December 2012

I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I hope that in the busy holiday season that people take the time to remember the true meaning of Christmas.  I hope that everyone can be with their families, help others, and renew their faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. 
"Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. To us He has said, 'Come, follow me.'
"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always. We shall learn to forget ourselves. We shall turn our thoughts to the greater benefit of others" (Thomas S. Monson, "In Search of the Christmas Spirit," Ensign, Dec 1987, 3).
I love you!!
Happy Holidays
Elder Jasper

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November 2012

Nov. 6
This week has been interesting.  Due to the security issues here they are putting in our new security system.  We now have motion sensors at our flat.  If it gets tripped the security comes right out with what is similar to a SWAT team in the US.  As I said in previously in emails there have been a lot of break-ins into the houses here as well as in the Lilongwe area.  The word from Salt Lake is that if there are anymore robberies in the area or at the flats then they are going to close the country and take us out of Malawi.  We have a few new rules. They are: only carry a little bit of money, but enough to have if we meet any thief’s, we have to be home by dark to avoid being robbed.  The crime is up due to the devaluation of the Kwatcha (money) and there is a big food shortage. The food will run out by the end of this year.  As a result, the prices for food are going higher.  As a result, the people are more desperate for money and when they see us, they think we have money.  I am sad for the people here and to see their suffering.  The people here are good.  They are just so poor and desperate they are only trying to survive.
Otherwise, everything else is going pretty good. In addition, we have a baptism for the 24 of November.  I am excited about the baptism and fell that the work here is going well.
Love you,
Elder Jasper

November 12-26
On November 12 we hiked Michiru Mountain today and went to the Hyena Caves.  That was awesome.  Hyenas are very fast!  I must say I was quite impressed.
Here in Chewa is the national language of Malawi. I have been speaking Chewa most of the time.  Sometimes it is hard for me to remember English.  Someone asked me what something met in English the other day and I really had to think about it.  Wow! That was a bit surprising to me.  I hope I don’t need to go back to elementary school when I get back home (LOL).  It’s a good think I read my scriptures in English and write my family in English!!
I will be here in Malawi for awhile.  I am still training a missionary. I will most likely be in Malawi until around February.  However, I might train again after I am finished training this missionary.  We are supposedly getting another twenty missionaries between now and March!!  We will have up to 60 missionaries in the mission. 60 missionaries will seem like quite a lot considering that we only had forty before.  
Elder Jasper

October 2012

10/8/2012
I am doing well.  It is getting extremely hot here.  I feel like I am melting.  There is of course no air conditioning here and it makes it difficult to sleep here at night. But, hey I guess that is all part of the experience here.  My new companion is Elder Majafe from Botswana. We have just been looking for new investigators in our area.  Our next baptism is on the 24 of October.  We are looking forward to that.
10/22/2012
I am doing well. We did not get to watch conference this weekend but we will watch it next week. I am excited about watching conference and am excited to hear the messages from our leaders.  I had my interview with the mission president on Saturday. My interview went well.   Tomorrow is our Zone Conference.   I am looking forward to that as well. 
How is the weather in Utah?  It is HOT, HOT, HOT and extremely HOT here!! (LOL) It is so hot that I have a hard time sleeping at night. Last night, I think I fell asleep around two in the morning. 
The missionaries in Lilongwe are staying with us here in Blantyre they have been having problems with people breaking in at night and robbing them.   The office in Salt Lake said if it happened again and they would pull them out of the area.   Recently, the couple missionaries were robbed by the police!!!  As a result, they are staying with us until they can up a security system.  They want to put motion sensors, an alarm system,   and four security guards at night, and burglar bars on the doors.  Currently, we have a big wall around our house with barb wire. Until they get all of the security precautions set up the missionaries from Lilongwe will be staying with us. The reason why people are being robbed is because of the devaluation of the kwacha and there hasn’t been an increase in anyone’s salary.  In addition, they have a maize shortage, the food will run out by the end of the year and they won’t harvest until March. As a result, a lot of people will suffer. It is hard to see the people here suffer.  They are so humble and work so hard for what they have.  I hope that a solution can be found that will help the people here.
 Anyways, that’s all for today love you all Elder Jasper

September 2012

9/10/2012
This week there was a baptism on Saturday that we attended in Zingwangwa branch.  It was nice.  One of the members who we baptized in August comes from a Muslim family.  His family was not happy that he joining the church.  He was told to leave the church or he would be kicked out of the house.  It was a bit sad, however he found a job as a guard and found a small house to live in. I am praying that he continues to do well and finds support from others in the community and as well as members in the church.   I know the lord will bless him.
9/17/2012
I am doing well.  Everything is going well.  However, it is getting very hot here in Malawi.  It is really going to warm up in October.   October is usually the hottest month here.   There has been a bit of unrest here in the streets of Malawi.  People here are extremely upset about a Muslim internet video. I don’t know anything about it other than it sure has upset a lot of the people here.  They are angry with the American people.  I hope it settles down soon. It has been a bit scary.
9/24/2012
This week is going a well.  I should be getting my new companion within the next few weeks.   We are planning a zone activity to a game park.  That should be fun and exciting!

August 2012

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
(He said “all nations.”)
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matt. 28:18–20.)
I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the lord and to teach his people.  In the month of August we had the opportunity to baptize 5 new members!  I am so grateful to be here in Africa, nation with such wonderful people and such a rich culture.
This month I am working with a branch missionary.  There have been a lot of transfers and I will be working with a branch missionary until around October 2 1012.

7/23/2012

Just wanted to send you a cool Phrase in Zulu
ixoxo le xoxo liyazi gxumela wena ufuna uku gexunyelwa ngu bani quma uqethu gethu qethu ucebo uceba icebo ikuciba ucetywayo ngomcibilisholo
Every time that you see an x, c, or q it makes a click sound!!  I thought it would be fun to see if people can figure it out.
 Well, I am doing great things are going pretty well here in Malawi. They are painting our apartment and right now I feel like I live at a construction site.
We will have 5 baptisms on 25 August!!! I am very excited about that and how the work is going here.  I love the letters that I get from my family and I am so grateful for the support they give me on my mission!! 
Love Devin

7/16/2012

Everything is going good here in Malawi! I still have the same companion his name is Elder Ariho, he is from Uganda.  We get along great and I feel blessed to have such a great companion’s.   The weather here is mild right now however, sometimes cools down in the evenings or when it rains and it can get a bit chilly.
We had a baptism on Sunday!!! We baptized Kalinda Zione Banda.  It went good and I was very excited about it and to have that opportunity.   The work here is going well.  We have another baptism on the 26 of July.
 We now have our own mission website.  You can look at that has photos of the mission, updates of what is going on here, a calendar of events, and things like that.  It is: www.zambialusakamission.org In addition, you can register for it on the website by going to the missionary page and fill out the online form.
As for the upcoming events; on August 22, 2012 Elder Ullisses Soares of the seventywill be touring the mission, and for our next activity we are planning on climbing Mulanje Mountain you it is pretty cool and I am excited about that. Although, there are a few tribes that live on the mountain that are cannibals!!  So, that should make it even more exciting and fun!!

Here at home sometimes you can hear the hyenas at night just outside our flat!!  It’s kind of cool. Today we don’t have a whole lot planned just go shopping.  I have to give a presentation in district meeting tomorrow. So, I need to prepare for that. 
 I will talk to you next week Love you and miss you guys
Love Devin.