To All You Cat Lovers Out There . . .

 July 22, 2019

This is long but stay with me. So, we have been having this rat problem in our apartment. Our apartment doesn't have a front door and ever since I've gotten to this apartment this darn rat has been stealing my food in the kitchen and on our table. I was done with him and took an oath upon myself that I would "help him return to his maker from down below" if you get what I'm saying. I had tried waking up during the night to try and catch him in the act but never saw him so this week after he robbed me again it was time for a trap. I fashioned this highly sophisticated and complex trap (regard photo #1) which I was sure would get him but night after night he would trigger the fall and still eat the chicken that was baiting him!

Trap #1

That meant time for trap #2 (regard photo #2). This one was fool proof because the trap was the entire kitchen! I shut all the windows, cardboarded up some holes above the oven so that there would be no possible way for him to escape. I then baited it so that at the moment he pulled the chicken bones out from under the rock, a piece of thread that was woven through all the cupboards would release a bench being held up on the other side of the room and it would fall and shut the door! (thank you, thank you, please hold your applause 😉😎)

Trap #2

Well, the next morning I came down and sure enough the door was shut and I could hear an animal inside! Perfect right! Wrong. I tried to open the door but the door wouldn't open! I then realized what had happened. the bench had fallen in between the counter and underneath the door handle making it literally impossible to open up! Not even a budge or bend of the door handle! Soo... what can ya do? We tried ramming it as hard as we could without breaking the door in, but it was pointless because the more we hit the more jammed it got. I was sweating bullets thinking I was gonna have to make the awkward call to our president to explain that we were trapped out of our kitchen and there was a rat trapped inside. Plus, because even if they came the only way to get through the door would be to break it down! 

Trap #2

Well for 2 hours we tried to get in this thing. We ended up being able to shove a stick up at the top of the door and kind of bend it in half back just before its breaking point. Then we cut off a branch of our palm tree and made this fishing pole like rod that we used to fish a rope through the one inch crack and around the leg of the bench (definitely not first try). Then the legend Elder Sedivy was able to pull up as hard as he could and loosen it up! So, we busted in with our brooms ready to kill this rat! I saw a movement in the box so I went to hit it but the thing inside was white and brown!! Yup. It was a cat. 😒 Now I know what you're thinking - no we didn't kill it. But oohhhh boy, were we thinking about it! So, to whoever's interested now we got a devil cat up for adoption.

Lucifer himself

Other than that, this week was good! We had zone conference and my trainer, Elder Bullock hit home for me of what I've been needing. He gave the example of dancing when there is no music. When you dance without music people think you're weird, you have no fun, and you just want to stop. But when there is music you can keep dancing you enjoy it and want to keep going. Thats just like missionary work. If you don't hear the music of the gospel, the dance of missionary work will just become mechanical, unenjoyable, and you will feel weird. So, the key to missionary work is to hear the music! What is the music? The music is the spirit of love! When you have that you receive power and want to be obedient. When you receive power and obedience you receive the spirit and knowledge, and when you receive that you feel love for the Savior and others. That was something that has helped me a ton when I have started to feel mechanical in the gospel and can help missionaries or anyone feel the spirit and love of the gospel that sometimes becomes mechanical. 

Love y'all!!

Elder Briggs

 Baptism of our recent convert's daughter

Elder Sedivy stayed in the hospital for a couple days because of malaria so we were able to bring him the sacrament which was a cool experience! Haha, poor guy, we had to bring him water and food because the hospital doesn't have any, but there were no mamas selling food on the streets on Sunday, so he practically just had to eat biscuits and water!