Happy New Year! Eat Chicken Feet!

Well don't have much to say about this week because I talked on Skype...... so ill just send some pictures :) Love you all I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy new year :) 

We worked at this sisters house and we cleaned chicken feet and head..... that was pretty cool not going to lie :) 

The other pictures are on Christmas all the elders got together and we had a braii ;) ​

Merry Christmas from Lesotho!

We wish you all a merry Christmas here from Lesotho!! Not gonna lie I don't really feel the Christmas spirit I don't know if because its super hot outside and no snow, or the fact that there are not a lot of Christmas lights I don't know.... Its a little different but people are always saying merry Christmas so that's nice :) So MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wow What an amazing week! A lot of fun and traveling :) Like I mentioned last week we had transfers last week :0 So after we emailed we went to Bloemfontein and we dropped off elder Sixaba (si..Click..aba) that's how you say it if you were wondering ;) haha and nyrienda and my BABA mears. They all left and then me and Elder Pentreath and Mphuma went to some other missionaries boarding for the night. The next morning it was just us three and we basically did nothing throughout the whole day. We went to the malls and walked around.... Went and had McDonalds a couple of times..... sorry mom I used my home card;)..... But then we went back and forth from mall to mall basically all day. So that day was pretty boring but later that night we picked up my companion as well as Pentreaths companion. 

My new companion is Elder ROWE from the UK. He is only a transfer older than me. He has a thick English accent, but he is a super cool guy. He like basketball more then soccer. He is pretty tall and..... well white haha:) He is a great missionary and im looking forward to serve with him. Elder Pentreath got a companion from Uganda. Elder Odama... NOT OBAMA.... And he is a cool guy as well. That night at like 4 in the morning elder Mphuma got his new companion.... Elder Reed! HE WENT TO WEBER HIGH!!!!!!! He knows some of my friends and I know his!! He like doesn't even live that far away from us!!! But yeah that was about it for the transfer news :)

So after we were in Bloem, We went back to our areas. But then a day later we had to drive back to Bloem because we had the mission Christmas party! So Thursday night we left Lesotho and went to stay in the rocklands boarding again. When we got there, We saw that there was about 16 other missionaries including us. Man That was a lot of fun. We stayed up till like 3 Am just talking and playing some card games!! Super fun! But then one of us brought up the question guys..... where are we all going to sleep... Because there was only four beds for the missionaries that stayed their.. and about three portable mattresses total. The greenies where the first to crash and they took up all of those mattresses.... Lucky them... Yeah I ended up sleeping on the kitchen countertop! That was not fun at all! On top of that we had a soccer match before the Christmas party at 7 am. So I probably got about 3 hours of sleep that night. BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT.... kinda :) haha

The Christmas party!! WAS SUPER FUN!! we did skits and songs and had amazing food! YOOOOO the food was super nice!! huge steak potatoes meat rice chicken anything really then on top of that a apple cobbler with some vanilla ice cream.... Ill always be a vanilla kinda guy :) At the party the president and his wife gave us all missionaries new ties :) and also a video of the year slide show! It was cool to see all the kids in my group in that slide show hopefully ill be able to serve with or around those guys soon. And after the party everyone got their Christmas cards and packages from home its crazy when they open the doors to the car its like little kids going for candy out of a piñata super funny to watch :) But all in all that Christmas party was great because I did feel the Christmas spirit!

So that was basically the whole week. Mostly in bloem and when we came back  and I introduced Elder Rowe to some people. That was great to kinda show him the area. But the best part of this week was Sunday.

Puseletso was finally able to be baptized she has been waiting and waiting and yesterday we finally got her in the water. I was the one to get in the water with her. And it went super smooth! She was very nervous when she walked in but then she held my wrist and she was suddenly calm. No mess ups nothing. When she came out she had the biggest smile ive ever seen! She put he hands in the air and just started to jump up and down she was so happy! That was such a great feeling to be part of that change in someones life! I loved it and I was very honored to be part of that change in her life! THIS GOSPEL IS SO POWERFULL words cant even describe it!!

I love serving where I'm and and who I'm with! I love the people they are the nicest most humble people I will probably ever meet! Even the Drunk ones :) hahah I miss you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!! Peace out From the Mountain Kingdom :)

TRANSFER NEWS!!

If you could have every single emotion happen in one day.... and times that by 7 that was what my week was like! Every day... every single day there was good and bad throughout the day. It’s crazy.. A mission is crazy!! hahah holly molly PEOPLE GO ON MISSIONS ha ha!! Any way hmmm how do I start this email. 

Well I didn’t almost get shot this week so that’s good :) So I guess you can say this week was much safer! I don’t have that much to really write about this week so I’m probably not going to go day by day. Sorry for those who like the day to day update :) 

Do you want the good or the bad first?? Hmmmm no one is answering me so I’ll just do the bad first lol :) Well first off i looked in my journal the other day and realized that i haven't wrote in it for more than a month.... sorry...... so this week i really tried to write in it every day and its getting easier. That’s not that bad i guess... at least not compared to what I’m about to tell you guys. 

Sunday was probably the worst day off them all...... Weird right... Well it all started when we woke up excited for the day because we were supposed to have a baptism. So we got up went to the church to start the water in the font... Well once again... NO WATER. So we had to postpone the baptism for the next week. Puseletso was in tears because she wanted elder mears to do the baptizing because he is leaving. She also has been waiting for about a month now. So hopefully i can baptize her next week if the water is on. That was all around really sad and frustrating.  So we went back to the boarding and when we got there the other elders ( Ikube and patterson ) started to accuse us of taking there things from out of their boarding. We told them over and over again that we didn’t take anything and that we have been in our boarding or at the church the whole time. Well it turn out that that previous night they had been robbed. The robbers broke in like ninjas! Both off the elders slept through it even though the robbers were right next to their heads getting into their cabinets. They got their cameras, money, flash drives, and backi keys taking from them. People think that they may have put a CD to keep them asleep i guess that’s what people do around here. But those two were dead asleep. So we are on high alert at our boarding. We have to block their backi from getting stolen by putting ours in front of theirs. So i guess you can say there is some danger :) Man a mission is legit :) 

K now some of the good stuff :) Well we had a opportunity to go to the parliament this week. We got to see where the king comes and where the government does their things :) That was a lot of fun and we got some cool pictures :) 

We also had a Christmas pre party I guess you could say:) all the missionaries in the area went to the Sr. couples boarding and we had banana splits.... Of course mine was the biggest hmhmhm :) But after that we went to the Christmas concert, it was a lot like a JR. High school performance TIMES 10! Wow, could those people sing!!!  And it was a lot of fun because the crowd got into it and everyone was singing. People here go nuts when there is good music hahah :) That was alot of fun but I was a little upset when we had to leave early because of curfew... Mission rules... Blaa :) But gotta be obedient :) This week we also went to a wedding.. probably one of the funnest things I have done so far on mission. Because there was a lot of good food and music. Also just the culture of a wedding here is so cool. Everyone dresses up in their culture stuff and just knows how to have a great time! We all were swagged out for the mission and we all bought some glasses haha. We also had a chance to set up the wedding so we had to wake up early and set up. So that wasn’t the best but it was still fun :) At the wedding there were a ton of kids!!! They go crazy when they see some white skin hahah! Me and elder mears were just attacked, carrying them on our legs and arms, being chased just all of the above!!! It was so much fun!! 

TRANSFER NEWS!!!! 

Well I’m going onto my third transfer now isn’t that crazy!!! Elder mears is leaving ;(...... I’m gonna miss him..... But it’s all good! He is going to the coast back to Durban. He is going to be a Zone Leader in the area called Cluff. There are three missionaries out of this Zone leaving Elder Mears, Nyrienda, and Sixaba. I’m not sure about who is coming in. All I know is that I am staying, and I’m getting elder Rowe he is still young on mission, Only a transfer older than me but he is my follow up trainer  I don’t know much about him yet we are going to Bloemfontein For three days for transfers and pickups. All I know is the he is from the UK and likes basketball more than soccer..... I think.... I’m pretty excited not gonna lie:) I’ll tell you more about him next week :) 

Well that’s about it for this week! I hope that everyone has an amazing week and doesn't get stressed out about Christmas coming up lol! Miss you guys talk to you next week!

PEACE OUT FROM THE MOUNTAIN KINGDOM!!!

I NEED FOOOOOD

What’s up everyone!!! What an amazing.... hard... rewarding.... challenging..... fun.....enjoyable...... just every word you can think about...... week I had :) There was some fun times and some hard times, every day is totally different! There is always something new that pops up! This was probably one of the most challenging weeks on mission though not going to lie... not any problems with like home sickness of mentally but physically!

WE DIDNT HAVE WATER OR FOOD!!!!! Ha ha if you know me those are the things that I NEED!! Well I guess everyone one need food and water but for me..... I NEED FOOOOOD and I need A HOT SHOWER!! and running water so I don't have to use a bucket to SHOWER out of.

I loved this week though because it brought out some fun into the mission and some challenges and helped me learn how to be more self-reliant like storing water and buying the correct food that will help me last until the next allotment the church gives us missionaries :) I had to go to the store and buy water so that I could do the dishes and cook food and brush my teeth and everything hahah. It was actually pretty cool I felt like I was living off the land.... kind of :) It’s crazy how much water controls your day or your week, but trust me right when that water came back on we all went crazy filling up buckets taking showers doing laundry hahah it was a mad house :)

I’ve started to learn how to make good meals..... Usually rice with some tomatoes and onions and some other spices with beans and meat mixed in... Then on the side some boiled chicken that has come curry powder seasoned on it :)....... oh yeah hey guys.... I LIKE TOMATOES NOW...... but I don't love them but I can eat them and they don't make me gag anymore haha:)

​There are a lot of crazy things going on around here. I don't know if it is because of the holidays but everyone is just so busy and always doing something. There are a lot of churches just popping up out of nowhere and those churches are pretty nuts! Like we walked by this one church and the pastors or whatever they were just beating the people getting the demons out or something...... Sketchy! But people have their agency :)

We almost got shot this week...... yes you read that right....... so what happened was me and elder mears go to the basketball courts after our last appointment on Tuesday... yes we still do mission work... some of our most powerful investigators come from the basketball court... anyways after we got done playing, the guards closed the gate of were we usually leave from. They told us that we would have to go around to get to our truck. So we ran to the other side because we were almost late to curfew. Well as we were running we had to go under some police rope to get to our truck. Well suddenly we heard this yell coming from this military guard. He told us to stop and go to them. They were yelling at us thinking that we were like thieves or something. they told us that it was restricted area... we soon found out that it was were the princess lived and was heavily guarded. We went over and explained ourselves. The gaurds were all holding AKs and they said that they shot or lock up those who trespass. So we explained that we were just trying to get to our truck and they were like you guys are lucky that we saw white skin or else they would of shot....... Yeah that was pretty intense but pretty legit and cool as well lol :)

We had exchanges this week and I was able to serve with elder ikube and nyirenda. That was super cool and fun. We found a lot of people and new investigators in my area and had super spiritual moments while we were teaching the lessons. One of those experiences was giving this 16 year old girl a blessing. She told us that she was just getting home from the hospital and that she might have cancer. I was the one that she wanted to give the blessing.. And that was one of the best feelings that I have had on mission. As I gave blessing I can’t even remember what I said all I know is that I was comforted and words were put in my mouth. Ive never felt those things before and those that have felt those feelings know what im talking about. This church is so true..... and the book is blue.... hahah :)

So update on the missionaries in the area. So elder mears has had stomach problems form awhile so we went to the hospital and he is now getting better and pooping normally now :) hahah I love that guy! Elder Patterson the new elder in the area ( ZL ) is having something going on with his belly button hahah. It like always bleeding.. probably one of the weirdest things ever but he is getting better :) I haven't gotten sick or had anything weird happen to me yet. ( knock on wood ) :) Elder mears is probably leaving me this transfer we get transfer news this Saturday. so next Monday I’ll tell you guys who my new companion is :) I’m nervous and excited because I’ll be taking over the area and have a new comp.  Elder mears is the District leader right now and as his last week he told me that I was going to teach DDM this week.... Yeah..... I teach all the missionaries... we will see how that goes ha ha:)

Our investigators are progressing greatly and I’m excited to see what happens in the future :) the less actives that we had are now fully active again and everything is going super well :) One of the kids makes his own music beats on his computer.... AND HE IS SUPER AMAZING! the beats are so sick.. I think we are going to try to make a missionary rap or something ha ha :)

I’m so excited for Christmas :) The Sr. couple bought us tickets to go to the local Christmas concert I guess there are going to be some big artists there so that should be fun :) we have the ward Christmas party coming up as well some with the mission Christmas party :) also I’m SOOOOO EXCITED To call home and Skype the family :) Dec 25 could not come sooner!!

OH yeah hey mom!! On DEC 26 it's national boxing day...  so could you send me Tyler’s black gloves ;) ha ha  just kidding but I’m serious about boxing day it’s a real thing. (not actual boxing, though)

Well that’s all for this week, I love serving and I know that this work is so important and powerful. Everyone GO TO THE TEMPLE! It is super needed and it is very important and there are no excuses not to go. People here sacrifice so much just to go to the temple that is 6 hours away. We are blessed to have a temple most of us 20 min. drive. SO GO DO IT DO IT!! The gospel of Jesus Christ is so true and is the only way back to our heavenly father!! Families are forever and I’m so grateful for that :) HAVE A GREAT WEEK YALL

Hello from Maseru!

How was everyone's week? Anything crazy happen? My week was pretty good, not much that happened but it was still very rewarding and fun! So my mom wants me to go day to day in my emails from now on :) so i guess I’ll try that if I can remember ha ha because all the days sort of just blend together:)

Monday-
After I got done emailing we went and got some food and the local grocery store (pick n pay) I got ummm I think I just got some bread and water. After that we went to this member’s house with the other elders, Mphuma and Narienda, we ended up painting their house and some rooms for about three hours, we had some amazing food though... just some meat and Pop and cool drink! IT WAS SO GOOD! Yes I love eating with my hands so I’ll probably do that for the rest of my life ;) After we painted and ate some food we went and got ready for the soccer match! Every Monday at five we play that team and this time there was a lot of people there watching us! I think all the kids go and tell their friends and rumors spread that white guys play against the team. So people come and watch it’s seriously pretty cool! WE WON THIS WEEK!!!! We beat them 2-1 but I have a feeling that today they are going to bring their A game!

Tuesday-
a fun day, we woke up and did our studies and training. I’m not the biggest fan of training but I’m almost done with it ha ha. We then had ZTM that is just a zone meeting and that was very fun, but the best part was after, we went to the SR. couple’s house and had Thanksgiving.... Ummm HALLLAAAA that food was so good it felt like I was eating back at home! After that we went to our appointments and they were good!

Wednesday-
Nothing special just a working day, we woke up did our studies and went out into the area. We ended up tracting, I’m not really good at that yet because I keep having bad experiences with that, not like danger bad or anything like that but I always seem to knock on the door where the person doesn't speak any English, elder Mears seems to find the door that has English speaking people so I don’t really like to tract but it is needed. We then had some powerful lessons with the Lady that is getting baptized soon, and also with this family that started to come back to church. So it was a solid day!
Thursday-
We had exchanges and elder Ikube was with us the whole day. He is leaving in two months so while we were tracting he wanted to take over, and it was nice because I got to learn from him and how he tracts. He is such a cool guy from Tanzania.

Friday-
Just a normal day nothing to great about it

Saturday-
We had soccer practice in the morning and everyone is getting better, after soccer we had some good food because it was elder Mphumas birthday. So we had cake chicken rice and vegies, we then just kind of celebrated his birthday with him and went to members houses and partied.
Yeah I eat chicken weird now.... like the bone and everything its actually not too bad you would be surprised  how much meat and food you can get off by just a small drum stick! So remind me to show you how I eat them when I get home in 21 months :)

Sunday-
Went to church and that was a great time. I love going to church and partaking of the sacrament I love running into all of the members and greeting everyone. The little kids are starting to trust me and a lot of them want to sit on my lap during the sacrament. I end up getting them in trouble by their parents because I pull faces at them and they start laughing.... whoops sorry.... kinda... that’s just me hahah :) I’m loving it here:)

So that was my week in a nut shell, We are always fighting the water some days it’s on some days its off, so some days I shower some days I don’t :) We had a lady that sent us a random txt saying that we need to find the true god and that we need to seek spiritual help from her pastor... LOL..... We found out that Malepa (recent kid who got baptized ) does poetry.... ummm like he is amazing!! He is 14 And he blew my mind when he read of some of his things!! He is going to go far in poetry alone! He is so good at it! We had problems this week with gossip in the church... I’ll just say that saying... the church is true the people are not.. But I love the people and the area so much! I learn more and more every day! The people are starting to open up to us missionaries and have been helping us so much. We have had people call us to play for their basketball team and for tournaments... I wish we could that would be a lot of fun. Elder Mears is probably going to be leaving me soon :( but it’s ok because we are enjoying the time that we have left.
I know that this work is true and that it truly does bless everyone's lives! I love working for the lord and serving the people... IT’S FUN!! I Hope that everyone works harder and harder every day to become spiritually and physically powerful for the last days. Which are soon.... like soon soon.... But I’m not a prophet so don’t ask me when lol :) I love it here and I love the support that I receive from back home you guys are the best!! Have an amazing week!

HEY CHRISTMAS IS SOON!! Service is the greatest gift of all!