Ho hum ho hum. what to write such a great ol' mum.
Would a poem make her smile or cring?
Would a song bring smiles to her lips?
Maybe I'll make her good eye twinge,
Or make her dance and shake her hips.
In any case I know she'd love,
A little email from an African bud.

Well, cannot say that I want to write poems for a living, but I thought that was fun.

It is a grand old day here in good old Maputo. I am sitting in the mission office with the APs to my left and the secretaries behind me. What that means is that I was officially the first missionary in the entire mission minus the APs and the Secretaries to find out what happened with transfers.

Random trivia for yall today. Maputo city wasn't always called Maputo. When the Portuguese were ruling and a few years afterwords the name was "Lorenço Marques". Bet ya didn't know that.

Are any of my investigators interested in the big B? Well, actually now that you ask...we had a really good, unplanned lesson with N. and L. last night. Guess what N. asked. "So, how long does it take to get Baptised in the church?" *finger snap thing* We have only taught them both the 1st lesson and he is already reading great. N. is a crazy humble guy. She usually stays quieter during lessons like most women(that is due to the idea here that the MAN is the big boss of the house) but when she talks she is smart and has a strong opinion. The good news is that church had a good impression on her and she also had lots of questions about how things work, where kids go during church, can she take the sacrament before baptism. So...I am excited to see if they continue firm. We need to teach them about how they need to get married before baptism next time. One thing, if you don't let them know about that early on then getting them married takes FOREVER. Also, a lot of couples get dropped cause they aren't willing to get married without the big party or the Lobolo (that dowry Elder Anderson talked about in his talk. It's stupid. Tons of cash and a bunch of stuff like a suit for the Dad and dress for the Mom, beer, wine, etc...)

So, PRAY! Yall pray for them and for us to find more families like them. Our biggest challenge right now is just getting them to make the time to sit with us for the first few lessons. After the first few you kinda know whether they're ready or not and if they are ready then remarking is really easy once they are used to you coming by.

Well, I promised myself I would try to make this shorter so Josh and Dad don't get crap tiny things any more.

Enjoy the hamburgers. To respond to the question what is my favorite talk you know I have to pick Elder Anderson's where he talks about us over here. Besides that...


Don't worry about short emails. Like you said, I love any letters yall send.

Well, love ya'll, I think that's about it...not sure WHAT I AM MISSING(BWAHAHAHA!!!),
Elder Christopher Wartena

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PPS. Oh yeah! I think you might want to know what happened with transfers right? Well, I GUESSED RIGHT! HAH! I'm a staying right where I'm at and getting me compy tomorrow. His name is Elder Bigelow. I met him in Beira, but I didn't really know him. I guess that'll change though. I and my entire house are excited for him to come. Elder Ostler served with him before and everyone else says I'll get along great with him.


PPPS. I love you.


PPPPS. Nate is graduating seminary, that is WEIRD. I refuse to believe it. AHH! Next thing I'll be hearing about his mission call or getting into a college.
And Jo getting Baptised in September, Josh and Grandpa's marriages, getting halfway through my mission in July, Dad is graduated, the list goes on...this is really odd how my family is all growing up so fast.


PPPPPS. Love ya.

Dear Friends and Family,

Here is a little note we got today.  After the Skype call yesterday for Mother's Day there is just not as much to share on P-day.  We surely did enjoy seeing and visiting with him.  He looks extremely good. He is happy, loving working as a missionary.

Elder Wartena is wearing the tie dye shirt.  Aunt Nancy, a.k.a. the best tie dyer in the world, made it for him.
 If you like it let us know.  She sells them and you could own one just like it.

 You know what I ate right after getting off the phone with you guys? Nope, ya don't. 

I ate that "bon o bon" I showed Josh and then a PB and J and then a rice krispy treat. Uh huh. Then today, if the plan flies straight, we are going to eat out for Elder Coomb's last p-day in Africa. That guy is really great. Honestly, if he hadn't told me that he was leaving in a week I wouldn't have guessed it-he really isn't all that trunky. Besides the occasional comment, he is really focused on the work.

So, the picts in dropbox...most of them I was there. The dusty picture of the African kids with an Elder giving the Thumbs up-I have never been there. I just thought you'd enjoy it. It is Elder Cyrier in Luaha.

Luaha is in the middle of nowhere and only has a few members there. Missionaries used to go out there every transfer or so, but, because it really wasn't helping the work and just used up time, President stopped having them do that. Most people out there don't even speak Portuguese but a dialect called Macuah.

Well, like I said last night, not sure all that much what to say. Love ya. During the call I was just all nervous for some reason, not sure why, and I couldn't think straight, so I hope no one got unhappy or offended. I really wanted to talk to Hannah a bit, get to know her somewhat, but when she got on I was at a loss for words. I hope she wasn't offended or anything.
BUT, loved the call nonetheless, and of course I feel supported by you guys.

Pizza, I might be eating some of that today. good idea with the roll thing, I may be trying something like that.

Just out having some bowling fun on P-day.  Did you know they bowl in Mozambique?  

Hi Nate, love ya man. Tell Justin hi for me. Enjoy the PUSH-BROOM! HAHA!

Nice scriptural thought. I will try and bring one for you guys next week from my personal studies.
With Nephi we must agree: we all have our worries and we have good reasons for them usually, but the thing one must remember about worrying is that they must not be seen as excuses to not obey the Lord. "Dad said to abandon all we own and flee to the wilderness." I don't think Nephi was too crazy getting slightly worried about that, but like you said, he did not complain nor rebel, but instead asked the Lord. The same with praying about the Book of Mormon of Joseph Smith. It is a new thing that requires giant changes in one's life, so, people raise the eyebrow. What the good follower of Christ does is put it to the Lord's test and not discount it as some crazy teenage kid's odd ideas. Like Nephi they, and we, can receive answers to our prayers and it is ABSOLUTELY NECISSARY TO PRAY!!! One of the ways I thought I'd get rejected was by people yelling at me denouncing Joseph Smith, but more often over here people tell me that they already know it's true and don't need to pray. AH! The idea is that "anything that says it's from God is true." But that is a cancerous thought.  Just trust the Lord.

Love you all, enjoy life and follow the Lord and his servants the Prophets.
Elder Christopher Wartena

May the Lord bless you all and keep you in his care this week.

Signing off for now,

The Mama