4/15/13
Dear family and friends,
This past week has been pretty awesome. I'm not really sure where to start so I'll just begin by saying L______ is power! L_______ is the father we baptized on my birthday about a month ago. Every single week since his baptism he has brought a new friend or family member to church. Most of them are visiting from other places. For example, his sister visited from Johannesburg a few weeks ago and she loved church. We taught her the restoration after church before she went back home to Joburg. She is now meeting with missionaries there and attending church. L_____ is pretty sure she will be baptized. This past Sunday he brought his younger brother who is staying here for the month (He is also from Joburg) and his best friend from childhood. First off, both of them absolutely loved church. Everyone is always so shocked that we don't have a pastor that gets up there for 2 hours and preaches, they always love the gospel principles class where we have a discussion and ask questions.
His best friend is just visting for the week. His name is C_____. We had a great lesson with him the day before church and he also loved everything about church. He literally sounds the exact same as L______ when we first met him, He told us he already has the desire to be baptized, the difficulty will be getting his wife back home to follow along because she has grown up in a church her whole life. C_____ is going back home tomorrow and wants to contact missionaries there immediately. I contacted our office to get the missionaries information and I also discovered that the branch is pretty small where he lives. This might be exactly what this branch needs there! Another strong priesthood holder. It is amazing how L______ is brining so many people into the gospel. One man is going to end up touching the lives of hundreds of people for generations to come. His parents are also super interested in being baptized but the difficulty is that L's father can't walk very well so it's hard for him to get to church. His mother also struggles with English but they are reading all of the Sotho materials we give them, including the Book of Mormon in Tswana. Tswana is a very similar language to Sotho, the Book of Mormon isn't in Sotho yet.
We also had a couple of powerful lessons with this family we found last week! There is the daughter, mother and a father. The daughter is powerful! We gave her the For the Strength of Youth last Wednesday, when we went back on Friday she had read the entire thing from front to back. This girl is definietly going to be baptized, no doubt in my mind. The mother keeps saying she feels so blessed to have us in her home. We have only taught them 3 times so far but I can already tell they are going to accept everything we teach them. They are progressing very well. They have all the right questions.
We also met with brother B______. He told us that when we taught him the word of wisdom a couple of weeks ago he immediately threw away all of his cigarettes and destroyed all of his beer bottles. He hasn't smoked since then. After we gave him a blessing he said he felt renewed strength and that he doesn't have the desire to really smoke anymore. He is still reading everything we give him like crazy and says that he is ready to be baptized on the 28th of April. He says that ever since we found him in January his life has changed and that the Book of Mormon is changing his life. He said he has never felt so much joy and peace. It's incredible what the gospel will do! So many of these people that find us and accept our message always say the same thing: They wish they had found us earlier! I always relate the story of laborers in the vineyard. It doesn't matter what time of day we come, all that matters is that we embrace it and move forward. The reward is the same no matter what time of the day we come into contact with this message. L____'s mother had this question because she said she feels too old to be baptized again. We told her to read the story of the laborers in the vineyard in Matthew. I love that parable, Elder Holland gave a great talk on it from the April conference of last year. I would recommend reading it if you haven't had the chance!
I was reflecting this morning on all of the things this area has taught me the past 6 months. This branch is currently run by the branch president and missionaries. There are no other mel. priesthood holders who are stepping up. Literally if the missionaries or BP left the branch would collapse. Due to this, I have learned how to be a clerk, use MLS, conduct the music in sacrament, teaching priesthood/sunday school with no prep, setting everything up for church, etc. etc. This branch has taught me to be grateful for the establishment of the church back home! Be thankful to even have an Elders quorum president! There is no clerk let alone an Elders quorum president here. The missionaries teach almost every class haha. I'm not complaning in the least bit, I kind of enjoy the challenge more than anything and it's helping me grow as a missionary. We;ve been able to bring in some very converted brethren the last couple of months that are working towards being ordained as Elders. We currently have 3 Aaronic priesthood holders (all eligible Elders) who were baptized in the last 5 months who are close to being ordained as Elders. All 3 of these brethren will help this branch so much. Including brother B_____ who is about to be baptized. The missionaries can't run this thing forever! The work is moving forward here and this branch has so much potential. We are really trying to put an emphasis on getting converts not baptisms in this mission. We don't need more less actives as a burden to the branch.
I have learned some valuable lessons here.There is opposition in all good things but ultimately God is great and has more power and His work will move on despite the opposition. I'll most likely be leaving in a couple of weeks, transfer news is the 28th of April. I'm almost certain because the way this mission works is that missionaries serve in areas for between 4 1/2 and 6 months. It's very rare that a missionary stays in an area for 7 1/2, but it's always a possibility. This church is so true! The Lord has got this. I love you all!
Elder Summers
Friday, April 26, 2013
Patience
4/8/13
Dear everyone,
I apologize for not writing very much these past few weeks. We have faced some struggles in our little kingdom of PJ but through the Lord all things are possible. I find solace in the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith while he was incarcerated in Liberty jail. D&C 121: 7-8: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if though endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." Often times we expect immediate answers to our prayers and concerns when sometimes the heavenly virture of patience is required. This area has humbled me and helped me further develop the attribute of patience. It hasn't always been easy but in the end we feel stronger after we press through those trials and challenges.
Easter week was pretty difficult because everyone was busy with their church services. Here in South Africa there are literally hundreds of different Christian churches. Everytime I ask people what church they are from I swear I hear a new church each time. It's incredible but also helps us with sharing the message of the restoration. I have finally discovered an incredible way to entice people to hearing the message of the restoration this past week. A lot of people are reluctant to really sit down and meet because they think we are just going to open the Bible and discuss, they don't fully grasp the unique message we have to share. A question that so many people have here has to do with all of these so called "prophets" in South Africa. There are hundreds of "prophets" who go around performing incredible miracles in the name of Christ. Many people are confused by this because Jesus Christ himself said there would be many false prophets in our day so people want to know how they can find a true prohpet! Well fortunately we have the answers. We have been expounding the Bible when it comes to prophets and it really makes people interested when we help them discover how to find a true prophet. It's hard to describe just the amount of confusion here, there are literally so many churches and miracle workers around here. Well teaching about false prophets and finding a true prophet leads perfeclty into introducing Joseph Smith and his "fruit" of the Book of Mormon.
The dificulty the last month has been actually finding people. Well I am thankful for the promptings of the spirit and the guidance of the Lord here. I have been having an overwhelming feeling to switch the area we are tracting in to an area that is a little out of our way that we never go into. I finally decided to act on that prompting and start tracting there. We were able to find 3 families and a few other very interested investigators. Finding full families is very difficult here so the fact that we were able to find a few was a blessing. One family in paticular really motivated me to keep going out and finding. After having an appointment fall through in the afternoon, we were sitting in the car thinking about who we could visit. While sitting there, I had a prompting to check on this family we had tracted into. We found this family on Good Friday, the day of Christ's death, so they were really busy getting ready for church. They didn't seem all that interested when we found them and said we could just come back anytime (usually a sign they have no interest). Well we decided to go and check on them. We pulled up to the house and it looked really quiet, no cars there or anything. I was kind of confused why the spirit directed me here if no one is home. Well we decided to go knock anyways, to our surprise we found a young woman early 20's and her mother. At first they didn't really seem all that interested but we sat down an started to get to know them. We discovered they had just moved here a month earlier and don't really have a church, they are just going to a friends church until they can "find truth" they said.
Well let me tell you somethng, these 2 sisters have all the right questions. They are so confused by prophets, the many churches and where authority has gone. We taught the entire restoration and they were so excited. When we introduced the Book of Mormon the mother said this is what she has been looking for. The daughter is a really smart girl and I think this family has a lot of potential to progress. I'm really excited to go back and discuss more with them. We were able to teach a few other great families too, the Lord is opening doors for us.
In addition to the many new investigators we found this week, bro. B and sis. V are getting really close to baptism. It is going to be tight but unfortunately I think I'll be transferred before they get baptized. They are both ready to be baptized this very minute but they have to overcome word of wisdom problems first. Nothing else is holding them back right now. Both of them have the resolve to quit it's is just taking a little time. Brother B____ is progressing a little faster when it comes to word of wisdom, he has quit for about a week now. It will be great to have him in the branch because it will be another priesthood holder. It still amazes me to think he will be baptized, he is so different from when we met him a few months ago. He reads the Book of Mormon like crazy and loves reading everything we give him.
Patience. Sometimes patience is what the Lord requires of us. If we recieved answers immediately and never faced opposition there would be no test of our faith, no development of our character and no purpose to this mortal life. Sometimes we resist the very thing that would give us strength in hopes of an "easy" way out. Sometimes we need to step back and realize that the Lords "got this" and He sees the big picture. I find comfort in the words of Mosiah 4:9 in times of need: "Believe in God...believe that He has all wisdom...believe that man doth not comprehend all things the Lord can comprehend."
I love you all and wish the blessings of heaven upon you. Unfortunately I won't be able to see general conference for a few weeks, I hope you all enjoyed it though!
Elder Summers
Dear everyone,
I apologize for not writing very much these past few weeks. We have faced some struggles in our little kingdom of PJ but through the Lord all things are possible. I find solace in the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith while he was incarcerated in Liberty jail. D&C 121: 7-8: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if though endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." Often times we expect immediate answers to our prayers and concerns when sometimes the heavenly virture of patience is required. This area has humbled me and helped me further develop the attribute of patience. It hasn't always been easy but in the end we feel stronger after we press through those trials and challenges.
Easter week was pretty difficult because everyone was busy with their church services. Here in South Africa there are literally hundreds of different Christian churches. Everytime I ask people what church they are from I swear I hear a new church each time. It's incredible but also helps us with sharing the message of the restoration. I have finally discovered an incredible way to entice people to hearing the message of the restoration this past week. A lot of people are reluctant to really sit down and meet because they think we are just going to open the Bible and discuss, they don't fully grasp the unique message we have to share. A question that so many people have here has to do with all of these so called "prophets" in South Africa. There are hundreds of "prophets" who go around performing incredible miracles in the name of Christ. Many people are confused by this because Jesus Christ himself said there would be many false prophets in our day so people want to know how they can find a true prohpet! Well fortunately we have the answers. We have been expounding the Bible when it comes to prophets and it really makes people interested when we help them discover how to find a true prophet. It's hard to describe just the amount of confusion here, there are literally so many churches and miracle workers around here. Well teaching about false prophets and finding a true prophet leads perfeclty into introducing Joseph Smith and his "fruit" of the Book of Mormon.
The dificulty the last month has been actually finding people. Well I am thankful for the promptings of the spirit and the guidance of the Lord here. I have been having an overwhelming feeling to switch the area we are tracting in to an area that is a little out of our way that we never go into. I finally decided to act on that prompting and start tracting there. We were able to find 3 families and a few other very interested investigators. Finding full families is very difficult here so the fact that we were able to find a few was a blessing. One family in paticular really motivated me to keep going out and finding. After having an appointment fall through in the afternoon, we were sitting in the car thinking about who we could visit. While sitting there, I had a prompting to check on this family we had tracted into. We found this family on Good Friday, the day of Christ's death, so they were really busy getting ready for church. They didn't seem all that interested when we found them and said we could just come back anytime (usually a sign they have no interest). Well we decided to go and check on them. We pulled up to the house and it looked really quiet, no cars there or anything. I was kind of confused why the spirit directed me here if no one is home. Well we decided to go knock anyways, to our surprise we found a young woman early 20's and her mother. At first they didn't really seem all that interested but we sat down an started to get to know them. We discovered they had just moved here a month earlier and don't really have a church, they are just going to a friends church until they can "find truth" they said.
Well let me tell you somethng, these 2 sisters have all the right questions. They are so confused by prophets, the many churches and where authority has gone. We taught the entire restoration and they were so excited. When we introduced the Book of Mormon the mother said this is what she has been looking for. The daughter is a really smart girl and I think this family has a lot of potential to progress. I'm really excited to go back and discuss more with them. We were able to teach a few other great families too, the Lord is opening doors for us.
In addition to the many new investigators we found this week, bro. B and sis. V are getting really close to baptism. It is going to be tight but unfortunately I think I'll be transferred before they get baptized. They are both ready to be baptized this very minute but they have to overcome word of wisdom problems first. Nothing else is holding them back right now. Both of them have the resolve to quit it's is just taking a little time. Brother B____ is progressing a little faster when it comes to word of wisdom, he has quit for about a week now. It will be great to have him in the branch because it will be another priesthood holder. It still amazes me to think he will be baptized, he is so different from when we met him a few months ago. He reads the Book of Mormon like crazy and loves reading everything we give him.
Patience. Sometimes patience is what the Lord requires of us. If we recieved answers immediately and never faced opposition there would be no test of our faith, no development of our character and no purpose to this mortal life. Sometimes we resist the very thing that would give us strength in hopes of an "easy" way out. Sometimes we need to step back and realize that the Lords "got this" and He sees the big picture. I find comfort in the words of Mosiah 4:9 in times of need: "Believe in God...believe that He has all wisdom...believe that man doth not comprehend all things the Lord can comprehend."
I love you all and wish the blessings of heaven upon you. Unfortunately I won't be able to see general conference for a few weeks, I hope you all enjoyed it though!
Elder Summers
Interesting Week
3/25/13
Hello everyone,
This past week has been an interesting one. We had transfers on Tuesday, one of the 4 Elders here in PJ (Elder Caldwell, the other American) left to a new area in Swaziland. The new missionary here is another greenie so we have 2 green missionaries here in PJ. The new Elder is from Uganda and he kind of forgot something important in Uganda... his license. My comp and I are in the walking area and the other 2 have the car. So the problem is I'm the only one with a license here in PJ! The other 2 have had to use the bikes all week and my comp and I have used the car. It's difficult for the other Elders because their area is huge and we don't really even need a car for our area. The car is a manual and I didn't know how to drive manual but I figured it out on Tuesday and were getting around just fine. Driving manual is actually pretty fun! Drivers here are crazy as ever though, especially taxi drivers.
We currently have 2 investigators who are progressing very well towards baptism. Sister V_____ and Brother B_________. The other problem we are facing with both of them right now is that they have some word of wisdom problems to overcome. Both of them really want to overcome their problems and they are doing their best. We challenged B_______ (he is a father, retired) to baptism about 2 weeks ago and he accepted. He has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! He understands what he is reading better than an investigator I have ever taught. He recalls such small details from what he is reading and the best part is that he is telling us how much it's changing his life. He said the Book of Mormon is making him want to repent and his faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than ever. The Book of Mormon truly is an incredible book. I have learned better than ever to not judge a person when you first meet them! When we first met B__________ I never thought he would be baptized. He had zero interest in meeting with us and just seemed like an old grumpy man. Now he loves us and is so excited to meet with us, the gospel can change anyone.
Sister V________ is also progressing well. We first found her and her family around the new year, we taught one of her daughters the restoration and referred her to the missionaries where she was going to school. She was baptized a couple of weeks ago, she called me and said that the Book of Mormon has completely changed her life. It will be so great to see this whole family become members. V_______ also has 2 little boys (ages 10 and 5) who will have the chance to grow up in the church. We are planning on baptizing B________ and V________ towards the end of April. I hope it all works out because I'll be leaving at the very end of April to a new area so it would be nice to see their baptisms.
Our recent converts are doing great. L_____ and L_______ both received the Aaronic priesthood the other week and they have both given talks in sacrament meeting. L_______ gave a talk yesterday and he sounded like he has been a member for a decade! I have never seen a recent convert so converted to the gospel. He wants to share the Book of Mormon with everyone! He is coming an doing missionary work with us and he is talking to all of his friends and family. His parents are super interested and they love us but the problem is that they speak very limited English. I'm hoping a translation of the Book of Mormon to Sesotho comes soon, there are quite a few Sesotho speakers in South Africa and the Book of Mormon isn't in their language. Anyways, time is moving fast and I can't believe I'll be leaving this area within a month.
I hope you all have a great Easter week! Jesus Christ lives and this is indeed His church on the earth once more.
Love you all,
Elder Summers
John 16:33
Hello everyone,
This past week has been an interesting one. We had transfers on Tuesday, one of the 4 Elders here in PJ (Elder Caldwell, the other American) left to a new area in Swaziland. The new missionary here is another greenie so we have 2 green missionaries here in PJ. The new Elder is from Uganda and he kind of forgot something important in Uganda... his license. My comp and I are in the walking area and the other 2 have the car. So the problem is I'm the only one with a license here in PJ! The other 2 have had to use the bikes all week and my comp and I have used the car. It's difficult for the other Elders because their area is huge and we don't really even need a car for our area. The car is a manual and I didn't know how to drive manual but I figured it out on Tuesday and were getting around just fine. Driving manual is actually pretty fun! Drivers here are crazy as ever though, especially taxi drivers.
We currently have 2 investigators who are progressing very well towards baptism. Sister V_____ and Brother B_________. The other problem we are facing with both of them right now is that they have some word of wisdom problems to overcome. Both of them really want to overcome their problems and they are doing their best. We challenged B_______ (he is a father, retired) to baptism about 2 weeks ago and he accepted. He has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy! He understands what he is reading better than an investigator I have ever taught. He recalls such small details from what he is reading and the best part is that he is telling us how much it's changing his life. He said the Book of Mormon is making him want to repent and his faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than ever. The Book of Mormon truly is an incredible book. I have learned better than ever to not judge a person when you first meet them! When we first met B__________ I never thought he would be baptized. He had zero interest in meeting with us and just seemed like an old grumpy man. Now he loves us and is so excited to meet with us, the gospel can change anyone.
Sister V________ is also progressing well. We first found her and her family around the new year, we taught one of her daughters the restoration and referred her to the missionaries where she was going to school. She was baptized a couple of weeks ago, she called me and said that the Book of Mormon has completely changed her life. It will be so great to see this whole family become members. V_______ also has 2 little boys (ages 10 and 5) who will have the chance to grow up in the church. We are planning on baptizing B________ and V________ towards the end of April. I hope it all works out because I'll be leaving at the very end of April to a new area so it would be nice to see their baptisms.
Our recent converts are doing great. L_____ and L_______ both received the Aaronic priesthood the other week and they have both given talks in sacrament meeting. L_______ gave a talk yesterday and he sounded like he has been a member for a decade! I have never seen a recent convert so converted to the gospel. He wants to share the Book of Mormon with everyone! He is coming an doing missionary work with us and he is talking to all of his friends and family. His parents are super interested and they love us but the problem is that they speak very limited English. I'm hoping a translation of the Book of Mormon to Sesotho comes soon, there are quite a few Sesotho speakers in South Africa and the Book of Mormon isn't in their language. Anyways, time is moving fast and I can't believe I'll be leaving this area within a month.
I hope you all have a great Easter week! Jesus Christ lives and this is indeed His church on the earth once more.
Love you all,
Elder Summers
John 16:33
Sunday, March 17, 2013
PJ Update
March 11, 2013
Hello everyone,
This past week had a couple of pretty great experiences. We have really been having difficulty getting people to accept baptismal challenges but this past week we were able to get a lot of people to accept. I will relate a couple of experiences. We have been teaching this guy named N______ for about 3 months now. He has been hesitant to accept baptism because he says he hasn't received his answer yet. We have had some incredibly spiritual experiences with him but he says he needs an extra push. Well he finally got that extra push through the help of a member. In our area it is difficult to get members to come with us because of transportation issues and lack of members here. We had a recent convert who is about the same age as N_________ come with us. This recent convert is pretty famous here in PJ, he started the Anglican church here and is just very well known. Anyways, N______ actually knew our recent convert and was shocked that he is a member of our church. At the end of the lesson we challenged him to be baptized on April 14 and he accepted. He has read about the 1/3 of the Book of Mormon and he is really enjoying it, hopefully he will continue to progress. When we have members with us it makes missionary work so much easier!
We were also teaching a mother by the name of L____. She has been meeting with us for about a month now. She told us that she wants to be baptized because she has been praying for answers and the day we showed up at her door was a direct answer to her prayers. She said she isn't feeling peace at her church right now and that she wants to change. The difficulty for a lot of people here is that they are afraid to move churches because of what people will say. I loved what L____ told us though: "I cannot serve two masters, I can only serve God and if this is true it's the right thing to do." I wish more people understood this statement. The mission faces a lot of problems...cultural differences, transportation concerns, inactivity, etc but the biggest difficulty is that literally everyone already has a church here! It's rare that we find someone that doesn't have a church. There are a billion different christian churches here in South Africa (further evidence of the apostasy). We are doing our best though to really help people understand the role of the Book of Mormon and authority. It takes time but we are getting there!
I hope everyone has a great week!! I hope Anaheim is ready to receive a great new sister missionary!
Elder Summers
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Birthday Week
Tues, March 5
Dear family and friends,
Well I'm now 20 years old, no longer a teenager but I still feel the exact same. Still crazy as ever and my companions can all testify to that! This past week was awesome and I had a great birthday. On Sunday I was able to confirm Leb____ and baptize L____, I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday! It was a great day and the spirit was so strong. Leb_____ bore his testimony in testimony meeting right after being confirmed, he has a love for the Book of Mormon and talked about how many blessings he has seen since attending church and meeting with the Elders. L_____ was then baptized after church and he was so excited. The water was pretty cold on Sunday but he told me he didn't care if it was snowing, he was going under! L______ is going to be a powerful member and it's exactly what this branch needs. He has the potential to change lives and unite this branch.
I wasn't able to write home on Monday because we were in Lesotho the entire day. It was my first time going into Lesotho (my current area of PJ is right on the border) and it was a lot of fun. We spent the whole day together as a zone, we went and spent time at an orphanage for a while and played with the kids. We then went and played soccer in a pretty rural area (I guess most of Lesotho is rural) with some kids. It was pretty cool to go and play soccer in the middle of Lesotho. It was by far one of my best pdays on mission. Even though the little kids couldn't speak any English, it was still fun to hang out with them and try to speak as much Sesoto as I know, it's a pretty tough language! It just reminded me to always remain grateful for what I have been given. These children have absolutely nothing. It's is always important to remember just how much the Lord has blessed us with no matter what our circumstances may be.
I've been contemplating a lot this past week why so many people do not have the chance to hear this message. Sometimes it can be frustrating when people stop meeting with us or the work isn't moving very smoothly but I received a direct answer to my question this week. I have been praying to understand how I can be a more effective advocate of the truth and why so many seem to not have the interest in meeting with us lately. While asking the Lord this question a chapter came right into my mind. Alma chapter 29. Alma talks about how he wishes he was an Angel and could declare unto the ends of the earth with a trump repentance and salvation, but I love what he says in verse 3: "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord has allotted unto me." Then he continues in verse 6 and says: "Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?" Sometimes missionary work can be frustrating but the Lord only requires our best! He does not require us to baptize every single person we meet, he only requires us to work hard and exercise some faith. I find solace in the words of Mosiah 4:9: "The Lord has all wisdom and all knowledge...man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend." We do not know everything but the Lord does! He has a plan, all we have to do is go out and rely on Him! The Lord is with us and He will always be there to support us in our time of need, sometimes we just need to exercise a little more faith and patience.
Love you all,
Elder Summers
Well I'm now 20 years old, no longer a teenager but I still feel the exact same. Still crazy as ever and my companions can all testify to that! This past week was awesome and I had a great birthday. On Sunday I was able to confirm Leb____ and baptize L____, I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday! It was a great day and the spirit was so strong. Leb_____ bore his testimony in testimony meeting right after being confirmed, he has a love for the Book of Mormon and talked about how many blessings he has seen since attending church and meeting with the Elders. L_____ was then baptized after church and he was so excited. The water was pretty cold on Sunday but he told me he didn't care if it was snowing, he was going under! L______ is going to be a powerful member and it's exactly what this branch needs. He has the potential to change lives and unite this branch.
I wasn't able to write home on Monday because we were in Lesotho the entire day. It was my first time going into Lesotho (my current area of PJ is right on the border) and it was a lot of fun. We spent the whole day together as a zone, we went and spent time at an orphanage for a while and played with the kids. We then went and played soccer in a pretty rural area (I guess most of Lesotho is rural) with some kids. It was pretty cool to go and play soccer in the middle of Lesotho. It was by far one of my best pdays on mission. Even though the little kids couldn't speak any English, it was still fun to hang out with them and try to speak as much Sesoto as I know, it's a pretty tough language! It just reminded me to always remain grateful for what I have been given. These children have absolutely nothing. It's is always important to remember just how much the Lord has blessed us with no matter what our circumstances may be.
I've been contemplating a lot this past week why so many people do not have the chance to hear this message. Sometimes it can be frustrating when people stop meeting with us or the work isn't moving very smoothly but I received a direct answer to my question this week. I have been praying to understand how I can be a more effective advocate of the truth and why so many seem to not have the interest in meeting with us lately. While asking the Lord this question a chapter came right into my mind. Alma chapter 29. Alma talks about how he wishes he was an Angel and could declare unto the ends of the earth with a trump repentance and salvation, but I love what he says in verse 3: "I ought to be content with the things which the Lord has allotted unto me." Then he continues in verse 6 and says: "Now, seeing that I know these things, why should I desire more than to perform the work to which I have been called?" Sometimes missionary work can be frustrating but the Lord only requires our best! He does not require us to baptize every single person we meet, he only requires us to work hard and exercise some faith. I find solace in the words of Mosiah 4:9: "The Lord has all wisdom and all knowledge...man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend." We do not know everything but the Lord does! He has a plan, all we have to do is go out and rely on Him! The Lord is with us and He will always be there to support us in our time of need, sometimes we just need to exercise a little more faith and patience.
Love you all,
Elder Summers
The Lord is Preparing HIs People
Mon, Feb 25
Dear family and friends,
Well it has been another interesting and eventful week in the mission field. I feel like everyday is filled with something interesting especially when serving in this part of the world. Yesterday we had the baptism of Leb_____and it went very smoothly. We were really trying to encourage him to bear his testimony after his baptism and he told us he would pray about it. Well right before he was baptized I asked him if he wanted to give his testimony and he told me yes. After he was baptized he gave a powerful testimony about the blessings that have come into his life since he met the Elders and how the Book of Mormon is true so he knows the church is true. He is going to be a powerful member and it was really exciting to see him baptized yesterday. It's incredible to see how the gospel can change lives and the role of the Book of Mormon.
This past week we had to be really bold with a few investigators who are becoming "eternal" investigators. This includes a girl who was going to be baptized but has gone back to her old church. I asked her if she knows the Book of Mormon is true, she responded by telling us yes and that she always feels peace when she reads it. I then read from the quote in the Into to the B.O.M. where Joseph Smith tells us the Book of Mormon is the "keystone of our religion." We helped her understand more clearly that everything we teaches hinges on the divinity and authenticity of the Book of Mormon. It's not by coincidence that the Lord brought forth a book at the start of the restoration. If not for the Book of Mormon we would have no claim on authority or divine revelation. We were able to really help some of our investigators understand the role this book plays in their conversion and testimony of what we are teaching. The more I read the Book of Mormon the more I grow to love it. I can't help but pick up this book each and everyday to study its contents. I have learned something new each and every time I read this book and I feel the love of my Heavenly Father each time I pray to know of its truthfulness.
We also had a couple of great lessons this past week in preparing L_____ for his baptism this Sunday. He told me yesterday that the Book of Mormon and the message we have shared with him has completely changed his life. L______ has gone through some difficult family struggles and the loss of many loved ones. He had really lost a lot of hope and he had a lot of questions about our purpose here in life and where we go in the next life. As he has read the Book of Mormon and we taught him the Plan of Salvation we have seen his demeanor change and the hope which has filled his life that he can see his loved ones again. He has always had an incredible faith but has simply been kept from the truth. His conversion story has repeatedly brought the words of D&C 123:12 to my mind: "there are many are earth...kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." He was searching for truth and he found it. I'm going to talk more about how we met Lerato and how the Lord performs miracles if we work hard and have faith.
We were meeting with a recent convert when all of a sudden L_____ walked into the door. He sat down and began discussing with us. After talking with him for about 30 minutes, we realized he had all of the right questions but lacked answers. Within a few days we taught him the restoration and we could see his eyes being opened as we handed him the Book of Mormon. From there the rest is history and the moment he began reading the Book of Mormon he was converted. The incredible part is the reason I believe we met him is because my companion and I had been fasting that the Lord would help us find priesthood holders to help strengthen this branch. Within days L______ "coincidentally" walked right into one of our lessons. Now many would say it was by chance that we met L_____ but I can tell you without a shadow of doubt in my mind that the Lord was preparing this man. The branch needs someone like L____ because they are seriously lacking for leadership, knowledge of the gospel and priesthood. L______ has a lot of potential to strengthen this branch and be a powerful member in the church. The Lord is preparing people, in order for us to be led to these people we must be obedient, work hard and have the faith that the Lord will lead us to them. It will be a great week next week as Lerato will be baptized and take that next step forward towards living with our Father in Heaven once more and doing temple work for his loved ones who have passed on.
I love all of you and wish you the best from Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa!
Elder Summers
Phuthaaditjhaba
Mon, Feb 18
Dear family and friends,
It has been another week to remember here in Phuthaditjhaba. How many of you can pronounce that by the way? Some of these African names are ridiculous sometimes haha. This past week we had a couple of great lessons with people who are getting ready for baptism. I'm not sure how many of you remember this guy named L_____ that we met about a month ago. He has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and on Tuesday he told us he wants to be baptized. I have never seen someone so converted since I have been on mission. He is reading everything we give him, he is reading about temples, gospel principles, the lorenzo snow book, etc. He even wants a D&C! We told him to slow down a little bit and take it one step at a time. He will be getting baptized on March 3rd (My birthday!) so we are really excited. He has so much potential to be a powerful member in the branch. He is already doing a lot of missionary work, his sister is really interested in the church. She lives in Johannesburg, we directed her to the nearest chapel there and she visited church on Sunday. It is so great to see how the restored gospel can completely change a persons life. Lerato was really struggling with quite a few things in his personal life and the Book of Mormon has completely changed his demeanor. Every time he reads the Book of Mormon he relates it so well to his own life, it's just further testimony to me that the Book of Mormon was written for our day!
We also have a baptism coming up this Sunday. Leb______ was interviewed and is ready to be baptized, Leb_____ is a stud. He is so excited and every time we talk to him he just tells us all about the blessings he has seen since reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. I gave him a DVD that had about 4 hours worth of church videos, he told me that very same night he watched all of the videos on the DVD. He is even talking about how after he becomes a member he wants to serve a mission. It's so great to see people become converted before they are even baptized. President Von Stetten (our mission president) always talks about how we are looking for converts to the gospel, not just baptisms. Unfortunately in the past so many people here in Africa have been baptized too quickly and were not ready to make and keep the sacred covenants associated with baptism. Inactivity is a huge problem the church is facing here in Africa.
Becoming converted is really a lifelong process but I feel like my mission has converted me for the rest of my life. I always had a testimony growing up in the church but I never felt that conversion or mighty change of heart that Alma speaks of. My mission has finally given that to me which I'm really grateful for. I loved that talk from Elder Bednar in this past conference about conversion, if you haven't had the chance to read it then go back and look over it. It's a fantastic talk about conversion and the process we must all go through. Anyways, I hope everything is going well back home and you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Summers
It has been another week to remember here in Phuthaditjhaba. How many of you can pronounce that by the way? Some of these African names are ridiculous sometimes haha. This past week we had a couple of great lessons with people who are getting ready for baptism. I'm not sure how many of you remember this guy named L_____ that we met about a month ago. He has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy and on Tuesday he told us he wants to be baptized. I have never seen someone so converted since I have been on mission. He is reading everything we give him, he is reading about temples, gospel principles, the lorenzo snow book, etc. He even wants a D&C! We told him to slow down a little bit and take it one step at a time. He will be getting baptized on March 3rd (My birthday!) so we are really excited. He has so much potential to be a powerful member in the branch. He is already doing a lot of missionary work, his sister is really interested in the church. She lives in Johannesburg, we directed her to the nearest chapel there and she visited church on Sunday. It is so great to see how the restored gospel can completely change a persons life. Lerato was really struggling with quite a few things in his personal life and the Book of Mormon has completely changed his demeanor. Every time he reads the Book of Mormon he relates it so well to his own life, it's just further testimony to me that the Book of Mormon was written for our day!
We also have a baptism coming up this Sunday. Leb______ was interviewed and is ready to be baptized, Leb_____ is a stud. He is so excited and every time we talk to him he just tells us all about the blessings he has seen since reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. I gave him a DVD that had about 4 hours worth of church videos, he told me that very same night he watched all of the videos on the DVD. He is even talking about how after he becomes a member he wants to serve a mission. It's so great to see people become converted before they are even baptized. President Von Stetten (our mission president) always talks about how we are looking for converts to the gospel, not just baptisms. Unfortunately in the past so many people here in Africa have been baptized too quickly and were not ready to make and keep the sacred covenants associated with baptism. Inactivity is a huge problem the church is facing here in Africa.
Becoming converted is really a lifelong process but I feel like my mission has converted me for the rest of my life. I always had a testimony growing up in the church but I never felt that conversion or mighty change of heart that Alma speaks of. My mission has finally given that to me which I'm really grateful for. I loved that talk from Elder Bednar in this past conference about conversion, if you haven't had the chance to read it then go back and look over it. It's a fantastic talk about conversion and the process we must all go through. Anyways, I hope everything is going well back home and you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Summers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)