I'm sorry this chapter's so short! When stuff actually starts happening and all the Elder's arrive, they'll be longer. I just want to say thank you so much to all the people who've read this! I'd really appreciate it if you left a review telling me what you think. Also, tell me any ideas you have that you want to see in the future!
Connor and his companion Elder Thomas were the first pair to arrive at their hut in Uganda. After all, he was the Leader of District 9. The hut was small and cramped, and smelt a little funny but Connor thought he could live here for two years pretty happily. Of course he needed to add a bit of colour to brighten up the place first, it was pretty much all brown. Connor had always imagined the mission life to be fairly relaxed. Out proselytizing all day, improving the lives of the locals, and having no time to think about… things. Connor had been looking forward to his mission since he was in the fifth grade. He could see no faults with going far, far away from his parents and the guilt he always felt around them. Going to a place where he knew almost nobody where he could make a fresh start. He hated living with his parents. It was obvious to him that they knew about his… issues. The way his Mom tensed up whenever he entered the room, fearing that this would be the day her son finally admitted that her fears were true. His Dad always looked at him with disappointment in his eyes. He had his sister Hope though. She always acted as if she wanted Connor to admit- admit what? He was perfectly fine!
"So Elder McKinley! What are you planning to do to spruce the place up?" Elder Thomas asked, breaking the silence as they stared around the kitchen. The two knew each other well from their training, and the Elder knew Connor well enough to read the expression on his face as he looked around the hut. "Hey, these cupboards look a little bare don't they?"
"I know what you're implying Elder. Poptarts aren't the most important thing for us to do right now. Do you really want the first thing we do on our mission to go and try and find somewhere that sells Poptarts?" Connor predicted the answer before the question had even left his mouth. "Okay, forget I said that." He didn't want to set his companion off on one of his 'Poptart rants'. "I promise, that once all the Elders have arrived, that tomorrow, if everybody thinks Poptarts are vital to our mission, we will go and try to find somewhere that sells them. But we aren't supposed to spend money on unnecessary things. It's in the mission rule book."
"But Poptarts are necessary to our mission." Elder Thomas whined.
"How?" Asked Connor, immediately regretting the question.
"Because they're Poptarts."
"Wow, that's completely convinced me." Realising this would go on and on until he did something about it, Connor gave in. "Okay, fine we'll go get some Poptarts. Or at least try and find somewhere that sells them. But we need to wait for the other Elders to get here. We have to make decisions as a team."
"Who were those men Baba?"
"Some fucking idiots who think that God will help out with all their fucking pathetic problems."
Earlier that day, Nabalungi had been asked by her father to escort two smartly dressed men into the largest hut in the village. They were Americans, and they'd told her that they were Mormons and had come to her village to spread the word of God.
"So like the people who came last year? Who said God would help us?"
"These ones say they're different. But they're all fucking idiots. God never helps us with any of our problems, which are much worse than getting a wrinkle in your fucking shirt. Take Matumbo and what he tried to do to that baby! Hasa Diga Ebowai."
"Well maybe these ones are different. Maybe they can help."
Before her mother died, she had always told Nabalungi that she should keep on believing and hoping that one day, things would get better. Naba stuck to this. Just because everyone else in the village had given up, that didn't mean she had to. Nothing could possibly stay bad forever.