Christmas, Freezer Pizza & Weight Gain

It's amazing how people are around the Christmas season. Members everywhere invite us to share meals with them, even though they themselves struggle to feed their families. They always manage to put away enough money to help someone else.

Man, emailing today is hard. My head is just swimming with all the things we talked about yesterday. Not a whole lot has happened between now and then (what, 22 hours ago?). I washed my clothes. That's about it. I'm going to have a crappy freezer pizza for dinner today. That's kinda big. I don't know, I'm just thinking about my family. This year's Christmas was a lot harder than last year's. I can't say why, but it was. It might have been because I had a lot of time to myself yesterday... I was just thinking and listening to music. My time left here is so short. I think about my last phone call this coming Mother's Day. I might still be here in Sinkor when it happens! It'll be in the third transfer from now. And from there, there's only six months of mission left. It's sad, and exciting.

It's weird, because as a missionary, I've let my feelings and thoughts of home go dead. I don't feed them by fantasizing of home and family reunion, so I don't feel homesick at all. Well, that is, except for yesterday, where I felt homesick BAD. It just awoke in me so many old feelings of home and family that I had forgotten about. It's easy to get carried away as missionaries. People rarely write me anymore, so that adds to it. I guess I'm just becoming an old missionary! There's not much time on the clock left for me... I'll be devastated when I leave this place. It'll break my heart.

Well, I'm honestly out of stuff to say for today. Sorry for the short email. I know you love getting lots, but you got lots yesterday. ;) Know that I'm doing well, I'm healthy (maybe TOO healthy! Remember the weight I lost in Bo? I gained it all back, and maybe a little extra!), happy, and most importantly, safe. Take care of yourselves, and have a happy new year! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Christmas Packages, Bullet Holes & Supermarkets

Please tell Aunt Becky to send the appreciation of the mission to her ward in Colorado. They sent our mission dozens and dozens of ties for the elders here for Christmas, and they keep sending various elders packages who can't get them. Thanks so much! The gifts are SO appreciated! Ties are often in high demand here, considering that many elders don't have much money for ties, and those that do often need ties to give to their recent converts who also don't have money for ties. Thank you thank you thank you! You guys are the best! Elder Appleby is in my zone again, so I got to see the package he got from them as well. They are the only packages he gets here, so he is VERY VERY happy whenever one comes! Thanks for all of the love and support! We need it out here.

We saw a video produced by the church at our Christmas conference that I think you'd like. It was entitled "Finding Faith in Sierra Leone." It is a neat documentary that follows a number of the pioneering members of the church here (okay, well, THERE since I'm now in Liberia) in Sierra Leone. It was cool for me, because I know all of the people personally! Mamie Sivalie, Moses Wills, Prez. Turray, and Abu Tommy! It's so cool. Anyways, it just talks about their strugglings with the church, and how they were blessed by it. It talks a lot about their trials through the war. I think you'd like it, if you're able to find it.

You know, Liberia is a nice place to be. I think the only reason why it'd be unadvisable to come here as a tourist is because of the recent elections that passed. When those come around, lots of violence does too. The UN has HUGE influence here. Their peace-keeping troops are EVERYWHERE, and there are workers from all sorts of UN departments going to and fro all day long. This place has had a rough time.

There are certain places where you can see bullet holes in banks, bridges, and other things. It's crazy. Elder Liufau was telling me that they had to lock down in the apartment during the election becuase of rioting. Shouting, gunshots, and etc. We live in downtown Monrovia in an area called Matadi, so we are in the middle of the action. But, as of now, there isn't anything much exciting going on. We still have the 7 pm curfiew, and we religiously keep to it. We're always in the house before it gets dark, so we're safe.

And yes, the light and water is nice to have, but both of them have gone. Easy come, easy go, right? It's sad. The mosquitoes here are killer too, so it makes things absolutely torturous at night (that's when they're out in full-force). When we have light we have a little relief because of our fans and things, but as of right now, we're in darkness.

And yes, the conversation with Bro. Markus who drove us here was absolutely inspiring. It makes me want to write a book about him. He's a "Captain Moroni" for sure (so much so, it's actually his nickname among the missionaries!). I miss him a lot... He's just a good example of someone who knows what's important in life, and that faith and righteousness are the way to a better life. I'd just love to document his life!

Condolences to Dad, ya? Sorry he has to have a fun time recovering from surgery... Get well soon! You need to be able to talk this Sunday when I call home! ;)

Okay, Liberia is VERY different from Sierra Leone. First, there isn't so much racism here like there is in Salone. People here don't make a whole lot of comments about your skin color/nationality/the US/anything like that, whereas Salone likes to make it a central focus of your relationship with them: You're a white man, I'm a black man, and we're friends. It's irritating like crazy. Also, the Liberian people have the opposite attitude of Sierra Leoneans. People in Salone !!HATE!! Salone, but people in Liberia LOVE Liberia (almost to the point, in fact, that it's obnoxious!). It's nice, because in Salone people would complain about their country/circumstances/white people/etc on and on and on, but people here love their home! You have no idea how refreshing it is. People who love themselves and their country. It makes a world of difference.

Liberia, in general, is much like Sierra Leone regarding developement. The only difference is here in downtown Monrovia, which is developed to the point that it looks like a mini America! It's way nice. Go a few miles though, and you're back out in the bush and shanty towns. So yeah, it's mostly just our area that's like this. Every other area is atypical of ours. In general though, people here live better than people in Sierra Leone. And for us missionaries, we live better than
the missionaries in Salone. We have supermarkets! There's the legendary Harbel Supermarket, which I've not been to yet, but I've heard it's like a Safeway. Can you believe I've gone 13 months without SUPERMARKETS?? They're so expensive though. They charge in USD, and we use LD. Yeah, ouch. We're given $135USD every month, so to buy ANYTHING at a supermarket has to be carefully budgeted. Even a $0.75 can of Dr. Pepper (WHICH THEY HAVE HERE!!!) has to be carefully considered. So, while we are in fact in a nicely developed capital city, we're still living like the rest of the people: Poor. We eat rice just like Sierra Leoneans do (which isn't bad. I like rice!!).

Regarding office work, we don't spend a whole lot of time with it. We spent only like 3-4 hours in the office this week. Elder Liufau says that it depends on the mission needs though. We process baptismal records and things, and do whatever Elder Kirkham tells us to do. So it's not too bad. I like the variety it brings to the work here. While some people look at office work with scorn and disgust, I actually like it. Is it not also work to bring to pass the salvation of mankind? Indeed it is. It's just a little less glorified. According to D&C 128:8, the work of record-keeping is just as important as the ordinance work itself. Hence, I like it. Where it is not recorded, it is not completed, and cannot be acceptable in the eyes of God. I'm perfectly at home in the office (with the exception of the air conditioning. It's too cold! I think I have poor circulation, because my hands and feet get cold way too easily).

With that in mind, we spend a great deal of time teaching. It's nice. And since Elder Liufau is finished with the training program, we don't have to do 2 hours of companion study, so we have an extra hour of work. Especially with the curfiew, the extra hour makes a huge difference.

The proselyting work here is really nice too. Our area is comparatively small to everywhere else in Liberia, so we don't have to walk quite like my past area. Monrovia is also flat, so I'm not missing Wellington too badly! No more mountains! The mountain made it easy to learn the area, but it's a PAIN to summit every blessed day!

We have a lot of great investigators too. Elder Liufau, with his trainer Elder Lambson, had white-washed this area three months before I came, so it's really easy to keep track of things.

All of these factors together, I feel like I'm on a missionary vacation! Sure, I work very hard as usual, but the work is nice, and the payout is readily visible. In my previous areas, we spent a lot of time "sewing seeds." I had a lot of hardship in those areas. I hope I stay here a LONG time! Sure, hardship will come, but there are a lot of perks to being here.

It's hard to say that much around here is "exciting", but I guess that's mostly because "exciting" doesn't quite mean the same for me as it does for you! ;) I guess the new language is exciting... and complete gibberish!! It's insane, but fun.

Well, I'll stop here today. I love you so much! I'm having a blast right now. It's a great time to be a missionary. I'll be so heartbroken when it's all over... But for now, I'm here, so I'm perfectly happy! :)

Have a wonderful week, and Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Ode to the (W)retched Road to Liberia

Read the poem penned by Elder Vaughan about his 6 hour journey through the jungle to Liberia on the Mission President's blog. Also included is a short video clip of the journey.

Farewell to Freetown, Jungle Roads & Sweet L-I-B

So, while I was still in Wellington, they brought my replacement, who was indeed my dear friend and former companion Elder Bennion. We had a sweet couple of days working together as I awaited the day I traveled to Liberia. It was nice because I was able to get him acquainted with both the area and area book, his companion Bro. Kargbo, and pretty much everything else about life there. He had served in Wellington 2nd branch at the beginning of his mission, so he's already pretty familiar with the scenery.

Friday was the day I was anxiously awaiting: Heading to Liberia! Friday was nice. Bro. Markus the mission driver came and picked me up at the Wellington apartment near noon last friday. I was traveling with Elders Obinna, Coffie, and Iyieuware (yeah, the last name is insane. Pronounced "you-are-eh"). We arrived in Kenema in the evening to stay the night around 8pm after passing through Bo to drop off some few things. I got to see my old apartment on Bo #2 5th Street. Yeah, that was crazy. It was interesting to have all of the old memories flood back into my mind of the place I once called home.

When we reached Kenema, we were starving, so Markus took us to the Capitol Hotel for the crappiest and most expensive casava leaf I've ever had. However, we were filled, so I was okay.



The next day we woke early, around 6 am to start our journey again. It was amazing to listen to the stories that Bro. Markus told us about his time as a soldier in the Sierra Leone civil war. He was a true hero at that time. I was so inspired by him and his example of how to be satisfied in life. His life isn't that extravagant, and his job isn't very glorious, but he's perfectly happy because he has time for church and for his family. I'm grateful for the wisdom I gained from listening to him.

The road to Liberia, however, is 86 miles of horridness. I've never hated traveling so much in my life. It took us about six hours in the Ford Everest to reach the border. The dirt road is composed of themost turbulent array of muds, stones, and who knows what else. It seriously looked like a motocross arena. It was terrible. I was in the back seat, so I spent the whole time fighting car sickness. Poor Elder Obinna lost his own battle and threw up all over the jungle (which was staggeringly beautiful by the way. We got to drive through the Kola National Forest Reserve, which was awesome. It's a HUGE JUNGLE! Sweet.

Needless to say, I was grateful to arrive in Monrovia. This place is like a third world America. I'm struggling to find a way to describe this place. Well, I live the high life, compared to other Elders around here. We live smack in the middle of town, which is very nicely made and paved. We have dozens of super nice super markets here in town where you can get almost anything you can care to think of! Problem of course is the price. This country uses two currencies: The USD, and Liberian Dollar ("Liberty"). $1USD=$70-73LD. We don't use coins here. I dunno, just a few differences.

We have elecricity, which is a definite perk. We also have running water in the compound, which is a rather nice change. Hmph! Freetown? Forget about it. There is no running water there. I'm really liking this place. I had my first Dr. Pepper in 13 months. Yeah, sweet.

As far as my calling as office Elder goes, there's not much to it. Mostly scanning and emailing baptismal records. It's not bad. I like the office work because it gives me a little chance to change things up every once in a while. I can get pretty discontent with routine. I'm amazed to this day that I survived Njaie Town for so long. As of right now, I'm enjoying sweet air conditioning in my office and an amazing computer all to myself for free. Yeah, the labor of office elder has some definite perks. Our office is in the Sinkor district center, so we get to come to the church all the time. This place is really nice, and the church has done really well here. I'm happy about that!

My companion is amazing. He really knows his stuff, is a humble guy, and works his tail off. He certainly keeps me on my toes! It's great. He's from Texas, has been on mission for 2 transfers now, and is just excellent. I'm really enjoying being with him. After being with a branch missionary for so long, it sure is sweet to be with a legit Elder again. I'm really loving this place.

Yesterday and the day before was our Christmas conference, hence why I'm emailing today, rather than Monday. We had loads of fun, played games, all that jazz. We watched Megamind again, which was just as good the second time, and A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey. The food was so good too! I had my first turkey and cheese sandwhich in I don't know how long! Then I had a legit CHEESEBURGER! Man, I can see why everyone calls this place "Sweet L.I.B."! We're enjoying like crazy. I got to see some old friends like Elders Svongwa, Tims, and Appleby. All in all, I really had a great time.

As far as the people go, I don't know too much yet. I've only taught like 5 lessons since I've arrived because of the conferences and things. I do know, however, that these people speak the worst English I've ever heard. You can't even excuse it by saying it's a different language. It sounds like English from the deep south gone horribly wrong. I'm doing my best to keep up with it. They call it "coloqua." It's not a written language, so I can't really send any examples. They basically cut off the last syllable of any word they speak. It's bad. I'll try to give you some samples on the phone when we talk at Christmas. ;)

Alrighty, everyone, I love you! Have a wonderful week! can't wait to hear from you! :)

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Transferring to Monrovia, Liberia!

First: Congrats on the Armar Branch becoming a Ward! It's a great blessing indeed. The people here are anxiously awaiting the day that there can be a ward in their COUNTRY, let alone one they can attend. Many of us speculate that that is why Elder Holland is coming: To organize the first stake. But, we don't know! Time will tell.

Second: Congrats with cyber monday! I can't wait to come back to join the team. I really do miss it a lot. It felt kind of like a working family (it DID help that the family also works there! ;) ) Sounds like you did BOKU past 1,000 orders last week alone! That's so cool! The way it sounds, the new warehouse isn't going to do for the business for much longer!

Okay, so I have a little to talk about today: Last night was transfer news, and I'm being transferred to Sinkor branch in Monrovia Liberia! I'll be serving as an office elder for the whole of Liberia. I don't really know what all of that entails, but it'll be sweet. I'm going to an Elder Liufau, who is an American Samoan. From what I've heard, he's never actually been to Samoa, so he's basically an American. Elder Liufau has been on mission a little over three months now, so I'm still senior companion. Isn't THAT fun?

I already knew I was transferring mid-week last week when I received news from the Assistants on Wednesday that ANOTHER branch missionary was coming to me starting the very next day. I thought it was very odd, considering that Bro. Sanu was going to stay until Sunday evening. If they wanted me to be with a branch missionary again, they could have just waited til today or tomorrow to send him! I spent the night pondering the reason and concluded the following morning that it was because I was surely being transferred, thus giving Bro. Kargbo a chance to learn the area a little before I go. Sure enough, it's what happened! I'm pretty dang excited to go. That place is basically another mission! Funny enough, it's Elder Bennion that's coming to
replace me! I think it's where he'll finish his mission, since he's going back in April.

Training pre-mies (Pre-Missionaries) is NOT EASY! They typically have ZERO experience teaching, so it's obviously a challenge for that reason. I do my best to help them prepare for their own missions. I've learned a lot here in Wellington about dealing with people that you may not get along with. I just do my best, and go forward with a smile! There's not a whole lot else you can do.

Elder Kenner left us today. All that needs to be said about that is that it's sad. After 9 months of living with him. I'll miss him a lot, but he's returning after a faithful 2 years, so I'm happy for
him.

Okay, time don don. Next time you hear from me, it'll be from Monrovia! Woo hoo!!! A new life awaits! And OH!! I get to live with my pikin Elder Esiaba again! I'm WAY excited for that! I think I'm leaving Freetown on Friday, I'll get there Saturday. You can change my "current city" status on Facebook, eh? ;) Ha ha ha!!

Okay, love you lots! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Early Christmas, a New Tee Shirt & Chastisement

Did I receive Aunt Becky's packages? YES I DID!! I've been trying to remember for weeks to let you know, but it just slips my mind. And what a sweet package it was! You have no idea how nice it is to get decent quality toiletries through the mail, especially deodorant and toothbrushes!

What's more, guess which other package I got? Your Christmas one!

Woo hoo! It took like 11 days to get here. Isn't that awesome?? Sis Roggia was praising your wisdom in listing the contents on the shipping manifest. You have no idea how many people try to send boxes that say value of $100-$200 on them, and then find out that they can only be received through bribe. It's ridiculous. Be grateful for UPS.

The contents of the package were wonderful! While it is ordinarily expected that one should wait for Christmas to open Christmas presents, I'll be honest and say that I didn't wait. I hope you can understand. ;) I felt something roughly speaker-shaped in one, and something roughly SD card shaped in the other. THANKS SO MUCH! It came in handy on Saturday when the landlord surprised us by remodeling our kitchen. We had to stay at home ALL DAY LONG. That was a little crappy, but having general conference audio and new inspirational musics helped SO MUCH!

Without the other speakers, my musical listening would have ended after couple short hours. Wearing the Star Wars shirt just feels amazing too. ;) It's the only shirt I've worn all week (when not wearing my white shirt and tie)! I wash it in the morning so that it's dry in the evening. I might love it just a little TOO much. THANK YOU!!

I'm outstandingly jealous that you got to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert!! That's the kind of music that I loved so much at home! The other bands I listened to were the same style, just of the non-Christmas variety. Uh, I'd LOVE to go see them! I even have some on my first memory card, but when I was putting music on it, I was just watching for Christmas-y things. I wasn't sifting the METAL Christmas out, so I have it! However, the Spirit says I shouldn't listen to it till I get home. No problem, I'll just go enjoy with you!

Woo hoo!! Cyber Monday! I'm glad to hear that it's busier than ever at work Dad! Can't wait to get the final numbers. It's so sweet!

I'm excited like nothing to find out where Josh is going on his mission (when that time comes)! I'm praying for Africa. Heck, even Sierra Leone! If I got to train him, I'd be the happiest man on earth! We would be Elders Vaughan! Or, Elders Vog-han, Vogue, or whatever these people call me.

Well, not a whole lot to say about this week. Things can be hard at times. I have a lot of teaching opportunities with my companion, which are very important. This is our last week together, so I look forward to making the most of it. He's so excited to serve, and for all of the right reasons. Even I didn't have all of the right reasons to want to serve, but I discovered them as I came.

It feels like there hasn't been a whole lot of stuff going on for us this week... Partly because of the odd jobs we had to do this week, like watching the apartment while the kitchen was being redone, zone meeting, a temple recommend interview for my companion, things like that. It feels like most of our week was eaten, and I hate that. Zone meeting was interesting though. Elder Kotey, one of the zone leaders, took an hour to chasten the zone for some different items of disobedience. With as many new missionaries as we have here (oh, HALF THE ZONE!!), there is a LOT of broken rules regarding communication with girlfriends. It's a little sad, and a little pathetic. I'm grateful that I didn't have to worry about that at all. I'm not concerned for them though, they'll figure it out, Most of them do.

Well, today I'll be putting together your christmas presents! It's something small, but I think you'll like it anyhow. As you know, I can't really send anything. Sorry for the not-so-interesting email. It's just missionary work as usual! Next week will be transfer updates, so stay tuned! ;)

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Elder Vaughan

Stolen Items, Amulek is my Companion & Hugs for Mom

Today I laughed a LOT. Josh e-mailed me his usual antics, and Mom's email about being duct taped to a wall for charity was certainly a funny one! That's such a cool idea to raise money! I'm so glad that you like being the "cool mom." It makes my life a lot better.

YOU FOUND MY STASH?? I shouldn't have been so foolish to think it wouldn't be found, hidden in my Warhammer Tank. Well, it wasn't intended to be effective. It was really a last-minute idea to hide away some last things I was holding on to the night before I left, one year ago. If I remember right, my headphones were in there too. I also tried to stuff my ipod in there, but upon discovering that it wouldn't fit, I gave up. In my haste to just get it put away, I just decided to give it to Jesse. Does he still use it? I'm definitely going to be needing an ipod of any variety when I get home. Man, and I need that $35 I stashed in there too.

We're celebrating Thanksgiving big-time!! We've enlisted the help of our dear Antie Chris to roast for us FOUR WHOLE CHICKENS!! Yeah, one for each of us. No worries, Thursday will be just as good for us as it will for you (minus, of course, the company of dear friends and family). We really shelled out for it, but it's no problem. We all want to enjoy.

I am getting a little irritated with some of my things going missing. Two weeks ago, my Sierra Leone football jersey was stolen, and today my sweet graphic tee that I had also bought was stolen. Driving me a little nuts. What can I do? I'm not stupid when it comes to keeping things safe. They just disappear. *Sigh*. There ARE a few things I won't miss about this place.

Dad, you asked if I think that my companion is like Amulek in the Book of Mormon? Uh, YES! He got a call from the Mission Prez (i.e. The Lord) to serve to someone who was coming to his house who was the Lord's messenger. Am I not then Alma? Ha ha ha, yeah, it's a little bit of a stretch, but you're right! I love my Amulek companion... He's my best friend! We just have fun every day, and baptize people like crazy!

The work it so much fun. This week we had a sweet baptism of Sis. Susan Sulaiman. It was wonderful. She's your same height, so baptizing her was super easy. As soon as she bent her knees, she was already under the water! This transfer we've had a steady baptism every week. It's so sweet! It's the kind of momentum I like. Rather than one every transfer, we have one every week! It's just awesome. I think by this time I've baptized 40 people (numbers matter not, but I know there are some at home who want to know). It's BOKU!

This week we received some great news: Elder Curtis of the Area Presidency is coming in January!! Woohoo!!! More exciting than that though is this: Elder Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy is coming here with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Twelve Apostles!!!!!!!!!! They'll be coming in February. It's kind of a big deal since it's the first time an apostle has come here since Elder Scott dedicated the land years ago. Am I excited? YES YES YES YES YES!!!

Anyways, that's the week! I love you so much Mom! Watching Bro. Sanu hug his mom every day at the end of proselyting isn't very easy to watch. Worry not, the next year will be over oh so very quickly! (Not that I necessarily WANT it to, but, when my time is over, it is indeed time to go home and hug my Mom. ;-) )

Love you!

Elder Vaughan

Sinkers, Floaters & Submarines

So, regarding that money you sent me, it's pretty much finished. I bought some NICE slacks (2 pair..it was getting needed. One of mine was spoiled with bleach. I was mad about that.), a few more sweet Jatala ties (I'm sure you'll be seeing them in pictures), a new belt (Nigerian one. So cool!), a new pair of shoes, and a bunch of souvenir-ey-esque things. Most of those things you'll just have to wait to see. ;) You don't have to worry about money for me again for a while. Maybe I'll want in my last 6 months, but I'll keep you updated.

Man, this keyboard is killing me. I think things will be a little more concise this week. Sorry, ya?

Work is going good. Jeez, this past week is just a blur in my mind when I try to recall something specific... We worked! Uh... Well, okay, here's what I've been thinking about this week:

Recent converts. As I've been in the area long enough to HAVE some, I've watched what can happen. We have three kinds: Sinkers, floaters, and submarines. I kinda thought of this parable as I was soaking beans to make refried beans today (burritos, anyone? I'm WAY excited!). Lets say that the water is like life with the gospel. While they all initially do some degree of floating, some sink straight away. Others are kinda in between. Others once again (note how few they are) are simply "floaters", and are content with floating.

Putting it in real-life now: We put these people into water (hint: Baptism), and some of them thereafter sink straight away. Those are so FRUSTRATING! They look like the rest of the beans that we're soaking, but they sink so readily. Others are excited about the church for a time, but as different circumstances enter their lives, they sink, and on occasion, bob back to the surface for a time. Those are the "in-betweens". And then, the floaters: The converts that make like SO easy! They baptize, and then bring many others to baptism. I don't have to think or worry about them again, because regardless of how turbulent the waters are, they float. I, unfortunately, as the Lord's great bean-soaker, have to spend much of my time helping those otherwise helpless sinkers to float.

Anyways, that was a little random, but it's what I've been thinking about.

Sorry about my short letter in return. This keyboard is stressing me out. Be watching the mail. In about a month's time, your Christmas presents should arrive.

Love you lots!

Elder Vaughan

Roots and Branches, Burgers and Fries & Cutting the Strings

The leadership conference with President Dickson this week was pretty sweet. We received instruction from him and the Ghana Accra temple president. Unfortunately, as I found out later, the reason for their visit wasn't such a good one. At the same time, I'm not so much at liberty to share what it is, but know that it was pretty discouraging. Let some weeks pass and maybe I'll be able to share. It's been on my mind a lot. But yeah, the training was sweet.

They introduced a couple ideas about teaching investigators. The main focus is making sure that "the branches grow at the same rate as the roots", which, unfortunately, doesn't happen often. We baptize and baptize 'til we have prune fingers, and then spend months and months reactivating.

So, yeah, the great and frustrating dilemma of this mission. You'd think that it would be remedied by ensuring conversion BEFORE baptism, but it really doesn't. People can seem very converted, and then a week later they are back in their old ways. It's annoying like nothing else, I tell you.

Uh, being with Elder Moss this week was insanely fun. That man is funny, and he and I (and Elder Wood) are in the same situation that we are aiming to follow in our father's footsteps regarding careers. His dad is a successful mechanic, and he wants to take it up after his father. Well, that's what I wanna do for my dad! ;)

We had a blast that day. He and I are heavily pressured as trainers and District Leaders (him more so, considering the stubbornness of his district!), and so it was super refreshing to be with someone that I could see eye-to-eye with. Then we had a burger and fries at a place called DeMoses. Obviously not American, but not bad at all. It was sweet. I really love that guy. He's such a great guy.

Yeah, we all laughed about Elder Stuart getting a hug from a debul. Those things are just so strange... They are supposed to be intimidating, but some of them just look silly. They just dance around, juju people, and somehow get money from it. The scary ones are the ones that cut themselves in the streets. As Joseph of the Old Testament, we flee from that sort of evil.

Elder Kenner is going home in 4 weeks. We've been living together for like 9 months now. Ha ha ha, man, a piece of me is going to die when he goes. I'm sure you'd love chatting with him when he gets back. He and I have talked about EVERYTHING, so, he can give you a clear picture of how I'm doing.


To answer Mom's question: Eastern Police isn't so bad anymore. Come to find out, the day that Elder Purcell and I had gone there was the day before the Ramadan Pray Day, which is the Muslim equivalent of Christmas (in size). So, THAT was why the place was so bad on that particular day. Even today, Brother Sanu and I went to the West to buy some things. It wasn't bad AT ALL compared to that day before. I got some sweet things (wait a year, you'll see! ;) ), and Bro. Sanu got all of his mission things, so he's set to go! He's so excited, so that helps a ton with the work, which at the moment, is not easy. Our pool is pretty much dry, so we're huffin' it to find more peeps to teach. Yeah, not fun. It's better than the states though. We do basketball contacting, wood-splitting-referral-collecting, and things like that. It's sweet. Except for blisters, which are not sweet.

Well, can't say a whole lot else about what's going on... We had a sweet zone conference last week with Elder Mensha of the third quorum of the seventy. It was good. I really liked president Roggia's instruction the most though. His are always deeply profound. There was an awful lot of talk about "cutting the strings", and keeping your eye single to the glory of God and focusing on mission. I guess it was good, considering that MORE THAN HALF OF THE MISSIONARIES IN THE ZONE ARE UNDER 6 MONTHS ON MISSION!! So, yeah, we occasionally have to deal with rudimentary problems. This mission might be a little stressed for a while while the new elders are reaching maturity as missionaries. Lets face it, none of us come perfect or perfectly prepared, so it'll take a little time to mature, but when it does, this place will be on fire!

I love you!! Have a great week! I promise I will too!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

New Companion, Leadership Conference & the One Year Mark

This week has been splendorous! Yeah, Halloween kinda doesn't exist around here. It's more like Halloween exists EVERY DAY the way people dress here! I swear, some of these people are just blind. Well, some literally ARE, but that's besides the point.

Thanks for the money! I'll put it to good use! :-) I have a list of things I'm thinking of, and a lot of it is for those that I love across the pond! Worry not, Elder Kenner Clause will be coming this December with a sleigh (a very small one, mind you) full of goodies from Africa. As much as I can pester him to favor me to take, I'll give him.

Yes indeed, luckily I'm still here. Whereas, Elder Kenner will NOT be in a short amount of time. This is his last transfer, so he's got 5 weeks left. As for myself, I'm grateful both that the time is going, but I know that I'll be absolutely HEARTBROKEN to leave this place. It's become my second home, so leaving here may be just as hard, if not harder, than leaving my original home. Hence, I'm grateful to be here. I think of the things at home that I'm NOT missing out on, and I feel absolutely at peace with the supposed "Hell-Hole" I live in. Yeah, this place is a living nightmare, but at the same time, it's absolutely wonderful.

My companion is Brother Sanu from Wellington 2 branch. He lives across the street from our apartment, so he moved in right away! He counts as a full-time missionary in every regard. He has his call to the Nigeria Calabar mission, and he'll be reporting there in about five weeks. That means I get to train him before he goes! It's so great. I love being with someone fresh on mission, because they are always so excited to be working hard! It was like when I trained Elder Esiaba. That man was PUMPED to work! It made the days so good, and we got a lot of work done. The same is happening with Bro. Sanu. He's an outstanding teacher, and he will definitely become an outstanding missionary. We're having a great deal of fun!

As for other interesting things going on, there isn't a whole lot. Today we went back to that sweet waterfall that I went to my first transfer here. It was a heck of a lot of fun! We went with Elder Kenner, Kotey, Essego, and Taylor. Unfortunately, Elder Taylor kinda got sick in the bush... Yeah, that's kind of a downer, but it was a sweet adventure anyways. I'm so stinkin' tired. My knees are SO exhausted! I took some more sweet pictures and videos, but I'm thinking that It'll be best for you to wait for Christmas to get them. ;-)


Well, yeah, as pertaining to the whole "one year" thing. Not thinking about it a whole lot. It's cool and all, but I'm just happy I'm here, whether or not it was after a month or a year has passed. I still feel like a new missionary, and I learn so much every day. Speaking of learning, tangent time! We found out last night that President Dickson is going to be here tomorrow, and he's going to be giving us leadership training! It's times like this that I'm super grateful to be a District Leader. Truthfully, it's not a hard/big/challenging calling. You just order stuff, maintain the apartment, and go house hunting when called upon to do so. Oh yeah, and District Meeting Instruction. Not a fan of that one, but yeah, now it pays in dividends when I get to go to these trainings! I'm SO excited! This is the third time since I've come that I've got to see President Dickson. I love listening to him so much, and so I look forward to tomorrow IMMENSELY. That, and Elder Moss, the Kissy District Leader, will be my companion for the day, so I'm excited for that too. He has a blog so I've heard, so you might end up seeing something about me on there next week.

ANYWAYS, back to the whole "year" thing. I've just decided that it means that I have to turn things up big-time in the next 12 months. I have a lot of learning that I've done, and a lot left to do. So, with that, please refer to Hymn #255.

Well, not a whole lot more to say. I'm doing my best every blessed day, so that's what counts! I love the work here, despite the challenges and setbacks that we face, it's the best. I know the church is true. If I didn't KNOW it for a FACT, I would have turned tail on this place within days. Only a powerful conviction of the
restored gospel can keep someone here sustained for two years. It's hard, but is anything worthwhile easy? Of course not.

I love you and miss you a lot (but not too much ;) ), and hope that you as well have the most splendorous week. :-)

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Transfers Pending, Being Guided by the Spirit & a Wish List

Regarding transfer news, it was ALMOST what I anticipated. Yes, Elder Purcell is going upline to Kenema. As for me, I'm receiving a branch missionary. Ugh. That's even LESS than a greenie! At least greenies have MTC training. I don't even know who it is yet. I was really disappointed to not be training, especially with all of the others that are training in the coming transfer. I had hoped and prayed for it, but I guess the Lord has other ideas for me. Maybe the Lord just trusts me enough to handle a branch missionary. This transfer means I'm likely to be here for at least another 3 months, maybe 4.5 if I train. I'm just gonna get my feet sunk in here and get comfortable.

This week brought us an interesting experience. I think the best part about being a missionary is when you run out of your own ideas, and then turn yourself over to the Spirit to figure your predicaments out for you. This week was particularly cool.

We got done baptizing most of our teaching pool, and so our plan for that day was looking a little thin. We decided to schedule in an appointment for "Bro. Prepared Soul." We didn't know who, or where this person was, but we were determined to find him. When that time in the day was reached, Elder Purcell and I headed down the main road. We reached a certain junction, and both of us felt the need to turn right. We went down down down, and we reached a point where we ordinarily turn again, but this time, we felt that we needed to continue forward, so we did. We walked until we met a young man cooking in front of a shop (everyone here cooks on open fires. Stoves are pretty much unheard of). Yes, this was the man. We sat down, had a sweet lesson, and invited him to church.

Most of the time, first time contacts like this will never attend church unless a friend takes them. This time, however, he came. EARLY. He went to the branch that met before ours (at 9:00), stayed for all of their meetings, then went to our meeting (12:30) and stayed for all of OUR meetings! He has accepted a baptismal date, and we are so excited for this man. Having the Spirit with you like that is truly the best experience ever.

Yeah, sweet right? That's a trick I'm going to rely on later as our pool shrinks again. It just felt right at that particular time to go in no particularly predetermined direction to find someone that the Lord knew. It was so awesome!

As far as stuff to send me, the white shirts are holding up fantastically well. One of them has gone missing, which isn't hugely inconvenient, but it would be if I lost another one. I have eight, which gives me one for each day, and one to wear on P-Day while my others are drying outside. If you send another one, send something smaller than 16. The ones that I have wear really big on me. I'm considering having them sized. Slacks are okay, but one of mine got bleached a little. I don't really need any more... I still have the four I came with (including the one that saved my butt, well, more my legs, in that nasty crash). My shoes are doing fine. I just had them resoled, so they should last a LONG time (The guy basically glued a quarter inch of rubber on the underside. Yeah, even the mountain will struggle to spoil that!). That, and some new insoles. The ones on my current shoes are dying. I think that's about it! Oh! And a new thumb drive. I'll be sending you one very soon with all of my pictures/videos to date for Christmas. I'm sure you'll like that. :-)

So, yeah. I think that's mostly it! I guess we'll see what this week brings. New companion, new adventures. It'll only be for six weeks, so for better or worse, I'll make the best of it. Love you!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Super P-Day, a Lose-Lose Situation & a 'Debul'

So Dad, you mentioned that you were listening to Rush play, "La Villa Strangiato" while you wrote your email to me?" Goodness, you have no idea how much I miss listening to Rush. That's gotta be one of the hardest things out here: Giving up good (but not mission appropriate) music. It hurts, especially on the rare occasion that we happen to hear a radio station playing something familiar. Most of the time, however, they are playing garbage.


This pain was helped a little today at Super P-Day (a zone wide preparation day) when we were allowed to watch "Megamind" and "The Lion King." Megamind was AWESOME, and super hilarious. It had some sweet music that reminded me of Josh like crazy (namely "Back in Black", "Bad", and "Welcome to the Jungle"). All of us missionaries don't really know what to do with ourselves after watching a movie. It's so... WEIRD. The Lion King reminded me of Tesia (that may have gone without saying). I'll be sure to write her a letter telling her about the awesomeness that it was. Man, I miss my music like crazy!

Speaking of Tesia, she told me that Steve Jobs died. Ah! That's a big deal now! The computer world is sad for that.

You know, seeing first-hand what outside influences do to Africa, I've definitely concluded that it's almost impossible to find a satisfactory way to help the people without digging a pit for them in the end. It's almost always a lose-lose situation. If you go in to help, then they learn dependency on the "Western World" or UN, and become even poorer/hungrier/etc. when we pull out. Do nothing, and the same outcome (plus death). It's just hard for these people. Most unfortunate of all is that it's caused by a small handful of wicked people, therefore influencing the rest of the population to follow in like suit to help themselves, rather than to worry about others. I guess that that is why Salone needs us so bad. If we teach correct principles, the Lord will prosper these people regardless of what others do.

The life of a missionary here isn't all that exciting. Just tons of hiking mountains and teaching people. I like to make sure that we're back in the apartment by dark (around 7:00 p.m.). There is no reason to be out after that. No, not even to teach. This place scares the crud out of me after dark, so I don't even mess with that.

Speaking of scary things, I saw my first Devil (pronounced 'debul') this week! I can't believe I've been on mission for this long and I'm only seeing my first. To sum it up, they are "societal sorcerers".

Here, they have national gender gangs called societies, and they have Devils that represent and lead them. Each of them have different and terrifying appearances, and are there for the sole purpose of scaring others, and performing black magic. The one I saw was wearing huge horns and animal skins and hair. Others paint themselves in blood.

Some of these societies are even involved in cannibalism. Lucky for me, the people here don't use black magic on white people. I asked someone why once, and they said that it's because it simply doesn't work on us. Hahaha, I thought that was funny. If you keep away from the Devils, they won't bother you. Well, unless you're in Grafton, but I don't live there, so I won't get into that.

Have a great week! Transfer news this Sunday! XD

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Hard Work, Obedience & Knowing

Boy, the questions in your letter have left me a lot to answer! And once again, this keyboard is horrid. It comes from thousands of untrained Africans coming in here and pecking at the keyboard all the day long for months. I'll do my best. ;-)

Yeah, a year. It's so long! Ha ha ha. Man, I feel like mi na JC (I'm a greenie). I feel like the thing that I've learned the most is love (rather, charity). How to love people that are mean/evil/lazy. How to love companions that are challenging. How to love situations that are crappy (like our baptismal font that had no water Saturday. Uh, problem right?). How to love strangers. How to love those that hate you. How to love the most under-foot-trodden country on the planet. Suffice it to say, how to love everything. The most challenging part (as with the gospel of Jesus Christ) is "enduring to the end". Day to day work is easy, but doing it every blessed day without a break with numerous failures can be discouraging, and the tough thing is not letting it beat you. Lets face it, missionary work is HARD. I summit-ed Wellington every day this week. Is that hard? YES. Was I crushed when 0 investigators came to church yesterday? YES. Does it keep me from trying harder? NO.

Facing and overcoming challenges is easiest when you just focus on the fruit that comes of the manure, so to speak. Do what you're supposed to, be strictly obedient, and God does the rest. When I'm doing everything that I can do to be obedient, I don't feel bad about anything that happens in the day.

The most important goal for the remainder of my mission is to sprint faster. Become cleaner in thought, word, and deed. Have a greater desire to do good. Change from a disposition to do evil, as the people in Mosiah 5. That's the goal. Come back a new man, and don't ever turn back. This is the most important ultimately because it's the reason I came. I came to make myself a faithful Latter-day Saint for good, and to help others do the same.

As far as my testimony goes, it hasn't changed. Should it? I know it's true. Can that become anything more? I KNOW. You can't go from "know" to "knower" or "knowest". I just know. And if, in the impossible scenario that I've been duped by Joseph Smith, I'll thank him forever for the joy it has brought in my life. You can't replicate that anywhere else.

So, does that help answer your questions? :-) When people ask how long I've been on mission, I say 11 months. Why? It means I have MORE than a year left, rather than LESS. ;-)

I can relate to Tyler Russell suffering from Culture shock upon his return home from Ghana. I will have such a hard time adjusting when I get back. Brother Lancaster wrote me last week, and he said he went through the same thing. If you want a bit of entertainment, ask Tyler how his Twi is (pronounced "tree"). I've been blessed to learn a phrase or two from the Ghanans I've lived with.

We joke about how we'll wander around the house looking for a bucket to fill for bathing, and other funny things. We'll marvel at the light switch that will turn on the lights EVERY TIME you switch it. We'll be happily surprised when the running water never runs out. Oh! And its heated! I'll be able to cook more than one thing at a time (we have just one burner here), and I'll never have to lug that 60-100lb tank of gas to be refilled for the stove. I'll be able to drink tap water and not die. I'll be able to sit still and not sweat. I'll be able to sleep in the open air, even outside without any risk to my health! I won't have to take doxy again. I'll never have to watch for cobras as I cross a cemetery. I'll never have to worry about being run over by a motorcycle. I'll have internet that moves, and a keyboard on which ALL of the keys work. I'll be able to flush the toilet (yeah, it's a big deal. I'm sure you've taken THAT one for granted your whole life!). I'll never greet someone by asking how their body is. And most importantly, I'll never have to squish a cockroach again. Yeah, it really is a big change. Luckily, I'm still here. ;-)

Okay, time is don don. Oh! I got Grandpa Doug's package! Make sure he knows. I wrote a letter to thank him that I'll send asap.

Have a wonderful week! :-)

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Two More African Temples & My Testimony of the Prophet

Wow, two more temples in Africa!! We've been praying for this like crazy. We were theorizing that they'd put another one in South Africa, maybe Nigeria, and we were hoping for Zimbabwe. But DR Congo? That's so sweet! That makes me happy. It's a big step to helping this continent become the best continent on earth.

I'm working on some Christmas presents for the family. It won't be a whole lot obviously. Also, I'm looking into some other things to get like a "shine-shine" gara suit. It'd be the coolest thing ever, but it'd be like $60. A gorgeous show-off (as we'd say, "bluff-man") suit for $60? No problem! Great deal, right? But, bottom line is that I don't have any personal money. I'll need you to wire me a few bucks. I had to use a chunk on a belt and some more ties. Oh yes, Jatala ties. I'm seriously considering a Jatala online store when I get home. Those things are the best! Anyways, I don't think I'd need TOO much. There's not a whole lot to use it on since our subsistence money goes a long ways here!

The other thing I was thinking about... I want to get Mom and Hil some sweet Africana dresses to wear to church. Yeah, sweet right? Head ties and everything. They're absolutely awesome, and I plan on getting one for Mom to wear to my homecoming. Problem is, you keep shrinking Mom! Okay, not so much a BAD problem, but a problem for guessing your size! Ha ha ha. ;)


So, Sister Roggia snapped me and Elder Priddis when we were chatting? Oh boy, that was like the best part of my week. Things haven't been so easy for me these past few weeks, so I was having a nice long discussion with him about what I should do. It was cool because he counseled me before as my trainer, and now he counsels me as Assistant to the President. How cool is that? It was a really great experience. I love that man so much, and am so appreciative for all that he did to make sure that I became the best missionary that I could. Our short period of six weeks influenced me more than all the rest of my mission put together, because I always remember his example as the most obedient and diligent missionary I ever served with. If I could "re-experience" (not necessarily "redo") any six weeks on mission, it'd be those.


Yeah, that package from Uncle Rick was great! The Jolly Ranchers are totally gone now, and we enjoyed the chicken stuff on rice. It was good! I really appreciated it.

It's too bad that the Aggies lost to BYU. I'm not really feeling it though. That's something from another universe. Speaking of other universe! Thanks so much for the excerpt of Neil Peart's blog where he talked about his visit to Logan, Utah. I LOVED THAT! That's the kind of stuff that I like to see! :) You don't have to worry about me being "trunky." If I was able to send Elder Lancaster home without getting trunky, then I'll be okay with anything!

You asked if I ever tell people about the time I got to meet the prophet. Yes, there are many times I've told people that I've met the prophet. It's a really neat thing to tell people about. I show them a picture of the conference center in Salt Lake City, and their minds are blown. There is nothing like that place in this country. I tell them that the prophet speaks to us from there, and they love it. However, I don't use it as part of my testimony too much, neither that nor my experience visiting the sacred grove. People here can already assume that I've been there. They don't need anything elegant or elaborate to tell them that what I know is true, I just have to tell them in pure and simple language that they understand.

I say to them, "A no se dat cl tin we a don tck today na tru, and dat Thomas S. Monson na we profit today."

It's just that simple. Because what I'm testifying is true, the Spirit confirms it in their hearts, and I don't have to worry so much about convincing them that it's true. They are simple people, and they believe everything we say, so it's just about getting the Holy Ghost to confirm it in their hearts. After all, that's how it should be, right? :)

Well, time don don for now. I love you so much and miss you like September rain! :)

Love,

Elder Vaughan

20th Birthday, Blog Notoriety & African Time

So, my birthday package arrived... On my birthday! Woohoo! I was very happy about that. :) We had to go to the mission office (a pain in the rear, if nothing else) for an interview with President, and it was there for me with a letter from Aunt Staci! I was super happy about that. Yes, I did keep my birthday a secret (except at Auntie Chris' restaurant, because I knew she'd give me a free drink). It was a nice day though. We went to a sweet baptism of our Nigerian investigator Uche (pronounced "oo-chay"), spent the afternoon in the heat traveling to and from the mission office (we went back though that horrid market again, but this time we were in a transport, and it wasn't the day before Pray Day, so it wasn't bad at all), then we went and had a lesson with a family. It was way nice.

I love all of my presents (Especially the one from Jenni. Thank you!), but unfortunately we don't have an oven in this apartment. Yeah, talk about something to take for granted. We decided to go meet up with the Grafton district in their apartment/palace to bake some stuff, and we enjoyed! It was way nice. I was in the kitchen as the Green Lantern today. Elder Taylor unloaded tons of superhero knowledge on me as we worked. It was a lot of fun.

Oh, I just remembered! You could always include a couple sticks of deodorant in any packages you send. That stuff is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find here! (Then there's the challenge of affording it!) I appreciate the birthday package. I'm bluffin' those new shirts around the apartment every day! I like them a lot!

I also helped Elder Stuart wash his clothes (since he is a new missionary here and didn't know how to do laundry in a bucket). It reminded me of my first days in Salone. Oh the time has flown! It was funny to me... I asked: "Elder Stuart, I bet it's pretty weird to have read my blog (before you came to Africa), longed to be here, and here you are with me washing clothes by hand."

"Yeah, it's pretty Twilight Zone..." He replied.

I kinda had a glimpse of what it must have been like for him. It was neat.

Yeah, not only did Elder Stuart read the blog, he STUDIED it! I guess it was a great thing for him to find. He followed in like manner, and tells me he has his own now. You should try and find it sometime. I'm sure I'm on there somewhere. Do you have much communication with other parents of missionaries here? I hear that there are many that communicate through each others blogs and things. I guess some need it to keep sane. Mission is as much an experience for me as it is for you, so it might not be bad to chat with other parents to see what they're seeing. Who knows? Maybe you'll be a strength to them through your example of faith in the Lord!

Well, this week was not the best for us. We got bounced a LOT, and I'm almost to my rope's end with "African time" (everyone arrives 30+ minutes late to EVERYTHING) and countless broken promises from those we teach. However, we're doing well, and holding together. I love this place, and I'm having fun. Especially with the new Zone Leader in the apartment! Elder Kotey is a blast. If you want to see a picture of him, go to the new Duty to God booklet, and turn to page 90. He's the black guy in the middle. He makes my life a lot of fun. I really enjoy having him in our district.

We had a birthday party (well, it's actually birthday SERVICE) to attend yesterday for Mummy Sivali, the oldest member of the church EVER! She's a pioneer saint! It's really silly how they do the parties though. First, prelude music of dance music by a DJ. Then an opening hymn and prayer, followed by two talks about Mammy Sivali. Then it's a Congo line to give gifts, then a dance party with food, then a closing hymn and prayer. Uh, WHAT?? It's just silly. "Evritin de na dobol dobol, but noto di man an wef, na in no mor we na wan wan." Ha ha ha, oh it was fun! And somehow apostate...

Mom, I miss having lunch in your classroom. When I come home, I'll make sure to bring you lunch that we'll share together again. :) I'm also really glad that I was never ashamed of my Mom (being a teacher at my High School).

I finally have those pictures you want! Sorry it took so long. You kinda grasp at how things are here with substandard computers an all...

The first one is of me standing in a mango tree. Nothing much, but of course, you love looking at me. ;) The second is of me after I got soaked on the way to a lesson. It was a lot of fun! Rain here strikes suddenly and leaves without any notice at all. You'll be lucky if you have the warning of seeing a wall of water rush at you. The next is of a Salone sunset over the mountain. Beautiful, right?
I love it too. The next is of some pikins (children) being funny. Thought you'd like it too. The next is of our baptism this past week, of Bro. Uchenna Ahamefule (say THAT ten times fast!). The last is of the birthday present that God sent to me. He inspired a cereal woman to pass me (a RARE occasion!), and He inspired me to have had 15000le to pay for it. Sweet, right? That whole box was enough for two breakfasts. :) My last breakfast almost a year ago! Can you believe it??!! :)








Well, I don't have a whole lot to say this week. It was pretty hard for me and Elder Purcell. We were bounced A LOT, and people at the moment are being troublesome. It doesn't really get me down though, I just see it as a temporary trial. Those sort of cycles happen on mission, so it doesn't bother me like it used to.

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Computer Woes, The Blog Precedes Me & The Breakfast of Champions

We have much more computer trouble here than in Bo, so this will be short, and no pictures unfortunately.

Anyways, yeah, turning 20 on Saturday. Woot woot? Not so sure. I've kept it secret, so nobody knows. I'm sure Sister Roggia knows and will tell me happy birthday, but I don't plan on telling anyone. You know how I am about birthdays. Turning 20 is nice though. I'm that much closer to being 21 and at home. Not that I'm itching that bad to go home, but the thought is always in the back of your mind. A month can't go by unnoticed.

Yeah, postal strikes are a part of life. I don't really watch for packages too much. They're always an unexpected surprise even when I know it's on the way. "We're made to suffer! It's our lot in life." -C3-P0

So, this week is pretty dang normal. We got TONS of new investigators, like, 14. Thirteen of them came to church. So, yeah. The work is sweet. Not anything too exciting going on. Just teaching and teaching and teaching and then sleeping and sleeping and sleeping. It's the best.

Regarding our new apartment, we're probably moving there! The Office Elders are coming with our physical facilities manager to check it out and approve it. If they give the thumbs up, then we move in! Woo hoo! It'll be the sweetest house in the whole mission.

I look forward to coming home and sharing all of my wonderful stories. We'll probably have to set up the projector and watch all of my sweet movies and pictures, and I'll tell stories for hours on end, and you will have your minds sufficiently blown. :) I have to finish with writing the stories first though! ;)

Oh! I met a new Elder today: Elder Stuart. He's from Louisiana, and I guess he likes the blog you made for me, because he read the whole thing! It's so annoying, because I'll go to tell a story to some people, and he'll be like, "Oh! I remember that! That was so funny!" before I've even said anything about it! The funniest was when I brought a big plastic bag with Monopoly and Risk in it, and he asked if Monopoly was inside even before he saw it! Eh bo, can you believe? He didn't just read it, he STUDIED it!

Thanks for building the blog for me. I'm sure I'll come to treasure it even after my mission. I've heard that there are companies that will make a nice printed version of a blog. Definitely something I'd want! ;) It's basically my second journal. I'm glad someone has been excited to come on this mission because of the blog. I thought most of the times that my experiences are boring and stuff, but I guess for someone who has never been here, then it's great reading!

Well, I'm out of stuff to say for today. You know how it is for missionaries. Things become very routine, so things become less and less "exciting" at face value.

Here's a fun fact I guess: I like eating "gari" now. It's dried and shredded casava roots. They're more absorbent than the best "Depends" brand diaper, and it's similar to eating pulverized Frosted Mini Wheats when mixed with sugar and milk. Way nice! and it's only 300le a cup! The breakfast of champions, let me tell you. I want to bring some home for you to try. It's easy to bring, so I'll make sure I do that.

Is there anything you want me to come with when I come home? (Yeah, a long time from now, but I can keep my eyes peeled) I have some few ideas, but maybe there's something you've heard of that you want to see/have/taste/etc.

Alrighty, love you! Have a wonderful week! Eat some cake for me in case I'm not able to! ;)

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Apartment Shopping & Sticky Keyboard

This email will be short, as I have a lot of business regarding apartment shopping I've had to take care of today, and this keyboard is STICKY!!

I haven't received a package from G-pa, so, unfortunately, it is likely lost.

So, I've been apartment shopping! We've found a sweet place, and I'll send pics sometime soon. This computer won't read my camera. Needless to say, I'll be stoked if we move there. It' so much better.

Oh, yeah, transfer news was yesterday. No changes for me, but Elder Eyinda is leaving us. We're receiving another Elder that I don't know. Everyone had changes except for me and my companion, which means that I'll almost definitely be training next transfer. That would make me so happy!

I'm getting really frustrated with this computer right about now. Sorry for the brief message. Know that I love you, and will strive to write more next week.

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Ten Months, 2 Million People & Black Bananas

I've been out ten months!  That's so long. But it's gone so fast!  Ha ha ha, we joke around that I should already start packing my bags because the plane is coming for me!  Of course, it's a little sarcastic for me. For Elder Kenner, however, he's on his last 13 weeks.  Yeah, the plane is pretty much waiting for him.  I think ten months is somewhat of a milestone because I've reached double digits.  That's the first step to reaching 24 months, right?  Ha ha ha.

I love getting Aunt Staci's letters too!  And I can't help but call her "aunt."  I'd call her "Mom" if the job wasn't already taken! ;) Wow, I can't believe Boomer left for Singapore 20 months ago!  I'm so excited for his brother Joshua in Mozambique.  African missions are just plain sweet (so long as they aren't apostate, like many of them are prone to be *cough* *NIGERIA**cough*).

Here's my adventure of the week:  EASTERN POLICE.  Wow, that place is the closest place to Hell I've ever been in my life!  East and West Freetown is essentially divided by this main juncture, and is pretty much the only route to pass from east to west, or vice a verse.  It's land-marked with the large Freetown Eastern Police Station, which overlooks the humongous junction.  So, it's a two lane road on which EVERYTHING happens.  Elder Purcell and I had to go to "town" (meaning the West end, as it is much more "town"-ish than the East) to find him some new proselyting shoes.  Getting there wasn't bad, because we simply chartered a taxi.  We enjoyed at one of the Freetown supermarkets (the closest thing to a K-Mart I'll ever see!) where I bought a bag of fajita-flavored Doritos (25,000le) and a Transformers-themed Risk board (I couldn't pass that up, even though it was 62,000le).  All in all, town was nice, even though it took three hours to get there.

The worst, however, was getting back.  Option A is to charter another taxi, but from the west at that time of day, the cost would have been too great.  Rather, we opted to try our luck with poda-poda's.  So, we walked along the main thoroughfare from the west towards Eastern Police.  Unfortunately, we reached Eastern Police before we found a poda, which took us about 45 minutes to walk.

By that point, I was already tired, but we had to continue down the road to find transport back to Wellington.  To describe it simply, Eastern Police is packed with people.  PACKED!!!  I wondered how 2 million+ people could live here, I FOUND THEM ALL IN ONE PLACE!!! EASTERN POLICE MARKET!!!  The entire road (yes, the road itself, not just the sides) is packed shoulder to shoulder, and those that aren't moving find themselves a spot where they stand to sell something. What happens when a poda/semi-truck has to pass?  The vehicle swims through the people like a fish through water.  It's crazy, I'm telling you.  Right as the poda is about to mow them over, the people all "jam-jam" to the sides of the road, completely sardined like you can't believe.  The podas roll past so closely that you have to turn your feet sideways so that they aren't rolled over.  Man, that place sucks like nothing.  It stinks!  Oh it stinks!  Every horrid smell in the world is there, plus the massive population!  We walked (pushed, rather) our way down that road for almost two hours before we were free of the "jam-jam."

One thing really struck me there.  The market is supersaturated with all of the same product, and similar products tend to coalesce into a section of all the same thing.  E.g., bananas.  I saw a huge section of at least thirty different banana sellers, selling all kinds of bananas.  Red ones, yellow ones, green ones, big ones, small ones. Then I saw one woman, who was sitting and staring off into the distance.  I could see in this woman a loss of hope.  What was she selling?  Black bananas.  Nasty, smooshy, black bananas.  Why? Why on earth would you sell that?  No one would in their right mind buy such a thing.  Well, for this woman, it's all she has, and all she can manage to make a living on.

Do you realize that this seller of black bananas has the potential to be a goddess?  Wow.  It totally blew me away to think of that. Stripped of class and circumstance, we are all the same, regardless of where/who/what/ANYTHING!  She can have hope, love, peace, and joy through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Wow.  It totally blew me away. The gospel is for everyone, so share it with everyone!

That's cool with the Mormon.org stuff.  I ran into the site a year or two ago, and even considered making an account at the time.  Of course, I didn't know my record number, so I couldn't, and then I just forgot to ask.  It'll be on my "to do" list when I get home.  It's such a cool way to do missionary work even when you're not actively doing it!

Oh, by the way, I've decided that I REALLY want to be an EFY counselor sometime when I return.  I just remember looking up to all of the returned missionaries who were counselors, and how they were all just an awesome example to me and to hundreds of others.  I kind of want to reciprocate that too.  I'd want to do it in Tacoma, just like before, at least one summer.  What do you think of that?  Of course, a de ya fos (I'm here first).

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Rainy Baptisms, Boku Interviews, & Cockroach Carnage

This week was a tad bit stressful with trying to get people ready for baptism. It was nice and sunny for three days, during which all of the interviews were conducted. Then, the day of the baptism, it RAINED. Fortunately, at least one of our candidates, a rippled man of awesome by the name of Mustapha, was able to make it, even under the rain without any coat or umbrella. The other candidate, however, not so much. Sunday was the scheduled confirmation for Mustapha, and again, it RAINED. TEEEE!! "Te" (pronounced "teh") is a Krio word that represents time. If you say 'so something happened "te"', it means that it happened for a long time, or a lot in general. So yeah, it rained te. This time, unfortunately, he wasn't able to reach under the rain. I kinda understand, as it was just dumping buckets.

One new thing that I got to try this week was performing baptismal interviews. In fact, I did TEN of them! Ha ha ha, yeah, it was a LOT! I went on a brief exchange with Elder Eyinda, one of the Zone Leaders, and he took me to all of his candidates and I interviewed them! It's not really hard, and it's kinda fun. I like being able to see people who have really changed (or, in one case, someone who had definitely NOT!). The Spirit attended to me as I talked with them, and I was able to discern their needs. One of the candidates was clearly not prepared. As I talked with her, I sensed that she was lying to me regarding the law of chastity, and when I inquired further, she continually denied. So, I simply asked her if she was ready to baptize. She said yes, but I felt sick to my stomach, an indication of the Spirit that indeed she was not ready at all. It was a neat experience that I won't soon forget about how the Spirit very SPECIFICALLY guided me.

I am excited for Austin to be serving his mission in Georgia. That'll be so cool for him! He's going to love it there. Stuart's mission call to Russia definitely fits him! Ha ha ha, good luck in Russia! It's COLD there! I hope Riley makes the choice to serve a mission. It's really just plain awesome. I know that it's the kind of thing that he'd like, especially in a crazy mission like this one. He seems like the kind of person that would shrug off most of the daily problems that we face here. Uh, kind of like the swarm of cockroaches I faced the other day. Elder Vaughan + 2 flip flops against 100 cockroaches. Score: Roaches: 0 Elder Vaughan: 87. It was gross, but highly satisfying. Just a simple fact of life around here.

Josh has been emailing me for the past few weeks, and we've talked about a lot of things. He already told me about all of his awesome college roomies, and it sounds like he's having the time of his life. I can't wait to be a part of it! College just seems like the right place for me to be. Well, after mission of course. Africa is the place for me for now! ;) Josh has already told me about how he changed his major, and some other different things. He says he found himself an awesome secret computer lab. It just sounds like fun over there!

Okay, my time is short. Elder Purcell and I are going into west end today to find him some shoes. Oh yeah, podas. Can't wait for that... I had a little less time today because i had to write a good long letter to Josh. ;) Oh I miss that guy... Have an awesome week! I love you bin bin!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Uber Zone Conference with a General Authority & Poda Poda Logistics Explained

So, the "uber zone conference" was uber exhausting. Remember how I had a keyboard I practiced on in Njaie Town? Yeah, I have one here too. So, Sister Roggia asked my companion and I to accompany ALL of the sessions of conference! we were BUSY!!



Friday was the first day of the conference, and the first day that we got to hear from Elder Sitati. We had a combined Zone Conference with all of the elders in Bo and Freetown at Beliar Park. It was SWEET! We received instructions from the assistants to the President, President and Sister Roggia, and Elder and Sister Sitati. It was just amazing. Elder Sitati is just one of the most down to earth people ever. He's a real person! Not some super-charged spiritual coalescence of power! His instruction was basically a one hour Q and A period with the Elders. He shared a lot of awesome experiences, and gave some inspiring counsel regarding the selection of an eternal companion. ;) The advice that he gave there was especially good.

Saturday was another busy day for us, because my companion and I had to be Elder Sitati's piano ghosts, appearing wherever he was to accompany the singing. It was EXHAUSTING!! Saturday morning we took a taxi all the way from Wellington to Beliar Park to accompany the Priesthood and General Adult sessions, in the which Elder Sitati destroyed false notions about the "church in Africa" versus the "church in America." People here have the stupid idea that they are different, and we spend so much time convincing them otherwise! Elder Sitati sure helped us out. And, as an African general authority, he did an excellent job of destroying notions regarding mixing traditions and culture with the church. Some people in the church fight juju with juju, rather than depending on God. Anyone at the conference would now think better of that! I was grateful to be there.

After the sessions of the conference, the Assistants drove us, President and Sister Roggia, and Elder and Sister Sitati to the Kissy chapel (it was to drive us close to home, which was nice). I got to ride in a car with a General Authority! It was way nice. I just loved listening to him talk. He was going there for the open house and to prepare for the dedication the next day. As soon as we got there, we went proselyting.

Sunday was probably the busiest. We got up early to go to the dedicatory prayer in Kissy for the new chapel, and then left right before the conference session started so that we could find transport to west end. I gotta admit, any kind of travel from East to West or vice versa is STRESSFUL!! Eastern Police is a junction of a main thoroughfare of Freetown, and you HAVE to go through it to reach the other end of Freetown. Yeah, thousands of cars, one intersections. Who's idea was this?

Anyways, the transports operate as follows: Poda-podas and taxis labeled for West end operate West of Eastern Police, and those labeled for East end operate East of Eastern Police. So, to get to Beliar Park, one has to take a poda/taxi to Eastern Police, then find another poda/taxi to beliar park (if you are quite lucky, you only need to transports, though you usually have to take a third and sometimes fourth). Yeah, not fun. So, we had to do that from Kissy to Beliar, East to West, in order to meet Elder Sitati at the conference that was going to take place in the West. Yeah, piano ghosts, eh?

The conference in the West was wonderful and all, and the Freetown district was split into East and West districts, which is nice. After our duty was finished, we were left to ourselves to find transport from West to East (which we weren't able to. We WALKED from Beliar Park to Eastern Police before we found a ride! It was so far...).



So yeah, that was the majority of my week! Kinda hectic, kinda awesome. I have a few more pictures, but for the sake of time, I have to save them for later. Have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Vaughan

New Aussie Best Friend & Other Associations

So, today I made a new best friend! It's been nine and a half months of silence with regards to my favorite things like Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. Today, however, the silence was broken! You likely remember Elder Appleby that I wrote about last week. Yeah, he's kinda the most amazing person ever! He kicked my butt in a Star Wars/Lord of the Rings trivia contest (like, by a LOT. This man could give Joseph Lawrence a run for his money!). Of course, I was running out of trivia questions to stump him with (or at least to ATTEMPT to, anyways), so I turned to Lord of the Rings trivia related to the Games Workshop version of the game. Yeah, he knew that too. I was so excited! Almost ten months without talking with someone who's even HEARD of my favorite pastime! He came over to the apartment today to hang out/eat boku rice, and we had the best time talking about totally lame and nerdy stuff! Oh goodness, I missed it.

After talking to him at length about his home of Brisbane, Australia, I've decided that that is somewhere I want to go at some point in my life. He showed some pictures and described it, and it sounds like a paradise! He's already planning on visiting the pacific northwest, so I'd love to return the favor in the future... Yeah yeah yeah, far far in the future.

I feel bad for him though, because he can't get packages OR mail here! Do you think that you could send him a small package? He's been here for 5 months or so, and he's received NOTHING. I think there's just a problem in the transit from Australia to West Africa. I'd very much appreciate it if you could do that for me. He is my new best friend, after all ;).

This week is our UBER ZONE CONFERENCE WITH ELDER SITATI!! WOO HOO!!! I'm more than excited for that! Elder Sittati of the area seventy is coming here to Freetown to dedicate the newly constructed chapel in Kissy, Freetown. Two days prior, he'll be addressing us at the Zone Conference, at which West, East, and Bo zones will be attending! I'm excited to see a bunch of old friends, and to finally meet the only African general authority in the church! It's going to be sweet. He's originally from Nairobi, Kenya. I'm stoked!!

That's pretty much what's going on for me... I don't really know what else to say. Things are so mellow and mundane around here. Yeah, we take taxis instead of bikes, that's cool. I don't really know... It's just the same ol' same ol' going on here! The branch is really strong too. We don't have to worry too much about retention or reactivation because of that, which is a HUGE relief in leaving Njaie Town branch. It was so hard for us to keep people unless they were 100% converted before baptism. Here, if someone want's to be baptized, we baptize them! It's pretty nice. I don't feel the same affection to these people than I did for my Bo peeps, but i guess that sort of thing comes with time.

Not sure what else to write... I love you all so much and I miss you! Most of the time, I'm too busy to even think of home, or remember that it's there. I don't want to go home (which is good since I have a long ways to go). It's weird being in an apartment with the Zone Leaders. Both Elder Eyinda and Elder Kenner have only 3.5 months left on mission. Elder Kenner was my District Leader in Bo, if you don't remember. We moved together, and now I'm HIS District Leader! It's kind of funny how that reversed on us. I gotta admit, I'm really grateful that he and I are still together. We keep each others sanity most of the time. We have similar ideas and opinions and interests. He's almost like a portent to a more-excellent "me". I look at what he is and what he does, and can model myself after him. I joke a lot about how I don't love him and that he won't be missed, but he chidingly replies "you know you'll miss me like nothing when I'm gone." Oh yes, it's definitely true.

Well, I'm out of stuff today. My email was pretty dang rambly... I'm sure you can see that there's quite a bit on my mind, but it's not bad, and I'm not stressed or worried. Just thinking and figuring things out.

Okay, I love you! Have an awesome week.

Love,

Elder Vaughan

Salone Bobo, Mountain Climbing & Cockroaches Galore

So, uh, WOW! Freetown is SO different from Bo! There is BOKU enjoyment here! This week was an interesting week, as I mainly was getting to know the branch, my companion, the people, the area, and well, EVERYTHING! It's all good though. This place is a lot of fun. I feel happy here in Salone, so it's easy to shine. My mind and heart are here, and my thoughts are nowhere at home.

First, about my companion: I think I shared some things last week about him, but if I didn't here we go: He's an American-Samoan, and he's awesome. I don't know what else to say about him. Everyone here calls him "Salone Bobo" which is Krio for "Sierra Leone Boy." It's funny. The people here really do love him.

This week, I learned just how tired Elder Purcell's last companion was. He went home last week after two years of honorable service. However, he left a little work for me behind. First, he ate all the phone money, which sucks. Here, we have to go to places to buy phone credits to call or text. Inside one month, we're given 129,000le to last us. I came to 50,000 and 0 credit on the phone. Uh, problem, right? Additionally, the area book hadn't been touched in months, so our numbers/baptismal dates/etc. are all out of whack. I have to do a bit of tidying up here.

Being District Leader is fun. Especially considering that there is only four of us in the apartment, two of which are Zone Leaders. Every week we have district meeting, at which I have to provide instruction and direction for 45-90 minutes. Yeah, that's not too easy, but it's fun. It's a little weird though, since the other district members are my companion and the zone leaders. I really like it though. It's put a little fire under my butt to work even harder.

And work harder I do! This place is on the MOUNTAINSIDE!! Proselyting is NOT very easy here. If we don't have to go very far, we DO have to climb great heights. The view is wonderfully stunning though, as we are near the sea. Unfortunately, it is rainy season, and clear skies are in short supply. I don't mind it too much though.

The branch here (Wellington 1) is awesome too! The people are strong, and we had a strong turnout of investigators at church this week! The church building itself is beautiful; a definite upgrade from the Njaie Town building (not to play the "comparison" game, as Njaie Town has a lot of ups that Wellington doesn't). The young single adults and the youth are at the church almost every day doing something or another, be it an activity, or just hanging out. I'm really pleased about the positive effect that that sort of association will have on our members here!

I'm running out of things to say from last week. Oh! You like my tie, eh? Yeah, that's a brand of tie known as "Jatala." They are these GORGEOUS Nigerian ties that, if you have connections, you can get a hold of. Which, in fact, I do have connections! ;) They are super durable and much more beautiful than any other ties. Kapeesh. That particular green one I acquired from a return missionary in Njaie Town branch. I have another 9 that I've acquired via trades/purchases, and they stand as my mainstay for ties. They'll last all two years, whereas my ties that I brought from home are already wearing out, and hence are retired for the time being. I was successful in acquiring the money you sent me, and I promptly put $30 aside to the buying of ties. It should get me 5 more of those Jatalas, and I'm paying a tailor to make 3 "Africana" ties, which will be made out of some nifty native gara cloth. I'm so excited! Oh, the things that make a missionary happy! Ha ha ha...

Well, today was an adventure and a half for some of us Elders! My companion and I went clear out to the Grafton apartment, which is almost as far East as you can go and still be in Freetown. THEIR HOUSE IS A BLINKING PALACE!!! I've never seen a missionary apartment so wonderful!! Even the Sinkor (Liberian Zone Leader) apartment (which is no longer inhabited) and the Assistant's apartments are crappy compared to this place! I wish my camera had had more memory to take pics of the place, because it's INCREDIBLE! I think I'll have a chance to go there again in the coming weeks...

ANYWAYS! We went there and met Elders Wood (an old friend from Bo), Tawiah, Pabie, and Appleby. They are American, Ghanaian, Nigerian, and Australian, respectively. I gotta be honest, I was super excited to meet Elder Appleby. He's the only Aussie here, and he's an absolute live wire! I love him a lot.

After a brief reception in their palace, er, home, we went hiking! We went clear out to the mountain behind their house and into the jungle that lies there! It was intense, and uber-awesome! It was raining, which it pretty much always does here, but it was still awesome. Elder Appleby showed us a path leading into the thick of the jungle at the base of the mountain. At the base thereof, we forded a stream, and continued into the thick underbrush and started huffing up the side of the mountain.

Eventually, we reached our destination: The Grafton Dam and Waterfall. It was amazing! Just a river/waterfall flowing from the top of the mountain in the middle of the jungle! We took plenty of pictures, and had loads of fun! I've got to admit, it's probably the most fun I've had on mission so far. In return for their invitation to go hiking, I invited them over to play Transformers Monopoly with us and enjoy some chicken fettuccine Alfredo from home next week. ;)

So, for the pictures: The first is the view of part of my area from the balcony of our apartment. Our apartment is awesome in almost every way, with a few exceptions: The shower is small, running water is scarce, there's not a whole lot of space and HOLY COCKROACHES!!! Try as I might, I can't stop them from spawning themselves in every nook and cranny of this place!! I keep it clean, I kill them with spray, but they just COME FROM NOWHERE! I hate them more than anything else. We didn't have this problem in Bo apartment.

Next is a picture of Elder Purcell as we reached the top of the mountain where an investigator lives. I've discovered a new frustration of being bounced (when someone is a "no-show" for an appointment) when it means we climbed a mountain for nothing.

Next is a picture of me bluffing (Krio for "showing off") my new rain boots and umbrella. This place is MUDDY like NOTHING. I'm grateful to have them.

The next two are of some of the waterfalls we enjoyed. Aren't they awesome?? Elder Appleby is the man standing on the rock in the second picture. He was pretending he was being Legolas during the hike. That was entertaining!

The last is a picture of Grafton area and Kossoh town area. It's not so much an "urban jungle" as it is an "urban/jungle" area. Seriously, these towns are on the outskirts of nothingness. However, it's stunningly beautiful.









Okay, a don rayt boku! I love you so much! :)

Love,

Elder Vaughan