I can speak Amharic!

Hello everyone I won't even lie, this was a basic week.  Lots of finding, teaching and just vibing!  I also want you to know that we do not have access to a computer here. Those may be standard in the USA in households and church buildings.  However, that is not the case here.  I know very few people who have access to computers at home or anywhere for that matter. Only 5% of the population here has access to a computer. For context, wider digital access is also low, with only about 21% of the population using the internet and most of that is on mobile devices. So, my emails are all typed by me on my phone, Hahaha. So, if you wonder why things may be short or not as descriptive, hopefully you might understand how much effort I put into typing with my two fingers a text message that my mom then transcribes onto this BLOG. Thanks for reading and being interested in my time in Ethiopia.   Let’s jump into the week.

May 19th

BALLER (Cool- for you older people) first full day of the transfer. It was really fun.  We had an awesome family home evening, and we put Negersa on date for baptism! I have grown to really love that dude he's chill! I’m excited about this transfer with my new companion.

May 20th

Pretty good day! We had 3 lessons with member participation which makes every lesson better. Promising finds and overall, a good day.

Downtime inside the courtyard of the house we live in.

May 21

Today was a little slower of a day.  One thing I have realized is that we must change some things up.  Elder Lucas and I don’t eat lunch so we can have a lesson during that time, and it will be good! The Elders in the house, me included, have not been doing language study, otherwise known as Amharic, connect.  Which we should be doing.  Learning Amharic has been very important to me, and I have worked hard to learn Amharic and make my language study meaningful.  However, companion language study and working on it in our house with the other Elders has slacked so we are going to work on bringing that back to the top of our “to do” list.  I am going to try and just help Elder Lucas when I can hahaha!  Today was not super productive because people keep canceling but it’s ok, it will work out

May 22nd 

Another day of cancellations. 😞 It is hard for some people to keep appointments. Or commitments for that matter. But on a high note, my Amharic is coming really nicely.  I have come to realize that I can communicate and understand and that has been such a great feeling.  At the end of the night, we played some games with the neighbors and their kids, they are all really nice and we are getting to know them. We may not teach them, but our goal is for them to have a good impression of the missionaries and of our church.  

This is a video of a bunch of us playing in the big "Football" tournament with all of the branches. President Cowley is the one talking in the yellow jersey.

May 23rd 

Super fun day!!!! Most of the mission came to Megenana and we had a big football (US soccer) tournament!  It was four of the branches that got together in a big soccer facility, and we all played with each other.  President Cowley helped organize it with the help of some of the members. It was really fun. When I played with our branch, I got to be the goalie 😎😎 I stopped two goals (Lol I did nothing but stand there hahaha, it was fun though) I was able to see some people from some of my previous areas and a lot of members I haven't seen in a long time. I saw a lot of people from Adama, and it was nice because I never got to say goodbye and I really missed them, so it was really nice to be with them for a second. (Adama was my first area where I was in jail and beat up, so they transferred me immediately and I did not have time to say goodbye) Since the time I left, it went from being a group to a Branch last week.  One woman named Rut was there and was baptized right as I was Emergency transferred. She knew me as the greenie who couldn't speak Amharic at all. So, when she saw me speaking and having normal conversations, she was shocked and it was honestly really funny hahaha. Last Sunday, it was a historical day for that area of Adama and Ethiopia as a new Branch presidency was sustained and there were more than 50 people in attendance. The Branch was created on May 17th, 2026, in the Ethiopia Bishoftu District. Below is a picture of the new Branch Presidency.

1st counselor:- Shukri Awel Hajii

2nd Counselor:- Tadese Abu Gena

Branch clerk:- Gudeta Abdo Bose

Elder Quorum President

Debela Mendera Refisa

The newly formed Branch on this same day.

May 24th

It was a good Sunday! I had to do my Zone leader duties of accounting.  But after this and a good time at church we had some chill time.  We also visited 1 person. Hopefully next week will be better hahahah. Sundays are a little hard here but its ok. 

May 25th  

P-day, today’s lit. I won't lie, I was able to get some sleep, chill, make food and workout! Buryau the area I am in, is pretty nice!

Hurray for Israel! 

This week I have truly noticed I am not worried about my Amharic and if I’m saying things correctly. Instead, I am worrying about what to say to people, how to teach to their specific needs! I realize that I am understanding and communicating.  It’s nice to get to know people and honestly just have fun talking. It’s nice not thinking about every word that is coming out of my mouth and wondering if I am saying it correctly.  So much of my brain power was being used just figuring out how to speak! On Sunday I taught the 2nd hour lesson, and I did it without thinking much about it. I picked what I wanted to talk about and then just started not really any prep except for scriptures it was nice! 

These are my people and this is my language! This is my country and this place has my heart ❤️ forever and always! I love being a missionary i know I will never get this time again with my people once I’m done so I cherish it every second I get! 

That's all for this week, love you all! You guys are amazing, have a wonderful week 🤟