Monday, April 28, 2014
Shared 4/28/14
I was gonna go to General Conference, but then I took an arrow to the knee
Sawubona!
You know those times you think you've seen the real world and then all of a sudden BOOM! Life throws a dead body at you? K cool, it's story time. As we were driving back from Al-Habib last Monday, we saw a bunch of cars parked next to the bridge crossing Ncandu River and a big group of people staring over the side. There were police, forensic units, and a bunch of concerned citizens. We weren't sure what they were all staring at, so curiosity got the best of us and we parked to check it out. We peeked over the side of the bridge, and what looked like a rock or a stump at first glance turned out to be a lifeless body floating its way down the river. No clue what happened, but eish... Really makes you reflect a li'l bit on the preciousness of life and how quickly you could find yourself in the Spirit World if you're not careful. Ay... But whatevs, email time's too short to report on the investigators in the Spirit World elders' area. On to Newcastle!
What a week, what a week... Nothing but positive vibes and good times. There's a word in isiZulu.. Nca. Remember, the "c" is a click. Nca is slang (I think) for something along the lines of good or nice. If someone asks you howzit, you could say it's nca. Or if you asked me how the missionary work is going, I'd tell you Newcastle is nca, brah. Ah man, the good Lord just keeps raining blessings on our area! Elder Marumo and I must have been good li'l spirit children in the spirit world to deserve such an area and teaching pool this lekker.
This week we were able to work with more members than we have in the past. The Maharajh and Pillay families were both among the first to be baptized when the Church first made its way to Newcastle however many years back. Ah man, such cool families. Sister Maharajh put us to work this week fixing a couple leaks on the roof. It was a li'l bit of risky business, but hey...I'd risk a broken leg for her curry any day.
We've been trying to talk to more and more people too this week and it's been going great. One thing Elder Marumo and I have been trying to do is to see people for what they can become. We met four guys on the street this week that all looked to be about in their early twenties. One could have looked at their tattoos and made assumptions, but we talked to them for a few minutes and found them to be honest truth seekers. I looked at Elder Marumo as we were walking away and said, "Did you see that back there? Four future missionaries." "Yebo," he replied, "four future priesthood holders."
All the couples in the mission were on retreat this week (loserz), so we didn't have the Herringtons with us most of the time. But! It ended up being ok because we got a surprise visit from the Carliles on Thursday as they were making their way across the country doing senior couple stuff like rescuing rhinos. You think I'm kidding... Meanwhile we were here doing the whole missionary thing. Some dogs barked at us this week, so that's about as close to wildlife as we we made it.
I found myself with Elder Morole in oSizweni on Friday for exchanges. Man, I miss serving in a township sometimes. You see things there you'd never see in town. There's a saying here... TIA - This is Africa. It's for those moments when you have to take a second glance at what just went down as you say in your mind, "What the fetch?" Like for example, when you see half a car being pulled by two donkeys traveling down the road. TIA my friend, TIA. You don't get that stuff in town. But then again, you can't find Indian food in the township, so who's the real winner here? Speaking of... We tried another place called the Food Garden on Friday. Not as good at Al-Habib, but here's something cools. I was an American sitting at an Indian restaurant in Africa, when all of a sudden a couple Asians walked in wearing their Muslim get up. Holy melting pot... I think the only thing that could have topped it off would have been if we greeted each other in Spanish.
Ah man this weekend though! Conference while you're on mission is like Christmas. You're a little kid and you can't understand why the fetch your parents (or the branch members in this case) aren't nearly as excited as you are. Perhaps the idea of sitting still for ten hours listening to talks is much more appealing to you when you're eating, sleeping, and breathing Jesus for two years. Packer's still kickin', Holland's still keeping us humble, Tommy Monson's still the man, and Uchtdorf's love of planes went almost as far as hijacking Air Force One. Haha, all is well.
So here's something. Sometimes we keep extra statistics in our planners just for fun. Like for me, sometimes I keep track of how many times li'l kids feel my arm hair (if I was keeping track Tuesday alone the number would have been four) or how many guys you see peeing on the side of the road, and of them how many are actually facing the road (you'd like to think that number's pretty low wouldn't you?). Anyway, the one we started counting this week is how many times Brother Gbenga says, "In my county..." And followed with something about his native Nigeria. What a guy... Truly an inspiration to me. We're so blessed to have him as our branch mission leader. I've never met anyone as excited about sharing the gospel as he is. The amazing part is that he's away from his family in Nigeria until he can find work. He has every reason in the world sometimes to be down in the dumps, but that'll never break him. When you love your family, your country, the Lord, and His gospel so much, there ain't nothing nobody can do to tear you down!
Freaking lekker week ahead of us. The Herringtons are back, the work is great, the food is good as ever, the church is still true, and we're even gonna make it to Nambiti next Monday. Hurrah for Israel!
Sala kahle my friends. Stay positive and love yo life.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
You know those times you think you've seen the real world and then all of a sudden BOOM! Life throws a dead body at you? K cool, it's story time. As we were driving back from Al-Habib last Monday, we saw a bunch of cars parked next to the bridge crossing Ncandu River and a big group of people staring over the side. There were police, forensic units, and a bunch of concerned citizens. We weren't sure what they were all staring at, so curiosity got the best of us and we parked to check it out. We peeked over the side of the bridge, and what looked like a rock or a stump at first glance turned out to be a lifeless body floating its way down the river. No clue what happened, but eish... Really makes you reflect a li'l bit on the preciousness of life and how quickly you could find yourself in the Spirit World if you're not careful. Ay... But whatevs, email time's too short to report on the investigators in the Spirit World elders' area. On to Newcastle!
What a week, what a week... Nothing but positive vibes and good times. There's a word in isiZulu.. Nca. Remember, the "c" is a click. Nca is slang (I think) for something along the lines of good or nice. If someone asks you howzit, you could say it's nca. Or if you asked me how the missionary work is going, I'd tell you Newcastle is nca, brah. Ah man, the good Lord just keeps raining blessings on our area! Elder Marumo and I must have been good li'l spirit children in the spirit world to deserve such an area and teaching pool this lekker.
This week we were able to work with more members than we have in the past. The Maharajh and Pillay families were both among the first to be baptized when the Church first made its way to Newcastle however many years back. Ah man, such cool families. Sister Maharajh put us to work this week fixing a couple leaks on the roof. It was a li'l bit of risky business, but hey...I'd risk a broken leg for her curry any day.
We've been trying to talk to more and more people too this week and it's been going great. One thing Elder Marumo and I have been trying to do is to see people for what they can become. We met four guys on the street this week that all looked to be about in their early twenties. One could have looked at their tattoos and made assumptions, but we talked to them for a few minutes and found them to be honest truth seekers. I looked at Elder Marumo as we were walking away and said, "Did you see that back there? Four future missionaries." "Yebo," he replied, "four future priesthood holders."
All the couples in the mission were on retreat this week (loserz), so we didn't have the Herringtons with us most of the time. But! It ended up being ok because we got a surprise visit from the Carliles on Thursday as they were making their way across the country doing senior couple stuff like rescuing rhinos. You think I'm kidding... Meanwhile we were here doing the whole missionary thing. Some dogs barked at us this week, so that's about as close to wildlife as we we made it.
I found myself with Elder Morole in oSizweni on Friday for exchanges. Man, I miss serving in a township sometimes. You see things there you'd never see in town. There's a saying here... TIA - This is Africa. It's for those moments when you have to take a second glance at what just went down as you say in your mind, "What the fetch?" Like for example, when you see half a car being pulled by two donkeys traveling down the road. TIA my friend, TIA. You don't get that stuff in town. But then again, you can't find Indian food in the township, so who's the real winner here? Speaking of... We tried another place called the Food Garden on Friday. Not as good at Al-Habib, but here's something cools. I was an American sitting at an Indian restaurant in Africa, when all of a sudden a couple Asians walked in wearing their Muslim get up. Holy melting pot... I think the only thing that could have topped it off would have been if we greeted each other in Spanish.
Ah man this weekend though! Conference while you're on mission is like Christmas. You're a little kid and you can't understand why the fetch your parents (or the branch members in this case) aren't nearly as excited as you are. Perhaps the idea of sitting still for ten hours listening to talks is much more appealing to you when you're eating, sleeping, and breathing Jesus for two years. Packer's still kickin', Holland's still keeping us humble, Tommy Monson's still the man, and Uchtdorf's love of planes went almost as far as hijacking Air Force One. Haha, all is well.
So here's something. Sometimes we keep extra statistics in our planners just for fun. Like for me, sometimes I keep track of how many times li'l kids feel my arm hair (if I was keeping track Tuesday alone the number would have been four) or how many guys you see peeing on the side of the road, and of them how many are actually facing the road (you'd like to think that number's pretty low wouldn't you?). Anyway, the one we started counting this week is how many times Brother Gbenga says, "In my county..." And followed with something about his native Nigeria. What a guy... Truly an inspiration to me. We're so blessed to have him as our branch mission leader. I've never met anyone as excited about sharing the gospel as he is. The amazing part is that he's away from his family in Nigeria until he can find work. He has every reason in the world sometimes to be down in the dumps, but that'll never break him. When you love your family, your country, the Lord, and His gospel so much, there ain't nothing nobody can do to tear you down!
Freaking lekker week ahead of us. The Herringtons are back, the work is great, the food is good as ever, the church is still true, and we're even gonna make it to Nambiti next Monday. Hurrah for Israel!
Sala kahle my friends. Stay positive and love yo life.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
Monday, April 21, 2014
Livin' on the inside, roarin' like a lion
Sawubona!
Ah man... When I first left home more than a pregnancy ago (meaning nine months) I was super bummed to learn that Cafe Rio hadn't made its way to South Africa yet, nor Beto's, nor any Mexican food at all. But man oh man, I hadn't discovered the joys and sorrows of Indian food yet. It took me a few months to find, seeing that I was in Kimberley, ten hours away from Durban, the largest Indian population in the world outside India, but once I found it, Mexican food became a thing of the past. Curry and biryani are two of God's greatest gifts to mankind, among the ranks of taquitos, salsa, and sweet pork burritos. Granted, Jim Gaffigan's jokes relating Indian food to a runny stomach are generally accurate, but it's just a small price to pay to satisfy your taste buds and leave you craving spicy food all hours of the day. One of our buddies we're teaching told us about this Indian place in town called Al-Habbib that we've really taken a liking to. We hit it up every Friday after weekly planning and get the biryani special. Man, it's delicious and the owners are so cool. They're from Bangladesh and can't speak English that well, but friendship isn't bounded by what language you speak or even what religion you are. They're Muslims, which means we can't teach them without special permission from Big Z (something about Islamic families being able to disown any members for converting to Christianity), but that doesn't mean we can't laugh together every time we bump into them there. Hurrah for Israel!
Man oh man what an inspiring week this has been! We kicked it off with new trainer training from Big Z, which was supposed to be at the chapel, but ended up in our living room due to electricity still being out. As the good book says, the mission president may come to your house like a thief in the night, so you gotta be ready at all times in terms of cleanliness. Big shoutout to Elder Marumo for making sure our boarding wasn't an embarrassment (also to the cockroaches for staying outside and in the walls and stuff).
Zone conference is always rejuvenating, but this one especially. The major focuses were consecration, hard work, making the best use of our limited time, and talking to the most people we possibly can. I've always kinda kicked myself for not talking to as many people as I probably could, but I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one. Talking to my good friend Elder Childs, I found he has sorta the same feeling. I like to make a to-do list after zone conference to put into practice the things I've learned, so Elder Marumo made it a goal to make 40 contacts this week. So watch out cashiers at every place we shop, here we come!
After Tuesday, we hopped right back in to hastening the work of salvation. Big Z promised us as we made efforts to get out earlier and come home later in the day, we'd be blessed with an outpouring of the Spirit and plenty of people to teach. We found this to be true. Elder Marumo and I had time to go less-active finding this week and were able to find a couple families. The Maharajh family were actually the first members to be baptized in Newcastle! How cool is that? So I guess the church has been established in this part of the vineyard for just over thirty years now.
Ah man... When I first left home more than a pregnancy ago (meaning nine months) I was super bummed to learn that Cafe Rio hadn't made its way to South Africa yet, nor Beto's, nor any Mexican food at all. But man oh man, I hadn't discovered the joys and sorrows of Indian food yet. It took me a few months to find, seeing that I was in Kimberley, ten hours away from Durban, the largest Indian population in the world outside India, but once I found it, Mexican food became a thing of the past. Curry and biryani are two of God's greatest gifts to mankind, among the ranks of taquitos, salsa, and sweet pork burritos. Granted, Jim Gaffigan's jokes relating Indian food to a runny stomach are generally accurate, but it's just a small price to pay to satisfy your taste buds and leave you craving spicy food all hours of the day. One of our buddies we're teaching told us about this Indian place in town called Al-Habbib that we've really taken a liking to. We hit it up every Friday after weekly planning and get the biryani special. Man, it's delicious and the owners are so cool. They're from Bangladesh and can't speak English that well, but friendship isn't bounded by what language you speak or even what religion you are. They're Muslims, which means we can't teach them without special permission from Big Z (something about Islamic families being able to disown any members for converting to Christianity), but that doesn't mean we can't laugh together every time we bump into them there. Hurrah for Israel!
Man oh man what an inspiring week this has been! We kicked it off with new trainer training from Big Z, which was supposed to be at the chapel, but ended up in our living room due to electricity still being out. As the good book says, the mission president may come to your house like a thief in the night, so you gotta be ready at all times in terms of cleanliness. Big shoutout to Elder Marumo for making sure our boarding wasn't an embarrassment (also to the cockroaches for staying outside and in the walls and stuff).
Zone conference is always rejuvenating, but this one especially. The major focuses were consecration, hard work, making the best use of our limited time, and talking to the most people we possibly can. I've always kinda kicked myself for not talking to as many people as I probably could, but I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one. Talking to my good friend Elder Childs, I found he has sorta the same feeling. I like to make a to-do list after zone conference to put into practice the things I've learned, so Elder Marumo made it a goal to make 40 contacts this week. So watch out cashiers at every place we shop, here we come!
After Tuesday, we hopped right back in to hastening the work of salvation. Big Z promised us as we made efforts to get out earlier and come home later in the day, we'd be blessed with an outpouring of the Spirit and plenty of people to teach. We found this to be true. Elder Marumo and I had time to go less-active finding this week and were able to find a couple families. The Maharajh family were actually the first members to be baptized in Newcastle! How cool is that? So I guess the church has been established in this part of the vineyard for just over thirty years now.
We had time to go finding a li'l bit this week too, and eish... I learned a lesson in being prepared. I forgot to reload my backpack with Books of Mormon before we left... Had to be a little creative with talking to people without it, but we were able to teach a couple people. Should've listened to them Boy Scouts I guess. "Preparedliness is next to godliness." Is that a thing? Ah well, it is now.
The work is moving forward. We were able to put Gregory on baptismal date this week! Ah man, he's so excited. He understands the commitment he's making better than anyone else I've met. President Zackrison was mentioning something at zone conference. If you feel like missionary work isn't that spiritual, you're not doing it right. We're not teaching lessons for numbers... We're teaching people lessons so that they can learn and make covenants, and when people are able to understand their divine potential and the covenant they're making... Ah, there isn't a more satisfying feeling. :)
So I guess we can learn a little bit of Zulu... Elder Childs just taught me this. "Ixoxo liyenqa umkwaqo!" translates to "The frog is crossing the road!" As far as pronunciation, the "x" is a click that you make like you're trying to get a horse to come to you, and the "q" is a click you make by pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and pulling it back. Family... I'll help you with it when we Skype next month. Everyone else... Have fun trying. ;)
Weren't able to slaughter the chicken last week like we were planning on. The Biyelas had just fed their chickens medicine that said "do not slaughter for 14 days." -__________- So hopefully next week. Stay tuned.
The church is still true, the book is still blue, and the work is hastening as fast as ever! Sala kahle this week my friends. Stay positive, love your lives.
Much love,
Elda Johnson
Monday, April 14, 2014
Shared 4/14/14 - Newcastle - Cleaning a fish pond & Holding a chicken
We thank thee, o God, for allotment to feed us in these latter-days
Sawubona!
I dunno, maybe I'm the only one that does this, but do you ever listen to yourself or others while they're praying, and the way you word some things you're just like... What the heck? We're all trying to be respectful and stuff and then you end up saying things like, "We're thankful for the opporunity we had to partake of the breakfast," or, "We ask that thou might help us in the day, even that the Spirit may too much be with us." Ay... At least God knows we're not perfect. I'm assuming the Atonement covers grammar errors during prayer? If not I guess all I'm saying is I need to get ready for the Telestial Kingdom.
Ah man, I'd be lying if I said this week wasn't a litle rough, but I'd also be lying if I told you it's discouraging. When rough weeks come, you just gotta grab life by the horns and move forward! Because between all the appointments that bunked this week, we had some powerful lessons. We're teaching a brother named Kindo right now who is so stoked to be baptized. He's from Cote D'Ivoire and he speaks French and he is a total stud. He told us this week he wanted to be baptized on May 22 instead of May 4 so that he could turn that into a positive memory instead of a negative memory from his past he associates with May 22. Let's hear it for positivity!
The work is going great though. Elder Marumo is the bomb. He's a native South African, and his home in JoBurg is only like three hours away. So kinda like if I was serving just a little south of Provo, that's how close he is. Like, if I decided one day to tap out of mission, I'd have to hop on a plane for a couple days. For him, all he'd have to do is hope on a bus at lunch and he'd be back in time for dinner. Don't worry though, neither of us are even thinking about coming home anytime soon! The work of salvation is far too important/awesome/lekker/other positive words. We're excited to do some finding this week on top of zone conference, teaching, and all the other stuff missionaries do. Hurrah for Israel!
A couple funny stories from this week... We cleaned out a fish pond for Sister Kerry. It was straight green before, and after three hours of emptying and scrubbing it, it was at least a see through green. The electricity has been out at the chapel a good portion of the week, including Sunday, so we had a sacrament meeting just as it would have been done in the meridian of time. Accapella! Or however you spell it... It's almost a full moon, so I was trying to explain True Aggie-ing to Elder Marumo. I don't think he quite understood it, but that's ok... Looking at it, that's probably a super weird tradition to someone outside Utah.
Should be slaughtering a chicken too, but then again it also should have happened Friday and Saturday too... If it does, expect pictures next week. Until then, stay positive and love your lives my friends.
Sala kahle,
Umdala Johnson
Monday, April 7, 2014
Shared 4/7/14 - Newcastle, bridge to Ladysmith, old and new companion
Ngingumfana engumMormon. Ngiyazi. Ngihlala it. Ngiyakuthanda it
Sawubona!
Ah, my friends. Today is a glorious day. Elder Marumo and I woke up and we went running for the first time in seven weeks, I got my hair cut for the first real time since January (do the math...four months) (also, S/O to Sister Herrington for learning how to use the buzzer so quickly!), and church is as true as ever!
Eish, I forgot my planner today which has everything in it I want to talk about, so you'll have to bear with me if I forget anything! I guess we can start with a cool story. So flashback months and months back to my first zone conference in Bloemfontein. I met an Elder Menlove there from Bountiful. He got transferred after that, and I was never able to see him again that side. Fast forward to last Saturday night, and we find him at the Herringtons with his parents as he's dying and they're touring the mission with him. He says to me, "Whoa, I've met you before! You've lost weight!" And sweeter words could not have escaped his mouth. Proud to say that I've broken the stereotype of missionaries gaining weight on mission! Since I left, I've shed twenty pounds. And the trick? Running, exercising in the morning, and eating way better (and by eating way better, I mean not getting a Hot 'n Spicy McChicken, Mini Mac, and extra-large Diet Coke from McDonalds multiple times a week) than I did back home. Hoorah for Israel!
So what happened this week... Ay, the schools were on holiday, so more people bunked appointments than I was hoping the first week with my son. But perhaps it was a blessing because it gave us some time to do less-active finding! Up until this point, we've been blessed with such a huge, progressing teaching pool that we've hardly had time to do any finding. And I don't remember if I mentioned a few weeks back, but we've been encouraged quite a bit to seek out less-active Melchizidek Priesthood holders using the My Family books to help the Newcastle District progress towards becoming the Newcastle Stake.
Great week with solid lessons, and it's so cool to teach people that are undergoing real conversion. I think a lot of times, you sorta go on auto-pilot as you're teaching the Restoration. Not to say that the lessons are any less spiritual, but you get to the point that you can teach it without thinking too much about it, and you almost forget that it's the first time someone's hearing about Joseph Smith. But I was reminded multiple times this week as people shared testimony with us that the spirit they felt, the emotions they had while we were teaching had made such a huge difference in their lives. I was reading something in my journal from the night I was set apart, and President Nelson blessed me that I would have opportunities to change the courses of peoples' lives. Kind of a big responsibility when you think about it. But it's such a strong testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel. The lives I've seen change because of the influence of the Holy Ghost... It's incredible.
Sunday was just fun. We were a little nervous in the morning because we only had one appointment scheduled for the rest of the day after church, and we were suspicious it would fall through. But thank goodness, Brother Gbenga and Lungani were able to come with us the rest of the day! After our lunch appointment cancelled, we went to the boarding and cooked lunch. Brother Gbenga and I kinda put an ensemble together with his pipes and me on the guitar. What we ended up doing the rest of the day was visit less-active members and former investigators and share a song with them. Ah man, it was great! Elder Marumo and Lungani were good sports and shared such strong testimony all the while. Man, we made such a great team!
Great things happening here. The work is moving forward. Life is good and happy as ever! Sala kahle, stay positive, love your life my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Shared 3/31/14 - Newcastle - Visiting a dam and getting pranked
For unto Elder Johnson is born this day in the city of Newcastle a Son, which is Marumo the Elder
Sawubona!
Ah man I just can't hold it in any longer... After we wrap up Elder Mukonda this afternoon and ship him off to Kenya, my water will probably break, contractions should start a li'l bit after that, and Wednesday, I'm gonna be a baba! I'm probably gonna name my son Elder Marumo and then I'll probably raise him to be a consecrated, powerful servant of the Lord. Let's go!
Where to begin... Ok, so last Monday, after we emailed and stuff, we decided to have ourselves a dam good time. We went exploring a li'l bit, found a cement wall with some dam water flowing over it. We played on the dam rocks, but made sure not to jump into the dam river flowing out of it, ya know, since the devil controls the dam water while you're a missionary. Gosh dam it. Great start to the week though!
Had some interesting appointments this week. We were teaching a long-time investigator, and one of her relatives that stays outside of Newcastle was interested in what the Book of Mormon is. So we figured it would be a great time to start the Restoration. We was really interested and looked like she was really focusing. She'd think hard as we asked her questions. Slowly, though, her eyes began to droop, and finally, I asked, "How can you find out for yourself whether the Book of Mormon is true?" and it appeared that she was thinking really deeply about the question. But, after a minute of awkward silence, we had to conclude that the unthinkable happened. She had fallen asleep. Sometimes you just have to laugh about the situations you end up in. But it ended up being ok, because later that night we found a GOLDEN father-led family that stays right across the street from the church. Boo yeah!
Man so here's a story. We're teaching a man called Baba Mbofana right now. He was given a Book of Mormon back in 1996, but was told by pastors and stuff that it was evil and it should be cast into the fire. He never read it or anything, but kept it over the years. Recently, missionaries found him again, and he's started reading it. He told us he doesn't know what is evil about it. He's flipped through it and found nothing but the word of God. So we see him about once a week and help him with any questions that he has about the Book of Mormon and the church. We've invited him every week, and lo and behold, he finally made it to church this Sunday! What a great blessing, considering it's Elder Mukonda's final Sunday in Newcastle. Man, and did he add some spice to our combined lesson third hour... President Mabhena was teaching about family, and specifically we were learning about the relationship husband and wife should have with each other. So at some point in the lesson, Baba Mbofana raises his hand with a comment and says, "This is probably going to sound stupid, but there's some meaning behind it." He goes on to tell the entire congregation how in the first ten years of his marriage with his wife, she loved every little thing that he did. He then goes into this dramatic story how she even loved it when he took care of his business on the toilet. He could be sitting there, and she'd open the door, waltz in, place her foot upon his thigh, and proclaim that she loves the stench of his waste. She loves it "even when it drops." At this point, Brother Gbenga and I, along with the rest of the congregation, can't hold in our laughter. He goes on to tell us that now, whenever he takes care of his business, she opens all the windows in the house and can't stand it. He had a really good point to make, but I just can't quite remember what it was... I think the best part is that as he goes on about this whole story, his high school aged daughter is sitting right next to him. Classic. But he comes up to me afterwards and tells me when we go over to his house again, just to know that his wife isn't a monster. He was making that up. Oh man... It's been a long time since I've laughed that hard.
Here's a cool story to go along with that though. So one of Elder Mukonda's goals before he left Newcastle was to see sacrament meeting attendance hit 90. He was always frustrated because people are inconsistent, and he'd point out certain families that weren't there that could have reached the goal. So as we were sitting in sacrament meeting, I counted 86 people. So close. But after the meeting, we found Kindo and Milana out in the hallways that we hadn't counted, putting the number at 88. Just two away... But then! Walking in through the doors we see Baba Mbofana and his three children! I guess we had forgotten over the past weeks inviting him to tell him what time the service starts, so he got there at 10:30. Woops! But with him and his family there, we met Elder Mukonda's goal. Yoh... I've never seen a missionary so passionate about the area, about the gospel. I'm sure gonna miss that guy, but he's got a field white and ready to harvest in Kenya to attend to. He's gonna work wonders there.
One more story before I finish up. So Friday, Elder Gonzales came on splits with us. As we were pulling into the boarding that night, we beat the Osizweni elders there, but we looked at the gate and the chain was undone... Odd. And the ZLs' car wasn't there like it should have been, since they only took one car to the area. Weird. So we pull in and Elder Gonzales goes and opens the door, and yells, "Hey! The kitchen's a mess!" So I'm like, "What the heck? Eish, it's probably the other guys pranking us." But a little part of me isn't so sure, so we run inside, and see that the kitchen is a disaster. The plates, silverware, food is all on the floor. So I'm still thinking to myself, "Yeah, they'd go as far as messing the kitchen to prank us." But then we start walking through the whole boarding. EVERYTHING is a mess. The living room, both bedrooms, the bathrooms... Whoever had been there went through EVERYTHING! Even the vacuum. I started thinking, "Ok... What could they have taken? My camera was with me... Oh fetch. My iPod!" So I go and look at my desk, and lo and behold... It's gone. The jar of change on my desk is gone, my books are a mess... Eish. I'm ticked at myself a little bit, because the last thing I noticed missing was my guitar. So after shaking a li'l bit and being unsure what to do, we call the Herringtons. Sister Herrington was talking to Elder Mukonda on the phone asking what has been taken, and I shout, "THEY STOLE THE FETCHING ZLS' CAR!" I guess I was panicking a li'l bit. But they come over like five minutes later and start looking around, devastated. Then, we all commune in the kitchen, and Sister Herrington looks at me and Elder Mukonda and says, pointing through a window, "See that little camera over there?" After which Elders Kruger, Morole, Gonzales, and Herrington shout, "You've been pranked!" Oh. My. Lanta. I couldn't even believe it... But we had a good laugh over it, and Elder Mukonda and I watched as the other guys cleaned up our entire building. Man, mission is great. :)
The church is still true and the Book of Mormon's still blue. God be with you 'til I email again. Stay well my friends, stay positive, and love your lives.
Much love,
Elder Johnson
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