4/28/14 Hey Mom! I am with Elder B now. He was in my MTC group actually. He kind of reminds me of that comp. that Mitch had who thought he knew everything because he was a little bit older. He is 25 and kind of stubborn. He is from Uganda, so he knows Swahili, but it is not grammatically correct Swahili, so it is kind of funny to see people blast him because they think that he is a Tanzanian haha. He actually works pretty hard though and he knows the scriptures super well. He is teaching me a lot about how to teach and things like that. Don't worry about me though. Even though it was really tough I really am doing a lot better. Oh and I am back in Arusha, so that is good! :) That is awesome that Bryant got his mission call! That is crazy to think that he is leaving so soon! Haha That is super weird to think that there will be a new ward and building and bishop and everything when I get back. Congrats on doing the 5k! I will have to work on getting in better shape so I can do one too when I get back haha. That is a bummer to hear about Courtney's Soccer. Hopefully she isn't too bummed about it, and it still ends well. We will see I guess. Haha I am not so sure I could wake up at 5:30 every day. :P 6:30 is tough enough haha. But I know you can do it though. Has Quiktrip made any crazy additions or changes yet? I am assuming they started selling pizza haha. Well mom, I am so grateful for all of the things you do for me. Thanks for your emails and support. I am still doing pretty well. I will be honest, being on mission is very hard, but I know I can do it. I love you so much!! :) Elder Janda Hey Everyone! Sorry, but a super short email this week! Anyways I am back in Arusha with Elder Barasa. Elder Barasa is from Uganda, and was actually in my MTC group, so it is cool to see him again. He knows the bible and scriptures super well, so it is good to be able to learn from him those things. We have been teaching a girl named Rose. Her mom is a member, but she didn't live with her mom the first 12 years of her life, so now she is with her mom, and very excited to learn about the gospel. She is also starting to learn the keyboard from me. Actually I am supposed to start teaching 4 people the keyboard this week, which is kind of cool, even though I am not the best teacher. I also am kind of like a few people's private English tutor. They write down a bunch of English and come ask me to check it and I will give them assignments. Anyways we were able to give Rose a baptismal date for the 25th of May, which would be great! We also went to a new orphanage this past week. There are a lot more kids at this one, but the smaller one is a lot nicer. One of the guys who works at this orphanage took our number and said he wants to learn more. He actually came to church on Sunday and seemed to really enjoy it so that should be good. Besides that, nothing too exciting has really happened. I think we are going to watch conference next week, which will be good. Except it will be in Swahili haha. I am still excited though. Well I love you all! Elder janda

4/14/14 Hey Everyone! Sorry this week has been super uneventful, so nothing too exciting to read today! Tuesday this week was amazing though! We had something called MLC. The Mission President came to Arusha and met with the 5 Zone Leaders in Tanzania. He talked to us about being more consecrated missionaries, and also how to be better leaders. We met with him for like 5 hours and right after I had my interview with him, so I really was on an extra spiritual high that day. He is an inspired man, and I learn a lot from him! After that we went to a member's house to say goodbye, because my companion left and there was no knowing if I am going back or not. On Wednesday we flew to Dar Es Salaam, had DDM there, and basically sat around the rest of the day. On Thursday my companion, Elder Jackson, took off and headed for home. That was really weird to say goodbye to him, and kind of a bummer because we got along pretty well. He left me with Elder Ita, who I served with in the Hills, and Elder Steed. One is a Tongan, and the other is Canadian. After he left we went for some appointments, but this week it was raining hardcore in Dar Es Salaam, so it was kind of hard. Nothing really happened until Sunday because of the rain. On Sunday we went to the Ubungo Branch. They meet in an actual chapel which was really nice because I hadn't done that yet on my mission and I kind of missed it. Because of the rain not too many people showed up to church but there were still quite a few. They asked me to bear my testimony, and of course, in Swahili. I don't know a whole lot of Swahili, but I agreed. When I went up there I definitely witnessed the gift of tongues in action. I somehow fluently bore a fairly good length testimony. Everything I had learned and read and heard just kind of came back to me. I had so many people come up to me after the service and ask how I learned so much Swahili, and when I told them I had only served in Tanzania for 6 weeks they were so surprised! I just think to my blessing when I was set apart and the Stake President told me that I would be blessed with the gift of tongues, and I was so confused because I was supposed to speak English, but now I see it all falling into place. haha Unfortunately transfers don't come until tonight so I don't yet know who my new comp is, or where I will be serving but I will let you know next week! I love you all! Elder Janda

4/7/14

Hey everyone! This week was a pretty great one! It had a lot of great moments, and also some that are kind of a bummer. I guess I will start with the bad news. My comp. has been struggling with some medical problems for most of his mission, and they have finally decided to send him home. They just can't figure out what is wrong with him. I am bummed for two reasons. One, because him and I have gotten along really well, and I am nervous I will get a companion that I don't get along with like I have in the past. Also, because he is leaving, I am really not sure where I am going. I really want to stay in Arusha, because I love this place and these people like crazy, but if I go somewhere else, I know for sure that it is the Lord's will. I should find out today, what is going on. He leaves on Thursday, so it will be interesting. I am definitely going to set the record for companions on mission. Not counting the MTC I have had 5 in 5 transfers and will get at least one more before this transfer is over. One of the coolest things we did this week, was go to a Masai village. Masai are the really cool tribe that all the tourists to Africa love. They are the ones that used to hunt lions, and dress cool, and do all the other cool stuff. Or branch's first councilor is a Maasai, and we went up there with Elder Mathers to look at a water project they recently did, and propose adding to it. It was really cool to go up there. We got to be the guests of honor at their village council meeting which was super cool. On the way up there we saw a ton of wildlife which was awesome! This past week, was a great one for our investigators. My companion and I have been bounced a lot by investigators and have definitely had some disappointments, but this week just felt like a great one. On Sunday we had 6 investigators come to church. Two of which were referrals from our current investigators. We also got 3 new investigators. I feel like we are getting close to baptism with a lot of them, and all it is going to take is some time. They know the church is true but they just need to learn more. After Church on Sunday we went to the orphanage and talked to the mama there. She was asking us more questions about baptism, and said she knows that the church is true and everything she has been taught is true, and all she needs is to learn more, and know that is true. We still have quite a few lessons to teach her and her husband, but I am fairly confident that they will be baptized one day. I am really praying that I will be able to stay here in Arusha, and see the work progress. I will probably just be letting you all know next week what is going on, because we still havent heard from the AP's. Anyways, I love you all! Elder Janda Hey there mom! It sounds like the weekend was a blast! I am glad you were able to spend so much time with Dalee and her mom. Unfortunately I won't be able to watch General Conference for another month or so, but that's OK! I am sure it was great. My week was pretty good, except I am kind of bummed because my comp. is going. Him and I get along better then any of my other comps. and I am scared to get another comp. that gives me problems like my other ones. Also I really don't want to leave this area, but right now I am just waiting for the AP's to call to tell me what is going on. But my companion is going home on Thursday, because he probably needs surgery. I should find out any minute what is going on with me, so you may get another email with that info. The work is going pretty well. I am still trying to get better with Swahili. I am starting to be able to teach people, and I can usually carry out a conversation as long as they keep the Swahili simple. We don't have a whole lot of investigators, but the ones we do have I feel like are progressing well. If I stay here, I feel like we will start having some baptisms here pretty soon which would be great! I got your card for Easter this Sunday so thank you so much for that! It was good to get some mail again! :) I love you so much mom! Thank you so much for everything you do for me! I couldn't be the person or missionary I am now without you, and the influence you had on me and the things you taught me. I miss you so much but at the same time I love it here. I can say that being on mission is one of the funnest yet most challenging things I have ever done. I know it is shaping me into the man that the Lord needs me to be. I love you!! Elder Janda

3/24/14

3/24/14 Hey mom! The weather here is actually really rainy. Especially at night. But then during the day it can get really hot sometimes. But right now the streets are really muddy, which is lame because I have to carry a brush around with me to keep my shoes looking clean ha-ha. Yeah I am kind of bummed that I haven't gotten the spices yet either, but maybe customs thought all those spices were suspicious ha-ha. And yeah I was looking at plane tickets as well and it looks like you can get a round trip ticket for $1600. Which is expensive, but at the same time isn't really as expensive as I thought. I will definitely have to save because I feel like I will want to come back and forth a lot. Nothing really new here. This week is Zone conference so we will be going to Dar Es Salaam. And tonight we have a dinner appointment with some Wazungu who came to church yesterday. They are taking us to a Mexican restaurant, which makes me super happy because I have missed my Mexican food love you so much mom! Thank you for everything you do for me! Elder Janda Hey everyone! So this week was honestly not super exciting, but that is OK because it was still good. On Monday we were able to meet with a referral. He works at is parents restaurant which is really nice. He knows a lot of English and just finished high school, and wants to go to America now for College. I have seen that a lot of people here want to go to America. He is a pretty cool guy though. He seems pretty interested in the lessons, but hasn’t come to church quite yet. We are hoping soon though. On Wednesday we went to a far area called Kwamrombo to see one of our investigators at a members medicine shop. Unfortunately when we got there we found out he was gone to Moshi. We stayed at the shop for a little bit of time though. The mama that works there is super friendly though. She bought us some soda and her friend brought us some vitumbua, which are kind of like rice cakes I guess. I really like them, and she told us that since she is the young women president they would have an activity to learn to make them and that we could come, so I am super excited for that. On Thursday we were only able to have one appointment so that wasn’t too exciting. We went on a little bit of an adventure searching for FedEx to pick up my companions passport. Then on Friday Saturday and Sunday we got bounced for our appointments, so we spent those days searching for people to teach and things to do. Luckily I have learned that when we are doing our best to do the work of God, he blesses us with the work that we are trying to do. On Friday we discovered that one of the members was painting his home, so we went to see if we could help him. Unfortunately he was finished but fortunately he took us to some of his friends homes and we were able to teach them. The other days were like that as well. On Saturday we were able to go to the orphanage again, and Michaels wife was asking us a bunch of questions about baptism which is definitely a good sign. Then the nurse or caretaker at the orphanage asked us if she could learn more. It was great! Tonight we have a powerful dinner appointment with some Wazungu who came to church yesterday. They are taking us to a Mexican restaurant which I am way excited about because I have missed my Mexican food for sure! Then tomorrow we are flying to Dar Es Salaam for Zone Conference, where I have been asked to give training on Obedience. I am hoping it goes well, but I am a little nervous. Well that is about it here in the wonderful land of Africa! i love you all so much and hope you are doing well! Love Elder Janda

3/17/14

3/17/14 Hey mom! I am glad you were able to have such a relaxing week. It looks and sounds like it was a lot of fun! We will definitely have to do something like that when I get back. It is funny how everyone has called that Derek would be the most like me for a long time. I think Luke will be one of the weirdest to see when I get back. :P How long ago did Bryant put in his mission papers? That is awesome! I am looking forward to hearing where he will go. I love going over to the orphanage. I really want to volunteer there when I get back, but I will have to start saving or something because of the airfare. I am thinking whenever we want to come as a family I might come like a month earlier and volunteer, because the owner of the orphanage is also a safari guide. He is building a new house for them now, where there will be a nice little room for four volunteers to stay, so I would get to be with the kids all the time, unless it was during school time. It would be loads of fun. So I still haven't gotten those spices. :P I don't know exactly how the mail gets to us here in Arusha though, because I haven't really gotten any mail in like 2 months. So for all we know it could be sitting in Dar where all the poach for Tanzania gets sent. We will see when I go there. Thank you so much for all you do for me! I love you so much! Elder Janda Hey there everyone! So the weeks here are really starting to fly by! I guess I will work backwards for the week. So yesterday was actually a pretty exciting day at church. Towards the end of first hour, which is priesthood and relief society here, a van rolled into the church driveway, which you can see from the classrooms. As the van rolled up, out popped a bunch of Wazungu! I guess they are here to help improve the treatments of cancer, and also to climb Kilimanjaro. It was a lot of fun seeing the members get all excited to see Wazungu, and also to act so differently around them. One of the young men who is preparing for a mission had a serious crush on this girl that came. The funny thing is the girl was 13 and he is 18. He was asking me to take a picture and everything and print it out for him. Then after church we went to one of our members for a lunch appointment. They fed us ugali and beans and fish and fruit, or ugali na marage na simaki na matunda. It was pretty good. There was no way that the four missionaries were there could have ever finished it. They are a super powerful family though and it was great to be with them. On Saturday we went with one of our members to the school he owns. His wife and three of his cousins are our investigators so we were going to teach them. We were only able to teach two unfortunately. One of them was named Zuwena. She was Zuwena when she was a Muslim, but now that she has converted to Christianity, she asked me to give her a new Christian name, so now she goes by Eliza. Anyways, she is our first investigator with a baptismal date! She should be baptized next month if everything goes according to plan. Unfortunately the members wife is having a very hard time accepting the fact that she needs to be re-baptized. She says she wants to be a member but she doesn't need to be baptized again, because they are all the same. We will keep working with her though and I know she will be baptized eventually. My companion has some medical issues so we spent quite a bit of time this week at the hospital and searching for medicine, so those are really the main things that happened this past week! If anyone has questions feel free to email me and ask! I love you all! Elder Janda

Snake Farm 3/14

Trying to catch up.....

3/10/16 Hey everyone! So not really an exciting week this week. All the days just blended together. The best day was probably Saturday for me though. We went with the Elders Quorum president and he showed us where he lives and introduced us to a lot of less active members. The good part of the day was that evening though. We went back to visit Michael who is the one with the orphanage. He had a bunch of questions about the church that we were able to answer, and afterwards we were able to have FHE with the kids. We played some games, and sang some songs and I was so happy! It was great! They had a lot of fun and so did we! He says he won't be ready to be baptized until the end of this year, but the way things are going I can see it happening a lot sooner! Besides that I really can't think of anything too exciting. On Thursday we met our new sister, Sister N. She is really cool, and hasn't caused any real problems yet so that is good. On Friday we felt like we should go visit a member at her shop. When we did, she wasn't there, but we felt like we needed to wait for her to get back. While we were sitting there I was talking to her daughter. Her daughter is only like 10, but man she is smart! She was doing stuff I don't even know how to do haha. When the mama got there she said wait again, and she went and got one of her friends. We ended up teaching and he came to church on Sunday and says he loves the church. He seems to be a powerful investigator so that is good. I have been having a lot of fun talking to the kids in Swahili here. I will see them coming from school and ask them if they know English. Usually they say yes. Then I will ask them to teach me English because I don't know and they will just laugh. It is a lot of fun. Besides that nothing too exciting going on here. I am really enjoying the area. I look forward to when I can speak Swahili more fluently, but for now it is good. I love you all. Elder Janda Everything is going good this week. The days are blending together so they all just seem like one-day haha. That is awesome that your Sunday school lesson went the way it did. We walk about 15 minutes to church. Our area is supposed to use bikes but the couples took them to a different area when the last elders left and the area was closed, so now we are waiting to get them back. It is definitely a big area. We take a 30 min. bus ride plus 30 minutes walking to get to some places but it is real good. Sorry if I can't end up sending pics today. We are at a different cyber because the usual one wasn't working. We will go back later though. The Masaii are a tribe here. They are pretty much what you think of when you think of Africa. I am sure if you looked them up you could get a better explanation than I can give though. Those white folks didn't show up to church yesterday, but it is kind of strange. I didn't talk to them much, because I am scared of white people now haha. They are students from BYU. It will be great to be able to come back here. Hope everything is going well there! I love you! Love, Elder Janda 3/3/14 An AP is an assistant to the Mission President, so they pretty much just do whatever it is that the Mission President needs them to do. It is just super stressful because they deal with all the big problems on the mission and don't get a lot of stress. Yeah it is just me and my companion and then Sister P and now Sister N. I am hoping the spices will come this week, because the Sisters are going to Nairobi, and might bring them back. Do you mean the letters with the tootsie rolls? Yeah I got those. Tell Aunt Lisa thanks for me. A lot of people know English, but they just refuse to speak because the national language is Swahili. They are just stubborn. Elder and Sister Mathers are kind of from everywhere. Elder Mathers was born in Uganda, but he is white. And Sister Mathers was born in England. They lived in Tanzania for 11 years, and then they went to Australia, and that's where they lived the longest. Yes Tanzania was part of the original mission. Elder and Sister Mathers came out the same time as me. The Branch President teaches the Swahili class. He does really well. It is pretty cool to say that I pretty much am teaching myself Swahili. This area covers only 1 branch, but it is the entire city, and we have some members who drive an hour to get to church. Thanks for everything you said, and everything you do for me. I love you! Elder Janda2/24/14 Hey Everyone! Yet another exciting week in the life of a missionary in Arusha has gone! This week was pretty good though. Nothing too exciting, but it was a lot of fun. It went by really fast though. So the other sisters in my zone are Sister H from Swaziland, and Sister P from Malawi. They are hilarious. They are always just saying the weirdest things that make me and my companion laugh. It is a lot of fun. Then we are with Elder and Sister Mathers. They are awesome! They have a lot of good ideas, and love helping the people. They are also really nice to the missionaries. They have a few grandchildren out themselves, so I think they know that missionaries need it sometimes. Our schedule here is pretty good. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we have Swahili class, and Tuesday and Thursday we teach English. Those days flew by. We went to the classes, and then pretty much did a lot of contacting, which is interesting without knowing much Swahili. I actually am able to say more then I thought I would be able to so that is good. Also this weekend the AP's came down to work with Elder J and I. One of them has served here before so he was able to help us a lot with the area, and with things like that. Both of them are way funny, but also amazing missionaries. They definitely set a great example for us. Besides that there are just some little things that I can tell you. One, my companion and I found Doritos this past week at some Muslim shop and we were so happy! It was kind of funny actually. Also, Fanta is really popular here, but the flavors are different. They have orange, but then they have Black Currant and Passion Fruit. They are amazing! I hope one day they decide to sell them in America so you could experience them. The couples gave me some Malt to drink and it was nasty! I will not be drinking that again. Well that’s about it. Next week is transfers again, so that should be exciting. Chances are nothing will happen to me, but you never know! I love you all! Elder Janda Hey mom! The week was pretty good. Not as stressful as the first week, but still a little bit. I am definitely learning and growing a lot. Time is flying by for sure though! I like it a lot though. Right now because my Zone is small it has mostly meant dealing with money, and talking to the APs every night to give them a report of the zone. If the sisters we are with ever have a problem we are supposed to help them, but they are good so there haven't been any worries yet. We might get a new one next week though with transfers, which could be interesting. I didn't get the spices yet, but maybe this week the sisters will bring it back from Nairobi, if it is there. Our apartment is nice. It is bigger then we need, but it is good. It was really dirty when we got there, but we cleaned it. I haven't really seen any wildlife, but I see a lot of white people going on safaris, so this might be the place to go if we want to go on a safari. No weird food. Chips mayai is really popular here. They make French fries, and then like cooking it with eggs. It is hard to explain, but it is good. Anyways, it sounds like you had a pretty crazy week! But sounds like a lot of fun. I am so excited for the temple to open. I have been looking up pictures, because my companion emails for so long, and I only have a few people to email. It looks so beautiful. I love you too mom! Thanks for everything that you do for me, and the help you have given me in becoming the person that I am today. It means so much. Even when I miss you and everyone else so much, I am so happy being here and doing the things I know I am supposed to be doing. I love you! Elder Janda 2/17/14 Hey there everyone! So this past week has been a super exciting, stressful, and interesting week. So on Monday, I went to the cyber and saw an email that said myself and 5 other elders were being deported, because of some immigration issues. I didn't know where or anything, so I was super confused. Well then we went to a store called Tuskys, and while we were there I received a call from the Mission President. He explained what was going on. So I have been transferred to Arusha, Tanzania, to serve with Elder J. He is from Kanab, Utah, and is a super cool guy. I get along super well with him. Elder J has been here for one transfer longer then I have. Neither of us knows much Swahili, and in Tanzania everything is done in Swahili, because no one knows English. It is weird, because I am learning Swahili, but I am in an English mission. Also I was called to serve as a Zone Leader with Elder J There are only two other missionaries in Arusha, and they are sisters, so it doesn't really mean anything, but I do have a little bit more responsibility now, which is good. On Tuesday I had my quarterly interview with the Mission President. It was amazing. I am so grateful for him, and I know that he is called of God. After that, one of the mission drivers, Victor, drove me back to Kilungu to get my stuff, and then back to Nairobi that same night. It was not fun sitting in a car for that long, but oh well. That night there were a lot of Elders in the AP's flat because of the emergency transfers. It was a lot of fun. On Wednesday I went to the doctor with my companion because he had some things he needed to get checked. The other four elders getting deported were supposed to fly out on Wednesday, but when they got to the airport they were told they couldn't fly anywhere but there home country. We thought for a while that we were going to have to go back to the U.S. but they decided to send us all to Arusha by bus, and then the other four would take a bus to Dar Es Salaam, but they wanted to send two Elders first to see if it would work. On Thursday my companion had some more doctor appointments, so we stayed in Kenya. But myself, and two of the other elders that were being deported were sent to an area called Mountain View to proselyte for a day, so we weren't just sitting around. It was weird to serve in the city when I have been in the bush for so long but it was a lot of fun. On Friday, the AP's drove us to the border and finally got us into Tanzania. We got to our flat super late Friday night. It was a huge mess and there was no power, but we just went to sleep, and decided to clean it the next day. On Saturday, we were supposed to meet the Branch president to give him a plane ticket. Because neither of us had been to Arusha or the building, we figured it would take a while to find it, but luckily we found a map in our flat, and as we were walking, we ran into a member who showed us the way. Unfortunately, we got there like 2 hours early so we just fell asleep on the chairs there because we were both exhausted. That day we also had a baptism for one of the members who had turned 8. It was good. After that we went home, and just cleaned for a long time, ate dinner, and went to sleep. On our way home we did get stopped by a man who knows a little English who lives near us. He showed us where he lives, and said he wanted us to come and visit his family some time. Yesterday was a pretty good day. Church was entirely in Swahili so both my companion and I had no idea what was going on. The hymns in Swahili are beautiful by the way. Anyways, after church, we went to the member who had showed us the way to the church to see where he lived, and to visit with his family. His wife made us some super good ugali and soup. After that we went back to our flat to grab some pamphlets. Then we went to see the man who we saw on Saturday, who showed us where he lives. He seems pretty interested, but his English is somewhat poor, so we will be taking a member with us to teach him on Saturday. Then we went and contacted some people, and I was actually impressed with my Swahili. I made a lot of mistakes but at the same time I did better then I thought I could. Oh yeah, funny story about Sunday. The Second Counselor Moses asked my companion and I to bear our testimonies in Sacrament. I went up and said, "Asante Dada Moses..." Which means Thank you Sister Moses. I meant to say Kaka which means brother, but I always get the two confused because dada sounds like it should be the male one haha. Well even though this week has been a rough one, I have seen the Lord's hand in it strengthening me and comforting me when I need it most. I am so grateful for him and the knowledge I have of this gospel. Elder Janda Hey mom, So this past week was a super stressful week, but I know the Lord is just giving me challenges to make me stronger. I am in Tanzania now and the language is a super rough struggle. I just keep remembering the blessing I received when I was set apart and how I was blessed with the gift of tongues and not to get frustrated because of the language. I am so thankful for that now, especially because my companion knows pretty much zero Swahili at all. I feel bad for him because I can tell he is stressing a lot, We are actually both knew to this area, so we are just trying to figure out where things are and where we are supposed to be teaching I guess. We feel like we aren't as effective as we should be, because we can't really teach in English, and we don't know where to find anyone’s home. We have actually been blessed a lot though with the help of the Lord. There is no doubt in my mind that he has been helping us. We have been blessed to have a few people come up to us who actually know English and we are teaching one of them now. They are trying to reapply for our visas and work permits and I feel like as soon as we are allowed back in Kenya they will be bringing us back which will be good. My companion is Elder J. He was raised in Manti but he lives in Kanab now, so I am sure we have driven by his house before haha. He is in the same situation as I am in right now. He actually had the same situation as me before the mission, except he decided to go to the Provo MTC, and then come here, so he was the week before me. I get along with him really well though, which I am super grateful for because in the past I haven't had the best time with companions. One of the AP's Elder Lyons, actually came up to me the other night and said that he was super impressed with the work I have been doing, and that he knows that I definitely have not had easy companions but him and the Mission President have been very impressed. That was definitely a good boost to get me through this past week. I still haven't gotten those pictures or seasoning packets but hopefully they will come soon. We will have to see. I don't really know how long it takes for mail to get from Kenya to here, or how often it comes. Hopefully soon though, cause I haven't really gotten mail for a little while. Well I actually got it like two weeks ago, but it still seems like it’s been a long time haha. I am glad that everyone seems to doing well there. Please tell anyone and everyone to email me because my companion likes to email for like 5 hours, so I will need something to do haha. Also it is great for lifting my spirits. : P I love you so much mom! Elder Janda

Jan. 7, 12 and 21, 2014

1.21.14 Hey everyone! So I guess I can start with the exciting news which is transfers! I am staying in Kalongo again. I will probably be here for a while. And I am in a threesome again! haha. It should be interesting. I will be serving with Elder N from Zimbabwe and Elder S, from Uganda. We will still be covering the big area, but since there are three of us I think one of us will go on splits with our branch mission leader. Elder S has actually served in this area before so he knows some of the areas even better then I do, so that should be a big help. My companion Elder U, is going to serve in Dar es Salaam, about 10 minutes from his home. He was excited at first, but now I think he is starting to realize how hard it will be to be so close to family and friends and his girlfriend. He is hoping he doesn't serve there more then a month, which is understandable. Since U is leaving, we went to Matua yesterday to have a party with a few of the members. We killed a chicken and they made a bunch of chapattis. It was really nice. I got the part of the chicken that was pretty much all of the innards, but it was actually really good. I am still trying to decide what exactly I ate. One of the organs I ate was super interesting, but it was actually pretty good. My companions should be coming tomorrow, so right now I am with Elder B. I have been rearranging the flat to accomodate three elders instead of two so that has been fun. Besides that this week has pretty much been like any other. Nothing too exciting. I love you all! Elder Janda Hey mom! Sounds like your week was pretty good! My week started off super lame, but it ended good so that's good! It sounds like everyone is doing pretty well. I am glad you were able to see everyone! Like I said my week started off super lame. First I was pretty bummed because I wasn't able to email last week. I always feel bad when I am not able to email because it is always the extra boost I need. I also think that D was pretty bummed that I wasn't able to email the past couple of weeks. Luckily I emailed her on my mini pday so I think that helped. Also my camera was stolen on Tuesday. :/ I am almost certain it was stolen by another missionary because they were the only one who had access, but I cant prove anything so now it is gone. :/ I am going to by an old school camera for cheap so it doesn't get stolen again, but unfortunately all the pictures that I haven't sent to you are gone now. I will just have to take more pictures when I get another camera. Baptisms went super well. It was a lot of fun! Also transfers came on Tuesday. I am not training like I thought, but I will tell you all the news in my big email. I haven't heard yet what is happening with Elder B, but I should know by the end of the week. Yesterday we had a big party with some members to say goodbye to my companion and that was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to this transfer though and the new changes that are coming. I love you soo much! I hope everything is going well! Love, Elder Janda 1/12/14 Hey everyone! So these past two weeks really haven't been too exciting. This last Wednesday we had our ZTM, which is a meeting with the other companionships in our zone. Because our area is kind of in between the other areas all the elders stayed at our flat which is always a lot of fun. The Malawian elders taught us a pretty fun card game. It is pretty much the same as Uno, but just with a regular deck of cards. This Saturday we have baptisms, so one of the Zone leaders needed to stay in our area to interview the people we have for baptisms. Because school started last week, we have to do interviews on Sunday, but because it is a 2 hour walk from his area to ours, he didnt want to walk here and then back two days later, so I have been on exchanges in Kyambeke (KY makes a ch sound by the way), since Thursday. It has been pretty good. I have been with Elder B, from Malawi. He is super funny! It has been nice to be here for a change of scenery but I am definitely ready to get back to Kalongo. Funny story about Elder B is he kind of talks in his sleep. I say kind of because most of the time it is just saying random Swahili, English, or Kikamba phrases. But every once in a while he will be teaching or bearing testimony in Swahili. It is hilarious to wake up and listen to whatever he is saying for a few minutes. So like I said we have baptisms on Saturday, and we are finally baptizing our investigator Naomi! She has been ready for a while, except she hasnt been able to go to church because of some traveling she did every week, but now she switched around her schedule, and has been coming and is finally able to be baptized. Besides that I think we will baptize 4 children. One was supposed to be baptized last time. One has been taught for a while and is finally ready. And then two have ran from missionaries from a while, and refused to go to church, but then out of the blue they started to come to church so now they will be baptized. I know their mom has been trying to get them baptized for a long time, so she is super happy. I am not sure if Elder U prepared any others for baptism while I have been gone, but we will see today when I get home. Also this week is the last week of transfers. It is crazy that the transfer is over already! Chances are next week I will receive a new companion, but I will stay in Kalongo, but there is no way to know until next week. I am excited to see what happens. Hopefully all the missionaries should be coming from South Africa, including Elder Bryant from Arizona! I will let you know next Tuesday! Well besides that there isn't anything too exciting going on here. I love you all! I am on exchanges because the Zone Leader had to go to our area for some baptismal interviews. Everything is going pretty well with me and Elder U. All companionships definitely have their problems, but I cant complain. We get along pretty well. Fred emailed me from the MTC and he seems pretty excited to get here. I am definitely way excited for him to get here. It would be so awesome if I ended up training him! It is crazy that Goo is getting married already! I got a big envelope of letters from Aunt Lisa from the family Christmas party. I don't know if that is what you are talking about. But they got here last week. It seems like that kind of envelope takes about three weeks, but it might have taken longer because it was around christmas time. Well I love you mom! I will talk to you tomorrow. And I think I will send the big email today to save time tomorrow. Love Elder Janda 1/7/14 Hey the power here has been out all day until now, and the pday is over, so I will have to email you next week. :/ I just wanted to let you know why i didnt email so you werent worried. i hope all is going well and love you all! Elder Janda

Merry Christmas

12/24/13 Hey mom! Everything was good this week and like you hoped, it was pretty uneventful. There isnt really anything you can do for the boy. Just pray for him. The mission has asked that missionaries families don't send money for anything of that sort. His burial was yesterday. We weren't able to go, but I was told it was good. So we have a protable DVD player, that we are given when we train to watch the District, but he was using it for other things. After I discovered the problem I prayed for a way to come that we could resolve it without making him angry and lose his desire to work. The next day the Mission President said that all missionaries needed to return the DVD players unless they were training. We returned ours, so I am grateful that problem was able to kind of resolve itself. Most people where I am don't have TV's or computers though. To email we go to a cyber somewhere. We usually take a matatu about 30 minutes to a town called Ninguni, and email there, but that one has been closed the past couple weeks. Last week the other cyber in Ninguni wasnt working, so we went back to Kalongo and used the cyber there. But right when I got on the power went out, so by the time we actually emailed it had been quite a long time. Today we are in Nairobi for Christmas though so there aren't any problems with it today. So like I said we are in Nairobi until Thursday for Christmas which is good. Tomorrow there is a Christmas Party with all of the Elders from our Zone group. We will be calling from the AP's flat. I think I will call around 9 o-clock at night here, so it will be about 11 oclock there. The mission provides money for it though so you don't need to worry. It's actually extremely cheap to call from Kenya to America. I think it is like 5 cents a minute. But for you to call here it is super expensive. It's kind of funny how it works. I guess it's up to you if you want to invite Dalee over. It is Christmas so I am thinking her mom might not be up for that. And I only have 40 minutes so it might be kind of tough. I would definitely love to talk to her though, and President Hicken said if our girlfriends came to our families we could talk to them, we just cant call them directly. I received your package today actually. Thank you so much for everything you sent me and thank the Rogers and Mark Lisa family for their letters. Walking is definitely becoming easier to the old areas, but the new areas are a lot further and harder, so I feel kind of like I did when I first got here haha. Most people are super welcoming. There were some areas with Elder H where we weren't welcomed, but now we are welcomed again so all is well. I kind of laughed when you asked if we would spend Christmas at one of the members houses. I guess I haven't told you but most member have very small houses made of bricks and cement, or sticks and mud, and the sitting areas in them are about the size of our laundry room. :P We almost always meet outside, except for a few houses. You might have meant that though, but I wanted to let you know. :) I hope you and everyone else are doing well! Love Elder Janda Hey everyone! This week has been pretty good! Christmas is somewhat different here. It doesn't feel as much like Christmas because there aren't decorations or Christmas music or anything, but it is still good. We were on exchanges this past week so I was with Elder Banda. He came to interview six of our ivestigators who will be baptized on Saturday. He is from Malawi, and struggles with English, but he is super funny and he makes me laugh. Now we are in Nairobi for Christmas. Tomorrow there is a Christmas party with all of the Elders and Sisters in our Zone Group. I think tonight we are going to the Mission Presidents home for Christmas Eve dinner but we will see. As for Kalongo everything is going well. On Sunday I actually started the Mitini Branch choir! It is somewhat difficult being in charge of a choir, but it is fun. The members dont really know how to sing in parts, so they just all sing the melody. There were only three Elders there. The rest were mamas and young women. They sound super good already though! I hope the Branch president calls a branch chorister though, so I can just play the piano. I also started playing the piano in Sacrament. It is kind of tough because the members sing the songs differently sometimes, so when I play it as written it sounds like I am making mistakes haha. This sunday the piano lost power as well in the middle of the songs so everyone got confused. It was kind of funny. Yesterday was our branch Christmas Party. It was nothing like the parties in other places. We had a lesson from our branch president, and because people stole food last year, they didnt make any food. Instead, after the lesson every member received 1 kg of flour, which they use to make chapattis, which may be the manna that Moses ate haha. It is way good, but it is pretty much just a thick flour tortilla. Anyways, every member got a kg of flour. The funny thing was that they were even giving them to like newborns, so it was like a reward for having kids. The more kids they have the more flour they get. There was one member though who called me very angry. He has a big family I guess, but he is the only member so he only got 1 kg. He saw all these people getting like 6 kgs of flour and he only got one. After the party we went to his home and I shared the story of Simons Ryder. We told him not to let something small, or the mistakes of members ruin his faith in the church. I was also able to give him another 2 kgs of flour that the president had given us to cook, and that made him much happier. Well I hope everyone has a merry merry Christmas! I wanted to send pictures today but this computer doesnt have USB plugs, so I guess I will do that next week. Speaking of next week its my birthday! It might be kind of lame to ask for a birthday present, but it would be the best birthday present to receive emails from anyone who has the time to send them! Merry Christmas Again! Elder Janda

12/3/13

Hey everyone! This week was super good! I think I told you in my last email, but this past week we were in Nairobi from Monday to Wednesday for Zone conference! At Zone conference the Mission President and his assistants talked to us. They talked to us a lot about obedience, which is good cause that is a common struggle in this mission. The spirit was soo strong it was amazing! It was nice to be in Nairobi and fill up on all of the foods that I have not eaten for a long time! The ride back from Nairobi took like 4 hours and before that we had to wait like 3 hours in the bus just for it to leave. I almost kissed the ground when we got off haha. Just to the side of the road I saw about 30 giraffes eating some leaves though, so that was super awesome! I have one seen giraffes and I think wildabeasts, but I hope to see some more in my time here. This weekend we went to the other area in our district, because they had baptisms. They had 35 baptisms to do! Most of them were 9-12, which is always funny. The water in the font was freezing cold, so right when the kids came up from the water most of them had a hilarious reaction. Some of them would just start freaking out and trying to climb up the sides of the font. I felt bad because it was like they were in shock, but they were OK. There was one super small girl I felt awful for. She came out just crying because it was so cold, so the Elder in the fond handed her to me and I wrapped a towel around her and tried to get her warm but she was way cold! I cant blame her though; I got the water all over myself and it was freezing! This weekend we stayed in that area the whole weekend because Elder U, my companion, was sick. On Sunday we went to church there, and I went to primary. It was hilarious! They were doing songs like Once there was a snow man, and head, shoulders, knees, and toes. I always do all the actions and everything with them, and they all cracked up! The best one was when they did, do as I'm doing. The leader was dancing, so I started dancing. They laughed a little at first, but then at the part where you do it super fast all the kids and even the Primary President lost control! They were laughing so hard! I wish I had my camera because I would have taken a video, but I left it in Kalong, because it is rain season. Well thats about it for my week! I hope everyone is doing well, and had a good thanksgiving! Elder Janda Hey mom! Sounds like this week has gone well! This week was a whole lot better then previous weeks. Thanksgiving was weird without feasting, but I still had a pretty good meal. We killed a rabbit and I made some mashed potatoes and gravy, so that was our Thanksgiving meal. Next Monday is when I will find out what is happening regarding transfers, so I will let you know. It seems as if both of my companions will be leaving and I will be getting one or three new missionaries in my area. We will see. Thanks for the words on being a good leader. I have tried very hard since I got here to have serving and loving the people as my number one priority, and it seems to be helping more then anything else. That is awesome that you are going to be an usher at the temple! I so wish I could be there for the dedication and everything, but I will be happy to go in 2 years! I love you mom! Thank you so much for everything you do for me! I hope you have a great week! Love, Elder Janda Our Mission President gave all the missionaries the following 12 day Christmas challenge, so I thought I would do the same to you and to anyone else who wanted to do it. Go ahead and post it on my facebook for anyone who wants to participate. “ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS…” “Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people…Stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Gordon B. Hinckley Christmas is a wonderful time to look for opportunities to perform acts of meaningful service. I challenge everyone who wants to to choose a family to do the activity “The twelve Days of Christmas” with. The family could be one you are close with, you dont know, or that you want to know better. This is how you do the Twelve Days of Christmas: The activity begins on December 13th. You deliver 12 items the first night (December 13th), 11 items the second night, 10 items the third night, etc., and work your way down to 1 item on Christmas Eve. You can just deliver something each night- a poem, a decoration, a food item, or whatever your creativity can figure out. Giving a certain number of items seems to work the best, if possible. Leave a note or poem every night with each item, explaining what you are doing. It could be something like: Twelve Days before Christmas, You find right by your door, 12 yummy cookies, That weren't bought from a store! If you are not delivering a certain number of items, your note should still include something about the day you are on, such as: Eleven days before Christmas, Look, and you will see- A funny Christmas Story, Sent to you, by me! These items should be delivered anonymously, until Christmas Eve, when you reveal who you are. Save the best gift for last, like a Book of Mormon for a non-member, etc.

11-18-13

Hey Everyone! So this week has been crazy! There have been a lot of ups, and downs. I will start with the positives though! On Saturday we had baptisms for the first time, and that went well! We had 4 converts, and 6 child of records. I didn’t do any of the baptizing, but it was great to see so many enter the waters of baptism. For baptisms, we have to walk probably 8 or so miles to Kyambeke, where there is a baptismal font. The trip there is mostly down hill, and then on the way back we got a matatu, so it wasn’t too bad. Yesterday we had our service day as usual, and we were planning on helping one of our investigators, but then, she said that she was planting, which we usually don’t do, because we can't do it right haha. So we walked around the many shambas looking for people to help. We came across 16 mamas working in one shamba, so we knew they had to be busy. We recognized 2 of them as members, but the rest were not. It turns out they were hired to pick French beans for someone, so we asked if we could help. We then spent the next 3 hours picking French beans. I can say for sure that my back was sore. It is hard doing that when we are so tall, but it was good! We got the mamas to agree to come to church so hopefully we will see them there. I think it is funny that the French beans as we call them come from Kenya. I will now be calling them Kenyan beans. They are pretty much shipped from Kenya, to France, to the U.S. so that is how they got the name. It is crazy though. They get paid 10 shillings, or 9 cents, per KG of beans that they pick. In four hours they pick probably 20 kg’s of beans, so they make like 2 dollars at the most! It was tough work! Then after they pick them in the valley, they fill these huge bags with the beans, and carry them all the way to Kalongo. The bags end up weighing about 35 kgs, or 75 or so pounds! I was definitely impressed! So the bad part about this week is that our companionship has pretty much reached rock bottom. On Thursday in Comp. Inventory, it turned into Elder U and H just getting way angry at each other, so all day there was no spirit. We decided that we needed to meet with the mission president, because Elder H was getting so stressed out that I was worried about his health. We called the AP’s and they told us not to go out that day, and the next day we would meet with the Zone Leaders. We discussed the problems with the zone leaders but it seemed as if Elder H and U were just yelling at each other again. We have seen a little bit of improvement since Friday, but I am guessing we will be meeting with the Mission President next week, while we are in Nairobi for Zone Conference. Well that is about it for the week. As I said I am in Nairobi next week, and because of that I will be emailing on Monday, so email before then if possible! Also I wanted to ask for suggestions from anyone that may have them. I want to start holding FHE with the whole branch, so if anyone has any ideas of activities that can be done with a lot of people, that don’t really require any supplies, and are good for both adults and kids, then please let me know! Elder Janda Hey Mom! Everything is going pretty good here in Kilungu! I am almost done with training, so that Is good! I am looking forward to getting a new companion and being done with training and everything. :P That is awesome that Courtney and Maren dressed up as missionaries! The funerals aren't too extremely different. Everyone just sits around for a long time, talking. Then everyone eats some food. Then they bring the casket and all the family will say some stuff, and whatever church is in charge says a whole lot. We do a lot of service, but I want to start doing more. I think it is a better use of our time. It was definitely a bummer to miss the primary program, but I try not to be angry about it. It just didn’t make sense as to why he had me go with him, when there was stuff I was supposed to do in our area. He also told me that I was going to be planning last week right before we went to the other area. Because I was gone all weekend, and went to another church, I couldn’t make appointments. Then he was blaming me for the fact that we didn’t have any appointments. It was just annoying. Yes I am still in a 3some, and that is not going well at all. But it is mostly because of the other two. Yeah we have to walk to different villages. There are quite a few in our area. There is Kikoko, Matua, Kyanga, Kyambondo, Ngunga, Mitini, Nuzion, Nzukini, Kalongo, and Mutuyu. Oh and Kyakathungu. Kalongo is obviously the closest. And the only other ones I walk to is Mitini, Kikoko, and Matua, because Utonga goes with a branch missionary to the others. Mitini is the farthest. Its probably three or four miles. If I need new shoes it wont be a problem to find them. The biggest difficulty is finding my size. When I tell people my size, they usually just laugh haha. The President said the Visa situation is improving, and things should get better soon, so we will see. And in regards to a package, pretty much anything you want to send is good, because any American food I cant find here. Candy is good to send, like skittles, starbursts, and other candies like that, but seriously whatever you send will be good. Just don’t send rice, beans, ugali, or vegetables, cause that stuff I can get haha. Well I love you mom! Elder Janda P.S. I will be emailing on Monday next week, just to let you know.

11/12/13

Hey Everyone! This week has gone by super fast it was crazy! It was nice to be in the city for a day last week, but one day in the city wore me out! I was way tired! It was nice to be there but it is nice to be back in the small town of Kalongo again! Anyways, our week wasn’t too busy last week. One of the members mother died, so on Thursday we spent a lot of our time there for a church visit to him. Then on Friday we were back there for the funeral, which took up the whole day. After the funeral we met up with the other elders in our district and went on exchanges. Elder Hiltbrand and I went to an area called Kyambeke. It was pretty nice, but I can definitely say that I missed Kalongo! That area was tough! We were on exchanges to conduct baptism interviews. We had like 30 to do, so we were travelling everywhere. We went to an area called Matuiku. To get there you hike up a long steep road to the top of this mountain. I thought the town was at the top of the mountain, but it turns out it was on the other side. So once we made it to the top of the mountain we had to hike back down the other side. It was definitely the toughest day I have had so far physically. I am still a little sore from it, but it was good. In Matuiku one of the members fed us the best meal I have had since I have gotten here. It included chapattis, rice, soup, sweet potato, and hot cocoa! That was the first time I have not been able to finish eating at a members house because I was full. That was nice because it gave me the energy I needed to get back over the mountain again. On Sunday we went to church in Ilima, which is half way up the mountain to get to Matuiku. I was already tired so that was tough, but not nearly as bad as Saturday. While we were sitting waiting for church to start a few wazungu (white people) walked in and sat down. We were wondering what in the world these wazungu were doing in the middle of the hills, because that was the first time I had seen one in a while! A little bit later the Mission office couple walked in. I guess it was their daughter and grandchildren, coming to see Kenya with them before they leave next month. I finally understand why all the people were staring at me when I got here, because I did the same thing when they walked in haha. After church we got a ride back to Kalongo with the Elders, which was nice because we didn’t have to walk. Yesterday was our service day again. We went to Kalongo, and helped the Kivikivi family in their shamba. We fertilized it, and then dug up all the weeds. It was some tough work, but after they fed us a great meal of bread and cocoa! After that we went to the members house whose mom passed away to help him. We helped him build a temporary bathroom to shower in. I didn’t have my camera or I would have taken a picture of it. After they fed us githeri, which is maize and beans. I am usually excited to be fed, but ever since I was sick, I get sick whenever I eat beans, so that wasn’t enjoyable. Githeri is one of the most common things to be fed here so hopefully I get used to it quickly! Well I hope everyone is doing well! Love, Elder Janda

WOW it's November

11/4/13 Hey everyone! So, this week has gone pretty well! I have recovered from my sickness so that is good! Unfortunately, on Wednesday my companion woke up super sick, so we were stuck at home for another two days! But he is doing better now, so we are finally able to go out like normal. Last week we were supposed to have transfers but things here have been crazy! I really enjoyed this past Sunday. The primary program, or presentation as they call it, will be this Sunday, so I went to primary this past week, and was helping them with their songs and things like that. I am really looking forward to being able to have the presentation, and I think that I will for sure be going to primary a lot more often on Sundays. I understand why Christ loved children so much, and tells us to be like children. Right now a lot of the members are getting angry with us for stupid things, and also are quick to break commandments, even after we teach them about them like the same day. It can be frustrating having to deal with that, but the children love you pretty much no matter what and are innocent. It is a stress reliever for sure being able to go to primary. The rain season also started this past week, which is good and bad. It is good because the peoples crops will begin to grow and we won't have to worry about a drought. It is bad because the power is out a lot! This means bucket showers and doing things by flashlight or candle. Also if I don’t email one week you know why. It shouldn’t be a problem, but I want to warn you just in case. This week we are in because it is the first week of the month, and we have to come to pull out our money. It is a big city, but it was like a 3 hour trip to get here. On the way I saw another Mzungu. I totally freaked out, because that was the first one i have seen since I got here! It was weird. I should be able to get some good food here though because they have huge supermarkets, so that should be exciting! Well that’s about it for this week! I love all of you and hope everyone is doing well! Hey mom! I am feeling a lot better so that is good. Don’t worry about sending me the conference talks, we should get the magazine here in a couple of weeks. Brother Kivikivi is doing a lot better! He has been able to make it to church, and he should be able to walk without crutches by next month so that is exciting! The service day was hard, but it was a lot of fun. I try to serve every day. Whenever I see someone carrying water or a load of sticks and they are walking towards our destination I try to help them. The language is coming along pretty well. I spend a lot of time each day studying, but it is still difficult. My companion has decided he doesn’t want to put time into studying the language and thinks it will just come naturally, so a lot of the times I am the one who has to try to speak to people. Dalee said she was so happy that you took her to the Lion King, so whether it was a surprise or not, she definitely enjoyed it. Kenya is doing well. It stinks that my companion is the way he is, but the Lord knows that I can handle it, and it will make me a better missionary having to deal with it at the beginning. Don’t worry about cutting and pasting the emails. I knew it was just the basic stuff, so you are fine to keep doing it. I just thought it was funny. Feel free to keep doing it, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. That sounds awesome with Courtney’s soccer. Hopefully tryouts go well and everything. I love you too mom, and I am grateful for your testimony. I know this is where I am supposed to be at this time as well. At times it is difficult for sure, but I am able to find strength in the Lord and keep moving on. Love you! Elder Janda

10/29/13

Hey everyone! This email will probably be pretty short because my week was not very exciting! On Thursday night I woke up with super bad stomach problems, so I was bed ridden Friday and Saturday. That was no fun, but I am doing a lot better now. My stomach still hurts a little, but I am able to go out so that is all that matters. The mission doctor says it was probably food poisoning, most likely from some cabbage I ate. Unfortunately, because I was sick we had to cancel the baptisms we had planned for Saturday and reschedule them for this month. On Sunday I was luckily feeling well enough to go to church. We were supposed to start watching conference at church this Sunday, but that didn’t happen because there was no power. When we have power we will be watching a session every Sunday, until we finish. On the way home on Sunday I passed one of the sisters in our area, carrying a big bundle of firewood. I helped her carry it to her home, but that thing was heavy! I will include a picture of that.Sunday night my companion and I made some chapattis, which is like a thick tortilla. They turned out pretty good, so that was nice! On Monday we decided to go to Kikoko, instead of Matua, for our service day. The first house we went to was Brother Kivikivis. A few months ago he got in an accident where he was hit by a big truck, and has been stuck at home since then. During the day his wife goes and works in the farm, so he is stuck alone with his one year old son. We asked if we could help with anything, but he just wanted us to stay and talk to him because he was so lonely, so we sat and talked to him for quite a while. That was a lot of fun, and it was really cool getting to know him better. After that we went to one of our investigators, the Maquimas. We went and helped dig out weeds in there Shamba (farm). That was hard work but it was a lot of fun. They are super nice and afterwards they gave us some sugarcane to chew on, and a lot of beans from there shamba. I have some blisters now from all that digging but it was good! This week is the first week of my second transfer, so tonight we will find out exactly what that means. I should still be with my trainer because the training program is 12 weeks, but we will find out if our other companion will stay in the hills with a new companion, or if he will leave and two new elders will come into this area. It should be exciting either way! Well like I said, this week was short, so I am sorry the email isn’t as exciting, but I love you all and will hopefully send a longer email next week! Elder Janda How far away is water creek? I am assuming water creek is referring to where I go fetch water for people. It is about half a mile or so from there house. But it is steep downhill and then uphill with water. Do you have to boil your water? We have a filter and the water we get is pretty clean so we don’t need to boil water to drink. We do have to boil water in order to take a shower, because there is often no power, because the water is freezing otherwise. How do you cook your food? We have a tiny camping type stove that we cook all of our food on. I wish we had an oven so I could make some better foods but not very many areas have an oven. Do the spiders/bugs bite? Some spiders and bugs bite, some don’t. The ones I have to watch out for are ticks, because those are somewhat common in one of our areas, and banana tree spiders. I haven’t seen any banana tree spiders, but I guess they are huge and are pretty dangerous, but luckily they are rare. Do you see lots of scary animals/bugs? There aren’t really any scary animals or bugs in my areas. There are a lot of stray dogs that run around, but they are pretty friendly. What is your bed like? ground, board, mattress? I have a mattress on a frame. It is just a normal bed. Do you have nightmares about bugs? I don’t really worry about bugs too much because they aren’t a big problem. Do you feel skinny? do you workout? is the service physically demanding? (John) I definitely have lost a lot of weight. I have had to cut some new holes in my belt already, so that was good. I lift weights in the morning sometimes, but the area I am in is pretty physically demanding so we haven’t been working out too much. We are going to start running every morning though now that we are more used to the area. Who cuts your hair? There is a barber in our town so we just go there. It only costs fifty cents, but all they can really do is shave your head. I was actually the first American that one of the barbers ever gave a haircut so that was cool. Where'd you get our shoes? I brought my shoes from home. They work well where I am, and they have super cheap shoes everywhere here so when these ones wear out I will get some more easily. Have you thought about eating spiders for protein? (Eric) No, the meat here isn’t that bad. Have you seen a lion? I haven’t really seen any wildlife yet, because the area I am in is a lot higher up, where they don’t go. Are there chances to hunt? We don’t go hunting, but in some areas you can go on safaris on P-days. What's your transportation? My transportation is mostly my feet. To get to the main town on P-day I take a matatu. It is a 12 seater van, that they usually shove 20 or more people inside.

Weeks 10/15 and 10/22/13

10/22/13 Hey Everyone! This week was great! I learned a lot! On Wednesday, we had DDM, which is a district development meeting. I was asked to train for it, which was a little scary considering I haven’t even been out for a full transfer yet, but I was excited for the opportunity to teach what little I have learned so far on my mission. I discussed the importance of having the love of Christ as missionaries. I focused my lesson on Elder Uchtdorf’s talk, “You are my Hands”. It went super well, and the spirit was super strong during the lesson. Here in the hills people struggle with a lot of things, but especially the Word of Wisdom. A lot of times, missionaries will yell and get angry at them, and because of this they continue to break commandments and people hide from us when we come to teach them. I have learned that it is so important to love people through their trials and sins, the way the Savior has for me through the times in which I have sinned. On Thursday I was able to go on exchanges with the Zone leader, who will be finishing his mission next week. He was able to give me a lot of advice! It was way nice to go out and teach with someone who has had so much experience. While we were out, I went to meet a Sister who I had not yet been able to teach since I have gotten here. She was pretty quiet throughout the lesson, but at the end, she asked Elder Mulondo where she could get a Swahili copy of the Book of Mormon like the one we had been using during the lesson. I gave her that one, because I knew she could use it a lot more then I could. She got so happy it was unbelievable. It was inspiring to think how much it meant to her to be able to read the Book of Mormon, and receive guidance from Heavenly Father. It made me think how I take that kind of thing for advantage way too often. On Friday we had an Elder’s Quorum activity at the church. The Branch President asked me to teach them about the Word of Wisdom, and more specifically Pombe, or beer. I had them compare the benefits of drinking with following the Word of Wisdom, and how any benefit of drinking lasted a few hours, while the benefits of following the Word of Wisdom lasted forever. I felt the spirit strongly as I taught and I hope that it helped someone with their problem or drinking. On Sunday, I decided to attend Primary, because I love being with the kids of the ward, and I missed my days as a primary teacher before I came. It was amazing! Things are somewhat similar to in America but there are a lot of differences. One thing I thought was super cool was that whenever the teacher asked a question all the kids would stand up and yell “Teacher! Teacher!” while snapping there fingers to answer the question. Even though it got loud it was awesome to see how eager they were to learn and to answer questions. During Sacrament Meeting it hit me how much I really love this place, and I got a little sad thinking I will have to leave one day. Luckily I still have at least 5 months probably. :P Well those were the highlights from my week. I hope everyone is doing well. If you have any questions for me feel free to email me and I will answer them! Elder Janda Hey mom, It is always super tough to get back into a schedule after having a break, but it is nice to have a schedule as well. That is one thing I really love about my mission is keeping a planner for each day and having my day scheduled out. I am glad you and dad are doing better cause I don’t like to hear you are sick. Tell Sister Dawson if she is grossed out by that kind of stuff I will bring her a giant spider home. I will send a picture of it.  That is super nice of Dalee to drop Courtney off. She is definitely a super generous girl. It would be great if she is still around when I am back, but if not then all is good. I don’t really worry about it, I know that God has a plan. The goat was a lot of fun, but it was way gross watching it get killed. I am looking forward to cook for everyone when I get back though. Even though you will probably prefer something else. Ugali na ndengu is a really good dish I make. Ugali is just the corn flour and water that I made that one time, but the flour is a lot better for it here. And ndengu are these small green beans. I add onions and tomatoes and some spices to it. It is way good. It is a lot of fun learning Swahili but it is difficult for sure. I feel bad though, because I feel like I know more then my trainer sometimes and he seems to get frustrated by that but oh well. It is just because I study a lot, because I really want to learn a lot more by the time I am done training. There really aren’t any icky stories of bugs yet. There are flies and spiders all over our bathroom which is gross but that is it. We had quite a few meeting but it was good. We have not had any apostles yet, but I am hoping one will come eventually. They have before. Tell John I said congratulations! I love you mom, and am so grateful for everything you have done for me in my life! Elder Janda 10/15/13 Hey everyone! Another great week here in the hills. It was very short though, because we had ZTM, and there were Elders staying at our flat Monday through Friday. ZTM was super good though. We went over the Standards of Excellence for the mission, and it turns out that we are exceeding all of them! President emailed us and let us know that our companionship is leading the mission in numbers. And we are in one of the areas where it is most difficult to do so! We slaughtered our goat this week. Well we didnt slaughter it, we paid a member to do so. By paid I mean we gave him the intestines, head, and legs. It was good to have some fresh meat, and a nice meal. But I have started to make some new stuff every day. I make either rice or Ugali na Ndengu every night. The Ugali na ndengu is way good! Although this week was short we had a lot of great experiences. On Friday we taught the doctor in Kalongo. She is the one that speaks English super well. The spirit was super strong, and I committed her to baptism! She was the first person I have done so with. On Saturday we taught a lesson entirely in Swahili! Our native companion was on splits in another area, so it was rough! But I was impressed by how much I knew after only a few weeks of teaching myself. Yesterday was a super short day because someone from the mission came to give us pots and water filters, but we went to one of the members houses and they made us boiled potatoes and bananas. They were a weird kind of banana you had to cook, but it was way good. It was way filling too though. I was the only one to finish an entire bowl. We think the mama was trying to defeat us, and I will not be defeated haha. Here, a lot of the kids are scared of white people. Partly because elders in the past have chased them away and now they are scared. It made me mad at first because I love kids, but this week I was sitting outside, and this big group of kids came along, I went down and they were scared of me at first but eventually they were all coming up and giving me fistbumps and stuff. IT was awesome. It would be even better if I could understand what they were saying but oh well. And for my spiritual thought of the week, we had just finished emailing and gone back to the flat. I was sitting inside reading my bible, and I heard a goat yelling. We still had our goat at this point, so i went out to make sure it wasnt getting attacked by dogs. It was fine so I went inside, and a few seconds later I heard a goat yelling again, but it seemed closer. It was fine so I went back inside and for a third time I heard a goat yelling, but this time I was sure that it had to be the goat. So, I went outside and just stood there to wait to see if it yelled again. As I was standing up there a man ran up to me and told me that he was taught by a missionary a long time ago, but when that missionary left, the missionaries stopped coming. He told me that he wanted to be taught again. I realized that the sound of the goat was the spirit prompting me to go outside, as weird as that sounds. Had the spirit said, go stand outside, it would have been difficult for me to do, becuase it wouldnt really make sense. But because we had a goat, the spirit knew that I would go outside if I heard it yelling, and I would be there for that man to walk by and see me. Sorry if it doesnt make sense but it was definitely a cool experience. Well I hope everyone is doing great and I will talk to you next week! Elder Janda Hey mom! The cruise sounds like it was a lot of fun! we will definitely have to go on one when I get back! That is awesome that you have been listening to conference! I am really looking forward to being able to hear all of the talks and receive lots of spiritual revelation! That's hilarious that Clark called up Morgan! I knew they were going to be close to each other, so I was curious if they would ever see each other. Don't worry about me not having money, I was taken care of. My companion fed me and everything, it is just nice to be able to choose what I eat now. And no I don't really need anything. They have everything here I need to survive. I can eat the meat it is just super gamey so I don't really like that. In my other areas I will probably have more meat, and whenever I go to zone conference. There aren't really any problems with bugs. Dalee told me you were worried about the ticks but I was clean. They stay away from me, because they don't like my arm hair. It is kind of funny. And there are no mosquito's at this altitude so we are good. :) It was good to have all those elders here, but I was surprised. They talked a lot about movies back home, and a lot of them weren't appropriate movies. I usually just went into the other room though. It was a lot of fun having that many people to do stuff with though. Definitely stay healthy mom! I don't want you to get sick while I am all the way over here. I love you mom! Thanks for being so amazing! Love, Elder Janda

Oct. 9th, 2013

Hey mom! Another great week in Kilungu hills. I am going to stop writing the day by day emails unless that is what you guys want. The days are pretty similar each week so it would be repetitive. I am getting a lot more comfortable with everything each week and I am having more and more fun everyday. So, some cool experiences this week. We were able to give two blessings this week. I annointed them with the oil and then Elder Utonga gave them the blessing in Swahili. We gave one lady a blessing because she couldn't walk, and then we went back two days later and she was walking fine! The faith of the people here is amazing! The amazing thing is that neither of the people we gave blessings are members. They trust in God so much, it is truly a humbling thing to see. So I finally got money this week, so that is good. I can now buy my own food. I don't eat anything exciting though because I don't eat the meat, because it hangs at the butcher for a few days, and I would rather not get worms. So I usually eat eggs and toast for breakfast, and a big bowl of rice and guacamole for dinner. Avocados are super cheap here. You can get a huge one for like 20 cents. Yesterday we had one of the members make a ton of chapatis. They are just like thick tortillas. We gave them the flour and the oil and they made the food, so that was nice. Today I will do a lot of shopping, so from now on things should be real nice. Right now there are five elders at our flat and tomorrow there will be 8. Our zone leader Mulondo will be going home at the end of this transfer, so we bought a goat name supper and are going to slaughter it and cook it up for a goodbye feast. It should be a lot of fun. Right now it just chills outside our flat, and we feed it our leftovers and everything. Its gonna be kind of hard killing it now that we got so close. I struggled the first few weeks with being guided by the spirit, but an amazing thing happened this week. We were sitting in a lesson and it wasn't going too well. I was starting to feel like we should end it and have her review the stuff we were teaching and then go back later. Because I am so young I was nervous to make an executive decision like that, so I just went with it, but then my companion did exactly what I was prompted to do shortly after. It built my confidence that I can receive guidance from the spirit and be a better missionary because of that. Well, that is about it for this week. I am growing stronger and stronger every day, and I cant wait until I am done with my training and finally an official missionary. I love you all, and thanks for all the emails. Feel free to email me! It is great to hear from you all! Hey mom! I don't know how conference was, I won't listen to it until next week! but I am sure it was awesome! I hope your cruise was fun, and you got that break you needed! That is awesome that Emma got her call and to Africa pretty much! That is what I am talking about. It is really crazy how many sisters there are going into the field! It is good though because they can be better at it then men! So I got your letter last Wednesday! It got to Kenya sometime between when I first got here, so Sept. 18th, and last Tuesday, so Oct. 1. Sorry it doesnt really tell you how long it takes, but it does give a rough estimate. I am supposed to teach piano every week, but no one has shown up yet, so we will see if I ever end up actually teaching it. I love you mom! Thanks for always being so amazing! Elder Janda

Pictures Kyle has posted from MTC and visiting the Johannasburg Temple. Eric also created this map that shows the areas Kyle has already talked about in his emails.

Mailing Information

Hey I wanted to let you know how the letters and packages work here. So post this on Facebook as well. Anyone feel free to email me at: kyle.janda@myldsmail.net All letters should be sent to the following address KENYA NAIROBI MISSION Elder Janda PO Box 46162-00100 Upper Hill Road next to Citigroup NAIROBI, KENYA +254-20-4985-220 Send all letters through USPS and write air mail on the envelope by the stamps. If you dont I wont get it for like 4 months and if you send it through pouch mail I will get it in about 4 months as well. If anyone wants to send packages then this is how that works. I do have to pay a tax on whatever is sent to me, based on an estimated value of what is inside, therefore the cheaper it is the less I will pay. I have extra money each month that can pay for things like that however. I know it is very expensive for you to send things so I understand if I dont get any packages. Also I dont have to pay for anything sent inside one of those yellow envelopes, but obviously there is not much room to put anything in there, and if you don send anything in there there is a chance it will not get to me

10/1/13

Hi everyone! It has been a great week here in Kilungu Hills! Definitely better than the first, and the time is literally flying by! Every day I am getting along better with my companions and I am getting less tired as I climb the hills. Anyways, I will start on Wednesday of last week. On Wednesdays we go into Mitini where the branch building is located. There we are supposed to hold Priesthood class, English class, and piano class. I am supposed to teach the piano class, but no one showed up. Only one person showed up to the English class, which is frustrating because almost everyone here needs it. Anyways after the classes we have our District Development meeting. There are six elders in our district and that is just where we talk about how we can do better as missionaries. After that we went to a hotel, or a restaurant as you wazungu call it. and had some soup and chapatis. The soup is just broth and mystery meat, probably goat or donkey, and chapatis is like a thick tortilla made from oil and flour. It is really good and I hope to learn how to make it soon. After that we went to New Zion which is a very steep hike down into a canyon. The sad thing was our investigator wasn’t even there! We were able to teach one of the members though. On Thursday we got a call from a man who wanted a Book of Mormon, so he came to Kalongo where we live and gave him a book of Mormon. He was leaving town for a while so we will meet with him when he gets back. About an hour after we gave him the Book of Mormon he called us and had a ton of questions and said he wanted a copy of the doctrine and covenants as well. It turns out he is a pastor for one of the other churches so we are not sure if he just wants to argue with us or learn but I really hope he is serious about learning. We also went to our second area for the first time. It is about a five mile walk there and once we get there we hike up and down some steep hills! I was worn out! And once again our investigator wasn’t home, so we met with all the members who were home. On Friday we were back in Matua and were able to teach three investigators. The first investigator runs a health clinic in Kalongo and she actually speaks really good English so it was good to be able to meet with her and understand what was going on. In Matua we met with members, and one of them fed us some gideri. It is very uncommon to be fed here so that was exciting. Gideri is maize and beans. It doesn’t really have much flavor but it is filling so that is good. We met with a lady who owns a hotel and she was in a hurry so we were only able to share a short message, as well as the other investigator. That investigator speaks zero English though so that is difficult. Luckily one of my companions speaks Swahili so he just took over for us. On Saturday we were in Kikoko. There was a wedding going on so very few people were home but one of the members fed us! She gave us ugali and sukuma wiki and avocado. Avocados are very common here. They are about ten cents each and are huge! It makes me happy because I love avocados. We also met with a lady who just started breast feeding as we were sitting there. I guess that is common here as well. It is surprising at first but you just keep teaching and look away! Sunday we were back in Mitini for church! There were so many people that we had to sit outside which is awesome! And this time I didn’t have to give the lesson in elder’s quorum so that was good. They tried to get me to teach again next week but we told them one of the members needs to teach. After church everyone runs to the market or the hotel so we need to work on that. On Sunday I was studying my scriptures and I realized something interesting. The Lord has commanded men to love two people with all their hearts. The Lord and their wives. There is no one else that we are commanded to love with all our hearts. Obviously I do not have a wife right now, but my companions are kind of preparing me for that so I feel like I need to love them with all my heart. That is probably one of my biggest struggles because I am so proud and easily annoyed. I am working on it though. The second great commandment given to us is to love our neighbors as ourselves. I was thinking about this and this means there is literally no one on this earth that I should love less than myself. That is definitely something I need to work on, but I know that as we all do that we will soon see the good in others and our lives will be much better! Yesterday we were in Matua again doing service. Not very many people were home, but we were able to carry water again. This week I took a wrong turn and ended up half way up the hill and looked over and realized I was on the wrong hill. I looked for a way to just cross to the other hill but there wasn’t one, so I had to hike down and back up. It makes me think of our own journeys in life. We often take a wrong turn and eventually realize we are on the wrong path. There is no shortcut back to the path. We have to backtrack through repentance and undo the wrongs that we have done. When all is said and done we realize we made a lot more work for ourselves then necessary so it is just better not to sin! We also chopped some wood, but the only ax they had for me was tiny so it was like I was chopping wood with a tomahawk. And that leads us to today! I woke up this morning and travelled to town to email. After this I will go and buy some bread and then we will go back home and I will do laundry. That takes a while because we have to do it by hand. Then I will write letters, study Swahili, read the book of Mormon and go to bed! The weeks go by so fast so I will be emailing again soon! I love you all! Elder Janda