This week was a wild ride - September 18, 2017

MONDAY: we went to a nice birthday dinner, ate a real nice burger, then we did our monthly deep clean of the apartment. Really not a lot to report on. 

Tuesday. that was a day I won't forget for a long time. Basically i wont go in to to much detail, but we had an apointment with a less active, and we found her uncoincious as her family was waiting on the ambulence. She had drank something she shouldn't have, she is like 30. so we gave a blessing and waiting with her family. We didn't know weather she lived or died until thursday, when she called us and wanted to see us, she was out of  the hospital and wanted to talk with us, thank us, and get a new book of mormon so she could bring it to church sunday, since she figured that was the only thing that could help her with her struggles. So we did that, and promised to send her uplifting scriptures each night. After 2 days of that we get a text saying "I appriciate what you've done to help me, but I dont want to keep seeing you guys" we said ok, sadly, but we told her we'd still say hi at church, then she said, i wont be comming, delete my numbers and tell the bishop to remove my records. then she vanished. we don't know what happened, and we never will. so that sucks

But back to tuesday. After that whole thing we were driving along and saw a guy with some super nice jordan shoes. so we talked to him, and turns out hes a less active. so we started seeing him. 

Wednesday was exchanges with district Leader Elder Hamilton, the guy who's liceince was stolen. so I had to drive again. that was fun. Taught a blind guy named brother Issac who will be baptized next week. met a family with super cute puppies. 

sorry, computer was wigging out had to move to a new one. 

So Wednesday we met the family with super cute puppies, taught them about a liahona article called 'the gospel path to happiness.' i wont spoil anything since i want you all to read it. it's in the september issue, you can look it up on the gospel library app. 

Thursday, was when all that other stuff happened, and we met with a guy named coleburn. This guy was so mentally destroyed by drugs its insane. He pulls us over and talks about how he grew up "worshiping mormon" and loves the church, but how one day he started seeing airplanes and that was his sign that the universal christian church was the right church, and all this stuff about how different airplanes are signs from God and the Devil, and all this other insanity about they're alititudes and stuff. 

So yeah that was fun.

Every Thursday we have dinner with a member named Sister Velly. Super sweet old lady, retired school teacher, long time member. we had pap and chicken with fries. shared a message about Nephis Psalm. its 2 Nephi 4: 16- the end of the chapter. Read it its a good one. 

Friday was Exchanges with AP Darley in Sunnyside, the big metropolotan sub section of Petoria. Met some cool people, had a powerful 1st lesson with a guy named Evens, he lives with a RM and wanted to know more about the Book of Mormon. so we told him, spirit was strong, he was so into it. Hes buddy the Rm, Antonio, was super helpful. We then ate some awesome beef stew and rice at that wards bishops house. Talked about how we could help the ward

Saturday, we met with a lot of members, mostly less actives and talked about the upcoming general conference and what times the ward will be showing them. I will get to watch both morning sessions live at 6 pm. so thats funny. 

Sunday was a good meeting we had 6 of our Investigators show up, 3 of which were new. 


very spiritual week, but also a very demanding week, 2 exchanges, a lot of apointments, and the who tuesday thing. but the work is true, and we are making progress. so yeah.

I just realized i forgot my camera at the flat, so sorry there are no pictures. WOOPS.

look up that talk, its way way good

That video and whatnot - September 11, 2017

Monday after we emailed We had a final goodbye to some of the elders leaving  the disctrict then tuesday was spent getting the new ones. Elder Chakoe is the new new guy, so im no longer the newest guy. helped him and some others move in, but chakoe is with elder hamilton 4 doors down, so we spend alot of time with them. Hes cool. from a city litterally 15 minutes away from where we stay. 

Wednesday We went to try and meet a less active named Bonkegso, and we have several times before and he wasn't ever home, we went to check again, he wasnt home again, but as we drove to go just street contact, we found him walking down the street. Apearently he has been less active because he's been starting a buisness. A non profit home for the elderly. Hes super cool, has a daughter he wants us to teach. It was super cool finding him. 

Thursday. was a pretty normal day, I had to make an emergency stop at a gas station for reasons, and the guy who got me the key to a thing ended up being the non-member husband of a member who wanted us to meet her non-member husband. So that was cool. 

Friday nothing happened really. A member named Musa asked us to teach him how to be a missionary since he was supposed to do roleplaying for a mutual activity. hes cool, planning to go on mission. nice dude guy. \

Saturday, was birthday, we had scheduled all our apointments for earlier in the day, so by about 5 we were done, so we went back to the flat, got something called a McDonalds ShareBox, which i got a picture of, but is 2 Big macs, 2 quarter pounders, 2 reg fris, 2 small fris, 10 pc nuggets, 2 reg drinks and 2 small drinks for R155, or about$12. so way cheep a ton off food me and Elder Fitz just split it. and then watched the movie the Best Two Years, and then played some card games with the other guys. Fun day, but the Real celebration is today, on p-day, gonna go to a nice resturant with the whole district. and Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. 

Pictures: The Coins are neat, Ill get a picture of the paper money next week, all i had was R100s, but i wanted them all together to show how cool they are. Pictures of my companion in a silly hat, the ShareBox, and a video about how hot its getting. it went up from like 70 to 90 in like a week. So that sucks. the weather was so nice up till now. And also included in your purchase of this email, is the much awaited video of us driving for 30 minutes. Its super action packed, so try not to fall asleep, also its super shakey, which i didn't realize until about 3 minutes ago, so woops. Things are good here, have 4 people on date to be baptized this transfer, the work is true, the book is blue, 
K thanks Bye​

First Transfer Done, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME - September 4, 2017

So my first 6 weeks are done already. so thats a thing. Its all good down here still. Good times in Mabopane. I am gonna do a sort of video tour thing today that ill send next week, give you guys a taste of the reality of living in South Africa. its gonna be good. 

So Monday, nothing really happened, except the power going out. but it wasn't out for that long so it wasn't bad. I started wearing my dress sandals, since its heating up. happy Spring

Tuesday, we went and met a less active named Sabastian Narube, who hates the bishop but knows the church is true, so hes been difficult. Less Actives are a huge problem here, lots of people just stop coming for no reason. at his house we ate something nice, Its called mohodu, its not bad, but not good, sorry i didnt get a picture, becasue mohodu, is cow intestine. so yeah. i ate that

Wednesday, was normal, taught people, found some more less actives, and watched the movie Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration with an investigator who is gonna be baptized later this month, her name is Amogalang, shes 15, very kind. her brother refered us to her and helps us teach her, his name is Musa. 

Thrusday, we saw the worlds slowest sideswipe happen at a 4 way, that i wish i had video of.We saw like 15 cops pour out of a van, arrest a guy at a rode side hair cut shack, and then the cops climbed up on top of the shack, and proceded to toss bag, after bag, after bag of cocaine off the roof, im sure that was worth a ton of money, it was pretty cool to watch. Later that day, I taught the 3rd lesson to some of our investigators. then we went and got all you can eat pizza for 6 dollars at a place called panerattis in the Wonderpark mall by our flats. Malls are crazy here, 

Friday was my First zone conference, it was pretty spiritual, learned a lot about our purpose as missionaries. Got some socks from the mission president as a birthday present. went to the massive Menlyn mall in Pretoria, its massive, like 6 stories and several blocks big. look it up its nuts. got kfc in it. 

Saturday was a lot of meeting and cleaning, the church, our flat. so not alot to talk bout there

Sunday, was a very cool day. We had several appointments cancel, so we went around just trying to find someone, we went down our whole list. many times we just went, lets go check this guy, and they wouldn't be home, but as we left we'd see someone walking down  the street we haven't seen in months, or someone would shout 'ELDERS' and come talk to us about how they met with the elders long ago, and wanted to meet them again, we were so guided unintentionally. We made big breakthroughs with 2 of our most difficult less actives. It was just a very, very powerful day. 

So that was this week. lots happened, some people in the zone are being transferred, so ill get to meet some new Elders. 

Get excited for the video tour, the real Africa experiance, brought to you in full Standard Definition, by a guy who has no skill when it comes to taking pictures a video. Its gonna be a blockbuster event to remember. 

So untill then

bye

I have no witty title this week - August 28, 2017

not really a lot happened this week.

Monday after I emailed we went to a place called kota Joe for lunch. It was basically just a high end kota shack with amazing shakes, to rival JCW. I had a ferrero rocher shake, super good. almost bought a second one. then we just chilled in the flat and played some games. 

Tuesday was Exchanges in the big skyscraper filled city of Sunnyside. I was with Elder Haffen. It was fun, mostly met with members and recent converts. Nothing really special happened.

Wednesday we met with some less actives, we've really been focusing on reactivation in our ward, because retention is really low.

Thursday and Friday were more of the same.  just teaching people. 

Saturday we went into an old abandoned soccer stadium, and as a zone, so 14 Elders, we played soccer Ultimate Frisbee and rugby for 5 hours.

the African Elders dominated at soccer, the Americans at ultimate, and rugby was won by the elders who had been out the longest and actually knew how to play. it was super fun, but now im way sore, haven't run like that in a long time, need to get in shape. on the way back we found a place where you can get custom license plates, so im gonna get one this week, as my 1st souvenir. 

after we showered and whatnot we had a Ward Mission Leader stake training that our WML name Sipiwe was putting on. after that we had a Briaa, pronounced Bri, ( barbeque). it was fun, gave the other wards a lot of training in terms of what is expected of the WML. 

Sunday was nothing out of the ordinary, just church, lunch appointment, lunch appointment, dinner apointment, back to the flat to call in for the week to the district leader, and pass out from eating to much. 

This morning we went to a place called MACRO. (owned by WalMart). so that Elder Hamilton could get a hard drive for picture storage, which i probably will end up doing, for securities sake, dont want to loose my pictures. plus a 1TB hard drive is cheap here, like $50. so well see, still deciding.

time is Flying, its already almost been 2 months. im 8% done. so im practically there.

super sad looking mormonad in the mission office, when i was picking up my package​

 ​I made a sandwich. it was super tasty, bacon here is weird, mayo is super good.​

​Cool thing brother jason, a member, had in is house. Ill have to remember it, since its super cool​

​the skeleton keys in our flat.​

Almost 1 month in the field 2 months total 3 french hens, 4 weeks of emails, 5 GOLDEN RINGS - August 21, 2017

So a lot happened this week. So ill start at the beginning.

had a exchange with the district leader, Elder Tree, in a town called Soshenguve. Talked to a lot of cool people, met a lot of people, and met a family with the newest and softest puppy ever. The first dog I've pet since i got here. That was a good time. That was Tuesday.

Wednesday we couldn't go to the area, because of reasons, so we played some games ate some food. Got some prep done for the fiesta. not a lot really happened

Thursday was pretty normal, met with some cool people. A member named Sabelo and his family are supper friendly. They said that if we ever have some time to kill, and want something to eat, just stop by and take some bread or chips, no appointment necessary. They're the best. super nice, and very strong family. 

Friday we spent the whole day doing final prep for the fiesta, bought all the food and prizes, and then spent 4 hours making 160 tortillas by hand. it was fun.

Saturday was the fiesta. I was in charge of cooking. So i made a whole lot of tacos. most people had never had one so that was fun. We played bingo, and the members were waaaayyy into it. Ive never seen a more competitive or serious game of bingo. We then did minute to win it games, and then the pinata. The kids lost their minds. we put so much candy into that thing. Then we watched the cokeville miracle movie. Then we went and ate Kota, the bread meat and fries thing thats like a the size and filling-ness of a betos burrito, for about $1.50, and then slept. 

Sunday was average. Good service, taught some members ate some good food. nothing special

And then today, the reason this email is later than normal, we went on a safari. we had to leave the flat at 5 am but I saw girrafe, zebras, rhinos, so many weird deerish things, birds. Im gonna send like 10 emails worth of pictures it was unreal. There will be some videos with it too. so those are coming.

Time has flown, already almost through the first transfer. Learning more about the culture and language. We had a member write us a bunch of phrases in setswanna. So expect some foreign words in next weeks letter. 

I get to lead the area tommorrow on an exchange with the Assistant to the President Elder Hafen

More pictures to come, gonna take a few emails and elder fitz got most of the good aminal pictures with his crazy nice camera so hes downloading all those, if re run out of time ill send them next week. but ill make sure you get them. 

Week The Third - August 14, 2017

We are having a Fiesta this week, the first time anyone in the ward has ever heard of one, so thats gonna be hillaroius. We made a pinata. There was a luner eclipse that actually blacked out half the moon, but i couldn't get a good picture so sorry. Been having a lot of fun, we have 4 new investigators, one is a DJ and hes fun. We caught a gecko in someones house for them and are keeping it as a pet in our flat. Had to stay in for some riots due to the super corrupt president begin not kicked out. 

There is a holiday that was last wednsday call Womans day. Everyone, i mean litterally anyone who wasnt a child or member, was drunk or high, because its work off for everyone. 

Saw some owls which was cool 

I had to drive on friday because it was exhanges and I went with elder Hamilton who had his license stolen last week. So trial by fire I can drive on the wrong side now. 

Saw the movie 17 Miricles.  Do recomend. 

We went to spurs the 'american' resturaunt. It was pretty good. nothing crazy good though.

I made strogonough. the good kind, with steak and potatoes. that was fun

Painted elder fitz and gilberts faces while working on the pinata. 

Sunsets are still awesome, still don't have anything to complain about

I do actually. They have a thing that "white people never like" its called Achaar. Its a pickled mango and fish oil salsa type thing. 

Hands down the grossest thing ive ever eaten. I was not prepared for it. 

Pap is definitely almost food - August 7, 2017

Pap is still a weird thing to eat, but I'm beginning to like it, which is good. This stuff called Chacalata is like a spicy bean, onion, pepper sauce you put on everything and its way good. (  in the pictures its in the jars, someone gave us a 'take away') Its been a little over 1 month since I left, its gone by pretty fast which is good. 

Something super nice about Africa... Everything is super cheap. I bought a 26 piece Tupperware set, which is halfway decent quality, for 71 Rand, or like $3. you can get a package of 12 'Toppers' a cookie thing similar to Oreo, but I think better, for like 7Rand, like 50c. I'm gonna use my homecard today to buy a nonstick frying pan for myself because the provided pans are a nightmare, ill just take it with me from flat to flat. So the bank is probably gonna freak out. 

I got free weed yesterday. 

Some stoned guy called us over, and we said hi, and he hands me a bag of weed, and says take it for being such good men of God. but as we took it to go dispose of, he was like, no wait it wont get through the airport, so he asked for it back, we gave it to him and then left. So that was funny. 

The Baptism of Beauty Tshepo Lekana went very well. I didn't mess it up or have to do it twice. 

Got a hair cut today, gonna go buy a whole bunch of food today, go to a place called Sacramento Spurs, an ' American Restaurant".

The thing with fries on it is the Kota i talked about last week. Its good. super cheap, like $1 for all that. its big. the size of a half a loaf of bread.