News From Kenema

Jarren posted this email to me dated October 10, 2011 10:25 AM.  It was too good not to share with everyone.  Hope all enjoy. Knell:

Life is going good here in Africa. Today we went to Bo for interviews by president Roggia. And what was also waiting for me in Bo was two packages, Claudia's second package and Bill and Mary Kay's. Also letters. 5 from mom, 1 from breanne, and the one from the branch.
Mom's are dated: aug 24 - sept8 - sept 15 - sept 18 - sept 26
Breanne's is : sept 18
This one from the branch is awesome. It's really nice to see friendly faces. I'll write a letter back to the primary and to the branch soon. You should get it in a few weeks.
Haven't had a chance to open the boxes yet, but i'm sure they're good!!
Next transfer theres going to be two more missionaries added to Kenema so there will be 3 branches working here. By the end of this transfer theres going to be 126 missionaries working here in Sierra Leone Freetown Mission.
There have been some exciting developments in Kenema North. For one theres a fellow here from Liberia who has strong anti-Church feelings that he feels necesary to share them openly and with much colour. He lives somewhere in my area, Kenema North, and Elder Jenkins and Elder Obbina have seen him in there area in the town. Every time he sees us he expresses his absent love for us and the church with a cheerful "F" you and a jubliant finger. I remember seeing him somewhere the second week I got here, and i don't really see much of him.
The second time I saw him Elder Tade and I where headed home, we crossed an abandoned air field when we saw him fast asleep in the tall grass. Elder Tade believes that God caused a sleep to come over him so that we could pass by unhindered in our journey.
The next time I didn't see him but Elder Tade did. It was yesterday we where going to leave the apartment after church to prosylete when Elder Tade spots him. He says to go back and he comes out of the house with a shovel ready for war. When we don't see him Elder Tade trades the shovel for a machette. Now we go out. During the day he let me have the machette and I stuck it in my belt and continued to prosylete with a machette in my belt like a samuri.
From what I have seen, this individual has a sad pathetic life that will probably never amount to anything if he doesn't soften his heart. I don't know his name, so I call him Korihor.
Another development is my companion blew up out trash. We have a small burn pile in the corner of our compound. Elder Tade puts a little gasoline on it, lites a match...KABOOOM!!!! It gives off a concussion wave that blows out a window in the kitchen, everybody in the community is freaking out, thinking that the eleven year war has started again and life as we know it has come to an end. We have members call us asking if we are alright from no more than a half a mile away, because they felt the wave!
Elder Tade and I were standing about 5 feet away from this thing when it goes off. We're alright, nobody was hurt, and Elder Tade promises that it will never happen agian.
Interisting things have happened. Thats all for now.
-Elder Rochester.



Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 10:25 AM
Subject: interesting developments
To: Mom - Kathy Rochester kathy.rochester@gmail.com