Week 46-Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

Your week sounds wonderful- I love thanksgiving just because it's such a family thing. I miss cutting down the tree! I was telling my comp about that this week, it's such a cool tradition. This week was long and hard but we also saw some great blessings. Monday, we found out a girl we baptized a while back, (she's 16 mind you) is now pregnant. It's a mess. She was going to have an abortion- since that is what most people do here.  But I think we talked her out of it as we taught the Lords perspective on the sanctity of life and the church’s position on Abortion. Her only other real option is to raise the baby herself. We're working with the relief society to see if someone has the means to adopt, but I doubt it. The wonderful thing is she has great support from the branch. Then Tuesday we got bounced ALL day long, so we went around and tried to find new people to teach but we didn't have a lot of success. It's all good though, some days are like that. Wednesday, we drove to Kampala to pick up the new missionary in the zone, and traffic was rough, so it took all day. I listened to some conference talks that I really liked though, so it wasn't a waste. That night we were invited to a member’s house in Insombia, the one who fed us last time we went down. She cooked a nice meal for us for thanksgiving. We had tacos, chicken fajitas, and then this Ghanaian dish called fufu that was super good. That night on the way home we got a call and found out that a recent convert named Irene had been brutally murdered. We do service for her every Tuesday by bringing her clean water and then teaching and playing with her kids. It kind of ruined the week. We actually spent this whole morning at her funeral, we were pretty close to her, so they had Elder Ankrah and I carry her casket. Then Thursday we spent all day waiting for our truck to get serviced. It took a long time, we had to wait for about 4 hours, then make the drive back to Gulu. By the time we got home it was about 8, so we went and saw some of the members who were taking Irene's death really hard. Friday was normal, and we had some really wonderful lessons, but we also found out there's a group of people going around in the area that we live in and robbing and beating people at night. So, we can't be out past dark now. That same group tried to burn down a member’s house on Thursday night with a Molotov, so we spent some of Friday cleaning up her house and moving the burnt furniture out. It's so impressive how the people here push through things like this. Sunday was good though, we had a ton of the people we are teaching show up to church. We had a breakthrough with this one sister who is sooooo shy and she started to open up with us Sunday. Even though there were some extremely sad things that happened this week, we were blessed with some tender mercies as well. Also, mom- I really promise that I'm totally safe.

Week 45- Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

  Monday was just a normal P-day, after emailing it stormed super hard and we went home and played cards that night. Tuesday, we got bounced by every single one of our appointments, so we went finding for new people all day long and found 5 new people to teach which was great. One of them is named Debra, she's from Rwanda and her mom is a local church leader. She's sooo funny and is totally interested in the church despite her mom. Wednesday was 80% walking and 20% teaching. Then Thursday I don't remember, so nothing special probably happened. Friday was great though, we had lots of good appointments and then that night we got invited to this virtual reality expo thing by a member and it was so cool. No one buys that stuff though here, they can't afford it. If someone has a TV, they're rich. We got to play a couple games and then we got a new investigator named Addy out of it. She's really cool, totally atheist but is willing to let us have the discussions with her. She's incredibly smart so I'm really excited to teach her. Saturday, we got our transfer news, I'll be staying here with Elder Ankrah for one more transfer. No changes for me at all, but there's two new missionaries coming to our apartment since Godfrey and Weight are both leaving. Also, our zone got bigger, it's no longer the Gulu zone it's the Uganda North Zone which is way cooler. It's because a new area got opened. Now there are missionaries in Lira and Adyel both kinda town/cities. There will be 5 new missionaries coming up here and I'm really excited for that. The new Elders that will be living with us are Elder Winiata from New Zealand and Elder Kabemba from Congo. Both good guys! Sunday was awesome, we had a few people in church and we taught about the millennium and so many people had questions.   This next week I'm teaching about exaltation and I'm super excited. Also, I finished Saints this week, I loved it way more than I thought I would.

That's sister Susan we're teaching her, and we have been for a while, but she left to her village until January. The baby is not hers, she belongs to Mary her neighbor who we are also teaching. Both awesome ladies! Yes, I have a basket on my head, but it looked like the hat Raiden wears in Mortal Kombat. That pic is for my brothers. This is my comps birthday cake! 

Week 44- Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

 My week was so so so long now that I look back, it really feels like it's been two weeks. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't good. So, Monday was my comps birthday, right? We didn't do a whole lot but the next day we threw that surprise party for him and it went so well! He was so surprised, and he cried and told us no one had ever done something that thoughtful for him. It was cool and made him super happy. We had one of the missionaries who's good at baking make him this cake, it was so ugly. I'll send pics next week, because we haven't had power most of this week there's only one internet cafe open and they won't let us send pics. But the party was fun, we played card games and stuff and that made me really miss out whole family. I love doing that kind of stuff with you guys and it made me think about lake Powell. Wednesday and Thursday, we went finding and teaching. This week we taught a lot of different people, we're working with a lady named Mary and her friend Susan. Both have been to church and they're so much fun to go and visit. Really great people, and I can see their testimonies growing. We found 5 new people to teach this week which was great, but we still didn't have power and then we ran out of water too. That really sucked, it's hot here! Friday was zone conference and that was great, I gave a training on how to be more Christ-like, and then we talked a lot about revelation. The spirit was so strong. I also got my packages from you and Judy that day, and they were so awesome. You made my companion cry with that birthday gift, that was more money than anyone has ever given him before. You have no idea what that meant to him. This past week is one he'll never forget, he's never been treated like that before. There was so much stuff I loved in there, it was totally worth the wait. The book is so good. Tell Grandpa Kerr that I'm more than halfway through SAINTS already, and I love it. I never would've guessed that I would enjoy reading about church history, but I really love it. Tell Eli thank you so much for the gnarly. I'm going to have to take a cool picture with all the protein containers and my concrete weights for him. The water bottle filter was a miracle thing. Since we ran out of water, we had no way to get drinking water on Sunday. But since I had that bottle, I got some water from my neighbor we were able to drink. The weight necklace is so cool. I have it on my keys right now. I love the hammock you sent, and I've been sleeping outside since I got it because it's so hot and we don't have a fan since no power...  Saturday my comp was sick all day and then Sunday the power finally came back but still no water. Judy sends all this random stuff that me and the missionaries LOVE. Just like little toys and silly putty and stuff and it's so funny to see them all over the house.  I cut my hair today too btw. We haven't gotten our transfer news, but I'm pretty sure me and Elder Ankrah will get to stay together here one more, which we're both really excited about. I sure like that guy, he's been a great companion.
So, for Thanksgiving we're going to try and get a turkey. Me and my comp both want to do something fun for it, so that's our plan. I don't know how to cook a turkey though. 

Week 43-Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

Monday night we saw a family we have been teaching for quite a while. They were finally were baptized this weekend- so that was great. Tuesday was just a normal day, it was super-hot, and we walked really really far to see brother Oyuk that day. By the time we got back home the day was almost over and we were shot. Wednesday was good, we met these two ladies who are super awesome that we are teaching named Susan and Mary. Thursday I was on exchanges with Elder Godfrey and we had lots of fun together. That was probably the best day of the week. Friday me and my comp were out and found all these kids, more like teenagers playing soccer with a ball made from garbage bags and we played with them for FOREVER. It was so fun, even though I really stink at soccer haha. We've done small service projects, helping people move and recover from the recent storms. Also we should finish building the chapel by the end of next transfer. Then we had baptisms on the weekend!! Today is my comps birthday and we've been celebrating. He was super content with not doing anything special, but I wanted to do something fun for him, so tomorrow I set up a surprise party for him and all the missionaries in Gulu. Some members are going to come and have cake and play games. I think he'll love it. I’m so excited Corbin got the priesthood! He'd be the only person I would LOVE to do fast offerings with right now. That is going to be so great to go to the temple as a family. Can't wait to do that together when I get home. I missed Halloween at home! Love you tons!

Week 42-Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

Through personal experience I've learned that life's' greatest joys are found in the family and I believe that everyone deserves to experience this joy. In the communities that I've served in I've become more aware of the glaring need for families to come together than ever before. There isn't a strong emphasis put on family here, there is a lack of love and concern, and almost no sense of obligation to care for one another. Most children are born out of wed lock and into broken homes, and to parents who aren't committed to each other let alone children. Families are the building blocks of a community and the gospel. Without them people live a brutal tooth and nail lifestyle, constantly fighting for survival. Life can be hard here in Uganda and without the support system of a family it's that much harder. There are quite a few ways that I'm working towards uniting families one of these ways is by teaching complete abstinence before marriage. This is so that children are born to parents who are committed to each other and to nurturing their children, together. I share with groups and individuals about the joys that comes from families. As a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I present my views and beliefs on the divinity of the family unit to all who will listen and try to bring families together through the gospel of Jesus Christ and a hope for family relationships that will last long after this life. I also teach people about responsibility and accountability and encourage them to do service to build feelings of love between family members. My favorite way to bring families together is through conducting family home evenings, where we bring families together for an evening of gospel learning and unity building. As we seek to establish these home evenings I've seen people realize the love they have for each other and strengthen family relationships as they sing hymns and play games together. Gordon B. Hinckley once said that, " The strength of any nation is rooted within the walls of its homes." My hope is that as I continue to work towards bringing families together, and strengthen homes, communities will unite and life for the people of Uganda will get better.  Last Monday, after we emailed we went and taught a family. It was a good lesson, but they have mice... BAD... and they kept running around by my feet, so I couldn’t really focus. Tuesday was fantastic, we met this guy from Ghana who was really cool, and he invited us over. Turns out he was baptized while he was on vacation in England, but he's not active. We're working on reactivating him and it was cool for my comp since he's also from Ghana. It was great, and we'll get a dinner appointment this week from it. Really excited because all the food I've had from Ghana has been really good. Wednesday, I scratched my eyeball when a giant bug flew into my eye. I have no idea how it got there since I wear glasses, but ya my eye hurts so bad. We found a super powerful lady that day, and she came to church Sunday. Her name is Mourine, I think she'll get baptized soon. We also had a huge breakthrough that day with this lady named Christine that we've been working with forever. She finally decided she wants to be baptized so her and her children should get baptized this coming week. Thursday, I got sick. Friday, also sick, most of the day I sat in the truck with the heat on lol. But I thought about Corb a lot, and how it was kinda fitting that I was sick on his birthday since he was so sick when he was first born lol.  Saturday I was fine, but it rained like all day long. Then Sunday was awesome, we had a ton of people come to church. Overall there were lots of good and bad this week. We found 14 new people to teach so that's wonderful. Two funny things that happened. First, one morning, I can't remember what day, we went outside to teach for the day and ended up having a balancing competition. We were doing a tree pose and seeing who could hold it the longest. Me and my comp went for 14 minutes before we gave up and called it a tie. How crazy is that? Then another day while we were having lunch we were talking about pets, and I asked my comp if he would rather have a dog or a cat. All of the Africans said they would rather have cat, and it was only me and one other American who said we'd rather have a dog... A few seconds later and I realized they all thought that I was talking about for food.. not for a pet!
Love you all-Elder Payne