Things are going Well...

Hello Family,

Well this week has been pretty good and things have been going well and things for us!!!  Although I am pretty sad about this past week because my companion is being transferred and this one was one of the best comps I have had!!!  He has been transferred about another hour away and it is crazy to think he is leaving already!!!  I am not sure what is going on though because I am getting an old companion Elder Mukisa again so we will see what happens!!!  This transfer was just a little one the big one is in two weeks!!!!  Oh and starting tomorrow I am no longer the District Leader I have been released from that calling!!!  So it has been weird and crazy this week!!!  There was also another elder that was transferred again just after 4 weeks so it was weird!!!  

Although the elder that is staying has become a really good friend to me and things so it is really fun to be here and to talk with him!!!  He is from New Mexico and is half Navajo think I already mentioned this before but he is cool!!!  Anyway we will see what the big transfer brings and what types of things president is going down with and what he is thinking!!  He is a very hard man to predict that is for sure hahaha!!!  I also was able to play bball with the guys here again it was way fun and I am enjoying playing with these guys down here haha  they didnt think I could dunk but uh they thought differently after a couple of games hahaha!!!  

There are not many pics this week and the internet is not working too well right now so I will have to send more next week!!!  After I get some more with my comp before he leaves tomorrow!!!  Other than these things there have not been a lot of other things going on!!!   We are doing our best to get a lot of progressing investigators and things so we will see how many of them we can get to baptism!!!  Hopefully all of them!!!  The branch is getting bigger and bigger and new faces coming all the time!!!  It is nice to see all of them coming!!!

That is really funny though Nathan and the man beard hopefully things work out for him and all!!!  haha The shaving thing sound funny and hopefully it is the last time he will have to shave for a while haha!!  I am not sure but I am also wondering if those books that I had asked for are on the way so that I can start them and things that would be awesome!!!  Anyway I hope that all will have a good week and that you all will stay busy!  Good luck with the production and all the ward things going on!!!  Tell Dave congrats and things for me!!!  Love you all!!!

Elder Welling

Everything is Progressing....

Hello Family!!!

Things are going good here and we had a pretty good week here!!!!  First off I had fun because I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with a Zone leader and be in an air conditioned truck so it was pretty awesome!!!  I enjoyed it more than the sun making me drip sweat and things from all over!!!  The shirt stays cleaner too!!!  I also this week was able to go play some basketball on Saturday with some people that we had met during the week!!!  It turns out that they are on the school sports team and enjoy having me come play with them!!!  It was fun because one of the games that we were playing I scored 5 threes in a row and it was pretty awesome!!!!  Also there are many awesome investigators and things that we have been seeing and things so it was pretty nice to be able to see some of them start to accept the Gospel in their lives!!!!  The companion is doing well and is enjoying the missionary work and he really loves the camera, you never see him not playing with it and things like that!!!

I do not have any pics this week, haven’t taken any but hopefully I will be getting pics this next week when we go and do all the fun things we planned for!!!  The District is doing well and things are going well with them!!!  We had a problem this past week with one of them because he didn’t agree with what was going on so we had to take care of that but it is all good now and things are just fine!!!!  I am hoping that we will be able to get this family that we are working on to baptism they are an awesome family and they understand and know that the message is true!!!  The father is a pastor in his church not the main one but one of them and the wife doesn’t work!!!  When we were nearing the end of the first lesson with them the wife turned and asked her husband “when can we have them come back again"  It was pretty awesome to hear that because of the spirit!!!!  

The recent converts that we have baptized are really awesome and they are doing well they want to serve a mission and are making preparations!!!  I am hoping within the next couple of weeks we can get them a priesthood ordination which will help them continue to progress!!!  The branch is continuing to grow and get bigger and the meeting house seems like it is getting smaller and smaller!!!  I am hoping that we will be able to get a bigger meeting arrangement here soon that will be really nice!!!  There are transfers that will be coming up here in the next couple of weeks and we will see what happens with everything it will be interesting!!!!  Anyway it sounds like there is a lot going on there in the land of the US and that is exciting, good luck with all of those things that will be happening this week!!!!  Have a good week to all and I love you all!!!!

Elder Welling

More Baptisms and Pigs Feet....

Hello Family!!

Things are going really well this week and things have been fun I will get some of the pics to you so that they can be put up!!!  This week has been fun and interesting for sure!!!  We have had a lot of interesting things happen!!!  Well first off the baptism was good and we had two confirmations this week I baptized both of them and confirmed one of them it was pretty awesome!!!  The taller one is the one i confirmed!!!  It was a pretty good week and I have enjoyed it!!!!  The companion is doing well and is getting better and will be ready to do things on his own by the end of the training!!!  He was really happy when he was able to get a camera!!!  So it was nice to be able to see that!!  He never sets it down now!!!  Then after that we are getting ready for the baptisms to be upcoming in the coming weeks!!!  

We went and had dinner at the Branch Presidents house this week and it was a really interesting meal for sure!!!  First the branch president turns to me and says "Elder Do you eat pork"?   At first I said of course I do I love meat!!!  Well, what came next was a bit surprising it was not the meat at all, it was the feet of the pigs!!!  Boiled in the soup!!!  It was really weird texture and the inside of the hoof was rubbery but it ran down the throat as if it were slime I about threw up but finished it luckily!!!  I can tell you that I will eat anything you put in front of me but I will say that this meal is the one thing that is going to stop me.  I did not like this one!!!!  hahaha  I hope next time they ask if I like pork that it is the meat part of it and not the hoof!!!!  

The new elders in the flatte are good and are doing well here, I think they are enjoying!!!  They are good missionaries and are getting the work done in the area that they are supposed to!!! The Zone is good as well as the district and things so I am not too worried about anything right now but we will see!!!!  Anyway about the malaria thing, I don’t sleep in a bug net as of now and probably won’t but I have been taking the malaria pills like they are candy!!!  So i am pretty sure that will keep it from getting me on my mission!!!  Plus I put the fan on high position and make it blow on my face all night so the mosquitos can’t fly through it!!!!  Also the net is bothering me because it only fits the bed and I am a little longer than the bed!!!  I think I should be ok though we will see!!!  But no worries on the malaria pill it is being taken religiously all the time!!!!  

It is good now because the cold season is setting in and I am excited for it.  I am tired of the heat and ready for it to be cool all the time here!!!!  People are starting to bring back the heavy coats and things and it is really funny to think how they would feel if they were placed in Evanston for a while!!!  hahaha  Other than this, things are going pretty well here so there is not much more to tell!!!  Have a good week to all though and Love to all!!!!!!

Elder Welling

 Elder Maele

 Elder Welling, Mike Macubelo, Ramone Kasonde, Elder Maele

 Elder Welling, Mike Macubelo, Ramone Kasonde, Elder Maele

 Mike Macubelo and Ramone Kasonde

Two More Baptisms and A Happy Birthday...

Hey Family

This week has been really good and things have been going well!!!  These past four weeks have been fun because people are progressing to baptism and joining the Fold of God!!!  We had the 77 year old man confirmed yesterday and it was cool for it to be on Easter Sunday!!!  Don’t ask me his first name, I can’t pronounce it or spell it haha The man you saw in his photo is the one baptizing him, not the son!!  He is the husband to the women who was baptized a couple of weeks ago!!  We also baptized two more boys yesterday as well which was really awesome and really exciting!!!  They are twenty years old and very awesome they want to serve missions as well which is cool!!  Their names are Mike and Ramon I will get pic but the internet in this ghetto cafe is really bad so I will get them next week!!!  

Special Happy Birthday wish To Grandpa Welling I forgot the email address but it is ok.  Hey Grandpa thanks for all the fun times that we have had together and all the laughs we shared!!  They will be ones that I never forget!!  I hope that you have a great Birthday and a great day tomorrow!!!  You are a great example to me and always have been I wish I could be there to celebrate it with you, but all is well and things will be good!!  Love you Grandpa!!

The two new Elders that have moved into the flatte are awesome one is from New Mexico and the other from Congo they are cool guys!!!  Elder Daniels from the states is half black and half native American from the Navajo tribe, he is cool!!  I am enjoying them and getting along just nicely!!!  The week has been good though Easter Sunday was good didn’t really do much for it but still good!!!  I wish I could have been there for the ribs that dad made but I hope they will be made when I get home!!!  

The District is doing well and it is progressing and getting better!!  I hope though that all of you will have a great week and a great Monday and Especially a great Tuesday for Grandpa Love all of you!!!!!

Elder Welling

This Weeks Baptism...

Hello family

This week has been pretty fun and i have enjoyed it a lot!!  First things first we confirmed the women that we baptized last week and it was awesome she enjoys the church and she will turn out to be a strong member in the long run for sure!!  Second is the Fact that we baptized another this week and it was pretty cool as well the pics are uploading from it!!  The man that we baptized is 77 years old I am pretty sure and he Loves the church and its teachings!!  He got up to bare his testimony shortly after he was baptized and it was cool because he said that he hasn’t been able to get a job for 5 years now and that when he made the decision to join the church that he was offered a job and is doing well now!!  Which is awesome!!  He is funny doesn’t understand much English but knows that this is the Church of Jesus Christ for sure!!  

My companion is doing really well and is enjoying!!  he is a funny person he drives me crazy sometimes but all around funny!!  If you can remember what me and Nathan were like before i came here it is basically the same so patience is coming but an all-around nice kid and very humble!!!  I don’t mean the fighting part either just the annoying bit hahaha!!  He is not like others though i think he grew up not in town he doesn’t know how to use a phone real well and has no clue about computers so he is very interesting to watch hahaha!!  We have two baptisms coming up this week again two 20 year old boys who are ready for the baptism which is awesome i am excited for it to come!!  

The transfers did come but there were not that many changes i am still the DL and i am still Training elder Maele in the same area so it is good!!  I am sure the next transfer will get me though because there are some more people who will be getting ready to go home!!  It is kind of sad to see some friends go though and it is sad that we won’t meet again for a while!!  The ones from the states will be easier than the ones here in Africa!!  I am going to try and keep in contact with all of them but it is harder than i thought to do so, so we will see how it goes in future!!  

Easter Sunday is almost here and it will be a good weekend i am ready for it!!  I hope that you all will be able to enjoy it and have fun doing all the traditional stuff with everyone!!  hahaha this time next year i will be there to celebrate it with you all which will be great!!  I am enjoying the work and i am enjoying being here the time is flying and I am starting to see that I do not have that much time left so it is pretty crazy!!  I hope everyone has a good week and a great Monday Love you all!!

Elder Welling 

 Yes this is dinner

Baptisms and More Baptisms...

Hello Family

Things are doing well and I am doing fine!!!  Well this week has not been to exciting or fun but we have done a lot of work this week!!  We had a baptism though this week and it was awesome she will be a strong member of the church she is about 30 years old and has two children she is doing good and the husband has been a member for quite some time!!  It was awesome to see her get baptized and the cool thing is we have another baptism this coming week which should be awesome!!  We also have two more baptisms scheduled for April 5th that should also be pretty awesome!!  The weeks are going by faster which is weird but things are going well!!  We should be getting close to transfers this week which will be interesting to see what happens there are some missionaries that are getting ready to go home so we will see how things turn out!!

The stake that has been created is awesome and I am glad to have been a part of it and it will continue to grow and get better and more will start appearing as well which will be awesome!!  The church here in Ndola is getting better and bigger and the meeting house seems to be getting smaller and smaller!!!  All is good though the District is doing well and things are coming along!!  I am not sure if there are that many new missionaries coming this week but it has been nice with the new ones that we have!!  The companion is doing well and he is learning a lot he is almost to the point where he can teach the whole lesson with what he has which is nice!!!

Other than that not too many things are really going on here!!  We are continuing to teach and to do the work like we are supposed to!!  A lot of my friends have gone home off of mission so it is difficult to see how many I have left and what they are doing!!  I am keeping in contact with many of my friends, Parker and I have not written in a while but I will see how he is doing down there on the cape!!  I have definitely built a tight relationship with the elders that I am staying with they are really awesome and they are also having a lot of fun here as well!!  There is one, he is preparing to go home soon though so it will be sad but interesting to see what happens!!

Mondays are getting kind of interesting now days there is not much to do anymore all we do is email and then go home to study and talk!!  This isn’t a bad thing but it would be nice to relieve some stress with a little soccer once in a while!!  You know something I did find surprising is there is a golf course here in Africa and never in a million years did I ever think that I would see one in Africa but still pretty cool if I am still here for another six weeks I may go see if we can rent some clubs and try it hahaha!!  Anyway I hope that everyone will be having a good week and that things will be going well for all of you Love you!!!

Elder welling

 Elder Dolonga

 Elder Dolonga

 Elder Welling and Elder Hill

 Elder Welling and Hill eating beef stick

 Elder Maele

 Elder Maele

 Storms moving in

 Elder Dolonga

 Elder Maele Studying

 Gershon in the backpack

Still Going Strong...

Hello Family,

I am doing really well and I am enjoying the place here!!  This last week has been good I have been having fun teaching and getting people ready to be baptized!!  We have two that will be baptized this week and it will be awesome when it happens!!!!  The new companion is doing really good and is getting better at teaching and different things like that!!  He will continue to get better though over the course of the upcoming weeks!!  We are meeting tons of new people and definitely becoming good friends!!  Also this week someone who apparently had a dad die here came from West Jordan Utah so I got to meet him this week and know him!!  He is from West Jordan so it was really weird to see someone who was in Utah here!!  

Anyway All is going well though and I am not sure if you have sent the package with the books or not but the package that I have just gotten this week was awesome especially the huge snickers if they still are making those I would love another one of those and yes by the way it is already gone I ate it all haha it was awesome!!  Anyway thank you for the things that are in there The summer sausage was really good as well have not had one of those in a long time!!  It was good to get that thank you!!  The retainers work well and I am now using them it was tough for the last couple of nights because my teeth were moving back but now it is all in place and doing well!!

There are a lot of things that are happening this side but all is good!!  The missionaries that had typhoid are doing well and are getting better!!  The symptoms are a lot like flu but amplified and it looks like you are going to die when you have it but it is just because the body is weak!!  It is not transmitted through being around the person it is given from someone who prepared food and had poop or pee on their hands it isn’t a pretty picture to have but that is probably how he got it!!  They are better though and doing well!!  It sounds like everyone had a good time at state it is too bad that Alek had to be sick his year at state and that they lost to Gillette I hate that team with a passion as well!!  

It sounds like the dance teams have done pretty well this year as well as cheer that is really good!!  No offense to anyone in those sports but I always thought it was a little long and boring!!  But it is good that they did well!!  I didn’t take too many photos this week so we will see how it goes in the upcoming one!!  I don’t give one word answers to people that email me I give just about as long as the one I received so it is all good!!  I am sorry that I don’t write a lot I just do not like to type and put all the little details of things in it!!  It is a guy thing because all the missionaries here that I am with do the same!!  Anyway have a good week and love you all talk to you next week!!

Elder Welling