Week #13 Twas The Week Before Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the flat, not a creature was stirring not even a roach. 

To be honest the mission already has me forgetting the rest of that story so that's all we'll get for this week. However, that's most likely for the best.

This week has been amazing, hectic, festive, and new. 

Our week started out by contacting all of the friends that the Sisters were teaching, as they are no longer in Swakopmund. It has at least doubled our work load so it's been a little hectic but very fun. Once we got into the swing of things and caught our bearings we were scheduling lessons every 30 minutes. From 11am-8:30pm we had a lesson every 30 minutes so we were all over Swak. It was the most fun I've had teaching since beginning my mission. The time truly flies when you get to teach so many people.

Midway through the week we were going to visit a member at her home which is connected to a bar. In the sheet metal house villages, there are a lot of bars and her house happened to be connected to one. There were a few drunk friends of hers outside that wanted to join the conversation and one insisted we read the book of Psalms with her. As Elder Tolbert read he was constantly bombarded with "AMEN" and "FIRE" and "PREACH" as well as many others I cannot remember. It was a very interesting experience and one that is not very uncommon here in Swakopmund.

We also ate at our Branch President Katjojos home, as we do every week. This time we were served something very new. As I was chowing away on some delicious Pap (yes I'm coming around to it now) and stew I saw something interesting. As I looked closer there were some nice big chunks of cow brain. So, being a missionary, and being hungry, I made a nice little ball of Pap with a dimple in the center and scooped the brain up with a flick of the wrist. And the next thing I knew I was chewing on some brain. To be honest it was actually quite nice, at least much better than expected.

We are always teaching with a member named Queeny and her sister Grace who are 14 and 9 respectively. They are so awesome and we had just finished meeting with them that day. As we were leaving Elder Tolbert was doing a U-Turn and was informed 5 seconds afterwards that he ran over their cat. It was quite unfortunate but apparently, they didn't like the cat so Elder Tolbert felt a little less bad. It was quite the experience nonetheless. The next day we were helping them fetch water from the tap nearest them and we filled a bunch of buckets up. A man we've been teaching came over very drunk and insisted on helping. He picked a bucket up over his head and fell over, dumping the water everywhere and breaking the bucket. Needless to say we've been having sub-optimal luck with that family lately.

On Sunday we went to church and then we drove to Windhoek. Not much happened that day besides meeting a few members that Elder Tolbert used to teach in that area.

On Monday we had our zone conference with all the Nam missionaries and it was very nice. There were many messages shared that helped me to reflect on the Savior this Christmas as opposed to the presents, Santa, lights, and all of the other traditions that I had back home. It's been a very nice opportunity to grow and reflect at this time.

However, we still concluded with a big Christmas feast. This wouldn't be one of my emails if I didn't include at least a little bit about what I ate this week. We had cranberry juice, some delicious barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, garlic bread, rolls, salad, and other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting all wrapped up with a nice dessert of some type of Carmel cake with traditional African pudding. It was soooo good. We then had a white elephant gift exchange where I secured a tub of marbles and a coconut and some pool noodles. Naturally, Elder Tolbert and I will be making a marble track with the pool noodles in our flat. 

As for today not much happened. We went to the mall, bowled,  a little bit. Got a delicious taco platter from an amazing restaurant, dropped the AP'S (assistant presidents) off at the airport and concluded the night with a dinner at a member's home with a few other missionaries.

This week truly has been amazing and I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to serve and also focus at this time of year on my Savior. I encourage you all to read the Christmas story of the birth of Christ and reflect on him this season. Doing this has allowed me to grow my faith and appreciation for my Savior significantly at this time. I love you all so, so much and hope you are enjoying the holiday season and all of its festivities. 

All the best, and Merry Christmas,
Elder Miller

I'll attach some photos in a follow up email




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week #91 "And Even I, Myself, Have Laboured With Mine Own Hands That I Might Serve You..." Mosiah 2:14

Image
photos and videos:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ 7pfMaK2E4tXivPWY7 Welcome back to another email, hopefully there are some interesting parts this week! Tuesday: We began the day with weekly planning as we do every Tuesday, it's the worst part of the week. Afterwards we got lunch and hit the area. We had a lot of lessons today but the highlights were with Sticks and Kefilwe who we reviewed the baptismal interview with, they just need to get married. Then a yellow dot named Kago who I absolutely clapped with the Bible, with christlike love of course. Usually I try to avoid throwing bible verses back and forth since it typically leads to contention but every time he said something contrary to the true gospel of Jesus Christ I had to give him a few verses. Lastly, I'll highlight our lesson with Peaches, Habo, and Kealeboga who also always come to church. They're on date for baptism on the 22nd, they're a great family! Wednesday: Today was pretty mid, we met with a few recent ...
Read more

BOTSWANA NAMIBIA MISSION

Dear Christopher and Julie Miller, It brings us great joy to announce that Elder Miller is preparing to return home after completing an honorable mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Botswana Namibia Mission. During his time of service, Elder Miller has experienced remarkable spiritual growth. He has strengthened his relationship with Jesus Christ while sharing the restored gospel with countless individuals. Furthermore, he has witnessed the transformative impact the Doctrine of Christ has had on himself, as well as the friends he has taught. Elder Miller has embraced both the challenges and triumphs of missionary life with steadfast faith. Through fasting, prayer, and dedicated service, he has developed greater spiritual maturity and a deeper testimony of eternal truths. These experiences have shaped him into a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ. We have come to love Elder Miller deeply. He has brought joy to everyone blessed to know him. Through his fait...
Read more

Week #88 Awesome Week ... Awesome Transfer.

Image
Photos and Videos from the week: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ aERwkQhvsQjmf7yj6 Yo. Tuesday: We had a handful of lessons today, as well as weekly planning, and then cleaning the stake center since they were hosting a conference of sorts there. The 2 highlights were the twins who came into the chapel and asked for a tour, and our lesson with Shado/ her family. While we cleaned the chapel 2 identical twin brothers walked in and asked for a tour so we obliged, and then connected them with the missionaries for their area.  Our lesson with Shado was about temples and it was great, we even put 2 of her daughters on date which was amazing. Wednesday: We did our grocery shopping today and Elder Gibb decided he only wanted to eat hotdogs for the week. So I didn't have to buy any meat because he said I can have what's already in the freezer from last week. We had a great lesson with Sticks, Kefilwe, and Rasta. We taught them the W.O.W and law of chastity and they were really receptive. We...
Read more