Arson Fire Mother-in-Law Exterminator

Sanbonani!

Victoria Street Market is the place to go if you want souvenirs from Durban. After we emailed last week, I hit it up with Elders Atkinson, Human, Petrie, and Dlamini. As we strolled through the authentic African merchandise, we ran into an American couple. The husband went to law school next to something historical from the life of Joseph Smith and told us we're doing a great thing. They were looking at a chess set that another elder had his eye on as well. But while they were looking at that, my gaze was drawn to the piles of spices the next shop over. They ranged from biltong spices, to masalas, to curry powders, to peri-peri, to spice for rice. And aside from the antique feel as you're looking at them, the best part is the names of some of the hotter ones. "Arson Fire Mother-in-Law Exterminator" and "Hellfire Chilly" I think were my favorites. Perhaps they're describing the what happens to your mouth as you're eating whatever they've seasoned, or perhaps they're describing the what inevitably happens on the porcelain throne the following night. Either way, the names are fitting.

Well, another great week that culminated in the baptism of our brother Ntokozo! Where to begin, where to begin...

So the Sitholes introduced us to their friend Siwe who's been coming to church with them the last couple weeks. Let's hear it for member missionary wory! Woop woop! Before our lesson this week, we had an interesting conversation though... Everyone was talking about how African parents beat their children, and I was just sitting back laughing my head off. At one point, Zama told us that her friend came running to her house one day from down the street to avoid her uncle, who came running up just after her carrying a sofa. A flipping SOFA! So I guess that's a thing. And they were saying that as kids, they knew when they did something wrong, and there were "tricks" they could do to not get beaten. Apparently the formula to avoid a beating is to tie grass together, urinate on it, and then find a small rock and put it under your tongue. And that's not just a South Africa thing, because Elder Kakar jumped in and said he did the same thing in Uganda! They all ended up agreeing it didn't work, though, because they still got beaten... Ay. I guess there's more than one way to discipline a child, eh? In the words of the bucaneers, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."

A couple weeks ago while I was on an exchange with Elder Ocitti, we met a family called the Simelane family. We had the chance to teach a few of the sons this week, and one of them, Thulani, had been taught by the missionaries in Bluff a couple years ago, so that's pretty dope. The crazy thing is this... They stay across the street from a (less active) member, so you would have thought they'd been tracted into before... But they hadn't! And Thulani's only been back in his house here for about a month, so perfect timing. The three of them we're teaching seem to be loving the gospel. Lungelo is especially intrigued with the Book of Mormon.

We've been teaching a couple dudes named Sfiso and Nhlakanipho, and they came to church this week. Holla! Sfiso keeps telling us he wants to be baptized as well, so we've got that to look forward to.

One day this week, I believe it was Wednesday, we had lunch at the boarding, and Elder Esplin walked in and told us there were a couple guys outside that had been robbed and were asking for any old clothes or anything broken that we didn't need anymore. I was a little suspicious, but Elder Esplin encouraged us to go check. I ended up giving away a shirt and some flip flops. The four of us were looking at our vacuum cleaner, and Elder Morole said, "I think that's broken, isn't it?" No one objected, so we gave it away. Later that afternoon, we thought back and decided the vacuum probably just had hair stuck in it and actually wasn't broken. But either way, we no longer have a vacuum cleaner. Hopefully it's gone to a good cause.

We're trying to set up a family history stand in the Queensmeade library, so we're working with Brother Gardner a bit. He was telling me this week that he's got grandsons about my age that should be going to church and serving missions right now, but for one reason or another are not. He asked me, "What's kept you on track?" I had to pause for a minute, because I wasn't really sure. And then I kept thinking about it the rest of the week... And what I decided is this: I've really trusted my parents since the time I was young. Trusted that they know better than me. So lesson of the week... Kids, listen to your parents!

Berea ward's cool for a couple reasons. People here have family in the States, so people from the States come visit a lot. This week, a sister was here from California, so it was cool talking to her a little bit. President Bricknell, the stake president, has a sister from Utah who's in town as well. We had lunch at their place after church, and while still being the most stereotypically Mormon family I've met in ZA, they're super South African. She was telling us that all the South Africans that are living in Provo know each other and have kind of a community together. They braai together, they make biltong together... Sounds awesome, and Elder Esplin and I were invited into it once we're home. Hurrah for Mzansi!

And also Berea ward is cool because it's one of the only places in the mission where elders quorum turns into the three old balding white guys leading the discussion and telling stories from their youth. Reminds me of home...

Ntokozo was baptized yesterday, and the service was beautiful. He was invited to church by his friend Bafana, who was invited to church by his friend Artwell. They're a really great group of guys, and Artwell had the privelege of baptizing Ntokozo. His testimony afterward was beautiful, and his mother keeps telling us what a big change she's seen in him since he started coming to church. Ah... The gospel is great, isn't it?

And then finally... Made my third trip to the Natal Lion Park this morning. Sometimes you luck out and see elephants as well, and today just happened to be our lucky day. (Although a bit unlucky for the inside of our car, which now wreaks of elephant slobber. Worth it.) Man... Africa's cool.

One more week of the transfer... Time's moving, eh?

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

Thanda kakhulu,

iGosa Johnson

Shared 5/11/15 - Berea South Africa - Basketball, Stake Conference, Mother's Day

 Stake Conference

Mother's Day...Skyping with the family!

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