11/17/14 Livin out of a suit case. . .

Hey Fam,                                                                            Nov 17, 2014

The title describes this week. But, before I begin... remember those salespeople that I told you about a couple of weeks back that saw us in our white shirts. . . . .. Now there is about 25-30 everyday in white shirts and ties that hand out advertisement things. And they took our spot again!!!! They are the sons of perdition I swear, so every time we try to hand out pass along cards, the people think that they are ads for vacuums and stuff like that. Looks like will have to convert them first.

So other than that this week has been hectic; I said goodbye to Elder Martin on Tuesday and some tears were shed. Just kidding, but he was a great companion and I learned A TON from him. So I moved all my stuff to the Germiston flat to stay there for 2 weeks but that was not the case. . . .  The next day, Wednesday, we had been proselyting for about 2 hours and I get a call from the AP's. There was a brand new missionary from the Brazil MTC whose Visa to Angola hadn't arrived and he needed a companion. So just like that I had a new companion and we formed the youngest companionship in the mission. His name is Elder Mochaki, he is from  South Africa and he should have his visa to Angola sometime this week or so.  I will be moving back to the Germiston when his visa arrives until Transfers which next Tuesday. Then I will return to Alberton get another new companion. So with that I will spend the week in between Germiston/Alberton.

Tuesday-Said goodbyes to Elder Martin :( I hope he has adjusted to home and his mission weirdness has rubbed off. His girlfriend leaves on a mission to Leeds, England on Wednesday. 

Wednesday- Got the new comp!!! and I had to move all my stuff back to the Alberton Flat. 

Thursday- We continued the missionary work here in Alberton by visiting our investigator named Washington who is from Malawi. He is the funniest little guy, but he hates to make eye contact. We also had a new lady who just showed up to church and she wants to learn more! Her best friend is a member in a neighboring ward and she has went to church with her so she looks really promising. 

Friday- Elder Mochaki taught me some Portuguese and we actually saw some people from Mozambique, who only spoke Portuguese and Elder Mochaki was able to talk to them and we have an appointment with them tomorrow. 

Saturday- We spent the entire day in "the hood"; an area where just walked around and talked to people the entire day. There definitely are some people that are prepared to receive the Gospel here in Alberton, it is just a matter of finding them. We also went to teach one of our investigators who lives in the commune people with like 30 people from Zimbabwe. So we just walk up and teach new faces every time we go there. I call it the Gold mine of investigators.

Sunday- We had our primary program which was so awesome. It is always good to hear kids scream "I KNOW HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES ME" in the mic. :) But, all of our investigators loved how the church is centered around families. Then we went and saw Ndida, who is starting a gold trading business,  he is an impressive guy.

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The work here in Alberton continues to grow and every week we see more people and teach them. It is also great to have a "greenie" that wants to work as hard as he possibly can. 

Elder Bhead

Helamen 10:5

11/10/14 Goodbye Elder Martin

Good morning family,                                     Nov 10^th, 2014

 

We are at the email shop a little earlier than usual because we have a lot of stuff to get done before I drop Elder Martin off at the mission home tomorrow. He is ready to go home, his girlfriend leaves on her mission 7 days after he gets home. So he truly is ready to go back home.

 

But we had a great week this week. I really think that it was our best week as a companionship. I will miss him a lot. As for me, I will be joining Elder Manuma and Allen as a threesome for the next 2 weeks until the real transfer happens. So we will cover both areas with a car, but we are ready for the challenge!

 

This week in a quick recap

Tuesday- we went and volunteered at this place called Broken Wings. It is for disabled and special needs kids that their parents drop off for a day. We beaded and sang weird Afrikaans songs and had a pretty awesome time. After that we went and saw an investigator who is actually a pastor in his own church. So we continue teach him about the restoration of the truth and the only thing he has a problem with is "The baptism in the name of Jesus" in his high African accent.

 

Wednesday- We went to go teach one of our investigators at his home, which he lives with about 50 other people in one really huge run down house. So we walked up and he wasn't there so we just started teaching the people that were there. Needless to say we have some new investigators that we see again this week! They are all from Zimbabwe and most of them have potential.

Thursday- appointments dropped :(

 

Friday- We got to go the Temple!!! The temple is such an amazing experience and especially  when you are on your mission. I feel so grateful that I have the opportunity to go while I am here. You'll see some pictures but it is always a great time. Then all our appointments dropped again :(

 

Saturday- Saturday was the busiest days I have had while I have been here in South Africa. All of the people that dropped us the past two days rescheduled so every hour we had somewhere to be and someone to see. It is so amazing to be the instrument in His hands. Brandon, one of our investigators, has completely stopped smoking after 10 years of constant use. He has no desire to smoke anymore and will be baptized as soon as he moves into our area. The change in peoples’ hearts that you see while you are teaching them are so amazing.

 

Sunday- Elder Martins farewell speech and we were running around saying good bye to all the members and getting fed everywhere we went. The members here are picking up there missionary efforts.  Alberton continues to grow and prosper!

 

Sawabona

Elder Bhead

Mosiah 3:19

 

 

11/3/14 Romans 5:3

Another week for the books,                         Nov 3^rd, 2014

Tuesday- we met with an investigator who asked all the right questions such as "I've been looking for truth my whole life and I have never found the right church for me" I was getting so pumped sitting on the couch. so we talked about the restoration and about the BOM and left her a chapter to read in the BOM. So we left thinking wow, that lady was prepared. 8 hours later she called to say the BOM is against her beliefs as a Christian. So they come and go I guess. Then we taught our investigator from Malawi, he is such a cool guy except he can't speak English very well so some of our lessons are painfully slow. He's coming along though and I'm excited to see his progress the next couple weeks

Wednesday-we contacted downtown and tracted for a while and nothing really came from it except we stood on the side of the road and cleaned out our trunk and a lady stops her car in the middle of the road and tells us she’s a member from Cape Town and wants to come back to church. We are now going to stand on the side of the road more often :)

Thursday-We went to teach one of our favorite members Joshua, who got baptized 6 months ago. He is the funniest little guy and has these two huge turtles that he loves so much. We taught him the stripling warriors’ story and how he needs to love his mom. Other than that we met with the lady who stopped in the middle of the road and see her again today so that's a miracle!

Friday- I usually would have thought that Halloween would have been interesting in Africa but that was false. They hardly even celebrate it, so I took it upon myself to try and scare Elder Martin as many times as I could but it backfired. He decided to hide behind this wall and I walked past and I almost threw him through the wall. So Halloween in Africa isn't a big deal which is fine. They are already setting up Christmas stuff in the stores so that must be there holiday. We also handed one of our investigators who is about to be baptized over to some other elders because she lives out of our boundaries. :( That is so hard!)

Saturday- Romans 5:3

Sunday-Church is great, I love the members here!! However see the scripture above.

The weeks here in Alberton are flying by. Elder Martin leaves in 8 days so I will be getting a new companion here pretty soon. With Elder Martin leaving that also means I am done training! Time goes soooo fast!

I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Bhead

10/27/14 "Who-den-dak Mu-frow" & General Conference

Whats up Fam??                                                          Oct 27, 2014

This week has been a great one and I finally got to see general conference this week. Also I got to live my mission dream because the people here that speak Afrikaan its very similar to Dutch. So I walk around everywhere and say "Who-den-dak Mu-frow" like the new elder on the Best Two Years. THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS SAYING. So the dream has been fulfilled :)

Tuesday-we were able to find this group of people that migrated to South Africa to find better work. They are from Malawi, I have no idea where it is but it probably produces some of the most humble people I have ever met. They are 2 awesome guys and we are glad we were able to find them and teach them about the Restored Gospel. It is also the  time of year where there are summer rainstorms every day at like 4 o’clock. The rain here is absolutely nuts. It rains like it does in St.George- hard just for 2 or 3 hours instead of 15 minutes. But the best thing about Alberton is the lightning storms. The lightning storms here are flippin scary, but the thunder here is incredible. It literally shakes the entire house, and if it wasn't for being so tired at the end of the day. I wouldn't sleep. 

Rain clouds moving in.

Wednesday- We got to meet with one of our investigators who is preparing to be baptized. Before we met with him Elder Martin locked our keys in the car. So our investigator took a hanger and broke into our car. I don't know if I should be very concerned but thank goodness for investigators who know how to break into cars. He was a lifesaver. Then we went to have dinner with one of our members who actually was a Boxing champion from the DRC. I told him I could beat him up as a joke but I think he took it seriously. So if I don't email next week you know what happened :). 

Thursday-We were able to tract and tract and tract and find and tract. After a long day of work, we went to P.E.C and found out that people had stolen the copper electricity cables from the church so there was no electricity. Only in Africa. So we went home and made some muffins to give to members. 

Friday-We were able to go and teach Florence one last time, she is now going to be taught by the other Elders in Katlehong but she is on date to be baptized! Also, I don't know if I told you about it last time. but I grabbed a random guy off the street to have a male present in our lesson with her and he is now going to church haahhahah 

Saturday and Sunday- I'll just talk a little about General Conference and some of my Favorite talks. General Conference isn't to big here because we only had 10 people attend the Saturday Morning and Afternoon sessions at the chapel. My Favorite talk in the Saturday session was by Lynn G. Robbins who asked the question, "Which Way do you Face"? I really enjoyed that talk and it really helped me with the mindset that I need to have as a missionary. After conference on Saturday. we were able to go to a Brie where I had Ox Liver. hahahahahah some things are better not eaten. Then we taught these 2 men from Zimbabwe. besides people from Malawi the people from Zimbabwe are very very humble. But my favorite talk this conference was the one by Elder David A Bednar, that guy is a legend!!!!  His talk was very much like what we do as missionaries especially the question "Come and See". I actually said that to an investigator on Saturday night. Telling him to "Come and See". 

Sunsets are AMAZING!

General Conference made the week and motivated me to do more as a missionary even though the work here in Alberton is pretty tough. Take Care and have a great week!

Love Elder Bhead. 

Helamen 5:12

        

10/20/14 Sneak attacks,Kanye West and new /old family.

Whaddup Fam,                                    October 20, 2014

 It has been a great week here in Africa. I'll cut to the chase. . . .

Tuesday- We started out the day finding out that there was a huge 59 car accident on the highway right next to us. So we couldn't travel anywhere without it taking hours because of traffic. So we left in the morning and stayed the whole day in "the hood". First we taught these older people that are members of the Old Episcopal Church. I don't think I have ever participated in a bible bash but this one might have been close. They believe in spiritual meaning not physical. For example, Christ wasn't resurrected. He was resurrected in our hearts. And some other very weird stuff like that. So we discussed with him about the Restoration and he shambocked (was angry) us. So we left with our testimonies about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and parted ways.

We were supposed to meet with our only investigator on date to be baptized. Turns out that he has been ignoring us which is rarely a good thing!  So we passed him on the street and he ran into an abandoned house. So since Elder Martin has been in the military he decided to do a sneak attack. It was at night, so Elder Martin got out of the car and I hopped in the driver’s seat and pulled out slowly. Right after I began to pull out, our investigator popped out and found Elder Martin waiting. He has now been dropped. It so hard to watch people move away from something that can be such a blessing.

Wednesday-all our appointments dropped but we were able to teach Brandon. His growth over the past 2 months have been amazing. He has quit smoking all together and will be baptized as soon as he finds a new job here in Alberton. 

Thursday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUB!!!! REMEMBER YOU CAN'T KISS ANY GIRLS EXCEPT DARLA!!! All our appointments dropped so we ended up tracting and finding for 4 hours. :) It was a really great day.

Friday-I got my first African companion....for a day. His name is Elder Mavundla and he is from Swaziland. It's true that the most humble people are the ones that have nothing. He is an amazing missionary. Also I got to know the new elders in our district. One of the Elders is from Samoa, and he knows Elder Porter Willden!!!! Talk about crazy. We taught Florence again and she will be baptized this upcoming month!! We didn't have a male member present for her lesson so I just went out on the street in the township and found a guy and told him if he would like to hear a message that would change his life. He agreed and we were able to have a lesson. 

Saturday-Dropped some non-serious investigators and taught some new people. We also got to play some real African soccer with some investigators that we are teaching. They want to be gangsters so bad and their idol is Kanye West. Who knew you would have investigators like yourself. hahahahah jk. We taught them about Jesus Christ and his Infinite Atonement and they are coming to church next week! They also said that they would like to “protect us” . hahahah. I hope I get to explain the real protection we have every day!

Sunday- It is true that the ward becomes your family. We got to eat with an older couple and the remind me exactly of G-pa and G-ma Willden. Even better is we went to our Second Counselors house for dinner and he is exactly, exactly like Brad. He even looks like him. But instead of  baby Hadley, he has a baby wiener dog. 

My week here in Alberton was pretty tough but what really makes the differences is your attitude. Just like in life, it makes it easier if you have a positive attitude and look at trials with a mindset of growing. 

Have a great week!

Elder Bhead

D&C 121:45

10/13/14 Johnny Lingo

                                                                                                                          Oct13, 2014

Whaddup fammmm,

 Another week in the books here in the crazy land of South Africa. This week was probably one of the best and hardest so far, but I learned A TON. Most importantly . . . .  I learned that patience really is a virtue. So that’s basically tells you how the week went.

       Monday- we went to the Rhino/Lion park and I got to live my dream and play with lion/tiger cubs. Those things are little devils, let me tell you. One of them bit Elder Williams so hard that he still has a hole with a giant bruise in his leg this week. We also got to see every African animal while we were there except Rhino and Elephant. Those were fake elephants I was sitting on ;) Dub I'm sorry you weren't here little bro, I made sure to kiss the tiger cub for you though. After that we came back and started into missionary work. 

Wednesday- I got to go on exchanges with Elder Williams, who is almost an exact replica of Chay. He is 6 foot 7 and as goofy as all get out. Exactly like Trey, it made me miss him!!!!!  He is way funny and we had a pretty good day together even though all of our appointments canceled and we tracted for 4 hours. 

Thursday- The curse of exchanges continued with all of our appointments canceling and we continued to tract and contact for 4-5 hours. :) 

Friday- Yes. . . . . the curse continued. To make things even worse, I got bit by like a million mosquitoes. Great day :/ I just kept thinking about Malaria!

Saturday- Still continued :/ . . . . . .not very much success tracting and contacting but I didn't get bit by mosquitoes so it was a better day. I also got to go to a Traditional African Wedding negotiation. It was pretty cool, one of our investigators who is a sister is getting married and they finalized the payment plan for her. (Exactly like Johnny Lingo). And they had a big party and ate, drank, and were merry. His tribe, the Gxosa's conquered some intruding Irish Warriors and now their traditional tribal wear consists of a kilt. It was so interesting seeing how marriage and culture works over here.

Sunday- The day the curse wore off. We actually were able to teach some people without them canceling. We taught this Indian lady who converted to Christianity and was banished from the rest of her family. It’s pretty amazing seeing how a belief and knowledge about Jesus Christ and his love can change someones life .     

           Also we got transfer news and IM STAYING. I'll probably be here for another 4 months so nothing new. This week was awesome; we didn't teach that many lessons  but I learned more about patience and love than ever have before. I’m not sure I will keep praying for patience. . . . because then the Lord seems to give me more opportunities to practice:)  Take care and have a great week! Love you all!!!!

Elder Bhead

Alma 26:12

10/6/14 I LOVE AFRICA

Hey Fam,                                                                                                    Oct 6^th, 2014

This week was one for the books, I'll tell you. Things in Alberton are starting to turn around and we are seeing the Lord bless us every day! There are still funny things that happen here in Africa that are so hilarious. The stereotype of black people being afraid of water still runs strong here. That is one of the main reasons why one of our investigators keeps pushing back his baptism date. Another funny thing is that the white people that are still here (Afrikaaners) can be the meanest people ever. For example, we were tracting and this guy sicked his 2 German Shepherds on us but they ran straight into his gate. Other than that,  Elder Martin and I had a great week because we taught a lot of people! So I'll get to the week. P.S. don’t spill about general conf because we haven't watched it here.

Tuesday- We went downtown to street contact and we usually talk to a lot of people. There are also these salesmen who try to sign people up for loans. When I first got here they were handing out papers in T-Shirts and shorts, after seeing us, in white shirts and ties, talking to everyone,   they are now in white shirts and ties. . . . trying to sell cologne. We got to teach a man who we tracted into and he said he wants to become a member and he's been searching for the right church. He really an amazing guy who moved from Zimbabwe to try and support his family. 

Wednesday- We tracted into this group of 25 year old guys who are some of the funniest people I have ever been around. ( I think I told you about them last week)  They also come from very humble backgrounds and are trying to support themselves and also they started a soccer team for the younger kids in their area to try and keep them out of trouble. There is a little of an translation gap because they speak little English and mostly Swana, but we continue to try and help them.

There has been this investigator named Mike who we have tried and tried again to get a hold of  and visit him at his home. Finally we decided one last time to go to his house. We knocked on his door and his sister opened and said he wasn’t home (his family is against the church) then he heard us and came and let us in. Turns out his phone was stolen and he hadn't been home. So we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it was amazing and he is now on date to be baptized!! The Lord truly does prepare people. 

Thursday- We went back to the mission home for New Elder Orientation. President and Sister Dunn talked to us about our mission and gave us some  great advice. Sister Dunn compared our mission to a mountain, and how through diligent hard work and study that we will find ourselves at the top of the mountain looking for others to climb. After we went and taught a Afrikaans women (she was actually nice to missionaries) we were able to teach her about the Book of Mormon and she committed to come to church. 

Friday-This is the day that I was able to go to the Township to teach Florence. I can't wait to serve in a township, it is like what you see on TV but in real life. All the little black kids run up and say "Malungu" meaning white boy. hahahahhahah I love Africa so much. We taught Florence about the Restoration and she already has read half of the Book and has a testimony of Joseph Smith. Another example that some people are prepared to receive the gospel!! She also will be baptized in November!

Saturday- We started off on a little rough note. The people we live with have 3 annoying wiener dogs who bark all the time. While we were backing out they ran out and got lost in this mountain across from their house :( I felt really bad and we tried looking for them for an hour then we had to go and help a sister in our ward move across town. It was great to give service. We taught Musa and his friends again and they committed to stop smoking and drinking so we are getting somewhere!

Sunday-rolled into church to find out that they had nobody to teach the elders quorem so we did some improvising and gave a great lesson. We also had 6 investigators attend church (a 4 month high). Also we haven't listed to General Conf so don't spoil it .Also  the dogs were found!! They were not a snack for the baboons.

I have seen the blessings that come from hard work and also from obedience. Every week seems to have been getting easier as I have been focusing on the people and how I can help them. I LOVE AFRICA!!

Laqquooor

Elder Broadhead

Moroni 8:16  Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.