Hanging in there with the Spirit, and just literally hanging on, perhaps to the roofs edge....

Getting his feet under him, Suiting Up & Serving

hello everyone!

so because i want to email so many of you, i am going to just send everyone an email each week talking about what i did that week, what was good, bad, and awful. i am hoping this will make it easier to get to everyone. i will still talk to everyone individually to answer questions and stuff but most everything will be in this email.

so monday dec 9th was p-day. after emailing all of you we took off to a place called golden gate. it is a small animal reserve type park. i was hoping to see zebras but there werent any. i did get to see some cool deer things that i think were gemsbok. i also saw antelope, buffalo and flamingos. it was a nice little drive and i got some cool pictures.

tuesday we went on exchanges. my companion elder m went to bethlehem and the district leader elder w came to phuthaditjhaba with me. we did a baptism interview for bro c. after we stopped at a home where we got into a bible bash by some pastor. got to love em.

wednesday was a hectic day. elder r is another elder that stays in our boarding. he is companions with elder k and they are in the driving area. well elder r was taking elder w back to bethlehem while me and his companion stayed behind. he got pulled over and taken to prison for not having a valid drivers license. so the couple missionaries had to save the other elders and bail him out. they brought him back to phuthaditjhaba but he is banned from driving. which means now i get to drive! luckily they got an automatic car so i wont die. now i am driving on the left side of the road on some of the worst roads in south africa. its nice!

thursday we painted an investigators house. none of the other elders would climb the sketchy ladder to paint the walls so i had to. im the biggest guy in the group and this ladder is four sticks tied together at the top by some twine! it was a miracle i didnt die!

friday we did our weekly planning which took all morning. after we did tracting. we tracted around an area that has been untouched by missionaries. we actually got to talk to quite a few people and leave pamphlets. we went to one older couple. we showed up and just started talking just casually. we introduced ourselves and the church and they started looking around nervously. we asked what was wrong and they told us about some other guys who had come saying they were children of god trying to share a message but they needed money. those guys ended up robbing the couple. we assured them we weren't robbers and we told them more about ourselves. They really seemed to warm up to us and asked us to come back! hopefully something will happen with them.

Saturday was hectic. we lost bro c  to an alcohol problem the day before his baptism... i was suppose to baptize him on the 15th of Dec. we had 8 appointments and all fell through. we didnt meet a single one. my companion and i were just walking down the road silently when we both just stopped infront of a house. it was one we had gone to before but the people didn't seem interested. we went up just to say hi and they let us in. inside the two sons who were late/mid 30's were there visiting. we talked with them mostly and they were very interested in our message and were both very powerful. they were the exact kind of potential priesthood holders this branch needs. we took their contacts and are hoping to continue teaching them. Sunday everyone was so excited about the baptism but we had to tell everyone it was being postponed... i was just down all day. it was supposed to be such a fantastic day for bro c  but now its gone.... i taught the investigator class about the gifts of the spirit.   everything went well.   after church we went and visited some less active members. i couldnt understand it, they are all so powerful and knowledgeable!    but they dont come because of the branch president who doesnt know his keys or how to lead the church... it has caused many people to leave the church.   Seriously tons say they will come back only when he is released.   its a big problem.

But overall,  it has been a super crazy hectic week but all the chaos did make it go by so fast! its funny, i think back on the week and i remember all the good lessons we had but i didn't remember the bad until i looked at my planner.  There really is so much good and great things happening here. The gospel in africa is exploding!  They all love the message, its just a matter of breaking the bad habits and the cultural customs that is rough. The people are quite prideful about those things. But every day i keep pushing forward. I try my best to follow the mission rules and do everything i can to be the missionary the Lord needs me to be. The work is rough, the days are long, and i come home finished, but it must go on. I only have 23 months left to convert the whole of South Africa! I love you all and couldn't thank you enough for the support! like you always say, :Suit up and Serve!" Love Elder P

Other bits and pieces from individual emails:

I love you so much mom. I cant even describe how thankful i am to have a mother that cared and loved me all my life. Kids here have no parents. Mothers leave them all day and go to the taverns then come home with men and its just bad. So bad. I am so thankful for you and dad and the safe home you raised me in.

I really hate reading these emails. I just start crying in the middle of this crazy internet cafe and everyone just looks at me weird but i dont even care! I really actually have been feeling so so good! Like there are so many disappointing moments, as you will read in my big email, but like my attitude has totally changed! I really just feel pretty great all the time and i enjoy going out and talking with people. Its crazy though because by the end of the day, i am straight finished! like i dont even want to eat! (But i do anyways because i love food) Mission really is so interesting. Its the greatest, its the worst, its the happiest, its the saddest, i dont understand it most the time! But really i feel much better about everything and all is well here in Phuthaditjhaba! But for reals look this place up on google to understand what im talking about here! or look up Qwa-Qwa. Its like the same place. But i really am looking forward to food that isnt rice!! We eat rice covered in hotdogs, onions, and tomatoes like every day. Or sometimes we sub out with some oxtail beef stuff. I was hoping there would be plentiful fruit everywhere but theres really not at all... Im sad... But the juice here is so nice so i kind of get the effect of fruit even though its just straight sugar! You really need to get your christmas up! I even put up my sign you sent me and set up a christmas tree! We play christmas music all the time too. You gotta step up your game... But ive been trying to send emails with pics but it really just doesnt work here! Everywhere i go they just dont work so i am sending home prints of the pics and ill just start sending the chip home. Tell dad i will prob use my card to buy 1 GB cards so i can just send them and not have to worry about losing all of my pics if one card gets lost or broken. Things here are weirdly cheap so hopefully it wont be too big of a deal. Thats about what i have for the moment but i sent that big email so hopefully that will help answer some questions! I love you so much! Tell brenner i love him and miss him as well. The letters are on their way somewhere! Love Elder P

Guys, proceed with caution--when he says "Funny thing" you won't find it funny...

Dad

I really feel like we had the exact same week just on opposite sides of the earth! Mine was crazy hectic and full of all sorts of disappointing and crazy moments but it really was such a quick week. I think i am starting to understand the whole losing yourself in the work and the time goes by quickly thing. I will be honest, the time still seems like it is going to take forever and i will be on mission for the rest of my life, but some days i get home and get ready for bed and it really feels like i just went to bed like 10 minutes earlier.   I hope that makes sense and i dont sound like some crazy guy... But honestly this week i have been feeling so much better about everything.   I was dying and so finished but this last week, i have had such a happy feeling like all week.   Theres been plenty of rough times dont get me wrong, but i still just have peace inside me.   I can tell that i have the spirit with me always.   I really dont think i knew what it felt like to have the spirit as a constant companion but now, being here, it is such a blessing!  I have peace all the time. The people still are racist towards me and there have been some sketchy moments that i will not tell you about until i am home but the whole time i just felt calm and secure.   sounds like all is well in Zion. thats cool you got to go with mom up to temple square and listen to motab and have a super cool date night!   I also hear you have avoided decorating for christmas somehow....? Never thought id see the day... But tell me about the whole job thing with Jacey? She said that she is doing the pretests now? Is this a part time thing? Are you trying to set up for 2 pretesters? I really am thankful that you are helping her out with this.   You will have to let me know what is happening. Overall ive had a pretty good week. The work is going slowly but surely. The food is still mostly just rice and hot dogs. I did see chicken heads and feet but i aint eating that yet! Funny thing though, so here everyone is Sutu. The young men around this time of year head up on top of this mountain and spend like 2 weeks up there. Its like a cultural initiation type thing where they prove they are a man. I guess they go up there and with sticks and rocks they circumcise themselves.... Weird. But my time is up for this week. I will let you know more next week. I love you and i am so thankful for the support you give me. 

Love Elder P

I'm glad all is well there! Tell emerson that uncle ham would love some pictures! i cant remember if i told you or not but i sent some pictures to emerson the other week so hopefully she will get them! Mostly the kids love me now! Like if i walk through a group of them i just get in a huge group hug and just stand there as they flock around me! its interesting with adults though. They will say hello but race is still a big problem here. They will listen when i talk but rarely make eye contact. Once i visit them a handful of times they will warm up to me but its still rough.     We cleaned a bunch, but (the apartment) still has a long way to go before i can shower in peace! The members feed us occasionally but its usually just rice and a small piece of chicken. It really is such a poor place and its so sad to me.