Africa in pictures

This is shopping in Africa. If you are in a vehicle you just drive down the street and hope the people move - kind of like driving through a herd of cows - haha!!
Yes - that is garbage on the side of the road.

If you have something to sell - you just bring it out in your wheelbarrow

and set up on the side of the road.

Send your B-day wishes!!

Monday - February 1st - is Elder Lamb's 21st birthday!!

Make sure you send him an email and wish him a Happy Birthday!!

Super p-day at the white man beach

Hey Everyone,
Well it’s a good thing that they talked me out of staying at the beach today so that I can come and email. We had our super p day today and went down to the white man beach. Basically the only tourist spot here. We played human foosball. We all had to keep a foot on the line and it was really funny. It is hard to shoot a goal with a foot on the line and 2 defenders and a goalie. We had a blast and did very well. Then we had a sandcastle competition. Elder Lowe won of course. Then a relay race type thing. It was lots of fun. Some elders chose not to participate which can be a little annoying when you are the one trying to have unity and let everyone enjoy the activity, but it went well anyways and hopefully everyone enjoyed it. I sure hope so because it caused me a big head ache. But it’s over now and all went well.
It was nice to get some letters from a few people. It only took my Uncle Mike 21 months to write but it was a wonderful inspiring letter. Thanks Larry!!! My Grandma Pay also did some research for me. In Elder Perry’s talk about the Manti Temple it mentions the death of Gordon B Hinckleys wife’s relative. So my Grandma Pay found the story and it turns out that it is my relative. It was a wonderful story and I am very grateful for my grandma’s hard work searching for the people of the past. (Grandma Pay talked to Sister Hinckley’s sister and the story actually is not on the Pay side of her family but the Paxman side - but had a lot of great information and family meaning for us.)
We had a nice member present a lesson. Well I should say a member lesson. We asked a new convert and her daughter to find us a referral and help us to teach them. Well they brought their friend into their house and then we went to start the lesson and they took over and taught the entire message of the restoration without missing a single principle, in order, and most likely better than I ever could. It was nice for me as I sat back and learned myself. Then they bore testimony and then committed her to pray. It was a perfect lesson in my eyes and I walked away stunned at how amazingly well they did. It was a wonderful lesson.
We are also teaching one retired man who is a very well off person and has a big position in his church. His name is Walter Davis. Anyways we taught him the plan of salvation and when we got to Adam and Eve he basically denied everything that we taught. So we took a new approach and touched on the things that he did believe and then we tied in the restoration and how we know about Adam and Eve through the Book of Mormon. I was amazed at how well it ended up sounding. It’s funny because most the people we teach here are very humble. So to go teach a more proud man was a very different change. It can take you out of your comfort zone. But it was a much more interesting lesson. Most of the people we are working with we are hoping to become the future leaders of the church. So far so good.
Just so you all know the 28th is my mom’s birthday. She is getting a little old now so make sure you give her a big hug for me. Cushe mom I love you!!!
Well the week has flown by again and I am back off to let another one pass like crazy. Don’t worry about me. This is probably the best I have ever been in my short life. Thanks for the support and keep writing.
Love
Elder Lamb

Life in Liberia

These are some pictures I got off a CD from Sister Wire.

Elder Lamb took these when he was in Liberia. Woman with chicken

Elder Lamb with some of his African fan club

Skinny Elder Lamb

Hey Look!! They have Larry's in Africa!!

I wonder if their names are John or Jordan??

Running out of time

Elder Lamb in Liberia:Hey Everyone,
How is the week for you? I am doing great and still super busy. I really don’t even know where this last week went to. It just runs away so fast that I can’t even find it again. Good thing I have my journal. We had a nice zone conference this week and President really helped us understand what the purpose of the Sierra Leone Freetown mission is. He always wondered why the Lord would give us enough missionaries for each branch. Then he finally figured it out. The Lord needs each set of missionaries in each branch to help this new area of the church grow the right way. We have to spend almost half of our time helping the branch and the other half bringing people into it. It is wonderful because it helps us to work with the branch leaders and get along. If you don’t then the branch will go nowhere. So far we are doing well here and have a good relationship in the branch. We have some good members who are doing what is right and we are still working with the others so all is well and going right. We are really focused on having the members help us teach and fellowship. So far we have started the ball rolling and each week it is getting better.
The other day we were walking up the big mountain and say a woman who needed some help. She had 2 huge bags of fruit. Each one about 100 pounds. So I decided to help her. She was waiting for her son to come and we walked up and contacted her. She explained and we offered our help. She refused. So I asked where the house was to make sure that we would be able to accomplish the task with out dying. She pointed to a house about 400 yards straight up. There was a cut in the dirt trail and so I heaved a sack over my shoulder. Elder Andersen did likewise. We carried them up to the house and God really blessed us that we didn’t have a heart attack. She was very grateful and we are hoping to go and teach her this week. It should work well.
We have many good families here that we are teaching. One family I just can’t figure out. The Saffa family is strong and likes the church. But they just don’t really come to church. The message is good and they are doing well in everything else. They like the church and members have welcomed them. We had them meet the Branch President when they came and we just can’t figure it out. So hopefully with their new fellowshipper they will open up to them and then they will let us know.
It’s funny. The more I have been out here the more I figure it out. Now that it is starting to make sense I am running out of time to do everything. But I still have the time to teach the other elders and hopefully they can start to do it. Mainly we are hitting on the use of members in helping us teach. That should make everything much better.
Being here in town has really changed my view of mission. I will always remember the times out in Bo with not many people and lots of bush around. But now that I am here and they have things like meat pies and all kinds of nice things. We keep seeing all the rich people driving around in crazy cars and we have a game to see which car is the most expensive. The BMW x6 wins so far. It is interesting and has changed my view a little of what I will remember about mission. I can’t forget my beloved mission president and all my great companions and friends made. Things are going well.
This week we also had a small accident. Elder Andersen was taking a picture of me. Since his camera broke we have just been using mine to take all the pictures then I will send them to him latter. Anyways so he was taking a picture and dropped my camera. Yeah it smashed the lens so I think that she is toast. But he is very good about it and wants to send another one. Hopefully it will come quick. It was just an accident and we can’t change it so now I can just steal everyone else’s pictures from their cameras until I get one again. Haha isn’t life full of fun.
Thank you all for writing. I am doing well and working hard. The time is flying by and I swear that it is just being stolen. Owell I am doing well and working hard. The time might be over before I know it.
Haha!
Love
Elder Lamb

Christmas Miracle = GOOD Deodorant

Hey everyone,
Well happy birthday to Kayla and Amanda. If your name isn’t on the calendar sorry if I forgot.
Things are going well in the busy concrete jungle. It is amazing how different these places can be in the same place. It is still taking some getting used to I guess. There are just soo many people compared to Bo. But I am working on it still.
Well there was a miracle last week. My Christmas box came somewhat fast this year. Thank you to all who wrote or contributed. It was all very nice and I finally have some good deodorant. Haha you wouldn’t think that was a big thing until its super hot and you can’t find any. But I am blessed with a great mother who loves me and always tries to take care of me no matter how far away I am. She is doing great isn’t she?
I got to go and work with Elder Mills and Elder Kenner. Apparently we all have a lot of links at home. Which is nice as we talked about missionary work and adjusting and working hard. It was easier to relate and give them good ideas for the work. They are both doing great just like everyone else here. Trying to cover so much area is not easy but I am doing my best and hopefully the Elders know that.
We had a nice family home evening game. It’s called the flour game. Let’s just say that people had to stick their face into a pile of flour and pull a coin out if they lose. So it was really fun and I got some pictures that are hilarious.
Well not much else going on. We have zone conference on Thursday which should be good. I am going out to Wellington today to do some interviews and visit a district meeting. So I better get back to work.
Love
Elder Lamb
Endure to the End
CTR

I am staying strong

Ow di bodi?
Things are going well here in Freetown. Today we went to the beach to play a little soccer. We all had a good time and I skinned my knee pretty good. It was worth it though to score the goal. Haha. It was nice to go and play and let loose. Here in town is very busy. Especially for me. I have so much stuff to do that I don’t have time to do it. It is nice somedays but I just wish that I had more time to do a few important things. Like the new challenge President Squires has given us. We are to read the Book of Mormon and mark every time it has a reference to Christ or his words or his attributes or any gospel doctrine or principle. I have gotten to 1 Nephi 18 so far. I hope to read more though. Maybe if you want to try it you can. I think it is wonderful.
This week has gone by very quickly. We had 2 more people baptized this week. Yeah I just got here and 4 are already baptized. It was a nice service and things went well. A man baptized his son. And our counselor in the district baptized his niece. It was great.
Things are going well here in town. I have to learn the area a little more. It is hard to learn because it is so big and everything looks the same. All the houses look similar and the street system is not organized well so to find the right shortcut can be difficult. But is still have some time. I have no idea what the next transfer could bring. This could be my last area or I could go. I don’t know. Maybe the Lord will keep me here, maybe he wont. I won’t have any problem with either one of course. Haha! I will go where you want me to go.
We are having a few struggles in our apartment with an elder leaving this transfer. I guess I just expect more out of him. So we are doing our best with him but it’s not easy. There are a lot more elders in this zone to work with (20) and it’s much harder to get out and visit them and things. But we are doing our best and hopefully the elders can see that. It is fun to learn and stretch but it should wears you out. As President Squires can say “This place is trying to make an old man out of me.” Haha but I am staying strong and as Elder Uchtdorf said in the priesthood session there is no retirement plan in Gods plan of happiness. Haha I liked that one. So no worries I am enduring to the end and working harder than ever before.
I am definitely grateful for the amazing support that I receive. I have a wonderful family that is a great strength to me. My parents did their best and now I am trying to live up to that name. Good thing they brought me up right. Cushe to them.
Love
Elder Lamb