Missionary Miracles

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #87

Hey there family!

Well this week was awesome. Let me just share a little miracle that happened.

President Omer always tells us that if we are not experiencing miracles in our service then we are living far below our privileges and abilities as His chosen servants. How cool is that?? We are entitled to see miracles as a result of our diligence and faithfulness. This week we experienced a miracle. It's funny that they always happen to others and due to the changes that they make, and we are just there to help them along the way. anyway, Bantu was watching SABC (a news channel/tv show channel) and he saw a program about the Mormons. He got really interested and looked it up online, found a chapel in Centurion(Del Mar to Encinitas is the same as Centurion to Pretoria), drove to it the next day and found the groundskeeper who told him to come back the next morning, so he did. When he got there he found some members and one of them took the time to talk to him and show him around the chapel. The member called us and gave us his details. We called him and were in his home that evening. He told us that he has been searching for the truth since 2005(?) when he became a christian and hasn't been able to find it. His son was there as well and had the same feelings. He had already read about Joseph Smith online and knew a lot and told us that he feels like he has finally found the right place. We went back on Saturday and he was already into 2nd Nephi and before we even started the lesson he said, "Guys I am going to be baptized in this church. Do you know when I will be baptized? Let me tell you. Joseph Smith received the plates of gold on the 22nd of September. I was born on the 22nd of September which was a Sunday. This year I am turning 50 and it will be a Sunday. i want to be baptized on the 22nd of September." then he asked if it was alright and of course we said yes. As we were teaching the lesson his son asked how he can know if these things are true and Bantu told him. "Son, you must pray about it and ask God to show you. that's what Joseph Smith did, that's what I did, that's what these Elders have done." He bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon and it was almost like we had a member present lesson. THEN when he came to church on Sunday he received more fellowship from the members than I have ever seen my entire mission! He came a couple mins late and sat next to the relief society president during Sacrament and met the Bishop, High Priest Group Leader, and Stake Patriarch before we even got to him from across the chapel! Before the end of the three hours he had met the entire bishopric and the Elders Quorum President. He was the happiest guy on Earth!

Miracles are real and hopefully they are happening often in our lives! They don't have to be big ones but the ones that really matter are the ones that change hearts and give testimonies and opportunities. They always happen at the right time and for the right reason. Remember what we learn from the Book of Mormon. i can't look it up so it's gonna be off a bit... "Have miracles ceased? I say unto you nay. And if they have wo be unto the children of men for it is by faith that miracles are wrought." That's probably a terrible paraphrase but that's the jist of it!

I love being a missionary and seeing things like this. When somebody is prepared and is bale to receive a testimony of the truth is something amazing. I know that the gospel is true and that it has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ is our saviour and Heavenly Father loves us so much that he sent His son to atone for us and allow us the opportunity to return and live with Him in eternal happiness!

Have fantastic week! Stay Classy! Love ya!

-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Bok & Fowl on the Golf Course!

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #87

Hey there!

So I guess you got both of my emails from last week. Good Deal. A new Bishopric eh? That's sweet! Now everybody is different than when I left! I remember that there was talk of splitting the wards again, is that still a possibility? Or was there never even talk of that? ha.

A couple weeks ago you asked if I was at the activity in Kwa Guqa. No I was not, we only get to go there like twice in a transfer. Cool fact though... The bishop there is from France. He served here and came back to marry a girl and now they live in the township that she grew up in. He is a super chef and cooked us some nice lasagna when we went there a month ago.

That was a sweet experience that Br. Holmes had! Miracles are always happening! This week we were super excited for Mona Lisa. She had some plans for the weekend but we really had to have an interview for her baptism and it is really important not to miss church the couple weeks before your baptism. She decided that her baptism was important enough that she could change her plans and travel to Joburg after her baptism and confirmation. Well, we were able to have the interview and she was solid of course but then there were transport issues on Sunday and she wasn't able to make it. Such a bummer when things like that happen. We haven't been able to visit her yet but we are probably gonna have to postpone her baptism to August.

Even though we don't have many people to teach we still have awesome people to teach! Mona Lisa is almost done with the Book of Mormon for the Second time and has started doing her home showings on Saturday instead of Sunday (She is a Realtor). Lesego is committed to be baptized in August as well. We taught him the Law of Chastity this week and he said it will be difficult but that he can do it. Obviously that is a huge problem with people his age these days so he doesn't have much support but he says he will do it. He met with the Bishop on Sunday and Bishop took off the tie he was wearing and gave it to Lesego, it was even one of his favorites! Maybe it was his reward for wearing a white shirt and taking out his earrings ha. William is still powerful even though we still don't have a way for him to get to church on Sunday. We have a Kilometer limit so we were not able to make it to visit him this week but when we told him he said he will do his best to continue learning and reading on his own and that his biggest concern was that he wants to come to church so that he can unite himself with the church of Christ and be of service to Him. The guy in our ward who stays close to him is also having difficulties coming to church cause of the tough economic times and has to work on Sundays right now. I really hope and pray that we can figure something out soon! 

Sophie,. I haven't seen many interesting animals lately cause I'm in the suburbs but, we did go golfing today and there were some Gemsbok and Springbok and one other Bok and some Guinea Fowl on the course! How cool is that!?

Gemsbok

Springbok

Guinea Fowl

Ollie: I have had many doors slammed in my face! This week a guy drove by, stopped, reversed, rolled down his window and I said "Hallo, Oogandit?" and he said "You guys need to take your funny nonsense somewhere else! You don't believe in the Bible! You are in a false church!" I think it is hilarious when people do that. I wish it was possible to talk to them, I try, but they are just too full of anger and all I can do is laugh when they are gone. This must be the ONLY true church on the face of the earth if Satan puts so much effort into filling peoples hearts with anger only against us. I probs won't be able to get you a parrot. I can't believe you still remember that! Honestly, I only said that so you would stop crying your face off. ;) But I'll see what I can do. I'm not sure how many I've baptized. I have a list of all the names and addresses so when i get home I'll show it to ya and you can count it. Deal? 

One more thing, we finally got the idea of teaching members the lessons in their homes down! We passed out a sheet and people signed up that we will visit this week and even when Elder Bricknell came and taught priesthood last week he told us that instead of sharing spiritual thoughts after dinner we will teach short lessons. It's pretty sweet and we have enjoyed it! Hopefully this will work for us to be able to get more referrals! We got to teach 3 this past week. 

Well that's all I've got. Oh, I got the package! Thank you! The Eggo's were destroyed and completely rotten but everything else was great. Still enjoying it! 

Love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Ek is dors! Kan ek water kry?

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #86

Hey there!

So the subject is my phrase of the week. I have a small book that gives some phrases in Afrikaans and for some reason that is the phrase that I could remember the most. It means, "I am thirsty. Can I have some water?" 

It's been a pretty good time here in Pretoria. We could possibly have 2 baptisms by the end of this month for Mona Lisa and Lesego! Mona Lisa had a difficult time coming to church for the first few weeks I was here but now she has come three times and we are planning to have her baptism on the 28th. When we taught her the word of wisdom a while back we found out that she was doing 3 of the five no-no's and we thought it was gonna be a huge challenge but she has completely stopped everything! her biggest problem, used to be smoking but she hasn't had a cigarette for a month now! Powerful! Yesterday at church we saw her talking to like 5 or 6 different people and it seems like she is really becoming apart of the ward now which is awesome. Lesego is also gonna be ready for the 28th. He is really serious about deciding if this is the right thing for him and last time seemed like a tuning point in his decision. He let us know that he was really scared that he was signing a contract with God, which is correct, but the thing he is scared of is if he makes a mistake after baptism. He felt like he had to be perfect and no longer mess up otherwise he would be "fired" immediately. We helped him understand and it really eased him. We helped him understand that repentance is a continuing process for the rest of our lives and that if he messes up it is not the end of the world. I think all of his mistakes and things he knew he had to work on started to pile up and he got overwhelmed with it all. I'm glad that he was able to understand. He is a powerful young man and I know that he is definitely on the path of conversion. Sometimes he tells us how sorry he is that he is always asking questions and tings like that and we always tel him how great it is that he does that. It really is a blessing that he will voice his concerns and tell us when he doesn't understand cause there is nothing harder than teaching somebody who has absolutely no concerns and questions and you have no idea whether or not the person is ready.

We got to visit William again yesterday and he was excited again to see us. During the week he asked us if we could get a nice leather quad for him and that he would pay for it. We got it and he said it felt like Christmas when we gave it to him. Right when we got to his house there were some Jehovah's Witnesses leaving and we were kinda worried and thinking, "what is this guy up to now?" We found out that they were just there to visit the owner of the house and she had asked him to sit in the lesson with them. He even asked them what they thought about the Book of Mormon and some other questions that he had asked us last time. Turns out he was not satisfied. He told us that when he talked to that missionary in Durban and when he learns from us it is the first time that anything about the gospel coming from anywhere but the bible has ever made so much perfect sense to him. He really has been prepared to receive the gospel at this time. His only problem is still going to be transport since he stays so far away.

Yesterday we were handing out cards at the robots and a guy drives up and says "How many wives you got?" I was so tempted to say "3, and you wanna know a secret, every time I baptize somebody I get another one." I told him the truth though and it was funny cause he was completely lost for words. The light stayed red for a long time so we got to talk to a few people. I walked by one guy and he didn't take the card and a little bit later he pulled up next to us and started asking us questions and became very interested. He said that he wanted to invite us for coffee one day and talk about the things we told him some more. I said, "sure that would be great, we do this everyday!" Not thinking about the coffee part, and then he says "You do coffee everyday?" oops. I really hope that he calls. His wife was in the car and I think they had 3 young children as well.

I guess that's all for this week. Elder Center and I will be together for another 6 weeks as we just got the news on Saturday. Cool deal!

Have a super week! Jealous I didn't get to go kayaking and snorkeling!!

-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Miracle of the Transfer

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #85

Hey there! the writer that we met is Nico Van Der Merwe. He has a pretty sweet pharmacy business and hearing aid distribution...thing. We are gonna wait maybe another week or 2 before we go back.

I'm just gonna tell you about one happening this week cause it was definitely the best thing that happened.

We got a referral from the temple about 3 or 4 weeks back and we called the guy, his name is William. It turns out that he stays like 100 k's away but there is another member of our ward who stays kind of close by so we figured it's in our area. We tried to make appointments with him but it never worked out cause he got busy and one week he got sick. Finally yesterday we were able to drive out and meet him. We had to follow some pretty crazy directions and we didn't make a single wrong turn and made it there 5 mins before 3(the scheduled time). On the phone he had told that he was very sorry he had to cancel and that he really was very serious about us coming to teach him more about the gospel. So we finally go there and he told us how he found out about the church. This is his story. He was in Durban on business and somebody dropped their carrying bag so he picked it up and ran it over to the guy. When he turned around he saw that the guy had a name tag on and he turned out to be a missionary from our church. he started to ask him some questions and we don't know exactly what they talked about, it was brief only like 5 mins., but something that the elder said really touched his heart and made sense compared with everything that he had read in the Bible. A month later when he was back home he looked up 'Mormons South Africa" on goggle because that was the only ting he could remember. He called the first number and it turned out to be the temple! Finally a month later we got to visit him! We tried to teach him the message of the restoration but he already knew everything! We would share the beginning of one of the points and he would take his Bible and teach us the rest of the point! He knew everything except that the gospel has been restored through Joseph Smith and he basically knew everything about the plan of Salvation except for the spirit world after death and the three degrees of glory. he even knows that we all came here to become Gods like God is a god and that our families area a representation of God's eternal family. this guy knew all of these things and he had only been able to study from the Bible. We gave him a Book of Mormon and i'm sure that when he reads all the things that he has put together already will become so much clearer. He doesn't go to church cause he doesn't feel right about any of them but he says that he has already felt the spirit tell him that the things we are sharing with him are true!

That was our miracle of the transfer. We can get a million doors slammed in our faces and insults thrown at us all day long but for God to lead someone that prepared to find the missionaries throws all the bad things that have happened in the trash to be remembered no more...except the funny ones. I have never felt offended or discouraged about people not accepting our message; it just makes me feel so sorry for them and I always remember that only the elect will receive and even then, the very elect will be deceived. We are sent out to find the 5 percent who will accept. William is one of those 5 percent.

I just got an email from a recent convert in Voslo and at the end he signed "your future missionary". That's what it's all about! :D I've received many emails from recent converts and it always makes my day when they say things like that. So stoked that I've been able to help people become converted to the restored and true gospel of Jesus Christ and that He has given me another opportunity to teach one of his prepared children! Siyabonga! Baie Dankie! Ke a leboga! Merci beaucoup! Muchas Gracias!

I hope that you have a powerful week! Missionary work is the best! I love you!

-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Catch the Wave

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #84

We had a fireside on sunday which we were super excited for but hardly anybody came. At church there were about 150. Then we had a linger longer and about 60 came to that and the fireside was after that and about 50 came to that. The 40 that didn't really even need the kick in the pants. ha. I think I have tracted more this week than any other week of  my mission which has been pretty fun but no results so far. Sorry to be complainy but I promise I am still happy and positive! i am still working and hoping that members will catch the wave and that some things will open up! We are still gonna have 2 baptisms in july or August which is gonna be sweet and we get dinner almost every day! haha. 

We met a famous writer the other day. We tracted his house and he wasn't interested but Elder Center asked him one last question and the guy said, " I have a book for you guys, would you like it? " We said yes and when he came back out with it we traded him for a Book of Mormon. We walked down the street opened it and found his picture and his signature! We are gona read the book and go back and tell we read it. Most of the stuff he wrote about correlates so well with the Book of Mormon and I know if he will read it he will notice and see that it is true! 

Being a zone leader is interesting. When I was a district leader there wasn't really any disobedience or anything but here there are some missionaries that aren't always doing what they are supposed to and it is difficult to set them on the right course. It's a small zone, only 12 missionaries including us.It's not bad things they are doing but just leaving the flat late or getting home really early. A couple of the companionships are not getting along very well and I'm not really too sure how you help a companionship get on except by telling them they need to serve their companions and focus on not doing the things that bug the other guy. We got to go on lots of exchanges the past few weeks which is fun. When we get to go to Kwqa-Guqa it feels like i'm in botswana again. We have to drive 100 kilometres to get there! 

I'm sure that if we just keep on keepin on something will happen and the missionary work will explode. We are going to be passing out the sheet for members to sign up for the missionary lessons next sunday since we had the fireside this sunday. 

Nate's mission is coming up very fast! he's gonna be gone before we all know it! I thought September sounded forever away but it seems close now. 

Well, have a great week! Love ya fam bam!

-Elder Dirkmaat :D

Happy Fathers Day!!

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #83

Hello family!

Thanks for all the stuff that you have shared with me! Isn't the gospel so true! That was a cool video about fathers. On Sunday for priesthood the bishop had us go to the young men's classes to help them prepare to be missionaries. The bishop taught the lesson about being a father and it was interesting how he related the young men's quorum to preparing to be fathers. I always kind of knew it but now I realized it more fully. He said that that's what the young men's quorum is preparing them to be and that they need to pray and work to develop the qualities of the kind of father that God wants us to be. Just like the video said, What better way to do that than by following Heavenly Fathers very example! Happy Fathers Day Dad! :D I heard that it was a great day so I'm happy! haha. You are the best! I love you!

This week was a nice week. We are still having it tough tying to find people to teach. Most of the houses are in gated communities so we can't tract a whole lot. The ward is not too excited about missionary work right now either so we are still working with that. We are gonna have a little fireside on Sunday with some powerful speakers! We are gonna have a linger longer just before it so that lots of people will stay and not have an excuse to go home ;) Another thing that we are gonna do is kind of like what the missionaries did just before I left. Going to teach the families in the ward the first three lessons. I thought that was a cool idea so we are gonna send a sign up sheet around next week.

As we were passing out cards the other day one guy tried to offer me money thinking we were looking for donations or something and another guy offered us a bag of chips which was much needed. We were dying of hunger! More especially Elder Center ha. Passing out cards is pretty fun but sometimes I just get really confused. How can a guy who has a bumper sticker that says "real men follow Jesus" refuse to take a card with a picture of Jesus on it?!?!?!?!? It makes absolutely no sense. I just say to myself when we tract and hand out cards "We are searching for the elect and humble who will accept the gospel." Right now it seems like the bait has been pulled a few times but the hook just hasn't got caught yet. It's close, so close! Did the missionaries there pass out cards? I dunno if they know how to do it cause I've never seen it the way we do it until I came here to SA. I also don't know if it's legal there. ha.

We are teaching Lesego still and he is loving the gospel more and more every time we go visit him. In church he is starting to ask lots of questions. He's one of those people that you can just tell he is learning so much compared to those people who just listen to you and nod their head. There is lots of work to do in this area and hopefully I will have more stories for you!

That's all I really have for this week. I know that the gospel is true. Nobody can tell me otherwise. I am so thankful that i have an awesome family like you to support me and help me to be where I am now! Keep safe and always share your testimony! There are missionary opportunities everywhere you go!

I love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat. :D

Oogandit?

Area- Pretoria, South Africa
Companion- Elder Center
Letter #82

Oogandit?

Hey there! I hope you have a super time at Big Bear! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! tomorrow. I can't believe you've still not taken me snowboarding... :P Ha. It's fine, when I get back I'll just go without ya! jk, I won't go without ya cause that would be boring.

The stake challenge sounds really cool! I'll try to do it as well. I can't start over reading the BOM though. I only have 4 books left! In our stake we are doing the 40 day fast idea that you told me about. Just before I got here the ward mission leader suggested it so Elder Center and I and the Bishop had planned to start it June 30th and have a fireside to kick it off June 23rd. Then the ward mission leader got called as the stake mission rep and he told the idea to the Stake Pres and he wanted to take it over and do it for the entire stake! It's pretty exciting and I hope we have as much success as you did! The stake mission leader is a guy from Louisiana that is here in a contract to build a power-plant. He's here with his whole family, wife and 2 kids, and they are a huge blessing to this ward and stake! There are some other American families in the ward but they don't come to church and I haven't even met them yet. It's sad to hear that. We are still having a hard time finding more people to teach but we have upped our lesson total of 3 my first week to 7 this week!

We went to a fair to help a member setup their daughters booth my first Friday here and we met a cool family. This guy walked up to us and said "Hello Elders! How are you?" Obviously we were surprised and we talked to him for a bit and found out that his parents had joined the church when he was young and he went to church up until he was like 16 i think and then he stopped. He told us that he would love for us to come visit him one day when we are in the area just to get a cool drink or a bite to eat but not to teach ha. So on Saturday we went to his place and he was there and we got to have a cool drink and talk to him for a bit and get to know him and his wife. They are a really nice family. He says that when he saw us it brought back memories of when the Elders used to come to his house and all the good times that they had and so he wanted us to come and hopes that his kids could also have some of the same memories. We enjoyed the visit a lot but there was only one problem. He said towards the end after he invited us to dinner the next week that we can come and visit all we want but he doesn't want to hear the gospel. That he has been there and heard it and he knows all about it. he says we can answer his kids questions and all that but we cannot start discussions of the gospel. :( Then his wife said something like Well i would love to debate with you and talk about your views. He told us that she debated with his parents when they go visit him. We were super bummed when they said these things cause they are a family that would love the gospel if they were willing to accept it. They have 3 beautiful children, a wonderful place to live in and are so kind to the missionaries. Just not the gospel. We will continue to visit them and see what we can do but it's more of a situation where they need a good friend in the church who is always there and eventually they start to ask their questions and see the truth of the message we share years later.

We are teaching another guy, Lesego, who is 20 years old. He lives with his parents who are both members and his mother is a fairly recent convert. the only reason he was not baptized is cause he was away at boarding school when she received the gospel. He loves to learn from us and asks tons of questions. We can really tell that he has a sincere desire to learn the restored gospel. The only problem is that I hope he will be able to dedicate himself to reading the BOM as much as he has dedicated himself to gaming!

It's weird to be in this area still. We had more dinner/lunch appointments than we had lessons ha. I still have to get used to being around so many white people.

The future looks fantastic though! We are slowly building the area back up!

Have super week!
I love you!
-Elder Dirkmaat :D