Week 39: Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!!!!!

Well another wonderful week in the life of a couple of missionaries in Mozambique. I can't say that it has been the most productive week, unfortunately, but it was still full of miracles and full of the spirit. We ended up having to stay inside 3 days this week... Elder Perez hasn't been feeling good at all, and had been commanded to be bed ridden for a few days by Sister Koch. So we didn't get out too much. We had to take him to the hospital to get some medication and get him checked out, but everything seems to be clearing up now.

Also, this has been a wet week. It rained and rained and rained and rained, for almost 3 full days. Some missionaries weren't able to get to their areas unless they literally swam there! Luckily for us, while our area was still pretty flooded, we were still able to get to most of the places that we needed to go. But we still don't have boots, so, we wrapped our feet in plastic bags and went to work- wading through mud, ponds, and puddles in order to get where we needed to go. I don't think that helped with Elder Perez's health... My bad... But Elder Perez is amazing! He is always positive about our situations. For example, one day it started POURING rain before we had to go out to work. I had left my umbrella down south, I don't have a rain jacket, and so I just figured I could tough it out. I felt like a bad trainer, dragging Elder Perez through that because he was in the same situation. But, we walked out into the pouring rain with smiles on our faces, joking with everyone that gave us an odd look. People here hate the rain and every time someone saw us, "Are you Crazy?!" they'd say. To which we would reply, "Nope! Just a little wet!" But Elder Perez is always willing to get to work, work hard, and we have reaped the benefits of our labor.

I don't know if I mentioned the family Eduardo and Dusha in my last letter, but they came to church this week!!! And they loved it! During our classes, as we observed our investigators, we could see light bulbs going off in their heads that things started to make much more sense! We fell in love with this family the moment we met them, and we are so happy that they are keeping commitments with the Lord in order to follow Him.

I love this new ward! Not only are the members much more involved in the work, but I have been drafted into so many "unofficial callings" in the ward. I've been recruited to teach piano to some of the youth, to play the piano in sacrament meeting, to teach the Gospel Doctrine class with Elder Perez, to occasionally teach Elder's Quorum, and we are also English Teachers! We have started up an English Class and the whole Ward is on Board. The Bishop is super excited and has completely backed us up. But we will be teaching English Classes every Saturday afternoon for an hour. We hope to have a huge turnout!

Well, I think that is all that I've got for today. I love you all and pray that you have a great week.

Love,

Elder Rash

P.S.

I was in a training this week and one of the zone leaders told us a story that I though was super interesting and made me think a lot about life and the mission in general. I love this example. I figured that you guys would enjoy it.:

There once was a man who loved God very much. He wanted to do everything he could to further the work. One day he stumbled by a very large boulder. God talked to the man and told him of his will.

"My son, I have a work for you to do. I want you to push this boulder. I will help you, and through your faith, all will be accomplished."

Very eager to obey, the man immediately began to push on the boulder. He used all the strength and energy that he could exert to move the boulder. After quite some time, Satan appeared to tempt the man. 

"Why are you pushing this boulder? You will never move it you fool. Stop now while you still have some strength to walk home."

The man resisted the temptations of Satan, and with frustration and tears in his eyes he cried unto God.

"God, why have you forsaken me. You commanded me to move this boulder and with my diligence and with my faith, you said that all would be accomplished."

God spoke to the man in with a still small voice.

"My son, I didn't command you to move the boulder. I commanded you to push on the boulder. Your arms, your back, your shoulders, and your legs. They are stronger from the work that you hath done for me. And now, my son, I will move the boulder for you."

 

In front of their church building which is really a house that the church rents

From left to right: Wilson-19 convert as of 3 weeks ago.  Walks with us to lessons EVERYDAY!  Jeque (pronounced Jake)-20 Ward Mission Leader.  Faustino-21 an investigator.  All are still in High School completing 12th grade!

Happy Birthday Elder Perez!!!!

Elder Nielson
 

 

Week 38: Lots of changes brings wonderful opportunities

*  Elder Rash's dad asked him LOTS of questions, so here are his answers!

1. As far as how big Manga is... I'm not sure... I don't have too much time in the area, but it is much smaller than Matola, I would guess. Everything here is much smaller and more condensed, also a lot poorer. Because Beira is composed of mostly the enemy political party, it doesn't get a whole lot of funding from the main government... So everything is much more run down. As for my area, I am serving in Mascarenha. Mascarenha is a part of the Manga District. We are preparing to have Manga divide into its own stake here soon. But my area was previously being worked in by one pair of missionaries that covered all of Mascarenha. And Mascarenha is MASSIVE. So it has been divided down a main road, and I still don't know exactly how big our side of the area is. I have really only worked in a small little group of our area because most of the members live within what we call our Center of Force. There are 20ish members within a 2 minute walk of each other. So we have been doing a lot of work in that area because the members are a huge help to us. In my area there are a lot of open fields that we haven't quite explored yet, and there are also super jungly areas. The neighborhoods are riddled with tiny little paths that can hardly fit one person. But for the most part, I don't know a whole lot about my area...

2. Elder Perez is from the South side of Chicago. Like, Hood Chicago. He is a super nice guy. From the moment I met him, I knew that we would get along. So he was a visa waiter for a transfer and served in Provo in a Brazilian Ward while he waited. It is a huge blessing to have him because he already speaks Portuguese at the same level or at a higher level than I speak Portuguese. But we get along extremely well. Our teaching methods are very similar and we both love the people that we teach, and we teach and make that love visible. I love the teaching style of Elder Perez. He is fluent in Spanish and so he has a way with the language that is different from any other missionary. He uses words and phrases is ways that other missionaries don't. The people understand the way that he speaks perfectly and he just has a gift with the language. He is full of the Spirit and brings it wherever he goes. He still has a lot to learn, but he is months ahead of other newbie's! I don't have any pictures with him this week, but next week I'll send some more pictures. But Sister Koch sent a picture already.

3. I will probably only see President and Sister Koch every 3 months at Zone Conferences and such. Sorry Mom.

4. There is a senior couple serving here at the moment, but they are going home next week and we are getting a new senior couple, Elder and Sister Wilkins (Americans!). I will get to meet them tomorrow because they are coming to have lunch at our house. I'll give Sister Wilkins your email, Mom so you can check up with her.

5. In the District that I am serving, there are 3 other people, Elder Perez, Elder Hiambili (from Angola), and Elder Roque (pronounced Rock- From Mozambique. His mission call is to Angola, but he is waiting for his visa.) So I am the only white guy in the district, and probably the worst at speaking the language...

6. As far as my first District Meeting, I gave a training on Obedience. That is why President sent a lot of us up here. The Beira and Manga area due to security reasons, all of the Missionaries have been moved to houses that are all in the same building. And with that, A LOT of disobedience has began spreading throughout the missionaries... And President is getting tired of it. So he has sent quite a few of the missionaries from Maputo/Matola who know a bit more discipline to help correct some of the missionaries up here. I hope that doesn't sound conceited, but there is a lot of disobedience up here, even from a lot of the leadership... So I gave my training on Obedience and how every rule/commandment has a blessing attached to it. On the mission, we will probably have the most rules and commandments than in any other phase of our lives, which means that we have the capabilities to receive the most bencaos do que qualquer outra pessoa, e realmente precisamos essa bencaos. Entao, we really need to be obedient in order to receive blessings for ourselves, our investigators, our families, friends, and everyone that we meet. Obedience is not an option. When we accepted our call we agreed to be obedient. We practically gave up our agency. There is not a choice of whether or not I should be obedient. We need to be obedient.

7. So this week has been filled with Miracles! Elder Perez and I didn't get to be in our area until Friday, and he didn't get here until Thursday I believe. But we entered our area with only 1 Investigator Family, and we haven't even had a lesson with them yet. But just in the 3 days that we were in our area, we have 3 families with baptismal dates, have met 3 part member families, have a massive teaching pool of really cool families that we have found, and have seen countless tender mercies. Our family that is the most promising is Eduardo and Dusha. They have 3 sons all under the age of 8, and we had one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission with them. They understood, were attentive the ENTIRE TIME (which is rare), and they made connections and really good questions. They committed to pray as a family and ask God about these things. They have a desire to come to church, and I really like this family.

On our first day in the area together, Elder Perez and I decided to do some exploring. So we went walking and ran into this massive open field. We talked to some kids playing futebol, and then headed out. One of the little boys started following us, and soon explained to us that he is a member! He is 11, his name is Bruno, and he walked around with us for about 2 hours showing us the houses of members, his friends, and helping us know the area. He went back home, and later that night when he contacted the house of Eduardo and Dusha for the first time as we were prompted, we sat down to have a little lesson with them, and Bruno came running from their house!!! Apparently his family is really good friends with Eduardo and Dusha. Bruno sat down in the lesson with us and was actually a key part in teaching about the Restoration! But this week was absolutely full of tender mercies.

8. My biggest fear of my new assignments... FAILURE. I've been entrusted with quite a bit. I spoke to President Koch during my interview with him and he told me that I have his full trust... That is scary. Here is some stupid kid from Arizona, 10,000 miles away from home, teaching people that he doesn't know, in a language that he doesn't know, PLUS he has to teach a new missionary how to be a better missionary, PLUS he has to lead other missionaries and whip them into shape when needed. The thing that worries me the most is that since being out of training, I've been winging it as a missionary. I have yet to have a companion that is older than me on the mission besides my trainer. I feel like I wasn't sufficiently trained, and then was thrust into leadership roles blindfolded. At times I feel overwhelmed because I not only have to worry about myself, my comp, and My investigators, but also two other missionaries and THEIR investigators. So I feel like if my District doesn't improve, then I have failed in my responsibilities.

9. In our apartment, me and my comp, Elder Nielsen and his companion, Elder Nelson (That is funny, right? Elder Nielsen is training a new missionary Elder Nelson from Mozambique.), and we have Elder Rispress and Elder Carvalho, the Zone Leaders of the Beira Zone. Our house is a nice house... ish... As far as houses in Mozambique go... It is a really nice house.

10. Missionaries in Manga- 18

11. So we actually live in Beira and we live in close to the city. So it is a 10 minute walk to get to the main city of Beira. But we take a 30 minute choppa ride to get to our area. Our area includes the Airport here in Beira, so if you get on Google earth and look at the Airport in Beira, you will be looking at my area- Mascarenha.

12. The weather this week has been very rainy. It has rained nonstop for the past 2 days... and it floods really badly here... and guess what, I don't have rain boots, and none of the boots at our house fit our feet, Elder Perez and I have big feet. Our house has flooded a little bit, our area has flooded a lot, and so yesterday we wrapped our feet in plastic bags, put on our shoes, and went to work just trudging through the ponds! But it has been pretty nice with the rain. I will say, it is much better to come home at the end of the day drenched from rain, than from sweat. Also, I don't have a rain jacket and I left my umbrella in the South, so I've just been walking in normal clothes, but I actually like it a lot. It is a warm rain, so it is refreshing.

I hope this answers all of your questions! That took forever, so you can just use this as my weekly email this week. I love you Dad.

Just a funny story.

We were walking down the road in our area, and Elder Perez has been surprised by how relaxed the dogs are here compared to Chicago dogs, so when he saw a dog just laying down in the distance he said, "Yo, that dog is just straight up Chillin'!" As we approached I realized that there was more to it than just that. "That dog has been chilling for too long, Man." I said. We got closer and saw the tongue hanging out, and it was completely still! We both just busted up laughing!

Well, I've got to go. I wish I could write more. But I love you all.

--
Elder Ryland Rash

Saying Goodbye to Elder Ellingson who was going home

Reunited with Elder Brown

Saying Goodbye to this sweet father, Marcos, and his boys....Elder Rash is really sad that he didn't get to witness their baptism (they had asked him to baptize them)

More Goodbyes - Jaime, his wife Kashyta, his sister Yara and baby boy

The morning he left Matola, with Elder Walton

Short companionship....lasting memories (they did a tie exchange...Elder Lorimer took Ryland's favorite tie!)

He loves Elder Silva from Brazil

Flying into Biera to get to his new area in Manga

Back with Elder Nielson for a few days...they are like the Pied Piper...he says the kids just start following them!

His new area in Mascarenha

This rock looks like his thumb!

Group of boys playing futebol which I think is soccer

My crazy boy!

Seeing more green and jungle in his area

 

Elder Rash in his new area with his new companion, Elder Perez

Welcome to Mozambique Elder Perez

These boys are going to do AMAZING things together!

 

Week 37: No e-mail letter, but a quick e-mail with EXCITING news!

Hey Mom...

So I have exciting and sad news...

I have been transfered! I am now in Manga which is pretty much part of Beira. My area is Masscareinha. I am white washing, training, and I am also the District leader... So, I'm very nervous. My companion will be Elder Perez. He is brand new but he is not up here yet. So for now, I'M WALKING WITH ELDER NIELSEN!!! We're back together for a day or two until our comps get here. Elder Nielsen will also be a District Trainer! So it is going to be very interesting! I am in the same house as Elder Nielsen as well!​

Unfortunately I don't have any time for email today. But I'm doing alright. It is super humid here.

But I love you Mom. I'll let you know a lot more next week!​

*  The mission had a visit from Elder Neil L. Anderson.  So glad Sis. Koch posted this picture!  Not sure if Ryland was able to take one or not since he is in this picture!

Visit from Elder Neil L. Anderson

Elder Walton and Elder Rash

Week 36: Happy Valentine's Day!

Feliz Dia Dos Namorados!!!❤

​Happy Valentine's Day! I am currently in a committed relationship with the Lord for two years, and He has been giving me the best Valentine's day gifts EVER!!!

Highlights of the week:

We had a man almost die in our arms (more explanation will follow...)

We went to the Zoo.

More exploration in our area (Which we discovered is massive- we don't know exactly what the borders of our area are... Or if we have them...)

More choir practices.

Valentine's Day!

Ward Conference.

So yesterday on Valentine's Day, we had Ward Conference, and the best part is that we had 14 Investigators show up and 3 FAMILIES!!! I was so excited! We had Vasco and Ana, who will hopefully be married and baptized next month. We had Olimpio and Beatriz who will hopefully be married and baptized next month as well. And we had Mauaie and Eliza (he is the excommunicated member and his wife is not a member)​ So it was so exciting to see all three of them show up and stay for the whole time!

We also had some more choir practices that went pretty smoothly. For only having 2 practices under our belts, we are sounding pretty good! Elder Lorimer is a very good singer, and was actually somewhat successful on Youtube as a singer! So we are blessed to have him with us.

So as for the man almost dying in our arms. After choir practice we went to the church distribution center in the attic of the chapel in which we practice. As we were walking down the stairs afterward, we saw and elderly member of the church walking up the stairs. I actually have a picture of him that I sent home a while ago. he is a white man with long white hair. Probably the only white man that I have sent a picture home of, but he began climbing the stairs. He shook our hands, looked up, his eyes rolled into his head, and he collapsed. Elder Lorimer and I quickly grabbed him and prevented him from falling down the stairs, and in that moment, I seriously thought he was dying on us... But after a while, he was fine. We helped him up, got him water, and after a while he was fine again. But he is 86 years old! Born and raised in Mozambique! He is a living Miracle!

Well, I don't have much time left.

I know that this church is true. I know God lives. I know he loves his children.

 

Big PIG!!!!

A soccer stadium they discovered in their area

"Elder Rash" the piglet is getting so big!

Visited a zoo on his P-Day...  Elder Rash felt right at home!

Fed an alligator at the Zoo a WHOLE chicken!

This is the man who collapsed in front of Elder Rash...glad he's ok

 

Week 35: Why his area is called T-3 and a new companion

So another good week on this side of the world, also a very strange week! So I am now serving with Elder Lorimer from Texas! He is a super good guy and we get along really well! He is in his 2nd Transfer, so technically I'm his trainer! Yay. But I love this guy! He is super fun and we have a great time together.

Also, some more exciting news! So as many of you already know, Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is coming here on the 21st. We will be having a special meeting with him as are all of the missionaries here in Matola and Maputo. The news is that Elder Lorimer and I have been asked to participate in a special choir to sing for him at the Conference! The down side is that we have to go to the city two times a week in order to practice... But "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven," as the hymn goes. So that will take up sometime this week, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice!

Oh, so I've been wondering for a long time now, and I'm sure many of you have been wondering as well, why my area is called T-3... Well, this week I found out! So a long, long time ago, this area was renowned for the beer company called Tom Tom Tom. This company was centered in this area, and over time, it got shortened to TTT, or T-3. So my area is named after a famous beer company that existed years ago. Yay. Exciting.

So our area is MASSIVE and got even bigger when another area in the other zone closed down, and there are large parts of our area that have not been touched by missionaries in the past. But over the past couple of weeks we have been receiving quite a few of references of people who live in Khongolote (The area that no one has entered). So on Saturday, Elder Lorimer and I went there. We had a couple of lessons marked, but for the most part, we were going in blind. We went out there and found that it is a gold mine! So many families! And not just any families; families that are pretty well off! And the best part: They are receptive to our message! We encountered numerous families that let us in, listened to our message and were excited for a second visit. Unfortunately, none of them came to church yesterday, but I have faith that the spirit will work within them and they will make the decision to come to church next week! So we will be making it a priority to work out in that area at least once a week. It is about a 45 minute choppa ride to get out to the border of the area, and from there, it goes on for about another 45 minutes to make it to the next area/city. So there is huge potential. Pray for us (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Yesterday in church I had a very spiritual experience that I wanted to share with you all. So I've been sitting on the stand lately as the Chorister (My Unofficial Ward Calling), and during testimony meeting, I noticed a woman that I had never seen before struggle to stand up from her seat in the back. She slowly started down the long pathway to the pulpit, stopping at each row of chairs to keep her balance and support herself. As she approached, I could see tears welling up in her eyes and the look of despair on her face as she realized that there were steps to get up to the pulpit. I felt prompted and compelled to help her the rest of the way. I braced her arm, as I have braced Nanny's arms in the past, and helped her up the couple of steps that I'm sure felt like a mountain to her. I assisted her to the pulpit and watched her deliver one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard on the power of a priesthood blessing. It turns out that she has been bed ridden for quite some time now due to a house that partially collapsed on top of her, breaking ribs and parts of her spine and that she had been unable to walk for a long time.

*Elder Brown called me on Saturday to tell me that an elderly woman had asked him for a blessing, but that she lived in our ward boundaries. She had been getting permission from the Stake President to attend a different ward. But Elder Brown informed me that he would enter our area very briefly to give this blessing to her because she asked specifically for him.*Elder Brown gave this woman a blessing, and she walked to church the next day. She bore pure testimony that the power of God is on the Earth today and that Worthy Young Men can possess it to help and bless the lives of others. Tears filled my eyes as the spirit testified to everyone in the room of the truthfulness of her experience. After her beautiful testimony, I helped her to her seat, thanked her, and returned to my place on the stand.

I too testify that God is still a God of Miracles. That we have His power on the earth today. I know that God lives. That this is His true church.

In the Sacred Name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.

Faque is on the far left. Ryland taught him, but when area lines changed he didn't get to teach him anymore.  He was baptized 2 weeks ago!

The kids love Elder Rash

This fruit is called Marracuja - Passion Fruit....SO GOOD he says!

Going to war....well kind of

Leo and Little John

On exchanges with Elder Walton

Saying good-bye to Elder Nielsen who left for Beria

African Sunset in Matola

Welcome Elder Lorimer to T-3

P-Day activity Gator Ball - it's a mix of Soccer, Handball, Football, and ultimate frisbee

Week 34: Planting the seed and seeing the fruits of your labors.....

Crazy things happen while you're at church on Sundays! You see miracles, you see families keeping commitments, you take the sacrament, are spiritually edified, and then you come home and realize that your house has been broken into and robbed!!! Haha! Yeah, while we were at church yesterday, someone broke into our house and stole some things from all of the missionaries. I didn't lose a whole lot of stuff (some batteries, a flash drive, and my old camera). We didn't lose a whole lot, but it was more of a blow to our morale. So that was probably the most exciting part of the week.

 On Wednesday I received some of the best news that I've ever received on my mission up to this point! I went on a division with the Zone Leaders in their area. So I stayed the night in the old house that I used to live in. While there, I was speaking with the missionaries that are now working in my old area. We were talking about how the work is going, and I found out that this past week they baptized 3 of the investigators that I was blessed to find in my time there! Investigators that I had come to love so much, and I had no idea what was going on with them, but they were all three baptized and confirmed! It brought so much joy, and made me feel like my time there wasn't wasted. That right there is what makes the mission worth it! Knowing that you are helping others come unto Christ. With one of these investigators, we initially taught his brother and his sister in law- Bento and Edilta. (They are the couple in that picture that mom sent to me) The young man that was baptized was Esdor. Even after we dropped that family, he continued coming to church on his own. He would walk for 30 minutes and carry his nephew to come to church to feel the spirit. He developed such a strong testimony of the Church, and I was so excited to hear that he was baptized!

 This month we will have the privelege to have Elder Andersen come to our Stake Conference and also he will have a special training with the missionaries for a couple of hours! So I am super excited for that. He will be coming here on the 21st of this month.

This month, we should be having 6 baptisms at the end of the month. Marcos and his 4 Sons (Antonio, Sergio, Cezar, and Junior) and the older son of Jose and Felicidade (Juaquim). Juaquim is the son of Jose and Felicidade- I've already told you guys a lot about them. But Juaquim is super smart, and the gospel just makes sense to him. He makes so many connections, reads the scriptures any chance that he gets, and is extremely humble. I believe that I've already explained about Marcos and his 4 sons, but they are that miracle family that sought us out while we were in a meeting. This family loves the gospel and things spiritual. Their testimonies are developing and are progressing very well in their conversion.

I believe that is all I've got for now.

I love you guys!

Tchau,

Elder Rash

 

P.S.  I forgot my camera at our house, so I can't send any pictures today... Sorry. As for the surprise, you'll know within this next week I hope!

 

 

Week 33: No letter, just a quick note.....

Mom:  Hi sweetie!! OK....what is going on in Maputo?!?!?!  I just got a message from a mom that says someone was shot and killed on January 20th?  Some political leader/representative?

 Elder Rash:  I don't know. It happens more often than you think! Political parties have announced that they plan to assassinate the leader of another. In fact, the Renamo leader went into hiding up in Beira a few months ago.

Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen anytime soon. Mozambique has been on the edge of war for the past 40 years. It isn't going to break out in the next two. I had a long email typed and ready to send, but the internet cut out and I lost it. I'll reveal the surprise here in 2 weeks, I've got to go. I love you. I read your email and I'll work on everything you asked me to. I love you Mom!

*No pictures from Elder Rash either, but these are the pictures that Sis. Koch sent us this week from the Missionary World Wide Training.

I love seeing his smiling face!

Every missionary got their OWN pizza!