WK 71 - SHHHH! 🤫

Guys, guys, shhhhhh, keep your voice down in the Library!

Ok...now that we're talking in whisper...how's it going? This week was pretty good for us. Nobody got robbed which is a win. But a crazy homeless dude did chuck rocks at a car we were in so that's an L. 

We started the week out by meeting with a member of the mission presidency in our branch to discuss how we can move the work forward. He invited us to meet him at his place of work, which is the National Library of Ethiopia. We got there and he gave us a sweet tour. Saw some OLD books, and got some pictures. We got a picture on the stand that Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, used to read on. The problem is it's in a study hall, so as we climbed on the creaky wood everyone stared at us.

We had MLC at the mission home this week. I was reflecting on the previous times I had been there before. It was a year ago this month that I arrived in Ethiopia! It was fun to be there and to discuss the needs of the mission now that everyone is returning like empowering leadership and expanding the proselyting areas. Plus, good food like meat, cheese, and root beer so that's always a win. 

We taught a lesson to a dude named Robel this week. And funnily enough, my recent convert named Robel showed up as soon as we started teaching him. So, we had Robel help us teach Robel. It was cool to see him testify of things we had taught him less than a year ago, and the effort he put in to make friends with the other Robel was awesome. 

We had two days in a row with three or more lessons planned and then all of the lessons fell through. We are struggling to get people to come and be consistent. If any of you out there have any advice, I would love to hear it. We are still teaching the friends Gio and Meles. They are both reading the Book of Mormon. 

Speaking of good food, Elder Ayre and I have eaten well this week. Friday night we ate at a Greek restaurant and then on Saturday the Branch President invited us over for pizza. We shared a message with him and his family about unity and they told us about their time in Ethiopia, because they are from New Zealand. 

Sunday was the best day of the week! We jumped from having 50 people last week to 67 this week! It was fun seeing the members and they all hyped me up after I gave a closing prayer in Amharic. 

Quick spiritual thought! Don't procrastinate the day of your repentance! There is no shame in wanting to get better! Do all you can and be joyful about it. We were given this amazing gift to help us become better and find more joy because of it. 

አመሰግናለሁ

Elder Miles

Haile Selassie's stand.

Elder Ayre and I getting stares from all the Ethiopians in the room.

Pizza with the Rangi family!

Greek food.

Reading the Braille Doctrine and Covenants.

Ethiopian feast with the boys. 

The famous Black lion statue (at a terrible angle because there were tons of beggars there). 

P-day shenanigans at Meskel Square. 

WK 70 - Tying Up Loose-Ends

Ah man I missed Ethiopia! It's strange to have to adjust to it again, there's ups and downs and I love all of it but I have a good story to demonstrate. 

Elder Ayre and I took the train to Arat Kilo, which is like the main part of Addis Ababa, to meet with a member there. The train ride was a blast because I got to see a lot of the city that I had never seen before, and the part of the city we were in was up on a hillside so we were able to see everything. I had forgotten how beautiful Addis is so I was very much enjoying in the moment.  But then after meeting the member, there was an attempted robbery on Elder Ayre, the train broke down on the way home so we had to walk an hour, and during the walk there was a successful robbery on Elder Ayre. So good things, bad things, but it's all part of the experience. 

The Beklobet Branch where I'm at is the oldest branch in the country. There are a lot of strong members here because the history is so deep but a lot of them have gone inactive. So, we have been tasked with finding the lost sheep and bringing them back to the fold. This week we had Branch Conference so the District Presidency came and gave some fire to the branch because we only had 50 people there for it (our goal is to hit 85). It was cool for me though because I could actually tell that they were talking about it!

Along with working with members, we've been receiving and meeting with a lot of online referrals. It's too early to tell if any are interested, but we had one friend named Gio (pronounced Joe I guess) who came to church and we were able to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon. 

We also had a mission conference this week. We learned a lot but overall, I just felt an excitement for the work, I really hope I can make some sort of impact in the time I have left. We discussed how to work with offended members which is perfect for our area and also discussed mission culture. 

The coolest part about the first week back has been the coordination between all the missionaries! Everyone has been calling their old areas to help the new missionaries know what was going on. A bunch of Elders have helped us know what to do here in Beklobet and I've been able to give some advice to the Summit Elders too. I've also been able to communicate with a bunch of my recent converts like Dula, Tariku, Patrick, and Robel and that's been awesome! It's sweet to see how far they've come. It seems like we're picking up right where we left off. 

Real quick, I read a quote from Boyd K. Packer this week that I really liked. "Faith, to be faith, must walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness." I felt like that quote really applies to me right now! I'm back to Ethiopia, but in an unfamiliar area so it's time to step into the darkness a little bit and rely on the Lord. We all have to do this in our lives! Press forward in faith! 

Have an especially good week! 

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Elder Miles

Dula, one of my recent converts (on the right) had the opportunity to baptize someone!

The EAAM is back baby

Ethiopian subway station?

Addis Ababa

Elder Ayre and I in Arat Kilo moments before disaster

View of Addis from our apartment

The go-to meal: Dulet and Shiro

Cleaning the font

WK 69 - An Alternate Dimension

እንደምን አደራችሁ ወንድሞችና እህቶች!!!

Good morning brothers and sisters!!!

We are back in Ethiopia! It feels like I fell into a black hole a week ago because everything this week was very familiar but the circumstances drastically different from what they were before, almost like a Marvel-style different dimension or timeline.

I got picked up in Embakasi early Tuesday morning and got taken back to Serene Valley Apartments where I stayed before for three months doing online work! Right after we dropped our bags off, drivers came back and took us to the mission home in Kenya. We had a send-off lunch with President Mdletshe and talked about our favorite Kenya moments.

In the three days we stayed at Serene Valley we didn't have much to do. We discussed ideas we could integrate coming back into Ethiopia and had a Zoom call with President Dudfield. Other than that, we mostly just chilled and hung out with one another! With the ten Elders there it was an absolute blast! And shout out to Elder Larson... I finally got to be companions with him even though it was only for three days while we were there.

The travel to Ethiopia was a smooth as could be! We all stayed at the office apartment and there I met my MTC Amharic teacher from 16 months ago, Wendim Beyene in the flesh! There have been a lot of great reunions with missionaries and members all around. 

On Tuesday I received my assignment. I am now serving in Bekulobet, which is pretty much the opposite side of the city from where I was before, and I'm serving as a ZL with Elder Ayre from North Salt Lake. This area is a nicer part of the city with lots of foreigners. The members are very strong and there's good work to do. Now I just have to un-rustify my Amharic and we'll be smooth sailing. 

Quick funny story, we called a member Sunday night to ask about some of the people he had referred, but before we had a chance to say anything, he sent us a random number and said call this person at 7. Turns out it was his 12-year-old niece who used to come to church, so we shared a quick Book of Mormon story with her. The work has already begun! 

That's about it! Have a good week everyone! The Atonement is real! Remember to rely on its power. 

Elder Miles

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Bekulobet chapel

Finally back home!

The twelve of us at Serene Valley

Waiting to go to the mission home

Saying goodbye to President Mdletshe

Saying goodbye to President Mdletshe

DR BERHANE

On da Plane

WK 68 - I was not expecting that...

Hello, hello, hello friends and family. Transfers have come and gone like usual. I woke up Sunday morning to extreme confusion because my name was not on the transfer board. 

Why is that?

Because my new area is going to be in:

ETHIOPIA!!!!!!!

That's right. After six months spent in Kenya, I will be returning to the promised land. The Exodus is beginning. The Lord is taking us back to the land of our fathers. There's a group of 10 American missionaries that are returning to the country this week and I am lucky to be a part of that group. I'm going to miss Kenya a lot though. The members, our recent converts, the work, and the atmosphere have been so great. I never thought I could make such strong relationships in such a short amount of time and I've learned so much about the Gospel, missionary work, and just life in general. 

If anyone wants to come back to Kenya in the future and go on a safari with me just let me know I'll be ready. 👀

But I'm excited to take those skills for another shot at the work in Ethiopia. I don't know where I'm going or who my comp will be. As far as I know we will spend some time back at the original apartments for COVID tests and paperwork and we'll leave later in the week.

As for the work here in Kenya, it definitely felt like things were wrapping up. We taught some good lessons to our progressing people: 

- We miraculously found a lady named Carol whose number we somehow got. We thought it was a duplicate for another person but we called and it was her and she so happened to live nearby and wanted to meet, so a bit of a miracle. She brought a bunch of her friends to our lesson and even loved church this week. 

- We also visited the South Sudanese family to teach one of their friends but he just kind of bashed on us which was no fun.

Other than that, it was business as usual. This week I took time to read the Pearl of Great Price and I loved how God invites Enoch to walk with him. In fact, God invites all of us to walk with him by keeping his commandments and inviting his Spirit to be with us. We can choose to have the power and influence of God with us at all times and anywhere we go in life. I don't know why you wouldn't want that. Walk with God this week!

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን!! Have a fantastic week! I love you all! God is real and Christ lives! 

Elder Miles

Emmanuel looking fresh in my goggles

Emmanuel looking fresh once more

Saying goodbye to some powerful members Joyce, Ivy, and Betty

A member who moved from Mombasa that we helped get to church

Facebook filters are a good way to play with children

An Elder sent me a picture of this cat and I can't stop looking at it