Elder Eli Morgan
Serving in Sierra Leone
Monday, June 24, 2019
Small World
Eli met my cousin's In-laws, Elder and Sister Kunz, who are also serving in the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission.
Departing Missionaries and Seeing a Devil - Just another week in Sierra Leone!
Hello Everyone!
I had an awesome, busy and fun filled week. This transfer is going very quick, but I am learning tons of new things. We are busy in the office preparing for our new Mission President, President Harper, to come. He will come this coming Thursday. We are very excited to see him, but there is much to be done before He comes. We are pretty busy with helping President Clawson pack and move things around. Mission Presidents can come with a shipping crate of things, but President Clawson is going home with 5 boxes. They don't even have a house to come home to, but The Lord will provide! Oh and I hit 7 months today!
Like I said above, that this week went by quick. During this week, 6 missionaries went home including Elder McCracken, one of my companions! Now when missionaries go home, they like to let everyone know. This particular group was no different. Before I go on, I think I am the youngest Office Elder called in a long time. So when they realized I am only 7 months on mission, they began to show me all of their old planners and talked about how long I still have! That is one bad part about the office haha. But it was all in good fun!
We also had kind of a new experience. One day this week while proselyting we had a appointment drop. We decided to go and do some contacting to find some new people. We had gone down a few streets and hadn't had to much success. We began walking again and turned the corner to find a rally. There were only men walking, formed in a circle, hitting sticks together kind of making a beat. In the middle of the men was A Devil. The man was dressed in a grass kind of skirt, and a big head dress with a goat head on it covering his face. He was dancing and screaming as they walked down the street. They call him a devil because supposedly He serves Satan. Being missionaries, we did not want them to see us because we have heard of some stories so, everyone got out of there pretty quick!
At first when I got into this country, I did not believe in any black magic or "juju", but now I am a firm believer that Satan has real power. I have seen some crazy stuff over here. Some of their secret societies in this country are pretty crazy. This society was one of them that you don't really mess with!
Overall, I had an awesome week. We are working hard to get our area great again and The Lord is blessing us.
-Elder Morgan
I had an awesome, busy and fun filled week. This transfer is going very quick, but I am learning tons of new things. We are busy in the office preparing for our new Mission President, President Harper, to come. He will come this coming Thursday. We are very excited to see him, but there is much to be done before He comes. We are pretty busy with helping President Clawson pack and move things around. Mission Presidents can come with a shipping crate of things, but President Clawson is going home with 5 boxes. They don't even have a house to come home to, but The Lord will provide! Oh and I hit 7 months today!
Like I said above, that this week went by quick. During this week, 6 missionaries went home including Elder McCracken, one of my companions! Now when missionaries go home, they like to let everyone know. This particular group was no different. Before I go on, I think I am the youngest Office Elder called in a long time. So when they realized I am only 7 months on mission, they began to show me all of their old planners and talked about how long I still have! That is one bad part about the office haha. But it was all in good fun!
We also had kind of a new experience. One day this week while proselyting we had a appointment drop. We decided to go and do some contacting to find some new people. We had gone down a few streets and hadn't had to much success. We began walking again and turned the corner to find a rally. There were only men walking, formed in a circle, hitting sticks together kind of making a beat. In the middle of the men was A Devil. The man was dressed in a grass kind of skirt, and a big head dress with a goat head on it covering his face. He was dancing and screaming as they walked down the street. They call him a devil because supposedly He serves Satan. Being missionaries, we did not want them to see us because we have heard of some stories so, everyone got out of there pretty quick!
At first when I got into this country, I did not believe in any black magic or "juju", but now I am a firm believer that Satan has real power. I have seen some crazy stuff over here. Some of their secret societies in this country are pretty crazy. This society was one of them that you don't really mess with!
Overall, I had an awesome week. We are working hard to get our area great again and The Lord is blessing us.
-Elder Morgan
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| A lady in their Ward made them (really Eli) a cake. There have been several girls who think Eli is pretty cute! |
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| Eli's Companions in the Office |
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| A regular day of Elder Hanson and Eli working in the Office |
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| Freetown, Sierra Leone |
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| Another View of Freetown |
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Testimony
Hello Everyone,
First of all, just want to wish all the Fathers out there a Happy Dad's Day. I have really been blessed with a father who I look up to and who is the epitome of what a good father should be. He has taught me many things. The most important thing He has taught me is to trust in the Lord. No matter what trials we face. I am very grateful for that.
Also, shout out to Sister Skinner! She has just gone out to the Mexico MTC to begin Her mission. She will be a force to reckoned with. She will be a blessing to the people in Alabama! I am so proud of her!
This week was really good. We were able to get a lot of work done on a few projects we were given and also go out and understand the area a little bit more. That is probably the biggest thing I am struggling with right now, just understanding this crazy place haha. Freetown is so busy and I feel like I almost get hit by a car every time I walk on the side of the road! I am truly enjoying it. (Parent's Note: He did get bumped by a car the other day.....)
I think today I will just end with my testimony.
I have a testimony of the love that God has for us. My favorite scripture this week was Hebrews 12: 6-8. This helped me understand that God gives us certain challenges in our lives to stretch us and help us grow into the people who He wants us to become. These challenges help us depend on God, and turn to Him for help. It helped me to again realize how much we rely on God to help us literally with all we need and have. When we fall short, Jesus Christ has atoned for our sins and afflictions to pick us right back up when we mess up. I mess up a lot! I know these things are very true, that God loves us and He loves us so much He sent Jesus Christ to help us out. It is a powerful thing to know that!
-Elder Morgan
First of all, just want to wish all the Fathers out there a Happy Dad's Day. I have really been blessed with a father who I look up to and who is the epitome of what a good father should be. He has taught me many things. The most important thing He has taught me is to trust in the Lord. No matter what trials we face. I am very grateful for that.
Also, shout out to Sister Skinner! She has just gone out to the Mexico MTC to begin Her mission. She will be a force to reckoned with. She will be a blessing to the people in Alabama! I am so proud of her!
This week was really good. We were able to get a lot of work done on a few projects we were given and also go out and understand the area a little bit more. That is probably the biggest thing I am struggling with right now, just understanding this crazy place haha. Freetown is so busy and I feel like I almost get hit by a car every time I walk on the side of the road! I am truly enjoying it. (Parent's Note: He did get bumped by a car the other day.....)
I think today I will just end with my testimony.
I have a testimony of the love that God has for us. My favorite scripture this week was Hebrews 12: 6-8. This helped me understand that God gives us certain challenges in our lives to stretch us and help us grow into the people who He wants us to become. These challenges help us depend on God, and turn to Him for help. It helped me to again realize how much we rely on God to help us literally with all we need and have. When we fall short, Jesus Christ has atoned for our sins and afflictions to pick us right back up when we mess up. I mess up a lot! I know these things are very true, that God loves us and He loves us so much He sent Jesus Christ to help us out. It is a powerful thing to know that!
-Elder Morgan
Saturday, June 8, 2019
So Much to Do...So Little Time
Hello Everyone!
I am not going to lie, this week and last week kind of just blended together. Days are kind of moving together and doing the same routine everyday feels like a day just doesn't really end.
I think one of the big things this week was trying to get our area back in order. I am not trying to play the blame game, but before our time the Office Elders were not very active. Kind of just did some small work and didn't proselyte at all! So our area is really struggling. Elder Hansen and I called all of the people they had been teaching and tried to get all of our records in order. Although this took some time we got it all set. We have a small teaching pool of 5 people and so we have been getting to know them and also trying to find new people to teach. This is actually becoming pretty successful but at the same time still needs more work. But I am pretty excited to get the area back to how it should be and kind of fix up a few things in the Office.
One challenge I am facing is getting to know the area. On top of the office work I have in my head, I am trying to know the crazy streets of FreeTown. The city is absolutely crazy around here. They have built houses literally everywhere and anywhere they can find. You go to find a house, but it is literally just a crazy maze of hundreds of houses everywhere. They don't have any street addresses for these houses and so you just have to memorize how many turns you make, to say the least it is a little bit confusing!
Overall, this week was awesome. I have really realized this is going to be a good experience doing all of this work. We have busy days, but I am loving working like that. I have really found a love for hard work, even if some of my companions think I work too hard haha. The Lord has really blessed me with this opportunity. Even though sometimes the things He wants us to do, stretch us and work us, He is always there when we need some comfort!
-Elder Morgan
From our Skype video call today:
Working in the office, Eli has a little more visibility to what goes on in the mission. There were a few robberies that happened to the missionaries this last transfer. In one of the robberies, several men broke into the missionary's home with machetes and beat up one of the Elders. He's ok and only suffered a few bruises. We asked Eli if he felt safe there, and his response was that he's not worried at all - the people there don't really know how to fight well.
It has been fun to Skype with him the last 2 weeks and as long as he's in Freetown, we'll be able to see him weekly. His accent is great - he doesn't even know he has one! This week settled down a little bit for him, and he's settling in to this new area.
I am not going to lie, this week and last week kind of just blended together. Days are kind of moving together and doing the same routine everyday feels like a day just doesn't really end.
I think one of the big things this week was trying to get our area back in order. I am not trying to play the blame game, but before our time the Office Elders were not very active. Kind of just did some small work and didn't proselyte at all! So our area is really struggling. Elder Hansen and I called all of the people they had been teaching and tried to get all of our records in order. Although this took some time we got it all set. We have a small teaching pool of 5 people and so we have been getting to know them and also trying to find new people to teach. This is actually becoming pretty successful but at the same time still needs more work. But I am pretty excited to get the area back to how it should be and kind of fix up a few things in the Office.
One challenge I am facing is getting to know the area. On top of the office work I have in my head, I am trying to know the crazy streets of FreeTown. The city is absolutely crazy around here. They have built houses literally everywhere and anywhere they can find. You go to find a house, but it is literally just a crazy maze of hundreds of houses everywhere. They don't have any street addresses for these houses and so you just have to memorize how many turns you make, to say the least it is a little bit confusing!
Overall, this week was awesome. I have really realized this is going to be a good experience doing all of this work. We have busy days, but I am loving working like that. I have really found a love for hard work, even if some of my companions think I work too hard haha. The Lord has really blessed me with this opportunity. Even though sometimes the things He wants us to do, stretch us and work us, He is always there when we need some comfort!
-Elder Morgan
From our Skype video call today:
Working in the office, Eli has a little more visibility to what goes on in the mission. There were a few robberies that happened to the missionaries this last transfer. In one of the robberies, several men broke into the missionary's home with machetes and beat up one of the Elders. He's ok and only suffered a few bruises. We asked Eli if he felt safe there, and his response was that he's not worried at all - the people there don't really know how to fight well.
It has been fun to Skype with him the last 2 weeks and as long as he's in Freetown, we'll be able to see him weekly. His accent is great - he doesn't even know he has one! This week settled down a little bit for him, and he's settling in to this new area.
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| Morgan's are everywhere! |
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| This is a river running in between houses. They bathe, go to the bathroom and wash their clothes in these rivers. |
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The Life of an Office Elder...
Hello Everybody!
Well this week was definitely something new for me. Being inside the Office is pretty busy but I am really enjoying it so far. This went by quick and here is why...
Like I said above this week went by really pretty quick. We have a weekly meeting with President Clawson to show him the progress on different apartments and projects we are working on. During this meeting, He gave us some big projects that He wants done before he goes home so it will make the transition for President Harper easier.
Along with these new projects we have had to drive all over FreeTown, Kissy, and Waterloo moving people to their apartments, making sure new apartments are looking good, making sure every apartment has water and working things. We were on our phones almost the whole day everyday trying to coordinate thing in Bo as well. To say the least it is pretty exhausting and hard to keep track of everything. We had planned to proselyte everyday, but something would pop up and would have us be gone from 8 am till 9 pm!
I really think the Lord wants me to learn something from this new calling. Before this calling, I thought I was good in remembering things and getting them done. Here however, I seem to be forgetting everything! It might just be because it is all new, so I am trying not to be to hard on myself. My mission President and The Lord have given me a good opportunity to grow and I am so grateful for it!! Sorry no pictures this week, I have been a bit preoccupied!
-Elder Morgan
Well this week was definitely something new for me. Being inside the Office is pretty busy but I am really enjoying it so far. This went by quick and here is why...
Like I said above this week went by really pretty quick. We have a weekly meeting with President Clawson to show him the progress on different apartments and projects we are working on. During this meeting, He gave us some big projects that He wants done before he goes home so it will make the transition for President Harper easier.
Along with these new projects we have had to drive all over FreeTown, Kissy, and Waterloo moving people to their apartments, making sure new apartments are looking good, making sure every apartment has water and working things. We were on our phones almost the whole day everyday trying to coordinate thing in Bo as well. To say the least it is pretty exhausting and hard to keep track of everything. We had planned to proselyte everyday, but something would pop up and would have us be gone from 8 am till 9 pm!
I really think the Lord wants me to learn something from this new calling. Before this calling, I thought I was good in remembering things and getting them done. Here however, I seem to be forgetting everything! It might just be because it is all new, so I am trying not to be to hard on myself. My mission President and The Lord have given me a good opportunity to grow and I am so grateful for it!! Sorry no pictures this week, I have been a bit preoccupied!
-Elder Morgan
Sunday, June 2, 2019
A Wet Stake Conference
We found this on the Sierra Leone Freetown Facebook page:
Rain, rain don't go away... Today we stayed in Freetown to attend in Freetown a great Stake Conference . Just as it was almost starting the rain started pouring down! A much welcomed storm. The dry season since September has been too long. It has rained just a bit a few times in May, but we have heard the "rainy season" would start the first of May. We have been waiting... such a blessing to have rain today. The Elders enjoyed it too. We love our missionaries!!
Rain, rain don't go away... Today we stayed in Freetown to attend in Freetown a great Stake Conference . Just as it was almost starting the rain started pouring down! A much welcomed storm. The dry season since September has been too long. It has rained just a bit a few times in May, but we have heard the "rainy season" would start the first of May. We have been waiting... such a blessing to have rain today. The Elders enjoyed it too. We love our missionaries!!
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