“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” Romans 10:15

Sunday,

January 18, 2015

 Dear Family,

 What a great week. We made it out to see Patrick. He was gracious and he told us how much he has missed our visits. We showed Patrick the slideshow we have put together for our group to watch after our meeting next Sunday. It is real touching. I asked him what he liked about it after watching it. He said, “Everyone is happy and smiling.”

 I told Patrick that I wanted to share again the message we had come a long way to tell him…the Gospel of Jesus has been restored to the Earth. We watched a video on the Restoration and shared our testimonies. Without asking, he then shared his feelings and testimony. I asked him if he has any goals for the New Year. His response was prompt, “I need to come to church with my family”.

 He loves the restored Gospel and is patiently waiting as his wife and daughter learn more. He knows that their feelings are changing. They watch the Conference DVD’s and other videos we have given them.

 I noticed that Patrick has lost some weight, so I asked him about it. He told me it was from prayer and fasting. We have no doubt that he and his family will be members of the Church. It is only a matter of time.

 

This week was a week of travel. We needed to get up to Venda to see the kids before we leave. Mom taught about looking in the mirror and seeing what our Father in Heaven sees in each of us. The kids loved the message as each one held the mirror and said my name is Chaza (or their name) and “I am a child of God.” There is always a special feeling when we are teaching these children. All of the kids and Ruben have written something in our journal. The words are tender and pictures full of love. We will miss them and everything else, right down to the water bottle hanging on the out-house so you can wash your hands. Abbey and Savanna, I found you some sweet wheels.

 

Piano lessons are winding down and this time we took some extra time to visit with the whole Molopo family, even Grandma. They are part of our family and we always love to visit with everyone. Check out the bathtub. Pretty impressive don’t you think?

 Three of the Senior Couples are going home in the next couple of months, so we met for lunch, enjoyed each other’s company, and shared a few tears. 

 We are having lots of rain, and as always, the sunsets are breathtaking. Want to know how big Africa really is? It is larger than the USA, China, India, Japan and all of Europe combined or larger than 3 times the size of the USA!

 We dropped over to visit with Dikiledi, one of the sisters that work in the Primary with Mom. She had a hard time removing the smile off her face after receiving the pearls Mom gave her.

That feeling must be catching, because Shirley and her daughter Lebo had exactly the same reaction.

In whatever extra time she can find, Mom has been crocheting sets of wash cloths for all of the sisters in the group. She has really come to love these sisters.

 We asked Batsirai if she wanted to earn a little extra money helping us clean up the flat for Elder and Sister Hansen. She jumped at the chance. Mom and her made a day of it with lunch out and a little shopping on the side. She works as hard as anyone I have ever met and our place looks great. We sent her home with our water container with a faucet. She was thrilled and she is always so appreciative. We just love her, Bernard, Luckymore and Kutzie. I think Mom is really tired here in this picture – – -it was a very long day! 

 For Institute we are studying D&C this year. Elisabeth taught her first lesson this week and did very well. 

 I think Kokie, Matshediso’s mom, is one of Mom’s kindred spirits. They act like they have known each other forever. She was taken back as Mom expressed her tender feelings towards her and how truly special she is. While the pearl earrings were wonderful, the feelings of love were even better.  Mom talked with her privately about baptism before we taught her a lesson and she said she was committed to finding out for herself if the things we were teaching were true. She told us she was so anxious to have us come, this was “her” time and she so looked forward to it. Wow, it is hard saying good-bye to everyone. 

 Today we spoke at church in Polokwane. It was nice to have a chance to say good-bye to all the members who greeted us so warmly when we first arrived here in South Africa. Our very first missionary experience was at the school for abused children planting a garden.   It was so tender and I can still remember the lump in our throats as we walked out with kids swarming everywhere and hanging on to our legs.

After speaking, we hurried over to catch the last of church in Seshego. Batsirai told us that she was excited to look like the other women. Mom had fussed over her on Friday, before our work time cleaning the flat. Mom is very good at that. She always knows what is needed and does her best to fill that need. The look on Batsirai tells it all. 

 Our week has been filled with sweet experiences and tearful good-byes. We are so happy to have full days and tired nights.

 When we left home, John and Chris Beesley bought each of us a pair of missionary shoes and inscribed the scripture reference Romans 10:15 inside.

  “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.”  

 Oh, how we have loved being missionaries. Words cannot express our feelings as we approach the last week of our mission. However, we yearn for the loves and hugs waiting at home.

 We love you. Thank you for your support.

 Love,

MOM & DAD