November Emails from South Africa

Monday November 6th

we went on a hike today! we went to Golden Gate, which has like a TON of animals in it! so we got to hike with Wildebeests, Zebras, Baboons, and a bunch of other super cool African creatures! haha But it was seriously one of the coolest hikes Ever. we went to the top of some random mountain. it was only about 2 miles or so to the top and just as we were about to reach the peak we came across a 'Pack' or a 'group', I dont know maybe a 'flock' of Baboons! You guys know me, my biggest fear is Gorillas. so when we got to these baboons it was the scariest experience of my life. Those things are so nasty and mean! luckily when they saw us, instead of chasing us like they did Tarzan and Jane, they ran away. Quite fast I might add! (we got a little video of them but its too big to send... so I guess you guys will have to suffer till I get Home! Mwahahaha) Either way, we were almost to the top of the Mountain and we then Knew that there were a bunch of baboons up there, but the ones we saw ran away... So we figured the others ran away too? so we couldn't just turn around, we finished the Hike to the top! and it was Beautiful:))

So that was the Highlight of the day!:) OH and we found a scorpion! that was cool!

Tuesday November 7th

well... Im too tired to write about my day. we had an Appointment every. single. hour of the day. from 10-8. It was awesome! but I'm going to bed! <3

Wednesday November 8th

well the highlight of my day was getting to teach this adorable 8 year old girl! we showed her the message of the restoration and she looked at it and said "Sorry, dude, I dont read anything that doesn't have princesses in it."

so I changed it up a bit. Her and I drew a princess crown on every single person throughout the pamphlet and we changed it a bit and told her the story of The Prince of Peace and his kingdom that he established. but the evil people in the Land they destroyed his castle and all that he worked so hard to build! but later Prince Joseph was called to bring back his Kingdom and Christs Knights came and anointed him King and gave him the Authority to run The Prince of Peace's Kingdom! (Thats a quick summery of what happened, but it was a lot of fun) 

She was so funny! I hope some day my kids are like that! hahaha we had some fun! haha

Thursday November 9th, 2017

well crap. i called brother Uithelar Today and asked him if He'd speak for a Little bit at the baptism... he said yes... but Now I have to give a talk on Sunday in Sacrament.

We also went to see sister Clourina before her Baptism and prepared her for sunday:) Shes adorable! she said she wanted one of the missionaries to baptize her so We told her that Elder Bennett will still be on Mission when her grandson returns from his mission next year! so theres a greater chance of them meeting and he can thank elder Bennett in person when he gets back! So Elder bennett is gonna have his first baptism!

Friday November 10th

....Elder Takau is SEXY!!!

          ...No He's not....

Saturday November 11th, 2017

well today we cleaned the baptismal font for tomorrow.... the water is shut off, so fingers crossed it'll be back on by the morning.

later we went to teach Relebahele and in the middle of our lesson a drunk guy Wandered into their house! so We kinda carried on with our lesson for a bit, and I was trying to figure out who the heck this guy is and why he's in their house?... I still don't know and I don't think they knew him either, but he walked in to their living room and was saying a bunch of Drunk Sotho stuff... Either way Relebahele's mom told him he should go and he was being very difficult and starting to get really angry... Like he was about to hit her. She was speaking mostly sotho and pulling on his shirt trying to pull him out of her house but, like I said, He was being very difficult... long story short, he got really angry and physical, so I Picked the guy up and pushed him out of their house...  He wasn't too big? I tried to be nice to the guy at first but when he started getting aggressive I figured it was time for him to go... genetically I struggle to stay completely composed in heated situations (thanks mom and dad!LOL)... but i think the situation was Handled well. Bennett Was terrified! hahaha 

It was Definitely not your "Ideal" Family Home Evening Activity, but I think as a whole, we all Bonded pretty well! hahaha:)

Sunday November 12th

Today started out pretty rough... the Electricity was out at the chapel so we had church in the hallway, that was new! luckily the water was back on, but it was sooooooo cold.

However, people actually showed up, The spirit definitely Helped me out with my talk today! haha the first two speakers literally spoke for a combined 6 minutes. so I Had the opportunity of addressing everyone for 35 minutes on Apostles! I was so scared He told me 10 minutes! I Prepared for 8 and a testimony! But it was actually really fun, it felt like I was standing there for only like 10 minutes but I looked at my watch and saw that time was up!  So I was Like Heyyy! Blessings! haha

Then the power turned on! Church was a success! 

The baptisms went smoothly, I conducted which is always terrifying, sister Clourina Dhlamini gave a beautiful testimony! She was so happy!

~Ngiyakhuthanda~

Last Week in October- Trying to catch up on his emails

MONDAY OCTOBER 23rd

Well today Bethlehem came with us on a hike!:) it was a lot more intense than we were expecting! haha we kinda just pointed to a Mountain and said wed climb it... as we got closer and closer to the top we had to rock climb up certain parts, we had to push through thorns and thick thick trees, and I swear we were on all fours crawling through the Jungle for a good 20 minutes... it took a few hours to get to the top but eventually we made it! haha then we took pictures, tossed some rocks off the Edge, and started our way back to the Bottom... turns out there was a very convient little trail that took us all the way to the bottom in only 30 minutes. Like, If we would have taken this trail it would have been WAYYYYY Easier! we just didn't see it! hahaha we ended up making our own trail to the top through some crazy stuff! but it was definitley more of an adventure and more memorable this way! haha

TUESDAY OCTOBER 24th

Today was Really nice! We had some of the most powerful lesson that Ive had thus far In Phuthaditjhaba. yes I said "Thus far"... And indeed it made me feel kinda fancy for a second.

1st we saw Sis Clorina: Shes about 86 years old and we taught her the ten Commandments. she struggles with English but the Spirit is the what does the teaching. the spirit was there so dag nabbit she learned some Good stuff! hahaha

2nd: we met with Brother Lorato. we taught him Gospel of Jesus Christ! Guess where we found brother Lorato! Well Thabo, the girl the Blugumboch met at basketball, referred us to her cousin.. and well its him! Lorato!:) He is the nicest guy, he has some nice Dread locks and truly wants to change. He always brings questions and truly wants to find the truth. I love this guy and I want to help him:))

then we saw Relebohile (Found tracting, 14), Karabello (found tracting, 37), and we met for the first time with Amanda (part Member Family, 26) Im too tired to write anything else, but they are all amazing people! I love them to death and I hope I can help them:) 

 

But I just got a call from Elder Huntington and he told me that in Madagascar they have a really bad plague so they sent a 7 of their missionaries to SADM. So I called the AP's and asked if Elder Lesch or elder Apie came... Those two guys were good friends in the MTC! Turns out Lesch is serving in Cape Town But Elder Apie is serving in Dundee! so I Hope I get to see him again! I gave him a call and Welcomed him the SOUTH AFRICA DURBAN MISSION FAMILY! haha But I asked him about the sister missionaries that were serving there and It turns out they all went to Zambia. One of my favorite Members in Amanzimtoti ,Sister Cebekhulu, was serving there. she went to the MTC for I think 6 weeks learning one of the toughest languages. went out in the mission field and had just gotten her second companion. and now she has to go to a completely new country. I cant Imagine how tough that would be, Keep them In your prayers, and pray that it doesn't spread to any other Country or mission area.

Madagascar Probably wont be Opened for a while either, Probably not till Max is going on mission. but hopefully a bit sooner than that!:/

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25th (my One Year Anniversary)

well today was nice:) I feel like thats how I start all of my daily Entries? Oh well..

Today we were finishing up teaching a lesson when We got a call from one of our Members, Sister Jennifer.. she told us she needed help with something seriousbut she wouldn't tell us what it was! I was like, What the heck is going on. Turns out her Roof was leaking... and it was about to rain again. so when we got there I jumped on the roof and Patched it up with this nasty Black Goopy stuff! Either Way it was a lot of fun! Except My hands have been stained black all day! I hope this stuff comes off! hahaha

I was gonna Burn my shir today but we dont have any matches... so Were gona do it Monday or something?

THURSDAY OCTOBER 26th

We took the first councilor, Brother Uithalar, working with us again today.. can I just say that having someone that can actually speak the language and knows how to teach others is soooo convenient! haha It Helps certain people understand so much better, You can definitely feel the Spirit a lot stronger when hes there to help them. We taught sister clorina today and she struggles a bit with her English. 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 27th

eish.. it was one of those days.... im Exhausted. Im going to bed. Goodnight.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 28th

Today I worked in Bluegumoch with Takau! I met some really kind and loving people! I also met some not so kind and not so loving people... but We can only pray for them.. 

SUNDAY OCTOBER 29th

Today was pretty crazy! In a good way:) We Had a TON of People at church again! and we had the Most investigators and less actives at church since Ive been here, so that was nice... kinda made me feel like Im Making a difference. But Above all, people were happy. this was the Happiest Sunday Ive had here! Every one was getting along and enjoying themselves:) it was really nice! I almost felt Like I was Back in my home ward.. Kwamashu!<3 Brother Andile Gave a super funny talk today in sacrament! haha yeah.. had to be there.. 

After Church we went to visit the Clorina and her daughter, both SUPERRR old. haha but they have a son/grand son serving a mission In Ghana right now:) the two of them are not members yet, but we are hoping they will very soon! :) 

Then we had a few more appointments and Ended at the Kiri family:) It was my turn to teach them! I love teaching at that house because the kids get so excited! So today I told them a story from Heleman 5, cause thats what stood out the most from my reading this week! haha It tells about the Nephi and Lehi and how they get arrested by the lamenites! then when their about to be put to death they are encircled by a pillar of fire! and yeah... lots of other stuff happens and they have like a cloud of darkness that blocks the Lamenites view and is super scary not very fun for them! so I blindfolded one of the kids and told him that right now hes in a cloud of darkness... yeah it was pretty fun and the spirit helped out a lot:) either way we ended up having a great time! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS! I HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOURE DOING AWESOME!

Latest pics from Elder Mitchell

Catching up on this month's emails

Monday October 1st

well today was a lot of fun:)) haha

we started the day off by going on a hike on Sentinel Peak, it was easily the most beautiful hike Ive ever done. it was so cool! the pictures dont do it Justice:) ill try and send more this week but the internet cafe we use is super slow and we dont get a long time!

Either way we had a lot of fun!! and they had this one part with these super long metal ladders! it was so cool!!! hahaha you'll need to see the pictures! 

But we made a HUGE MISTAKE! we thought we made it to the very top of the mountain but apparently we still had like another 2 miles or something and we missed the best part! so were gonna go back next transfer!

also, Elder Harper gave me a call today and delivered some awesome news! Kwaasa, Pelile, And nthombi All passed their Baptismal Interviews!!!! SO I'M Super HAPPY FOR THEM:)

October 2nd, 2017

Well today I had my first door slammed in my face... so that was new! hahaha But its okay, Elder Abel and I had a pretty good attitude about that! hahaha

Also, I Found out that Elder Lichty Baptized sister mofokeng so I gave him the Phone call and told him that she passed away.. poor guy, but he was happy to hear that she was strong in the gospel until the end:)

Wednesday October 3rd

First of all today I met my first Queen! Queen of the Paballong Village, and were teaching her now:) Shes super nice! she had a lot of good questions

Also, Elder Takau and I were playing football OUTSIDE! and one of our passes may could have maybe possibly broken the neighbors electric fence...... I blame Takau for not catching a perfectly thrown pass... that was Slightly high. The problem was that I did nearly Seven Pushups Prior to playing catch.. so I put a bit of heat on the pass.

But all is well in Zion.

Hahaha

Thursday

Elder Abel and I went to visit Sister Leseho. Shes been Less active for a a while and her family owns a Tuck shop. SO we stropped by for Lunch, and practiced some magic tricks! Im Terrible at magic. But I must not be THAT bad because it got her to come to church this week and watch General Conference:) Nailed it!

Also, Weather Update: Its been raining a lot lately and I LOVE IT! It feels soooo nice, and everything is GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!! so that kinda pumps me up! when everything is dead... well, then I feel dead. But now that its all green and pretty it pumps me up! It looks so much prettier than When I first got here! I thought I'd share that with you guys:) 

Missing the Oregon Rain!

ALSO! WE WERE FED DINNER TODAY! YES, I REPEAT; WE WERE FED DINNER TODAY! Man, I was beginning to forget what it was like to have Dinner appointments. Luckily, The Church is true and our prayers have been answered we had some delicious chicken and rice at the Uithelar Families house! God bless them!

throughout this transfer Takau's been teaching me how to Crock pot effectively. It truly is an Art, and I have a much deeper appreciation for them now!

Saturday October 7th, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!!! I hope you had an AWESOME Birthday! haha I'm sending you a letter in the mail but it'll be a little late! I Apologize! I heard you were Homecoming Princess:) Congratulations!:)) hahaha Keep up the good work and stay away from Boys!

But today we watched the first session of General Conference:) What stood out the Most to me was Elder Rasbands Talk about "Gods Divine Design, Not Coincidences"! and My favorite Quote that he gave was "One day we will look back at all the Meaningful "Coincidences" and see that it was all Divine Design". I dont know He said something like that something along those lines... But It's SOOO True! Its happened so many times on mission:)Its hard to put in to words but I've met a lot of people that made a really big impact on me, and If I would've been placed in that area a month, a week, or even a day too soon or too late, I Might never have met them. The spirit truly helps guide us to people that need our help. 

Sunday October 8th, 2017

"The Greater the Light in our Life; the fewer the Shadows"

So today we had The Second half of General Conference and it  was super good too! :)) 

Im not gonna write a lot cause we have to clean the Boarding tonight, but I thought it was funny today during conference. Everyone in the Chapel was struggling looking down, probably trying to stay awake but then one of the Speakers, I forget who, but he mentioned Nelson Mandela and Everyone sprang to life, all at the same time! I thought that was pretty funny! hahaha and when the guy quoted The Lion King he totally got everyones attention! including myself!

"Look Beyond What You see."

I love you guys so much:) I miss you and I hope you guys had an Awesome week again!

~CTR~

Monday October 9th, 2017

well we emailed, then we went to work... because were moving o

our P-day to Thursday:) so we went out and began to Find, Teach, and do other stuff regular Missionaries do.. 

Tuesday October 10th, 2017

well today was really really good:) Probably one of my best in this area! haha 

Today it Rained super bad so we went to BiBi, the Grocery store, so I could teach elder Abel how to start up a conversation in a different environment.

He didn't know I was planning this so we got there and I was Like "Okay Elder Abel. Lets see if you can do this. I need you to get us one phone number from anyone in this store!"

Shockingly, He Replied "WHAT? How am I gonna do that, I dont even have Pamphlets?"

"Flash them the Name tag. Its got everything they need to know on it. our church, your name, Jesus. thats all they need for now!" 

"Well Im gonna need an example!? come on!" 

So I went to the first Gogo I saw, passed them as I said "Dumelang".. she replied "Oh, Hi you guys arent from around here arent you? 

then she went on and basically made it the EASIEST thing in the world! I got super lucky! haha

Abel was Pretty Ticked off! but it was all in good Spirit hahahahahahaha then we awkwardly walked around the store for about 5 or 10 minutes while Abel tried to talk to them! the guys there weren't giving him the time of day! He said we'll come back tomorrow! haha

Wednesday October 11th, 2017

So we went back to BiBi and he was "Abel" to get three different Phone numbers! Im proud of him! haha We also had DDM, Elder Abel gave the Lesson. it was POWER. haha Hes doing awesome right now:)

Thursday October 12th, 2017

Our real p-day: Today was NICCEEEE! I Swear Depriest Takau and I played football outside the bethlehem Chapel for Hourrsss!!! We had to get our car fixed again cause the breaks sucked so we spent the day with our Zone:) and we finished at an ALL YOU CAN EAT PIZZA PLACE! Im not proud of how many slices I ate though. hahaha

FRIDAY THE 13th

Saturday October 14th, 2017

well we just got transfer news Elder Abel and I are Breaking up. He's gonna go to Richards Bay so I will no longer be training him... instead Im gonna train another Guy! I'll be Training Twice In a row! Im super excited, and nervous! So I dont know who I'll get until Next week:) So Im super Excited!

So More about today; Remember when We went and played basketball a few weeks ago at The University of free State campus? well they gave us a call and the recruited us, Missionaries, as a team in their Final Tournament of the year! so last night we called The Assistance (they said "Well.. you guys have been doing good work soo... as long as you have fun and win) then we started making Preparations. We Designed Uniforms, got our stuff for a Media stand, and well.. designed our uniforms some more! haha we found a bunch of old white shirts, cut the sleeves off and put tons of Mormon Messages on them! Mine had the Church Logo on the back, and the other 3 guys had "Where did I come From?" "Why am I here?" and "Where am I going?".. then we had another one that said WWW.MORMON.ORG! WE HAVE ANSWERS. we figured we'll have to Market this kinda stuff correctly!:) Gotta make people asking themselves these Questions:) 

So the Games were super Intense. all in all we did pretty darn good, a lot better than I was expecting!!!! We ended up getting to the Championship game!!! We took Second Overall and we got some cool Silver Medals and a LUNCH! the team we lost to had 3 players that used to play for south South Africas National team..."So they say"... but it was two guys and a girl, they were insane at shooting threes! we couldn't keep up with those! we ended up losing that game 38-52. which is actually a LOT BETTER THAN I WAS EXPECTING! hahaha BUT WE GOT MEDALS! I feel kinda bad.. we didn't even practice..  BUT we met a LOT of super cool people that seem very interested:) Im excited to go teach these guys:) 

then we went home showered, and taught a few more people today! it was nice! Elder Abel and I got hard core sunburns though! 

Sunday October 15th, 2017

Church was nice:) Elder Abel said his goodbyes to everyone and then we went and had Lunch at president Moetas house:) I love that guy, He's so funny! hahaha

The Other Missionaries went and taught a girl named thabo that they met at basketball. She said that she read the Messages on the backs of our basketball Jerseys and then read the Plan of Salvation Pamphlet, that she picked up at our media stand, she Knows those answers now and it really helped for their Lesson! So that was nice to hear that people benefited in all aspects of that Saturday tournament! hahaha:)

~CTR~

More coming!

Tuesday October 17th, 2017

well today was Elder Abels last day... so we went and he said his goodbyes and stuff... they signed his journal, gave him typical Awkward Missionary hugs, and all that fun stuff! it was nice:) Im gonna miss the guy!

later that Night I played ELder Takau in a game of Rock paper Scissors boxing... It got Pretty competitive.. I ended Up Making a terrible deal with him. winner gets to cut the losers hair however the Winner desires......... Then I lost..... so I bet the   the King sized mattress that we just found in the Garage! and Im not gonna make any excuses or anything but..... Yeah. I lost again. so Takau cut my hair..... reallllllyyyy flippin short. Personally I dont think Ill do it again like this, but its NOT TERRIBLE.  Im more dissapointed about the mattress though! haha

Wednesday October 18th, 2017

I picked Up My Son Today! Elder BENNETT! From  Sandy Utah! He plays the Violin, he's in to Physics, Pottery, and isnt a big fan of sports,also this guys hair is so Blonde it's White, ITS SO COOL!! He's not Much of a talker yet but I think he is still a bit nervous! I Know I was! haha we dont have too much in common yet but I think were gonna get along great! Gonna break this guy in and show him how we work here in AFRICA!! 

Thursday October 19th, 2017

... eish...

Friday October 20th, 2017

Saturday October 21st, 2017

Sunday October 22nd, 2017

Well Crap its already Sunday Night and I totally forgot to write in my journal thingy for you guys to read... sorry!! let me think? did anything out of the ordinary happen this week? not really... weve stayed pretty busy throughout the week so thats been nice:) we met some cool people, had some nice lessons:) Elder Bennett is doing really good right now, hes writing in his journal...Ill interrupt him and ask how mission is going... he said "Pretty good." hes a pretty exciting guy! hahaha 

were getting along well! :) I hope... unless he secretly hates me and is good at hiding it... in that case, were in trouble! But Im pretty sure were good! I hope this guy knows how much I care about him though.. I really want to help him have a good mission! Hes getting a lot more comforatable lately and is talking a lot more:) than at first! so thats nice:)  and hes a Natural in the lessons:)

and lets see.. Church was awesome today! it was combined with Bluegumboch again and it was the Primary Presentation!!!!!!! those kids are ADORABLE! I love listening to their testimonies and all that jazz! haha Church was PACKED TODAY though... luckily we had a pitcher of water at the Sacrament counter cause they Drank it all and we needed More:) it was a record Breaking day at church! :) 

Also, I think dont think ive had more people ever comment on a hair cut more than I had today.... it wasnt you everage hair cut comment, I had people come up to me and say "Yep. I heard you got a hair cut!" 

first of all... How do you respond to that? I just kinda stood there... paused for a second and was like 'yeahhh.. are people talking about it?' then theyre like "uhh.. no? it.. it looks nice." So I told him "Thanks. I grew it myself."

Remind me never to let takau cut my hair again! He sounded so convincing at first! he was like "Im kind of the best in the mission at cutting hair.." actually, after hearing what he did remind me not to let Any Missionary cut my hair! hahaha but It all grows back! hahaha no worries! :)) (Okay, Update: I had him fix it... it looks a lot better! Eish.. it was a struggle this week)

we went and talked with the princess and her brother the Prince again today:) haha it was a normal lesson nothing crazy happened. I just like saying that I got to hang out with the Royal family! hahaha then we had some extra time on the way to our next appointment so we stopped and took pictures on some big ol' Rocks. Yeah. it was about as exciting as it sounds! hahaha

Monday

Bethelhem district came down for a hike! Ill explain more next week when I have more time.... But it was a lot of fun:)

Pictures from Africa

Also We went on a hike today and IT WAS AMAZING! Ill tell you more about it next week when i can sit down and i actually have time. haha Love you guys sorry the Email shop is gonna close soon soon...

11 months down...

Monday September 18th, 2017

Well today was.. meh.. We had to drive to Bethlehem to get our car serviced... which took like Alllll Flippin' day! but it was kinda nice getting to hang out with DePriest... Him and I walked around town a bit.. I met a Trans-gender named sam... so that kept things interesting! You Probably remember hearing a bit about her... Yeah DePriest thought that was the funniest thing when she came up and talked to us... 

But elder DePriest is a super cool guy, he goes home to Colorado in just 4 more weeks! 

Our car got serviced today and the entire flippin thing went from 8:00am-4:00pm. And I barely got to email so I apologize!

But after that I drove back to PJ and we played some basketball:) that part was awesome!

Tuesday 

awesome day! taught some POWERFUL LESSONS with some really nice and prepared people... gave a girl named Perseverance fire not coming to church hahaha (we did it out of love), visited the seminary and institute teacher and got a solid list of less actives that we can go visit! and to top it all off we had a really fun FHE with our branch president, Thabo. We played 30 seconds (south African charades) with him and his family! branch President is only like 27 so hes super funny and has a ton of energy! hahaha we had a good time:) Im looking forward to taking him out on teaching with us!

Wednesday

Elder Takau Gave a Powerful DDM Lesson!  about the priesthood power that we have been given! Super blessed!

later that day we had the opportunity to help sister Mafokeng.. Tomorrow shes going to have her leg amputated. Walking throughout that hospital the saddest sight ever. we gave her a blessing and it hit me really hard knowing hat we have the opportunity to have so much peace in this life knowing our purpose and remembering the plan of salvation, as well a having the opportunity to give priesthood blessings. after we were leaving a few people saw that we gave her a blessing and they asked for one as well.. and because the hospital is so open quickly others took notice and asked for them as well. Next thing you know were out of oil, its getting late, and had to end up only praying for everyone! The spirit was very strong and it was hard to hold back and not break down and cry in that room. Blessed to be in the gospel:) <3

Saturday

well after all our appointments Elder Takau and Lucas Rafael were invited to a Happy Clappy Church inside a tent. So... we went too:) It was CRAZY!! hahaha they had about 500 people in the huge circus tent that they rented and we were the only white people.. and they certainly let everybody know that! hahaha they kept calling us out "We Got white people in the Tent tonight... This tent is Blessed!" it was crazy!! The Prophet came too! He only comes once every four years but sadly we had to leave right before he started to perform all these healings and crazy miracles and things that he prophesied! hahaha a member in bluegumboch stayed and apparently he wanted to meet with us... so that was a bummer..

but they shouted some crazy things such as

"Una Manga Satan!!!" (the devil is a liar)

"When I say Satan you say NOOO!!... SATAN.. NOOOOO!"

"YOU GOTTA BE A LION! YOU GOTTA ROAAARRR! *Drops to one knee and screams into the mic* ROOOAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!" etc.. 

I Love going to these things! They're soo funny! Im gonna miss them When I get home hahaha

Sunday

well today was sad.. we found out that sister Makukeng passed away:( so we went to her family and shared a message.. Everyone is doing well and still very happy knowing that shes in a better place:)

And church was pretty slow.. it started off with only a few people there, YSA Are in Bloemfontien, and it wwas suuper cold! so at first we didn't have any investigators... so we started to pray... nobody showed up but I felt better for some reason.. Then after church we were saying goodbye to people and There was an older gog that I was talking to and apparently she isnt a member. But she wants to be! So hey we had an investigator the whole time! BLESSINGS!

and Finally, Funny scripture of the week 2 kings 2:23-24 BALD PROPHETS AND BEARS! 

I LOVE YOU

~CTR~

First of all I want to Apologize, last week when I was writing in my type writer thingy that I use to send all these Emails I forgot to delete something, that might have mislead some of you. I did not mean to say that we gave TONS of blessings at the Hospital, we only gave the one. But it was still a powerful blessing and all... sorrryyyy... Elder takau and I were making up a story making it sound Way crazier than it actually was, but I didnt think it was appropriate so I deleted most of it. sorry I forgot a line! haha Dont wanna lie to you guys! 

Monday September 25th

well today marks 11 Months in the mission field so I had to celebrate, thats my number! we went and got HUGE Skambanes! they're pretty darn good! Its a loaf of bread gutted like a fish, stuffed with Chips, lettuce, sausage, 2 eggs, a bunch of other miscellaneous meats, Onion rings and sauces for days! it was a good way to celebrate! haha but the rest of my day was mostly filled with stomach pain and exhaustion! so we decided the best way to get passed it was with ice cream! haha

Oh and we did find a lady that sold us some super nice ties! Were gonna look super nice this Sunday! haha besides the fact that were all like 10 pounds fatter! hahaha

but we did a huge deep clean around the boarding... it was much needed! :)

9:42pm 

Elder Takau and were talking in the other room hanging and stuff when Rafael and Abel come in with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Elder Abel is officially a soccer star!! while Takau and I have been talking the other two were practicing the 5 classic soccer skills and Abel has mastered them all! Therefore, they came to give us a show! 

1st move: around the leg kick shot:Nearly knocks takaus camera off his night stand; but he NAILS IT!

2nd Move:swiggle pass; nearly breaks Rafaels alarm clock, still a successful move

3rd: reverse Renaldo fake; Nailed it! we were ready for any possible malfunction.

4th: ball clip and pop! he struggled a bit but made it work

The Finale: BOUNCE JUMP REVERSE HOP AND POP; he repositioned himself in the room in an attempt not to break anything/person. However, due to his excessive adrenaline his left leg contained an incomprehensible amount of unknown strength, and he shattered the bedroom window! poor guy. Lol.

Tuesday September 26th

well today was nice! I worked with Elder Lucas Rafael. we had some really good lessons! but my favorie highlight of the day was when we had about an hour to spare, I could only do one of two things; Eiter go visit one of our investigators and set up an appointment for thursday, OR go get ice cream. and for some reason I was VERY STRONGLY Prompted to go get ice cream. So we did. and it was delicious. And guess who was there... That Exact investigator I wanted to see! so We talked and set up an appointment, AND I got Ice cream. 

Great day. God is Good. hahaha

 

Wednesday September 27th

Well I gave the lesson today at DDM today and it went well, and it was fun! haha Name of my lesson was the 1%.. and it talked about change and how its easy to get 1% Better every day but its even easier to get 1% worse... and I had charts and graphs and stories and I even gave everyone homework! because Rafael and Abel are new I made them Write a letter to themselves when they hit a year and or when theyre at their last transfer, which is what Ill do. And For takau, Hes going home in 8 weeks so I made him write a letter of all his hopes, dreams, and goals for Post mission Life! 

all in all.. I think it went well:)

Thursday September 28th

Today I was With Our beloved District Leader Elder Takau. We had a good day:) had like 9 lessons, met some cool new people, and had time to do a Media stand... when we did the media stand it was kinda slow, so we played the Ukulele at our table and we started to draw some more people in! hahaha:))

Saturday September 30th

When I die I want a Brass Band Played at my Funeral. Today we went and supported Sister Mofokengs family at her funeral. It went really well:) Besides, being really sad.. Elder abel and takau gave a talk about the Plan of salvation! They did AWESOME:) 

Sunday October 1st (Fast Sunday)

Church went well, Every Fast Sunday both Branches come together! So we were combined with Bluegumboch and the other two missionaries as well, that was nice! I taught Gospel Principals class second hour and it was kinda fun:) haha 

so The four of us came up with an awesome Idea to Help pump up the work here in Qwa Qwa! ita called a Prayer Chain. Every day for the Month of october a different Member of the Branch will pray for Unity and Love in the Branch, Less Actives, and Growth! Im excited, I'm excited to see The mi9racles that are to come:)

Also, Abel adn I were tracting today and we were walking passed three kids that were like 10 or 12, but I was like "Whats up guys"

And they kinda looked at us funny, like they wanted somthing... so I was Like " What can we do for you?" and they said " Can we take a picture with you?" I looked at abel kinda funny then I asked " Why? Is it cause were White?" the main kid, I forgot his name, I'll Call Him LeBron, he replied "well.... Yeah.. you know, white people are famous around here." I tried to keep a straight face and I said "Oh,Lebron, so you've seen my show on MTV? Youve seen me on TV Before?" 

man, the look on their face! HA! I was Dying! hahaha but then I was like "Nah Just kidding but sure well take a picture if you take the books"

then we gave them pamphlets and Invited them to church and took some pictures...

either way That made me laugh today! hahaha

Another week in Africa

tuesday September 12th

Well We went on the hike today and my legs are DEAD! I sent you guys some pics, But I had a lot of fun:) 

then we got some Groceries, took a little nap, Had an intense game of UNO with the District, Then went and balled it up with the boyz in the hood! and yes. I dunked it. and Yes Takau and I and WRECKED them in the paint. things got pretty intense out there on the court... but it was super nice cause it was a nice game, no cheap shots, no trash talks, nobody got mad at the other team.. we just had fun and had a nice competitive game of basketball:) haha Elder "MONEY" Abel Is a Menace at the three point line! I decided to Legally change his name to AB3L. That is how I will refer to him from now on!  And Elder Lucas- Rafael just broke ankles for DAYYYSS! hahaha Together team QWA QWA could not be Containnneedddd!! final score 33-13 White team (Thats us... cause we were, you know, white)...

now to finish our first Pday together were gonna watch the Best 2 years:)

Wednesday September 13th

well today Elder Ab3l and I tracted into a family and taught them lesson One... it was I guess your average lesson, but at the end we had them pray and It was so funny.. Elder Ab3l got to hear someone speak in "Tongues" for the first time... they started yelling "OH JESUS THANK YOU FOR YOUR BLOOD THAT SAVES US! THANK YOU FOR ASSA BUUNA LOOFI JEE BOO FA TOO ZEE MA LEMMA JESUS I LOVE YOU BOOFA LOOFA DOOFA DOO MAFI LAFI MEY...." Etc! ANd I opened my eyes just a bit and the Elder Abels face was just Perfect! I wish I had a picture of it! hahaha then what made it even better was when we got in the car he asked Katleho, a member from church that comes with us all the time, what they were saying.. and Katleho basically told him that that wasn't sesotho! Or any other language just Gibberish!  Or maybe we just havent been gifted with the interpretation of tongues! hahaha 

so that was the highlight of the day:) OH and we got Fed tonight! SCORE! we went to a super nice family, the Mabula family:) and I made a new friend! her name carol and shes awesome! haha Shes only 10 but were best friends now! we even made a secret handshake and she drew me a picture... So I guess you can say things are getting pretty serious! haha 

Also, Elder DePriest and L-R swopped for the day. DePriest is a Super nice guy! haha and Takau, DePriest, and I all know the Ukulele So we had an Intense jam session! :)

Thursday September 14th

well Today we found some really cool people to teach:) The teaching pool we  had last week was pretty small so Ab3l and I have been doing a lot of finding lately.. hmmm.. oh and Im going to Bethlehem tomorrow with Elder Jantjies, We were in the MTC Together so It'll be cool teaching with him tomorrow:) 

Also Great news! OUR WATER IS BACK ON!!! yeah that was the highlight of the day...I had to say goodbye to My Sprite bottle.. movin' on to bigger and better things! haha

but I was just getting it down to a science, what id do is I'd put a half a liter of Water in the... the water Kettle boiler thingy.. I dont know what to call it.. but Id do that for 4 minutes then id add the rest of the water to that and it was perfect! I was so excited when I started to use that.. until I realized how pathetic I probably looked... so yeah..

Friday September 15th

Well I spent the Day in Bethlehem with Elder Jantjies... It was your Average day... But I got to teach a guy with only one Eye... so that was cool... well He had an eyeball but it was a super hazy, foggy, Im gonna be honest it was kinda creepy) Lets put it this way.. an Airplane would not land in his eye.. it would have to circle it until things cleared up... Either way, he told me all about what happened. Nice guy. he was super drunk and only spoke sesotho. but, nonetheless, he was super nice:)

Im gonna be honest we met a lot of new people and had some really powerful lessons:) Jantjies is a Great teacher, Hopefully I can apply some of the things he used to my teaching:)

Saturday

Well today we Met a really nice family! and tomorrow is the daughters 11th Birthday so I told her I'd bring her a candy bar to church.. You know to give her a bit of an Incentive.. But I think It was quite possibly the worst decision... this is truely a test of my self control. I dont think I'll be able to make it all night... Its right here in front of me, calling me by name. 

Its gonna be a long night.

part of me hopes she doesnt come to church so I get to eat this............. I'm a terrible person.

Sunday September 18th, 2017

Today was niccceee:) It was super cold too! maybe thats why I liked it! I'm sick and tired of the darn heat here... I like wearing sweaters! haha

But church went well, we had a few new people show up for the first time! But usually when its cold people don't want to come to church... they'd rather stay in their warm bed.... I don't blame them.. especially if they have to walk haha

But we actually had a few MORE people come to church than we did last week! so that was nice:)

Elder Abel, brother Katleho, and I were knocking doors and we met a 14 year old girl, Relabahile,and she really liked our message of the restoration. and when she went to school she talked to her Friend Jennifer about us. Whats super cool is that Jennifer is actually a less active member and they BOTH came to church today:) It was super cool! they seem really nice and Promising!

Well it was a good week:) I hope you guys are all doing super awesome! I LOVE YOU!!

~CTR~

ZONE CONFERENCE PHOTOS

Mitchell in his new area

Tuesday 

Well I Said the rest of my goodbyes and Had everyone else sign my journal... It's Been tough:( I'm gonna miss these guys:(

Wednesday

Well today I woke up at 3:00am and Have yet to take a nap... I took a 5/6 Hour Drive to Bethlehem with Elder Jones, Elder Atkinson, and elder _____ (IDK? but he's from Ukraine and he would not stop talking about Russia. I know literally everything about Russia and Ukraine now BTW)... thennn I met my new companion Elder Abel and he showed me around Phuthaditjhaba... We got Groceries and unpacked and all that fun stuff but, MAN, the Sesotho people are Way different than Zulu's.... Its only been one day and I havent even sat down with anyone yet to teach but I already want to go back to Zulu Land! IT'S AN ENTIRE NEW LANGUAGE!!!! NOBODY SPEAKS ZULU! I keep saying Sawubona and the people just look at me like Im an idiot! Oops! I miss the Ocean and the Super cool people of Kwamashu.. Especially Elder harper, the Mkhizes, Lindo, the Msalis, and the Unity our district had last week! 

and above all I MISS ZULU! the culture shock of a five hour drive hit me WAY harder than driving to the other side of the world and serving in Toti! NOT EVEN EXAGGERATING! 

but I'm in a 4 man boarding with Elder Takau (Super cool guy) and his "Son" Elder Lucas-Rafael. He's black. But he's also from England! it was his first day today and he's pretty cool! the poor guys gonna get a hard time for not being able to speak the people's language... hahaha 

 We walked around PJ and a Gogo asked him where he's from and he told her England and the Gogo was like.. "No you're not... Probably Kenya or Uganda" Man, the look on his face was priceless!!

The Boarding is nice, good size, in a good spot, nice living room... but IT DOESN'T HAVE WATER! Bucket showers again this week. #AfricaCanBeAD-bagSometimes.

Either way Still not sure what to think of the area... Excited for tomorrow!

Thursday 

Well I woke up and played catch with Takau... He's pretty darn good! haha Its super cold in the mornings too! and our house is super cold now too! and guess what, we dont have any hot water! just a two litre bottle of cold water for a shower:) lucky us!

Thursday September, 8th. First real day of Training

This guy is very interesting.. I think the best way I can describe him would be "Mormon Dentist"... he's actually a really nice guy:) he's got a lot of good gospel Knowledge which is nice cause I could always use some more! hahaha Im excited to be with him. He works realllyyy hard and Has a Strong desire to be obedient! Just glad he's not super lazy and Bogus!

Saturday 

Well Im exhausted! This morning we did service at Branch President house:) it was fun... he actually has a pretty big house that he's currently building.. We just washed all his windows so they are spotless:) then, to get to know the new missionaries and to Welcome elder Lucas-Rafael to Africa we had a super nice Braai! It was Delicious and I was soooo full:) He seems like a super nice guy:)

By the way Elder Lucas has a super cool British accent so I've been copying him for the few days... I'm getting pretty good at it..:)

Sunday September 11th (First day at church here:) 

Well church is at 10:00 instead of 8:30 so thats nice! hahaha we had about 50 people come 45 of them were women and children the other 5 were from the branch presidency and a few aaronic Priesthood holder... sooo We're gonna need to change that.. gotta bring some more guys into this place! hahaha

Im excited though, We have a lot of potential here and I can see a lot thats gonna happen to this place:)

we also had interviews with mission president.. Hes a super cool guy! 

also, Im super lucky to be in a four man boarding with Takau and Rafael and Abel:) were having fun and pushing each other it's nice:)

Monday: 

I know i didn't email you today... we had Zone Conference! and it was a lot of fun:) I gave another lesson and it went well.. I only had to give a 15 minute lesson which was super easy! My topic was "Change" so I just kinda told a story and bore my testimony! Pump them up, make them repent, and move on! hahaha 

and it was pretty nice being able ot see Elder Huntington again, along with Elder Depriest, and Jaanjies:) 

We drove to Bethlehem (about an Hour)... the scenery is a lot different than it was in Kazadan! its a heck of a lot dryer and not as many people! but whats cool is on our way there we passed a guys house/animal reservation and he's got a bunch of Ostriches and a few Zebras:) takau and I decided were gonna go ask the guy if we can ride some anaiumals! thatd be dope!! hahaha But yeah my new zone looks a lot like umm.. Utah I guess... dry and we're tucked up right against the Boarder of lesotho in the mountains:) Tomorrow morning were actually gonna go on a hike to the top of the mountain! Ill make sure that I take a bunch of their Pictures:)

Also Elder Ottley said I can have his camera when he goes home! so just a few more weeks and Ill get to snappin'.. or shooting? either way today was a solid productive day, and I had fun:) 

Also, I LOVE YOU GUYS AND I HOPE MAX DESTROYED THEM IN FOOTBALL!

~CTR~

Pictures from Kwamashu

HIGHLIGHTS FROM KWAMASHU!!!!!!!!!!!

My second area after Toti!!

Well The I <3 Wood Has to do with one of the senior couples that yelled at us about going to A Burger place "Because its too far" (Literally 9 minutes from the boarding) But this week President Thompson Gave us permission to go because its week 6:) So we were Pretty darn Excited!