Written by Lonny (November 1, 2009)
This morning after taking half an hour getting set up, I was finally able to talk to my family on Skype. I had to sit out on the balcony, serenaded by the chanting from the Orthodox Church, to get good reception. I used headphones to eliminate the feedback, which quieted the choppy half-sentence conversations! I had a wonderful talk with Erika that really boosted my spirits.
Danny drove us to church at the Addis Megenagna Branch where we were warmly greeted by the members there. I sat next to an 18 year-old young man from Debre Zeyit that was visiting Addis. He is the only member of his family, but he is strong in the gospel. He joined the church two years earlier when he was only 16 years old. He is planning on going on a mission next summer. There are two young men from the branch that have their papers in and are just waiting for their calls. It is very exciting! The LDS youth here are so strong because they don’t have anyone to lean on, they do what they do because they truly want to live the gospel. They have to do everything on their own. I was thrilled to hear that on the 15 of November, the Church will be forming a mission district here in Addis.
I am so grateful that I went to Church this morning. I felt the spirit so strongly and it renewed my mind and soul. Attending Church always helps me to refocus on why I am here in Ethiopia.
The first group of MAI employees headed for the Alyssa farm yesterday, which only leaves a few of us here in Addis. I spent the afternoon catching up on my journal. I was five days behind, but not anymore!
(note from Erika: Now *I'm* the one who's behind!! Still trying to catch-up with publishing all of these great entries!)
I also read more of "The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World" by Cleon Skoussen, a book that my brother Larry gave me when we were visiting him last month. It is a great book and means even more to me as I read it while I'm here and as I compare and contrast Ethiopia with the U.S.