Has anyone in this family ever even seen a lion...?

Sanbonani!

Oh man, nothing made me laugh more yesterday then when that one lion impersonation during our Skype call turned into the entire family doing chicken impersonations. And without words, we all knew exactly what was going on... Are we great, or what?!

Yoh, so this week! Family, you might be getting some repeats from yesterday, but it's ok... Just smile and nod and enjoy them anyway.

This one for sure isn't a repeat though... So we're teaching a brother named Ntokozo right now, and he's getting baptized this coming Sunday! Super awesome dude. He was invited to church by his friend Bafana and has been coming like every week. Elder Kakar and Elder Welling were teaching him before I got here, and I guess back then Elder Kakar had told him I'm married and have two kids, which he believed. I only found out about this because we were teaching Ntokozo a lesson about the temple. When I said, "I'd love to get married in the Laie Hawaii or the Newport California Temple," his response was, "...aren't you already married?" We had a good laugh over it. I guess I'm getting to the age where I look like I can be married with kids. So that's kinda weird.

The Durban stake had stake conference this weekend, and a lot of the messages had musical overtones to them, which I really appreciated. Sister Nthombela from Umlazi BB organized perhaps the best choir I've heard in Africa. They sang b-e-a-utifully. Of one of their songs, President Ray Holder of the sake presidency got up to the stand and said, "The only two words I can say that I won't get in trouble for are, 'Hot dog!' These guys are good." I got a video of them singing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, which I really hope uploads... We'll see how this internet shop can handle it! But that reminds me... I meant to tell this next story last week but it slipped my mind for some reason.

We had a family home evening with the Zuma family, and for the closing hymn we sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer, but Sister Zuma requested we sing it to the tune of Come Thou Fount. Yoh... It was beautiful. If you have a some spare time, organize a choir, give that a try, and try not to feel the Spirit. (Hint: that last part will be impossible!)

I got my hair cut this week. The first time in almost a year I haven't cut my own hair. Elder Esplin found this nice Indian barber that does a really good job. For R70, you get the nicest haircut of your life, and it takes no more than five minutes! The funny part was he was giving me a little bit of friendly fire for cutting my own hair. "Not even I cut my own hair," he told me. I guess I messed up in the front and he told me before he can fix it I have to let it grow out for a little while. Woops. Got called to repentance by my new barber.

I think my favorite lesson we taught this week was to a brother named Thulani. He's been to church a few times, and this was the first time Elder Kakar and I were able to sit down and teach him. But we had a really really really good lesson about the Book of Mormon. He's a smart guy, really humble, very empathetic, and seeking after truth. We spent the whole lesson answering his questions. He asked how we can put the Book of Mormon on the same level as the Bible when we're the only church that uses it. It led to a conversation about the origin of scripture, what they are, and how we can learn and gain from them. One of my favorite verses from the Book of Mormon comes from Moroni chapter 7: "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God." I shared my testimony that the Book of Mormon has the power to do that, and he seemed satisfied. Very good discussion, and I'm looking forward to another one this week.

Elder Esplin and I have started running at the park by our boarding every other morning, and we've had the chance to talk a lot too. I was telling him that this transfer I had felt more unfocused than I had in a long time, and earlier in the week I had taken a night and resolved to work hard and die strong. He told me that the same night, he had done the exact same thing. And come to find out, after an exchange with Elder Petrie (who's also in our MTC group), he learned that Elder Petrie had also done the exact same thing. So what is there to learn from this? When you get near to the end, it's tough to stay focused. But, at the same time, it's comforting to know that your buddies are pushing through the same challenge together in the spirit of ubuntu.

So that's been the week. Two more in the transfer and then I can say it's my last transfer on mission. That's kinda wierd...Yoh.

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

Thanda kakhulu,

iGosa Johnson

Shared 5/4/15 - Berea, South Africa

 Love the House of Curries!

 Random monkeys the are everywhere

 Our boarding...

AllSpaceOut

Sanbonani!

I think I'm at the same computer I was at a fewmonths ago when the spacebar was being alltrippy. I remembergrampsreallygot a kick out of it, so hopefully y'all can have somefun again trying to figure out just what exactly I'mtryingto say.

Ah, good week it's been. Zulus are the bomb I've decided. Zulu names always mean something. Like, Nhlakanipho meanswisdom. Njabulo meanshappiness. And other stuff along those lines. But theyeven use English words sometimes, and every oncein a while you get a reallyfunny story behind it. We're teaching a brother named Ntokozo right now, and he told us his little brother's name is Surprise. When we asked why his name is surprise, he told us his mom was expecting a daughter, but he came out a son. Surprise! Ah man but Ntokozo's power. We're teaching him but I don't even know why. His memberfriends have that all taken careof. We went toteach him about the Sabbath this week, and he basically taught us the wholelesson. Whata stud. 

There'sa couple we'venicknamed "the power couple" in Berea. TheNthombelas... They're young and in their twenties and everything that a young married couple should be. They're totallyinlove, they love the gospel, they're together all the time, and weseem to run intothem everywhere. Wewere at the hospital thisweek giving someoneablessing (more on that ina minute) and we bumped into them there. Xolani told us thatif we haveafamilyto teach, let themknow and they'll be the member-presents. So I toldhimifYOUhave anyfamilies to teach, let us knowand we'll be the missionaries! We laughed and then went our separate ways.

But yeah, Berea has beennicknamed byElder Esplinthe "area of blessings." Because weget calledon to give blessings all the time. All the bigDurban hospitals are in our area, so we getcalls frommembers all overthe place to goto hospitals and give blessings. I'mtryingto think...this last week I think we gave atleast five... Idon'trememberexactly. Butone of them was for a ma from Umlazi W. So wegotto visither a bit and came to find out that she was one of the firstmembers inUmlazi, back before therewas a chapel (thereare two now!). So thatwas cool, and I think she really appreciated the visit. 

I wenton anexchangewith Elder Ocitti this week who's the other zoneleaderwith Elder Esplin, and man... Wehad one of thebestdaysofmissionarywork I've had inaloooooong time. We went tractingina suburb called Ridgeview,anditwas just one miracle after another. At the end of the day, we had found potentially five father-ledfamilies. So Elder Kakar andI should havesomegood followingup to do this week! At the end of our day, our appointment we thought would be a dinner appointment cancelled, so we ended up enjoying a dinner appointment with Ronald McDonald instead. Greatend to a great day. 

We've got some good people we're teaching... We've got a lotmore good ones to find... Should be a good week. Goooood goodweek. Letme close with a quote fromJoseph Smith, Jr. (Atkinson, feel freeto steal this one, but give credit where credit is do or I'm shipping you to America):

"A man filled with the love of God, is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges throughout the whole world anxious to bless whole human family."

Sala kahle, staypositive, love your lives myfriends.

Thanda kakhulu,

iGosaJohnson

Shared 4/27/15 - Mission Home & Durban Botanical Gardens

"Oh I've got a little bit longer... I've got a ways to go!"

Sanbonani!

So last week I think al-Qaeda threatened to bomb Durban if all this xenophobia stuff didn't calm down, but I think things are ok now. The whole country's rallied in support of our foreigners, being all trendy using the hashtag #SayNoToXenophobia and whatnot. So that's cool. It's super funny though... Elder Kakar's telling everyone we visit #SayYESToXenophobia! And people will ask him, "Aren't you a foreigner...?" And then he'll say, "Yes! We have to go!"

Do you ever get random songs stuck in your head that you haven't heard in nearly two years? Oh, because I do sometimes. A Ways to Go by Grouplove... But it felt like a fitting title this week. After this week, it's single digit weeks left. But it's not time to slow down... It's time to go go GO!

Whoo, all in all this week has been great. We've eaten at the House of Curries like crazy. We've had some powerful lessons. The members are great. And I think we even figured out a cure for cancer. Ok that last one might not be accurate... But just roll with it.

I think it was last week... This kid named Sfiso randomly showed up to church. One of the members in Berea recognized him and got us his details from Facebook. Which, I felt like was a little bit of a breach of privacy, but it ended up being for a good cause... We found his house, and after explaining how we found it, we talked with him for a while. Found out he hasn't been to church in years, but just walking home from Musgrave Center one day, he saw the chapel and felt like he needed to attend. He told us he's been wanting to make some changes in his life, so we're really hopeful. Has a family too.

There was one day this week Elder Kakar took us to a couple former investigators. Baba Nkomo in the morning and Gogo Luwaca later in the afternoon. Most of our time with them we spent just listening. There's a lot to be said about listening. Had we just tried to plunge the Book of Mormon down Baba Nkomo's throat, we wouldn't have been able to learn his thoughts about God's love for all his children. Or had we testified boldly right off the bat that this is Christ's church, we wouldn't have been able to learn of the spirituality of her calling in her church. But because we listened, they both opened up to us and were ready to listen with open ears when it came our time to speak.

The Z Man's pushing member work big time this transfer, and we've seen a few miracles from it so far. On Wednesday night, we had a lesson with the Ngcobo family. Tino, who's preparing for a mission and comes teaching with us a lot, shared a scripture from Alma 34 about patience and hope, and the spirit was so strong. After a short discussion, we asked the family if there was anyone they knew that could use some more hope in their lives, and the older brother S'phamandla, suggested their older brother. The family nodded in agreement, and we have a time to meet with them this coming week.

We had the chance to watch conference this weekend (more on that in a minute), and afterward, Sister Zondi invited us over to teach someone staying at her apartment. Her name is S'li, and Sister Zondi's shared a lot with her already about the Book of Mormon, so we just spent some time answering questions. It was incredible... Most people we teach will either disregard entirely the Book of Mormon, accept it without really understanding what it means ("Yeah, your book is true, but all books are true!), or other stuff like that. S'li questions were bold, but they were honest, and she was willing to read and pray about it too find out if it's true. So we'll be following up with her in a few weeks. Cheers to Sister Zondi, though, for being such a great member missionary!

In the spirit of weekly planning in creative places, we went to the Durban Botanical Gardens this week. We weekly planned to the tune of a cool breeze blustering through the foliage, various species of fowl going about their days, and the occasional couple passing by. It's just a spiritual place to be, and I think we've got some good plans for the coming week.

Conference was awesome (as I'm sure you guys in Utah who watched like a month ago know already...). I think Elder Wilford Andersen gave perhaps one of my favorite talks I've ever heard. "The Music of the Gospel." Here's a quote I liked from it:

"When our children are little, we can sing them the lullaby of love unfeigned, and when they are obstinate and refuse to go to sleep at night, we might need to sing the lullaby of long-suffering. When they are teenagers, we can tune out the cacophony of arguments and threats and, instead, perform the beautiful music of persuasion—and perhaps sing the second verse of the lullaby of long-suffering. Parents can perform in perfect harmony the tandem attributes of gentleness and meekness. We can invite our children to sing along with us in unison as we practice kindness toward a neighbor who is in need."

This gospel is a gospel of love... And if we do everything else but forget that one aspect, our efforts are in vain. Love, love, love... There is no satisfactory substitute.

I stepped on a scale this week. Gained 10 pounds in Umlazi. Renewing my commitment to work out every morning starting today. Family, please follow up with me and give me fire if I haven't worked out next week. Deal? Sweet, thanks!

Should have a good week coming up. Zone training meeting on Wednesday, and for the first time in months, it won't be me teaching it! So I'm excited for that. Excited to learn from Elder Esplin and Elder Ocitti.

To House of Curries today, I'm hoping. Pops and Mama, don't worry... We'll eat there plenty once you're here. :)

Sala kahle, stay positive, love your lives.

Thanda kakhulu,

iGosa Johnson

Shared 4/20/15 - Umlazi and Berea

When you lock your keys in the boot, a palm frond does the trick!

#RIDOOKULOUSNESS

Sanbonani! Namaste! Shot bru!

Ah whatever greeting works... Berea is like the melting pot of the mission. You've got all walks of life here. Zulus, Indians, Mlungus...heck, even a bunch of foreigners! Perhaps I'll have to start learning how to greet in their languages too. Just as long as the xenophobia stuff that's happening cools down a bit. Eish... Have you guys heard about it on the news at all...? People upset that foreigners are here or something. Riots... Shops being looted... But don't worry, we've been safe! As long as we stay away from some parts of downtown and the township we should be ok. A combination of the Spirit and good judgment should do the trick.

Man... I don't think I've loved an area the first week this much since I arrived in Newcastle. Berea is the bomb. Elder Kakar is lekker. We have great people to teach. The ward is lekker. The members are lekker. Things are just going great. The biggest keys to missionary work in my opinion are unity and brotherhood. If you're working in one mind with your companion, with the members, with your investigators, with other missionaries... Great things will happen. We had interviews with the Z man on Thursday (more on that in a minute) and I was planning on getting some good sleep in preparation. But Elder Kakar and I ended up staying up talking until like 12:30... Just talking about mission, old areas, old companions... Crazy enough, he goes home just a transfer after me! Both of us are nearing the end. He's funny though... He says a lot of things are ridiculous, he pronounces it "ridookulous." So when I'm saying that at home, you'll know why. Yoh... So we were super tired for interviews, but it ended up being ok because we've got a great idea of what we want to accomplish in our time together.

Our first day together we taught a few lessons to referrals from members... So this is something cool. Remember a couple weeks ago I was mentioning that Mzansi loves Come, Come, Ye Saints? And that the staff of uKhozi FM visited Salt Lake last year? The Rowberrys have put together a short DVD... Kind of like a Mormon Message about their visit. We've been using it as a way to invite others to learn more about the Church. It showcases some of the good things we get involved in with faces the Zulu nation recognizes. So we've been able to teach a few people through that. Members are excited about it and we are too.

Interviews came early this transfer... Kinda crazy. My last one with the Z Man before my exit interview in July. We talked about a lot... Missionary work, home, school, marriage... Lots of topics. He gave me his blessing to pursue a career in law, which he's generally been discouraging lately, so I was pretty happy about that. We talked about working with members, and that's kind of going to be our big focus the next couple transfers. Elder Atkinson is really good with it (he's actually just forcing me to say this as he's watching over my shoulder...he's actually a bogus missionary). So we should get the chance to exchange this transfer and share some ideas.

In the time we weren't out working with members, we hit the pavement a bit. Went tracting on Saturday. Drove around a bit and found an area that looked nice. It was kind of your typical cliche missionary tracting success story... After about an hour of not getting in anywhere, we were walking back to the car and decided to talk to a ma outside her house. She opened up to us and told us how busy her day was and what and what... We offered to help her around the house next week and she accepted. Loves Jesus Christ too! So she made us a deal... We'll come do some service next week, and once we're finished, we'll talk Jesus. Looking forward to it.

The Berea ward is great. Elder Esplin locked their keys in the boot the other day, and all the members rallied around their car to help him. Brother Nolan got the window down just far enough to fit a palm frond in and unlock it. So if you need help breaking into a car... You know who to call!

Had lunch Sunday with President Bricknel and his family. Good people. And hands down the most stereotypical Mormon family I've met in a long time. They love each other and laugh and joke and like half their extended family has moved to Utah. I think the highlight of the lunch was one of their kids farting really loud during dinner. It was the best.

Another week down. I'm almost to the point where I can count the number of weeks I have left on just two hands. It's go time... Gotta make the best of it!

Sala kahle, stay positive, love your lives my friends.

Thanda kakhulu,

iGosa Johnson