Oh hey . . .
Welcome everyone to my not so weekly email where I share some experiences and things I've learned while being here in the wonderful and crazy country of South Africa!
So, this past week we had transfers and both of my old comps were booted out to some other areas and i got two new ones to come and help me in the office... I've only been here for about a month and with some interesting situations that pulled me away from being at the office it was pretty hard to learn all of the new stuff that i needed to then pass on to my two new companions... prayers up!
In all honesty though things have been going really well, we had some super cool friends come to church and I think they will be baptized within the next three weeks!
pray for:
-Snehlanhla & her sister
- The Solomons
A super special thing about the area that I currently serve in is that we have the Durban South Africa temple right here in our area and so each week we have the chance to hold our district counsel (small missionary meetings) there.
When we first pulled up, I noticed that the temple grounds were abnormally busy. There was a big group of members traveling from far away so that they could deepen their understanding of Jesus Christ and what God wants them to do next in their life. Most of these people I didn't recognize as they were from other areas that I haven't served in, but as I was looking around, I saw a very familiar face... Themba!
I met Themba almost a year ago and from the moment that we started talking to him he just absorbed the gospel like a sponge. He was baptized about a month later and then a couple months after that I left the area and didn't have very good contact with him. So, imagine my surprise when I see that he has progressed as far as going to the temple with friends that he made at church and doing it on his own time! I was truly so happy to see him there and its moments like these that help to give you a feeling of purpose as a missionary.
Reflecting on this whole experience actually reminds me of a scripture in the book of Mormon from the prophet Alma, in Alma chapter 27 verses 16 and 17:
"And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has ben spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength ... "
So awesome! It truly was a joyful meeting ☺️
I absolutely love Themba and he was a good example to me of "if you want to change your life, you have to start changing things about your life".
In all honesty the gospel is simple, and that's something I'm super thankful for. I'm a pretty simple dude, haha. Jesus Christ made the way for us to follow so that we can ultimately live in the fairytale ending of "Happily ever after".
I hope this quick email was able to bring something to your day, let me know how you guys are doing!
Love you guys!
- Elder Cottrell