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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Week 32

Note: As a Christmas gift to the 6 Elders in Jacob's house, we put money in his bank account and told him to take all of them out to a nice dinner. They went to best restaurant in Chimiao. They had a fancy dinner for all 6 for about $70 USD. What a treat! Here are some pictures:
Hello Mom,

It was really great being able to talk to you guys last night. I loved it so much.

So like I said for the Christmas day thing, we did that service in the morning for the lady. Than we came back and all took showers. Then we went out to lunch at a nice place here in town. We used that money you gave me. We even bought ice cream too. Than we all went back home and rested and stuff. Some people called home too. Than we all went to an investigators house. That’s where I tried to call you. The investigator fed us all dinner. It was so nice of her feeding six missionaries.

This past week we had no water for two days. It was because of the floatie thing in the toilet had water in it. So it was being weighed down so water was also coming and going. So our tank that has our water was never filling up. A little thing like that made us have no water for two days.
Last Monday, as we were taking out money, this bum walks past us and starts dancing. Then he pulls his pants down and flashes us. It was the weirdest thing in the world. People here have no respect. I also have been having a lot of dreams of home too. So I have been kind of sad lately. Maybe it’s because of Christmas.

One of our investigators has three dogs. Anytime we knock there gate, they come running up to the fence, barking their heads off and growling. Once the owner comes they stop and there fine. Weird, right?
In one of the packages an elder got here. He got a slap hand. It’s this sticky hand that can stick to things. I was playing with it and I accidently slapped my companion in the faced. It was actually pretty funny. I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Yesterday at an investigators house, we were teaching him. He had some chickens. And this little puppy comes up and starts playing with them. They were making all these noises and stuff. It was funny.

Remember that other package you were going to send me. Here is some stuff I need: my mag flashlight that was in my closet in a container, those shirts, a good watch, and floss picks from wal-mart. Thanks.

Well that’s about it this week. Until the NOVO ANO!!!!!! Or, New Year.

I love you all
Elder Sirrine

Week 31

Hi Mom,

Christmas is in the air. It sure does feel like Christmas here. It’s been raining like we are in Washington during the winter. It’s Crazy. About the package, the Spendloves (mission president and his wife) are coming the 22nd. So if they dont have it, another senior couple is coming the 27th, so maybe they will have it. So hopefully they will bring it. About the 100 dollars on Thursday, I told the elders, and we will go out to eat with it on Christmas. Thank you so much mom for all you do. I will take out 200 dollars worth of metacais, because I still haven’t taken the money out for my birthday. I think it’s best if you call me. Call me like 10 in the morning your time. That after I will be teaching English class. And for Christmas, I don’t know if we are going out or not. We will find out the 22nd when the mission president comes. The country code for Mozambique is 258, than call 844683902. That’s our number. I will make sure imp in the house for when you call. I can only talk for 30 minutes.

Yeah I got an email from Nicole. It was really nice to get it from her.

Life here on the mission is good. Do you know a Roberts family that lives in Florida? I got a birthday email from them and I don’t know them. We climbed the roof of our house this week because we made a bonfire. So it was really fun. I also saw a rat attacked by a group of dogs. I have never seen dogs so crazy in my life. Ha-ha. We also some kids dancing and singing. They even had little judges. It was so funny.
I also had fleas this week. Everybody got them. So we fumigated our house. Ha-ha. I also got food poisoning this week. It was out about three days. But I am fine now so don’t worry.

I love you all

Elder Sirrine

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Week 30






Hello Family,

Things here in Chimoio are going well. The work here just keeps on going. This week has been a good work week too. We have two people marked for baptism on January 1st. They’re named Raul and Ezeqiel. They have been coming to all the church activities since the church got here in Chimoio about five and a half months ago. Since they are little young, they had to wait a little bit. But now since Ezeqiel is getting baptized, his mom who is a very strong catholic is investigating the church. People here in Mozambique are pretty stubborn and not really ready to change. But she is smart too. Friday night we did family night at an investigators house. It was really fun. We gave a spiritual thought than we just played around. I thought I lost my memory card there. It has almost 1000 pictures. But I found it.

I also had my birthday this past Saturday. I’m 20 years old. Aren’t I old now? I was made a cake that was really good. I missed home a lot. It was my first b-day away from home.
It’s also been raining like crazy here. Almost all this week has been raining. We had to come to the city and buy irrigation boots. Elder Bene and I would run through puddles like we were little kids. It was so fun. The city was also flooding this past week.
Yesterday we colored with the primary kids. It was really fun. I also felt like a kid than too.
Sunday, we had a frequency of 78 people at church. That’s one of the highest amounts here in Chimoio. So that’s really cool. We also got three new investigators yesterday. So we just keep on getting them like crazy.

Thanks for the package. I will be looking forward to getting it. And trust me; I will be looking forward to taking out the money. I know these couple of weeks will be really hard, but did you realize when 2011 comes, I only have 5 months until I hit a year. That’s crazy. But let me know when would be the best time to call. It’s going to be next week already. Wow. I just got food poisoning. About sleeping, the senior couple that comes every once in a while, he gave me some sleeping pills to take. But I’m fine now. I love you all

Well, we are going to climb Cabeça do velho.
So until next week.
Love,
Elder Sirrine

Week 29


Hi Mom,

Thanks for the pictures. I love them.

Weather wise this week, I feel like I have been In Washington. It’s just rain, rain, and more rain pretty much all day and every day. So it’s kind of weird. This week I also had to move rooms again. So far every transfer I have had to move rooms. It’s kind of a hassle. But it’s just the mission way of life.

This week we also taught the former goalie of the Mozambiquan soccer team. He even played on the Holland soccer team. His first name is malo. He is like 60 years old. It was really cool to teach him.

Those letters you asked for last week with pictures I will send today. But a week and a half ago I sent just a normal letter. So you should be getting some soon. .

I have had troubles sleeping and it’s not good. But I got some pills to help me fall asleep at night. But I’m better now.

In my area our progression is going well. We have people getting baptized here and there, people getting the priesthood too. So the church is growing here in Chimoio for sure.

I also got chased by a dog this week. I was trying to help some puppies go home, and there mom comes barking and chasing us. We had to run for our lives for like 100 feet. I have not been that scared in a long time.

We also learned for Christmas we are not going to Biera. We are staying home. So I will call home Christmas morning here. It will be Christmas Eve for you all. I will call your work phone if I can. But a senior couple from Beira will be coming on the 22nd. So you should send those packages like this week if you haven’t already.

I love you all

Monday, November 29, 2010

Week 28







Hi Mom and Family,

Here it didn’t even seem like a holiday passed. But we did have a little celebration here. Whenever we would say we are grateful, we would take a skittle, than say what we are grateful for, than eat the skittle. It was really fun to do but I missed home a lot though. For my comp, can you maybe put like socks in it or something. I have a new comp that I am training and he is from Mozambique, so he doesn’t really have a lot of stuff. Maybe even a white shirt. But I think socks for him would be great. Tell Jamie and Landi thanks if they’re sending a package. Tell them about the Care4life address. But it’s pretty expensive to send it.

Yeah, and for the money, just put it in my BECU account. I wouldn’t trust the mail system either.

While its cold there for you, Its HHHOOOOTTTTT here. Right now I am sweating like a dog. My back is all wet and I have sweat dripping off my face. I miss the cold and rain. Ha-ha But I didn’t get those snow pictures though. I don’t know what happened. Maybe if you send an email of just pictures it would work.

Yeah I will print some pictures off this week, than send them off next week.

As for me, the two elders I was living with that opened the area are gone. One of them went home because his mission was over, and Elder Munsee, who was my Comp, is going to Angola. That’s my second companion in Angola. Two more of my other comps went home this transfer. So the only Comps I have that are still here in Mozambique are my comp from the MTC, and elder Antonio, the one I’m training. I’m only in my 4th transfer and I am training.

This past week we had zone conference in Beira. While there, my cameras lens broke. So I had to buy a new camera. Luckily Sister Spendlove already had some from America, because elder’s cameras are always breaking. So I only spent like 100 dollars on it. It should last the rest of the mission.

But this week has been a hard one for me. I have been really homesick. But I am doing better now.

But we are working with some investigators to get baptized in January. So we are working hard with that. I am also helping someone get civilly married so she can be baptized.

But that’s about it this week. Thanks a lot for everything you do. I love you so much.

Elder Sirrine

Week 27

Hello from Mozambique!!!!!!!!!

Things here are going great. I also can’t believe how fast time goes here. It’s just week after week. I hit my six month mark on the mission on Friday. Crazy right?

Yeah that Meeker show last year was when I cut my hand pretty bad. But I miss going to those shows a lot. I actually liked just going there and seeing everything.

I wish we had snow here. crazy thing. we had a HUGE rainstorm here last night. it rained for hours on end. it seemed like you were just getting buckets of water poured onto your head. I will send some pictures of the clouds home to you. I didn’t get the picture of the snow out the front door. Maybe next week you can send another. And maybe pictures of Virginia City and Bella. Yeah here it’s getting pretty hot now. But December and January is the hottest time of the year here. So I’m bracing for those months. Our house has air conditioning. Luckily!

We have some people that we are teaching. For the most part there all friends. They all ask crazy questions from the bible. Especially Jose. so pretty much we said the bible has been translated so many times, that its not really even right. And that the book of Mormon is only translated from the plates to English and from English to Portuguese. So only two times not compared to the bible which has been translated 15-20 times. But they are still good kids. And we have Joana. She has completely changed her life. We taught her the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. After the lessons she stopped drinking and the other bad stuff. And now she wants to be baptized. It’s amazing to see the change in her.

I don’t know if we are doing anything for Thanksgiving. There are only three Americans in our house. But I’ll see... if we do I will take pictures. For Christmas we are going to Beira.

Last week we climbed Cabeça do Velho. Or in English its Head of the old man. It’s this huge prominent landmark. You might see it in Google earth or something. It was so fun. We saw all of chimoio. On the way down, we saw corendairos, or witch doctors, waving a big dead chicken over someone’s head. It was a little strange. The place where we buy our groceries is a little fast food joint. It was so good. It actually tasted like home fast food. We had to cross a river again to get to our area. It’s like a foot or two deep. Crazy.

I also met an American. His name James Baker. He is doing charity work here or something. He refuses to call us elder so he calls us by our last names only. He is kind of strange. Every Friday night we have cookie night. We buy cookies and eat them. It’s fun. We also helped cut down a tree. Were going back sometime this week to finish it.

We made tinfoil dinners on Saturday. We have a little fire pit at our house. So we also made smores with them too. AMAZING!!!

So yeah that’s about it for this week. Until next week.

With Tons of Love

Elder Sirrine

Week 26




Week 26??!! Already? I can’t believe it. The time here goes by so fast.

Don’t worry about not writing me last week. I love getting emails from him too. My companion is AWESOME!!!! His name is Elder Munsee. He is from Morgan, Utah. So this is my third comp from Utah. The only one that wasn’t is from the mtc. He loves to sing and he plays the piano too. Our branch is pretty brand new. It only opened like 4 and half months ago. Elder Munsee was one of the people who helped opened it. So he will probably leave Chimoio soon. He is only four months ahead of me on the mission. So here we teach and find. That our days. I had to find people for the first time on my mission here. The food here is pretty similar to home but way different. They have Pringles here but it is not the same. And no mom, I’m not starving ha-ha. When you are walking around in African sun and dripping sweat, you can’t really help but lose it. ha-ha.

I am really glad to hear about Michelle. I am glad she is going well in school. Can you tell her to check her linklarkin email? I sent her an email a few weeks ago.

Thanks for the info on the package. Sounds good. But like ctr rings would be good. Africans really don’t like things super sweet. So lollipops I don’t really know about. Ha-ha. I just can’t believe I turn 20, 26 days from today. CRAZY!

Last week on P-day we played monopoly. I got in second place. It was so fun to play. We had to carry a bunk bed from like 3 kilometers away from our house. It was crazy. I live with six elders. We took it down, carried it home, and built it again. It’s the one I sleep on. I also played soccer with some native kids. I suck horribly. One of our investigators baby farted during a lesson. We were all cracking up for like 5 minutes. Carrying that bunk bed, I got burnt. Like Mexico burnt on my face. My area is like huts and then huts up in the mountains. I love it here.

We had 3 baptisms on Saturday. One of the girls was wearing jean shorts and a playboy belt. Strange right. There were also big ugly out of shape women washing clothes and little boys in underwear swimming.

Next week I will be emailing Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s because of the conferences. P day will be switched.

Until next week, With Love

Elder Sirrine

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Week 25

OOOLLLLAAAAA!!!!!!

Really, where do all the weeks go? It seems like yesterday I was sitting at a computer emailing. It’s ridiculous.

So this week, until last Saturday I was in Beira. That area was so cool. We had 4 people getting ready for baptism. The three younger ones parents at first wouldn’t let them be baptized. But we fasted that they would, and it worked. Just shows the lord answers our fast. In Beira, almost every morning we would go do exercises on the beach. Now I can say that I have done that. We also had to carry matope or little bits of mud on our head in sacks. It helps water not get into their houses. All the natives didn’t think we could do it. But we showed that white people can do the same things as them. We also did a mutual thing there too. We filled a garbage bag pretty much full of popcorn. I will send a picture. I was also pooped on by a bird. It was sitting on some wires and just went. It was so GROSS!! We also got a ride from a drunk, stoned guy. It was probably the scariest moments of my life. But I will always have the memories.

On Saturday, I arrived here in Chimoio. We have church at our house.
Yesterday, we had 65 people come. We watched general conference for it too. It was awesome. Elder Russell was at our house yesterday too. He is in a senior couple. And he was a Vet. And I have been having trouble with my toe. He looked at it yesterday, and cleaned it out. We figure out that I had an abscess(spelling) in my foot. He said luckily we cleaned it out or it could have gotten worse. But I’m ok, don’t worry about me. Going to a member’s house yesterday, we had to cross like a little lake. People helped us get across, it was so funny.

For my package, I just want my iPod with church music, the ihome thing for it that I have, letters, and pictures. That all I need. You can out anything else in it too. But send it to that care4life place with FedEx. But you have to send it maybe this week. We have Zone conference on the 25th of November, and if it is not there by then, I won’t get it till Christmas. I will be in Beira for it on the 24th of December. I was thinking I might call the 26th of December here, but it will still be Christmas night for you all. But I don’t know yet.

I have a question. Are Jon and Andrew doing there papers for their missions. Just wondering.

Can you all send pictures of Virginia City and Bella too next week.

With Love, Elder Sirrine

Week 24

HHHHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!So mom, I am in the city of Beira right now. I will be here for a week more or so. We are waiting for a new missionary to get here. Than when he gets here it’s off too chimoio. Its only 3 hours from Beira. The senior couple up here said i will be able to come back here for Christmas. I am really glad about that. Beira is a lot like Maputo, but just smaller. There is a lot more of a diverse population here. There are lots of Asians, Muslims, and actually a few white people surprisingly. I have seen just the same amount of animals here. But there are tons of dogs here. One looks like Bella. The trip here was fine. Just long. We rode a bus up here. It took about 15 hours or so. There were 5 other elders who came up with me. The language is coming along good. I am not near being fluent, but I’m talking more. Which is a good thing? When are you going to send the package? Just wondering. I am glad opa is doing better. Last Monday night I ate at an Italian place. I guess the zone leaders take all the new elders to Beira out to eat. It was really good. So my new area is pretty much by our house and the downtown of Beira. It’s huge. Sometimes we have to walk up 13 stories to get to some investigators houses. Right now my comp is Elder Hendrickson. He is from Utah. He is going home this month. I got my first mozambiquan haircut. They don’t know how to cut whit people hair. Ha-ha. So I just got it buzzed. This week I also saw two white women. They were the first white women I have seen in three months. We also heard a church singing count your many blessing. It was kind of weird. The pastor was like the tithing is not enough, pay more. Than we saw hi, him putting it in his pocket after the sermon. The people here are so corrupt. They will do anything for money. I also hit five months last week. I hit six months on the mission this month too. Crazy right.Mom, can you send me a link to the blog your doing for me. I want to see how it is.And thanks for the pictures. I loved them. When I get home I want to go to Virginia City. So plan on it. Can you send pictures of Bella maybe too?That's about it for this week.
With tons of love,
Elder Sirrine

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Week 23


This week has been a pretty good week. It was transfer week. Like I said last week, I am being transferred up to the Beira area. It’s called Chimoio. But for a couple weeks I will be in the branch of Beira 1. We are just waiting for the elders from the Brazilian MTC to get here. Than after that, off to Chimoio. I got here Saturday night. So I have only been working in this area for a few days, but it’s awesome. Beira is not nearly as big as Maputo. But the chapel here is like one back home. It’s so nice. It doesn’t seem like it belongs here.And you will never guess what I got last Monday....TTTTHHHHEEEEEE PPPPPAAAACCCKKKKAAAAAGGGGGEEEEEE. Yeah I finally got it. It had everything in it still. I also saw a monkey on a leash. Only in Africa will you a monkey on a leash. Very crazy. Since last week was the last week of the transfer, we had a beach bash. It was really fun. But I had to say bye to all the elders that were in Maputo. Out of the thirteen people that got here from my district, only one is in Maputo. So twelve of us are in the Beira zone. Besides the MTC, Magoanine was my first home away from home. So it was really hard to leave it. I didn’t want to, but the mission has to go on. Last week hopefully you got that address from Elder Woolf. In the package I want only a few things. I don’t really want any food. I don’t want to gain weight back. But if you already have, that fine. But I do want an American watch, the ones here suck. I also want pictures. Lots of them and letters too. I want those more than anything. But if you want you can send my iPod too. You can put church music on it and I could listen to it. You can send the home thing I have also. But with that, you don’t need too. It was just a thought.Yesterday I ate chicken gizzard. It was actually pretty good.Well I hope you guys know I am ten hours ahead of you. So hopefully I can get emails again. Without them my whole week is down. And the place I email I get here at 730 mozambiquan time. That like 930 Washington time. Just to let you all know. But if you all are super busy and, I understand.ByeElder Sirrine

Week 22

TTTTRRRRRRAAAANNNNSSSFFFFEEEERRRRRRSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So I am leaving Maputo and going up to....... CHIMOIO!!!! This transfer is only the fourth transfer that it has been opened. I will sleep in the city here tomorrow night and then at 4 o'clock in the morning I will take a bus for a 15 hour bus ride up to Biera. I will be there for two-three weeks. It’s because there are some native elders in the Brazilian MTC who won’t arrive till then. And so I will be with an elder who will have one of them as comps. once they arrive I will go to Chimoio. I will most likely be there for Christmas. So mom, I have not got that package, but someone I live with was up in Biera for most of his mission, and his parents have an address for a church place where they sent his packages for him. He is going to email his parents for it, email me, than I will email you it. But you have to send the package with FedEx; it will arrive there in like a week. But with FedEx, it’s more expensive but it is also guaranteed to get there. When it gets there, they call us, someone picks it up, and when I am in Beira again or someone from there comes from Chimoio, I will get it. So if you send like within two weeks, I can pick it up myself. Can you put pictures in it too and a recipe book. But if not I don't know when I would get it. Here is the pouch address if you need it- Elder Jacob Sirrine Mozambique Maputo Mission POB 30150 Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0150 USAyou all can still use dearelder.com it’s still free. So last week when we went shopping, the place where we get our food had Christmas decorations up. Its only October. It made me miss home. We also went to a place to eat called Rodizios. It’s so good. It’s like a buffet where you sit there and they bring food out to you. It’s easily the most fancy restaurant in the country. It cost about 800 meticals.. Which is about 20-25 dollars. But it was totally worth it. I also made fried chicken this week. Everybody loved it. They said its better than KFC. I also saw a lady beheaded a chicken and then skin it. It was pretty strange. You see lots of strange things here. I want to wish you and dad a happy anniversary even though it’s late. And Chris a happy birthday too.I got really sick for the first time here this week. I think it might have been a small case of food poison. But I’m all good now. I’m sad about Opal’s situation. I will be praying for him. I can’t believe it’s been a year since that other Tacoma dome show. Time goes by so fast its crazy.Here are some pictures for you all, until Next week. With love,-Elder Sirrine

Week 21

OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII DDDDDDEEEEEE AAAAAFFFFFFRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!Where does all the time go? This week we already have transfer meeting. Maluco! So I will let you guys all know next week. And for the packages, they have FedEx and DHL. But maybe you can check with the mail to see where it is. Its five weeks tomorrow. So hopefully this week I will get it. Did you send the package to the caixa postal address?I have not gotten to do any baptisms. I probably won’t because President Spendlove wants the members to do it to exercise their priesthood power. But if the investigator wants a missionary to baptize them, we can. The language of Portuguese is coming along. I am nowhere near fluent but it’s coming. I can speak a little dialect too. With that Mozambique shirt I sent home, where it has the languages, it’s the second language on it. It’s the most common one spoken here in Maputo. So last week we went to a museum. It was the natural history museum here in Maputo. It was so awesome. They had taxidermies of African animals. And you could touch them. They had like lions attacking animals and stuff. It was stuff you would never see in the states. I’ll send some pictures. We also went to the zoo. Oh man! My favorite P-day. They have a hippo there. It comes right up to the fence. And you could feed it. Elder Marlor tickled under its mouth. He almost got his arm bit off. Ha ha. They also have a monkey that does flips for bananas. They have this huge crocodile there too. And we bought a chicken on the side of the road. And we fed it the chicken. The only thing that separates you from it is a little chain link fence. So different from the states.This past week has been very stormy. It’s been raining every day, and we have thunder storms. One night we went on the roof and we were taking videos of the storm. I’ll send some home too. It was probably not the smartest thing to do.This week we also really didn’t have any water. There was something wrong with our pump. So we had to ration all the water we had to make sure we had some. But we have water now.I was just wondering mom, have you re-arranged my room at all. Just kind of curious. And I was just wondering how all the family was doing. I want some emails or letters.Mom, maybe can you send some pictures in emails of what’s going on with life. I would really appreciate it.Well that’s about it for this week. Here are pictures of my African adventures! Until next week! I love you all and have a good week!!!!-Elder Sirrine

Friday, October 8, 2010

Week 20



OOOOLLLLLLAAAAAAA DDDDDDEEEEEE AAAAAFFFFRRRRIIIICCCCCCAAAA!!!!

I am doing awesome right now. I love it here in Mozambique so much. It’s AAMMMAAAZZZINNNGG.

I miss having those family get together. And was there any new temples announced???
Yeah Terence told me a little about his situation. I am going to be praying for him and his family this week.

Well my house..... It has a total de six elders. It has two bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, and a garage. So it’s huge. I love living here. Friday of next week is already transfer meeting. President Spendlove is going to be opening up a new area from what I heard so maybe I will help open. That would be awesome. My schedule is never the same. Sometimes we have studies all morning than go out in the afternoon. Or have appointments in the morning and afternoon and do studies in the evening. You never know. It only depends on your investigator.

That’s weird how they all came home from their missions already. MALUCO!

Last week we had training on Tuesday and Wednesday with President Spendlove. The first presidency came out with some new ways to teach your investigator. So he was telling us about those. On Monday night, I slept at the assistant’s house because I had to do some Visa stuff. We waited two hours in line. Once I got up, they took my picture, fingerprint, and I had to sign something. That was it. It took no time to do it. ha ha. We have something called the banana break. We sing this song than eat a banana. President Spendlove called me into the middle of it. I had to sing the song by myself. I was so nervous. ha ha. And on the way home from one, we got in a little fender bender. The like stopped. But no one got hurt.

We also got 8 new investigators this week. So we have been pretty lucky and busy. One time coming home, we got a free ride from random guy. It was cool. ha ha.

Oh mom, in next week’s email can you send your fried chicken recipe. I have told other elders here about it and they want to try it. So that would be OPTIMO!!!

I had a bug fly into my eye this week. We were walking with a branch missionary at the time and they blew it out. It felt so weird. ha ha

since yesterday was a holiday here, every store was closed. So for this week that why we have P-day on Tuesday. But for only this week. And by the way, with daylight savings time in the States, I am 10 hours ahead here. So make sure emails are sent early please. Thanks.

In those attachments are some pictures for you guys. Enjoy. And for the package I have not got it. But hopefully this week or next week I will. And no on the letter still.

That all for this week. Until next week. And write me letters.PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSEEEE. And send them to the Utah address. LLLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE YYYYYOOOOOUUUUUU ALLLLLLLL.

-Elder Sirrine
p.s. with a Christmas package you should send at the end of October or 1st week of November since there will be so many packages sent and how long it will take. Love you

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Week 19

OOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did finally get your email. Thanks.
About pictures, they cost like 15 Meticals to print. And sending a normal cost like 92. So somehow I need to get a memory card reader so I could send some home.
I’m glad Michelle finished driver’s ed. when I get home, instead of me driving her around she will drive me.

About the package, it’s been about three weeks. Elders here say it normally takes 3-6 weeks to actually get. So I should hopefully get it soon. If not, I will be kind of mad. Ha-ha. I already didn’t get those letters. As stuff for Christmas, um, I really don’t know. You can send whatever you want. For the members, something like ties would be great.

Entao, stories from here. This week Elder Masterson and I were walking in our area by the lixiera, or dump. We were just walking. And we see this drunken guy. We were like oh great. We find out that it’s our Investigator. Yeah, he was so drunk he didn’t know who we were. He fell down. We helped him up. It was interesting. I also helped dig two holes. Back to back. I was like dead. Both like 2 meters across and 2 meters deep. They were huge. We had a district meeting this week. Our district leader gave us all puzzles to do find. It was really cool. They were all on attributes of Christ. Last Saturday we also had another baptism. That is two baptisms in two baptismal days. There every other week. Hopefully we will have another next time too. This week we had virtually no power like all week. It was very chato, or annoying.

We had to ride a chapa back to our house after the baptism. It took an hour and a half. We live like 20-30 minutes from the city. It was horrible. Ha-ha. Traffic is really bad here.

And guess what, I hit 4 months on my mission yesterday. They have flown by. Next transfer I hit 6 months, two holidays also. Halloween and thanksgiving. Than the next transfer I hit 7 months, my birthday, Christmas Eve and Christmas, New Years Eve, and new years. So for me these next two transfers are going to be pretty hard for me.

Oh mom, I have been thinking. You know those pictures me and Jamie took outside of the MTC. Can you find them and send them to me. I don’t know if we used your camera or Jamie's. But I would really like both. And if you do, send them to the Utah address. The address is on my face book page.

And people have been asking you to update the blog too. I would appreciate that too.

Well that is about it for this week. We’re going to play basquet, or basketball. I love you all!!!! Ate proxima semana!!!!
-Elder Sirrine

Week 18

You all must be pretty busy. I got an email from Terrance but not from you or dad….. Pretty sad……
So the price of letters has gone up from 33 Meticals to 92 now. So I don’t know if I’m going to really send anymore home. Unless I ever get a letter from home. I still haven’t got those letters from church. I have only gotten one from Chris like a month ago. So the best place to send them is the pouch. That way I will get them.
Last Tuesday we played ultimate Frisbee in a field by our house. It was really fun. Everybody on my team was wearing soccer jerseys. It was cool.
The not so hot season has come to a close. This week it got up to 37 degrees celsius. It’s been that hot all week. But it’s a dry heat luckily. This week our water went on the day it was 37 degrees. So we all had very little water for the time we were walking. But luckily it was back when we got home. We also worked in the nachaamba, or farm. One of our investigators owns it. We helped him water it and stuff.
This week we had to say goodbye to Elder Dunn. He went up to Munhava to be the branch president. Munhava is up by Beira. I miss him. We consider him my mission mom. Ha-ha. Thursday was the last time I walked in my old area. I am now with Elder Masterson. He is a really awesome guy. He is from Kaysville, Utah. He and I have so much in common.
So I was walking in my new area. And all of a sudden all the kids that were in front of us started running away from us. And we were like they must not like white people or something. Then I see something on my side. It was a wild donkey walking along me. Then comes another one. Only in Mozambique will you see that. Did you know roosters sleep in trees? I didn’t until I got here. Ha-ha
That’s about it for this week. I hope I get an email next week. Hope everything is good at home. Love you.
-Elder Sirrine

Week 17

OOOOOOOLLLLLLLAAAAAAA!!!!!!
I am sad to hear about how the cowboys lost. But at least the Seahawks won though. That’s always good. And I have not gotten any letters yet. I think because at the beginning of September there was some political unrest going on, so we had to stay in our house for three days. But hopefully I will soon.
1. Yes I do have investigators. My companion and I have about 14. So we were pretty busy with them
2. We probably taught about 14 lessons a week. That’s a lot.
3. As for tracking, I have not gone. In Magoanine our branch missionary work is so good, that we don’t have to go tracting. We get referrals from them.
4. Instead of having a six week transfer because of the unrest, we have a seven week. So I do have a new comp. his name is Elder Masterson. He was already here in Magoanine. So this transfer will be 5 weeks long.
5. Elder Masterson is my new comp.
6. I think there is like 12-13 open cities in Mozambique. President Spendlove opened two new cities this transfer.
7. Up in the Beira area it’s all like jungle. The city of Tete is the hottest city in the mission. Everybody loses weight, no matter how skinny you are. You just sweat, sweat, and sweat.
8. I want to go to the city of Munhava. That’s where it’s the most jungle. I want to get out away from the big cities.
9. Well the culture here, everybody gives. If they see a missionary walk by, they will give you there dinner, even if it’s the only food they have. They are very kind to people here too.
10. This week, I just eat what I normally do. Bread, oranges, banana, potatoes, cereal. And I ate squid yesterday. It was actually pretty good. Kind of chewy though.
11. Yes I am still losing weight. The pounds just come off. I have lost 24 pounds in seven weeks already.
Oh, and people are asking if you could update my blog too.
Last Monday we played a game called ninja warrior on the beach. It was so fun. Just imagine seeing 30+ elders trying to hit each other’s hands. Ha-ha. And I touched the Indian Ocean too. So that’s three oceans down. During family home evening we played ninja warrior too with members. They loved it. It was really awesome to see them playing it. We also did an energy type of thing where they lifted me up with two fingers each. There were only 4 people doing it.
There is a member who lives right in front of us. And all six elders who live in our house dug a hole for here. It was like 8 feet deep. It was huge.
Last week, one time we were walking in our area and we saw this guy lying on the ground. We thought he was dead. But he had paralyzed legs and was moving himself with his arms. So we stopped a car to take where he needed to go. It was kind of scary.
Last Saturday we had a baptism. Her name was Rebecca. She had investigated the church for over a year, and she finally got baptized..
Friday night we slept on our roof. It was really fun. It was really cold. But fun. That same day we saw two roosters fight. It was weird. The owner just let them.
That’s about it for this week. I will update you about the letters next week. I love you all. Tchao.
Com amor,

Elder Sirrine

Week 16

OOOOOOLLLLLLLAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

That is cool how Alexis mentioned me in her testimony. Tell her thanks. With the ward bulletin, you can use the one that comes straight to Mozambique. For the package, can you put one of my black maglights in it? They are up in my room in my closet in a wooden box. They have locks on them because I didn’t want any little kids in them. If they are not in there than I put in a box I made on the clear boxes. That would be great. Maybe even a watch.

This week we were at a member’s house, and he has ducks. And they were like fighting each other. So after they were done I like stood up to pretend to fight and I was like charged by the ducks. It was hilarious. Last Monday we went to the mission home, and the church public affairs guy was there too for Africa. And I told him my name. and he was like I know some Sirrine’s from mesa. he knew grandpa, grandma, and our family. He even said Tia Rosas was the best restaurant he has ever been too. He is from Mesa.

Last week we had classes. They were for training. So we were in the city a lot. The other night we had to sleep with the air conditioning on. It’s stating to heat up. Last night there was a car accident right outside our house. It was kind of bad.

On Saturday, we have a baptism. So I am pretty excited for that.

Other than that, this week has been pretty boring. Love you all!!!!

-Elder Sirrine

Monday, August 30, 2010

Week 15 - Answering Questions

OOOOOLLLLAAAAA!!!!!!!

Africa, Africa, Africa. I LOVE it here.
1. So with pictures, I’m going to send some printed ones home sometime this week. So pretty soon, well in like three weeks, you should be getting some pictures. There, well, pretty different from what your used too. I was thinking, if you’re going to send me a package, maybe you can send a memory card reader to me. President Spendlove said they could possibly work here. So that would be nice. You all can send some smaller cards if you want too. But with the one dad sent me, I can put almost 5,000 pictures on it. So yeah. Depends on you all.
2. From what I can tell, most elders are in an area for 2-3 transfers usually. That’s 3-4 and half months. But it really depends on President. My companion was in Beira, the same zone, for like 8 months. But with president Spendlove, who knows. He is sending two people who are only in their third transfer to Angola ja. I mean already. So who really knows? My comp is going there soon
3. Here, we don’t have wards. We have branches. Our chapel used to be an old chicken coop they renovated. And there are other buildings for primary and young women’s. We have priesthood in the chapel. Well, over all, President Spendlove presides over the church in Mozambique. He is the presiding authority here. But each branch has a branch president, and his counselors. Some branches have elders as presidents. We really don’t teach a lot here. We kind of help. But yesterday we taught the primary. So that was fun. There really good kids.
4. The weather is starting to get hotter. But it only gets hotter. The hot season starts like October, and that’s when it rains and really humid. If I have lost weight already, just imagine how the hot season will be.
5. We see rats, dogs, cats and lizards in Magoanine. Oh, and goats too. Lots of them.
6. On p-days, we email first in the city. Than when that’s done we go play a sport or something. After we go eat lunch, go shopping for groceries than go back home. Nos temos noite familiar cada segunda fiera. We have family home evening every Monday night at the church. And that’s usually what happens.
Last week we went to Nachaama. That’s some waterfalls that are in the mountains around us. It was so beautiful. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of Snoqualmie Falls.
I was thinking for letters, you can use the ones that come straight to Mozambique. I didn’t know you could. Chris sent me a letter trough that one. So from now on, you can use it.
We have an investigator named Edson, and his family sells chickens. And he showed us where he keeps them. Oh my gosh. I have never seen so many chickens in my life. There were like 100 of them. It was the worst smelling place ever. I almost barfed. Ha-ha. Some lady also bought 12 chickens from them, put them all in a basket, and put it on her head. Kind of strange
We also found some inactive members this week. We have been trying to help come back to church. Yeah we are trying.
They have the best bread in the world. Dad would LOVE it. They make it fresh every day. We buy it all the time. It’s so good. This week we also heard a boy who speaks clicks. I really wanted him to teach me. It was the most awesome language in the world. I had to put on new garments this week. We were digging a hole and mine ripped in the crotch. So yeah. I never knew new garments felt so good. We were at a members hose this week and I went to sit down, and I sat on their cat. I pretty much put all my weight on it. Ha-ha. And I also have a rash on both my arms. I think it’s from my medication. I’m going to try different medication this to see if it goes away. It’s for malaria. Next Baptism we will hopefully have two baptisms. I’m really excited. Both have been waiting a long time for it.
I was thinking, for the package, can you put Frito scoops in it. I don’t know why, but I have been craving them. And m&m’s too. I also need some regular T-shirts too. Most of mine here have holes in the arm pit. And pictures. Pictures of anything. Ha-ha. I think that is it. Oh yeah, like a memory card reader for a camera memory card.
Until next week. I love you all with all my heart.
Elder Sirrine

Week 14 - Fun things are happening

Como Estaos??!!!

So this week it was pretty good. Lots of fun things happened.

So last Monday, we got home from going to our appts, and we arrive at the house. We turn on the light to our living room. And there is this GGGGRRRRAAANNNDDDEEE ratozhino, or large rat there. Dad, remember the rat we saw and killed at Opas house? This one was bigger. Elder Jamba, Elder Call (My Comp), and a branch missionary go to kill it. It runs into the room I sleep in at night. Freaky. They then close the door. And the hunt starts. I took a little video from right outside the door. There was no way I was going in there. You can hear things moving around and people yelling. It’s pretty funny. They eventually killed it with a baseball bat. I took some pictures. This week we also gave a member of the branch a blessing because he has malaria. Like he has been really sick. He lives like 45 minutes away walking from our house. And he walked all the way to it. He knows the power of the priesthood can help him. It was my first time doing a blessing for the sick. And it was all done in Portuguese.

One day we were walking back home in the evening, and on the side of the road somebody was selling a shark. It was probably like 3-4 feet long. Elder Call almost bought it. He cooked fish this week so it would have gone with that. I also tried to make Nasi (spelling?) this week. But it wasn’t nearly as good as moms or opa's. Oh Mom, if you send a package with the stuff I asked about, can you send some recipes over too. If not oh well...
We had to help an investigator fix her satellite. It took like 2 hours. But it was worth it. Anything we can help them with we do it.

I also played Mozambiquan checkers. The rules are so weird. Like you can move backwards to jump someone, or you can move your queen as many spaces as you want in any direction. It’s different but I’ll show you all when I get home.

We also ran into some Jehovah’s witnesses. They were cool. They just showed us some scriptures about Christ and they left.

I also got the chance to chase some African kids around. Like if you start running at them, they run away and start laughing. It’s like they are afraid of white people. They always call us malungo, or in dialect that means white man. So we also say "onde", or where. We also say some dialect words to the older people and they just laugh. It is pretty funny for some random two young white guys to be talking dialect. some words are canimombo, which means thank you or zipalli, which means good night.

We almost got hit by a chapa. It was like 3 feet away. We were walking in the sand. And it comes zipping by where there are no ruts for it to go. It was so so scary.

Last Saturday we did service at a mental health hospital. It was really awesome. We cleaned up the gardens, played with kids. One of the kids kept on saying "Corre" which means run. So I would run away and she would chase me. It was really funny.

I also got to eat the fruit rafiki from the lion king uses in the movie. It’s really sweet. I love it. We also got to "pilar". This is where they get it a trunk, carve it out in the middle, and hit like corn, or something, until its fine. It was hard.

So today an Elder went home. And we was bigger than me when he got here. He lost 85 pounds here. That crazy. I got here weighing 235, and now I weigh about 226, so 9 pounds in 4 weeks is a lot.

Other than that, were just working and walking in tons of sand for ten hours a day.

I love you all and WRITE!!! Ha-ha

Elder Sirrine

Monday, August 16, 2010

Week 13 - Rats and Cockroaches

OOOOOLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life here in Africa is going. Thursday is the halfway mark for this transfer already. These past three weeks have gone by fast. I am told it will only go faster.

For the mailing address just use the ones that we got from the book. We don't directly receive mail from anyone. We only get it either on Mondays or when the zone leaders go into the city. You can try letters to the mission home but I am not sure. I think the pouch for letters is the best.

1. The weather here is kind of weird. In the morning it’s like super cold. It reminds me of Washington winters. Than in the afternoon it’s either windy but hot, or just hot. I am told this is freezing compared to the hot season. It should start getting warmer in like October November ish.

2. My shoes are doing really great. Thanks for them again.

3. For food, I eat a lot of fruit, cereal, and bread. Every day during the week, an elder cooks something for lunch except on Mondays. So it’s whatever he makes. We go to a store called Shop Rite every Monday. It’s a South African chain store. We get the basics there. All over here there are little stands that sell fruit so we get that stuff from there.

4. I was told not to download pictures onto the computers in Mozambique by the mission president. He said it would just delete all the pictures because of how bad the pictures. So I think when I write a letter home, I will just send my memory card home with whatever pictures I have on it.

5. My companionship is going awesome. At the end of this transfer my companion is going to Angola. I already lose my trainer after one transfer. We get along really great. His name is elder Call and he is from Bountiful Utah.

6. In our apartment, we have a filter connected to our sink. So we get our water from there. Whenever we get back to the house, we just fill our water back up.

7. There are some actual things I need. I sent home some PJ pants, I need those. The ones I have here have a hole in the crotch. I also need some of my other T-shirts. Two of my mine here have holes in the arms. I also need a new watch. The one we bought broke. And all the ones here are cheap so I would have to keep buying one. And if possible, but you don't have to do this, but I need smaller white shirts. The ones we bought in Utah are really big for me now. The sleeves go like down to my wrists. If I need anything else I will let you know. I also need my line of authority and that other memory card of mine.

8. On the 28th of this month, we will hopefully have two baptisms. We will have one for sure. Her name is Rebecca. She us really awesome. She has been waiting for over a year. Her parents wouldn't let her be baptized but now they will. And the other ones name is Angelica. We are going to challenge her this week to be baptized. We have nine other Investigators too. So were busy busy busy with them. So most of the days go by fast.

So mom, remember last week how you asked if we had rats. Well, funny story. We got back to the house last Monday, and we saw a rat in the kitchen. So we all freaked out, grabbed machetes and broomsticks and went rat hunting. It was so fun. Elder Jambi accidentally stepped on it and killed it. It was really funny. We have family home evening every Monday night with the members and we lost power halfway through. We have lost power almost every day this week I think.

I started to read Isaiah this week too. It’s a really interesting book. Next I am going to read James and then read revelations.

This week I felt sorry for Elder Jambi. Lately he hasn't really been digesting his food. So he went to the doctor about. They couldn't really figure out what was wrong. So they gave this laxative to make him clean out his stomach. He went to the bathroom like 30 times in two hours. The next day he had to get a colonoscopy. I don't know what they figured out. So I felt sorry for him.

One of our investigators speaks English. So we teach him in English. He asked if I could say the prayer in English. So I did. I kept messing up and praying in Portuguese. Like I really had to think on how to pray in English. I have only been out almost three months and I can hardly pray in English. Just wonder how I will be when I get home.

Last Monday, after email, we went and played indoor soccer. It was so fun. We had all the Elders from the Maputo area there. That’s like 30 elders. They do that all the time. This week we are playing football de Americana. Or American football. So I am super excited for that.

So hears a couple more funny stories. So I was doing personal study outside on the chair outside of our house. And I felt something on the back of my neck I brushed my neck and it was gone. Like a minute later I see this cockroach that is like three or four inches long crawling on my arm. I freak out and brush it off and step on it and kill it. It was the thing that brushed my neck. I don't know where it came from. Another story. We were on a chapa coming back to the house after our last appt. of the day. We were like the only people on. And this drunken lady gets on and starts talking to us. She was saying she was a member and stuff. And she got really close to our faces. I thought she was going to make a move on us. Kind of scared me. haha.

This week we also had service to do. We dug a hole for someone. Yes a garbage hole. Tt was about as tall as me.

Also ontem, I mean yesterday, the teacher that was my sub for two weeks in the MTC came to Mozambique. The Spendloves went to our branch too. It was kind of cool.

Well that’s my week. My time is up. I love you all have a good week.

-Elder Sirrine

Monday, August 9, 2010

Week 12 - The Work is Going Well

OOOOOLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAA FFFFFAAAAAMMMMMMMMMIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Everything is going great here. I love it here in Magoanine. The people here are awesome. In our branch we have about 20-25 branch missionaries. That’s so much. We have about 90 people in our branch.

So I will answer questions now.
1. For Mozambique, our house is pretty nice. It has two kitchens, two bathrooms. The property is huge. But it’s like all sand.
2. My bed is like metal frame with springs and a mattress. Sis. Spendlove gave us sheets for it. And I have a mosquito net that covers it. Ha-ha. Pres. Spendlove said the mosquitoes that give malaria come out between midnight and 6 am. So when were asleep.
3. An elder in our house said he saw a rat in our kitchen. But I don’t know if it’s true. He likes to kid around or not. I personally haven’t seen any.
4. And for mosquitoes, there are TTTTOOOONNNNSSS. We have an electric swatter. And it seems like every time we use it like hundreds of them die. It’s crazy. I have never seen so many at one time in my life.
5. For the kitchen, we have a fridge, sink, and a stove. We also have cupboards for our food. So we have all our basics. And for the bathroom we have a toilet sink, and a shower. We have to wear sandals every time we have to take a shower. There are like tons of diseases in it. The floor of the bathroom is always dirty no matter what we do. It’s gross.
6. It is actually pretty safe here. We have a cement fence, with barbed wire. And at every post on it, the top of it has broken pieces of glass all over it so nobody can climb in. even the church fence has the same thing. Almost every building has I would not want to climb over. Would you?
7. No we don’t have a guard. But there are guards all over who have shotguns and AK47s so I’m not too worried. You don’t have to be either.
8. Every day, an elder cooks lunch. So with that it’s like whatever they want to make. (We have six elders in our house). In the morning I usually eat cereal, than for lunch whatever the person make, than for dinner, I usually make like a sandwich and some fruit.
9. For the money, they put in 6000 metacals. That’s about $180 us dollars. We get 1500 a week. That’s to pay for like food, email, and transportation stuff. It’s enough. We just go to an ATM and take it all out. Right now, it’s about 35 meticals for 1 us dollar. So it’s pretty good for us.
10. All the wildlife I have seen is lizards and mosquitoes. I am Right outside of Maputo. So there really is not a lot of wildlife here.

So some more info about here. For Dad, they have the new ranger model out here. There is a ton. I don’t know if you have seen them or not in the states, but there out. When I was in LA I got two of the new 2010 pennies. There out too. So you can look out for them

Last Monday after I emailed, we played ultimate Frisbee on the beach with another district. It was so fun. It reminded of one time as a stake; we had some campout in Oregon. We played on the beach there too. Brought back tons of memories of home too. Last Thursday, we lost our electricity and plumbing. So I had to take my first bucket shower with water from the well we have. It kind of sucked ha-ha.

Oh and mom, can you add these two people onto a way they can here what I’m doing. They are my teachers from the MTC. the first one is Bro. Okasaki. His email is matt.r.okasaki@gmail.com. And the other is Sis. Olson. Her Email is emilyann8@gmail.com. Thanks.

This week when I had to cook, I made Macaroni and Cheese like you do. Except I didn’t put in spam. Ha-ha. I’m trying to remember how you cook some things so I can make them. This week we went to a member’s house to eat. They put pumpkin and cornflower together and mixed it. It was probably the nastiest thing I have ever eaten. One time I almost threw up. But I held it in. I would rather eat spam for the rest of my life than ever eat that again. Hahaha.

Our transportation is way different here than the states. They have things called Chapas and Machibomus. A chapa is this mini-van thing. and they try to put as many people on as they can. one time i had like two people sitting on my lap. and the van was like bottoming out. I was like what is this. Ha-ha. And a moshibombo is like a metro bus. I had a guy’s crotch on my arm for an hour. Gross right.

Here they have chickens and roosters all over the place. It reminds me of Hawaii so much. In Portuguese chickens are call galinhas and roosters are called galoa.

We live like ten minutes from the airport. So whenever they land or takeoff they are like right over our heads. Like one was only like a thousand feet above us. I swear.

We have two investigators who will probably be baptized in like 3 weeks. I’m excited. But I can’t baptize them because Pres Spendlove wants members to do it. So it kind of sucks. But oh well.

Mom, if you can, can you send me my line of authority. It would be really nice to have it. And the memory I sent home too. I would appreciate it.

According to the scale at our house. I have lost about three pounds. I’m excited. In Magoanine, its sand, sand, and more sand. More sand than I have ever seen. I pulled muscles in both my calves. But I’m better.

Well that’s about it for this week. Until next week!!!

Com Amor,
Elder Sirrine

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Week 11 - My First Week In Mozambique - I LOVE IT!

Hi Dad, Mom, and family,

I hope everything is going well in the states.

So my Companions name is Elder Call. He is from Bountiful Utah. Guess what? After this transfer, he is going to Angola. So I lose him after one transfer. It’s sad but it’s awesome at the same time. It was funny. Like five minutes before He got the call that he was going, we seriously were talking about how cool it would be to go. So it was kind of Ironic too.

So here in Mozambique, the drivers are crazy. Take like New York or la and times it by like 50. There driving all over the place, driving on the wrong side of the road. It’s scary. They have trucks that have like 30 people in the back going like 60 MPH. and people just walk right in front of cars and just pretty much do whatever they want. I am afraid I would hit somebody if I drove.

So on Saturday, we attended 4 people’s baptisms. None of them were from our district. But it was really awesome and really spiritual. Here in Mozambique, the Elders don’t do the Baptisms. They have members do it so they build unity with the members. It kind of sucks but it makes sense.

The culture here is crazy. Like when you come from the states you’re in shock and awe. Like I still am and I have been here almost a week. I can’t really even explain how it is.

In magoanine, we have a really solid branch. We 35 branch missionaries in it. Crazy right? We haven’t even gone tracting yet. We get all our referrals from the members.

So on Thursday I was waiting in the mission home for my Comp to come from Beira. That’s up north. And so we were going to do splits. And my comp was supposed to show up during it. So all the other missionaries left to go. I waited in the mission home until 10 at night. So I didn’t even go on one. So that kind of bites but oh well. Nothing I can do about it. Pretty much like the first two days in Mozambique were in the mission home.

So the plane rides were crazy long. We had 27 hours of plane rides and with layovers we a total of 37 hours of traveling. That’s without the time change. I am 9 hours ahead of Washington.

Magoanine is like a Desert. There is sand, sand, sand, and more sand. Every night I have to dump sand out of my shoes. But I love it here. My comp and I live with two other companionships. One is the zone leaders. They are Elder Dunn, from Rexburg, and elder Marlon from Utah. The other is Elder Master Don from Utah, and Elder Jamba from Laonda Angola. They all great and really cool guys.

For laundry, we have a Maquina de llavar ropa. or a washing machine at our house. it spins around one way, stops, goes the other way. It’s cool

Sister Spendlove put me on a diet plan. She expects me to be 10 pounds lighter before this transfer. The Spendloves are health freaks to the max. and vegetarians. But they still awesome. On Saturday for dinner, I had an apple and some cornflakes. Good aint it? That’s the kind of food here. But for lunch, all the elders come back and one makes food for everybody. They have a store here called Shoprite. It has everything we need.

Yesterday I had my first encounter wither a drunken guy. It was funny. He was trying to have us come inside and stuff. His wife or whatever was like don’t listen to him, has stupid. Ha-ha. I guess we have a lot of them here. There are little shacks that sell alcohol to anybody. All day and night.

There is a family called a familia do santo. They are awesome. There members and we were at their house last night. The father is learning English so we help him.

Other than that things are going good here in Magoanine. Until Next week.

Love
-Elder Sirrine

Thursday, July 29, 2010

FINALLY MOZAMBIQUE!!!

Hi Mom and everybody,

We have some time to e-mail here. We are all at the mission home. My first area I am going to is called Mogoanine. It is this town that is right outside of Maputo. They say it is a really strong branch. They have 42 ward missionaries there. I am heading out there tonight. I am excited. I can't wait wait to go. Tommorow morning we have to do stuff at the embassy to make sure we can stay here and everything like that.

My trainers name is Elder Call. The flights were not fun at all. They took forever to go on too. They just wouldn't end.

I guess my district has a baptism this Saturday. It will be my first Saturday in Africa and I am already going to go to a baptism. That's awesome.

So you can send dearelder.com letters to Mozambique. If you can, send them please! I miss everyone and would really like to hear from them.

So Mom I had to create a email account here. Ldsmail does not work here. iMy new email address is jacob.sirrine.moz@gmail.com. So on monday, which is my new P-Day, send it to there please.

The views here are awesome! Mozambique is such an awesome place!

Sorry for the short email. I promise I will have a long one on Monday.

Hope all is well at home. I love you all!

-Elder Sirrine

Week 9 - Final P-day in the MTC

Hi Everybody

So when I fly to LA I will be on Delta. but going to London and to South Africa i will be on British Airways. Then from South Africa I will be on South African Airlines. I get to LA at like 5:44 washington time so I think I wll call like 6:15 6:30 ish. Just so you know.

Well so far today I have been just packing really> Getting excited for my long trip to Mozambique. I also just got my haircut too. Tommorow in class we are going to have a "culture" day with our teacher who went to Mozambique. He is going to show us pictures and talk about Mozambique. He is going to show us a video of him and his companions hunting a rat in his apartment. He said that will happen...a lot.

The language is coming along fine. This week we have been reviewing everything we have done. i realized when I speak it I use all those things without thinking about it.

And thanks for the new shoes mom. Now i have a total of 4 pairs of shoes. The ones where the insole was all busted up I got new insoles from the library here and put them in there. But the 2 shoes I already had are already getting worn down. I will use one pair of hush puppies and one of the old ones. when the old one gets completely done, I will switch both pairs of shoes and do the same thing. Then I will just wear the hush puppies.

I sent home a package with stuff I do not really need. I mailed it this morning so it will probally get home like Wednesday or Thursday ish. Please be prepared for that.

Yesterday in the TRC, thats where we teach people, someone who went to Mozambique who is really skinny said he has gained 22 pounds since being home. He has been home like 9 months. And he is still a stick. So I think I will most definately be losing weight in Africa.

And did you send those memory cards? if not no big deal.

Other than that this week has been the same. This time next week I will be teaching people and bringing them on the right path to exaltion and closer unto Christ. Wish me luck!!!!

EMAIL OR WRITE ME POR FAVOR!!!!

Com amo,
-Elder Sirrine

Week 8 - FLIGHT PLANS!

Hi Mom and everybody!

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!! FFFFFFLLLLLIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHHTTTTTTTT PPPPPPPPLLLLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, I leave the MTC July 26th,or a week from monday. My flights are from Salt Lake to LA. I leave Salt Lake at 4:51 Utah time, but I get to LA at 5:44. So that’s a two hour flight. Then I am there for about three and a half hours. So mom expect a call sometime during then. Then I leave LA at 9:20 LA time and go non-stop to London Heathrow. Packing some sleeping pills for that flight. I land there at 3:30 there time. So I don’t know the time difference so mom can you tell me. I will probably will call you there too. and thats Tuesday the 27th I get there. than I leave London For Johannesburg at 6:15 London time. And I get to South Africa at 605 South African time. I am there until 9:45 than take off to Maputo and on from there. So expect some calls mom.

Besides the memory card can you send some pictures of like when Logan was there and if you have any of Bella too? if you dont have them than its no big deal. Have you gotten my line of authority and if you have can you send that and the memory card I sent home too.

When your in Arizona can you have like Grandma and some other relatives write on dear elder. i would really love that.

And don’t feel too bad about not writing. I know your busy so its all good. In like a week im going too be sending home a Mozambique shirt I ordered from the bookstore with writing from people who are in my district on it. and I got like presidential coins from the vending machines here and I am going to send them home so maybe dad can get a book for them to hold them. Does Michelle still need new scriptures?. I can get them here for like 40 bucks. so if she does I can get them.

We taught the plan of salvation this week all in Portuguese. It went mais o menos. It was our first time teaching it so it was kinda expected. The pounds just keep on adding it seems here. I have probably gained a total of like eight pounds here. It is ridiculous. I play softball for gym most of the time and it reminds me of when I played in little league.

If people send me letters this week, like handwritten ones they should probally write in the mission adress not the MTC one unless it’s like early this week. So with all that stuff your going to send me you probally send it like Monday or Tuesday.

Other than that, life in the CTM, I mean MTC,(thinking in portuguese) is all the same. Eating, studying, and sleeping. thats been my life for almost eight weeks.

We all still get along great here too. I am learning patience.

I love you all,

Tchao,

-Elder Sirrine

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Week 7 - Congrats Jenny and Justin

Ola Mae e Todos pessoas,

How is everybody doing? Hope all is going well. Congrats Jenny and Justin. Whose next to get married?

So today my district helped clean the temple. It was so cool. All I did was sit around because I was security. I actually had my own badge and everything. It was pretty LEGIT. All the rooms are getting new lamps. The sealing rooms are huge!!!! It’s all crystal and it is really cool.

Hey mom, have you sent that package with my shoes in it? if not, can you send pictures of when Logan was at our house and of the fourth of July? I really want some. And if you send me that 4GB memory can you make sure you send my other one too?. The one I have in my camera now is 2GB. So if you sent it it would be awesome.

Go HOLLAND!!!! Make sure you write DearElder like immediately after the game so I know about it. I am wearing my Holland soccer jersey right. I gotta represent.

We taught a lesson in all portuguese on Thursday. It went really good. The guy was in the army and went to Iraq with someone from Fort Hood. We talked about it, ALL in portuguese. It was awesome. That was probally one of the best things this week. We started only talking in the language only in class this week. It is hard but it is coming along.

In about a week I should get my flight plans for when I go to Africa. I am so excited to go. I can’t wait. Our teacher who went to Mozambique said his first night in Mozambique he heard gunfire... creepy right? But he also said that the apartments aren't even really bad. They have plumbing, electricity, and a fridge. and thats a lot more than most people have. So I am not too worried about it. Our teacher said we will probably fly to England. And we will have like a six hour layover there. That is kind of what he did.

Time here is flying by here so fast. It is crazy! I have been here six and a half weeks already!

This week we got 8 new people going to Mozambique. 8 more!! Africa is growing so much. 17 days left.

Someone friom the Victor Falls Ward came in on Wednesday. His name is Scott Milburn. He is going to Guatemala. I see Allen Swanson everyday. It is pretty cool.

Other than that nothing has really happened. Just really eating and studying.

I love you guys. and congrats Jenny!!

-Elder Sirrine

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Week 6 - Go Holland!!

GO HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope Germany wins too so they could play each other. Last Friday we had a devotional Eight of the twelve apostles were here. Dallin H.. Oaks spoke to us. He is really awesome and it was really cool. This past Thursday me and my conmpanion taught our first lesson in Portuguese. It went alright. We are still not very good at the language but it will come too us. The marines in my distict are here because they recieved like temporary relief from the Marines or something. One is from San Deigo, the second is from Las Vegas, and the third is from Atlanta. We have someone who is from Kennewick Washington, South Carolina, Indiana, Mexico City, and from Tucson. All the rest are from Utah. On Wednesday there are more people coming to the MTC headed for Mozambique but I don’t know how. For our travel plans I think we get them in like a week and a half or two weeks or so. I leave for Africa three weeks from Monday. Everything is really is the same here in the MTC. It does not change a lot. Gym in morning, then breakfast, class, lunch, class, jantar, I mean dinner, then study. That is really what I have been up too. In my district there are three marines, an MMA fighter and two people whose dads were in the military in Germany Did either you or dad know people with the last name of Shnobrich? They lived in Germany the same time as us. I don’t know if Matthew got my letter I sent to him, but i need a new English Preach My Gospel. Mine is ruined..sorry! I also need a new language book. You know that little potuguese book you got me when I went through the temple? They don’t sell them here.. and if you did get it, I would need a purple one. I is for continental Portuguese and the one you bought, the green one, is for Brazilian Portuguese. Sorry but I can’t use it. If you can’t get them , maybe you can tell Matthew about it. Other than that, I really don’t need anything, unless there is something you want to send me ! So a little more about my district…ummm…the one elder from Mexico City cannot go with us to Mozambique because he was not able to get his visa. He is being assigned to Boston instead ( I am a little jealous because I would love to go to Boston). Our teacher who went to Mozambique on his mission said we will fly for a total of like 32 hours total. He said we will most likely fly to LA, then on to London. Then to Johannesburg and Maputo from there. It sound like a big adventure and I am really excited to go. We all get along really really good in our district. On Sunday I am going to made the senior companion so that is really cool! Other than that, nothing has happened. I love you all and look forward to those letters in the next couple of days. GO GO HOLLAND!!!!!! And Germany.

Tchao
Elder Sirrine

Week 5 - Learning Lots!

Hi mom and family,

This week is a pretty big week at the MTC. It is the mission president seminar so all the apostles and the first presidency are here. I have not seen any of them but tonight is a special devotional. Several of them will speak but all of them will be on the stand.. it is going to be pretty awesome. I will have more details about it next week. This week has been pretty good. Last Saturday we played “Simon says”.. all in Portuguese.. it was really fun! A person from our district has a book about the church that I thought was interesting I do not remember what it is called, but it has a lot of info about the church. I talks about when Joseph Smith showed Parley P. Pratt where he received the golden plates. He describes it as the Hill Cumorah opened up and they walked into a huge cavern. And there was a fire going and there was a table. On it was the Sword Of Laban and on it it said" this sword shall never be sheated again until the coming of the Lord. He also said that were writing on gold plates stacked three or four feet high. And the walls were made out of marble.. I do not know if any of that is true or not but it was pretty interesting to read and the book had a lot of information in it. I will find out the name of it so I can give it to you and you can check it out. get the name of it and give it to you.

This week we are also playing Risk.. It was our teachers idea.. For our "countries" he took our last name and found a word that stars with the first letter of our names. Like mine is Sirrine's Sub… get it? The temple is closed until July 25th so I will not be able to go through a session again. Today we got to tear out all of the carpeting in there. It was actually fun! Mom, did you email those letters, cause if you did I have not gotten them. It was kind of sad this week. I only got two letters since last Saturday so I am looking forward to getting some this week.. And is Michelle still doing that letter thing at church? For the world cup, GO HOLLAND, USA, AND SOUTH AFRICA I want to go for Uganda, but there playing the USA this week.. Did you take any pictures with Logan when you had him? If you did can you send me some? It sounds like fun going to Opas house to build a new fence.. i wish I could help!! Well that is really all for this week.. and the computers are acting are weird and stuff. So I will talk to you all next week. I love you all and miss you. Elder Sirrine
PS 31 days down, 31 more to go before I leave for Africa…YEAH BOY!!!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Week 4 - Still in the MTC

Hi Mom and everybody else,

I am glad to hear Michelle finally got her learners permit. Good for her!

Was the Meeker Days craft show the one where I cut my hand last year? if it is than its been a fast year. next friday is my halfway mark here in the MTC. I am here for a total of nine weeks.

Please tell Linda and Mario congratulations from about her baby.

So I kind of have a funny story. My comp and I were out in the hall by the stairs in our classroom doing language study and I had a rolly chair. So I was rolling around and I went to close to the stairs. and I started going over the stairs. Luckily I caught myself on the stairs. The chair went end over end down the stairs. It was a pretty close call wouldn’t you say?

Starting on Wednesday will be the new mission president seminar. The first presidency and most of the qourum of the twelve will be here. One of my teachers is going to be an usher. so we might have a chance to see some of them. Next Friday were are having this big fireside with them so I am really excited about that.

i was just looking at the picture with Mario and Linda’s family that you sent in my last email. Mario looks kind of tired and stressed. I wonder why? HA HA!.

Dads been good about writing me. He writes to me about twice a week. He keeps me up to date on sports. Can you have him or you tell me about the NBA finals because it is game seven. I sent dad a Father’s day card on Tuesday and I mailed some pictures home on Wednesday. You should be getting those anytime now if you havent got them already.

My language is coming along alright. I know just basic words. but its good.its coming.

On July 7th, there are more people coming into the MTC who are going to Mozambique. So thats really cool. I am excited for that.

My teacher who went to Italy on vacation, finally came back this week. He is awesome. He even went to Mozambique on his missions. Sometimes he tells us stories about what it is really like in Mozambique. T hey are super scary but they are getting me excited to get to Africa.

Today was the last time we will be able to go to the temple. It is undergoing some renovation and will be closed for about 5 weeks. It closes on the 21st. When I go to the temple it really makes me homesick and really makes me miss you guys a lot.

This week we got 44 new elders and sisters in our zone. There are now like 120 missionaries in our zone alone. We have the biggest zone in the whole MTC.

Well nothing really else happened this week. just class and eating. and I gotta get back to my laundry. Tell everybody “hello” for me. And especially tell Bella hello and that I miss her.

I love you all and miss you. Have a good week this week. Good luck at Meeker Days.

Love-
Elder Sirrine

Friday, June 11, 2010

Week 3 - It's All Good In The MTC

Hi Mom!

Como Vai? Tudo Bem?

Things are getting pretty restless here. Most days we wake up, gym, eat, study, eat, study, eat, than study more. At first I lost weight here but I weighed myself yesterday and I gained like two pounds. But I think I will lose it all when I get to Africa.

And yes mom, I am still getting along with my comp and my district. We all really get along. Did you know that this group of missionaries is the biggest ever to go to Mozambique. And that we are the biggest district in the whole MTC? Most of the other districts are usually about 8. And we have 14. It just shows the missionary work in Africa is growing! It is pretty awesome.

Thanks for getting my check for me. I have spent probably like $60 or so. I have bought a backpack to hold all my stuff in, laundry soap and stuff like that. I have also gotten a scripture case for my scriptures in english and portuguese. When I in the field part of my money thing will go for that stuff. so its not too bad. In Mozambique you can get a bunch of bananas for like 25 cents.

On Tuesdays we have a MTC wide fireside. And guess who came? Elder Robert D. Hales of the qourom of the twelve. It was awesome. He talked about obedience and the light of Christ. It was a really good talk. And I think either President Monson or someone from the first presidency are coming maybe end of June early July. Because the MTC is organizing a 36 voice choir. And they usually do not organize them unless someone from the first presidency. I really hope they do come because that would be really cool.

This week I am going to send home just my gray suit jacket. I am going to keep my pants. I am going to send it home because I only wear suits on Sundays, Tuesday nights for devotional and to and from the temple. I won’t need to have two for Africa because I am only going to wear a jacket like twice a month if that. So expect that soon. I am also sending home some pictures this week too as well as a card para pai por dia de pai on Sunday.

We have large group meetings once a week for better ways to teach people. And the guy who teaches it looks just AND sounds like Bill Murray. It’s hilarious! Here is a joke he said " What do Titanic and the sixth sense have in common? Icy dead people" Think about it.

The weather here has been good, but today it has been raining. So it’s nice. It reminds me of home. the langauge is coming along ok. Our teacher who has been on vacation is supposed to be back on Monday. Finally we will have two permanent teachers. Their names are sister olson who served in Portugal, and Brother Okasaki who served in Mozambique.

Well my time is about out so I got to go. Thank you for the package. I will have enough treats to last me forever. Haha!.

I love you guys and miss you. Tell everybody hi for me!!

Love
Elder Sirrine