Christmas Week!

Yo People!

I had such a great week! We had a good Christmas Day, had a good visit from President Harper and put in some nice work with the Branch.

I had a great Christmas Day, we just did our regular proselyting until about 5 o'clock and then came back and Skyped our families and made a nice dinner. It was so good to have the whole family together! It was so fun to see everyone and talk about the new things that are happening back at home. Even today, the whole family was together at a family reunion and I got to talk with almost all of them. Although the connection was so bad, I was very grateful to see everyone! The funny thing is that I am so used to speaking in Krio to anyone that is not my family so I did not know how to act! It was kind of an eye opener because I have now realized that I am super awkward! But I will try and work on it for when I get home!

One of the Elders, Elder Elisan, had typhoid and was sent to Freetown on Monday. He was admitted into the Hospital and treated for it. He was finally released from the hospital on Thursday and they were accompanied by President Harper on their way back to Sierra Rutile. President stayed for about two days and then went back to Freetown. He has been kind of sad because Sister Harper has been in America for medical treatment. She has been feeling sick for a few weeks and had to go back to America to find out what was wrong with her. But we have received good news that she is coming back tomorrow night! We have been praying for her and are so excited to have her come back!

Over the past two transfers we have tried to get Ministering going in our Branch. Our attempts have not totally worked effectively, but this time we really tried and it is working successfully! I am excited to see how it goes!

Over the past few days the Societies have been more active, they are doing more parades in our area and creating some havoc. Today a women's society ran around with small sticks chasing people trying to hit them. We kind of had to dodge them but it was not too bad. We also saw a devil in the market. A devil is someone who dresses up with a mask and wears long clothing and dances and chants some weird stuff in the streets. They are always more active around this time of the year and especially more so in this part of the country. It is always an adventure but I am loving it!!

-Elder Morgan

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I had such a great week! I am having a hard time remembering what we did because everyday just blended together and went so fast. We began a new transfer and so I challenged everyone in the District to make transfer goals focused on our Savior Jesus Christ! I also had the opportunity to speak in church yesterday.

Every Thursday we have a District Council meeting. My job is to assign a topic and someone to lead a discussion based on that topic. As I thought and  prayed about a topic, I studied a few General Conference talks and tried to see if there was one that we could incorporate into our District council. I came across a talk given by Elder Ronald A. Rasband called "Standing by our Promises and Covenants". I studied it and paired it with a chapter in Preach my Gospel that I thought could be really good. I asked Elder Moffat to lead the discussion and He did so well!! We had such a Spirit led discussion and it was very successful!

I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. Our Branch President asked me to talk about Christmas and Jesus Christ. I chose to speak about the first Christmas. I told a very simplified version of the account in Luke 1 and then went on to tell a quick overview of His life and the atonement that he did for us. After I talked about it, I was able to share an experience that happened in the first part of my mission. It made me understand and love the atonement more than I ever had before. So powerful! 

President Nelson has asked us to speak in English while talking in Sacrament Meeting, but because krio is the common language here not many people understand English. As I was preparing my talk I prayed that even if these people could not understand all of what I said, they would feel the spirit and that would edify them and turn their thoughts to our Savior Jesus Christ. I said his silent prayer again before I talked and felt that my prayer would be answered. as I talked it was totally still and quiet. Usually there are some people making noise or children running around crying, but as I talked for 15 minutes no one even moved an inch! I was so grateful for the opportunity that I had to feel the Spirit at that time! It was awesome!!

I am grateful for this Christmas season and the opportunity that we have to share the message of Jesus Christ. He is wonderful.

-Elder Morgan

This is the Mata home group Chapel

Parent Note: From our talk with Eli yesterday, we found out a little more about this Home Group. There are 17 members in the Home Group, but only 4 actively attend each week.

You guys thought you saw the last of Jesus...

Parent Note: We got some more info from Eli in our Christmas Skype call...This was an end of year celebration they do in the Bush. Eli and his companion came a little late to the celebration only to find that the original member who was supposed to play this role didn't show. Since Eli was the only white person there, they asked him to do it. The lady that originally had the wig on her head, took it off and place it on Eli. He said it was pretty awkward. 

How Many People Can We Fit In A Car?

Hey Everybody!

I had such a great week!! We had such an awesome Christmas Zone Conference, a very spiritually uplifting exchange with our Zone Leaders and even some presents from Santa Clause!

We woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning on Tuesday. We had the whole District sleep over at our apartment to be able to get to the Public Transport Park on time. We were out the door by about 4 o'clock and walked down to the park. We paid for our seats and ended up leaving by about 6 o'clock in the morning. Before I move on let me help you understand something about taking public transport in Sierra Leone... Usually a car that has 8 seats would normally fit 8 people comfortably in any other part of the world. Here in Salone if they have an 8 passenger car they put 15 people in that bad boy and drive at about 100 mph down the worst roads in the world! Lets just say it was a very "cozy" ride. We ended up getting to Bo at about 10 o 'clock in the morning. We were greeted by our Zone Leaders and went out shopping, took a small nap, then went for some choir practices in preparation for the zone conference. 

The next day we had an awesome exchange with our Zone Leaders, because we had our whole district there, we all got to go on the exchange but in different parts of the area. I had the opportunity to go out with Elder Barker! He is the most spiritually powerful super beast in the mission! I was able to learn so much from him. I am so grateful for that precious opportunity I had!

The next day, we had our Christmas Zone Conference. It was so fun to see everyone and have our thoughts turned back to the Savior Jesus Christ. After the conference we all performed skits and got some gifts from the Mission. I was also asked a few weeks ago to give a tribute to one of the Senior Couples that is going home in a few weeks. I was so happy to do that!

The next morning we were back on the road to Rutile! This time we hopped on small 8 seater car. We took some nice short cuts in the bush and came out almost black from all the dust! It was just a good time!

Overall, I had a good week. It was super fun to see everyone and to feel the Christmas Spirit while at Zone Conference. One thing that I love about Christmas time is being able to turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ! I have really felt the true Christmas Spirit while being on mission. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be out here, sharing the best message on earth! 

This is such a special time to think about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have been studying the General Conference talks and one has caught my attention, it is called Honoring His name by Lisa L. Harkness. My favorite part is when she says " Our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ is more than a formal exchange of words. It is not a passive promise or a cultural contrivance. It is not a rite of passage or a name tag that we wear. It is not a saying that we simply place on a shelf or hang on a wall. His is a name that is "put on," written in our hearts, and "engraven upon our countenances." 

I love this quote so much! I am grateful for our Lord Jesus Christ. He has perfect love for each and everyone of us and Christmas is a special time to celebrate Him!

See you guys next week!
-Elder Morgan

Parent Note: Transfers were today, and Eli and Elder Obasi will be staying together for one more transfer out in the Bush. They're excited to continue the work they've started in Rutile and look forward to more unique adventures!

Service, A Baptism and Being the Only White Person...

Hey Everyone!

I had such a good week! We had an exchange with the Mogbwemo Elders, did a Service Project as a District and had a Baptism!!

On Wednesday I went on an exchange with Elder Borup. He is from Idaho and has been out for about 4 months, he is such a solid missionary! I really learned a lot from him and will be able to put it into my missionary work from now on. They white washed their area, which means they both came to the area at the same time and they are doing so good. They have done such a good job with it. I really look up to both him and his companion.

On Friday we had a service project at a school in the Mosenesie Junction Area. We were able to work with a less active member and have such a great project! We cleared some weeds and made some nice new pathways! It was a quick project but really good to get there and do it!

On Saturday we had a Baptism! We were able to baptize two sisters named Augusta Lansana and Christiana Kamara. It was so awesome! 

With and investigator

After the baptism we had an end of the year activity with our home group. They played music and did some plays. It was so awesome! I will send some pictures of the activity. Just know that because I was the only white person they chose me to be Jesus Christ. Not sure if it was sacrilegious, but it was awesome.

Talk to ya next week!

-Elder Morgan

Baptismal Interviews, New Rules and Lots of Pictures!

Yo Yo Yo!

I had such a great week! We are really working hard and having success in our area and in our companionship. This week I went on an exchange with Elder Elisan, had some baptismal interviews and got some new rules for us in the Bush.

Elder Elisan is serving in the Mosenesie Junction area. He is from the Philippines, and has been out for about 8 months. It was just a great exchange, we had some solid lessons and were able to tackle some problems they were having! Elder Elisan is such a stud and I really learned a lot from him during our exchange. 

On Sunday we were preparing people for baptism by doing baptismal interviews. We have one man we are teaching named Desmond Hilliard, when we met him, he was having trouble with smoking cigarettes. As we worked with him, he was totally off of them for about 2 good months! Yesterday as we went to his house for the interview we caught him smoking a cigarette! He just had a weak moment and smoked one really quick. I was so sad! But we are now working on that again, we will see how it goes! Satan just totally sucks.

We have gotten some new rules for us out here in the Bush. We have to be back into the apartment by 6:30pm because of the Secret Society activity that will be happening this month and next. In December and January they do initiations into their Societies. Even if you don't want to join the society sometimes they will take you and force you to join. I am not worried about it though, it shouldn't affect us. 

I am so grateful to be out here serving a mission! The work is great and we are working hard! This upcoming week I will go on another exchange with Elder Borup, we will do a service project for the town and we will be preparing to go to Zone Conference! Love you guys!

-Elder Morgan

The houses in our area...made out of dirt and palm leaves!

Beautiful view of my Area

Playing balance ball while waiting for interviews

Soccer in the sand

Eli and his companion, Elder Obasi

Miracles and Life Changing Events

Hello everyone!

I feel like the past few weeks I have not been able to do this email justice. I have left out many miracles and some life changing events because they are very sacred! Today I will talk about some experiences and a few people that we have been teaching for a few weeks.

To start off, we have 5 people we are preparing for baptism. Desmond Hilliard, Christiana Kamara, Samuel Rogers, Mamusu Sam and Augusta Lansana. 
I have talked about Desmond a few times, but just to recap... He found a Book of Mormon on a train 40 years ago in America and has been reading it ever since. As we taught him more and more, we found out that He was into some crazy stuff in America. He got into smoking marijuana, cocaine and about any other drug he could get his hands on. Because of these, he got into a few life threatening situations and has been stabbed twice and shot in the ear. He came back to Sierra Leone because his father began a saw mill and needed help running it but right as he got back the rebels took over the mill and destroyed it right when the Civil War started in the 1990's.

He has really gained his own testimony and knows that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is needed in his life and has made so many changes including quitting cigarettes. This was a very hard thing for him to do because he had been smoking 2-3 packs a day since the 1970's, but with constant help and prayers he finally stopped!! 

Every time we talk to him about how he is doing with cigarettes he says "Elder's I have done so many bad things in my life that I can't risk another offence. I just wish I had been a member of this Church when I was born!" I am so grateful for his tireless effort to serve Jesus Christ!

A picture with Desmond. (The flash made him blink, he doesn't actually look Chinese)

We have been teaching a pretty big Pastor around here named Elvis Vamboi. We met Him on the road and he asked about the Book of Mormon and why we used it. We talked to him a little bit and set a return appointment to talk more about it. 

As we have taught him more and more we have come to find out that he is so interested in the Church! We have taught him seriously for about 3 weeks and he finally came to Church!! He had so many questions, but says that he wants to come back to church this week! I am so grateful for him and for The Lord answering our prayers to find the elect people in our area!

We have had so many experiences these past few weeks but if I wrote them all, it would take the whole day to write! I am so grateful to be a missionary and to share the good word! Thanks!

-Elder Morgan

Flexing with Branch President.

Had to climb a small cliff to get to an investigators house. #DEDICATION.

Quick Email This Week

Hello Everyone!

Today I will shoot off a quick email, because we are running out of time.

This week has been fun and busy like always. We have committed 5 people to Baptize in December and I will be hitting 1 year this week!

We are working hard and doing good!

Love You Guys!
-Elder Morgan

Transfer News and a New District Leader

Hello Everybody! 

I had such a great week, it was full of joy and hard work. 

This week was transfer news week! We got two new missionaries in our apartment and Elder Obasi and I are staying together. I am excited to stay with him for one more transfer. We will do great things in this area! 
I really felt a lot of joy this week from the people that we are teaching. They have shared their testimonies which have added to my own.

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation. We have such a loving Heavenly Father who  knows us and wants us to be happy. The only way to truly be happy in this life is to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we become more like Jesus Christ everyday we will feel joy! 

I am so blessed to know and understand the Plan of Salvation. We will be together with our family again after this life, this brings me joy. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know how much he knows and understands each of us. I am very grateful to have that knowledge. 

Love,
Elder Morgan 

Parent Note: Unfortunately, we had some devastating news to give Eli in our Skype call on Monday morning. His close friend, Brenden Nichols, passed away on Sunday. It hit Eli pretty hard. We ended our call with a very somber, teary-eyed boy who wishes he was here to mourn with and support the family and friends who are deeply affected by this loss. He said to tell everyone that he loves them.

His email was written after he received that news. Here are a few things that he told us but did not include in his email.

• Eli has been called to be a District Leader. This means that he's responsible for his and two other companionships and the work they do in their areas.
• Desmond, the man who found a Book of Mormon on a train in the U.S. 30 years ago, has made the decision to be baptized. We'll here more about that experience over the next few weeks. 

Zone Conference with Elder Nash - And Civilization!!!

Good Afternoon Everyone! 
Sorry I could not get a group email out last week, we ran out of time. But nonetheless, this week was so so awesome! We had the opportunity to go to Bo for a Mission Tour with Elder Nash. He is the Area President over West Africa, this means that he controls all of what happens in West Africa. We had such a fun week and I cant wait to tell you all about it!

On Tuesday we left at about 11:00am for Bo, along the way we picked up a few other Elders in the neighboring areas. It took about 5 hours to get to Bo, mostly because the road from Bo to Rutile is the worst road in Siera Leone! It is kind of like a very bumpy roller coaster for 5 hours... pretty fun. We got to Bo and immediately went to the super market! This was like heaven! There was so much food! 
After we went to the super market we got some dinner and then went to the Mission Nurse's house for cake and ice cream! It was pretty fun to see everyone again.

The next morning we left at 8:30am for the Mission Tour. When we got there I saw so many missionaries that I hadn't seen in quite a while so it was fun to see and talk with them. At about 9:30am we sat down and waited for Elder Nash to come with our Mission President. They arrived at about 10 o'clock. As they arrived, President Harper (Mission President) told me that Elder Nash would like to interview me. At first I was kind of nervous because Elder Nash is a pretty intimidating guy, but then realized that I had really had nothing to worry about. 

At about 11 o'clock I was called to interview with Elder Nash. It was one of the most awesome interviews I have ever had! He was so nice and complimentary, easy to talk with and fun to be around. He only interviewed 3 elders. (Parent Note/Brag: Elder Nash asked President Harper to give him the names of the 3 missionaries for the interviews: 2 of whom had been struggling and that the mission president was concerned about, and 1 who is very a very solid, obedient missionary who President didn't have to worry about. Eli was chosen to meet with him because of his hard work and obedience. Elder Nash thanked and expressed his love for him and the work he is doing.) After about 10 minutes we shook hands and he gave me a hug, then we went back into the main meeting hall.

It was such an awesome meeting. President and Sister Harper along with both Elder and Sister Nash talked to us about different topics. I was really impressed with the conference and really learned so much that I am excited to put into practice in our teaching here in Rutile! 

Zone Conference with Elder Nash

The next morning at 4:30am we were back on the road to Rutile! We got back, made some lunch and then hit it hard for the rest of the day. 

This next week will be a little bit busy because we have found out we will be getting 2 new missionaries in Rutile. We will be moving furniture into our apartment to accommodate them. Then transfer news is on Friday! Well thanks for listening! Talk to ya next week!

-Elder Morgan

This is a picture of all the missionaries from the 2 Bush areas in our mission!

Tour of Eli's Compound

Eli didn't write a letter this week, but we did record a video of him giving a tour of his compound. The way Skype records, you see a split window of Jen and I at 5:30am when he woke us up. Just pay attention to the right side of the screen. :)

Finding a Book of Mormon on a Train

Good Day People of America, 

Man, I just had such a good week. We are really seeing the miracles in our area from our work. That is a good feeling - it's a feeling that you cant ever replace! This week I just felt pure joy. Something about talking about and sharing The Gospel of Jesus Christ and seeing the way it affects a person's life is very special! Man, this Church is so flipping true, and Jesus Christ is just the best. 

This week went by kind of fast. We had a baptism and some awesome experiences!

 At the beginning of the week we realized we are mostly teaching women and made a goal to contact some men. We had taken some time out of a few days to contact some people. It is so easy in this country because they all love to hear the Word of God. As we were contacting a woman actually came up to us and asked us to come and teach her so we set up an appointment to come see her. A few days later we went to her house but she was not there. As we were greeting her neighbors a man called us over and asked us to sit down. He told us his name is Desmond Hilliard and that He lived in America for 11 years in the 1980's-1990's. One day he was taking a train to his house in Ohio, as he came onto the train he found a new Book of Mormon on one of the seats and began to read it. Well it turns out he has been reading it for 40 years and has never really truly known where it came from, but he's estimated to have read the book about 100 times. He began to tell us stories from the Book of Mormon and how it connected to the Bible. We got super excited and asked to come back the next day. 

We came back that next morning and helped him understand more about the spiritual side of the Book of Mormon and what it can do for us. We then invited him to pray about it and he said that he would. We then asked him to pray to close our lesson and he said a prayer from the book of Psalms in the Old testament. We were kind of confused and then taught him how to really pray. 
We then came back the next day and he bore a simple but passionate testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how when he had prayed using his own words he felt hopeful and loved. After he said this we bore testimony about Gods love for us and why it is so important. 

Another awesome story- 
One day as we were walking to Desmond's house a man stopped us in the street and asked us where our church was and said that he wants to meet with us. We told him where to find the church and made an appointment to come today (Monday). We did not really expect him to come to church, but he showed up and had a great time! We then went to his house today and found out that he is a Section Chief in Sierra Leone, he is a chief over 24 villages! He had some super inspired questions and has already read some of the Book of Mormon and some pamphlets we gave him. It is pretty awesome! 

It is so awesome to see our work pay off, all of the sudden our Branch has gotten the Spirit of awesomeness and they are on a roll! I am just feeling very blessed to be serving in this area. I am also so grateful for my family, I love them so much. 

Some things coming up for me:

• Tomorrow I hit 11 months in Sierra Leone, that means almost to the half way point! 
• We are having an exchange with our District Leader on Wednesday.
• Next week is our Zone conference where Elder Nash is doing a mission tour! 

See you guys next week! Shoot me an email!

-Elder Morgan

Rats, Cockroaches. Bed Bugs and a PB&J!

Hello Everyone!

This week went pretty quick. We worked hard, relocated our rat friends, got rid of my bed bugs and had a visit from President and Sister Harper!

Like I said above we had a busy week of proselyting and getting some more things figured out for our areas. We kind of had to run around a little bit because we are planning on having a baptism this coming Saturday with people in the Mogbwemo Branch so we were going there and making sure they were ready. On Saturday we split our companionship with the other companionship of missionaries and did baptismal interviews! It was a good experience and fun to hear their testimonies.

Usually every Thursday we meet as a District (a group of missionaries who live close together) and have a small meeting together, but we then got word that President and Sister Harper would be coming and wanted to push it back until Monday (yesterday). It was so fun to have them there!! It was there first time coming to Rutile and they had a great time. After our District Council we then went back to our apartment and Sister Harper brought lunch! I have never been so excited to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and juice in my life. It was the most delicious thing I have eaten in this country so far haha. 

(We received these pictures from the mission Facebook page from Sister Harper)

It is an inspiration for us to see the areas of these faithful missionaries. These missionaries definitely serve out in the bush and are loved by the Lord and the people. They are trustworthy and true and the Lord is using them to further His work in these pioneer branches of the church in Sierra Leone.

Elder Morgan and Elder Obasi in front of their apartment in Moriba Town

Elder Moffat sharing a Book of Mormon moment!

Elder Morgan led a wonderful discussion on improving our teaching and the power of repentance.

What a joy to be with them!

At the chapel in Moriba Town for District Leader Council—Elders Morgan, Obasi, Moffat, and Allotey

They then brought out some rat, cockroach and bed bug poison along with my sheets and pillow that I left in Freetown. Lets just say I had a VERY good night of rest!

Overall, we just had an awesome week and I am excited to do it again!

-Elder Morgan

Some Pictures From FreeTown:

Some Pictures of His New Area (Mogbwemo and Rutile):

Life in the Bush

Hey Everyone!

Well this week has been so interesting and I have received a warm welcome from the Bush!

So I am going to start this email from last Sunday night...
Elder Dilebo and I had just gotten back from proselyting and went up to President's Apartment where all the missionaries going on transfer were. We ate dinner and watched the new Book of Mormon videos then had a small devotional. After the devotional, President pulled me aside and told me a few things about our area. He told me about the problems they had had in the past and what needed to be done. He also said that we would be white washing 2 areas! That means the previous missionaries were both taken out and 2 new missionaries come in to take their place. So it is a little bit challenging to find out where things are and how it all works in the area. So after our little meeting I was really excited to get into our areas and check it all out!

We woke up at 4:30am to go to Rutile on Monday. It was a long drive and we had 1 extra missionary in the car and so it was a tight fit on a VERY bumpy road. But we got to the apartment safely, and found some nice rats and cockroaches to welcome us home. We then cleaned it up and met with our Branch President. After our meeting with Him, we came back to find out that our Generator was broken, so we called it in and they came the next day, meaning we had no power that night. The next day it broke again and it did not get fixed until Sunday night at about 9:30pm, this made it a bit challenging seeing as though we only had one small phone flash light to see in the night time Haha.

We also figured out that the previous missionaries did not really do to much and so they had like 1 investigator in the area book and so this week we have been searching for people to teach in both of our areas.

We thought that we were doing pretty good and then on Thursday we could not come out of the apartment because everyone wanted to kill a Chief in our area. This chief sold some land to a mining company, but the rest of the people didn't agree with that decision, so they were searching for him to kill him. They blocked off the road and were waiting for him, but all is well because they never found him. 

We then watched a little bit of General Conference and found out that a temple will be built in Sierra Leone! Everyone is so excited!

Overall, this has been a very exciting week to say the least. I am very grateful to be here and to put some good hard work into the area. It needs it. The Bush is very simple. We eat rice for every meal and go proselyte. There are no paved roads, no big stores, not too much noise so it is a bit boring but I am really enjoying it! The areas are both big and challenging but The Lord makes our burdens light and this is a way to show the Lord that I love Him! Thanks for all the emails and support. Love ya!

-Elder Morgan

Headed to the Bush!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I did not write last week, we had a busy week but it was kind of boring so there wasn't too much to write about! This week was a little bit more exciting, so here goes!

First off, we have some missionaries in the bush (Jungle) of Sierra Leone, these areas were opened up and a year and a half ago. One of the bush areas is called Rutile. We had 3 areas in Rutile, Mogbwemo, Moriba Town, and Mosenesie Junction but due to some problems the Mogbwemo area was closed down a few weeks ago. This week the Elders were taken out of Moriba Town and brought to Freetown. One of the Elders joined us for the week. His name is Elder Kasim and is from Ethiopia! He is super awesome and a good worker so it made the week fun. 

We kind of had to juggle proselyting with Apartment Inspections this week. On Wednesday I stayed back with Elder Kasim and then on Friday we switched and I went on Apartment Inspections with the Senior Couple taking over our position as Office Elders. 

We also had a baptism today!

But now for the real news! Last night we received our transfer news! I am being transferred to re-open Moriba Town! My new companion's name is Elder Obasie. He is from Nigeria and just finished his training so I am excited to work with him. I will be driving for about 8 hours to get to Rutile from Freetown.  
After I recieved transfer news, President Harper called me and thanked me for my work as an Office Elder, He said some very nice things. He then talked about Rutile and what has happened in the past and what is going to be expected. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the bush areas and I am excited to be apart of it! See you guys next week!

-Elder Morgan

Parent Note: We received a copy of a letter from the Sister Harper, the Mission President's Wife. It was very, very nice and very complimentary of Eli and the work he is doing. They expressed their gratitude for this hard work and dedication and his obedience. He is admired by all who have a chance to be around him. It was very nice.

They are sending him to Rutile to help increase obedience and to set a higher bar in missionary work. Eli is a little nervous to be "way out in the bush", but very excited. Moriba Town is about 8 hours south of Freetown, in the middle of nowhere. 

Moriba Town is the Red Flag

A Cool Little Bridge They Have to Cross

A Community Toilet

Growth of the Church: A New Stake is Created

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening to everyone!

I had a pretty solid and busy week as usual. The two high lights from the week were having dinner with President Martinez and having an exchange!

There is a new stake being created in Sierra Leone, this new one will make it 6 total stakes. Although it is not much, there is some crazy growth out here! To oversee that event President Martinez and Elder Kaku came. President Martinez is in the Area Presidency for West Africa and Elder Kaku is an Area 70 in Ghana. They arrived on Thursday and we were invited to have dinner with them. Before I go any further, the West Africa Area Presidency is led by President Nash, who is a no nonsense kind of guy. That guy does not mess around! We got to the President's apartment and waited till they arrived. When they arrived President Martinez went around and shook everyone's hand and stared them down as He talked a bit. When He got to me I was nervous! It felt like he was staring into my soul!! But I just smiled and made some small conversation and it was all good. 

(Parental Note: A "Stake" is an organizational unit in the Church. Our congregations are called "Wards". Several Wards make up a Stake.)

Leadership from the Mission and the Newly Created Stake

We then had some dinner and got to talking about their conversion stories. They both shared some powerful experiences and the love they have for the Gospel! It was a really good night and fun to be with them. 

On Friday, we did an exchange with our District Leader! He is training a new missionary, Elder Luamanu, so he came here and Elder Dilebo went to their area. Elder Luamanu was a total stud! He is from Samoa and had the opportunity to play Rugby for his country's national team but decided to serve a mission. He is a powerful missionary with a really strong testimony. The only bad part was that almost all of our appointments had cancelled on us! That never happens here, and so we saw some members and less active people. It was a good exchange!

Elder Luamanu and I

We also had a Zone Conference this last week. It was a good one, pretty heavy but good. President and Sister Harper are really trying to fix up some loose ends in the mission, the Area Presidency has also made some new rules to keep. It is a good change and will really help the mission out, now it is just getting all the missionaries on board! These new changes really help me to understand the the Lord leads and guides this work. He is very aware of us! Love you guys!

-Elder Morgan

Flooding due to all the rain

Elder Dilebo and I Making Cookies!

The Lord Is Very Sneaky

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I did not write a weekly email last week. It seems like these past few weeks have been a little bit tougher for me, but it is all a learning and progressing process which I am learning to love. The Lord is VERY good to us. He always looks for ways to help us grow and become who He wants us to become. I am very grateful for a Father in Heaven that cares that much. I will just share a few experiences form the past two weeks that have stuck out to me and made me want to do better and be better.

A few weeks ago some new missionaries arrived to the mission. One of the new missionaries got Malaria right when He arrived. After a week of malaria, he got typhoid and has been struggling bad. He called Mission President and wanted to go home! He arrived at the mission home with all of his luggage and went to the hospital to get some treatment. We met him just before he left and talked with him a little bit. Later that day, I really had a strong impression to go to the hospital and share a scripture with him. 

I told my companion and we went a few hours later. We got to the hospital and shared a scripture about why we got through certain trials. He began to open up to us and talk about how he really felt, we bore honest and sincere testimony about the love that God has for each of us. I really felt impressed to ask him if he would like a blessing, he agreed. I really felt the the Spirit direct me in what to say. We said our goodbyes and really pleaded with him to stay. He ended up staying and is excited for the work now. I think the best part about it was that my companion had been feeling homesick the whole day as well. When we got outside, He said that what we talked about had really helped him as well. I was really grateful to the Lord for that. 

Throughout my 3 transfers in the Office I have not really been a big fan of the office work and did not really see why I needed to be put in this place. Recently we have had work with some land lords and some shady business they were partaking in. We were able to have some meeting concerning those matters and get it solved. To solve these, we had to do a little bit of looking around and research. But everything went smoothly and has really made me want to pursue a business career. The Lord is very sneaky and puts us in places that we don't think we need to be in. I have really learned so many good and useful techniques of how to talk to people and work deals. I am really blessed. I love Him. Love you guys.

-Elder Morgan

With Sister Child. Eli is training the Childs to take his place in the Mission Office

All Africa Day Of Service

Being Eli