Sunday, April 19, 2015

Week 85 65 Days and counting....

Hey family this week was a good week it sounds like you guys are staying busy! Nothing really cool or special happened this week but it was a good one and hoping to improve until the end!!
On Monday we hiked old mans head again saw some huge lizards and also we had a family night at a members house with President Machava (the branch pres.) it was really good we talked about temples and we are trying to get like 4 or 5 families to the temples because none of the people here have been yet!! Right now our job is to get them there and it is a big sacrifice for them for passports it is about 100 bucks a person so if they have children which most have three or more it costs a lot and then they have the travel costs and everything else.
Tuesday was a holiday women's day so there wasn't much work done on that day no one was home so it wasn't a very successful day. 
Wednesday was just a normal day we just did the normal routine.
Thursday and Friday were normal as well.  Saturday we were supposed to have an activity where all the members come in the morning and then we go visit all the less actives but no one came haha
We had English class and we made chicken burritos!!! 
Sunady was a good day, we had 6 investigating families at church my comp gave a talk he was called at 8 in the morning to give it and I taught elders quorum and was advised with no time in advance. but it was a good Sunday
so as of now we have a big teaching pool we have 7  families.
1. Chavier and Vaida  they are a very nice family the have 4 daughters that are members they are planning on getting married
2. Chuva and Eugenia he is a member but she isn't and they are not married so we are working with them
3. Luis and Manhina same story as Chuva the are working on documents to get married.
4. Giliberto and Mamuna this is the family we found by accident thinking it was their neighbors but they are doing good and are working on getting married.
6. Joao and Fatima the neighbors of Giliberto they as well are working on getting married
7. Domingos and Olaria they have the documents to get married but are having problems in their relationship so we have to do some counseling with them. 
but I am loving it up here in Chimoio I love you have a great week!!


Week 84 The countdown is on!!

I'm doing great well they don't really do anything here for Easter. How were the talks at conference? I am jealous about the crepes.  This week was good we just worked and did what we always do we had to fill up the water tank again so that stunk and today we don't have water either.
Did you know you have 72 days left! actually 70
How is Chimioi? I love it
How is your companion? awesome
Does your companion have a blog? no
How many are in your branch?  this week we had 114 in the branch
Do you find the church is ran differently in the different areas you are in? yes and no every president has his way of doing things but for the most part it is the same
What are you going to do for p-day today? going to hike Cabeca do Velho(The Old mans head)
What is the first thing you want to do when you get home? go to the dentist and the chiropractor Haha
How are the families your are teaching?  Well we are dropping Domingos and Olaria because they haven't done much since I have been here.
Do you have any baptisms scheduled? yes at the end of the month we have two and hopefully more
The best thing about this new area?  The people are very accepting and there are no other elders here to tell you what to do.
The worst thing about this area? there isn't one.
Is this area a little more poor than the other areas?  Well we have the whole city so there are poor parts and rich parts
love you


Monday, March 30, 2015

Week 83 Short Letter but we have Pictures

So this week has been a good week and I was freaked out by the July 15 as well!!(We got his itinerary and instead of it saying Taylor was coming home June 15th it said July 15th, I sent a letter to the mission president to clarify and they had made a mistake so he is leaving June 15th and will be home on the 16th)  I am liking my new companion, bro means I like him he is from Salem Utah and has 10 months on the mission. We have been working hard this week and I just got to finish till the end. On filling the water tanks, no we only had to fill up the tank once the water started coming in again after that!! When we didn't have water we  took bucket showers with water bottles we can drink the water but there is a chance of getting sick so we have filters at our house love you have a good week!!!!


We fixed this bathroom  for an old guy in our branch.  We are master builders the before and after photos!! We went to cut some trees down to build the bathroom.


Our water tower that we hauled the water up to.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

WEEK 82 A baby Chameleon and Transfers!

Hey family,
 Well I am now on my 15 transfer, I only have this one and one more to go!!! We have been very blessed  these last few weeks with new investigators!! So we are teaching the same families this week and a few more.   We found this one family well so far we have just sat with him but his name is Topazio he is really open and excited to learn so we are excited for that but we had an interesting week this week.
 Monday we just chilled and played pool and slept and then at night while we were showering and we ran out of water so that sucked! Nothing special happened.

Tuesday we went to a funeral for a lady in our ward.  We started out at the hospital  and picked up the body and I have never smelled any thing so bad as that hospital it smelt like dead people it was terrible! After that  we came home and went out to work.


 A statue in our area of Samora Machell
the first President of Mozambique



Wednesday we found a chameleon on the road it was just a little guy we named him Pasquel like on Tangled and we still didn't have water  but it was just a normal day that morning. We had some guys come over and fix our a/c so we weren't able to go out in the morning but we still had a good day.

Thursday still no water but we had a really good day lots of lessons and walked with a member Carlitos and we found two new families.

Friday we woke up and we still didn't have water so we spent 2 hours filling up our water 1000  liter tank and the reason we didn't have water is because our tank is up on a tower  and the water company hasn't been putting out a lot of pressure so the water doesn't make it into our tank so we had a 20 liter bucket and filled it op to the top and one of us was on top pulling the bucket up with a rope while the other was on the ground filling up more buckets so that took 2 hours but it was fun. We went out that night and proselyted like normal.

Saturday was just a normal day we taught English and went out with our branch president to a few families so that was nice

Sunday I had to give a talk at church finally.  I spoke on how to strengthen your testimony it was a good talk and we had a good day.

Today are transfers my comp got transfered so my new com is Elder Mcalister  he is a bro so I am excited!! 
Hope you have a great week Love you

Have you lost or gained weight? lost weight
Have you gotten any taller?maybe
Are you still exercising? sometimes
Favorite thing about Chimioi? the people
What is one of your new favorite foods since you have been on your mission? i love chicken and fish
How is your turtle doing? he is doing good he is just chilling

Any Funny Stories this week?water tank story see above




Well this is a bridge in our area, the people who designed this were great architects 

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Week 81 We saw Giraffes!

Hey family! 
This week was a great week sounds like you had a great week in Mexico!!! Those jellyfish look pretty sweet!!! It sounds like the yard sale went well!! I want to see pictures of the new rig and new property.
Monday we went to this place called Casa Masika and we went exploring and we saw giraffes!!! It was freaking sweet but we walked a ton.  We got home and we taught some families we found a really nice family Jose and Vaida they have 4 daughters that are already members of the church and they have a baptismal date for the middle of April we are also teaching a family Domingos and Olaria who are real close to getting married they should open their marriage process next week!!! We are teachin Joao and Fatima and  Gilberto and Mamuna and Zacharais and Fernanda! So we have a big teaching pool and we are always finding new families!!! We just need to find the ones that are ready to be taught!!!
For fun here the kids set up tires and bounce off of them like a spring board and do flips in to the sand and so I always play with them and do flips and they all freak out but this time I went and did one and the tires were not strong and they like took my bounce so i landed on my but and they all laughed at me!!!

Questions
What are you doing for p-day? We are going to rest we have been very tired lately we are going to play pool and sleep
How was your week?good
Anything new or exciting or funny happen to you this week? SEE ABOVE
Do you know you only have 90 days left on your mission?YES!!!! I KNOW
Any new families or any new contacts?YES SEE ABOVE
Do you have any baptisms planned?yes
Are you still working on getting families to get married?YES
Anything else you want to tell us?SKYPE IN MAY!!!
LOVE

Elder Roberts


Sunday, March 15, 2015

Week 80 We got a turtle!


March 9, 2015

Hey family I am still a little jealous that you  are in Mexico but this week was good and as for my high point and low point I don't really know it was just a good week in general. Yes we are still teaching them but they didn't come to church so that was sad.  Yes we hiked it!! Yes it was my Eccos I will send a picture of them to you but I bought my comps Eccos that are to small for him that are brand new. they are actually boots. this area is nice because I like the branch and the weather is nice there are a ton of people unlike Swaziland where I saw the same people every day. yes as we hiked old mans head we saw like 8 baboons so that was sweet. the work is going good here not much has changed we have found a few new families this last week one which was way nice so I hope that will go somewhere. We also bought a turtle this week we named him woollberts goingson named after me and my comp and mine and his trainers. but we just call him Larry he just walks around our yard and sleeps.and yes there are lots of landmines but they are way out in the jungle!! I love you  have a great week!!!

Cabeca Do Velho means The Old Mans Head
 
This is Cabeca Do Velho






Week 79 It might be my favorite area

March 2,2015

Hi  Family I will say I am very jealous about you guys going to Mexico!!! VERY VERY JEALOUS!!   But this is whereIi belong!!! and yes I knew that Chimoio was the 5th largest and yes I know what Cabeca do Velho means, old mans head. That mountain is in my area so we will probably climb it today but I don't know. our area is the whole city of Chimoio!!!! I LOVE IT HERE it might be my favorite area.  well we have seen a lot of success this week had lots of lessons and contacts so we are being blessed for working hard! I know how you feel you have lots to do and you just want to do nothing!!!! THAT IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE START OF THE MISSION AND WILL BE TO THE END!!!

QUESTIONS:
What are your plans for the week besides preaching the gospel. Haha  ALL I DO IS PREACH THE GOSPEL!!!!  
What are you doing for p-day? MAYBE HIKE A MOUNTAIN
Does your companion have a blog? NO
So is this place nicer than any of your others? I LOVE IT HERE
How do you rate this new area you are in?  Does it rank close to the top areas you have served in?  IT IS LIKE AT THE TOP I HAVE WANTED TO SERVE HERE SINCE THE BEGINNING
Anything new in your mission?  BERIA WILL HAVE A STAKE THIS MONTH
Have you set any other personal goals for the remainder of your mission? WORK HARD UNTIL THE END
See or do anything cool this week?  SAW A FIGHT ON OUR CHAPPA AND WE HELPED STOP IT!!! IT WAS VERY FUN
How is your branch President? HE IS A BRO!!!!
Have you been a district leader or zone leader or anything? NO AND I LIKE IT LIKE THIS I DON'T WANT TO BE A LEADER IN THE MISSION!!!
love you!!!!


Week 78 I am loving Chimoio

February 23, 2015

Hey family how are you this week? Today it is raining and cool. I still don't know my area really well because I have been here only 1 week but I am loving Chimoio!!! We have been working hard and having lots of success we had 5 families at church and have found really nice families this week!! We found this one family by accident because we got lost and had to ask for directions and we contacted the guy and then he came to church and him and his wife understood everything about the Restoration it was sweet!


So tell us about your new area, it is mountains, desert, hot, cold, poor, more Americanized?  Do you like it?SO MY NEW AREA IS COOLER WITH MOUNTAINS NOT AMERICANIZED AND KINDA POORER
Are there lots of cool African animals there? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY
Did you go out and meet all the branch members?  YES I DID Are they called wards now that they are a stake.NO HERE IT IS STILL A BRANCH BECAUSE WE ARE FAR FROM EVERYWHERE
How is your new apartment or house?IT IS GOOD
Is it just the two of you that live there or do you share it with other Elders?IT IS JUST THE TWO OF US
What is your new Companions name and where is he from?HIS NAME IS BRAIN WOLLEY FROM BOUNTIFUL UTAH
How long has your companion been out? THIS IS HIS 5TH TRANSFER
Has he been serving in Chimoio or was he transferred also?  HE ONLY HAS 5 WEEKS HERE
If you have other Elders that live with you where are they from?
  Did they pull all of the missionaries out of Swaziland?LIKE 90 PERCENT OF THEM ONLY 2 STAYED
 Who was at the organization of the new stake(church leaders)? ELDER ELLIS ONLY
Was there any special things that happened at it?NO
Did the missionaries get to play any role in it at all, like sing or anything?NO WE JUST WATCHED
 Tell me about your mission reunion (stake organization) with all your companions? IT WAS GREAT I GOT TO SEE ELDER PALU AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT I KNEW
Did anything exciting happen on your 20 hour bus ride to Bieria? WE GOT A FLAT TIRE
 Was it crowded and people standing all around or was it more like a greyhound bus. THE MISSION RENTED A BUS FOR ALL THE MISSIONARIES A NICE BUS
How come they didn't fly you over there? SAVE MONEY BUT IT COST US MORE BECAUSE WE HAD TO PAY 800 MET TO GET FROM BERIA TO CHIMOIO
What was the best part of your week? GETTING OFF THE BUS!!  HAHA NO BUT IT WAS YESTERDAY WHEN WE HAD 5 FAMILIES AT CHURCH
What are you doing for P-day?WELL ITS RAINING SO WE ARE JUST GOING TO RELAX
What are some interesting facts about this new area you are in?  I DONT KNOW
How much is gas there? Ours just went up to 2.14 I DON'T KNOW
How is your Portuguese doing? IT WAS A LITTLE RUSTY BUT ITS LIKE ALL BACK NOW
Are you still doing push ups everyday? MOST DAYS
 I LOVE YOU HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND BY THE WAY MY SHOES ARE DYING SO I HAVE TO BUY A NEW PAIR!

The Flat tire we got while on our 20 hour bus ride.



Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Week 77 The First Stake in Mozambique was Created this Week, It was AWESOME!!

Parents of Missionaries,

This Monday, some of our missionaries will be travelling from Maputo to Beira and will not have the opportunity to write home until Tuesday.  Please know that they are safe and well!  This trip is due to a miraculous weekend in which the first Stake in the country of Mozambique was organized!  All of the missionaries in the entire mission came together to witness this miracle.  The mission and the people of Mozambique are being blessed by the efforts of your missionary and your prayers in their behalf!  Feel free to respond to this email with questions or concerns.



Hello family I forgot my journal but I should be able to remember most things!! It sounds like you are all staying very busy, we are as well over here.
So as you all know Mozambique has its first stake!!!  It all started out on wed when we got transfers and so I stayed in my area with Elder Atkinson he was an elder from the other mission that got switched over  because we inherited Swaziland so he is waiting for his visa into Mozambique so we went out and worked that day and the next day we get a call from the assistants they say that they got their visa so we got transfers again and all of Swaziland got moved to Mozambique so I am now in Chimoio an outside area!!!! So we just finished off the week and on Sunday morning woke up at 3am and drove to Mozambique and went to watch the stake be created and that was awesome.  I saw all my old comps and all my recent converts so that was awesome. After we went and proselyted then woke up at 3 am and took a 20 hour bus ride to Beria!!! IT STUNK!!!  We go to Beria at 10:30  and went straight to bed and my comp and I woke up and jumped on another bust for 5 hours to get to Chimoio so we got home at like 4 pm  so that's why we are emailing today! So we went out last night and worked so I could get to know the area! I am excited to be here this letter doesn't have a lot of info because I don't know a lot yet!


Did you get all of our birthday pictures we sent you last week? YES
Did anyone give you any birthday presents?NO
Did you get transferred or have any changes?YES I AM IN CHIMOIO WITH ELDER WOLLEY
What are you doing for p-day? CLEANING THE HOUSE
That’s about all the questions I have for you this week.  I did have a challenge for you though.  Could you be completely obedient for the last 4 months of your mission?   I had this thought because I was reading Tylers blog and he said they tried complete obedience for a week and had many miracles I thought it would be a great way to end your mission though I know that is hard.  Let me know what you think of that idea.  I hope you brought your journal again cause I loved the details in your last letter.  You are awesome and we love you and miss you so much make the last 4 the best 4. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!!  

Monday, February 16, 2015

Week 76 Finally a long letter

Hello family so this week I decided to write in my journal and bring it with me so I could remember the week!!!! So here it goes!!!!
Monday: P-DAY well it was a backwards day we decided to work in the morning because we had a party for the elders that went home yesterday so we went to an all you can eat buffet at a real fancy hotel but before that me and Elder Mason went golfing it was sweet I don't remember sucking that bad but I played terrible!!! Sean we will have to go when I get home so I can get better!!! But while we were golfing it started to pour down on us so we had to play the last 3 holes kinda fast!! Before we went golfing we went to a restaurant called Spur I ordered a burger I ate it but it didn't fill me up so I told everyone that I wished I had gotten another burger and like 3 min later this white south African comes over yelling saying they gave me two burgers I only wanted one!!!! Here you can have it!! So I got a free burger!! It was great!
Tuesday:was a good day we had FHE with the members in our area also had a new first lesson  which was nice and sat with a few of our investigators as well.
Wed:was a rainy slow day there was also  the craziest thunder storm I have seen it was pretty cool we had three lessons and only 5 contacts and we got really wet!!!
Thursday :there was a power outage so that kinda stunk but the day was really good sat with three new families. We also sat with Sizwe a single guy who is investigating the church who finally said the BOM was true so that was nice that he finally got his answer!!!
Friday: We did some interior decorating of our house in the morning we brought in  three more couches from the back room and another fridge!!! So now we have a sweet set up in our main room. the morning was kinda slow we just knocked doors for 4 hours in the sun but we got like 3 contacts so now we just hope to sit with them!!
Saturday:  We woke up to no power so apparently during the night a transformer blew up so just the houses on our property are out of power! we had a great morning Sat. with a new family and got 11 contacts by door knocking!! (I swear we have knocked every door in our area)  and then for lunch we went to Spur again because there was no power to cook anything!!!  District Conference was about how members and missionaries can work together so it was great!! After we had one lesson with a recent convert Victor about prophets.
Sunday: still no energy had the second half of District Conference and the new district theme is putting your house in order. After we said goodbye to Elder Bender and Elder Galland two of my favorite Elders in the mission!! Bender lives in Hendeson Nevada and Galland lives in Provo.
So for lunch I had a peanut butter and cinnamon sugar sandwich and some warm lemon soda! ha it was great and then  sat with a new family that had ZER0 intres tin our message!!  Then we came home to still no power!
We were supposed to have transfers today but they got moved until wed!! So that stinks!!

Questions:
Did you get all the Christmas letters everyone sent you?  YES I DID  THERE WAS ONE LETTER THAT I DIDN'T KNOW WHO IT WAS FROM!
What are some places in Swaziland that you want to see before you leave? YES BUT I CANT LEAVE OUR AREA SO I WONT BE ABLE TO
Can you go to the senior missionaries house to send me some pictures?  That way you shouldn’t get a virus.  Would love me some pictures!! I WOULD LOVE TO BUT THEY DON'T WANT A VIRUS ON THEIR COMPUTER SO THEY DON'T LET ANYBODY USE IT!
What are you doing for P-day today? RELAXING AT THE SENIOR MISSIONARIES HOUSE WITH ALL THE ELDERS IN THE ZONE
How are your families doing that you are teaching? THEY ARE DOING GREAT ONE WENT TO THEIR FAMILIES HOUSE TO GET SOME MARRIAGE DOCUMENTS SO THEY CAN GET BAPTIZED
Did you do your deferment for BYU Idaho?  I THINK I DID BEFORE THE MISSION BUT I HAVE NO CLUE
How is your dog bite?  Was it a big dog or a little tiny puppy? IT WAS A DOG THE SIZE OF BELLA BUT IT DIDN'T PUNCTURE THE SKIN!
Love
Elder Roberts

Questions:
What are the prices of gas these days?
How are the kids doing in school?
Did you buy a new rig? and yes i will work for dad when i get home!!
How many people do you have to hire?
How  is the ward doing?
P.S. IF YOU DONT ANSWER MY QUESTIONS I WONT ANSWER YOU'RES!!!!
LOVE YOU


Week 75 Zebras, Impalas, warthogs and wildabeasts Oh My!!

Hey family!!!!  So we had another normal week!!! I am sorry for my short letters I just don't know what to write!  This week has been good, ok so the division with Pres. Kretly we went and visited a family and he taught the whole lesson.  No I am not keeping a journal. The farm project sounds like a big one!!!  The auction you did reminds me of the show storage wars where they auction off the the storage  rooms  and then they  sell it. I am jealous about the super bowl party I miss bacon!!!! They don't have good bacon here. You said you want to hear personal stories  and that's where I blank I don't know which stories!  Well I got bit by another dog yesterday!!! So that makes 3 times on the mission.
Have you witnessed any miracles? yes
Share an experience where you have seen your prayers answered? Well I know that I have had prayers answered but I cant think of any experiences right now.
What are some kind things that member do for the missionaries? Well they don't do much because they don't have  the financial conditions for it but like once a month we eat dinner with one family.
Do you have any favorite families? Yes it is a member family the Ngubenis  this is the family that feeds us when they can. they are a very fun family
What are you doing for P-day today? going golfing so I will need to use some personal money
See any more giraffes roaming around or other large animals? I saw zebras and impalas and warthogs and wildabeasts
Do we need to pray for any of your investigators and if so what are their names? well yes you can pray for all of them!!!! but especially pray that we can find new prepared families to teach.
the families we are teaching now are Mimsimisi and Fatima, Bafana and Khanayazile, Nhlanhla and Smangele, Ephraim and Noktula.
Have you been pretty healthy? Yes I have been sick like once on the mission
I am sorry for my short letter but that's all I have got for today
I  love you all!


Week 74 Splits with Elder Ellis and President Kretly

So this week was good.  We had a special zone conference with a member of the Seventy,  Elder Ellis!! We talked about how to strengthen the members so we can establish a stake here! The festival is over  so our area is back to normal I think I will stay the rest of my mission here but there is a chance of me going to Mozambique. Well the Mcewens are from Idaho some place near Rupert.  It sounds like dad is staying very busy with the new job so that's good. This week we did a lot of finding and found 2 new good families so that was nice. Oh and yesterday after the conference my comp and I were chosen to do a division with President Kretly and Elder Ellis and bring them to our families. So I went with Pres. Kretly so that was pretty sweet!!! It was kinda funny because he talked the whole time. I am sorry for my very short letters I just don't know what to write!!!!  But I still love you guys!
 

What did you learn at zone Conference?  We learned how to strengthen the branches
Did you do anything for p-day or did you just have zone conference?  Well p-day is today and we are going to hike a mountain!!
Are you buying some neat souvenirs? Yes I am buying them one at a time
What did you buy yourself with Grandma and Grandpas Christmas money? A new hat and went to a few restaurants
Did you send thank you cards to G&G Roberts, Lori and cousin Beth? yes
What did Lori send you?  CHOCOLATE ORANGE candy a little card
Did it look like your package had been opened up? no
So are you still wearing your Christmas tie and socks I got you?  I wore them on Friday Did you share with your companion? yes I did
Did you read all my scriptures I had for your 12 days of Christmas package and guess what was in it or did you just open them because Christmas had already passed. I actually read them and tried to guess what they were
Are you playing with your rubiks cube haha? YES I can solve it now it took a while but I got it  I do it every night when we get home!!
Did anything go bad in your box? no
How is your Portuguese? well its still there but it is slowly going away
Did you see lots of people in traditional clothing for the harvest festival?yes
Did you get lots of pictures of the harvest festival? no we cant walk with our cameras so that's why I don't have a lot of pictures
We would love to see some pictures?  I am to scared to get another virus on my card  Your blog looks kind of boring with no pictures!
Did you see all the kids working in the fields pulling weeds?
No the kings fields are not in our area 

Monday, January 19, 2015

Week 73 "Finally Packages"

Hey Mom just to let you know I got the packages!!! Thank You !!!!!! I loved the Dr Pepper!!! I actually loved everything!!!! Thank you!!! It was a good week this week nothing crazy happened had a lot of lessons worked hard this week ate a lot of candy!!! Everything arrived pretty good except Cousin Beth's package a bottle of apple juice exploded in it so a few things got wet but i could still eat like everything because it was sealed!!! It sounds like you have a boatload to do with this new job!!! Well I have no ideas yet for this new company name but I will think!!  The Costa Rica house looked pretty dang sweet!!!! I am excited to go!!!!
I love you and am praying for you!!!!

Monday, January 12, 2015

Week 72 Transfers means Packages!!

TRANSFERS!!!!  So that means packages on Tuesday!!!!! So I was frustrated because transfers are a big deal! It can change up everything but me and my comp stayed the same but the other companionship changed we lost one elder!  I love my area and my companion so we are good!!! Well so the 13 families how can I say this, we cycle through them very fast and I didn't mean to say 13  we have like 7  but we may sit with 5 new families throughout the week but most of them we drop!! Yes I  bought baby powder but I got this cream stuff that helps a lot!  (chaffing from the super hot weather and sweat) 5 MONTHS!! its crazy, its going soo fast!!!!(that is how long he has left on his mission) June 15 as far as I know(release date)!!!! and 3 days(his friend Josh gets home off his mission) !!! holy crap  That's sweet that we got got the job for the farm and that sounds pretty funny about the hypnotist lady!!! Speaking of subbing for primary I did that yesterday! I have not got the letters but I have a new mailing address that will make things get here a lot faster I will send it next week.
This week was a kind crazy week!!!  So the first half of the week was normal but everything changed on Thursday. So in our area is the kings palace where they have all the cultural events and this week they had an event called Incwala (there is a click where the c is and it means the first fruits it is a Harvest Festival) and so in this festival the king takes a shower on top of a dead cow and all the men from around Swaziland come and bring parts of a tree to make a house for the king and then they go and dance for him. After all that the king won't shower for 2 days and so during these two days there are the kings men who patrol our area making sure no one is using water and men have to wear traditional clothes and so do the women and if you are not doing these things they fine you!!! So during this time people will not answer their door because they think it is the kings men wanting money so no one wanted to answer their doors for us during these days so work was a little slow and we got fined 5 times in two day by the kings men (AKA the water people)  and so we come to find out what they do with the money is they make a huge fire and burn it all!!! All in all we gave them maybe like 50 cents!!! So our week was very interesting I have some pictures  that I will send next week. Also we did sit with two really nice families this week!!! So we are excited about that!!!  What is the name of the town we are going to in Costa Rica?  Yes, I am still working hard we are doing great!
 Love,
 Elder Roberts

Monday, January 5, 2015

Week 71 Still no Transfers which means still No PACKAGES!

Well no packages because they postponed transfers again!!! So today was a very disappointing day!!! No transfers:( ask Sean how not getting transfers are in the mission he might be able to shed some light on this subject! As soon as I get my packages you will know!!!

Teaching in English is going good I can say everything I want without a problem so that's nice! The English here sounds like broken African English but the people here, who are very fluent sound almost like  South Africans. This week we found a total of 13 new investigators and got some to come to church which was nice!! The problem with the marriages here isn't as bad but it still exists but it is way cheaper and easier to get married here than in Mocambique and yes the lobola here is very strong but they can get married without paying all of it so that's nice.  

The weather these days are Hot!!! and yes I am tired of sweating and chaffing!!! No one has an AC but luckily we do.  Most of  the houses here are made of blocks and have tin roofs so inside the house is usually hotter!!I am way jealous that it snowed!!! lucky!!! and it was a preach my gospel survey! Didn't dad just buy a new truck?   Now I am confused, what truck died?

Answers
 
Do the youth have stake dances even though you don’t have a stake yet? they have dances
How was the museum last week? it was good it was kinda dumb but it was worth it
What are you doing for p-day today? well we had nothing planned because we thought transfers were going to happen
Do you ever go to your primary in Mozambique? yes, once  If so is it a lot different? not to much the kids are more rowdy but they sing primary songs and have games and lessons
Are the youth pretty strong their? yes they are very strong!!!


LOVE YOU HAVE A GOOD WEEK