New Area! SEETA

       It's finally happened. After 7 months of the same area I have finally moved. This Wednesday I packed up and left Lira and I was moved to Seeta (kind of a subberb of Kampala). It's so crazy to be out of the village area now though, everything is so different in Seeta.

There's no mud huts, no one speaks Langi (they now all speak Luganda) and there is much less poverty as well. There are a lot more people in Seeta who have white collar jobs, like business or office work. But in Lira it was a lot more blue collar jobs (farmers, construction workers, etc). It's like I've been sent to serve in a completely new mission to be honest.

      This week has kind of been an adjustment for me, a new area, a new apartment, a new companion, and a new teaching pool. My new companion's name is Elder Thomo, from South Africa, Durbin. He's in his second transfer right now so he's fairly new to mission, but he's still carrying some MTC fire in him. The other two new elders in my district (and apartment) are Elder Morris (from Kenya) and Elder Latola (from South Africa), so for the first time on my mission I'm the only American In my apartment.

      The branch in Seeta works much differently than the branch in Lira. The branch in Lira had been open for less than a year so part of your duty as a missionary there was to make sure that the branch didn't go into apostasy (as in make sure that they're not teaching false doctrine, and that the auxiliary leaders are running their classes correctly). However in Seeta the branch has been open for about 7 or 8 years so the branch runs more or less as a branch should run. Seeta is also getting ready to open it's own chapel (right now were just meeting in a rented out house), it should be dedicated sometime in September or October, so if I'm around during that time that will be a big deal for the branch here.

       Thanks for all of your love and support. I feel your prayers and they uplift me, thank you, each of you.

Love Elder Grilliot

Helping Jimmy Pick Peppers

            This week I've learned about the importance of Being Christlike. We met a guy named Jimmy this week who owns a bunch of chili pepper plants, and as we were out going to an appointment we saw him picking his peppers. Elder Cobabe and I decided to stop and talk to him, but he seemed pretty uninterested in listening to us so we got up and went to our scheduled appointment. After that appointment though we passed by the the same guy as before and I had a strong prompting to stop and help him in his garden. So we went up to him and we asked if he would like any help picking chili peppers, and we spent the next hour in the sun helping him pick peppers. After that hour I told him that we had to get going but we thanked him for the opportunity to do service. As I picked myself up and started walking away we heard him call to us "Wait, hold on a second. I feel like you guys have something important to tell me". To which we replied "Yes we do". From there we taught him and his wife the pure doctrine of Christ and they accepted to be baptized. I'm so glad that our simple service was able to soften his heart the way that it did. I'm also so glad that I was able to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost in the moments that I needed to.

           Next week is transfer news, and there's a very good chance of me leaving Lira. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Q & A

Dad’s Questions:

1. Do you have a branch mission leader that you work with?  If so, does he understand his calling well, and is he helpful? 

2. How many Priesthood blessings have you given?

3. How often at church are you and your companion called on to bless or help pass the sacrament?  Or are there enough young men to do that?

4. Have you seen any tennis courts in Uganda?  Does anyone even play tennis there?  (If no, that might be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.)

5. Are there any national holidays or big celebration days in Uganda where everyone parties?  What are those like?

Elder Grilliot’s Answers:

1- Yes we do have a branch mission leader but he's still new in the church. He was baptized about 9 months ago and were still training him in how to magnify his calling. He does a
decent job, but he still has a lot to improve on.

2- I'm not sure how many blessings I've given on my mission, but it's been quite a few. You can't go three weeks without giving a blessing out here.

3- I have never had to bless/pass the sacrament on my mission yet. Lira has a very well organized Young men quorum. Also with  all of the recent converts who have the Aaronic priesthood there are always people around who are willing to bless/pass the sacrament if asked.

4- I have never seen a tennis court in Lira, but I saw one next to the mission office in Kampala, and I've heard that there's one in Entebe (where Elder Bitter is serving). But those are the only places I've heard of.

5- There aren't many national holidays in Uganda but when there are the entire mission has the missionaries go home early (around 4-6 pm). The reason why is because when it's a national holiday everyone gets super drunk and the streets can become dangerous. On New Years people in Kampala went home at 2pm and people in the Village (Lira, Gulu, Mbale, Busia, Masaka, Jinja, ect) went home at 5pm. It's more likely for people to begin rioting on holidays.

Mom’s Questions:

1-        What is one thing this week that helped you see the hand of the Lord in the work you are doing?

2-     Think of one thing that made you laugh this week and tell me about it (even if it’s just a little thing)

3-      One thing that you really like about your companion and that you have learned from him.

4-     “Best” trial you’ve had so far and what you’ve learned from that trial.

Mom,

        I shall answer your questions.

1- I have seen the hand of the Lord in this work mostly by seeing how some people react to the spirit. When you teach with the spirit and you can tell that people feel it is always interesting to see how such people react to it. I've seen instances where people are willing to open up and tell you things about themselves that they never would have normally. I've seen times when people want to reject your message, but you can see that something is fighting inside of themselves to constrain them. I've seen the spirit make people want to do something even when they don't fully understand why. Honestly the spirit has a power to touch someone’s heart over, and over.

2- There's one missionary that I live with named Elder Benjamin who makes me laugh a lot. The country that he's from (Malawi) is a lot like South Africa or Zimbabwe, meaning that it's becoming somewhat developed (2nd world country). He likes to joke though that he's country is still back in the stone ages. He does it in a way that It's just awesome. He makes jokes like that the richest man in Malawi owns a bicycle, and socks, and that the entire country gathers together during one day in the year to watch the man with socks ride the bike because they have never seen anything like it before. Or that His trainer on mission had to teach him how to wear pants and shirts because when he was in Malawi all he used to wear was a loin cloth. He's just a funny guy.

3- The best thing that I've learned from my companion is diligence. Even when he doesn't want to work (which is most of the time) I've learned how to continue working despite him. Honestly he's been a very tough companion, because he came on a mission for the wrong reasons, and I think he's still trying to figure out why he's here.

4- The best trial that I've had so far is probably my current companion. He is pretty disobedient, and I feel that by being with him I've been forced to learn why I am here and how to be more obedient, and more diligent. I've been with my current companion for 2 transfers now and It's becoming more and more difficult to be with him these days. 

Difficult Week but New Missionaries Coming!

         This has been a difficult week. Elder Cobabe and I have struggled a lot this week in progressing people. Some of our most legit investigators moved away this week, or decided to that they no longer want to be baptized, which was very disappointing. Seeing such a lack of success kind of put us down, but at the same time pushes us to work harder.

         Sometimes I feel as though I have spent way to much time in Lira. I kind of just wish that I could see more of Uganda, instead of being stuck in the same place for so long.

         We met a pretty cool family this week. The father is a teacher at Lango College, and the wife owns her own business. They seem to be a pretty solid family (with 3 kids) and I hope that they progress well. We met them while tracking, and they all accepted a baptismal date within the first visit. I have a good feeling about this family.

      This mission is growing quickly, this upcoming transfer were going to get 19 new missionaries. That's a new record for the mission. Were also sending out a lot of new missionaries, in the branch that I'm in there are 5 people preparing to send in their papers this month. I wish I could see what the branch is like in 2 years with all of the missionaries from Lira returning. I think that in Lira there's about 15 missionaries out right now, the branch is going to grow so fast once they all come back.

      Thank you all for all of your love and support. Keep the people in this Country in your prayers, they need the Gospel more than they know. 

Finding a Friend

May 20, 2013

As far as missionary work is concerned this was a very powerful week. My companion and I have been blessed by our efforts this week, and I can see the blessings that come through obedience and hard work. Elder Cobabe and I had been struggling this transfer so far, we've meet a few good people but not very many, and for the most part we were just having a difficult time getting anything going. However this week we sat down as we were planning out the week and we just brainstormed effectively. We thought of dozens of Ideas of how to get referrals, and how to get results this week and then we just put them into action. I was as obedient as possible this week to all of the mission rules and standards, and felt an added bonus of the spirit. As Elder Cobabe and I worked this week we felt the arm of God with us at all times, and by the end of it all we had an amazing week. We had 12 investigators come to church this Sunday as well, which is the highest that I've ever seen. Elder Cobabe and I just felt like the hand of God was with us the whole day.

    During this week we had another great blessing happen. Elder Cobabe and I were walking along when these kids came up to us and started bugging us (asking for money and sweets), but rather than just ignoring them I decided to try to turn this into a finding opportunity. One of the kids (like 8 or 9 years old) asked us "where are you going", so I responded "were looking for someone. Do you know where the old wise man is who lives around here? The one who drives a car and lives in a big house?" (or in other words I just asked do you know where this elect investigator stays). One of the kids seemed to think he knew who I was talking about so he jumped up and said "follow me". He lead us about a quarter of a mile down this long dirt road in the middle of all these trees and bushes until we
ended up at this large compound that I had never noticed before. We knocked on the gate and It was answered by the guard who noticed us and immediately was like "oh missionaries huh? I think that he's been waiting for you, come on in" so we walked into this enormous compound where there was the most beautiful house (It would look fancy if you found it in the States, let alone Uganda). The Guard stopped us at the gate and said "let me make sure it's OK for you to come in". The guard walked in and moment later came back out saying "follow me". We entered into the house and noticed that the inside was even more beautiful than the outside,  paintings everywhere, the floor and walls were an untainted white color and in the main room was a giant chandelier hanging over a very large, well-dressed man sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. We sat down across from the man and we introduced our selves to him, curious as to who this man was. After introducing ourselves to him he put down his newspaper and looked at us studying us for a while, and then looked us in the eyes and told us "I am the chairman or the Catholic church in Lira, what can you teach me about Christ that I don't already know". BOOM! That caught me off guard. Immediately my Companion and I  began to say a silent prayer in our hearts, and said "Our aim is not to teach you something new about Christ, but to share with one another what we know about Christ and help to build up a stronger relationship with Christ". We opened up to 3rd Nephi: 27 where Jesus talks about his gospel and we just bore powerful testimonies about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was deeply impressed at the Book of Mormon after that so we explained a little bit about it (where it comes from, and what it is about). We even gave him one to keep as well. As we were getting ready to go he said to us "Any time that you guys want to pass by again don't be afraid of coming by". It was a pretty cool experience and proves to me that the spirit that the Book of Mormon has is powerful enough to soften hearts, by just reading it. Also the missionaries have a new friend in Lira, and his name is Minister Ogwal, the Chairman of the Catholic Church in Lira.
-Love 
Elder Grilliot

Caught in the Act and Pascal the Chameleon

My comp. hid and got this of me for you, I love you mom!

      

This has been a good week. It was good to talk with home and touch base with my mom this mothers day. One thing that us missionaries sometimes forget is how far away home is, but when you haven't talked to any family in about 4 months you realize that time moves on and it separates us more than distance ever will.

       My companion (Elder Cobabe) and I found a chameleon this week. We named him Pascal (after the movie Tangled), and he's awesome, he changes colors and stuff. He lives in our compound and we see him climbing around in trees and branches within the compound all the time, so he's like our pet in a way.

      Anyways love you guys have a great week.

P.S. I apologize in advance for having such a short post this week.

Staying in LIra and Finding Simon

       Dear Framily and Friends,

 There are just somethings that I love about serving in Uganda. I love the diversity for one. You can get missionaries from all over Africa serving around you. I've met people from Kenya, South Africa, Zimbobwe, Malawi, Tanzania, and Madagascar. It's pretty sweet having such diversity, and so many different cultures in one place. Hearing stories, and making friends with people all over Africa is pretty sweet.

        We had transfers once again and just like before I'm staying in Lira, except this time I'm also keeping my same companion, Elder Cobabe. So basically no changes for me.

        Elder Cobabe and I have met some pretty awesome people this week, who I am excited about. One thing about this mission is that (especially in these younger branches like in Lira) we are searching for specific kinds of people, ones who will strengthen the branches and help to stabilize the branch. Basically the most important thing that the branches need are families, complete families. Father, Mother, and children. And It's a bonus if they have a steady job and are well educated. That's why Elder Cobabe and I felt so excited this week when we met someone named Simon who has a family of 5, has an excellent job as a building supervisor  and is just an all around cool guy. He accepted a baptismal date the first time that we met him and he's just a very elect guy. He's exactly what these new branches in Uganda are looking for. It's so difficult to find a complete family and baptize them but when you do It's just awesome.

     Look forward to calling you guys Sunday. Can't Wait!

Love 

Elder Grilliot