Monday, September 24, 2012

Beautiful Sunrise in Margate


Sept 24, 2012

Hello friends and family,

Another week passes by in Margate. This morning we woke up at 5am to go and see the sun rise over the ocean. It was so amazing to see! I took some pretty incredible pictures, hopefully you all get the chance to see those (see below). 

Yesterday I had the chance to speak in sacrament meeting, it went very well and I felt great about giving another talk. I spoke on the importance of developing a testimony, especially in the Book of Mormon so that when our faith is tested we may be immovable. I honestly have loved giving talks on my mission! 

A couple of updates on some of our investigators we are currently teaching. I mentioned L_____ and N_____ who were both scheduled to be baptized, unfortunately some things have delayed their baptism. N_____ has had to visit home a couple of times so he hasn't been able to make it to church, his baptism is currently scheduled for the end of October, hopefully it will go through as planned. He really is progressing and is very accepting when we teach him. L_______ is a stud but can't be baptized yet because his family won't allow him! It's kind of a long story but basically he won't be allowed to be baptized until December. Basically the whole branch considers him a member, he even gets up to bear his testimony and participates in all of the lessons in church. He really has developed a strong testimony for himself. He has been meeting with missionaries for over 2 years so hopefully I'll still be here when he is baptized! 

Sister P______ (the mom that was struggling for food) is doing a lot better. She has had some difficult trials since we started meeting with her but she is so awesome! She has come to church every week since we have started meeting with her and she is really developing a testimony for herself. She is currently scheduled to be baptized in the beginning of October. We asked her the other day how she still felt about her baptism, she said: "It's my special day, I'll be baptized even if it's raining!" She is doing so great and is really excited to be baptized. She is being interviewed tomorrow for her baptism. 

C______ (he was baptized about a month ago) is doing great. He is continuing to learn English and is preparing to receive the priesthood. It's so great to see that whole family united as members of the church. They are really excited to see the Durban temple built and have the chance to be sealed as a family there. I love meeting with this family, they constantly want us to come over and meet with them! They really are a cool family. 

We have a couple we have been teaching named S____ and V_____. They have read pretty much the entire Book of Mormon but the only thing stopping them from baptism is marriage! There is a cultural tradition here known as "La Bollah" which really hinders the church from growing even faster here. Basically the brides parents request a HUGE sum of money from the man in order for the marriage to happen. Elder Holland and the brethren have really condemned this practice and have said that the traditions of the their fathers need to be done away with. Members of the church here are encouraged to stop this practice but obviously it's a cultural tradition so that's a challenge. 

All of our investigators our great and it's so incredible to see them progress in the gospel! We have started teaching some new families this past week so we'll see if any of them make progress. 

Love you all and wish you the best! 

Elder Summers

P.S. Come on Cougars, how do you lose to BSU 7-6?! Glad I'm on a mission!



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