The biggest news this week was we had a baptism!!! YAY! So Durrity got baptised!
Which is amazing. He's really powerful, several people have said so already, and it was amazing to witness him being baptized!
I was so glad, and I think that this has
made a change in his life! We had a couple of disasters he he. The first one is that the father almost ruined it. WE were visiting him and the father was there (he isn't usually around) but he doesn't like churches, and when he heard he was being baptized he started to argue that he wanted him baptized into the Catholic church. But thankfully his mother, who we get along really well with, defended him and said that he was old enough to make his own decisions.
The other was that the tap for the font doesn't work properly. Well it does, it's just that the water heater for it must have a very small capacity because it got about 1/4 or 1/3 full until the water slowed down to a dribble! But no fear, we got the fire hose to fill up the rest! It just meant that the water was kinda cold!
We did a service project on Saturday! We went to this center for girls (I think it was kinda like a foster home) and we helped them with some gardening that needed doing! All those years at the allotment paid off :P Anyway we were there for like 2 or 3 hours, doing all this gardening, there was quite a few of us there. It was really good to give some service and I really enjoyed it. Even though I was fasting that day :') Something that came to my mind was like what happened back home. When we did service (beach clean) afterward we'd come home, maybe take a shower, have lunch and then relax for the rest of the day. But as a missionary you can't, you have to go out and keep working! But it was okay.
The main reason that this week has been so long is because I'm learning how to get along with Elder Lino. He likes to be very tidy, so a little clash there between our personalities, but it's okay, nothing major. I have learned a lot of patience so far. Elder Lino is a hard worker and is very dedicated. So in reality, it's all okay, I think it prepares me for life and you need to learn to get along with everyone so yeah :)
Another one of our investigators, Brother Rams, who is a retired scientist, after watching the DVD: Families are forever, said that he wanted to get back with his ex-wife and be baptized together! Which is amazing, and it was wonderful to see that the gospel can unite families!
On Sunday we went to this appointment, now this was another miracle, because when we made the appointment, he was kinda drunk and so I doubted if he would be there. To my great surprise, he was, with his wife and their 1-year-old son! It was amazing, although the lesson was kinda difficult because they said they were born again Christians and they were not interested in being converted (didn't deter us) it was still a good experience!
So this week as well, something that has never happened before, happened. There was a tornado in South Africa. Where? Pretoria, and it worked it's way down to Tembisa, which is maybe 10 miles or so away from us, so close! In fact, Elder Samuel was in that area, and he get's a call from the APs, they ask him that apparently there is a tornado in Tembisa, to which he replies: "yeah there is, I'm looking at it!" he he he, He is funny, anyway they told him to get out! Miraculously as well, no one died, one of our members was working in a KFC there which was destroyed by the tornado! But it turned out okay because she's been transferred to the KFC here in Mayibuye which is very convenient for her!
I met a guy who claimed that he loved Satan, and he also had 6 fingers! Which is the second person I've met with 6 fingers! The first is the baby of an investigator. With both of them there is in a sense an extra finger coming out from the joint of their thumb.
An investigator came to church by himself for the first time since I've been here, and we haven't seen him in like a month! it was amazing so I was really happy at that!
Something that I've realized I'm missing is simply the ability to casually go into a shop and just sit down and have lunch or buy some chocolate. Mission is always go go go and sometimes I kinda long to just sit down, have a drink and read the paper. But I remind myself that this is 2 years I will never get back and it is amazing.
I've learned a lot about not arguing with people because you never get anywhere like that. I can apply this in so many situations on mission, investigators, companions, leaders, people at church etc.
Love Jack
Ah, what an interesting week, I will have to try and remember everything that has happened! It feels not only fast but it also feels like last Tuesday was months away! Ah, it's kinda weird!
Annyyywayyyy, so the first thing that happened was that on Monday we went down to the mission office and boom, no one there, we actually got there kinda late so all the normal missionaries had gone and the MTC missionaries had come out for sports.
Then on Tuesday we had the FIT (Finding investigators Team) Elders come for just an hour and went on a split with us to find some people. We talked to like 36 people in total and I had some really good conversations. I enjoyed contacting. It was hard at first (when I first started trying hard 3 months ago) but as soon as I start talking it just flows naturally, the promise being fulfilled in D&C! So it was good. We also met this guy, I can't remember his name, but he was from the DRC (Congo) and he was just such a sweet guy. Super nice, really humble, and working as a bouncer at a betting place! He'd seen the church before and wanted to know more, so we passed on his number to the missionaries who live in his area.
Another amazing experience was on Sunday. After church we were talking to some people, just mingling and someone calls us over because there was an investigator who wanted to meet the missionaries. I was confused because for us we only had 1 investigator at church :/ so we went over. His name was Thabo, he was a coach for the Mamelodi Sundowns (a football team in the PSL, a bit like the Premier league back home, so a major team) and said that he'd met the missionaries in Nelspruit (4 hours away!) and saw the church and wanted to know more! He had one of our "Blue Books" and found it interesting! I was amazed, somebody actually came to church by themselves!! So that was awesome!
A not so good thing happened on Sunday. It seems like something always goes wrong on Sunday. First off our lunch appointment canceled (that wasn't so bad :') )
But the another thing was that while we were trying to find some baptismal records with the ward clerk I upset him, I was waiting for him to come back and when he appeared in the doorway, I motioned for him to come over with my index finger, and he really didn't like that, in fact I was holding my name tag in my hand and he slapped it out of my hand and it bounced across the room...
Now I'd been praying a couple of days ago on how to improve as a missionary and here came my answer. I realized that sometimes I was a little too friendly/relaxed sometimes around members.
But I also noticed something else as well, a change inside me. Instead of getting angry I looked at myself and (thankfully) realized that I had been in the wrong, so I was able to apologize to him there before we left the church, and he didn't appear to show any grudge against me.
So I'd apologized but I also felt bad for most of the day, but this morning in studies I read a bit more about the atonement and the Comforter, and because of the situation which happened I was able to learn something new.
So all in all, while I made a mistake, I learned a lot from it, and I was able to apologize to him, and learned how to avoid it in the future, so a really interesting experience that has been for my good.
I feel kinda weird like I was completely surprised by his reaction, most of the members here like to smile and joke, one of them Bro. Mogalaka, he often looks serious but is actually joking, so this took me by surprise, but I learned a lot from it. So yeah :3 Just be careful around the clerk.
On Friday we also had exchanges with the Zone Leaders because Durrity is getting baptized next week!!!!! So exciting, so they had to come and give the interview! So he passed the interview! And he's excited, I'm so pleased that he's made it!
Anyway, the exchanges actually went really well. I was with Elder Wegrowski, who's from California, and that went well! He's a really powerful teacher, and a super nice guy so :) It was a good exchange. I also got a bunch of letters (like 6) including a Card from Carol (please thank her for me!) and I also got mum's package of magic stars!!!
One of the problems that we encountered this week was that we tried to talk to some people (this happened twice actually, once in person, the other over the phone) and they claimed that they didn't speak English. Which was pretty stupid because at first, they were replying to me in English, then switched to their own language, and then said (in perfect English) "I'm speaking in Sotho/Shona" So we just had to leave them :')
We also ran into some really racist EFF supporters. The EFF are a political group here that basically are pro-black and if they could they would introduce apartheid in reverse! So I started talking to one of them and he was just really racist to me (I kept my cool don't worry :P) He said that I was white, so I'm super rich (I wish!) And that after I finished my mission the church were going to pay for me to go to university, and that they were paying for me to be here in South Africa, claiming that a missionary told him this. And he wouldn't listen to me! He also said that the white people were rich and that we wouldn't tell the black people 'the secret'. So that was an eye-opener.
That's about it for my week!
That's really interesting hearing about that couple who visited from Germany! I'm kinda jealous because I'd loved to hear those people stories from WW2 and the Cold War!
I get asked what I miss.
Something I miss is just relaxing on Sunday's, here it's go go go every day, which isn't a bad thing, and I love it. It's just a different way of living :')
Something else I miss a lot is Danish chocolate. Mentioning that I still remember when we went to Denmark and we had that cake stuff from the bakery? I think its name was "Student Bread"
That's about it for me!
Love Jack xx
So this week as well, something that has never happened before, happened. There was a tornado in South Africa. Where? Pretoria, and it worked it's way down to Tembisa, which is maybe 10 miles or so away from us, so close! In fact, Elder Samuel was in that area, and he get's a call from the APs, they ask him that apparently there is a tornado in Tembisa, to which he replies: "yeah there is, I'm looking at it!" he he he, He is funny, anyway they told him to get out! Miraculously as well, no one died, one of our members was working in a KFC there which was destroyed by the tornado! But it turned out okay because she's been transferred to the KFC here in Mayibuye which is very convenient for her!
