Week #38 The GOAT

Hello everyone, how are you doing? I hope all is well! Let's get into the report…

Tuesday: 

After completing our typical Tuesday morning schedule we dropped the elders in their area. Our first two lessons canceled on us after we drove to their homes and no one was around, so we went and got lunch since it was already 3. It was some place in the elders area that we won’t be going back to. We went to contact a member but he wasn’t around so we did some service and helped his aunt/ uncle, or grandparents. I'm not really sure who they were. We helped them wash some clothes. We went to our friend Botlhale’s home, and reviewed everything we’ve taught her in preparation for her baptism this Sunday. We drove 15 minutes to our next lesson and then she canceled in our face because “it’s too cold” (it was 14 Cº). The elders asked us to pick them up since they were on bikes and were cold, so we brought them to our next lesson. We taught Rainforce and his wife Pauline, they’re so cool and crazy receptive to the message, I love them so much! The rest of our lessons canceled so we contacted a member family and then called some FB referrals. Today was a little subpar but every day can’t be the best!

Wednesday:

We went to the chapel at 7:30 so our new temporary Mission President Chadambuka could interview all of us. The gang of RM’s were there so we were dying laughing with them while we waited for our turns to be interviewed. I also beat Law in a match of Mmhele. Once we got home I made a whole loaf of french toast for Mosweswe and I… we cleaned our plates in two seconds. Today we had 10 back-to-back lessons with no time in between to spare! Not only that but all of the lessons were great! The sisters needed our help with something at their flat right before curfew so we drove all the way over there and helped them. Mathias snatched one of their beanies and her hair wasn’t done so she started spanking him, we all just watched in complete awe and disbelief about what we were watching. Today was significantly better than yesterday.

Thursday:

All I ate yesterday was french toast and a lot of choc chip biscuits so my stomach wasn’t happy this morning. Law, Mosweswe, and I went to help somebody in Law's area to cut down a massive tree in their yard. Many thorns were left in my arms and I even ripped my sweats ;-;

Good news was that we came home to warm chips-mayai prepared by Were and Mathias. Mathias went into their area today for exchanges. Our first couple of lessons canceled so we contacted a few of our friends and then we got lunch. Afterward, we did some finding and found a cool guy named Theo (Tay-O), they pronounce things differently here. We got lunch and then taught a few more lessons and then went to Botlhales, we reviewed with her again. Next up was Abel, we also reviewed with him but we decided that we should push his baptism to the 23rd so he can strengthen his testimony a bit more. Boemo (RM) joined our lesson with Abel and he was hilarious as usual. We went to the edge of the area for our last lesson which went well. Google brought us through some crazy bush on our way home and it felt like Mosweswe and I were in a horror movie. We did not feel good at all. 

Friday:

We had district council this morning, my sons gave a training together and I gave a talk. We also discussed the possibility of purchasing a goat as a district. It is only 900 pula (about 65 USD), the sisters did not like how cheap it was and we went on a 10 minute tangent about JUJU (witchcraft) and how that goat isn’t safe to eat or buy. Our first lesson was a FB referral and the lesson went well. Next up was a security guard for a primary school near Boemos house. It was our first time teaching her and she didn’t speak English so Mosweswe taught her in Setswana. He’s very good at teaching, especially for only being out a couple weeks. We got some bomb chips and chicken for lunch. If you eat chips with chicken here they call the chips “ma-fresh”. I’ve tried asking around but no one can tell me why. We taught Pauline and Rainforce the Plan of Salvation and they loved it as usual, they need to be baptized soon, the only problem is getting to church. We had a contact, found someone, and then went to Botlhales. The ZL’s interviewed her over the phone and they said she crushed it and is so ready!!! She’s probably the smartest 12 year old I’ve ever met. We re-taught Abel the restoration since he completely forgot about it from when the previous elders taught him it. Our last lesson was way out in the bush but they weren't home. 

Saturday:

We had a virtual ward/ missionary coordination meeting this morning. While we waited for the EQ President to call Law and Mosweswe played two matches of Mmhele, Law got cooked in both (sorry if you’re reading this Law). In his defense though, Mosweswe had been playing for 12 years and was in a club at school. We taught our friend Alex and then all 4 of the Sisters joined us for a lesson with one of the members and her daughter in the ward. As usual whenever we see the Sisters they try to steal anything they can get their hands on. We taught a sister named Zandile(23) next and she is very smart and remembers everything we teach her. We pulled up to the youth activity, soccer. Some kid ran in front of the car for like 2kms to show us the way. After the sisters shared a message we played a match on a dirt pitch against the neighborhood kids. Our Team was a couple RM’s, us elders, and a lot of small children against a bunch of 16-20 year olds. Mothusi (RM) scored our first goal and then I scored the second, the score was 2-0, Mothusi scored another goal and the match was finished. We taught a couple of more lessons and then headed home.

Sunday:

We got to the chapel a bit early to start filling the font but it was taking long so we started to bucket fill it from the tap. During the second hour we went back out and bucket filed again. The service was very nice and Mosweswe baptized her. We taught a sister that stays right next to our flat, she was referred to us by the elders. Her house was huge and she had an outdoor kitchen, bar, lounge and everything, it was very nice. We had a couple of really nice contacts with our friends and then managed to get 4 more lessons in. 

Monday:

We had another chill P-Day where we slept, played some board games and did our grocery shopping, nothing crazy. To be honest though, the chill P-Days are growing on me a lot. We taught two lessons tonight. The second one was super cool. It’s two brothers around 12 and 15, the younger one mostly speaks Setswana and the older one can speak English and Setswana. We taught ½ of the restoration and got his brother to translate for him, Elder Mosweswe corrected when needed. It was really cool to see his brother teach him, they seem very cool!

Spiritual Thought:

Something quick because I’m short on time…

Moroni 7:12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God…

Everything that is good in life, family, job, blessing, miracle, happy moment, etc. comes from God. As we seek to find the “good” in life we will see God's hand in our life so much more!

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading about the week. I hope and pray you all have a great week ahead and I appreciate all the messages received this week. Go have a killer week,

Elder Miller