Letter from Josh 31 August 2009

Whats up everybody?

so this week was a bit crazy. between going to Nairobi and then running around here trying to catch up it was nuts. and i get to do it all again this week cause we have to go to chyulu to do exchanges. i leave for chyulu as soon as i finish writing you and we don't get back till Wednesday night. so it will be another half week in the area.
Elder Holland was really cool though. He was accompanied y Elder Khoeleker (not sure that is spelt right) of the seventy. they are doing a big tour of Africa and dedicating some new countrys to be opened for missionary work and some stuff like that. they actually weren't even scheduled to visit us. they had a six hour layover in nairobi on their way to uganda, and somehow Pres Taylor found that out and then sweet talked him in to visiting us during the layover. so the meeting was held at a hotel just by the airport. both elder Khoeleker and Elder Holland spoke to us for about a half hour each. Elder Khoeleker spoke about building strong foundations. in our own life and for the branches we are serving in. it was good, but he kept looking at Elder Holland to make sure he wasn't saying anything wrong, which was really funny. Then Elder Holland spoke to us about a few different things. He really just stood up and started talking about whatever came to his head. but that didn't make it any less cool. infact it was probably a lot more powerful that way, totally and completely led by the spirit, and you could feel it.
He started out speaking about Joseph Smith. about how only Christ has done more for this world than he has. i have always excepted this, but hadn't really thought about it much. He spoke about how moses and jeremiah and etc. we so restricted to just one place, one nation, but because of Joseph Smith the gospel is across the world. He talked about how even back in the times of those prophets there was only one temple for the whole world. and while ordinances for the living could be done, ordinances for the dead were not yet possible, because Christ had not yet "rent the vail," which happened as he ascended to heaven and taught in the spirit world. His closing remarks on that topics were "We have the audacity to base our whole church on a fourteen year old boy, that said a prayer, and then took on himself the responsibility of saving every living and dead soul. and beyond that, we have the audacity to send out 19 year old boys to spread that message. The Lord wants you young. he wanted Joseph young, and he wants you young."
The rest of the time he spoke about how preach my gospel was made to save the souls of the missionary. He said that there wasn't really a problem with the memorized discussions from the side of the investigators. the problem was that missionary's could have it all memorized and tell Mr. Brown all about the gospel, without feeling or truly knowing a thing themselves. He then said that anytime he meets a returned missionary that has gone inactive he either wants to punch them in the face, or jump of a bridge himself, and sometimes both. "It has to mean more than that" became his them for the rest of what he spoke about. and here he ended with "Be the kind of missionary your mother thinks you are." And all throughout his speaking he would tell us that he loved us and that he has been sent by the rest of the Apostles and the first prsidency to send their love for us as well. It was a very powerful talk. i wish i could just sit and listen to him speak all day. He was powerful, and pretty funny too, which i wasn't expecting from him.
xxxxH
x H
x x
x x
that was that shape of the seating arrangement. so he was at the head on the far right and i was the first chair right at the front of the column on the right (the H's, for Harris and Holland). but the tables weren't big enough to hold us all so i was only like two inches from him the whole time, and then like two feet away when he was talking to us. He didn't say anything to me personally, and there wasn't any time for questions since he was rushing in between flights and stuff to see us. it was a great night though.
Not so excited for the bus trip to chyulu. but mom i am going to have to ask that you reverse your prayers and ask that i do run into some of the wild animals. cause chyulu is the only true bush area in the mission. and i would love some sweet pictures and cool stories. i promise i wont try to do anything stupid if i do see them, unless i see an angel that tells me it is ok.
anyways, have a great week. i will talk to you next Monday. I love you guys!

Love,
Josh