Monday, December 31, 2012

Pictchas!!

Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #60

This was another grrreat week! I got another super companion! haha. We get along really well and are dong lots of good work. We set up a booth like I did in Bots and it was a success! We found tons of people and one of them came to church on Sunday and loved it! We met a guy named Wilson who felt the spirit really strong while we were teaching and started to make funny faces cause of it. He accepted a baptismal date and we are going to be teaching the rest of his family this week! Maggy and MacDonald are having a tough time right now. they are having lots of financial problems and are being threatened to be kicked out of their flat for the second time in 2 months. They really want to be baptized and love the gospel so much but they are also having a tough time being ready for that step.

We are having fun and spreading the gospel like nobodies business! :D That's a little a bout my week.

Have a happy new year!
Love you all!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Elder Jenkinson with his sons Elder Madebe and Elder Dirkmaat and his grandson Elder Wilkinson!! Haha


 I saw this place and thought you would like a picture mom! haha
 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merrrry Christmaaaas!!!

Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Wilkinson
Letter # 59

Hey family!!

It was nice to hear from everybody!! :D I love you too Ollie and Sophie! You can have me back for christmas next year dont worry ;) I didn't get a message from Nate though! Shamboc him for me okay? ha.

It's been a really great week especially since I got a new companion and I'm training! My companions name is Elder Wilkinson form Alpine, Utah. He's such a great guy and has a lot of energy to do lots of hard work! We are gonna have a great time together and we already get along really well. At first I was nervous and scared to train but now I'm realizing that it's easy. Just do what I'm supposed to and help him get used to everything and learn how to be the best missionary he can! He's already a great missionary. Sometimes trainers talk about how they have to everything and teach the whole lesson or cover for their mistakes but that's not how it is with us! Elder Wilkinson loves to teach and talk and he's already really good at it! He's the "golden trainee" haha.

We had a baptism for Brother tau yesterday and it was wonderful!! baptisms are the best! I forgot my camera thast day so I have to get the pictures from Bishop but hopefully I'll be able to send them next week! Tau was so happy and said that he had the greatest feeling ever. We went to visit him later in the day and he said that he still had it! He learned so much in the past month and he can't wait till he goes home in April to Zimbabwe to share it with his wife and children.

Can't wait to talk to you all!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!! :D

-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Monday, December 17, 2012

Elder Dirkmaat is on Fiiiirrrreeeee!!!

Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Mabuza
Letter # 58

Hey wena's!

How goes it in the Dirkmaat household?? I wish I could be there so bad!! I miss you all so much!
Thanks for the addresses.

For the Christmas card I think you need to change my picture to the one in my congolese outfit! haha. jk but i liked it a lot, thanks for sending it!

I did draw something for the clubhouse but I was not aware that we were gonna come here to email straight after playing soccer with the ward so I don't have my camera with me to send you the picture... sorry neh. i will next week!

So here's the big news for the week. Elder Dirkmaat is training! Eish... ha. No I am really excited. People have been telling me I'm going to be trainer since I got done being trained and so it feels weird that I am actually gonna train. Where do you think he will be from? It's sad that Elder Mabuza will be leaving but he's gonna be powerful wherever he goes!

I heard that Ian got his mision call to go to Chile!! Sweet deal! There are gonna be tons of missionaries from our ward serving all over the world! We are gonna be like a Utah ward with like 15 missionaries haha.

Well, Stewart was confirmed yesterday and is going to receive the priesthood next week! Tau is gonna be baptized next week as well! We are so excited. We are unsure about whether or not Francis will be baptized. he has a lot going through his mind right now and isn't fully committed. He old us that himself. We shall see.

We met an awesome new father led family this week, brother MacDonald and his wife Maggy with their 3 children! We met them on Thursday, visited them again on Saturday and they came to church yesterday and loved it! They are a solid family and I am so excited to help them learn the truthfulness of the restored gospel.

I think that my new companion is gonna be very happy when he gets here and be able to gain lots of experience teaching all kinds of different people!

Yesterday Elder Mabuza and I gave talks on missionary work along with a recent convert. The members of the ward were not very excited when they knew we were speaking. "Oh great we're gonna hear the same thing 'every member a missionay'" But we didn't do that! Most of them came to us after and were saying wow that was awesome I have never heard missionaries speaking lik ethat! We thought it was gonna be so boring! hhaha so it was a great success. Then at the end Elder Collin H. Bricknell spoke for a few minutes and that was  powerful. I love to hear members of the seventy speak and to feel the spirit they bring. After Sacrament meeting he came to greet us and says "thanks for the talk elder" and then he punched me! hahaha

Well that's a bit about my week!

I hope you have super week! Pray that I can be a good trainer!

Love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Monday, December 10, 2012

Letter & Photos!

Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Mabuza
Letter #57

Pictures!!!
Elder Mabuza and I in front of the Johannesburg chapel


Brother Stewart and Brother Tshabalala with Elder Mabuza and I just before Stewart's baptism


Me in my Congolese outfit made by bishops wife with Mama Gqibitole and Mama Tshabalala in their Xhosa and Swati(?) outfits respectively


Me with Bishop Mulombo


The Johannesburg Elders with the temple in the backgound.  Left to right:  Elder's Dirkmaat, Coon, Rakotondramanana, Mabuza

Hi!

It has been a great week for missionary work and Elder Mabuza and I are loving it!
Brother Stewart was baptized yesterday! Such a great experience for him. He was telling us afterwards that last night he couldn't sleep cause of how excited he was for it. He's been waiting a long time since the missionaries who were teaching him previously before he moved here had given him the date for the 25th of November. President Omer was the one who interviewed him and afterwards was telling us that he could see Stewart being a gospel doctrine teacher in no time. Another member, Bro Tshabalala who is the Stake Public Affairs representative, was fellowshipping Stewart and so Stewart chose him to be the one to perform the baptism. Next week he is going to be confirmed by a recent convert who just got the Melchizedek Priesthood a few weeks ago so we are gonna go to his place and help him know how to do it. Also he is going to get the Aaronic Priesthood next week! It was a great day for him and we could feel the spirit as he bore his testimony. That's always one of the best moments for a missionary when they get up after their baptism filled with the spirit to bear their testimony.

Brother Tau was able to be there for the baptism and we went to visit him afterwards. He was telling us that he wishes he could have also been baptized and didn't have to wait till the 23rd. I also wish he could have because he is ready it's just that we really need to make sure that he is truly converted and well established in the church. One of the guidelines that we have is that they need to attend church 5 times in a row before they can get baptized. I think the extra time really allows for them to gain a strong testimony. Then again I have also heard of people being baptized within a week of meeting the missionaries and never looking back. Elder Mabuza and his brother were baptized in a little less than 2 weeks from meeting the missionaries.

We have been late to church 2 weeks in a row now. Last week it was because the car wouldn't start and when we got there the stake president was on the stand. A few weeks earlier he had told our mission president that he was tired of missionaries coming in late and not singing the hymns. The first time I'm ever late and it has to be after he sent that complaint ha. Then this week we were waiting for one of our new investigators, Terry, so that we could walk with him since he didn't know where the chapel is. It was nice to walk to church with him. We haven't taught him yet so while we were walking it was perfect time to get to know him.

Elder Mabuza does not like christmas at all so i am trying to think of something that I can do to help him have a really nice christmas. I already have some ideas but I also want to have yours as well. This week he got a package from St. George, Utah FILLED with presents! So he is starting to warm up to christmas, but not all the way yet.

We got invited to go to a Nigerian families home for christmas dinner. SKETCH! They make super weird food! I'm scared.

We jst got news that we are not going to have transfer meetings anymore. Instead we just leave from our old area and go to our new one. Pretty cool! Even though I love transfer meetings.

Chelsea is going on a mission, really? That's great news! What's her address? So i can send her a letter to congratulate her. Oh! Also, I still need Josh's mission address, not MTC address.

That's a cool idea for a fort! I'll try to think of something and see if I can send a pic next time. You should talk to Brother Mathis! That reminds me, I think I wanna be a contractor instead of an architect. Thoughts? Lets hope the housing market gets better!

I never knew that Bro Gammet plays the cello. Noice! Tell him and also Nick and Chandler hello!

IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!! I'M SO EXCITED! :D

Have a great week family!
I love you!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hey hey!

Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Mabuza
Letter #56

It was a good week for sure! Thanks for all the pictures! loved em! I have an awesome family ;)

Frances, Tau, and Stewart are all doing super well! Stewart is going to be baptized this Sunday and then Frances and Tau on the 23rd just before Christmas! I am super excited and they are even more excited and the members are surprised! haha Not all of them but some that we tell there is going to be a baptism next week they say "oh really? great!"

Stewart is ready for sure. He is so humble and even excited to have a calling in the church. we might go visit the temple with him and Frances this week. He came to church yesterday with a white shirt and one of the members that he knows who will also baptize him is going to get him a tie for next week when he is baptized!

We gave brother Tau the Book of Mormon on Friday and when we went visit him yesterday afternoon he had already read up to 1 Nephi chapter 16! His favorite chapter was chapter 8 about the tree of life. He is making great progress towards the 23rd and he has a super friend in the church who he stays with that supports him so much.

Frances is excited for his baptism but he seems really nervous about it even though he knows so much and even realizes tat this is what he needs to do. He is still having a hard time recognizing his answers. Last week when I asked him to pray about the Bom right there with us I could feel the spirit so strong and I thought for sure that he could also feel and got his answer. He always admits that he feels good but doesn't seem to want to take it for an answer. I think he is still remembering his past experience in cape town where a lot of the members are racists and so now because of that he is a lot more reserved. He has said that he really enjoys this ward. I hope it's not the same situation as it was with Sister Candasemy where she got offended by the members and couldn't join the church cause of that for years. I believe that Frances will be ready for the 23rd. DO YOU???

On Saturday we had a ward cultural party that was super fun! Everybody came with their cultural outfits and food to share and we had a great time! There are people from all over Africa in our ward so that's why we had the cultural party. A month ago bishops wife made me a Congolese outfit so I got to wear it and I took some pictures! We'll see if I get time to send them today.

I am so thankful to be a missionary right now! It is one of he greatest blessings in my life and I know that the things I am teaching are true and nobody can take it from me! It's amazing to see how people change when they learn the truth and feel the spirit confirm that truth.

Have a great week!
Love you!

-Elder Dirkmaat :D