Week #16 Goodbye To Swakopmund

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you’ve all had a great week and were able to enjoy the holiday season!

This week was a little crazy and there were some big changes so I’ll get right into it.

Tuesday:

We began our week normally as any other, going to lessons, visiting members, weekly planning… etc. I don't want to put you to sleep. Tolbert also got his journal signed by a few members as his Visa for Nam is expiring very soon.

Wednesday:

Today began with us going to Fork n Nice for a nice brunch, however, we ended up waiting an hour when we were told it would be 15 minutes. Needless to say, we were both quite hangry by the time our food arrived which only made us devour it quicker than usual… I didn't know it was possible.

We also taught a few lessons with a member named Siegfried, he is currently putting his papers in for a mission!

We had a nice mid-day bone delivery again but this time we had planned for it so we were able to protect the carpet in the trunk of the car from the brain-melting smell of bones. It also only took us an hour this time which was a blessing.

We headed back to the flat to make fried chicken for our weekly meal with the branch president's family (Katjojo’s). We bought fries on our way there because the other side that we were cooking for the meal may or may not have been messed up by me despite my best efforts.

Now for the fun part! The transfer news that we've been anxiously anticipating for weeks was tonight. To get to the point Elder Tolbert is going back to Botswana because his visa expires in a  couple of weeks. I was told that there will be ONCE AGAIN NO MORE MISSIONARIES IN SWAK!!! I believe this is maybe the third time now. An Elder in Windhoek (the capital city) had a companion also is leaving for Botswana so they put us two together. His name is Elder Were and he's from Tanzania, he's very funny. He has 3 older brothers who are also just about to start their missions. Two of them are going to South Africa and one of them will be joining us in our mission. I was also told that I am the District Leader over all of Namibia.

It is a bit of a blow to the branch in Swak especially because there were a few people that we had on date to be baptised this month and next.

The good news is that they’re planning on sending me back to Swak once some missionaries get their Nam visas which should be this month.

Thursday:

This morning I bought a journal and Elder Tolbert and I went to all of the member's houses and got them to sign our journals (just in case I don’t come back for whatever reason). Our last stop was Johanna's house, she leaves for her mission in like a week!! She made me another tie so that was sick. It was a nice goodbye. We ended the night by packing and deep cleaning the whole flat. It was sad to say goodbye to Buta. When he realized we were leaving he started to cry. I'll post a nice video of him doing pushups in my photo link below. Apparently, he always asks where "Uncle Miller" is. 

Friday:

We drove to Windhoek this morning and we met up with the other companions (the ones that is leaving for Botswana and the one that is my new comp). I said bye to Tolbert and then Elder Were and I began our day. We taught a handful of lessons today, most of which were on the phone. We went to a good food truck today which sold burgers that also had diced hotdogs, fries, and a fried egg in them. It was pretty bussin.

Saturday:

Today was pretty bland. We just taught all phone lessons today so that wasn’t the most fun but it is what it is. I cooked pan-fried chicken for the first time in forever and it was actually quite nice so SUCCESS

Sunday:

I got to meet the Windhoek branch today so that was very nice. They all seemed very cool and we got to talk with some preparing missionaries so that was fun. I also got to bear my testimony today since it was my first Sunday in the new branch. Once again all of our lessons were on the phone today. I wish we could go to Swak and teach them as well as continue phone lessons with the Windhoek people. We might as well be in Swak if all the Windhoek lessons are on the phone. We’ll see what happens I guess.

Monday:

We had a nice chill P-day today, got some pizza, continued my hunt to find a tiny digital camera to make vlogs (unsuccessful), grocery shopping, and got a nice haircut. We ended the night with our Monday night devotional which was very good!

Spiritual Thought:

In the devotional tonight the brother shared a very nice quote, I'm not sure from where but it was about living in the moment. He called it, “Being where your feet are” The quote reads “Living in the past is depression, living in the future is anxiety, living in the present is joy.” I love this so much because it expresses the importance of focusing, appreciating, and working with what we have now regardless of what we could’ve done differently in the past or what might happen in the future. I’m especially guilty of looking forward to the future in my life as I think about what I want to do after my mission but I know whatever it is it will be what God would have me do. I invite all of you to appreciate where you are now and the things that you have accomplished and also give thanks to God and Jesus Christ for everything that they have blessed you with.

Scripture of the Week:

Matthew 16:25 - For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

How does this relate to being where your feet are?

Conclusion:

It was a good week but also a bit of a surprise. It’s still up in the air what we're gonna do between Swak and Windhoek right now but it’ll all work out. I hope you are all enjoying the new year and I love and am praying for you all.

All my best,

Elder Miller

No explanation needed.

Saying goodbye to Johanna. She is about to start her mission in Ghana. 

The view from my new flat in Windhoek, Namibia.

Me and Elder Were outside of the chapel.