Attendance Boosts and Mud Bricks

This week was an awesome week! We did a lot of great work helping the area progress. The Branch is new and there is a lot of teaching to do,  but that's what we get for being in a place where the church has only been for a couple of years! When Elder Bednar came in January he told everyone that we are the pioneers for the church in Africa. I have seen that firsthand here in Gulu. It makes me realize some of the things the pioneers in the early days of the church went through. 

Anyways, throughout the week we met a lot of people. Most of the time we spent just getting to know everyone and building relationships of trust. We have about 6 progressing investigators and 4 potential/planned baptisms for the 23rd of March. At church on Sunday we managed to boost the  attendance by 20 from the previous week. It was cool to see something good so soon come from our work.

I also played the keyboard in Sacrament Meeting. I will probably be playing every week while I am here because the members don't really know the hymns very well. I was playing from the hymns made easy book because I can play those with two hands now!! It was an interesting experience. Our closing hymn was a disaster. The congregation went off so I had try and adjust to them, then it messed me up which made it all worse, and it just went downhill. We barely made it through the hymn. Haha me and Elder Phiri were just laughing all day about it. Good times. 

Gulu is sooooooo HOT! My comp Elder Phiri has a clock with a thermometer on it. Since last Wednesday the temps are ridiculous. During the day and night inside the house the temp is between 85 and 90 degrees even with the fans constantly on. I sleep completely uncovered on my bed with a fan blowing on me and its still hot. Then outside during the day it is between 100 and 115 degrees. Yea I am sweating a lot!!! Hopefully before next year I will be somewhat used to the heat. My Alaskan blood is gone :(

Monday we spent the whole morning doing service as a zone. There was someone in my area that was making bricks. After making the bricks they stack them in a giant oven thingy and burn the bricks to make them hard. Before burning they have to cover the entire outside with mud. So all of us spent about 3 hours making mud and throwing it onto the pile of bricks. It was tons of fun and I got super duper muddy everywhere! I love playing in mud. 

That so awesome that you know the Hoffheins from Provo!!!!!!! Elder Hoffheins is an awesome guy and we have a ton of things in common with sports and life and such. He said he knows the Logans very well. Its a bummer that he is finishing at the end of this month. 

Good luck dad with the surgery.

Congrats Joey for being accepted to the Lord's University!!!!! Haha :)

I cant imagine Jacob driving the by-side-by-side by himself. Scary thought! 

Thanks for everything!

Love ME