First Letter

9/25/2006

Alright. I'm here. I'm serving in the Jinja Zone, in the Walukuba Branch 2. My proselyting area is Masese. Wow. My first day we went through a village of grass/mud huts right on the banks of Lake Victoria. I couldn't have asked for a better area. The people here are so humble. No one ever turns us down to hear our message. And it helps that we have a gorgeous chapel right in Walukuba. Everyone knows where it is. My companion and I were white-washed in our area and we don't have an area book. Basically that means that we're both brand new to the area, and there’s no record of any current investigators, past investigators, etc.

The living here is much like a feeling of being at scout camp. No paved roads. No addresses. No electricity (except throughout Walukuba where we stay, we have electricity every other day) Most showers are cold. We usually do inventory at night by candles. Our house is nice though: brand new, first elders to stay in it. We cook with a propane grill, much like the one you have. And yes, we wash our clothes by hand.

I've had a little culture shock, because I really didn't think it was going to be this extreme. I've taught lessons to women breast feeding casually around a fire where they are cooking their lunch. Dozens of children surround me in the village, most of them naked, calling me "mazungu", which just means white person. Everyone lives very poor conditions compared to our standards. We taught a few lessons last night in homes that were 10' by 10' where 2 or more people live.

Everything is so cheap. We bought three "roll eggs" (a torilla with egg, tomato, onion, about 12" long) at the market for what would be less then a dollar. A man just rode me here on the back of his boda-boda (a bike) about 4 miles for something like a little more than a quarter.

I don't need a mosquito net, already have one. Thanks for the info on the maggots. That is the first that I've heard of it. So far, everything’s going good.

I think the baptisms will be plentiful as long as we stay focused, obedient, faithful, etc. The elders in the Walukuba Branch 1 had 6 baptisms Sunday. There are only about 40 members in our branch, and of course less than that actually come. Our branch president gave a talk Sunday and touched on the story of Nephi and his brothers going back to get the plates from Laban. At one point he said "Laban was pissed off" over the pulpit. Maybe that phrase is a little more lax here, I'm still not sure.

I've learned a little Lugunda. Basic greetings, but I can tell I still sound like an American. People usually just laugh, then I laugh.... No one here is really in a position to try and put us down. It makes the work a little easier. Language is a barrier though. Most people struggle with English. My companion can usually communicate with them well though. He's from Kenya and is fluent in Swahili which is similar.

My connection here is slow. Not sure the exact speed, but I know it's slow. Try pictures anyways. We'll see what happens. I'll try and check my e-mail every Monday as long as I have time to come into town. I've almost filled my 2gb, so I'll be sending it soon.

Take care. ZAC