My new area is pretty sweet. It’s right in Kampala

and it has the American Embassy so like I said before,

that means pretty good American food around here.

Being a DL is a little more responsibility but it is pretty

awesome. It makes it easier to be the DL in the same

apartment as the Zone Leaders. They help me out a lot.

Elder T is a pretty cool Cali boy. He’s lost like 45 pounds

on mission apparently and looking at pics of him in the

past is hilarious. Both my companion and him are like 6’4

so I’m the short guy in the District unfortunately. The

Ward is good, except yesterday we had the Kampala

Stake Conference so I don’t know how many people

from Nsambya were able to make it to that.

The wedding sounds BALLER! I’m sad I wasn’t there

physically but I was definitely there spiritually. We almost

had a mock wedding at our place last night where we

were going to make my companion put on a mop for hair

and do that recreation so I could be there. We didn’t

end up doing that though unfortunately. We have a lot

of fun being able to understand each other and

having similar interests. Pretty legit.

The week was great. Monday we just emailed and ate

some pretty tasty sandwiches at a Belgium hotel place

called La Petit Village. They have amazing breakfast

and amazing deli sandwiches. I love being able to go to

a place like that!

Tuesday we were able to get a referral from the former

ZL in Nsambya who is now the AP and he showed us a

family of like 10 that is really eager to hear about the

church but was forgotten about by the people who replaced

this Elder. We’ve been trying to see them and 3 of their

daughters have been coming to church weekly even though

they live about a 50 minute walk away. They are awesome

and I’m so blessed to have been able to have found this

wonderful family!

Wednesday was good. We had a ZDM here at the church and

it was cool. Our zone is pretty small, only 10 missionaries,

but it’s getting more powerful by the day. The time spent

was pretty uplifting

Thursday we helped this woman cross pretty much all of the

area we cover, carrying her tubs and child for her and her

daughter the entire way. The whole time I was thinking

“man this lady is really taking us far.” Well totally worth it.

We got to their home and she had a pretty large extended

family there of adults who were extremely eager to hear

from us. Each time we’ve gone back, and even that day they

have bought us drinks and fed us. I’ve never seen people so

Christlike before who weren’t already members of the church.

It’s like they already were members and understood how to

be a good Christian. We gave them 3 Books of Mormon and

have been teaching them the past week. They are awesome!

They are seriously so interested and treat us like we’re

Christ himself. I wish all the people could be like this family,

even members of the church here!

Friday and Saturday were full of lessons and on Saturday

we got to work with the “Special Assignment Missionaries.”

They are two Elders who have extended and just help out

giving trainings and make sure we are teaching well. They

gave us a small training and worked with us and it was good

for my companion and I to go on an exchange with these

seasoned veterans. We even commited a baptismal date on

Saturday to a Husband and Wife who were being previously

taught in Mbali and we found them again just this last week.

They are totally humble and awesome as well as the other

family we met. They have three awesome kids too and we are

really working to bring more families to the church here in

Nsambya. They have enough single adults so now they need families.

Sunday was the Kampala stake conference.

The second ever too! It was pretty cool. We had

a video broadcast from SLC of Boyd K. Packer and

Dallin H. Oaks. It’s like they knew exactly what to

say to all the people here. They talked about how some

of the local traditions need to be stopped in order to

follow the traditions set forth by our Heavenly Father.

That the man should help the wife in all things, just like

Adam and Eve worked together for food and to live in

the beginning of time.

So the week was good. Enjoy life and know that God is

always looking out for us. Keep being amazing.

Elder ‘Tex’ Welch

The week was good. Lots of lessons like usual.
On Friday we had the baptism of O, who was the
guy who left early the one week, and he’s
a cool guy. I really like him. We had the baptism
that day since
district conference and because of work for him.
On Saturday I found out I was getting transferred
to a place in Kampala called Nsambya. It’s a really
cool area I hear and has really good food.
It’s a ward there too and I’ll be training.
The area is being reopened after being closed for
a couple transfers and I’ll also
be the District Leader. In the Ward Bishopric I guess
one of the guys is from America and works at the
American Embassy.

Sunday we had the District Conference which
was good. Elder Callicker’s talk was good and we had
a good turn out from the Bugembe
Branch there. We held that at the YMCA in Jinja.
A lot of couples, missionaries, and guests. It was
pretty cool.

And today I just cut my hair like the usual
routine I do of cutting it at the very end of each
transfer. That’s about the highlight of today.
I did find a Dr. Pepper at a market though so I
bought a couple which always makes me happier.

Well that’s the week. Just think about things and
how they are different here.
Try and think how your life would be different
if we all didn’t have what
we do have.
Elder Welch

My companion is doing good. He's been working harder
and following the rules better once I explained to him
that he wasn't a part time missionary like he thought,
but a full time one and he needed to start
following the rules as best as he could now, and not later.

It's not so humid here but it is mainly just always hot. The church
isn't too hot because it's kind of an open building with a covered
roof. It was just a hard day to stay awake with the heat though. The
only air conditioning there is here is if you have a car or you are
wealthy enough to get a system in your home but the only place I've
seen with that is the Mission President’s home.

General Conference was amazing! I was so glad we got to see those
talks despite all the noise from the little kids that were there
during the sessions. My favorite session was the first one on
Saturday. Jeffrey R. Holland's talk was so amazing even though it was
mainly full of thanks. It made me think of you guys so much and I was
almost crying throughout that talk and a lot of them during the
Conference. We had a lot of people go to the Sunday morning session.
About 108 people came for that one and my side had 14 investigators
over the two days. We even had a guy who we ran into last Sunday in
Bugembe and even Monday in Jinja come and say he felt the spirit so
much and how it made him want to change his life because he has
neglected to have God in it lately. He kept telling me he had a lot of
friends he wants us to teach haha. He wants us to come during the
lunch break at his work and just tell people about the church. We
might have to do that one of the days this week.

This week was pretty great. On Monday and even today we went to that
restaurant with the Dr. Peppers and American style pizza and it was
amazing! I haven’t had such a good taste in my mouth the entire time
I’ve been here but I loved it!
On Tuesday we went to the church and helped dig a ditch below the
church so that the water from emptying the baptismal font would stop
flooding the people’s homes below the church. They were thankful for
that and the ditch we dug is in one of the pictures. We saw a guy from
New Jersey that works as a Catholic missionary here on our way home
and he saw us in our shorts and t-shirts and asked if it was our day
off or if we had been gardening. You know me I was just like, “Na, we
were digging a ditch below the church since we’ve been having so many
baptisms each week and the people below us were complaining of all the
water.”
On Wednesday the eventful thing was that my companion killed the rat
that was in our garage. He was walking outside with a box and a stick
and we followed him asking what was in it and he was just like “I
don’t know.” He says that a lot but it turns out it was a big mouse,
or a rat and he just chased it down after it came out of the box and
killed it. It was pretty funny to see this guy chase it down actually.
He was like a pro!
On Thursday Elder D tried talking to a member of the church in
Bugembe he recognized and the guy totally denied that he knew Elder
D . It was funny because I thought Elder D was mistaken but
Elder D had the guys number in his phone and started calling him
as he sat at the table next to us and it was hilarious to see the guy
pick it up and Elder D saying “it’s me Issac!” The guy was still
like oh I don’t know how you got my number or know my name.
Even the Branch President came in and saw the guy and greeted
him and the guy was just like “tell them you don’t know me.”
It reminded me of Peter denying Christ thrice for some reason.
On Saturday and Sunday we got to watch General Conference which was
awesome! The highlight of my week. I totally took General Conference
for granted before mission but now I see how amazing all the talks
were. I saw how filled with the Spirit the Apostles, Prophet, and the
Seventy were. I realized that when you see someone almost weeping when
they talk that they feel the spirit so much and it makes me feel the
spirit and almost weep myself. It reminds me of Christ when he visits
the Nephites and he weeps as he blesses the children and sees the
peoples love and faith. That truly exemplifies the Savior and showing
the power of the Holy Ghost. It truly is a great and wonderful feeling
that I’m glad I’m familiar enough with that I can recognize it.
Also on Sunday Elder D scared Elder M just to have some kind
of feeling of Halloween. He took out the light bulb in the room and
hid in his closet and jumped out at him as he opened it. That was the
excitement for my Halloween. At least we did something right? :)

keep on being awesome!

Elder Welch