"You know, we've got a good thing goin', and I don't wanna see it end."

Sanbonani!

Ah... We said goodbye to some greats yesterday. First off, I've never seen another missionary die as strong as Elder Rowley. Saturday night, he tells Elder Paige and I, "Guys... I have to say that I tracted my last day on mission. Before we go to our lunch appointment tomorrow, we have to knock on at least a couple houses." And that we did! I think we were planning on knocking on two doors, but weren't finding success... I think Rowley and I said, "One more house!" five or six times before Elder Paige finally put his foot down and told us we're going to get lunch. Haha... Jolly good fun! But it's been fun serving with him. Transfers... Ah, it's always the end of something great, and the start of something new. You never quite know what lies ahead. But I'll worry about the future later... Let's rewind to the beginning of the week...

So last Monday! Elder Rowley had served in Chatsworth, so we spent the majority of the day after emailing saying goodbyes this side. I think I mentioned that last week, and yes... I did get to play the drums! Hurrah for Israel! But man, crazy enough... The first person on the list to visit was Brother Bunny, and Elder Rowley got a call from after emailing that his house had caught fire earlier that day. We rushed over and found his whole top floor destroyed. I'm not sure exactly how it started, but man... Everything was consumed. Brother Bunny was handling it pretty well on the outside...joking around and keeping everyone entertained, but you could tell he was hurting. We recruited the rest of the missionaries in Umlazi and spent our mornings there helping with cleanup the rest of the week. It was sad... Decades of collections were lost. Amongst the rubble we found ancient Books of Mormon, priesthood manuals, dishes, clothes, material... Ay, no bueno. But at the same time, it was comforting to see how quickly the members and missionaries were able to rally up their support in his time of trouble. #TGFHT... Thank goodness for home teachers...? Yeah we'll roll with it!

This last week was a little rough on my part as well. Between a few unment expectations, some of my favorite missionaries going home, and others getting transferred away, I've felt a bit lonely and worrisome about what's coming up this next transfer. But it seems that the Lord's promise of the Holy Ghost as the comforter is real. Sometimes, the Lord compels us to be humble. Other times, we must humble ourselves. Regardless of how it happens, the Lord requires humility if we are to learn, grow, and progress. Despite all the challenges this week, our lessons were amongst the most spiritual I've been apart of. I'd never been in tears during a lesson until this Saturday. We were teaching a sister named Amanda, and her family is against her joining the church. She's had a tough past, never really knowing if God is there... Kind of having a skeptical mind, which I could relate to. I ended up sharing my testimony with her of God's plan for us, His character, and His personality... He being our loving Heavenly Father who always has his arms reached out to us in our times of struggle. It was at that point that I began tearing up. I'd never had a stronger conviction that these things were true until this point... I sure hope Amanda felt the spirit there, but I believe the person who needed to hear me say those words that night...was me. The Lord brought me comfort, and he will do the same for anyone else who seeks his love.

So was I compelled to be humble this week? I believe so. I've had to put aside a number of my own desires this week and seek out what the Lord wants. His ways are not ours. Being compelled, or humbling ourselves on our own accord... Either way, the blessings of the gospel come only to those with a humble heart and who are willing to submit their all to the Lord's will.

I feel like I'm getting preachy... One to other things! Let's see... Got to see Elder Okeng one last time yesterday when we dropped Rowley off! Man... I'm gonna miss that guy. He's gonna make Sister Okeng one happy woman. So he's leaving, but at the same time it's almost like he's not leaving... For my now companion is his posterity! Elder Aman'galia is from Kenya, and he was trained by Elder Okeng. I've heard some good things, and it sounds like Elder Aman'galia and I are gonna be working hard and learning a lot from each other. Onward and onward to victory!

It's gonna be an interesting transfer though... Ten more missionaries are leaving than arriving, so five areas across the mission are closing. Two of those from Umlazi. Sadly, Elder Rowley and Elder Paige's area is closing, so Elder Aman'galia and I are going to essentially whitewash it and absorb it into ours. We're gonna be moving boardings this week...sadly, out of Chatsworth. For the first time in six months I'll be living away from the Indians... But there's still a nice chicken tikka place down the street from our boarding, so that makes everything ok.

I'm nervous for this transfer... I have a feeling this is going to be a big learning one on my part. I don't know exactly what lies ahead, but hey... It'll work out somehow :)

Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends!

Much love,

Umdala Johnson