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
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