Week 68-Entebbe with Elder Budu

I'll get down to it, this week we really didn't do too much because Elder Budu messed up his knee. I don't know how but he's going to the doctor tomorrow so I guess we will see then. He said he's in a lot of pain and it hurts to walk so we didn't teach much at all this week. I'll just give you a few highlights, but there will be even less than usual. Tuesday, we went and saw a super less active member who lives next to us. (I didn't even know she was a member) and we hung out with her and talked with her a little bit. Turns out she's just super busy with work and taking care of her kid. She's a really nice lady though, we just talked about how important it is to take the sacrament and how it can be a source of spiritual strength. Wednesday we had DDM in Kajansi so we had a long taxi ride. I liked our training. It made me reflect on some of my harder mission experiences. If you don't try and get something out of the hard things you go through in life, you'll miss out on so much growth. Being on a mission is such a good opportunity to grow and become better. It’s an experience that literally helps you grow into a man and prepares you to be a good husband and father. But it's only what you make it. Wednesday, I had one of my favorite lunches. Eggs and rice with broccoli and bell peppers in it-SO good. We did some service-well I did - Budu had to sit and rest his leg.
Thursday, Budu couldn’t walk so I read a lot and studied a lot, did some yoga and got a good workout in. I sat up on the balcony and watched the sunset while I read. That's the sunset I sent you. It was super-duper pretty. Friday it rained all day and I got a little bit of cabin fever. I’m not used to this much resting… The last few days have been nice because of all the rain. It's been cool in the mornings. Today was good, we went to church we watched the first two talks of the priesthood session from conference. I thought Stevenson gave an awesome talk and it was cool to hear him mention Bryce Harper. 
Some stuff from my readings this week that stuck out to me were, in Mosiah 4 when king Benjamin talks about how just knowing isn't enough, we need to act on what we know. I liked that, it really resonated with me. And then I read 3 Nephi 11 today when Christ visits the Nephites. I loved reading that chapter and the following one because you can feel the love of Christ plainly. That's my week tho, more quiet than usual. Love you.

Week 67-Entebbe with Elder Budu

Overall, it's been a super good week here-
Tuesday, we had zone conference and the departing testimonies for the missionaries going home was the best and the worst part of the meeting. It was the best because I've got a pretty good relationship with quite a few of the guys going home and it was amazing to hear their testimonies and be able to see how they've grown spiritually. Budu especially gave a great testimony. It was the worst because a few of the guys were more focused on trying to look like spiritual Giants and just loved their minute of Fame. Those guys gave like a 20-minute talks instead of a testimony. So, I got a headache from that because it took so long but I survived. My favorite take away from zone conference was about how we as missionaries are in a position to have such a positive influence on our families, and we talked about more ways we could benefit our loved ones at home. On the way home I sat next to this cool guy named Ronnie on the taxi and had an awesome conversation with him. He works in the finance industry here in Uganda and is doing really well for himself. We talked about all kinds of things from work and family stuff to religion. It was awesome and I got to share the things that make the gospel so special to me.  
Wednesday we had DDM and it was focused on the stuff from zone conference mostly. After that I went with woodland so he could get a haircut from this Indian guy. Forgot to tell you last week while I was cutting his hair his clippers exploded! It was because the outlet he used was NOT for clippers. I think I'm going to retire from cosmetology... Afterwards we got some local food and hung out with those guys from Kajansi for a while. 
Thursday, I had something super awesome happen. Elvis Katerega got in touch with me to tell me he is just a couple days away from submitting his mission papers. I am so excited for him. I baptized Elvis about a year ago in Lugazi and have a really great relationship with him. We used to go out to the place he worked so we could teach him and sometimes we couldn't get a taxi back, so it was like a 4 hour walk! Teaching him and getting to know him was one of the highlights of my mission. He was really spiritually prepared for the gospel. 
Friday, we had book of Mormon class and people actually came... To play soccer. It was fine tho, I got a good read in. I’ll share something small from the Book of Mormon that I was thinking about that day. So, in 2nd Nephi 31 it talks all about the Doctrine of Christ and it tells us we need to endure to the end multiple times. It obviously means to endure to the end of our mortal lives, but I was thinking about how in reality there is no end and after this life we're still going to have to go through some degree of progression to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And then I started thinking about how multiple times the Savior refers to himself as the beginning and the end. I started thinking about how you could apply that to those scriptures that invite us to endure to the end. We need to endure to Christ and continue in our efforts to be like Him until we are like Him. I really loved that, as it encourages us to strive to make progress daily to become like Jesus Christ. 
I think everyone close to me knows I'm obsessed with exercise. I really like bodybuilding and self-improvement and growing and becoming better. I think I'm starting to apply that same mentality to my spirituality. I really love to feel progression and personal improvement in my character. I've realized its equally as tough as physical improvement though. When you want to progress physically you have to look at yourself and really assess your weaknesses and be real with yourself on where you should improve. Just like that to improve on my character I've had to look within myself and be real on where I need to improve by recognizing where I'm weak. It's hard but I love making progress. 
Saturday, I had a stomach bug and slept a lot of the day. I'm fine now. We're still trying to find more people to teach. 
Sunday, we had a great sacrament meeting and had a few investigators there. After we had a nice Easter dinner with the Balajuica family, and you'll meet them in a few months, I think. They are coming to Utah. We had an investigator at dinner with us and then just got to hang out with the family. It was really nice. 
I've loved this week and the opportunity I've had to reflect on Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. I think it's appropriate for me to share a little testimony about Him since it's Easter. I've truly come to love Jesus Christ and appreciate so deeply the sacrifice He made on our behalf. Being away from our family and the people I love has been so hard. It's much harder than any physical discomfort. But because of how much I've NOT liked that, it's made me more appreciative that I'll spend eternity with you guys. Really, nothing makes me happier than imagining embracing the savior as he comes again with my loved ones. This has all helped me gain a deeper appreciation for the atonement. I also know I'm so far from perfect. But I do have a desire to be better, and because of that, I'm thankful that I can repent and become better. I love our savior and know without a shadow of a doubt that he lives and loves us. Because of him I have the hope of being with my family for forever!

Week 66-Entebbe with Elder Budu

Hope this makes you laugh. How to keep your kids out of your candy-Guard it with some chopped off chicken heads. 
Well this week was interesting. The best part of my week was getting your package. You and Bailee are so thoughtful and every little thing makes me smile. I'm sure me and Budu are going to be in a slight sugar coma tomorrow from all the Cadbury eggs we ate tonight but it's good, were happy. Mom, thank you so much. It's like you sent me a little bit of home. I'm such a lucky son to have a mom like you. And tell Holly the bug stuff worked! We literally watched bed bugs crawl out of our mattresses! Let me tell you some of the little things about the week. Monday was great as usual so nice to hear from home. Wednesday we had DDM and after the sisters made us jollof rice (idk how to spell it) it's like fried rice with veggies... It was good. Thursday, we saw a lot of the referrals from the Ward. The next missionaries here are so lucky, they will have an amazing teaching pool. Friday, we cleaned the church almost the whole morning. Then we went and saw this member and I fell out of his avocado tree. I just slipped and fell like 12 feet flat on my back. I'm fine, just knocked the wind out of me. Budu and the member we were with could not stop laughing about it. We ended up with about 50 avocados. I wouldn't say it was worth it, but it wasn't that bad. My biggest regret is that no one had it on video so I could enjoy it as well. Saturday, we had conference and oh my that was an event. Everything is an event here literally we were there all day, but it was good. There was a lot I got out of it. I really loved the closing prayer, which is a funny thing to love, but it was one of the best prayers I've ever heard. It really stood out to me. I enjoyed all the talk about eternal families. It made me focus on how much joy it brings into my life knowing that my relationships with the people I love will last beyond the grave. It's a hope I take for granted growing up just knowing that's the way it is. But being able to share that hope has really opened my eyes to what a blessing it is to have that knowledge. I also felt a deep love for the Savior and his atonement which makes all that possible. I love you guys so much and miss you like crazy! 
 

Week 65- Entebbe with Elder Budu

Hey Mom and Dad, These picture show you how many people are in a "nice" taxi.

I decided to send this tonight before I went to bed since I never get around to it on Mondays lately. I'll try and just stick to the big stuff so I can keep it short and sweet. 
Monday, I spent most of the day with woodland in Kajansi and then came back with Budu once he was done in Kampala. He got a nasty rash later that night. Poor guy
 Wednesday we had DDM and it started out really good, there was a great spiritual thought about how we can try and be most Christ like and have the spirit with us. I think that's something that I will think about more in my own personal life. I've realized it’s so necessary to have that spiritual guidance not just as a missionary but as a person in our day to day lives. The sisters are going to cook lunch for us at next week’s DDM. 
Thursday was long since we spent most of the day on a taxi. That was when we had interviews and I found out I'll be going to Ethiopia as long as all my paperwork gets cleared. It's a really big change. There's a lot of excitement that I'm feeling but I'm also not really looking forward to another change now that I've adjusted here. Not to say I'm not ready to get out of Uganda though. This means I'm trying to study Amharic a little bit since I'll be teaching in that full time now. I'll link a little video about what it's like. It's been tough to learn on my own. After interviews we taxied back and hung out for the rest of the evening since it was late. 
Friday, we had a book of Mormon class that like 20 people told us they'd come for and confirmed right before we left... And no one showed up. We got to teach Albert that day though for the last time before he gets baptized in May since he's going to Canada. 
Saturday the best part of the day was cleaning the church. Haha we did get a lot of referrals this week (finally what the heck) but me and Budu are both going to be gone now next transfer so that's a bummer.  
Sunday was good, sacrament especially. I had a bad headache but managed to still make it really meaningful as I tried to focus on the savior. 
I've started reading in the middle of Jesus The Christ to get ready for Easter. That really made it special for me last year and I want to do it again. I wish I would've started earlier so I could read it all, but I dropped the ball. Something that stood out to be as I was reading in the beginning of 2nd Nephi this week was about how we all have the agency to make choices, but as we look to the Savior we'll be able to resist temptation and make good choices even when it's hard. It made me think about what I do each day to "look to the Savior".  

Week 64-Entebbe with Elder Budu