3/19/2012

I’m doing well. However, I’ve been feeling sick.  I was very sick  yesterday.   I feel a little bit better today, enough that I was able to come and email, but I think I will just go home after am I finished.  Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.  Its zone conference tomorrow and it will be all day. So, hopefully I will feel up to walking.  I just a got new camera and I’ve already taken a lot of pictures.  I will send some in my letters today. I did get those shirts tailored only three but they look much better.  I’ve lost more weight from being sick. I haven’t really eaten anything.

 We are going to have two baptisms on Sunday; brother Sunday and Nguni.

The weather here is hot.  I don’t think it ever gets cool here it was 39 degrees Celsius yesterday which is 102.1 degrees Fahrenheit.  I guess I’m just use to it now and for me anything lower than eighty degrees is cold. This week has been normal really nothing too crazy.  I am going to keep this short today because, I am sick and need to go home and go to bed.

 I will talk to you next week

love Devin

3/12/2012

Today we went out proselytizing from 10-12, we got home around 1, changed and came to arcades. We don’t have much planned for today.  I think we are just going to shop and then come back home and relax for the day.  Which is good because, I’ve been tired lately I think it’s because I have a little bit of a cold.  

Some funny things have been happening at the house lately. For example, on Saturday night around midnight my companion couldn’t shut off the tap in the kitchen.  As a result, he said to me:  “companion come here close this”.  So, I go over  to the tap, try to shut it off, but the tap won’t budge,   I try it again one last time, and this time  I break the tap off (ha ha)!  We were left asking ourselves:  What now!!  I seem to have a talent for breaking things.  We start looking for the shut off to the water, only to find out there isn’t one!  The water comes straight from the ground. I have no idea why they wouldn’t put a shut off valve for the water. We went outside and found the meter but there was nothing. No SHUT OFF!!  I found another faucet type thing in the garage and a crescent wrench.  I took it apart and put the new one on.  Now it works fine.  I don’t know what these other Elder’s would do without me.
Our missionary work is going good.  We have some few progressing investigators and brother Sunday will be baptized on the 24^th. In addition, we have two more baptisms on the 14th of April.

Anyways, till next week love Devin

3/5/2012

Things are starting to slow down a bit, and returning to a normal pace. I am glad.  I’m getting along very well with my companion.  It is a pretty chill house and we have a lot of fun together. My companion is trying to teach me Xhosa.  It’s an extremely difficult language.  I’m just practicing the clicking for now.  I can click pretty loud now; however I still need a lot of work.   On the other hand, I feel that my English is getting poor.  Here in Zambia I use the most simple words and phrases to explain things to people.  As a result, I am starting to forget some words in English!  It’s weird to say that I need to practice my own native language.

Today, we are probably just going to go to the main chapel, play soccer, and then we will go get ice cream or something at Mandah Hill. I’m not sure yet but something like that.

 I’m losing more weight these days.  I don’t know why, I eat and in an hour later I’m starving.  I’m basically eating all the food in the house, but still losing weight.   I ate okra or delle. That was interesting!  To sum it up, it’s just like eating snot.  Literally it is just like snot; all gooey and gross. However, I prevailed.   Any ways, because I have lost so much weight I’m going to get my pants and shirts tailored.  I just look funny because my clothes are too big.  I look like I’m homeless.  So, hopefully getting my clothes tailored gives me a better appearance.

Till next time: Tasha Azana tizabada futi

Love Devin

2/27/2012

Everything with the transfers went well and I am doing great.  Transfers are every six weeks you have 17 in your entire mission after, this week I will be in my 4 transfer.  The latest transfers came out of necessity, because so many Elder’s are leaving. We won’t have any more new missionaries come to Zambia until July.  

Elder Santana moved on Friday.  I am with Elder Mangunta, he is a good Elder and fun to be around.  As I mentioned before, he is from South Africa, he speaks Xhosa and is teaching me some of the language.  At the house that we stay at there is Chinama 1, and Chinama 2,( I am in Chinama 2).  In Chinama 1 instead of Elder Horne and Mahaci there is Elder Harper from Sandy Utah, Elder Ngira from Kenya. They are all cool, fun, and good missionaries.  

I have been extremely busy this week.  I have been showing Chinama 1 and my companion our area which, makes for long days.  As a result, this week has been pretty rough.  I am just exhausted by the time I get home, no extra activities, I just plan for the next day and go to bed.  Even though I just go to bed I still feel super tired when I wake up.  This week will be similar, but after that they will know enough about the area and I can take it easy for a bit.  I have been so busy that it has been hard for me to write letters.  I am sorry about my lack of letters; however I do enjoy the letters from my family and friends! 

Today we Helped sister Boma move in the morning then we were going to have a zone-activity at adventure city, However when we arrived we found that it’s closed on Monday’s.  As a result, we just went back to the chapel and had a bri, played some soccer. It was fun. Now, we are just emailing, going to shop and make Chipati for dinner.  Chipati is a dish from Kenya. I will make for everyone when I get home.

It is extremely hot here.  It is suppose to be going into the winter season; however it is about 102 here!

I love you all and I will be back soon don’t worry.  “My son, a peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” D&C 121:7-8

Devin

2/20/2012

Zambia is great!  It seems like my time here is going by so fast.   However, everyone in the mission has gotten a transfer to a new area except me.  So, I guess that I will be staying in my area for a while.  My companion Elder Santana is going to Matero.  My new companion is going to be Elder Mangunta.  My new companion is the one who ate the cat!  He is from South Africa he is Xhosa, and speaks the Xhosa language.  Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. One of the most distinctive features of the language is the prominence of click consonants; the word "Xhosa" begins with a click.

Staying in this area for a while is going to keep me busy.  I will need to show all the new Elders who are transferring to Chinama the area, as well as my companion. I will need to show them where members and investigators live.  Chinama is 33 square miles which will mean lots, and lots of walking.  However, this gives us the opportunity to contact as many people as possible each day.

We had a baptism yesterday for sister Bwalya and for the month of March we are planning on about 6 baptisms!  We are excited!  There is no greater blessing than to be called to serve the Lord as one of his missionaries.