E-mail dated 6/15/09

Rain eh? Well I'm glad it rained over there. In Liberia we are in what we call the "Rainy Season". But honestly the rainy season has been pretty weak so far, until this week. Its like the clouds just remembered that its june and they are supposed to rain. So this week they made up for all of last month. When you describe raining buckets that would be the normal rainfall here. Now imagine with me proselyting in that. Yes sir I did that everyday this week. I have found that the umbrella works much better than the raincoat and rainboots so that is what I went with this week. But I can't complain because I don't sweat when it rains and that means I don't stink. And people are usually home when its raining. Speaking of the flood. Um. . . I'm pretty sure that happens EVERY rainy season here. Monrovia is a swamp. Doesn't help that the city doesn't really have a drainage system. Oh well.

For this week in missionary work it felt like we took a big step back from last week. But I've learned not to get discouraged because that is what Satan would want me to feel. I had a serious talk with the Branch President yesterday about the needs of the branch. That resulted in both of us talking about the callings in the branch that need to be filled and taking the less active leadership out and give the positions to the active. All in all he did a complete revision of the branch callings and is going to take action soon. finally we are taking a step in the right direction. Now don't misunderstand me, I was not doing the branch presidents job, I was just helping as he asked. And I'm pretty sure he needs our help because I know about as much, if not more, about this branch as he does. I just hope that the branch will be better off when I leave than it was when I came.

35,000 less actives should fall in the care of the branch. But I can't even get my branch to have PEC so that actually falls on us. And there is no possible way for us to see all of them or even locate all of them. We do have branch missionaries to help, but they are all preparing for serving a mission so they aren't much help. I was reading in the General Conference Ensign Elder Perrys talk on member missionary work. He said some powerful things and it sounded like to me that members will soon be taking a great responsibility in missionary work. He said that Preach my Gospel missionaries are the best teachers this church has ever had . . and we aren't utilizing them because they are spending most of their time finding and not teaching. Great talk, go through it and then do it!!!!( On another note, did you notice the man from Kenya now serving in the seventy!!! He was serving in Nigeria as a mission president [he was pres squires mtc mate]. The first Black african in the seventy. how sweet it is!!!!!)

I eat the same thing in the morning (rice and tomoto stew) Wow, i've been eating that for breakfast for one year now. crazy. I wring my clothes out with my hands, silly. Alright. Have a great week.

Elder Degen