WK 89 - Golden Boy

We experienced probably one of the greatest miracles of my mission this week. Elder Folau and I prayed, searched, and planned so hard last transfer to find our Golden Boy, and it took some time, but we found him. 

Last week I mentioned Kebebew a little bit, but he deserves another telling of his story. We were walking to the church when a man approached us and asked where the "Latter-Day Saints Church" was, so we got talking to him and found out he came to church twice two years ago, and that a member gave him a Book of Mormon. 

Fast forward to today, we met with him almost every day this week, and he is a solid dude. Right off the bat he was making connections and honestly figured out for himself the importance of the Restored Gospel, Baptism, and the Word of Wisdom. The day after we taught him the Word of Wisdom, he told us a story about how he turned down coffee from a co-worker and explained to him how it is a commandment from a prophet of God. He is eagerly awaiting baptism on October 8th.

We had a goal to find four new people this week because Elder Ardern encouraged us to. We tried so hard and only found two, but the people we are teaching are doing well. We visited our Rwandan friends Bienvenue and Clarisse and they fed us Ugali and beans. It made me actually miss Kenya a bit. We shared the Book of Mormon in their language Kinyarwanda and answered their questions. We also taught an old dude named Haile this week because he was one of the people who randomly showed up to the branch activity.

The recent converts are doing well. Tesfay found an English teaching job! That is another miracle in itself. He deserves it. He seems so happy and it makes me happy to see it. Tekaw today taught his first lesson as a teacher's quorum advisor and received a Temple Recommend too! He's doing so well. We love him. 

We went on a wild goose chase to the post office this week to try and pick up a package. It was chaos. We also went over to the Rangi's for dinner one evening and they made us barbecue and Polynesian food. They are an amazing blessing. 

Today in Sacrament Meeting we bore our testimonies on Tithing. After serving in Ethiopia, I've come to learn just how important paying Tithing is. It helps the work to progress so much, and when people in an area are willing to pay their Tithing, God truly blesses them with prosperity and success. 

Oh, also, I turned 21 this week! That was kind of cool. Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes. I very much appreciated them. 

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Elder Miles

Firework

Tesfay

A nice meal

Classic security cam pic

Pani Popo with the Rangi family

Night life

Tie trade...

Tekaw's Birthday Wish

 

WK 88 - Busiest Week + The Haka

This was easily the busiest week of my mission if not the busiest week of my life. I think we only had time to daily plan once or twice and I maybe only got in two personal studies. Probably not the best, butttt I also enjoyed it very much so let me share. 

Last pday, the Ethiopian New Year celebrations were still going on, so a member named Sister Yewinshet invited the whole zone over to feast upon some Ethiopian delicacies like Doro Wot (spicy chicken stew) and Kitfo (mostly raw ground beef, not my favorite). It was a good time and we were able to share a message about General Conference with her and her family. 

We also had probably the most interesting meeting of my mission this week. We were blessed to have some awesome devotionals while in Kenya, but this one might take the cake. Elder Ardern from the area presidency and Brother Brad Wilcox (yes, you know the man) came to visit the mission and the country and wow... they came prepared with spiritual fire. Elder Ardern absolutely took control of the meeting and helped us realize we were receiving personal revelation during the meeting, and Brad Wilcox brought his humor and joy. He lived in Ethiopia when he was a child and hadn't been back since, so he got a little tearful as he shared his experience. It was powerful. I will never forget that devotional. 

The next day after the devotional we held a zone council aimed at helping the zone enjoy the next transfer and building their faith to see miracles. Afterwards, I went straight to Arat Kilo for exchanges with Elder Williams. We were able to teach a young man and see where the new chapel is going to be, but our last activity fell through... 

...but then we were able to fulfill it the next day. Esias, Tekaw's friend, got baptized this week and I was able to do the baptismal interview! I'm so lucky I had the chance to work with him.

We visited Brother Yohannes out in Jemk again with the help of the Elder's Quorum President. He hasn't been feeling well so we gave him a blessing. 

Miracle time: Our area used to be really slow. We could not find anybody to teach. But we have sincerely pressed forward and we feel like God has truly blessed us with some miracles and prepared people. 

- Seneshew: a man we met in a juice house with his daughter. We felt a strong spiritual prompting to speak with him and we were able to meet! He is open to hearing the message and is a very friendly man. 

- Kebebew: one day we were walking to the church when a man came up and asked us where the Latter-day Saints was. We started talking and it turns out a member gave him a Book of Mormon two years ago.

- Kefyalehu: The nicest man who works as a military police officer. Right off the bat he is so excited about meeting with us and coming to church. 

- Bienvenue: Our friend from the Congo is progressing well and really wants to involve his family in the Gospel. 

We participated in a Branch activity this week. Because there are a lot of foreigners in the branch, President Rangi decided to do a cultural night for all of the different countries. We ate cultural food and saw cultural dances from Colombia, The USA, Ethiopia, and New Zealand. As part of the New Zealand performance, we did the famous Haka war dance with President Rangi. He taught us beforehand and we surprised everyone. If you want to see it, I have a terrible quality video 😂

I know this email is already crazy long but I want to share one more though. Brad Wilcox talked about how when he lived here, the church did not exist here. His family prayed like crazy for the Gospel to be taught here. Fast forward sixty years later, the church is here and there is a mission. He said that his mom would've cried seeing a mission created in the country because it seemed so bleak for the church to come here. Truly prayers are answered on God's timetable because even though it’s not perfect, look how far it has come. 

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Elder Miles

Prepping for a New Year Celebration

Tekaw

Enjoying some ColdStone

Tiny banana at Brother Yohannes's

Our pharmacy friend. We say hi to her whenever we pass

Cultural night!

Esias

Brother Wilcox and Elder Ardern

 

WK 87 - Exodus 3:5

Since this week was the Ethiopian New Year, I wanted to make the same joke as last year like "new year, new me" or "haha looks like I have to live 2015 again" but to be honest lately the saying has been "new day, new me" so that is kind of irrelevant. It is 2015 here though now, and it has been fun seeing the festivities going on. 

"Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground..."

I had one of the coolest p-days of my mission this last week. We were talking about how we wanted to see the inside of an Orthodox church and a member overheard us, then invited us to go with her to see one. It was so cool, especially considering I've been around those of the Orthodox faith for a long time. They made us take our shoes of to go in, so I wandered around in my Charmander socks instead. There was an upper floor that had a hallway with huge drums (that we got to play) that led to an inner chamber with a high ceiling and a Holy of Holies in the middle. We thought that was the end, until the guide opened a trap door and we went into basement where there were huge marble tombs, old books, and even a Michelangelo painting. The coolest part is that I could see some parallels with the Temple: it just goes to show that Christianity originates all from the same place, but that full truth really has been restored. 

We had MLC this week and we talked a lot about leadership qualities and the importance of councils in the church. It was interesting to me how much we can learn about leadership from Christ and the scriptures, and these qualities can be applied in any situation, because in the church, honestly, we are all leaders. 

We were trying to catch up with our friends Mulatu and Shelema, but they were working at a huge New Year's Bazaar, so we decided to pay them a visit there and meet some people along the way. Sadly, it absolutely poured the whole time but we were able to see them. 

Some new people we met this week:

- Kefyalehu: A bit of a miracle find. We actually found him while looking for another friend of ours. They work at the same place, so we asked Kefyalehu to help us, and I guess he liked us enough give us a call and come to church! 

- Bienvenue and Clarisse: These two came as referrals, so we visited them in their home soon after and they are awesome! They actually come from the Congo but expressed great interest in learning more and coming to church. 

- Dawit: A guy who called us randomly because he talked to missionaries a year ago, told us a very interesting origin story, but is super nice. He might live outside of our branch boundaries though sadly. 

We had a visit where I felt more like the one being taught than the one teaching. We visited a member in our branch who is from Russia and is a neurosurgeon here in Ethiopia. His wife is away, so we thought we would give him some company. This man was actually the first Stake President in St. Petersburg and is a spiritual powerhouse. He told us the cool story of how he got called by President Nelson (Elder Nelson at the time), we had the opportunity to give him a blessing, and this sweet man fed us.

I hit my 20 month mark this week. Time is flying and the more it does the more I don't want it to. It's time to make the most of it. I need you all to keep me accountable 🤣

 

Elder Miles

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

 

My boy Elder Folau and I

The District

Visiting the African Union (featuring my newly bald head)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The tombs of the kings (peep the Charmander socks)

Old Amharic books

The Holy of Holies (don't worry we were allowed to take pictures here)

Me in front of the Holy of Holies (by tradition they keep a replica of the Ark of the Covenant in there)

8-

WK 86 - "Homegirl is burning" ብዬ አስባለሁ

The above is a quote taken from Elder Folau this week while he was frying up some breakfast Burritos. I think it honestly applies more to the state of the Utah Jazz right now because my boy Donny Mitchell is gone. My Jersey has been rendered useless. 

We visited the second counselor of the branch at his work place this week. He's an electrician and a painter and he showed us the current project he's working on at the slaughterhouse organization as well as invited us to help him paint sometime. On the way out of the organization, we ran into an old investigator named Alemu and invited him to meet with us. It was a bit of a frustrating lesson, but he came to church this Sunday and we were able to give him a Book of Mormon!

We taught another man named Melaku who is obsessed with a mega preacher from Nigeria named TB Joshua, so we showed him our own beloved living prophet President Nelson. 

Our last batch of really good lessons were with two friends named Dawit and Sileshi. We got Sileshi's number because missionaries in another Zone called him through a member record, but the guy is definitely not a member, so we don't know exactly what is going on but instead we delivered the good old word of God. They are funny guys and are really interested, the only problem is they live really far away.

We've been trying to meet with Tekaw a lot recently because that man is busy and being a recent convert he needs some continued nurturing. He's always travelling up north for work or down south for family though. We were able to catch up with him one night and he showed us his work place. He also came to church, passed the Sacrament, and is going to receive a calling next week! He always sends us photos and video calls us throughout the week. I love that guy so much. Tesfay on the other hand is as consistent as usual and helped translate this last Sacrament meeting! 

We also had Zone Conference this week. President Dudfield trained on asking inspired questions, Sister Dudfield taught about living in wisdom and order, and we also had wonderful trainings from the APs, the STLs, and the Moyers, our only senior couple. 

We had a Zone competition going on and the Sisters and us were head-to-head for the lead, then they absolutely destroyed us in the last week and won. We went to dinner to celebrate their victory and to celebrate the end of the transfer as well. 

Transfers came and went. I'm staying in Beklobet with Elder Folau for my fourth transfer. Only one person is leaving the zone.

With General Conference coming up in a month, I decided it is never too early to prepare for conference. I would invite you all to do the same. Begin now to think of questions you have been pondering lately and write them down. Review last Conference's talks too! Elder Bednar talked about how when we study the scriptures, cherish and honor our covenants, and heed not the world, we can better "discern the absolute emptiness of anything in or coming from the great and spacious building." I love that. It truly reminds me that wickedness never was happiness. 

Ahhh I love you all! Let me know how you all are doing. Give me an update about your life.

እግዚአብሔር ተመስገን

Elder Miles

Post-Zone Conference selfie

We take public transportation so much and here we are

Sunset

It is supposed to say "Grocery" but it says "Gerosri"

TEKAWWWWW

Sister Okeke is leaving Beklobet

Sister Anwuacha is staying but she helped the the Sisters to a dub in the Zone competition

Zone competition dinner

WK 84+85 - Habesha Fruit Salad

The past two weeks have been like an Ethiopian salad. Overall, pretty good, a little bit crazy with some good and some bad ingredients, as well as a few that don't quite fit in. 

The tomatoes: We've been teaching a man named Mulatu for a while now. He is a police officer. He's honestly the nicest guy and we always just run into him while he's working while patrolling the streets. He has a young family so we've been really trying to help him see how the Gospel can bless his family! 

The carrots: We started teaching another police officer named Abraham who also happens to be the nicest guy and really interested. The problem is him and Mulatu both have very busy schedules and it's hard to meet with them. Abraham also happens to be the hardest person to get in contact with but we're trying. 

The papaya: Is it just me or is papaya not that good? Maybe it's just the papaya here. Last week I ate something bad and got way sick. Not that good either haha. 

The avocado: We've been reaching out to an RM who is returning to activity, and one day he took us up near his work and bought us the nicest Ethiopian food I've ever eaten. Photo included below. He also helped us a lot later on.

The bananas: I went on exchanges this week with Elder Adade! He's from Ghana. I was in his area for the day and we had a good time. Highlight of the day: we taught a man who is so interested in the church and has been coming for a few years now, but he has some addictions he has to work through, but he seemed so willing! We taught him about repentance and the church's addiction recovery program. 

The lettuce: We've been teaching a few other new people this week. One is a man named Muse who speaks good English but doesn't seem the most interested honestly. We also taught two bank guards named Kifle and Teamrat who came to church last week. 

The peppers: We taught English class this week which is always fun, but we also have been working with a man named Melese who wants to learn English so bad and who we want to come to church so bad. We've been teaching him, but he hasn't been coming. 

The pineapple: We had the chance to sit down with the Branch President and discuss the work in the branch! It was so helpful. We enjoyed. 

The potatoes: Miracle of the week and the best part of the salad for some reason: so, Alazar, the RM, served along with three other missionaries from Ethiopia. One of them happens to be the very less-active sister we have been working with. We let him know, and he wanted to help out so bad. One day, him and another one of the missionaries picked us up, drove us to her house, and we got to witness the reunion of those missionaries after almost TWENTY years of them not seeing her. It was so cool to see and I think it was a good experience for all of them. I could see the spirit work among them as old friendships were renewed. Basically, call me Dr. Phil, I'm out here fixing relationships. Just kidding. 

So, that's just about it. Thank you all for reading to the end if you made it here. I appreciate the support and the prayers. Love you all! 

እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Elder Miles

The greatest Ethiopian food ever

Mulatuuuuuuu

Nyamal!

I went to Mexico on pday

The fruit salad

Tesfay looking fly

Filling the Baptismal font

Elder Adade

WK 83 - A Famous Ethiopian

Come one, come all. Another weekly email that hopefully I can make interesting and spiritual because I don't have too many ideas today but I'll just keep typing and see where it goes. 

Early this week we went on exchanges to Arat Kilo, the second district in our zone, and spent twenty-four hours up there with those Elders. We had a good time with them and I had some cool experiences. I was with Elder Hedengren from the US and Elder Sampson from Nigeria and worked in their area for the day. We had some time and I had a contact, so we met up with Nyamal if anyone remembers who that is. She is a South Sudanese girl that Elder Burke and I were teaching nearly 10 months ago that has stayed in contact and recently moved to Arat Kilo, so we went to her work and I introduced her to the Elders there. She came to church on Sunday too! I don't have a picture because now I'm terrible at taking pictures. I need you guys to hold me accountable on taking pictures. 

We taught some other awesome people, one man named Yosef really wanted to know if this was the church he should join so we helped him to understand how he could know that by praying and coming to church. Other than that, I had the coldest night’s sleep on a bare mattress because I severely under-prepared.

We also had interviews this week. I always enjoy interviews. It's just a short time to discuss with President and Sister Dudfield and wow I always receive tons of personal revelation during interviews and leave enlightened. 

We met with a man named David this week who spoke really good English that we met on the road one day while proselyting. We met with him and explained what we do as missionaries. He seemed to really respect it and wants to meet again with a friend. We taught another new person named Muluken who is the nicest and happiest guy. He came to church and liked it so we hope we can continue to help him. 

Tesfay blessed the Sacrament this week. It was super cool to see. We also had 71 people at Sacrament meeting which is the most I've seen since coming to Beklobet. 

Now time for the headline story. This week Elder Burke sent us a referral for a dude named Bereket. We called him, and when he said that he was a musician and that he had read some of the Book of Mormon before, everything clicked. He is a famous Gospel singer in Ethiopia and I've listened to a few of his songs before. He has met with missionaries before and I got to talk to him. 

Scripture of the week!

3rd Nephi 5:13

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

 እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን

Elder Miles

Elder Folau and I after church

I've been testing my skills making Ethiopian cuisine

Caught taking a photo

The apartment

Juice with Tekaw

Muluken!!!

Spikeball on the roof on p-day

WK 82 - Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Well, well, well. Here we go again. This week we had a lot of meetings and a lot of cancelled lessons. We saw the Lord's hand even in the slowest times and that was an amazing blessing. 

We went to do service right after a lesson where the dude could not understand us at all. Elder Folau suggested we play "Do You Love Your Neighbor?" with the kids and it was a blast. Sometimes I feel like the kids we serve honestly serve me more by making me smile. 

We had MLC this week. We talked a lot about getting members and branches excited about missionary work, and the thing that stood out to me most was that if we want members to be excited,

WE have to be excited. Sister Dudfield walked us through a personal study and Elder Folau and I gave a training on companionship unity where we played the classic wedding shoe game with our AP's.

Right after MLC we had Zone Council to pass on all the info as well as set Zone goals for the transfer. We are introducing a zone competition where a companionship will get a certain amount of points for certain activities they do. It should be fun, but nobody else stands a chance really. We talked about ministering to and finding the one as our focus of the meeting. 

We had the deadest day this week and I want to include it so you all can laugh it off with me, as well as see the tender mercy amidst the chaos. One night we had four lessons cancel on us, so as a backup we decided to go find a member because we knew the general area where he worked and he hadn't been to church in a while. After some searching, we found him. After that we wanted to get dinner at the Greek restaurant, but the prices had skyrocketed so we walked all the way back and ate somewhere else. I had to go back to the church to grab my scriptures and the guard wouldn't let us in for some reason. A day of rejection...but we found that member so I was happy. 

We had a little transfer this Saturday so I spent the morning at the mission office. On the way back, I asked the Ride (which is like Uber) where I could get a sticker like the one on his car. He reached inside his glove box and gave me an extra one. Ask and Ye Shall receive. 

This week we taught two new people. Their names are Ayaasaa and Gemechu. They are friends and they came early one morning to discuss. After the lesson, we ended up at the same place as them for lunch! These nice dudes kept talking with us and also helped us order. We also taught Tesfay and Tekaw this week. We taught a lesson on fasting and then ate some snacks and played a game with them. It was a good time. 

A member said something in his testimony on Sunday that really stood out to me. He said something along the lines of "The Gospel is not just words. It's real. It's practical. It's useful. It changes hearts and lives." I love that. As a missionary I've thought a lot about that. As we intentionally and sincerely live the Gospel, we can see that there is a power that comes from it.

ተባርኩ

Elder Miles

Power posing while waiting for a man to come to church

The house

The sign of God's promise seen today

The sticker I acquired