November 1, 2008

Hey Everybody!

So bad news i had this whole thing written out and then i did something and it deleted or just disappeared. yeah...i'll try to make it ok tho.

So Obama eh? i've heard lots this week about him but being missionaries we dont get to see the news or the newspaper so it's just been what people have told me. I hope everyone is happpy with that...i'm sure it'll be alright.

So as for this week...We met this lady named Pauleen Davids from a referral from someone in the branch. She is a former Jehovah Witness and had a lot of questions about what church is the right one. When she was in the Jehovah Witness church, she did Bible study and all that, but didnt feel it was right for her. She just didnt agree with a lot of the stuff that was going on. We had a chance to meet with her a couple times this week and come to find out she's gone through a lot in her life. She likes to talk, and doesnt leave much time for us to say anything, haha. She was given a BOM and has been reading from it. She just finished where Lehi has his dream about the Tree of Life. It was good becuase she told us about herself and some of the things going on in her life and how she's had these dreams and doesnt know if she should take them seriously or not. As a Jehovah Witness they said that dreams are just dreams, and that they shouldnt be taken literally. But as for her, she didnt know what to think. We told her a bit more about the BOM and were able to talk a little bit about how to find her answers. She's been coming to church these past couple of weeks so it's been good to see her. She's way nice.

Saturday we had a Braai (BBQ) and we got some chicken and meat and made a nice fire and cooked up some stuff. it was way good. Even though we didnt get to bed til about 11:30, it was way worth it. We might make it a tradition from now on.

Yesterday was Stake Conference for the South Africa or maybe even all of Africa stakes. It was a broadcast from church headquarters and we had Elder Holland and Pres Uchtdorf talk, along with a few others, it was good. Then we had a nice dinner appointment and had some other people to see. We were trying to find a referral and ended up running into two guys from Zimbabwae instead. These two guys are pretty young, and they're cousins. Their names are Raymond and Teacha and they were very happy to have us there and talk to them. Even tho they didnt have much, just a little room to stay in, they were so willing to buy us a cool drink with the little money they had. They're way awesome and were willing to hear what we had to say. Even though we weren't really there to talk to them. We stayed with them for a while and introduced the BOM. They were way interested in it. They read from the Bible a lot and had some questions to ask us. Raymond was reading and he read about the gift of tongues and wondered why he didnt have that. How can he get this. So he asked us that. We explained to him a bit about what it meant and then i asked him how many languages he could speak. He said 8. 8! that's insane. I basically explained to him that without even knowing it he was blessed in that way and with that talent, and that he should be thankful for it. He understood it better and hadn't even thought about it like that before. They were so interested in what we had to say, which was great, because i'm excited to teach them more. Just awesome guys.

O yeah yesterday at church we had the grandson of the Marriot Hotel Chain there. He's this 27 year old guy who's living in Stellenbosh. His name is Mark Harrison. Way chill guy. Kinda crazy. but yeah it was just pretty random to have him there. we might try to play some golf or bball with him one of these pdays. just thought i'd let you know that.

Everything else is good. Went to the Afrikaans Monument this past week so you'll be getting some pics soon. If you havent already. Love ya and miss ya!

-Elder Devenney