Week #55 - A New Companion from South Africa is coming!

Wow what a week!! 

It started out pretty good.  We had some great visits and we really were just preparing our people for batismo.  Next week we have about 4 people ready and 6 others have baptismal dates set.  I'm way pumped! Sunday we walked around as usual to gather people and remind them to come to church.  The people don't really work on a clock.  So we wake up and start walking EARLY!!  We tell them that it is time for them to be ready and leave for church at least 1 hour before church starts.  If we don't remind people and go door to door then when sacrament meeting begins we only have 10 people there.  By the end of the meeting there are 200!  So... we are learning the secrets to helping people get to church.  Yesterday we had 13 investigators with us!  So grateful!!  

Elder Goncalvas & I had two men that were baptized - Edrice & Jovel.  Both are 21 years old.  They were so open to learn about the gospel.  I love them both and they are also some of the funniest guys I've ever met, haha. 

Tuesday I received a call from President Senna.  He told me about transfers.  I am staying in my same area!  My companion Elder Van Orden is our new Zone Leader and I have been asked to be District Leader and train a new Elder from South Africa!  I look forward to meeting him.  We have different cultures here.  In my district there is an Elder from Austalia, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, and America. But ya, President said he'll come this next week.  So I have been with Elder Goncalves this whole week.  We joined up on Wednesday and are still together.  We had some real spiritual lessons this week.  I was in tears.  One of them was when we ate dinner with a counselor in our Bishopric.  We ate dinner with them and then Elder Goncalves shared a message with them from the Book of Mormon.  He spoke about obedience to God's laws will help us during times of struggle and trial.  The counselor and his wife broke down and shared some challenges they are having with one of their children.  The spirit was so strong.  We shared our assurance in God's Plan for us as His children and that He will deliver us!!  We all cried together.  They are doing everything possible to keep the commandments and their faith is amazing.  

The prettiest sunset I've ever seen. Really Africa just has a thing... always the sunsets are bonita!!

When missionaries come from Mozambique it is simply humbling to realize how even as missionaries we have so much more than they have grown up with.  I was showing a Mozambique Missionary the place he was going to stay.  As we walked in he looked over at the washing machine and asked what it was?  I told him it is how we wash our clothes.  He was in amazement!  He wanted to see how it worked and could not believe that a machine can clean clothes.  Then I showed him the stove.  He is used to cooking over a fire.  It was hard to believe that these every day conveniences are so incredible to still so many people.  What really tugged at me though was when I told him we have warm water in this apartment (not all of them do - so bonus for the ones in our area).  So he can have a warm shower.  Then he told me he has never had a warm shower!  

Wow!  I am blessed.  So blessed to live in America, to grow up with the gospel, and to even have so much as a missionary!  My testimony grew this week as I am now reading and studying the Book of Mormon in Portuguese.  Reading through the Joseph Smith story at the beginning I had an incredible experience.  I know Joseph Smith was called as the Prophet to Restore Christ's Church to earth.  I know that Heavenly Father is aware of the people here.  He knows of their desires and their struggles.  He is blessing them.  I am a witness of His Miracles and especially the sacrifice that the Savior made for each of us.  Christ Lives!  He heals, He forgives, He Understands.  We show a picture of President Nelson to the people here when we teach them about Living Prophets.  They think he is in his 60's.  They have never heard of anyone that has lived as long as President Nelson.  Now he is 95 years old!  They tell us that only God can make that happen.  I know that our Prophet prepared himself and that God works through him.  

I think I will get my new companion this week.  I feel like this week has been such a spiritual high.  I hope I can help this new Elder experience what I am.  Thanks for everything.  Love ya'll  

Elder Rees