Things are going good here, it has just been slow with the holidays and everything going on. After elections, which are on Wednesday, we should be back to normal and being able to teach more. We only taught like fifteen lessons this last week which was frustrating, but I am sure we will teach a lot more this coming week.
It is my third week with Elder Ramat from Tanzania. It is for sure really different being with a native African, but it is going pretty well. We have some really cool things happening. Mlondolozi's and Siphenanthi's dad, Tata Michael Nake, came to church after we visited with him last week! It was pretty amazing. He knows a lot about the gospel and we hope to help him progress and if he keeps coming to church we will baptize him before I leave!
If everything goes perfectly we will have six more baptisms before I leave at the end of this month. Four of them will be potential Melchizedek priesthood holders. So we are excited about that. This is all us reaping what we have sowed over the past few months. It's pretty nice. The names of the people are Mlondolozi, Derrick, Michael, Lamla, Abigale and Phelisa. So please pray for them that all will go well and they can be baptized on schedule.
I have been really trying to learn Xhosa and take it more seriously. I got a notebook and titled it Xhosa for dummies, so hopefully the stuff that everyone is putting down it it sticks with me! I am learning a lot. I am trying to qualify for the gift of tongues. Because that is probably what it is going to take for me to get fluent in it. I want to memorize the first vision in Xhosa so I can say it to the people we are teaching in lessons. I think it could be pretty powerful.
We have started to do district lunches every day in an effort to keep uniting the district. Elder Mchunu and I have been around each other for going on four and a half months, so we are already really tight, but we wanted to quickly have the other guys feel welcome and a part of the district as well! I really think it is helping! The annoying thing is we always have them at our flat since we have a gas stove, and since it's at our flat we always end up doing the dishes afterwords...
Well three days ago I woke up with a bump on my elbow. Over the past few days it has grown bigger and bigger and there is now a hole in my arm. It's swollen up pretty big and is getting pretty painful. Apparently I was bitten by a South African Sack Spider or something like it. The venom slowly burns through the flesh and destroys the cells. It can get pretty bad I guess. So I am getting taken to the Doctors office in a couple hours to get me some antibiotics or something like that. The Senior couple, the Boyces, are pretty worried about it since it has happened a couple times to other missionaries before. So we will see what ends up happening. I just think it's kind of sweet that I am here in Africa and got bit by a flesh eating spider.
I really don't have too much more to report. It hasn't been raining too bad the past week so there wasn't any more flooding. And hopefully there should be some more cool finding stories next week because we really are going to try to build our teaching pool of investigators. Please pray for those we are preparing for baptism and if anyone you know is preparing for a mission, pray for them to get called to South Africa. It's the best place in the world.
Cheers,
Elder Thayne
Our meal we made, we had no plates so we used frying pans. This is me, elder Ramat and elder mchunu. Elder Maciver took the picture.
Then this is us again with a bunch of avocado's that I climbed up in our tree and fetched the other day.
It is my third week with Elder Ramat from Tanzania. It is for sure really different being with a native African, but it is going pretty well. We have some really cool things happening. Mlondolozi's and Siphenanthi's dad, Tata Michael Nake, came to church after we visited with him last week! It was pretty amazing. He knows a lot about the gospel and we hope to help him progress and if he keeps coming to church we will baptize him before I leave!
If everything goes perfectly we will have six more baptisms before I leave at the end of this month. Four of them will be potential Melchizedek priesthood holders. So we are excited about that. This is all us reaping what we have sowed over the past few months. It's pretty nice. The names of the people are Mlondolozi, Derrick, Michael, Lamla, Abigale and Phelisa. So please pray for them that all will go well and they can be baptized on schedule.
I have been really trying to learn Xhosa and take it more seriously. I got a notebook and titled it Xhosa for dummies, so hopefully the stuff that everyone is putting down it it sticks with me! I am learning a lot. I am trying to qualify for the gift of tongues. Because that is probably what it is going to take for me to get fluent in it. I want to memorize the first vision in Xhosa so I can say it to the people we are teaching in lessons. I think it could be pretty powerful.
We have started to do district lunches every day in an effort to keep uniting the district. Elder Mchunu and I have been around each other for going on four and a half months, so we are already really tight, but we wanted to quickly have the other guys feel welcome and a part of the district as well! I really think it is helping! The annoying thing is we always have them at our flat since we have a gas stove, and since it's at our flat we always end up doing the dishes afterwords...
Well three days ago I woke up with a bump on my elbow. Over the past few days it has grown bigger and bigger and there is now a hole in my arm. It's swollen up pretty big and is getting pretty painful. Apparently I was bitten by a South African Sack Spider or something like it. The venom slowly burns through the flesh and destroys the cells. It can get pretty bad I guess. So I am getting taken to the Doctors office in a couple hours to get me some antibiotics or something like that. The Senior couple, the Boyces, are pretty worried about it since it has happened a couple times to other missionaries before. So we will see what ends up happening. I just think it's kind of sweet that I am here in Africa and got bit by a flesh eating spider.
I really don't have too much more to report. It hasn't been raining too bad the past week so there wasn't any more flooding. And hopefully there should be some more cool finding stories next week because we really are going to try to build our teaching pool of investigators. Please pray for those we are preparing for baptism and if anyone you know is preparing for a mission, pray for them to get called to South Africa. It's the best place in the world.
Cheers,
Elder Thayne
Our meal we made, we had no plates so we used frying pans. This is me, elder Ramat and elder mchunu. Elder Maciver took the picture.
Then this is us again with a bunch of avocado's that I climbed up in our tree and fetched the other day.
I was kissed straight on the cheek by probably the most drunk and crazy guy I have yet seen in South Africa. He stumbled up to me and my companion and said I am a beautiful mlongu and planted one right on my cheek. Definitely not one of my most graceful or composed moments as a missionary... I kinda shrieked and jumped away. As a missionary you aren't used to physical contact. So when a really drunk guy plants one on you, you tend to react a bit dramatically.
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