Sept 13, 2010

Well as exciting and successful as last week was...this week wasn't quite up to par. It was still a good week...or maybe i just say it was good to try to seem positive, but yeah, definitely not what it was like last week. It really was a rollercoaster week again. Up and down and hard to keep solid things happening. I can recount a couple of good times tho...We did see the Williams family again..and remember this is a mother led family and we're working with them to progress toward baptism as they've already accepted. Unfortunately she's going through a rough divorce right now, which is causing a lot of stress on the family and particularly to her. So we had a decent appointment with her and her daughter with this guy Ofentse, who will be playing for the sharks (durban rugby team) who's a member of the church. He's going to play next year. He's a big kid but way cool. Anyway, so we took him with us over there and had a good appointment with the mother and daughter. Truly just listening and adapting our teaching to meet their needs. Personal experiences were shared that were exactly what they needed to hear. And Sis Williams, before we had got there, tried to send an sms to cancel on us, but fortuantely the sms never came so we showed up to her house anyway, and in the end it was defintely a discussion she and her daughter needed to hear. We read from the BOM and shared some of our favorite scriptures during times of trial that really help us. By the end, it was exactly what they needed to hear and really helped sis Williams find that comfort... Alright anyway, so i got this new shoulder bag, it's even in one of the pics that i sent, it's pretty rad and people are definitely jealous of it. So i'm going to recount a story of what happened to me when i got that new bag...keep in mind it was only R50 and really cheap. But looks way cool! So i get it on saturday and i go out with Elder Naylor (blond in pics) and we're out and i'm feeling way good about my bag, and he's way jealous of it and all this stuff..and i start talking to this guy through the fence, well just over a fence i guess...it was only up to my chest i'd say. And it's a gate that has bars and it can slide so the car can come in and out. Anyway, so he's got these dogs, 2 of which are pretty mean and one little guy. So as we were following up with this guy and inviting him to church, one of the big dogs jumps through the fence up to his shoulders, so he gets his head through, and bites hold of my new bag! He tore my bag in half! Pamphlets go flying as it's really windy outside. As i fight this dog off he eventually lets go...i'm sure my facial expressing was one of amazement and shock as i looked at my companion. I then turn to the guy we were talking to and all he says is, "sorry about your bag man" i quickly reply, "o no worries, i've had it for a long time" as if to not make the guy realize it meant everything to me...haha. As my companion and i walk back to our car around the corner i really couldnt believe that just happened. I got in the car and said, "that's it, i'm done." Luckily we had a Less active family to see which made my desire to work a little greater. O! And on Sept. 11, still that day, we Americans got together and had a nice Braai, bought some meat and then cooked it, very nice! That was our celebration of the day. Except one English guy had to be there...but it's ok. O then, even that night, which actually cheered me up, my companion and i were invited to a dinner at the Flowerdays from 1st ward. (since i used to be in that ward) So Elder Schamel, Legge (his comp) and us two went there and had a nice dinner. We ate Warthog. It was pretty good. It was really good just to catch up on the family and see how they've been. Their son has now been on mission in London England for about 5 months so it was good to hear how he's been. But yeah, it was a really good evening. Other than that, the week was exactly what i said. Really up and down. Dang, nvm. I remember what else. On friday evening the ward had an activity night in which it was a Talent Show. So all 4 of us in the ward of course went and supported. Last minute we decided to throw down a talent all 4 of us. It was a skit. "A day in the life of a missionary" but we made it pretty funny. We had Elder Fozard (from england, white guy, dark hair in pics) do the commentating, then elder Naylor and myself did the acting out, and we had elder Aires be a couple investigators. It was really funny tho. We had lots of people commment on it after. We just picked random places throughtout the day and acted them out...like for service we swept the stage, and then Elder Naylor and i bumped into eachother and had a sword fight with our broom sticks to show what missionaries really do during service...just random stuff ya know...anyway. It was pretty good and i have it all recorded on my camera. But yeah, that was really a good night for us. Except this older lady in the ward hurt her leg in her talent and we had to help her get home and she fell on me when we laid her back into her bed..it was really funny. But other talents were singing, dancing, art, cooking, etc. There were probably almost 100 people there..so it was a good turn out. Every other day was just usual so nothin to report on. Just finding and teaching. Elder Naylor and i are getting along fine, i hope this email is interesting enough. Count down! 2 more emails then that's it! Yeah!