" I....... pondered the comfort that comes from the plan of salvation. Death isn't the end, it's only a transition; like stepping into another room.  Most people in the world don't know or understand that.  That's why we are here as missionaries, to bring light to those that sit in darkness."

Running into old friends....E. Tyson and E. Cowan!

Dear Family and Friends,

                We had our last Mission Leadership Council with President Shulz this week.  It was pretty good, we had some powerful instruction in the form of an object lesson.  I'll tell you about it later.

                We also had our final interviews with President Shulz on Friday. We had a nice chat together and he gave me a temple recommend interview because mine expires in July.  I so miss the temple... We didn't get to spend a lot of time discussing because time was not on our side; there are 24 missionaries in this zone.

                This morning we had a zone service activity that went very well. We moved a TON of blocks for a member who wants the government to tear down a portion of her unfinished house for a road they want to make.  We moved them so they wouldn't get destroyed.

                Now let me tell you about how Saturday did not go as planned.  We started early in the morning with a service project moving blocks for a member (different member), then went home to actually get ready for the day. We only taught one lesson before we got a call from the sisters, saying they needed support at their baptism.  We went around 4 PM and it turned out they didn't really need us, but we stayed anyways.  Then the rain started in torrents and that delayed us further.  Finally as we left the gate of the chapel, we got another phone call.  Elder Ouma had been admitted to the hospital earlier in the day for mild malaria (go figure haha) and his comp, Elder Hackmeister called us. They were fine, but he said one of our members was just admitted to the hospital, a 14 year old boy. He and his mother had been in an accident where a tall wall collapsed on them due to rain. The mother was killed.

                The boy was brought into the emergency unit and he saw Elder Hack in the next room.  He was in shock, but he recognized them and asked for a priesthood blessing, which was immediately given. After that is when Hack called. We were very close when he did, just at the stake center. We got there in minutes to see the situation; the nurses were working on P., the boy. He wasn't badly injured.  I walked further down the corridor and saw the mother's body lying on a gurney.  Elder Nakedi was sitting with P., he knew him already from serving in Achiase formerly (one of the areas in our zone).  P. asked him, "Do you know where my mom is?" He didn't know that she didn't make it.  My companion said that just crushed his confidence as he tried to comfort him.

                Elder Nakedi  then called President F. and Bishop O.  Both of them were speechless. The woman, Sister V., was President F.'s daughter-in-law, and she lived right next to Bishop. The nurse gave my comp the bill and he later passed it on when the others arrived.

                Just as I picked up the phone to call and cancel our appointments, the Assistants called us with transfer news. I sat down with the phone and took the info in my planner. Elder Nakedi and I are staying together but there are some positive changes in the zone.  I then had the pleasure of calling everyone and hearing the mixed reactions of sheer glee, disappointment, or apathy.  Transfer calls are fun!  Then we were able to leave the hospital and salvage our night.  By the time we did leave, nearly the entire ward was at the hospital.

                We went to Paramu that night and most of the members were in mourning.  Some were literally pacing around weeping and wailing.  It was sad.  But I stood by as a quiet observer and pondered the comfort that comes from the plan of salvation. Death isn't the end, it's only a transition; like stepping into another room.  Most people in the world don't know or understand that.  That's why we are here as missionaries, to bring light to those that sit in darkness.

                Everything that happened on Saturday was by the Lord's hand.  I'm glad Elder Ouma was sick, so they were there to administer to P. in his time of need.  And we happened to be very close by when they called us.  If not for the rain, we would have been back in our area.  My companion was able to comfort the boy and call those who needed to be called promptly.   It went rather smoothly honestly.  A friend recently told me that coincidences take a lot of planning. Oh, how true that is.

Love,

Elder Doggett

This is E. Doggett's answer to his dad, who asked him about literacy rates there......

Luckily, when people can't read, they can usually speak (English). When that
happens, we just teach them the principles that were restored through
the Book of Mormon, reading it to them/with them. It's honestly
incredibly difficult and it IS a huge stumbling block. But the work
still moves on somehow... haha. The literacy in my area is better than
Achiase, like honestly a solid 60%. It's actually pretty good. The
younger generations have infinitely more opportunity when it comes to
education. They show a lot of promise for the future. Most kids do go
to school actually, even when the parents are not educated.

One thing I always ponder is how much the mission and the church has
grown since I've been here. It's insane! It is literally growing like
a weed. I am so anxious to see where it is in 50 years.

E. Nakedi arm wrestling E. Pousini