Bowling Green, Kentucky

 Whats Up everybody!!!

Lot has changed in the past 2 weeks. I am now serving in Bowling Green, Kentucky!! Crazy part is I was told before my mission that this was my Uncle John's favorite area when he served here over 25 years ago. But not only have i switched areas...I'm doing Swahili work! Im called to this area to do ONLY Swahili work. Bowling Green is what they call a sanctuary city so apparently they have people from Africa coming to live here all the time. As a missionary normally we are supposed to talk to everyone that we possibly can. People walking the streets, taking out their trash, telling them to roll down their window at stop lights to invite them to church, gas stations, getting out of their cars at apartment complexes, everyone. But this area is different. I asked my new companion Elder Jensen whos been in this area almost 6 months 

"So i know we're doing Swahili work but do we still talk to everyone and just send their info to the other missionaries in the area doing english work?"

And he goes,

"Nah we only talk to the Africans. There are so many out here and so much to do it would actually be counter-productive for us to be talking to everyone."

I was in shock. This was whole different type of work than I had been doing for the past 15 months. I'm obviously still in America but because of the work im doing it feels like im serving in a different country. Because we dont just walk the streets and talk to people we find people to teach throigh the people we are already teaching. Swahili families are so big that every time we go to someones house there is almost always some friend or relative there that doesnt actually live there so we get their address teach them in their home and find even more people that we dont know yet to teach. If i can describe Swahili work with one experience that I've had in the past 2 weeks it would be this:

We went to this house of some recently baptized members and there were little kids everywhere, a few teenagers and 2-3 adult women. One of the teens, a cousin in the family, walks around the house for a little bit and then comes back with a confused look on his face and says in an african accent

"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY KIDS IN THIS HOUSE? SOME OF THEM I DONT EVEN KNOW!"

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

These families are so big not even the family knows everybody that live there🤣🤣🤣

Even though im doing Swahili work, we dont know the language so we literally have to teach people over google translate, or if anybody in the house (usually the kids) that can speak english we'll have translate for us. My comp told me that we dont even have to worry about learning the language because our mission president doesnt want us to because ots already been shown that we can have success without it which means we will have to use the members.

I'm serving not in a Ward, not in a branch, but a group. Thats how small it is that its just called a group. We have maybe 6-8 active members and everyone else that have been recently baptized we try to get as often as we can because they dont fully understand that after you are baptized you have to come to church every week. So recently we've been focusing super hard on recent converts and making them more solid members so that we can strengthen the foundation of this group so that it will continue to grow. My comp Elder Jensen said that i came at a very crucial time in this area because things are really starting to change and pick up. He told me that this is the type of area you stay in for awhile because with a group this fragile it wouldnt be helpful to have missionaries switching out super often. He said hes confident that in my time here in Bowling Green I will be able to see this group become a branch. My heart is full because I dont know very much and im not the best missionary but The Lord has trusted me enough that I get to be apart of something so new and to watch it grow from the ground up. For that im very grateful. Grateful to be apart of this great work and despite my imperfections I'm able to be trusted by The Lord. This also Elder Jensen's last transfer so he goes home soon which means I need to learn as much as I can about this work and area because he'll be gone soon.

I thank my Heavenly Father for his patience with me, an imperfect servant, and the opportunity that he has given me to change. This is a gospel of becoming. A Gospel of Change. Jesus Christ not only died for us but came to set a perfect example for us to follow. I've become myself by following him and because of that I'm eternally indebted to him. 

There are only 2 masters you can serve. And complacency is not of God.

Hurrah 4 Israel🤟

- Elder Vimahi💜

P.S I jacked myself up tryna cut my own hair. I just figured if I got 9 months left I might as well try to learn myself so I don't gotta pay for it when I get back home🤣🤣