You know, the challenges with Elder Lancaster's health were pretty difficult, but I'm so grateful for what I had learned. I was so sad to have to drop him off at the Sewa Road apartment last night. I'll miss him a LOT. It won't be the same Njaie Town without him. I am very excited for my new companion Elder Bennion though. He's been here in Bo for three transfers now in the New London branch, so I've been seeing him every week. He's a wonderful guy, and he's way funny. He and I are both extremely excited to be working together! We were pretty dang surprised to hear that we would be working together. Most transfers take people between zones, not within them (for reference, we have 4 zones: Freetown West, Freetown East, Bo, and Monrovia. It wouldn't surprise me if someday while on my mission we saw a Kenema Zone. Freetown Zone split just six weeks ago, so things are changing!).
You know, something that all of us Elders face here in this mission: "Greener Pasture Syndrome." We all want to go to the greener, easier, and less-apostate branches, but sometimes we're stuck where we think the grass is brown. In my time here in Njaie Town, I've thought the exact same thing; that I'm in a browning pasture. I always told other Elders that i wished to be transferred just to see if the grass really was greener somewhere else. I fully realized that it might not be, but I at least wanted to see the good from the bad. Since that time, I've changed my mind. I'm content wherever I'm sent, because I'm there for a reason. As long as I find the reason, I can find contentment and joy in all of my areas. My reason for being here in Njaie Town was to find those people in the Reservation community on the edge of our area. No elders had ever been there, so Elder Lancaster and I were the first. Since that time, we've baptized six people in that area. Sure, *ONLY* six, as my former self would say. But I know these people now. I can see the purity of their desires, and the powerful change that has come over their lives. They're not just numbers: They're people, and I would never say that my efforts were wasted on *only* six people. I feel very successful here, in spite of all of the trials we've faced here.
You asked about our preparation days. Well, P-Day's are very very chill around here. Most days, we nap (it's actually ENCOURAGED for us to do so in the Sierra Leone Orientation Book they gave us missionaries) and listen to music. I practice keyboard (A LOT). Our branch has one that we use for services, and I'm the only person who knows how to use it, so... Naturally, I have to play it, no matter how bad at it I actually am. I'm getting loads better though. That's why I want Mom to keep sending piano music, to give me something to practice.
Occasionally we'll play football (soccer) on some P-Days, but our zone has turned into a less football-able zone. Everyone has transferred since I came here, and most of the people that came to replace them aren't so good at football. As far as just our district goes, neither Elder Svongwa nor Elder Kenner play at all, and neither Elder Bennion (my future companion. He arrives Wednesday) or I are very good. So, it's not so fun for us. There's just not a whole lot to do here, unless you like hiking in the bush.
So Sister Roskelley got to hear Mariama Kallon speak?? She's practically a celebrity for us missionaries. I haven't yet watched all of her documentary yet, but I hope to be able to soon. As far as first hand experience goes, I've never seen any Salone war rebels turn to Christ. The commonly-held suspicion here is that the Okadamen (bike taxi drivers) are all ex-rebels, saying that they sold their guns and bought bikes to blend into the communities and disappear. One of our (VERY VERY FORMER) investigators was a rebel in the war. He's so stinkin' messed up. His mind is totally fried from the things he's done/put in his system, so teaching him didn't work out so well. Whenever he gets in a fight with his wife, he tells her that he killed her family, just to make her mad. Whether or not he actually did, I don't know, but he certainly killed SOMEONE'S family. It's just so sad to see... I have heard of some totally turning things around for themselves, but it's rare. Former rebels are typically afraid of God and organized religion, believing there is no hope for themselves. Of the few I have heard of changing their lives, it's a BIG deal, because it requires the approval of the prophet to allow them to be baptized.
I have some pictures for you! The first two are in honor and memory of a timeless friend: Nate Braaten. The first one is of a Subaru Outback. Enough said. Josh ought to enjoy that too. ;) The second requires small explanation: It's a picture of a cover for a DVD. Here in Salone, there are only bootleg DVDs, and these DVDs will have a dozen different movies or so on them, commonly with a theme (i.e. "The Sylvester Stallone Collection" or "Killer Women," featuring things like Tomb Raider and Kill Bill). This particular DVD was a "Zoo" theme (so movies like "Anaconda," "Alien Versus Predator," ect.). AND IT HAD A WARHAMMER PICTURE ON IT!!!! I was pretty excited, to say the least. It's the cover art for Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (the computer game). Why it was on the DVD cover, I don't know. There was absolutely nothing else Warhammer-related on it.
The third picture is an epic shot of Elder Svongwa with his Sab's hamburger. Pictures four and five are of our delicious "Sab's Doctrine," as we affectionately call it, before and after (respectively). To buy half of a roasted chicken with half of a plate of fries (it takes two people to do this) costs 27,000le, which is roughly $6. It's not bad at all! Picture six is of Elder Lancaster with his last Sab's Cheeseburger (on a separate visit to Sab's). This was from Saturday night when we received transfer news in the zone. The last picture is of when I dropped Elder Lancaster off at the Sewa Road apartment last night. It was a pretty sad moment, but I'm glad he's going, because it's the right thing for him.
Tell Josh to have fun at prom. I'm excited for him! Also tell him to extend his greetings to Jenni, Michelle, and Nate. Alrighty, until next time. I luv yu bin bin! I dae go.
Elder Vaughan
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