What up everybody, I’m back. This week has been so awesome! I’m doing so much better and love being out in the field. We’ve been doing a lot of contacting with members and recent converts so thats been awesome. We have a lot of investigators but a lot of them aren’t super serious. So we’ve been focusing a lot on the people who are really interested and want to learn more. Even though we’re focusing on getting to know the members, we’re still teaching like 5 lessons a day which is crazy. The people here are so nice, humble, and ready to accept the gospel! Its been so amazing to see how much people want to learn more about the gospel and Jesus Christ. 

We’ve been finding a lot of people on the road and such that stop us and want to set up appointments so thats been cool. We’ve passed out a LOT of pamphlets to random people and investigators. We also gave away 10 Books of Mormon to people we are teaching! I love meeting with them again and seeing what they are finding in the scriptures. 

For those who didn’t know, my first few days in Liberia were really hard for me. I was super depressed and homesick for a few days and just felt like nothing was happening the way it should. This week I focused a lot on getting “lost in the work.” And holy cow, it has given me so much strength and helped me so much. Every day, I look forward to being out in the field and teaching, meeting, and helping the people. I love it now so much and time has been flying now that I’m loving my purpose of sharing the gospel with others and inviting them to come closer to Christ. 

A scripture I found this week was Alma 5:13. It talks about humbling ourselves before God and to put our trust in Him. I’ve noticed how much closer I’ve come to know Him just by trusting in Him this week. He loves us so much and wants to help us so much. But we have to humble ourselves to Him and trust Him in order for us to come closer and feel His love. 

Alright so shoutout to Ella Goodman, Brigham’s wife. Before I left she gave me a book called The Missionarys Little Book of Inspirational Stories. It has a lot of cool stories that are super helpful and I’ve been reading a few every night. One I read was titled A Missionarys Gethsemane. It says, 

You’re on a mission and things seem tough; Doors are slammed with voices gruff; Your companion refused to do his share, You feel discouraged and even despair. You question your testimony and belief in God; You wonder about the path you’ve trod. Memories of pleasure dance in your brain; A sirens song an old refrain; “The work is hard,” and with a taunt, Whispers “Not as He wills but as you want.” You tire of rules and feet worn to the bone, And suddenly decide you want to go home. You’ll never know if you say goodbye, What might happen if you stay and try, To follow the rules and do your best, To serve the Lord and pass your test. Where do you think that you would be, If Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane; His soul in torment, a trial of fire, Had selected not duty before desire? He set the pattern for you and me, to meet our own Gethsemane. From boy, to man, to Elder with fire, Comes only when duty can master desire. 

I love that so much, but I’ll let you all think about it and let the Spirit speak to you personally on how that can apply to your own lives. 

Invitation time: pray for Lincoln, Emanuel, and Jeffrey! They’re some awesome investigators that I know love the message of the gospel. I just want them to realize it for themselves and want to get baptized so pray for them to know this gospel is true!!! 

Sorry for the super long email but this week was epic and I thought I’d share a lot of what I loved haha. Love you all keep up the good work! 

1) Hiking through the wilds of Africa 

2) Yummy chicken foot 

3) Me and my buddy Po, he’s epic 

4) Elder Batila and Elder Lumumba are goons 

5) Me and Elder Batila out preaching and teaching