Sunday, January 18, 2015

December 8, 2014

Hello everyone,


The hills where we are are sometimes like small mountains. Yesterday,

Sister Mary (Kyambeke) came up to us and asked if we would teach her

husband. He is a kibarua (daily worker with no set job, but tries to

get money by finding work each day), so he does not have a set

schedule of when he would be home. We said we would come by in the

evening. We didn't know where she stays, only that it is near to this

less-active family we visit frequently. We went to the less-actives

home, but the parents were not there. We played with the children a

bit and read from Book of Mormon Stories. Elder Mukonda was talking

with their second-oldest daughter, but she is retarted so it was hard

to really have a full conversation. He was actually testing her power

of comprehension to see if we could teach her so that she could be

baptized. She is 16 and in 4th grade. She couldn't even count. So

we can't teach her. The other four kids were with me. None of them

spoke English, so I did my best telling the story of Nephi getting the

brass plates. It was alright. But one of the girls didn't have any

pants on. She was six. Sometimes, here, people are too poor to get

enough clothes.




After our lesson with the kids, the mother showed up. We asked her

where Sister Mary stays. The less-active family stays at the bottom

of a mountain. A fairly steep mountain. The less-active mother

pointed way at the top of her mountain to a house way up high. We

asked where the path was and she sent two of her kids with us to show

us. We CLIMBED. Straight. Some people do zig-zags up a mountain.

Not Sister Mary. And she is old... So we climbed straight up the

face of this relatively steep mountain. About as steep as Y mountain

in Provo, but without the switchbacks. Just straight up. Her husband

was not there, so we rescheduled for later this week. Coming back

down was different. It was almost just as hard because it was tough

on the quads. Once we got low enough, the ground started to be less

steep. At this point it becomes very difficult and very tiresome to

control yourself, so usually we just start running. It is actually

real easy because all we do is figure out where to put our feet and

the gravity takes us down and forward. Well, we started getting

faster and faster until I realized that I couldn't stop sprinting even

if I wanted to. We would bound over ditches and cut corners like

olympians, but then I saw something dangerous, almost deadly. Elder

Mukonda was in front of me, sprinting just as fast down the mountain.

We got to a spot where there was a ditch, but the other bank was a lot

higher than this side. I say a lot higher, I mean about six inches.

The ditch was only two feet across, not a big deal. But IMMEDIATELY

after the ditch we had to make a 90 degree left turn. Elder Mukonda

hit the ditch, banked left hard, and barely made it. I knew I

couldn't manage that same feat. So I jumped over the ditch, going at

a sub-5-minute-mile pace, planted two feet on the opposite bank, and

tumbled down into the maize field that the path cut through. I just

couldn't make that left turn! It was too sharp. I was down and out.

I only took out a few stalks of maize, but I rolled a bit. Elder

Mukonda was doubled over laughing. I quickly recovered and we started

to walk the rest of the way down.


I also learned a valuable lesson that y'all probably figured out a

long time ago. The other day, I was feeling less spiritual. Not like

I was doing anything bad, I just didn't feel like I was where I needed

to be. No idea what to do, so I just did my thing the whole day.

Finally in the evening, I popped open my Book of Mormon. The Spirit

came flooding back, as if the Lord was saying "Finally, you figured it

out." I understood that when we tell people to read their scriptures

daily, go to church, say their prayers, and have FHE, that it is for a

lot more than being obedient. They need the Spirit in their lives!

And it will come.

--




Anyways, I love y'all so much.




Never forget. Fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and

bull-strong. Set your defenses against the adversary carefully.




Other wisdom...




People die in bed. So does ambition.




Opportunity is often missed because it comes smelling like sweat and

dressed in overalls.




I work out daily now. Twice a day, actually. Just small workouts.

Pushups, situps, and curls. But I do it! Also, I practice singing

bass. I can hit all of the low notes in the hymn book, but I am

working on getting SUPER low... Progress report when I get home.


Love,

Jacob

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