WK 57 - Answers...🇰🇪

Well, we got word of what our fate is this week. President Dudfield came back and along with Elder Carpenter announced that most of us will be officially and temporarily reassigned to the Kenya, Nairobi mission. So...yeah...on February 21st I will be joining my third different mission in two years. 

But there's hope. First of all, I'm actually pretty excited because I get to see more of another African country. Along with that though, there are some encouraging signs. The Ethiopia and Kenyan missionaries are going back to Ethiopia on Wednesday, so the country is indeed open. President Dudfield assumes we will be back within a transfer or two and the return will be staged. All of us are praying for miracles. 

On the flip side, work in Ethiopia has been good this week especially because the Summit group, which is the area I have been in for the past 5 months, finally opened! And wow the first meeting was a hit and a half! We had seven. whole. people. That may not seem like much but considering we had a one day notice we'll take it! There are a lot more members in the area that we just weren't able to notify in time. Members are now meeting in the home where we lived. It was honestly a historical day because these are the steps we need to take to help the church grow in Ethiopia! One day Summit will be a branch, and then a ward, which will contribute to a stake, and then eventually a temple! 

Also, Happy Valentines Day! As a dedicated, consecrated missionary I can legally make no comment other than God loves you all and will always love you! There was a Valentine's dance at the stake center this week, but literally nobody was there so in our free time we went in and did Ethiopian dances for the DJs. 

I'm sad Elder Willden and I may not be together for much longer. We get along really well and have been grinding the Amharic studies. We don't know how in the world the Kenya mission president will integrate 35 missionaries, but I guess we'll find out next week. 

I want to talk about trust again! In our Sunday school lesson yesterday we covered trust (good timing I know) and the Spirit was slapping me back and forth like a ragdoll. Do you ever worry about the future? I know that I have lately and the Spirit told me that my worry about the future stemmed from a lack of trust in God and his timing. A little bit of worry is healthy, but if you are experiencing worry, just know that God is directing you and you probably don't need to worry as much as you are. 

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.                               

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 Do what you can today and God will take care of the rest. He doesn't want you to worry. 

 I should have some good stories next time... 

 Elder Miles

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Valentine's Day Dance

Willden and I and this crazy church

The Summit Group

 

WK 56 - Orphaned Missionaries

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good week and I hope I can brighten it just a little bit more! Mine was honestly really good. 

President Dudfield is in Ethiopia scoping out the situation there. We have been hearing some really positive things. Sister Dudfield left to Australia to assist with one of their children giving birth. So, we've been abandoned with only one senior couple watching over us. 

We had some good lessons and experiences this week. I went on exchanges with one of the APs this week, and we set the goal and prayed about talking with three people by the end of the day. We talked to Abdi (which I'll talk more about later), then to Tesfaye who is now meeting with missionaries in Uganda! We're so happy for him. It looked bleak for a while because we cold-called almost everyone on Facebook and WhatsApp, and just before the end of the day, someone called us back! We were able to share a member’s number with him and it was a total gift of tongues moment. 

Speaking of which, we may not be able to speak Amharic as much, but I've seen it improve in other ways. My understanding of the language is much better and I think I can finally say that I can at least read and understand those squiggly, minecraft enchanting table letters fairly well. So, a little bit of an update there.

We met with Abdi, our Facebook referral again, and he's going through a hard time right now. We shared some scriptures of comfort and kind of slyly slid in some Book of Mormon scriptures and thankfully he loved it. Apparently, he met with missionaries 5 years ago and he is super interested to learn more. 

I bought a tie off of a dude on the street. The Summit group will start meeting next week with a powerful young leader running it that we are really excited for. 

I've been studying hope lately! Hope is a trust in the future that God will fulfill his promises! If you are feeling down, remember that the future can always be better than what you are experiencing now. Hope founded on Jesus Christ is one of the strongest things you can have. An anchor of the soul if you like. Make a conscious effort to have more hope... It makes things much better!

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን 

Elder Miles

Elder Willden and I

El apartmento gatos

Nairobi sunrise

House dinner

I'm not sure what's going on here but there's me and some lightning

Summit District in our parking spot