Week 4 in Umlazi-October 2, 2017

The internet went out right before I sent this on Monday so here it is.

First off just wanted to give a shout out to my mom whose bday was yesterday! Happy birthday mom! It has been humbling to see how lucky I am to have a mom that is supportive, or even in my life.  Many here don’t have the support system that any of us in the United States are lucky enough to have. 

Another great week in Umlazi! This week was a quick and exciting one! On Wednesday we had Zone Conference which is just when like about 16 missionaries get together for a day with our mission president.  We learn all day about how to improve ourselves.  It was an awesome experience for me.  I love meeting other missionaries too.  They are all such great guys and fun to talk about life in the mission with them.  We talked about change and how what we do as missionaries is go around and ask people to repent, or to change.  WE teach them how to change and help them with it.  That is our job and it is awesome!

 The next day we had exchanges.  I was with a zone leader, Elder Dos Santos.  He is from Mozambique and a stud.  He taught me a lot and helped me understand a lot about my purpose here as a missionary.  Now skip to Sunday we had two baptisms.  One 13 year old girl named Ziyanda.  She is awesome.  She stays with here Grandma here because her parents are not around anymore.  Sad but she is always so happy and excited! The next girl is named Mouhle.  She is awesome as well.  She is only 10 so a bit more shy but another great example to us.  Her mom is not a member of the church but the girl comes with her grandma.  We forgot to fill up the font that we baptize in early so we were very stressed and trying to stall so that people didn’t get too upset. 

That night our power went out.  The way it works here is you pay for power then when you get low you pay again but my companion forgot it was low so it just went out.  Kind of sad but we just ended up going to sleep and you don’t need lights for that so it worked out. 

This week I have been studying about hope.  It is a Christ like attribute so I have been looking at scriptures on it.  My favorite is Ether 12:4 in the Book of Mormon.  Hope comes from faith in God that he will make sure everything in our life is alright.  We just need to trust him and keep a smile on our faces.  There will be trials but you just got to “saddle up,” as my MTC president said, and deal with it.  We all struggle with things for a reason and we just need to try our best and God will do the rest. 

I love you all and wish you the best of luck in everything you do this week! Count your blessings because believe it or not you are so lucky to have what you have. See you next week!

Pics: typical life in Umlazi with the trucks. and these are deep fried balls of goodness.  Called Amiguena or something like that.  Sooooo good and cheap but will give you diabetes. 

Week 3 in Umlazi-Sept. 25, 2017

Hello everyone! It sure was a great week.  I am starting to really like it here in Umlazi.  There has been some crazy rain and wind lately which makes missionary work a bit more interesting.  Today is heritage day in South Africa.  It sounds like one of those lame holidays that is just an excuse to have school and work off but it is actually legit.  We had a ward activity to celebrate today which was awesome.  A lot of people showed up.  We had boiled cow head and some other traditional Zulu dishes. Kind if gross tbh but I tried to enjoy it.  In case you are wondering, cow ear is not that good.  It may be tempting but you are not missing out.  It even has a little bit of hair on it that gets stuck in your teeth which just really tops it off.  hahaha it is rude not to finish your food here so I try my best to suffer through.  Pray for me hahahha.  Everyone was dressed in traditional clothing and there were some performances that were all in a different language but they were entertaining anyways.  

The missionary work here is awesome.  We struggle getting people to come to church though.  People dont have the money or cars to travel to the church.  We try to teach people that are close to the church but it can still be difficult.  We are working with one lady named Gugu (the names here make me laugh. Another lady is named Dudu). She is so awesome.  She struggles to come to church because of work but she is trying to get a new job so that she can go to church.  She lives in a section of the town that we cant go to because it is unsafe so we teach her at the chapel.  She walks like a mile just to meet with us which is awesome.  People sacrifice so much here to learn about Jesus Christ.  That is just one of the stories of the people that sacrifice.  

The kids in the picture below are very cute but also very frustrating.  They just run into our apartment and take our stuff! So annoying but they dont know any better.  Well I am doing well out here.  When times get tough I just think back to the fact that we live on an earth and breath the invisible air.  Pretty crazy if you think about it.  God loves you all.  He sent his son to suffer on our behalf.  He send his perfect son to suffer for us humans who are very stupid and always mess up.  That is just one of the ways he shows his love.  I love you all so much.  The pic of the goats is pretty representative of life here.  Goats and chickens just roam the streets and eat trash.  Also the gross stuff on the floor of that other pic is cow skin from the cow head we ate.  Nasty.  The pic of the little kids is just a fam that we eat dinner at.  The food we eat there is amazing.  Love you all and keep doing great things!

Week 2 in Umlazi-September 18, 2017

Well another week down in Umlazi! It was a very interesting one this week.  It was a pretty quick week and I can definitely feel myself settling in here.  It has been a rainy and windy week so that kind of stinks.  There is a ton of trash here in the streets so when it is windy it blows everywhere and is quite nasty. But besides the weather it has been a great and quick week! 

We are super lucky here in umlazi because we have dinner appointments every night.  On Sunday we literally ate 3 different dinners which killed me.  The food was amazing and all but it was just so much! The members are so willing to feed us which is awesome.  Everyone feeds us chicken and rice with some curry stuff.  It is all super tasty.  The soda here is great as well. It is very different but I try not to drink too much.  We stayed with some other elders in our are for the majority of this week which was fun. The elders we stayed with are hilarious and have really given me some great advice for the future.  

The poverty here continues to amaze me.  Such humble people with such an amazing belief in god and Jesus Christ. Church was great this week! It is supposed to be an english ward but most people still speak in Zulu so I just smile and nod most of the time.  It can be a struggle sometimes but I am trying to learn zulu.  It has clicks in the language which is nuts but I am practicing every morning.  

This mission so far has been a very humbling experience and I am loving it.  I am reminded every day that I do not know everything and I have so much to learn.  I am really focusing on faith this week.  Faith is an action word.  by that I mean that faith should make you want to act on something.  If it is a faith in God you should exercise that faith and try to come closer to him each day.  These next two years are not going to be easy but I have faith that I can get through it all! 

Thanks to everyone for the love and support this week.  It really means a lot and I can feel the love all the way from Africa.  Have a great week everyone! Love you! 

didnt take many pics this week.  More coming next week tho!

Welcome to Africa! First Email from the Field! Umlazi! Sept. 11, 2017

Wow it feels like forever since I last emailed! It has been a wild 2 weeks! Since I last emailed I have left the MTC and entered my real mission.  Last tuesday I flew from Johannesburg to Durban.  Very short and easy flight.  It was sad to leave all the homies from the MTC but I was excited to finally leave and go and teach real people! When I landed in Durban the mission prez and some other elders were waiting for us.  It was a great little meet up.  We sang church songs in the terminal with everyone which was a bit weird but super fun.  After we drove and saw the new temple that is in the process of being built.  The people of Durban are so hyped for it.  Everyone in the mission is excited too.  It should be done next summer.  Well we got to the mission office eventually and did some orientation stuff.  Kinda boring but we all eventually got a chance to practice driving and interview with president.  It was a intense interview but it got me excited to go out and get to work! Driving was sketch but I adjusted pretty well with the ten minutes I had to drive. Then we went to the mission home and ate dinner and had a testimony meeting. that was super powerful and everyone was excited to start! Finally we found out where everyone was going.  It was very intense.  I didnt care where I went. I just wanted to find out. 

 Wellllll...... I am in a place called Umlazi which is right outside of Durban. Lets just say it is the equivalent to how Compton is to LA.  It is super ghetto.  But is is still super sick.  shacks and trash everywhere and I am the only white person for miles. It helps to have a black companion. My comp is Elder Sibanda and he is from Zimbabwe.  He is super cool and we are excited to work.  He doesnt drive so I have too.  It is terrifying but I am improving.  The taxi drivers are INSANE and they always honk.  I have had some close calls but we have been safe so far. We have been extra afraid because the gangsters around here love to steal people's cars and burn them.  Especially white people. We got pulled over by a cop and he just told us to get out of town because is is especially dangerous right now.  We said screw it and just kept going.  Our flat, or apartment, is nice.  We have a big one that is meant for four elders but its just the two of us.  Lots of mosquitoes here but malaria is not a problem so we are all good.  

The missionary work here is boomin and we get fed every night by members. Sometimes twice a night which is scary because I dont eat all that much and some of the food is sketchy. Tons of tasty chicken but other weird foods with nasty texture. But we teach a lot which is super nice.  The ward is awesome.  Some people walk quite a ways to get to church because majority of people here dont have cars. Which is sad but that is life and it is normal here. The ward I am in is very strong and big compared to others in the mission.  There are like a million hills here and a million speed bumps as well so we have to go slow.  Also kids are running everywhere all the time so I dont want to run over any kids.  The kids are super cute and they look at me weird becasue they could probably count the number of white people they have ever seen on one hand.  They love to feel my arm hair and touch my watch.  Makes you appreciate what we take for granted in America.  Well my fingers are tired now.  I wish I could explain more specifics but it is hard over email.  I am doing great tho.  I miss you all so very much! Africa is changing me. And being a missionary is changing me.  So being a missionary in Africa is really changing me!  Love you all.  The church is true and it really does change lives! Eat some In n out for me because I miss burgers.  I will send heaps of pics in a separate email. Talk to you next week!

Week 2 in Missionary Training Center in Johannesburg

Wow this mission thing keeps getting better and better! Last Wednesday we got to go out and teach people in a town called Soweto.  It was INSANE.  It was my first real "Africa" experience.  Shacks, street vendors, and a ton of little African children running around everywhere! It is amazing to see what these people have and how happy they are.  We met some crazy people who wondered why God wasnt black but we also met a single lady with a three month old baby.  She lived in a very small one room shack.  We taught her about the Restoration and it wass awesome!  I just about hit my head on the roof but it was an amazing experience.  Kids love running up to us and messing with us "white men." But it really is amazing to see how accepting and humble these people are. We got home and had an amazing meal and we all just thought about the craziness we just saw. Truly inspiring and just reminds me that we are so lucky in America!

I got a new companion this week which was pretty cool.  He is from American Fork, Utah.  His name is Elder Elison.  We are doing great and love to work hard together.  He is headed to Zambia after the MTC which blows my mind.  I am so short on time but I have so many more amazing things to share! I wont be emailing for two weeks because next week on tuesday I will be traveling to Durban! The big leagues.  I love all you and thanks for the support! I will send loads of pics in two weeks! God loves you and I wish you all the best this next week!! 

Week 1-First Week of Training

Well what a first week it has been! Sorry if I don't respond to everyone this week, but we don't have too much time to email in the MTC.  So I arrived Wednesday night after a very long flight.  It was pretty brutal but I was just glad it was over.  We got to the MTC (where I am being trained) and had a bit of an orientation.  The Americans were the first ones to arrive so we just were getting settled in.  The next day was full of arrivals and just meeting everyone.  My companion is named Elder Lopuliak and he is from Ukraine! It is pretty funny to hear his accent but his English is pretty good.  He speaks Russian and Ukrainian as well which is cool.  He and I are getting along great.  I would send a pic but we can't while in the MTC but when I get a chance in about 2 weeks I will for sure! My district is pretty sick.  We have two kids from Utah,and other elders from Australia, England, Vegas, South Africa and Ukraine.  It is awesome to get to know all the different cultures! The accents are awesome.  I have been playing soccer which is pretty wild but I am getting better! They try to keep the food South African style and I am slowly getting used to it.  The MTC President and his wife are amazing and are super cool people.  Its amazing to see the missionaries straight out of Africa that wear the same clothes every day, have one suitcase and are the first in their families to serve missions.  They are always soooo happy for what they have which really makes us Americans feel like lame people.  But we are working on being humble and being thankful!  I can't wait to continue to learn in the MTC! The next two weeks I will be emailing on Tuesdays so see you all then!  I am changing day by day and love the mission so much and it is only the first week! I wish I could tell you everything but I just don't have the time.  If you want to ask me any questions feel free and I will try to answer them.  The Church is true and I am so excited to be able to serve the people of Africa for the next two years!! Love you all!!!!

His Call

SOUTH AFRICA!!!!! Justin received his mission call today after a baseball game.  He is very excited to serve in the South Africa Durban Mission. He reports August 17 to the Johannesburg MTC! We are bummed he will miss his brother coming home from Argentina by about a week, but still very excited.