October 15, 2013

Jambo!  So this week has probably been the craziest week so far on my mission.  It started off really slow but certainly picked up toward the end.  We have been focusing on reactivating those that are inactive in our area, which is a lot of members...

This week was the hottest week so far, no doubt, and it only got hotter.  Friday was the hottest day I remember, but then Saturday came.  Then Sunday came.  Then Monday came.  And time and time again I kept thinking "wow, this couldn't get any hotter."  Then it did the next day.  So I am going to stop thinking of that.

But here is a cool Sunday night story.  Sunday was missionary Sunday so we talked and gave lessons in church.  The coolest part was the music (because that was my job).  The four of us Elders did a special musical number singing "I Feel My Saviors Love."  It brought such a strong spirit into the meeting.

Sunday night.  We went to the Sri Lankans to be with them.  There was a funny looking symbol made of chapati flour outside of the door and they asked us to take off our shoes and then they washed our feet and brought us into their back room where there is a shrine to all the Hindu gods.  They had us bow our heads and pray with them to some god and then sprinkled holy water on us and put red dots on our heads!!  No worries though, we ended the lesson with a prayer to the real Mungu (God), Bwana Wetu.  

Monday we went to KICC, this big building that is a tourist attraction in Nairobi.  We went as a zone activity.  What a fun event!  We then went to Java House which makes some really nice American food.  It was great until we got the check...  I got a double cheeseburger and a brownie sundae.  Usually my lunch will cost a little under 200/-, but this tab was 1,270/-... Ouch.

I love all y'all!  Keep the gospel!

Love,

Elder Dick

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Kenya Nairobi Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

October 21, 2013

Hey y'all,

So this week was very busy.  We had many meetings and many places we

had to be.  Our numbers certainly reflected how much time we put

toward administrative things rather than teaching investigators.

On Thursday I came down with some malaria and it just got worse over

the weekend, but the Sri Lankans gave me some medicine that really

helped.  Normally I would be worried about some person in Kenya giving

me some pills, but thankfully the Lord looks out for his missionaries

so I took them with water and a spoonful of faith.  It worked!

General Conference of course was great.  My favorite talks were on

Sunday by President Monson, President Eyering, and Elder Holland.

President Eyering is my favorite speaker and he has been for a few

years, and he certainly pulled through on this one!

The Sri Lankans want to skype my family on Saturday to tell them "Dick

he fine."  I wonder how that will go...

It is so good hearing from all y'all.  You'll be happy to know that I

retain at least a few good Southern qualities.  We had Elders Kunz and

Sibanda over on Saturday afternoon to listen to the Priesthood session

of conference.  I surprised everyone by making a very huge dinner and

giving everyone some of my drinks.  Good old Southern hospitality!  It

works, even in Africa.

Well I am going out to the wild again today to see the animals.  The

Sri Lankans are taking us to a place they like to go.

Christmas is coming up soon.  Here is my request for everyone who

receives these emails.  ANSWER ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

(your choice which) please.

How do you have a successful marriage? (if you are married)

How do you raise your children to follow the Lord? (if you have children)

How do you recognize, listen to, and follow the promptings of the Spirit?

How do you face serious adversity?

If you can't think of an answer to one of those questions I am also a

huge fan of Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Jerky!

Until next week,

Love,

Elder Dick

Kenya Nairobi Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

October 7, 2013

Jambo!

So this past week has been a week of amazing growth for myself, my companion, and the ward that we serve in.  We really tried to focus this week on the less active members of the ward and we visited many of them.  We also had developed a ward mission plan that is sure to help things out for the Athi River Ward.

We were unable to watch General Conference, but to make up for it we went to a Seventh Day Adventist church on Saturday.  We went as a deal with one of our investigators that if we went to their church on Saturday then they would come to ours on Sunday.  We, being missionaries, were completely honest.  In the words of Horton "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, and an Elder is faithful, one hundred percent."  So we kept up our end of the deal.  The investigator, however, did not.  In fact no one we wanted to come to church actually came...  It was a bit frustrating, but the only direction to go is up!

I love you all.  Sorry for being short this week.  Check out my pictures on Google Plus!

Goat meat and rice....yummmmmm!



Jacob and Elder Russell waving to my (Mom's) class.

Love,

Elder Dick

PS - I found a scripture that describes the level of coolness in this companionship.. Ether 2:17 - They were exceedingly tight.

Elder Jacob K. Dick

Kenya Nairobi Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

September 30, 2013

So this week has been a week of amazing growth for both my companion and me.  We finally figured out exactly what we need to do to get this ward to grow.  We sat down last night when we usually chill and we wrote a ward mission plan to get things going.  We are on fire!

This Elder is a spiritual giant.  He just doesn't know it yet.  He isn't too great at finding scriptures that relate to the lesson or in saying exactly the right thing when it needs to be said or in not being rude to people, but when it comes to bearing a testimony this guy can bring the spirit in an instant.  And those other things will come from being on his mission.

We have been focusing more on the less active and recent convert's to the ward.  We still teach new investigators, but we are really trying to focus on retention and getting those inactive members reactivated.  It is a struggle sometimes getting the ward to work with us, but it is definitely what the Lord wants us to do.

The only thing is...  Inactive members are way harder to get to church than nonmembers.  HELP YOUR LOCAL MISSIONARIES!

I am writing a talk for the mission newsletter.  Maybe I will send it out next week so all y'all can read it.  But that is why this one is so short this week!  

I love all y'all!  I miss the South and I miss grits and barbecue and the ocean breeze, but I love this gospel.  The church is true and the Book of Mormon is my favorite book because I have seen what it can do to someone.  Pick it up and read it!

Love,

Elder Dick

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Elder Dick

Kenya Nairobi Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints