Area- Vosloorus, South Africa
Companion- Elder Martin
Letter #71
y wena's!
I'm sorry I'm not creative with my opening lines. ha. As long as it's something with an exclamation mark to make sure you know I'm excited! haha. Sorry, none of my companions have a blog besides Elder Foote. I know a lot of other missionaries with blogs and it also seems like every single new missionary already knows who I am am! hahaha.
It's been a great week for me! The other elders(Vosloorus 2)had a baptism yesterday so I got to do my first interview which was really cool. The district leader interviews the people who are ready for baptism that have been taught by the missionaries in his district and so I got to do that. The baptism was for a mother and her son. the mother had to be interviewed by the mission president so I got to interview her son, Unathi. I was nervous like 2 weeks ago, when I found out I would be a district leader and would be doing these interviews, that it was gonna be hard and I was gonna mess up or something but it's really quite simple! You just go and have a conversation with them, ask them questions and try to get an idea for their testimony and readiness for baptism, and most importantly listen to the spirit and everything will be alright! the interview was on Thursday and ever since Tues I was just excited for it and not worried at all! It kind of reminded me of when I first started mission that I was always scared to go teach people but now I cannot wait to teach somebody and have an appointment with them. Sometimes during our visits I talk too much now and I have to stop myself and give time to my companion. It's weird how I hardly talked at all and now the challenge is to talk less.
We are going to have a baptism for a great guy named Kgaugelo this coming Sunday. he is 20 yrs old and has made huge changes to be ready for this. He and 4 of his friends have all been being taught but he is the only one that is ready cause he is the only one who is always home and progressing. The others are always busy and out of town so it's more difficult to teach them. 2 of them have their baptism date for April 14 and the others don't have date right now. Kgaugelo says that he wants to go serve a mission so he's gonna be kinda like Charles except Charles was only 16. Kgaugelo can go now and Charles has to wait a bit. After Kgaugelo gets baptized we are gonna start taking him teaching with us and he even said that he wants to come very day!
We met an awesome family this week. On Friday we were absolutely finished. We had like 6 appointments ditch and had tracked a lot and didn't want to do anything. We decided to just tract this street we were on. The first door We knocked a mother answered. Elder Martin said ...something to her that had to do with families. From our point of view it sounded really bad and we laughed afterwards BUT, she yelled to her husband "they want to teach us about families!" and let us in and we taught them! Their son Hlayisane is 20 yrs old and within the first 5 or 10 mins he was telling us that he wants to come to church. Most people we wouldn't take that seriously but he came with his little brother and sister! His parents didn't come sadly but he did! He loved it too! He said it was too short. When the teacher ended the last class he was surprised and thought we still had at least 30 mins more. At the end he asked us for a tithing slip and envelope so he could bring it next week and told us he was going to be at church every week for the rest of his life. In the gospel principles class the teacher taught about the book of Mormon. We had not said a word to him about it yet and then afterwards he said that he needed the book now. This guy is powerful! I wish everybody could feel it the same way he has! That would probably make missionary work too easy though.
So glad that Heavenly Father prepares people at the right time and the right pace and that Elder Martin and I were ready to find them! If we had come 5 or 10 mins earlier or later Hlayisane would not have been there and probably wold not have had the opportunity to come to church this Sunday and feel what he did! Sometimes working sucks cause it seems like nothing is happening but every single time it's the last street or the last door before you go home that Heavenly Father says "alright good work, I trust you to teach this family" If we didn't put in that last effort in the 11th hour we would have never found them!
Thanks for the updates! It sounds like everything is lekker back home. My family is amazing! It's gonna be weird to see you all again cause form what I hear it seems like you are all a lot stronger in the gospel and growing everyday! Thanks!
I love you!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
New Area - Vosloorus!
Area- Vosloorus, South Africa
Companion- Elder Martin
Letter #70
Hey wena's!
i am now in Vosloorus! I can see Joburg from here. Vosloorus is a township in the Bedfordview Stake. My companion is Elder Martin from Switzerland! English is his 4th language after Swiss, German and French so sometimes i have a hard time understanding what he is saying haha. We are having a great time though! We have taught 17 lessons together so far and 14 of them were to different people and I still have more people to meet! I am still lost as to where they all stay. We live like 15 k's away from the area so we drive there everyday and there are 4 missionaries in the ward. We just split the area. It's gonna be a great area! being a district leader is also gonna be a great experience. Like all the responsibilities in the church, it is an opportunity to serve. basically the missionaries in the district report their weekly doings to me and I report it to the zone leaders and I jsut help the missionaries in my district find ways to improve their areas and become better missionaries. Now instead of helping investigators and my companion i also have 4 other missionaries to help that I have a responsibility for. It's pretty cool. I think I will enjoy it!
Yes! That was a great lesson on Sunday! Isn't it cool that the church is the same around the world and I also got to learn the same lesson at church!? :D I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Don't forget who you are and what you can become! It reminds me also of something that Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said once. "The creator of the universe is the father of your spirit." And then he said something about our potential to become and create just like Him.
When I think about the joy and happiness that I feel when I learn eternal truths I wonder what other people feel when we teach them the same things. There are so many people that we teach the truth and they reject it. It's hard to understand how they don't feel the same way we do. That's the hard part about missionary work. Missionaries are always trying to become better teachers and to have the spirit with them so that the people we talk to can feel the way we do. It's hard! But the happiness that is felt when somebody else recognizes the spirit and allows it to enter their heart is unforgettable and pleasing to our Heavenly Father and that's why we do it. The restored gospel is 100% true! I'm not the greatest teacher and not everybody wants to accept what we teach but I do know that what I am doing is right. I want everybody in the whole world to know the truth and practice and be ready to meet and live with God someday.
I still have lots to learn and things to do as a full time missionary but I always wonder what it will be like when I am home. Will I be a missionary like I hope and see myself being? I can't wait till Nate gets to go on a mission and feel these things in his life! Committing to serve a mission is the best decision he has ever made in his life so far. It's the best decision I made!
I hope you have a great week family! Do some missionary work! I know you are and it's awesome! Makes me happy :D
Love you!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Companion- Elder Martin
Letter #70
Hey wena's!
i am now in Vosloorus! I can see Joburg from here. Vosloorus is a township in the Bedfordview Stake. My companion is Elder Martin from Switzerland! English is his 4th language after Swiss, German and French so sometimes i have a hard time understanding what he is saying haha. We are having a great time though! We have taught 17 lessons together so far and 14 of them were to different people and I still have more people to meet! I am still lost as to where they all stay. We live like 15 k's away from the area so we drive there everyday and there are 4 missionaries in the ward. We just split the area. It's gonna be a great area! being a district leader is also gonna be a great experience. Like all the responsibilities in the church, it is an opportunity to serve. basically the missionaries in the district report their weekly doings to me and I report it to the zone leaders and I jsut help the missionaries in my district find ways to improve their areas and become better missionaries. Now instead of helping investigators and my companion i also have 4 other missionaries to help that I have a responsibility for. It's pretty cool. I think I will enjoy it!
Yes! That was a great lesson on Sunday! Isn't it cool that the church is the same around the world and I also got to learn the same lesson at church!? :D I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Don't forget who you are and what you can become! It reminds me also of something that Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said once. "The creator of the universe is the father of your spirit." And then he said something about our potential to become and create just like Him.
When I think about the joy and happiness that I feel when I learn eternal truths I wonder what other people feel when we teach them the same things. There are so many people that we teach the truth and they reject it. It's hard to understand how they don't feel the same way we do. That's the hard part about missionary work. Missionaries are always trying to become better teachers and to have the spirit with them so that the people we talk to can feel the way we do. It's hard! But the happiness that is felt when somebody else recognizes the spirit and allows it to enter their heart is unforgettable and pleasing to our Heavenly Father and that's why we do it. The restored gospel is 100% true! I'm not the greatest teacher and not everybody wants to accept what we teach but I do know that what I am doing is right. I want everybody in the whole world to know the truth and practice and be ready to meet and live with God someday.
I still have lots to learn and things to do as a full time missionary but I always wonder what it will be like when I am home. Will I be a missionary like I hope and see myself being? I can't wait till Nate gets to go on a mission and feel these things in his life! Committing to serve a mission is the best decision he has ever made in his life so far. It's the best decision I made!
I hope you have a great week family! Do some missionary work! I know you are and it's awesome! Makes me happy :D
Love you!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Monday, March 4, 2013
Good Times
Here is Wilson and Mary and their daughter patience! I know you have all wanted
to see them really badly! Wilson is hilarious hahahahah!!!! I just had to send
this first one!!! I laugh so hard every time I look at it!! The one in the
Quiksilver shirt is Bro. James who is friends and stays with Bro. Tau. They are
all from Zimbabwe. This picture kind of gives some info on what their homes are
like. Just one room, the bed on the left, the kitchen on the right. Cement
walls and nothing else! Pretty crazy!
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #69
Hello! From your Mission Mormonary in south Africa!! :D
So here's the inside scoop. I am going to a new area tomorrow and I am becoming a district leader. I wish i could stay here cause I am gonna miss seeing so many people get baptized over the next month or two! It always seems to happen that way and I don't know why. It has been a fantastic 6 months here in Johannesburg! i have loved it! We shall see where the Lord sends me next.
Here's the highlight of the week. We have been teaching Wilson and his wife, Mary, for the past 3 months. Wilson is ready for baptism as soon as he can get married to Mary legally. we thought it was going to happen this week but the embassy is being dumb and says that they both have to go to Zimbabwe together to get the letter required for bishop to be able to marry them. So they didn't get it this week and Wilson is still not baptized. So that's not the highlight! The highlight is that Mary has been making promises to us every week that she is going to come to church and she never has. Well she came yesterday and she absolutely loved it!! It took her this whole time to come and now that she has she told us that she is going to go to church every Sunday for the rest of her life and she is going to get baptized as soon as possible. She said her favorite part was fast and testimony meeting and the Relief Society class. She also enjoyed Sunday School but the other two were her favorite. She said that she was so impressed by all the children that went to bare their testimonies and then also in relief Society there was a sister who told about how she felt very small and insignificant compared to all the other members when she came to church for the first time but through reading the book of Mormon and gospel principles class and going to church she loves it and couldn't be happier any where else. Mary said that is exactly how she felt and she wants to be just like that sister. So grateful that Heavenly Father prepared all of those people to be there and share their testimonies on the day that Mary first came to church! It took her 3 months to come and now she wishes she had come the very first Sunday we met! It's interesting how things happen but they always happen fro a reason!
We got to continue meeting with DaCosta and the best thing that he said to us which was actually a day that we just passed by was, "I have been reading and praying everyday and I'm learning! I feel something inside and I wasnt more!" WOOO!
So many great things are happening in this area. I love it! So sad that I have to leave but great things are bound to happen everywhere that the gospel is being taught and learned!
I love you family have a fabtastic week and keep seeing miracles in your lives! :)
-Elder Dirkmaat :D
Monday, February 25, 2013
Super Duper Week!!
Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Wilkinson
Letter #68
Hi!
I love having great weeks! Even though I was sick Tues - Thurs and we didn't even go outside on Thursday it was still super duper! Can't have a bad week on mission as long as you always find something to be happy about!
Charles was confirmed on Sunday and he has already talked with the bishop and he will become a priest this Sunday! Wilson still wasn't able to be baptized cause the guy we needed to talk to to get his papers was in New York the whole week. But Wilson should get all of the things tomorrow or weds and be married the same day and be baptized shortly thereafter! Busisiwe got work off on Sundays and will now be bale to come very week! We also got to teach DaCosta while she was gone at work on Saturday and it was great! We had to teach him very simply and and I got practice a lot of my French. Who knew that I could teach somebody in French?? Heavenly Father was sure helpin me out. I hope we get to start teaching DaCosta much more often. I love that guy! He is such a great father. We met a couple times out front of his house fixing a car and his daughter Mimi was always there helping him out. Every where he goes she follows him around and holds his hand. One day he's gonna baptize her when she turns 8! She's 3 right now.
And the last happy thing of the week, Sara got her mission call!! Yes you already knew that but EXCITING!!!! Argentina! That was my guess too ;) I'm so excited for her and can't wait for her also to be serving! Glad to hear that Nate is gettin on it too! Andrew McFarlane is home. I was thinking about him the other week and I thought he was home so thanks for letting me know!
Okay my mind is running blank but I hope you have another great week! Smile lots and always be good examples!
Love you all!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Companion - Elder Wilkinson
Letter #68
Hi!
I love having great weeks! Even though I was sick Tues - Thurs and we didn't even go outside on Thursday it was still super duper! Can't have a bad week on mission as long as you always find something to be happy about!
Charles was confirmed on Sunday and he has already talked with the bishop and he will become a priest this Sunday! Wilson still wasn't able to be baptized cause the guy we needed to talk to to get his papers was in New York the whole week. But Wilson should get all of the things tomorrow or weds and be married the same day and be baptized shortly thereafter! Busisiwe got work off on Sundays and will now be bale to come very week! We also got to teach DaCosta while she was gone at work on Saturday and it was great! We had to teach him very simply and and I got practice a lot of my French. Who knew that I could teach somebody in French?? Heavenly Father was sure helpin me out. I hope we get to start teaching DaCosta much more often. I love that guy! He is such a great father. We met a couple times out front of his house fixing a car and his daughter Mimi was always there helping him out. Every where he goes she follows him around and holds his hand. One day he's gonna baptize her when she turns 8! She's 3 right now.
And the last happy thing of the week, Sara got her mission call!! Yes you already knew that but EXCITING!!!! Argentina! That was my guess too ;) I'm so excited for her and can't wait for her also to be serving! Glad to hear that Nate is gettin on it too! Andrew McFarlane is home. I was thinking about him the other week and I thought he was home so thanks for letting me know!
Okay my mind is running blank but I hope you have another great week! Smile lots and always be good examples!
Love you all!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Monday, February 18, 2013
More Baptisms!!!
Area- Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #67
Good afternoon!
A new iPad? You cheese boy!! haha. Sounds like everybody had a nice valentines day! good deal. We also taught Busisiwe and DaCosta about marriage on valentines day so maybe we also had a good Valentines day? ;D Busisiwe was not able to come to church this week again cause of work but DaCosta came again! He loves it! This time he was asking questions and giving answers in class! We went to visit DaCosta's cousin last night who we have been trying to visit for a month now, cause we met him while we were teaching Busisiwe one night, and while we were visiting he told us that Busisiwe got Sunday off and instead she is gonna work on like Tuesday or something so we are super excited for that! he said that the boss never lets people change days or get a day off but he did for her! What a blessing!!
Thanks for the preaching dad! I enjoyed it. You could go make a church and be the richest man in South Africa! But I will be praying for you, definitely. Heavenly father blesses those who keep his commandments and have righteous desires. Like you! ;)
This week we were able to have the baptism for Charles! His cousin Sandile baptized him and it was great! It was Sandile's first time to perform a baptism so he was really nervous and he did mess up a bit. the first time he did it perfect but then Charles didn't go all the way under and that's when he got really nervous. Afterwards he was out teaching with us and felt really bad and wanted to go home and so we had to talk to him and tell him that it was no problem that it didn't go perfectly. In the end it was good and Charles was baptized. I even told him about Elder Jenkinson baptizing somebody 10 times and then finally just swiping his feet so he would go under all the way. He still felt bad so we are gonna see how he feels on Tuesday. But Charles was happy! His mom even came with his little brother for the entire church service and she was talking and making comments in class and all that so I think she really enjoyed and maybe this will soften her up so that we can be able to teach her!
Wilson was not able to be baptized this Sunday because of some marriage issues. In Zimbabwe people usually just get married tribally and don't register it with the government. It has to be a marriage recognized by the government in order for someone to be baptized so we didn't know that until Saturday night. Bishop could have got him married legally that night or even the next morning but they needed to have a letter from the embassy saying that each of them, Wilson and his wife Mary, have never been married before in their own country. So that's gonna get done this week and then Wilson will be bale to be baptized this coming Sunday! Wilson came to church with a white shirt and tie yesterday and then after church we went to visit him and Tau and we taught them about eternal marriage. They both loved it and it strengthened their testimonies incredibly. We taught first about being sealed and then about baptisms for the dead cause Wilson had a son who passed away. Then Wilson asked, "So there are baptisms for the dead and we can also be sealed to our families in the temple, can we also be sealed for our grandparents, etc?" Great question! haha. When you use the expression blown away you need to have in mind the reaction Wilson was having at the end of the lesson. He was physically and spiritually blown away, especially his face showed it(remember he's the one who makes funny faces when he feels the spirit).
I guess that's the highlights of the week! Things are going very well and there are once again gonna be so many people getting ready for baptism right after I leave that I'm gonna have to miss! Why does it always happen that way??
Have a wonderful week! I love you family!!
-Elder Dirkmaat
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #67
Good afternoon!
A new iPad? You cheese boy!! haha. Sounds like everybody had a nice valentines day! good deal. We also taught Busisiwe and DaCosta about marriage on valentines day so maybe we also had a good Valentines day? ;D Busisiwe was not able to come to church this week again cause of work but DaCosta came again! He loves it! This time he was asking questions and giving answers in class! We went to visit DaCosta's cousin last night who we have been trying to visit for a month now, cause we met him while we were teaching Busisiwe one night, and while we were visiting he told us that Busisiwe got Sunday off and instead she is gonna work on like Tuesday or something so we are super excited for that! he said that the boss never lets people change days or get a day off but he did for her! What a blessing!!
Thanks for the preaching dad! I enjoyed it. You could go make a church and be the richest man in South Africa! But I will be praying for you, definitely. Heavenly father blesses those who keep his commandments and have righteous desires. Like you! ;)
This week we were able to have the baptism for Charles! His cousin Sandile baptized him and it was great! It was Sandile's first time to perform a baptism so he was really nervous and he did mess up a bit. the first time he did it perfect but then Charles didn't go all the way under and that's when he got really nervous. Afterwards he was out teaching with us and felt really bad and wanted to go home and so we had to talk to him and tell him that it was no problem that it didn't go perfectly. In the end it was good and Charles was baptized. I even told him about Elder Jenkinson baptizing somebody 10 times and then finally just swiping his feet so he would go under all the way. He still felt bad so we are gonna see how he feels on Tuesday. But Charles was happy! His mom even came with his little brother for the entire church service and she was talking and making comments in class and all that so I think she really enjoyed and maybe this will soften her up so that we can be able to teach her!
Wilson was not able to be baptized this Sunday because of some marriage issues. In Zimbabwe people usually just get married tribally and don't register it with the government. It has to be a marriage recognized by the government in order for someone to be baptized so we didn't know that until Saturday night. Bishop could have got him married legally that night or even the next morning but they needed to have a letter from the embassy saying that each of them, Wilson and his wife Mary, have never been married before in their own country. So that's gonna get done this week and then Wilson will be bale to be baptized this coming Sunday! Wilson came to church with a white shirt and tie yesterday and then after church we went to visit him and Tau and we taught them about eternal marriage. They both loved it and it strengthened their testimonies incredibly. We taught first about being sealed and then about baptisms for the dead cause Wilson had a son who passed away. Then Wilson asked, "So there are baptisms for the dead and we can also be sealed to our families in the temple, can we also be sealed for our grandparents, etc?" Great question! haha. When you use the expression blown away you need to have in mind the reaction Wilson was having at the end of the lesson. He was physically and spiritually blown away, especially his face showed it(remember he's the one who makes funny faces when he feels the spirit).
I guess that's the highlights of the week! Things are going very well and there are once again gonna be so many people getting ready for baptism right after I leave that I'm gonna have to miss! Why does it always happen that way??
Have a wonderful week! I love you family!!
-Elder Dirkmaat
Monday, February 11, 2013
Heita from South Africa!
Area- Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #66
Hola Hola!
Heita from South Africa! How's it goin'?? :D
Those tires are pretty rad Nate! Trickin' that thing out!
Thanks for the picture of Amber, I had a dream about her last night! hahaha That was the same dream that there was a huge cobra and I couldn't get out of my bed in the morning cause I thought it was gonna be underneath the bed! SO glad I have not seen a snake in Africa yet.
This week has been pretty Ngca! haha. I guess I'll have to teach you how to say that when I get home!
No I'm not training somebody else yet. My companion is still Elder Wilkinson until March 6th most likely. Then I will go to a new area and stay a normal missionary, train again, or be a district leader. You never know!
So this week Sister Busisiwe got a job and she works Fri, Sat, Sun.... Pesky little Satan! But her husband DaCosta still came to church with their daughter and he brought a friend! Sweet deal! We are gonna go visit them tomorrow night and hopefully he will be home from work on time so that we can also teach him. We have still not taught him anything even though Busisiwe has been teaching him everything and reading the pamphlets with him. I am super excited for their future cause it looks bright! Brother Wilson and Charles are planning on being baptized this coming Sunday which is super exciting. Charles has been waiting for 6 months! And Wilson is just chuggin' along gaining a powerful testimony just like his friend Tau did 2 months ago! The ward is super excited for all the baptisms that we are having and just like I said last week, they are getting more and more involved every week. We brought Brother Kisten teaching to Sister Busisiwe and last week he went up to her husband and said "How are you doing Brother DaCosta?" and made friends with him even though they had never met. This week he walked all the way to the back of the chapel before going to class to make sure that he got to talk to him again. Love it when members make friends with the investigators! So now we have 2 investigators that did not previously have jobs and now do but they both work on Sundays!! Michael also got a job this week. He works every day 7 - 6 and only makes 1,000 rand a month.... He is happy to have something! Brother Tau also has a similar situation but he managed to get Sunday off so hopefully Michael and Busisiwe can do the same.
Francis gave a talk yesterday during sacrament meeting and we didn't even know about it! haha. We walked in and saw him sitting on the stand and he looked super nervous. His eyes were huge and he just looked really funny. But he gave a powerful talk about standing in holy places. It was nice to hear that. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood and so he will get to pass the sacrament next Sunday. Francis is such a great guy and I am so happy for the opportunity to be able to have taught him and Stewart and Tau. They are powerful spiritual giants! We have been meeting many Ghanaian's the past little while and so we are gonna try to bring Stewart with us to teach them. Yesterday we had him walk with one of them, Brother Godson. Godson is a pastor for God's Oracle Power Ministry International. It is his own church from Ghana and he is here trying to organize it in South Africa. It is difficult to teach a pastor cause they find a way to agree with everything you teach and still back themselves up and not have to admit to the truth. I hope that being at church and seeing how it works will help! He likes to go to the churches where they play drums and loud music and everybody prays at the same time and they all "speak in tongues" and is just crazy. He commented and said that our church was very orderly. Which made me think of the scripture or the quote that says the house of the Lord is a house of order, it just helped build my testimony of how 100% true The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is!
Along with visits to the people of Ghana they have given us new names. According to the day you were born you have a certain name along with your other names. Since I was born on Wednesday, I am Kwaku. Here are the names for the rest of the days, male first and female following: Mon - Kojo and Adwoa Tues - Kwabena and Abena Weds - Kwaku and Akua Thurs - Yaw and Yaa Fri - Kofi and Afia Sat- Kwame and Ama Sun - Kwesi and Akosua. Let me know what your names are!
Well that's all for the week for now. I wish I was like Elder Wilkinson and could think and write fast and have like 2 pages done by now! haha, Oh well.
have a great week! I love you all!
- Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Companion- Elder Wilkinson
Letter #66
Hola Hola!
Heita from South Africa! How's it goin'?? :D
Those tires are pretty rad Nate! Trickin' that thing out!
Thanks for the picture of Amber, I had a dream about her last night! hahaha That was the same dream that there was a huge cobra and I couldn't get out of my bed in the morning cause I thought it was gonna be underneath the bed! SO glad I have not seen a snake in Africa yet.
This week has been pretty Ngca! haha. I guess I'll have to teach you how to say that when I get home!
No I'm not training somebody else yet. My companion is still Elder Wilkinson until March 6th most likely. Then I will go to a new area and stay a normal missionary, train again, or be a district leader. You never know!
So this week Sister Busisiwe got a job and she works Fri, Sat, Sun.... Pesky little Satan! But her husband DaCosta still came to church with their daughter and he brought a friend! Sweet deal! We are gonna go visit them tomorrow night and hopefully he will be home from work on time so that we can also teach him. We have still not taught him anything even though Busisiwe has been teaching him everything and reading the pamphlets with him. I am super excited for their future cause it looks bright! Brother Wilson and Charles are planning on being baptized this coming Sunday which is super exciting. Charles has been waiting for 6 months! And Wilson is just chuggin' along gaining a powerful testimony just like his friend Tau did 2 months ago! The ward is super excited for all the baptisms that we are having and just like I said last week, they are getting more and more involved every week. We brought Brother Kisten teaching to Sister Busisiwe and last week he went up to her husband and said "How are you doing Brother DaCosta?" and made friends with him even though they had never met. This week he walked all the way to the back of the chapel before going to class to make sure that he got to talk to him again. Love it when members make friends with the investigators! So now we have 2 investigators that did not previously have jobs and now do but they both work on Sundays!! Michael also got a job this week. He works every day 7 - 6 and only makes 1,000 rand a month.... He is happy to have something! Brother Tau also has a similar situation but he managed to get Sunday off so hopefully Michael and Busisiwe can do the same.
Francis gave a talk yesterday during sacrament meeting and we didn't even know about it! haha. We walked in and saw him sitting on the stand and he looked super nervous. His eyes were huge and he just looked really funny. But he gave a powerful talk about standing in holy places. It was nice to hear that. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood and so he will get to pass the sacrament next Sunday. Francis is such a great guy and I am so happy for the opportunity to be able to have taught him and Stewart and Tau. They are powerful spiritual giants! We have been meeting many Ghanaian's the past little while and so we are gonna try to bring Stewart with us to teach them. Yesterday we had him walk with one of them, Brother Godson. Godson is a pastor for God's Oracle Power Ministry International. It is his own church from Ghana and he is here trying to organize it in South Africa. It is difficult to teach a pastor cause they find a way to agree with everything you teach and still back themselves up and not have to admit to the truth. I hope that being at church and seeing how it works will help! He likes to go to the churches where they play drums and loud music and everybody prays at the same time and they all "speak in tongues" and is just crazy. He commented and said that our church was very orderly. Which made me think of the scripture or the quote that says the house of the Lord is a house of order, it just helped build my testimony of how 100% true The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is!
Along with visits to the people of Ghana they have given us new names. According to the day you were born you have a certain name along with your other names. Since I was born on Wednesday, I am Kwaku. Here are the names for the rest of the days, male first and female following: Mon - Kojo and Adwoa Tues - Kwabena and Abena Weds - Kwaku and Akua Thurs - Yaw and Yaa Fri - Kofi and Afia Sat- Kwame and Ama Sun - Kwesi and Akosua. Let me know what your names are!
Well that's all for the week for now. I wish I was like Elder Wilkinson and could think and write fast and have like 2 pages done by now! haha, Oh well.
have a great week! I love you all!
- Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Apply the Gospel in Your Life
Area - Johannesburg, South Africa
Companion - Elder Wilkinson
Letter #65
HAHAHA YES I AM GOING CRAZY WAITING FOR THAT CALL (for Sara Newman)!!!! It seems like I'm gonna have no friends when I get home cause they are all gonna be on mission. Lucky you mama!! Or lucky school ha. So excited to hear where everybody is going though, especially Sara. Nate tells me that I don't get to know where he is going until like June. That camp-out looks like it was way fun! Guess what!? I get to go next time!! I love that Sophie was the one enjoying the off-roading and the scouts were the ones that were scared! hahaha. She's still a girly girl but she's a tough one!
The work is going very well!! Busisiwe and Wilson are on fire not me! haha. We have taught Busisiwe basically everything now and she is ready! Except for one thing...Her and her "husband" are not married. EISH. They are gonna talk to the bishop and he said he can get them married easily. The only problem is that they were lazy and didn't do the paper work. ALSO, her husband, DaCosta, doesn't really like church much. He had some bad experiences in the past with other churches BUT, on Saturday we knew that they were moving so we came to help them and he was so thankful that we came. If we hadn't it would have taken them a few hours but instead it only took like 2. The next day he came to church with her! He looked so good in those nice clothes. Would have never guessed that he was a mechanic and loved to drink all weekend. Made me happy!!
Maggy and MacDonald are having a super rough time right now. They did get kicked out of their flat today and they have nowhere to go. We asked bishop if he could help them out someway and so we have to call him straight after this to see what happened. They haven't been to church for 3 weeks cause Maggy is working overtime everyday and every weekend and MacDonald is still looking for work. It's sad when things happen cause I have no idea what I could do. I know what I could if I was not a missionary... We basically have to hope that the members are willing to help. When we went to visit them one of the children said that they had just returned from town and that they were at church. I don't think the parents heard but that makes me worried cause it means that they are turning somewhere else and they don't feel we can help. The gospel of Jesus Christ will help everyone in every situation but only if they apply it. That's the part they aren't doing. WE shall see what happens and we will not give up on them!
In other news, we no longer live in the student housing next to UJ. We now live in a cheese boy area on the opposite side of Joburg in an area called Bruma and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!! So happy to get out of those other flats and not have distractions like parties and drinking and loud music. Now it's peace and quiet, the flat is bigger AND nicer AND safer AND more convenient AND the same price. It's just ngca ;) Can you say that?
Not much else but know that I love you family! It's such a great experience to be here in Africa serving the Lord and I am so grateful for the support that I have from you! Be safe and be good examples to every one you meet!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Companion - Elder Wilkinson
Letter #65
HAHAHA YES I AM GOING CRAZY WAITING FOR THAT CALL (for Sara Newman)!!!! It seems like I'm gonna have no friends when I get home cause they are all gonna be on mission. Lucky you mama!! Or lucky school ha. So excited to hear where everybody is going though, especially Sara. Nate tells me that I don't get to know where he is going until like June. That camp-out looks like it was way fun! Guess what!? I get to go next time!! I love that Sophie was the one enjoying the off-roading and the scouts were the ones that were scared! hahaha. She's still a girly girl but she's a tough one!
The work is going very well!! Busisiwe and Wilson are on fire not me! haha. We have taught Busisiwe basically everything now and she is ready! Except for one thing...Her and her "husband" are not married. EISH. They are gonna talk to the bishop and he said he can get them married easily. The only problem is that they were lazy and didn't do the paper work. ALSO, her husband, DaCosta, doesn't really like church much. He had some bad experiences in the past with other churches BUT, on Saturday we knew that they were moving so we came to help them and he was so thankful that we came. If we hadn't it would have taken them a few hours but instead it only took like 2. The next day he came to church with her! He looked so good in those nice clothes. Would have never guessed that he was a mechanic and loved to drink all weekend. Made me happy!!
Maggy and MacDonald are having a super rough time right now. They did get kicked out of their flat today and they have nowhere to go. We asked bishop if he could help them out someway and so we have to call him straight after this to see what happened. They haven't been to church for 3 weeks cause Maggy is working overtime everyday and every weekend and MacDonald is still looking for work. It's sad when things happen cause I have no idea what I could do. I know what I could if I was not a missionary... We basically have to hope that the members are willing to help. When we went to visit them one of the children said that they had just returned from town and that they were at church. I don't think the parents heard but that makes me worried cause it means that they are turning somewhere else and they don't feel we can help. The gospel of Jesus Christ will help everyone in every situation but only if they apply it. That's the part they aren't doing. WE shall see what happens and we will not give up on them!
In other news, we no longer live in the student housing next to UJ. We now live in a cheese boy area on the opposite side of Joburg in an area called Bruma and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!! So happy to get out of those other flats and not have distractions like parties and drinking and loud music. Now it's peace and quiet, the flat is bigger AND nicer AND safer AND more convenient AND the same price. It's just ngca ;) Can you say that?
Not much else but know that I love you family! It's such a great experience to be here in Africa serving the Lord and I am so grateful for the support that I have from you! Be safe and be good examples to every one you meet!
-Elder Bobby Dirkmaat :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)