Hello Family,

How are you guys doing today? Things here are going. There has been some big changes that have happened in our district. So there are two new elders from America, Elder Saxton and Elder Burton from Idaho. Wow, it's funny because they are just like me when I came on the mission. They have girlfriends and they are still trying to get settled in. It's funny cause I will be studying and all the sudden I will hear "what?  This is crazy!  I cant' believe I am in Africa."  But that is to be expected.  Sometimes I roll over in my bed and think the same thing,  wow I am in Africa!  I am excited to see them grow. They are going to be awesome missionaries. They are going to work hard and bring many souls. The field is white ready for harvesting. This place is long over due for harvesting.

This week we had the opportunity to teach an idol worshipper.  Talk about a funny, messed up person. Man his thoughts about God and things are so scrambled. It was nice to sit down with him and bear testimony about the truthfulness of the gospel. The crazy thing is when you sit and you teach a lesson, they sit and act like everything makes so much sense and you extend commitments to them and they except, then you say "so see you Sunday" and they are like "ohhh - I am sorry but I can't come because I am muslim" or something else!  People are crazy but it's fun.

So the average lesson is taught outside, normally under a tree, sitting on a stone or maybe a chair.  I have taught very few lessons inside of a house before. Sometimes you have funny smells going on outside and different things happening - mom beating the child in the background; dad smoking and peeing on the wall; auntie washing clothes down in the stream - it's sure is fun.  You really do learn how to stay focused in a rough situation. But I sure do love missionary work. Something that has really hit me hard this week is that some blessings in life come soon, some come later and others may not come until we're in heaven but you know something -  if you embrace the gospel of jesus Christ and trust in the Lord, they will come.  I know that.   In life, all you can do is your own part and hope that the Lord makes the rest work out ok.

The weekend was good, just really busy.  Man, Elder Neves baptizes a lot.  But isn't that what we are here for? To help people into the waters of baptism. So that made my weekend really busy.  We were going all over the mountain for interviews and things. We also had a baptism which was very good.  It was just a young boy. He knows it was true and I am sure he is going to be beacon of light for his family. It's funny because he comes from an all muslim family and I don't know if you know the task it is to convert a muslim but man, it is not easy. Considering the fact that the rest of the family sometimes disowns you. I have kind of made it a personal challenge to convert muslims. They are hard but when they come they know that it is true, it is awesome. The branch is growing like crazy sooo many people there now.  I love it.  It just means more responsibility for us haha, but it's good I am learning everyday. I think callings at home will be no big deal anymore!  Let's see, I have done elders president, branch president, relief society president haha, primary, young men (and women).  I have had my hand in everything. It's great to learn.  I hope I don't have callings when I get home for a while at least.  I want a break.

So sad news - Elder Saxton broke your rule and he gave me both the envelopes.  I have not opened the Christmas one but man it is killing me. I need to open it now. It's killing me to look at it.  Mom, you can't do that. I have to have it sitting on my desk for two months.  I need to open that beast.

Mom, I have been informed that you worry about me.  No worries!  Don't worry.  I would never come home early.  God needs me here now. This is my calling.  Not Riss, not home, but this mission. If I do what I am supposed to do then God will make my future work out.  I will make the best of what is given to me. Sometimes I have made mistakes. I cant change it.  But I can fix it and not do it again. You know, I believe the best leaders and teachers and fathers are is the ones that never stops learning. When we stop learning, we stop progression. In life we cannot always take the easy way out. The easy way out is always going to feel right at first because we are in the point of trial and we are suffering and we want out.  Obviously, if we see an easy way out we take it and it feels right. But I have learned that the easy way is not always right. The strongest metal comes from the hottest fire. Often times learning and happiness has to be gained through suffering and trials and turmoil. Life is not a bed of roses. Take our experiences and learn from them. I know the God lives.  I know that Jesus is the Christ and that He loves us and He feels pain when we have pain and weeps when we weep. I know if we turn to Him, if we are beaten down to our knees turn to Him and pray for help, He will be there.

I love you all have a great week.

Love, your African son, Elder Kevin

PS  Mom, tell Caden I love him too!  He's a stud

FW: Pink Eye, Typhoid, Lost the Phone ~ All in All, a good week!

 

Hello family,

In light of the new found email and pink eye and probably typhoid a high temp and oh ya I lost the phone (guess who pays for that) I decided that I would like to share some scriptures. I had others to say, but this will be nice. These are some examples to me: John 9, 11:1-46; Acts 3; 1-10, 9: 36-42; 1 Nephi 3-4, 7;16-21; Enos 1;1-19; Mosiah 24: 8-25 , 27; 8-37; Alma 15 1-12, 56-57; Helaman 5; 14-52; 3 Nephi 7: 15-20; Ether 3; Moses 1;12-25.  Anyway, I am tired of writing scriptures and they are starting to get mixed in my head since I am writing down so many off the cuff but  I have more like Romans 2; 13-16; Hebrewss 5; 5-10; James 1;22-25.   Anyway, if you start reading these you are going to see a reoccuring theme,  which is faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for which you cannot see. It is apparent to me that my time has come to lay it over to the Lord. To put my faith in Him and to know that through Him I can be saved and all will be well. As I think about what the words mean "keep the faith", it gives me a burning feeling inside to know that the Lord is there for me. That I can hope for something - that I can ask for help. As everyone knows, I have the attitude that I am the person that can do it. Let me do it, I am ok you don't need to help me. I don't need help. But I guess that can catch up with you in the long run. Everyone needs help; everyone needs faith. So  I remember something else that everyone says.  Keep your nose buried in the work and when you go home all will be well. Tomorrow is another day.  Let the rain come.  I don't care, nothing can stop me. Satan cannot defeat me. Although my week was rough - my eyes where literally bleeding, my body was paining, I couldn't find a better thing to do than pray. It's a free long distance phone call that always has a familiar, caring  voice at the other end.  Who would not want to make the call. Let us all have faith.

The week was good besides the eyes bleeding, my body hurting and the loss of the phone. Oh and the email thing. Haha, it was kind of a brutal start. I have a picture (with the pink eye), I don't know if I should send it ~ I look dead ~ I am sure you will love it, it's me.

We actually did not have a baptism to do yesterday so it was almost relaxing (I did help with another baptism).  We taught some good families and I am excited for this new family that we contacted.  They are about my age, 22, and they have a little boy. Man, I love to see their faces light up as we proclaim the true gospel to them. They prayed and they know its true. Now we have a bigger problem.  The father.  He is the head of a 30 branch protestant church here in Sierra Leone…. Nothing I can't handle…. Well that's if I use my best friend, the Holy Ghost.  I can't do anything without Him.

So we have lots of work to do. As you know I am still here but I bet you would never guess who I am getting in the apartment.  Two Americans are coming and one of them is Saxton.  We will enjoy!  Things are good here, nothing  really worth complaining about. I am glad you liked the videos and pictures I sent.  I love you guys so much.  Have a great week.

Love Elder Kev

Hey family,

Well it's been another week. And I know that my last email was not good so I will try harder this time, but no promises. Once again my week was filled with a lot of events but to mention all of that would be boring. I guess I have a hard time writing a monologue about my week. But I am sure you want to know what's going on. So I guess it's a good thing that you are on Elder Neves mailing list. Sorry once again if this grammatically does not make sense this keyboard seems to work when it wants too. The weekend was kind of stressful, we had a baptism again but the one day I was praying that it would not rain guess what? It rained. The reason is we are teaching a family that lives so far up the hill and she is in a wheelchair. Although she was late (it was 10 min) what a testimony builder to see her and her brothers come up to the church muddy and dirty to the baptism with a smile on their face. I was privileged to have the opportunity to baptize them. What a spiritual experience baptism is. I think we take for granted our baptisms here because we do them so often and we forget that it is so important. Next week is the first week in some time that I will not be having a baptism. I can't believe how much work we have been able to accomplish and so fast. So my computer is not working well so I guess this is about what you are going to be privileged to get. So things are g oing here I guess you get your email from Elder Neves so you won't be to upset by this junky email. One of the trials we all have to go through by serving here. Yes I sent my camera stick with Elder Neves son. So this is it - I am tired of fussing with the computer. Love ya

love Elder Moss

While I was emailing Elder Moss back and forth, he told me that he hadpink eye and a nasty cold on top of the bad internet connection, hence the not so newsy email.

Hello family,
To be honest this is going to be short. I had one heck of a week and I don't have much nice to say. I have learned that when people are pushed against the wall, they will do anything to get out. You really learn the character of someone when they are in this position. And, the sad thing is that you learn that missionaries do not know what it means to have charity.

So I guess this is going to be basic. The new Liahona is cool. I know 2 people on the west Africa page. I know Prince Nyanforth and Tommy Abu. I baptized his daughter. I know them very well. Its cool to see us in there. A cool quote I heard from general conference is "every man who holds the priesthood, honor that priesthood."

So you asked what I would like in a package. Some breath spray or breath drops would be nice. We eat some funky things here so it would be great to be smelling nice for my own benefit. I like the drops.

This week in the Book of Mormon class we had 34 people. Man, that's a lot. My week was heavy with lots to do.

So this week no power, no water, no stove and musslims praying all night. That equals no sleep. What a good combination of things. I guess the reason we have no stove is because the knobs on the front keep catching on fire. So we had to stop using it. Then they replaced it with a broken one. I have been taking vitamins that Elder Lowe left behind. It makes me feel healthier.

So things are kickin' here. That's it for me. Love Elder Moss

New Shoes!

Hello family,

Well I am still here and I am trudging along. Things here are going good and the work is going. Something I have been asking myself this week is "am I being a blessing or a burden?" That is a good question that we can all ask ourselves. Am I blessing others or am I being a being a burden to others.

This week I got another load heaped on me. I was told that I need to do another devotional because the last one was such a success. So I need an idea for a fireside!! Man I already have lots on my shoulders and now they want me to do another thing. These things are starting to kick my butt, especially to do all these things by myself. But I've learned, "that doesn't kill you will make you stronger".

This week we had some new and interesting things happen. I have learned that the Muslim people really are oblivious to the things that are going on around them. To make a long story short, I got into an argument with two of them and it lasted for about thirty minutes. I finally told them to leave. Well about 5 minutes later, one of them came back and looked me in the eye and said "you are right. I don't have a testimony for myself. I have been following in the footsteps of other people and I have been wrong." Then he asked how he can become a member of this church. That is exactly what every missionary wants to hear! So I have been working on doing things with as much exactness as I can and it has been working. The problem is that I am getting more investigators than I can handle. I know, sad story isn't it. But the thing is that it is starting to stress me a little. But I guess that is a problem that missionaries want so I shouldn't complain.

So this week there was this guy, who is our neighbor and he was beating his children and as you guys know, I hate that like nothing else, so I decided that I needed to stop that from happening. I chastised him with some scriptures and I told him that it is better that he tie a millstone around his neck and jump into the sea than to suffer God's little children. I was mad. I hate that type of thing and it should never happen.

So I don't have much to talk about this week. I am just so tired. I did get my shoes - thank you - they are great. If I can get out of these mountains I might be able to I make my shoes last but if not, we burn through them pretty quick. I don't think people understand when I say mountain climbing, I mean like there are times you are on all fours going up and rock climbing. It is all part of my mission experience. Anyways all is ok here. Love you guys.

Love Elder Kev

Elder Moss & Elder Osifo

Hello Family,

 

How is the other side of heaven? Things over here are going good. We are staying super busy and working our tails off. Mission work is very interesting.   The best way that I can explain is like a parent and a child.   Think of how you would be if your child was sick.   What is the first thing that you would want to do.  Obviously, you want to get them help.  You feel sorrow because you love them. Well are you going to let them go to any ol person to help them out? Obviously not. You want the best, most obedient, well trained person to take care of your child. That is the same as missionary work.  If you are not obedient, if you are not the best person that you can be, why would Heavenly Father trust you with one of his precious children. What would you do if you were in His shoes. Think about it. The rules and guidelines are there for a reason and yes, sometimes it sucks but with obedience comes blessings. We are not able to see the eternal realm of things but we can have faith that are leaders do!!  So I guess this is a note to all my missionary friends.  If you are struggling, make sure that you check yourself first  before you blame others.  Not saying that everyone who struggles is disobedient but we can always be better.

 

So I don't have much to say.  We had a big baptism this week. Six people and the Neves brought another 5. I was kind of sad because one person was missing. Anyway, we figured something was going on and we would see her and the fam on Sunday. But no, they were missing.  I didn't know what was up except that I felt like I needed to go to their house and visit them.  So we went and visited and they said that they had the problem resolved.  They gave me some story that I felt was bogus.  Something about how they had confusion because of a phone. So I guess what needed to happen was some heavenly inspired questions.  I said a prayer and I was prompted to just talk about dad.  So the story is that I baptized the husband and now the wife is getting baptized.  The husband has the priesthood so I wanted him to baptize her.  So I told the story about dad baptizing mom and how happy and honored and proud to say that about my dad.  I told them how grateful I am to be able to say that my dad baptized my whole family.  I told her that is the why he needs to baptize her, not me. Turns out that was the whole dispute.  She didn't think that he was ready to baptize her because he was brand new in the church and that is why he wanted me to baptize her.  But now, because of the story I told, she is all gung ho to be baptized again.  So thank you for that dad and mom.

Church was good.  It's crazy to see how the rain can disturb the members so much.  It's not easy to come to church when it is raining,

 

So I finally got the package (don't know how it happened, but I am glad).  It is so sweet I love you mom and dad and Rissa.  The camelback is awesome.  Ahh, I tell you, it sure makes hiking the hills better.   Everything else in the package is great too. The sweets are a nice piece of heaven.   Thanks for the cookie mixes too.  I am scared to use our oven again because the last time the whole thing caught on fire and yes, I mean the whole back was on fire.   I was running so fast to get to the propane tank to turn it off and unplug it before it sucked in the tank and KABOOM!!!!  Don't worry.  It didn't explode and I am alive still but I am scared to try the oven again any time soon haha.

 

Me and my companion are doing good. My new desire is just to try to create a Zion celestial home. To make the best with what I have.  I want to implement everything that I want to do at home and it is working.  From prayers to cleaning.  To the words we say and the actions to others. Now is the time to establish how I want my future family to be. What better place to learn than here.  I want to become the best husband and father for that one beautiful daughter of God.   I love all you all so much.  Godspeed.

 

Love Elder Moss

 

 

Dear family,

 

How are things going over there? That seems to be the start of every single one of my emails. So how are things?  To start, no I haven't got any packages and/or mail for a while because the post office is still on strike, as well as all other government jobs.  It makes me really mad that they are on strike but I can't really blame them considering they have not been paid in a couple of years. I don't know why they continued to work for years when they never got paid.  I think I would make it a couple of months before I would decide to say, "if you don't pay me, I wont work." The pay that school teachers get here is really ridiculous.   You would not even believe it. Some will get round about 40 to 50 us dollars a month. Ya that is real!  How does anyone expect to live on a mere 40 dollars a month. I mean just for a 50 lb bag of rice costs 20 bones. So the poor people here, yes they are suffering.  So hmmm, I guess I haven't told you much about these things.   The food and things here can actually be expensive.   It is because everything has to be imported.  Luckily, I have enough money.

Well I guess that I better tell mom and dad happy 26th anniversary!!!  Wow you guys are old,  haha!  No, you are doing good.  My companion was actually thinking that you guys were my brother and sister. That is no joke!  Most of the people say, "wow your parents are so young!" That is because everyone here that is 40 looks like they are dead or they probably are dead by 40. That's what happens when you walk the side of a mountain everyday and all you eat is lawn clippings once a day or twice if you are lucky.  So I hope that you guys have a happy week and you have a good celebration of your anniversary!

This week I have come to learn or I am trying to learn that life's greatest gifts normally come wrapped up in adversity!  When you think that things are not that great they probably are that great and it probably will get worse. This week was a nice smack in the face. I don't want to sound to down but I really have a beef with the new district leader. He is lucky I am the new Elder Moss because the old one would have knocked him a new one.  Instead I held it in.   Well kind of ~ that's why I have a punching bag.  We are really having some disagreements.  I am really, really organized and I hate laziness. If you are not 15 minutes early, well then you are late. I tried and tried to get everything set for my interviews to be done for my candidates but he would not work with me.   Finally, at 9 the night before, he settles on a time.  So I luckily got a hold of them and convinced them to come to the chapel. Once they got there he was late. So I am trying to put on a baptism as well as get interviews done. And because he was late, some of them had to leave so they were pushed to the next day which was Sunday. They were there and he was late again. And again they had to go. So now today we will try again. But that is not the worst of it.  I have  come to deal with that kind of thing. This is what chaps my hide. We had a mother and daughter interview yesterday. The husband is a strong member and the wife and daughter are ready. The daughter is 9, need I say more.  He interviews them both and gives me back the paperwork and says nothing to me and goes to sacrament meeting.  So we plan the baptism, tell them the time and everything and I go to my meetings. Later that night, in the apartment, he calls me into his room. He wants to talk about this 9 year old girl.  He tells me that he needs to see her again.  So I say ok but why?   He said that she needs to know more about the law of chastity before she can get baptized.  Oh, I was flamed.   She is 9 is years old!  What 9 year old needs to know the law of chastity!  So I calmed down and then he tells me that I need to tell them that we have to postpone.  So I was given the dirty deed of telling them.  I  had 87 people get interviewed and the only one that has not passed is a nine year old girl, what a joke! 

 

So I have met all the new missionaries and they are good.   It was nice to see them.   I met elder Donaldson.  He is cool and he is in Bo. Oh sweet Bo!  He is lucky. Also this week we got dvd players.  That will be fun, not.  It is only to use for training and that is the only dvd's we have.  So one of my new challenges is English teacher.   Any idea's?   My companion can't read or write.  And, yes, that is not a joke.  He has never read any of the standard works or anything because he can hardly read.  I don't know how he got here but oh well.  It's going to be a rough transfer but at least he has a good attitude and we are going to try to make the best of things. I love all you guys so much.   Thank you guys for everything.  I love you guys!

 

Love Elder Kev