Elder Corey Miles - Ethiopia Addis Ababa Mission: WK 70

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