June 9,2014

Hello from Magoanine! I now know the correct spelling haha. So I am in the place called magoanine but my proselyting area is actually called Malhazine (not pronounced anything with how it is spelled because it is a dialect word. ) The dialect here is called Xichangana. They use wistles and different noises in their words haha. For that reason its hard to explain how to say Malhazine. So unfortunately I can't send pics cause my card reader wont fit in the computer.. BUt i will begin to answer the questions...

I now live in a house of 8 elders. Me and my companion Elder Barroso from brazil. Then there is Elder Mason and Elder Adams (I lived with elder mason in manga also and I like him a lot). THen there is Elder Christianson and elder Badger(elder christianson came with me from the MTC) and then there is Elder Ipsen and Elder Juma(elder Juma is from manga haha so I actually knew him when I was serving there). No we dont really recieve any special training I just kinda go with the flow. I don't really still know exactly what i am doing hahaha. I just am being me! 

So now for the part of the travel story.... So my plane was supposed to leave at like 10 30 p.m. but it got delayed and we didn't leave until around a little past midnight. So we landed and I got out of the airport and like 2 a.m. THe office elders were supposed to pick me up but they weren't there yet and so I waited for like 45 minutes but eventually I just figured well, they probably got here when my flight was scheduled to land and waited and figured I already left or something. SO i found a taxi and said, Do you know any missionaries house in maputo? Cause i dont know anything about maputo and he was like ya i know one. So i get in and had to pay 1000 metacais for a taxi. He takes me and just drops me off at the CHAPEL in maputo... not even a house.... I was so mad, caus it was 3 in the morning and he charged me a ton and didn't even take me where I wanted. SO after some arguing about wether he would get money or not, the guard at the church was like i know where some missionaries live! So then of course the taxii guy demanded money so I gave him money and told him to leave caus he wasn't helping anymore haha. SO then i spent like 15 minutes knocking  doors of houses trying to figure out which house was the missionaries... After like 15 mintues, finally an elder comes out of the house completely confused and was like how did you get here??? so i slept there that night and then went to my house the next day. Hahaha what a blessing i made it to some missionaries house! The weather is much much colder here! i know at night time it got under 60 degrees... This may not sound cold to you all but when I came from beira where is was still super hot, I am freezing!! I am wearing sweatshirts and sweatpants in the house cause its so cold for me... and its probably like 75 degrees but its cold for me... I am gonna die my first winter home... Ya the area is doing well. We actually baptized a family yesterday haha. But other than that family, there isn't as much as I had in the last area. But we will work really hard to build up this area! I am getting a long really well. He is pretty funny but he is extremely spiritual. We of course only speak portugues all day long so that has been a little different but good. We are opposites in a lot of things but we get along well. I am really wierd and goofy and joke around a lot and he is very quiet and loving and spiritual... But we get a long great! We both like to work hard and that is the biggest thing. SO we have to do at least one division with all the district leaders in our zone but we can do more if we think they need help. There are 4 district leaders. We also now have sisters in our zone... well they have always been here I have just been up north but obviously we cant do divisions with them so we are giving them a training tomorrow... super weird being with sisters. I saw the sisters for the first time on my mission today... they were like uh who are you? and I was like I am Elder Lynn and they were like ooohhhhh.... you are the new zone leader... haha, no one knows who I am down here now. Ya I think the next zone conference is like July 4th or something like that. And yes I am perfectly healthy!

My week was good... It was really hard leaving Inhamizua.. When I said goodbye to Felicidade she started to cry so then I was about to tear up and had to leave haha. THen I went to Fernando and Gilda's very last. We were there for about an hour and then I said, Well, I better get going, who is gonna say the prayer and gilda said the prayer and only prayed that I would be safe and that I would get transferred back to beira soon haha. Then we got up and she said, No  I can't say goodbye cause this can't be the end and then started crying and went into her room and cried so then of course I started crying and so I just hugged Fernando for like a Minute and then said bye.... It was one of the hardest things I have done, having to say goodbye to Inhamizua... But I know I will be back one day. 

I love the mission... I cant believe how fast it is going.. I am almost at a year and I am scared.. I am scared that my time is going to end to soon and i will have to say goodbye to mozambique. I am going to use this little time that I still have to work as hard as I can and love the people as much as I can... cause i sure don't wanna leave! But thats the life of the missionary... loving and having to leave. 

 I love you all and hope you have a great mission!!!

Love,

Justin

P.S. crazy story, the branch mission leader served a mission in angola and he was the last companion of Elder Landon Tolman who returned last year. He is from Burlington and was my preach my gospel teacher over in the college ward... Small world when you can meet someone on the other side of the world who also knows someone from Burlington, WY!