06 July 31--Rice

Hello again,

It's nice to hear from all of you! I would love to get Jeff's address. I would also love to get that recipe for Fasanjan, because while I have never eaten more rice in my life, no one here knows what basmati is, BUT you can get it here. And my companion, Elder Kofoed, is THE best cook in the mission, so he would also like a go at the Persian food, as this is our last week together before transfers--time flies.

This week was lovely. Elder Golden, who is the Presiding General Authority over the Southern Africa area, came and spoke to us this week. It was very enlightening. My companion and I were able to have some great teaching and learning experiences this week, because of Elder Golden's counsel.

We have an investigator named Henry, who lives with his family in a small one-room, dirt-floor house with a tin roof and a bed that takes up about a third of it. He works every day of the week, and as a result, cannot come to church on Sunday. This has been a very difficult problem for us to help him with. He is very diligent in reading the scriptures and understands them very well, BUT he cannot progress until he comes to church. He even knows that church is very important, and wants to come. So, we've tried to help him overcome this obstacle for awhile now, but with no success. This last visit was very interesting. I think we were able, through the spirit, to get through to him. We almost had him teach the lesson. I was trying to think of a good example, to convey the importance of faith, and putting God before anything else; without DIRECTLY telling him that he didn't have enough faith to stop working on Sunday, and come to church to SHOW God his faith, because who am I to tell someone who barely makes enough as it is, to stop working on Sunday? That would be impertinent. And then, an example came. I was reminded of the excuse that A LOT of other investigators put forth as to why "they CAN'T come to church." Namely, "I can't come to church on Sunday, because that's the day I wash my clothes,"...pitiful.(Admittedly, washing clothes is a more involved process here, but come on!) So I gave him this example, and then said, "which is more important...washing clothes, or God?" I honestly didn't know if that would help him get it at all, but there it was. But to my (and my companion's) surprise, he took it EXACTLY the right way, and said, "WOW, that's exactly what I'm doing with my work! I don't have enough faith that God will bless and help me if I do his will," and then proceeded to teach the lesson. We felt the spirit very strongly, and after we left, we realized what we were asking him to do, and it was exciting, and scary at the same time. Then we went to our next appointment, to another investigator with the same problem, but with a bigger family to support, and I gave the same example, and the SAME thing happened! We went home that night feeling like, if we expect these people to make a sacrifice this big in their lives, we had better do everything we can as missionaries to obey the spirit and the rules with exactness, and NOT MESS IT UP! It's a little daunting sometimes.

So much is happening that is changing my life for the better. Seour Bertina was baPtized yesterday (thank you dad, it's "atao ny batisa" in Malagasy;) and it was wonderful.

I would love to say more but my time is gone, so Love ya, And I'll write the rest in my journal (if I have time;) VELOMA!

ELDER DRAPER
( I like the way our last name sounds here, people say it like, "Jappear:" emphasis on the "PEAR" and they roll the "R")