Fourth of July Fun and Bingo for Bananas

Dear Family and Friends

Happy Belated Fourth of July! We had a very fun fourth down here in Conway. First we went to a zone meeting and met our new mission president and his family. President Wakolo is from Fuji and he is so cool! His accent is a little thick so you have to really listen when he speaks but he is powerful and has such a love for the missionaries. He is excited to move this mission forward and I think we are going to have a lot of success under his leadership.

 

After our meeting, we visited a few people and then went to a member's house for dinner and fireworks. The people had dinner with, live right in between their brother's house and their sister's house, so we really ate with the whole family which included two sets of grandparents, 9 little girls and one lone boy. All of the kids love the missionaries and we were surrounded all night long. One of the best parts of the night was when Brother Davis pulled out his guitar and played while his nieces sang and all the other kids danced including Sister Mecham and I. So much fun! Fireworks were lots of fun too though as missionaries we aren't allowed to set any fireworks off it was still lots of fun to sit and watch. 

Sister Aase & Sister Mecham - 4th of July

 

The rest of the week was good though it started a little rough. After emailing last week we played games with some other missionaries which was lots of fun. Sister Mecham got beamed in the face by a volley ball by one of the Assistants which resulted in a baby black eye. Then we found out that the car we were suppose to be getting the next day ending bike week was in the shop. Apparently the elders who had it got into a little fender bender. However they also had driven through some flood water and totaled the engine. SO after lots of confusion and complications we had an extra bike day and are now on a new bike/car rotation. And of course after having an accident free bike week, I totally wiped out on our extra bike day. But fortunately all those years of ballet payed off and it was a very graceful bike crash which resulted in only a few bruises and no bike damage. 

After that rough start though we have had a very good week. We are still teaching Tami Scroggins and getting her ready to be baptized later this month. She is so excited and we just adore her! We have also found a few new investigators that we are excited to start teaching. 

Another highlight of the week was bingo. As missionaries we have many opportunities to serve in the community and one of our regular service gigs is calling bingo at an old folks home. The old folks sure love bingo and the prize for winning is candy or bananas. The old folk also really like their bananas :) It is a lot of fun and Sister Mecham and I really enjoy ourselves. Bingo is no joke to these people though and they get very upset if you call too slow or too fast. But they also can't really hear and so we often have to repeat things and they get very upset if someone breaks the rules or takes more candy than is allowed. We have a blast and we are always given a huge bag of goodies to take home. 

I truly love serving down here! I love getting to meet new people and serve them and help them to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. The people we meet have all sorts of challenges and are often in need of hope. The gospel brings that hope into their lives and even though their challenges may not go away they are able to get through them and to have that hope. I love that I get to a part of bringing that hope into their lives. 

Thank you as always for all the love and support. 

Love 

Sister Aase

Sister Mecham & I in our apartment