Something devastating happened this week. I finished all of the American snacks I brought. I can't wait for the day that I can eat Dynamita Doritos again. That reunion will be glorious. As I finished the bag that I brought I think a part of my soul left me.
It was a mostly slow week. People just did not want to answer our calls. That's a pretty big problem here in Ethiopia: communication is very inconsistent as well as peoples' schedules so it's hard to lock down lessons.
Something that has made up for that is the push for more member work we've been having here. In the Megenagna Branch where I'm at, there are 900 inactive members. That's a TON. It's pretty much the only reason that it's not a ward yet, and those saints could help strengthen the branch so much, so we've been working to reactivate them.
One member miracle story: we called a man who was NOT happy to be contacted. He rambled off in Amharic so I wasn't exactly sure why but I caught a few details. Despite that he still wanted to meet with us and explain his situation. So we met with him the next day at his home and he unloaded on us. He's had a rough time the past few years and had a pretty good reason to be angry at the church here. He told us he was never coming back to the church. He didn't want to hear a message from us either, so all I could think to do was get to know him and finish with a prayer. Now fast forward to Sunday, Elder Anbesse and I are sitting outside making some calls and this member walks in the gate! It was honestly so cool to see.
Next member story, we went to Tulu Dimtu again to visit a Sister in the branch. She raises orphans so there were a bunch of kids traveling with us. I got started talking to one of the kids, his name was Nati, and we became homies. He only spoke Amharic, so I spoke as much as I could to him and I think he thought it was funny. On the Taxi to Tulu Dimtu he kept playing with my hair and we made some handshakes. When we got to Tulu Dimtu we hopped into a Bajaj (also known as a tuk-tuk I think. One of those covered tricycle vehicle thingies) and I had an "oh my goodness I'm in Africa moment" which happens every once in a while. There was a quick message shared on unity after a fantastic lunch and then we headed back to Addis. My impression the whole time was just how amazing the members are here despite their circumstances.
Which kind of brings me to my spiritual thought, real quick because this email is long. I was reading in the New Testament this week and came across Mark 5:19 which says: "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." From that I felt impressed to tell my friends and family that despite the challenges I may face I can honestly say that God has done amazing things for me in my life and even just on my mission and I'm so grateful for the many little blessings in my life. Look for the compassion of God in your own life, I promise that it's there!
Love you all
እግዚአብሔር በትንሽ
ነገሮች በየቀኑ
ይባረካናል
Elder Miles
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I am struggling to remember to take pictures, so enjoy this picture of my breakfast this morning |
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