of sacrament meeting and over 100 at the end.  Africa, they don't understand time. I also don't understand how they can breast feed in sacrament meeting and not feel weird about it.   Ugh, man people here have like no morals.  Investigators class was good though, I just taught them the plan of salvation, very easy to teach. I really have decided that Christ was such an awesome example to all of
us.  I  like John 19: 26- 30.  It talks about how the last thing he did before he died was take care of his mother and thats how it should be. I really like this poem.

Backward, flow backward o tide of the years
I am so worry of toils and of tears
Tired of hollow the base,the untrue
Mother o mother my heart calls for you...
Over my heart, in the days that are flown
No love like a mother love has ever shown..
None like a mother can charm away pain
From the sick soul and the world weary brain.
Slumbers soft calms o're my heavey lids creap
Rock me to sleep, mother rock me to sleep

I really like this because when I am feeling down, Mom, I know that you are always there for me. And so is the rest of the family. So mom thanks for your help.  So I don't have much else to say except that I am doing ok and I will make it.  Work is good and it is going like crazy.  I love all you guys. 
 
Till next week, much love from Elder Kevin Moss
 
PS  Hows caden? Hope he is good.  Love that guy!


Monday, October 11, 2010

A New Companion




Dear Family, Riss & Friends….

I actually don't know where to even start. I don't know what the Lord has been trying to teach me but I am guessing it is self control and patience. Thank you for all your support and love, it really helps. So you know the handwritten letters, well, still haven't got them. Its ok though, I know you still love me!! I send letters every week too and it really bothers me that you don't get mine always either. I mean, I am holding up the pain staking, heart breaking task of not emailing Riss and then you don't get my mail - I get so frustrated.

Well to start I went on exchanges with Elder Grabau he is the zone leader and one of my favorite missionaries. He truly is one of the best. He has been in charge for most of his mish which is about one year. Anyway, I went with him and we taught some peeps. But afterwards, I asked him what I could work on? I said I know I have a lot to fix about myself but what can I do? He looked at me and started to cry with a smile on his face. And I said am I really that bad? And he said, "Elder Moss, I want to thank you". I said, "thanks, but for what? And he said, "for teaching me so much about myself and about the real purpose of missionary work". He said "you know what you want in life and you know what love is. He said, "you know what is right and you will give anything for it." He told me he felt like he was teaching with a general authority because I teach with such power! I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. All I could say was thank you. It is easy to know what love is when you have people that are so easy to love. We taught some lessons on eternal marriage. It was so good. I had a good time. He is amazing man. I learned tons and decided to change our schedule up. We have 45 people with baptismal dates. That's too much so… I will be focusing on just a few and teaching and baptizing like crazy. In fact, we have 10 coming up soon.

So you want to know about lessons. We were teaching a lesson this week about the commandments and it just so happens that we had just got done teaching about respecting your wife and your family and kids. When a guy across the way starts dropping the f bomb at his wife I tried to let it go but… Well, he slapped his wife and every single muscle in my body tightened. Then he grabs her by the neck. He was really abusing her. The he raises his fist and that's when I dropped my stuff and sprinted over and grabbed him and punched him with me fist and threw him on his back. Mom, I know, not the best way to solve a problem but I couldn't help it. I thought he was going to kill her. All is well, I'm not in jail and I think I can get the blood out of my shirt from his bloody nose. No one hits a girl when I am around!

And just today something funny happened, our motorcycle crashed in the middle of the road. Everything is ok. I am tough and will survive but I burned my leg pretty good.

Ok, so the big news is Elder Lowe is leaving me. I am receiving a Ghanan Elder from Sierra Leone. So I will still be here so you can keep sending stuff here!!! Like mints I need those ~ mmm ~ I love those.

I love the scripture in D & C 128 dad sent me. I want you to know that I know that this church is true with all my heart, I know it. Even though at times it can feel like my cross is too heavy! But I know what I have waiting for me in the future. I know what amazing people I have behind me praying for me every day. I testify that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of this gospel and our love for our Heavenly Father, our family and the Savior will comfort and sustain me and bring joy
to our hearts as I walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us. Fear not be of good cheer. The future is as bright as our faith. I know that my time will come to bring one of Heavenly Fathers daughters to the temple where I can be sealed to her forever and there is nothing in my life that I want more. NOTHING. A scripture that I want to share is out of 1st Thessolonians 5:21. I would tell everyone to take heed to this. I know that the Savior lived and died for me and you and I love him. In the scrips we can read there is no greater love than the love someone has to lay down his own life for his friends. I would give my life for any single one of my family members, including Riss, without even blinking an eye. I encourage you to look for love in people and find a way to love and find ways to give charity. You never know when you will be on the receiving end of that. I love you guys so much. Please keep praying for me. I pray for you constantly. I am greatful to be known as the family man here in Africa. Always remember that without your family you are nothing. They make you who you are. How great will be the day that we can all be together forever.

I love you guys so much and I miss you guys and pray for you.

Love Elder Moss

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Temple President, ME????

Hey Fam!!!

I got the letter and the one with pictures of Riss and B and the fam. Thank you guys so much! I love you guys tons and you help me loads. So this week, for me, was so very long. I went on exchanges with Elder Collier, he is from Sierra Leone and he was sick with malaria so guess what I got to do all day? Ya, you guessed it, Absolutely nothing. I think I wrote 30 some odd pages in a letter home so that should be fun to get. Also I got to clean and fix things in the nasty apartment so I wouldn't sit and rip all my hair out of my head! After the exchange it was probably the hottest day of my life. This truly is the armpit of the world. I was sweating so bad that I had to wring my shirt out. You could see the water running down my body on the outside of my shirt. Holy cow, it was hot! Other than that not much has happened. I got to go on exchanges with my boy, my favorite missionary, Elder Jenkins. Oh he is awesome! Oh and today was nice. I played soccer. And we have officially established that I am the strongest missionary in our mission.

So the highlight of my week was definitely Saturday. I had my first day in my whites. So I finally fixed them and now the waist is way too big so I don't know what I should do. Man people here are so scared of water, it is nuts. I don't understand how they can be afraid when there is so much water around here.

I am so bummed, I forgot to tell you to take notes on general conference for me. We actually don't get to watch general conference so my day was just a normal day. I am getting tired of giving lessons on Sunday. There never is a warning, just as we walk into class they are like hey can you teach. Actually its more like hey your are teaching. So I don't think I told you this but one time when we were at the church this random person comes up to me and I am like "hello, how are you?" And she is like "I am good, how are you?". Then she goes "I don't really know you but (she
pulls out a picture of the St George temple) and says "I don't know if you know this temple but you are going to be the president of it someday". I said, "oh ya, and how do you know that? She said, "I just know so I thought I would tell you." I asked her if she knew where that temple was and she said no. I told her that it was the St. George Temple in Utah. I asked her if she knew where I was from and she said no. I told her that is where I am from and she started to cry!! Wow, I thought to myself, maybe I will be, maybe I won't, but I thought it was cool that someone that I had never met before would tell me that.

So the branch presidency decided that we, as missionaries, will be in charge of a Sunday at church! Ya all of it. Conduct, preside the whole shabang. We were like, I don't think we can do that so I hope that they change their minds or we are not allowed cause we really don't need to do that. Oh ya, so my baptism was the first for me and the first one for the new branch so I will forever be remembered haha.

So a thing that has been happening lately is that people are robbing people with machetes. I don't know if that's how you spell it but, ya, people are not very nice. No one will ever try to rob me because I will rock their world.

So I am stoked for the newsletter I love to see how everyone is. Just get Caden in there too. He is one of the boys. I love him don't leave him out. Tell him I wish I could email him but one of our thousands of rules states that we can't email friends. Uh I hate it so much. It's like isn't it hard enough that we cant even talk or see them but now we cant even email them.

So we are overloaded with investigators, seriously we have 38 people with baptismal dates and 46 investigators. We are prioritizing, as sad as that is, we are doing our best. So I am going to Paynesville on another exchange. It should be fun. Elder Jenkins will be there.

Well that's about it for me. Mom, Dad, everyone, I love you keep the faith. I love you guys so much!

Love, Elder Moss