Well Week

Dear Family,

My new companion (Elder Malatji) is good! ZL training is going well. He's a (self-acknowledged) quiet person, but we still have some good conversations. :) Elder Tugume is the new guy! He's from Uganda. Some stories to come about how it is to have him in the apartment!

This week was a little bit crazy, but things worked out! I'll go ahead and give my report.
Monday: Well, I emailed you people! But we also had an activity in Hemang, and we had Elders Loader and Hardy at the apartment when we returned home! I had a nice game of scrabble with Elder Hardy. That game, however, brought back a lot of Latin vocabulary! "Agh that word's Latin, not English!!!"

Tuesday: We had our district meeting. Last one for a couple people, Elders Bolabasaga and Andrews. They will be missed. It was a good meeting, and Elder Etim was around the apartment preparing for transfers, making sure he had stuff packed, etc. I taught Elder Hardy how to do a Rubik's cube! So that was cool. The day was mostly made up of having Elder Etim say goodbye to people.

Wednesday: Transfers! They went successfully, and, honestly, transfers are depressing. That middle moment between losing your companion and receiving your new one is so sad. But I eventually received my companion and my new apartment mate, Elder Tugume! I've been having fun with this one, because I've told him that I'm just over a year on my mission. I want to at least make it to the week before the transfer ends before he'll find out the truth, but it's a rather fun thing to build up to. I can still mention me going home by saying something like: mekofie! (I'm going home!) And other things in Twi that he won't understand. ;D Well, this day I introduced Elder Malatji to the new people and the area, and we went forward!

Thursday: Weekly planning first, but then teaching! We managed to teach a few lessons, and we had a hilarious moment while we were sitting on the latched and locked well at the chapel for a few minutes waiting for a member, Bro Listowell, to join us. My companion was playing with the pen that he had just bought, and trying to remove a rock that was keeping the well lid from completely shutting. Well, we were both talking when all the sudden, "WHOOSH!" the pen slipped right inside the gap and went down the well. So much for his new pen. :) We also met a woman that evening who was telling us that she has two sons who have served missions, but one is still currently serving. The one still serving actually served in Liberia first! He was even trained by Elder Gunnell! I believe his name is Elder Agyei. Well, I talked to the son who is already home (on the phone), and this was all made clear. How cool is that?

Friday: No notes. But we taught some people! We tried really hard to teach a lot, but unfortunately most people bounced us and we didn't see as many as we hoped. BUT we did see Ko. and he's on track for his baptism at the end of August! Woohoo! It was a pretty simple day like that, and we finished with a lesson with Da., a rather deep lesson as he came to that realization that we really are saying that the priesthood is in the Church and he realized that he REALLY needs to pray about this to know if it's true. Then we talked to Asa. and his mom at their house for the end of the evening and came back home!

Saturday: We had an incredible 5 lessons. I was humbled: prayers are really answered. After the previous days of me leading the area completely and many appointments failing, I prayed really hard for a miraculous day, and see what happened! Well, we had some great lessons. Hard ones, because the people we're teaching right now aren't what we would term "easy" investigators. Smart people who have their beliefs already. We had some success, though, and we even managed to visit the branch president in the evening! It was a good day.

Sunday: Ko. came to church!!! That was so great!  Church went as normal; I played the keyboard, things went on really well, and we even had a counselor in the branch presidency as well as another member join us in a lesson right after church with Da.! We have decided to just start reading the Book of Mormon with Da. and hope for a big confirmation to come to him as he prays. After everything we visited Theresa and her family before eating our wonderful fufu. :)

That's pretty much how the week went! I even had my hair cut this morning! I wasn't exactly jumping for joy when I resigned to the finished result, so when we came back to the apartment I used the clippers I have and cleaned it up a lot myself. It's really short: maybe I won't need another haircut this month! ;) 

Well, time really is getting shorter. You could be using one block to count my weeks left, I know. I'm grateful for this time that I have left, but I'm getting slowly more adapted to the idea that the mission really does have an end. I love the people here, and I love the people in Liberia, but I also really love some people back in Utah (and other various people on the same continent ;)). I received a letter from a branch missionary in Doe Community branch, written in May and sent through pouch. That letter really... I don't know how to word it very well, but it feels like the letter solidified the fact that I really did make lasting friendships in Liberia, and that my experience there WASN'T just a dream, as at times it feels like. I'm so grateful for the experience I've had thus far, and I'm trying to hit the finish line at a sprint. :)

I love you so much. I hope all is well; have a great week!

Love,
Elder Makani Rain Price

Twi phrase of the week: "Utah mebaaaa!" means "Utah, I'm coming!"

Transfers

Transfers

New companion playing golf

Cute Little Boy

Shucking Corn

Plus a photo from our house--it explains the "one block" comment. 

Taken on Friday evening, Aug 7th. Elder Price returns Sept 18th.