Farmer Peterson is Moving to a New "Field"!

Well I guess Farmer Peterson planted enough seeds in this area that I am ready to go somewhere new! I am going to Amanzimtoti!! It is about 15 mins outside of Durban and right on the coast! Going to be so warm and sunny and fantastic! (Thanks for sending the coat mom but now I might not need it.. haha) My new companion will be Elder Gonzales who is from the states somewhere and supposed to be really really cool! I am so excited! Elder Halford served in Amanzimtoti right before here and says he absolutely loved it the best of all his areas! Going to be a great time there! Also Elder Makande will be my ZL there which means I will get to see him all the time!!! Too much excited! Elder Halford is going to Newlands which is Durban as well. There are 6 of us leaving Bloem and all riding together on the bus to wherever. We leave tonight at 8pm and arrive Tuesday morning at about 6am. Not looking forward to that though. But really, prayers answered! 

But this last week has been pretty lame honestly. Not much progress has been happening and not much productive finding either. But I can share about some of the things we did. So on Monday after emailing we went to a place called Naval Hill and started chasing giraffes, zebras, and deer through the savanah! I am sending pics now too. But today I really felt like I was in africa! We went charging through the bush chasing the animals and it was seriously so funny and so much fun! Giraffes run in like slow motion and its hilarious!! Oh good times.

So during the week we just got bunked like crazy, like I had 3 days in a row where every single appointment bunked us... How does that even happen?????? So we tracted lots, talked to lots of people, and just tried to keep busy all day long. Not much happened really. Sunday we went to Thaba Nchu to have a baptism. The other elders baptized a girl named Pulang. There is no water at our building so we packed the youth in Ntate Mnessa's taxi and drove to the chapel! It was a very nice service and I was asked to conduct. She will be a great member and she bore a powerful testimony. After we went cruising to try and say goodbye to as many people as we could and take pics. I had no idea I was leaving and wasn't expecting it so I only got to see like half the people I probably would have but thats alright. We will go back someday and I will see them again! Mostly the ones I will miss the most are the Mababe Family who feed us every Thursday and were like my family away from home, Tapello and Thato who are the Less Actives that are getting reactivated and we would bake with them all the time, and the Madibo family who is the Branch President. The two little daughters are absolutely hilarious and the littlest one was my best friend and would have to sit by me at church and any time we went over there. She doesn't speak any english other than "Missionary" and she can count from 1-26 and only skips 23 haha. Great area with tons of great people but I wasn't around long enough to really grow super close to many of them. So the pics on Dropbox have some of the people. The baptism is Ntate Mnessa and Pulang, then its me and my companion with Rihanna, then a couple pics of the ThabaNchabelo district Elders Merile, Jones, Okurut, Halford, Sarai, and me. Then its me with the Sehloho family which is Tapello and Thato, then its the Rampi family who was in the other area but they love missionaries and gave me a cup to remember them, then its the Seleke family who is the only mme that ever gave us a referral to teach anyone! The younger little guy always says, "Chicks man!" haha, and its the Madibo Family who is President. The little little one is my best friend and is super adorable, then its Sam who is the counselor in the branch who's a big joker, then its me on the couch with Kiketso, Mpho, Nthabeleng, and Mme who are less actives that come once in a while but are always wanting us to come visit. Very nice family. Then its, Mababe Family who is the best in the whole branch! Then its Pulang and her younger sisters whose names are seriously, Beautiful Stone, and Star. Haha awful names but nice kids.

But really I worked my butt off in this area and I was getting tired! But I am so so thankful to be going to the new area and to be going to the coast! Also means I will get to learn Zulu! Which is the fun language with all the clicks! So very excited for that one! Gotta learn to bare my testimony in Zulu obviously! Going to be a whole new world that side and I am ready to get a new start and really work hard! Also weird to think I am 7 1/2 months! What the??? Have a good week everyone and I hope you enjoy the photos! Love you all!

Elder Peterson

Snow in South Africa & Planting Seeds

Hello from the Frozen South!! 

Ok I was totally joking about winter being here a few weeks back but seriously this week got freezing! It snowed on Thursday thats how cold it was!!! I wear my shirt, a sweater, and my big coat and still freeeeeeze! My companion from Kenya hates his life mostly hahaha. It also sucks because all the houses are made out of cement blocks not wood and insulation so the houses are refrigerators! It is warmer out in the wind and snow than in the houses! Its awful! And people don't have money for heaters so they just lay in bed all day under blankets and don't move. This whole week people would bunk because they wouldn't open the door... We could hear them and sometimes talk to them but they wouldn't open the door and get off the couch... Gonna be a long winter here! But other than being a human ice cube all week, its been a decent week. I forgot to right down everything so I am just going to share some of the more important stuff.

So we have been trying to go back to former investigators that missionaries used to teach and see what we can find. We meet a lady and just started talking and she was telling us about just her life and how she was remodeling her house, working overtime, she was home alone with her kids, and just kind of everything. She mentioned about how the missionaries left her a Book of Mormon and she didn't know what it was. We very casually talked about it while she was cleaning and she stopped and just listened for a bit. She said she really wanted to read it so we left her a chapter and took off. She is very cool.

We meet a younger couple named the Myeko Family that was taught a little in December. We went over and they were asking about the Book of Mormon as well. We started explaining it and she said, "This makes the Bible make sense!" We kind of laughed but were just saying yes, yes it does!  They both wanted to read it too! Very nice young family as well.

Thursday was the day of snow! It was absolutely freezing! We went to a Less active named Tapello. He had asked if we could go over and bake some food and talk. So we went over and made brownies (Mom that recipe you sent rocks!) and 6 minute microwave cake. Very delicious food! We talked a lot and he wants to get active again. We are going to start taking him teaching with us and spending time with him so he can come back. If we can't find, might as well reactivate.

So you might remember a lady named Pontsho that we had found my first few weeks in Botshabelo. Well we went back to see her and I was asking her what she remembers. She seriously taught back the entire lesson of the Restoration and even said that she believes Joseph Smith is a prophet. She had the question if Joseph Smith had written any prophecies like the olden day prophets so we explained the Book of Mormon to her. She loved every second! We read on the Introduction where it says it can help men find peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come and she said thats all she wants and if reading the Book of Mormon can do that, then she was going to read it. Power lesson! Just wish we could meet her fiance and her at the same time instead of separate.

Ok, interesting story time. So on friday night we were trying to go to a less active family. I looked through the phone contacts and found the Mojakie family so I called and asked for directions to their house. Ntate told me so we headed that way. We showed up and it was not the Ntate I knew. I awkwardly started a conversation and introduced myself. Then Elder Sarai realized I didn't know these people. We started talking and found out that this was a different Less active family we didn't even know about. We shared a lesson and had a good time then left. At this point I was confused out of my mind! We went to a house number that I had heard was the house. We drove to a different section and knocked on the door. The ntate I actually knew came out and we then had a lesson with them. I was still so confused so trying to be smooth about how I asked, I asked him for his phone number saying we had lost his. I got it. Then I asked him to spell his name. (I don't know his name so I was pulling such a sneaky move.) He spells it out, Morakie! The whole time I thought Mojakie was the Morakie family! Really awkward but hey, we found a less active no one knew about. Power.

Well Sunday was cool. Elder Giddie of the Seventy was at the branch. He talked in Sacrament and gave a little fire about doing hometeaching, taking the sacrament, and some other stuff but it was so powerful! We had some less actives there so it was good for them to hear it.

Today before coming here to email we went to Cheetah Experience! Got to wander around and see and even touch some awesome african cats! Lions, cheetahs, leapords, roicats, panthers, and a bunch of other ones I don't know! It was way cool! I am sending bunch of pics so hopefully you can see some of them! It was awesome!

This week has been pretty good. Freezing, but pretty good. We taught a lot of lessons and although we won't be having our baptisms this week, we are still working hard. The progressing part of everything isn't going too well but I like to think I am the best seed planter in the world! Missionaries in the future are going to thank us when they get to harvest the fruits here! I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

Elder Peterson

Elder Giddie of the Seventy (center)