November 20, 2014

My family,

What a great week. Tuesday evening Elder Mukonda came to Kyambeke (just from Mitini, the next area, though it is a two hour walk up a hill to get there) and settled in. Wednesday we started work. Theamount of work we were able to accomplish was incredible. Every daywe worked for most of the day and went inside in the early evening. On Sunday, it took us a long time to get to Ilima because we had to climb and climb and climb while the ground was slippery and it wasfoggy and hot. I was filthy before I even got to church!

At church we spoke with the Branch President. He shared with us tha there are a number of families who were baptized last year but are now inactive (20 or more). We have our work cut out for us. But there is nothing I love more than someone telling me "You know, I just have too much work to handle. Say, elders, could you do this work?" How greatis that? Someone actually giving me work!

I saw the pictures that you sent from our house. They made meuncomfortable. Keep sending them, please! But you'll have tounderstand... I'm now used to mosquito nets and half a week withoutpower, red cement floors that are constantly dirty, bugs swirling by the lights, small fridges packed with long-life whole milk, rats in the ceiling, filtered water, and flavorless lunch. Instad of bein weird to me, that is what I've become comfortable with. It is what I like. Please don't be offended when I feel weird my first few weeks at home. We just don't have nice things here.

By the way, I am constantly dirty... Constantly. Showers don't fi it. Besides, our shower is broken right now, so we have to takebucket showers anyways. Those aren't as efficient in my own opinion.

Today my companion and I got som slingshots (handmade, of course) and went bird-hunting. Those suckers are fast... He was going to show mehow to cook and eat one, but we didn't kill any. We are going tobring the slingshots (mapanda) with us proselyting and see if we can't find a nice bird to boil when we get home. They boil everything here.That is just how they cook. No one has ever heard of salad... Theyboil all their vegetables and meats and everything. So salad (raw cabbage) is disgusting to them.
We all know that most of the conceptions that white people have about Africans is wrong... Well, how would you like to know what Africans think of white people? I have two stunners. FIRST: Africans think that white people only fill up their glasses halfway when pouring a drink because their noses are too big so if they filled it up all the way they would get juice in their nose. SECOND: You know how cats eyes shine in the dark? Africans think that white people's eyes do that, too.

This week we had FHE at this member's home. We taught about Ammon and why he sets such a good example. As I was speaking I felt a strongimpression to testify of how we need to have good examples, especiallychildren in high school (there were two children in high school there). The spirit was strong and it seemed as if the father might cry, as if following that prompting was an answer to an earnest prayer that he had for his children. I went on to share about how I faced the same challenges in high school as children face over here: drugs,alcohol, immorality, etc. And the way to choose the right is to pick a good example to follow, examples like Ammon and Nephi who stood up in the face of persecution and peer pressure and chose the right even when the choice was not popular, even until death. The Book of Mormon is real and it is for our day!
I am so used to the hills now. I wish y'all could come and pick meup. It is just such a different world out here! You would never fully comprehend unless you were able to come and be here yourselves.

So at this moment it is 8:30p. We just got back from the Masakufamily. They own Kyambeke. They have just been around as long as this good earth and they are a large family. We taught about Alma 49, how Moroni fortified the cities of Ammonihah and Noah. We related that to us and the gospel, how we each have weaknesses. In v. 2 it says that the Lamanites whooped the Nephites before because of their(the Nephites') iniquity. For us, if we continue to rebel (not being weak, but actually rebelling) then we will be weak and defeated. In contrast, if we truly desire what is right and to be rid of sins, theLord, through His Atonement, can help us to become better. He can help to fortify our weaknesses and make them strengths. It was a good lesson.
Well, that's all folks. 'Til next week. Next week is Thanksgiving. We have MLC on Thanksgiving day. It'll be a lot of fun! Keep sending pictures.

Coming toward the end of my mission it seems weird. I mean I know Istill have six months left, but it just seems like it will go on forever. I know that I will go home, but home just seems like someabstract idea that people talk about rather than some place that we will actually return to and where we actually came from. I am comfortable now. Things are going smoothly.
I love y'all and I'll talk to soon :)

Love,
Jacob

October 6, 2014

Jacob was transferred last week to Kyambeke, which is 14 hours east of where he was. He is now in "the bush" and loves it!  Below is a message from him.  

Take care, 

Leslie

I live midway up a "hill."  It is more like a small mountian.  We climb up and down mountains all day to visit people.  To get to Ilima, a place we have to go often, we walk along an eight inch path, and at some parts jump over ditches that lead to the fifty-foot ravine down below.  And if I walk too far right of the path, down I go.  It is a hike every day!  It is really neat because this is about as far as you can get from the North Carolina Raleigh mission.  So yesterday we hiked up up up up up (it seems like everyone that has been baptized lives at the TOP of the hill that they are on) to see a member, and

what do you know, she wasn't there.  She came within the next half-hour, though, which was nice.  On the way home it started pouring so we started running.  It wasn't bad because we saw a grand total of five people plus some kids on the way home.  I'd be surprised if you told me that a thousand people lived within four square miles of me. But I ran down that narrow path and I was sure to be careful on the especially dangerous parts :).

We take a bus once per month to go to Machakos, which has the closest grocery store.  It takes an hour and a half to reach pavement, then another two and a half hours to get to town.  Four hours one way to buy bread. Nevermind the lack of washing machines. Sometimes we just plain don't have water!

Have you heard the poem THE CALLING by Michael T. Hurst?  Well, here it is.  It is a good one to read and learn.

Hyrum's brother, in the morning
Ere the sun caused cock to crow,
Arose from sleep and lit a candle
And read the Bible in its glow.
His young heart was deeply troubled,
Greatly burdened by his plight,
For he wondered, more than most men,
Which of all the sects was right.
Then from James a partial answer
Struck his mind like hammer blows
And drove itself into his bosom:
"Ask of God," said ancient prose.

From the cabin, through the barnyard
Strode the lad with easy grace.
Past the plowed fields, newly seeded,
To a predetermined place.
Nestled deep in yonder forest,
Cuddled in a womb of green,
Looking back and all around him,
Only shadows; he's unseen.
Filtered through the shimmering treetops,
Morning sunlight gilt the youth,
And kneeling humbly in its aura,
Joseph prayed to learn the truth.

Suddenly, bright skies were blackened.
A great thick darkness gathered 'round
While evil powers, frenzied, fighting,
Bound the lad and stopped his sound.
Never yet such awesome power,
Never visciousness so real,
Never loomed such great destruction
As the lad was caused to feel.
Urgent prayer was nigh abandoned,
Almost squelched by evil might,
When rescue came in one bright instant:
Blackness was dispelled by light.

What a shaft of glorious brilliance
Blessed the forest there that day
As all eternity rang an answer
To the boy who went to pray.
Flee, the denizens of darkness,
From the presence of a Greater One,
One whose sacred luminescence
Dims the glory of the sun.
Standing tall in might and glory
In the air, o'er forest sod,
Above him speaking, introducing,
Joseph saw the face of God.

God the Father, Great Eternal,
Glorious, yet much like man,
Calling once again a prophet
To reveal the gospel plan.
God the Father, Great Eternal,
With His own Beloved Son,
Son and Sire both stood together,
Glory, countenance, all as one.
"Joseph, this is my Beloved.
Hear Him," and so Joseph heard
God's predicted declaration
Of men's departure from His word.

"Joseph!" T'was the voice of thunder,
Yet was kind and filled his soul
As he listened to the Firstborn
Who revealed to him his role.
For the church of old had fallen,
Plunged to darkness from its light;
But, with guidance from the heavens,
Morn could break upon the night.
Morn, as when the rosy day-dawn,
Maturing, breaks exuberant ray,
And the shouting voice of sunlight,
Conquering, holds the night at bay.

Thus the light the Lord was giving;
Guidance was for years ahead;
Knowledge to restore salvation
For the living and the dead.
Joseph faced long years of struggle;
Years of toil and prayer and tears;
Years of temples, priesthoods, prisons,
Translations, visions, joys, and fears;
Years of Kirtland, Nauvoo, Carthage,
Persecution; hell's fires fed;
Ere he's seen full forty seasons,
Years that leave young Joseph dead.

But now he felt exhilaration,
Wonder, reverence, worship, awe.
All his life would be a witness
To the truth of what he saw.
Then the vision, closing, left him
Lying, limpid, in the wood.
Having heard God's great assignment
He would do it, as he should.
Then rising, moving through the shadows,
Joseph stepped into the sun
And a prophet walked the pathways
Where a little boy had run.

Love, 

Elder Dick

September 22, 2014

Family and Friends,

Nakumatt is the Kenyan equivalent of Wal-Mart.  It is a large department store, the largest in Kenya, and stocks just about everything you need.  It is a bit higher-end than some others, but it is where we shop.  It is about a third the size of Wal-Mart, but it is huge to us.  The Nakumatt in Kitale just opened about four months ago.  We started shopping there a month ago, and the workers started asking us about the church.  President Barasa, first counselor in the Eldoret District, referred us to one of the workers, Wycliff.  Wycliff invited us to some interfaith devotional on Tuesday morning.  Turns out we were the guest speaker.  Thankfully, Elder Flake spent 23 years in the military as a chaplain, so he was very used to speaking about religion without telling everyone else how wrong they were.  They passed out small pieces of paper with a scripture from the Bible and another from the Book of Mormon.  The next time that we went in there, we got swarmed with requests for copies of the Book of Mormon.  Now we are teaching a few people from that devotional.

We thought that was the end of it, but they invited us back on Sunday morning for a memorial service for the Westgate attacks that happened one year ago.  Elder Flake again blew it out of the water, sharing with the people how Americans are very empathetic when it comes to terrorist attacks.  Great time.

On a bit of a lower note, our golden investigator, Odwour, is a former polygamist.  Not a big deal, because a lot of Kenyans are like that.  But he has to get approval from the Area Presidency before he can be baptized.  So we postponed his baptism from next Sunday to some time in the future.  Also, he is from the same tribe as Pres. Obama.

Love you all,

Jacob

August 25, 2014

Details in the Fabric

A question that I get asked a lot, though usually not directly, is "Why is life hard?"  This question is rephrased in a myriad of ways such as "Why does God let me suffer?" or "If God is a merciful god, why would He let such tragedies occur in the world?"  Acknowledging my lack of total understanding, and how I cannot fully comprehend the answers to most of the questions I am asked, I say that God allows bad things to happen because He loves us.

Why ever would a mother allow her baby to fall?  She could just hold him forever, always protecting him from all evil that would ever occur.  The floors are hard!  There are corners on the tables!  He could hurt himself!  Why would she ever put him down?  Maybe she would put him down so that he could learn how to crawl.  And then to walk.  And when he learns to walk, it is beyond question that he will fall and he will hurt himself and he will cry.  Does she want him to fall?  No.  Does she make him fall?  No.  If she had it her way, he would just stand up and walk immediately.  But any decent mother knows that it just doesn't work like that.  She also knows how much better a baby's life is when he learns how to walk.  So she puts him down instead of carrying him everywhere.

Likewise, God could certainly have held us in His care forever.  We would be safe and innocent and without sin and without cares.  But would we have ever learned and progressed?  No.  He knows good and well that we will stumble and fall and sin.  Does he get angry when we stumble?  Does a mother get angry when her infant struggles when trying to walk?  Of course not.  But he rightfully chastizes those who willfully rebel, just as a mother will punish those children who knowingly disobey.  The Lord always condemns unrepented rebellion, but when He speaks of weakness, it is always with mercy.

Nevertheless, life's struggles still come to us.  We, seemingly unexpectedly at some points in our lives, feel overwhelming feelings of grief and despair.  Why are these times not only necessary and eminent, but also good for us?  Imagine for a moment that the world on which you live is completely flat and mono-colored.  How many Instagram pictures would be posted?  How many National Geographic shows would air?  Likewise, where would all of the mountain climbers go?  All of the satellite pictures of earth?  What fun would an island home be if there is no island?  Likewise, how boring would life be if you woke up at 11, sat and stared at the ceiling, ate Rasin Bran with skim milk every day, never got sick, never got out of the house, then went to bed at midnight, only to do the same thing again tomorrow?  We were made of the stuff of legend, of the stuff of God.  We were made for more!  Our lives are beautiful and they were made to be enjoyed.  No, climbing our own personal mountains are not always fun at the time, and descending to the very bottom of our own personal valleys are not always in our New Years Resolutions, but we can learn to embrace the view at the top of the mountain as well as the journey.  We can learn to bask in the grandeur of the microscopic views at the bottom of the valleys.  Yes, we can even learn to enjoy the journey.  What great painting was only painted with yellow and gold, yet left out the blues and greys?  We need all kinds of experiences to shape and mold us.  Be grateful for the happy times and be grateful in the sad ones.  We should learn to love life, no matter what "life" means to us.  Learning that glorious eternal perspective afforded us by the gospel of Jesus Christ is something that can help shape us, define us, lift us, and inspire us to have an attitude of gratitude in all of our circumstances.  The details in the fabric of our existence are not always smooth and pleasant, but they help to transform us into the divine beings we are destined to become.

Love is not something that we are inherently good at.  Rather, it is something that can be practiced and improved.  Likewise, living in a state of wonder and awe and gratitude is something that we can all improve on.  It is not something that we either have or we don't, but it is something we can pray and ask for.  We can be grateful in all that we do.  We are only living a fraction of the life we can live if we do not learn to appreciate all of the colors in our glorious artwork of life.  Please learn to be grateful for all of the experiences that you have.  Love the Lord and love yourself, and especially learn to love everyone around you.

Good luck to all of the returning students and teachers. 

Love,

Jacob

jacob.dick@myldsmail.net

July 29, 2014

A lesson to always follow the Spirit:  Usually, I get fed up with people hollering at me.  But this one took the cake.  Mostly people will yell "Wazungu!  Give me ten bob!"  But this guy I walked by yelled, from 30 feet away, "Church of Christ!"  CoC is another huge denomination here run by white people.  I was just about to walk by until I was almost punched by a force that said "What are you doing, Elder Dick?  Go contact him!"  So I did.  I figured he was just like everyone else...  "Yeah...  uh huh...  Okay sure you'll come to church (yeah right)."  We left.  He came to church.  What a small miracle!  Most missionaries hate contacting.  I usually do too, but I know that I need to do it.  And I know that it pays off!  He has a baptismal date now.  Follow the Spirit!

Some interesting Swahili words:

Moped - baiskeli moto - literally means "fire bike"  

Sometimes, people call electricity "moto" since it can somewhat look like fire.

Train - gari la moshi - car with smoke

Fizz - toa sauti kama gesi - give out noise like gas

Some favorite mottos:

"My ward is full of 3 types of people...Saints, Aint's, and Complaints."

"Work like a slave, live like a King."

"The three S's of sustain: Sustain, Support,and Suffer" - Bishop Tim Strickland

July 7, 2014

Friends and family,

I am really inconsistent with writing personal weekly emails to send out in a mass-email, so usually my mom will piece together parts of other ones I have sent to then forward out.  She has, however, called me to swift repentance.

On Tuesday we had a Zone Training Meeting.  We counseled with the zone about obedience and positive attitudes, allotment and racism.  So we pretty much covered all of the basics.  My favorite quote from that meeting was one from Robert D. Hales: (paraphrasing since I don't remember word for word) "Why do any of us choose to disobey when we know the eternal consequences of such a decision?  The scriptures hold the answer.  Cain and some of Adam and Eve's other children were disobedient because 'they loved Satan more than God.'"  A follow-up comment on that quote was made by an unnamed missionary: "Worse than loving Satan more than God is actually joining his army to fight against what is right.  Don't tempt others to choose the wrong.  When you do, you are working for Satan.  If you are foolish enough to choose to follow Satan, fine.  But don't you dare bring someone else down with you (referring to bringing other missionaries down)."

Walter was baptized two Sundays ago and confirmed yesterday.  He walks five or six miles to church each Sunday, and his family has started coming with him.  When he first started investigating the church his wife took his kids and left.  On Friday we went and visited him and his family.  His wife was there and we spoke about the sealing ordinance performed in the temple.  She was captivated and now she is coming to church too, still walking the five or six miles each way.

Silas is a member who comes with us to visit people.  He has one hand and rides the poopiest bike.  But he is always there to help us.  He is the second counselor in the branch presidency and he lives further away than anyone I have ever met (until we visited Walter).  He doesn't have a job but he goes into town every day to try to find work.  Fast fact, people that do that earn around 200-300/= each day that they are able to find work.  That is $2.50-3.50. 

So I tell you this so that you can understand that these two men are highly ranked in my book.  They have hardships, much more than I have at home, and they are some of the most faithful members that I have met.  They never miss a Sunday.  They are always excited (in addition to being willing) to share the gospel, always magnifying their callings.  They certainly understand that there is a law irrevocably decreed before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated.  And when we obtain any blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Basically, my sob story is that the most faithful members of the church aren't found in mansions driving nice cars.  They are most likely living in less-than-optimal conditions, barely scraping by.  And still they give their precious time to serving others because they understand what is important.  I hope everyone remembers the counsel given by President Eyring in the 2014 April Priesthood Session of General Conference.  The three things that he admired in all of his role models were (1) a pattern of sincere prayer with real intent, (2) a habit of selfless service to others, and (3) a rock-solid commitment to total honesty.  Be a role model!

Love,
Jacob

The year in review