Brianna's Betrothed

Ashley's betrothed...six Cokes. What a bargain!!

Mr Clean??

Mushani!!

This week has been one of many experiences. So to start off Ashley and Brianna (my sisters) are now betrothed to Elders Sibanda and Chitenda (in order of who they are going to marry). We started with cows but I think the price now is 6 things of coke. Good deal on my part and the elders don't look half bad.

 So prices here are funny. To buy a loaf of bread is 4,500 Kwacha which is 90 cents American. To get 2L of milk is 12,000 and 1Kg of corn flakes is 30,000. So if anyone reads this please send some Capt Crunch!! We found out it costs about 5 pin (2,500-3,000 Kwacha) to catch a conbe (15 passenger vans that act as busses) They are very crowed and break down often. Glad I have a car.

Driving is very fun but very backwards here. There aren't many painted lanes so you just drive however. Lots of pot holes here and outside of town there are no paved roads- just very uneven footpaths just barely wide enough for a car.

 I've lost weight here. I now am on the third notch on my belt and my suit is looser than normal. (no scales here). Food is good here but I only eat once maybe twice a day. Lunch is a rarity but my companion loves to eat so we try to eat lunch

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In Kiwamwe (just outside Kitwe) I have seen the most powerful saints in the world. Kennedy and Chris are members of 3 weeks and they teach the gospel powerfully in Bemba( a language here) and in English.  We never tract there because they give us 4-9 referrals a week! In Kitwe and richer areas we are having problems. Kitwe branch has no home teaching and is missing many important things.There are many less active members but that just gives us people to teach.  The branch is very kind and very giving. They love the gospel.

 While I was teaching in town I was talking to a conbe driver. He calls me Elder Obama or Elder Mazungu (white man) very funny. Anyway- he's a little drunk (that just tells you how the drivers are here) and starts petting my hair asking how I got it so soft. It was weird but so funny at the same time. 

 There is another person I was teaching (his name is Jorge). We asked him who Jesus was to him. He replied promptly "my Father." We said ok then asked him who God was to him. He thought for a moment and said "our Grandfather." We all just started laughing even his siblings (he's 10).

I find that often I have to break words down to simplify them. The people here speak well but their vocabulary and grammar is a little off.  The hardest thing here to get past is the accent. In fact as I was teaching this man (very, very, very poor. brick house no doors no windows no anything. barely had a bed. even his roof was barely there) but i bore my testimony and taught him about God. It  had to be translated into Bemba. Then elder Chitenda (from Zimbabwe) spoke and no translation given. So depressing.I got to have a milkshake this week. It wasn’t even thick. The "American food" here is not American. But this is Africa and I love it here.