Well, this week was a bit of a new one. I am not sure if you have heard anything because the Ethiopian government does a good job at keeping things off the internet but there is a lot happening right now here. I don't even know all of it but I know it is happening. So this week we were pretty much stopped again entirely for missionary work... I think I will just write my weekly email right here and now because it will be a pretty simple one. In fact, I will just go day by day and talk about what we did on those days.
Before I do that, this week we had no success on work permits. I have mine but it is only me now. When President first told me I had to stay, he didn't know that there was a problem with permits. He just felt I should stay. Soon after he told me he had some more news. It turns out that work permits are extremely difficult to get right now. None of the new Elder's are getting them and they are even about to send them back to Uganda and bring back some Elders who previously served here. So the news is, Elders with work permits are super valuable right now to the work here. Annnndd..... that is me! So he told me I wont be able to leave Ethiopia any time soon now. I think I will stay serving here for a while. I think maybe God wants me to stay and do something because the second I felt like I wanted to go crap hit the fan and they are deporting everyone but like 3 of us.... woooO!
So, the other thing that was big this week is the Prime Minister resigned. There have been a lot of tribal fights around Ethiopia lately and the Prime Minister just had enough. So riots started up around and the opposing party is trying to fight their way to get rid of the government and it has just led to a lot of fighting and killing and wildness around me. So we were on lock down for a while. So, pretty wild week.
Monday: After emailing we went to dinner at a members and ate some shiro. Nice.
Tuesday: We had Zone Conference in the morning. It was a great zone conference focused on how to work through the hard times and the worldly troubles around us. I feel like a lot of the words were made for me seeing I had asked just hours before to leave Ethiopia and was told I would stay for a lot longer. After Zone Conference we went to English class and helped teach there. That is how we fill our time since my companion can't proselyte right now. It is sooo super fun for me to do and I am getting betam (very clever) good at it. Following that we were told to go home around 6pm because of riots.
Wednesday: Elder Cooper and I went on an exchange because we are the only two here with work permits. So our companions went to the church and spent the day there and Elder Cooper and I spent the entire day contacting and handing out loads of pass along cards. We have had a few call as a result and legally found new investigators! That was the whole day. Again at 6pm we had to head to the apartment.
Thursday: LOCK DOWN... The full day we had to stay inside. I ate tons of eggs and bread and we played some board games like Settlers of Catan and Monopoly. Lock downs are the worst!
Friday: We were on lock down in the morning. In the afternoon we were good to go out so we went to the office to do some work there. Following that we went to English class again and taught there. And then we went to a neighbors house for dinner.
Saturday: We had an okay day. Weekly planned in the morning. After that we went to Megenagna and got lunch. By the way it is "fasting season" right now which means no meat in the country for two months.... yeah, fasting. So we bought a sheep and slaughtered it. Yeah. But we ate a fasting lunch in Meg then taught some people at the church. In the evening we went to Aster's families for dinner and ate some good food. That was our day.
Sunday: Church in the morning. We had the baptisms of Abaynesh and Yiftusara which was sweeeet!!! It took a while cause of some difficulties like no water and other things. But it finally worked out and both got dunked. !! After church we went home and cooked some food. I ate some sheep stuff. Not bad. Then we went to some members out in Ayat and 49. Then headed home before it was late and played some games.
So that was my week! Kind of a wild week but we are safe and doing well. Hopefully things will calm down and we can have a productive week next week. And get some work permits!
Okay, Sorry it is a shorter email but that's what I've got. Have a good week everyone!
Love you guys.
Love,
Elder McLain
In the News:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/16/state-of-emergency-declared-in-ethiopia-amid-political-unrest
Splasshhhhhh!
Baptisms of Abaynesh and Yiftusara which was sweeeet!!!
Tok blending into my lower half
I am Mama Africa now I guess
Elder Chandler (my companion) meeting his birth father for the first time
since he left Ethiopia as a young boy!
"Smell my feet."
"Ew they smell!" Aizosh hahaha
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