May 19, 2014

 It was a very successful week for us here in Congo Town. We taught a lot of lessons!! But not a whole lot to write about, but I will think of something to write.

 This week we had a total of 23 lessons!! That’s 2 more than we had last week. We even had more members who able to come around with us as well. We had more “Member Present” lessons than “Other” lessons (which is where it’s just the missionaries). Our mission President wants us to start teaching more lessons. He said the average amount of lessons taught in a week 2 years ago was about 30 to 32, but now the average is only 16… He wants us to start working harder and harder. One way he suggested was that when we get bounced, to look around and whoever you see, go talk to them and share a very simple message about the Restored Gospel and how our Heavenly Father has called a true and living Prophet here in the last days. Elder Godi and I both aren’t very good at contacting people so we are completely stepping out of our comfort zone and faithfully trying to follow the council of our mission President. We have had a little success since we started doing this; it really helps our teaching pool too. We have gotten a lot more people teach or to go follow up on.

Last week we met a man called Emmanuel, he called us over thinking that we were Jehovah Witness’. So we explained who we were and he was interested to listen to us. We set a return appointment for Saturday, we get to where we met him and called him but his phone was off. So we stood there a moment thinking of what to do. Elder Godi says lets go talk to those people and ask if they know Emmanuel, I’m very thankful that he suggested that because the house we went to was his house. It was a small miracle. Finding people sometimes is hard since there are no addresses and a lot of people like to turn off their phone which sucks. But we found him and he is hilarious!! He seems like a great guy and even accepted the invitation to be baptized.

 Another miracle we had was how Trokom, a blind man, came to church on his own. I have no idea how he made it but he got there super early and even beat us on getting to church building. Trokom is really cool but he can talk a lot!!! Sometimes a feel that he talks more than us which isn’t bad, but sometimes the things that he talks about are not related to the topic at all.

 Speaking of church, there was a good amount of people there on Sunday because it didn’t rain. When it rains, not a whole lot of people come to church which is a little annoying but that’s LIB. The Gospel Essentials class was packed!! There were a lot of investigators and Recent Converts that came which was great. We even had a guy who lives in a different area come to church with us. I’m a little bummed that we had to refer him to different Elders in a different branch since he showed up randomly.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! (on May 18th)

 A couple weeks ago we found a man that was baptized in 1998 but was less active because of family reasons. We hadn’t been able to sit with him or his family till this gone Friday. So we now have a Part Member family to teach. The wife, who is of a different faith, was really receptive to the Message of the Restored Gospel. She even accepted a baptismal invitation. We are now teaching the whole family and even the children, who are of age, have baptismal dates. 

It was a very productive week and it went by super fast. I hope everyone had a good week as well!!

I love you all!
 Elder Park
The White African
T.I.A.

May 12, 2014

This week was full of hard work and sweat…. The sun is hot man!!!

I wish all the Mothers in the world a Happy Mothers day. Calling my family was by far the best part of the week!!

Here is the letter that I sent to my Mission President. (because we had just talked to him the day before, he really didn’t have anything to write about)

President,

This week seemed to be the hardest working week for Elder Godi and I.  We really felt like we were effective throughout the week.  We did a lot of contacting and finding, but we realized because some of the dates we had for the investigators from the Elders before were very long past, we couldn’t find them, so we found new people. We found one man whose father is a member but passed not too long ago.  He would often times go to church with him over in Caldwell.  As we were walking to our next appointment he called us over.  It was a small miracle because he said he loved the church but moved once his father died and could never find the missionaries.

We also were told about a Recent Convert we needed to see.  Problem was that we didn’t know where she lived.  So we got to the general place and just started asking people for her, since we didn’t have her number, we just starting to ask.   We eventually found her and it was great that we did, she was asked to teach in Relief Society on Sunday about the blessings that come from the Priesthood.  So we were able to help her prepare for that.

The branch is great.  President Wesseh is fantastic.  The branch is having the meetings that they should be having which is great.  We are working well with our Branch Mission Leader and he actually helps us.
I hope that all of you had a great week.

Elder Park
The White African
T.I.A.

Extra emails:
I’m in the Sinkor zone and Zone conference will be on May 23rd.

I told him we finally got a Café Rio restaurant nearby, he said:  “I want Cafe Rio bad!!!”  He wants to go to Café Rio on the way home from the airport next January!  

He got to call home on Mother’s Day, we talked to him for almost w hours, and then he called Katie, Grandma and Grandpa.  “I’m glad grandma was excited I called, grandpa was hilarious!!”  I asked him what was so funny with Grandpa and he said:  “he asked how long i talked to you and I said about 2 hours.  He said,that’s terrible way to long!!   It was just funny."

Notes from the Mother’s Day call:

We play baseball batting practice with Easter Eggs every year.  He asked how many eggs we hit this year.  I told him I brought about 8 dozen.  Did I realize we smashed 48 breakfasts?

“I only put deodorant on so I don’t forget how”

He’s in a nicer area of Liberia, the former president of Liberia used to live about 5 minutes from his apartment,  the “Palm Springs Resort” is nearby, so is the Chinese Embassy.  This area has a lot of hills so he gets a workout every day. I asked him if the President still lived there, and he said no.   He was corrupt and because of what he did during the war the English have put him in a prison in England for war crimes.

“love handles” are called “rice bags” by the missionaries because they eat so much rice.

He would rather get malaria than some of the other diseases they have over there.

It didn’t matter what Derek would brag about doing here, Collin would always say “but I’m in Africa!”  He loves it there and doesn’t mind missing movies, ball games, or many other things, because he gets to be in Africa!

One more phone call and then he will be coming home!   

 May 5, 2014

This week, what an adventure.

At home, they say:   April showers bring May flowers.  Here it is:  April sun brings May storms.

Well to start off, rainy season has begun, so now it’s time for jumping over puddles and running.  Life as a LIB missionary is sweetoo!!   This week also has been very interesting too, lots of things have happened.  Hopefully I will be able to remember everything.

Since we are in a white washed area, we had to completely rely on the members for help.  We have an area book that holds all the information, but since there are really no addresses here, if you don’t know the house, you’ll never find it and the person will be lost… which isn’t good.  The addresses here are like “Kpeleh Town,” but then you realize that Kpeleh town is about a square mile big.  LIB is sweet!! So what we did was this, we called Emmanuel Kolleh, who was baptized in September and is preparing to start his mission papers, he showed us pretty much the whole area in one day. This guy is great.  I thank him so much for what he did to help us.  We did that with different people throughout the week. 

We called our Branch Mission Leader who is a returned missionary of about 5 months, man this guy is good.  He was nonstop contacting people.  To be completely honest, contacting is still very hard for me.  Most of my mission people have just come up to me and asked who we are and what we do.  I learned a lot from him.

In Congo Town there are about 5342346 times more people than in Upper Caldwell (his last area) so I have a feeling that it is going to be a lot easier for the work to progress.   We met a lot of our brothers and sisters who are investigating the church throughout the week, one of them is Brother Trokom.  This guy is blind!!  He is so cool.  He has a copy of the Book of Mormon in braille and it’s so cool watching him read it, it’s crazy how blind people can do that.  He didn’t come to church yesterday which was a bummer because he had been to church the two weeks before.

My apartment is nicknamed ‘the Mansion’ by the couples because of how huge this place is.  It has 2 master bedrooms, 2 other bedrooms and an extra bathroom, big kitchen, we have a deep well and a water tower that holds about 1000 gallons of water, 3 dogs that love us, 2 security guards that come at 7pm and leave at 7am.  The compound is on the top of a hill so the view is awesome!  One side is the ocean which is about a 10 minute walk. The other is a view of Peace and Pagos Islands.  It’s a beautiful area.  Congo Town is great!!!

I know I’m leaving something out and I’m sorry but I can’t remember.  I hope you had a great week and I love you all and miss you.

Elder Park

The White African

T.I.A.

From additional emails:

I asked him about the security guards:   “We live in the compound with the owner and he had people break in and steal from him a while ago.  The guy has money since he lived in the states for a while and he's old so he can’t defend against rouges so he hired people to.’ 

Collin’s boots were stolen last year off the front porch, so I asked if he had gotten more:  “I got more boots a while ago.  I still hate them though, they hurt my feet.  Last year I managed most of the rainy season without them so I’m planning for that this year!”

I asked him if there were a lot of people at church:  “church attendance was good, lots of people.  The place is nice.  It’s fairly new and still looks good!!"

“Congo town is on your way from Central Monrovia going towards ELWA junction which leads you to Tinker Village.   This place is sweet!”

April 28, 2014

Hello from LIB!!!

This week was so frustrating.  Elder Nabende went home on Wednesday so the three of us that were left, were put into a three-some...  oh how  I hate those.   So Elder Enwukweri and Godi and I were trying to figure out how to teach the whole week long.  It was very hard and stressful.  One day we would focus in one area and then the next day we focused on the other area…  so not a lot of time in my own area.

At the beginning of the year our mission President challenged us to read the Book of Mormon by May 1st.  So I've been working that and on Thursday I finished it.   I did Moroni's challenge at the end, and the Book is TRUE!!!

So we found out transfer news on Saturday. Elder Godi and I are still companions.... but we both moved to Congo Town!!!   We are going into a white washed area so we have a lot of work to do.   So yeah for us!!   I will tell you more about the apartment next week, but I have LEC so I have power whenever I want it.  (I asked him what LEC was and he said:  “its power that comes from the government that we pay for, it’s really cheap compared to generators, and we have it all night.   During the day we turn it off to save money since we aren’t in the apartment.   So basically it’s electricity that works normal”).   We have a deep well and also a water tower with a 1000 gallon tank.

I moved really far actually but I’m really glad I moved.  Elder Witehira and Montgomery will be sharing the apartment with us.

My time has finished,  I’m sorry I wasn’t on longer…  it’s been a rough day, not going to lie, moving, cleaning, atms not working, cafes not working.  stressful.  I love you none the less.

I love you!!!

Elder Park

The White African

T.I.A.

April 21, 2014
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

I hope that everyone had a great Easter.  I forgot how Easter was here in LIB,  but it was good.  I was very surprised at how many investigators came to church yesterday.  There were about 6 people and a couple of them, 4 of them that were first timers.   One man I know but have never sat with him, but I've sat with his wife, decided to show up.  I probably haven’t even seen him for about 2 weeks and yesterday he randomly shows up at the end of sacrament meeting.  Miracles happen each day here!!

The week was really frustrating to be honest.  There were a lot of people that bounced us so it made it really frustrating.  We did have interviews with President Kirkham on Friday.   He gave me a couple things to improve on,  mostly just making sure that I extend the invitation for baptism on the first lesson every time.  That had always been a weak spot for me.  I just like to see if the person is truly interested and is willing to actually listen and change, most people aren’t, they just want to learn what the Bible says.  That’s not our purpose as missionaries.  Our purpose is to help others use the Atonement of Jesus Christ and have a remission of their sins, not to be dispensers of knowledge.

I never really understood Easter, and I didn’t really understand it till this week, to be completely honest.  I knew that it was to honor the Resurrection of Christ, but anything more that, I couldn’t tell you.  Back at home I remember that on Easter Sunday, the talks would be given by the best people.  Here they ask us to talk.  I was asked to talk along with Elder Nabende who has faithfully served an honorable 24 months and will be returning home on Saturday.  I focused my talk on the Atonement of course.  I spent the whole week learning about it and studying it.  I have so much love for my Savior.  John 3:16 is where I started.  Because our Father in Heaven loves us, he gave us His Son,  and if we believe in Him we will have everlasting life.   If we have Faith in him, we will repent of the sins that we have committed,  then we make covenants with God like at Baptism, and then comes the remission of our sins when we receive the Holy Ghost.  The final step is then to show our love for the Savior and keep the commandments, John 14:15.   I know that my Redeemer lives.  I know that each of us will be able to become like him if we just repent and make and keep covenants.  By doing this, we can also receive that glorious reward of everlasting life. 

I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that when we learn and apply the principals of the gospel, we can get nearer to God than to anything else.  I know this church is true.  I love you all

Elder Park

The White African

T.I.A. 

In an extra email he wrote:

Sorry i emailed way early for you (yep, I wasn’t checking my email at 4:30), we have a busy day today.  We are going into town and getting transport is super hard so we left early.  I haven’t meet the Dever’s, but I might today if they are at the office (The Dever’s recently arrived in Liberia, they are also from Washington state, their niece is a family friend).   Transfers come this weekend but I’m 90% sure my comp and I are staying based on my interview with President Kirkham.   The living situation is still the same.   We are looking for a new apartment though. 

I sent him a picture from when Derek and I got lunch at the Café Rio restaurant that just opened nearby.  He wrote:

I’m jealous.  Last night for Easter dinner me and my companion spoiled ourselves and bought chicken thighs and fried them with jojos and a terrible pasta salad.  It’s going to suck coming home because my stomach was not correct after that....

 

 

 

 

 

April 14, 2014

Good afternoon everyone!!! Its 2:45 pm, slightly cloudy and humid as always!

This week was really good even though we didn’t accomplish our goals.  It was busy week too.  Very frustrating on Wednesday though ….  The reason behind that is we taught a less active girl that is younger than I am and has a baby (unfortunately, this is all too common here is LIB).  We’ve sat with her many times before and have very thoroughly covered what the Priesthood is with her.  We sit with her and her first question was, “what’s the Priesthood?” so frustrating.  But it was good, we explained it again and also how important it was, so hopefully she understands now.  To make it better, as we were walking back to the apartment, we ran into another less active man.  We asked him why he didn’t come to church and he just laughed.  It’s frustrating that people don’t always understand why coming to church is so important.  When we got to the apartment, I took my frustration out on the floor by doing as many pushups as a I possible could do, resting for a second and then doing it again.  I did a lot of pushups that night.  That was the only downer of the week though.  The rest of the week was great!! Sorry to start off on a sad note.

On Thursday I went on exchange with Elder Nabende who is going home to Uganda at the end of the month.  I look up to him so much.  I love this man!!  But that’s not the best part of Thursday. The best part is HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!  (I love this kid!)

We have a man we are teaching named Travis Kollie.  I think I talked about him last week but we had a great lesson with him.  He wanted to learn more about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. So we covered that very thoroughly. We were expecting to see him at church but he didn’t come, so he’s not fully progressing anymore… but we have someone else who is progressing.  Beatrice has been sitting with us for about 3 weeks now.   We had a fantastic lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ this week.  The Spirit was so strong.  It really showed how important and true the Book of Mormon is.  We used a lot of scriptures from all of the Book of Mormon to teach the 5 principals.   I think that because of that lesson, she decided to come to church for the first time yesterday.  She came late so we didn’t actually see her till the end of Sunday school, but she said she’d been there for about 20 minutes.  So much for calling us…  but after church the Relief Society Sisters talked with her for a second which makes every missionary just happen!  I invite everyone who sees a new face come to church, go up and say hello to them.  Make a friend!!

We had a couple more first timers come to church yesterday too.  I am always happen when people we invite actually keep their commitments.  What’s  even better is when you meet 2 people on Saturday, teach them a quick lesson and then they come to church the next day.  I love people that do that!!!

Saturday was interesting.  I had a cousin get married, shout out to you Kim!! Congrats!! And I also had a close friend get married too, Congrats Mackenzie!!!  I wish both the newlyweds good luck!  But what was crazy about Saturday was this, I went to a wedding too!  Hahaha it was great!  Brother Felix is the man, he is the one we call if anything gets messed up or broken in the apartment.  He did the civil marriage on Saturday so that he can then go the temple in a couple months.  It was really cool to see how people get married here.  Tradition is great.  They had it at the district center and that place was PACKED!!!!

Sunday, we had 52 partake of the sacrament, and then by the end of sacrament meeting, we had about 80 in the chapel!!! I was so happy!

This morning I woke up a little vexed.  Last night there was a crazy storm that made it really windy which I loved, but also it kicked up a lot of sand… so I woke to find a thin layer of sand covering my body and my bed.  Oh I was happy, but I was too tired to complain about it.  I just undid my net and then took my sheet outside and shook it and put it in the wash, I mean I put into the bucket…  that’s life here in LIB!

Mission is the best.  I love everything that I’m able to do here and the people I meet.  I love this Gospel. I know it is true.  I hope you all had a great week!!

Elder Park

The White African

T.I.A.

 

April 7, 2014

Happy Birthday to the Truest Church on the face on the earth, yesterday.  (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr.)

This week my companion and I were able to teach the most lessons I have ever taught in Upper Caldwell.  It was a great week and also very very hot!!!

A normal week here in Upper Caldwell we get about 18 to 19 lessons a week.  This week we got 25.  We were working really hard.   We decided not to stand,  but to find someone to teach.   In doing so we had to go out of both our comfort zones and contact for a little while.  My whole mission, I've only really done that once.  This mission is so unique in the fact that we don’t really have to contact much.  People walk up to us.  (I think my contacting he means going door to door to meet people)

While contacting we met a woman named Sarah.   She went to church with a member when she was very small but still remembers a lot about it, she lost contact with the church because she moved.  I’m convince that it was the Spirit that lead us up there.  I've never been there before and Thursday, we just started walking and we found her.  Miracles happen on the daily here.

What’s even more miraculous is the attendance in church, about 6 weeks ago, we counted the attendance in sacrament meeting: 20 members.  Yesterday it was 48.  The numbers seem small, but some Liberians are very stubborn.   All the missionaries were so happy at the end of church.  Sometimes, often times, we get disappointed at church, but yesterday, we were all happy!

On Wednesday evening we got a referral from the Caldwell New Georgia Elders.  Travis Kollie is so cool!!!  He is Lutheran, but hasn’t been to church in 2 years.  He knows a lot of LDS people that are in good standing and are still strong in the church.  He ran for the House of Representatives a little while ago.   We sat with him on Thursday and read a lot of scriptures about our belief of the Trinity.   He said he learned a lot.  This guy is prepared for this Gospel.  I love the opportunities we get to meet people here. 

Friday we met a man that started to ask us some simple, but doctrinal, questions.   It eventually led to him asking us this: "which birth is more miraculous?  One born with no mother no father, one born with a father but no mother, or one born with a mother but no father?"  i looked at him for a second, thought for another, and said we can say all 3 are the most miraculous.  I have had many questions asked, some very easy to answer and some that I have no idea what the answer is or might be.  This is one that I've never had in the whole of my mission.  I wonder if I'll ever meet that man again.  All I know is that our Father in Heaven works in ways that we can not comprehend.  That’s why he is God and we are his children.

My week was great, I hope that you all got to hear conference, I'll read it in a month or two!!

Elder Park

The White African
T.I.A.  

I sent him some pictures of the food we were eating during Conference – homemade cinnamon rolls and homemade café rio pork salad.  He wrote:  “I’m vexed about it...  I want good food and being able to sit on  a comfortable couch and watch conference....  i miss American food bad way.

He also added:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MOM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!  (on Thursday)  I love him!