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

Week 41- In Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

 My week went by fast. Tuesday was a normal day, and we actually had a really good day that day. We found 6 new investigators that day which is good because it ended up being our only full day in our area. We started teaching this members Grandma, we call her Jaja, and she's the coolest lady ever. I love going over and seeing her, she always makes us laugh super hard and treats us good. She loves fishing too! Her and grandma would get along really nice. She's one of my favorite people I've met here without a doubt. Wednesday, we got a call in the morning from the AP's, they wanted us to drive down that day, so we could go on exchanges Thursday before MLC. So, we did, we drove all day Wednesday and then ran some errands in Kampala in the evening. The next day we spent all day working with the AP's and had a lot of fun. I don't mind working with them, they're good guys but it makes it kind of hard to get work done in our own area. I don't like where they proselyte, it's in the slums, and I don't like the slums-they are sad.  I worked with Elder Gwatdizo, it was my first time working with him and I love the guy. We both really like business, and finance, and the stock market and stuff like that. We also worked with Sister Jannett, and she just returned from serving a mission in England -She's in the second picture. That day we got to go see Mama BuFatty, the lady who smacked Elder Gilbert for laughing during the prayer the last time I went on exchanges with him. That's me and her in the first picture. She fed us sweet potatoes and ground nut sauce, which is one of my favorite dishes here. Friday was MLC, and we talked a lot about following the example set by Jesus Christ which I liked. I had the impression I needed to read Jesus the Christ again and study his life more. We tried to drive home that night, but we couldn't because traffic was so bad. I've never seen anything like that in my life. It took us over three hours to make it 6 miles. We had to come back to Kampala that night and stay again. We left the next morning, Saturday, and drove all day and then went and saw members that night. The next day we finally got to watch conference and there was a lot that I loved about it. I think the Sunday session was one of my favorite sessions of all time. I again had the impression I needed to study the life of Jesus Christ more as the brethren talked and encouraged us to follow His example and become more Christ-Like. I had a lot of favorites. I loved the talk by the guy from the 70 about the attributes of Heavenly Father. And President Eyrings talk as well. When he talked about is wife it hit me hard. I love when the brethren talk about their wives. I also loved Hollands talk. The prophets talk was good, I loved how bold it was. It was a good correction and kind of funny. After it happened I realized that it made sense and wondered what took so long. I have realized that sometimes the Lord waits until we ask to send revelation. We need to do everything we can, then ask, and we'll get our answers. Kind of like Joseph Smith and the word of wisdom. I loved how much focus there was on Jesus Christ. I came out of conference wanting to follow his example and become more like him. That's what I loved so much about it!  Corbin! Hey buddy, I miss you a ton. I can't believe your birthday is so close. I'll celebrate for you here. I have been thinking about you a lot since your birthday is coming, and I hope you know how proud I am of you and how much I love you. I wish more than anything you were here with me. Dude, I would love to play card games with you right now, that sounds so fun. Remember WarJack? hahaha. I'm happy that you're enjoying school. keep up the good work. I'm super excited for you to get the priesthood Corb. You're a man now. I love you buddy, I can't wait to see you. 

Week 40- in Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

This week was better than I hoped, even though it was long. We stayed so long in Kampala because transfers weren't until Thursday, but we had to take McLain down on Monday. We stayed with Elder Corbridge and Elder Asante the zone leaders there. Asante is coming back with us to Gulu this transfer, and he's from Ghana. He's huge and kind of a goofy guy. Corbridge is from American Fork. It ended up being super nice staying in Kampala. I loved the area that I stayed in and really wish I would get to serve there. It was called Insombia, and it seems like one of the wealthier parts of Kampala. The ward is great, and life seems super nice. So, we got to relax a bit while we were there, one day we worked the area with the zone leaders and did an exchange, so we got to meet the ward. The church is a lot stronger there, and the people are really cool. We got fed by an Embassy family in the ward on Wednesday before we left, and I think it was the most enjoyable night of my month. The Dad of the family is from Provo, and the mom is from Ghana, so we got food from home and from Ghana. It was so good, and a super fun night. It reminded me of being with our family. A lot of fun. They took really good care of us. We also got a chance to go to the supermarket there in Kampala and that was heavenly. I'm not a big fan of grocery shopping, but I could've just stayed there all day. Thursday, we picked up the new missionaries coming to the zone and then drove home. By the time we got back it was late so we just all went to bed. A lot of driving this week. On Saturday we got to go to lira again and do interviews, but things didn't work out super well. The branch president is struggling so interviews didn't work out. Then we checked on the branches, took them supplies, and visited members. But we got a rabbit from a member there and took it home for dinner. I'm not a huge fan of rabbit I found out, but rabbit liver is wayyyy better than beef or chicken liver.  We didn't get to work in our area hardly at all because of all the other things we had to do.  I pulled the money and payed for the packages, but I haven't got them so I'll get them hopefully at MLC this coming Friday. I'll probably go down on Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not sure yet.  What is in the packages? They've never had something get taxed so bad before. Or was it just the size of them? My health is fine right now, I'm doing really good actually. I'm missing home big time still, and some days are better than others but for the most part I'm doing great. How are you doing though? I'm as worried about you guys as you are about me. The computer that I'm emailing on right now shocks me every few seconds hahaha, How awesome is that? 

Week 39- Bardege Gulu with Ankrah

Sorry my email is so late, it's been a really long day. We had to drive down for transfers this morning since Elder Mclain is leaving. It was hard to see him go. I've become good friends with him. We had some great spiritual experiences this week. We had an awesome lesson about the word of wisdom. After the lesson Oyuk told us that some of his coworkers were talking bad about the church and said that he should fear us. He told them," if you fear them then you should fear me too, because now I am with them." I love how proud and happy he is to be a part of the church. He was baptized on Sunday. He's the oldest person I’ve seen baptized here, he's 66 years old. I watched part of the morning session of conference and got to hear the big announcement (which I love btw) and then went home because I wasn't doing good. Sunday, I went to sacrament and then went home, still sick... Everyone gets sick from time to time but I do seem to get sick a lot. Some missionaries just have health problems the whole time they're here, it's not uncommon. Today I drove ALL day, so it hasn't been a very relaxing p- day. We'll be in Kampala all week long for transfers. Mclain is the only one leaving our district and Elder Weight will be coming to be Godfrey's new companion. So, me and Ankrah are still comps. I'm so glad for that too. I really like him, and I'll miss him like crazy when we get transferred.
I love the changes announced in conference! I’m excited-next week we'll watch it all at the chapel.  I hope that the boys understand them and apply them. I'm excited, I know it will help me when I come home too. I think my Sundays will be really different. I hope you guys had fun celebrating Dads birthday. Happy birthday dad, I sent you a handwritten letter.
Charles is ready for baptism we just need to figure out his marriage situation with him this week. Sorry, no pictures this week.  We're staying in a place called Insombia. I've never been here before. I love you all so much! Thanks for being so supportive 

Week 38-Bardege, Gulu with Ankrah

  I Definitely won't get to watch General Conference live. It will probably be a week late, but I'm going to try and get us missionaries a copy of it on a disc so that we can watch it at the church. I still wish I was going to get to watch it with you guys. I think conference makes me miss you as much as any holiday! you did good when it came to conference traditions, I'll forever have fond memories of conference. I want to see pictures of Baylor at homecoming!! Did he have fun at the dance? I'm glad that he went. How's he doing? And how is Corbin doing? Baylor took the boat out all by himself? That is so fun, what a stud.
We found 14 new people to teach this week, so we felt extremely busy. I’d say 14 is a lot to find, Gulu is a little bit tough. If you don't work, nothing will happen haha. Tuesday, I had exchanges with Elder Godfrey and was sick most of the day. I was throwing up in the morning but by evening I was fine. Exchanges were fun, I like Godfrey a lot, he's a great guy. I end up listening on exchanges and learning. We went out and taught this guy named Mouritz, who is a super neat. They baptized him on Saturday! Wednesday was a slow day, I was recovering a little bit, but we met this man named Charles and had a really great lesson with him. He's ex-military and probably in his late 60's. It's often hard to teach people here that are older because they're usually not interested in change at all. But he responded well to the lesson. The only problem was he can barely walk. So, I didn't think that he'd ever be able to make it to church because it's a bit of a walk from his house. I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday when he showed up. The rest of the week was lots of missionary work. We had to stop teaching this girl named Irene who was progressing really well because her father didn't like us. Sad. Sunday was great though, Oyuk made my day. He beat us to church. He'll get baptized for sure this week. He's an amazing person, always so happy and humble. He's also already got a strong testimony of the church and Jesus Christ. He'd give up anything to be baptized. I heard that new church history book is so good! I watched the face to face where Elder Cook introduced it. I’m trying hard to learn to budget well and only use my allotment. It's tough sometimes but I want to get the hang of it. I’m still trying to find new options and figure out the area a little bit. I found a great place to get fish this past week and it's affordable so I'm going to eat a lot more of that. Sure love you guys! Hugs to you all- Elder Payne

Week 37- Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

Your week has been super fun, I can tell. You'll have to tell me more details, but I love all the pictures. I wish I could've been with you guys. My week was not nearly as exciting as yours was. I spent most of my week in Kampala. We drove down on Tuesday and didn't get back until Friday evening. We stayed with some other missionaries this time in a place in Kampala called Entinda. We had a lot to do, errands, getting stuff for the zone, more working fund, then exchanges and interviews. Part of the reason we stayed so long was because we were there for two full days to do things, but then we had to stay two other nights because of travel. We had interviews with President Collings, and then Elder Ankrah and I went on exchanges with the assistants to the president. It was good but going down always makes me realize how much I like Gulu. While we were down there we mostly proselyted in the slums of Kampala. I don't love their area but the people there are really great. There were two lessons that we had that I really enjoyed, one was super spiritual and the other was just funny. One was with a sister named Irene and we taught her the plan of salvation. Because we must teach so simply it makes some of the most beautiful points of the gospel crystal clear. Talking about how we're all literally children of our Heavenly Father, and about how badly he wants us to return to live with him really made feeling the spirit easy. I really enjoyed the lesson. The other lesson was with a sister named "Mama Buffatti" and it's said just like it sounds... it's also very fitting… or not so fitting... sorry those are some thick puns. She was just super funny, and she kept making us laugh. The elder I was with couldn't stop laughing while we were trying to pray so she hit him so hard and it just made it that much funnier. She's a wild lady. Btw while we were there I met a returned sister missionary who served with Elder Draper in England. Small world. Then we came home, and overnight Gulu got SO hot.  Saturday, we WALKED. We went out and saw this guy named Oyuk, and he lives a good 45-minute walk from our apartment. We felt like zombies all day. People think we're crazy because we walk during that time of the day. It was worth it though because he came to church Sunday and I know without a doubt he'll be baptized in the next 2 weeks. We had a baptism for John on Saturday as well and then he was confirmed Sunday. He'll be a powerful member here. I'm really happy for him. And that’s the week. Physically I'm good, really tired though. Sometimes I feel like I could sleep all day and then still sleep through the night hahaha. I forgot my camera at home today! I'm so sorry. I don't mind being a zone leader, I like that it makes me feel obligated to set an example and work hard. At the same time, it'll be really nice to be a regular missionary again sometime. These days I'm driving slow though. Like a grandpa... My driving really isn't crazy, I'm super safe. I promise. Driving here in general is just scary!! I can't wait to see all the little cousins again- Tell everyone I love them-Elder Payne

Week 36, Bardege, Gulu with Elder Ankrah

  Monday night was super fun though, I'm trying to learn Arabic now and while we were visiting with this one family they were teaching me a little and helping correct my grammar. Anyways they have a little boy who's about 5 years old staying with them and he's from Juba (South Sudan) so he speaks Arabic really well and he was teaching me all these phrases and casually throws in curse words while he does it and of course me being the immature young adult I am, I laughed my head off at it the first time. Then we had to explain to him not to say that. I realized some words are absolutely universal. Then Tuesday we had a terrible day because guy we were teaching, Dennis, told us he doesn't want us to come back anymore. The thing that bothered me was that I know he felt something while we were teaching him. Super sad, I hope that somewhere along the line he accepts the gospel. I wish I was going to be around when he does. Wednesday was better, but that night we had a bunch of kids throw rocks at our car. They didn't realize that I know where they lived, so later that night I went to their house and explained what happened to their Mom. She was actually gonna beat them, but instead I just told her that the kids could wash our truck the next day. I thought it was a fitting punishment. hahaha. The next day they washed the truck while we went and worked on the new chapel that is being built in Bardege. Sheesh it was hard work. Imagine doing construction work without any tools or tractors or anything.  I got to break rock for the foundation with a HUGE hammer and then help lay it. It'll be cool to come back though and see it and be able to say that I helped to build it.  I'm really glad that I'm getting to work on it. It feels cool to sacrifice to build something like that, I can only imagine how building a temple would feel. Later that day we met this guy named Oyuk, and he's such a kind guy. He has such a genuine interest in the things that we've been sharing with him and it just felt good to be appreciated. I can tell that he'll take the initiative to act on the message of the restoration of the gospel. He really wants a testimony. It was a really good teaching experience! But the highlight of the week was on Saturday... We ate cat… Hahaha it's not that good. I don't think I'd ever eat it again. It tastes like really tough chicken. Most days I eat chicken and small amounts of rice. Lots of veggies and eggs. And LOTS of bananas. Not a whole lot of variety. I keep forgetting to tell you, if you want to see what the slums of Kampala look like you can look up Unforgettable by French Montana and watch the music video. BUT turn the sound OFF. It’s not a good song. It was filmed in the slums of Kampala city, and it shows exactly what they're like. And actually, I lied, Sunday was the highlight. Sunday was great! We were able to baptize this guy Jimmy that we've been working with for a while and he shared a great testimony after. One thing that I love that I have realized here is that the people are willing to sacrifice for the gospel. They give up a lot sometimes, and I think it takes a lot of faith. The biggest sacrifice is the change of life style. The norm is partying here, so they give up a lot of friends to join the church. Another big sacrifice is travel. Some people walk REALLY far to get to church. Then the members here really sacrifice time. Opio is a missionary for fun. He shares the gospel with his friends all the time. Everyone here sacrifices something to be a member. In this branch I haven't had to do anything on Sunday except teach the investigators class. They're a lot more organized than Lugazi was.
Me and John, a guy we are teaching who is progressing well. He asks us all these deep questions and sometimes they're tough to answer. He wanted to know about the seer stones that Joseph Smith used to translate the book of Mormon last time we met. Paul is also progressing and will hopefully get baptized this week and then Opio is a member that I really like.