Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before JWs were, Mormons are.

Sanbonani!

Ok confession time... I had a little bit of a beard this week. Don't worry though, it wasn't anything Lorenzo Snow would give fire for. Gregory had told us about a place called Salom Namaste you could get a shave at for only ten rand. I figured I'd try it, and I figured I'd probably be a bad customer if I didn't have something for them to shave, ya know? But dang it, either it doesn't exist or Gregory sucks at giving directions, or maybe even both. Either way, we couldn't find it, so what was supposed to be a weekend off for my razor left the poor guy working double time on Monday. All that apostasy for nothing. Sigh... Guess I learned my lesson, hey? Side note, I did find a loophole in the white handbook. It says, "Elders should shave every day," but what it doesn't say is, "Elders should shave their whole faces everyday." Mustache March? Movember? Hmmm... "I mustache you a question. Have you heard of the Book of Mormon?" Could be a good door approach. Stay tuned...

Anyway! Newcastle is still lekker as ever. The areas far away from Durbs and the mission home often get called outer darkness, but uh... I like to call them the best kept secrets in the mission. So many exciting things happening this week. Well, a little bit of sad too, but that ended up being a heart warming experience. Remember that less active member we visited at hospital last week? We went to his place to follow up this week, only to find a bunch of cars from Free State, Gauteng, Utrecht... Our first thoughts were confirmed when the family informed us his funeral was happening in a couple hours. They told us he always loved visits from the missionaries and invited us to the service. It was at a Methodist church in town, and we mighta got lost on the way and arrived just as the pallbearers were carrying the casket out. We didn't know anyone there, but thank goodness one of his daughters-in-law came up to us and said, "We're Mormons too!" Huge sigh of relief to at least make that connection. One of his sons, who I believe was the pastor that conducted the service, walked up to us with a big smile on his face and pointed to us and said, "Mormons! My dad loved you guys." So that was pretty cool. I'm just glad we were able to attend and that missionaries of transfers past were able to help someone grow closer to Christ.

On Monday Brother Classen took us hiking Vulintaba again, and man, what an absolutely faith promoting experience that was. Eldor Classen's one of those people that just gets life and the gospel. The hike up we conversed about the purpose of life, Paul's teachings on joy and happiness, President Uchtdorf's teachings on gratitude, the need of faith, his visits to Utah, and at the top, we were able to take in the majesty of God's creations. Ah, there's something about being on top of the world (or Newcastle at least) that invites the Spirit. Nca, brah. Nca. The hike back down, Brother Classen offered to come teaching with us later in the week. Gregory had hit a couple stumbling blocks, and I think the testimony of our German friend was exactly what he needed. One of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been part of. Eldor Classen... What a guy.

In oSizweni there's a super big extended family called the Zwanes that the Herringtons have been working with. Six of the kids are getting baptized next week, and that left yours truly doing all the interviews. Six interviews is enough to wear you out, but what a neat experience it was. Most of them were young and fluent in Zulu but not English, so their aunt was translating. Man, it's amazing to see the faith little children have. If more people could testify of the Saviour's divinity with their conviction, the world would be a much better place. I was on exchanges with Elder Esplin the rest of the day, and we had just one appointment after that. We were teaching a brother named Jackie, and this is actually kinda funny... So traditional African beer is called umqombothi, and Jackie had been drinking a lot of it, but he insisted on watching the Restoration DVD. Afterwards, I asked him if he'd been reading his Book of Mormon, forgetting he didn't have one yet, nor had he been taught about it, but we were amazed at how much he had picked up about it from just the video. More so than the sober investigator we had visited earlier in the day. Traditional beer...perhaps the key to spiritual enlightenment? Hmmm...

Sunday I felt like was a huge turning point for the branch. Much to our dismay, we shed a little tear as President Mabhena released Brother Gbenga from his three callings. Life is taking him a different direction, but hopefully a direction that will lead him to be with his family as soon as he can. It was a blessing to be able to share some words of comfort with him. He was pretty shaken up most of Sunday and wasn't able to come teaching with us like he usually does. But, with the loss of another Melchizidek Priesthood holder from the branch, a new sense of urgency like never before has been pressing the hearts of the ones remaining. Brother Classen is leading a campaign to rededicate the members here to a sense of spirituality that once was. We started by making plans to reactivate and ordain many of our potential priesthood holders. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor will Newcastle be rededicated over the course of a week or a transfer, but it's a start in the right direction. Hurrah for Israel!

So what's coming up this week... 4th of July celebration with the Herringtons on Friday, hiking Vulintaba again next week with Brother Classen and the young men this time around, and uh... Might be visiting a Freemason lodge today too, so that'll be an experience! Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends.

Much love,

Umdala Johnson