Malaria pill info, update on the work in Ethiopia and Sudan, Leadership Guide finished

I had a great breakfast this morning. I was going to eat three eggs and some toast, but then I realized that there were only three eggs left, so I decided to leave those for my companion and cook my burgers instead. So I finished my chocolate bar as I cooked and smeared some mayonnaise on some wheat bread and threw the two patties on. Took my malaria pill (but not my vitamins) and then decided to have a little desert of Neapolitan ice cream. (We decided to buy five liters of it since our roommates were gone to Ethiopia.) It was a great breakfast. It may not sound good to you, but chocolate, mayonnaise, ice cream, burgers, and wheat bread are all rare luxuries at this point.

I just found out that I'm not supposed to be taking my "malaria pills" (doxycycline) with multi-vitamins supplements. Apparently it hinders the potency of the antibiotic. So I thought I'd stop taking the vitamins for a while, and they were right. I'm not healthier, but I definitely feel more of the side effects of the doxycyline that everyone has been talking about. I have more sensitive skin, more nausea when I take them, and bit more aches and pains.

We had a pretty good p-day activity last Monday. I've been taking the reports for the assistants while they've been gone and I caught wind of a few zones that planned activities. So we managed to merge them together into one. We had big "braai" (barbecue) at the Kololo chapel with some soccer and we hooked up the DVD player to the projector. We watched Pioneers of Africa, War Dance, and the RM. If you haven't seen those first two, you should try and get them.

Still no word on what my last transfer will be. I'll find out in a week or two. One thing is for sure, and that is that Elder Ray is going home and that I'll have a new area with a new companion for six weeks only. My whole mission I've always wondered how long I'd be in the area I was or how long I'd be with the companion I'm with. But ever since I've had this assignment I've never had those thoughts. I always knew I'd be here for six weeks, Ray would go home, and I'd go somewhere else with somebody else. Now I'm just wondering where and who. I have a feeling President will send me to develop a missionary, not to develop an area.

Today President and the assistants are getting back from Ethiopia. They went there for another zone conference. President said they couldn't bring us along because it cost too much. To be honest I wasn't that disappointed, except they did go to Gambella. It's a city in the western part of Ethiopia. Apparently there's a bunch of people meeting there that really want to organize a branch and be baptized and so forth. So President flew Adis and then drove 760 km west to see them. I'll find out how it went later. But another exciting thing is that in two days he gets back on a plane to fly to Southern Sudan. There have been some reports of thousands of people meeting there. I guess there were some people in Salt Lake City as refugees that were converted, and when they went back home they brought the gospel with them. So these people started collecting "tithing" from all those who were coming and they used the money to build some kind of large mud hut for a meetinghouse. Unfortunately, the rain washed away that meetinghouse, and then they really started contacting the church to get some attention. So President's going to go check it out. I don't think he's taking any missionaries with him on that trip though...

I sent two copies of "Our Search for Happiness" to Ben and Kelsi. It took me a while to find them. All the books in our distribution are really cheap, except that one. I don't know why. But the other day Elder Camuso had a couple of hand-me-downs that he was about to give to his investigators just because he had them. But I convinced him that I needed them for my "investigators." Anyways, hopefully they will read them and, if anything, get a better understanding of why I plan on living my life the way I do.

I liked your e-mail. It really confused me at first because I forgot to read the part that said, "Dear Norma." I thought you were talking to me. But I caught on. We actually just had a combined priesthood - relief society class a few weeks about that. I was in Nsambya for church to see Charles and Agnes get baptized. But it was a great lesson on food storage. A lot of people found it very interesting. Obviously half the people are recent converts and they were hearing it for the first time. So it was nice to be a part of it. You have a great calling. I know you'll shine.

Our Leadership Guide is finished. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that. President Christensen still needs to approve it. We printed off the first copy and we're here at the office right now waiting for him to show up so we can put it into his hands. Hopefully he'll make some huge changing contributions that will just edify everyone and make us look really good. But lately he's just been skimming things over and saying, “It looks great Elders. Keep up the good work. You guys are doing great."

I have felt a bit of the adversary working on us while we've been putting it together. I don't know if any other companionship could have managed it. Elder Ray and I have stayed really united in making the executive decisions needed. But yesterday was big time. We wanted to have everything finished by the time we left the office last night. But all the sudden the computer decided to just start deleting some of our files. One whole page in the section "Principles of Leadership." All of our thoughts ideas, quotes, power lines... everything just gone. I felt much like I had just lost the 116 page manuscript. As we fumbled to make the same paper again trying to use the exact wording, I asked Elder Ray, "Do you think this should be retranslated?" Well, we did it. Actually Elder Ray did. He has some kind of photographic memory or something.

The mission goes on. I'm not sure what we'll be doing much of these next 10 days. The book is finished. I guess we do need to figure out how we're going to make 30 copies and distribute them. Other than that I suppose I'll help Elder Ray do all the last minute things before his parents get here. We've really been trying to hunt down some President Mseveni T-shirts. They're like rare collector’s items in my opinion. It's a yellow shirt with a picture of the Ugandan president on the front and on the back it says, "Prosperity for all."

I still haven't finished The Infinite Atonement. I gave it a time out for a while. But I've been back on it this past week or so. I definitely enjoy it. One part got me kind of emotional the other day. It gets you thinking, that's for sure.

I did a little reading about fly fishing the other day. Seems like a very plausible hobby to take on. That trout your buddy caught was pretty impressive. What’d he catch it on?

Have a great week,
Elder Wright