Standing Room Only

So, I made it to Francistown and I am loving it already. The people here are even more wonderful than the people in Gaborone. We have been assigned to open the new branch, and a new area, with a total of no investigators to start with. Sounds like fun, huh? It really was, except for the fact that it was 41'C! So stinking HOT! But we went and met everyone in the neighborhood around the church! I think we know almost everyone already in the neighborhood by name, and are teaching more than half of them! We really worked very hard to meet people and invite them to the opening of the church in Gerald! And it paid off! We had 85 people in attendance this week! That is more than was in the branch in main town, they had 80! There was standing room only in the little house that we meet in! People just kept coming and coming, as I was giving my talk I had to almost yell so everyone could hear me. It was so great! How many branches have opened, and had 85 people in attendance the first week? Not very many I am sure! It was very exciting! President wanted the branches to split in four months, but they may need to do it before then, or get a bigger building. I don't know where we are going to fit all of these people. It was just a great week. The main problem I forsee we will run into is that people here cohabit too much, because they cannot afford to get married, so they just live together. Seems to be a huge problem. But we will find those that are married, and ready for this gospel! Or we will get them married and then baptize them. This past Sunday there were 7 baptisms into the branch! It was great. The work is really booming here, and I am very grateful to get to see this part of Botswana before I head home. So, that is Francistown. The work is great! We went from having no investigators and in one week, we have about 30. The church is true, and the work is great.

New Area

Ok, I have to make this quick because I don't have much time, I have to head up to Francistown! Woohooo! Yup, I got transferred up north, to francistown! They are splitting the branch up there, and this time they are sending sisters! I have wanted this my whole mission. I am very excited. It will be a great last seven and a half weeks! President told me we need to work diligently because he wants to split the branches again in four months, and then again in another four months, and then create a district then, and then a year from that, so in less than two years, he wants Francistown to beocme a stake! Eish....lots of responsibility these last few weeks. No room to get trunky :). but I am excited, but that is all I can write today.

I ate Chicken Feet - and I liked it!

This week was Botswana Independence Day. On the 30th. Which means most people went home to their villages and the cattle posts. However, some people did remain. Most that did were drunk the whole weekend though. Which made missionary work slow this past week. But we endured it well. We did meet some promising people. However, there weren’t very many people at church because most were still at home. So, it was an ok week. The four people who got baptized last week all stayed in town for their confirmations. That was great! Well, we are working hard still. This weekend will be an exciting one for us here in Botswana. An area seventy, Elder Bricknell will be here in Botswana giving the Saints here fireside on what they must do to become a stake! It will be very exciting. I am really looking forward to it. They are going to make a goal to become a stake in June. So, I will miss it, but I am very excited for them. As missionaries in my second transfer we made a goal for Bots to become a stake in the next two years! And we are going to achieve that goal! I am so excited for them. Um…other than that, it really was a pretty slow week because of the holiday. Hopefully this coming week will be more exciting. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your prayers.

Always Smile

This week we had four investigators get baptized! One family. The Pelaelo family. Consisting of a mom with her two children. The father passed away three years ago. They were all very excited to be baptized, but they were so afraid of the water, especially because it was cold. The little girl, Kwangu, she is ten, and she cried coming out of the water. But afterwards, she was all smiles. And the mma was very scared as well. She felt the water, and did not want to go in, but she did, and afterwards , she was also all smiles. Africans are afraid of water. Especially this family. But they did it, and we were very happy for them! And they were happy to each other. And I am positive their father/husband was also very happy for them. And he wlll be even happier when they can go to the temple and be sealed together. They will be an eternal family soon! It was a great feeling watching them be baptized. Very great. The other investigator of our being baptized was Kaizer Moatshe. Kaizer, all on his own decided this year, 2010, he was going to change his life. He quit smoking and drinking in January, and then in June he met the missionaries. Coincidence? I think not. So, he was baptized on Sunday as well! It was also very great! He was so happy. He has made so many changes in his life. And more are yet to come. He is a great man, and will be a good priesthood holder. It was a great day yesterday. I was little disappointed at church because our investigators that we were hoping would make it, didn’t. We still had seven investigators show up! Which is great, but so many others that did not make it . I was a little discouraged during gospel principles, but then once we got the Pelaelo’s and Kaizer ready for their baptism all was well. I was so happy! It was a great day, and hopefully the others will show up next week! They better! They just don’t realize what we are offering them! But one day, they will, and they will wish that they had listened to us earlier. So, the work is going well. We are working hard, and striving to bring as many souls unto Christ as we can. My only complaint, is that it is stinking HOT here! So hot! My legs were dripping sweat as we were teaching a lesson yesterday! Eish, summer in Botswana is here, and it is no joke! But don’t worry, I put on my SPF 100 sunscreen every day J haha. Seriously though, I do. Alright thanks for reading. Have a good week. Remember to always smile.

24 baptisms on the 24th?

This week was another great week. We are extremely busy these
days. We have appointments every hour of the day. Not much time to
do finding on our own. Yet we are still teaching new people every
week. Why? Because the Lord is blessing us, and our members are
doing the finding for us. Just the way it should be. It is really
exciting. Seriously, this week our recent convert, Brother Zhou!!!
Called us and said, come to my house, there are two people here who
want to join the church! So, of course we went, and we put them on
date for the 24th of October  These miracles amaze me every day.
This week while planning we were discussing all of the people we are
teaching, and we decided we would put most everybody we are teaching
on date for the 24th of October! We already have eight people with a
baptismal date of the 24th of October, and we are planning on putting
on 9 more this week! So, we should have 17 people preparing to be
baptized on 24th of October. And we shared this in district meeting
this week, and the district is excited about it, so they are also
going to push and put everyone on date for the 24th of October. So,
as a district our Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to have 24 people be
baptized on the 24th of October. How cool would that be! That is the
goal, but realistically, it might not happen. But on our side with 17
people on date for the 24th, we are bound to get a few out of it. The
goal we turned into the mission president for the month of October was
3. So out of the 17 plus people with a date for October, we should
far exceed our goal! Exciting, huh? I’m sure your prayers and
support will help us to achieve our goals! We are very excited about
the work! Coming into this area, everyone told me it was a dead area,
and they had considering closing it at one point. Really? This is an
amazing area! The best area I have been in! So much potential in
this area! I really think I will get to see my goal of seeing 20
baptisms before I go home. On this coming Sunday we will be having 4
of our investigators getting baptized! We can’t wait! The work is
great. I am loving every minute of it. On a lighter note, this week
my companion made fish this week, only the entire fish! So, I ate
every part of it, the head, the eyeballs, everything. Interesting.
Not too bad. So, that was this week. Thanks for reading.

Be the Lord's Hands

This week was great. We had 13 investigators come to church this week! I think that might be the most investigators I have come to church in a single week! We were excited, yet there were still some investigators that normally come, that were not in attendance. So, we are hoping that next week will be even better attendance at church. Our gospel principles class was very full. It was very exciting. But not as exciting as after church. After church the Elders had two baptisms in the family ward. One was of an eternal investigator, Boitumelo Bakoko. He has been coming to church with his wife for the past 4 years! But never would agree to be baptized. Until yesterday! He did it! And he was so happy, and one year from now, they are preparing to go to the temple to be sealed and become an etenal family. That is the way he put it in his testimony! It was awesome! Everyone was so excited for him!!!! And then in the Singles ward, we had a university student, Refilwe Kabelo, be baptized! That was very exciting! She was very happy to be baptized. She knows the gospel is true, and she is doing great missionary work already. Recent Converts are great. They are all how member missionaries should be. They are so exciting to share the gospel with everyone they know. You can see it in their eyes, and hear it in their testimonies! I think if everyone thought back to the time they were truly converted to the gospel, and started to live that way again, then member missionary work would be what it is supposed to be. Members are crucial for the success of us full time missionaries. Without members the people we find and baptize walk in the front door, and out the back door unnoticed! And when that happens, it is sad. But seeing new members excited about the gospel, that is something that is far better than any feeling I have ever felt in my life. The church is true! If you don't know that, pray about it, find out for yourself, and then please go share that knowledge with others! The blessing you will receive from sharing the gospel with others is unbelievable! So, don't be afraid, just go out there and share your testimony! And I promise the Lord will bless you, and your life will be happier and more peaceful, and so will the lives of those people that you bring to the gospel. Go and be the Lord's hands this week!

2 transfers left

This week another transfer starts, which means I only have two
transfers left. The time really went by way to fast, but a lot is
going to happen these last two transfers. It will be a big couple of
transfers for sister ChirChir and I. This past week we put another
potential priesthood on date. We gave him a baptismal date for the end
of October. That was really great. The only problem is he has
serious Word of Wisdom issues. But we are really going to help him to
overcome those. We had a great lesson with him yesterday. He really
wants to change his life for the better, and we are just what he is
looking for. He read the conference Liahona from 2007,and one of the
talks really changed his perspective. Elder Hallstrom talk entitled
Do It Now, really got him excited to change. He knows he can do it,
and he will. So hopefully we can really help him to change, and he
will be baptized also before I go. Other than that. Not much else to
report on. We are just working hard, and I am just really trying to
stay focused on my purpose here. One of the hardest things in life is
to learn to master yourself, especially your thoughts. Controlling
actions has always been pretty easy for me, but controlling my
thoughts is ridiculously difficult. Hopefully before I go home I will
be better able to control my thoughts, but self-mastery is quite the
difficult thing. But I know it can be done, or the Savior would not
have encouraged us to become perfect. So, perfection is possible.
But it isn’t easy. But one day, I am sure I will get there, if I
continue to work hard at it.