Monday, August 4, 2014
Shared 8/4/14 - Saying Goodbye to Newcastle and Friends!
Take a good look, Newcastle, 'cause it's the last time you'll be seeing these!
Sanbonani!
Ah man, when it's most likely your last week in an area, you have a couple options... You can either be finished and trunky all week since you're most likely leaving (and then, if by slim chance you don't get transferred, be devastated when you find out you're staying), or you can carry on with missionary work like normal and bring to pass a heck of a lot of righteousness. Proud to say I did the latter, and man... What a lekker last week it was here in Newcastle!
So to start the week off on a high note, we were shown the fruits of our labors for "randomly strewing" rat poison in the ceiling when we found our rat buddy dead on the lawn. I mean, it was a little sad, but then again not really. Not being woken up in the night to little foot steps pitter-pattering on the ceiling is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. But, since we are indeed human and not beast, we had a proper funeral for the li'l guy by way of cremation. I will neither confirm nor deny the allegation that we blew up his head beforehand with a firecracker left over from the 4th of July. May he rest in pieces.
We had a couple lessons this week that just left us laughing. We were having a do-or-die lesson with Baba Mbofana... Kinda meaning that ok, this guy has been investigating for a long time without going anywhere. We're gonna be as bold as we can teaching the Restoration and bearing testimony, and then we drop him and the ball's in his court. So we go over to his house, and man... Satan moves in mysterious ways. We opened with a prayer, started with the lesson, he started pointing out that there's a lot of confusion with so many different churches out there, we started telling him how he can know which one is right, the Spirit was there, and then, just when we're going for the throat with Moroni 10:4-5, he puts his hand on my knee and says, "Now, I didn't intend to have our Bible study tonight. I just wanted to give you guys a nice meal." And he goes into the other room and prepares dinner. Now don't get me wrong, the dinner was delicious, but that was the third time we were being fed that day, and man... That was almost the best lesson we ever had with him. Darn it, Satan. But it's ok... His shafts in the whirlwind aren't going to stop Elders Marumo and Brown next week from finishing the job!
The other lesson that cracked me up this week was Gregory... Haha, that guy. So we go over to his place, and he tells us he has some really bad news, essentially that he's giving up on trying to be baptized because he's a failure and whatever. So a super spiritual lesson followed, touching on the Atonement, Christ's life and mission, and other nice stuff. And then at the end of the lesson, he tells us he's just kidding and just wanted to see what our reaction was. I think Elder Marumo was a little bit in shock, but I left with a huge smile on my face. Gregory... What a guy. He said that after that, more than ever, he knows that the Church is true.
Hmmm, what else... Oh! Elder Marumo and I tried out our lemonade stand this week, and it was a huge success! We only sat outside about an hour one day and we probably gave away 15 Books of Mormon and made some solid contacts. A lot of people would walk up to us and be like, "Free juice? For what? Why is it free?!" Ya know, kinda suspiciously. So, we were completely honest with them. "We have a message that will change your life, and we needed a way to grab your attention!" It's good, it's easy, and it's fun. I'm looking forward to trying this more in the future.
Usually transfer week goes slow, and especially the Saturday you're waiting for news, and especially when every single one of your appointments Saturday falls through. You have a super solid day planned out, and then everything that could possibly go wrong, does. Ok, not everything... But a new potential investigator ended up in hospital, a recent convert's parents told her she's not allowed to see the missionaries anymore, your power investigator got sick, and a whole lot of people just decided to not be at home. I get suspicious sometimes that our investigators plan things out together sometimes... "Let's all not be home on the same day! That'll teach 'em!" So it was a long day, but we ended up doing some good. Sometimes you just gotta take days like that on mission, put 'em behind you, and make the next days even better.
But at the end of the day, transfer news finally came, and this will be the last of my time in Newcastle. It's always sad leaving behind an area, but new adventures lie ahead. To be completely honest, I'm not too sure what to expect. It's always a little nerve-wracking going to a new area and companion, and this time around there's a couple twists. Stanger, the area I'm getting transferred to, has been closed for about 4 or 5 months, so we're re-opening it to missionary work. My new companion, Elder Mphaka, is getting transferred here from the Sierra Leone or Liberia Mission (not sure which one) due to the ebole outbreak that side. And to top everything off, I'll be learning stick today to drive the oSizweni 2 bakkie down to Durban tomorrow morning. So to say this week's gonna be an adventure is an understatement. Stanger's gonna be a challenge, but I'm up for it. Elder Mphaka and I are gonna set it on fire. And on the plus side, the town is right on the beach, there's a bunch of Indians (meaning Indian food!), the place where the temple is rumoured to be built is right by our area...Ballito. Nicest place in Durban from what I've heard. Can't complain about that! I have some great ideas for the area... All in all I'm super stoked.
Newcastle has been the bomb, but all good things must come to an end... Except exaltation of course. Hehe. I've learned a ton here, met some of the best people I know, and I'm looking forward to the times ahead. Let's hear it for missionary work! Hurrah for Israel!
Sala kahle, stay positive, love your lives my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
Monday, July 28, 2014
Woza, Woza, Ye Saints
Sanbonani!
Sometimes I feel like Zunglish is my best hope for coming home knowing another language... I'll get all prideful every once in a while and think I'm talking Zulu really well, and then I'll try and say a sentence and all but two words of it will be English. Dang it. But it's ok... I think all the Zulus here really get a kick out of watching me struggle. As long as they're happy and learning the gospel, I'm happy too.
Man, what an incredible week! It's amazing what can happen when you heed the counsel of a general authority. One of the big things Elder Hamilton touched on last week was frequent short, powerful visits with your investigators. We kept that in mind from the day after zone conference and saw the blessings just as quickly! As far as finding new people to teach this week, we weren't as successful, but man... With some of our longtime investigators, we saw them make huge strides. Whereas normally we'll have roughly 5 or 6 investigators at church, we had 11 this Sunday! Elder Marumo and I couldn't have been more excited.
One of my favorite people we've been working with lately is Mongizi. Man... He's power. His family members are all members, and it's looking like the time is right for him to be too. He's worked with missionaries in the past and has had a desire to be baptized, but with his schooling and the hecticness of life, perhaps the timing wasn't right. But now that he's finished and on break, he's ready for the challenge. We've been teaching him the last few weeks, he's been coming to church and keeping commitments, and is truly understanding the changes that will need to take place in his life and the blessings that will come from it. Ah man... The Spirit is good, my friends.
So as Elder Marumo and I have been evaluating the jobs workshop... We're thinking it's a really good idea, but perhaps not for elders that are serving in town. We tripled our attendance this week and had three people show up!... Three people that we're already teaching! On the other hand, the oSizweni elders have been doing the same thing in the township and had 80 people at their first workshop. I guess it's more appealing in an area with an abundance of people looking for jobs, whereas the majority of the people in town are well off. They did a lot of good though. Sister Herrington mentioned that in oSizweni, a lot of people went in to the workshop looking skeptical when they found out they were not actually getting a free job, but left looking optimistic and hopeful. We're going to continue on with it until we've finished the course, but we're working on some new finding ideas too... Stay tuned.
At our workshop this week, we had an old investigator stop by and visit us. Nganiso. Man, how great it was to see his face! The first transfer I was in Newcastle, he was set to be baptized and was super powerful, but then, for reasons we're still not sure of, he just sorta disappeared off the face of the earth. But as he was visiting with us, you could sense that he missed the joy he had had in coming to church, having lessons with the missionaries, and that sorta thing. Looking forward to meeting with him a little later this week.
So Kindo, Melba, and Ayanda were planning on going to the temple with the Herringtons on Saturday, but had their plans frustrated when Ayanda learned from a friend in JoBurg that the temple is closed til later this week. Poor guys... But I guess it's good. They can learn a little bit of patience, hey? And we were blessed to be able to take Kindo out teaching with us on Saturday too. Haha, what a guy... We knew he was going to be with Melba's one year old daughter Milana all day, so we SMS'd him the night before and asked if she'd be cool coming with us also. His reply? "That will be awesome. Let it rock. Let it roll. We are in." What a stud.
Great week lies ahead of us. Most likely my last in Newcastle. Gotta make the most of it while I'm still here! President gave us a finding idea last week that we're giving a try. Instead of just tracting a street, he suggested announcing you're coming like the week before. So we made up a bunch of pass-along cards saying that we'd be coming by this week to give them a free DVD about finding faith in Christ and put them in a bunch of mail boxes on Saturday and will be following up this week. If they're interested, we teach. If not, we pass them by. I think if anything it'll at least result in less anger than normal tracting. We're also gonna make a lemonade stand one day and give away free lemonade and Books of Mormon. Marumo's idea. What a stud.
Deep cleaning today and then relaxing... Should be jolly good fun. There's something to be said about taking a couple hours or so to relax instead of filling your p-days with fun, yet tiring activies every week. Gonna enjoy this.
Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Shared 7/22/14 - Newcastle - Zone Conference, Rats, and Jobs
I’m bruised! My cattle are sick! Where’s my tobacco?!
Sanbonani!
Guys… I don’t think we’re following the Word of Wisdom as exactly as we could be. I mean yeah, we’re not drinking strong drinks or smoking tobacco, but that’s only part of the revelation. What about the other parts of those verses in section 89? I think it’s time we take the next step. "Strong drinks are not for the belly," it says, "but for the washing of your bodies." When last did you bathe in Castle Lager? The last time you were bruised, or your cattle were sick, where was your tobacco? Let’s resolve, brethren and sisters. From this day forward, we bathe no more in water! Champagne showers from here on out! But only just kidding… Whiskey showers are the way to go.
Anyway! So many good things happening this week and so little time to explain… Guess it’s just gonna be highlights. Let’s start with zone conference yesterday since it’s still fresh on my mind. Man, it’s always a treat to hear from Big Z. That guy understands personal revelation like no one I’ve ever met. He only taught us for a half hour or so before turning the time over to Elder Hamilton of the Seventy, but man… I didn’t know you could cram so much spiritual POW in so little time. He talked about the powers of heaven mentioned in D&C 121:34-40 and spoke about our entitlement to them as we remain righteous. “Many are called, few are chosen.” Try to be amongst the few. Man… I feel like I’m beginning to understand that phrase better than I have before. He stuck with the Spiritual side of missionary work and personal conversion while Elder Hamilton stuck with the practicalities…teaching, finding, and the sort. What an uplifting day. Oh! And Elder and Sister Hamilton are from Cali, and Sister Hamilton even grew up in Santa Clarita! Small world, hey? But man, any questions I had going in to zone conference were answered. I think the rest of our zone can say the same. And so, the work moves forward unhindered.
Let’s see… Last…Friday? Yeah! K, last Friday we had our first jobs workshop, and I’d call it a great success. I mean granted, only one person showed up, but the worth of souls, even a single soul, is great in the sight of God. It gave us a good idea of what we need to do for the coming week. If you’re an athlete, you have rough games every once in a while. But do you quit? Nah. You evaluate, practice, and do better next week. That’s exactly what Elder Marumo and I did the next day. We took a look at how we were contacting people and decided we needed to make it a little more personal and sell the idea a little better. I mean, people get super excited when they see a sign that says, “DO YOU WANT A JOB?” People like free stuff, so when they find out we don’t actually have a free job for them, they get a little disappointed. But we’ve changed our approach a little bit and have high hopes for the coming week.
Hmmm… Although it didn’t bear too much fruit, we did have some fun while contacting. On the streets, we’ve been carrying around our huge “DO YOU WANT A JOB?” sign. It grabs attention like a boss. But, Satan decided to send his winds Thursday and uh… Tear up our sign. Dang it. Oh! But this is super cool! We’ve been trying to figure out how we can talk to the Afrikaans population, and found a way serendipitously this week. A couple times a week, the Pick N Pay in town lets us have a stand outside their store, and we’ve had people of all ethnicities talking to us… Even the Afrikaaners! The people talking to us aren’t necessarily interested in the workshop, but they find it to be a good thing that we’re doing for the community. One man named Henry thought it was brilliant and even wants to work with us in the future. I don’t know that he’ll be interested in the gospel, but hey, at least we can work with him and do some good in the world.
In addition to all the finding and talking to people, we had some powerful lessons with our current investigators. Ah man, Gregory... I think we went a little spiritual overload on him, but he handled it well! He has an inquisitive mind, and one question leads to another... By the end of the lesson, we had gone through the temple,baptisms for the dead, branch leadership, area presidencies, seventies, apostles, the first presidency... We all just ended up laughing at the end. Jolly good time. I can't think by name everyone that we taught, but man... People are progressing like never before. And with the enlightenment gained from zone conference, this next week should be even better.
So one quick story before I'm out... We've had rats running around in our ceiling. And we were alright with that until this last week when we found rat poop in almost every room of the boarding one night. Haibo... So we finally asked Sister Herrington to buy us rat poison. It said very specifically not to "strew it randomly," and we figured that was a no brainer until we opened the attic and...started brainlessly strewing it randomly. Woops. But I think they're chowing and should be passing on to the spirit world shortly.
More good times ahead. The gospel is true as ever, and I'm pretty sure the Book of Mormon is still blue... Definitely still true though. Sala kahle, stay positive, and love your lives my friends.
Much love,
Umdala Johnson
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