December 22, 2008

Merry Christmas!Well i've got a bit to tell ya as of this week so i hope i can keep ya interested for a while. We're about to head out to Cape Town to go have a braai and play some soccer for a while, so we're trying to hurry. It's a nice day today. Cloudy and starting to rain. Finally...it's been a first since like a month ago. It makes me happy and it's a good way to start out the new week.
As of this past week, we've committed Pauleen Davids to Baptism. We plan on her date being the 11th of January. She's a way sweet lady. She's the one that was a referral for us and just started coming to church by herself and kept all committments and gave up a bunch of stuff, like her coffee a few weeks ago. We got her some Chickery and some roibos tea instead. They drink roibos a lot down here. It's pretty good. Just an herbal tea. But yeah she's been doing way good and we felt like she was ready, even tho it's been so quick. Been just like a month and a half since we started teaching her. But yeah so that's exciting. I dunno if i'll still be here cuz i think transfers happen right before that. so we'll see...i'd like to be here for it...but ya never know.
We've been teaching that family named the Bakala-Bidzedous ya know? Father from Congo, mother is Xhosa, two little kids...yeah they're awesome. They live in a garage and we're planning on painting it for them tomorrow. They're a way sweet family and we meet with them a couple times a week. They even were able to come out to church yesterday and we were way stoked to see them there. We also have another Congolese man named Sydney that we've been teaching. Previous missionaries had met with him but he's been going to school and stuff so for the past month we were unable to meet with him. He still comes to church tho, and when the BB's came we introduced them to eachother and i guess the two guys already knew eachother. And another Congolese man named Bruno who's a member was there at church, and he knew mr. BB also. So i think that helped that he saw some other guys he knew going to church. We were also able to see Sydney and follow up on his reading and what not this week, it was good to see him. He's way chill and humble, and funny. haha.
We've been teaching this members parents, named the Ardenses for a while. The father i think is the only one who really understands us. We've been stressing reading the BOM for the past month i swear and we were about to drop them cuz they wouldnt progress and come to church or anything, but then we decided not to. We met with them and i told them that i would bake them muffins if they read. Well of course, we come back and they still hadnt read, but i did make the muffins. Bro Ardense said he was reading the plan of salvation pamphlet...so that was a start i guess. We talked a bit about that and before i knew it they took the muffins! I was mad. haha. I kept my part of the bargain and they hadn't kept theirs. But whatever. I made it a point to say that i was loaning them those muffins and that before they took a bite, they had to read the chapter. It was kinda funny. They're sweet tho...just no progression.
I've really noticed the power of prayer this past week. One day, we were doing some following up and happened to pop in at this lady named Sister Idas, who we had intro the BOM to a couple weeks ago but hadnt met with them since. Her husband was just coming back from work and we just talked to her for a bit and then before we left just asked if we could offer a prayer, (as we usually try to do). Well i said the prayer and when i was done, a bit awkwardly, and surprisingly, she was crying. Right after that she just opened up to us telling us how things weren't ok with her and the family and that they might be losing the house. Her husband had started a new company in the past year and he lost a lot of money on it, and in the middle of it, he was having an affair with another woman. She basically just told us everything that was going on, and we didnt really know what to say. I shared a cool scripture that was on my planner that is in Phil 4:13. Says "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" It was kinda crazy cuz i had just put that on my planner that morning, and it seemed quite fitting for Sister Idas. She wants to see us again. It was just pretty cool.That same night i had to say a prayer in another home. Same thing happened. The guy, eric, older man who isnt a member but his wife is, opened up to us and got emotional after the prayer. He might have been a bit drunk i dunno...haha. But yeah...
We've had a good solid spiritual thought that we've been leaving with people that talks a lot about gifts. And was even something we went over in Zone Conference a few weeks ago. We've been trying to focus our scriptures that we read with people to be more on Chirst, cuz it's christmas ya know...and one that i like to share with people is one in James 1:17 talking about gifts. Since quite a bit of Christmas is about giving gifts and sharing those with others we felt it was appropriate. Sharing even that our Heavenly Father gave a gift to every single one of us...his Son Jesus Christ. So a thought that i might share with you and is even something that we share with everyone we meet is...What gift can you give Jesus Christ for Christmas?...I'm still trying to figure it out completely. Tons of room for improvement...and i know all of us can figure out what to give if we think about it hard enough. Anyway...
We played some ping pong at sports on saturday...it was so fun! and some soccer indoors. It wasnt the best turn out but hey it was good.The week other than that was pretty decent. Nothing too crazy going on i dont think but that gives you a little slice of my life here in SA. :)
I sent out some packages...hope you get them eventually those select few! :) Dankie!
-Elder Devenney