As far as Daniel's Italian alliance goes....
He is all about AC Milan!  He and Elder Diodati.

Call him Rafiki.  Daniel up on pride rock like Lion King.

Elder Ndaba.  He is EXACTLY like our Spencer Martin Murphy.  If Spencer was an
African this is who he would be.

October 28, 2013

So this past week was pretty slow as far as the work goes.

But the main event this week was the funeral of our district president Steven Mwangangi.   Even most of the week we were doing service at his home moving stuff around just trying to help his wife out as much as possible.  The service was on Saturday and started at the church at 11. It was crazy to see how many people were there! One thing in Kenya is that weddings and funerals are like totally opposite to how they are in the USA. Where many people come to weddings back home and like nobody goes to funerals.... its the exact opposite in Kenya. Funerals are packed! There were 700 people in attendance...people were standing outside of the church looking in to see what was going on.  But the service was good... at least i think so. Most of it was done in Kikamba so not really quiet sure what was being said but it was good i think.  Even President Hicken and Elder Usi (area seventy) were in attendance and spoke.  One thing that was cool though was when his mother went up to speak. A lot of people said that pres Steven died because the devil took him (people have really dumb rumors about the church). So when she went up to speak all she said was "I know Steven lived a good life, God put him on this earth and now God has taken him back." Oh yeah! That shut up the rumors real fast.  But after the service at the church, we all (700 of us) went back to his home for the actual burial. And  there were more speeches and talks, mostly from members of the church and family. But Then this one guy came up who was somebody from the community, who I'm pretty sure was a pastor. So he heard that Steven was once a missionary and has seen us missionaries around, so he started to talk about us. He said he was happy for our work, but then went off about how we should be paid for what we do......... i was like oh no this is not good! He then turned to President Hicken and said "So we have the boss here today so i hope he can listen and do what i say"..... i was like man this guy is a fool! ha so that made things weird... but yeah after he spoke the guy conducting the service (who is member) said "yeah we aren't going to return to that topic again" hahaha! But other than that the service was good... really long but good. But its good to know that we will see Steven again, and he did a wonderful job of getting the Chyulu district moving towards a stake. He was an awesome man.

But Kenyan funerals are crazy.

other than that the week was ok. We were able to find some other new investigators this week which was good... and one of them is a family!!! so that's really exciting, we hope to continue to work with them.  Also got to go around with one of the members to visit Less active members. It was funny because he wanted to carry me on the bike (i would just sit on the rack), so people were staring at us so much! Gosh they thought i had 5 arms or something hahah but it was pretty cool... getting all that attention haha. 

Other than that things are good. We will get transfer news tonight, but ill probably still be here finishing training elder Tebbs. Sorry not much else for this week.  But Darajani is great! I love you all!!

Elder Thomas

Funeral

Mutu Wata,

haha hope you enjoy that Kikamba gretting! but this week went by fast and was a little sad.

To start though, we had another awesome lesson with James Mutisia! He is doing very very good. We were able to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. He was very attentive and focused. The spirit was strong and it went well. He really enjoys meeting with us and has come to church the past two weeks in a row!! He loves going and especially likes seeing his family there as well with him.  He is also doing really well reading the Book of Mormon. That's a big struggle we have here is getting investigators to read, but James is very motivated and enjoys reading it. And the Book of Mormon really leads us to have a lasting conversion, both for new members and old.... remember that! Its also kind of funny because we were talking to his wife at church (who is a member) and she was telling us about his reading. She said she found him one day kind of hiding and reading the Book of Mormon, and as a joke asked him why he was reading it. He said because he wants to know as much as he can, so that if the Elders ask him a question, he wont disappoint them by not knowing the answer!! haha he is great.

We were also able to work with a few of the priests and prospective missionaries this week, Kelly, Eric, and Brian. We actually had a lot of fun with them. They are all crazy guys, but are really strong in the church and are all planning to serve missions.  Even with Brian he is starting his mission papers. But it was great being with them. They were super helpful, with the language and just being able to connect with people in a way that we really cant (because we are foreigners). One funny thing that happened though was i guess that around here lately there have been weird things in the sky.... like random glowing clouds that are moving around all over the place.... not sure if its true but i have heard this from multiple people, including my companion hahah. So someone we met said that the meteorologist were saying it was some sort of weird thing going on with the clouds lately. But in response to that, Kelly said "Umm I'm not sure about that. We are all Christians right?? So yeah Christians and Meteorologist don't get along.... so i don't buy it" ahahahaahhahah it was super funny and random! but yeah help the missionaries out please!

Also this week we really got some sobering news. On Tuesday night, our District President, Steven Mwangangi, passed away. He was the man that i gave a blessing to on Saturday. He apparently had super super high blood pressure, that apparently lead to a stroke and a brain hemorrhage, so it was too much for doctors to do to help him.  I got to be really good friends with him, he was a return missionary so he knew what it was like to be a missionary. He was living in Darajani and attended one of the branches, so i pretty much saw him just about every other day.  He was one of the happiest and most humble person that i have ever met.  Its sad that he will not be with us anymore in this life,but then again we know that this is not the end of our lives. I truly know that Steven is in Spirit Paradise now, probably preaching the gospel to those in the Spirit World who are in need of the knowledge of the gospel. So this week we were really doing a lot of service at his house helping out his wife and kids. It was great to see the support of the members and community in helping out the family cope with this difficult time. I was also asked to give a talk about comforting those in comfort and a fellowship meeting at his home with his family and about 80 members of the branches. so it was pretty cool, Mosiah 18: 8-9 and 3 Nephi 12:4 were two good scriptures. So his funeral will be this Saturday, and there are expected to be 700 people in attendance, as well as the President Hicken and a member of the area seventy. But I'm glad we have a understanding of the plan of salvation in our church.... knowing that death is really only the beginning for us. That one day we will be able to see all who have passed on.  So thank goodness for the plan of salvation... it brings true peace and understanding.

But things are continuing on.  Still looking to help Chyulu become a stake and helping the less actives back to church. Also trying to avoid all the drunkards that roam the streets here... one of them basically ambushed us and started hugging elder Tebbs and singing some crazy song smelling and drunk and such.... it was super annoying. And then the guy got smacked around by another drunk guy.... pretty crazy but yeah that's Kenya for you!!!

haha but i love you all!

Elder Thomas

October 14, 2013

Mambo Vipi!

This past was pretty crazy and went by super super fast! Some awesome experiences and some sad stuff.

So the main highlight this week was on Alhamici (Thursday) with one of our investigators, James Mutisia.  He has a family of 3 little awesome girls (one of which I've baptized) and his wife Anastacia. They are all members except for him, so his wife has been praying for a long time that he would accept the gospel and become a member. So on Thursday we got to visit with him and were able to share about the Book of Mormon, and also about prayer. And it was such a awesome spiritual lesson! He told us of how sometimes he takes his wife's Book of Mormon and reads it on occasions, and that he feels like its a good and true book. Also felt like Elder Tebbs and I did a good job of teaching by the spirit, and James was GLUED to us. He was sooo focused and was asking lots of good questions, which is sooo great because that shows that he is actually concerned and interested in our message.  But at the end of the lesson I invited him to be baptized.... and he accepted!So we are aiming for the 10th of November for him, but that could change if it needs be.  But it was such an awesome lesson with him.  I really feel like God has prepared James to hear the Gospel at this time. He is an awesome guy and we will continue to work with him and help him. But things are looking good with James!

Also this week i got the chance to give a blessing to the District President, Steven Mwangangi. So this past week he was having some health problems and was just feeling really tired and sluggish. We got to see him on Thursday, and he seemed ok. But on Friday he got super super sick, and was throwing up all night and was having some major problems. So they took him to the "health clinic" to be tested, and there they diagnosed him wrong and gave him wrong medication. No surprise there. So Saturday he was not doing good at all, so the Couple missionaries came to me and Elder Tebbs and asked if we could go with them to help give him a blessing. So of course we changed our plans up and went with him. When we got there we could obviously tell that he was not doing good.  This is a guy that usually has a lot of energy, always smiling, and always talking. But when we got there he could barely even smile and was pretty incoherent.  So i was able to give him a blessing, and it was a great experience.  Felt good that i was ready and able to use the priesthood authority that i have. The blessing went well and i felt like i was directed by the spirit in the things i said.  So after that the couples took him to Nairobi, 4 hours away, to take him to the hospital. Turns out that he had super high blood pressure, and actually had a brain hemorrhage and had bleeding in his brain... so it was a pretty serious thing. If they would have not taken him to Nairobi, he most likely would have died at his home.  So we are still hoping that he gets better, he is a awesome guy who is really helping Chyulu to one day become a stake. So that was pretty crazy.

But things are looking good here in Darajani. We are still doing a lot of contacting and finding, but we are also being blessed with unexpected opportunities. On Sunday we were on our way to an appointment when it started raining really hard! So lucky for us we were close to the branch presidents home, so he let us inside. So when we got inside his home, he had one of his friends over, Jones. Jones is a pastor for a local church around... hah so at first we were a little skeptical about talking with him for fear of a bible bash! But he started asking us a lot of questions about our church, because he had heard a lot of things about it (all of which were not true). But we were able to briefly teach him about the restoration and the priesthood. He was especially interested in the priesthood, which was great. So we explained how in our church we have the same  priesthood that Jesus Christ himself had. So he was really interested and we plan to meet him again this week. But if it wouldn't have started raining we would have never met him... so yes God works in mysterious ways.... which is good!!!!

Other than that things are coming along slowly but surly. Unfortunately we found out that our white investigator (who we had lost total contact with) passed away. I was really really saddened when i heard this. I really liked Jack, he was an awesome guy. Its sad to think about him leaving this earth, but then again its good to know the plan of salvation. That he will continue to have the opportunity to hear the gospel in the Spirit world and accept it there and still be able to have all that our Heavenly Father has in store for us. The plan of salvation is perfect, and I'm glad that we have the full knowledge of it!

Also on a more positive note, i bargained big time once again to get 3 jerseys for 1000 ksh! so 2 awesome Kenyan jerseys and one Ethiopian jersey all for just about 10 dollars hahahahha yeah for KENYA!

But i Love you all! Have a super week!

Elder Thomas

October 7, 2013

So this past week was pretty nice with a few cool things going on.

On Tuesday we got the chance to go out with the Branch President (President Ngui) of Darajani 1 and go visit some of the less active members who we didn't know about.  It was awesome because the Couple missionaries, the Gotchers, we able to come with us as well and we got to use their car!! One of the first cars I've been in on my mission that has working AC, seat belts, and proper doors!! so it was fun.  It was cool visiting the members though.  They were very welcoming and happy to see us and one member even gave us some passion fruit! first time I've ever eaten it and it was nothing like I expected it... super sour.. haha.  But it was good being with the Branch President and seeing him involved and ready to help us with the work.  It was funny on Sunday at church because when he was conducting Sacrament meeting, he talked about how he went out with us to help us, and then he said " I want Darajani 1, to be number one."... haha i couldn’t help but laugh a little bit, it was just funny how he said it but it was cool to hear him say that! Even this week we will go with him again to find some more of the less active members. 

Also this week i got to go on exchanges with Elder Diodati! It was really cool to be with him again and it was just like Rongai all over again! haha We were able to do some service for some members by cutting some firewood up for them and they seemed to really like it.  Even one of the less active members who we cut firewood up for came to church on Sunday! Service is good, it shows people you care for them and that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God!" (Mosiah 2:17). And that's the truth!

But when i was with elder Diodati, we had one of the best lessons I've felt like I've had so far on mission.  We went to go teach one of our investigators, James. He is the only one is his family who is not a member and he is the Father.  So his wife Anastacia came to us and really asked us to do our best to help him because she wants her whole family to be members of the church.  So before we met with him i really prayed hard that we might be able to have a good lesson with him, that we might be able to really help him see the light and truth. We were able to teach him about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was AWESOME. The spirit was super super strong and i know that he was able to feel of it. He was really into the lesson and was, no joke, on the edge of his seat! It was so great, and I'm especially glad that i was able to teach him with Elder Diodati, because the lesson just flowed great and the spirit was totally there. So we are really going to focus our efforts on James, so that he can become a good example to his family and one day be able to go to the temple with them. 

Also another cool thing was that this week i got to confirm a little girl at church and give her the Holy Ghost. Yeah for the priesthood!  It was weird though because nobody from the branch presidency told me about it until the little girl got up to the stand, then the Branch president whispered to me and asked me if i could do it. I was a little taken back because i had never confirmed anybody before! ha but i felt confident enough to do it and it went well. Really felt the spirit as i confirmed that little girl, and it was a great experience for me. If ye are prepared ye shall not fear!!! hah.

But things are getting there here in Darajani. Still looking for those prepared to hear the gospel, but i know that the Lord is helping us. I love you all have a great week!!!

Elder Thomas