Redbull Fingers

September 4, 2017

Well, I've got 30 minutes to email you guys, and I'm hoping my fingers will move fast.

First off, I will apologize again for how quiet I have been over the past couple of weeks! I hope I haven't worried you guys or anything! That was not my intent! With that being said, though I may not be able to recount all the events that have transpired since I went into sleep mode, rest assured, I have been keeping a VERY good journal of my time here, and there will not be even one story that goes unread when I get home!

Recent news: MOM! Yes I've been getting all of the postcards!!! They are super awesome and my collection is really starting to pile up! I really liked that Paris triple combo one! It was sweet, and those ones from Hong Kong of the junk and Bruce Lee?! Way sweet! I will say that I definitely want to go to Seattle and see those totem poles one day, and I want to go with YOU guys! Haha when I got the post card of the half naked man lifting those weights, the sister missionaries saw and i had to PRY it out of their fingers... When you're in the mission field, it feels like a drought... I understand more than ever why dad would always tell me "you gotta fill up your canteen! your leaving on your mission soon!" when I was sitting at home watching tv instead of going out and makin' love with the city. (I hope that doesn't mean anything too dirty...) 

Okay, I have also received news that there is a package for me in Kenya!!! Super excited! Thank you guys so much! I don't have it yet though... The zone leaders decided to be dinckledorks and take it all the way to Busia with them instead of dropping it off here when they were in Kisumu for 30 MINUTES. I think they're tryin' to torture me... none the less it will be in my sweet arms on the morrow...

Now, life is treating me well here in the big K. We are working our butts off in this hot Kisumu sun, and we are now starting to see the fruits of our labors and it does quite the job at fillin' the tank to be takin' on more investigators! We had one baptism last week for a cool kid named Owen. He is super rad and he would also take really in depth notes when we were teaching him the discussions! This week, we had two more baptisms! One for a sister named Cynthia, super friendly and she is always super happy. You could not believe her joy to be baptized, and on her birthday too! The next was Belitah we have been teaching her and her husband since I first got to the area, and initially, the husband, Brian, was stoked about the church and she was a little iffy. But after fervent study and heartfelt prayer she gained a solid testimony of the truth. When she came out of the water, the spirit was SO strong and she even shed a few tears... She is amazing. Next week we plan on having a baptism for a man named Romeo, but we are still working a few things out with him before he makes the covenant. (He travels a LOT for his job, but he is extremely ready and we have great hope for him!)

Over the past few weeks here in Kisumu I have decided to try something new. I have put a great emphasis on reading from and applying the teachings from Preach My Gospel! Throughout my mission I have really had the mindset of wanting to really read from the standard works, but PMG is seriously the shiz! It's got everything we need as missionaries and I have noticed a big change since I have started incorporating it into my missionary life! But the best part of preach my gospel is that it isn't just for missionaries! It is for all members of the church and it is there to help strengthen each and every one of us! For those who are preparing to serve a mission, I strongly encourage: READ THE PMG! And for those who have already served missions: READ THE PMG! And for those who never served, or are still iffy about whether or not to go: READ THE PMG! What a great blessing it is to have such an organization in the church to provide great study guides like this one! I promise you that it can and will help build your testimony and knowledge on our great Savior and loving Heavenly Father!

Adventure time! I am not joking when I say everyday is an adventure here in Kenya... It really is and I have had my fair share of them over the past few weeks. Let me share just a couple with you. The other day, me and the Kisumu boys (Elder Covarrubias and Elder Ngele included) were invited over to a member's house to have lunch and a little message, so of course we went! We were visiting Matthew and Durcas. They have a really cute son who's name is Heleman, and whenever we go over there he is always running around causin' trouble, ha. We had a nice discussion and the food was great! Chapati and green grams always hit the spot! But midway through our meal, Durcas looks over at the doorway and screams "HELEMAN!!! NO!!!!!" We look over, and he had decided to try Elder Fraga's shoes on for a little while. We giggle, then I see it. My jaw drops as the laughter from the other missionaries increases... The two eyed devil was peeing himself. Seriously, the lady picked my shoes up and POURED the urine out of them because of how much there was... I was pissed and I had to walk all the way home in my pee-shoes.

As you guys know, the courts recently called for a re-election because of the case that the losing opponent, Raila Odinga set before them. Here in Kisumu, pretty much everyone loves Raila and that was part of the reason we had to flee this place the last time people voted! But, we were sitting in our flat just chillin' because we were on lock-down for yet another day this week, and we hear people yelling! So, we go outside, see people dancing, hugging, and all the car horns were honking! But the worst part, is that there were even people running around NAKED on the streets because the courts ruled in their favor...people are crazy..

But of all the adventures we have gone on lately, the following is the best: We went to Busia for DDM and before the meeting we decided to go help a member in their shamba! After we were done with the field work, we decided to wander around a little. So we hit the trail and start moving! We saw a quarry, we ate some berries (we had previous knowledge that they were edible, don't worry.) and I even held a cute little hedgehog that we found! The whole time, I'm like "Guys! Kenya believe this?!". Then I decide to ask a dude where we are me:"u hali gani bwana!" guy:"sana!" me: "sisi co wapi buddha?" guy:"nyi nyi ya uganda, karibuni." I slowly turn my head to the boys, "UGANDA BE KIDDING ME..." So yeah, we pretty much went to Uganda the other day and it was pretty sweet! Enjoyed my time across the border. We got some food, and I exchanged my Kenya shillings for Ugandan shillings which are cool. By the way, I have currency from like 5 African countries now. I'm pretty excited to show you guys when this is all over.

Thoughts that have been on my mind this week:

Mom- do you remember all those times you used to find my car in the Harmon's parking lot when Ethan and I were supposed to be at school?... Haha you'd always park next to us to make us feel guilty! Ahhh... it was the best... Ha! You'd even write a little message on your used receipts like "get your A$$ to school" and stuff like that. good times good times...

Dad- remember when we went on that super legendary trip down to Zion's? Super fun time in the park but one of the best parts was the drive down. We were seriously blasting the music and the songs were all building up to "Enter Sandman". After the song ended, we turned down the music and we were just laughing, and our ears were ringing... Man, that's one for the books...

Conner and Aanika- Remember when we used to go to Hot Topic all the time together and get cool shirts, like our matching Legend of Zelda ones and then we'd cruise around the Precision Time warehouse wearing them together feelin' like we owned the place? Or when we'd watch awesome tv shows like The Walking Dead and TD, or even just Adventure Time? And all the late nights playing Pokemon, or Smash Bros or Minecraft together! 

And Aanika, remember all those drives up to make-out point -NOT TO MAKE OUT OBVIOUSLY- Listening to Blood by The Middle East and For Emma Forever Ago by Bon Iver, pretty much holding back tears and just talkin' about life? Or watching New Girl together on the floor of Mom and Dad's room cause we didn't want to mess up their neatly made bed?

I'm not even joking. We've got the best family ever. I hope you guys are all doing well, and I love ya tons. Can't wait till we are reunited one day. Mmmmmuuaa!

-elder fraga/aidan

I hope this letter was long enough for you! I sure do love you! ALSO! My Swahili name tag came! It's cool!