Week 19 in Lugazi with Elder Woodland

 Man, it has been a long week. I've missed you tons. It feels like it's been so long since I've talked to you. Haha-wasn’t it just last week?? I'm glad you and Baylor liked the stuff I sent you. When I send my fit bit home to you I'm gonna throw some more small things like that in there for you guys. You're not going to believe this, but I actually wish I was home to do yard work with you and Dad. That sounds so fun to me. Weird huh?   So, I guess I have a little bit of a virus right now. It's nothing major it just makes me feel miserable during the day. I'm just super tired and have a super sore throat. And then really bad body aches and a bit of a fever.  I did not want to get up these last few days but since I had places to be I had to. Sister Collings might have us go to Kampala tomorrow to check us out. One thing I am so sick and tired of here is the blatant racism against white people. They literally have two different prices for everything. A 2k taxi costs us 10k, it's ridiculous. I got in a little scuffle with a taxi driver that tried to cheat us the other day. He wouldn't let me off the taxi until I paid him five times what he agreed on, so I tossed him the money that we agreed on and pushed my way off the taxi. He chased me down and tried to put me back on. We're going to talk to the mission president about it this week because we can't afford to get cheated like that when we have to travel and then still pay for food. We have another elder staying with us now. He's in a threesome with Hyer and Dailey and he's waiting for his visa to come back so he's serving here for a little while. His name is Elder Ojakol, he's from Uganda. He lived about 20 minutes from Lugazi. He saw his Mom today actually.  It was hard for him and for all of us. It made me really miss you. That was hard.
We didn't have any baptisms Sunday because it was stake conference, but we have 14 people ready right now. Some of the challenges that hold people back here are Church attendance and then just willingness to keep commandments. Chastity is a big one, same with word of wisdom because of coffee and tea. Specifically, tea. I'm working really hard mom. It’s the best thing to pass the time.  I don't have many pictures because my camera died, and I can only charge it on Mondays. I'll make up for it with a lot of pics this next week. Tell all the family I love them! Love, your firstborn in the wilderness

Week 18 in Lugazi with Woodland

Hey Mom & Dad! I feel so good, yesterday was much needed for me. It was so good to see you guys. I can't even tell you how good I felt going to bed last night. I was on such an emotional high. It is so weird that I am so far away. I feel like I've grown up a lot. I always thought that saying distance makes the heart grow fonder was BS. Now, I know it's true. I didn't really tell you about my week, so I'll do that really quick. This week kind of crawled by for me since I was looking forward to Mother’s Day so much. We went out to that café in the middle of the jungle that opened in my area. It was American food. Legit food. I got a double cheese burger and it was actually cheap for how good the food was. It was the best meal I've had here without a doubt. And then they also baked me the cake that they had been telling me about and it was super good. Then they let me know that they were going to charge me for it after. Nothing like a birthday present you buy for yourself.  It was well worth it though.
 I had a super spiritual experience this Sunday. In Gospel Doctrine I taught a lesson on guarding our lives from Satan’s influence. The spirit was super strong as we talked about standing in holy places literally and spiritually.
I want you guys to know that I’m having a really wonderful time on my mission. I’ve gotten used to the living conditions and the house doesn’t even seem that bad anymore. Honestly the two toughest trials out here are my mattress and my monthly living allotment ($122)  Haha, just kidding-there’s been real trials but I’ve managed okay obviously. I really wish you two could meet some of the people out here. Some of them are hilarious! Also I never imagined that one of the obstacles to baptism would be FEAR of WATER!  Most all Ugandans are afraid of putting their head under water. The one thing I don’t want you to experience is the food. It is so expensive to eat healthy. I guess some things never change. I’ve always been expensive and high maintenance. LOL I thought I’d get super tan out here in the sun. Ya, that’s not happening. I am really grateful for the spiritual growth that I’ve gone through. I’ve learned so much about the gospel and grown to love it more. Mom, I often think about how growing up you would sit out in the hall and read the Book of Mormon every single night. I even remember a few times you fell asleep reading…lol. I’m so grateful you did that. I love to look back and think about those memories.  Dad, thanks for always encouraging me to go to all my meetings and for being such a good example of selflessness. There’s no way I’d be here if it wasn’t for you two. I love you both with all my heart. Love your first born in the wilderness-Dylan

Week 17 in Lugazi with Woodland

My birthday was good, a little melancholy as well. I ate a ton on my birthday. Everyone has been trying to feed me and I've had sooooo much local food. At Winnie’s house she made us a FEAST. After they sung me happy birthday and then Sister Winnie poured water on my head.  Elder Dailey ate so much that night he threw up and was just laying on sister Winnie’s floor. The best dinner was Sunday night though at Malayka's house. She's so awesome Mom, I doubt she'll ever get baptized but she's one of my favorite people that I've met here. She's been looking for a traditional, handmade beaded necklace for you.
 Man mom, you think a donkey is bad? Down the street from our house they raise pigs that they sell to the pork joint and they slaughter them every couple days... at four in the morning. It's horrendous. You can't sleep through it. I go to sleep so early. Like right when we get home. Usually by 9:30 I'm in bed. The best part of my day right now is the early morning, I get up and workout at about 5:30 every morning and then I go for a run with our elder's quorum president Andrew. He is also one of the guards. I've become really good friends with him. He's a great guy- he's the one we sent to see the prophet.

 This Sunday was super rewarding. I baptized a guy that I met & started teaching my first day here. Ojambo, Steven. He's a really cool guy and his testimony seriously touched me. I met him playing pool actually. It was an inspired game, needless to say. The other guy is Nigo, the powerlifter with polio. And in that picture at my birthday party, my hair, ya it's normally more combed than that don't worry.  President Collings hurt his back or something so they're not coming out for interviews so If I don't get mail today I won't get it until the 23rd for zone conference. I'll call them and see if it's there. I don't have to pay anything to pick up packages-all the other missionaries are super jealous. Tell Corbin that I'm gonna do my best not to cry, but if I do cry than I'm gonna make him cry in the airport when I see him one way or another. 



Dad, if it wasn't for you I couldn't be out here. You're such stud, I look up to you way more than I think you realize. I draw courage from your example and I'm always trying to make you proud. I wish it was me and you out here together though. That would make this a lot more fun. Haha-I feel your parenting pain now…I'm constantly telling the other missionaries to turn the lights off, close the fridge, wash their dishes, pick up their clothes, and to wake up. It's been good though, I can't wait to hear from you. Love you. Elder Payne

Week 16 in Lugazi with Elder Woodland

Hey Mom! So I need your skype username. I'll be able skype for sure. I'll be skyping some time on Mother’s Day in the morning for you like around 6-9 am. The only thing you need to have set up is a camera or whatever you'll be using so that we can see each other. I did get a camera btw! 
It's funny that you guys had so much to do on Sunday, my Sunday was crazy too. I basically ran the branch! It was super stressful, in a not really stressful way because at the end of the day I am in Africa. idk if that made any sense. I had to get everything in order as far as the baptismal service and the hymns, making sure we started on time, and just lots and lots of little things like that. I'm glad that you're loving your calling!!  That's so sick that you got the earrings I sent. I'm about to send you a few more things today actually, that was good that you let me know they made it! Oh my heck I love the Gnarly protein! It's the best, and I mix it with cinnamon and it's basically a dessert. I love that stuff. Tell Eli thanks for me big time!
Of course, Corbin is gonna be excited, I ate bugs. They weren't something I would seek out to eat but they weren't bad either. At least I ate them on purpose this time...
Training is super fun though. My new comp is Elder Woodland. I'm working him hard… maybe a little too hard. I realized Sunday night that I've wrecked him with how much we've been walking so I might have to tone it down a little. Poor guy- got sun burned so bad his second day here. Really though, I like him a lot and he's a lot of fun. I think he is adjusting well. He's having a blast. I really like training. I could train my whole mission and be perfectly happy. It makes me want to be more obedient and a good example. I let my new comp baptize one of the investigators that we were teaching. It was super neat to see. I'm really loving the people here. They're super good to me and I'm making genuine friends. The thing that I am super proud of though, is how many of our RC's are super active in the church. On Sunday everyone that blessed and passed the sacrament were people that I've baptized. It was the coolest ever! I felt so good and it makes me want to work harder and harder. I'm definitely a work hard, play hard missionary. I've gotten super good at pool. Be prepared Baylor! I haven't lost a game in a few weeks now.
We are constantly picking up new investigators. We teach so many people It's hard to keep track to be honest. At least 10 new ones a week. This one guy Nigo, he doesn't really come to church, but he is a really cool guy. I really like him. Anyways he had polio when he was young, and it caused his leg to be all deformed but now he owns a gym and he won the National championship in powerlifting I guess for his weight class. I'm going to go see him tonight, He's a super cool guy. And he owns a gym, so we get along good. 
The goal that we set this last week was to get 12 baptisms this transfer. The thing that made me happiest was going out to this place called Pakistan this week. We went out to see a couple investigators, one was named Babiry Foster and the other is Nax. They're the funniest people ever and they just make me laugh and laugh and laugh. Foster was a less active and she's started coming back to church and we're going to baptize Nax this Sunday. Fazira and a lady named Amina will also be baptized for sure on Sunday and maybe a guy named Steven if we can meet with him. We also took a Sister named Winnie with us to help us teach this week. She's going to Zimbabwe on her mission in June and she's so cool. She's feeding us this week. 
I'm going to have a good birthday! Everyone in the branch wants to feed me. I'm taking a whole week off from my diet and I'm going to a members house every night to eat. I love the people here they're so kind to me. May the fourth be with you too Mom. I love you a ton

Week 15- last with Elder Millecam, staying in Lugazi

Hey! I'm staying in Lugazi, probably at least 2 more transfers. I'm going to be training. My new companion's name is Elder Woodland, and he gets here from the MTC on Wednesday. The best thing that Elder Millecam taught me was how to teach simply. I'll try to do that with this new elder too.
I'm super excited to train! I'm also the new Lugazi District Leader. I have no idea what responsibilities come with it. I'm super glad that I'm staying here, I wanted to stay a couple more at least and continue working with our investigators.  By the way, nice timing on that package, it was perfect! You'll have to tell Grandma, Aunt Gigi and Aunt Sharon thank you for me, I got all my birthday packages. I loved it all, It made me super happy! We celebrated my birthday a little early and made that cake Sunday night and it was divine. The ping pong net is the best thing that you possibly could've sent me. We’ve had so much fun with that, what a gift! 
Mom, thanks for sending me that article on President Nelson's message to Africa, All of those Ugandans are people I know. I am in the Jinja Stake, in the Lugazi branch. I know Charles super well. There were about 5 members from Lugazi who were able to go. It's interesting what President Nelson said, and it's true it was absolutely tailored to the people of Africa. That's literally exactly what the people here needed to hear. Confirmation to me, that he really is a prophet of our God. Powerful stuff.

President Nelson Arrives in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya — To listen Monday to an LDS Church president's voice in person for the first time, East African Mormons traveled hundreds of miles in dust-covered buses, bouncing and swaying over dirt roads, broken streets and omnipresent speed bumps that keep speeds under 50 mph.

They received a message tailored for eastern Africa, where many tribes continue to insist that grooms or their families provide a dowry or pay a price for a bride.

"That's not the Lord's way," President Russell M. Nelson told about 2,000 Kenyans and other Africans Monday night inside a large, oval, wooden event center styled after traditional huts in Nairobi, Kenya. "The Lord's way is to be married in the temple, for time and all eternity, with your children sealed to you."

He added that if he'd had to pay for his wife, "I would have missed five children, because only with my last five was I out of debt."

President Nelson also said tithing can break cycles of poverty in poor nations and families.

"We preach tithing to the poor people of the world because the poor people of the world have had cycles of poverty, generation after generation," he said. "That same poverty continues from one generation to another, until people pay their tithing."

The law of the tithe was followed by ancient peoples as taught by Old Testament prophets. LDS faithful believe God restored the law and its blessings for those who follow it by giving one-tenth of their income to the church.

Many Africans began saving money and planning their travel more than a month ago to attend what was billed here as a special devotional. It also was the third stop on President Nelson's first international trip since he became the church's leader in January.

"You folks are pioneers right here in Kenya. You might not think of yourself as pioneers, but you're just as much pioneers now as Brigham Young and the Saints were, following the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith."

His 35-minute address was worth 16 hours of rough travel, said Palaasi Charles, 49, of Jinja, Uganda. "Oh, much so. Much so," said Charles, part of a group of 29 Ugandans who left Jinja by bus at 2 p.m. Sunday and arrived in Nairobi at 6 a.m.

They spent the day on a nearby lawn watching and photographing warthogs and baboons and waiting in line to secure seats closest to the podium. "I wish I'd come with my family," said Charles, a first counselor in the Jinja LDS Stake presidency. He said he will return home and relay the special devotional's messages to his family and the Mormon congregations in his area.

"I will share with them the importance of us having temple recommends," he said, "that tithing is going to break the cycle of poverty, the importance of educating our children and doing away with dowry as part of our culture."

He and others are looking forward to construction of an LDS temple in Nairobi, announced in April 2017. Church leaders have not announced the temple site yet.

"I don't know how long it will take to build that temple," President Nelson said, "but let's have a little contest: See if you can build your lives to be ready and your ancestral documentation to be ready for when the temple comes."

He said it is easier for church leaders to build a temple than it is for them to build a people ready for the temple.

He also emphasized the importance of prophets, the Book of Mormon, the Restoration of the priesthood, family and worshipping Jesus Christ. He said one of the great lessons of his 93-year life is that people are God's children and he speaks to them.

"It's no different for you than it is for me," he said. "You can get personal revelation for your own circumstances, just as naturally as I can for my circumstances. You get it for your family and yourself, and I get it for the whole church."

 Another speaker on Monday night, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, also encouraged east Africans to prepare for the temple. He asked them to qualify, receive and carry the temple recommend required for entrance, even before the temple is built.

He also asked them to begin recording their family histories and to attend the temple in Johannesburg, South Africa "as often as the circumstances and the finances and transportation will allow."

"Nothing will bless you more," he said, "nothing will unite your family more, nothing will bless your children more, nothing will bless your ancestors more. Quite frankly, there is nothing that will bless you in any way more than your attendance at the temple, a place of peace, a place of revelation, a place of joy, a place of comfort, a place of purity, all the best things in life."

Sister Nelson said the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi built a boat, LDS Church founder Joseph Smith oversaw construction of circular Nauvoo Temple windows and President Nelson pioneered heart surgery by living "not after the manner of men," a Book of Mormon phrase.

"We need to live our lives, build our marriages, increase our means of livelihoods by increasing our knowledge and skills according to the way the Lord would show us, not after the manner of men." Nephi, Joseph Smith and President Nelson instead followed eternal laws, she said.

"Think about something you need," she added. "What would make your life better right now? What are the eternal laws that govern that blessing? What eternal law would you need to live so that you could receive that blessing?"

The eternal law that governs finances is tithing, Sister Nelson said.

Then she said dowry and bride price are manners of men. She relayed a message from one of her African friends, and said "You, the Saints of Kenya, could set an example of joyfully freeing our young people from the chains of this practice and thus begin living 'not after the manner of men.'"

 I read this article in the Desert news. Although President Nelson traveled to Kenya-not Dylan's mission, his message applied to all people in Africa. Well really all of the world. I felt the spirit testify that that President Nelson is a living prophet who speaks for God here on earth. I felt a confirmation that he is our prophet. What a bold and powerful message he shared. I found Sister Nelson's message to be inspiring as well. The group of 29 Ugandans that traveled to hear the prophet are from Dylan's mission, along with the 1st councilor in his stake Presidency-Palaasi Charles. 

The Lord asked us "What manner of men ought ye be? He then answered "Even as I am" . He challenges us in all areas of our life to live after the manner of God, to be more like Him.  It has had me wondering this week what ways I live "after the manner of men" and what I might do to become more Christlike. -Annie 

Week 14 in Lugazi with Elder Millecam

 Transfers are next week; I will find out soon what I am doing. My area is doing so good though, I don't really wanna leave yet. I 'd like at least one more transfer here. We had 6 investigators get baptized on Sunday!! Faith and Jared got baptized, along with a man named Elvis, Umar, Jonah, and then Annette. It was a super exciting Sunday. Their testimonies after were incredibly powerful. Some of them bore their testimonies in Lugandan, and even though I couldn't understand all of it I felt the spirit super strong. It was neat! Have you been following the prophets journey? We put some money together so that our elder’s quorum president could go to Nairobi and meet the prophet. He was so excited to go! Did you know that President Nelson and Holland spent three days in Jerusalem prior to coming to Nairobi? Two prophets in Jerusalem? Remind you of a scripture in Revelation? I’ve been studying so much. My scriptures are marked up super good. It might be cool for you to read through them when I get home.  Anyways, Elder Millecam's proselyting bag stunk super bad so he washed it ya? Well it still stunk after, so he was looking inside, and it turns out a lizard got stuck in it and died. It was hilarious. The poor guy also had a giant praying mantis climb into his pants and he had to kill it on his leg.  It was not his best week…

 Oh, by the way you'd be so proud of me...I have ZERO food-stained shirts