March 17, 2014

     So I woke up at 4 am this morning so I wouldn't miss Carson today.  Yay!!!

nzuri asubuhi!  (Good morning!)  I'm actually awake!  Hi Carson!

Habari za asubuhi? Sawa   (Good morning? Ok)

Habari za leo?    (How are you today?)

Nzuri na wewe?    (Good and you?)

Mimi ni faini. Mimi nina kujaribu mtihani wa maarifa yako ya swahili! Ha ha!  (I am fine. I'm trying to test your knowledge of swahili! Ha ha!)

haha, Nzuri Sona.Lakini najua kidogo kiswahili na ni injili swahili.   (haha,  very good. But I know a little Swahili and gospel swahili.)

Kisha mimi lazima kuandika barua za zaidi katika swahili hivyo unaweza mazoezi! Carson nakupenda na kufikiri wewe ni mwana bora milele! Matumaini una wiki kubwa wiki hii.   (Then I must write more letters in swahili so you can practice! Carson I love you and think you are the best son ever! Hope you have a great week this week.)

sawa sawa, na mimi pia. Napenda Sona     (straight, and I also. I would like Sona)

Wait...that last reply didn't translate very well.  This is what it said you said...."straight, and I also. I would like Sona"   What was it supposed to say?

I love you lots.stop using translete i think you know more swahili than me for a min, there.

Ha ha!  If it wasn't for google translate, I wouldn't know anything!  I was trying to send you a video of Kaylee this week.  She was inhaling some helium from her birthday balloons and trying to talk swahili to you.  Soo funny!  But what she was trying to say was hilarious.  I tried to send it but it errored on the dropbox so now I'm trying to reload it but it says it still has two hours to load.  So maybe next week I'll finally figure it out.  But this is what she tried to tell you....."Mimi nina kwenda haki mbaya ... naweza kukopa uso wako?"  Now imagine her saying it in a Minnie Mouse voice.  And then repeating over and over " you-so-wacko"  She was crazy that day.  

hahah can't wait to see it.

And then this was his real letter to us...

hey thanks. ya tanzania is going good. No i don't even remember any holidays any more. Just work work work and dreaming of gopher hunting.

Please next time don't write bout shooting. please, just a personal favor so that mission goes by faster than an ice glacier, But also one request. Stock up on 22 shells because when i get back you all know i'll be trigger happy.

Ya that sounds like fun alot of screaming pole

That sounds like lots of fun and alot of work thanks for telling me all of this.

Not really this week has been lots of work and lots of fun, we have 48 memeber present lessons. and we had a baptism last day and two last week. lots of fun.

Nothing to exciting but president will be done for a zone conference the next week. after that not much. Zone leader is fun but very stressful. got to make sure everybody is home safe and have to make sure no concerns, and ya lots of work. Ya Elder o is hurting but it is starting to go down i think. ya i'm good. no new packages. thanks you for sending me some, i have been buying Ksh of everybody i see so that i can be able to buy this package that is coming. no i'm good thank you for your concern. Yup thanks for riting hope  you are doing good to.

Love you Carson

Sorry about writing too much about gopher hunting.  But yes, we'll stock up on lots of shells just for you.  

That sounds great about the member present lessons.  And the baptisms too.  Who are they and what are their stories?  I love hearing about them.

I thought you just had a zone conference two weeks ago.  How often do you have them?  Sorry it's so stressful to be zone leader but I'm sure you're doing a good job.  

Good idea to stock up on the Ksh as well.  You never know.  

Brett wrote me last week...he's in Sarnia and seems to be doing well.  Do you ever hear from him?

Did you hear that Jed got his mission call?  He's going to Winnepeg!   And then next week is Weston's farewell...he's going to Las Vegas I think.

Any other plans coming up this week for you?

It is supposed to be once every two months, which is true but i think pres is forgetting stuff so he keeps coming back.

not much from brett. Yes you told me this last week. and every time i remember anything about jed that is what i remember Winnepeg. Las Vegas hey that is cool.

No plans just the same thing we have been done for the last 6 months, Missionary work and trying to find new people to teach how bout you guys? or are you all partied out.

I'm just excited he's coming to see you cause maybe he'll bring you some packages that I sent.  I'm always worried that they aren't making it to you.  I'm hoping you like the one we sent from Boise last month!

I know I told you stuff last week...but I never got to talk to you about it.   Do you know what the motto of the WInnepeg mission is..."Many are COLD, but few are FROZEN!!"  Those winters are going to be brutal.  But at least there's a road there...just in case.  There's no road to drive to Africa...dangit!

Yes...I'm definitely all partied out!  Thank goodness it was the twelfth and final one!  Wahoo!  Looking forward to some peace and quiet.

How do they teach Sunday School over there?  Do they use the old manuals or are they using the new curriculum on the internet?  The reason i'm asking is that tonight at Kaylee's laurel/priest thing...instead of just a bunch of people talking from the pulpit...they had a question and answer period.  So the kids asked questions about the standards and the stake presidency would answer them.  They tried to run it kind of like how the new curriculum is being run.  Just wondering how it's working over there in Africa.  Also, they mentioned that next year, the adult curriculum would also be changing to this new way of doing things.  What are your thoughts?

HAHAHA Many are cold but few are Frozen. HAHAH GOOD LUCK JED.

ya i don't go to sunday school i go to gospel principles or investigator class.

me i don't know i won't be around to find out. probably will come around when i'm already back home so i don't really know.

when you sent me those pictures of you caught in the rain last week...I wanted to ask you...do you not get any warning that it's going to rain?  I mean...how can it just suddenly rain?  Do you not see rain clouds coming?  I ran into Ragby this last week and asked him about the weather over in Tanzania.  And he said the same thing...that it just will start raining.  I guess I don't understand that.  Here you can usually see the storm clouds rolling in.  Is this starting to be winter for you now?  Is it raining more and more?  How's the shoes taking it?  Maybe we should have sent you gumboots or hip waders!

No we saw the clouds rolling and we where walking down the road and then boom. we were wet before we even know it. so we walked in the rain. ya it will be raining for the next month and then it gets hot again... gumboots and hip waders would be nice but i probably would get to excited and get the water inside my boot. But ya the shoes are good and holding well. Thanks.

It must be a nice warm rain at least.  

So any baptism prospects coming up this week?  You said that you were looking for new people to teach...but how goes the ones that you are already teaching?  48 member present lessons!  Wow..that's a lot!  Anybody that you're feeling good or golden about?

ya there is a few but we are hoping for 2 weeks from now. Like april 6 or something. but it is awesome and lots of fun.

Sounds good.  I always enjoy your stories about the people you teach.  It's good to hear about them.  I like it especially because it makes me more grateful for what I have here.  

Not really anything has been happening except that my english is falling. When ever we run into someone speaking english it is very hard for me. But really i'm doing good and having lots of fun doing god's work

Wait...you mean your forgetting some of your english?  Well, isn't that a good thing...in a way?  That means you must be doing really well with the whole swahili thing right?  Good for you? 

Ok...I get your having fun and working hard...why won't you tell me about the people that you're teaching?  You seem to just pass over that.   

Any other big plans today?  Still washing your clothes in a bucket?  Were you ever able to go buy a new white shirt for yourself?  When we talked at Christmas you said something about needing to go buy a new one.  How's that going?

i don't know like i'll try to talk to someone in English about the gospel and it will come out in Kiswahili so it is a good thing, Not much to tell just teaching people and hoping that the spirit will be with us to help this people come unto christ.

I wasn't so much in a need for a shirt but for some pants which i'm still working on.

I could probably try to send you pants...but they would need to be hemmed over there.  Do you want me to do that?  Can you remember what size pants you had?  What color do you want?  I still think it would be just easier for you to get them there because by the time I get them mailed to me or mailed to you...that will take 8 weeks at least.  You might just have to bite the bullet and open your wallet and buy some pants!!!  You can do it Carson!  I have faith in you!!!

Ya that is what i was planning but since you said so. I'm 32-32 and bout an inch would be perfect, or even just send them and i can get them hemmed up...

Or i could buy some new ones.

Or you could buy some new ones!

But he never replied so he must have gone.  But here is the letter he sent to Ken...

Hey thanks for writing today. Really enjoy your letters because as i read them it always makes me laugh and smile. oh and also i can sometimes hear your voice. that freaks me out abit but it is still pretty funny. Like for example, i HAD to go to taylor band concert which was Painful, glad that is over. Never gets old.

Ya this week has been good and lots of work, we had a baptism last day and 2 others where baptised two weeks ago and where confirmed this week. but it was good. i was able to confirm one of them, and the baptism was crazy.

we had one of the branch missionaries try, but first off he isn't serious at all reminds me of ashlee when she always says    I KNOW  but this guy couldn't get here full in the water and then he couldn't get the words right in Swahili. You can do either.

but after the 5-6 time Elder o went and just did it him self. Said the prayer put her in the water and then done. first time bass.

but overall it was very good.

Hope work is going good for you, and hope the family is doing good.

Love you lots and hope you have a good week.

Carson