How’s life in the real world?!

Hello everybody!! :)

How’s life in the real world lol! I feel like I’m just in one big bubble! This week I heard a new song that came out and I was like what the heck I feel like I was just home? But like I always say time is truly flying by I’m starting to have a hard time knowing what I should write about so this week I’m just going to tell you guys about some funny things that I really enjoy and stories and whatever I think of ok? OKAY! 

So some food that i supper enjoy here in Lesotho, MILK!! Oh my heck the milk here blows the winder dairy whole milk out of the water!! IT IS SO GOOD. So creamy and so sweet it’s like ice cream I truly think it might be melted ice cream! Lately all I have been eating is just granola and milk I’m addicted to those two! I’m also addicted to these canned peaches that a member has. They are just perfect, crunchy, soft, sweet man!!!! I really enjoy the food that members give us when they feed us. We usually have one DA a week. So I’m not gaining any weight i actually think I’m losing weight. Which is fine by me because that means I just get to eat more granola and milk right :) ha ha 

So last week i talked about that soccer match and here is a update on that. We lost... again... But we actually played a lot better than we did previously. I didn’t score but elder ikube did and when he did he took off his shirt and went crazy and ran to the car and just drove away it was the funniest thing ever!! We lost 2 to 1 and we play them today at 5. The coach of the other team told us that he wants us to play them every Monday at 5 it good practice for them and keeps us missionaries in shape so it’s a win win situation! I actually love soccer so sorry to those soccer player I gave crap to back home I take it all back haha ;) 

This week was crazy, it was super super hot then the next day ( Friday ) it was pouring rain i mean PORING RAIN. Within like 5 minutes everything was soaked and there was huge puddles everywhere! It was actually pretty sick. The lighting and thunder was crazy!! We had to drive to Bloemfontein for Zone conference and it was about a 2 hour drive. So we left. There was about 10 or 12 missionaries so we had to take multiple cars, yeah one of them crashed hahah!!! It was crazy me my car didn’t leave until all the other ones because we had to wait to close the gate. So we were behind, so we drove around the corner and Elder Wright, from Utah drove into a ditch... Yeah i don’t know how that happened but it was crazy!! hahah so we were standing in the rain for quite some time. No one was hurt and we soon were back on our way to zone conference.

We were sent to this sick hotel to stay the night. And There were so many missionaries at the hotel it was so much fun! We all stayed up for a while like 2 in the morning just talking and watching the soccer game that was on TV. We all got up and went to the buffet breakfast!! YES!! hahah it was super nice. I loved meeting new missionaries and i gained a lot of friends! We went to zone conference, it was at the local church, and it was so much fun. We did a lot of cool activities and learned a lot! It was a very powerful, spiritual meeting. Yeah then we had pizza for lunch! HALAAA 

After zone conference we drove back to Lesotho and we were all tired so we all got monsters...... MAN THOSE THINGS MAKE YOU CRAZY! we were jamming out to church music on the way back and just screaming the words!! Man it was so much fun!!

So last week was kind of a bogus week teaching-wise because we had so much going on. But this week elder mears and I are shooting for big numbers, even though numbers don’t count. We just are ready to work hard again. We have about 5 people on baptism date and in about 2 weeks will have 1 and a couple of weeks have the other 4. Elder mears will probably be leaving next transfer which it in a couple of weeks..... crazy!!.... But that means that I’ll be taking over the area..... YIKES!! But this mission is so much fun and spiritually rewarding! Everyone that is thinking about going on a mission..... GO!! It is so worth it!! 

Well i love you all thank you so much for the support from everyone!! I’m loving my mission, the people, the food, other missionaries, THIS GOSPEL!!

PEACE! 

Elder Grange

Fastest week on mission by far!!!

WOW this week went super-fast!! Fastest week on mission by far!!!

So I don't really know how to start this email so I’m just going to go by the bullet points I put down in my planner. So it’s going to be a little choppy and all over the place just a heads up!!

So earlier in the week I learned how to make the staple food here in Lesotho, mealia pap. It’s like creamed corn, called Maize porridge). And then on top they put spinach lettuce and sometimes alfalfa and they cut it all up and steam it until the greens are mushy. Not it doesn't sound that great but it is really really good at least for me! Plus around here they eat with their hands so that's always fun!!

We got some new elders with the transfer.  Elders sixnaba, mubusi, and Patterson. Patterson is the new ZL who replaced elder mulumba. And the other two are just replacements. Elders Mears my comp. is now the district leader, so he is stressed sometimes. But all in all I think that we have the best missionaries in Lesotho. They are all so much fun to be around!

So the people here have been saying that it is the hottest Lesotho has ever been. We are having a huge drought and so sometimes we don't even have water in the boarding. So yeah sometimes we don't get to shower. Yeah that isn't the greatest. Anyway it’s only going to get hotter because December and January are the hottest months. So yaaahooooo! We wear our suits every Sunday.... I don't know why but yeah.... I’m always sweating on Sunday.

So the work has been going really great. We have some fun new investigators and a lot of fun families!! We played a lot of fun little games this week like local games. I don't even know what they are called but they are hard and fun!

One of our investigators is going to be baptized in a few weeks and she told us a story about when her husband passed away and the relatives sent someone to murder her just so that they could get money or something she was stabbed 33 times and she knew that she was going to live because earlier she heard a voice that said you are going to get stabbed a lot but you are not going to die! She is probably one of the most powerful spiritual ladies I have ever met and she isn't even a member yet!! I love missionary work!!

So there were a lot of crazy insects that I saw this week!!! HUGE SPIDER AND CENTIPEDE the spider was at least the size of a small pancake and I was mad because I didn't have my camera! And the centipede was the size of a dart! Man I was sketched out for sure!!

I love my mission yes it is a sacrifice to be out here and leave behind home but it is so rewarding!! it changes people’s lives not only investigators but mine as well! A mission is meant for everyone! It prepares you for your future life, family, work, EVERYTHING! I know that this is truly the work of the lord and that he is preparing people for the last days... which are soon....! I know that if we fully invest our lives into the gospel the lord will pore us with blessings that we can’t even imagine and that our lives will be 100 times better even if we go through trials! The scriptures are legit!! So many cool things I have learned that I had no idea about! READ PRAY AND ENDURE!

I love you all have a great week!!

Lesotho is the furthest mission away from Utah!

Wow just like that my first transfer is done!! It’s like I was in the MTC yesterday, every day kind of blends together!! 

So last Monday I said that we were having a soccer match against the local team and we did. It was so much fun!! I ended up buying a soccer jersey and soccer cleats, and it was a great buy! We played them and we actually played really well. We scored first then they scored twice so we ended up losing but it’s all good. I played forward because I’m one of the fastest and I’m not too great at defense. I usually play goalie but this one elder wanted to play and he was actually really good! After we had a BBQ (braii) and the meat was super good!

We went to Bloemfontein this week to drop off elder Mulumba he went home and he was super sad and excited. He was always saying how fast the time went and how he wishes that he could stay out! But while we were there I got to run into some elders that were at the MTC with me. Elders Rakotumalala and my MTC comp., Elder Bateman. It was nice because they are just super cool guys!

With elder mulumba gone I got to serve a couple of days with elder Ikube so I guess you could say I was Zone leader 2 for a couple of days. I got to meet a lot of new people and it is really nice to finally understand what they are saying. Like in the movie FREETOWN where you can’t really understand what those African elders are saying, yeah that was what it was like at the beginning but now I can understand them. I am starting to learn some of the language and it’s fun to say funny things to people. Especially when I say it because all the little kids just laugh because I’m white hahah.

So I found of the Lesotho is the furthest mission possible away from Utah!! Crazy huh!!

So it’s pretty crazy what the church came out with!! At first I was like dang that's harsh but then I looked into it and it really is needed. Not only does it keep the children safe but it keeps the church safe to. We really are coming to the last days and it’s time to harvest out the true members of the church!

Saturday we got transfer news and Mears is still my companion, but he is now the district leader so we have a lot to do at nights! We are getting some new missionaries in the area and I’ll talk more about that when I figure out who they are.

Sunday the kid that we baptized last Sunday received the Holy Ghost. And while they were giving him that blessing on of the members of the circle totally passed out and everyone was so confused. He was out for a while actually. But he was fine and they just did the prayer over again. When he passed out a couple of people rushed to help him and the members just started to sing to keep the spirit it was powerful! They are true members!! Later that day Mears got into a wreck and we ran into the back of someone on our way to pick up tithing envelopes from the other church! That was crazy just like the drivers here!!

Not too much to say but still another adventurous week! This work is true and this gospel is so powerful!! I miss you all and love you all ill have more to say next week I promise!!

Ay mamushemani NGATE!

Sala Hantle (stay well)

Elder Grange

Baptism Week!

This week was a very fun week. We watched the world cup rugby tournament and everyone was going crazy when South Africa played New Zealand! We went to the local Burger restaurant and watched it! We also found a basketball court outside that everyone goes to, it’s a lot like Clinton courts except it’s more like a stadium but outside. Everyone thought that Elder Mears and I were in the NBA because we were the only ones that could shoot threes and dunk it that was a lot of fun! Today after I email is out District activity, Were are playing soccer against the Lesotho team , Missionaries Vs. a Legit team, Yeah we are going to get murdered but that's alright! I bought an Argentina Soccer Jersey and I’m buying some cleats just for the game, and the rest of my mission! Then we are having a big BBQ after the game and possibly might kill something to cook idk yet that is the Zone Leaders Decision.

So there isn't much to write about just a couple of stories.

Yesterday was the first baptism of mission. It was so cool. Me and Elder Mears taught this kid from lesson one. He was the first person I taught the restoration too. And He just progressed rapidly and was baptized. The whole family has been baptized except him, That was because his family went in active when he was 3. His family hasn't been to church since. His father was 2nd Counselor of the branch presidency then they just stopped. They All came for his baptism and it was amazing how the member welcomed them back and how much they opened back up in church. I know that they will be coming more often. Elder Mears was the one who got in the water. I was a witness. It was a great experience.

We have a lot of new investigators and have more people on B Date. The work is very fruitful right now. I know that Heavenly father has prepared these people for us young white missionaries. I have finally got use to everyone called me MAHOA (White guy) Its actually pretty cool!

We tracted a lot this week and found a lot of cool people. And we also found some families that I am very excited about.

We met a lady named Agustina and she is a single mother of 2. She loves the lessons especially the plan of salvation! During that lesson I prayed and said heavenly father please help me know what I should share with this lady. It was a little windy and I just let my pages in my book of Mormon turn. They stopped on the perfect verse that I should share with here. It tied in the kingdoms of glory with baptism. And I asked her to commit to baptism so that she can inherit the kingdoms of glory and be with her family for eternity. It was the best feeling ever. The spirit there was so strong. We then Had a prayer and at the end of that pray She was just crying. I know that the lord prepared her for missionaries and this gospel! I love this work and the people that I’m serving!

I miss home but I know that this is more important for me in my life to serve. Through this gospel anything is possible, even if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed! I know that if we pray and read the scriptures daily heavenly father will bless us with blessing even so many blessing that we won’t even know what to do with all of them!! I love Lesotho I have a feeling ill be here for a while.

Oh did you guys see that drawing of the little girl who was asked to draw what she saw at conference? So this little 5 year old was asked by her mother to draw what she saw at conference. She drew a picture of Thomas S. Monson talking and there were angels with wings next to him. When I saw this picture I got chills. I thought I wonder if President Monson saw those angels there with him. When he was struggling to stand I know that those angels where holding him up and giving him that strength. He is such a powerful guy and he is truly called of god to lead this church no doubt about that!

Miss you guys love you guys I’ll write you next week!!

Keep the people of Lesotho in your prayers please a lot of them are struggling.

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Sala Hantle (stay well)

Elder Grange