January 15, 2018

From Mom - Opposites:

Dear Elder Smith,

I went for an early morning walk this morning. I wore wool socks, my fleece lined leggings, a long-sleeved shirt layered over with a sweater, a toque, mitts, fur boots and my down filled jacket ... and I was still cold. As I walked quickly up the gravel hill (trying to get the blood circulating), I thought of you in steamy Africa with your short-sleeved shirt and the hot sun beaming down at you. I topped the hill to a beautiful sunrise and considered the sun that was rising here, was about to set where you are. Same sun. It's such a strange thing to think of; when we are waking up, you are ending your day ... our sunrise is your sunset and vice versa. It is cold here and hot there. What other things are you finding that are opposite to Canada?

Here are a list of my questions . . .

*What sorts are precautions are you taking to ensure that you will not contract cholera? We heard of the outbreak through your mission president.
*What are your first impressions of your mission president?
*Tell us a few things about your companion.
*We heard of an American postal service that will make sure any package we send will get to you, but it is minimum $120 for the postage. If we send you a package, it will be through this service but we'll only send things you absolutely need or absolutely want. Peanut butter? :) Just keep an ongoing list and we will accumulate stuff to possibly send you.
*By now, you will have had an opportunity to experience some of the cuisine. Please tell me you will get enough to eat while you are there. What have you eaten? Any foods that are new?
*How are you adjusting so far to the culture? What are some of your first impressions of Zambia and the people?

You are nine hours ahead of us. I actually bought a clock to hang on the wall that will tell us Zambian time. I hung it next to the map (that the Watson's made for you) near the top of the stairs. I find that we are always asking, "What time is it where Sam is?" Everyone I talk to asks how you are doing and I always tell them you are in Zambia safely and that is all I know. I'm looking forward to knowing when your p-days are and hearing everything you have to say about this new world you entered. It's totally okay if you are feeling overwhelmed. Any weird or strange emotion is probably totally normal. Know that we are praying for you everyday ... just like we did for Josh ... except you are in a place which is completely unknown to us so we might be praying in little more earnestly for you.

It is Josh's homecoming talk in church tomorrow. I'm sure you will hear more about this later.

I love you forever, Sam. I'm excited to hear about all the information you have for us. Pretend it's Extreme Writing and type as fast as you can with all the new experiences you've had so far. We can't wait!

Mom

Josh Said to send pictures:

After Sunday dinner ...



Our Zambia wall with Zambia time. At this particular moment it was 4:44 p.m. our time and 1:44 a.m. your time. Hopefully you were fast asleep.



Lots of wind lately sculpting the snow.



The last of the Turtle Cookies. We finally baked the rest of the dough you left. Yes, it was old but totally fine.



From Sam - First week in Zambia:

To answer all Mom's questions:

1. I'm washing my hands everywhere and when i'm not washing my hands i'm putting on Hand Sanitizer. My area is blocked off because of Cholera, so i'm stuck teaching the people in compound area i'm staying in. We can't knock on doors, so we're stuck just street contacting. It's a good thing everyone in my area is very polite and more often then not, we get a return appointment.

2. I love my mission president. When he picked us up from the airport, we jumped into the vehicle and he asked me if I could fix his review mirror. It was completely broken and I sorta fixed it with a key ring and occasionally holding it in place.

3. My companion is from Washington State and was homeschooled most of his life. he loves bee keeping, It's his dream to start bee keeping. Because of that, we always get the best honey. And I'll tell you, It's freaking good honey.

4. The biggest things I want from Canada are Canadian chocolate and some snow. It's so hot here, and i'm not even in the dry season yet. I've never burned so bad in one day than I have in my entire life. Don't worry though, the other elders have lots of Aloe-vera gel.

5. I'm eating lots of eggs and lots of rice. Yesterday we found out that we have a hot chili pepper bush in our back yard. Guess what, I ate one. It was not fun. It was funny...afterwards, and knowing myself, I might do it again. Besides that, I've eaten homemade fries(called chips), Nsheama(Seema) and fish takeout. Nsheama is actually really good. The stuff I had was homemade, but it was good. I'll tell you when I has the real stuff.

6. The people are so nice. Zambia is so hot. And I'm loving all of it.

I'll include for details in my mass email.

Elder Smith

​It's been crazy getting here to Zambia. I had a 15 hour flight from the Atlanta airport to Johannesburg, when we tried to get onto the flight to Lusaka, we were denied access because we didn't have a return flight. That was shocking. So we called the South Africa MTC and they picked us up from the airport. So we got to stay at the SAMTC for one night. That was pretty fun.

The next morning we jumped onto the next available flight which was at 1:20pm and had a nice ride to Lusaka. The mission president picked us up and we got something to eat as we explained why we were denied access from our flight the day before. After we explained everything, he took us to our companions. When I got to my flat(apartment), I unpacked and we made chips(french fries). I don't know much but I do know those were really good. The next morning we had training with the mission president which lasted three hours longer than I expected. The upside of sitting for that long time was the lunch that was provided. Sister Kupu knows how to provide a great lunch. For the rest of the first day, I got situated into the flat, unpacked more and had lots of time to relax and study.

Because of Cholera, my area is shut down. So for now, I'm stuck street contacting in little community I'm staying in. We're not allowed to know on doors, so we can only street contact. It's been fun, but because of the heat, I've drank more water in one day than I have in my entire life. I'm drinking about 8 cups of water before lunch. I'm so happy that the church provides safe and clean water to its missionaries. I'm staying with three other missionaries. My companions name is Elder Blanchard, and the two other missionaries are Elder Hunter and Elder Christanson, Both of them are missionaries from Madagascar. Josh, what was the name of your companion from Madagascar? One thing they do is mix their sentences with Madagasie, the language of Madagascar. It's fun hearing the language. I know while I'm here, I'm going to pick up some Nienja(I don't think I spelled that right), that's the language most commonly spoken in Lusaka.

I've taught a bunch on lessons. Mostly a quick 3 minute lesson while street contacting, but my favorite lessons are the 45 minute lessons. The people in Zambia are very curios about our religion and have lots of questions. One lesson we gave was the Plan of Salvation to a very smart elderly man named Brother Mumba. After we finished the lesson I invited him to be baptized. He thought about it for a little bit and came to the conclusion that if he wants to make it to the Celestial kingdom, live with Heavenly Father again and feel ultimate happiness, he decided that baptism is for him. It's so awesome to see the happiness in their eyes when people find out for themselves that what we teach is true and choose to follow Jesus Christ and live his gospel.

Yesterday, Elder Blanchard found out that we have a hot chili pepper bush growing in our backyard. He picked one and the other elders and myself convinced me to eat one with my lunch. That was an experience that was awesomely terrible that I might do again against my better judgment.

The best thing about Zambia is that there is so much green. It will all turn brown in the dry season, but coming from winter in Canada and Provo. This is amazing. I've found that you read in the scriptures a lot while on your mission. Today, I read 27 pages in the Book of Mormon this morning and I could have easily read more if I didn't have to eat.
The things I miss most from Canada are Snow, the freedom of music, chocolate and stand up showers.

I know that the gospel is true. If you turn to Jesus Christ though prayer and scripture study, not only will your questions be answered, but you will feel happy. Ever since I've been on my mission, both in the MTC and being out in the field, I feel so happy. 

I love you all.

Sincerely, Elder Smith.

I don't know what order the pictures will be in. You'll just have to make the connections.

- The South Africa MTC

- Lunch at the mission home

- New missionary/mission president photo

- Study Desk

- The church building

- How much green there is in Zambia

- My room

- chili peppers

- Me and my companion

- A yummy protein ball recipe

From Paytie:

Glad to hear you made it!

Some of the pictures aren’t loading for me, but you’re very descriptive so it sounds amazing anyways! I can’t believe you already found someone to baptize! That’s awesome! It’s good to hear that you’re getting fed well and that you have clean drinking water. You’re family is so proud of you Elder Smith! You going to have the best two years! Keep on studying the gospel. I wish I had as much time as you to read my scriptures. 

I’ve got a test on the Book of Mormon in seminary this week... I didn’t keep up with reading my scriptures and I’m pretty far behind, but I’m skipping school to go ice fishing so I hope to study out there.

No snow? Man that’s hard to imagine right now, Canada can’t decide if it wants to be warm or cold, the chinooks here are crazy. Anyways, I gotta go get ready for seminary! It’s so great to hear from you and see how well you’re doing! Have another great week in Zambia! (What’s the town called that you’re in?) 

Love, Paytie