Halfway there and still alive!!!!

Hey everyone,

Well I can’t complain. I am half way there and still alive. I have only a few new scars and stories. Ok maybe a lot (Hopefully he means a lot of stories and not scars). Well the past year has been the craziest of my life. I don’t know where the time went. It seemed like just the other day I was waving goodbye and sitting on a big plane all alone wondering what in the heck am I going to do in Africa? Well I think I have found a good answer. There are so many great people the lord has prepared. I am in one of the most blessed missions in the world. Where else can you teach 4 or 6 lessons every day? Where else are the people so open and I have never had a single door slammed. In fact I have never knocked a single door either. Ha-ha it is a different world here but it is difficult and sweet in the same time. Many people have taken advantage of the great faith here. Many people give there small money to one man with a lot of money who says they will be saved for it. Many are confused at why there are millions of churches all over the place. Sounds like the perfect formula to be fixed with the true gospel. Which has been adding up a lot. I love the new people that I am with and I love my companion.

The apartment is doing well. Things are trying to be done and our water shortage isn’t so bad since everyone is on a ration now and not just the willing. So we are doing our best with what we have. All I need to say is that I am getting really good at being patient and learning to laugh. We are all learning and growing together and I am doing my best.

My companion had a huge bug bite or something on his back. A few days ago we popped a giant batch of pus out of it. It is rather cool to me and I think my mom would faint if she saw the pictures. Ha-ha but everything is ok and thinks are getting better. It is to bad my other mom Sister Wire isn’t here to take good care of him. But we are managing on our own.

The work here is great and there are many people to teach. We have a very busy schedule and much to do everyday. I am excited to share this great message with so many willing people. The only problem is telling them it is not the same as the other churches going around. Some of them actually see the difference but the sad thing is that many don’t. But we are doing our best to have people actually do something for the church. Like visit teach or home teach. So we will see how we can help that so people will stop falling away. We have over 700 members on our directory. But a max of 150 come on Sunday. So I am working through all the crazy paper work that was left for me. But I am doing my best and the lord is helping with the rest.

Thank you all for your support and letters. I love to read them and they always give me a nice boost. Thank you!!!!

Love
Elder Lamb

Misc Info - Serious food stuff!!

Misc Info:
**To Celebrate his 1 year mark he went shopping for some “real” food: well this week was as nice as it could be. I bought some serious stuff on Saturday. Potatoes, cheese, bacon, ice cream and coke. Yeah we enjoyed and Elder Agamah got sick from the American food.
**Why didn’t you email yesterday? Yesterday is Independence Day. Not a single thing was open and no one was selling anything
**He got his package with his perfect abs travel edition and lots of letters: now I am getting ripped. My hands just get sore from writing in my journal all the time. I tried to do it left handed the other day. It is so freaking hard. Ha-ha
**Who is your favorite in the Book of Mormon?? All of them. Right now I am in the end of helaman. Samuel the lamanite just blasts the nephites. It was kinda funny to think about. I would say Nephi and his example of patience to me
**Did you get to attend the baptism in your other area? It was postponed to the 16th of May. We are combining it with one woman in my new area so I will be part of it still.

The "Magic" Frisbee and a missing toenail

**How is Africa today: still blazing sun which means no more water is flowing into our well to be pumped to our tank which means we are in a water crisis now. :)
**today me and my companion went and tried to teach some children how to play frisbee. It was really funny and they thought it was magic that the Frisbee floated in the air like that. It was hilarious.
**we get to talk on Sunday (Mother’s Day). Also my health has never been better. I am doing very well and even exercising now. I did lose my toe nail a few weeks ago. Don’t remember if I told you. But tell Rogers’s mom I am a pro at it and didn’t even see a doctor. Home made...
**Of course I asked him what he did to his toe – because he DID NOT tell his mother: I just dislodged it playing with children
**sorry no photos I was working on burning a cd but it crashed and I thought it was funny that the computer ate my cd. But whatever until next week just know that I am kubuko. Ha-ha ask next week.

"Be Prepared"

Hey Everyone,

Well the work has been crazy this week. Mostly since I am switching the people I am working with. Everything is new and I had to load up my 2 exploding suitcases. President Squires cracked a few jokes but I retaliated with the Boy Scout motto “Be prepared.” It was rather funny. And we all had a good laugh trying to load those bad boys up. But we all got there on Thursday evening to meet my new American white companion from Shelley Idaho. It is so much fun and we are enjoying so much. It is a blast to get along so well and do things that I actually want to do. I did enjoy my last companion also so everything is well.

Well, most things are well. And speaking of well - ours is nearly dry. Which means we have very little water to pump to our reserve tank which is empty. So we get to bath once every other day and things are not exactly smelling sweet but owell what can you do. The new district leader refuses to bath once in 2 days so only he gets to bath everyday... yeah well Sister Squires told him, I did, Elder Albright did, and Elder Gunderson did….still bathing everyday. But whatever you can’t choose your consequences. Ha-ha

Things are going good for the work and I love my new area. It is large and there is a ton to do. I love to work hard and I guess everything is on my shoulders now since I am the new senior companion. Not really what I wanted but the lord’s work must go on. All is well and this week was very busy moving around but I did get some nice studies in.

D&C 18:19, Hel 3:25, 28, 4:24, Moroni 7:41 Hel 5:9, 30

I have some sweet friends that I left behind but I am making some sweet ones here. One works at an orphanage and we are planning to go and play with the children. I think it should be a blast. Well all is well and I am working hard.

Thanks for the support. But just so you know the support is best felt by me in letter form. wink wink. Haha well thanks for everything and I love you all.
Love
Elder Lamb

Diggin for diamonds

Hey everyone,

Well I am going on transfer. I am only going like 10 min away though. Ha-ha just to the other side of town in a branch called njagboima. Good luck saying that one. I will tell my family for the phone call on mother’s day. So we will see how she describes it ha-ha. My companion is from Shelly Idaho and his name is elder Albright. We are already pretty good friends before this so it should be a blast. I am excited but sad to see my baptisms there without me. The baptism was pushed back to the 25th so I am a little sad. So I am thinking about the possibility of being there but I have to get permission. Well all is well anyways. And I will like my new area.

Yesterday was our super p day. We took a trip to the most bush place our mission covers. Kenema. It is on the map so you can look it up. We took a van out to the place. On the way we only got one flat tire and everything was fine. As we were crossing the Sewa River we saw a big bull dozer making a large pool out of the river. The man explained that they will drain the water from the temporary place and then dig for diamonds where the water from the river normally covers. It was really cool.

We then got to the 3 story kenema apartment. On the 2nd floor there is a Lebanese family. As we walked pass their open door they were all getting high. It was rather funny. We had a nice lunch and went on a nice hike to the top of the mountain. It was a long hike and I was glad to get a little exercise for a while. I snapped some sweet pictures. Too bad no one can see them till I come home. I can’t plug my new camera into a virus filled computer or there is a nice chance I will lose them all. Sorry you just have to wait.

We then came back and rested and then I pulled out the Easter eggs aunt Jamie sent me. All the elders had a nice little Easter egg hunt. Everyone says thanks Jamie. It was really fun.
We had a zone meeting then got in the slowest taxi back. It was dark and we barely made it back in time. But we made it back on time and it was a BLAST!!!!

Well here are your scriptures for the week.
Alma 42:45
Alma 44:4
Alma 46:8
D&C 58:2-4
Alma 50:22
Alma 56:44-48
Alma 63 these people are the Polynesians!

Well I think that should be enough for you this week.

Well I am excited to move small and I can’t wait to start the great work. Well I have been given more responsibility now. The lord thinks I can be a senior companion now so I have to do my best to prove him right.

Love
Elder Lamb
Write me a letter!!!!

Misc info

Misc Info:
**njagboima branch is the huge American looking chapel. The nicest LDS chapel and only one in all of Sierra Leone.
** I am going to njagboima branch. I know you will massacre that mende word. It is pronounced ja-boy-ma. I will just have to wait till mother’s day to explain. Lol. My new companion is Elder Albright from Shelly Idaho. It should be a blast. I am replacing Elder Stice my mtc mate and Elder Yardley is replacing me in Messima New Barracks.

Rays of sunshine

Hey everyone,

Well to start sorry to all you who cant email anymore. I am still expecting some letters and some of you promised some pictures ;) you know who you are.

Anyways this week has been nice. I am working hard and doing my best as always. I was very sad to have to miss conference, but I will hear about it soon enough. No one told me who the new apostle is yet so maybe I will find out next week.

Well there are some great rays of sunshine here. We are planning a great baptism on Saturday. A whole family should be baptized and I know that they are going to do amazing. The man has been sick for a while but he is doing better now and I think that everything is going to be fine. I am very excited. We also have a few others who could be baptized by the end of the month. We will see. But next week is transfer so we will see if I finally get to harvest my labor or not. But all is well and the work will still go on.

Sorry I haven’t been able to send pictures for a while. The cafe has had some problems for quite a while. Even this week it hasn’t been to great but we will see next week. That’s what you get when you are in the bush.

I pulled a pretty sweet April fools joke. My companion and I made the apartment look like it got ransacked. We hid the other elders money and cameras and money value things and then they came home and were so shocked and mad. It was rather hilarious and they weren’t too happy but we got a good laugh out of it.

Well I have found some nice scriptures this week that hopefully can help you as much as it helps me.
Alma 28:8
Alma 30:60
Alma 31:1-20
Alma 32:2, 43
Doctrine and covenants 107: 99-100
Alma 36: 4-5, 26-27
Alma 37: 37, 44-46
Alma 38:5
Alma 39:17, 14

Ok I almost forgot. Yesterday was Palm Sunday. So as we were preparing for church we heard a drum and chanting and stuff. Not to abnormal here on a Sunday. Then the sound got louder and louder so we went out to look. Then we saw 300 people marching past our house chanting and making noise while holding up a bunch of makeshift crosses and things. It was rather funny to watch but confusing to me. My companion explained that it is Palm Sunday and they are reenacting the march of Christ into Jerusalem or something like that. I don’t really know why they do that but it was an interesting morning. Then I had to explain to the members why we don’t use the cross. HE LIVES!!!

Well that should be good for this week. I hope to get some letters soon. Thank you all for your great support to me.
Love
Elder Lamb