A Special Week

Hello Everybody!

Wow, what an awesome and special week I had. I really learned a lot and had some neat experiences. Before I share some experiences- the weather is cooling down! It actually rained a few times this week. One night it rained so hard in the middle of the night, it woke me up because it make the whole house shake. Literally! But aside from that lets see how my week went.

On Thursday, we had a Zone Conference. It was Elder Uko's first one and so He was pretty excited. It was a really humbling and wonderful experience. President Clawson gave some short opening remarks about missionary repentance. He began to talk about how when we get angry or impatient we do not have the Spirit with us. At that moment I was chastised severely by the Spirit. These past two weeks, I have really been struggling with my patience. I have been praying intently to have my heart softened and to be better. But of course praying alone will not fix it - we must act. I really felt Godly Sorrow for the times I had felt impatience for my companion or for whatever else that was going on at the time. I never yelled or got very angry, but was just a little impatient in my heart and mind. I learned that to have the Spirit guide us in this work we must try our best to be open to the Spirit. I repented that night and instantly felt the weight lifted off of my shoulders. I really learned from that experience about controlling my patience. The Lord makes our weaknesses strengths, not perfections, and so I am still trying my best to work with Him on this. Wish me luck!

On Saturday we had a special experience that I will never forget, I feel strongly to share it. 

Previously I talked about James Jr. who struggled with a few things stopping him from baptism. We have been making goals and working hard with him to stop. 
On Saturday, we had a nice lesson planned out for him. We reviewed his goals and I could tell he was not relying on The Lord. I felt the strong prompting to bear my testimony of The Atonement. As I did this, He began to cry. I realized he was just a scared little boy in a man's body in a way. He had never felt this amount of love from anyone. He then shared with us how he had been a good kid but joined a gang and had made some really poor decisions. He then said he did not know if God could forgive him of all his sins. This broke my heart. I began to really feel the weight of his sins he had kept in all these years. The words of Jefferey R. Holland popped into my head and I told him " James, I have a strong testimony that no matter how many times you think you have missed. No matter how many mistakes you think you have made, or how far out of the circle you think you are, you have not fallen farther than the light of Christ shines". By this time I was shedding a few tears, James was, as well as Elder Uko. He lost it, I have never felt more of a powerful witness of The Atonement of Jesus Christ. I shared a scripture with him, and my companion shared a powerful testimony. I then asked if He wanted a Priesthood blessing. After the Priesthood blessing I gave him, maybe the first meaningful hug he has ever had in his life. I really felt the whole burden that this man has had to carry through out his life.

Walking away from that experience I thanked My God that Elder Uko and me could have that experience. I realized the amount of relief The Savior can give us. I love this work and truly believe God is wholeheartedly in this work. I am grateful and will always remember this.  

-Elder Morgan

Parent's Note: 
We talked to Eli again today. It's so fun to hear his voice. He sounds more and more like a native. The accent he was working on before he left for Africa has fully developed. He is loving the people and the area and is having a great time. He's told us a few things on the phone that we'll share here:

Each Saturday the members of the Ward (congregation) go out on ministering visits, which means they go out to visit other members of the Ward to check on them and to invite them to church. Every week, Eli and his companion receive 15-20 referrals for new people to teach. They have so much work to do, it's hard to get it all done. They have started leaving the house an hour early each day and staying out a little longer at night, just to get the work done.

When we talked to Eli today, he and his companion were out looking for a hammer. They weren't sure if they would find one, though. They want make a pull-up bar in their "compound". I guess the weights they have there are made out of concrete and aren't very good, so they are looking for other workout options.

The area he is in is known for feeding the missionaries. People offer them food all the time. It's mostly rice dishes and casava leaf, but the people in Bo are very giving.

He doesn't really like taking pictures. Because there is nothing for the people to do in Bo (nobody really works), they tend to wait for something exciting to happen and then they all gather around. Eli taking pictures is "exciting" to them so it becomes something of interest to everyone around. The missionaries stand out in Bo, so everyone sits and watches everything they do.