lettersfromelders-blog
Letters from Elders
Fancy a letter from an elder from The Book of Mormon? Ask and one will be assigned to you who will write from their mission. Check the 'Who's who?' page for details on who's free. Check the Faq page for details on how this all works. To browse all the letters so far by elder, visit the browse page.
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Well howto-developexecutive-style as a matter of fact I have had the hell dream. I don't really like talking about it because it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life but, I'll let you in on the secret.
This one morning I couldn't find my Harry Potter lunchbox anywhere. The film had just come out and I loved it so much so I got one of the lunchboxes. But my mom said that Harry Potter was聽a satanic cult and took it away. I had to take my lunch to school in a brown paper bag and I felt so stupid.
At school there was this boy who I sat next to at lunch called Neil and he had a Harry Potter lunchbox. It was a bit different to mine but I didn't care so when lunch was finished I told him I'd take it back to the classroom. I actually slipped it in my bag and took it home.
That night I had the hell dream and I won't go into details but I felt so guilty about stealing it. So I hid it under my bed so my mom wouldn't find it but I kept having the dream. So when day I took it back into school and apologised to Neil and I stopped having the dream.
That's the story, I dread to think what my mom would have said if she'd found out. I never did get another Harry Potter lunchbox, I didn't really want one after that
Best Wishes
Elder Grant
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Hello Laina!
A friend of yours says you are an unfrugal photographer, well me too! Even though the mission president says I can only take pictures of what is necessary to the mission I kind of take that to mean that's only what I can use mission film for. I think if I buy the film myself it's ok, right? So far I've shown you what my journey here was like and some of the animals I came across but now I'm all settled in I can show you my space. Well this is me:
And now we can get started. The first place you come to when you come into the mission centre is the kitchen.
You can usually find Elder McKinley here in the mornings with his feet dangling in the sink. This is what the kitchen looked like when we got here, pretty neat huh? It's pretty hard to wash dishes in those sinks though. The drainage is not so good so they installed a utility area round the back. Guess whose turn it was to wash dishes today:
Arnold thinks that if he leaves it long enough, someone will come along and do it for him. Which I guess is kinda true seeing as how Elder McKinley hates for anything to be out of place. Still he always finds time to wash up his star wars mug. Elder Schrader got annoyed so he turned them into plant pots and is hoping Arnold won't notice:
We all know it's just because he's a trekkie though. You do not want to be in the middle of that fight when it breaks out! Elder Schrader's not much better, I mean look at all these action figures he brought with him:
What do you like to take pictures of? I just like to take pictures of anything and everything. What else would you like to see of Uganda? Write back soon!
Elder Davis
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Hiya einhornmatter!
So you want to see more of the crazy聽animals I've come across in Uganda huh? I've taken a lot of pictures and am nearly running out of film. I'll have to take a trip to the market soon. Well here are some of my favourite things I've seen so far:
One night it was impossible to sleep because of these terrifying noises coming from the village. We all gathered in the living room and made a fort to tell stories in to cheer us up because we had been warned about all the dangerous things outside at night. In the morning we went to investigate and this is what we found:
As you can imagine we all felt a bit stupid. You can understand why we might be scared though. There are a lot of dangerous animals out there. Before we put our shoes on we have to check inside to make sure there are no poisonous snakes inside! This is one that Elder Zelder almost trod on:
It's a Herald snake and it聽looks small but it packs a painful bite! Nothing we can't handle with a medi kit but still I wouldn't want this in my shoe!
Not all the animals are out there to hurt you though. This is an African Grey Crowned Crane:
They wander the village and are very friendly. We sometimes feed them if they come close while we're proselytizing. It's sometimes nice to have a non threatening animal close.
If there's anything else you want to see on my mission write to me and when I stock up on film I'll send you the photos!
Elder Davis
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Well hi there smile--and--laughrica!
Why am I so sassy? I'm so glad you asked! I suppose it's kinda a stupid story but when I was a kid at school, only about 4 or 5, my best friend Daniel always played on the blue swing because it was his favourite color.
There was this mean kid at my school called Steve and he came over one day and took Daniel's swing. So I pushed him off. The teacher told me to apologise so I did but later at lunch I saw him shove this kid called Jimmy so I threw my milk cartoon at him. My parents got called and I gave everybody who would listen some lip but it was worth it. I moved schools soon after and I don't even remember what Daniel or Steve or Jimmy even looked like!
Elder McKinley has no idea how to deal with my sass and I will never let him! Most of the other elders are pretty cool with it and the Ugandans think it's funny. It's my secret weapon when I try to convert them.
I'm happy that there's someone else out there who appreciates my sass! And you even got me to write you a letter all about it, it could almost be my favourite topic!
Elder Davis
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Hey Stephen!
Thanks for writing, I love meeting new people and the fact that someone wants to know more about me makes me feel so happy. You better be careful though, once I'm off it's hard to get me to stop talking.
I'm from Cheyenne, Wyoming, the same as my mission companion Elder Michaels. We've been friends for as long as I can remember so when we were paired together I was so excited. Spreading the word of God is great but doing it with your friends is even better.
I found mission training hard but he helped me a lot. I find it hard to pick up languages, Spanish was my worst subject at school, so that was probably the most difficult part of training.
I come from a huge family. I'm one of eight siblings but the first to go on a mission. I'm the only boy so I have seven sisters. I used to hate it when I was younger, they used to tease me a lot.
My dad runs a camping store and my mom stays at home. I spent nearly every summer holiday in the mountains.
I want to be an architect so when I get back from my mission I'm going to college. My parents are planning on moving to Utah to be closer to a bigger Mormon community so maybe I'll go to BYU.
I'm also a bit of an artist so the one thing I miss most from home is my sketchbook. I might get my mom to send it over. Whenever Elder McKinley repaints a wall I make sure I help.
I guess that's the basics of what makes me me. That and my favourite color is purple.
Have a nice day!
Elder Zelder聽
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Hiya everylittlestepshetakes!
I love Uganda! It's become my second favourite place in the world. The first? Well there's this milkshake place near where I live back home and they do strawberry poptarts flavour! I promised Elder Church I'd take him as soon as we get back. They do it with little pieces on top and it tastes so good. I have to ration my poptarts or they run out before I have time to buy a fresh supply and it's so hard. I have hardly any self control when it comes to poptarts.
Does Elder Cunningham make a good mormon? Well in answer to that I'd say he is the best missionary here. He was the first one of us to get any baptisms and now nearly all the villagers are interested and even some from the next villages over. He's a bit unorthodox when it comes to teaching but so what? He's brought hope to everyone here including the elders.
Plus he's the nicest guy and a ton of fun to be around. He's so enthusiastic about star wars it can get scary at times but I think, and don't tell Elder Schrader this, that I might just watch the movies when I get home. He's that inspiring!
Love Elder Poptarts xxx
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Hola thatonespazgirl!
Or Hello as you would say! I lived in New Mexico before my mission so I already knew a bit of Spanish before I came. It was fairly easy to pick up and now I鈥檓 pretty much fluent. When I learned where I was going on my mission I was a bit disappointed to not be going further afield, I could probably walk to my parents house from here! But now I鈥檓 so glad I came.
Elder Brown and I arrived in April so imagine the welcome we got from the cinqo de mayo celebrations! I was surprised at how much we were welcomed into the area. The district that we moved into had just lost two pairs of missionaries after their two years were up. They only had four people living there and now there鈥檚 six. Apparantly they set up very good relationships with the locals so we鈥檙e all trusted more than I expected.
As we learned in mission training centre, most people will be receptive to the book and will listen but probably won鈥檛 take one or be that interested in changing religion. Still I have two years to get baptisms and hopefully I鈥檒l get at least one before my time is through.
Much love,
Elder Harris
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Hello everyone,
All the current letters have been queued and are ready to send off. This means that if you haven't received your letter it's on its way so please don't send repeats of your question. How long do you think it takes for a letter to arrive from Uganda? The response has been amazing and you're all wonderful!
Thank you so much and keep being fabulous!
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Dear roseerossi824,
I miss my mom a lot and I can't wait for her letters because then I know she's doing well. I miss my dad as well, I mean who wouldn't, he is my dad. I guess it's a lot more peaceful here without him.
I worry about mom but I keep track of how the Utah Jazz are doing. They're not the best team in the world but they seem to be doing ok at the moment. They've only lost a few games this season so far. All the elders are really supportive. They've helped me stop turning my feelings off about it and really start thinking about solutions.
Prayer is always helpful and I turn there first if I hear any bad news. I've also asked my mom to open up to some people she trusts and they're helping my dad get involved with anger management and get back on track.
It's not the perfect solution but it will do for now, I know that things will get better and I couldn't have a more supportive group of friends to help me through.
At the end of my two years I'm hoping to go back to a different home to the one I left.聽
Elder Church
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Greetings alex-munoz!
Uganda weather borders on the 'just right' temperature and the 'oh my gosh I'm burning alive' temperature. It can change so quickly but one thing you can be certain of is that it's always hot. Elder McKinley's been here longer than me and he says he remembers some rain at one point. He does admit he might have been hallucinating though.
I do get on with Elder Cunningham. Once we've found the right topic we can talk for hours. We're planning on buying some materials from the market and making our own Dungeons and Dragons set. You need four people though and none of the others have expressed a wish to learn. Oh well we'll just force them! Maybe some of the villagers would play.
One day when we were out proselytizing Kalimba overheard us talking about whether elves are a better race than humans. She asked some questions and I think we successfully found a new kind of convert. So maybe she'll join in our nerd culture discussions.聽
One of the weirdest things I've discovered about Elder Cunningham is that we both have a replica Lord of the Rings ring. We wear them all the time so I can't believe I didn't notice for ages.聽
His mom did send over all his Star Wars posters and he's stuck them up around the mission centre which is so annoying. Elder McKinley says I can't take them down because it's mean. So now Jabba the Hut watches me shower.
Why can't he understand that Star Trek is the better franchise?聽
Live long and prosper!
Elder Schrader
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Hi Raven!
I couldn't be more pleased at how my mission's going. I was so excited to go to France, I've wanted to go for a very long time and now I finally get the chance and also spread the word of God. We've done a lot of door to door work and not so many people are interested in the book. The other elders in the district say that I'm so lucky to get a placement so early on in my mission.
I think I might've mentioned her. I talk to Lily about Momonism after she's closed up the cafe for the day. The three of us sit in there and eat the leftover pan au chocolats from the day as they're made fresh every morning, while we discuss scripture.
My French isn't so good and neither is her English so we work quite slowly with Elder Smith working as an interpretator most of the time. She always seems to be smiling though, even after an hour long session.
We've done a bit of community service and we spoke in the church nearby. At the end I was given a clipboard with writing all in French and a pen. Elder Church was talking to some other people and I didn't realise what it was so I signed it. It turns out I'm going to be doing the church fun run this Sunday. Fun run is an oxymoron no one should have to suffer through.
I'll write to you soon!
Elder White
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Howdy Lisa!
Oh my you should see the nerd fights I get into with Elder Cunningham! At first I was excited that someone here shared my love of nerd culture, but then I found out he was a Star Wars guy. Um excuse me but I think you'll find Star Trek is way better!
Don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but there's not much to go on. Three movies, well three movies worth seeing, and that's about it. Star Trek has movies and TV seasons plus whole conventions devoted to it. My favourite is Next Generation.
I'm missing Comic Con for two years in a row while I'm on my mission and I won't even know what guests I'm missing! The first thing I do when I get back will probably be watch The Avengers. I've been reading the comics since I was six, Captain America was always my favourite. Again I disagree with Elder Cunningham, he's more a DC kinda guy. He does stop arguing with me when I point out DC created Aquaman though.
We're both Whovians, and sometimes we call each other that in front of the other elders and they get so confused! My favourite doctor is Tom Baker and his is...wait for it...Sylvestor Mccoy! Sylvestor Mccoy? Seriously? Granted he did have Ace as a companion and she was pretty cool plus the snazzy umbrella but honestly, even the 8th was better than Sylvestor Mccoy.
We do both agree that Samwise was the real hero of Lord of the Rings though. How could you not? He did all the work but everyone got distracted by Frodo's eyes.
Live long and prosper!
Elder Schrader
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Hi again Shannon!
I'm a massive softball fan as you've rightly guessed! It's hard to keep track of teams here but I always make sure to find out how Murray City is doing. I played with them back in Utah. I never played in any real big games but I got a lot of practise which is coming in handy here.
I taught the villagers softball and some of them love it and others really don't. Ghali and Kalimba are always ready for a game. Middala is less keen to play but he does like to ref. Nabulungi tries so hard and isn't much good but if Arnold is playing, you can bet her team will win. We like to play mixed teams not just elders vs Ugandans and trust me this is a good thing otherwise the elders would always lose. Despite never playing before the Ugandans can beat us easily.
You're right Elder Price stays pretty far from our games. It's a shame because he has such a good throw but if anything threatens his hair then he won't do it. We did once try to get a helmet on him but it didn't end very well. You'd think after sweating constantly in this heat he wouldn't mind so much about his hair but no, it must always be perfect.
I'm off to organise a softball game right now actually. Maybe I'll put his name on a list just to annoy him. Elder Davis says hi by the way.
Love Elder Church
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Dear anglefishofmusic,
I'm Elder Michaels and I'm going to tell you all the ways in which Uganda is not like The Lion King.聽Just as I was ending my training back at the mission training centre I crossed paths with Elder Cunningham who was just beginning his. He was excited that I was going to Africa because he told me it would be like The Lion King.
I'm so glad I got to see Elder Cunningham again so I could tell him face to face all the ways he was wrong.
Firstly, do you remember the spiders in The Lion King? I sure don't. I don't remember any spiders but I see about ten a day here. They're everywhere! I swear they must have their own little meeting place in the shower. They spring up on you and they are literally as big as your face. I don't mind them from a distance but this one time Elder Schrader thought it would be hilarious to put one on my pillow. I think my screams were everyones alarm clock that morning.
I also don't remember cold showers in The Lion King. Ok maybe I am stretching things a bit, but there's one thing to have a nice cooling shower after a days work in the hot sun and then there's having to dunk yourself in a bucket of freezing water. There's usually icebergs floating on top.
I'm quite a worrier. You can say Hakunna Matata all you want but I'm still not pouring out cereal before checking for snakes inside. They hide out in the boxes because they're dry. Elder McKinley says they're not poisonous but I don't trust them one bit. Did you see any snakes in The Lion King? I didn't think so.
Am I pleased I got sent to Uganda though? Of course yes. I'd do this over and over again. I love it all really. Yes even the spiders, Poptarts likes to prove that he's manly by volunteering to remove them and trust me it's a funny show to watch.
Stay in touch!
Elder Michaels
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Hello hillbythetree!
I'd love to share some of my Uganda experience with you! My parents gave me a camera as a parting gift and the mission president said I could use it if I only took pictures related to the mission. I guess that's what I've done, mostly.
This is the bus we took. It's a Uganda post bus which is how a lot of the locals ride around. We were crammed in with mail, other passengers and a goat! Elder Church didn't enjoy it too much, I think he might be allergic to goats. When we first arrived I thought our work would turn out to be not so difficult judging from the message on this聽particular bus!
This is the mission hut. Yes I know it looks tiny from聽 this angle but it extends a bit further out the back. Elder McKinley is planning on making it look more inviting so the villagers are more likely to come and talk to us. His plans so far involve sticking a picture of Jesus above the door. You never know, it might work.
Here's a picture of some of my new friends in the mission centre. That one second from the right is my companion Elder Church, the short one. He's the shortest聽elder here but he doesn't like anyone mentioning it. He won't be too happy I told you!
Well it's time for scripture study, I'll keep you posted!
Elder Davis
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Hi pianolovegirl!
You'd love France, I knew as soon as I stepped off the plane I'd like it. The pastries are the best thing about France. That and hot chocolate.
You can get the thickest hot chocolate here, it tastes just like melted chocolate and it's so rich. Everyone drinks it for breakfast so I like to get a croissant and dunk it.
The other elders in the district are lovely. They haven't had much luck with baptisms but we usually get invited places for dinner. Even if they don't want to talk about the book it's fun to get to know the locals.
The streets are really narrow here so I ride a bike everywhere. Elder White likes to race me downhill and I usually let him win. Just so he doesn't feel bad. I'm actually an amazing cyclist I just don't want to show him up. I wish we could walk more often though.
It was great to hear from you!
Elder Smith
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Hi Leon!
It's good to hear from you. I never get lonely or anything but to hear from the outside world is a blessing!
We proselytized all morning. Everyone in the village is a placement and they all want follow up sessions so I'm really busy. People are coming from the next village over to listen to us before we even have a chance to go knocking on their doors.
We also do a lot of community service which is surprisingly fun. I love to play softball and Ghali, one of the villagers, is a natural. Together we set up a team for the children to play. Sometimes the other elders join in and it becomes really competitive between us and the Ugandans.
You should see Poptarts play. The bat is about twice his size but he can hit hard! And Kalimba is one of the best pitchers I've ever seen!聽
Write back soon!
Elder Church
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