Dear family
Its good to hear from you as always, and I'm glad that you got my email last week. It sounds like you had a great 4th of July week end. That is something that I wish I could have been around for. I can't imagine all the changes that are going on around home. I hope the garage sale turns out and well. I am doing well and things are going good. This week we had transfers and an all zone conference. It was really good and I got to catch up with a lot of the missionaries I haven't seen in a while.
My companions is form Nyrobi Kenya, he is doing well but I really miss having an American compaion. He good but sometimes he really tests my patience. I think that I will be getting transferred to a new area next transfer. The mission is changing a lot in the next few months. A lot of the old missionaries are going home and a lot of new ones are coming all at once. The missionary work is going well. We have a baptism coming up on the 20th and we have had a lot of members working with us lately which is a huge help. The ward I serve in is nice. The Bishopric is very old and struggles sometimes, in Zulu culture. You can't tell someone older than you what to do, so its hard for us to show them correct ways to run certain things. The strength of the ward is in the younger adults. Usually there are about 100 or so people at church, but there are over 5 hundred names on our records, that gives you and idea of the less active work we have to do.
This week I had a pretty cool experience. In Zulu culture they slaughter cows and goats and stuff on special occasions, and this week the first councilor in the bishopric slaughtered a cow at his house and we got to go and help, after we killed it we skinned it and as soon as we cut the meet off they would throw it on a grill, but they also eat the organs too. I ate intestines, and stomach, it was pretty gross. I have some pictures I'm putting on photobucket so check those out. It was a pretty fun experience.
For my birthday maybe it would be the easiest to put some cash in my home account. I think I want to by some shoes, and maybe a few other things. I have written Reily back but I don't think it made it. I hope that you guys enjoy your week. I'm glad you got my email, I will make sure you get this one. I'll talk to you next week.
Friday, May 29, 2009
June 29, 2008
Dear Family
Its good to hear from you and it sounds like you are doing well. I sorry to hear that you didn't get my email, I recall the first time we had trouble communicating and the problem was on your side, so I don't know what is going on but I will make sure it gets to you this time. That is great to hear about people getting mission calls and things. That is pretty crazy about Kyle Burke and Quinn Garber. I am glad I'm missing all that construction around the overpass and stuff, that sounds like a real pain.
I really like Bishops analogy about training for the triathlon, and your likening it to Africans. I had the opportunity of experiencing a new aspect of African life this week. Somehow I got thread worms in my digestive system and on Thursday I was in the boarding all day and couldn't venture too far from the bathroom. I took some medicine though and expelled all the worms from my body. Elder Taaga who stays in my boarding had the same thing last week so I figured out what was wrong pretty fast. Its winter time here and its actually been a little cold lately, some storms have come through and it has rained a lot. Things are going good with my greenie Elder Kitili, he is pretty good at missionary work and things, but he is kind of a pretty boy and I give him a hard time about that a lot. Things have been going good with missionary work though. We have a baptism on July 20th, and and the guys name is Sipho Mstzani, he is doing really well and we will probably have a few more baptismal dates set this month. I have been bad about taking pictures but I will get some and send them to you soon.
Speaking of packages I could use Reeses, protein, beef jerky, pretty much anything. I could use some money in my home account if that's alright, I'm almost out.
I have found a new love for board games, I play clue risk and monopoly with the guys in my boarding when we get a chance and its fun.
Ryan I am pretty jealous of your Halo escapades, that is one thing I miss a lot, but there are probably more productive things you can do. Spence sounds like things are going good for you. I am still waiting for that email you said you were going to send me. Well thanks for everything I am always happy to read your emails and here about what is going on at home. I will talk to you next week.
Its good to hear from you and it sounds like you are doing well. I sorry to hear that you didn't get my email, I recall the first time we had trouble communicating and the problem was on your side, so I don't know what is going on but I will make sure it gets to you this time. That is great to hear about people getting mission calls and things. That is pretty crazy about Kyle Burke and Quinn Garber. I am glad I'm missing all that construction around the overpass and stuff, that sounds like a real pain.
I really like Bishops analogy about training for the triathlon, and your likening it to Africans. I had the opportunity of experiencing a new aspect of African life this week. Somehow I got thread worms in my digestive system and on Thursday I was in the boarding all day and couldn't venture too far from the bathroom. I took some medicine though and expelled all the worms from my body. Elder Taaga who stays in my boarding had the same thing last week so I figured out what was wrong pretty fast. Its winter time here and its actually been a little cold lately, some storms have come through and it has rained a lot. Things are going good with my greenie Elder Kitili, he is pretty good at missionary work and things, but he is kind of a pretty boy and I give him a hard time about that a lot. Things have been going good with missionary work though. We have a baptism on July 20th, and and the guys name is Sipho Mstzani, he is doing really well and we will probably have a few more baptismal dates set this month. I have been bad about taking pictures but I will get some and send them to you soon.
Speaking of packages I could use Reeses, protein, beef jerky, pretty much anything. I could use some money in my home account if that's alright, I'm almost out.
I have found a new love for board games, I play clue risk and monopoly with the guys in my boarding when we get a chance and its fun.
Ryan I am pretty jealous of your Halo escapades, that is one thing I miss a lot, but there are probably more productive things you can do. Spence sounds like things are going good for you. I am still waiting for that email you said you were going to send me. Well thanks for everything I am always happy to read your emails and here about what is going on at home. I will talk to you next week.
May 25, 2008
Dear family,
Sounds like things are really busy at home. I am so happy to hear everyone is doing well. Ryan's dedication to wrestling is very impressive, I hope that he will have success seeking his goal. Sounds like Spencer is doing well and living up his last little bit of high school. Jordan, thanks for holding on to those CDs for me and congratulations on the dance win. I don't know what I want for my b-day yet but I will let you know soon, I'm glad the picture will work out. I received a package from Aunt Julie and the family tell her thank you, and Grandma and Grandpa. I really enjoyed it so let them know. Oh and FaceBook is OK. I mainly use it to keep contact with other missionaries and members here in SA.
Well this has been a week of challenge for me. On Wednesday night Elder Ricks and I were heading back to our car after some tracting at dusk, and as we walked up the street two guys came up to us with knives, one stood behind me while the other went through our pockets and took our cell phone, car keys, money, and my planner which has all my appointments in it. I was so angry that I couldn't do anything to stop these guys. The APs came and brought us a spare set of keys and stuff. So I'm alright and everything was fine but it was definitely a humbling experience. The next day was transfers I found out that I'm training a brand new missionary. I was really surprised because generally missionaries don't train until they are around a year or older. It is was tough to because my planner was gone so it was like starting from scratch on our appointments and everything. My greenie is Elder Kitili from Nairobi Kenya. He is 23 years old and a really nice guy. He has thick accent so its hard to understand him sometimes but we are working well. Its funny because everyone thinks that he speaks Zulu and I don't but its the other way around. Well that's the big news from me this week. So thanks for your support and prayers they really help me out. I hope that everyone has a good week, I'll talk to you next week, and I'm putting more photos on photobucket.
Sounds like things are really busy at home. I am so happy to hear everyone is doing well. Ryan's dedication to wrestling is very impressive, I hope that he will have success seeking his goal. Sounds like Spencer is doing well and living up his last little bit of high school. Jordan, thanks for holding on to those CDs for me and congratulations on the dance win. I don't know what I want for my b-day yet but I will let you know soon, I'm glad the picture will work out. I received a package from Aunt Julie and the family tell her thank you, and Grandma and Grandpa. I really enjoyed it so let them know. Oh and FaceBook is OK. I mainly use it to keep contact with other missionaries and members here in SA.
Well this has been a week of challenge for me. On Wednesday night Elder Ricks and I were heading back to our car after some tracting at dusk, and as we walked up the street two guys came up to us with knives, one stood behind me while the other went through our pockets and took our cell phone, car keys, money, and my planner which has all my appointments in it. I was so angry that I couldn't do anything to stop these guys. The APs came and brought us a spare set of keys and stuff. So I'm alright and everything was fine but it was definitely a humbling experience. The next day was transfers I found out that I'm training a brand new missionary. I was really surprised because generally missionaries don't train until they are around a year or older. It is was tough to because my planner was gone so it was like starting from scratch on our appointments and everything. My greenie is Elder Kitili from Nairobi Kenya. He is 23 years old and a really nice guy. He has thick accent so its hard to understand him sometimes but we are working well. Its funny because everyone thinks that he speaks Zulu and I don't but its the other way around. Well that's the big news from me this week. So thanks for your support and prayers they really help me out. I hope that everyone has a good week, I'll talk to you next week, and I'm putting more photos on photobucket.
May 18, 2008
Dear Family,
It was really good to hear from you today. I really enjoyed the phone call and it was nice to talk with everyone. That is too bad to hear about Louie, I hope he is still kicking when I get back. That is a funny story about Steve Fuller, sounds like something that would happen to him. I'm glad to hear that my card and letter made it in time for Your birthday Dad. I took that picture you need so I'm going to post it on photo bucket today.
This week went well for me. We had a baptism on Sunday, my companion baptised Lihle Sithole. We found him about 5 weeks ago and he is a very powerful guy. He will be able to go teaching with us and hopefully he will go on a mission in the next few years. My companion is leaving on thursday and I am so excited. This kid really has been getting on my nerves. I just can't wait till I get a new companion. I will find out who that is tomorrow night. They try to keep us missinonaries in areas for about six months, or four transfer cycles. I have been here for a month and a half, one transfer. I will probably be here for three more transfers. Today we are going into down town Durban to go to Victoria Street Market. There are a bunch of Indian shops there and you can bargain with them for a deal. I am looking to get some soccer jerseys. Well I hope everything goes well for you this week and I will here from you next Monday. I am looking forward to getting that package. Thanks for everything, talk to you later.
It was really good to hear from you today. I really enjoyed the phone call and it was nice to talk with everyone. That is too bad to hear about Louie, I hope he is still kicking when I get back. That is a funny story about Steve Fuller, sounds like something that would happen to him. I'm glad to hear that my card and letter made it in time for Your birthday Dad. I took that picture you need so I'm going to post it on photo bucket today.
This week went well for me. We had a baptism on Sunday, my companion baptised Lihle Sithole. We found him about 5 weeks ago and he is a very powerful guy. He will be able to go teaching with us and hopefully he will go on a mission in the next few years. My companion is leaving on thursday and I am so excited. This kid really has been getting on my nerves. I just can't wait till I get a new companion. I will find out who that is tomorrow night. They try to keep us missinonaries in areas for about six months, or four transfer cycles. I have been here for a month and a half, one transfer. I will probably be here for three more transfers. Today we are going into down town Durban to go to Victoria Street Market. There are a bunch of Indian shops there and you can bargain with them for a deal. I am looking to get some soccer jerseys. Well I hope everything goes well for you this week and I will here from you next Monday. I am looking forward to getting that package. Thanks for everything, talk to you later.
May 11, 2008
Hey its good to hear from you once again, sorry the phone call didn't work. I waited until about 11:30 then I decided to just go to bed and figure things out in the morning. My companion was on the phone from about midnight to one, so if you were calling around then you would have definitely gotten a busy signal other wise I don't know what the deal is. Anyways call again same time today, I will be at the Zone leaders boarding for exchanges and they have a land line which will get a much better connection. The number is 0319037137, you will have to do the country code and all the stuff but I think this will work much better. Just to be clear you can only make a mothers day call and a Christmas call but it doesn't have to be on the exact day, just near that time. So I am looking forward to talking to all of you tonight. Sounds like a lot is going on at home. The new chapel sounds cool. That's too bad about the bullet bike accident. I liked Spencer's joke. That was a good one. I can't believe he is graduating next month. I feel like I was in high school yesterday. I am not going to write very much because I am going to talk to you in just a little bit so Happy mothers day, sounds like you have had a good one. I will talk to you in about nine hours.
Friday, May 22, 2009
May 4, 2008
Dear Family,
Its is really good to hear from you again. Sorry I didn't have a chance to check the email until now. Its a little harder now that Im not around couples who have internet. Sounds like things are really changing around home. Dad spending money, Jordan going to the dump, Spencer graduating from seminary, high school, and starting his papers. It seems like yesterday that I was doing all of the stuff. Its all very exciting though. I am looking forward to Spencer being able to have the whole mission experience.
I will try to answer all of your questions but I will probably miss one or two. Umlazi is really nice, we don't work on strengthening members here, mostly regular missionary work. Tracting, street contacting and all of that good stuff. We are working hard on bringing members with us to teach. It gets them excited about missionary work and helps us fellowship our investigators. Oh yeah about the phone call you should call my cell phone like you did at christmas. My phone number is 0832815474, you will have to put in the country code and that stuff, if you have forgotten how you can look online. Try to call around 2 pm your time, on sunday. I think the cell phone should work this time. About going on my mission and who inspired me, the biggest influence for me to go on my mission was knowing that I can't give my little bro's an exuse not to go on their missions. Another influence was watching the people who went on their missions when I was young. Time is going by really fast. To be honest there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what it will be like to come home, even if it is just for a minute or two. Thats funny that you discovered that here in africa they call mixed people coloured. Things here are really different in some ways and really similar in others.
This week went by well. We are teaching some great families which is so nice. I also was fed a few times this week which was a really nice change. My companion goes home in 2 weeks so I'm pretty excited about that. Today for P day we had a zone activity and went to Tala Game park. I saw hippos, wildebeest, giraffe, Rhinos, zebras, and some warthogs. It was pretty fun. We play soccer every P day to and I am getting better at that. By the ways thanks for the rugby news, that was interesting. I am really enjoying my time here so far and I am looking forward to talking to you on Sunday. Thanks for the prayers, support, and everything else. I hope you have a good week.
Its is really good to hear from you again. Sorry I didn't have a chance to check the email until now. Its a little harder now that Im not around couples who have internet. Sounds like things are really changing around home. Dad spending money, Jordan going to the dump, Spencer graduating from seminary, high school, and starting his papers. It seems like yesterday that I was doing all of the stuff. Its all very exciting though. I am looking forward to Spencer being able to have the whole mission experience.
I will try to answer all of your questions but I will probably miss one or two. Umlazi is really nice, we don't work on strengthening members here, mostly regular missionary work. Tracting, street contacting and all of that good stuff. We are working hard on bringing members with us to teach. It gets them excited about missionary work and helps us fellowship our investigators. Oh yeah about the phone call you should call my cell phone like you did at christmas. My phone number is 0832815474, you will have to put in the country code and that stuff, if you have forgotten how you can look online. Try to call around 2 pm your time, on sunday. I think the cell phone should work this time. About going on my mission and who inspired me, the biggest influence for me to go on my mission was knowing that I can't give my little bro's an exuse not to go on their missions. Another influence was watching the people who went on their missions when I was young. Time is going by really fast. To be honest there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what it will be like to come home, even if it is just for a minute or two. Thats funny that you discovered that here in africa they call mixed people coloured. Things here are really different in some ways and really similar in others.
This week went by well. We are teaching some great families which is so nice. I also was fed a few times this week which was a really nice change. My companion goes home in 2 weeks so I'm pretty excited about that. Today for P day we had a zone activity and went to Tala Game park. I saw hippos, wildebeest, giraffe, Rhinos, zebras, and some warthogs. It was pretty fun. We play soccer every P day to and I am getting better at that. By the ways thanks for the rugby news, that was interesting. I am really enjoying my time here so far and I am looking forward to talking to you on Sunday. Thanks for the prayers, support, and everything else. I hope you have a good week.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
April 28, 2009
Hey well I am able to email today but it looks like you haven't had a chance to write your e-mail yet so I will just have to read it next week. I really like the pictures you sent, its so weird to see nice houses and temple square and stuff like that. Ryan really looks different. This week has gone by really fast once again. I realized the Mothers Day call is just two weeks away, next week I will give you the details on how the call will go. This week has been pretty cool temperature wise. Its raining today but I think we are still going to play soccer. I've adjusted to the area almost completely and I know my way around now so that's nice. We have been working hard on finding potential priesthood and families to teach, so that is nice. People here can speak English better than they did in Nseleni so that's good. My area covers two college campuses though, and those college kids think they know everything. The other two elders in my boarding had they're car broken into and our boarding keys were stolen so we had to have the locks changed, and two other elders in our district had they're boarding broken into and their cell phone and wallets and stuff were taken. If my stuff ever gets stolen I am going to be so ticked off. Elder Katende from Uganda and I are getting to be pretty good friends. He is one goofy kid. We go running on the beach twice a week and he tells me some crazy stories of things going on in Uganda, Somalia, and Sudan. One time someone tried to steal his and his brothers soccer boots, they caught him but there aren't really police to turn him in to so they hit his toes with a hammer and let him crawl away. Elder Katende said that they gave him a pedicure. I'm sorry if that story is too graphic, I think I am a little desensitized by now. Well I will hear from you next week I guess. Thanks for the pictures, I put some new pictures on photobucket so you can check those out. Thanks for all of your prayers and support, it helps out so much. I will talk to you next week.
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