One Month in Africa

Hey Family!

Elder Priddis says that the computers at this particular cafe can be pretty "sketch" (credit word use to Jenni), so he advised me against sending pictures this week. I'll send pictures of my cement house next Monday. It’s dabomb.com.

My one month mark was on Saturday, and I was so excited! Time has flown, and that's the way I like it. It's still weird to check myself and see that I'm serving in the African bush (seriously, Njaie Town is about as bush as it gets).

Feel free to ask questions, as it will give me direction on what to tell you in my emails. Everything here just feels like life as usual, so it's hard to find what stands out.

The okra isn't too horrible. The slimy texture is the weird part for me. We've only had it once so far. We only get a FM "free meal" every other day or three, so I look forward to practicing. The other FM's we've had consisted of cassava and potato leaf on rice. I like potato leaf a lot better.

I think the food is okay, as long as I don't have to down a bone or fish head. Yeah, that's right, a fish head. They just stick the whole thing in the stew, and you eat it just like that. I've made my companion eat them the past couple times we've seen them. I'll get up the gumption next time though, for sure! Elder Priddis and I have a tradition of getting a coconut every time we are in town. We have a lot of fun.

As far as packages go, we've got (just about) everything we need, so luxury food items come next. Elder Allred has received so many stinkin’ packages in the two weeks I've been here (six, by my recent count)! They're all full of candy, top ramen, Christmas presents, and other junk food. If you send packages, feel free to put as much junk food in there as you want, from triscuits to mac ‘n cheese boxes. It's all good to me! Elder Allred got some cake mix, and that will come to be a blessing indeed (we can get eggs and butter, and we use powdered milk). As soon as I get to Liberia someday, I'll have access to a supermarket.

Teaching this week was HARD. We got bounced over and over again, which = lots of hiking. Elder Priddis and I teach out in the bush, and it shows. Our white shirts are brown at the end of each day of huffin' it out in the brush. It's a LOT of work. We only ended up with 19 lessons, and we were pretty bummed. But, we'll dust off our feet, and move forward.

As far as I'm aware, I'll be here for this transfer, and most likely the next with Elder Priddis. After that, it's anyone's best guess. I love working with Elder Priddis, and I will be sad when we are called to part ways. He takes great care of me, and we (and the district) get along so well! We're able to build each other and strengthen each other in ways that we didn't know we could. It's amazing just how truly inspired our companionship is.

We haven't seen the First Presidency Christmas devotional, but I DID see a first presidency address to West Africa, essentially condemning traditions and practices that aren’t in line with the church. It was interesting. We run into a lot of problems with polygamy and the law of chastity. It's a BIG problem here. It awoke my senses when one investigator confessed his six concubines. *Oi!* It's weird to have to push forward from there. It's pretty much safe to assume that everyone has had or has an issue with chastity. It's so saddening.

It's interesting the role the American elders serve here. We're basically "Preservers of the Word," so to speak. Some branches end up preaching WAY apostate heresy, and we have to come in and mop up after them. Our presence alone keeps people from addressing things in the "traditional" way, as according to what these people know. So glad I'm an American.

You ask about Christmas traditions. Well, they're pretty weak here. They eat rice, and dance. Not much else, really. It's lame. We white elders are going to do things good and proper though. We're looking to purchase a chicken from the market and slaughter it Christmas day for dinner. They only cost 20,000 le ($5), and I think it'll be awesome!

The people here are deeply religious. Roughly half Muslim, half Christian. They have this thing here called "Holy Ghost Fire," where the people are supposedly possessed by the Holy Ghost, and they start jumping around, screaming and convulsing. I haven't seen it yet myself, but I'm pretty certain that they are possessed of a spirit, but not one of God. It's pretty freaky, so I hear.

Congrats on Cyber Monday! Glad to hear you could pull things together without me. I REALLY miss working there. I reminisce about it all the time (well, okay, only sometimes, but I DO miss it!).

Alright, I'm out of time for now. Love you so much! I'm (relatively) healthy and happy, and look forward to serving for two years! (heat rash is irritating, lemme tell you!) No worries for me, just love!

Holy crud, I'm way out of time. Letter to mish prez now. Love you so much! More next week! :) :) :)

Love,

Elder Chris Vaughan