Hello my family, and friends!
I hope that all is well with the people of stg and the surrounding areas reading this email. One more week and I still have not died so I am looking to the future. I do want to say that PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE and it is one that I am working ever so hard on, I can tell you that much for sure. One thing that I am very excited about is that in like twenty some odd days I will be able to say I am going home next year. Wahoo!! I know it sounds dumb but I am stinkin' stoked, you have no idea.
So a few funny things have happened this week. First off I am considered African now, at least that is what people tell me. As for lessons this week, we had some twenty or so lessons so it was not that great of a week. Kind of so so. For some that might sound awesome. For us, eh not so good. For me, I want to have more. I was a little depressed on Sunday cause we only had like 8 investigators, so we we're slacking a little there as well. We are teaching this guy, his name is Hadji, and he is a stud. He is so funny! He likes to give members a ton of crap. He studies like crazy so he knows a lot so he thinks that he needs to test our members. It makes me laugh! We will ask him a question and he will answer or he will say something like what does she think? Or he will study and write down questions and then he will ask them instead of us. But he is a stud he will be getting baptized here in a couple of weeks and I might do that. My companion doesn't like to baptize people. He likes the branch to do it so I won't be getting in my whites much this transfer. But there is this one guy that I will baptize. I don't know if you remember me telling you about a guy name Regenious, but he was one of the first people that I taught when I got here. Anyway, he is amazing. What happened was he moved and he never got baptized and I was sad but turns out that he is living in Elder Jenkins area and I met up with him. One day and I was walking and he come up to me and jumps on my back and covers my eyes. I was like, oh no, no one is going to jump me! I pulled him off and I am like REGENIOUS what is up. I asked how he was and he said good and he was living around here. To make a long story short, he asked me, yet again, to baptize him. He was one of my favorites so that makes me really happy. We had some regular questions asked like "do you guys dance and play drums". Things like that.
So I am trying to decide if I am supposed to learn patience or solve my covered up anger problem. Back home when I was angry I could leave but really all I was doing was covering up the problem. Now I am learning to deal with it. Something I keep telling myself is that patience is a virtue. Another thing someone told me was to try counting to ten which totally did not work I would get to ten and have flames shooting out my eyes cause I was more mad. But I have decided to spell names in my head. The one that works good for me is Sherissa. I go like this S-H-E-R-I-S-S-A. It sounds really dumb but thebtime I get to the end I can't help but smile. It is so funny but it really works. So many times I have been biting my tongue this week, just cringing cause I was so mad. My comp hard and I don't know what I can I do. Believe it or not, when we walk around we don't talk. There is noooooo talking during the day. Yep, that is hard for me, cause you know me, Mr. Talker. Another thing I have been trying to do is serve him. Let me tell you something . . . his shoes are very shiny cause everytime I get mad, I sit down and grab his shoes and start saying S-H-E-R-I-S-S-A!!! and that's no lie.
So we take these vans and you know how we used to joke about a ford and how the back seats feel like a park bench. Well, I climbed in a Ford van like the Aerostar van, with 24 other people, and literally, PARK BENCHES. Yes, you read that right. I was thinking "please don't crash cause if we
do we are all dead - men, woman, children, goats whatever was in the car. And I am telling the truth when I say that many people are in that van!
Another thing that happened this week - I am really getting sick of people beating their children. I walked up to this lady who was beating her child and I took the switch and I said stop. The little kid was bleeding. I said "what the crap are you doing?" She told me he was annoying her and I said "no duh he is maybe 4 years old what do you expect?" I gave it back to her I asked how many times she had hit him she told me like 5. I said now take that switch and hit me as hard as you can ten times. At first she wouldn't do it. I said you take that and hit me ten times. So she took it and softly hit me once. I said, "no you hit me." So she did. She was trying to stop and I said not
until you are done. When she was done she was in tears. I said what is wrong. You hit me so I should be crying. I asked again and she said I don't ever want to hit a man of God. I said "a man of god? What about God's blessed children?" I said if you ever want to hit a child like that again then you call me and I will take the beating.
This week I saw a car quest hat I thought of the Averetts. I was smiling. You notice a lot of things when you have no one to talk to. Oh my goodness something new this week happened. There was a baby blessing! I got excited cause It was the first one I have seen in Africa. We are standing there and the baby is giving us troubles so what does does the Mom do? Yep, she started to breast feed in the middle of the blessing. Talk about a spirit killer. I am glad I didn't give the blessing. Holy smoke!!
So we are teaching a Book of Mormon class. Also because of Riss taking me to firesides so much I decided to set up a fireside and it is going to be great. Man we are doing some good here. Oh on a sad note, this lady died last night when her motorcycle went off this really narrow bridge that we take everyday. I hate the bike riders here, they suck at driving. I want to just show them how sometimes. So there is a golf course here in Liberia - it is like golfing in the ditch but it is a golf course.
Wow, I have had no water for 3 days. It hasn't been coming. You really appreciate storage when you rely on it. Well I have rambled on and on and on. I think I have said plenty enough for one day. Thanks for the picture. Dang B is getting big. She is so cute. I love you all, the whole fam. Can't wait to talk to you. Love you ~ till next week . . . . Always remember that the sun always shines when the rain stops. The Apostle Paul asks in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 26 of the Joseph Smith Translation: (these are for me this week) Can ye be angry, and not sin? Let not the sun go down upon your wrath? I ask, is it possible to feel the Spirit of our Heavenly Father when we are angry? I know of no instance where such would be the case.
From 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, we read: There shall be no disputations among you. . . . For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible. It is I who will be happy. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!
Love Big Elder Moss (getting slimmer)
Sorry about the spelling t.i.a.
I hope that all is well with the people of stg and the surrounding areas reading this email. One more week and I still have not died so I am looking to the future. I do want to say that PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE and it is one that I am working ever so hard on, I can tell you that much for sure. One thing that I am very excited about is that in like twenty some odd days I will be able to say I am going home next year. Wahoo!! I know it sounds dumb but I am stinkin' stoked, you have no idea.
So a few funny things have happened this week. First off I am considered African now, at least that is what people tell me. As for lessons this week, we had some twenty or so lessons so it was not that great of a week. Kind of so so. For some that might sound awesome. For us, eh not so good. For me, I want to have more. I was a little depressed on Sunday cause we only had like 8 investigators, so we we're slacking a little there as well. We are teaching this guy, his name is Hadji, and he is a stud. He is so funny! He likes to give members a ton of crap. He studies like crazy so he knows a lot so he thinks that he needs to test our members. It makes me laugh! We will ask him a question and he will answer or he will say something like what does she think? Or he will study and write down questions and then he will ask them instead of us. But he is a stud he will be getting baptized here in a couple of weeks and I might do that. My companion doesn't like to baptize people. He likes the branch to do it so I won't be getting in my whites much this transfer. But there is this one guy that I will baptize. I don't know if you remember me telling you about a guy name Regenious, but he was one of the first people that I taught when I got here. Anyway, he is amazing. What happened was he moved and he never got baptized and I was sad but turns out that he is living in Elder Jenkins area and I met up with him. One day and I was walking and he come up to me and jumps on my back and covers my eyes. I was like, oh no, no one is going to jump me! I pulled him off and I am like REGENIOUS what is up. I asked how he was and he said good and he was living around here. To make a long story short, he asked me, yet again, to baptize him. He was one of my favorites so that makes me really happy. We had some regular questions asked like "do you guys dance and play drums". Things like that.
So I am trying to decide if I am supposed to learn patience or solve my covered up anger problem. Back home when I was angry I could leave but really all I was doing was covering up the problem. Now I am learning to deal with it. Something I keep telling myself is that patience is a virtue. Another thing someone told me was to try counting to ten which totally did not work I would get to ten and have flames shooting out my eyes cause I was more mad. But I have decided to spell names in my head. The one that works good for me is Sherissa. I go like this S-H-E-R-I-S-S-A. It sounds really dumb but thebtime I get to the end I can't help but smile. It is so funny but it really works. So many times I have been biting my tongue this week, just cringing cause I was so mad. My comp hard and I don't know what I can I do. Believe it or not, when we walk around we don't talk. There is noooooo talking during the day. Yep, that is hard for me, cause you know me, Mr. Talker. Another thing I have been trying to do is serve him. Let me tell you something . . . his shoes are very shiny cause everytime I get mad, I sit down and grab his shoes and start saying S-H-E-R-I-S-S-A!!! and that's no lie.
So we take these vans and you know how we used to joke about a ford and how the back seats feel like a park bench. Well, I climbed in a Ford van like the Aerostar van, with 24 other people, and literally, PARK BENCHES. Yes, you read that right. I was thinking "please don't crash cause if we
do we are all dead - men, woman, children, goats whatever was in the car. And I am telling the truth when I say that many people are in that van!
Another thing that happened this week - I am really getting sick of people beating their children. I walked up to this lady who was beating her child and I took the switch and I said stop. The little kid was bleeding. I said "what the crap are you doing?" She told me he was annoying her and I said "no duh he is maybe 4 years old what do you expect?" I gave it back to her I asked how many times she had hit him she told me like 5. I said now take that switch and hit me as hard as you can ten times. At first she wouldn't do it. I said you take that and hit me ten times. So she took it and softly hit me once. I said, "no you hit me." So she did. She was trying to stop and I said not
until you are done. When she was done she was in tears. I said what is wrong. You hit me so I should be crying. I asked again and she said I don't ever want to hit a man of God. I said "a man of god? What about God's blessed children?" I said if you ever want to hit a child like that again then you call me and I will take the beating.
This week I saw a car quest hat I thought of the Averetts. I was smiling. You notice a lot of things when you have no one to talk to. Oh my goodness something new this week happened. There was a baby blessing! I got excited cause It was the first one I have seen in Africa. We are standing there and the baby is giving us troubles so what does does the Mom do? Yep, she started to breast feed in the middle of the blessing. Talk about a spirit killer. I am glad I didn't give the blessing. Holy smoke!!
So we are teaching a Book of Mormon class. Also because of Riss taking me to firesides so much I decided to set up a fireside and it is going to be great. Man we are doing some good here. Oh on a sad note, this lady died last night when her motorcycle went off this really narrow bridge that we take everyday. I hate the bike riders here, they suck at driving. I want to just show them how sometimes. So there is a golf course here in Liberia - it is like golfing in the ditch but it is a golf course.
Wow, I have had no water for 3 days. It hasn't been coming. You really appreciate storage when you rely on it. Well I have rambled on and on and on. I think I have said plenty enough for one day. Thanks for the picture. Dang B is getting big. She is so cute. I love you all, the whole fam. Can't wait to talk to you. Love you ~ till next week . . . . Always remember that the sun always shines when the rain stops. The Apostle Paul asks in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 26 of the Joseph Smith Translation: (these are for me this week) Can ye be angry, and not sin? Let not the sun go down upon your wrath? I ask, is it possible to feel the Spirit of our Heavenly Father when we are angry? I know of no instance where such would be the case.
From 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, we read: There shall be no disputations among you. . . . For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible. It is I who will be happy. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY!!
Love Big Elder Moss (getting slimmer)
Sorry about the spelling t.i.a.
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