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

Week 63- Entebbe with Elder Budu

The best part of my week was on Sunday a man named Rogers who we'd never met before just showed up to church. He loved the service and said it was like nothing he had ever experienced. Sitting next to him I realized that our worship is so unique and special. Especially when done with the simplicity that it's done here. The sacrament really is the focus of the meeting, and there was such a good spirit. Another highlight was in our priesthood class we had a good lesson and a good discussion. We we're talking about Elder Ballard's general conference address from October about D&C 138 and we were talking about missionaries in the spirit world. Budu brought up a really good question. He was wondering what degree of influence Satan has on those in the spirit world. Because there has to be some sort of opposition for those beings’ decisions to have meaning. Now this discussion went over most everyone's head, but I got a lot out of it. I know it's hard to answer that question exactly, but I was thinking about how we take our habits with us into the spirit world including our struggles. It just made me think about how there is so much progression for us to go through even after this life.  Low of the week was going to the hospital to visit a member who just had a baby. It was sad to see so many mothers and babies who were having a hard time and not getting the treatment they needed. And not seeing any fathers at all. Still trying to find people to teach, that's a real struggle in Entebbe. Exciting news for my companion, he's on his very last transfer!  

Week 62- Entebbe, Uganda with Elder Budu

Mom and Dad-I love you guys so much! You are such unselfish parents. One thing I’ve realized on my mission is that my family makes me so happy! You guys are absolutely amazing. 
We got to visit Albert one more time before he leaves for Canada. He is planning on being baptized when he gets back in May. I love teaching him. He asks tough questions and wants to apply the teachings in his life. We taught him about chastity this week and he asks such sincere questions. Although he tried to bait me with a plural marriage/church history question. But I have a good understanding of that part of church history since I read Saints. I actually decided to read Saints again, I love the feeling I got from reading it. We spent a lot of time with members this week trying to find people to tech with no success. I did get 2 wonderful surprise phone calls this week, one was from Faith and Jared-they are a couple I taught and baptized in my first area. They called to tell me their daughter just turned 8 and is being baptized. Also got a call from a member in Mbale who took such good care of me there. He called me to tell me he and his wife are expecting-Super happy for them! They also have the cutest little 3-year-old whom I love.
So, this is a picture of a bed bug. My apartment is infested with them, so I move my mattress outside every day and cook my mattress in the sun. The bites are nasty and the itching never stops! One of the things that I had a hard time getting used to in the city is all the locked gates and walled off homes with gate guards. It makes it hard to get into to people’s homes. Here is a super nice hotel. Then across the street there is a half a star hotel if you can’t afford the 5 star LOL

 

Week 61-Entebbe, Uganda with Elder Budu

Let me just give you a quick rundown of the highlights of my week. We had exchanges and I spent a day with Elder Woodland. You bet I whooped him in pool.  That day we also had interviews and they went really great; President Collings is an awesome guy. We talked about when I'm at BYU and how we'll be able to meet up and stuff which will be neat.  He asked me to reflect on my mission and to think about all the growth and experiences that I’ve had and to see how I feel. At first, I thought back and there were only a few really big impactful moments and I felt kinda lame. But then I started to remember all these small moments that have become so common and even though they're small have been powerful. I thought about all the growth I've gone through and how happy and content I am. Ha-ha don't get me wrong, I know I still have a long way to go and lots of growth and learning, but I just want you to know that I really am doing good and I'm happy. It’s been so hard for me to be here, away from people that I love but I'm so glad I came. My testimony has been solidified for the rest of my life because of the experiences I've had while I've been here. I know that's going to influence my family that I raise too, it's totally changed my life. Dad-I'm so thankful that you have always pushed me to be the best I can be. Exchanges were good and then I taxied back to Entebbe. Lots of taxis this week. That one part of Uganda I really don't like, but if you ever came, I'd make you experience it just once. On Saturday we went to Kabowa so Budu could get a suit made for when he goes home and then just visited a few members there and then headed to Nsambya for the night where I slept on the balcony. While I was in Kabowa I slipped down a hill and got a huge cut on my behind but didn't even tear my pants. The next day was stake conference, of which there were two highlights that I want to share. First the opening prayer was no joke 5 or 6 minutes long. Maybe longer. It was AWFUL.  He was just saying random things trying to flex. Then second, a sister from Makinday shared such an awesome pure testimony that was so nice to hear. A lot of the people seemed like they were just talking to talk but her testimony was great. After socializing for a while, we taxied back to Entebbe. The best part of the week was a lesson we taught to this soldier on Tuesday. His name is Isaac. He had come to church on Sunday and when we asked him how he heard about the church he said he had just walked by and really felt strongly he needed to be there. We just taught him about the restoration, and it was such a simple lesson, but you could really tell he was getting it. When we were sharing, I testified to him about Joseph Smith and the first vision and the fact that he actually saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.   The spirit was so strong I got chills. When I was talking, I had a funny third person experience where I realized I was talking but wasn't really thinking about what I was saying. It felt good and it was undeniable that the spirit was there.  It was so humbling to know that it really was from the spirit and not at all from me. It felt so good. Even though it was such a seemingly small thing I really feel like it impacted me so strong. I think it was my all-time favorite moment of my mission. After we finished, he told us he knew it was true, he could feel it. Really, really cool. Also, another highlight was on Thursday (maybe?) We went and played soccer in the evening with the branch. It was SO fun, but I am SO BAD. All I know how to do is pressure pressure pressure I just chase the ball like crazy. Bailee should've prepared me better. It's a good thing I'm athletic or I'd be toast. Anyways that's about it, another good week

Week 60- Entebbe, Uganda with Elder Budu

Having you cut hair at home has been so cool and I definitely grew up hearing you having gospel conversations with your clients while you were working. My week came and went, nothing crazy. We taught a guy from Sierra Leone who is really cool named Albert this week and he wants to be baptized before he leaves for Canada in a few months. He asked lots of good questions. You can tell he has a good heart. That was probably the only serious lesson we had this week, we found a lot of people who are not serious. We also met a man named Amos, he’s an inventor who is teetering dangerously on the brink of genius and insanity On Wednesday Elder Woodland came over with his comp and hung out with us after district meeting and we had some good food. I had some ice cream and a doughnut hahaha.
Church on Sunday was great!  We had a few people we are teaching there and then we went and saw a less active guy right after who talked without me saying anything for about 45 minutes. On our way home we almost got struck by lightning. A storm was coming in and we were walking up a steep hill. There were a few other people walking near us. All of the sudden about 10 feet in front of us was a ridiculous bright flash of light and this crazy heat. There was a huge thunder crash and it knocked us to the ground. Then it started pour and we ran as fast as we could home.
We just had our first Stake Patriarch called on Sunday. He and his wife will be visiting Utah in a few months to see their daughter. They want to meet you while they are there. When it gets close, I'll find a way for you to get in touch with them. I am so happy! I love how much the first presidency has focused on families. I recognize how essential families are to Gods plan. We are here to help one another. Another life lesson I’ve learned here is how to budget. I’ve gotten into really good habits learning to live on my allotment. Tell Corbin I miss him more than he will ever know. I have all kinds of good memories from picking him up from school and making our secret ice cream runs. He’s such a good-hearted kid. I love you guys -can’t wait to talk again