May 12, 2014
It's the day after Mother's Day and I'm still so excited because I still get a letter from Carson today. This is a great week!!!
Hey that is awesome for sure i was very happy to hear your guys
voice again. and ya i phoned grandma and grandpa and for sure they where tickled.
Hey that is ok, but for sure you did alot of stuff for me. You
where the one who always would try to have family home evening and reading the
scriptures and dad getting his old mission stuff out, perfect example.
But even here these africans are just being blown away. Because
another elder from Canada has just been doing stupid things. He doesn't wash his shirts, he doesn't like
swahili and it would almost seem that he is gay.
But then they all look at me and say your from the states right?
ha No i'm from Canada and then they look at me and this kid and just say what
no.
But for sure i'm about ready to beat this kid, it is almost like
he is a girl and he doesn't care about his clothes or where he is walking. So
all of this americans are just throwing Canada under the bus. and me with that
big flag everybody Knows i'm a little patriot so they like to get under my skin
by saying different things. Like Femie Canada, and other stuff.
But other than that everything is going good. And hope dad is
going to be feeling better. and don't worry about me. I'm fine and doing well.
But please don't send the details. just keep me up to date. Thank you Love you
guys are doing good.
Elder Williams
i'm a little big to be called kiddo.;)
Love you guys lots
hope you have a good week
And
good luck
Yes we loved hearing from you! I hear you about the
details and I'll make sure we keep things brief. That's too bad about
your fellow Canadian. Maybe you need to talk to him and set him straight.
He's from Lethbridge I think...so...that could explain a lot.
Any big plans this week? I love missionary stories...got
any good ones lately?
Love ya
(you're
never too big to be called kiddo by the mom!) But noted.
We
talked just last night, i told you that we had kind of a slow week and not
really an big plans but Zone Conference is coming and apparently Elder Cook is
coming. so we had to read all of these talks and the pmg (Preach My Gospel?) to prepare for his
coming. one was lock your heart by spencer W Kimball. (Carson forwarded this article to us and it's included on this post later down.) For sure i felt fire
coming for the computer i will forward it to you. but for sure this is week 5
this transfer has gone fast. Hoping for a transfer. But not to travel so maybe
just staying would be fine. Oh well we will have to see.
I
know we talked last night...but remember...I bawled through most of it.
Zone conference sounds like it should be fun. But I think you said
it was a lot of work last time...so you'll be all practiced up for this one!
Elder Cook...like Quentin Cook? The apostle? Wow...that's
awesome. I will look forward to the Spencer Kimball talk. Very
curious to see what it says. Yes this last 5 weeks has gone kinda fast.
After what you said last night...I really hope they keep you out of
Kenya! I can do without that stress. What is it about traveling you
don't like? Just the flying? Are you like Dad? He liked the
bigger smoother planes and hates the little tiny puddle jumping planes.
Maybe they really like you and Elder O together and don't want to break
up the dream team. Or...you could be comps with that elder from Canada?
That sounds like you could be useful in that pair up.
Ya
Elder Cook. Well these people don't know how to fly in style and the one plane we where on it sounded like the mzee was drunk and that he was going to have a
heart attack and just crazy crape. I left with the arm rests in my hands.
Ripped them out of my seat. you should of seen me coming from Canada to here
you would have laughed this one lady tried to calm me down when for sure i
thought we where going to crash. NOOOOOO if pres doesn't want me to tie that
kid up and beat him until he likes girls with a frying pan don't put us a
companions.ehehhehheehhehehe
Careful...when
you say stuff like that...it's going to come true. Any big plans for the rest of the day?
Have you already done your laundry? How long does it take to wash
your clothes in a bucket? How many shirts and pants do you go through in
a week? Do you iron all your clothes once they are dry? The girl I
work with that's from South Africa said that when she was a girl...they had to
iron all their clothes that had hung out to dry because it was the heat from
the ironing that killed all the bugs that came into the clothes while they were
hanging. She said they even ironed the underwear. Do you have
to do that too?
no
not really probably just to go back home and recovery from lost sleep. ya
saturday i did. depends i usually wash every 4 days so it takes about 2-3 hrs.
no am i supposed to all i do is take them of the line and very casually throw
them in my closet. ya they told us that to but recently haven't done that so ya
fun fun washing in a bucket.
That sounds awesome Carson! Just think of all the good
you're doing the earth by not using all that electricity to power the washing
machines. You could start something new when you get home...you could
start a whole new wave of energy saving ideas! The earth is a little
greener because of you...you little tree hugger you! Awwww momma's so
proud!
So
do you have lots of letters to write people today? How long do you get to
stay at the internet cafe? or wherever you get to use the computer?
Actually that will be the first thing i do take my clothes in a
black garbage bag. throw them into that wonderful, beautiful machine and throw
alittle soap and then boom done walk away. no not really today people must be
busy because not many people wrote. :(
We
have an hour left but realisticaly we have all day so if we don't finish we can
load some more.
I'm surprised you think you'll even bring any of those clothes
home with you. Why not just leave them all there and then you don't have
to bother packing them up. You can just pack up all the momentos you want
to bring home. Maybe don't bring home that spear you want! But you might
want some other knick knacks and things that you will use in your own home one
day. Dad has that picture of Newfoundland that I love and I wish he had
some other things we could display too. He had that full-sized stuffed
seal when we were first married, but the thing collected so much dust and it
stunk so we finally had to throw it away. Don't bring home a stuffed
zebra or something ok.
Sorry
about not too many letters this week. Maybe they knew your momma wanted
you all to herself!! :)
For sure that is a great idea and i have already bought some
stuff. But i don't want to run the suprise because for sure i'll be blowning
minds when i go back. For sure start telling people you thought Africa would
change me, HAHAHHAHHAAA!!!!!!
IT
HAS ONLY MADE ME WORSE!!!!!
Uh
oh...what does that mean? I'm not sure I like how you can make that
spelling sound like an evil laugh. What did you do? I'm sure they
don't allow the missionaries to go gopher hunting over there. What have
you done??!!?!
HEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok...maybe
I don't want to know any more about your diabolical evil plan. Well Carson, it
looks like dawn is starting to break around here. The girls will be
getting up soon and Dad will be off to do whatever it is that he does with
those horses. I'm not sure what
i'll be doing today. I should paint...but I hate painting. Maybe
I'll go back to bed and think about it some more.
Diabolical that is a wonderful word for my plans. Ahhh i thought all that you guys do is fun
stuff, none of this painting stuff.
Even
for use we have to go soon. So love you lots hope you have a fun day doing what
ever you are doing love lots
I wish we could just do fun stuff. But somebody has to do
the dirty work. Love you lots too and have fun with whatever YOU are
doing the rest of this week. Thanks for all your hard work. You
make us proud. Take care and know that we love you. You're awesome
Love
ya.....Mom!!! :)
Love you too.
Kwa
Heri! (I think this means good bye.)
This is Carson's letter to Ken:
Hey thank you so much for the letter this morning. I really
enjoyed talking to you guys last night, and hope you are doing well. That is
why we all love you even though some situations should be serious and
thoughtful. You put a nice humor swing to it. and even too the mom and dad
battle going on made this letter funny too.
Sounds like you are still kicking though so that is awesome.
Hope you are doing well. Funny story but for sure the priesthood is true and if
we strive to be exactly obedient through the spirit wonders can happen.
For sure For sure How is that show is it still harder than
Amazing race?
I miss those shows especially duck dynasty but oh well. Lots of
carching up to do when i finally get home in a 1 and a half. but for sure hope
you are doing better,
We will be praying for a speed recovery.
Love you lots and Thanks for all that you do. and the example
you have been to me.
Love
you again
This is the article of Pres. Spencer W. Kimball that Carson mentioned in his letter to me...
Lock Your
Heart
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Latin American Mission Tour, 1968
If there are problems in the mission that you can
give me light on so that I can help your President and help you, that's what
I'd like. if there are situations that are difficult, if there are problems
that are unknown - let me give you one example:
In one of the missions I found a bad situation. One
or two missionaries had been breaking rules (as the President has talked about
this morning). They began to break some rules. All they did was go over to a
certain home every Sunday night for a dinner. The President didn't know
anything about it. It wasn't very serious; they should have been home studying,
but it was a regular thing every week. After a little while these missionaries
were bringing others and pretty soon they were dancing on Sunday night, a few
of them. Then they were doing a little flirting and then a few of them
got to playing cards there every Sunday night. And then they were
dancing in the dark with some of the Saint's girls!
The next thing we knew there was an
excommunication. I came there and
the things were revealed. I found that where
there was only one boy who had actually gone to the extreme where he had to be
excommunicated, there were about eighteen missionaries in this area who had
followed like sheep over the ledge. They had not intended to do anything wrong,
but they had just kind of followed the leadership. They had gone there to the
meals - and they had gotten into little flirtations - not too deeply, but the
thing is that there were eighteen missionaries who knew that this boy had gone
too far. They knew that he was necking and petting but not one of them would
ever tell! When I interviewed them and visited with them I said, "Why didn't
you tell the President that conditions were bad?" One of them said,
"Well, That's none of my business! This Elder can do as he pleases! If he
wants to wreck his mission, that's okay with me, it's his business, it's his
mission! If he wants to ruin his life that's up to him. It's his-life!!"
And then I said to these Elders, "Well what
about your missions? Isn't this your mission, too? Isn't this your church, too?
Are you willing that one person nullify all that you've done here? You've spent
20 months down here, Elder, and you have been working reasonably hard and at
times you have done remarkably good work. Are you willing that one scandal -
one scandal in this out-of-the-world place - will neutralize all that you've
done? All of your efforts? That's what happens! Are you willing to do
that?" He said, "Well I hadn't thought of it like
that." Well, but that's what happened, isn't it, Elders? This
is your mission! This is your Church! One scandal in a community is enough
to annihilate the work of all of you, maybe all the work you do cumulatively-
for all your two years - neutralized by one scandal in the community! Do you
think that you have a loyalty? Where are your loyalties? Are you loyal to
yourself? Are you loyal-to your companion? Are you willing to let him go on,
and on, and on, and on, until he breaks his neck?
When he was excommunicated it was a sad day in that
mission because he was a fine young man and all the missionaries loved him, and
some of them were weeping that day. I remember! Some of them were weeping
tears! Their brother was being excommunicated from the Church and sent home in
disgrace!
And then I said to them, "Elders! Do you know
who excommunicated this boy? Not me; not your President; not the Elder's court.
It was you!! You excommunicated your brother! How? Well, if you'd have said,
'Elder, lets not do that! That disturbs our whole program. We lose
spirituality, all of us, when things like this happen.' Now suppose that he
didn't yield and you said to him again, 'Elder, you shouldn't do that! We can't
be doing those kinds of things!' And then suppose you'd gone a third time and
said, 'Elder, I'm sorry, if you don't desist I'm going to have to report to the
Mission President because I'm not going to have you destroy my work! I've worked
too hard to have it all go to the wind! I'm going to tell the President, not as
a tattletale, but I'm going to report to the President so that he can protect
the whole program, if you don't desist!'"
You see there is nothing ugly about that, is there?
That's the way it should be because our loyalty is first to the Lord, to the
Church, to the mission, to the World, isn't it?
One more little incident that is connected: In one
United States mission one day a neighbor came into the home of a new member. The
neighbor was not a member, but she came and she was used to just walking in
through the door- you know, she didn't always knock! So she came over to this
home this day and she saw her friend, the Latter-day Saint sister, sitting on a
chair here and an Elder at her feet- this will shock you- trimming her
toe-nails or painting her toe-nails, or something! Well, now that isn't an
unpardonable sin, but it was indiscreet, wasn't it? Even if there was nothing
else that happened, just the fact that he was sitting on the floor and that he
didn't have on his tie and coat, and here was a woman partly dressed, and here
he was painting her toe-nails or doing something! Anyway. that city was closed,
absolutely closed to missionary work for 20 years! Do you think missionaries
could go in that city? Why of course they couldn't! Because there was still the
memory of this indiscretion! They hadn't committed sin; at least, I'm quite
sure he had never committed immorality. I think it wasn't any more than an ugly
indiscretion. It was ugly enough, wasn't it? It was what it led to, you see?
That's why I say this mission belongs to you. There
are 150 of you and this mission belongs to all of you. If anything happens to
any part of this mission it gets a black eye! It makes it more difficult to do
anything! And it makes it more difficult for you to go into the homes where
they have heard ugly things about the Church. That's why one Elder isn't by
himself. He can't be a loner, He has got to fit into the program, hasn't he?
And everyone of you is interested. Everyone!! And you can't afford to let your
companion, or anyone you know, do anything very serious because it all brings
trouble to you and to the whole program, Well, think about that a little,
because some people say, "I'm not going to be a stool pigeon! I'm not
going to tattle! I'm not going to be telling on people!" It isn't that at
all! It's a reporting just like if you saw a couple of robbers going into your
neighbor's home. Would you say, "Well, it's up to them! It's up to my
neighbors!" No! ! We'd become involved! We'd rush to the telephone, we'd
call the police! In every case, wouldn't we?
If we saw somebody being injured, being killed -
like in New York sometime ago, a girl was stabbed and cut all to pieces by some
maniac, and there were many people who saw it and did nothing about it! She
yelled for help, screamed for help, said, "He's killing me!!" But
nobody would move! They didn't even call the police and there she lay,
finally dead, on the street! Nobody would involve themselves. It's time we
would begin to get involved when involvement is proper. And when any missionary
in any mission begins to break mission rules, it's time that all his companions
should become involved! It doesn't mean that they take over. It doesn't mean
that they get ugly and mean. It just means that they are interested and
involved. There is a nice way to do it! I tell you there wouldn't be very many
broken rules if one missionary would just say to the other, "Brother, lets
not do that! Let's don't do that! 'Let's don't stand there and talk to those
girls! That isn't good!" And if we stop it when it's fresh - when
it's young you can stop it - but when it gets deeply entrenched, that sin is
awfully hard to dig out. And many times we have to send missionaries home to
their families in disgrace, with excommunication frequently, because maybe
their companions didn't love them enough! Maybe their companions weren't
helpful enough to say, "Well, now, you're getting off the line just a
little here! Let's don't do that! Let's get busy and do this, and this, and
this!"
This is one program and we are all concerned about
it. These mission rules, you see, are very important. We've had 137 years of
experience. Now that ought to be enough experience to prove something,
shouldn't it?
Through 137 years we have come to the conclusion
that if two people will stay together the chances for sin or serious trouble
are reduced about 98%. Once in a great while two companions will both go sour
at the same time, but it isn't the usual thing. If missionaries will, when they
leave Salt Lake City, the Mission Home - the day they are set apart - if they
will just lock their hearts! If they've got a girl in there that's all right,
lock her in! But if you haven't got one in, then lock it against all other
girls of every description! And the same applies for young women, too. I am
talking mainly to you Elders. You lock your heart and leave the key at home.
And you never open it here! It's impossible to fall in love with someone unless
you open your heart! Your heart is the only organ that has any ability to get
into love, you see, and when a missionary says, "I just fell in love with
a girl!" Well, that's as silly as it can be! Nobody does, nobody ever did!
So we just don't fall in love unless we are fooling
around. We never fall in a crater unless we are somewhere near the edge of it.
I have been up to Vesuvius and on a number of craters and volcanoes and I know
you just don't ever fall in a crater, unless you are on the edge of it. And so
you just keep your hearts locked! I said lock them in Salt Lake when you leave
the Mission Home and don't give a thought to it. But if you go around say,
"Well, she is kind of a pretty girl! She surely is a sweet little thing!
She's a nice girl! I'd like to talk to her- I'd just like to visit with
her!" Well, you are in for trouble and that trouble can bring you a
lifetime of trouble and a lifetime of regrets if you continue on with it.
So, can I impress that again? LOCK YOUR HEARTS and
leave the key at home! Wherever you live, leave the key home with your folks.
And your heart - it's only that part of it that deals with people generally
that you open up. We just can't tolerate it, can we? We can't individually;
we can't totally. Someone said, "Well, is there any harm to marry a
Mexican girl if you are working in Mexico! "No, that isn't any crime, but
it proves that some missionary has had his heart open! He has unlocked it! Is
it wrong to marry a German girl when you have been on a German mission? Why no,
there is no crime in that, if you met her some other way. But when you meet her
in the mission field and you have opened your heart, I tell you it isn't right,
and you have shortchanged your mission! Just keep your hearts locked. Your
whole thought should be missionary work. How can I make it more plain and more
important than that? I'd like to because there is no reason whatever for any
missionary to ever become involved, not even in a decent way, with any girl in
the mission field. It isn't the place! You guaranteed, you promised! You went
through the Temple! You remember what you did in the Temple? Remember you
promised you'd do all the things the brethren request of you, to live the
commandments. That's one of the commandments when you go into the mission
field: "Thou shalt not flirt! Thou shalt not associate with young women in
the mission field - or anyone else for that matter - on any other basis than
the proselyting basis." You promised, and you would not want to break a
promise you made before the Lord in the Holy Temple of the Lord. And when you
wrote, the letter of acceptance to President McKay that was implied in it. You
knew of course - every missionary knows - that he isn't going out to court,
that he isn't going out to find a wife! He's got plenty of opportunity when he
gets home, and the mission field isn't the place.
Sometimes we find a young man who has not been
popular at home; he has been very, very backward at home and he hasn't had many
dates. So when he gets out into the mission field and somebody flatters him a
little- some girl shows a lot of interest in him - why he's flattered. He
thinks all at once, "Well, that's whom I should marry!" Well, I say
this once more by repetition and for emphasis, you LOCK YOUR HEARTS and if you
haven't done so, do it now and send the key back! You will not permit any
impression, no romantic thought or impression in your mind. For two years you
have given yourself to the Lord, totally, to teach the Gospel to the
world. When you have done this perfectly for two years and then you go
home, you are infinitely more attractive, more able, more dignified, more
mature to make those important decisions for your life in the matter of
personages to enjoy eternity with you.
Well, I didn't intend to get on to that, either,
but I've been on it, and I hope I have not been offensive in it at all. I hope
you got the spirit of it. Should you know of any problems that are aborning,
problems that are beginning to develop, some missionary who is getting off the
track, some group that is getting a little careless about mission rules, you
can talk to them in a sweet kindly way. If they persist, then there is
something else to do and you have a loyalty to it.
God bless you missionaries and I hope to visit with
you a little longer later.
And finally...here is an article and it's link from the Mormon News about Senior couple missionaries in Africa. Specifically the Kenya Nairobi Mission.
FEATURED STORY — 8 MAY
2014
LDS Senior Missionaries Bless Lives In Kenya and
Tanzania
There are over 10,000 LDS
Senior Missionaries serving in hundreds of countries across the world including
14 in Kenya and Tanzania.
NAIROBI, KENYA —
LDS Senior Missionaries of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bless lives across the world. They
are often retired couples who apply to the Church to serve a full-time mission
and after receiving their assignments, they are sent to countries where
governments allow the Church to operate. They use their own means while in
these countries to support themselves and may serve for a period of six months
to three years. Fourteen of these couples administer Church programs such as
LDS Charities, Perpetual Education Fund and Employment
Resources and provide ecclesiastical support throughout Kenya and
Tanzania. There are over 10,000 such couples serving in hundreds of countries
across the world.
Elder and Sister Mathers, who serve
as Member and Leadership Support Missionaries in Arusha and Mwanza, Tanzania,
and recently helped bring piped water to Kitembeni village,
have remarked that, “missionary work here in Africa and specifically in the
Arusha area of Tanzania is a wonderful adventure. We are trying to do as Christ
did…help the needy, the poor in spirit and all who are yearning to move forward
in life. We just love communicating with the people and getting involved in
their lives.”
Apart from their Church assignment,
the Mather’s are heavily involved in the Arusha community, which is something
that all LDS Senior Missionaries of the Church do, following the admonition of
Jesus Christ to love those you serve. They are currently working to develop a
tricycle type wheelchair that can be operated by a handicapped person with
limited upper body strength. Elder Mathers is designing the “tricycle” for a
local friend, Kedmond, who is approximately forty years old and has been on his
hands and knees his whole life. Elder Mathers himself lost one leg 20 years ago
while making a wooden gun for his grandson. The Mathers are also working on
additional projects including five new bore holes for water and developing
medicinal herbs to help fight malaria, typhoid and other infectious diseases as
well as helping a local member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints start a school based on Christian Gospel concepts. When asked if
they would serve another mission, they said, “In a heartbeat!”
Elder and Sister Murdock, senior
missionaries serving in Dar es Salaam have a different assignment. They
teach religion classes to young single adults; Sister Murdock teaches
keyboard, and they administer the Perpetual Education Fund Program in Dar
es Salaam. This program of the Church was established in Tanzania in 2012 to
help young men and women get a good education and become self-reliant after
serving a mission for the Church. In Tanzania, 24 participants have
benefitted from the PEF program since it was introduced. The students are
enrolled in over 10 universities and colleges studying programs ranging from
accounting, human resources and law to electrician and masonry. The part of
their mission that the Murdocks have enjoyed the most is teaching the young people and helping them to become
self-reliant.
Prior to going to their assigned
area, missionaries spend a short period of time at one of 17 missionary
training centers throughout the world. There they learn about their assignments
and the countries where they will serve. The largest training center is in
Provo, Utah, with additional centers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Dominican Republic, England, Guatemala, Japan, Johanneburg South Africa,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Spain and South Korea.
These missionaries often have
expansive experience in life. Elder and Sister Jensen who serve in Kenya and
Tanzania as Public Affairs Missionaries, are seasoned administrators and
communicators. Elder Jensen has worked in the media and the military for over
20 years, while Sister Jensen has been an office administrator for many years.
They both have held responsible, time-consuming jobs in the Church,
such as Bishop and Relief Society President. Together they help
government and other leaders understand Church programs in the countries of
Kenya and Tanzania.
Elder and Sister Anderson have
served almost a year as Member and Leader Support missionaries in the Eldoret
area of Kenya. In addition to being a support to the entire District of
Eldoret (similar to a diocese), the Anderson’s teach Temple Preparation classes
and assist with the District Choir. They also volunteer twice a week with the
young missionaries at the Moi Teaching Hospital in the pediatric
department. They play games with the children, read them stories and give
each of them individual attention. Elder Anderson has taken on the task of
small repair jobs in many of the buildings and missionary apartments throughout
the area. He carries tools in his truck at all times so he is prepared to
make repairs as he finds the need. Sister Anderson teaches keyboard to
several students in the different Branches of the Church in the area. Her
goal is for several of them to become proficient enough to play for their
congregation during Sunday meetings. They have made many good friends
throughout the Eldoret area and are a blessing to the people of the
District.
Other senior missionaries serve in
Kenya and Tanzania. Elder and Sister Flake serve in Kitale, Kenya, as
Leadership and Member Support Missionaries, Elder and Sister Turnbow serve in
Nairobi, Kenya as Perpetual Education Fund Missionaries, Elder and Sister
Palmer serve in Mombasa, Kenya, as Leadership and Member Support Missionaries,
Elder and Sister Mickelsen serve in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as
Leadership and Member Support Missionaries as well as Office Support, Elder and
Sister Judd serve in Nairobi, Kenya, as an Office Couple for the mission
and also as Self Reliance Missionaries, Elder and Sister Dalley serve as
Leadership and Member Support Missionaries in Naivasha, Kenya, Elder and Sister
Gotcher serve in Chyulu, Kenya, as Leadership and Member Support Missionaries
and Elder Gotcher is the ecclesiastical leader for the Mtito Andeo Branch of
the Church, Elder and Sister Shakespeare serve as Humanitarian Missionaries
responsible for Kenya and Tanzania.
President Gary C. Hicken, who
oversees the missionary program in both Kenya and Tanzania and is responsible
for over 70 other young missionaries serving in the two countries, has observed
that the Kenya Nairobi Mission which these two countries fall under, would
cease to exist without the valuable contribution of Senior Missionaries.
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