Sanbonani!
One year ago Tuesday... Was the last time I hugged a girl (sorry Sisters Carlile and Cluster, you don't count!).
One year ago Wednesday... Was the last time I saw my family.
One year ago Thursday... Elder Esplin, Elder Jeppesen, Elder Tibbits, and myself stopped at an English pub in London for breakfast, paying what we thought was the right price with the conversion rate, only to realize that the British pound was far more valuable than we or our waitress with crooked teeth realized. Perhaps we'll repay the debt next year. It was the day we wandered the Heathrow airport aimlessly trying to find a place to sleep because the other elders were too nervous that leaving the airport was against the rules (still a little bitter about that). It was the day a random man started speaking to us in Afrikaans while we were sleeping next to a bench, which makes sense since we were four Americans in London. Hmmm.
One year ago Friday... We entered the South Africa MTC and were introduced to African handshakes, pap, biltong, robots, braai, wors, and chips. It was the day I realized that a belief in witchcraft still exists in this day and age. It was the day my number of black friends started to increase exponentially. It was the day I began a spiritual journey that continues today. Looking at how much I've grown since then...gives me a good idea of how far I still have to go. Here's to one heaven of a lekker year, and may the next year and beyond be just as well!
What an absolutely incredible, Spirit-filled hump week. And what better way to begin it than by hiking Vulintaba in the fog? Man, that was an experience. We took a different route than we usually do which required Brother Classen taking his bakkie off-roading a li'l bit to the base. You always see those commercials with trucks that can traverse over big rocks and and haul a bed full of whatever, but you're always like, "For what?" For this, my friends. I testify to you today that that bakkie did maneuvers I didn't know possible. When we finally got out and started the hike, we could see ahead of us, but the higher up we traversed, the more we were in the clouds, and that was probably the closest I'll feel to being on a ski resort 'til winter 2015. Gbenga's hair even looked frosted. Didn't think that could happen in Africa, hey? Awesome, awesome experience.
Elder Childs and I ended up on exchanges in oSi on Tuesday, which is always a treat. Between Kimberley, Rocklands, and now oSizweni, this was the third area we've exchanged together in. Man, that guy's one of my favorite people. We exchange finding ideas all the time and finally had some time to be able to put them into practice. There's a scripture in Matthew where Christ is speaking to his disciples and encourages them to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Gotta be creative in our bringing to pass righteousness. So what did he have planned for us? Speak to Reverend Zulu and ask if we can share principles from For the Strength of Youth with the youth of his congregation. He welcomed the idea with open arms. Eish, it's sad sometimes to see how young the people are that get involved with drugs, sex, and booze. Sadly, 13 and 14 year old mothers aren't as uncommon as would be ideal. Hopefully some good will come from this working together with Reverend Zulu. The youth are the future, hey?
DDM this week was lekker. Role plays can really suck if you have the attitude that they're gonna be awkward, but if that attitude's set aside, man, they can be the bomb.com. We practiced street contacting and were able to learn some approaches that work well and others that will do little more than put the person in an uncomfortable position. I think Elder Marumo's was my favorite. He comes up to me without any idea what he's gonna say and bursts out something along the lines of, "Don't you hate it when some guy you don't know just starts talking to you on the street?" Ahhh, good stuff.
Later Wednesday night we split with Brother Classen and Lungani to start visiting priesthood brethren, finding much success. There was a less active member Elder Marumo and I had tried to visit a month or so back, only to find a gate without a buzzer and a phone number that no longer worked. Elder Marumo and Brother Classen tried finding him again, and this time found success! They found their maid outside and she was able to let them in, and this brother was more than welcome to the missionaries. I guess he had joined the Church decades back in Zimbabwe, but commitments at work have been keeping him from attending. From the sound of it, he'd love to come back. Hurrah for Israel!
We met up with Elders Esplin and Willombe at Ocean Basket afterwards to celebrate mine and Esplin's hump day. Reminisced on lots of good times this last year and many more to come. With mission, you never really know what lies ahead, but you move forward anyway. In the words of SA Martinez, "Come on, yeah, it'll be alright. We're gonna take a ride. I dunno if we'll come back." That's faith, friends. We each burned a shirt that night because, come on... What kind of bogus missionary are you if you don't burn a shirt on hump day?
In addition to all the good times, we never forget the Spirit we feel every day in this wonderful work. We've been teaching a powerful new investigator named Nkululeko this week. Cyril introduced us to him, and man... There are some people that are just prepared for this gospel. He learns and keeps commitments like it's his job and even joined us at Mormon Helping Hands on Saturday. More on that later. Our lessons have been more Spirit-filled than ever, our relationships with members are as good as ever, and man... The work is just moving. Harmony in the work... What a beautiful thing.
Oh! Here's something. We've been trying to figure out how we can contact in the wealthier part of Newcastle, because with only one member family that side and lots of big gates, eish...it's tough. That one member family though... The Mngomezulus... They mean it's possible. Missionaries had found success in the past. We had an appointment with them this week in hopes of figuring out how. Worded a li'l differently, we essentially asked, "How the fetch did the missionaries find you guys?" "The sister missionaries just knocked on our door one day," Hlobi told us. Hmmm. So the quest continues. But don't worry, we're cookin' up some good ideas. Stay tuned.
One year ago Tuesday... Was the last time I hugged a girl (sorry Sisters Carlile and Cluster, you don't count!).
One year ago Wednesday... Was the last time I saw my family.
One year ago Thursday... Elder Esplin, Elder Jeppesen, Elder Tibbits, and myself stopped at an English pub in London for breakfast, paying what we thought was the right price with the conversion rate, only to realize that the British pound was far more valuable than we or our waitress with crooked teeth realized. Perhaps we'll repay the debt next year. It was the day we wandered the Heathrow airport aimlessly trying to find a place to sleep because the other elders were too nervous that leaving the airport was against the rules (still a little bitter about that). It was the day a random man started speaking to us in Afrikaans while we were sleeping next to a bench, which makes sense since we were four Americans in London. Hmmm.
One year ago Friday... We entered the South Africa MTC and were introduced to African handshakes, pap, biltong, robots, braai, wors, and chips. It was the day I realized that a belief in witchcraft still exists in this day and age. It was the day my number of black friends started to increase exponentially. It was the day I began a spiritual journey that continues today. Looking at how much I've grown since then...gives me a good idea of how far I still have to go. Here's to one heaven of a lekker year, and may the next year and beyond be just as well!
What an absolutely incredible, Spirit-filled hump week. And what better way to begin it than by hiking Vulintaba in the fog? Man, that was an experience. We took a different route than we usually do which required Brother Classen taking his bakkie off-roading a li'l bit to the base. You always see those commercials with trucks that can traverse over big rocks and and haul a bed full of whatever, but you're always like, "For what?" For this, my friends. I testify to you today that that bakkie did maneuvers I didn't know possible. When we finally got out and started the hike, we could see ahead of us, but the higher up we traversed, the more we were in the clouds, and that was probably the closest I'll feel to being on a ski resort 'til winter 2015. Gbenga's hair even looked frosted. Didn't think that could happen in Africa, hey? Awesome, awesome experience.
Elder Childs and I ended up on exchanges in oSi on Tuesday, which is always a treat. Between Kimberley, Rocklands, and now oSizweni, this was the third area we've exchanged together in. Man, that guy's one of my favorite people. We exchange finding ideas all the time and finally had some time to be able to put them into practice. There's a scripture in Matthew where Christ is speaking to his disciples and encourages them to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Gotta be creative in our bringing to pass righteousness. So what did he have planned for us? Speak to Reverend Zulu and ask if we can share principles from For the Strength of Youth with the youth of his congregation. He welcomed the idea with open arms. Eish, it's sad sometimes to see how young the people are that get involved with drugs, sex, and booze. Sadly, 13 and 14 year old mothers aren't as uncommon as would be ideal. Hopefully some good will come from this working together with Reverend Zulu. The youth are the future, hey?
DDM this week was lekker. Role plays can really suck if you have the attitude that they're gonna be awkward, but if that attitude's set aside, man, they can be the bomb.com. We practiced street contacting and were able to learn some approaches that work well and others that will do little more than put the person in an uncomfortable position. I think Elder Marumo's was my favorite. He comes up to me without any idea what he's gonna say and bursts out something along the lines of, "Don't you hate it when some guy you don't know just starts talking to you on the street?" Ahhh, good stuff.
Later Wednesday night we split with Brother Classen and Lungani to start visiting priesthood brethren, finding much success. There was a less active member Elder Marumo and I had tried to visit a month or so back, only to find a gate without a buzzer and a phone number that no longer worked. Elder Marumo and Brother Classen tried finding him again, and this time found success! They found their maid outside and she was able to let them in, and this brother was more than welcome to the missionaries. I guess he had joined the Church decades back in Zimbabwe, but commitments at work have been keeping him from attending. From the sound of it, he'd love to come back. Hurrah for Israel!
We met up with Elders Esplin and Willombe at Ocean Basket afterwards to celebrate mine and Esplin's hump day. Reminisced on lots of good times this last year and many more to come. With mission, you never really know what lies ahead, but you move forward anyway. In the words of SA Martinez, "Come on, yeah, it'll be alright. We're gonna take a ride. I dunno if we'll come back." That's faith, friends. We each burned a shirt that night because, come on... What kind of bogus missionary are you if you don't burn a shirt on hump day?
In addition to all the good times, we never forget the Spirit we feel every day in this wonderful work. We've been teaching a powerful new investigator named Nkululeko this week. Cyril introduced us to him, and man... There are some people that are just prepared for this gospel. He learns and keeps commitments like it's his job and even joined us at Mormon Helping Hands on Saturday. More on that later. Our lessons have been more Spirit-filled than ever, our relationships with members are as good as ever, and man... The work is just moving. Harmony in the work... What a beautiful thing.
Oh! Here's something. We've been trying to figure out how we can contact in the wealthier part of Newcastle, because with only one member family that side and lots of big gates, eish...it's tough. That one member family though... The Mngomezulus... They mean it's possible. Missionaries had found success in the past. We had an appointment with them this week in hopes of figuring out how. Worded a li'l differently, we essentially asked, "How the fetch did the missionaries find you guys?" "The sister missionaries just knocked on our door one day," Hlobi told us. Hmmm. So the quest continues. But don't worry, we're cookin' up some good ideas. Stay tuned.
Round two of Mormon Helping Hands this week wasn't as succesful in the sense of getting things done, but we had some good times anyway. Brothers Classen and Gbenga both couldn't make it, and they had all the tools. We kinda had to scramble last minute to rally some, and on top of that we only had like an hour to work. But Kindo and Nkululeko joined us and hit it off really well. Speaking of Nkululeko, he came to church for the first time this Sunday, along with another investigator named Mongizi, and surprise! They knew each other! Small town, hey? They decided they both want to be baptized on the same day and have their lessons together! Who knew... You can fellowship investigators with investigators.
We were supposed to go to Chelmsford Dam for p-day today, but gosh dang it allotment wasn't in and we were all broke. So we just ended up braaing at the Herringtons instead and I learned how to cut hair. I apologized to Elder Childs in advance, but it ended up working out ok, and I saved him 80 rand so he can't complain.
Lots of good things happening this week! Our jobs class starts Friday, we have zone conference next Monday with Elder Hamilton (which means I'll be emailing Tuesday I believe...), and the gospel is still true as ever. Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
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