Group Email January 19, 2015

SO THIS WEEK STARTED OFF ROUGH!! LIKE VERY ROUGH!!! SO, REMEMBER HOW I SAID THERE WAS A STORM THAT WIPED OUT THE ELECTRICITY LAST WEEK? WELL IT DIDNT STOP RAINING! NOT FOR DAYS!!! IT WAS SO BAD THAT IT FLOODED AND DESTROYED EVERYTHING. HALF OF MY AREA HAS BEEN DESTROYED!! ALL THE HOUSES ARE GONE… THERE ARE 160 DEAD SO FAR, DONT KNOW HOW MANY MISSING AND 200,000 PEOPLE HAD TO MOVE DUE TO THEIR HOMES ARE GONE OR PARTLY GONE. IT IS ALL VERY SAD!!! LOTS OF PEOPLE IN MY WARD HAVE MOVED BUT LUCKLY NOBODY DIED! THEY HAD FAMILY MEMBERS DIE THOUGH AND THAT WAS VERY SAD!  SO WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO HELP OUT! AND WE CALLED ALL OVER AND TRIED MAKING SURE PEOPLE WERE ALRIGHT!! I AM SO SURPRISED MORE PEOPLE DIDN’T DIE!! MANY ARE INJURED THOUGH AND IN THE HOSPITAL.  SO IT HAS STILL BEEN RAINING AND WE JUST PRAY THAT THE FLOOD DOESN’T COME AGAIN!!

BUT, KEEP ALL THIS IN MIND!! HOMES DESTROYED, PEOPLE MISSING OR DEAD, AND THEN, LISTEN TO THIS:  THE AFRICANS ARE HAPPY. I CAN’T EXPLAIN IT. IT IS SO AMAZING TO ME. THE DAY IT ALL HAPPENED I DIDN’T SEE ANYBODY CRYING. SOME WERE LAUGHING EVEN. PLAYING IN THE WATER. IT’S NOT LIKE THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, THEY JUST ARE SO MUCH MORE HUMBLE. THEY KNOW THAT THEY’RE LOVED ONES ARE WITH GOD AND IN A BETTER PLACE THAN THEY WERE ON EARTH! THEY ARE JUST HAPPY AND LOVING. THEY WERE JUST TO THANKFUL THAT THEY’RE ALIVE, EVEN THOUGH SOME LITERALLY JUST HAVE THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS WE WERE ALL JOKING THAT GOD WAS CONFUSED. FIRST ALL THE MALAWIANS WERE PRAYING FOR RAIN AND WHEN HE GAVE IT TO THEM THEY PRAYED FOR IT TO STOP. PEOPLE HERE ARE FUNNY! I LEARN FROM THEM EVERYDAY BUT I REALLY LEARNED FROM THEM THIS WEEK. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE.

SO I MADE FUN OF THE ELDERS FOR KEEPING BUCKETS OUTSIDE TO COLLECT RAIN WATER RECENTLY BUT I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS KIND OF A SURVIVAL THING RIGHT NOW. SO NOBODY HAS HAD WATER FOR DAYS EXCEPT FOR MY APARTMENT. WEIRD. LOTS OF MISSIONARIES ARE THERE EVERY NIGHT FILLING UP WATER JUGS. THE ONLY THING KEEPING PEOPLE FROM DEHYDRATION IS THE RAIN WATER. SAD THAT ALL OF BLANTYRE HAS NO WATER. CHURCH WAS CANCELLED THIS WEEK BESIDES SACRAMENT BECAUSE OF IT ALL!!

SO NOW FOR A LIGHTER MOOD:

I WAS ASKED OUT BY A 1/2 WHITE 1/2 INDIAN MAN THIS WEEK. WEIRD THING IS HE ASKED MY COMP OUT TOO!! WANTED TO TAKE US OUT TO EAT AND THEN SALSA DANCE. HE ASKED IF WE WERE ALLOWED TO GET MARRIED! HAHA THAT MAN! OH, HE IS ALSO MY LAND LORD!!! I DON’T KNOW HIS NAME! FLIRTATIOUS LITTLE INDIAN MAN! HAHA!

I GOT TO STUDY MY CANDLELIGHT!! THAT WAS FUN!!! I FELT LIKE JOSEPH SMITH!! I DON’T KNOW WHY BUT I DID!!!

WE GOT LOCKED OUT OF OUR APARTMENT BECAUSE I LEFT THE KEYS IN THE BEALS CAR AND IT WAS RAINING BUT WE HAD FUN! EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PITCH BLACK AND RAINING WE JUST DANCED!! SAW A NASTY BIG SPIDER CHASING US AND WE RAN FOR IT! OUR GUARD WAS JUST LIKE “AMERICANS.” OH, THEN THE BEALS CAME HOME AND THE KEYS WEREN’T THERE! SO I CHECKED MY BAG AND REALIZED I HAD THEM ALL ALONG!! BUT HEY WE HAD FUN! 🙂

SO I CANT REALLY THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE!! IT WAS A SLOW, SAD WEEK BUT ALSO HAPPY!! HARD TO BE SAD WHEN EVERYBODY IS HAPPY! I AM SAFE THOUGH AND FEEL SO BLESSED.

ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU ALL!! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, YOU HAVE MANY!!!

LOVE SISTER BROWNING!

P.S.  I TAUGHT A MALAWIAN WOMAN HOW TO MAKE AMERICAN SALAD THIS WEEK! SHE WAS JUST LIKE “WOOOOW.”