I was asking the Mozambican families how to say "hello" in Portuguese, but they said it's just "hello," so... Where's the fun in that? Ah man, but unfortunately, our time teaching the Mozambican guys may be coming to an end... With the language barrier, and the issue of getting them legally married, it may be too much work to realistically get them baptized while they're still living in South Africa... Our hope is that one day when they return to their native Mozambique, they'll be able to find the missionaries there and learn from them in their home language. But, like we read in Preach My Gospel, no effort is wasted! It's been a great experience teaching them, and we've seen their lives be blessed because of it.
Ah... But otherwise, what an inspiring, uplifting week! We started off our p-day visiting the Albert Luthuli museum in Groutville. So I guess Albert Luthuli was the first South African to win the Nobel Peace Prize, all the way back in the 60s. He was the leader of the ANC during that time and was one of the forerunners to Nelson Mandela. He has a pretty incredible history of working towards peace, and it's cool to me that his time with his family was spent at his humble home in this quiet, seemingly small township.
Lots of good things happening... Where to start... How about zone conference? I think this was the first time in about six months Big Z's been able to put together a zone conference for us! Last one was kinda hijacked by Elder Hamilton of the Seventy. Man, Big Z... That guy knows how to invite the Spirit. Amongst the topics were inspired planning, finding, contacting, and my personal favorite, finding joy while serving. Sister Big Z gave a great lesson on that, and different uplifting and inspiring quotes were shared as we all discussed how we each find happiness in this great work of salvation. Oh! And after 15 months, I finally saw Elder Sarai for the first time since leaving the mission home after the MTC! He's one of the elders in our group, and during our time at the MTC he was one of my favorites... He cracked me up, and he couldn't speak English that well. But, 15 months later, he's speakin' it like it's no one's business!
After zone conference, Elder Childs and I drove back to Stanger to go on exchanges. We're always talking back and forth how best we can go about talking to everyone and their dog, and finally we had a day to put our ideas into practice! We were together all of Thursday, and we specifically planned zero appointments during the day so we could spend all day walking around contacting. See, the thing is... Most missionaries will look at their schedule and see open hours and think to themselves, "OK, what could we possibly do that doesn't involve tracting or contacting?" It's kinda something you dread. But what I learned Thursday is that if you get a couple elders together that have a real desire to talk to everyone, they'll make it fun. Sometimes all you need is a few creative ice breakers to laugh about later. Like get this... We were in Checkers (a grocery store) and Childs was like, "I'm gonna go ask this guy if you can get green eggs here." And I was like, "What the fetch..." So off he goes to this guy, asks if you can buy green eggs here, and goes on to explain that back in America, we eat green eggs and ham, but he hasn't been able to find it here. One thing led to another, and he ended up testifying about the Book of Mormon to him and he accepted an invitation to learn more. We busted up laughing afterwards. Ah... Fun day!
On Saturday we ended up teaching one of the brothers that we found Thursday, and his name was Simeon. When we got to his home, we were excited to find a family of 16! The unfortunate thing, though, was that the only ones who spoke English were the baba and one of his daughters. So, unfortunately we could only teach once, invite to church, and not make a return appointment... Shame. The language barrier is a tough one.
I think one of my favorite members here in Stanger is Sister Moodley. She joined the Church back in the early 90s I believe and just loves loves loves everyone and everything about the Church. She has every reason in the world to be sad all the time. She's lost her husband, her son, and the rest of the family has grown up and moved away, leaving her an empty nester. But, she's always one of the happiest people out there! She feeds us every Friday and is always telling us story after story that put huge smiles on our faces! She was laughing this week remembering an elder that served in Stanger many years back... His name was Elder Butt. Hehe. She gave a talk this week that just radiated everything good about her to the entire congregation!
The Tembos are still doing great, and guess what! Bright came to church this week in what looked like a brand new suit! He was all jittery because on the walk to church, someone had told him he looked like a priest! That put a smile on his face. Him and Octavia are as happy as ever, and same with Ezron. We had a lesson with Ezron this week that was power power power. He had read things online about Joseph Smith that made him a little bit uncomfortable, but he told us that when seeking truth, the best place to go is the source. We spent a couple hours with him on Saturday giving him honest answers to his honest questions. We weren't able to give answers for everything, but we bore him testimony of the things that we do know to be true. God lives. His Son Jesus Christ was crucified for us. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. And although we don't have all the answers, we know that these things are true. When he came and talked to Elder Mphaka at church the next day, he had a smile on his face and was telling us he's feeling ready for baptism. The Spirit, my friends... The Spirit is the driving force in missionary work!
Amongst all the good, we had a couple learning experiences too... Elder Mphaka and I learned the difference between the two types of member present lessons: the right member present and the wrong member present. We were trying to boost our member present stat one night during the week, so we looked at the area and said, "OK, so-and-so is close, let's pick him up for the lesson." There was something small inside telling me not to, but I didn't listen... The lesson went sour, and we're going to have to recover a little bit the next time we see that family. The moral of the story though? Sometimes having the wrong member present can do more damage than good. Make plans ahead of time to get the RIGHT member there! But hey... Thank goodness for the Atonement! Repent and do better next time.
Overall, it's been a good week. I'm feeling more and more comfortable talking to everyone. I think Elder Mphaka can say the same. Finished off strong by helping out in primary again with the ol' guitar. Jolly good fun. Man... I miss those primary songs sometimes.
Gonna be a good day and week today! Going to ride Segways on the beach in Durban for a district activity. Exchanges in Phoenix tomorrow. Stop smoking class culminates Wednesday. Let the gooooooood times roll!
Sala kahle, stay positive, love your lives my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
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