Never a Dull Moment

Interesting things are happening here as we prepare to leave in a blaze of something. Our house was broken into and our laptop stolen last Monday morning, the second time since we have been here. I'm fairly sure the thief lives across the road from me but I can't prove it. I saw him in town today and he looked away from me. When I told him my house had been broken into again and another laptop stolen he had nothing to say and wouldn't look me in the eye.

Apostle Holland and Elder Snow (one of the seven presidents of the first quorum of Seventy) were here a week ago and spoke to our missionaries for nearly two hours. Both were very good but Elder Holland was fabulous. He is down to earth, humorous, but also a no nonsense kind of guy. He told the missionaries that if any of them disagreed with anything he had said that he would be happy to take them down to the floor to discuss it, that he was a Utah boy and was accustomed to wrestling steers. He warned them that our mission may be too easy and consequently lead them to be lax in their work ethic. I think I may have mentioned before that only a relatively small amount of proselyting takes place here. People walk up to us and ask for Book of Mormons and tell us they want to go to our church. During discussions neighbors will listen in and ask questions.

Two nights ago we had dinner with President and Sister Sabey(our mission president) and Elder Marvin Jensen, Seventy and in charge of the Church History department. His assistant, a Brother Turley, was there along with a young and wealthy entrepreneur and his wife who are looking into putting money into a religious freedom organization which provides counsel to emerging governments. Brother Turley is a former attorney who has written a number of books, including a best seller with Oxford Press on the Hawns Mill Massacre (50,000 in print so far). Also there was Sister Jill Johnson, an amazing woman who has written the new Gospel Literacy course for people who speak little English, a new Primary instruction book for African teachers, and is here and in Nigeria interviewing African pioneers of the Church for an internet video she is compiling for the Church. She has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice and climbed to the final base camp for Mount Everest. We ate outside on the beach at the Coconut Grove resort. Quite a delightful evening.

Last night we had dinner at the same location with Elder Dickson, a Seventy and 2nd Counselor in the Africa West Area presidency. He spoke to our missionaries today. He was very good, not as dynamic as Elder Holland but still wonderful. He has one arm, having lost the other when nineteen from bone cancer just before going on a mission. He said the doctors at the time were not sure he would survive, but his father gave him a blessing of healing and told him he would serve the Church for many years. He has been a mission president three times I think, starting in Mexico when he was just barely 30 and had six children. He and his wife had two more children while in Mexico. He is 67 now.

As you can see, it has been an interesting and rewarding (for the most part) last few days. This truly is an amazing place. Nearly everyone believes in God and many are willing to listen to us talk about the gospel even when they are not really interested in joining the Church. Their taxi cabs and business establishments all have religious slogans printed on their exteriors. It is nothing like home where our missionaries commonly encounter rejection from people who think we are religious extremists.

Fine.

Elder Turner