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