Sanbonani!
Eish... When they send you on a mission, they don't tell you EVERYTHING you're getting yourself into. Like there was nowhere in my call letter that said, "You might be working in a threesome for two weeks while your companion is at the PMTC. You might forget to buy electricity for your boarding while you're living at the other guys' boarding, so it just might run out. If it does, the refrigerator will turn into a biome for maggots to start growing. They will feed on all the moldy food and it will emit the most foul and offensive odour you've ever smelled. You'll have to clean it up if that's the case." So that's what we did last week, and our boarding's been lingering with the faint, yet noticeable aroma of air freshener mixed with dead maggots ever since. Welcome to mission.
Ah... But otherwise, things have been just peachy this week. I was kinda nervous heading into it, but hey... There's something about praying, working hard, and following the counsel of family and friends that can really help alleviate your fears. Monday night Elder Paige and I were talking with Brother Mervin. He's the landlord of the other boarding in Chatsworth, and he's also the Young Men's President in the Chatsworth ward. He served a mission to Kenya a little more than 20 years ago, and man... He must have been an incredible missionary. We talked and chatted for a while, and he just gets missionary work. He was talking about how one of the most important things (if not THE most important thing) on mission is the spiritual welfare of the missionaries. We talked about how great President Zackrison is for doing everything he can to keep elders on missions. People would be surprised at many of things people have done within our mission and not been sent home. But President sees the bigger picture. Brother Mervin too. Crazy enough, as we were talking, we received a call from the Assistants about a wayward elder we had to go tend to. But with those words from Brother Mervin, I hope we were able to do what the Lord needed us to do.
It's been a joy working with Elder Aman'galia this week. He's from Kenya, and crazy enough... His trainer was Elder Okeng! I was with the father, and now I'm with the son. Oh the irony... But things have been good. We taught some great lessons. Did some good finding. Had a lot of investigators at church. And Elder Paige was even able to make it down for Sne's baptism!
Ah, I think one of the highlights of the week... We've been teaching a brother named Sizwe. Elder Rowley and Elder Paige had found him the week before I was with him, and I guess the first time they met with him he said he has his church and he wasn't going to join ours. So they taught him about the Book of Mormon. He was weary of it at first, but he was telling us this week that he's been reading it and has been touched by the Spirit -- he sees the goodness and truth in it. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him, and there was something in his face... I think often times when we tell people that God visited a 14 year old boy or that Jesus visited ancient America, a red light goes off in people's minds. But man... Sizwe was mesmerized. It's... I dunno, it's cool to see the Spirit working on someone. And to top it all off, afterwards we were talking... On the back of all my planners I have a different band's name. This transfer's has U2 on it. So he asked me if I liked U2, and I said, "Yeah... Do you?" He didn't, but he told me he was more a punk rocker... Green Day, Blink-182, Simple Plan and the sorts... My mouth dropped. Most people in South Africa just listen to bogus house music... But he actually has good taste in music!!! So we bonded over that. Ah. It was a good lesson. He ended up inviting himself to church too. He didn't make it... But we're hopeful for the future.
I've been studying a lot from Alma lately. I've been reading about their mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites, and uh... I've learned a few things. (Imagine that!) One thing I've noticed is that even back then, it was never the prideful that accepted the gospel. They didn't go to the wealthy or the upper class... They went to those who were thrown out of the synagogues. They went to those who were hurting. They went to those who, in one way or another, were humble. It's never been the prideful that have been the elite. Brother Mervin was telling us as well that when his parents joined the Church, they had almost nothing. They were poor, starving, and didn't know how they were going to make it. But the Lord sent a couple missionaries to find them and bring them into the warmth of the gospel. I'm becoming more and more convinced that the ones we're looking for fall into that category... Those whom are either compelled to be humble or are humble of their own accord. Those are the ones who will recognize us as the Lord's servants. And we're recognize them.
That being said, I think I've had a couple humbling experiences this week. When you're a perfectionist, you try your best to do everything right. And with mission, it's impossible. There are so many things to worry about. Finding people to teach... Teaching with boldness... Being friends to those you teach... Helping those you teach to find friends at church... Worrying about your own spiritual welfare... Watching over a zone... Being obedient... Working hard... Working with members... Eating right... Working out... The list goes on and on! And if you take on too many things all at once, you'll overwork yourself and break down. So you have to focus your efforts on a couple things at once. But, you have to rely on the Spirit to help you know which things those are... I think I've been trying too hard to focus on the things I feel are important, and not necessarily what the Lord thinks are important. I felt bad about that at church when I realized I wasn't helping the investigators there feel as welcomed as they could have. Eish... But at the same time, the Atonement's for us missionaries as well. Repent and do better the next time.
But all in all... Great week. Sne Mcanyana's baptism went well. It was Elder Paige's first time baptizing, and uh... It mighta taken him three times to finally dunk her right, but in the end, we had a good laugh over it.
Good things lie ahead. Might be moving this week. MLC for sure tomorrow. Let the gooooood times roll.
Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends.Much love,Umdala Johnson
No comments:
Post a Comment