Sanbonani!
You know those days you work so hard that when you get back to the boarding you all you can manage to do is a lightning fast planning session so your head can reunite with its pillow as quickly as possible? Imagine seven of those right in a row, and BOOM, you have our last week. Yoh, mission wears you out, but it's worth all the spiritual blood, sweat, and tears knowing you're on the Lord's errand.
I guess we'll start with Monday, hey? The last family home evening of the transfer is always bitter sweet, but the sweet far outweighed the bitter this time around. Amongst the goodbyes to the departing elders, we had some laughs, felt the Spirit, indulged in Elder Herrington's delectable almond chocolate desert, and were even joined by our dear Sister Biyela! Ah man, what a wonderful daughter of God. Sister Biyela is Zinhle, Lungani, and Thando's mother, and she was baptized this Sunday! But more about her in a minute... It was a wild, wild week leading up to the big day.
Transfer week is always hectic with getting people to where they need to be, but one way or another, it always seems to work out. After saying final see ya laters, we dumped off Elders Kruger and Morole at the bus station Tuesday. That was probably the last time I'll see my baba on mission (Mama and Pop Pop, if you guys want to stop in Cape Town when you're here, we'll have a place to stay with the Kruger family, just a heads up). With those two going, two new guys arrived. Elder Kambuzuma came along later that day, and Elder Esplin's son Elder Willombe followed on Wednesday. Crazy thing... Due to some visa problems, he's the only new elder in the mission this transfer! Don't worry though, we're treating him right. We already introduced him to our friends Abdul, Mohammed, and Ahmed at Al-Habib. *in a Homer Simpson voice* Mmm... Biryani... *drool noises*
One thing you learn on mission though is that you have to be prepared always for a super spiritual experience. On Thursday, we were following up on a referral from the ZLs, and what we were expecting was to teach the Restoration. What we weren't expecting was to find our sister in tears as she reflected back to her husband and son that have both passed away, and to find comfort in knowing she can be with them again. The blessings of the gospel are real, my friends. And as a missionary, you have to remember that although it may be the 51037047th time you've taught something, odds are it's someone else's first time hearing it, and they can feel the Spirit from day one.
But in addition to the spiritual, you've gotta be prepared for the awesome, the wacky, and the wild too. Like, the field next to an investigator's house going up in flames... Like, your shy golden investigator finding the confidence to bear powerful testimony about the gospel to his neighbors... Like, somehow finding yourselves amongst an ocean of Indians... An Indian Ocean if you will. Sister Maharajh invited us to a Mothers Day celebration at NOFTA (Newcastle Organisation for the Aged) this last Saturday, and yoh... That was an experience to write home about. We were probably the only white and black guys there, but that's ok. We dined, we enjoyed the music, the dancing, and Sister Maharajh couldn't have been more excited to see us there. Hopefully I can get a couple videos uploaded... There was a band playing some lekker Indian jams. Blake, pay special attention to the drummer and how into the music he gets (pretend that was written in the "sarcasm" font). Eish, made me miss jamming quite a bit... But it was jolly good fun.
But enough of the yadda yadda leading up to Sunday! What an absolutely incredible day. We spent the morning making some last minute preparations for our two sisters being baptized, and it all went smoothly. I've gained a strong testimony of preparation, planning, and timeliness. We got sacrament meeting started right on time, and the Spirit was there the whole service. Some great talks were given, and Sisters Biyela and Anovuyo's baptisms could not have gone any better. So like I was saying before, Sister Biyela's children are all members, and as she was bearing her testimony after her baptism, she was saying that at first, she didn't like the church. But, after much scripture study, praying, and pondering, she received that divine witness from the Holy Ghost that every missionary promises their investigators. Elder Marumo and I felt so blessed that we were able to join with her and her kids in this wonderful day. She asked Lungani to give a talk on baptism, and he shared with us that this is a day he had been looking forward to for a long, long time. Anovuyo was introduced to the gospel by her grandmother, Sister Jean from oSizweni. Sister Jean's conversion story is absolutely incredible, and her willingness to share the gospel with those around her is one of a kind. Anovuyo is the first of the family members staying at her house to be baptized, and this experience I believe has set an example for the rest of them. As she was bearing her testimony, she thanked her family for being their and supporting her. Truly a touching experience. Ah man guys... The gospel is so wonderful, and I'm so grateful these two years to get to see the blessings first hand from it.
You know those days you work so hard that when you get back to the boarding you all you can manage to do is a lightning fast planning session so your head can reunite with its pillow as quickly as possible? Imagine seven of those right in a row, and BOOM, you have our last week. Yoh, mission wears you out, but it's worth all the spiritual blood, sweat, and tears knowing you're on the Lord's errand.
I guess we'll start with Monday, hey? The last family home evening of the transfer is always bitter sweet, but the sweet far outweighed the bitter this time around. Amongst the goodbyes to the departing elders, we had some laughs, felt the Spirit, indulged in Elder Herrington's delectable almond chocolate desert, and were even joined by our dear Sister Biyela! Ah man, what a wonderful daughter of God. Sister Biyela is Zinhle, Lungani, and Thando's mother, and she was baptized this Sunday! But more about her in a minute... It was a wild, wild week leading up to the big day.
Transfer week is always hectic with getting people to where they need to be, but one way or another, it always seems to work out. After saying final see ya laters, we dumped off Elders Kruger and Morole at the bus station Tuesday. That was probably the last time I'll see my baba on mission (Mama and Pop Pop, if you guys want to stop in Cape Town when you're here, we'll have a place to stay with the Kruger family, just a heads up). With those two going, two new guys arrived. Elder Kambuzuma came along later that day, and Elder Esplin's son Elder Willombe followed on Wednesday. Crazy thing... Due to some visa problems, he's the only new elder in the mission this transfer! Don't worry though, we're treating him right. We already introduced him to our friends Abdul, Mohammed, and Ahmed at Al-Habib. *in a Homer Simpson voice* Mmm... Biryani... *drool noises*
One thing you learn on mission though is that you have to be prepared always for a super spiritual experience. On Thursday, we were following up on a referral from the ZLs, and what we were expecting was to teach the Restoration. What we weren't expecting was to find our sister in tears as she reflected back to her husband and son that have both passed away, and to find comfort in knowing she can be with them again. The blessings of the gospel are real, my friends. And as a missionary, you have to remember that although it may be the 51037047th time you've taught something, odds are it's someone else's first time hearing it, and they can feel the Spirit from day one.
But in addition to the spiritual, you've gotta be prepared for the awesome, the wacky, and the wild too. Like, the field next to an investigator's house going up in flames... Like, your shy golden investigator finding the confidence to bear powerful testimony about the gospel to his neighbors... Like, somehow finding yourselves amongst an ocean of Indians... An Indian Ocean if you will. Sister Maharajh invited us to a Mothers Day celebration at NOFTA (Newcastle Organisation for the Aged) this last Saturday, and yoh... That was an experience to write home about. We were probably the only white and black guys there, but that's ok. We dined, we enjoyed the music, the dancing, and Sister Maharajh couldn't have been more excited to see us there. Hopefully I can get a couple videos uploaded... There was a band playing some lekker Indian jams. Blake, pay special attention to the drummer and how into the music he gets (pretend that was written in the "sarcasm" font). Eish, made me miss jamming quite a bit... But it was jolly good fun.
But enough of the yadda yadda leading up to Sunday! What an absolutely incredible day. We spent the morning making some last minute preparations for our two sisters being baptized, and it all went smoothly. I've gained a strong testimony of preparation, planning, and timeliness. We got sacrament meeting started right on time, and the Spirit was there the whole service. Some great talks were given, and Sisters Biyela and Anovuyo's baptisms could not have gone any better. So like I was saying before, Sister Biyela's children are all members, and as she was bearing her testimony after her baptism, she was saying that at first, she didn't like the church. But, after much scripture study, praying, and pondering, she received that divine witness from the Holy Ghost that every missionary promises their investigators. Elder Marumo and I felt so blessed that we were able to join with her and her kids in this wonderful day. She asked Lungani to give a talk on baptism, and he shared with us that this is a day he had been looking forward to for a long, long time. Anovuyo was introduced to the gospel by her grandmother, Sister Jean from oSizweni. Sister Jean's conversion story is absolutely incredible, and her willingness to share the gospel with those around her is one of a kind. Anovuyo is the first of the family members staying at her house to be baptized, and this experience I believe has set an example for the rest of them. As she was bearing her testimony, she thanked her family for being their and supporting her. Truly a touching experience. Ah man guys... The gospel is so wonderful, and I'm so grateful these two years to get to see the blessings first hand from it.
So a little bit of crazy news... I actually just found out about this like ten minutes ago. So Swaziland is a part of our mission, and it's like... Every Durban missionary's dream to end up there for one of their areas. But, we got an email from Big Z this morning informing us that the First Presidency decided to move Swaziland to the Mozambique mission. Which means number one, that I won't be making it that side while on mission, and number two, that all the elders serving there right now are adopted into the Mozambique mission. So gash dang it, that includes Elder Reeves. Man... Crazy stuff, but the Lord has a reason for everything, eh?
Should have a good day ahead of us. We're finally hiking Vulintaba like I've wanted to do since I got here three months ago! Brother Classen's taking us, and it should be a grand ol' time.
Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your life my friends.
Much love,
Elda Johnson
Oh and PS... Just so the subject like makes a little more sense, wors (pronounced "vorsh") is a South African food... It's basically a big long salami looking thing with various meats inside. Dried out versions, valled droer wors, are called biltong, and it's very similar to (although a little bit better than) jerky.
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