Monday, May 28, 2012

Change is Good



Hiya Family!

      Last Monday we hiked Sentinel Peak.  It was a way sick experience.  The climb reminded me of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park because of the big chain ladders used to ascend the cliff face.  Oh, such a super cool experience!  Also, this past Saturday we hiked up Maluti Mountain, which happens to be the mountain really close to where we live.  We did it as a church group activity and had so much fun. It was a fairly long hike.  I’m not sure the total distance we hiked but I would guess it was approximately six miles.  One of the cool things about it was that we had 6 little kids who hiked the whole way by themselves.  Pretty amazing if you are to think about it,  especially because they are all younger than nine-years-old.  One of the kids, who is 5 years old, never had to be carried.  Just to show you how tough they were, many of the adults were complaining and had to take multiple rests.  :p  Anyhow, those kids come from my favorite family here in PJ, the Mofokeng family.  They are a large family and they are not members of the church, but I know at least half the family will be soon.  I have just fallen in love with them.



      Well, Elder Ncube is leaving.  He is getting transferred to the coast.  He will be going to Umlazzi and will be a Zone Leader!!  I must say that I’m gonna miss him a lot, but as I have said before, "Change is good."  Change brings with it what you want, and I want excitement and new experiences to enjoy and grow and learn from!  So, that is what it will be :)

      My new companion arrives tomorrow.  His name is Elder Dutson.  I have no idea who he is or anything about him.

      Jordan, I heard you are shaping an Aliah (wooden surf board).  That is awesome Boss!  Don’t rush it, just take it easy and make her look beautiful.  Send me pictures when you’re done!!

      Dadio, I’m so pleased to hear how well you are doing.  I’m trying to follow your example by eating better as well.  The one thing that’s challenging about being on a mission is, I hardly get opportunities to work out or be active.  I’m praying my next companion will be a runner, because Elder Ncube wasn’t.  Just a little secret . . . I looked in the mirror and saw a little pudge and was like, "this is not gonna happen to me!!"  So, I’m trying to figure out a good way to maintain my health.  I can promise that you will come back with me, even Mom and Jordan (if he isn’t on his mission), and climb to Sentinel Peak so you can see this beautiful land as well.

      Mommmmyy!!  I Love you I hope you know.  I miss you HEAPSSS!  I have looked back over my life, my upbringing and have really began to appreciate the mother you were and are to me.  I don’t think I could have realized these things without having been so far separated from you.  But, I brag about you and my whole family a lot.  I think people are actually sick of hearing about it.  :p

      So, just a side note (not one to bring any spirits down but one to ponder on); I’ve been here three months and I have worked pretty hard, yet no one has been baptized.  It’s interesting… Everyone I know on a mission has had baptisms in their first one or two transfers.  I ponder on the idea that some are sowers and some are harvesters.  It takes much faith and hope to tell yourself that you are sowing seeds among this people, seeds that will boom into powerful families and leaders of God’s kingdom.  I think about the Prophet Abinadi who died not even realizing what Alma the Older was going to become (see Book of Mormon reference).  Well, through him I would venture to say that millions, if not more, have received salvation because of his efforts.

Fight the Good Fight!!!

With all the love I can muster,

ELDER GOLD :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Best Mothers Day EVER!



Dumelang (Hello) FAMILY!!
      All is well here.  The cold has come in, but some people say that it hasn’t even started.  Ha-ha, we blast the heaters and shower often.

      I’m super glad you are all healthy :)  I don’t have any more worries thanks to some Divine help.

      AHHHHH!   I feel lost in the work.  Well, not lost cause things are all going in the right direction but so consumed.  It’s going to be terrible not being a missionary anymore when the time comes (still 21 months away).  I have a story regarding 3 investigators that could just be titled something about serving two masters.  It’s a very sad and personal story so I wont write it here, but you can read it in my journal in 21 months.  I say that because the picture I’ll post below makes me think about what team we are playing for.  Are we playing on the winning team, or the loosing team?  I often think about us who are fighting for God’s army: are we giving it our everything? Sometimes as a missionary I wonder about myself. Elder Holland has said that we should have worked so hard during our mission that at the end, we have to be rolled out on a stretcher!  Not literally, but it drives the point well.

      So Dad, I realized this last week that I didn’t even say happy birthday on your birthday, or when I called.  So, I’m wishing you the best year this year.  I'll see if I can find you a cool African cane so you can ditch the stereotypical aluminum ones.  I can also send you the recipe for pap, that soft gooey corn meal stuff so you can take out your teeth and still enjoy your food :p Just messin.

       Pictures are broken and I’m sad.  That’s why I was only able to send the one of at the soccer game. I had some really sweet ones as well. Oh well.

I love you guys heaps as always. Fight the good fight that side and I will do so this side.

With Love,
Elder GOLD!!!!!


P.S.



      In a very brief email last Monday Landon wrote,  “ As we speak a computer man is trying to recover my photos, and I’m praying desperately that he can. If not, oh well I still have 21 more months of photos :)” Apparently, the computer they have been using to email had a virus and corrupted his SD card; erasing all of the images he has taken this far on his mission.  I couldn’t believe how well he seemed to be taking it.
      He also wrote:  "That was my best mothers day too :) I balled like a baby and Elder Ncube was all over it.  Taking pictures of me and laughing.  I guess it's an American thing to get all emotional when you call home.  Infact, he talked to his dad for a total of 1 minute and 48 seconds!!  And that was all they needed!  They have a strong relationship too.  Must be an African thing." :p


Sunday, May 13th, 2012

      This morning at 7:30 am we got to talk to our missionary son for a few precious minutes.  It is the only time, other than at Christmas that we actually get to hear his voice.  The intent of limited phone conversations is to help keep the missionary's mind on his work rather than the concerns and worries of what goes on at home.  In knowing that we would actually be speaking to him this weekend the decision was made to wait until this phone call to let him know of a ‘hiccup’ his father had experienced this past week.  We could have called the mission home at anytime to have the mission president break the news to Landon that his father had a mild heart attach on Wednesday, but there really were ‘No Worries!’  A minor surgery to place two stents in and a few days in ICU made Steve almost as good as new.  He even drove his motorbike home from the hospital.  Yes, we really do look at this as a simple pebble in the road and not a roadblock.   Had it truly been a roadblock Landon would have been contacted immediately.  Sometimes we worry when worry will do no good, except cause anxiety.   So truthfully, all is well.  The following dialogue was summarized from the conversation after this news was detailed and all concerns put aside.

The Best Mothers Day EVER!

Q:  Grandma asked, “Landon, Do you go out and play with the giraffes?”

A:  I chase around zebras, springboks and impalas.  The area that I’m in is called Qwa   Qwa.  The “Q” makes a click sound.  We are just on the other side of ‘LeSotho,’ which is the only landlocked country in South Africa.  The border is caused by the Drakensberg Mountains.  We are in the valley they call Qwa Qwa.  You know what the cool thing about here is?  There is so much open land, so much space.  It is just absolutely insane!  There is a place called the Golden Gate on the other side of the mountains where all the animals are.

Q:  Can you go there?

A:  Yeah, we can’t drive through it because missionaries have had too many accidents there.  It is a pretty crazy place.  They get distracted from the beauty and they’ve already rolled two ‘Bakkies’ (a small truck), and the story goes that there was even a head-on collision.

Q:  Do you guys drive at all?

A:  We do have access to a Bakkie if we need to go somewhere further than the walking area Elder Ncube and I are in.  I will drive because I’m the only one with the license.  There are two other missionaries here as well and so it is used only when needed.  Basically, we walk a lot.

Q:  How are your shoes holding out?

A:  Man, they’re trashed!  The toe on my right shoe is coming off and I’ve punched holes in the bottom already.  The brown pair of shoes, which have rubber soles, well they have pretty much disappeared.  They are such a joke.  I’ll be getting more shoes in the near future.

Q:  In walking everywhere do you see any unusual animals?

A:  The birds here are really cool.  There is a big bird that has a huge beak.  I think it is called a Hadida.

Q:  Do you get to climb the mountains there? 

A:  Yeah, last p-day we attempted to climb Sentinel Peak, which happens to be one of the tallest freestanding peaks on this side of the Drakensberg Mountain Range.  A huge storm pushed us back, so we’ll attempt to climb it again this next Monday.

Q:  How long will you and Elder Ncube be companions?

A:  We have been companions for almost three months.  He is my trainer: my Bah Bah, Papa or father.  We are pretty certain that he will be transferred in another two weeks.  I will most likely remain here with a new companion.

Tell Us Some Stories:

      Oh my goodness, so much happens everyday here.  It is absolutely great! Yesterday we went to a professional soccer match.  We were the only white guys there out of eight to ten thousand people.  Yup, three white guys.  After the game everybody wanted to take pictures with us.  It was soooo crazy!  But man, the Africans sure love their soccer.  The game was the Free State Stars against the Chiefs.

Q:  You guys actually have a stadium there that holds that many people?

A:  Yeah, I’m guessing the number, but there really was a substantial number of people there.  The stadium is called the Charles Mopeli Stadium and I’m guessing it holds 10, 000 people.  *(footnote:  I looked up the stadium and it claims to have a capacity of 35,000. Landon and the two other white missionaries would have really been the minority)

     Friday night we got a call from one of our investigators who had hooked us up with the local radio station here in Qwa Qwa.  We knew about the possibility of getting an interview but we were in the early stage of this process.  In preparation for the possibility of this interview happening we previously talked with our church’s Public Relations Director for South Africa and he had been instructing us on how to handle an interview.  Well, this morning we were going there for what we thought was a meeting with the station's manager and not the interview.  When we arrived they informed us that we would be going on the air in 10 minutes.  With little time to prepare we presented a message about what we, as missionaries, were doing in Qwa Qwa, what the church and gospel are all about and ‘what what.’   We spoke for 10 to 15 minutes and it was amazing.

Q:   Did it go out to just the people in the township?

A:  The area is big, so it would have been received by people within a 50 mile radius, at least.

Q:  Tell us a little more about the town you live in and the people who live there (Landon tried to teach us how to say the name of ‘Phuthadijhaba,’ but I failed miserably on how to pronounce it).     

A:  It is all townships.  Townships are the government built housing communities for a lot of the poor people as opposed to a town where a lot of the wealthier white people live.  These people are very poor.  They live all over the place.

      Growing up in the west you don’t see much racial division, but coming here . . . ‘Oh, my gosh, It’s crazy!’  Because the apartheid didn’t happen very long ago you have a lot of people who had to live through it and remember it well.  Many of these people still harbor abrasive feelings towards white people.  I’ve really got to be careful out here at times.

Q:  Have you seen any other white people in the time you’ve lived there?

A:  I have not met any other white people who live here, and I’ve been here for almost three months.  However, I’ve seen two black albinos.  There are white people who may travel here to help out some of the churches, but they are just visiting.

Q:  How dangerous is it there?  Have you had anymore near muggings?

A:  Not yet.  Not yet!  We’ve been pretty good so far.  There are much more dangerous areas in the mission.  You know, the missionaries are really watched over.  We just keep praying for safety.

Q:  Do you only speak English?

A:  We are only suppose to teach in English, but to get along in this area I’ve had to pick up a little bit of Tutu (Sotho?).

      Just being out here, I haven’t forgotten about you guys.  But, before you called; it was like, “Wow, I have a family in America.”  It’s crazy!  My attention is so focused on the people here that this has become my life. 

      The members out here really have it tough.  The ones who seem to do well pray and read the scriptures together daily.  I hope you guys are continuing to do this as well as having Family Home Evening every week.  Everybody needs to be doing that.  It is so important. 

      Guess what I did?  I baked cookies and gave them to my African Mama for Mothers Day.  Her name is Mey ? ? (we couldn’t understand her name but the beginning part is an endearment they give to elderly women.   I just picture a beautiful African momma who has taken my boy under her wing). 

In closing he stated: 

       Being out here on the mission has been the biggest thing ever.  It has been the hardest time of my life, yet I’ve never felt a happier time in my life.  Everything is magnified immensely, and it is the greatest ever.  Day in and day out we try to bring people the true message of the gospel.  We see their struggles and how they have had to live without that spiritual direction, in a sort of spiritual poverty.  With this the hardships of the physical poverty must be just so much more difficult to handle. 
      You all are so blessed.  You absolutely have no idea, you really have no clue just how blessed you all are to have what you have.  I don’t know what more to say to you, other than, ‘You’ve been given so much so don’t take it for granted.’

       I pray for you guys all the time.  I love you all so much.  Awe, I love you guys.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hold Fast to it Tighter Than Anything Else You Can Put Your Hands Around.





MY DEAR, DEAR FAMILY!!!
       
        It’s getting chilly I must say, but as the seasons change it is always a nice time to appreciate new things.

        The mission is becoming sweeter than a Twinkie!!!  We got back from our zone conference late last night. MAN WAS IT AWESOME!  Elder Evans from the First Quorum of the Seventies (he is also the director of the missionary department for the church) has been on a mission tour the last 9 days and conducted our conference. POWER. He spoke to us directly and frankly for about 5 hours. President Von Stetten (our mission president) also addressed us and informed us that the mission is really changing up.  As a result our approach to the work is being shifted. Our areas are being cut in half in some places and even more in others. For our little town of Puthaditjhaba that means our work area will become even smaller!  But I’m all game.  I mean one has to be. There is a lot of excitement, and undoubtedly a little groaning. Listening to some of the requests being put on the missionaries now, and the complaints coming out, you just think to yourself about how one ought to handle change. Simply, we need to trust the spoken words of the Lord as His called servants speak them.  We need to trust that this is what must be done and do it with full-hearted faith and effort. The work is sooooo sweet! 

        Man… MOM, DAD, JORDAN and all my other family and friends both known and those whom I don’t know but might be reading this: There is nothing more sure than the gospel of Christ. In fact, there isn’t anything physically that is more sweet than the words in the Book of Mormon. This book is DRENTCHED with the spirit of the Lord and anyone who has been blessed to be able to hold it and read it cannot deny its validity and divinity.  Hold fast to it tighter than anything else you can put your hands around. The promises, principles, doctrines, applications, stories and lessons are all for US!  This book is for our benefit and most importantly for our happiness.  Read it, then read it again, then do it again mom, dad, and Jordan :)

        Please thank everyone you can for their love and prayers for me. I’m getting heaps busier which means my business with writing letters has really slowed down. I got a short and powerful letter from Elder Baxter.  Love that guy!  I’ll try to send him a letter too, but maybe you could pass on my love to him for the time being.

        Dad, I’m so glad you’re not physically hurt, but I have to say I’m glad you were hurt by your pride (see foot note below). I myself read and soaked in that chapter too not to long ago.  Man, there is power in humility, or whatever the “anti”pride is.

        I am soooo excited for you guys to call this Sunday.  To talk to you on the phone only twice a year (once on Mothers Day and the other at Christmas) makes it so treasured.  I’m giddy with excitement!  I have not much time left to write, so I’ll be sure to save my comments until we speak.

I love you all HEAPS!

With Love,

Elder Gold...
AMANDLA!!! (ANC Sloagan which translated means ‘Power’)


Footnote From Mom:

        In the letter above my son makes a comment to his father stating how glad he is that Steve was not physically hurt, but glad that he was hurt by his pride.  Let me explain.  This was in reference to an incident that happened this past week.  While riding his motorbike down a fairly busy street a guy driving a pickup truck deliberately tried to run Steve off the road … twice.  The story was told of how Steve followed the driver and confronted him about his actions.  The confrontation was only that of words and ended with that, or so he thought.  Steve talked of the lessons he had learned when he stated, “I’m smart enough to know that all things shall pass. So I was trying to talk myself down, telling myself it did not matter in the big picture. Then I started thinking how I should have reacted and if I learned anything… My best option would have been to just avoid the accident (like I did) and then immediately forget about it. Revenge is such a prison. I lost 20 minutes of my sanity and my life by trying to “get back” at this guy. And did I “teach” him anything? Probably not.  And what business is that of mine anyways? He thought I had done something wrong because he thought I was speeding. Then he retaliated against me. I was not in the wrong until I allowed my anger to overtake me. I could have crashed when my brakes locked up. I could have got into a fight with the guy if he turned out to be younger and meaner . . . And I could have had a heart attack.”

        The natural man would instinctively approach the situation with retaliation and confrontation, simply driven by a need not to be bullied.  Society would say, “Yes, he is justified.”  However, pride and judgment ultimately are the driving force of those actions.  Yet, one who follows a path of empathy and humility would not react in anger.  Walking away from tough situations can be the more difficult path, especially when society wants us to believe that by doing so you are weak and spineless.  Being bullied is never right or fair, but there are ways without warfare to combat the enemies.  The cool part to this story is how Steve came to understand a deeper lesson through the scriptures.  He shared a story from the Book of Mormon of a society of people who were very violent and contentious, being the cause of much warfare and death.  With humility and a willingness to change their ways, they were converted to the ways of God and chose to call themselves ‘The People of Ammon’, after the missionary who taught them.  With peaceable and repentant hearts they made a convent, or promise, with God that they would never again take up weapons against their fellow man.  To show God their commitment to this covenant and to help them to not easily be tempted in breaking that covenant, they dug a deep pit in the earth and buried their weapons.  When word of their conversion eventually spread throughout the land, a contending group of people eventually attacked this unprotected tribe.  Rather than defend themselves, and breaking their covenant, the ‘People of Ammon’, with honor and loyalty decided they would rather die.  However, God promised to protect and preserve them through the actions of their sons, 2000 of whom had not made any covenant to lay down their weapons.  These young men had not entered into the covenant as their fathers did, and therefore chose to take up arms and defend the liberty of their people.  These 2000 Stripling Warriors (plus 60 additional son’s of the Ammonites) as they were called, marched into battle against an army far greater in number.  These young men found strength in God through their unwavering faith taught by their mothers.  And with courage, obedience and great faith, they were able to defeat the enemy and preserve their people.  Not only did the promise to be protected stand true, but also only two hundred of these valiant young men were wounded and not one perished. 

        In concluding Steve’s brief explanation of this remarkable scripture story to Landon in his letter he writes, “This is a great lesson to me – and very timely since I just had this motorcycle incident. I claim to be a follower of Christ, and yet I let a simple misunderstanding get out of my control.  I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn that your father is still human, but trying hard to be Christ like…. and patient and forgiving. If you can learn from my mistakes, you will be all the wiser for it.  So, If you are tempted to retaliate against another for unfair treatment, consider your Christ-like options so you won’t need to apologize later.”

        I love the examples I am witness to as I watch a father and his son step into the light of understanding through humility and a desire to know what God would have them do and become.  All three of the boys in my life(young and old) are trying to put the natural man aside and follow heavenly council through the scriptures.  Landon bears testimony of the Book of Mormon and how very important it is for all to read and gain direction from it.  It is a companion to the bible and stands as another Testimony of Jesus Christ.  I too would wish all to open its pages and be amazed…be inspired, that your lives may also be directed towards the light.



DID LIFE  COME  WITH  A  MANUAL ?


Did life come with a manual? 
A strange, yet simple thought. 
 Would you be very happy 
If something you just bought 
Had no instructions to it
And left you on your own
To figure out it’s uses?
You’d soon be on the phone
Complaining to the maker
That you can’t live without
This very important guidebook
They so rudely left out.
Not that you really need it
Cause if it wasn’t gone
You’d throw it in a closet
And just continue on.
But just to know it’s there
In case this thing should break
Or have any kind of problems
Of stress it couldn’t take.

So, did life come with a manual?
The Maker surely knew
That we would have some problems
And troubles as we grew.
He had a team of writers
Who helped him with the task
Of compiling all the knowledge.
You may recognize this cast
From way back in time
To mention just a few
There were Moses and Isaiah,
Nephi, John, and Matthew.
  
Yes!  Life came with a manual.
But, how many of us care
To take it off the shelf ?
Or, do we just leave it there
Until we feel we need
To fix a broken heart,
Or find out why our problems
Tend to always start?
You still can call the maker
If troubles you can’t mend.
But don’t be too surprised
If you’re told the answers in
Your manual, that too often
Is only opened when
Life’s a little broken
or you’re troubled from within.
      
                               A.E.Gold -  March  1998