First the bugs dont bother me all that much, i find them crawling on me from time to time. They are like tiny tiny cockroaches. But i switched beds yesterday since Elder Munastsi got transferred i hope it helps. Ya it sucks though we only had 1 transfer together, the aps need to stop doing that to me. But as it turns out Elder Munatsi is leaving me and going to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Im freaking jealous of him though, i want to go back there.But my comp is cool, and i just actually talked to him on the phone, and he is excited to come. Although this is his last transfer before he goes home, so im the lucky one who gets to kill him. I didnt want to kill anyone on mission cause i know they are going to make me super trunkie. But these things they are just there. So ya i know im going to be here for at least 3 more months. I dont mind though i like this area, and the members they are okay. Yep it sucks to see elder munatsi go, im going to miss that guy alot. So anyways thats good you and dad are doing your home teaching. Thats what were trying to get our member to do, but they are really struggling with it, they just cant seem to visit them for some reason, and its really frustrating. But cant make them do it, just encourage them. Oh by the way im emailing you today cause we had no time yesterday. We got the transfer new while we were in kitale, so we had to go home pack elder munatsi's stuff and go back to kitale cause thats where the bus leaves. Esh it was really crazy, the ap's dont give us enough time to do stuff it sucks. So ya now i get to show lemma around when he comes, which doesnt really matter since he is leaving this transfer anyway. But i have a feeling im going to get to know my area really well, cause i think im going to be here for a while.
So ya i feel for andrew, i emailed him last week but i know he can get through this, he is tough kid. And wow i miss that kid alot. And it does make me mad that he has a bogus comp.i would beat the crap out of him. Im way happy that i have not had one yet. And im praying that i dont get one. So the new couple for our area just got here. And wow they are freaking green. They know nothing about kenya, they still think its like those commercial ads of starving kids you see on tv. Its pretty funny though they ask you all these question about kenya, or they ask you how to say something in swahili. I feel bad for them they only get a week to learn there area before the other couples go home. But they are way nice, and excited to be here. They are elder and sister beecher, from Orem. Im kinda glad the other couples are going home, cause that guy was just getting grumpy. He is always grumpy, you never see a smile on his face, and he never really looks happy to see anyone. But he is still a good guy. So mom now im just sitting in kitale with elder Ravelajona and elder waiswa all waiting for our comps. It sucks i have to wait till tomorrow till i can go to my area. But i think we are going to get some food in a little bit, so i better go. Love ya and miss ya kabisa. So ill talk to you next week.
- Elder Jackson
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
8-9-2010
So ya the great circumcision ceremony is alot more weird than i thought. But ya i did get a video of a big group of people chanting. Esh kenyans love cameras, this once guy saw i was filming him and he started to dance like crazy. So they do the ceremony out in front of there house. And before they do that they sacrifice a cow and he takes it home to his family, then waits outside till they come. And its not just the guy with the knife, its a whole bunch of people. Boys and girls, of all ages come to see. Its all some weird stuff, im really glad i didnt have to do it the way they do it around here.
And the Elections were okay. the people voted yes for the new constitution. Out of the 40 million people in the country 12 million were registered to vote. And out of the 12 i think 7 or 8 million voted. but there was no violence, the streets were empty though. No one was out. We were in Kitale that day and it was pretty much empty. We didnt go out and work that day cause we were not suppose to. But ya everything went well, and the people are excited for the new constitution. And they voted yes to the new constitution. It was like 5 million yes, and 2 million no.
Im scared to come home. Im to used to Kenya. Im so used to poverty its just sad. Whenever i see something nice, like a car or a phone i just look at it and cant believe what im seeing. But Speaking of kenya i've been blessed with bed bugs here. I have bites all over me, but i can say also that im used to them, it doesnt even bother me at all.
So today though, im 6 months out. Pretty exciting stuff. Me and some MTC buddies are going up to waterfall in our area today in celebration for it. And were burning our ties tomorrow night. Ill make sure i get some pics of the waterfall, its suppose to be really cool. But ya do you still want to climb mt. Kilominjaro? i promise if you would have saw it like i did you would have been here already and started to climb it. Ah it looks fun. But anyways dad i better run for today. I hope all goes well with the extreme makeover.
-love matt
And the Elections were okay. the people voted yes for the new constitution. Out of the 40 million people in the country 12 million were registered to vote. And out of the 12 i think 7 or 8 million voted. but there was no violence, the streets were empty though. No one was out. We were in Kitale that day and it was pretty much empty. We didnt go out and work that day cause we were not suppose to. But ya everything went well, and the people are excited for the new constitution. And they voted yes to the new constitution. It was like 5 million yes, and 2 million no.
Im scared to come home. Im to used to Kenya. Im so used to poverty its just sad. Whenever i see something nice, like a car or a phone i just look at it and cant believe what im seeing. But Speaking of kenya i've been blessed with bed bugs here. I have bites all over me, but i can say also that im used to them, it doesnt even bother me at all.
So today though, im 6 months out. Pretty exciting stuff. Me and some MTC buddies are going up to waterfall in our area today in celebration for it. And were burning our ties tomorrow night. Ill make sure i get some pics of the waterfall, its suppose to be really cool. But ya do you still want to climb mt. Kilominjaro? i promise if you would have saw it like i did you would have been here already and started to climb it. Ah it looks fun. But anyways dad i better run for today. I hope all goes well with the extreme makeover.
-love matt
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
8/2/2010
first off i just wanted to say im sorry you have to eat corn. You wont believe how many times i ate this past week. And to answer your question i've eaten corn in two ways. First of course on the cob like we all know. Then the other one they pluck it off and mix it into beans. I cant remember what they call it, its some crazy name. Ya so when i come home i dont want to see corn for at least 6 months. So ya about the kilominjaro pics. They were from the plane, Dar is a few thousand miles away from kilominjaro. But the pics i have are actually really good. Its cool though it comes up above the clouds, its really high up there. Im sure if you would have seen it, you would have def. wanted to climb it. Even i was like, esh that looks fun.
So something i've eaten this past week that was good was guava. Have you ever had the juice in the stores? Well its nothing like the real thing. It legit, its good. All i can say is go find a guava and eat it. Also i've been making alot of chips mayai and i can say that im getting pretty good at it. Did you guys ever figure out, how to make it? Its kinda unhealthy by the way. But what you do is skin some potatos, then cut them up into large fries. Then put some grease into a frying pan(alot). And soak the fries in there till they are crisp. Then take them out put them into a bowl or something. When you made some fries what you do, is take the grease out of the pan, then put the fries in (pan should not be big). Enough to cover the whole pan. Then crack some eggs, in a cup, stir them up real good. Finally just pour the eggs over all the fries evenly. You want enough eggs so you can cover all the fries. Then you just cook it. You need to flip a couple of times. But ya really not hard to make, so if you ever get bored one day, try it.
So ya i gotta tell you about the circumcisions that are about to happen. 14 year old boys get lined up and a really scary guy with a knife comes and cuts. The boys are not allowed to show pain or any other emotion or else they are not a true man. Its some intense stuff. They have been getting ready for it by running up and down the streets with whistles, bells and chanting. Im gonna try and send you a pic i took of them chanting, but these computers here suck, they dont like to upload the pics from my camera, it sucks.
But ya we have some elections this week. The elections are for the new constitution. There have been many people who are on the yes team and many on the no team. They drive around in their trucks with huge systems and play music and tell the people to vote yes or vote no. its pretty cool. I want to get the t-shirts they have. They have a yes green t-shirt, and a No red t-shirt. They are pretty cool, and im trying to find them. The elections are on Wednesday. We are not suppose to work that day, and are encouraged to stay home. But as for us we will be in Kitale aka Kirtland that day. So we will have to see what happens, i dont think there will be any violence but you never know these things. There have been a few incidents around kenya. Including someone getting shot, and there was a missionary there who witnessed it. But ya thats only in the bigger cities. It shouldnt be bad where im at.
But anyways dad, the work here is good. And we are getting a bunch of referrals, like alot. We recived two today already, its hard to keep up. But ya mission is still very good. This transfer is getting close to the end its kinda intense stuff.
-Love matt
So something i've eaten this past week that was good was guava. Have you ever had the juice in the stores? Well its nothing like the real thing. It legit, its good. All i can say is go find a guava and eat it. Also i've been making alot of chips mayai and i can say that im getting pretty good at it. Did you guys ever figure out, how to make it? Its kinda unhealthy by the way. But what you do is skin some potatos, then cut them up into large fries. Then put some grease into a frying pan(alot). And soak the fries in there till they are crisp. Then take them out put them into a bowl or something. When you made some fries what you do, is take the grease out of the pan, then put the fries in (pan should not be big). Enough to cover the whole pan. Then crack some eggs, in a cup, stir them up real good. Finally just pour the eggs over all the fries evenly. You want enough eggs so you can cover all the fries. Then you just cook it. You need to flip a couple of times. But ya really not hard to make, so if you ever get bored one day, try it.
So ya i gotta tell you about the circumcisions that are about to happen. 14 year old boys get lined up and a really scary guy with a knife comes and cuts. The boys are not allowed to show pain or any other emotion or else they are not a true man. Its some intense stuff. They have been getting ready for it by running up and down the streets with whistles, bells and chanting. Im gonna try and send you a pic i took of them chanting, but these computers here suck, they dont like to upload the pics from my camera, it sucks.
But ya we have some elections this week. The elections are for the new constitution. There have been many people who are on the yes team and many on the no team. They drive around in their trucks with huge systems and play music and tell the people to vote yes or vote no. its pretty cool. I want to get the t-shirts they have. They have a yes green t-shirt, and a No red t-shirt. They are pretty cool, and im trying to find them. The elections are on Wednesday. We are not suppose to work that day, and are encouraged to stay home. But as for us we will be in Kitale aka Kirtland that day. So we will have to see what happens, i dont think there will be any violence but you never know these things. There have been a few incidents around kenya. Including someone getting shot, and there was a missionary there who witnessed it. But ya thats only in the bigger cities. It shouldnt be bad where im at.
But anyways dad, the work here is good. And we are getting a bunch of referrals, like alot. We recived two today already, its hard to keep up. But ya mission is still very good. This transfer is getting close to the end its kinda intense stuff.
-Love matt
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
7-26-2010
The official name of my area is Misikhu, but the town i live in is called Webuye. It just a small town, but we live really close to a Barclays bank if you ever heard of that bank. And everyone knows us and its actually pretty cool. Also my area is north kenya, im only like an hour away from the boarder of Uganda. My comp does not speak swahili. Although he does know Zulu. So this past week, was pretty cool we had zone conference. We had to go to eldoret which is like 2 and half hours from where we stay. It wasnt too bad of a matatu ride, but we got there and we just had fun. We had almost all the missionaries from the zone come to ZL's flat the day before zone conference. And i got to see some MTC buddies there. So ya we spent the night at the ZL's flat. And the ZL's are way sweet by the way. i forgot my blanket and its freaking cold there. Luckly Elder Frost, and Elder Munatsi shared theirs with me. So Zone conference was way nice. I can say i dont think i've ever attended a meeting where you felt the spirit so much. President Broadbent is powerful. I can say he is going to be an amazing Mission President. And i like how excited he is to be here. I dont think i've ever saw him without a smile on his face. And his wife is just as nice, and she gave a powerful training. It was just a way nice zone conference. And wow our zone conference is huge. Well im not sure compared to other missions, but i thought it was big. We had like 22 missionaries there. Im used to 8 people from my last area. But ya i got to see more MTC friends. i got to see the sisters that were there with me in the MTC and they were excited to see me, they told me that i've grown alot since the mtc. Not really sure what that means but anyways it was good to see them again. So after Zone Conference we went to Kitale, to where Frost and his comp stay. And the road there was miserable. Holes everywhere. And your packed in that matatu, it kinda sucks. It took two hours to get there, and it should not have taken that long. But the time we got there i was tired and didnt want to ride in anymore matatu's, so we just spent the night there. So although matatus are bad, i still dont think there as bad as Dolla Dolla's. At least in Matatu's you get to sit, but in dollas id say 70 percent of the time your standing and packed in there way too tight. But you know its all just one nice experience ill have, and get to tell everyone about when i get back. Oh by the ways, matatu and Dolla drivers are insane, they drive crazy, it can get pretty intense sometimes. So anyways im not sure if i told you, but in my area i get to ride tons of piki piki's or motorcycles. Like alot, there actually pretty fun. Our area is too big to walk it, and no matatu's go to most of it,so we have to get a piki piki. So anyways thats it for this week,
So finally i want to tell you about the "kitale remix". The members here like to change the way the hymns are sang. Like not change it little, the change the way the song is sang. I tried to sing along with them but its just not possible. I think its pretty funny, and actually one of the songs they remix sounds pretty cool. I only wish you could hear it. But my comp was mad yesterday, cause they ruined one of his favorite hymns. We tried to correct them by singing loud and showing them but that didnt work. So after a while we are like we cant correct them might as well join them. But you cant sing with them cause they just twist the song in ways you dont know. So all you can really do is remain quite. Pretty funny stuff.
-Love elder j.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
7-19-10
Kenya is good, but its very cold, i need to go and buy a hoodie or jacket this week when i go for zone conference. Cause i often find myself freezing, i never thought i would be cold in Africa but you just never no these things. So ya sorry i was no able to email yesterday because the internet was down. It sucks the internet goes down to often in Africa. But anyways this past week went good. Im getting to know my area suprisingly. And our investigators are cool, are member are doing a good job with giving us referrals. But ya here is a little story from last week. We went to teach this old man who is not a member of the church but his wife is and want him to be taught. The only problem is that he doesnt speak english. So we went and saw him and his wife wasn't there but he was. So he invited us in and we kinda just sat there a minute in silence till i couldn't take it anymore and i started talking to him in swahili. Just simple things, then i started teaching him in swahili. I taught him a full lesson, and im not going to lie the lord did help me out cause i dont know that much swahili but i somehow taught him in swahili and understood him. Im not sure how i did it but it was a neat experience for me the lord truely helped me there. And the guy wants us to come back and teach him again. But ya just a little story for ya. So ya the people in our area love to feed us, love love love to fed us. We eat like 5 times in a day some days. In fact sunday we went and taught some two people for the first time and after they gave me and Elder Munatsi a full loaf a bread to eat there. Just bread thats it. But its all they have so you have to eat it all. But ya so far me and Elder Munatsi are having fun and working hard. Im loving serving with him its really fun. So ya our flat is okay its not as a big as my last one but its got some good security. Our landlord lives right across from us and they watch it while where out and they have a dog come out at night so its pretty good.
So anyways right now is the season for maze. Maze is just corn. So we having been eating it like crazy here. In fact we got fed maze at our appointments for today. They even gave us maze to take home. We had maze i think everyday last week. I can say that im getting sick of it, but its only starting. So i must learn to love it. So ya maze maze maze maze maze maze everything is maze. Elder come and eat some of my maze. But anyway i had some ugali here its different than it was in Tanzania, it acutally has taste to it. So its actually pretty good. And im not sure if i mentioned this last week, but there is no chips mayai here. I had to make it myself. im not the best at it but im slowly improving. I make it alot so by the time i come home ill be a pro at it and ill have to make it for ya. So ya zone conference is this week, im excited i get to see some MTC mates. Im excited to see them. Ill have to tell you how that goes. But ya thats it for this week im going to try and upload some pics here but its kinda slow so ill have to see if it will cooporate with me..
-love elder Jackson
So anyways right now is the season for maze. Maze is just corn. So we having been eating it like crazy here. In fact we got fed maze at our appointments for today. They even gave us maze to take home. We had maze i think everyday last week. I can say that im getting sick of it, but its only starting. So i must learn to love it. So ya maze maze maze maze maze maze everything is maze. Elder come and eat some of my maze. But anyway i had some ugali here its different than it was in Tanzania, it acutally has taste to it. So its actually pretty good. And im not sure if i mentioned this last week, but there is no chips mayai here. I had to make it myself. im not the best at it but im slowly improving. I make it alot so by the time i come home ill be a pro at it and ill have to make it for ya. So ya zone conference is this week, im excited i get to see some MTC mates. Im excited to see them. Ill have to tell you how that goes. But ya thats it for this week im going to try and upload some pics here but its kinda slow so ill have to see if it will cooporate with me..
-love elder Jackson
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
7-12-2010
Hello from Kenya,
So first i wanted to say that i saw Kirk or i should say Elder Smedley. I had to spend the night at the ap's flat before i left the next morning. And wouldnt you know it they came in with kirk. It was cool seeing him again. Although he looked kinda nervous. Doesnt suprise me i was scared out of my mind when i got here. It was kinda bad though he had a guy from kenya who is going on his mission the next day stay with us and he talked to kirk all night. He was so loud, even me i told him to shut up like 6 times. Esh that guy came in at like 230 in the morning and woke everyone up and just started so say good morning. Ah he is crazy. But anyways kirk is going to Mombasa, its like an 8 hour bus ride like me. Luckly for him he didnt have to go alone, he went with Elder Nkohma. He is a really cool guy. So ya my new area is called like Misikhu, we live in a town called Webuye. My area is out in the middle of no where. Its a bunch of farms and corn and fields. And alot of mud houses. , we were actually in a part of our area the second day i got here and there was litterally nothing there. Just corn fields and tree's. Its alot different from my last area. Im still adjusting but ya its good to have some change. Crazy i've now seen mud houses, i cant believe people actually live in mud houses. And the first day here i saw some monkeys. i was pretty excited when i saw them. Now all i have to do is catch one and care for it till i come home. Man i want a pet monkey. . Now all i have to do is see a lion. So ya im now serving with my mtc comp, elder munatsi. he is cool im excited to do the real missionary thing with him. Our area is like 2 hours away from kitale. So we get to have sleep over at missionaries flat every week.So far the people i've meet have been way nice and way cool. And all the people here speak english, its way nice. Although i use swahili alot still. Our new flat is good, except i think we have some bed bugs. Not all that fun. But im slowly getting used to this area. It rains alot here, i think its rained everyday since i've been here. And by the way im freezing here. Im so cold, i have to use a blanket unlike dar. its a huge difference from dar. im going to have to get used to this weather. But now im scared for when i come back to utah its just going to be flat out cold. But ya the church building here is not actually a church building. its just a small house. So kinda like my last area. And i had to teach the young men and women yesterday. And my comp tells me that we have to teach something every week. But the members seem to be cool. By the way i met a guy down here who sounds exactly like michael jackson. And he is the choirister. Esh its way funny to hear him sing. And when your talking to him it like your hearing micheal jackson. Its funny. So by the way i was in the most southern part of the mission and now im in the most northern part. Quite a long distance to travel for a transfer. an hour and half plane ride, followed by an 8 hour bus ride. But anyways i gotta go, so i love you and i promise ill send pics next week, i forgot the camera today. So ill see you.
P.S. Everyone speaks english down here, its really nice. And when i speak swahili they get really excited and say this mizugu knows swahili. the people like it when i speak swahili.
-Elder Jackson
So first i wanted to say that i saw Kirk or i should say Elder Smedley. I had to spend the night at the ap's flat before i left the next morning. And wouldnt you know it they came in with kirk. It was cool seeing him again. Although he looked kinda nervous. Doesnt suprise me i was scared out of my mind when i got here. It was kinda bad though he had a guy from kenya who is going on his mission the next day stay with us and he talked to kirk all night. He was so loud, even me i told him to shut up like 6 times. Esh that guy came in at like 230 in the morning and woke everyone up and just started so say good morning. Ah he is crazy. But anyways kirk is going to Mombasa, its like an 8 hour bus ride like me. Luckly for him he didnt have to go alone, he went with Elder Nkohma. He is a really cool guy. So ya my new area is called like Misikhu, we live in a town called Webuye. My area is out in the middle of no where. Its a bunch of farms and corn and fields. And alot of mud houses. , we were actually in a part of our area the second day i got here and there was litterally nothing there. Just corn fields and tree's. Its alot different from my last area. Im still adjusting but ya its good to have some change. Crazy i've now seen mud houses, i cant believe people actually live in mud houses. And the first day here i saw some monkeys. i was pretty excited when i saw them. Now all i have to do is catch one and care for it till i come home. Man i want a pet monkey. . Now all i have to do is see a lion. So ya im now serving with my mtc comp, elder munatsi. he is cool im excited to do the real missionary thing with him. Our area is like 2 hours away from kitale. So we get to have sleep over at missionaries flat every week.So far the people i've meet have been way nice and way cool. And all the people here speak english, its way nice. Although i use swahili alot still. Our new flat is good, except i think we have some bed bugs. Not all that fun. But im slowly getting used to this area. It rains alot here, i think its rained everyday since i've been here. And by the way im freezing here. Im so cold, i have to use a blanket unlike dar. its a huge difference from dar. im going to have to get used to this weather. But now im scared for when i come back to utah its just going to be flat out cold. But ya the church building here is not actually a church building. its just a small house. So kinda like my last area. And i had to teach the young men and women yesterday. And my comp tells me that we have to teach something every week. But the members seem to be cool. By the way i met a guy down here who sounds exactly like michael jackson. And he is the choirister. Esh its way funny to hear him sing. And when your talking to him it like your hearing micheal jackson. Its funny. So by the way i was in the most southern part of the mission and now im in the most northern part. Quite a long distance to travel for a transfer. an hour and half plane ride, followed by an 8 hour bus ride. But anyways i gotta go, so i love you and i promise ill send pics next week, i forgot the camera today. So ill see you.
P.S. Everyone speaks english down here, its really nice. And when i speak swahili they get really excited and say this mizugu knows swahili. the people like it when i speak swahili.
-Elder Jackson
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
7-5-2010
Some intense stuff happend this past week. But to start off, if you want your mouth to drop to the floor you should come and attend some fast and testimony meetings here. I can say i've heard and seen it all. Some things are just like why? but its good, they dont totally understand but they mean everything in a good way. And yes church is conducted in english but they occasionally trail off in swahili. And by the way i took my worm pills, and if you dont have worms you dont have any serious side effects. But as for me i took the nini's and the next day just sucked! I was hurting so bad. It felt like something was trying to tear its way out of my stomach. Not fun at all, i was in pain the whole day. But i was ok after. So i think i had worms. But a side effect everyone has when they take it is a metal taste. Your mouth tastes like metal, everything you eat drink taste like metal. Including water, water was the worst. All i know i used to enjoy food, but when i took that it just wasnt the same. Not good, im not looking forward to taking it again. Its suppose to be every six months but they gave it to me early. So ya i was not able to email yesterday cause the internet was down. Always sucks! But ya today im saying my final goodbyes to the members. Im leaving dar tomorrow. I fly out tomorrow morning, and then prob will be put on a bus for 8 hours to get to my area. Not some fun stuff. Im headed for Kenya. To a small village called Kitale. Im going to be with my MTC companion. Elder Munatsi. Im excited and nervous. Im not happy to be leaving elder Mkhabela, he is an awesome guy. Im gonna miss him , he is a good missionary, and also he has become a very very good friend. I hope he makes it to salt lake one day so i can see him in my home town. But im still curious to see what will happen after this transfer. There is some talk that my group might be training. But you never know. But as for my tranier, elder Machanzi he is going to kenya as well. He is going to a place called Chyulu. Its like out out out in the middle of no where. you get to ride whats called the Iron horse. Which is a very big and heavy old bike. So im not sure if he is happy about that, but ill see tomorrow. It kinda sucks to be leaving but still good to go to a new area. And also everyone speaks english in kenya so i wont have to worry so much about the swahili thing. Cause esh its tough, especially in changombe. Im going to miss it like crazy though. But ya this past week was amazing. I know the lord helped us this past week. We found two people seeking the gospel. And both are amazing. One is a muslum and to turn to christianty is a very big thing. But he has a desire to learn more. You should see how he looks when we taught him. Its just one of those excitement and happiness. Although we have to get permission from president broadbent to continue teaching him. Cause you have to make sure that everything will be alright for him and his family. Muslums frown heavly on another muslum changing to christian. But he doesnt care, he wants to know more. And esh when we teach him you can just feel the spirit. Its a undeniable feeling. I love those moments. It has helped me stengthen my own testimony. And now i can say without any doubt that this church is true, and the book of mormon is true. And i know if you read and pray about it, that the holy ghost will tell you whither its true or not. But as for me im loving serving the lord, and have never regreted it. . Know that i love you, and miss you alot. And i cant wait till i see you again. So ill talk to you next week in Kenya!
-Love Elder Matthew Edward Jackson aka "jack"
-Love Elder Matthew Edward Jackson aka "jack"
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